No abstract

Objective: Robot-assisted neuro-rehabilitation therapy plays a central role in upper extremity recovery of stroke. Even though, the efficacy of robotic training on upper extremity is not yet well defined and scant attention has been devoted to its potential effect on lower extremity. In this paper, the aim was to compare efficacy on upper and lower extremities between robot-assisted training (RAT) and therapist-mediated enhanced upper extremity therapy (EUET).Methods: A  randomized clinical trial involving 172 stroke survivors was conducted in China. All participants received either RAT or EUET for 3 weeks. The Fugl-Meyer assessment upper extremity subscale (FMA-UE), Fugl-Meyer assessment lower extremity subscale (FMA-LE), and Modified Barthel Index (MBI) were administered at baseline, mid-treatment (one week after treatment start), and posttreatment.  Results: Participants in RAT group showed a significant improvement in hemiplegia extremity, which was non-inferior to EUET group in FMA-UE (p<0.05), while suggesting greater motor recovery of lower extremity in FMA-LE (p<0.05) compared with EUET group. A marked increase in MBI was observed within groups, however, no significant difference was detected between groups.Conclusion: RAT is non-inferior in reducing impairment of upper extremity and appears to be superior in that of lower extremity compared with EUET for stroke survivors.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

A novel failure analysis method named D‐vine copula Bayesian Network is proposed, aimed to extract fault correlation information from various condition monitoring channels of floating offshore wind turbine components, quantify risk probability and consequence, and obtain risk priority of components considering condition correlation. First, a copula Bayesian model is established based on the Bayesian network and D‐vine copula theory. Then, a risk consequence calculation method considering relative loss is developed. Finally, critical failure items are identified by a risk matrix. The proposed technique is expected to: (i) Release the limitation that parent nodes with condition monitoring input are processed as independent in Bayesian analysis. (ii) Provide an alternative way for presenting relationships between nodes instead of conditional probability tables. (iii) Simplify the calculation of high‐dimensional copula. This study screened out high‐risk level components of floating offshore wind turbines, and operation recommendations avoiding potential failure risk are put forward. The comparative results demonstrate the feasibility and reliability of the proposed method.

No abstract

The uplift bearing capacity of anchor plates has been the focus of geotechnical engineering research. In this study, based on the upper-bound limit analysis theory and considering the nonlinear characteristics of geomaterials, the three-dimensional uplift behavior of a shallow horizontal anchor plate was analyzed. Based on the variational principle, virtual power principle, and equilibrium equation, the ultimate pullout forces of rectangular and circular anchor plates were derived, and the dimensionless breakout factor and failure mechanism of the overlying soil were obtained. The ultimate pullout forces were in good agreement with the existing research results, and the principal stresses along the rupture surface agreed well with that obtained by numerical analysis, which could demonstrate the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed method. Moreover, the effects of the nonlinear coefficient, anchor size and aspect, embedment ratio, and surface overload on the breakout factor were investigated. Meanwhile, the shape modification factors of rectangular and circular anchor plates were obtained. The findings of this study can provide a useful reference for anchor plate design.