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Objectives: This study aims to investigate the impact of impaired upper limb motor function on trunk control and mobility in chronic post-stroke survivors so that the upper limb function should be enhanced as a core component of rehabilitation. Methods: This analytical cross-sectional study was conducted from March 2021 to August 2021 at the Rehabilitation Center for the Physically Disabled in Peshawar, Pakistan. A total of 166 chronic stroke patients in the age range of 35 to 70 years and greater than 6 months post-stroke were included. To assess the impaired upper extremity, the Fugl-Meyer assessment upper extremity scale was used, and the trunk control and mobility were checked through functional reach test and timed up and go test, respectively. Results: Among 166 stroke survivors having upper extremity impairment, 109(65.7%) participants’ upper extremity was severely affected. Mobility levels measured through the timed up and go test were categorized and scored; accordingly, the participants showed a low risk of 22(13.3%), moderate 32(19.3%), high 72(43.4%), and very high risk of falls of 40(24%). Among 166 patients, 147(88.6%) had no trunk control which resulted in 8 times greater fall risk in 65(39.2%) participants. Thus, upper limb impairment is significantly associated with impaired trunk control and mobility (P=0.001). Discussion: This study found about one-third of stroke survivors have a risk of falling, two-thirds have upper extremity impairment, and two-thirds have no trunk control. This study showed a significant reduction in mobility level, balance, and posture balance in stroke survivors having upper extremity impairment. These findings suggest that stroke survivors with upper extremity impairment may use therapeutic intervention to minimize falls and enhance postural balance and trunk control.

BackgroundBalance and gait impairments are major motor deficits in stroke patients that require intensive neuro-rehabilitation. Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation is a neuro-modulatory technique recently used in stroke patients for balance and gait improvement. Majority of studies focusing on tDCS have assessed its effects on cerebral motor cortex and more recently cerebellum as well but to our best knowledge the comparison of stimulating these two regions in stroke patients is not investigated so far.ObjectiveThe current study aimed to compare the effect of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation on cerebellar and cerebral motor cortex M1 in stroke patients.Materials and methodsThis double-blinded, parallel, randomized, sham controlled trial included 66 patients with a first-ever ischemic stroke were recruited into three groups; Cerebellar stimulation group (CbSG), M1 Stimulation Group (MSG), and Sham stimulation group (SSG). A total of three sessions of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation were given on consecutive days in addition to non-immersive virtual reality using Xbox 360 with kinect. Anodal tDCS with an intensity of 2 mA was applied for a duration of 20 min. Primary outcome measures berg balance scale (BBS), timed up and go test (TUG), BESTest Balance Evaluation–Systems Test (BESTest) and secondary outcomes measures montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA), mini mental state examination (MMSE), Johns Hopkins Fall Risk Assessment Tool (JHFRAT), twenty five feet walk test (25FWT), six minute walk test (6MWT), and tDCS Adverse Effects was assessed before initiation of treatment (T0) and at the end of third session of stimulation (T1).ResultsThe results of between group’s analysis using mean difference showed a significant difference with p-value 0.05 but MMSE was improved having significant p-value (p = 0.013). However, 6MWT and 25FWT showed non-significant results for both between group and within group analysis. In pairwise comparison both the cerebellar and cerebral stimulation groups showed Significant difference with p-value

The existing problem of photovoltaics (PV) seeks new efficient materials that can feed to the next level solar power generation under access universally. This study proposed the magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) of barium mono ferrite BaFe2O4 with transition metal Zn, nominated for its electrical properties to explore incorporation's effect on structural, physicochemical, and magnetic properties to develop the dynamics of charge carriers, stability, and possibly tackling the need of new competent materials for PV technology. ZnO nanoparticles are widely used in solar cells with wide band gap (3.1 eV to 3.37 eV), an optimized value as low as 1.35 eV was successfully achieved in the present work. BaFe2O4 NPs exposing orthorhombic system for photovoltaic application was surveyed for the first time to the best of our knowledge. The nanoparticles of Ba1−xZnxFe2O4 (x = 0.0, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5) scheme have been prepared by the sol–gel auto-combustion method. An inclusive structural examination has been executed for prepared samples by X-ray diffraction and RAMAN study. The rarely found orthorhombic crystal system with Pnma-62 was identified and a 3D visualization was drawn for the first time for BaFe2O4. The magnetic, dielectric, photovoltaic (PV), and optical properties using Vibrating sample magnetometer, Impedance Analyzer, Fluorescence spectrophotometer, and UV Visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy correspondingly were also explored. The effectively aimed composition (Ba0.8Zn0.2Fe2O4, Ba0.7Zn0.3Fe2O4, and Ba0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4) revealing spherical NPs and the chemical bonds were verified by Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectrometer individually. Znx = 0.3 sample showed maximum magnetization of 15.3 emu/g with responsive polarization. The similar sample's photocurrent increased when it was illuminated, as per photovoltaic data of current–voltage curves measured by Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The energy band gaps for pristine sample decreased from 1.51 to 1.35 eV for Znx = 0.3, which was closer to a theoretical optimum band gap value of about 1.4 eV for PV cells. The photoluminescence emission also lied in the visible range 607 nm. A concept for the use of magnetic NPs in PV devices was offered by valuable optical, magnetic, and photovoltaic capabilities cooperating well in the improvement of the outcome and expresses the importance of barium mono ferrite nanoparticles for aimed application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work is aimed at studying the drug delivery applications of iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles with strontium (Sr) doping with varying molar ratios prepared by the co-precipitation route. The impact of increased strontium content on the particle size and magnetic properties was investigated. The impending of these nanoparticles for drug loading, drug release, and their respective cytotoxicity was also inspected. First, iron oxide nanoparticles were doped with various amounts of strontium, from 0.25, 0.50, and 0.75, to 1 mol using co-precipitation method. These synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by XRD, SEM, EDX, VSM, and FTIR for evaluating crystal structure, phase purity, morphology, composition, magnetic properties, and functional groups, respectively. Drug loading and drug release properties were determined using UV–vis spectroscopy, whereas MTT assay evaluated cytotoxicity. Colloidal stability was assessed using zeta potential in PBS solution. The findings confirmed the successful doping of iron oxide with strontium via XRD and EDX. SEM results confirmed spherical morphology for all and needle-like structure for 1 mol strontium doped sample. For VSM results, a single domain structure was established. It was also observed that the drug encapsulation efficiency increases with increased strontium content. Cytotoxicity results by MTT assay revealed increased cytotoxicity with increasing nanoparticle concentration, and ibuprofen-loaded nanoparticles showed higher cytotoxicity than un-loaded nanoparticles at the same concentration. Zeta potential results showed colloidal stability of iron oxide nanoparticles increased by the addition of strontium. This study provided predominantly comparison of the cytotoxicity of ibuprofen-loaded and non-loaded nanoparticles on Hep-2 cancer cells at similar concentrations for the first time for both Fe3O4 particles and Sr-doped Fe3O4 nanoparticles and enclosed the impact of increasing Sr doping content on Fe3O4 nanoparticles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Barium mono-ferrite (BaFe2O4) and barium hexa-ferrite (BaFe12O19) nanoparticles were produced by the sol–gel auto-combustion method. The prepared nanoparticles were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy (RAMAN), and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for structural, functional, and vibrational bonding, and morphological study, respectively. The optical, dielectric, and magnetic characteristics were explored by UV–visible spectroscopy, Fluorescence spectrophotometer, Impedance analyzer, and Vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The ferroelectric nature of magnetic nanoparticles was confirmed by the Multi-ferroic system. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy monitored electrical properties by current–voltage (I–V) curves. The structure of BaFe2O4 was orthorhombic having space group Pnma 3 while BaFe12O19 was identified as hexagonal with space group P63/mmc (194). FTIR and Raman spectrum identified chemical structural bonds. SEM micrographs revealed the distinct size of nanoparticles. Saturation magnetization (Ms) for BaFe12O19 was 25.88 emu/g with a coercivity (Hc) value of 9668.05 and greater than BaFe2O4 with 1.4 emu/g and 2038. Di-electric properties of BaFe12O19 were higher than BaFe2O4 and not considered encouraging for photovoltaic applications. BaFe2O4 indicated balanced absorbance (1.03%) in the UV–visible region with 1.51 eV direct band gap that justified the main characteristics of a PV material. BaFe12O19 possessed high absorbance (37%) in the UV region with an indirect band gap of 1.24 eV that not believed as a viable choice for PV functioning. The fluorescence emission spectrum resulted higher concentration of 106 for BaFe12O19 while 51.3 for BaFe2O4 in the visible region. The highly concentrated materials could damage PV module by triggering hot spot. The I–V curves unveiled BaFe2O4 more respondents to dark and photo-current while BaFe12O19 possessed a negligible response. Above-stated results established that BaFe2O4 is comparatively a novel nano-ferrite that comprises more supportive properties for photovoltaic applications than BaFe12O19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]