20588 research outputs found
Sort by
Identifying key factors associated with assistive technology availability for dementia care using machine learning
Get PDFThis study explores the factors influencing the availability of assistive technology for people with dementia through the application of machine learning. The analysis identified key factors, including carer support, protective legislation, and access to reimbursable products from the WHO Global Health Observatory. A random forest model with high accuracy emphasises the importance of targeted resources and policies in improving dementia care infrastructure
ORIGINS: Nutritional profile of children aged one year in a longitudinal birth cohort
Get PDFBackground: Dietary intake during the first year of life is a key determinant of a child’s growth and development. ORIGINS is a longitudinal birth cohort study investigating factors that contribute to a ‘healthy start to life’ and the prevention of non-communicable diseases. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study aims to describe the dietary intakes of one-year-old children participating in ORIGINS and compare these to the Australian Dietary Guidelines and Nutrient Reference Values (NRVs). Between 2020 and 2023, dietary intake data were collected on 779 one-year-old children using a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ). The analysis explored milk intake (breastmilk, infant formula, and cow’s milk), the introduction to solids, macronutrient, micronutrient, and food group intakes. Results: The results indicated that 41.5% were still being breastfed at one year of age, while 58.0% continued to receive formula milk. While the cohort met NRV cut-offs for most micronutrients, iodine intake fell below requirements, and sodium intake exceeded recommendations. Diet quality, based on the food group intake, did not meet recommendations, with children over-consuming fruit and discretionary foods, while under-consuming vegetables and cereals and grains foods. Conclusions: These findings highlight areas for improvement in the dietary intake of one-year-old children
Recent advances in the design principles of lithium selective membranes
Get PDFThe growing demand for lithium in energy storage applications has intensified the need for efficient lithium extraction technologies, with membrane processes emerging as a promising approach. Among various membrane technologies, nanostructured membranes with precisely engineered channels have shown exceptional potential for selective lithium extraction due to their ability to control ion transport at the molecular level. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of the fundamental design principles governing lithium-selective membranes, with a specific focus on nanochannel-based systems. We examine the critical parameters that influence lithium selectivity, including surface charge distribution, nanochannel dimensions, morphology, and wettability, while exploring how these factors interact with external driving forces to enable selective ion transport. This work extensively analyzes recent developments in nanochannel engineering and ion transport mechanisms, providing crucial insights into optimizing membrane selectivity and performance. By critically analyzing current challenges in scaling up these technologies and identifying promising research directions, this work provides a roadmap for developing next-generation lithium-selective membranes with enhanced efficiency and selectivity
Scoping review of methods of monitoring acute changes in lower body neuromuscular function via force plates
Get PDFForce plates are amongst the most utilised technological apparatus for monitoring acute changes in neuromuscular function in sports. Practitioners apply monitoring strategies to manage neuromuscular fatigue and physical preparedness with valid, reliable, and sensitive measures. The aim of this scoping review was to identify, map, and describe the variety of monitoring procedures which have been previously applied in research (e.g., test and metric selection, data collection, study design, and data analysis procedures). Searches were completed by 24th June 2024. One thousand, nine hundred, and seventy-eight studies were identified across four databases (PubMed, EBSCO, Clarivate web of science, and Ovid). After removing duplicates, applying the inclusion criteria, and scouring the reference lists of remaining studies, a final total of thirty studies of within-group repeated measures design were used in this review. Major differences were identified across all aspects of studies methodologies, such as in subject demographics (e.g., sex, sport, and competitive level), data collection protocols (e.g., force plate hardware utilised, test and metric selection, verbal cues, and provision of information regarding testing surface, familiarisation and warm-up provided, the process of zeroing force plates between trials, and weighing of subjects during trials), and study design (e.g., reference physical activity investigated, time of season, testing timepoints, and training load determination). A general lack of reporting and uniformity in metric definitions, metric calculations, and phase terminology was identified across studies. For example, two separate calculations were reported for “peak force” across studies, as either “the maximum force achieved throughout the entirety of the trial”, or as “the maximum force achieved during the propulsion phase”. The latter calculation was also utilised for “peak concentric force” in a separate study. Thus, an accurate comparison of results across studies (e.g., via meta-analysis) and forming any generalized conclusions about the application of specific tests and metrics for monitoring acute changes in neuromuscular function using force plates was premature at this time. The information presented in this review will contribute towards forming a rationale for the data collection, study design, and data analysis protocols for future research on monitoring acute changes in neuromuscular function using force plates
The Somatechnics of journalism: Applying an embodied perspective to enduring issues in journalism studies
