Repetitive Peripheral Sensory Stimulation as an Add-On Intervention for Upper Limb Rehabilitation in Stroke: A Randomized Trial.

Introduction: Repetitive peripheral sensory stimulation (RPSS) followed by 4-hour task-specific training (TST) improves upper limb motor function in subjects with stroke who experience moderate to severe motor upper limb impairments. Here, we compared effects of RPSS vs sham followed by a shorter duration of training in subjects with moderate to severe motor impairments in the chronic phase after stroke.

Methods: This single-center, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group clinical trial compared effects of 18 sessions of either 1.

Treatment of Upper Limb Paresis With Repetitive Peripheral Nerve Sensory Stimulation and Motor Training: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Repetitive peripheral nerve sensory stimulation (RPSS) has emerged as a potential adjuvant strategy to motor training in stroke rehabilitation. The aim of this study is to test the hypothesis that 3 h sessions of active RPSS associated with functional electrical stimulation (FES) and task-specific training (TST) distributed three times a week, over 6 weeks, is more beneficial to improve upper limb motor function than sham RPSS in addition to FES and TST, in subjects with moderate to severe hand motor impairments in the chronic phase (>6 months) after stroke. In this single-center, randomized, placebo controlled, parallel-group, double-blind study we compare the effects of 18 sessions of active and sham RPSS as add-on interventions to FES and task-specific training of the paretic upper limb, in 40 subjects in the chronic phase after ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke, with Fugl-Meyer upper limb scores ranging from 7 to 50 and able to voluntarily activate any active range of wrist extension.

Diffusion Tensor Imaging Biomarkers to Predict Motor Outcomes in Stroke: A Narrative Review.

Stroke is a leading cause of disability worldwide. Motor impairments occur in most of the patients with stroke in the acute phase and contribute substantially to disability. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) biomarkers such as fractional anisotropy (FA) measured at an early phase after stroke have emerged as potential predictors of motor recovery.

Highly selective covalent organic functionalization of epitaxial graphene.

Graphene functionalization with organics is expected to be an important step for the development of graphene-based materials with tailored electronic properties. However, its high chemical inertness makes difficult a controlled and selective covalent functionalization, and most of the works performed up to the date report electrostatic molecular adsorption or unruly functionalization. We show hereafter a mechanism for promoting highly specific covalent bonding of any amino-terminated molecule and a description of the operating processes.

Proximity Driven Commensurate Pinning in YBa2Cu3O7 through All-Oxide Magnetic Nanostructures.

The design of artificial vortex pinning landscapes is a major goal toward large scale applications of cuprate superconductors. Although disordered nanometric inclusions have shown to modify their vortex phase diagram and to produce enhancements of the critical current ( MacManus-Driscoll , J. L.

Three axis vector magnet set-up for cryogenic scanning probe microscopy.

We describe a three axis vector magnet system for cryogenic scanning probe microscopy measurements. We discuss the magnet support system and the power supply, consisting of a compact three way 100 A current source. We obtain tilted magnetic fields in all directions with maximum value of 5T along z-axis and of 1.

Formation of stripelike flux patterns obtained by freezing kinematic vortices in a superconducting Pb film.

We demonstrate experimentally and theoretically that the dissipative state of superconducting samples with a periodic array of holes at high current densities consists of flux rivers resulting from a short-range attractive interaction between vortices. This dynamically induced vortex-vortex attraction results from the migration of quasiparticles out of the vortex core (kinematic vortices). We have directly visualized the formation of vortex chains by scanning Hall probe microscopy after freezing the dynamic state by a field cooling procedure at a constant bias current.