Symmetrical Contralaterally Controlled Functional Electrical Stimulation Enhanced Cortical Activity and Synchronization of Stroke Survivors.

Contralaterally controlled functional electrical stimulation (CCFES) is a rehabilitation method whose efficacy has been proved in several randomized controlled trials. Symmetrical CCFES (S-CCFES) and asymmetrical CCFES (A-CCFES) are two basic strategies of CCFES. The cortical response can reflect the instant efficacy of CCFES. However, it is still unclear of the difference on cortical responses of these different strategies. Therefore, the aim of the study is to determine what cortical response CCFES may engage. Thirteen stroke survivors were recruited to complete three training sessions with S-CCFES, A-CCFES and unilateral functional electrical stimulation (U-FES), in which the affected arm was stimulated. The electroencephalogram (EEG) signals were recorded during the experiment. The event-related desynchronization (ERD) value of stimulation-induced EEG and phase synchronization index (PSI) for resting EEG were calculated and compared in different tasks. We found that S-CCFES induced significantly stronger ERD at affected MAI(motor area of interest) in alpha-rhythm (8-15Hz), which indicated stronger cortical activity. Meanwhile, S-CCFES also increased intensity of cortical synchronization within the affected hemisphere and between hemispheres, and the significantly increased PSI occurred in a wider area after S-CCFES. Our results suggested that S-CCFES could enhance cortical activity during stimulation and cortical synchronization after stimulation in stroke survivors. S-CCFES seems to have better prospects for stroke recovery.

Effect of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on the Mismatch Negativity Features of Deviated Stimuli in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a devastating mental disorder in children. Currently, there is no effective treatment for ASD. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), which is a non-invasive brain stimulation neuromodulation technology, is a promising method for the treatment of ASD. However, the manner in which tDCS changes the electrophysiological process in the brain is still unclear. In this study, we used tDCS to stimulate the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex area of children with ASD (one group received anode tDCS, and the other received sham tDCS) and investigated the changes in evoked EEG signals and behavioral abilities before and after anode and sham stimulations. In addition to tDCS, all patients received conventional rehabilitation treatment. Results show that although conventional treatment can effectively improve the behavioral ability of children with ASD, the use of anode tDCS with conventional rehabilitation can boost this improvement, thus leading to increased treatment efficacy. By analyzing the electroencephalography pre- and post-treatment, we noticed a decrease in the mismatch negativity (MMN) latency and an increase in the MMN amplitude in both groups, these features are considered similar to MMN features from healthy children. However, no statistical difference between the two groups was observed after 4 weeks of treatment. In addition, the MMN features correlate well with the aberrant behavior checklist (ABC) scale, particularly the amplitude of MMN, thus suggesting the feasibility of using MMN features to assess the behavioral ability of children with ASD.

Facile preparation of polyoxometalate nanoparticles via a solid-state chemical reaction for aerobic oxidative desulfurization catalysis.

Polyoxometalate nanoparticles were synthesized via a concise solid-state reaction method by directly grinding silver nitrate and the polyoxometalate (NH4)5H6PMo4V8O40 at room temperature without the assistance of a surfactant. The as-prepared Ag6(NH4)5PMo4V8O40 (AgPMo4V8) comprised uniform nanoparticles of 50 nm size, which provided significant catalytic oxidative desulfurization (CODS) performance using O2, N2 + O2 or air as an oxidant. The high efficiency of 100% removal was obtained using AgPMo4V8 nanoparticles as a catalyst in treating model refractory sulfurs. The coexistence of Ag+ and PMo4V8O4011- was the main contribution for this CODS procedure, and the Ag+ species was employed as the electron transfer mediator (ETM) and the PMo4V8O4011- anion was used as the electron donor. The internal electron transfer between Ag+/Ag0 and V5+/V4+ allowed AgPMo4V8 to mimic oxygenase to release the activation energy of oxygen. AgPMo4V8 nanoparticles also exhibited potential for practical catalytic application in the CODS of diesel and gasoline to produce ultra-clean oils with a S content lower than 10 ppm under mild reaction conditions using a mixture of N2 and O2, thus favoring industrial application.

Postural control in preparation to a step during support surface perturbation.

We investigated changes in the anticipatory activity of the leg and trunk muscles in preparation for a step during support surface perturbation. Eight healthy subjects performed stepping tasks under three conditions: normal, forward perturbation, and backward perturbation. R and C indices were calculated for the reciprocal and co-activation patterns of muscle pairs within the time intervals typical of anticipatory postural adjustments. When the support surface perturbation occurred, anticipatory muscle activations were predominantly in the C indices in the leg muscles. Significant differences in the maximum displacement of the centre of pressure were seen between conditions (FS vs NS; BS vs FS). The results suggest that activation of the leg muscles rather than the trunk muscles was modified to ensure equilibrium for taking a step in response to support surface perturbation.