Effect of Home-based Virtual Reality Training on Upper Extremity Recovery in Patients with Stroke: Systematic Review.

Background: Stroke is a leading cause of long-term disability, often resulting in upper extremity dysfunction. Traditional rehabilitation methods often face challenges such as limited patient access to resources and lack of sustained motivation. Home-based virtual reality (VR) training is gaining traction as an innovative, sustainable and interactive alternative.

Spatiotemporal distribution of chlorophyll-a concentration in the south China sea and its possible environmental regulation mechanisms.

In this paper, the spatial and temporal distribution of chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentration in the South China Sea (SCS) and its major environmental regulator mechanisms were studied by using satellite remote sensing data sea surface temperature (SST), sea surface wind (SSW), and aerosol optical depth (AOD) spanning from January 2000 to December 2022. The results show that Chl-a in the SCS exhibit notable spatio-temporal variations: they peak in winter (∼0.234 mg m) and autumn (∼0.

An MgVO anode exhibiting enhanced rate capability and stability for lithium storage applications.

The development of anode materials with high rate performance as well as favourable working durability is key for next-generation lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Here, MgVO is reported as an advanced anode material, using a facile and scalable solution combustion technology. The MgVO anode shows a "near-zero" volume change (<10% over 1000 cycles).

Direct Regeneration of Industrial LiFePO Black Mass Through A Glycerol-Enabled Granule Reconstruction Strategy.

With the increasing sales of electric vehicles, lots of spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) assembled with LiFePO (LFP) cathodes will retire in the next few years, posing a significant challenge for their effective and environmentally-friendly recycling. The main reason why spent LFP cathodes fail to re-utilize lies in the lattice defects caused by lithium loss and structural defects resulting from stress accumulation. In this work, we propose an in situ granule reconstruction strategy to directly regenerate spent LFP black mass (S-BM) using glycerol in industry settings.

Comparison of Occupational Performance in Immersive Virtual and Real Environments Among Patients With Stroke: Observational Randomized Crossover Pilot Study.

Background: Conventional rehabilitation approaches involve therapists simulating various occupational tasks in health care settings or recreating real-life situations to assess and train patients in instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs). As an alternative, immersive virtual reality (IVR) has been widely used in stroke rehabilitation for years, but research comparing occupational performance between virtual and real environments is limited.

Objective: This study aims to introduce a novel IVR shopping system designed for patients with stroke and to investigate the correlation of occupational performance in virtual and real environments among patients with stroke.

Targeted Defect Repair and Multi-functional Interface Construction for the Direct Regeneration of Spent LiFePO Cathodes.

Due to the low economic benefits and environmental pollution of traditional recycling methods, the disposal of spent LiFePO (SLFP) presents a significant challenge. The capacity fade of SLFP cathode is primarily caused by lithium loss and formation of a Fe (III) phase. Herein, a synergistic repair effect is proposed to achieve defect repair and multi-functional interface construction for the direct regeneration of SLFP.

Advanced core-shell hollow carbon nanofibers for ion and electron accessibility in sodium ion batteries.

One-dimensional core-shell hollow carbon nanofibers (HCNFs) have been synthesized by coaxial electrospinning, deacetylation and carbonization, which exhibit multi-surface properties that enhance electrolyte infiltration and facilitate ion/electron transport. The nitrogen-doped hard carbon outer shell compensates for the low conductivity of amorphous carbon, and the inner core carbon supports the stability of core-shell hollow structures. This unique structure ensures the accessibility of electrons/ions during electrochemical reactions and contributes to the superior rate performance of HCNFs.

Coupled Ni─Co Dual-Atom Catalyst for Guiding Sulfur and Lithium Evolutions in Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

The kinetically retarded sulfur evolution reactions and notorious lithium dendrites as the major obstacles hamper the practical implementation of lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs). Dual metal atom catalysts as a new model are expected to show higher activity by their rational coupling. Herein, the dual-atom catalyst with coupled Ni─Co atom pairs (Ni/Co-DAC) is designed successfully by programmed approaches.

Integrated Wearable System for Monitoring Skeletal Muscle Force of Lower Extremities.

