A kinect-based vocational task prompting system for individuals with cognitive impairments

Difficulties in executing daily living tasks hamper the quality of life of many individuals with cognitive impairments who are otherwise physically mobile. With sufficient and appropriate support on the job, many people with developmental disabilities and cognitive impairments are capable of participating in the world of work to various levels. Kinect is used as assistive technology for individuals with cognitive impairments to achieve the goal of performing task steps independently. In a community-based rehabilitation program under the guidance of three job coaches, a task prompting system called Kinempt was designed to assist four participants involving pre-service food preparation training. The study assessed the effectiveness of Kinempt in terms of precision and recall. A follow-up comparative study then evaluated a baseline method and the system of least prompts against the Kinempt system. Results indicate that for participants with cognitive disabilities, acquisition of job skills may be facilitated by use of Kinempt in conjunction with operant conditioning strategies. Our findings suggest that the image recognition technology may be able to facilitate task prompts needed by people with cognitive impairments. Therefore, the system may be helpful for pre-service training while increasing independence in the process of community integration.     

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Integration of independent component analysis and neural networks for ECG beat classification

In this paper, we propose a scheme to integrate independent component analysis (ICA) and neural networks for electrocardiogram (ECG) beat classification. The ICA is used to decompose ECG signals into weighted sum of basic components that are statistically mutual independent. The projections on these components, together with the RR interval, then constitute a feature vector for the following classifier. Two neural networks, including a probabilistic neural network (PNN) and a back-propagation neural network (BPNN), are employed as classifiers. ECG samples attributing to eight different beat types were sampled from the MIT-BIH arrhythmia database for experiments. The results show high classification accuracy of over 98% with either of the two classifiers. Between them, the PNN shows a slightly better performance than BPNN in terms of accuracy and robustness to the number of ICA-bases. The impressive results prove that the integration of independent component analysis and neural networks, especially PNN, is a promising scheme for the computer-aided diagnosis of heart diseases based on ECG.     

Solvent effect on ageing of silica gels

The structure of silica gels derived from tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) with molar compositions of TEOSH₂OHNO₃=1100.4 and then aged in various solvents, was studied. The effect of various solvents having different physical properties on the gel structure, as well as the relationship between the solvent properties and the dried gel structure, were investigated. The density, surface area and pore-size distribution were measured. The results of the pore structure and SEM showed the aged gels to have a slit-shaped micropore, narrow pore-size distribution, and homogeneous microstructure. The density, surface area, pore size and pore volume of dried gels changed as the gels were subjected to ageing in various solvents. The surface area could be related to the polarity parameter of the ageing solvent.     

Process simulation and fabrication of advanced multi-step three-dimensional braided preforms

The fundamentals of multi-step braiding for the fabrication of three-dimensional fibre preforms for composites have been studied. To facilitate the understanding of the complex multi-step braiding processes, a computer simulation algorithm has been developed. The simulation acts as a tool to allow the identification of individual yarn paths, number and location of yarn groups, and braid geometry. It was found that individual control of the rows and columns of yarn carriers on a Cartesian braiding bed allows for the fabrication of advanced multi-step braids; the micro-structural possibilities of three-dimensional braids are thus greatly extended. Some basic relationships of the braiding parameters have been identified. It has been concluded that the traditional four-step and two-step braidings are special cases of multi-step braidings. To verify the feasibility of the structures, experimental investigations have also been carried out. Innovative braid architectures have been designed and fabricated using a prototype multi-step braiding machine.     

Three-year outcome after balloon aortic valvuloplasty. Insights into prognosis of valvular aortic stenosis

BACKGROUND: To identify predictors of long-term outcome after balloon aortic valvuloplasty, we analyzed data on 674 adults (mean age, 78 +/- 9 years; 56% were women) undergoing this procedure at 24 clinical centers who had a mean initial increase in aortic valve area of 0.3 cm2. METHODS AND RESULTS: Baseline data included clinical, echocardiographic, and catheterization variables. Follow-up data included mortality, cause of death, rehospitalization, 6-month echocardiography, and functional status. Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank tests were used to evaluate survival in subgroups. Multivariate Cox regression models were used to identify independent predictors of survival. Overall survival was 55% at 1 year, 35% at 2 years, and 23% at 3 years, with the majority of deaths (70%) classified as cardiac by an independent review committee. Rehospitalization was common (64%), although 61% of survivors at 2 years reported improved symptoms. Echocardiography at 6 months (n = 115) showed restenosis from the postprocedural valve area of 0.78 +/- 0.31 cm2 to 0.65 +/- 0.25 cm2 (P < .0001). With stepwise multivariate analysis, sequentially adding clinical, echocardiographic, and catheterization variables, the overall model identified independent predictors of survival as baseline functional status, baseline cardiac output, renal function, cachexia, female gender, left ventricular systolic function, and mitral regurgitation. Baseline and postprocedural variables were examined to identify which subgroup of patients has the best outcome after aortic valvuloplasty. A "lower-risk" subgroup (28% of the study population), defined by normal left ventricular systolic function and mild clinical functional limitation, had a 3-year survival of 36% compared with 17% in the remainder of the study group. CONCLUSIONS: Long-term survival after balloon aortic valvuloplasty is poor with 1- and 3-year survival rates of 55% and 23%, respectively. Although survivors report fewer symptoms, early restenosis and recurrent hospitalization are common.     

