Comprehensive characterization of organic compounds in indoor dust after generic sample preparation with SUPRAS and analysis by LC-HRMS/MS.

In this study supramolecular solvents (SUPRAS) are employed for the first time to perform a wide screening of organic compounds in indoor dust samples. The potential of SUPRAS to efficiently extract a wide polarity range of compounds, and to simplify and improve the green properties of sample treatment in this area are discussed. SUPRAS made up of inverse aggregates of hexanol in tetrahydrofuran:water mixtures, which have been previously and successfully applied to the target determination of a variety of organic contaminants in different environmental matrices, were employed. Analysis was done with liquid chromatography and high resolution mass spectrometry. Twelve samples from public buildings (six educative buildings, two food stores, two nightclubs, one office and a coffee shop) were collected in South Spain. A total of 146 compounds were detected by target (∼33 %), suspect (∼55 %) and non-target screening (∼12 %). Around 86 % of all the compounds were identified (or tentatively identified) with levels of confidence equal or higher than 3. Novel designer drugs of abuse, unreported organophosphorus compounds and well-known organic contaminants, such as bisphenols, parabens, phthalates and flame retardants are reported. Differences with previous studies on wide screening of indoor dust reveal the influence of the employed databases for data processing and of the extraction method together with the different contamination profiles given by the sample location.

Identifying ADHD boys by very-low frequency prefrontal fNIRS fluctuations during a rhythmic mental arithmetic task.

Objective.Computer-aided diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) aims to provide useful adjunctive indicators to support more accurate and cost-effective clinical decisions. Deep- and machine-learning (ML) techniques are increasingly used to identify neuroimaging-based features for objective assessment of ADHD. Despite promising results in diagnostic prediction, substantial barriers still hamper the translation of the research into daily clinic. Few studies have focused on functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) data to discriminate ADHD condition at the individual level. This work aims to develop an fNIRS-based methodological approach for effective identification of ADHD boys via technically feasible and explainable methods.Approach.fNIRS signals recorded from superficial and deep tissue layers of the forehead were collected from 15 clinically referred ADHD boys (average age 11.9 years) and 15 non-ADHD controls during the execution of a rhythmic mental arithmetic task. Synchronization measures in the time-frequency plane were computed to find frequency-specific oscillatory patterns maximally representative of the ADHD or control group. Time series distance-based features were fed into four popular ML linear models (support vector machine, logistic regression (LR), discriminant analysis and naïve Bayes) for binary classification. A 'sequential forward floating selection' wrapper algorithm was adapted to pick out the most discriminative features. Classifiers performance was evaluated through five-fold and leave-one-out cross-validation (CV) and statistical significance by non-parametric resampling procedures.Main results.LR and linear discriminant analysis achieved accuracy, sensitivity and specificity scores of near 100% (p<.001) for both CV schemes when trained with only three key wrapper-selected features, arising from surface and deep oscillatory components of very low frequency.Significance.We provide preliminary evidence that very-low frequency fNIRS fluctuations induced/modulated by a rhythmic mental task accurately differentiate ADHD boys from non-ADHD controls, outperforming other similar studies. The proposed approach holds promise for finding functional biomarkers reliable and interpretable enough to inform clinical practice.

Stress estimation by the prefrontal cortex asymmetry: Study on fNIRS signals.

BACKGROUND: Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a non-invasive technique frequently used to measure the brain hemodynamic activity in applications to evaluate affective disorders and stress. Using two wavelengths of light, it is possible to monitor relative changes in the concentrations of oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin. Besides, the spatial asymmetry in the prefrontal cortex activity has been correlated with the brain response to stressful situations. METHODS: We measured prefrontal cortex activity with a NIRS multi-distance device during a baseline period, under stressful conditions (e.g., social stress), and after a recovery phase. We calculated a laterality index for the contaminated brain signal and for the brain signal where we removed the influence of extracerebral hemodynamic activity by using a short channel. RESULTS: There was a significant right lateralization during stress when using the contaminated signals, consistent with previous investigations, but this significant difference disappeared using the corrected signals. Indeed, exploration of the susceptibility to contamination of the different channels showed non-homogeneous spatial patterns, which would hint at detection of stress from extracerebral activity from the forehead. LIMITATIONS: There was no recovery phase between the social and the arithmetic stressor, a cumulative effect was not considered. CONCLUSIONS: Extracerebral hemodynamic activity provided insights into the pertinence of short channel corrections in fNIRS studies dealing with emotions. It is important to consider this issue in clinical applications including modern monitoring systems based on fNIRS technique to assess emotional states in affective disorders.

