OBJECTIVES: This paper discusses activity detection and analysis (ADA) using security robots in workplaces. The application scenario of this method relies on processing image and sensor data for event and activity detection. The events that are detected are classified for its abnormality based on the analysis performed using the sensor and image data operated using a convolution neural network. This method aims to improve the accuracy of detection by mitigating the deviations that are classified in different levels of the convolution process.
RESULTS: The differences are identified based on independent data correlation and information processing. The performance of the proposed method is verified for the three human activities, such as standing, walking, and running, as detected using the images and sensor dataset.
CONCLUSION: The results are compared with the existing method for metrics accuracy, classification time, and recall.
STUDY DESIGN: Experimental.
SAMPLE POPULATION: Fourteen equine cadaver limbs/horses.
METHODS: Simulated fractures were repaired with 2 lag screws under 4-Nm insertion torque (linear repair). Computed tomography (CT) imaging was performed with the leg unloaded and loaded to forces generated while walking. The fracture repair was revised to include 3 lag screws placed with the same insertion torque (triangular repair) prior to CT. The width of the fracture gap was assessed qualitatively by 2 observers and graded on the basis of gap measurements relative to the average voxel size at dorsal, mid, and palmar P1 sites. Interobserver agreement was assessed with Cohen's κ. The effect of repair type, loading condition, and measurement site on fracture gap grades was evaluated by using Kendall's τ-b correlation coefficients and paired nonparametric tests. Significance was set at P ≤ .05.
RESULTS: Agreement between loading and fracture gap widening was fair in triangular (κ = 0.53) and excellent in linear (κ = 0.81) repairs. Loading resulted in fracture gap distraction in linear repairs (Plinear = .008). Triangular repairs reduced fractures better irrespective of loading (Punloaded = .003; Ploaded
METHODS: A total of 551 individuals were screened for the presence of intestinal, urogenital and blood parasites by using different diagnostic techniques. Demographic, socioeconomic, household and behavioural characteristics were collected using a pre-tested questionnaire.
RESULTS: Overall, 84.0% (463/551) of the participants were found to be infected with at least one parasite species, with 51.2% (282/551) of them having polyparasitism. The most prevalent parasites were Plasmodium falciparum (60.6%) followed by Blastocystis sp. (29.2%) and hookworm (15.4%). No significant association was found between malaria and helminth infections (p>0.05). Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that the presence of other family members who had intestinal polyparasitism (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=4.12; 95% CI=2.72, 6.24), walking barefoot outside (AOR=1.70; 95% CI=1.09, 2.63) and being male (AOR=1.74; 95% CI=1.14, 2.66) were the significant risk factors of intestinal polyparasitism among the population studied.
CONCLUSION: Polyparasitism is highly prevalent among rural communities in Kano State. Therefore, effective, sustainable and integrated control measures should be identified and implemented to significantly reduce the burden and consequences of these infections in rural Nigeria.
METHOD: The study was carried out by collecting data from field observation and questionnaire distribution on the street among the public. The data were statistically analyzed by applying multiple linear regression models and a series of chi-square tests.
RESULTS: The study found that the most influential factor cited by pedestrians in decision making regarding using a footbridge is the existence of an escalator. Being in a hurry and the fear of heights were significantly associated with choosing not to use a footbridge. Zebra crossing was chosen as the most favorable type of crossing facility by the majority of respondents. In addition, installation of a fence and barriers was proposed as an effective procedure to prevent jaywalking. To construct new and efficient footbridges in the future, the study suggests consideration of traffic volume, posted speed limit, and the number of lanes, because these are the most influential factors to predict the usage rate.
CONCLUSIONS: The study encourages decision makers and stakeholders to consider providing escalators for new footbridges to enhance the safety of pedestrians.
