scholarly journals Employing entropy measures to identify visitors in multi-occupancy environments

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aadel Howedi ◽  
Ahmad Lotfi ◽  
Amir Pourabdollah
Keyword(s):  
Home Environment ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Wearable Sensors ◽  
Permutation Entropy ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Entropy Measures ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Motion Detectors ◽  
To Receive

AbstractHuman activity recognition (HAR) is used to support older adults to live independently in their own homes. Once activities of daily living (ADL) are recognised, gathered information will be used to identify abnormalities in comparison with the routine activities. Ambient sensors, including occupancy sensors and door entry sensors, are often used to monitor and identify different activities. Most of the current research in HAR focuses on a single-occupant environment when only one person is monitored, and their activities are categorised. The assumption that home environments are occupied by one person all the time is often not true. It is common for a resident to receive visits from family members or health care workers, representing a multi-occupancy environment. Entropy analysis is an established method for irregularity detection in many applications; however, it has been rarely applied in the context of ADL and HAR. In this paper, a novel method based on different entropy measures, including Shannon Entropy, Permutation Entropy, and Multiscale-Permutation Entropy, is employed to investigate the effectiveness of these entropy measures in identifying visitors in a home environment. This research aims to investigate whether entropy measures can be utilised to identify a visitor in a home environment, solely based on the information collected from motion detectors [e.g., passive infra-red] and door entry sensors. The entropy measures are tested and evaluated based on a dataset gathered from a real home environment. Experimental results are presented to show the effectiveness of entropy measures to identify visitors and the time of their visits without the need for employing extra wearable sensors to tag the visitors. The results obtained from the experiments show that the proposed entropy measures could be used to detect and identify a visitor in a home environment with a high degree of accuracy.

scholarly journals Exploring Entropy Measurements to Identify Multi-Occupancy in Activities of Daily Living

Entropy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aadel Howedi ◽  
Ahmad Lotfi ◽  
Amir Pourabdollah
Keyword(s):  
Activities Of Daily Living ◽  
Activity Recognition ◽  
Home Environment ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Approximate Entropy ◽  
Entropy Measures ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Movement Activities

Human Activity Recognition (HAR) is the process of automatically detecting human actions from the data collected from different types of sensors. Research related to HAR has devoted particular attention to monitoring and recognizing the human activities of a single occupant in a home environment, in which it is assumed that only one person is present at any given time. Recognition of the activities is then used to identify any abnormalities within the routine activities of daily living. Despite the assumption in the published literature, living environments are commonly occupied by more than one person and/or accompanied by pet animals. In this paper, a novel method based on different entropy measures, including Approximate Entropy (ApEn), Sample Entropy (SampEn), and Fuzzy Entropy (FuzzyEn), is explored to detect and identify a visitor in a home environment. The research has mainly focused on when another individual visits the main occupier, and it is, therefore, not possible to distinguish between their movement activities. The goal of this research is to assess whether entropy measures can be used to detect and identify the visitor in a home environment. Once the presence of the main occupier is distinguished from others, the existing activity recognition and abnormality detection processes could be applied for the main occupier. The proposed method is tested and validated using two different datasets. The results obtained from the experiments show that the proposed method could be used to detect and identify a visitor in a home environment with a high degree of accuracy based on the data collected from the occupancy sensors.

scholarly journals An Entropy-Based Approach for Anomaly Detection in Activities of Daily Living in the Presence of a Visitor

Entropy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. 845 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aadel Howedi ◽  
Ahmad Lotfi ◽  
Amir Pourabdollah
Keyword(s):  
Anomaly Detection ◽  
Activities Of Daily Living ◽  
Home Environment ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Healthcare Management ◽  
Entropy Measure ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Entropy Measures ◽  
Measure Analysis

This paper presents anomaly detection in activities of daily living based on entropy measures. It is shown that the proposed approach will identify anomalies when there are visitors representing a multi-occupant environment. Residents often receive visits from family members or health care workers. Therefore, the residents’ activity is expected to be different when there is a visitor, which could be considered as an abnormal activity pattern. Identifying anomalies is essential for healthcare management, as this will enable action to avoid prospective problems early and to improve and support residents’ ability to live safely and independently in their own homes. Entropy measure analysis is an established method to detect disorder or irregularities in many applications: however, this has rarely been applied in the context of activities of daily living. An experimental evaluation is conducted to detect anomalies obtained from a real home environment. Experimental results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the entropy measures employed in detecting anomalies in the resident’s activity and identifying visiting times in the same environment.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance among Health Care Workers in the United States

Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rahul Shekhar ◽  
Abu Baker Sheikh ◽  
Shubhra Upadhyay ◽  
Mriganka Singh ◽  
Saket Kottewar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Final Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Vaccine Acceptance ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Vaccination Acceptance ◽  
Study Population ◽  
To Receive

Background: Acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine will play a major role in combating the pandemic. Healthcare workers (HCWs) are among the first group to receive vaccination, so it is important to consider their attitudes about COVID-19 vaccination to better address barriers to widespread vaccination acceptance. Methods: We conducted a cross sectional study to assess the attitude of HCWs toward COVID-19 vaccination. Data were collected between 7 October and 9 November 2020. We received 4080 responses out of which 3479 were complete responses and were included in the final analysis. Results: 36% of respondents were willing to take the vaccine as soon as it became available while 56% were not sure or would wait to review more data. Only 8% of HCWs do not plan to get vaccine. Vaccine acceptance increased with increasing age, education, and income level. A smaller percentage of female (31%), Black (19%), Lantinx (30%), and rural (26%) HCWs were willing to take the vaccine as soon as it became available than the overall study population. Direct medical care providers had higher vaccine acceptance (49%). Safety (69%), effectiveness (69%), and speed of development/approval (74%) were noted as the most common concerns regarding COVID-19 vaccination in our survey.

scholarly journals Visual Attention Software: A New Tool for Understanding the “Subliminal” Experience of the Built Environment

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (13) ◽  
pp. 6197
Author(s):  
Alexandros A. Lavdas ◽  
Nikos A. Salingaros ◽  
Ann Sussman
Keyword(s):  
Visual Attention ◽  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Wearable Sensors ◽  
Computer Gaming ◽  
Geometric Patterns ◽  
Relative Design ◽  
Fixation Points ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Artificial Intelligence Application ◽  
Intelligence Application

Eye-tracking technology is a biometric tool that has found many commercial and research applications. The recent advent of affordable wearable sensors has considerably expanded the range of these possibilities to fields such as computer gaming, education, entertainment, health, neuromarketing, psychology, etc. The Visual Attention Software by 3M (3M-VAS) is an artificial intelligence application that was formulated using experimental data from eye-tracking. It can be used to predict viewer reactions to images, generating fixation point probability maps and fixation point sequence estimations, thus revealing pre-attentive processing of visual stimuli with a very high degree of accuracy. We have used 3M-VAS software in an innovative implementation to analyze images of different buildings, either in their original state or photographically manipulated, as well as various geometric patterns. The software not only reveals non-obvious fixation points, but also overall relative design coherence, a key element of Christopher Alexander’s theory of geometrical order. A more evenly distributed field of attention seen in some structures contrasts with other buildings being ignored, those showing instead unconnected points of splintered attention. Our findings are non-intuitive and surprising. We link these results to both Alexander’s theory and Neuroscience, identify potential pitfalls in the software’s use, and also suggest ways to avoid them.

scholarly journals The Composition and Diversity of the Gut Microbiota in Children Is Modifiable by the Household Dogs: Impact of a Canine-Specific Probiotic

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 557
Author(s):  
Carlos Gómez-Gallego ◽  
Mira Forsgren ◽  
Marta Selma-Royo ◽  
Merja Nermes ◽  
Maria Carmen Collado ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Home Environment ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Probiotic Intervention ◽  
Probiotic Product ◽  
Acid Producing Bacteria ◽  
Double Blind Design ◽  
To Receive ◽  
Gut Microbiota Composition

The development of the infant gut microbiota is initiated during pregnancy and continued through early life and childhood, guided by the immediate environment of the child. Our aim was to characterize the shared microbiota between dogs and children as well as to determine whether introduction to dogs of a dog-specific probiotic combination modifies the transfer process. We studied 31 children from allergic families with pet dog(s) and 18 control families without a dog. Altogether 37 dogs were randomized for a 4-week period in a double-blind design to receive canine-derived probiotic product containing a mixture of L. fermentum, L. plantarum, and L. rhamnosus, or placebo. Fecal samples from children and dogs were taken before and after the treatment. Distinctive gut microbiota composition was observed in children with dogs compared to those without a dog, characterized by higher abundance of Bacteroides and short-chain fatty acid producing bacteria such as Ruminococcus and Lachnospiraceae. Probiotic intervention in dogs had an impact on the composition of the gut microbiota in both dogs and children, characterized by a reduction in Bacteroides. We provide evidence for a direct effect of home environment and household pets on children microbiota and document that modification of dog microbiota by specific probiotics is reflected in children’s microbiota.

