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In recent years, innovative technologies have gained prominence in stroke patient rehabilitation worldwide, with virtual reality-based mirror therapy (VRBMT) emerging as a notable example. Hence, the present study aims to determine the efficacy of VRBMT on upper extremity motor function, manual performance, and gross manual dexterity among stroke patients. The systematic search utilized Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, and Design (PICOD) paradigm, and the study searched was based on 2012-2023, utilizing different databases. The meta-analysis data was evaluated using MedCalc version 18.11.3. The Pooled effect size mean was statistically examined using a fixed and random effect model. Among the 6 studies selected, 4 studies involving upper-limb stroke patients were identified between the VRBMT. Pooled analysis of VRBMT revealed no significant effect on motor function [standardized mean difference (SMD) 0.815; 95% CI 0.00 to 81.37; P = 0.5562]. The remaining 2 of 6 studies participated in the study of the manual performance stroke patients (SMD 0.869; 95% CI 0.00 to 93.22; P = 0.0684). The pooled analysis of VRBMT revealed no significant effect. The last 2 of 6 included studies on gross manual dexterity in stroke. The pooled analysis also showed no significant effects on VRBMT (SMD 0.198; 95% CI 0.00 to 0.00; P = 0.6951). The present study concluded although VRBMT exhibits potential as a novel method for stroke rehabilitation, its effects on gross manual dexterity, manual performance, and upper extremity motor function are not statistically significant may be due to a limited number of studies on VRBMT in stroke patients.

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BACKGROUND: Patients' compliance and receptivity to nonimmersive virtual reality (NIVR) can enhance their long-term exercise therapy compliance for neurological illnesses. Patients with Parkinson disease (PD) have age-standardized rates of disability, death, and prevalence that are rising the fastest; several researches have revealed that there is no known cure for PD at this time. Thus, the current study investigates how NIVR affects patients with PD using Wii-Fit exercises. Therefore, the present study investigates the effects of NIVR using Wii-Fit exercises among patients with PD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The population, intervention, comparison, outcome approach was used to select the research studies. Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online, PubMed, Physiotherapy Evidence Database, and ProQuest were checked for citations from 2012 to 2022. RevMan was used to analyze data. A fixed and random effects model was used to analyze the pooled effect size in terms of mean and standard deviation. The heterogeneity was calculated using the I2 statistic. Cochrane examined for bias in randomized controlled trials. RESULTS: This review comprised 12 trials in total. Using the Berg Balance Scale, the pooled analysis showed statistically significant effects on the NIVR group (pooled standardized mean difference = 0.61 [95% confidence interval, 0.28-0.95]; I2 = 53%; P = .0003). The pooled effects of cognition showed nonsignificant effects of NIVR (pooled standardized mean difference = 0.15 [95% confidence interval, -0.21 to 0.51]; I2 = 0%; P = .41). CONCLUSIONS: The review suggests that NIVR is effective for balance rehabilitation but ineffective for cognitive improvement in patients with PD aged >18 to 85 years.

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This study was conducted to investigate the efficacy of smoke-water obtained from biotics, for example coconut shells, rice husk, and pine cones on banana ripening, and compared with calcium carbide. Bio-chemical composition and remarkable bactericidal effect towards ATCC cultures of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus cereus discovered the biological safety of the smoke-water in all collected smoke-water samples. Further, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was carried out to investigate heavy metals; however, no traces were found in all collected samples. Consequently, it is proposed that heavy metal-free smoke-water obtained from various biotics series might be employed as ultrasafe fruit ripening as compared to calcium carbide (CaC2) that was found with heavy metal traces.

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Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurological illness after Alzheimer's disease. According to research, medication alone can give palliative alleviation; however, freezing of gait (FOG) and balance can be treated with physical therapy. This meta-analysis aims to bridge gaps about exercise-based therapy's impact on balance and FOG in patients with PD. Google Scholar, CINHAL, Medline, PubMed, and PEDro were searched for 2016-2021 citations using the PIOD paradigm. Pooled effect size mean and SD were analysed using a fixed and random effects model. A total of 21 trials were included in this review, with SMD=0.60 and p=0.0007 utilising BBS. The pooled analysis revealed statistically significant impacts on exercise-based management in the experimental group. With SMD=0.87 and p<0.00001 using Mini-BESTest, the pooled analysis revealed that exercise-based management was also effective on balance in the experimental group. The fixed effect model of FOG in terms of SMD was used to draw the pooled effects of FOG in terms of SMD and FOG in terms of SMD (0.21; 95 percent CI -0.01 to 0.44; p=0.06). According to this research, several physiotherapy approaches such as exergaming, gamepad systems, virtual reality, gait exercises, and core training, help Parkinson's patients regain balance and FOG. Key Words: Parkinson's disease, Physical therapy techniques, Neurological rehabilitation, Balance, Freezing of gait, Motor symptoms.

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Alcalase was scarcely immobilized on monoaminoethyl-N-aminoethyl (MANAE)-agarose beads at different pH values (<20% at pH 7). The enzyme did not immobilize on MANAE-agarose activated with glutaraldehyde at high ionic strength, suggesting a low reactivity of the enzyme with the support functionalized in this manner. However, the immobilization is relatively rapid when using low ionic strength and glutaraldehyde activated support. Using these conditions, the enzyme was immobilized at pH 5, 7, and 9, and in all cases, the activity vs. Boc-Ala-ONp decreased to around 50%. However, the activity vs. casein greatly depends on the immobilization pH, while at pH 5 it is also 50%, at pH 7 it is around 200%, and at pH 9 it is around 140%. All immobilized enzymes were significantly stabilized compared to the free enzyme when inactivated at pH 5, 7, or 9. The highest stability was always observed when the enzyme was immobilized at pH 9, and the worst stability occurred when the enzyme was immobilized at pH 5, in agreement with the reactivity of the amino groups of the enzyme. Stabilization was lower for the three preparations when the inactivation was performed at pH 5. Thus, this is a practical example on how the cooperative effect of ion exchange and covalent immobilization may be used to immobilize an enzyme when only one independent cause of immobilization is unable to immobilize the enzyme, while adjusting the immobilization pH leads to very different properties of the final immobilized enzyme preparation. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 35: e2768, 2019.

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Alcalase was immobilized on glyoxyl 4% CL agarose beads. This permitted to have Alcalase preparations with 50% activity retention versus Boc-l-alanine 4-nitrophenyl ester. However, the recovered activity versus casein was under 20% at 50 °C, as it may be expected from the most likely area of the protein involved in the immobilization. The situation was different at 60 °C, where the activities of immobilized and free enzyme became similar. The chemical amination of the immobilized enzyme or the treatment of the enzyme with glutaraldehyde did not produce any significant stabilization (a factor of 2) with high costs in terms of activity. However, the modification with glutaraldehyde of the previously aminated enzyme permitted to give a jump in Alcalase stability (e.g., with most than 80% of enzyme activity retention for the modified enzyme and less than 30% for the just immobilized enzyme in stress inactivation at pH 7 or 9). This preparation could be used in the hydrolysis of casein at pH 9 even at 67 °C, retaining around 50% of the activity after 5 hydrolytic cycles when the just immobilized preparation was almost inactive after 3 cycles. The modified enzyme can be reused in hydrolysis of casein at 45 °C and pH 9 for 6 cycles (6 h) without any decrease in enzyme activity.

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