Automatic detection of falls and fainting

Healthcare environments have always been considered an important scenario in which to apply new technologies to improve residents and employees conditions, solve problems and facilitate the performance of tasks. In this way, the use of sensors based on user movement interaction allows solving complicated situations that should be immediately addressed, such as controlling falls and fainting spells in residential care homes. However, ensuring that all the residents are always visually controlled by at least one employee is quite complicated. In this paper, we present a ubiquitous and context-aware system focused on geriatrics and residential care homes, but it could be applied to any other healthcare centre. This system has been designed to automatically detect falls and fainting spells, alerting the most appropriate employees to address the emergency. To that end, the system is based on movement interaction through a set of Kinect devices that allows the identification of the position of a person. These devices imply some development problems that authors have had to deal with, including camera location, the detection of head movements and people in horizontal position. The proposed system allows controlling each resident posture through a notification and warning procedure. When an anomalous situation is detected, the system analyses the resident posture and, if necessary, the most adequate employee will be warned to react urgently. Ubiquity and context-awareness are essential features since the proposed system has to be able to know where any employee is and what they are doing at any time. Finally, we present the outcomes of an evaluation based on the ISO 9126-4 about the usability of the system.We would like to acknowledge the project CICYT TIN2011-27767-C02-01 from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación and the Regional Goverment: Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha PPII10-0300-4174 and PII2C09-0185-1030 projects for partially funding this work

Design of a Segmentation and Classification System for Seed Detection Based on Pixel Intensity Thresholds and Convolutional Neural Networks

Due to the computational power and memory of modern computers, computer vision techniques and neural networks can be used to develop a visual inspection system of agricultural products to satisfy product quality requirements. This chapter employs artificial vision techniques to classify seeds in RGB images. As a first step, an algorithm based on pixel intensity threshold is developed to detect and classify a set of different seed types, such as rice, beans, and lentils. Then, the information inferred by this algorithm is exploited to develop a neural network model, which successfully achieves learning classification and detection tasks through a semantic-segmentation scheme. The applicability and satisfactory performance of the proposed algorithms are illustrated by testing with real images, achieving an average accuracy of 92% in the selected set of classes. The experimental results verify that both algorithms can directly detect and classify the proposed set of seeds in input RGB images. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

Silk fibroin nanoparticles constitute a vector for controlled release of resveratrol in an experimental model of inflammatory bowel disease in rats.

Purpose: We aimed to evaluate the intestinal anti-inflammatory properties of silk fibroin nanoparticles, around 100 nm in size, when loaded with the stilbene compound resveratrol, in an experimental model of rat colitis. Methods: Nanoparticles were loaded with resveratrol by adsorption. The biological effects of the resveratrol-loaded nanoparticles were tested both in vitro, in a cell culture of RAW 264.7 cells (mouse macrophages), and in vivo, in the trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid model of rat colitis, when administered intracolonically. Results: The resveratrol liberation in 1× phosphate-buffered saline (PBS; pH 7.4) was characterized by fast liberation, reaching the solubility limit in 3 hours, which was maintained over a period of 80 hours. The in vitro assays revealed immunomodulatory properties exerted by these resveratrol-loaded nanoparticles since they promoted macrophage activity in basal conditions and inhibited this activity when stimulated with lipopolysaccharide. The in vivo experiments showed that after evaluation of the macroscopic symptoms, inflammatory markers, and intestinal barrier function, the fibroin nanoparticles loaded with resveratrol had a better effect than the single treatments, being similar to that produced by the glucocorticoid dexamethasone. Conclusion: Silk fibroin nanoparticles constitute an attractive strategy for the controlled release of resveratrol, showing immunomodulatory properties and intestinal anti-inflammatory effects

Getting-up rehabilitation therapy supported by movement based interaction techniques

