The focus of gait rehabilitation for walking in real-life settings should vary according to different aspects of gait performance. Investigation of factors related to impairments specific to community ambulation or activity participation may be helpful in determining and targeting appropriate treatment for gait rehabilitation. Objective To investigate the relationship between community ambulation and factors determining gait ability. Methods Forty-six outpatients with a previous stroke participated in a cross-sectional assessment. Community ambulation was assessed using a self-administered questionnaire. Outcome measures included impairments (strength, sensation, muscle tone, and balance) and ambulatory activity limitations (self-paced and maximum 10-m gait speed, 6-minute walking test, and concurrent manual/cognitive dual-task walking speed). Ability to increase speed and the dual-tasks cost were calculated. Multivariate analysis of variance and multiple regression analyses were used to determine differences in walking and identify important factors related to community ambulation. Results Pearson and Spearman analyses revealed that impairments (balance, r = .665; muscle strength, r = 0.653) and ambulatory activity limitation (gait speed, r = 0.684; walking distance, r = 0.654; ability to increase speed, r = 0.413) were significantly positively correlated with community ambulation level. Balance was an important factor in predicting increasing speed (P < 0.001). Muscle strength and tone were positive contributors to gait speed (P = 0.001 for both) and distance (P = 0.019 and P = 0.002, respectively). Cognitive and manual dual tasks showed no significant relationship to other variables. Stepwise multivariate regression analysis showed that important determinants of community ambulation level were strength (P < 0.001) and gait endurance (P = 0.001). Conclusions Muscle strength and walking distance are contributing factors in community ambulation for patients with chronic stroke.

Mixed metal oxide (MMO) is one of the widely utilized ceramic materials in various industries. In order to obtain high performance, the specific surface area of MMO should be controlled. Calcination of layered double hydroxide (LDH) is a versatile way to prepare MMO with homogeneous metal distribution and well-developed porosity. Although researchers found that the specific surface area of LDH-originated MMO was relatively high, it had not been systematically investigated how the surface area is controlled under a certain parameter. In this review, we summarized LDH-originated MMO with various starting composition, calcination temperature, and pore developing agent in terms of specific surface area and porosity. Briefly, it was represented that MMOs with Mg-Al components generally had higher specific surface area than Mg-Fe or Zn-Al components. Calcination temperature in the range 300–600 °C resulted in the high specific surface area, while upper or lower temperature reduced the values. Pore developing agent did not result in dramatic increase in MMO; however, the pore size distribution became narrower in the presence of pore developing agents.

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