The effect of combined antenatal vitamin K and phenobarbital therapy on umbilical blood coagulation studies in infants less than 34 weeks' gestation

OBJECTIVE: To determine if antenatal vitamin K and phenobarbital therapy affect coagulation studies in umbilical blood at birth, and to provide 95% reference ranges for umbilical blood coagulation parameters in premature gestations. METHODS: Patients at imminent risk for spontaneous or indicated premature delivery less than 34 weeks' gestation were randomized to receive either placebo or vitamin K and phenobarbital. Prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (PTT), functional coagulation factors, and decarboxylated prothrombin assays were performed on umbilical blood specimens. Decarboxylated prothrombin, also known as "protein induced by vitamin K absence-factor II" or precursor prothrombin, is a sensitive marker for vitamin K deficiency. Standardized values of PT and PTT are reported in seconds and standardized values of factor assays in percentage of normal adult functional activity (mean +/- one standard deviation). RESULTS: Newborns in the placebo and treatment groups had similar umbilical blood PT (12.6 +/- 1.2 versus 12.7 +/- 1.4 seconds), PTT (48.8 +/- 13.4 versus 49.6 +/- 13.8 seconds), and functional activity of factor II (40.3 +/- 12.5 versus 42.0 +/- 12.1%), factor VII (67.0 +/- 20.9 versus 66.8 +/- 18.9%), factor IX (27.4 +/- 12.8 versus 25.8 +/- 8.9%), and factor X (47.0 +/- 12.8 versus 49.2 +/- 11.6%). Newborns in the treatment group were about half as likely as those in the placebo group to have detectable decarboxylated prothrombin levels in umbilical blood at birth (gestational age-adjusted odds ratio 0.47, 95% confidence interval 0.22-1.01; P = .05). CONCLUSIONS: Combined maternal therapy with vitamin K and phenobarbital before premature delivery does not affect umbilical blood PT, PTT, or functional activity of vitamin K-dependent coagulation factors II, VII, IX, and X. However, it is associated with the reduced presence of decarboxylated prothrombin in umbilical blood at birth. There is significant improvement in umbilical blood coagulation tests as gestational age advances from 24 to 34 weeks.     

Novel,liquid crystal formula to overcome LTPS LCD image sticking without adjustment of gamma code,optical, VHR and IS evaluation

In this article, novel n-FFS liquid crystal material from Slichem was used in order to elevate the anti-backlight long aging effect; a trace amount of free radical trap HALS-like additive was added, the principle of which can be expressed via Denisov cycle, confirmed by measuring the temporal VHR changes in test cells; three different resolution (FHD ~ QHD) models paired with N19 and N21 were selected for testing by comparing the actual panel. It is verified that the optimized material greatly improves the image sticking performance of the panel and keeping optical performance.     

Phosphorus and phosphide nanomaterials for sodium-ion batteries

Sodium-ion batteries have received remarkable attention as next-generation high-performance electrochemical energy storage devices because of their cost effectiveness and the broad geographical distribution of sodium. As a critical component of sodium-ion batteries, anode materials, especially nanostructured anodes, have a significant effect on the electrochemical performance of sodium-ion batteries. Recent research indicates that phosphorus and metal phosphides show great promise as anode candidates for sodium-ion batteries because of their low cost and relatively high theoretical gravimetric and volumetric specific capacities. In this review, we systematically summarize recent research progress on state-of-the-art nanostructured phosphorus and phosphides, including the synthetic strategies, Na-storage mechanisms, and the relationship between the nanostructure and electrochemical performance. Moreover, we present an overview of future challenges and opportunities based on current developments.

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