Combining Action Observation Treatment with a Brain–Computer Interface System: Perspectives on Neurorehabilitation

Action observation treatment (AOT) exploits a neurophysiological mechanism, matching an observed action on the neural substrates where that action is motorically represented. This mechanism is also known as mirror mechanism. In a typical AOT session, one can distinguish an observation phase and an execution phase. During the observation phase, the patient observes a daily action and soon after, during the execution phase, he/she is asked to perform the observed action at the best of his/her ability. Indeed, the execution phase may sometimes be difficult for those patients where motor impairment is severe. Although, in the current practice, the physiotherapist does not intervene on the quality of the execution phase, here, we propose a stimulation system based on neurophysiological parameters. This perspective article focuses on the possibility to combine AOT with a brain–computer interface system (BCI) that stimulates upper limb muscles, thus facilitating the execution of actions during a rehabilitation session. Combining a rehabilitation tool that is well-grounded in neurophysiology with a stimulation system, such as the one proposed, may improve the efficacy of AOT in the treatment of severe neurological patients, including stroke patients, Parkinson’s disease patients, and children with cerebral palsy.

Individuals expend more effort to compete against robots than humans after observing competitive human-robot interactions

In everyday life, we often observe and learn from interactions between other individuals –– so-called third-party encounters. As robots are poised to become an increasingly familiar presence in our daily lives, third-party encounters between other people and robots might offer a valuable approach to influence people’s behaviours and attitudes towards robots. Here, we conducted an online experiment where participants (n = 48) watched videos of human-robot dyads interacting in a cooperative or competitive manner. Following this observation, we measured participants’ behaviour and attitudes towards the human and robotic agents. First, participants played a game with the agents to measure whether their behaviour was affected by their observed encounters. Second, participants’ attitudes toward the agents were measured before and after the game. We found that the third-party encounters influenced behaviour during the game but not attitudes towards the observed agents. Participants showed more effort towards robots than towards humans, especially when the human and robot agents were framed as competitive in the observation phase. Our study suggests that people’s behaviours towards robots can be shaped by the mere observation of third-party encounters between robots and other people.

Recognition and management of community-acquired acute kidney injury in low-resource settings in the ISN 0by25 trial: A multi-country feasibility study

Background Acute kidney injury (AKI) is increasingly encountered in community settings and contributes to morbidity, mortality, and increased resource utilization worldwide. In low-resource settings, lack of awareness of and limited access to diagnostic and therapeutic interventions likely influence patient management. We evaluated the feasibility of the use of point-of-care (POC) serum creatinine and urine dipstick testing with an education and training program to optimize the identification and management of AKI in the community in 3 low-resource countries. Methods and findings Patients presenting to healthcare centers (HCCs) from 1 October 2016 to 29 September 2017 in the cities Cochabamba, Bolivia; Dharan, Nepal; and Blantyre, Malawi, were assessed utilizing a symptom-based risk score to identify patients at moderate to high AKI risk. POC testing for serum creatinine and urine dipstick at enrollment were utilized to classify these patients as having chronic kidney disease (CKD), acute kidney disease (AKD), or no kidney disease (NKD). Patients were followed for a maximum of 6 months with repeat POC testing. AKI development was assessed at 7 days, kidney recovery at 1 month, and progression to CKD and mortality at 3 and 6 months. Following an observation phase to establish baseline data, care providers and physicians in the HCCs were trained with a standardized protocol utilizing POC tests to evaluate and manage patients, guided by physicians in referral hospitals connected via mobile digital technology. We evaluated 3,577 patients, and 2,101 were enrolled: 978 in the observation phase and 1,123 in the intervention phase. Due to the high number of patients attending the centers daily, it was not feasible to screen all patients to assess the actual incidence of AKI. Of enrolled patients, 1,825/2,101 (87%) were adults, 1,117/2,101 (53%) were females, 399/2,101 (19%) were from Bolivia, 813/2,101 (39%) were from Malawi, and 889/2,101 (42%) were from Nepal. The age of enrolled patients ranged from 1 month to 96 years, with a mean of 43 years (SD 21) and a median of 43 years (IQR 27–62). Hypertension was the most common comorbidity (418/2,101; 20%). At enrollment, 197/2,101 (9.4%) had CKD, and 1,199/2,101 (57%) had AKD. AKI developed in 30% within 7 days. By 1 month, 268/978 (27%) patients in the observation phase and 203/1,123 (18%) in the intervention phase were lost to follow-up. In the intervention phase, more patients received fluids (observation 714/978 [73%] versus intervention 874/1,123 [78%]; 95% CI 0.63, 0.94; p = 0.012), hospitalization was reduced (observation 578/978 [59%] versus intervention 548/1,123 [49%]; 95% CI 0.55, 0.79; p < 0.001), and admitted patients with severe AKI did not show a significantly lower mortality during follow-up (observation 27/135 [20%] versus intervention 21/178 [11.8%]; 95% CI 0.98, 3.52; p = 0.057). Of 504 patients with kidney function assessed during the 6-month follow-up, de novo CKD arose in 79/484 (16.3%), with no difference between the observation and intervention phase (95% CI 0.91, 2.47; p = 0.101). Overall mortality was 273/2,101 (13%) and was highest in those who had CKD (24/106; 23%), followed by those with AKD (128/760; 17%), AKI (85/628; 14%), and NKD (36/607; 6%). The main limitation of our study was the inability to determine the actual incidence of kidney dysfunction in the health centers as it was not feasible to screen all the patients due to the high numbers seen daily. Conclusions This multicenter, non-randomized feasibility study in low-resource settings demonstrates that it is feasible to implement a comprehensive program utilizing POC testing and protocol-based management to improve the recognition and management of AKI and AKD in high-risk patients in primary care.