Frequency-domain analysis of fNIRS fluctuations induced by rhythmic mental arithmetic.

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is an increasingly used technology for imaging neural correlates of cognitive processes. However, fNIRS signals are commonly impaired by task-evoked and spontaneous hemodynamic oscillations of non-cerebral origin, a major challenge in fNIRS research. In an attempt to isolate the task-evoked cortical response, we investigated the coupling between hemodynamic changes arising from superficial and deep layers during mental effort. For this aim, we applied a rhythmic mental arithmetic task to induce cyclic hemodynamic fluctuations suitable for effective frequency-resolved measurements. Twenty university students aged 18-25 years (eight males) underwent the task while hemodynamic changes were monitored in the forehead using a newly developed NIRS device, capable of multi-channel and multi-distance recordings. We found significant task-related fluctuations for oxy- and deoxy-hemoglobin, highly coherent across shallow and deep tissue layers, corroborating the strong influence of surface hemodynamics on deep fNIRS signals. Importantly, after removing such surface contamination by linear regression, we show that the frontopolar cortex response to a mental math task follows an unusual inverse oxygenation pattern. We confirm this finding by applying for the first time an alternative method to estimate the neural signal, based on transfer function analysis and phasor algebra. Altogether, our results demonstrate the feasibility of using a rhythmic mental task to impose an oscillatory state useful to separate true brain functional responses from those of non-cerebral origin. This separation appears to be essential for a better understanding of fNIRS data and to assess more precisely the dynamics of the neuro-visceral link.

Walk-IT: An Open-Source Modular Low-Cost Smart Rollator.

Rollators are widely used in clinical rehabilitation for gait assessment, but gait analysis usually requires a great deal of expertise and focus from medical staff. Smart rollators can capture gait parameters autonomously while avoiding complex setups. However, commercial smart rollators, as closed systems, can not be modified; plus, they are often expensive and not widely available. This work presents a low cost open-source modular rollator for monitorization of gait parameters and support. The whole system is based on commercial components and its software architecture runs over ROS2 to allow further customization and expansion. This paper describes the overall software and hardware architecture and, as an example of extended capabilities, modules for monitoring dynamic partial weight bearing and for estimation of spatiotemporal gait parameters of clinical interest. All presented tests are coherent from a clinical point of view and consistent with input data.

Perceptions of the Body and Body Dissatisfaction in Primary Education Children According to Gender and Age. A Cross-Sectional Study.

Body image (BI) is a trending topic of study since health problems derived from a negative perception of the body are increasing and affecting people of all ages, with an increasing incidence among children from the age of eight. The objective of this study was to evaluate the current perception of the body against the desired body and the degree of body satisfaction of Galician primary education students. A total of 355 students (167 boys (47%)) between 9 and 12 years old participated (mean = 10.53; SD = 0.84). Sociodemographic data (sex, age, height, and weight) were collected, and the Figure Rating Scale was used. There are statistically significant differences between boys and girls in the current perceived figure (p = 0.003) and in the desired figure (p < 0.001). Depending on age, the differences were in current (p = 0.010) and desired (p = 0.021) body perception. In conclusion, boys perceive themselves as having a larger figure than girls do, but this perception is far from reality according to the body mass index. For the desired figure, both boys and girls want to be slimmer, but girls want a slimmer figure. Regarding age, the current perceived figure size increases with age as it increases in those students dissatisfied with their body.

