scholarly journals Development and evaluation of low-cost walker with trunk support for senior citizen

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paloma Hohmann Poier ◽  
Francisco Godke ◽  
José Aguiomar Foggiatto ◽  
Leandra Ulbricht
Keyword(s):  
Senior Citizens ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Senior Citizen ◽  
Descriptive Study ◽  
The Body ◽  
Two Stage ◽  
Monitoring Time ◽  
Static Body ◽  
Study Development

Abstract OBJECTIVE Develop and evaluate a low-cost walker with trunk support for senior citizens. METHOD Two-stage descriptive study: development of a walker with trunk support and evaluation with fourth age senior citizens. RESULTS Twenty-three fourth age senior citizens were selected. The evaluated criteria were the immediate influence of the walker on the static stabilometry with baropodometer and the evaluation of gait with accelerometers monitoring time and amplitude of the hip movement. There was a significant decrease in the body oscillation of senior citizens with the use of the developed walker, and there were changes in the joint amplitudes of the hip, but they were not significant. CONCLUSION Using low-cost materials, it was possible to develop and equipment that met resistance and effectiveness requirements. The walker interfered in the balance of the senior citizens, reducing significantly the static body oscillation.

scholarly journals Social and Psychological Experiences of Senior Citizens to Cope with Their Lives

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 75-86
Author(s):  
Kalpana Paudel
Keyword(s):  
Elderly People ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Senior Citizens ◽  
Senior Citizen ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
The Body ◽  
Ageing Process ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Pain Disability ◽  
Life Years

Aging is a normal, inevitable, biological and universal phenomenon and is the outcome of certain structural and physiological changes that take place in different parts of the body as the life years increases. During ageing process, coping with the situations of everyday life and meeting its demands become more difficult than before. This study mainly focused on the experiences of senior citizens to cope with their lives. A descriptive qualitative case study design was used to explore the experiences. Twenty-five senior citizens from Pokhara Aged Shelter were selected in the study. In-depth interview was used to collect primary data. Qualitative data was recorded; transcribed and thematic analysis was made. Elderly people express themselves as useless and worthless. They think that they have nothing to contribute to social life and the community. Social activities are reduced after ageing. They have fear of pain, disability, decline, loss of control and death and also have feelings of anxiety, fear and powerlessness. Elderly people have negative feelings such as emptiness, sadness, resignation, frustration, loneliness and regret because of being alone, limited activities or troubles to cope with ageing. They feel discouraged and helpless. During the ageing process, they give up daily activities gradually. Elderly people missed having somebody to share their small daily experiences. Family is an important factor that contributed to the elderly people’s ability to cope with. Hence, the issue of senior citizen and old age should be addressed appropriately as other social problems in society.

scholarly journals Experiments on Energy-Efficient Evaporative Cooling Systems for Poultry Farm Application in Multan (Pakistan)

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2836
Author(s):  
Khawar Shahzad ◽  
Muhammad Sultan ◽  
Muhammad Bilal ◽  
Hadeed Ashraf ◽  
Muhammad Farooq ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heat Stress ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Evaporative Cooling ◽  
Thermal Exposure ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
The Body ◽  
Dew Point ◽  
Sweat Glands ◽  
Cooling Systems ◽  
Humidity Index

Poultry are one of the most vulnerable species of its kind once the temperature-humidity nexus is explored. This is so because the broilers lack sweat glands as compared to humans and undergo panting process to mitigate their latent heat (moisture produced in the body) in the air. As a result, moisture production inside poultry house needs to be maintained to avoid any serious health and welfare complications. Several strategies such as compressor-based air-conditioning systems have been implemented worldwide to attenuate the heat stress in poultry, but these are not economical. Therefore, this study focuses on the development of low-cost and environmentally friendly improved evaporative cooling systems (DEC, IEC, MEC) from the viewpoint of heat stress in poultry houses. Thermodynamic analysis of these systems was carried out for the climatic conditions of Multan, Pakistan. The results appreciably controlled the environmental conditions which showed that for the months of April, May, and June, the decrease in temperature by direct evaporative cooling (DEC), indirect evaporative cooling (IEC), and Maisotsenko-Cycle evaporative cooling (MEC) systems is 7–10 °C, 5–6.5 °C, and 9.5–12 °C, respectively. In case of July, August, and September, the decrease in temperature by DEC, IEC, and MEC systems is 5.5–7 °C, 3.5–4.5 °C, and 7–7.5 °C, respectively. In addition, drop in temperature-humidity index (THI) values by DEC, IEC, and MEC is 3.5–9 °C, 3–7 °C, and 5.5–10 °C, respectively for all months. Optimum temperature and relative humidity conditions are determined for poultry birds and thereby, systems’ performance is thermodynamically evaluated for poultry farms from the viewpoint of THI, temperature-humidity-velocity index (THVI), and thermal exposure time (ET). From the analysis, it is concluded that MEC system performed relatively better than others due to its ability of dew-point cooling and achieved THI threshold limit with reasonable temperature and humidity indexes.

