Robotic assistants for universal access

Much research is now focusing on how technology is moving away from the traditional computer to a range of smart devices in smart environments, the so-called Internet of Things. With this increase in computing power and decrease in form factor, we are approaching the possibility of a new generation of robotic assistants able to perform a range of tasks and activities to support all kinds of users. However, history shows that unless care is taken early in the design process, the users who may stand to benefit the most from such assistance may inadvertently be excluded from it. This paper examines some of those historical missteps and examines possible ways forward to ensure that the next generation robots support the principles of universal access

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and coexisting depression, anxiety and/or stress in adults:a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common chronic liver disease, affecting 25-30% of the general population globally. The condition is even more prevalent in individuals with obesity and is frequently linked to the metabolic syndrome. Given the known associations between the metabolic syndrome and common mental health issues, it is likely that such a relationship also exists between NAFLD and mental health problems. However, studies in this field remain limited. Accordingly, the aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to explore the prevalence of one or more common mental health conditions (i.e., depression, anxiety, and/or stress) in adults with NAFLD. Methods: PubMed, EBSCOhost, ProQuest, Ovid, Web of Science, and Scopus were searched in order to identify studies reporting the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and/or stress among adults with NAFLD. A random-effects model was utilized to calculate the pooled prevalence and confidence intervals for depression, anxiety and stress. Results: In total, 31 studies were eligible for inclusion, involving 2,126,593 adults with NAFLD. Meta-analyses yielded a pooled prevalence of 26.3% (95% CI: 19.2 to 34) for depression, 37.2% (95% CI: 21.6 to 54.3%) for anxiety, and 51.4% (95% CI: 5.5 to 95.8%) for stress among adults with NAFLD. Conclusion: The present findings suggest a high prevalence of mental health morbidity among adults with NAFLD. Given the related public health impact, this finding should prompt further research to investigate such associations and elucidate potential associations between NAFLD and mental health morbidity, exploring potential shared underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier CRD42021288934

The Middlesex University rehabilitation robot

This paper outlines the historical developments of Wheelchair-Mounted Robot Arms (WMRA's) and then focuses on the ongoing research at Middlesex to develop a low-cost aid to daily living for users with high-level quadriplegia. A detailed review is given explaining the design specification. It describes the construction of the robotic device and its control architecture. The prototype robot used several gesture recognition and other input systems. The prototype has been tested on disabled and non-disabled users with positive feedback. They observed that it was easy to use, but issues about speed of operation were resolved after further development. The robot has a payload of greater than 1kg with a maximum reach of 0.7–0.9m. Published by the Taylor & Francis Publishing Group, this publication is one of the only journals to cover the multi-disciplinary area of medical technology research. Currently, research bids are being formulated with the School of Computing Science to continue this researc

Effects of resistance exercise and whey protein supplementation on metabolic flexibility and glucose homeostasis in healthy older men

Rationale: Sarcopenia is associated with metabolic dysfunction. This study investigated the effects of resistance exercise (RE) and whey protein supplementation (WP) on metabolic flexibility (MF) and glucose homeostasis in healthy older men (60-80yrs). Methods: In a pooled-group analysis from a previous 4-arm randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial1 , 33 healthy older men (age: 67±1yrs; BMI: 25.4±0.4 kg/m2 ) were pooled to either RE (2 /week; n¼17) or no exercise (NE; n¼16), and either WP (2 25g/d whey protein isolate; n¼17) or control (CON, 2 23.75g maltodextrin/d; n¼16) for 12weeks. A sub-analysis was also conducted between RE+CON (n¼8) and RE+WP (n¼9). At baseline and 12 weeks, participants resided in whole-room indirect calorimeters2 under highly-controlled conditions for 24-h for measurement of MF (defined as the difference between non-sleep and sleeping non-protein respiratory quotient (npRQ))3 , fasting plasma glucose and insulin concentration, insulin resistance (homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR)) and insulin sensitivity (quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI)), and 24-h mean interstitial glucose and 24-h glucose variability. Results: Compared to NE, RE significantly improved MF (+0.001±0.005 vs +0.022±0.004, p¼0.01), which was driven by a decrease in sleeping npRQ (-0.019±0.007, p¼0.02) rather than changes in non-sleep npRQ (+0.003±0.005, p¼0.48). No significant differences occurred between RE and NE for any other outcomes (p0.21). Compared to CON, WP tended to increase QUICKI (-0.01±0.01 vs +0.02±0.01, p¼0.06) and significantly decreased fasting plasma insulin concentration (+1.0±1.2 vs -2.3±1.1mU/L, p¼0.05), but no effects were observed on MF (p¼0.39). No differences occurred between RE+CON and RE+PRO for any outcome (p0.41). Conclusion: In healthy older men, RE significantly improves MF without effects on glucose homeostasis. Whilst WP did not affect MF, insulin sensitivity tended to improve. No synergistic effects occurred. References: 1. Griffen et al. (2022). Effects of resistance exercise and whey protein supplementation on skeletal muscle strength, mass, physical function, and hormonal and inflammatory biomarkers in healthy active older men: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Experimental Gerontology, 158, 111651. 2. Griffen et al. (2022). Changes in 24-h energy expenditure, substrate oxidation, and body composition following resistance exercise and a high protein diet via whey protein supplementation in healthy older men. Physiological Reports, 10 (11), e15268. 3. Peterson et al. (2017). Eight weeks of overfeeding alters substrate partitioning without affecting metabolic flexibility in men. International Journal of Obesity, 41 (6), 887e893. Disclosure of Interest: None declared<br/

Extending the IT service quality measurement framework through a systematic literature review

Continuous improvement of service quality results in enhanced customer satisfaction, increased efficiency and maximisation of business value of the service within the company. Decision-making on the course of service quality improvement is based on the current status of the measurable service quality attributes. The aim of the paper is to describe the IT service quality attributes that could be measured to improve IT service quality. We report on a systematic literature review of IT service quality measurement. The review was based on 134 relevant journal articles related to IT service quality management. Of these, 91 articles were selected for analysis. We propose a detailed and comprehensive quality measurement framework for IT services using the results of the systematic literature review to extend previous work. The framework presents six common issue areas with their associated measurement categories, measures, and indicators. IT service providers can choose the measures to satisfy their specific information needs from the proposed IT service quality measurement framework. We conclude that IT service quality improvement efforts could benefit from considering the internal IT service quality attributes from the viewpoint of the value the provided IT service could bring to both the customer and the provider