Comfort evaluation of hearing protection

Hearing protection is very important for workers in noisy work environments, although the willingness of workers to wear hearing protectors depends heavily on their comfort. This paper evaluates and recommends improvements for the comfort of hearing protection. Workers’ experience and comfort needs for hearing protection were investigated through a questionnaire that established the “comfort indices” for hearing protection. An earmuff “comfort tester” was designed to measure the comfort indices, and an experiment was conducted to measure workers’ perceived comfort into quantitative data. From the data, the range of these comfort indices in which workers will feel comfortable was determined. Finally, guidelines to improve the design of current hearing protection based on these “comfort indices” are proposed, which may help increase workers’ willingness to wear hearing protection.

Relevance to industry

Using these proposed guidelines may help improve the comfort of hearing protection and increase workers’ willingness to wear hearing protection in noisy work environments.     

Dynamic weights allocation according to uncertain evaluation information

Weights allocation methods are critical in Multi-Criteria Decision Making. Given numerical importances for each involved criterion, direct normalizing those numerical importances to obtain weights for those criteria is plain, lack of flexibility, and thus cannot well model some more types of subjective preferences of different decision makers like Dominance Strength as defined in this study. We show that concave RIM quantifier Q based OWA weights allocation method can well handle and model such preference. However, in real decision making those numerical importances are very often embodied by uncertain information such as independent random variables with discrete or continuous distributions, statistic information and interval numbers. In any of those circumstances, simple RIM quantifier Q based OWA weights allocation cannot work. Therefore, in this study, we will propose some special dynamic weights allocation methods to gradually allocate weights and accumulate allocated parts to each criterion, and finally, obtain a total weights collection. When the uncertain numerical importances become equivalent to general real numbers, the method automatically degenerates into general RIM quantifier based OWA weights allocation. The innovative weight allocations have discrete and continuous versions: the former can be well programmed while the latter has neat and succinct mathematical expression. The method can also be widely used in many other applications like some economic problems including investment quota allocation for one’s favorite stocks, and the dynamic OWA aggregation for interval numbers.     

A biomechanical and ergonomic evaluation of patient transferring tasks: bed to wheelchair and wheelchair to bed.

A laboratory study was conducted in an effort to reduce back stress for nursing personnel while performing the patient handling tasks of transferring the patient from bed to wheelchair and wheelchair to bed. These patient handling tasks were studied using five manual techniques and three hoist-assisted techniques. The manual techniques involved one-person and two-person transfers. One manual technique involved a two-person lift of the patient under the arms; the others used a rocking and pulling action and included the use of assistive devices (a gait belt using a two-person transfer, a walking belt with handles using a one-person and a two-person transfer, and a patient handling sling with cutout areas to allow for a hand grip (Medesign) for a one-person transfer). The three mechanical hoists were Hoyer, Trans-Aid and Ambulift. Six female nursing students with prior patient transfer experience served both as nurses and as passive patients. Static biomechanical evaluation showed that pulling techniques, as compared to lifting the patient, required significantly lower hand forces and produced significantly lower erector spinae and compressive forces at the L5/S1 disc (P greater than or equal to 0.01). Shear force, trunk moments and the percentage of females who were capable of performing the transfers (based on static strength simulation) also favoured pulling methods. Perceived stress ratings for the shoulder, upper back, lower back and whole body were lower for pulling methods than those for lifting the patient (P less than or equal to 0.01). Patients found the pulling techniques, with the exception of when using the gait belt, felt more comfortable and more secure than the lifting method (P less than or equal to 0.01). However, a number of subjects believed that the patient handling sling (Medesign) and the walking belt with one person making the transfer would not work for those patients who could not bear weight and those who were heavy, contracted or combative. A walking belt with two persons was the preferred manual method. Two out of three hoists (Hoyer lift and Trans-Aid) were perceived by the nurses to be as physically stressful as manual methods. Patients found these two hoists to be more uncomfortable and felt less secure than with three of the five manual methods (one- and two-person walking belts and Medesign). Ambulift was found to be the least stressful, the most comfortable, and the most secure among all eight methods. Pulling techniques and hoists took significantly longer amounts of time to make the transfer than manually lifting the patient (P less than or equal to 0.01). The two-person walking belt using a pulling technique and Ambulift are recommended for transferring patients from bed to wheelchair and wheelchair to bed. A large-scale field study is needed to verify these recommendations.     

Comfort evaluation of maternity support garments in a wear trial

This study aims to evaluate the wear comfort of eight commercially available maternity support garments. The thermophysiological, sensory/tactile and movement comfort were assessed in a wear trial using a 19-item questionnaire. Fourteen pregnant Chinese women aged 32.3 ± 4.2 years were recruited from a local obstetric clinic. The results show that the tested garments generally provided greater sensory comfort than thermophysiological comfort. The thermophysiological comfort was mainly influenced by the fibre contents and breathability. Significant linear relationships were found between material appearance and hand feel (r = 0.86, p < 0.001), and between non-itchiness and no red mark (r = 0.78, p < 0.001). Movement comfort was influenced by the garment type and style features. Overall, the soft, good-fit, cotton/elastane maternity brief was perceived as the best product. The findings of comfort needs in pregnant women and the effects of various garment attributes would be helpful for the development of maternity support garment design criteria that are required to satisfy critical ergonomic needs. Low back pain during pregnancy is a common and significant health problem. A maternity support garment is regarded as a convenient and safe device to stabilise the lumbar spine so as to relieve pain. However, patient compliance is likely to be affected by discomfort and inconvenience. The results of this study provide guidance for the optimal design of maternity support clothing.     