Every day the number of diseases related to brain problems increases dramatically. Medical facilities are full of people who need complex rehabilitation processes as a result of suffering from Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer’s disease, brain stroke, or multiple sclerosis, as well as other conditions. Patients often spend a long time travelling every day to get to the corresponding rehabilitation clinics. Physiotherapists carefully attend patients over a period of time, and the exercises are often extremely repetitive. The type of patient suffering from these type of illnesses is unable to perform many common every day actions such as getting-up from a chair, walking in a straight line, picking up objects, etc. The system we propose in this paper provides a way for patients to perform the common rehabilitation process of gettingup from a chair. It monitors and guides the patient when the specialist considers they are prepared to do so. The specialists can focus on the results and the way to improve each rehabilitation process and not just on iterations

Session D7: Fishway with Two Entrance Locations: Understanding its importance for Iberian Barbel

Abstract In recent years, in the Iberian Peninsula, many fish passes have been built and improved. To ensure the proper operation of these, it is essential to carry out an evaluation and subsequent monitoring, considering both biologic and hydraulic aspects. We analyze the performance of Iberian barbel –Luciobarbus bocagei (Steindachner, 1864)– in a technical fishway: pool and weir, with bottom orifice. It is located in the Josefina hydropower plant (Duero River, Valladolid, Spain). Fish ladder has two fish entrances: one in the turbine outlet channel and another in the natural river course. Both the most relevant hydraulic values (flow, velocity, volumetric energy dissipation) and biological parameters (movement pattern, attraction, entry and passage) were measured. Biological assessment was conducted in the spawning season using PIT tag technology. The main influence on upstream movement was river discharge. There were no preferences between path selection; and ascent success and transit time were similar between two entrances.. Results highlight the importance of two access points for improve entrance and decrease migration delay

The influence of the level of physical activity and human development in the quality of life in survivors of stroke

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The association between physical activity and quality of life in stroke survivors has not been analyzed within a framework related to the human development index. This study aimed to identify differences in physical activity level and in the quality of life of stroke survivors in two cities differing in economic aspects of the human development index.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Two groups of subjects who had suffered a stroke at least a year prior to testing and showed hemiplegia or hemiparesis were studied: a group from Belo Horizonte (BH) with 48 people (51.5 ± 8.7 years) and one from Montes Claros (MC) with 29 subjects (55.4 ± 8.1 years). Subsequently, regardless of location, the groups were divided into Active and Insufficiently Active so their difference in terms of quality of life could be analyzed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There were no significant differences between BH and MCG when it came to four dimensions of physical health that were evaluated (physical functioning, physical aspect, pain and health status) or in the following four dimensions of mental health status (vitality, social aspect, emotional aspect and mental health). However, significantly higher mean values were found in Active when compared with Insufficiently Active individuals in various measures of physical health (physical functioning 56.2 ± 4.4 vs. 47.4 ± 6.9; physical aspect 66.5 ± 6.5 vs. 59.1 ± 6.7; pain 55.9 ± 6.2 vs. 47.7 ± 6.0; health status 67.2 ± 4.2 vs. 56.6 ± 7.8) (arbitrary units), and mental health (vitality 60.9 ± 6.8 vs. 54.1 ± 7.2; social aspect 60.4 ± 7.1 vs. 54.2 ± 7.4; emotional aspect 64.0 ± 5.5 vs. 58.1 ± 6.9; mental health status 66.2 ± 5.5 vs. 58.4 ± 7.5) (arbitrary units).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Despite the difference between the cities concerning HDI values, no significant differences in quality of life were found between BH and MCG. However, the Active group showed significantly better results, confirming the importance of active lifestyle to enhance quality of life in stroke survivors.</p

Neurocognitive profile of the post-COVID condition in adults in Catalonia. A mixed method prospective cohort and nested case-control study: Study Protocol

The diagnosis of the post-COVID condition is usually achieved by excluding other diseases; however, cognitive changes are often found in the post-COVID disorder. Therefore, monitoring and treating the recovery from the post-COVID condition is necessary to establish biomarkers to guide the diagnosis of symptoms, including cognitive impairment. Our study employs a prospected cohort and nested case-control design with mixed methods, including statistical analyses, interviews, and focus groups. Our main aim is to identify biomarkers (functional and structural neural changes, inflammatory and immune status, vascular and vestibular signs and symptoms) easily applied in primary care to detect cognitive changes in post-COVID cases. The results will open up a new line of research to inform diagnostic and therapeutic decisions with special considerations for cognitive impairment in the post-COVID condition