Exploring the effect of human-drone communication modality on safety and balance control in virtual construction environments.

This study examines the impact of Human-Drone Interaction (HDI) modalities on construction workers' safety and balance control within virtual environments. Utilising virtual reality (VR) simulations, the study explored how gesture and speech-based communications influence workers' physical postures and balance, contrasting these modalities with a non-interactive control group. One hundred participants were recruited, and their movements and balance control were tracked using motion sensors while they interacted with virtual drones through either gesture, speech, or without communication. Results showed that interactive modalities significantly improved balance control and reduced the risk of falls, suggesting that advanced HDI can enhance safety on construction sites. However, speech-based interaction increased cognitive workload, highlighting a trade-off between physical safety and mental strain. These findings underscore the potential of integrating intuitive communication methods into construction operations, although further research is needed to optimise these interactions for long-term use and in diverse noise environments.

This study examines the impact of Human-Drone Interaction (HDI) modalities on construction workers' safety and balance control within virtual environments with a human subject experiment. Results showed that interactive modalities significantly improved balance control and reduced the risk of falls.

Evaluation of Biomechanical and Mental Workload During Human-Robot Collaborative Pollination Task.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to identify the potential biomechanical and cognitive workload effects induced by human robot collaborative pollination task, how additional cues and reliability of the robot influence these effects and whether interacting with the robot influences the participant's anxiety and attitude towards robots. BACKGROUND: Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC) could be used to alleviate pollinator shortages and robot performance issues. However, the effects of HRC for this setting have not been investigated. METHODS: Sixteen participants were recruited. Four HRC modes, no cue, with cue, unreliable, and manual control were included. Three categories of dependent variables were measured: (1) spine kinematics (L5/S1, L1/T12, and T1/C7), (2) pupillary activation data, and (3) subjective measures such as perceived workload, robot-related anxiety, and negative attitudes towards robotics. RESULTS: HRC reduced anxiety towards the cobot, decreased joint angles and angular velocity for the L5/S1 and L1/T12 joints, and reduced pupil dilation, with the "with cue" mode producing the lowest values. However, unreliability was detrimental to these gains. In addition, HRC resulted in a higher flexion angle for the neck (i.e., T1/C7). CONCLUSION: HRC reduced the physical and mental workload during the simulated pollination task. Benefits of the additional cue were minimal compared to no cues. The increased joint angle in the neck and unreliability affecting lower and mid back joint angles and workload requires further investigation. APPLICATION: These findings could be used to inform design decisions for HRC frameworks for agricultural applications that are cognizant of the different effects induced by HRC.

Wearable Sensors Assess the Effects of Human-Robot Collaboration in Simulated Pollination.

Pollination for indoor agriculture is hampered by environmental conditions, requiring farmers to pollinate manually. This increases the musculoskeletal illness risk of workers. A potential solution involves Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC) using wearable sensor-based human motion tracking. However, the physical and biomechanical aspects of human interaction with an advanced and intelligent collaborative robot (cobot) during pollination remain unknown. This study explores the impact of HRC on upper body joint angles during pollination tasks and plant height. HRC generally resulted in a significant reduction in joint angles with flexion decreasing by an average of 32.6 degrees (p ≤ 0.001) for both shoulders and 30.5 degrees (p ≤ 0.001) for the elbows. In addition, shoulder rotation decreased by an average of 19.1 (p ≤ 0.001) degrees. However, HRC increased the left elbow supination by 28.3 degrees (p ≤ 0.001). The positive effects of HRC were reversed when the robot was unreliable (i.e., missed its target), but this effect was not applicable for the left elbow. The effect of plant height was limited with higher plant height increasing right shoulder rotation but decreasing right elbow pronation. These findings aim to shed light on both the benefits and challenges of HRC in agriculture, providing valuable insights before deploying cobots in indoor agricultural settings.

Human activity recognition in an end-of-life consumer electronics disassembly task.