METHODS: Adolescents and one of their parents (N = 5714 dyads) were recruited from neighborhoods varying in walkability and socio-economic status. To measure perceived neighborhood environment, 14 countries administered the NEWS-Y to parents and one country to adolescents. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to derive comparable country-specific measurement models of the NEWS-Y-IPEN. Country-specific standard deviations quantified within-country variability in the NEWS-Y-IPEN subscales, while linear mixed models determined the percentage of subscale variance due to between-country differences. To examine the construct validity of NEWS-Y-IPEN subscales, we estimated their associations with the categorical measures of area-level walkability and socio-economic status.
RESULTS: Final country-specific measurement models of the factor-analyzable NEWS-Y-IPEN items provided acceptable levels of fit to the data and shared the same factorial structure with five latent factors (Accessibility and walking facilities; Traffic safety; Pedestrian infrastructure and safety; Safety from crime; and Aesthetics). All subscales showed sufficient levels of within-country variability. Residential density had the highest level of between-country variability. Associations between NEWS-Y-IPEN subscales and area-level walkability and socio-economic status provided strong evidence of construct validity.
CONCLUSIONS: A robust measurement model and common scoring protocol of NEWS-Y for the IPEN Adolescent project (NEWS-Y-IPEN) were derived. The NEWS-Y-IPEN possesses good factorial and construct validity, and is able to capture between-country variability in perceived neighborhood environments. Future studies employing NEWS-Y-IPEN should use the proposed scoring protocol to facilitate cross-study comparisons and interpretation of findings.
Methods: Forty stroke survivors were recruited (20 with DPN and 20 without DPN) in this cross-sectional study design. Instrumented timed up and go (iTUG) tests were conducted in three different tasking conditions (single task, dual motor and dual cognitive). APDM® Mobility Lab system was used to capture the gait parameters during the iTUG tests. A two-way mixed analysis of variance was used to determine the main effects of gait performance on three taskings during the iTUG test.
Results: Spatiotemporal gait parameters and turning performance (turning time and turning step times) were more affected by the tasking conditions in stroke survivors with DPN compared to those without DPN (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: Stroke survivors with DPN had difficulty walking while turning and performing a secondary task simultaneously.
Methods: Fifty-seven participants were assessed for their demographics and functional ability relating to the requirement for walking devices, including the Timed Up and Go Test (TUGT) and lower limb loading during sit-to-stand (LLL-STS).
Results: Thirty-five participants (61%) used a walking device, particularly a standard walker, for daily walking. More than half of them (n = 23, 66%) had potential of walking progression (i.e., safely walk with a less-support device than the usual one). The ability of walking progression was significantly associated with a mild severity of injury, increased lower-limb muscle strength, decreased time to complete the TUGT, and, in particular, increased LLL-STS.
Conclusion: A large proportion of ambulatory individuals with SCI have the potential for walking progression, which may increase their level of independence and minimise the appearance of disability. Strategies to promote LLL-STS are important for this progression.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted with 202 independently mobile OP (males 32%) in seven LTC homes in the Klang Valley of Malaysia. Trained personnel measured their anthropometrics, body composition, gait speed, hand grip strength and timed up-and-go (TUG) duration. Criteria of the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) and of the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia were used to identify the presence of sarcopenia. The mini-nutritional assessment (MNA) was used to determine their nutritional status. Additionally, logistic regression analysis was performed to identify significant risk factors associated with pre-sarcopenia/sarcopenia.
Results: Pre-sarcopenia/sarcopenia was detected in 103 (51%) OP. The significant risk factors were body mass index (BMI, weight/height2; adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.44, P < 0.001), percentage of body fat (PBF; AOR = 1.26, P < 0.001), age group (≥ 80 years; AOR = 3.63, P = 0.025) and 'at risk of malnutrition' status (AOR = 2.63, P = 0.049).
Conclusion: Sarcopenia is common among OP in LCT homes. The risk increases with decreasing BMI, increasing PBF, age ≥ 80 years and suboptimal nutrition status.
