1,721,001 research outputs found
Indices to describe different muscle activation patterns, identified during treadmill walking, in people with spastic drop-foot
No full textThis study was concerned with individuals who were unable to effectively dorsiflex their ankle when walking, as a result of a lesion of the central nervous system (CNS). Indices that categorise and quantify different patterns of calf and anterior tibial muscle activation patterns during treadmill walking have been derived from a sample of fifteen individuals with established hemiplegia following stroke and twelve age-matched individuals without impairment. As subjects walked on a treadmill, force sensitive foot-switches under the heel and first metatarsal head allowed EMG signals from the calf and anterior tibial muscles to be related to phases of the gait cycle. Normal activation periods for each muscle group were identified as percentiles of the gait cycle and indices for muscle activation periods were derived using ratios of integrated EMG during selected periods.Indices were derived that identified statistically significant differences, between normal and hemiplegic subjects, in calf activation during both push-off phase (P<0.001) and early stance phase (P<001), but not activation of tibialis anterior during swing (P=0.325) Observation suggested that integrated tibialis anterior activity during swing phase in hemiplegic subjects was not dissimilar to normal subjects, but the profile in hemiplegic subjects tended to lack the normal second peak of activity at initial foot contact. The reasons for drop-foot were shown to be varied and complex. The indices defined may be useful for directing therapy and measuring outcome
A pilot study to inform sample size calculations for an investigation into the effects of electrical stimulation on recovery of hand sensation and function in stroke patients
No full textBackground and Purpose: Recovery of motor function, rather than associated sensory deficits is the main focus of rehabilitation therapy for the upper limb following stroke in the United Kingdom. Sensory deficits are known to have an adverse effect on functional outcome, although their severity is not necessarily related to degree of functional loss. Studies that have included assessment of sensation have proved inconclusive. A retrospective study of stroke patients with restricted hand function and sensation, referred to the authors for electrical stimulation treatment, showed improvement in sensation in the hemiplegic hand in seven out of eleven patients tested measured using static 2 point discrimination of 24 areas of the hand. It is recognised that this previous study had design and methodological limitations. The purpose of this study is to inform sample-size calculations for a full randomised controlled trial to investigate the effects of electrical stimulation on recovery of hand sensation and function in stroke patients.Methods: 30 subjects, within one year following a first stroke, are randomised into equal treatment and control groups. The treatment group receives electrical stimulation of elbow and wrist extensors and the control group, elbow and wrist extension exercises. Assessments of upper limb function use the Action Research Arm Test and the Jebsen Taylor Hand Function Test. Hand sensation is assessed using Static Two Point Discrimination. Assessments are conducted pre treatment (week 0) mid treatment (week 6) and post treatment (week 12) and 12 weeks post treatment (week 24).Results: 15 subjects (9 female, 6 male) have so far been recruited to the study, (mean age) between 2 months and 1 year after stroke. Of these one has completed the study and six others have completed the treatment period only. Further results will be presented
A randomised controlled pilot study to investigate the effect of Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation on upper limb function and hand sensation following stroke
No full textThe objectives of this study were to compare the effect on
upper limb function of cyclic neuromuscular electrical
stimulation of the elbow, wrist and finger extensors with
passive stretching exercises through a similar range of
movement. Data collected and experience gained will be
used to design a prospective, larger scale randomised
controlled trial (RCT). Twenty-two individuals with
hemiplegia as a result of a stroke during the previous
twelve months were randomly allocated into stimulation
(treatment) and passive stretching (control) groups. In the
treatment group, stimulation was applied to triceps and
wrist and finger extensors. Subjects in the control group
were taught stretching exercises. Primary outcome
measure was the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT).
Sensation was tested using two-point discrimination.
Mean increase in ARAT score between 0 and 12weeks:
treatment group (n=11) 17.5 points, control group (n=11)
4.6 points. Non-parametric tests (Mann Whitney U)
showed a statistically significant difference between the
two groups p=0.002 at 12 weeks. A significant difference
in sensation scores was also identified between the two
groups (P=0.034) at 12 weeks. No significant differences
were identified in any of the outcome measures at 24
week
A pilot study in preparation for an investigation into the effects of electrical stimulation on recovery of hand sensation and function in stroke patients
No full textAn important aim of rehabilitation therapy for the upper limb following stroke is the recovery of motor function. Recovery of sensation is also thought to have an effect on functional recovery.The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of electrical stimulation on motor and sensory recovery in the upper limb and to establish their relative contributions to functional ability. Subjects, within one year following a first stroke, were randomised into treatment and control groups. The treatment group received electrical stimulation of elbow and wrist extensors and the control group, elbow, wrist and finger extension exercises. Upper limb function was assessed using the Action Research Arm Test. In addition the Jebsen Taylor Hand Function Test was performed and hand sensation was assessed using the static Two Point Discrimination Test. Twelve subjects have completed the treatment stage of the study, 6 in the stimulation group and 6 in the control group.This paper presents the results of the Action Research Arm Test for 12 subjects who have completed the treatment phase of the study
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
- …