The production of electronic waste, also known as e-waste, has risen with the growing reliance on electronic products. To reduce negative environmental impact and achieve sustainable industrial processes, recovering and reusing products is crucial. Advances in AI and robotics can help in this effort by reducing workload for human workers and allowing them to stay away from hazardous materials. However, autonomous human motion/intention perception is a primary barrier in e-waste remanufacturing. To address the research gap, this study combined experimental data collection with deep learning models for accurate disassembly task recognition. Over 570,000 frames of motion data were collected from inertial measurement units (IMU) worn by 22 participants. A novel sequence-based correction (SBC) algorithm was also proposed to further improve the accuracy of the overall pipeline. Results showed that models (CNN, LSTM, and GoogLeNet) had an overall accuracy of 88-92%. The proposed SBC algorithm improved accuracy to 95%.

Effects of Tai Chi on insomnia in elderly people with chronic non-specific low back pain: A study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: Chronic non-specific low back pain (CNLBP) is a complex condition characterized by pain, dysfunction, disturbed sleep, anxiety, and depression, all of which impair the quality of life. Previous studies showed that practicing Tai Chi had effects on chronic low back pain. However, there is a lack of evidence on its impact on sleep. The trial will evaluate the use of Tai Chi as a treatment for insomnia in elderly people with CNLBP. Methods: The study design will be a randomized, controlled, open-label trial. Participants (n = 106) will be recruited from the Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Qing Yang District University for the Elderly, and Ci Tang Street Community. Participants will be randomly assigned to the Tai Chi group (n = 53) and the control group (n = 53). The Tai Chi group will undergo a Yang-style 24-form Tai Chi program for 8 weeks. The control group will have a waiting period of 8 weeks, followed by 8 weeks of Tai Chi practice. The primary outcomes of this study will be changes in sleep quality and pain intensity. Secondary outcomes of interest will include changes in the quality of pain, range of motion, physical performance, social support, and overall quality of life. Any adverse events and attendance rates will also be reported in this study. Clinical trial registration: ChiCTR2200064977.

Anti-cancer effect of targeting fibroblast activation protein alpha in glioblastoma through remodeling macrophage phenotype and suppressing tumor progression.

INTRODUCTION: Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most malignant form of glioma and has a poor median survival time. Fibroblast activation protein alpha (FAP) is a dual-specificity serine protease that is strongly associated with the development and progression of human carcinomas. However, relatively little is known about the function of FAP and its potential as a therapeutic target in GBMs. AIMS: In this study, we aimed to explore the role of FAP in GBM through a series of experiments and to evaluate the therapeutic effect of PT100, a small molecule inhibitor of FAP, on GBM. RESULTS: Increased FAP expression was associated with poor survival in glioma. In vitro, FAP knockdown inhibited the process of EMT and caused a decrease in the number of M2 macrophages. In vivo, PT100 was confirmed to suppress the progression of GBMs significantly. CONCLUSIONS: FAP could serve as a biomarker and novel therapeutic target for the treatment of GBM and that PT100 is a promising drug for the treatment of GBM.

Distraction From Smartphones Changed Pedestrians' Walking Behaviors in Open Areas.

The prevalence of phone use has become a major concern for pedestrian safety. Using smartphones while walking reduces pedestrians' ability to perceive the environment by increasing their cognitive, manual, and visual demands. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of common phone tasks (i.e., reading, tapping, gaming) on walking behaviors during outdoor walking. Nineteen young adults were instructed to complete four walking conditions (walking only, walking-reading, walking-tapping, and walking-gaming) along an open corridor. Results showed that all three phone tasks increased participants' neck flexion (i.e., neck kyphosis) during walking. Meanwhile, the reading task showed a greater influence on the temporal aspect during the early phases of a gait cycle. The tapping task lowered the flexion angles of the middle and lower back (i.e., torso lordosis) and induced a longer terminal double support. And the gaming task resulted in a decrease in middle back flexion, a shorter stride length, and a longer terminal double support while walking. Findings from the study confirmed our hypothesis that phone tasks changed pedestrians' physical responses to smartphone distraction while walking. To avoid potential risks caused by the observed posture and gait adaptations, safety precautions (e.g., roadside/electronic warning signals) might be imposed depending on the workload expected by different phone tasks.

Socially Aware Robot Obstacle Avoidance Considering Human Intention and Preferences.

