The Perceptual Consistency and Association of the LMA Effort Elements

Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) and its Effort element provide a conceptual framework through which we can observe, describe, and interpret the intention of movement. Effort attributes provide a link between how people move and how their movement communicates to others. It is crucial to investigate the perceptual characteristics of Effort to validate whether it can serve as an effective framework to support a wide range of applications in animation and robotics that require a system for creating or perceiving expressive variation in motion. To this end, we first constructed an Effort motion database of short video clips of five different motions: walk, sit down, pass, put, wave performed in eight ways corresponding to the extremes of the Effort elements. We then performed a perceptual evaluation to examine the perceptual consistency and perceived associations among Effort elements: Space (Indirect/Direct), Time (Sustained/Sudden), Weight (Light/Strong), and Flow (Free/Bound) that appeared in the motion stimuli. The results of the perceptual consistency evaluation indicate that although the observers do not perceive the LMA Effort element 100% as intended, true response rates of seven Effort elements are higher than false response rates except for light Effort. The perceptual consistency results showed varying tendencies by motion. The perceptual association between LMA Effort elements showed that a single LMA Effort element tends to co-occur with the elements of other factors, showing significant correlation with one or two factors (e.g., indirect and free, light and free).

Survey and Design Consistency Evaluation in Two-Lane Rural Road Segments

The present research proposes a time and cost-effective methodology to survey and perform a design consistency evaluation in two-lane rural road segments. The implementation of the proposed methodology carried out in Central Greece and more particularly along the national road Volos-Karditsa, from the local community Mikrothives up to the entrance of the Volos municipal unit. The road survey methodology, the process of creating the terrain model as well as the cross-check between the designed road with the requirements included in the Greek Road Design Guidelines Manual-Chapter X, are analytically presented. Similar checks are also performed for the sight distance throughout the road segments aiming to enable the rehabilitation of existing rural roads and enhance their safety level. The design of the road was followed by the execution of an experiment with the participation of a motorcycle rider aiming at the recording of his trajectory throughout the road which was then compared with its geometry. The experiment carried out by exploiting an instrumented vehicle and GPS technology. Several conclusions were drawn regarding the encroachment of the centerline and the deviation from the theoretical trajectory in the middle of the travelled way. Subsequently, the proposed methodology provides a reliable and simple solution of surveying and evaluating a 2-lane rural road in safety terms.

Technical performance analysis of different types of spirometers

Background The spirometer is an important element in lung function examinations, and its accuracy is directly related to the accuracy of the results of these examinations and to the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Our aim was to conduct a performance analysis of the detection techniques of differential pressure and ultrasonic portable spirometers commonly used in China. Methods A standard flow/volume simulator was used to analyze the performance (accuracy, repeatability, linearity, impedance, and so on) of portable spirometers, 4 imported and 6 domestic, based on 13 curves generated by different air sources in the ISO 26782:2009 standard. A Bland–Altman diagram was used to evaluate the consistency between the values measured by the spirometers and the simulator. Results The pass rates for accuracy, repeatability, linearity, and impedance for the 10 different portable spirometers were 50%, 100%, 70%, and 70%, respectively. Only 30% (3/10) of the spirometers—2 domestic and 1 imported—met all standards of quality and performance evaluation, while the rest were partially up to standard. In the consistency evaluation, only 3 spirometers were within both the consistency standard range and the acceptability range. Conclusion The quality and performance of different types of portable spirometers commonly used in the clinic differ. The use of a standard flow/volume simulator is helpful for the standard evaluation of the technical performance of spirometers.

Development and application of a chemical profiling method for the assessment of the quality and consistency of the Pelargonium sidoides extract

The evaluation of chemical similarity is very significant for the evaluation and standardization of the quality of herbal medicines as the biological activity of herbal medicines depends on the composition and proportion of many individual components. Many health organizations have recommended chemical profiling for the quality and consistency evaluation of herbal medicines. In this study, chemical profiling was performed to evaluate the similarity between batches of Pelargonium sidoides maltodextrin mixture (PMM) from EPs® 7630, a Pelargonium sidoides extract preparation. For chemical profile analysis, 7 common peaks were selected from 27 different PMM batches and specificity, linearity, accuracy, and precision tests were performed to develop the analytical method. The Pearson correlation coefficients of the similarity for all 27 batches manufactured over the years were higher than 0.90, indicating that quality consistency is well ensured over the years. This profiling method confirms the chemical profile of various commercial products using not only PMM but also Pelargonium sidoides extract and shows that it can be applied to standardization of quality.

Total Synthesis of C-8 Hydroxyl Substituted Lomefloxacin as the Photolysis Impurity

Objective: Photochemical decomposition of lomefloxacin (Lom) is supposed to result in the generation of C-8 substituted impurity and accompanied fluoride. The existence and amount of C-8 hydroxyl substituted Lom could be proposed as the marker to the stability and process consistency. The specific C-8 hydroxyl substituent impurity (1-ethyl-6-fluoro-8-hydroxy-7-(3-methylpiperazin-1-yl )-4-oxo-1,4-dihydroquinoline-3-carboxylic acid) was designed and synthesized to be available. Method: 2,4,5-trifluoro-3-methoxybenzoic acid as the initial reactant was subjected to a series of seven-step reactions, such as acylation, condensation with trans N,N-dimethylamino ethyl acrylate, N-ethylation, cyclization, hydrolysis, condensation with piperazine and acidification. The resultant substance was then purified using HPLC and C18 solid-phase extraction. The structure of C-8 hydroxyl substituted Lom was identified with 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR and HRMS spectroscopes, as well as the purity was determined by HPLC. Conclusion: C-8 hydroxyl substituted Lom was successfully synthesized and purified with purity more than 96%. This photolysis impurity offers an alternative for not only further generic Lom active pharmaceutical ingredient development involved in quality control and consistency evaluation, but also research for the mechanism underlying Lom-induced photosensitivity.