Voice In Ear

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Yang Gao ◽  
Yincheng Jin ◽  
Jagmohan Chauhan ◽  
Seokmin Choi ◽  
Jiyang Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
User Authentication ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
The Body ◽  
Ear Canal ◽  
Replay Attacks ◽  
Increasing Demand ◽  
The Right ◽  
Sound Conduction ◽  
Enrollment Data ◽  
Secure Authentication

With the rapid growth of wearable computing and increasing demand for mobile authentication scenarios, voiceprint-based authentication has become one of the prevalent technologies and has already presented tremendous potentials to the public. However, it is vulnerable to voice spoofing attacks (e.g., replay attacks and synthetic voice attacks). To address this threat, we propose a new biometric authentication approach, named EarPrint, which aims to extend voiceprint and build a hidden and secure user authentication scheme on earphones. EarPrint builds on the speaking-induced body sound transmission from the throat to the ear canal, i.e., different users will have different body sound conduction patterns on both sides of ears. As the first exploratory study, extensive experiments on 23 subjects show the EarPrint is robust against ambient noises and body motions. EarPrint achieves an Equal Error Rate (EER) of 3.64% with 75 seconds enrollment data. We also evaluate the resilience of EarPrint against replay attacks. A major contribution of EarPrint is that it leverages two-level uniqueness, including the body sound conduction from the throat to the ear canal and the body asymmetry between the left and the right ears, taking advantage of earphones' paring form-factor. Compared with other mobile and wearable biometric modalities, EarPrint is a low-cost, accurate, and secure authentication solution for earphone users.

scholarly journals Cytokines as Biomarkers and Their Respective Clinical Cutoff Levels

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca N. Monastero ◽  
Srinivas Pentyala
Keyword(s):  
Tumor Necrosis ◽  
Inflammatory Diseases ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
The Body ◽  
Tumor Necrosis Factors ◽  
Biochemical Pathways ◽  
Downstream Effects ◽  
Future Work ◽  
Receiver Operator Characteristics ◽  
Cutoff Levels

Cytokines, including interleukins, interferons, tumor necrosis factors, and chemokines, have a variety of pro- and anti-inflammatory effects in the body through a number of biochemical pathways and interactions. Stimuli, actions, interactions, and downstream effects of cytokines have been investigated in more depth in recent years, and clinical research has also been conducted to implicate cytokines in causal patterns in certain diseases. However, particular cutoffs of cytokines as biomarkers for disease processes have not been well studied, and this warrants future work to potentially improve diagnoses for diseases with inflammatory markers. A limited number of studies in this area are reviewed, considering diseases correlated with abnormal cytokine profiles, as well as specific cutoffs at which cytokines have been deemed clinically useful for diagnosing those diseases through Receiver Operator Characteristics modeling. In light of studies such as those discussed in this review, cytokine testing has the potential to support diagnosis due to its lack of invasiveness and low cost, compared to other common types of testing for infections and inflammatory diseases.

scholarly journals Superior Antireflection Coating for a Silicon Cell with a Micronanohybrid Structure

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hsi-Chien Liu ◽  
Gou-Jen Wang
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cell ◽  
Silicon Solar Cell ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Antireflection Coating ◽  
Light Spectrum ◽  
Two Stage ◽  
Liquid Diffusion ◽  
Pyramid Structure ◽  
Short Time ◽  
Structure Array

The object of this paper is to develop a high antireflection silicon solar cell. A novel two-stage metal-assisted etching (MAE) method is proposed for the fabrication of an antireflective layer of a micronanohybrid structure array. The processing time for the etching on an N-type high-resistance (NH) silicon wafer can be controlled to around 5 min. The resulting micronanohybrid structure array can achieve an average reflectivity of 1.21% for a light spectrum of 200–1000 nm. A P-N junction on the fabricated micronanohybrid structure array is formed using a low-cost liquid diffusion source. A high antireflection silicon solar cell with an average efficiency of 13.1% can be achieved. Compared with a conventional pyramid structure solar cell, the shorted circuit current of the proposed solar cell is increased by 73%. The major advantage of the two-stage MAE process is that a high antireflective silicon substrate can be fabricated cost-effectively in a relatively short time. The proposed method is feasible for the mass production of low-cost solar cells.

