528 research outputs found

    Movements Monitoring and Falling Detection Systems for Transient Ischemic Attack Patients Using Accelerometer Based on Internet of Things

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    bstract—One symptom of Transient Ischemic Attack (TTA) or mild stroke is a loss of balance that makes ones easy to fall. The attacks on TIA usually occur in a short time and require immediate medical help. This study aimed to develop movements monitoring system and detector of fall for TIA sufferers using accelerometer and technology of internet of things (IoT) technology. The contribution of this study is to define ten falling movements with a decision tree algorithm. These movements are 1). Not moving, 2). Walking, 3). Standing up, 4). Sitting down, 5). Sitting, falling to the right, 6). Standing, falling towards the right, 7). Sitting- falling to the left, 8). Standing, falling to the left, 9). Sitting, falling to the front, 10). Standing, falling forward. An accelerometer is used to detect patient movement through linear and angular acceleration. The definition of movement and state of falling patients is determined by the decision tree algorithm. When a TIA patient falls, the system will send a notification to the family via the Smartphone application about the location where the patient fell. The IoT concept is applied to build this system. This test uses a test scenario of nine positions and movements of patient. Test results show that the system has detected 81.48% falls in TIA patients and can send notifications to the patient's family with a response time of 2.65 seconds. Keywords—movement monitoring and fall detection system, accelerometer, Decision Tree algorithm, IoT, Transient Ischemic Attack (T

    Identification of causal effects using the 1995 earthquake in Japan : studies of education and health

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    This thesis aims to identify causal effects using a natural experimental approach. We focus on the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in midwestern Japan as a source of exogenous variation in the variables of interest. Chapter 1 explores the causal effect of schooling on juvenile delinquency using variation in schooling caused by policy interventions in specific municipalities after the earthquake. Using the instrumental variable estimator to address endogeneity problems arising from simultaneity and unobserved heterogeneity, we find that schooling reduces juvenile delinquency, although some of our estimates have large standard errors and are imprecisely estimated. The results indicate that a one-percentage-point increase in the high school participation rate reduces the number of juvenile arrests by approximately 1.1 per 1,000 youths. 1 Estimates of social benefits show that it is less expensive to reach a target level of social benefits by improving schooling than by strengthening police forces. Chapter 2 studies the causal effect of volunteer work on the mortality of the elderly. After the earthquake, levels of volunteering increased considerably in municipalities hit by the earthquake, while other municipalities did not experience such a sharp increase. This exogenous shift in levels of volunteering is exploited to address the endogeneity problem associated with estimating the effects of volunteering. Specifically, unobserved heterogeneity across municipalities that affects both morality and the level of volunteering, such as the quality of local health care services, may bias estimates on the effect of volunteering. The results indicate that volunteering has no significant effect on mortality amongst people in their 50s and 60s, while it significantly reduces mortality amongst people in their 70s and 80s or older. Evaluated at the mean, the estimate implies that the life of approximately one person aged 80 or older (out of 186 persons) is saved in a given year when the number of volunteers increases by 100 (out of 1,911 persons)

    American Expatriates\u27 Experiences of Stress and Burnout while Teaching in International Schools within Southeast Asia: A Phenomenological Study

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    The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe and understand American expatriates’ perceptions of their lived experiences with burnout and stress while teaching in international schools in Southeast Asia. The theories guiding this study were Hans Selye’s (1951) theory of stress, as it explains the physiological stages of stress the body goes through, and Christine Maslach’s (1997) theory of burnout, which explains the factors associated with burnout. The present study was guided by five research questions, including a single central research question, to discover the participants’ lived experiences with stress and burnout. Four additional subquestions explored emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, decreased sense of personal accomplishment, and responses to stress in the workplace. The participants of this study were 11 American expatriates who have experienced stress and burnout in their past positions as international educators in Southeast Asia. Data collected for this study included Maslach’s Burnout Inventory for Educators (MBI-ES), individual interviews, a single focus group interview, and documents. Data were analyzed through bracketing and analysis to identify themes, and by synthesizing data to write thick, rich descriptions. The phenomenological data analysis revealed participants’ lived experiences with burnout and stress included frustration, feeling overwhelmed, and anxiety. Participants described how job expectations, workloads, and their own commitments to job performance affected them

    Overweight and Obesity in Adolescents in Ho Chi Minh City: From qualitative and quantitative evidence to peer-led intervention