A Prediction Model for Primary Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury Using Artificial Intelligence.

BACKGROUND: Supervised machine learning models in artificial intelligence (AI) have been increasingly used to predict different types of events. However, their use in orthopaedic surgery has been limited. HYPOTHESIS: It was hypothesized that supervised learning techniques could be used to build a mathematical model to predict primary anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries using a set of morphological features of the knee. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3. METHODS: Included were 50 adults who had undergone primary ACL reconstruction between 2008 and 2015. All patients were between 18 and 40 years of age at the time of surgery. Patients with a previous ACL injury, multiligament knee injury, previous ACL reconstruction, history of ACL revision surgery, complete meniscectomy, infection, missing data, and associated fracture were excluded. We also identified 50 sex-matched controls who had not sustained an ACL injury. For all participants, we used the preoperative magnetic resonance images to measure the anteroposterior lengths of the medial and lateral tibial plateaus as well as the lateral and medial bone slope (LBS and MBS), lateral and medial meniscal height (LMH and MMH), and lateral and medial meniscal slope (LMS and MMS). The AI predictor was created using Matlab R2019b. A Gaussian naïve Bayes model was selected to create the predictor. RESULTS: Patients in the ACL injury group had a significantly increased posterior LBS (7.0° ± 4.7° vs 3.9° ± 5.4°; P = .008) and LMS (-1.7° ± 4.8° vs -4.0° ± 4.2°; P = .002) and a lower MMH (5.5 ± 0.1 vs 6.1 ± 0.1 mm; P = .006) and LMH (6.9 ± 0.1 vs 7.6 ± 0.1 mm; P = .001). The AI model selected LBS and MBS as the best possible predictive combination, achieving 70% validation accuracy and 92% testing accuracy. CONCLUSION: A prediction model for primary ACL injury, created using machine learning techniques, achieved a >90% testing accuracy. Compared with patients who did not sustain an ACL injury, patients with torn ACLs had an increased posterior LBS and LMS and a lower MMH and LMH.

Gender Influences on Physical Activity Awareness of Adolescents and Their Parents.

The imbalances between the actual physical activity (PA) of adolescents and the subjective perception both they and their parents have in this regard can play an important role in perpetuating inactive lifestyles. The aim of this study is to analyse these discrepancies by considering gender as a conditioning factor. The participants in the study were 1697 adolescents, 1244 mothers and 1052 fathers in the educational communities of 26 secondary schools located in urban environments of the Autonomous Community of Galicia (Spain). With regard to actual physical activity, a high prevalence of sedentarism (82.1%) was revealed, this being even more acute in girls (87.8%). However, the perceived levels of activity differed significantly from the actual ones with a clear general overestimation both by the adolescents and their parents. When further exploring the data, gender influences were also detected both in adolescent and parental perceptions, since the high rates of overestimation in sedentary individuals were lower in girls and, on the contrary, the low rates of underestimation in active individuals were higher in girls. Moreover, although the level of agreement between actual and perceived physical activity was low overall, with Cohen's kappa values ranging from 0.006 to 0.047, the lowest values were observed in the case of girls. In conclusion, both the adolescents and their parents were incapable of correctly assessing the actual physical activity of the former, so it seems that the general population lacks knowledge about the amount of physical activity that adolescents need to do to achieve a healthy lifestyle. Consequently, it would be advisable to implement health education campaigns and awareness-raising interventions directed to young people as well as to their parents and, in doing so, gender must be considered by establishing distinct program designs in terms of this variable.