In order to navigate safely and effectively with humans in close proximity, robots must be capable of predicting the future motions of humans. This study first consolidates human studies in motion, intention, and preference into a discretized human model that can readily be used in robotics decision making algorithms. Cooperative Markov Decision Process (Co-MDP), a novel framework that improves upon Multiagent MDPs, is then proposed for enabling socially aware robot obstacle avoidance. Utilizing the consolidated and discretized human model, Co-MDP allows the system to (1) approximate rational human behavior and intention, (2) generate socially-aware robotic obstacle avoidance behavior, and (3) remain robust to the uncertainty of human intention and motion variance. Simulations of a human-robot co-populated environment verify Co-MDP as a feasible obstacle avoidance algorithm. In addition, the anthropomorphic behavior of Co-MDP was assessed and confirmed with a human-in-the-loop experiment. Results reveal that participants can not directly differentiate agents that were controlled by human operators from Co-MDP, and the reported confidences of their choices indicates that the predictions from participants were backed by behavioral evidence rather than random guesses. Thus the main contributions for this paper are: consolidating past human studies of rational human behavior and intention into a simple, discretized model; the development of Co-MDP: a robotic decision framework that can utilize this human model and maximize the joint utility between the human and robot; and an experimental design for evaluation of the human acceptance of obstacle avoidance algorithms.

Manifold-Constrained Geometric Optimization via Local Parameterizations.

Many geometric optimization problems contain manifold constraints that restrict the optimized vertices on some specified manifold surface. The constraints are highly nonlinear and non-convex, therefore existing methods usually suffer from a breach of condition or low optimization quality. In this article, we present a novel divide-and-conquer methodology for manifold-constrained geometric optimization problems. Central to our methodology is to use local parameterizations to decouple the optimization with hard constraints, which transforms nonlinear constraints into linear constraints. We decompose the input mesh into a set of developable or nearly-developable overlapping patches with disc topology, then flatten each patch into the planar domain with very low isometric distortion, optimize vertices with linear constraints and recover the patch. Finally, we project it onto the constrained manifold surface. We demonstrate the applicability and robustness of our methodology through a variety of geometric optimization tasks. Experimental results show that our method performs much better than existing methods.

Salient Targets and Fear of Falling Changed the Gait Pattern and Joint Kinematic of Older Adults.

BACKGROUND: Fear of falling and environmental barriers in the home are two major factors that cause the incidence of falling. Poor visibility at night is one of the key environmental barriers that contribute to falls among older adult residents. Ensuring their visual perception of the surroundings, therefore, becomes vital to prevent falling injuries. However, there are limited works in the literature investigating the impact of the visibility of the target on older adults' walking destinations and how that impact differs across them with different levels of fear of falling. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of target salience on older adults' walking performance and investigate whether older adults with varying levels of fear of falling behave differently. METHODS: The salient target was constructed with LED strips around the destination of walking. Fifteen older adults (aged 75 years old and above), seven with low fear of falling and eight with high fear of falling, volunteered for the study. Participants walked from the designated origin (i.e., near their beds) to the destination (i.e., near the bathroom entrance), with the target turned on or off around the destination of the walking trials. Spatiotemporal gait variables and lower-body kinematics were recorded by inertial sensors and compared by using analysis of variance methods. RESULTS: Data from inertial sensors showed that a more salient target at the destination increased older adults' gait speed and improved their walking stability. These changes were accompanied by less hip flexion at heel strikes and toe offs during walking. In addition, older adults with low fear of falling showed more substantial lower-body posture adjustments with the salient target presented in the environment. CONCLUSIONS: Older adults with a low fear of falling can potentially benefit from a more salient target at their walking destination, whereas those with a high fear of falling were advised to implement a more straightforward falling intervention in their living areas.

Interaction between DLC-1 and SAO-1 facilitates CED-4 translocation during apoptosis in the Caenorhabditis elegans germline.