Continuous monitoring of lower extremity muscles is necessary, as the muscles support many human daily activities, such as maintaining balance, standing, walking, running, and jumping. However, conventional electromyography and physiological cross-sectional area methods inherently encounter obstacles when acquiring precise and real-time data pertaining to human bodies, with a notable lack of consideration for user comfort. Benefitting from the fast development of various fabric-based sensors, this paper addresses these current issues by designing an integrated smart compression stocking system, which includes compression garments, fabric-embedded capacitive pressure sensors, an edge control unit, a user mobile application, and cloud backend.

An enhanced electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction by the photothermal effect and its induced micro-electric field.

Promoting better thermodynamics and kinetics of electrocatalysts is key to achieving an efficient electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Utilizing the photothermal effect and micro-electric field of electrocatalysts is a promising approach to promote the sluggish OER. Herein, to reveal the relationship of the photothermal effect and its induced micro-electric field with OER performance, NiS coupled NiFe(OH) on nickel foam (NiS@NiFe(OH)/NF) is synthesized and subjected to the OER under near-infrared (NIR) light.

The effectiveness of intermittent theta burst stimulation for upper limb motor recovery after stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Background: Intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) is a promising noninvasive therapy to restore the excitability of the cortex, and subsequently improve the function of the upper extremities. Several studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of iTBS in restoring upper limb function and modulating cortical excitability. We aimed to evaluate the effects of iTBS on upper limb motor recovery after stroke.

Efficacy of virtual reality training on motor performance, activity of daily living, and quality of life in patients with Parkinson's disease: an umbrella review comprising meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials.

Objective: There are several meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) demonstrating the benefits of virtual reality (VR) training as an intervention for motor performance, activity of daily living (ADL) and quality of life (QoL) outcomes in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the aggregate evidence collected to date has not been thoroughly evaluated for strength, quality, and reproducibility. An umbrella review from published meta-analyses of RCTs was conducted to evaluate the strength and quality of existing evidence regarding the efficacy of VR training in improving the motor performance, ADL and QoL outcomes of patients with PD.

Regulation of the surface activity of carbon anodes for rationalization of potassium storage.

The gradient temperature was manipulated to construct hollow irregular carbon spheres with regulated intrinsic defects and surface area targeting favorable potassium storage. An enlarged surface area, increased intrinsic defects, and superior conductivity induced more surface-active interfaces. These actions facilitated a high reversible capacity as well as excellent cycling stability.

Nickel hexacyanocobaltate quantum dots embedded in N-doped carbon for aqueous alkaline batteries with ultrahigh durability.

Nickel-cobalt Prussian blue analogues (Ni-Co PBAs) suffer from structural instability in neural and alkaline electrolytes due to the dissolution of metal cations and cyanide anions caused by external HO attack, resulting in capacity degradation and restricted life span. Herein, in this work, Ni-Co PBA quantum dots embedded in N-doped carbon (CC-Ni-Co PBA) were synthesized a facile coprecipitation method and polymerization followed by calcination under a nitrogen atmosphere. The obtained electrode provided a high specific capacity of 333.

A recyclable biomass electrolyte towards green zinc-ion batteries.

The operation of traditional aqueous-electrolyte zinc-ion batteries is adversely affected by the uncontrollable growth of zinc dendrites and the occurrence of side reactions. These problems can be avoided by the development of functional hydrogel electrolytes as replacements for aqueous electrolytes. However, the mechanism by which most hydrogel electrolytes inhibit the growth of zinc dendrites on a zinc anode has not been investigated in detail, and there is a lack of a large-scale recovery method for mainstream hydrogel electrolytes.

Enhanced Oxygen Evolution Reaction Performance on NiS@CoO/Nickel Foam Electrocatalysts with Their Photothermal Property.

Based on the principle of heterogeneous catalysis for water electrolysis, electrocatalysts with appropriate electronic structure and photothermal property are expected to drive the oxygen evolution reaction effectively. Herein, amorphous NiS-coupled nanourchin-like CoO was prepared on nickel foam (NiS@CoO/NF) and investigated as a electrocatalyst for photothermal-assisted oxygen evolution reaction. The experimental investigations and simulant calculations jointly revealed NiS@CoO/NF to be of suitable electronic structure and high near-infrared photothermal conversion capability to achieve the oxygen evolution reaction advantageously both in thermodynamics and in kinetics.

