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Background: Sensory motor impairment, the most common neuromuscular condition in stroke patients, often contributes to muscle weakness and imbalance. Objective: The purpose of this research was to investigate the effects of cognitive sensory-motor training (CSMT) on the muscle strength and balance ability in post-stroke patients. Methods: Thirty-five participants after stroke were randomly assigned to the CSMT (n = 17) or control group (n = 18). All participants received 30 min of training each time, five times per week, for six weeks. Lower extremity muscle strength of tibialis anterior (LEMTA) was evaluated using a digital muscular dynamometer. The Medical Research Council (MRC) scale was used to evaluate muscle strengths of the hip joint, knee joint, and ankle joint. For balance ability test, the center of pressure (COP) movement distance and limited of stability (LOS) were measured using Bio Rescue. Results: LEMTA, MRC scale, balance ability were significantly more improved in the CSMT group than in the control group (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Our findings indicate that CSMT is beneficial and effective for improving muscle strength of the lower extremity and balance ability of post-stroke patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study attempts to investigate the impact that the sensory integration training has on the recovery of balance among patients with stroke by examining the muscle activity and limit of stability (LOS). A total of 28 subjects participated. The subjects were randomly allocated by the computer program to one of two groups: control (CON) group (n=15), sensory integration training (SIT) group (n=13). The research subjects received intervention five days a week for a total of four weeks. The CON group additionally received 30-minute general balance training, while the SIT group additionally received 30-minute sensory integration training. In the muscle activity, the improvement of Erector spinae (ES) and Gluteus medius (GM) was more significant in the SIT group than in the CON group. In the LOS, the improvement of affected side and forward side was significantly higher in the SIT group compared to the CON group. Sensory integration training can improve balance ability of patients with stroke by increasing muscle activity of stance limb muscles such as GM and trunk extensor such as ES along with enhancement of the limit of stability [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study which proposed an approach for white color balancing of plasma display panel television (PDP-TV). Causes of the problems related to white color balancing in a PDP-TV; Principle behind the approach; Measurement of the decay and saturation characteristics of the colored phosphor layers; Experimental results.

Light touch is the combination of cutaneous and kinesthetic inputs. The literature suggests that light touch compensates for a reduced amount of center of pressure information in older peoples, blind subjects and patients with neurological disorder. This study investigated the effects of light touch applied to an external bar, on the postural sway in individuals with hemiparetic stroke. We used a cross sectional study, fifteen individuals with stroke and 15 healthy age-matched adults stood as still as possible on a force plate. Experimental trials (duration, 30 s) included two visual conditions (open eyes and closed eyes), two somatosensory conditions (no touch and light touch) and two support surface conditions (firm and foam surfaces). The area of center of pressure (COP) and the mean velocity of COP in the medio-lateral and anterior-posterior directions were assessed. For both groups, COP velocity and area decreased with light touch regardless of the visual or surface conditions. The effects of light touch were similar in both groups. In addition, results show that the effectiveness of light touch in reducing postural sway was greater on a foam surface than on a firm surface. Our findings indicate that light touch could be beneficial in postural control for individuals with hemiparetic stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The iterant strong sustain discharge that occurs during a sustain period over a few minutes causes image sticking, which means a ghost image remains in the subsequent image when the previous image was continuously displayed over a few minutes. Accordingly, this paper investigates whether the dominant factor in image sticking is the MgO surface or phosphor layer by testing the effects of image sticking in subsequent dark and bright images using a 42-in plasma display panel. When the subsequent image was dark, the image sticking was found to produce a brighter ghost image than the background. Thus, since the luminance of a dark image is produced by the weak discharge that occurs during the reset-period, the higher luminance of the ghost image was mainly due to the activation of the MgO surface. Conversely, when the subsequent image was bright, the image sticking was found to produce a darker ghost image than the background. Thus, since the luminance of a bright image is predominantly produced by the strong discharge that occurs during the sustain period, the lower luminance of the ghost image was mainly due to the deterioration of the phosphor layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Performances of microplasmas in unit discharge cells with grooved structures in the dielectric layer covering the coplanar electrodes were investigated in alternating current (ac)-type plasma display panels filled with Ne-Xe(10%) mixture at 450 torr. The diagnostics are based on a microscopic laser-absorption spectroscopy technique for the spatiotemporally resolved measurements of absolute densities of Xe*(1s5,1s4) atoms, from which the production rate and the efficiency of the vacuum ultraviolet photons were estimated. These results were compared with previously reported data obtained in conventional phosphor coated panels with the same structures for the dependences on the applied sustain voltages. As the result, the following conclusions were ascertained. The grooved structure does not help to improve the luminous efficiency but it helps to lower the firing and sustaining voltages by about 20 V if the electrode gap is kept constant. Therefore, it provides additional possibilities for the selection of other operating conditions such as the gas composition and pressure for the improvements of the luminance and the luminous efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper proposes a highly efficient cross-shaped cell structure to improve the luminous efficiency of an alternate current plasma display panel (ac-PDP). The microdischarge characteristics of the proposed structure are examined in an all-green 6-in test panel with various pressures and Xe-concentrations. Since the proposed cross-shaped cell structure has a longer Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) path between the two sustain electrodes and wider sidewall phosphor area, the following microdischarge characteristics were observed when compared with the conventional stripe-type cell structure. First, the sustain voltage margin was lower by about 15 V under a high Xe-concentration of 10%. Second, the rate of increase in the luminous efficiency was higher with a high pressure and high Xe-concentration. Finally, when adopting an auxiliary address pulse driving scheme, the luminous efficiency was improved by about 44% (238 lm/W) with a high Xe-concentration of 10%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]