Design of grip strength measuring system using FSR and flex sensors using SVM algorithm

This paper proposes a design of a complete system to identify weak grip strength that is caused by multiple factors like ageing, diseases, or accidents. This paper presents a grip measurement system that comprises of force sensing resistor and flex sensor to evaluate the condition of the hand. The system is tested by gripping a pencil and a cylindrical object using the glove, to determine the condition of the hand. Force sensitive resistor (FSR) evaluates the force applied by the different parts of the palm on the object being grasped. Flex sensor evaluates the bending of the fingers and thumb. The data from the sensors is then compared with existing data to evaluate the state of the hand. The data from the sensors is stored on the personal computer (PC) through serial communication. A model is trained using the data from the sensors, which determine if the grip strength of the user is weak or strong. The model is also trained to differentiate between two modes that are pen mode and object mode. The model achieved an accuracy of 90.8 percent using support vector machine (SVM) algorithm. This glove can be deployed in medical centers to assist in grip strength measurement.

Repetitive and forceful movements of the hand as predictors of treatment for pain in the distal upper extremities

ObjectiveTo investigate repetitive movements and the use of hand force as causes of treatment for distal upper extremities musculoskeletal disordersMethodsA cohort of 202 747 workers in a pension health scheme from 2005 to 2017 in one of 17 jobs (eg, office work, carpentry, cleaning) was formed. Representative electro-goniometric measurements of wrist angular velocity as a measure for repetition and expert-rated use of hand force were used in a job exposure matrix (JEM). Job titles were retrieved from the Danish registers. Outcome was first treatment in the distal upper extremities. In a Poisson regression model, incidence rate ratios (IRRs) of treatment were adjusted for age, calendar-year, diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis and arm fractures. In further analyses, wrist velocity or hand force was added.ResultsIn men, wrist velocity had an IRR of 1.48 (95% CI 1.15 to 1.91) when the highest exposure level was compared with the lowest but with no clear exposure-response pattern. The effect became insignificant when adjusted for hand force. Hand force had an IRR of 2.65 (95% CI 2.13 to 3.29) for the highest versus the lowest exposure with an exposure-response pattern, which remained after adjustment for wrist velocity. Among women, no increased risk was found for hand force, while wrist velocity showed a significantly protective association with treatment.ConclusionsIn men, occupational exposure to hand force more than doubled the risk of seeking treatment. The results for exposure to repetition were less clear. In women, we could not find any indications of an increased risk neither for force nor for repetition.

Evidence Of We-Representation In Monkeys When Acting Together

A hallmark of successful evolution resides in the ability to adapt our actions to those of others, optimizing collective behaviour, so as to achieve goals otherwise unattainable by individuals acting alone. We have previously shown that macaques constitute a good model to analyse joint behavior, since they are able to coordinate their actions in a dyadic context. In the present work, we investigated whether monkeys can improve their joint-action performance, under special visuomotor conditions. The behavior of 5 monkeys was analyzed in isometric center-out tasks, requiring hand force application in different directions, either individually or together with a partner. Manipulating the presence or absence of a pre-instruction about the future action condition (SOLO or TOGETHER), allowed us to investigate on the existence of a "we-representation" in macaque monkeys. We found that pre-cueing the future action context increased the chances of dyadic success, also thanks to the emergence of an optimal kinematic setting, that ultimately facilitates inter-individual motor coordination. Our results offer empirical evidence in macaques of a "We-representation" during collective behavior, that once is cued in advance has an overall beneficial effect on joint performance.

Revision rates of trapeziometacarpal total joint arthroplasty in relation to occupational hand force requirements

The purpose was to determine revision rates after trapeziometacarpal total joint arthroplasty in working age patients, hypothesizing that higher occupational hand force requirements lead to higher revision rates. We conducted a follow-up study of patients operated 2003–2015. Self-reported job titles at the time of primary surgery were linked with a job exposure matrix to estimate occupational hand force requirements. Time until revision was analysed using Cox regression. The study comprised 222 patients aged 39–65 years (mean 55, SD 6), including 133 patients in the labour market. The median follow-up period was 5 years (interquartile range 4–7) and the overall revision rate was 5/100 person-years. For high versus low occupational hand force requirements, the hazard ratio was 1.5 (95% confidence interval 0.5–4.4). For patients outside the labour market, the hazard ratio was 2.3 (0.9–5.6). Our results did not indicate large effects of high occupational hand force requirements on revision rates. Level of evidence: IV

TRANSFORMATION OF DESIRE IN THE "POST-CONSUMPTION" SOCIETY

The process of transformation of the theoretical model of desire as a phenomenon of subjective socio-cultural reality and the essential expression of the whole human being is comprehended. The methodological basis of the article consists of general scientific and philosophical methods of cognition; the authors rely on the dialectical method in studying the phenomenon of desire as the unity of the material and symbolic worlds. The causes and consequences of changes that occur in modern consumer society from the standpoint of “wishing human”, when the desire that actualizes the person of the subject is defined as a process carried out by man in everyday life. Socio-economic mechanisms are analysed, which, on the one hand, force a person to work constantly, and on the other hand – to rethink their needs and desires, transforming the latter, as a result of which it moves to the consumption of objects, many of which are incorporeal. The ontological aspect of the interpretation of desire as a way of social existence expands the knowledge of human nature and seeks to answer the question of why certain events occur in human existence and how they relate to human. It can be stated that the attempt to form a new hedonistic value system in the new generation was successful, and its key differences from the traditional hedonistic value system are immateriality, accessibility and a large number of adherents, which naturally follows from this accessibility. Multi-vector communication involves the possibility of varying the choice of freedom of the subject, which in actions and inferences is relative one, although there is a dependence on communication with sociality, a form of communication with which there is a desire. Subject and object are constituted by desire, which is the impetus for creation, change, movement, and acquisition.