Correlation between current intensity and effective duration in the treatment of botulinus toxin for cerebral palsy by myoelectricity locating

BACKGROUND： Researches prove that the treatment of cerebral palsy by botulinus toxin （BTX-A） can improve effect and prolong effective duration. Current intensity is the important factor during injection. OBJECTIVE： To observe the changes of motor function and muscular intensity of children with spastic cerebral palsy after injecting BTX-A and analyze correlation between current intensity and effective duration. DESIGN： Cases control trial before and after nerves block SETTING： Capital University of Medical Sciences, China Rehabilitation Research Center PARTICIPANTS： From June 2002 to November 2004, 14 children with spastic cerebral palsy were treated by BTX-A block. All children were hospitalized in the Children Rehabilitation Department of China Rehabilitation Research Center. The children included 9 male and 5 female, and ranged from 4 to 13 years old, and average age was （6±2） years. Muscular tension ranged from grade 1 to grade 3. The diagnosis and the tape of cerebral palsy based on standard of the Fist Nationwide Cerebral Palsy Symposium, and all children were diagnosed with electroencephalogram （EEG）, CT and MRI, and permitted by their guardians. METHODS： （1） Locating and calculation： To locate block points by G6805-2A electro-therapeutic apparatus （Shanghai Huayi Electronic Instrument Plant） at the least stimulating current （continuous wave; impulse frequency; 2.667-83.333 Hz; current intensity： 0-6 mA; voltage： 6 V） to touch off muscles contraction. The current intensity of each point was recorded, and the average current intensity of each patient was calculated at the same time. （2） Dose of BTX-A： Basing upon the spastic degree and weight of patients, the dose was made certain： dose （IU）=（scores of Modified Ashworth Scale ＋2.5） xweight （kg）. The number of the block points was in all 4. The dose of injection ranged from 50 IU to 160 IU with the average of （73.6＋25.8） IU. The BTX-A was made by Lanzhou Institute of Biological Products, and each bottle contains 100 IU BTX-A. Muscular tension was evaluated by Modified Ashworth Scale. The scale ranged from grade 0 to grade 4, and the scores were from 0 to 4. The higher the scores were, the higher the muscular tension was. （3） Effect： Changes of muscular tension were evaluated by modified Ashworth Scale before and after block. Motor function was evaluated by Physician Rating Scale （PRS） before and after treatment. It contained Gait pattern, Hindfoot （ankle） position （stance-floor contact）, Hindfoot position （foot strike）, Knee position （degree of recurvation）, Crouch and Speed of gait. The scores ranged from 0 to 14. The higher the points were, the better the motor function was. （4） Effective duration： The duration was definited by the recovering of the Modified Ashworth Scale. （5） Statistic analysis： Firstly, the current intensity and the effect duration were analyzed by One-Sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test, the current intensity： Z= 0.456, P= 0.985, the effective duration： Z= 0.557, P= 0.915. Both data were normal distribution. Secondly, both data were analyzed by Linear Regression. The efficiency of the BTX-A block was analyzed by paired-samples t test. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES： （1） Changes of motor function of muscular tension; （2） correlation between current intensity and effective duration. RESULTS： Fourteen children with spastic cerebral palsy were all involved in the final analysis. （1） Therapeutic effect： The average score of Ashworth scale after block was lower than that before block [（1.02±0.34） points vs. （2.12±0.48） points, t= 3.644, P〈 0.01]. The average score of RPS after block was higherthan that before block [（9.75±2.78） points vs. （6.16±0.58） points, t =13.222, P〈 0.01]. （2） Relation between the current intensity and the effective duration： The current intensity was （0.1857±0.0506） mA, and the effective duration was （26.36±4.48） weeks. The current intensity was negative correlation with effective duration （r = -0.775, P = 0.01 ）. CONCLUSION： （1） BTX-A occlusion can decrease muscular tension and improve motor function of lower limbs of children with spastic cerebral palsy. （2） The lower the current intensity is, the longer the effective duration is.

