Bell’s palsy is the most common cause of acute facial nerve paralysis. In China, Bell’s palsy is frequently treated with acupuncture. However, its efficacy and underlying mechanism are still controversial. In this study, we used functional MRI to investigate the effect of acupuncture on the functional connectivity of the brain in Bell’s palsy patients and healthy individuals. The patients were further grouped according to disease duration and facial motor performance. The results of resting-state functional MRI connectivity show that acupuncture induces significant connectivity changes in the primary somatosensory region of both early and late recovery groups, but no significant changes in either the healthy control group or the recovered group. In the recovery group, the changes also varied with regions and disease duration. Therefore, we propose that the effect of acupuncture stimulation may depend on the functional connectivity status of patients with Bell’s palsy.

No abstract

Thermal-aware task mapping on dynamically reconfigurable network-on-chip based multiprocessor system-on-chip

No abstract

No abstract

Nowadays, urged by the high demand to reduce paper consumption, rewritable paper receives more and more attention. However, it is a great challenge to conveniently fabricate the rewritable paper which has long legible time of information and is easy to use simultaneously. Here, we report a new type of long-lasting rewritable paper based on color-memorizing thermochromic dye and photothermal-converting toner, which is fabricated by a two-step printing process. The rewritable paper demonstrates excellent rewriting performances (legible time > 6 months and reversibility > 100 times). The thermochromic effect is based on a temperature-driven phase change mechanism, accompanied by a lactone ring tautomerism of crystal violet lactone. The color of the rewritable paper rapidly changes from blue to colorlessness when the temperature is higher than 65 °C, and the colorless state can be maintained at room temperature. The color returns to blue when the temperature is lower than −10 °C. By using an electrothermal pen, a thermal printer, and near infrared (NIR) light, characters and images with high resolution can be handwritten, thermal-printed, and photoprinted on the rewritable paper. The written/printed information can be cleaned under lower temperature or can be quickly erased by NIR light. This rewritable paper is easy for large-scale production and will have promising opportunities in practical applications, such as long-lasting information recording and reading, rewritable label, reprintable displays, and so on.

No abstract

No abstract