Gender Differences on Motor Competence in 5-Year-Old Preschool Children Regarding Relative Age.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the differences on motor competence between 5-year-old boys and girls and to investigate the existence of Relative Age Effect (RAE) on their motor competence. A total of 232 preschool children were evaluated of whom 134 (57.8%) were boys and 98 (42.2%) were girls. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (MABC-2) was used to collect data. The data show a main effect on gender factor; there was a main effect in total score of manual dexterity (MD; p = 0.010), in total score of balance (Bal; p < 0.001), in total test score (TTS; p < 0.001), and in total percentile score (TPS, p < 0.001). In the semester of birth factor, there were differences in aiming and catching (A&C, p < 0.001), in Bal (p = 0.029) and in total percentile score (TPS, p = 0.010). Girls perform better in MD, Bal, TTS, and TPS than boys. Preschool children born in the first semester obtain, in general, a higher percentage and a higher percentile than their peers born in the second one. RAE is present in A&C, Bal, and TPS, with higher scores obtained by preschool children born in the first semester compared to those born in the second one.

Evolving dynamic self-adaptation policies of mHealth systems for long-term monitoring.

Tele-rehabilitation can complement traditional rehabilitation therapies by providing valuable information that can help in the evaluation, monitoring, and treatment of patients. Many patient tele-monitoring systems that integrate wearable technology are emerging as an effective tool for the long-term surveillance of rehabilitation progression, enabling continuous sampling of patient real-time movement in a non-invasive way, without affecting the normal daily activity of the outpatient, who, therefore, will not need to make frequent clinic visits. One of the main challenges of tele-rehabilitation systems is to pay special attention to the diversity of dysfunctions in patients by offering devices with customized behaviours adaptable to the physical conditions of each patient at the different stages of the rehabilitation therapy. Long-term monitoring systems need an adaptation policy to autonomously reconfigure their behaviour according to vital signs read during the physical activity of the patient, the remaining battery level, or the required accuracy of collected data. However, it would alsobe desirable to adjust such adaptation policies over time, according to the patient's evolution. This work presents a wearable patient-monitoring system for tele-rehabilitation that is able to dynamically self-configure its internal behaviour to the current context of the outpatient according to a set of adaptation policies that optimize battery consumption, taking into account other QoS parameters at the same time. Our system is also able to self-adapt its internal adaptation policies as a patient's condition improves, while maintaining the system's efficiency. We illustrate our proposal with a real mHealth case study. The results of the experiments show that the system updates the adaptation policies, taking into account specific indicators of the disease. The validation results show that the evolution of the self-adaptation policies correlates with the progression of different patients.

Proprioceptive Estimation of Forces Using Underactuated Fingers for Robot-Initiated pHRI.

In physical Human-Robot Interaction (pHRI), forces exerted by humans need to be estimated to accommodate robot commands to human constraints, preferences, and needs. This paper presents a method for the estimation of the interaction forces between a human and a robot using a gripper with proprioceptive sensing. Specifically, we measure forces exerted by a human limb grabbed by an underactuated gripper in a frontal plane using only the gripper's own sensors. This is achieved via a regression method, trained with experimental data from the values of the phalanx angles and actuator signals. The proposed method is intended for adaptive shared control in limb manipulation. Although adding force sensors provides better performance, the results obtained are accurate enough for this application. This approach requires no additional hardware: it relies uniquely on the gripper motor feedback-current, position and torque-and joint angles. Also, it is computationally cheap, so processing times are low enough to allow continuous human-adapted pHRI for shared control.

Parental assessment of physical education in the school curriculum: A brief report on the influence of past experiences as students.

The aim of this study was to analyse the relationship between parents' past experience as Physical Education (PE) students and the importance they give to PE within the school curriculum. Parents of 1834 teenagers from Spain and Portugal participated in the study (1834 fathers and 1834 mothers). An 11 item questionnaire was used for data collection. The measures studied were: socio-demographic characteristics, parent´s past experience as PE students, and importance that parents gave to PE in the school curriculum. The results suggest that parents' past experiences as PE student condition their evaluation of the importance that PE should have in the school curriculum. As the past experience as PE student deteriorated and as age increased, there was an increase in the probability that parents evaluate PE as deserving a less important status in their children's curriculum. These findings can contribute to understanding how the parents' past experiences as PE students seem to partially model the value judgements that they make later in life regarding the importance of the subject.