A Numerical Study of the Urban Intensity Effect on Fog Evolution in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region

The influence of urban intensity on fog evolution in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region (China) is investigated numerically with the the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model coupled with the urban canopy parameterization-building energy model (UCP- BEM) urban physics scheme. The experiments were designed with a focus on the influence of different urban intensities, which are represented by a different fractional coverage of natural land, buildings, and energy consumption inside buildings in an urban environment. The results of this study indicate that urban areas notably influence fog evolution when natural land is reduced to a small fraction (e.g., less than 10%). Developed land changes fog evolution through urban effects. Higher urban intensity (HUI) generally results in warmer temperatures and lower wind speeds throughout the day, while inhibiting morning specific humidity loss and afternoon specific humidity gain because of the HUI effect on surface heat flux, surface roughness, and surface moisture flux. HUI leads to later and weaker liquid water content formation, with a higher liquid water content base, primarily due to its effect on near surface temperatures. This finding implies that HUI may inhibit the conditions for fog formation. In addition, urban areas with equal natural and developed land coverage seem to greatly enhance the upward surface moisture flux, which is attributed to the combination of a relatively large potential evaporation on developed land and an ample moisture supply from natural land. As a result, the specific humidity increases in the afternoon.

Effect of excitation current intensity on mechanical properties of ZL205A castings solidified under a traveling magnetic field

The effect of excitation current intensity on the mechanical properties of ZL205 A castings solidified under a traveling magnetic field was studied. The results of the experiment indicate that the excitation current intensity of the traveling magnetic field has a great influence on the mechanical properties of the ZL205 A castings. When the excitation current intensity is 15 A, the tensile strength and elongation of ZL205 A alloy castings increase 27.2% and 67.7%, respectively, compared with those of the same alloy solidified under gravity. The improvement of mechanical properties is attributed to the decrease of micro-porosity in the alloy. Under the traveling magnetic field, the feeding pressure in the alloy melt before solidification can be enhanced due to the electromagnetic force. Moreover, the melt flow induced by the traveling magnetic field can decrease the temperature gradient. The feeding resistance will be increased because the temperature gradient decrease. So traveling magnetic field has an optimum effect on feeding.

Analysis of Seismic Risk at an Engineering Site from Site Effect Seismic Intensity Data Using the Seismotectonic Method——Taking Six Reservoir Dam Sites in Western Anhui as an Example

The seismotectonic method is used to study the seismogenic structures and the maximum potential earthquake around an engineering site in order to determine the seismic risk at the site. Analysis of seismic risk from site effect seismic intensity data, in combination with regional seismo_geological data, using the seismotectonic method can provide a more reliable result. In this paper, taking the area of six reservoir dam sites in western Anhui as an example, we analyze the seismic risk from site effect seismic intensity data in combination with the seismotectonic conditions and find that P (I≥i)=10% over 50 years. The result shows that the seismogenic structure and the maximum potential earthquake have a controlling effect on seismic risk from future earthquakes in the area around the site.

The effect of different staining agents on the staining intensity of esterase isozyme zymogram of rice

Almost all previous reports on plant esterase(EST)isoenzyme analysis appeared to have ac-cepted that the relative staining strength(RSS)ofelectrophoretical bands represented the relative ac-tivities and contents of the correspondingisoenzymes.Nevertheless,we found in studyingthat the RSS changed with different staining

Role of grain boundary networks in vortex motion in superconducting films

We study the vortex dynamics of the polycrystalline superconductors in the presence of both random point defects and the generated grain boundary(GB) networks with Voronoi diagram. The synergistic effect of adjacent GBs on restricting the vortex motion in intragranular region is proposed and the corresponding intensity factor of the synergistic effect which characterizes the strength of the synergistic restriction of adjacent grain boundaries is also determined in the present work.The interconnected GBs offer easy-flow channels for vortices in addition to pinning effects on the vortices. The combined channels and the vortex flow patterns in the superconducting film are analyzed in detail from molecular dynamics simulations. Furthermore, it is discovered that the critical current increases with the decrease of magnetic field intensity,temperature, and the average grain size. The large number of vortices results in the enhanced repulsive interaction forcing the vortices to move out from the GBs. The thermal depinning from GBs leads to the lower Lorentz force range. The increase of the grain size causes the number of GBs to decrease. In summary, these effects leads the critical current to become a decreasing function of magnetic field, temperature, and grain size.