High-intensity laser therapy on pain relief in symptomatic knee osteoarthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Osteoarthritis is one of the leading causes of global disability and pain.

Objective: To investigate whether High-Intensity Laser therapy has superior pain-relieving effects in individuals with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis.

Methods: Searches were conducted using CENTRAL, MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, Web of Science, PEDro, and related reference lists with language limed to English.

Homologous Heterostructured NiS/NiS @C Hollow Ultrathin Microspheres with Interfacial Electron Redistribution for High-Performance Sodium Storage.

Nickel sulfides with high theoretical capacity are considered as promising anode materials for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs); however, their intrinsic poor electric conductivity, large volume change during charging/discharging, and easy sulfur dissolution result in inferior electrochemical performance for sodium storage. Herein, a hierarchical hollow microsphere is assembled from heterostructured NiS/NiS nanoparticles confined by in situ carbon layer (H-NiS/NiS @C) via regulating the sulfidation temperature of the precursor Ni-MOFs. The morphology of ultrathin hollow spherical shells and confinement of in situ carbon layer to active materials provide rich channels for ion/electron transfer and alleviate the effects of volume change and agglomeration of the material.

Molybdenum Atom Engineered Vanadium Disulfide for Boosted High-Capacity Li-Ion Storage.

A drawback with lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) lies in the unstable lithium storage which results in poor electrochemical performance. Therefore, it's of importance to improve the electrochemical functionality and Li-ion transport kinetics of electrode materials for high-performance lithium storage. Here, a subtle atom engineering via injecting molybdenum (Mo) atoms into vanadium disulfide (VS ) to boost high capacity Li-ion storage is reported.

Dual-Functional V C MXene Assembly in Facilitating Sulfur Evolution Kinetics and Li-Ion Sieving toward Practical Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries are considered as one of the most promising candidates to achieve an energy density of 500 Wh kg⁻ . However, the challenges of shuttle effect, sluggish sulfur conversion kinetics, and lithium-dendrite growth severely obstruct their practical implementation. Herein, multiscale V C MXene (VC) with a spherical confinement structure is designed as a high-efficiency bifunctional promotor for the evolution of sulfur and lithium species in Li-S batteries.

Confine, Defect, and Interface Manipulation of Fe Se /3D Graphene Targeting Fast and Stable Potassium-Ion Storage.

The fast electrochemical kinetics behavior and long cycling life have been the goals in developing anode materials for potassium ion batteries (PIBs). On account of high electron conductivity and theoretical capacity, transition metal selenides have been deemed as one of the promising anode materials for PIBs. Herein, a systematic structural manipulation strategy, pertaining to the confine of Fe Se particles by 3D graphene and the dual phosphorus (P) doping to the Fe Se /3DG (DP-Fe Se /3DG), has been proposed to fulfill the efficient potassium-ion (K-ion) evolution kinetics and thus boost the K-ion storage performance.

Effect of electronic structure modulation and layer spacing change of NiAl layered double hydroxide nanoflowers caused by cobalt doping on supercapacitor performance.

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) with high theoretical capacity have broad prospectsin energy storage applications. However, their slow charge transfer kinetics and easy agglomerate hinder their applications in high-performance supercapacitors. Herein, Co-doped nickel aluminum layered double hydroxides (NiAl-LDH-Co-x, x = 0, 0.

The use of immersive virtual reality for cancer-related cognitive impairment assessment and rehabilitation: A clinical feasibility study.

Objective: This brief study aimed to examine the potential effects of virtual reality (VR)-assisted cognitive rehabilitation intervention on the health outcomes of patients with cancer.

Methods: A single group of pre-test and post-test study designs were used. An innovative VR system was developed to assess cancer-related cognitive impairment and provide cognitive rehabilitation.

A review of size engineering-enabled electrocatalysts for Li-S chemistry.

Li-S batteries (LSBs) have received extensive attention owing to their remarkable theoretical capacity (1672 mA h g) and high energy density (2600 W h kg), which are far beyond those of the state-of-the-art Li-ion batteries (LIBs). However, the retarded sulfur reaction kinetics and fatal shuttle effect have hindered the practical implementations of LSBs. In response, constructing electrocatalysts for Li-S systems has been considered an effective strategy to date.