Design and operation of a tripod walking robot via dynamics simulation

Robotica ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 733-743 ◽  
Author(s):  
Conghui Liang ◽  
Hao Gu ◽  
Marco Ceccarelli ◽  
Giuseppe Carbone
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Design ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
The Body ◽  
Dynamics Simulation ◽  
Walking Ability ◽  
Walking Robot ◽  
Three Dimensional Model ◽  
Software Environment ◽  
Leg Mechanisms

SUMMARYA mechanical design and dynamics walking simulation of a novel tripod walking robot are presented in this paper. The tripod walking robot consists of three 1-degree-of-freedom (DOF) Chebyshev–Pantograph leg mechanisms with linkage architecture. A balancing mechanism is mounted on the body of the tripod walking robot to adjust its center of gravity (COG) during walking for balancing purpose. A statically stable tripod walking gait is performed by synchronizing the motions of the three leg mechanisms and the balancing mechanism. A three-dimensional model has been elaborated in SolidWorks® engineering software environment for a characterization of a feasible mechanical design. Dynamics simulation has been carried out in the MSC.ADAMS® environment with the aim to characterize and to evaluate the dynamic walking performances of the proposed design with low-cost easy-operation features. Simulation results show that the proposed tripod walking robot with proper input torques, gives limited reaction forces at the linkage joints, and a practical feasible walking ability on a flatten ground.

Initial Results On Medium Frequency Electromagnetic Field Penetration In Biological Soft Tissue

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zulkarnay Zakaria ◽  
Mohd Fahajumi Jumaah ◽  
Mohd Saiful Badri Mansor ◽  
Khairi Mat Daud ◽  
Mohd Hafiz Fazalul Rahiman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Soft Tissue ◽  
Soft Tissues ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
The Body ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Medium Frequency ◽  
Magnetic Field Penetration ◽  
Magnetic Induction Tomography ◽  
Field Penetration

Terapi merupakan antara teknik perubatan tertua dalam mengekalkan kesihatan badan terutama daripada aliran darah yang tidak baik, strok dan beberapa penyakit yang lain. Teknik ini termasuklah akupuntur, guasa dan juga urutan. Terdapat juga teknik terapi moden seperti terapi warna, terapi ozon, terapi dadah dan banyak lagi. Kertas kajian ini akan mengetengahkan penjana terapi elektromagnet, satu alat yang mempunyai potensi aplikasi terapi dalam bidang perubatan. Alat ini menghasilkan medan magnet berfrekuensi sederhana sebagai sumber terapi. Perkakasan yang berskala kecil berfrekuensi sederhana dan berkos rendah ini telah dibangunkan dan telah diuji pada tisu biologi bagi mengukur tahap ketembusan medan magnet. Ujian ini telah membuktikan bahawa medan magnet yang telah dihasilkan mampu menembusi tisu lembut bersaiz sehingga 2 cm dengan jarak 7 cm daripada sumber. Kebolehan penembusan sistem ini terhadap tisu lembut memberikan peluang yang cerah kepada kajian ini memandangkan medan magnet telah menunjukkan potensi sebagai sebahagian daripada terapi untuk memulihkan migraine, strok, kekejangan dan beberapa yang lain selain boleh diaplikasikan dalam pengimejan tomografi induksi magnet. Kata kunci: Terapi elektromagnet, medan magnet, penembusan, tisu lembut, aplikasi perubatan Therapy is among the oldest medication technique in maintaining the health of the body especially from bad blood circulation, stroke and several others. This technique includes acupuncture, guasa and also massage. There are also modern therapy techniques like colour therapy, water therapy, ozone therapy, drug therapy and others. This paper will highlight electromagnetic therapy generator, a device which has the potential of therapy application in medical field. This device produce medium frequency magnetic field as a therapy source. This small scale medium frequency and low cost hardware that has been developed was tested on the biological tissue for the purpose of measuring the magnetic field penetration. The testing has proven that the generated magnetic field is able to penetrate the soft tissue up to 2 cm with distance from the source up to 7 cm. The capability of the system penetrations through the soft tissues provide the bright future of this research since magnetic field have shown the potential as being part of the therapy for curing migraine, stroke, cramp and several others besides the application in the magnetic induction tomography imaging. Key words: Electromagnetic therapy, magnetic field, penetration, soft tissue; medical applications