Methods: Fifty-five primary knee OA (median age 69.0, interquartile range [IQR] 11.0) participated in the cross-sectional study. Three performance-based tests were performed in two sessions with a 1-week interval; 30-s chair stand test, 40-m fast-paced walk test and 9-step stair climb test. Relative reliability included intra-class correlation and Spearman's correlation coefficient (SPC). Absolute reliability included standard error of measurement, minimum detectable change, coefficient of variance, limit of agreement (LOA) and ratio LOA. Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score-Physical Function Short Form (KOOS-PS), knee extensor strength and pain scale were analysed for convergent validity using Pearson's correlation coefficient and SPC. Analysis of Covariance was utilised for known-groups validity.
Results: Relative and absolute reliability were all acceptable. LOA showed small systematic bias. Acceptable construct validity was only found with knee extensor strength. All tests demonstrated known-groups validity with medium to large effect size.
Conclusion: The OARSI minimum core set of performance-based tests demonstrated acceptable relative and absolute reliability and good known-groups validity but poor convergent validity.
Methods: A two-way repeated measures study was conducted on 14 healthy older adults and 14 older adults with balance impairment, who were recruited from the community in Chiang Rai, Thailand. Their walking performance was assessed using a four-metre walking test at their preferred gait speed and while walking under two further gait conditions, in randomised order: dual task walking and dual task walking with a simulated traffic light. Each participant was tested individually, with the testing taking between 15 and 20 minutes to perform, including two-minute rest periods between walking conditions. Two Kinect cameras recorded the spatio-temporal parameters using MFU gait analysis software. Each participant was tested for each condition twice. The mean parameters for each condition were analysed using a two-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) with participant group and gait condition as factors.
Result: There was no significant between-group effect for walking speed, stride length and cadence. There were also no significant effects between gait condition and stride length or cadence. However, the effect between gait condition and walking speed was found to be significant [F(1.557, 40.485) = 4.568,P= 0.024, [Formula: see text]].
Conclusion: An audio-visual cue (simulated traffic light) was found to influence walking speed in both healthy older adults and in older adults with balance impairment. The results suggest that audio-visual cues could be incorporated into healthy lifestyle promotion in older adults with balance impairment.
OBJECTIVE: In order to address this issue, we analyzed how leg muscle activity is related to the variations of the path of movement.
METHOD: Since the electromyography (EMG) signal is a feature of muscle activity and the movement path has complex structures, we used entropy analysis in order to link their structures. The Shannon entropy of EMG signal and walking path are computed to relate their information content.
RESULTS: Based on the obtained results, walking on a path with greater information content causes greater information content in the EMG signal which is supported by statistical analysis results. This allowed us to analyze the relation between muscle activity and walking path.
CONCLUSION: The method of analysis employed in this research can be applied to investigate the relation between brain or heart reactions and walking path.
OBJECTIVE: In this research we benefit from fractal analysis to study the effect of complexity of path of movement on the complexity of human brain reaction.
METHODS: For this purpose we calculate the fractal dimension of the electroencephalography (EEG) signal when subjects walk on different paths with different fractal dimensions (complexity).
RESULTS: The results of the analysis show that the complexity of brain activity increases with the increment of complexity of path of movement.
CONCLUSION: The method of analysis employed in this research can also be employed to analyse the reaction of the human heart and respiration when subjects move on paths with different complexities.
OBJECTIVE: This study for the first time analyzed the coupling of walking paths and brain reaction from the information point of view.
METHODS: We analyzed the Shannon entropy for electroencephalography (EEG) signals versus the walking paths in order to relate their information contents.
RESULTS: According to the results, walking on a path that contains more information causes more information in EEG signals. A strong correlation (p= 0.9999) was observed between the information contents of EEG signals and walking paths. Our method of analysis can also be used to investigate the relation among other physiological signals of a human and walking paths, which has great benefits in rehabilitation science.