Apoptosis is one of the major forms of programmed cell death, and it serves vital biological functions in multicellular animal and plant cells. The core mechanism of apoptosis is highly conserved in metazoans, where the translocation of CED-4/Apaf-1 from mitochondria to the nuclear membrane is required to initiate and execute apoptosis. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of this translocation are poorly understood. In this study, we showed that SAO-1 binds DLC-1 and prevents its degradation to promote apoptosis in C. elegans germ cells. We demonstrated that SAO-1 and DLC-1 regulate CED-4/Apaf-1 nuclear membrane accumulation during apoptosis. Isothermal titration calorimetry-based assay and high-resolution crystal structure analysis further revealed that SAO-1 interacted with DLC-1 to form a 2:4 complex: each of the two ß-sheets in the SAO-1 peptide interacted with two DLC-1 dimers. Point mutations at the SAO-1-DLC-1 binding interface significantly inhibited apoptotic corpse formation and CED-4 nuclear membrane accumulation within C. elegans germ cells. In conclusion, our study provides a new perspective on the regulation of CED-4-mediated apoptosis.

Human mobile robot interaction in the retail environment.

As technology advances, Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) is boosting overall system efficiency and productivity. However, allowing robots to be present closely with humans will inevitably put higher demands on precise human motion tracking and prediction. Datasets that contain both humans and robots operating in the shared space are receiving growing attention as they may facilitate a variety of robotics and human-systems research. Datasets that track HRI with rich information other than video images during daily activities are rarely seen. In this paper, we introduce a novel dataset that focuses on social navigation between humans and robots in a future-oriented Wholesale and Retail Trade (WRT) environment ( https://uf-retail-cobot-dataset.github.io/ ). Eight participants performed the tasks that are commonly undertaken by consumers and retail workers. More than 260 minutes of data were collected, including robot and human trajectories, human full-body motion capture, eye gaze directions, and other contextual information. Comprehensive descriptions of each category of data stream, as well as potential use cases are included. Furthermore, analysis with multiple data sources and future directions are discussed.

Initial characterization of gap phase introduction in every cell cycle of C. elegans embryogenesis.

Early embryonic cell cycles usually alternate between S and M phases without any gap phase. When the gap phases are developmentally introduced in various cell types remains poorly defined especially during embryogenesis. To establish the cell-specific introduction of gap phases in embryo, we generate multiple fluorescence ubiquitin cell cycle indicators (FUCCI) in C. elegans. Time-lapse 3D imaging followed by lineal expression profiling reveals sharp and differential accumulation of the FUCCI reporters, allowing the systematic demarcation of cell cycle phases throughout embryogenesis. Accumulation of the reporters reliably identifies both G1 and G2 phases only in two embryonic cells with an extended cell cycle length, suggesting that the remaining cells divide either without a G1 phase, or with a brief G1 phase that is too short to be picked up by our reporters. In summary, we provide an initial picture of gap phase introduction in a metazoan embryo. The newly developed FUCCI reporters pave the way for further characterization of developmental control of cell cycle progression.

Inhibiting PP2A Upregulates B7-H3 Expression and Potentially Increases the Sensitivity of Malignant Meningiomas to Immunotherapy by Proteomics.

Malignant meningiomas have a high mortality rate and short survival time and currently have no effective treatment. In our study, proteomics analysis was performed to identify highly expressed proteins as therapeutic targets in malignant meningiomas. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assays were performed to verify the effect of LB-100 on the growth of malignant meningiomas. In addition, immunoblotting was used to verify the expression of B7-H3 and phosphorylation of STAT1 (Tyr701) in tissues and cells. Our results show that STAT1 and CD276 (B7-H3) regulated by PP2A were enriched in GO_IMMUNE_EFFECTOR_PROCESS and GO_REGULATION_OF_IMMUNE_SYSTEM_PROCESS. The immunotherapy target protein B7-H3 was confirmed to be upregulated in malignant meningiomas compared with meningothelial (p = 0.0001) and fibroblastic (p = 0.0046) meningiomas. In vitro, the PP2A inhibitor LB-100 suppressed the growth and invasion of malignant meningioma cells. Notably, the PP2A inhibitor LB-100 increased the phosphorylation of STAT1, thereby increasing the expression of the immune checkpoint protein B7-H3 in malignant meningioma cells in vitro. In conclusion, B7-H3 was found to be upregulated in malignant meningiomas. The PP2A inhibitor LB-100 increased the phosphorylation of STAT1 and B7-H3 expression, which could increase the sensitivity of malignant meningiomas to B7-H3 targeted immunotherapy.