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    The aim of this body of research is to provide scientific evidence of nutritional factors and context related to overweight and obesity in adolescents in HCMC and to design a locally feasible and effective intervention to help tackle adolescent overweight and obesity. Specific objectives are: 1/ Identify factors influencing children’ dietary and physical practices and the perceptions guiding these practices to prevent obesity through qualitative interviews with children, their parents and teachers in HCMC. 2/ Identify the patterns of consumptions of sugar-sweetened beverages (including soft drink) and their relationship with overweight and obesity in adolescents in HCMC. 3/ Identify the tracking of nutrient intakes and dietary behaviours and their association with overweight and obesity in adolescents in HCMC. 4/ Evaluate the effectiveness of peer-led program to prevent/reduce overweight and obesity in children and adolescents in the literature. 5/ Design a peer-led health program to prevent/reduce overweight and obesity in adolescents in HCMC. Chapter 3 revealed that the consumption of Sugar Sweetened Beverages (SSB) is popular in adolescents in Ho Chi Minh City, however, the total energy from SSB accounted about 10% of daily energy intake. Among these SSB, fresh milk plus sugar and condensed milk both demonstrated a protective effect against overweight and obesity. Specifically, every kcal of fresh milk plus sugar reduced the odd ratio of 0.995 (95%CI [0.992-0.998]), p<0.001. Every kcal of condensed milk reduced the odd of 0.996 (95%CI [0.992-1.000]), p=0.044. We did not find the relationship between other non-milk SSB with overweight and obesity. Chapter 4 assessed the Changes of nutrient intakes and dietary behaviours among adolescents. We found a significant increase in BMI and median energy, macronutrient intakes with increasing age, higher in boys than in girls (p <0.001). Tracking of energy and macronutrient nutrient intakes at the individual level was only poor to fair, lowest for the percentage energy from carbohydrate or percentage energy from protein and highest for fat intakes. The linear multilevel models showed two modest but significant positive associations with BMI. Specifically, every 100g higher of daily carbohydrate intake led to an increase of 0.61 unit of BMI in 5 years (p=0.001) and an increase of 100 minutes/week of screen time led to 0.14 unit of BMI increase in 5 years. Chapter 5 revealed diversified perceptions of obesity, diet and physical activity and the relationship of these factors with adolescent obesity. Findings indicated a low practice of physical activity among participants. The major barriers to obesity prevention included knowledge gaps, food environment in schools, devaluation of physical activity and academic burden. These invaluable inputs were collected using explorative detailed interviews with students, their parents, school PE teachers and a representative of the Department of Education of Ho Chi Minh City. All of the data was purposefully analyzed to find programmatic implications for a culturally appropriate and feasible intervention to tackle child and adolescent obesity. Chapter 6 is a systematic review and meta-analysis of peer-led interventions versus childhood obesity. A number of findings have been revealed. The review included 15 studies of moderate to high quality from high-income countries. The age of the participants ranged from 3 years to 17 years. The duration of the intervention ranged from 5 weeks to 28 months. The peer-led content targeted physical activity alone, or a mixture of healthy lifestyle modifications. The meta-analysis of BMI involved 2506 children from 9 studies and demonstrated that programs were effective with a mean difference in BMI of -0.15kg/m2 (95% confidence interval (CI) [-0.26, -0.03]), p=0.01. Heterogeneity was low (I2=28%, p=0.19) for the children in the intervention group. The mean difference varied with subgroups with significantly greater effects from interventions focused on physical activity and with longer duration of implementation of the intervention. Sensitivity analysis revealed similar significant findings to the primary meta-analysis. Chapter 7 is a proposal of the Peer Education and Peer Support Pilot (PEPS) study to evaluate to possibility and further specific requirement for full scale intervention. The pilot is still ongoing and planned to finish in late 2019. This chapter proposed a pilot school-setting programme of four weekly education sessions about healthy choices of food and drinks and usefulness of physical activities. The programme also included a school and online support system to help maintain the effect of education sessions. Both of the education and support stages would be led by students (as peer-leaders) to take advantage of peer influence among junior high school students. Chapter 8 is for Conclusion. A few appendices were also attached for further details

    CC: Connecticut College Magazine, Winter 2008-2009

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    Washington University Magazine, Spring 2004

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    https://digitalcommons.wustl.edu/ad_wumag/1166/thumbnail.jp

    Washington University Magazine and Alumni News, Winter 1998

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    https://digitalcommons.wustl.edu/ad_wumag/1145/thumbnail.jp
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