基于国际头痛诊断标准的原发性头痛辅助决策系统

针对原发性头痛在我国发病率较高但诊断准确率较低的问题,提出了一种将文本化的国际头痛诊断标准转换为计算机可执行推理的临床知识建模和知识库构建方法,该方法首先将基于诊断标准绘制的诊断思维流程图转换为规范化的临床知识表达模型,再将临床知识表达模型通过规则映射技术转换为计算机推理诊断所用的规则,形成知识库。并以此为基础开发了覆盖完整头痛诊断流程的原发性头痛辅助决策系统。临床评估显示,该系统可正确识别出91.3%的偏头痛、87.2%的紧张型头痛和90.0%的丛集性头痛病人,对常见的原发性头痛具有较高的诊断准确率。     

机械式仿骨骼肌变刚度机构原理及设计

随着物理性人机交互的增加,人机安全性等问题引起关注.应用于机器人关节中的机械式仿骨骼肌变刚度机构因其能够模仿骨骼肌的变刚度特性,故可以解决人机安全性和未知环境适应性等问题.通过对国外机器人变刚度关节结构设计的研究,总结了机械式仿骨骼肌变刚度机构的非线性变刚度原理,将其结构设计实现方法分为5类,并分析了这5类结构设计实现的优缺点,为设计安全性高、适应性强的机器人提供参考和依据.     

Introduction to the special section on contemporary issues in human sexuality: research and practice

Critical issues in human sexuality have changed markedly during the past decade and so have the contributions of psychology to the evaluation and treatment of sexual behavior problems. Some of the greatest challenges facing psychologists today include the increasing emphasis on medical interventions for the male sexual disorders and the relative decline of traditional behavioral sex therapies, the recalcitrance of sexual desire disorders, the prevention of "unsafe" sexual behavior, and the limited understanding of female sexuality. This overview introduces a series of 5 articles that examine these selected critical issues in human sexuality. Guidelines for clinical practice and directions for future research are highlighted.     

The impact of drywall handling tools on the low back

Carpenters and other construction workers who install drywall have high rates of strains and sprains to the low back and shoulder. Drywall is heavy and awkward to handle resulting in increased risk of injury. The purpose of this study was to evaluate several low-cost coupling tools that have the potential to reduce awkward postures in drywall installers. Five coupling tools were evaluated using the Lumbar Motion Monitor that measures trunk kinematics and predicts probability of low back disorder group membership risk (LBD risk). Workers answered surveys about their comfort while using each tool. The results indicate that use of the 2-person manual lift and the J-handle provide the best reduction in awkward postures, motions, low back sagittal moment, and LBD risk. The two-person manual lift appears to be the safest method of lifting and moving drywall, though using the two-person J-handle also significantly reduces injury risk. Given that carpenters are skeptical about using equipment that can get in the way or get lost, a practical recommendation is promotion of two-person manual lifting. For single-person lifts, the Old Man tool is a viable option to decrease risk of MSDs.     

Assessment of working conditions in two different semiconductor manufacturing lines: Effective ergonomics interventions

This article examines two manufacturing lines producing semiconductors using different technology concepts, namely Conventional Line (CL) and Lean Production Line (LPL). Both lines manufacturing the same products were compared using various factors, including working conditions, task risks and dangers of the job, and physical body stress. Ergonomic approaches were adopted in the investigation of the two lines. Survey questionnaires were administered to 30% of the workers, and multiple statistical tests were used to determine crucial predictors and to investigate the interactions between the factors. This research has shown that improved ergonomics factors will lead to better working conditions and thus increased job satisfaction. The observed ergonomic differences of these two production lines are compared, and appropriate managerial remedial action is recommended. The interventions to both the lines should reduce accident rates, minimize waste of resources, improve work effectiveness, and provide a better working environment that enhances employees' morale and maximizes productivity and profits. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Reliability and validity of an ergonomics-related Job Factors Questionnaire

Musculoskeletal disorders are an important cause of work disability and absenteeism. Specific job factors or tasks may increase the likelihood of developing work-related musculoskeletal disorders. The purpose of the present study was to translate and adapt a Job Factors Questionnaire for the Brazilian–Portuguese language and evaluate its psychometric properties. A cross-cultural adaptation was performed according to an internationally recommended methodology involving translation, synthesis, back-translation, revision by an expert committee, and pre-testing. The psychometric properties were evaluated by administering the questionnaire to 148 employees at two companies involved in the assembly and fabrication of metal products. The reliability of the questionnaire was assessed by measuring the temporal stability through a test–retest design. Construct validity was assessed using the known-groups technique and by comparing workers responses with findings from the Nordic Questionnaire. Reliability was determined to be satisfactory based on Intraclass Correlation Coefficients ranging from 0.54 to 0.73. Construct validity analysis demonstrated a significant difference (p ≤ 0.02) between production and office workers on answers to 10 questionnaire items, and a significant difference (p ≤ 0.01) on the scores of the adapted questionnaire between subjects that indicated presence or absence of musculoskeletal symptoms. The results indicated that the adapted version of the questionnaire had psychometric properties that were acceptable for use in occupational studies involving workers that speak Brazilian–Portuguese.

Relevance to industry

The present study provides results of a cross-cultural adaptation process and a psychometric properties analysis of an instrument that verifies workers' perception of job factors that may lead to work-related pain and discomfort.     

Application of the Strain Index in multiple task jobs

Six different methods to calculate the Strain Index (SI) scores for jobs with multiple forces/tasks were developed. Exposure data of 733 subjects from 12 different worksites were used to calculate these SI scores. Results show that using different SI computation methods could result in different SI scores, hence different risk level classifications. However, some simpler methods generated SI scores were comparable to the more complicated composite SI method. Despite differences in the scores between the six different SI computation methods, Spearman rank-order correlation coefficients of 0.61-0.97 were found between the methods. With some confidence, ergonomic practitioners may use simpler methods, depending on their specificity requirement in job evaluations and available resources. Some SI computation methods may tend to over-estimate job risk levels, while others may tend to under-estimate job risk levels, due to different ways used in obtaining the various SI parameters and computations.     

Fear of missing out,need for touch,anxiety and depression are related to problematic smartphone use

Problematic smartphone use is an important public health challenge and is linked with poor mental health outcomes. However, little is known about the mechanisms that maintain this behavior. We recruited a sample of 308 participants from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk labor market. Participants responded to standardized measures of problematic smartphone use, and frequency of smartphone use, depression and anxiety and possible mechanisms including behavioral activation, need for touch, fear of missing out (FoMO), and emotion regulation. Problematic smartphone use was most correlated with anxiety, need for touch and FoMO. The frequency of use was most correlated (inversely) with depression. In regression models, problematic smartphone use was associated with FoMO, depression (inversely), anxiety, and need for touch. Frequency of use was associated with need for touch, and (inversely) with depressive symptoms. Behavioral activation mediated associations between smartphone use (both problematic and usage frequency) and depression and anxiety symptoms. Emotional suppression also mediated the association between problematic smartphone use and anxiety. Results demonstrate the importance of social and tactile need fulfillment variables such as FoMO and need for touch as critical mechanisms that can explain problematic smartphone use and its association with depression and anxiety.