Stacking engineering induced Z-scheme MoSSe/WSSe heterostructure for photocatalytic water splitting.

Stacking engineering is a popular method to tune the performance of two-dimensional materials for advanced applications. In this work, Jansu MoSSe and WSSe monolayers are constructed as a van der Waals (vdWs) heterostructure by different stacking configurations. Using first-principle calculations, all the relaxed stacking configurations of the MoSSe/WSSe heterostructure present semiconductor properties while the direct type-II band structure can be obtained. Importantly, the Z-scheme charge transfer mode also can be addressed by band alignment, which shows the MoSSe/WSSe heterostructure is an efficient potential photocatalyst for water splitting. In addition, the built-in electric field of the MoSSe/WSSe vdWs heterostructure can be enhanced by the S-Se interface due to further asymmetric structures, which also results in considerable charge transfer comparing with the MoSSe/WSSe vdWs heterostructure built by the S-S interface. Furthermore, the excellent optical performances of the MoSSe/WSSe heterostructure with different stacking configurations are obtained. Our results provide a theoretical guidance for the design and control of the two-dimensional heterostructure as photocatalysts through structural stacking.

Psychometric Evaluation of the Narrow Corridor Walk Test (NCWT) on Advanced Walking Balance in People with Stroke.

Objectives: To investigate (i) the interrater and test-retest reliabilities of completion time and number of steps in the Narrow Corridor Walking Test (NCWT); (ii) the minimal detectable changes (MDCs) in NCWT results; (iii) the correlations between NCWT results and stroke-specific outcome measures; and (iv) the optimal cut-off values of NCWT results for discriminating the difference in advanced balance ability between people with stroke and healthy older adults. Design: Cross-sectional. Subjects: Thirty people with stroke and 30 healthy older adults. Methods: People with stroke completed the NCWT on two separate days with a 7- to 10-day interval. The Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA), ankle dorsiflexor and plantarflexor muscle strength, Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, and the Chinese version of the Community Integration Measure (CIM) were used to assess. The healthy older adults completed the NCWT once. Results: The NCWT completion time and NCWT steps showed excellent interrater reliability and test-retest reliability and significant correlations with FMA, affected ankle dorsiflexor muscle strength, BBS score, and TUG completion time. A cut-off value of 7.40 s for NCWT completion time and 13.33 for the NCWT steps distinguished people with stroke from healthy older adults. The MDCs of the NCWT completion time and NCWT steps were 6.87 s and 5.50, respectively. Conclusion: The NCWT is a reliable clinical measurement tool for the assessment of advanced balance ability in people with stroke.

Impaired Hand Function and Its Association With Self-Perceived Hand Functional Ability and Quality of Life in Parkinson Disease.

OBJECTIVE: Comprehensive hand function in people with Parkinson disease (PD) has been underevaluated. The objectives were to compare self-perceived and objective hand functions of PD and controls, compare outcomes between more and less affected hand subgroups, and evaluate relationship between self-perceived and objective outcomes in subgroups. DESIGN: A total of 165 PD and 82 healthy participants completed the Jebsen-Taylor Hand Function Test, Purdue Pegboard Test, grip strength test, and Manual Ability Measure-16 in a cross-sectional study. PD participants completed the Parkinson Disease Questionnaire-39. Associations between objective and self-perceived/quality of life outcomes in PD groups were analyzed, and nondominant and dominant more affected subgroups performance was compared. RESULTS: PD participants had significantly worse performance in most Jebsen-Taylor Hand Function Test and all Purdue Pegboard Test items, lower Manual Ability Measure-16 scores, and poorer handgrip strength. Weak associations were found between dexterity, but not grip strength, and self-perceived functional hand ability and Parkinson Disease Questionnaire-39 scores in PD subgroups. For nondominant more affected subgroup, poorer dexterity was associated with better Parkinson Disease Questionnaire-39 Activity of Daily Living domain scores. CONCLUSION: People with mild to moderate PD were shown to have poorer manual dexterity, reduced grip strength, and lower self-perceived functional hand ability than controls. Associations between dexterity and self-perceived outcomes highlight the importance of unimanual and bimanual training.

Mapping of Back Muscle Stiffness along Spine during Standing and Lying in Young Adults: A Pilot Study on Spinal Stiffness Quantification with Ultrasound Imaging.

Muscle stiffness in the spinal region is essential for maintaining spinal function, and might be related to multiple spinal musculoskeletal disorders. However, information on the distribution of muscle stiffness along the spine in different postures in large subject samples has been lacking, which merits further investigation. This study introduced a new protocol of measuring bilateral back muscle stiffness along the thoracic and lumbar spine (at T3, T7, T11, L1 & L4 levels) with both ultrasound shear-wave elastography (SWE) and tissue ultrasound palpation system (TUPS) in the lying and standing postures of 64 healthy adults. Good inter-/intra-reliability existed in the SWE and TUPS back muscle stiffness measurements (ICC ≥ 0.731, p < 0.05). Back muscle stiffness at the L4 level was found to be the largest in the thoracic and lumbar regions (p < 0.05). The back muscle stiffness of males was significantly larger than that of females in both lying and standing postures (p < 0.03). SWE stiffness was found to be significantly larger in standing posture than lying among subjects (p < 0.001). It is reliable to apply SWE and TUPS to measure back muscle stiffness. The reported data on healthy young adults in this study may also serve as normative reference data for future studies on patients with scoliosis, low back pain, etc.