Improving the Ability of MTs Mathematics Teachers Using Mathematics Learning Media Through the Training of "Kelasmen" Model in Target Madrasah in the Temanggung Regency

<p class="JRPMAbstrakTitle">The purpose of this research was to improve the ability of MTs mathematics teachers in the Temanggung regency to use mathematics learning media through the training of the Kelasmen model. This was supervisory action research. The research period was three months from mid of February 2019 to mid of April 2019. This research was conducted in three cycles on mathematics teachers in the Pringsurat, Tembarak, Selopampang, Kaloran, and Temanggung subdistrict in eleven targets MTs in Temanggung regency. The stages undertaken by the researcher in this study are (1) the preliminary initial reflection stage, (2) the planning stage, (3) the implementation phase of the action, (4) the observation phase, and (5) the reflection phase. After being given training through the Kelasmen model on the use of mathematics learning media, the ability of mathematics teachers in eleven MTs in Temanggung regency experienced an improvement from 53,33% in cycle I to 66,67% in cycle II and 86,67% in cycle III. Therefore, it could be concluded that the training of the Kelasmen model could improve the ability of MTs mathematics teachers in the Temanggung regency to use mathematics learning media. Thus the hypothesis of the proposed action was declared successful and accepted.</p>

Is increased “stay away from bed” time associated with improved clinical rehabilitation outcomes in Japanese rehabilitation hospitals? A prospective observational study and clinical practice

Background A comprehensive team approach for increasing stay away from bed time (SaB-time) called CASaB was conducted at multiple rehabilitation hospitals. Aims The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between SaB-time and clinical rehabilitation outcomes (CROs) before introducing CASaB (observational phase), and comparing CROs before and after CASaB (CASaB phase). Methods This prospective observational study included patients who were admitted to nine rehabilitation hospitals, with complete data. The final analysis included 197/229 patients in the observation phase, and 229/256 patients in the CASaB phase. We first tested whether SaB-time was positively associated with CROs in an observational study, then compared CROs before and after CASaB. Results In the observation phase, longer SaB-time was significantly associated with greater rehabilitation efficiency (REy) after adjusting for confounders (standardized β = 0.20, p = 0.007). In a comparison of CROs before and after CASaB, the length of hospital stay during the CASaB phase was significantly shorter than during the observational phase (61.5, 57.6–65.4 days vs 75.6, 71.4–79.9 days, p < 0.001), and the REy after CASaB was significantly greater than that before the CASaB (0.38, 0.33–0.42/day vs 0.28, 0.25–0.33/day, p = 0.006). Discussion The current results suggest that increasing SaB-time may help the recovery of functional abilities, particularly for patients in rehabilitation hospitals. Conclusions The CASaB provides a method for improving the recovery efficiency of patients in rehabilitation hospitals.

UPAYA MENINGKATKAN PRESTASI BELAJAR SISWA KELAS VIII SMP NEGERI 2 PRAYA DENGAN PENERAPAN PEMBELAJARAN INDIVIDUAL PADA MATA PELAJARAN IPS TERPADU

Abstrak: Penelitian Tindakan Kelas 2 siklus yang terdiri dari 4 tahapan yaitu tahap perencanaan, tahap observasi, tahap evaluasi, dan tahap refleksi dengan tujuan untuk mengetahui apakah penerapan pembelajaran individual mata pelajaran IPS dapat meningkatkan aktivitas dan prestasi belajar siswa kelas VIII semester II SMPN 2 Praya. Intrumen yang digunakan adalah lembar observasi, interview, dokumentasi, dan tes. Diperoleh hasil aktivitas siswa dan hasil evaluasi belajar dari 38 siswa yang mendapat nilai 65 sebanyak 36 siswa. Disimpulkan bahwa penerapan pembelajaran idividual pada mata pelajaran IPS dapat meningkatkan aktivitas dan prestasi belajar siswa kelas VIIIsemester II SMPN 2 Praya. Abstract: Class Action Research 2 cycle consisting of 4 stages that is planning stage, observation phase, evaluation phase, and reflection phase with the aim to know whether the application of individual learning subject of IPS can increase activity and achievement of student of class VIII second semester SMPN 2 Praya. The instruments used are observation sheets, interviews, documentation, and tests. Obtained result of student activity and result of evaluation learn from 38 student which get score 65 as 36 student. It was concluded that the application of idividual learning on social studies subjects can improve the activity and achievement of students of class VIII second semester of SMPN 2 Praya.

PEMBERDAYAAN MASYARAKAT DESA MOJOPURNO MELALUI PELATIHAN PEMBUATAN SABUN DARI LIMBAH MINYAK JELANTAH

<p>Jelantah oil is used cooking oil waste, this is organic but if mishandled will pollute the environment. Cooking oil is used for frying foods optimum for 4 times the pan. Cooking oil after use more than 4 times the Pan contains a very high cholesterol levels so that harm to human health that consume them. The purpose this implementation to provide training on the utilization of jelantah from Pan crackers at factory crackers Mojopurno for make an organic soap alternatives. Outreach activities are divided into three phases : 1) observation phase, carried out to determine the potential spread of the villagers and the mojopurno primarily citizens around factories manufacturing crackers; 2) stage of training, was implemented to provide skills training through the creation of soap from the raw material of oil jelantah; 3) Stage evaluation, conducted an evaluation the activities of the citizens who have obtained training in the utilization of waste oil jelantah for making soap.</p>