Comfort evaluation of maternity support garments in a wear trial

This study aims to evaluate the wear comfort of eight commercially available maternity support garments. The thermophysiological, sensory/tactile and movement comfort were assessed in a wear trial using a 19-item questionnaire. Fourteen pregnant Chinese women aged 32.3 +/- 4.2 years were recruited from a local obstetric clinic. The results show that the tested garments generally provided greater sensory comfort than thermophysiological comfort. The thermophysiological comfort was mainly influenced by the fibre contents and breathability. Significant linear relationships were found between material appearance and hand feel (r = 0.86, p < 0.001), and between non-itchiness and no red mark (r = 0.78, p < 0.001). Movement comfort was influenced by the garment type and style features. Overall, the soft, good-fit, cotton/elastane maternity brief was perceived as the best product. The findings of comfort needs in pregnant women and the effects of various garment attributes would be helpful for the development of maternity support garment design criteria that are required to satisfy critical ergonomic needs. Low back pain during pregnancy is a common and significant health problem. A maternity support garment is regarded as a convenient and safe device to stabilise the lumbar spine so as to relieve pain. However, patient compliance is likely to be affected by discomfort and inconvenience. The results of this study provide guidance for the optimal design of maternity support clothing.     

Vibration induced low back disorders--comparison of the vibration evaluation according to ISO 2631 with a force-related evaluation

Long-term vibration stress can contribute to degenerative changes in the joints of the human body, especially in the lumbar spine. An important factor in the development of these diseases is given by the forces transmitted in the joints. Because the forces can hardly be measured a biomechanical model was developed which simulates the human body in the standing and the sitting posture. The vibration properties of the model were adapted to the transfer function provided in the standards and the literature. With the model the compressive forces at the driving point of the body, in the leg joints, and in two motion segments of the spine were simulated under a vertical pseudo random vibration. Transfer functions between the accelerations of the ground or of the seat and the forces were computed. Furthermore, based on the transfer function between seat acceleration and compressive force in the spinal motion segment L3-L4 weighting factors were derived. By means of these factors characteristic vibration values were computed for 57 realistic vibration spectra measured on 17 machines and vehicles. The consideration of the forces resulted in a stronger weighting of low-frequency vibrations compared to the weighted acceleration as suggested by ISO 2631-1. In order to enable an assessment of the health risk a force-related guidance value was derived which amounts to 0.81 ms(-2) (rms).     

The world according to SchlumbergerSema

Here we summarise the annual review from one of the industry’s leaders.     

Use of coherence analysis for the evaluation and adjustment of robot gear performance

Previous work by our group has demonstrated that it is possible to use the robot joint excitation technique and coherence analysis function to adjust robot joint gears for maximum robot precision. A robot joint gear box equipped with gear adjustment mechanism was instrumented so that the gap between the teeth of a pair of gears (backlash) could be measured. The translational and rotational components of robot link motion were decoupled using multiple sensors so that the relationship between the coherence analysis function of each type of motion and gear backlash could be investigated. The sensitivity of the adjustment technique to various input signals and sensor positions was also examined. Results show that coherence analysis can be used as a measurement technique to determine the precision with which the robot joint link responds to control signal input.     

Songs of Comfort and Joy

The music industry's story is a vivid reminder that entire industries can fail to see shifts in the market.     

Acoustic evaluation and adjustment of an open-plan office through architectural design and noise control

Arranging office space into a single open room offers advantages in terms of easy exchange of information and interaction among coworkers, but reduces privacy and acoustic comfort. Thus, the purpose of this work was to evaluate the acoustic quality of a real open-plan office and to propose changes in the room to improve the acoustic conditioning of this office. The computational model of the office under study was calibrated based on RT and STI measurements. Predictions were made of the RT and STI, which generated the radius of distraction r(D), and the rate of spatial decay of sound pressure levels per distance doubling DL(2) in the real conditions of the office and after modifications of the room. The insertion of dividers between work stations and an increase in the ceiling's sound absorption improved the acoustic conditions in the office under study.     

