Development of a Wearable-Sensor-Based Fall Detection System

Fall detection is a major challenge in the public healthcare domain, especially for the elderly as the decline of their physical fitness, and timely and reliable surveillance is necessary to mitigate the negative effects of falls. This paper develops a novel fall detection system based on a wearable device. The system monitors the movements of human body, recognizes a fall from normal daily activities by an effective quaternion algorithm, and automatically sends request for help to the caregivers with the patient’s location

Extended Ellipsoidal Outer-Bounding Set-Membership Estimation for Nonlinear Discrete-Time Systems with Unknown-but-Bounded Disturbances

This paper develops an extended ellipsoidal outer-bounding set-membership estimation (EEOB-SME) algorithm with high accuracy and efficiency for nonlinear discrete-time systems under unknown-but-bounded (UBB) disturbances. The EEOB-SME linearizes the first-order terms about the current state estimations and bounds the linearization errors by ellipsoids using interval analysis for nonlinear equations of process and measurement equations, respectively. It has been demonstrated that the EEOB-SME algorithm is stable and the estimation errors of the EEOB-SME are bounded when the nonlinear system is observable. The EEOB-SME decreases the computation load and the feasible sets of EEOB-SME contain more true states. The efficiency of the EEOB-SME algorithm has been shown by a numerical simulation under UBB disturbances

Haematology specimen acceptability: a national survey in Chinese laboratories

Introduction: Specimen adequacy is a crucial preanalytical factor affecting accuracy and usefulness of test result. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and reasons for rejected haematology specimens, preanalytical variables which may affect specimen quality, and consequences of rejection, and provide suggestions on monitoring quality indicators as to obtain a quality improvement. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted and a questionnaire was sent to 1586 laboratories. Participants were asked to provide general information about institution and practices on specimen management and record rejections and reasons for rejection from 1st to 31st July. Results: A total survey response rate was 56% (890/1586). Of 10,181,036 tubes received during the data collection period, 11,447 (0.11%) were rejected, and the sigma (σ) was 4.6. The main reason for unacceptable specimens was clotted specimen (57%). Rejected specimens were related to source department, container type, container material type, transportation method and phlebotomy personnel. The recollection of 84% of the rejected specimens was required. The median specimen processing delay in inpatient, outpatient and emergency department were 81.0 minutes, 57.0 minutes and 43.3 minutes, respectively. Conclusions: Overall, rejection rate was a slightly lower than previously published data. In order to achieve a better quality in the preanalytical phase, haematology laboratories in China should pay more attention on training for phlebotomy and sample transportation, identify main reasons for clotted specimen and take effective measures. The platform in the study will be helpful for long-term monitoring, but simplification and modification should be introduced in the following investigation

National survey on current situation of critical value reporting in 973 laboratories in China

Introduction: The aim of the study was to investigate the state-of-the-art of the performance of critical value reporting and provide recommendations for laboratories setting critical value reporting time frames. Materials and methods: The National Centre for Clinical Laboratories in China initiated a critical value reporting investigation in 2015. A questionnaire related to critical value reporting policy was sent to 1589 clinical laboratories in China online. The questionnaire consisted of a set of questions related to critical value reporting policy and a set of questions related to timeliness of critical value reporting. The survey data were collected between March and April 2015. Results: A total survey response rate was 61.2%. The critical value unreported rate, unreported timely rate, and clinical unacknowledged rate of more than half of participants were all 0.0%. More than 75.0% of participants could report half of critical values to clinicians within 20 minutes and could report 90.0% of critical values to clinicians within 25 minutes (from result validation to result communication to the clinician). The median of target critical value reporting time was 15 minutes. “Reporting omission caused by laboratory staff”, “communications equipment failure to connect”, and “uncompleted application form without contact information of clinician” were the three major reasons for unreported critical value. Conclusions: The majority of laboratories can report critical values to responsible clinical staff within 25 minutes. Thus, this value could be recommended as suitable critical value reporting time frame for biochemistry laboratories in China. However, careful monitoring of the complete reporting process and improvement of information systems should ensure further improvement of critical value reporting timeliness

Relationship between self-care compliance, trust, and satisfaction among hypertensive patients in China

