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Rehabilitation professionals prescribe patients with suitable powered mobility aids (PMAs) based on patient characteristics, e.g., age and mobility. However, there is paucity of literature examining patient characteristics associated with PMA types in Asian contexts. This research aims to study (i) characteristics of Singapore PMA users and (ii) correlations between characteristics and two PMA types – motorised wheelchairs and powered scooters. It is hypothesised that patients' age, mobility status and medical conditions have correlations with PMA types. A cross-sectional, retrospective study design was used to investigate characteristics of patients (age ≥ 21 years) at Tan Tock Seng Hospital Occupational Therapy Seating Clinic between 2017 and 2019. Comparisons of proportions of motorised wheelchair users versus powered scooter users based on characteristics were analysed using Chi-square test. Subsequently, statistically significant patient characteristics were selected for a multiple logistic regression. Among 352 patients, 21% and 79% were prescribed motorised wheelchairs and powered scooters, respectively. Patients aged 61–90 years were twice those aged 21–60 years. Males were double of females. Patients of (i) an older age, (ii) more ambulant, (iii) independent in transfers and (iv) in activities of daily living (ADLs), were more likely powered scooter users. Conversely, patients of (i) a younger age, (ii) less ambulant, (iii) require assistance in transfers and (iv) in ADLs were more likely motorised wheelchair users. Patients' gender and caregiver status showed no statistically significant correlations with PMA types. Rehabilitation professionals could consider patients' age, mobility status, transfer status and ADL status when prescribing PMA for Asian populations. Guide rehabilitation professionals in making clinical decisions on the type of powered mobility aid (PMA) to prescribe based on patients' characteristics. Aid in the development of future guidelines for rehabilitation professionals in prescription of PMAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymer binders in battery electrodes may be either active or passive. This distinction depends on whether the polymer influences charge or mass transport in the electrode. Although it is desirable to understand how to tailor the macromolecular design of a polymer to play a passive or active role, design rules are still lacking, as is a framework to assess the divergence in such behaviors. Here, we reveal the molecular-level underpinnings that distinguish an active polyelectrolyte binder designed for lithium-sulfur batteries from a passive alternative. The binder, a cationic polyelectrolyte, is shown to both facilitate lithium-ion transport through its reconfigurable network of mobile anions and restrict polysulfide diffusion from mesoporous carbon hosts by anion metathesis, which we show is selective for higher oligomers. These attributes allow cells to be operated for >100 cycles with excellent rate capability using cathodes with areal sulfur loadings up to 8.1 mg cm-2.

Here we report a new redox-active perylene bisimide (PBI)-polysulfide (PS) gel that overcomes electronic charge-transport bottlenecks common to lithium-sulfur (Li-S) hybrid redox flow batteries designed for long-duration grid-scale energy storage applications. PBI was identified as a supramolecular redox mediator for soluble lithium polysulfides from a library of 85 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by using a high-throughput computational platform; furthermore, these theoretical predictions were validated electrochemically. Challenging conventional wisdom, we found that π-stacked PBI assemblies were stable even in their reduced state through secondary interactions between PBI nanofibers and Li2Sn, which resulted in a redox-active, flowable 3-D gel network. The influence of supramolecular charge-transporting PBI-PS gel networks on Li-S battery performance was investigated in depth and revealed enhanced sulfur utilization and rate performance (C/4 and C/8) at a sulfur loading of 4 mg cm-2 and energy density of 44 Wh L-1 in the absence of conductive carbon additives.

Background: Substance misuse brings tremendous harm to global health. Strategies for the treatment and prevention of drug addiction are in urgent need. Aim: Trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR1) widely distributed in the central nervous system has been identified as a hopeful target in the management of certain substance abuse. Discovery of food ingredients that act on TAAR1 might help health care providers develop chemoprevention for substance misuse disorders. Methods: Animal experiments clearly demonstrated the capability of TAAR1 agonists in attenuating addictive behavior regarding cocaine, nicotine, methamphetamine, and morphine. Ractopamine, a livestock feed additive used in the United States for over 20 years, has proven to be a full TAAR1 agonist. Literature review and internet web database survey were performed to see if ractopamine residues in meat could affect substance addiction behavior. Results: Integrating all available epidemiologic studies revealed that the prevalence of cocaine, nicotine, methamphetamine, and opioid misuse showed steadily downward or stable trends coincidentally during the same time period of ractopamine use in the United States. Conclusion: A hypothesis is thus raised here that ractopamine residues in meat might have contributed secretly to the smoothened prevalence curves of cocaine, nicotine, methamphetamine, and opioids addiction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new concepts are deduced--those of hoxels and spatial spectrum by vector expression of four-dimensional Fourier transform integrals of the wave function or probability amplitude of any quantized energy probability distribution sampled by photons of this nature. Spatial spectrum collecting and recovering processes through hoxels by camera--projector arrays and holographic functional screens are proposed in detail to recover this three-dimensional holographic nature as a reinvention of holography. A real-time holographic display by simple aggregation of a digital camera-projector array is demonstrated as a rudimentary holographic television by holographic concepts, but without the need for coherent interference, as in conventional holography, or the encoded spatial frequency pattern of digital holography. OCIS codes: 070.2025, 090.2870, 110.2990, 110.6880, 120.2040.