Analysis of insidious fault activation and water inrush from the mining floor

Based on the stress field distribution rule of the mining floor under abutment pressure, we have established a simplified mechanical model, which contains multiple factors relating to activation and evolution of insidious water-conductive faults. The influence of normal and shear stresses on fault activation and effective shear stress distribution in the fault plane was acquired under mining conditions.Using fracture mechanics theory to calculate the stress intensity factor of an insidious fault front, we have derived the criterion for main fault activation. Results indicate that during the whole working face advance, transpressions are exerted on fault planes twice successively in opposite directions. In most cases, the second transpression is more likely to lead to fault activation. Activation is influenced by many factors, predominant among which are: burial depth of the insidious fault, friction angle of the fault plane, face advance direction and pore water pressure. Steep fault planes are more easily activated to induce a sustained water inrush in the face.

An Analysis of the Increase of CO2 Emissions in China： Based on an SDA technique

This paper creates an extended import-competitive economy-energy-environmental input/output model and employs a structural decomposition analysis （SDA） approach based on double-layer nested structural formulae to break down China＇s carbon dioxide emissions growth between 1992 and 2007from three perspectives： the overall economy, by-industry and by industrial sectors. Analysis results indicate that the energy intensity effect remains the biggest factor behind carbon emissions reduction. This paper also .found that between 2002 and 2007, China＇s carbon emissions growth obviously accelerated compared to the previous period, which indicates a ＂high carbon＂ tendency in the new round of industrialization. Therefore, in addition to developing a circular economy and clean production, accelerating the phasing out of backward capacities, and developing new energies, China should further encompass the positive role of energy intensity.

Chemical Effect on K Shell X-ray Fluorescence Parameters and Radiative Auger Ratios of Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn Complexes

The production cross-sections, intensity ratios, and radiative Auger intensity ratios of Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn elements in different complexes were measured. The chemical effects on the K shell fluorescence parameters and the radiative Auger intensity ratios of these elements were investigated and the changes in these parameters were interpreted according to the charge transfer process. The samples were excited by 59.5 keV γ-rays from a ^241Am annular radioactive source. K X-rays emitted by samples were counted by an Ultra-LEGe detector with a resolution of 150 eV at 5.9 keV.

Hydrodynamic Effects on Surface Morphology Evolution of Titanium Alloy under Intense Pulsed Ion Beam Irradiation

The hydrodynamic effects of molten surface of titanium alloy on the morphology evolution by intense pulsed ion beam （IPIB） irradiation are studied. It is experimentally revealed that under irradiation of IPIB pulses, the surface morphology of titanium alloy in a spatial scale of μm exhibits an obvious smoothening trend. The mechanism of this phenomenon is explained by the mass transfer caused by the surface tension of molten metal. Hydrodynamic simulation with a combination of the finite element method and the level set method reveals that the change in curvature on the molten surface leads to uneven distribution of surface tension. Mass transfer is caused by the relief of surface tension, and meanwhile a flattening trend in the surface morphology evolution is achieved.

Effects of light intensity on reflective ghost imaging

In this letter, we analyze the effects of light intensity find that the brightness of reflective ghost image can on reflective ghost imaging with thermal source. We be changed by modulating the light intensity of the source and the splitting ratio of the beam splitter. The signal-to-noise ratio will be improved by increa.sing the light intensity of the source. More important, we can obtain the reflective ghost image with high image quality by adopting a low light intensity signal beam and a high light intensity reference beam, which is better than the classical optical imaging, because it can reduce the effects of light on the object.