IntroductionHypertension is a growing public health concern worldwide. It is a leading risk factor for all-cause mortality and may lead to complications such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, and kidney failure. Poor compliance of hypertensive patients is one of the major barriers to controlling high blood pressure. Compliance is not ideal among Chinese patients, and increasing patient self-care compliance with hypertension is necessary.MethodsThis article analyzes the status of self-care compliance, trust, and satisfaction among Chinese hypertensive patients using cross-sectional data from Zhejiang Province. We use a multi-group structural equation model (MGSEM) to compare the interrelationships across genders.ResultsThe study's findings show that the average trust, satisfaction, and compliance scores are 3.92 ± 0.55, 3.98 ± 0.61, and 3.33 ± 0.41, respectively. Female patients exhibit higher average total scores for trust and compliance than male patients. The SEM results indicate that trust has a direct positive association with compliance [β = 0.242, 95% CI: (0.068, 0.402)] and satisfaction [β = 0.260, 95% CI: (0.145, 0.367)], while their satisfaction is not directly associated with compliance. The results of MGSEM show that trust has an indirect effect on compliance in the male group through satisfaction [β = 0.051, P < 0.05, 95% CI: (0.012, 0.116)]. In the female group, trust has a direct effect on satisfaction [β = 0.235, P < 0.05, 95% CI: (0.041, 0.406)] and compliance [β = 0.319, P < 0.01, 95% CI: (0.086, 0.574)].DiscussionThis study reveals the mechanisms of self-care compliance, trust, and satisfaction among Chinese hypertensive patients. Its findings may serve as a reference for guiding primary healthcare providers to improve hypertension patients' compliance and implement gender-targeted health interventions

Randomized trial of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation on patients with disorders of consciousness: A study protocol

BackgroundTranscutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) has recently been explored for the treatment of Disorders of consciousness (DoC) caused by traumatic brain injury. The evidence of taVNS during the consciousness recovery has been recently reported. However, the mechanism of taVNS in the recovery of consciousness is not clear. This study attempts to investigate the effectiveness of taVNS in DoC by means of Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R), Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), Electrophysiology (EEG), and Single-molecular array (Simoa).Methods/designNighty patients with DoC acquired brain injury are randomized into one of three groups receiving sham taVNS or active taVNS (just left and left or right), respectively. Each of the three groups will experience a 40 days cycle (every 10 days for a small period, baseline 2 weeks, intervention 2 weeks, 40 min per day, 5 days per week, then no intervention for 2 weeks, intervention 2 weeks, 40 min per day, and 5 days per week). Primary outcomes (CRS-R) will be recorded five times during every period. Secondary outcomes will be recorded at the first and at the last period [MRI, EEG, Phosphorylated tau (P-tau), and Neurofilament light chain (NFL)]. We will take notes the adverse events and untoward effects during all cycles.DiscussionTranscutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation as a painless, non-invasive, easily applied, and effective therapy was applied for treatment of patients with depression and epilepsy several decades ago. Recent progress showed that taVNS has behavioral effects in the consciousness recovery. However, there is no clinical evidence to support the effects of taVNS on brain activity. Therefore, we will design a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of taVNS therapy for DoC, and explore neural anatomy correlated to taVNS during the consciousness recovery. Finally, this protocol also tests some biomarkers along with the recovery of consciousness.Clinical Trial RegistrationChinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR2100045161. Registered on 9 April 2021

The magnetic genome of two-dimensional van der Waals materials

Magnetism in two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) materials has recently emerged as one of the most promising areas in condensed matter research, with many exciting emerging properties and significant potential for applications ranging from topological magnonics to low-power spintronics, quantum computing, and optical communications. In the brief time after their discovery, 2D magnets have blossomed into a rich area for investigation, where fundamental concepts in magnetism are challenged by the behavior of spins that can develop at the single layer limit. However, much effort is still needed in multiple fronts before 2D magnets can be routinely used for practical implementations. In this comprehensive review, prominent authors with expertise in complementary fields of 2D magnetism (i.e., synthesis, device engineering, magneto-optics, imaging, transport, mechanics, spin excitations, and theory and simulations) have joined together to provide a genome of current knowledge and a guideline for future developments in 2D magnetic materials research

