Rehabilitation with brain-computer interface and upper limb motor function in ischemic stroke: A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Upper limb motor dysfunction is a major problem in the rehabilitation of patients with stroke. Brain-computer interface (BCI) is a kind of communication system that converts the "ideas" in the brain into instructions and has been used in stroke rehabilitation. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of BCI in rehabilitation training on upper limb motor function among patients with ischemic stroke. METHODS: This was an investigator-initiated, multicenter, randomized, open-label, blank-controlled clinical trial with blinded outcome assessment conducted at 17 centers in China. Patients were assigned in a 1:1 ratio to the BCI group or the control group based on traditional rehabilitation training. The primary efficacy outcome is the difference in improvement of the Fugl-Meyer Assessment upper extremity (FMA-UE) score between two groups at month 1 after randomization. The safety outcomes were any adverse events within 3 months. FINDINGS: A total of 296 patients with ischemic stroke were enrolled and randomly allocated to the BCI group (n = 150) and the control group (n = 146). The primary efficacy outcomes of FMA-UE score change from baseline to 1 month were 13.17 (95% confidence interval [CI], 11.56-14.79) in the BCI group and 9.83 (95% CI, 8.19-11.47) in the control group (mean difference between groups was 3.35; 95% CI, 1.05-5.65; p = 0.0045). Adverse events occurred in 33 patients (22.00%) in the BCI group and in 31 patients (21.23%) in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: BCI rehabilitation training can further improve upper limb motor function based on traditional rehabilitation training in patients with ischemic stroke. This study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04387474. FUNDING: This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2018YFC1312903), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFC3600600), the Training Fund for Open Projects at Clinical Institutes and Departments of Capital Medical University (CCMU2022ZKYXZ009), the Beijing Natural Science Foundation Haidian original innovation joint fund (L222123), the Fund for Young Talents of Beijing Medical Management Center (QML20230505), and the high-level public health talents (xuekegugan-02-47).

Transparent and Robust Superhydrophobic Structure on Silica Glass Processed with Microstereolithography Printing.

Silica glass devices are widely used due to their exceptional physical and chemical properties. However, prolonged usage may result in abrasion and contamination of silica glass devices, adversely affecting the service life. One of the most effective solutions to this issue is surface modification, in which superhydrophobicity with high transmittance and mechanical robustness is highly desired. Inspired by the concept of protective armor, we proposed a novel approach for the direct integration of robust and transparent superhydrophobic structures on silica glass. In this method, microstereolithography synergistic heat treatment processes are used to create a micrometer-scale biomimetic frame on the surface of silica glass and then filled with in situ deposited nanoparticles. The superhydrophobicity of the surface can be obtained through the nanoparticles, and the biomimetic frame can protect the surface from direct contact with external objects to achieve durability. This process allows the preparation of superhydrophobic silica structures on the silica device surface at temperatures below its melting point, which prevents any damage to the devices during the heat treatment. Moreover, up to 90% transmittance does not affect the performance of silica devices. The composite structure maintains a contact angle of over 150° after multiple abrasion tests, verifying the mechanical robustness. This innovative process paves the way for forming a high mechanical robustness and excellent transmittance protective layer on silica glass devices, which expands the application field.

Random Silica-Glass Microlens Arrays Based on the Molding Technology of Photocurable Nanocomposites.

Random microlens arrays (rMLAs) have been widely applied as a beam-shaping component within an optical system. Silica glass is undoubtedly the best choice for rMLAs because of its wide range of spectra with high transmission and high damage threshold. Yet, machining silica glass with user-defined shapes is still challenging. In this work, novel design and fabrication methods of random silica-glass microlens arrays (rSMLAs) are proposed and a detailed investigation of this technology is presented. Based on the molding technology, the fabricated rSMLAs with tunable divergent angles demonstrate superior physical properties with 1.81 nm roughness, 1074.33 HV hardness, and excellent thermal stability at 1250 °C for 3 h. Meanwhile, their characterized optical performance shows a high transmission of over 90% in the ultraviolet spectrum. The fabricated two types of rSMLAs exhibit excellent effects of beam homogenization with surprising energy utilization (more than 90%) and light spot uniformity (more than 80%). This innovative process paves a new route for fabricating rMLAs on solid silica glass and breaking down the barrier of rMLAs to broader applications.

Microflow multi-layer diffraction optical element processed by hybrid manufacturing technology.

Traditional planar diffractive optical elements (DOEs) are challenged in imaging systems due to diffraction efficiency and chromatic dispersion. In this paper, we have designed a microfluidic diffractive optical element (MFDOE), which is processed by digital micromirror device (DMD) maskless lithography (DMDML) assisted femtosecond laser direct writing (FsLDW). MFDOE is a combination of photoresist-based multi-layer harmonic diffraction surface and liquid, realizing diffraction efficiency of more than 90% in the visible band. And it shows achromatic characteristics in the two bands of 469 nm (±20 nm) and 625 nm (±20 nm). These results show that MFDOE has good imaging performance.

Detecting aerosol backscattering coefficient across the whole troposphere by the sidescattering lidar system with three CCD cameras.

Due to geometric overlap factor, the backscattering lidar is not suitable to detect atmospheric characteristics near the ground. A new sidescattering lidar system consisting of three CCD cameras and one CW laser is developed for the first time to measure the profiles of the backscattering coefficient of atmospheric aerosols across the whole troposphere, which has no detection blind zone near the ground. The aerosol relative phase function was detected by its horizontal CCD channel. The vertical distribution of aerosol backscattering coefficient across the whole troposphere was observed by the other two CCD cameras of vertical channel. The reasons for choosing three CCD cameras and their respective functions are analyzed in detail. Comparative experiments and continuous observations indicate that the new sidescattering lidar system including three CCD cameras is simple in structure and reliable in performance with low cost as well.

Overview of 3D-Printed Silica Glass.

Not satisfied with the current stage of the extensive research on 3D printing technology for polymers and metals, researchers are searching for more innovative 3D printing technologies for glass fabrication in what has become the latest trend of interest. The traditional glass manufacturing process requires complex high-temperature melting and casting processes, which presents a great challenge to the fabrication of arbitrarily complex glass devices. The emergence of 3D printing technology provides a good solution. This paper reviews the recent advances in glass 3D printing, describes the history and development of related technologies, and lists popular applications of 3D printing for glass preparation. This review compares the advantages and disadvantages of various processing methods, summarizes the problems encountered in the process of technology application, and proposes the corresponding solutions to select the most appropriate preparation method in practical applications. The application of additive manufacturing in glass fabrication is in its infancy but has great potential. Based on this view, the methods for glass preparation with 3D printing technology are expected to achieve both high-speed and high-precision fabrication.