42228 research outputs found
Sort by
Bespoke fuzzy logic design to automate a better understanding of running gait analysis
Get PDFRunning gait assessment and running shoe recommendation is important for the injury prevention of runners who exhibit different skill-levels and running styles. Traditionally, running gait assessment for shoe recommendation relies upon a combination of trained professionals (e.g., sports-therapists, physiotherapists) and complex equipment such as motion or pressure sensors, often incurring a high-cost to the consumer. Despite this, assessments are still prone to subjectivity, and may differ between assessors. Alternatively, methods to provide low-cost, reproduceable gait assessment has become a necessity, especially within a habitual (low-resource) context, with many traditional methods generally unavailable due to the need of professional assistance and more recently the COVID-19 pandemic. Fuzzy logic has shown to be an effective tool in the assessment and identification of gait by providing the potential for a high-accuracy methodology, while retaining a low computational cost; ideal for applications within embedded systems. Here, we present a novel shoe recommendation fuzzy inference system from the classification of two key running gait parameters, foot strike and pronation from a single foot mounted internet of thing (IoT) enabled wearable inertial measurement unit. The fuzzy approach provides excellent (ICC > 0.9) accuracy, while significantly increasing the resolution of the gait assessment technique, providing a more detailed running gait analysis
‘What I really want is academics who want to partner and who care about the outcome’: findings from a mixed-methods study of evidence use in local government in England
Get PDFBackground
Local government (LG) is ideally placed to influence the determinants of public health (PH) and reduce inequalities, but opportunities are routinely missed.
Aims and objectives
The aim of the Local Authority Champions of Research (LACoR) study was to explore ways to embed a culture of evidence use in LG.
Methods
Five linked work packages were undertaken using mixed methods. In this paper, we report data from semi-structured interviews with UK local authority (LA) staff (n=14).
Findings
Findings show a changing culture of LG: embedded researchers can enhance connectivity and interaction, build linkages, use levers of influence, and learn alongside LG navigators. Understanding the diverse microcultures of evidence use in LG is critical. Research champions can help to navigate the social, financial, political and regulatory context of LG and academia, influencing change dynamically as opportunities emerge.
Discussion
Changing organisational subcultures is ambitious and unpredictable given the complexities of, and variability in, local contexts. Cumulative changes appear possible by recognising existing assets, using relational approaches to respond to LG priorities. In-house capacity remains underestimated and underutilised in efforts to embed evidence use in LG decision making. Co-located embedded researchers can use contextually specific knowledge and relationships to enhance evidence use in LG in collaboration with system navigators.
Conclusions
There is a need for academics to adapt their approach, to take account of the context of LG to achieve meaningful health and social impacts with LG and test the contribution of embedded approaches to wider system change
Optimal coalition formation and maximum profit allocation for distributed energy resources in smart grids based on cooperative game theory
Get PDFOver the past decades, significant revolutions have occurred on electricity market to reduce the electricity cost and increase profits. In particular, the novel structures facilitate the electricity manufacturers to participate in the market and earn more profit by cooperate with other producers. This paper presents a three-level gameplay-based intelligent structure to evaluate individual and collaborative strategies of electricity manufacturers, considering network and physical constraints. At the Level , the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is implemented to determine the optimum power of distributed energy resources (DERs) in the power grid, to maximize the profits. Further, the fuzzy logic algorithm is applied to model the intermittent nature of the renewable sources and implement load demand in the power grid. At the Level , DERs are classified into two different fuzzy logic groups to secure the fairness between every participant. Finally, at the Level , the DERs in each group are combined each other by cooperative game theory-based algorithms to increase the coalition profits. Thereafter, Shapley, Nucleolus, and merge/split methods are applied to allocate a fair profit allocation by coalition formation. Ultimately, the results verify the proposed model influence electric players to find effective collaborative strategies under different conditions and environments
Investigating the illicit market in veterinary medicines: An exploratory online study with pet owners in the United Kingdom
Get PDFThe illicit market in veterinary medicines is an overlooked issue despite threatening the health of non-human and human animals. It is thought to be increasing within the major markets of the global North due to the growth of e-commerce and social media sites. This paper examines the online market in illicit veterinary medicines through an exploratory study of the public’s online experiences as pet owners in the UK. To this end, we collected data through literature-based research and an online survey. Drawing on Passas’ criminogenic asymmetries framework, the research found that the confluence of legal, political, cultural, economic and knowledge asymmetries likely facilitate the market in illicit veterinary medicines in the UK. Our research concludes that, while previous reports suggest the illicit market is dominated by medicines to treat pets, it increasingly consists of medicines for farmed animals. This brings its own set of challenges and risks, and a pressing need for further research on the market’s dynamics
The impact of maceration on the ‘Osteo-ome’; a pilot investigation
Get PDFThe bone proteome, i.e., the ‘osteo-ome’, is a rich source of information for forensic studies. There have been advances in the study of biomolecule biomarkers for age-at-death (AAD) and post-mortem interval (PMI) estimations, by looking at changes in protein abundance and post-translational modifications (PTMs) at the peptide level. However, the extent to which other post-mortem factors alter the proteome, including ‘maceration’ procedures adopted in human taphonomy facilities (HTFs) to clean bones for osteological collections, is poorly understood. This pilot study aimed to characterise the impact of these ‘cleaning’ methods for de-fleshing skeletons on bone biomolecules, and therefore, what further impact this may have on putative biomarkers in future investigations. Three specific maceration procedures, varying in submersion time (one week or two days) and water temperature (55 °C or 87 °C) were conducted on six bovid tibiae from three individual bovines; the proteome of fresh and macerated bones of each individual was compared. The maceration at 87 °C for two days had the greatest proteomic impact, decreasing protein relative abundances and inducing specific PTMs. Overall, these results suggest that routinely-employed maceration procedures are harsh, variable and potentially threaten the viability of discovering new forensic biomarkers in macerated skeletal remains
Eye movement desensitization reprocessing as a treatment for PTSD in conflict-affected areas
Get PDFObjective: One recommended psychological intervention for trauma treatment in Western countries, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR). However, there is a paucity of data regarding treatment interventions in low- and middle-income countries. This study examined the efficacy of EMDR for treating posttraumatic stress (PTS), anxiety, and depression among a cohort of individuals with low socioeconomic status in a conflict-affected middle-income country as well as a smaller refugee cohort.