Weight-Bearing Estimation for Cane Users by Using Onboard Sensors.

Mobility is a fundamental requirement for a healthy, active lifestyle. Gait analysis is widely acknowledged as a clinically useful tool for identifying problems with mobility, as identifying abnormalities within the gait profile is essential to correct them via training, drugs, or surgical intervention. However, continuous gait analysis is difficult to achieve due to technical limitations, namely the need for specific hardware and constraints on time and test environment to acquire reliable data. Wearables may provide a solution if users carry them most of the time they are walking. We propose to add sensors to walking canes to assess user's mobility. Canes are frequently used by people who cannot completely support their own weight due to pain or balance issues. Furthermore, in absence of neurological disorders, the load on the cane is correlated with the user condition. Sensorized canes already exist, but often rely on expensive sensors and major device modifications are required. Thus, the number of potential users is severely limited. In this work, we propose an affordable module for load monitoring so that it can be widely used as a screening tool. The main advantages of our module are: (i) it can be deployed in any standard cane with minimal changes that do not affect ergonomics; (ii) it can be used every day, anywhere for long-term monitoring. We have validated our prototype with 10 different elderly volunteers that required a cane to walk, either for balance or partial weight bearing. Volunteers were asked to complete a 10 m test and, then, to move freely for an extra minute. The load peaks on the cane, corresponding to maximum support instants during the gait cycle, were measured while they moved. For validation, we calculated their gait speed using a chronometer during the 10 m test, as it is reportedly related to their condition. The correlation between speed (condition) and load results proves that our module provides meaningful information for screening. In conclusion, our module monitors support in a continuous, unsupervised, nonintrusive way during users' daily routines, plus only mechanical adjustment (cane height) is needed to change from one user to another.

What is the best position to place and re-evaluate an unconscious but normally breathing victim? A randomised controlled human simulation trial on children.

BACKGROUND: Current resuscitation guidelines endorse placing the unconscious and normally breathing victims in the recovery position (RP), but this technique might hinder breathing evaluation. AIM: To compare breathing evaluation and cardiac arrest detection: placing the victim in RP and checking breathing regularly, placing the victim in RP while re-evaluating breathing every minute, and placing the victim on his back, maintaining an open airway with the head-tilt-chin-lift technique and continuously checking breathing. METHODS: Schoolchildren aged 10-12 with no previous cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training, from three different primary schools were randomly allocated into groups to receive a CPR course involving one of the three strategies. Then a human simulation took place. RESULT: 192 schoolchildren (64 per group) were randomly selected and received one of the courses. 182 participants who correctly assessed the victim were compared: 16 (26.2%) out of the 59 participants using RP and checking breathing regularly detected cardiac arrest before the end of the simulation, compared to 41 (67.20%) out of 61 using RP re-evaluating breathing every minute, and 56 (90.3%) out of 62 using head-tilt-chin-lift. Statistically significant differences were found between the RP groups (p < 0.001; OR = 5.766) as well as between the Head-tilt-chin-lift and both RP groups (p < 0.001; OR = 21.094), (p = 0.002; OR = 4.553). CONCLUSION: The strategy involving head-tilt-chin-lift significantly increased the likelihood of detecting cardiac arrest. Re-evaluating every minute when the RP was used significantly increased the likelihood of detecting cardiac arrest.

Tradiciones lúdicas en el camino central portugués: el juego de bolos en la parte final del Camino de Santiago / Tradições recreativas no caminho central português: o jogo de bolos no final do Caminho de Santiago / Playful traditions in the central portuguese way of St. James: bowling at the end of the way