scholarly journals Functional outcomes of an adult with osteogenesis imperfecta after rehabilitation post bilateral Girdlestone procedure

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. e239884
Author(s):  
Isabella Supnet ◽  
Joycie Eulah Abiera ◽  
Maria Melanie Liberty Alcausin ◽  
Carlo Emmanuel Sumpaico
Keyword(s):  
Osteogenesis Imperfecta ◽  
Functional Outcomes ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Short Distance ◽  
Subtrochanteric Fracture ◽  
Osteogenesis Imperfecta Type ◽  
Postoperative Rehabilitation ◽  
Outpatient Settings ◽  
To Receive

This is a case of a 54-year-old woman managed as a case of osteogenesis imperfecta type 1 who sustained a left subtrochanteric fracture and eventual ankylosis of both hips after surgery and immobilisation. These injuries rendered her bedridden, maximally assisted in transitions and transfers, and unable to be positioned past 30° of backrest elevation. The patient underwent a bilateral Girdlestone procedure and had tailored progressive postoperative rehabilitation in both the inpatient and outpatient settings. The patient also continued to receive bisphosphonates during her preoperative and postoperative period, to improve bone stock and aid in relieving pain. Through the efforts of a team of physiatrists, geneticists and orthopaedic surgeons, the patient was able to achieve pain-free sitting, independent transitions and short-distance ambulation, which have allowed her to care for herself more effectively and return to her work and activities of daily living.

Activities of Daily Living Performance and Acute Care Occupational Therapy Utilization: Moderating Factors

2022 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam R. Kinney ◽  
James E. Graham ◽  
Rayyan Bukhari ◽  
Amanda Hoffman ◽  
Matt P. Malcolm
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Therapy ◽  
Activities Of Daily Living ◽  
Acute Care ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Sociodemographic Factors ◽  
Insurance Type ◽  
Therapy Services ◽  
To Receive ◽  
Adl Performance ◽  
Therapy Treatment

Importance: Hospitalized patients who have difficulty performing activities of daily living (ADLs) benefit from occupational therapy services; however, disparities in access to such services are understudied. Objective: To investigate whether need (i.e., limited ADL performance) predicts acute care occupational therapy utilization and whether this relationship differs across sociodemographic factors and insurance type. Design: A secondary analysis of electronic health records data. Logistic regression models were specified to determine whether ADL performance predicted use of occupational therapy treatment. Interactions were included to investigate whether the relationship between ADL performance and occupational therapy utilization varied across sociodemographic factors (e.g., age) and insurance type. Participants: A total of 56,022 adults admitted to five regional hospitals between 2014 and 2018 who received an occupational therapy evaluation. Intervention: None. Outcomes and Measures: Occupational therapy service utilization, Activity Measure for Post-Acute Care “6-Clicks” measure of daily activity. Results: Forty-four percent of the patients evaluated for occupational therapy received treatment. Patients with lower ADL performance were more likely to receive occupational therapy treatment; however, interaction terms indicated that, among patients with low ADL performance, those who were younger, were White and non-Hispanic, had significant others, and had private insurance (vs. public) were more likely to receive treatment. These differences were smaller among patients with greater ADL performance. Conclusions and Relevance: Greater need was positively associated with receiving occupational therapy services, but this relationship was moderated by age, minoritized status, significant other status, and insurance type. The findings provide direction for exploring determinants of disparities in occupational therapy utilization. What This Article Adds: Acute care occupational therapy utilization is driven partly by patient need, but potential disparities in access to beneficial services may exist across sociodemographic characteristics and insurance type. Identifying potential determinants of disparities in acute care occupational therapy utilization is the first step in developing strategies to reduce barriers for those in need.

scholarly journals Testing isotropy of cosmos with WMAP and PLANCK data

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (27) ◽  
pp. 1550131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pranati K. Rath ◽  
Pramoda Kumar Samal
Keyword(s):  
Planck Data ◽  
Tensor Method ◽  
Entropy Measures ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Statistical Isotropy

In recent years, there have been a large number of studies which support violation of statistical isotropy. Meanwhile, there are some studies which also found inconsistency. We use the power tensor method defined earlier in the literature to study the new CMBR data. The orientation of these three orthogonal vectors, as well as the power associated with each vector, contains information about possible violation of statistical isotropy. This information is encoded in two entropy measures, the power-entropy and alignment-entropy. We apply this method to WMAP 9-year and PLANCK data. Here, we also revisit the statistics to test high-[Formula: see text] anomaly reported in our earlier paper and find that the high degree of isotropy seen in earlier WMAP 5-year data is absent in the revised WMAP 9-year data.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document