Hazard Classification and Stability Analysis of High and Steep Slopes from Underground to Open-Pit Mining.

The stability of high and steep slopes in open-pit mines is closely related to the mine operations and the lives of the surrounding residents, so it is important to ensure the safety and stability of the slopes. Hazard classification and stability analysis of high and steep slopes under different working conditions are studied using the Shizhuyuan non-ferrous metal mine from underground to open-pit mining as a typical example. Firstly, data on rock mechanics parameters were obtained through site investigation and sampling. Then, the slope model of the open-pit mine was established and some slopes were selected in the model for qualitative and quantitative analysis. The strength reduction method and the limit equilibrium method were used to calculate the safety factor under each working condition and point out the potential instability areas. The results show that the selected slopes are safe and stable under all working conditions. Finally, on the premise of maintaining the safety and stability of the mine, the final slope angle was optimized from the original 45°21'35″ to 55°30'41″ to reduce production costs and increase mining efficiency. The final open-pit boundary that meets the stability requirements was eventually obtained.

Effect of Flocculants Residue on Rheological Properties of Ultra-Fine Argillaceous Backfilling Slurry.

Tailings concentration is indispensable for backfilling. Additionally, the residual flocculants in the concentration process affect the rheological properties of ultra-fine argillaceous backfilling slurry (e.g., viscosity and yield stress), resulting in a great effect on the fluidity and resistance of pipeline transportation. In this study, to explore the effect of flocculants residue on the rheological properties of the slurry, a series of rheological tests (constant shear rate test and variable shear rate test) were performed by changing the type, dosage, stirring time, temperature of flocculants addition and the amount of binder added. The results showed that the addition of flocculants increased the viscosity and yield stress of slurry. At a certain amount of flocculants additive, the flocculant network structure reached the best development state, which had a positive effect on increasing slurry viscosity and yield stress. As the stirring time increased, the scale of damage to the flocculant network structure became larger, which had a negative effect on increasing slurry viscosity and yield stress. Low temperature weakened the adsorption and bridging effect of polymeric chains, resulting in a poorly developed flocculant network structure, which had a negative effect on increasing slurry viscosity and yield stress. Caused by hydration products, the viscosity and yield stress of slurry with binder further increased. This study is significant for an in-depth study of the rheological and pipeline transport characteristics of ultra-fine argillaceous backfilling slurry, optimising the selection of flocculants for ultrafine particles, guiding backfill parameters and improving the reliability of pipeline transport.

IMU-Based Monitoring for Assistive Diagnosis and Management of IoHT: A Review.

With the rapid development of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, traditional disease diagnoses carried out in medical institutions can now be performed remotely at home or even ambient environments, yielding the concept of the Internet of Health Things (IoHT). Among the diverse IoHT applications, inertial measurement unit (IMU)-based systems play a significant role in the detection of diseases in many fields, such as neurological, musculoskeletal, and mental. However, traditional numerical interpretation methods have proven to be challenging to provide satisfying detection accuracies owing to the low quality of raw data, especially under strong electromagnetic interference (EMI). To address this issue, in recent years, machine learning (ML)-based techniques have been proposed to smartly map IMU-captured data on disease detection and progress. After a decade of development, the combination of IMUs and ML algorithms for assistive disease diagnosis has become a hot topic, with an increasing number of studies reported yearly. A systematic search was conducted in four databases covering the aforementioned topic for articles published in the past six years. Eighty-one articles were included and discussed concerning two aspects: different ML techniques and application scenarios. This review yielded the conclusion that, with the help of ML technology, IMUs can serve as a crucial element in disease diagnosis, severity assessment, characteristic estimation, and monitoring during the rehabilitation process. Furthermore, it summarizes the state-of-the-art, analyzes challenges, and provides foreseeable future trends for developing IMU-ML systems for IoHT.

Exploring Older Adults' Nighttime Trips to the Bathroom Under Different Lighting Conditions: An Exploratory Field Study.

