Enhancing CSI-Based Human Activity Recognition by Edge Detection Techniques

Human Activity Recognition (HAR) has been a popular area of research in the Internet of Things (IoT) and Human–Computer Interaction (HCI) over the past decade. The objective of this field is to detect human activities through numeric or visual representations, and its applications include smart homes and buildings, action prediction, crowd counting, patient rehabilitation, and elderly monitoring. Traditionally, HAR has been performed through vision-based, sensor-based, or radar-based approaches. However, vision-based and sensor-based methods can be intrusive and raise privacy concerns, while radar-based methods require special hardware, making them more expensive. WiFi-based HAR is a cost-effective alternative, where WiFi access points serve as transmitters and users’ smartphones serve as receivers. The HAR in this method is mainly performed using two wireless-channel metrics: Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) and Channel State Information (CSI). CSI provides more stable and comprehensive information about the channel compared to RSSI. In this research, we used a convolutional neural network (CNN) as a classifier and applied edge-detection techniques as a preprocessing phase to improve the quality of activity detection. We used CSI data converted into RGB images and tested our methodology on three available CSI datasets. The results showed that the proposed method achieved better accuracy and faster training times than the simple RGB-represented data. In order to justify the effectiveness of our approach, we repeated the experiment by applying raw CSI data to long short-term memory (LSTM) and Bidirectional LSTM classifiers

Comparing the therapeutic effect of local corticosteroid injections and laser in treating coccyx pains (sacrum)

Coccydynia (pain in the coccyx or tailbone) is a fairly common pain in the bottom of backbone that spreads towards sacrum and lower legs. Supportive treatments, such as corticosteroids, use of muscle relaxants and correction of body position can help relieve the pain. In recent years, the use of laser is introduced as an effective method to reduce backbone pain. The purpose of this study is to compare the effects of corticosteroids and laser in treating tailbone pains. 61 patients with tailbone pain referred to the orthopedic clinic of Rasul Akram Hospital were entered into the study and randomly divided into two groups of laser and local corticosteroid injection. The mean difference in pain score was compared in both groups at the beginning of the study, end of the second week and end of the second month to determine the response to treatment. Data were analyzed using SPSS software. Of the patients enrolled, 24 were males (37.6) and 37 were females. The mean age of subjects studied was 36.16 years old. The mean difference in pain scores at the beginning of the study and at the end of the second month in the group treated by laser and corticosteroid was 2.54 and 3.8, respectively, that this difference was also statistically significant (P: 0.019) Effect of corticosteroid injection for pain relief was better than laser. The study should be done in a longer timeframe

Reduction of truncated Kit Expression in Men with Abnormal Semen Parameters, Globozoospermia and History of Low or Fertilization Failure

Objective: Phospholipase C zeta 1 (PLCζ) is one of the main sperm factor involved in oocyte activation and other factors may assist this factor to induce successful fertilization. Microinjection of recombinant tr-kit, a truncated form of c-kit receptor, into metaphase II-arrested mouse oocytes initiate egg activation. Considering the potential roles of tr-KIT during spermiogenesis and fertilization, we aimed to assess expression of tr-KIT in sperm of men with normal and abnormal parameters and also in infertile men with previous failed fertilization and globozoospermia. Materials and Methods: This experimental study was conducted from September 2015 to July 2016 on 30 normozoospermic and 20 abnormozoospermic samples for experiment one, and also was carried out on 10 globozoospermic men, 10 men with a history low or failed fertilization and 13 fertile men for experiment two. Semen parameters and sperm DNA fragmentation were assessed according to WHO protocol, and TUNEL assay. Sperm tr-KIT was evaluated by flow cytometry, immunostaining and western blot. Results: The results show that tr-KIT mainly was detected in post-acrosomal, equatorial and tail regions. Percentage of tr-KIT-positive spermatozoa in abnormozoospermic men was significantly lower than normozoospermic men. Also significant correlations were observed between sperm tr-KIT with sperm count (r=0.8, P<0.001), motility (r=0.31, P=0.03) and abnormal morphology (r=-0.6, P<0.001). Expression of tr-KIT protein was significantly lower in infertile men with low/ failed fertilization and globozoospermia compared to fertile men. The significant correlation was also observed between tr-KIT protein with fertilization rate (r=-0.46, P=0.04). In addition, significant correlations were observed between sperm DNA fragmentation with fertilization rate (r=-0.56, P=0.019) and tr-KIT protein (r=-0.38, P=0.04). Conclusion: tr-KIT may play a direct or indirect role in fertilization. Therefore, to increase our insight regarding the role of tr-KIT in fertilization further research is warranted. © 2019 Royan Institute (ACECR). All rights reserved

