physical support
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Sensors ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 505
Author(s):  
Niclas Hoffmann ◽  
Samet Ersoysal ◽  
Gilbert Prokop ◽  
Matthias Hoefer ◽  
Robert Weidner

In modern times, the collaboration between humans and machines increasingly rises, combining their respective benefits. The direct physical support causes interaction forces in human–machine interfaces, whereas their form determines both the effectiveness and comfort of the collaboration. However, their correct detection requires various sensor characteristics and remains challenging. Thus, this paper presents a developed low-cost sensor pad working with a silicone capsule and a piezoresistive pressure sensor. Its measurement accuracy is validated in both an isolated testing environment and a laboratory study with four test subjects (gender-balanced), and an application integrated in interfaces of an active upper-body exoskeleton. In the material-testing machine, it becomes apparent that the sensor pad generally features the capability of reliably determining normal forces on its surface until a certain threshold. This is also proven in the real application, where the measurement data of three sensor pads spatially embedded in the exoskeletal interface are compared to the data of an installed multi-axis load cell and a high-resolution flexible pressure map. Here, the consideration of three sensor pads potentially enables detection of exoskeletal support on the upper arm as well as “poor” fit conditions such as uneven pressure distributions that recommend immediate system adjustments for ergonomic improvements.


2022 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Komuhangi ◽  
C. Jenkins ◽  
F. Nakaggwa ◽  
P. Agaba ◽  
F. Githinji ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The impact of informal caregiving is increasingly recognised as an important but often particularly neglected area of research in low and middle income countries. It is important to understand not only the effect of care on patient outcomes, but also the impact of caring on caregivers’ health and wellbeing. Methods Guided by the Arksey and O’Malley (Res Methodol 8:19–32, 2005) framework, this scoping review sought to collate and chart existing research on the needs, burdens and challenges experienced by caregivers in Uganda. Results The results of this review indicate that research focusing on the needs of caregivers for individuals with communicable disease, particularly HIV, has been well developed in Uganda, however, there is a lack of research on caregiving related to non-communicable diseases. Research has been dominated by small qualitative studies that are informative for understanding roles, burdens and contextually-specific aspects of care, but there is a need for larger studies that develop and test interventions designed to support the needs of caregivers. Conclusions Recurrent themes identified within this review, such as challenges in providing physical support and accessing treatment services, financial costs of care, psychological and mental health impacts and the experience of stigma, should help to inform well targeted and contextually-appropriate future research and interventions.


Biomolecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1908
Author(s):  
Shinji Sakai ◽  
Ryohei Harada ◽  
Takashi Kotani

Freeform bioprinting, realized by extruding ink-containing cells into supporting materials to provide physical support during printing, has fostered significant advances toward the fabrication of cell-laden soft hydrogel constructs with desired spatial control. For further advancement of freeform bioprinting, we aimed to propose a method in which the ink embedded in supporting materials gelate through a cytocompatible and rapid cascade reaction between oxidase and peroxidase. To demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method, we extruded ink containing choline, horseradish peroxidase (HRP), and a hyaluronic acid derivative, cross-linkable by HRP-catalyzed reaction, into a supporting material containing choline oxidase and successfully obtained three-dimensional hyaluronic acid-based hydrogel constructs with good shape fidelity to blueprints. Cytocompatibility of the bioprinting method was confirmed by the comparable growth of mouse fibroblast cells, released from the printed hydrogels through degradation on cell culture dishes, with those not exposed to the printing process, and considering more than 85% viability of the enclosed cells during 10 days of culture. Owing to the presence of derivatives of the various biocompatible polymers that are cross-linkable through HRP-mediated cross-linking, our results demonstrate that the novel 3D bioprinting method has great potential in tissue engineering applications.


Author(s):  
Debi BHATTACHARYA ◽  
Hattie Whiteside ◽  
Emma Tang ◽  
Kumud Kantilal ◽  
Yoon Loke ◽  
...  

This realist enquiry applying behavioural theory aimed to identify behavioural mechanisms and contexts that facilitate prescribers tapering opioids. We identified relevant opioid tapering interventions and services from a 2018 international systematic review and a 2019 England-wide survey, respectively. Interventions and services were eligible if they provided information about contexts and/or behavioural mechanisms influencing opioid tapering success. A stakeholder group (n=23) generated draft programme theories based around the 14 domains of the theoretical domains framework. We refined these using the trial and service data. From 71 articles and 21 survey responses, 56 and 16 respectively were included, representing primary care, hospital, specialist pain facilities and prison services. We identified six programme theories that included five behavioural mechanisms: prescribers’ knowledge about how to taper; build prescribers’ beliefs about capabilities to initiate tapering discussions and manage psychological consequences of tapering; perceived professional role in tapering; the environmental context enabling referral to specialists; and facilitating positive social influence by aligning patient: prescriber expectations of tapering. No interventions are addressing all six mechanisms supportive of tapering. Work is required to operationalise programme theories according to organisational structures and resources. An example operationalisation is combining tapering guidelines with information about local excess opioid problems and endorsing these with organisational branding. Prescribers being given the skills and confidence to initiate tapering discussions by training them in cognitive-based interventions and incorporating access to psychological and physical support in the patient pathway. Patients being provided with leaflets about the tapering process and informed about the patient pathway.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 921-922
Author(s):  
Hye Soo Lee