Minimizing the effects of unmodulated light and uneven intensity profile on the holographic images reconstructed by pixelated spatial light modulators

A simple and effective approach is proposed to minimize the effect of unmodulated light and uneven intensity caused by the pixelated structure of the spatial light modulator in a holographic display. A more uniform image is produced by purposely shifting the holographic images of multiple reconstructed lights with different incident angles from the zero-diffraction-order and overlapping those selected different orders. The simulation and optical experimental results show that the influence of the zero-diffraction-order can be reduced, while keeping the good uniformity of the target images by this new approach.

Origins of black carbon from anthropogenic emissions and open biomass burning transported to Xishuangbanna, Southwest China

Black carbon(BC) has importance regarding aerosol composition, radiative balance, and human exposure. This study adopted a backward-trajectory approach to quantify the origins of BC from anthropogenic emissions(BCAn) and open biomass burning(BCBB) transported to Xishuangbanna in 2017. Haze months, between haze and clean months, and clean months in Xishuangbanna were defined according to daily PM_(2.5)concentrations of >75, 35–75, and<35 μg/m^(3), respectively. Results showed that the transport efficiency density(TED) of BC transported to Xishuangbanna was controlled by the prevailing winds in different seasons.The yearly contributions to the effective emission intensity of BCAnand BCBBtransported to Xishuangbanna were 52% and 48%, respectively. However, when haze occurred in Xishuangbanna, the average BCAnand BCBBcontributions were 23% and 77%, respectively. This suggests that open biomass burning(BB) becomes the dominant source in haze months. Myanmar, India, and Laos were the dominant source regions of BC transported to Xishuangbanna during haze months, accounting for 59%, 18%, and 13% of the total, respectively. Furthermore, India was identified as the most important source regions of BCAntransported to Xishuangbanna in haze months, accounting for 14%. The two countries making the greatest contributions to BCBBtransported to Xishuangbanna were Myanmar and Laos in haze months, accounting for 55% and 13%, respectively. BC emissions from Xishuangbanna had minimal effects on the results of the present study. It is suggested that open BB in Myanmar and Laos, and anthropogenic emissions in India were responsible for poor air quality in Xishuangbanna.

Investigation of straightforward impedance eduction method on single-degree-of-freedom acoustic liners

In order to address the current aircraft noise problem, the knowledge of impedance of acoustic liners subjected to high-intensity sound and grazing flow is of crucial importance to the design of high-efficiency acoustic nacelles. To this end, the present study is twofold. Firstly, the StraightForward impedance eduction Method(SFM) is evaluated by the strategy that the impedance of a liner specimen is firstly experimentally educed on a flow duct using the SFM, and then its accuracy is checked by comparing the numerical prediction with the measured wall sound pressure of the flow duct. Secondly, the effects of grazing flow and high-intensity sound on the impedance behavior of two single-layer liners are investigated based on comparisons between educed impedance and predictions by three impedance models. The performance of the SFM is validated by showing that the educed impedance leads to excellent agreement between the simulation and the measured wall sound pressure for different grazing flow Mach numbers and Sound Pressure Levels(SPLs) and over a frequency range from 3000 Hz down to 500 Hz. The grazing flow effect generally has the tendency that the acoustic resistance exhibits a slight decrease before it increases linearly with an increase in Mach,predicted successfully by the sound-vortex interaction theoretical model and the Kooi semi-empirical impedance model. However, the Goodrich semi-empirical impedance model gives only a simple linear relation of acoustic resistance starting from Mach zero. Additionally, when the SPL increases from 110 to 140 d B in the present investigation, the acoustic resistance exhibits a significant increase at all frequencies in the absence of flow; however, the resistance decreases slightly under a grazing flow of Mach 0.117. It indicates that the SPL effect can be greatly inhibited when flow is present,and the grazing flow effect can be reduced partly as well at a relatively high SPL.