Better combination of thickness and hardness of mattress topper for supine sleeping posture: A physiological measurements evaluation

Placing a topper on a sleeping system is common practice to enhance sleeping comfort. The aim of this study was to determine the thickness and hardness effect of a mattress topper by measuring the four physiological measurements from 40 healthy males. The results showed that the use of a thin mattress topper (30 mm) significantly induced lower body pressure and temperature, higher muscle activities in the biceps femoris, and a straighter spinal alignment in the T12–L4 vertebrae. The use of a hard mattress topper significantly induced a higher body pressure, a lower body temperature in the lower extremities, a higher EMG (%MVC) in the trapezius, but a lower EMG (%MVC) in the biceps femoris, and a straighter spinal alignment at T1–T4, T4–T6, and T6–T8. Overall, a soft topper of 30-mm thickness was suggested as the best combination. The findings can provide very useful information for topper design and selection.     

Image identification and segmentation according to random-field models

Some images have texture variations which are most easily characterized by random-field models. The identification of the model which evoked a given such image is described. The method involves a readily computable criterion which is a refinement of those previously used for image identification. The general method is also shown to be suitable for the more specialized problem of image segmentation, a preprocessing operation fundamental to many techniques in artificial intelligence.     

Regret bounds for sleeping experts and bandits

We study on-line decision problems where the set of actions that are available to the decision algorithm varies over time. With a few notable exceptions, such problems remained largely unaddressed in the literature, despite their applicability to a large number of practical problems. Departing from previous work on this “Sleeping Experts” problem, we compare algorithms against the payoff obtained by the best ordering of the actions, which is a natural benchmark for this type of problem. We study both the full-information (best expert) and partial-information (multi-armed bandit) settings and consider both stochastic and adversarial rewards models. For all settings we give algorithms achieving (almost) information-theoretically optimal regret bounds (up to a constant or a sub-logarithmic factor) with respect to the best-ordering benchmark.     

Ergonomic evaluation of hospital bed design features during patient handling tasks

Patient handling tasks (e.g., transportation and repositioning) are important causes of musculoskeletal disorders among healthcare workers. The purpose of this study was to evaluate, during two patient handling tasks, the physical demands resulting from alternative hospital bed design features. Twenty-four novice participants were involved in two laboratory-based studies. The effects of a steering lock and adjustable push height were evaluated during a patient transportation task using perceptual responses and measures of performance and physical demands, and the effect of a bed contour feature was determined based on patient sliding distance during repeated bed raising/lowering. Use of the steering lock reduced the number of adjustments during bed maneuvering by 28% and decreased ratings of physical demands. Use of the adjustable push height reduced shoulder moments by 30%. With the contour feature, patient sliding distance was reduced by ∼40% over 12 raise/lower cycles. These results suggest that the steering lock and adjustable push height features can reduce physical demands placed on healthcare workers during patient transportation tasks. Although patient sliding distance was reduced using the contour feature, assessing direct effects of this feature on physical demands (e.g., reduced need for workers to reposition patients) will require further investigation.

Relevance to industry

Hospital bed design features have the potential to reduce physical demands required of healthcare workers, yet there have been only limited empirical studies of these. Findings of the two current studies suggest that proactive ergonomic considerations in hospital bed design can reduce these physical demands.     

Liability for injuries according to GDPR

One of the main and most important innovations introduced by the General Data Protection Regulation¹ (henceforth, “the GDPR”) is the one concerning liability, in particular with regard to the imposition of administrative fines. The purpose of this article is to (1) summarize the current Member State approach to the imposition of administrative fines and (2) outline the consequences of the changes that the upcoming GDPR will bring for these liability regimes.     

一种基于密钥的水印嵌入位置置乱算法

提出了一种基于密钥的数字水印嵌入位置的置乱算法，该算法利用分组移位和混洗操作将水印嵌入位置进行多次置乱。算法简单，实现方便，嵌入位置随机分散，嵌入位置信息的安全仅依赖于一组密钥,在相当程度上达到了较理想的置乱效果,增加了系统的安全性。     

基于移动区域的快速粗模型阴影检测

阴影检测是运动车辆目标识别与追踪中非常重要的环节.结合基于颜色和模型的两种检测方法,提出一种基于移动区域的快速粗模型阴影检测方法.该方法首先通过改进的背景差分方法快速获取图像中的移动区域,然后在此基础上根据基于模型的方法建立阴影的粗模型,即快速确定阴影区域的粗略区域.阴影检测时只对该区域内的图像采用基于HSV颜色空间的方法进行分析处理.实验结果表明该方法可以有效地提高阴影检测的效率.     

Validation of evaluation model and evaluation indicators comprised Kansei Engineering and eye movement with EEG: an example of medical nursing bed

Microsystem Technologies - The study is to innovate an evaluation model of medical nursing bed and verify indicators by triangulation of subjective feelings, eye movement and electroencephalography...     

A Critical Assessment of Studies Relating Whole-body Vibration to Passenger Comfort

Abstract

This paper critically reviews the major work which has been carried out over the past 40 years to investigate the relationship between whole-body vibration and comfort. Although a fair amount of work has been completed in this area, this review demonstrates that the majority is unacceptable from most practical standpoints although some concordance exists. Finally, the paper shows that attempts which have been made to draw the field together (including an International Standard) to produce curves of equal comfort have not significantly increased our knowledge of how people react to whole-body vibration.