Molecular Cloning and Expression Analysis of Cyclin H from Black Tiger Shrimp (Penaeus monodon)

Cyclin H is an important cell protein that plays a crucial role in cell division. In the present study, the cDNA of cyclin H (designated as Pmcyclin H) was identified from black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) by expressed sequence tag (EST) analysis, and RACE techniques. The full length cDNA of Pmcyclin H is 1280bp, including a 5’-terminal un-translated region (5’UTR) of 63 bp, a 3’UTR of 218 bp with a poly (A) tail, and an open reading frame (ORF) of 999 bp encoding a polypeptide of 332 amino acids with a predicted molecular weight of 39 kDa, predicted pI of 6.39. Both Blast, and phylogenetic analysis, confirmed that Pmcyclin H is a new member of the shrimp cyclin H family. Using real-time PCR the mRNA expression of Pmcyclin H in eight tissues was examined, and mRNA transcript of Pmcyclin H was predominantly detectable in ovarian tissue, and to a lesser degree in the tissues of intestine, testis, stomach, and heart, but almost undetectable in the tissues of liver (hepar), brain, and muscle. The temporal expression of Pmcyclin H in different developmental stages of the ovaries was investigated by real-time PCR. During the six stages of ovarian development, one peak expression of Pmcyclin H was detected in stage II. All these results indicated that Pmcyclin H might be involved in the regulation of cell cycle and ovarian development of P. monodon

Physiochemical Responses and Ecological Adaptations of Peach to Low-Temperature Stress: Assessing the Cold Resistance of Local Peach Varieties from Gansu, China

In recent years, extreme weather events have become increasingly frequent, and low winter temperatures have had a significant impact on peach cultivation. The selection of cold-resistant peach varieties is an effective solution to mitigate freezing damage. To comprehensively and accurately evaluate the cold resistance of peaches and screen for high cold resistance among Gansu local resources, nine different types of peach were selected as test resources to assess physiological, biochemical, and anatomical indices. Subsequently, 28 peach germplasms were evaluated using relevant indices. The semi-lethal temperature (LT50) was calculated by fitting the change curve of the electrolyte leakage index (ELI) with the Logistic equation; this can be used as an important index for identifying and evaluating the cold resistance of peach trees. The LT50 values ranged from −28.22 °C to −17.22 °C among the 28 tested resources; Dingjiaba Liguang Tao exhibited the lowest LT50 value at −28.22 °C, indicating its high level of cold resistance. The LT50 was positively correlated with the ELI and malondialdehyde (MDA) content with correlation coefficients of 0.894 and 0.863, respectively, while it was negatively correlated with the soluble sugar (SS), soluble protein (SP), and free proline (Pro) contents with correlation coefficients of −0.894, −0.721, and −0.863, respectively. The thicknesses of the xylem, cork layer, cork layer ratio (CLR) and thickness/cortex thickness (X/C) showed negative correlations (−0.694, −0.741, −0.822, −0.814, respectively). Finally, the membership function method was used to evaluate cold resistance based on the ELI, MDA, Pro, SP, SS, CLR, and xylem thickness/cortex thickness (X/C) indices. The average membership degree among all tested resources ranged from 0.17 to 0.61. Dingjiaba Liguang Tao emerged prominently in terms of high-cold-resistance (HR) membership value (0.61)

The Static Unbalance Analysis and Its Measurement System For Gimbals Axes of an Inertial Stabilization Platform

To reduce the influence of the static unbalance on an infrared missile guidance system, a new static unbalance measure system for the gimbals axes has been developed. Considering the coupling effects caused by a mass eccentricity, the static balance condition and measure sequence for each gimbal axis are obtained. A novel static unbalance test approach is proposed after analyzing the dynamic model of the measured gimbal axis. This approach is to drive the measured gimbal axis to do sinusoidal reciprocating motion in a small angle and collect its drive currents in real time. Then the static unbalance of the measured gimbal axis can be obtained by the current multi-cycle integration. Also a measuring system using the proposed approach has been developed. A balanced simulator is used to verify the proposed approach by the load and repeatability tests. The results show the proposed approach enhances the efficiency of the static unbalance measurement, and the developed measuring system is able to achieve a high precision with a greater stability