Get PDFThis research applies Somatechnics to the study of journalism and contributes to an emergent epistemological “bodily turn” in the discipline of Journalism Studies. This is a turn toward the body, embodied experience, and the inevitable emotionality of journalism and the journalist as brought forth by Chantal Francoeur and Belinda Middleweek, among others. We invite journalism scholars (and practitioners) to understand journalists’ bodies as sophisticated organic technologies—and to subsequently understand how those bodies are further transmogrified by, and collapsed into, the ever-changing world of news media. We deploy a process of retheorising as a qualitative method in which researchers apply new theoretical frameworks to existing studies or data to provide fresh insights and perspectives. By doing so, we offer a Somatechnics of Journalism as one of several emerging conceptual frameworks to help us turn to the body in Journalism Studies
Unveiling the charisma of artificial intelligence: How voice assistants captivate users and emotionally influence user experience
Get PDFAlthough studies have explored user experience (UX) with artificial intelligence (AI)-powered voice assistants (VAs), the cognitive, psychological, and emotional factors affecting user engagement and experience with VAs have yet to be investigated in depth. Drawing on cognitive absorption and broaden-and-build theories, this study investigates how VAs captivate users, enhance positive emotions, and influence the overall UX. To address these questions, we conduct three types of analyses—exploratory, confirmatory, and configurational—utilizing data from 125,600 user reviews on a popular VA platform (Google Assistant) from 2017 to 2024. First, we employ bidirectional encoder representations from the transformers (BERT)topic modeling to unearth relevant cognitive and psychological factors and use multiple regression analyses to test their impact on UX. Our findings both confirm and contradict previous affirmations about these factors\u27 influence on user engagement and experience with VAs. Next, we apply fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to explore counterfactual causal configurations that contribute to a higher UX. Contributing to existing theory and knowledge of the psychological antecedents of user experiences with AI, our study identifies several combinations of cognitive and emotional factors that can improve user interactions with VAs
Changes in interhemispheric inhibition relating to voluntary contraction
No full textInterhemispheric inhibition (IHI) is a signal, from one hemisphere to the other, that suppresses activity and can decrease motor output from the target hemisphere. IHI is thought to contribute to balancing forces between sides of the body, evidenced particularly in clinical populations, making it important to investigate changes during bilateral contractions. IHI can be assessed using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Dual site TMS allows comparison of unconditioned motor evoked potentials (MEPs) to those conditioned by contralateral stimulation, resulting in short- (SIHI) and long-interval IHI (LIHI). SIHI and LIHI are measured using different interstimulus intervals and represent separate inhibitory mechanisms. IHI of muscle activation is also measured as a reduction in electromyography (EMG), known as the ipsilateral silent period (ISP), via stimulation of the ipsilateral hemisphere. This thesis incudes three studies which investigated whether IHI was affected by voluntary contraction intensity or muscle fatigue, and if modulation of IHI affected reaction time.
Study 1. To comprehensively investigate IHI, it is important to first understand how it may change with different levels of voluntary activation. Literature on the topic is conflicting and primarily uses unilateral contractions but uniformly suggests that at least some form of IHI is altered by contralateral contraction. Thus, the first study aimed to assess the effect of contraction intensity on SIHI, LIHI and the ISP. Participants contracted left and right first dorsal interossei (FDI) between 0% and 100% maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) in different configurations. Varying contraction intensity of the right (conditioning) FDI during steady contraction of left FDI showed weaker SIHI (less inhibition) with the right hand at rest than with it active, no differences in LIHI, and a larger ISP with maximal right-hand contraction than rest or submaximal contraction. When varying contraction intensity of the left (tested) FDI while right FDI steadily contracted, SIHI was stronger during left FDI rest than active conditions, but there was no effect on LIHI. ISP was significantly shorter in the maximal condition than other conditions. These results show that contraction intensity should be considered when measuring SIHI and ISP but does not appear to impact LIHI. This suggests that for future studies involving SIHI and ISP, but not LIHI, need to consider contraction intensity in the aims and implications of the research.
Study 2. If IHI works to balance forces between contralateral muscles, altering this force-balance might result in IHI modulation. Therefore, the second study aimed to assess if muscle fatigue affected IHI. Participants performed bilateral contractions of their FDIs with and without a preceding unilateral fatiguing right MVIC which reduced the force-generating ability of the right FDI. TMS was used to assess unconditioned MEP size, SIHI, LIHI and ISP. The contralateral silent period that follows an MEP was also measured. Muscle fatigue did not appear to have any effect on the unconditioned MEP, nor SIHI, LIHI, or ISP. Fatigue did not alter the silent period following unconditioned MEPs, but silent periods following SIHI[1]conditioned MEPs were shorter with contralateral fatigue. This potentially indicates that fatigue increased IHI onto the inhibitory neurons that subserve the silent period. These results indicate no change to IHI of excitatory neurons under fatigue, suggesting fatigue is not a factor in acute IHI modulation.
Study 3. Knowledge of how IHI affects voluntary movement in healthy populations is limited. Given IHI’s effect on motor excitability, the third study aimed to measure if changes in IHI would affect reaction time. Participants held a target abduction or adduction force with their right index finger and simultaneously performed a reaction time task requiring left index finger abduction as a response. TMS was delivered during the pre-movement phase to elicit MEPs, SIHI and LIHI. Motor excitability at the time of stimulus was higher during right abduction and there was weaker SIHI (less inhibition), but no difference in LIHI. Importantly, reaction time was faster during right abduction. Thus, stronger SIHI brought about by an action of one hand increased reaction time of the other hand, demonstrating an influence of IHI on voluntary movement initiation in a healthy population.