Abstract The importance of reciprocity in social support for well-being has been shown, but few studies have investigated marital support reciprocity in older Korean samples. This study examined the associations between three types of marital support reciprocity and life satisfaction, stratified by age and gender. The sample consisted of 1,578 men and 1,464 women from the 2017 National Survey of Older Koreans, divided into young-old (65-74) and old-old (75+) groups (M age = 75.06, SD = 6.35). Participants self-reported emotional, instrumental, and physical support provided to and received from spouses, and life satisfaction (LS). Regression models controlling for covariates showed that results varied by age and gender. For young-old males, received emotional and provided instrumental support were positively associated with LS. For young-old females, both received and provided emotional support, and received instrumental support, were positively associated with LS, but provided physical support showed negative associations. For old-old males, providing emotional support was positively associated with LS; for old-old females, only received emotional support was significant. Using interaction terms to assess reciprocity, young-old females and old-old males showed reciprocity effects for instrumental support. When participants provided and received high levels of support, life satisfaction levels were high. However, when participants provided low levels of support, received support was not significant. Thus, the effects of receipt and provision of support on LS varied by age and gender among older Koreans, but reciprocity of instrumental support was only important for young-old women and old-old men.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 928-928
Author(s):  
Susanna Joo ◽  
Changmin Lee ◽  
YoonMyung Kim ◽  
Chang Oh Kim ◽  
Yun Mook Lim ◽  
...  

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the interaction effects of social support from family and educational contexts on technology anxiety among Korean older adults. We collected data by online recruiting in February 2021, and the sample was Korean older adults without dementia (N=310; 65-89 years old). The dependent variable was technology anxiety, which meant the expected degree of worry under the assumption that a wearable robot for exercise was used. Independent variables were four types of social support (emotional, instrumental, physical, and financial support) provided by family members, such as spouse, children, or siblings. The moderating variable was the binary educational context (high school and under=0; college level and over=1). Interaction effects were estimated by bootstrapping and PROCESS macro with four regression models about each type of social support. Results showed the interaction effect between physical support and educational context was significant on technology anxiety. Concretely, getting more physical support was significantly associated with a lower level of technology anxiety for highly educated older adults, while it was not significant for less-educated older adults. There was no additional type of social support which had not only significant interaction effects with educational context but also main effects on technology anxiety. It suggested that providing direct physical help, including daily care or assistance, could decrease feeling technology anxiety, especially not for less-educated seniors but for highly educated Korean older adults.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Courtney K. Brock ◽  
Katherine L. Hebert ◽  
Maria Artiles ◽  
Maryl K. Wright ◽  
Thomas Cheng ◽  
...  

Obesity rates are climbing, representing a confounding and contributing factor to many disease states, including cancer. With respect to breast cancer, obesity plays a prominent role in the etiology of this disease, with certain subtypes such as triple-negative breast cancer having a strong correlation between obesity and poor outcomes. Therefore, it is critical to examine the obesity-related alterations to the normal stroma and the tumor microenvironment (TME). Adipocytes and adipose stem cells (ASCs) are major components of breast tissue stroma that have essential functions in both physiological and pathological states, including energy storage and metabolic homeostasis, physical support of breast epithelial cells, and directing inflammatory and wound healing responses through secreted factors. However, these processes can become dysregulated in both metabolic disorders, such as obesity and also in the context of breast cancer. Given the well-established obesity-neoplasia axis, it is critical to understand how interactions between different cell types in the tumor microenvironment, including adipocytes and ASCs, govern carcinogenesis, tumorigenesis, and ultimately metastasis. ASCs and adipocytes have multifactorial roles in cancer progression; however, due to the plastic nature of these cells, they also have a role in regenerative medicine, making them promising tools for tissue engineering. At the physiological level, the interactions between obesity and breast cancer have been examined; here, we will delineate the mechanisms that regulate ASCs and adipocytes in these different contexts through interactions between cancer cells, immune cells, and other cell types present in the tumor microenvironment. We will define the current state of understanding of how adipocytes and ASCs contribute to tumor progression through their role in the tumor microenvironment and how this is altered in the context of obesity. We will also introduce recent developments in utilizing adipocytes and ASCs in novel approaches to breast reconstruction and regenerative medicine.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 12855
Author(s):  
Diego Saez Ujaque ◽  
Elisabet Roca ◽  
Rafael de Balanzó Joue ◽  
Pere Fuertes ◽  
Pilar Garcia-Almirall