Analytical model of asymmetrical Mixed-Mode Bending test of adhesively bonded GFRP joint

This paper presents new analytical model of asymmetric mixed-mode bending (MMB) specimen ofadhesively bonded pultruded GFRP joints. An easily applicable relationship for the calculation of the strainenergy release rate of the asymmetric MMB specimens is proposed based on the beam theory. The model iscapable to analyze stacking sequence as well as various crack propagation paths. In the paper the effect of thevarious fiber bridging length and different crack propagation paths is analyzed analytically and supported byexperimental results. The methodology and results presented in this paper could be utilized for the design ofboth joint geometry and lay-up of the laminates constituting the joint or for the prediction of the fracturebehavior of such structures

Analytical model of asymmetrical Mixed-Mode Bending test of adhesively bonded GFRP joint

This paper presents new analytical model of asymmetric mixed-mode bending (MMB) specimen of adhesively bonded pultruded GFRP joints. An easily applicable relationship for the calculation of the strain energy release rate of the asymmetric MMB specimens is proposed based on the beam theory. The model is capable to analyze stacking sequence as well as various crack propagation paths. In the paper the effect of the various fiber bridging length and different crack propagation paths is analyzed analytically and supported by experimental results. The methodology and results presented in this paper could be utilized for the design of both joint geometry and lay-up of the laminates constituting the joint or for the prediction of the fracture behavior of such structures

Mouse and human spermatogonial stem cells

Spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) are in the beginning of a complex process in which they transmit genetic information from generation to generation. Any failure in this process can result in infertility. It has been suggested that transplantation of spermatogonial stem cells, following their maintenance and culturing, may restore fertility in some infertile patients. Because fertility restoration through SSCs transplantation has been successfully achieved in animal experiments, we hope human studies can follow in the near future. The isolation and cultivation of SSCs help us study their biological characteristics and their application in therapeutic approaches. In this review, we studied spermatogenesis in rodents and humans. We also compared markers and different SSC culture systems in both

Improvement Least-Distance Measure Model with Coplanar DMU on Strong Hyperplanes

Technique of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) involves methods conducted for desirable objective management of Decision Making Unit (DMU) that is same increasing of efficiency level. Data envelopment analysis furthermore determines the efficiency level, provides situation, removes inefficiency with evaluated benchmarking information. In this paper the use of the improvement Least-Distance measure with relation previous model by coplanar DMU, is proposed for computational dissipation at assess distance on these interior combinations, for determination the shortest projection from a considered unit to the strongly efficient production frontier. Therefore locate nearest path to improvement efficiency the evaluated DMU

Exploring Consumer and Patient Knowledge, Behavior, and Attitude Toward Medicinal and Lifestyle Products Purchased From the Internet: A Web-Based Survey.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, lifestyle products have emerged to help improve people's physical and mental performance. The Internet plays a major role in the spread of these products. However, the literature has reported issues regarding the authenticity of medicines purchased from the Internet and the impact of counterfeit medicines on public health. Little or no data are available on the authenticity of lifestyle products and actual toxicity associated with their use and misuse. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to investigate consumer and patient attitudes toward the purchase of lifestyle products from the Internet, their knowledge of product authenticity and toxicity, and their experiences with counterfeit lifestyle products. METHODS: A Web-based study was performed between May 2014 and May 2015. Uniform collection of data was performed through an anonymous online questionnaire. Participants were invited worldwide via email, social media, or personal communication to complete the online questionnaire. A total of 320 participants completed the questionnaire. RESULTS: The results of the questionnaire showed that 208 (65.0%) participants purchased lifestyle products from the Internet mainly due to convenience and reduced cost. More than half (55.6%, 178/320) of participants purchased cosmetic products, whereas only a minority purchased medicinal products. Yet, 62.8% (201/320) of participants were aware of the presence of counterfeit lifestyle products from the Internet, and 11.9% (38/320) experienced counterfeit products. In only 0.9% (3/320) of those cases were counterfeit lifestyle products reported to authorities. Moreover, 7.2% (23/320) of the participants experienced adverse effects due to counterfeit lifestyle products. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, patients experienced counterfeit lifestyle products that resulted in adverse effects on their health. Although certain adverse effects were reported in this study, counterfeit products were underreported to authorities. Further public awareness campaigns and patient education are needed