Benchmarking the efficiencies of Indonesia’s municipal water utilities using Stackelberg data envelopment analysis

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 588-609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Wibowo ◽  
Hans Wilhelm Alfen
Keyword(s):  
Data Envelopment Analysis ◽  
The Body ◽  
Water Utilities ◽  
Data Envelopment ◽  
Two Stage ◽  
Restrictive Assumption ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Second Stage ◽  
Municipal Water ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a yardstick efficiency comparison of 269 Indonesian municipal water utilities (MWUs) and measures the impact of exogenous environmental variables on efficiency scores. Design/methodology/approach – Two-stage Stackelberg leader-follower data envelopment analysis (DEA) and artificial neural networks (ANN) were employed. Findings – Given that serviceability was treated as the leader and profitability as the follower, the first and second stage DEA scores were 55 and 32 percent (0 percent = totally inefficient, 100 percent = perfectly efficient), respectively. This indicates sizeable opportunities for improvement, with 39 percent of the total sample facing serious problems in both first- and second-stage efficiencies. When profitability instead leads serviceability, this results in more decreased efficiency. The size of the population served was the most important exogenous environmental variable affecting DEA efficiency scores in both the first and second stages. Research limitations/implications – The present study was limited by the overly restrictive assumption that all MWUs operate at a constant-return-to-scale. Practical implications – These research findings will enable better management of the MWUs in question, allowing their current level of performance to be objectively compared with that of their peers, both in terms of scale and area of operation. These findings will also help the government prioritize assistance measures for MWUs that are suffering from acute performance gaps, and to devise a strategic national plan to revitalize Indonesia’s water sector. Originality/value – This paper enriches the body of knowledge by filling in knowledge gaps relating to benchmarking in Indonesia’s water industry, as well as in the application of ensemble two-stage DEA and ANN, which are still rare in the literature.

scholarly journals A downward buoyant force experiment

2014 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
F.M.S. Lima ◽  
G.M. Venceslau ◽  
G.T. Brasil
Keyword(s):  
Recent Work ◽  
Common Sense ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
The Body ◽  
Buoyant Force ◽  
Rectangular Block ◽  
Counterintuitive Result

In hydrostatics, the Archimedes principle predicts an upward force whenever a body is submerged in a liquid. In contrast to common sense, this physical law is not free of exceptions, as for example when the body touches the container. This is more evident when a rectangular block less dense than the liquid rests on the bottom, with no liquid underneath it, a case in which a downward force is expected, according to a recent work by the first author. In the present work, we describe a simple, low-cost experiment which allows the detection of such force. This counterintuitive result shows the inadequacy of Archimedes' principle for treating "contact" cases.

scholarly journals Method for auxiliary use of thermography in diagnosing inflammation in the coxofemoral joint in dogs

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 1565
Author(s):  
Fernanda Lúcia Passos Fukahori ◽  
Daniela Maria Bastos de Souza ◽  
Eduardo Alberto Tudury ◽  
George Chaves Jimenez ◽  
José Ferreira da Silva Neto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Emission ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Joint Inflammation ◽  
Domestic Animals ◽  
The Body ◽  
Joint Diseases ◽  
Infrared Images ◽  
Infrared Thermometry ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Sensitivity Specificity

Joint diseases are relatively common in domestic animals, such as dogs. The involved inflammation produces thermal emission, which can be imaged using specific sensors that allow capturing of infrared images. Given that there have been few reports on the use of thermography in the diagnosis of inflammation associated with diseases of the hip joint in dogs, we here propose a method for identification of inflammatory foci in dogs by using infrared thermometry. The present study aimed to find non-invasive and low-cost resources that couldfacilitate a clinical diagnosis in cases withinflammation in the coxofemoral joint of dogs.To this end, we developed a system in whichthe Flir Systems TG165 thermograph is coupled to a black PVC cannula with a 30-cm focus-to-animal distance.External effects of the environment on the temperature of the animalswere compared with the body temperature as measured by a conventional thermometer.Thirty-one dogs with and without inflammation in the coxofemoral joint underwent clinical evaluation.We verified that the temperature registered by the thermograph inthe animals with joint inflammation was significantlydifferentfrom that incontrol animals without inflammation, in the lateral projection.The method showed a sensitivity of 80%, specificity of 87.5%, and accuracy of 83.87%. This standardized method of diagnosis of inflammatory foci in the coxofemoral articulation of dogs by way of thermography showed sensitivity, specificity, and satisfactory accuracy.

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