This paper addresses socio-ecological, community-led resilience as the ability of the urban system to progress and adapt. This is based on the socio-cultural, self-organized case study of CanFugarolas in Mataró (Barcelona), for the recovery of a derelict industrial building and given the lack of attention to resilience emerging from grassroots. Facing rigidities (stagnation) observed under the provisions of urban regeneration policies (regulatory realm), evidenced in the proliferation of urban voids (infrastructural arena), the social subsystem stands as the enabler of urban progression. Under the heuristics of the Adaptive Cycle and Panarchy, the study embraces Fath’s model to analyze the transition along, and the interactions between, the adaptive cycles at each urban subsystem. The mixed method approach reveals the ability of the community to navigate all stages and overcome successive ailments, despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles (traps) at the physical support (built stock) and the regulatory arena (urban planning). Further, cross-scale, social-centered interactions (panarchy) are also traced, becoming the “sink” and the “trigger” of the urban dynamics. The community, in the form of an actor-network, becomes the catalyst (through Remember/Revolt) of urban resilience at the city scale. At a managerial level, this evidences its temporal and spatial complementarity to top-down urban regeneration policies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marsha L. Brierley ◽  
Lindsey R. Smith ◽  
Daniel P. Bailey ◽  
Sofie A. Every ◽  
Taylor A. Staines ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Workplace interventions have shown promise for reducing sitting in office workers. Police office staff remain an understudied population group that work within a disciplined organisation with distinctive work tasks around public safety, potentially affecting their capability, opportunity, and motivation to change sitting behaviour. This study aimed to assess the perceived influences on reducing workplace sitting in non-operational, desk-based police staff in order to derive theoretical determinants for behaviour change. Methods Ten police staff from a single police force in Bedfordshire, England [eight female; 39.5 ± 11.5 years] took part in face-to-face semi-structured interviews lasting 46 ± 11 min on average. Thematic analysis identified key themes which were then mapped onto the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) and linked to the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation-Behaviour (COM-B) model. Results Seven themes were identified: ‘Work tasks are seated’, ‘Social norm is to sit’, ‘Belief in ability to regulate behaviour’, ‘Knowledge of health risks’, ‘Organisational support’, ‘Impact on productivity’, and ‘Perceived autonomy for sitting reduction’. Conclusions Awareness of behaviour and health impacts (Capability), social and physical support to sit less (Opportunity), and habit formation techniques (Motivation) are recommended considerations in sitting reduction workplace interventions for police staff.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Lesley Ann Dixon

<p>Within childbirth there is a common and widely known explanation of labour and birth which describes and defines the birth process as that of stages and phases. The boundaries between the stages and phases have been determined by cervical dilatation with time parameters set to measure progress. The measurement of cervical dilatation is determined by a health professional and has resulted in an apparent inability of women to determine themselves whether they are in labour and their closeness to the impending birth. The aims of this thesis were threefold; the first was to critically examine the knowledge base of labour progress, so that the influences on knowledge development were fully understood. Through exploring the historical and theoretical development I found that the current knowledge has come from a male understanding of female anatomy and observational data constructed within a discourse of male, medical, scientific superiority. The second aim of the thesis was to explore the perspectives of women who had experienced a spontaneous labour and birth in order to determine whether the discourse of labour as stages and phases resonated with them. This leads to the third aim of providing a description of the women’s voices and perspectives based on their experiential knowledge of spontaneous labour and birth. A critical feminist ontology and feminist standpoint methodology guided the research which used in-depth one-to-one interviews with 18 women who had experienced a spontaneous labour and birth. Early thematic analysis was developed further through feedback from the participants supporting a coconstruction of knowledge. Analysis revealed that women considered the stages and phases of labour to be an abstract concept which did not resonate with their experiences of labour and birth. An important aspect of labour was having support during the process, in terms of both emotional and physical support from midwives, partners, family and friends present during the labour and birth. Women’s perceptions were dominated by their feelings and a linear pattern of feelings was discerned consistently amongst the participants. The emotions of labour were an important finding in this research but during the feedback process the women requested a scientific foundation to support the findings. I therefore explored the recent advances in theoretical understanding of the role of emotion, cognition, physiology and behaviour. Contemporary theories define emotions and neurohormones as bi-directional and intricately linked to behaviour change and physiological adaptations. I argue that the feelings women have described give an indication of an underlying hormonal influence and a directing of behaviour, necessary for labour to move towards birth. The hormones involved in labour also support maternal behaviour and attachment to the baby. I suggest a new conceptual understanding of labour as the integration of the mind, body and behaviour in which the feelings and hormones that initiate and sustain labour to birth also support the necessary adaptation and transition to becoming a mother. This integrated neurophysiologic concept will help midwives and other health professionals involved in maternity to recognise emotions as a key to understanding physiological labour and birth. It has also highlighted the importance of emotional and physical support during labour. Further research is necessary to test the hypothesis that women experience a similar range of emotions at similar times during a spontaneous labour and birth and to what extent the described emotions resonate with other women’s experiences.</p>


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