Este estudio buscó determinar la existencia del juego de bolos tradicional en la parte final del Camino Central Portugués de Santiago (Oporto-Valença do Minho), hecho que nos permitió continuar con el estudio realizado en Galicia en el Camino de Santiago y que nos permite comprender la génesis de este juego popular y tradicional. Se realizó un estudio cualitativo, descriptivo e interpretativo, utilizando la entrevista como herramienta para la obtención de datos. La muestra del estudio estuvo formada por 27 personas: nueve técnicos deportivos de Cámaras Municipales, nueve docentes especialistas en Educación Física (EB2) y nueve docentes no especialistas en Educación Física (EB1). Se registró una escasa práctica del juego de bolos tradicional en los municipios por donde pasa el Camino Central Portugués, a excepción del municipio de Paredes de Coura, donde el Jogo do Chavelho se muestra como una modalidad exclusiva de esta localidad portuguesa

Este estudo procurou determinar a existência da modalidade de bolos tradicional na parte final do Caminho Central Português de Santiago (Porto-Valença do Minho), fato que nos permitiu continuar com o estudo realizado na Galiza no Caminho de Santiago e que nos permite compreender a gênese deste jogo popular e tradicional. Foi realizado um estudo qualitativo, descritivo e interpretativo, que usou a entrevista como uma ferramenta para obter dados. A amostra do estudo foi composta por 27 pessoas: nove técnicos do desporto das Câmaras Municipais, nove professores especialistas em Educação Física (EB2) e nove professores não-especialistas em Educação Física (EB1). Foi registrada uma reduzida prática do jogo de bolos tradicional nos municípios onde passa o Caminho Central Português, com exceção do município de Paredes de Coura, mostrando o Jogo do Chavelho como uma forma única de prática nesta cidade portuguesa

This study sought to determine the existence of traditional bowling (Juego de Bolos) in the final part of the Central Portuguese Way of St. James (Porto-Valença do Minho), which would allow us to continue the study conducted in Galicia's Way of St. James to understand the genesis of that popular and traditional game. We conducted a qualitative, descriptive and interpretive study using interviews as a tool for data collection. The study's sample included 27 people: nine Municipal sports coaches, nine teachers specialized in Physical Education (EB2), and nine non-specialist Physical Education (EB1) teachers. There was little practice of traditional bowling in the municipalities crossed by the Central Portuguese way, with the exception of Paredes de Coura, where the Chavelho's game was unique to that Portuguese town

Lesiones deportivas en baloncesto infantil femenino / Sports injuries in young female basketball

Introducción: el baloncesto es un deporte que presenta una gran aceptación entre las niñas preadolescentes, si bien poco se sabe sobre la incidencia de lesiones que su práctica tiene sobre esta población. Este trabajo tuvo como objetivo aportar información sobre el patrón de lesión deportiva encontrado en niñas preadolescentes practicantes de baloncesto a nivel federado en España. Material y métodos: durante el Campeonato de España de baloncesto infantil femenino de 2014, se recogió información acerca de ciertas características deportivas individuales de las jugadoras y del club, así como de los entrenamientos y del patrón lesivo, mediante entrevistas personales a los entrenadores y cuestionarios a las jugadoras. Resultados: se recogió información de 348 jugadoras. Un 73,8% reconoció haberse lesionado en la última temporada, mayoritariamente entrenando. El tipo de lesión más frecuentemente fueron los esguinces y la zona corporal el tren inferior, hallándose un 30% de recidivas. El índice lesivo fue de 5,85 lesiones por cada 1000 horas de práctica, y la superficie de juego fue el único factor que mostró tener influencia sobre el riesgo de lesión. El periodo de baja se situó en 2,54 ± 0,97 días, con una ausencia por parte del 25% de las jugadoras de sus actividades académicas. Conclusiones: la práctica de baloncesto por parte de niñas de entre 12 y 13 años presenta un riesgo de lesión que no debe pasar desapercibido, tanto por el promedio de lesiones registrado, como por la posibilidad de que existan recidivas y que la lesión acarree consecuencias a nivel académico (AU)