A unifying approach in simulating the shot peening process using a 3D random representative volume finite element model

Using a modified 3D random representative volume（RV）finite element model,the effects of model dimensions（impact region and interval between impact and representative regions）,model shapes（rectangular,square,and circular）,and peening-induced thermal softening on resultant critical quantities（residual stress,Almen intensity,coverage,and arc height）after shot peening are systematically examined.A new quantity,i.e.,the interval between impact and representative regions,is introduced and its optimal value is first determined to eliminate any boundary effect on shot peening results.Then,model dimensions are respectively assessed for all model shapes to reflect the actual shot peening process,based on which shape-independent critical shot peening quantities are obtained.Further,it is found that thermal softening of the target material due to shot peening leads to variances of the surface residual stress and arc height,demonstrating the necessity of considering the thermal effect in a constitutive material model of shot peeing.Our study clarifies some of the finite element modeling aspects and lays the ground for accurate modeling of the SP process.

An executive review of sludge pretreatment by sonication

Ultrasonication（US）, which creates hydro-mechanical shear forces in cavitation, is an advanced technology in sludge pretreatment. However, there are many factors affecting the efficacy of cavitation and ultrasonication disintegration of sludge as a consequence.The objective of this work is to present an extensive review of evaluation approaches of sludge US pretreatment efficiency. Besides, optimization methodologies of related parameters,the differences of optimum values and the similarities of affecting trends on cavitation and sludge pretreatment efficiency were specifically pointed out, including ambient conditions,ultrasonic properties, and sludge characteristics. The research is a prerequisite for optimization of sludge US pretreatment efficiency in lab-scale and practical application. There is not-yet a comprehensive method to evaluate the efficiency of sludge US pretreatment, but some main parameters commonly used for this purpose are degree of sludge disintegration, proteins,particle size reduction, etc. Regarding US parameters, power input PUS, intensity IUS, and frequency FSseem to have significant effects. However, the magnitude of the effect of PUSand probe size in terms of IUShas not been clearly detailed. Investigating very low FSseems interesting but has not yet been taken into consideration. In addition, static pressure effect has been marginally studied only and investigation on the effect of pH prior to US process has been restricted. Their effects therefore should be varied separately and simultaneously with other related parameters, i.e. process conditions, ultrasonic properties, and sludge characteristics, to optimize sludge US pretreatment process.

Optimization of uncertain acoustic metamaterial with Helmholtz resonators based on interval model

In summary,the interval uncertainty is introduced to the acoustic metamaterial with Helmholtz resonators.And then,new descriptions(the conservative approximation,the unsafe approximation and the approximation precision)on uncertainties of physical properties of this interval acoustic metamaterial are defined.Lastly,an optimization model for this interval acoustic metamaterial is proposed.The organization of this paper is listed as follows.The acoustic transmission line method(ATLM)for an acoustic metamaterial with Helmholtz resonators is described in Section 2.In Section3,uncertain analysis of the interval acoustic metamaterial is presented.In Section 4,optimization model of the interval acoustic metamaterial is proposed.The discussion on optimization results is shown in Section 5.In section 6,some conclusions are given.

Effect of two intensive statin regimens on progression of coronary disease

Background Statins reduce adverse cardiovascular outcomes and slow the progression of coronary atherosclerosis in proportion to their ability to reduce low-density lipoprotein （LDL） cholesterol. However, few studies have either assessed the ability of intensive statin treatments to achieve disease regression or compared alternative approaches to maximal statin administration.

Hot-carrier reliability in OPTVLD-LDMOS

An improved structure that eliminates hot-carrier effects（HCE） in optimum variation lateral doping （OPTVLD） LDMOS is proposed.A formula is proposed showing that the surface electric field intensity of the conventional structure is strong enough to make a hot-carrier injected into oxide.However,the proposed structure effectively reduces the maximum surface electric field from 268 to 100 kV/cm and can be realized without changing any process,and thereby reduces HCE significantly.