These studies work together in assessing the interplay between motor output and IHI. The present thesis expanded on previous research into the effect of contraction on IHI by taking measures across a wide spectrum of bilateral contractions in unfatigued and fatigued states. These results are relevant to the both the research of IHI and to clinical populations whose motor symptoms appear related to the phenomenon. Furthermore, the impact of IHI on motor output is demonstrated by showing its modulation can alter motor initiation
Can quantitative sensory testing predict treatment outcomes in hip and knee osteoarthritis? A systematic review and meta-analysis of individual participant data
No full textAn individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis can assess the predictive value of data on outcomes at the individual level, offering a potential tool for developing personalized pain management. Pretreatment quantitative sensory testing (QST) may stratify patient groups, which are then linked to treatment outcomes. Our objective was to determine if measures of QST at baseline are related to treatment outcomes (at any time point) for pain and disability in lower-limb osteoarthritis. We performed a systematic review with an IPD meta-analysis. Searches were conducted in 9 databases until May 5, 2023 for intervention studies that measured baseline QST and longitudinal measures of participant-reported pain and disability. We performed a 2-stage approach to analyse longitudinal data. Individual models were fitted to each study and combined using random effects multivariate meta-analytic models. Study quality was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute checklist, and certainty of the evidence was assessed using GRADE. We identified 3082 records and included 1 hip and 28 knee datasets consisting of 2522 participants from 40 studies. Local warm detection thresholds (P = 0.024) predicted knee osteoarthritis pain outcomes (very-low certainty). Local warm detection thresholds (P = 0.030), remote cold detection thresholds (P = 0.05), and remote pressure tolerance thresholds (P = 0.007) predicted knee osteoarthritis disability outcomes (very-low certainty). Other QST variables were associated with hip and knee osteoarthritis pain and disability levels (eg, pressure pain thresholds), but this relationship did not change over time. This review finds that mechanism-based, QST methodologies do not consistently predict pain or disability on an individual level in hip or knee osteoarthritis
7E and sustainability analysis of photovoltaic thermal system (PVT) incorporating graphene and Al2O3 nano-particles with paraffin wax integrated fin arrangements
Get PDFThe efficiency and electricity production of a solar photovoltaic (PV) system are significantly influenced by the temperature of the PV module. Numerous studies have incorporated nanomaterials into phase change materials (PCM) integrated with PV systems to enhance thermodynamic performance; however, life-cycle aspects and the 7E sustainability indicators remain largely unaddressed. No study has yet explored paraffin wax hybridized with Al2O3 and graphene nanomaterials in specific ratios within a photovoltaic thermal (PVT) and fin system at an optimal fluid flow rate. Three different scenarios have been explored in this study, including a PVT/PCM system with a water-flowing fluid, a PVT/Fin arrangements/hybrid nano-PCM (3.0 wt % graphene and 1.0 wt % Al2O3 with paraffin wax) (PVT/Fin/HNPCM) system maintaining a steady water flow rate of 0.0083 kg/s for passive cooling and a conventional PV panel. The effectiveness of all three PV configurations using 7E (Energy, Exergy, Economic, Environmental, Energo-economic, Exergo-economic, Enviro-economic) and sustainability analyses has also been conducted. The HNPCM sample exhibited an improvement in thermal conductivity of about 480 % compared to pure PCM. The highest electrical and thermal energy efficiency of PVT/Fin/HNPCM is attained at about 15.40 % and 76.50 %, respectively. The cost for generating electricity for PVT/Fin/HNPCM has been 0.0149 /kWh for the PV, with a 23.18 % higher life-cycle conversion efficiency. PVT/Fin/HNPCM is the most sustainable system in the present investigation, having a high sustainable index of 1.022
A multivariate analysis of reported quality of life among medical students in Jordan using the WHOQOL-BREF
Get PDFBACKGROUND: Low quality of life (QoL) in university students is often associated with unhealthy lifestyle and negative impacts on students\u27 ability to learn and succeed. To date, no research has examined the QoL of medical students in Jordan or the demographic factors that may associate with lower QoL. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A quantitative, cross-sectional study with a descriptive design was chosen for this study. Participants were 512 medical students from one public university in Jordan. The Arabic version of the World Health Quality of life-brief survey (WHOQOL-BREF) was used to collect data online from students. RESULTS: Regarding the overall QoL, most students rated their QoL (67%) and health satisfaction (64%) as good. There were significant differences across the various QoL domains in relation to gender, academic achievements, and academic year level (P \u3c 0.005). The physical health domain had the highest mean score (60.60 ± 17.00), while psychological health domain had the lowest mean score (56.90 ± 17.75). CONCLUSION: Lower QoL scores among female students may reflect a socially disadvantaged environment and poorer well-being for female medical students. Lower scores in physical and psychological domains among students with lower GPAs suggest the need for initiating well-being programs to promote a study-friendly atmosphere