Methods: Two hundred and sixty-eight adults residing in Lebanon (male = 65, female = 203, SDgender = 0.43; µage = 30.5, SDage = 10.49; 85% Lebanese, 15% refugees [9.3% from Syria, and 5.7% from Iraq, Palestine, the Philippines, and Other]) received EMDR therapy. Measures of PTS, anxiety, and depression were taken at three time points: before treatment (T0), posttreatment (T1), and 6-month follow-up (T2).
Results: Reduction in PTS symptoms from T0 to T1, F(1, 208) = 412.3, p< .01, and T1 to T2, F(1, 46) = 136.1, p < .01. Reduction in anxiety symptoms from T0 to T1, F(1, 208) = 387.0, p< .01, and T1 to T2, F(1, 46) = 153.7, p < .01. Similarly, for depression, a reduction of symptoms from T0 to T1, F(1, 207) = 309.5, p< .01, and T0 to T2, F(1, 46) = 96.0, p < .01.
Conclusion: This research supports the use of EMDR for the treatment of PTS, depression, and anxiety symptoms in individuals with low socioeconomic status and refugees, thus contributing to the research base for populations that are under-researched. Mental health services, especially in conflict-affected settings, would benefit from using EMDR therapy to target these pathologies in these populations
Exploring Participants’ Representations and Shifting Sensitivities in a Hackathon for Dementia
Get PDFRecent HCI research has addressed emerging approaches for public engagement. One such public-facing method which has gained popularity over the previous decade have been open design events, or hackathons. In this paper we report on DemVR, a hackathon event that invited designers, technologists, and students of these disciplines to design Virtual Reality (VR) environments for people with dementia and their care partners. While our event gained reasonable attraction from designers and developers, this paper unpacks the challenges in representing and involving people with dementia in these events, which had multiple knock-on effects on participant's outputs. Our analysis presents insights into participants’ motivations, challenges participants faced when constructing their ‘absent user’, and the design features teams developed to address the social context of the user. We conclude the paper by proposing a set of commitments for collaborative design events, community building through design, and reification in design
The emergence of organisations conducting Community Asset Transfers of leisure facilities
Get PDFCommunity Asset Transfer (CAT) has increased as a way of delivering leisure services in England, where community groups (CG) form to manage leisure facilities in replacement for local authorities (LA). This paper builds on existing studies of the process of CAT to discuss how groups emerge to take on these facilities. Studies situated the emergence of these groups amidst LA outsourcing, with budgetary reductions, and poor management, as contexts for facilities needing transfer with CAT. A critical realist view of emergence is taken, where Archer’s (1998) morphogenetic framework is used to explain the contexts, interactions, and elaborations within two voluntary CGs that emerged to take on the management of leisure facilities. The paper confirms emergence as shaped by contexts of facility closure and LA cuts with interactions occurring when activists campaign to prevent closures, and form entities
Continuous glucose monitoring for type 1 diabetes
Get PDFContinuous glucose monitoring (CGM) is now a standard of care technology, which enables people living with type 1 diabetes to quickly monitor and manage their glucose levels without frequent, painful, finger-prick testing. This article will provide an overview of CGM technologies, including the most common types of devices, the data generated and information regarding access to these devices via NHS funding, alongside guidance for CGM use in clinical practice. Diabetes technologies are developing at pace, and so practice nurses will increasingly encounter people using CGM.
Continuous glucose monitoring is now available to all those living with type 1 diabetes. Charlotte Gordon provides an overview of the technology for nurses working in general practice