PURPOSE: The field study was to understand older adults' reactions to and use of different low-light conditions while walking to bathrooms in the dark in their homes. Low-light conditions included participants' usual nightlights and a destination-based LED strip lighting system. BACKGROUND: Older adults encounter fall accidents while going to bathrooms at night due to low illuminance levels. They also fear falling due to previous fall histories or visual impairments. This field study tested and compared a destination-based LED strip lighting system with their usual nightlights on their movement and fear of falls. METHODS: Fifteen older adults from an independent living facility participated in the within-subject design experiment, walking under two scenarios in random order: with usual nightlights turned on or with the destination-based LED strip lighting system turned on. Body-worn sensors were used to collect participants' movement behaviors, and subjective questionnaires were used to understand participants' anxiety under the two low-light conditions. Further, semi-structured interviews were conducted to understand their nightlight usage patterns and their evaluations of the destination-based LED strip lighting system. RESULTS: Participants walked more smoothly under the destination-based LED strip lighting system scenario. However, the anxiety states were not statistically different between the two scenarios. CONCLUSION: Visual cues in the dark can benefit older adults' safe movement. However, the application of the lab-effective LED strip lighting system in home settings should consider older adults' floor plans and their furniture layout, both indoor and outdoor ambient lighting sources, and their lifestyles.

A Nicotinamide Phosphoribosyltransferase Inhibitor, FK866, Suppresses the Growth of Anaplastic Meningiomas and Inhibits Immune Checkpoint Expression by Regulating STAT1.

Anaplastic meningioma is classified as a World Health Organization (WHO) grade III tumor and shows a strong tendency to recur. Although the incidence of anaplastic meningioma is low, the high rate of recurrence and death still makes treatment a challenge. A proteomics analysis was performed to investigate the differentially expressed proteins between anaplastic meningiomas and fibrous meningiomas by micro-LC-MS/MS. The key metabolic enzyme nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) showed upregulated expression in anaplastic meningiomas. However, targeting NAMPT to treat anaplastic meningiomas has not been reported. In vitro, NAMPT inhibitor -FK866 reduced the viability of anaplastic meningiomas by inducing cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase. Intriguingly, the NAMPT inhibitor -FK866 decreased the protein expression of immune checkpoints PD-L1 and B7-H3 by down-regulating the STAT1 and p-STAT1 expression in vitro. Furthermore, FK866 suppressed the growth of anaplastic meningiomas in an in vivo xenograft model. The expression of Ki-67 and immune checkpoint proteins (PD-L1 and B7-H3) showed significant differences between the group treated with FK866 and the control group treated with DMSO. In conclusion, the expression of NAMPT, which plays a crucial role in energy metabolism, was upregulated in anaplastic meningiomas. The NAMPT inhibitor -FK866 significantly suppressed the growth of anaplastic meningiomas in vitro and in vivo. More strikingly, FK866 potently inhibited immune checkpoint protein (PD-L1 and B7-H3) expression by regulating STAT1 in vitro and in vivo. Our results demonstrated that NAMPT inhibitors could potentially be an effective treatment method for patients suffering from anaplastic meningiomas.

Evaluating the impact of writing surface and configuration on muscle activation level during a handwriting task: An exploratory study.

BACKGROUND: Tablets are ubiquitous in workplaces and schools. However, there have been limited studies investigating the effect tablets have on the body during digital writing activities. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the biomechanical impact of writing interface design (paper, whiteboard, and tablet) and orientation (horizontal, 45°, and vertical) on tablet users. METHODS: Fourteen adults (7 male, 7 female) participated in a study during which they performed simple writing tasks. Surface electromyography (sEMG) sensors were used to measure upper extremity muscle activation. RESULTS: Results indicate that the effects of writing surface type were most pronounced in forearm muscle activation. Specifically, in the extensor carpi radialis (ECR), where muscle activity was lower on the tablet PC surface. The effects of writing configuration were prominent in the shoulder and forearm. The activation of the flexor carpi ulnaris (FCU) and trapezius muscles was significantly lower in the 45° configuration. An exception to the efficacy of this configuration was the anterior deltoid muscle, which exhibited the lowest muscle activity in the horizontal orientation. CONCLUSIONS: Tablet surface and the 45° configuration resulted in the lowest muscle activation levels. Future studies should include longer experiment duration to investigate the effects of continuous writing.