Introduction: basketball is a widely practiced sport among preadolescent girls, but the evidence regarding the incidence of injuries caused by its practice in this population is scarce. This study aimed to provide information about the pattern of sport injury in preadolescent girls, basketball federated players, in Spain. Material and methods: during the 2014 Spanish Basketball Championship for girls, information regarding different characteristics of the players and the team, as well as concerning the training sessions and the pattern of injury, was collected through questionnaires to the players and personal interview to the coaches. Results: information from 348 players was collected. A 73.8% of them, reported being injured in the last season, mainly during trainings. The most common type of injury were sprains, the most affected part of the body were the lower limbs, with a 30% of recurrences. Harm index (injuries for 1000 hours of practice) was 5.85, being the court's surface the only factor that showed to affect the risk of injury. The mean of lost days of sport practice due to injury was 2.54 ± 0.97, with an absence of the academic activities by 25% of the injured players. Conclusions: the practice of basketball by 12-13years old girls shows a risk of injury that should not go unnoticed, both for the average of injuries detected, as well as for the possibility of recurrence and the impact on the academic level (AU)

Automatic Assessment of a Rollator-User's Condition During Rehabilitation Using the i-Walker Platform.

Patient condition during rehabilitation has been traditionally assessed using clinical scales. These scales typically require the patient and/or the clinician to rate a number of condition-related items to obtain a final score. This is a time-consuming task, specially if a large number of patients are involved. Furthermore, during rehabilitation, user condition is expected to change steadily in time, so assessment may require to run these scales several times to each user. To save time, much effort has been focused on developing clinical scales that require little time to be completed. This is usually achieved by measuring a reduced set of features, i.e., focusing the scales on specific features of a defined target population (Parkinson's disease, Stroke, and so on). However, these scales still require the therapist's intervention and may be tiresome for patients who have to fill them repeatedly. This paper proposes a novel approach to automatically obtain balance scales from the onboard sensors of a robotic rollator. These sensors are used to extract spatiotemporal gait parameters from patients using the rollator for support. These parameters are derived from the user forces on the rollator handles and its odometry. Resulting parameters are used to predict the Tinetti mobility clinical scale on the fly, without therapist intervention. Our approach has been validated with 19 rollator volunteers with a variety of physical and neurological disabilities at Hospital Civil (Malaga) and Fondazione Santa Lucia (Rome). Clinicians provided traditionally obtained Tinetti scores and the proposed system was used to estimate them on the fly. Results show a small root mean squared prediction error. This method can be used for any rollator user anywhere in everyday walking conditions to obtain the Tinetti scores as often as desired and, hence evaluate their progress.

Identification of Novel Brominated Compounds in Flame Retarded Plastics Containing TBBPA by Combining Isotope Pattern and Mass Defect Cluster Analysis.

The study of not only main flame retardants but also of related degradation products or impurities has gained attention in the last years and is relevant to assess the safety of our consumer products and the emission of potential contaminants into the environment. In this study, we show that plastics casings of electric/electronic devices containing TBBPA contain also a complex mixture of related brominated chemicals. These compounds were most probably coming from impurities, byproducts, or degradation products of TBBPA and TBBPA derivatives. A total of 14 brominated compounds were identified based on accurate mass measurements (formulas and tentative structures proposed). The formulas (or number of bromine elements) for 19 other brominated compounds of minor intensity are also provided. A new script for the recognition of halogenated compounds based on combining a simplified isotope pattern and mass defect cluster analysis was developed in R for the screening. The identified compounds could be relevant from an environmental and industrial point of view.

Reliability of Sargent Jump Test in 4- to 5-Year-Old Children.

We assessed the test-retest reliability of the Sargent jump (VJ) for vertical jumping performed by 4 and 5 years old pre-schoolers. The VJ was administered three times (familiarization, test, and retest) to 163 children (mean age: 4.48 ± 0.5 years; 55.8% girls). The results were compared with those obtained in the standing long jump (SLJ) and in the 25 -m dash test to identify how its performance correlated with other measures of leg power. Systematic change in the mean and retest correlations with these other measures were used to help analyze VJ test-retest reliability. Additionally, Pearson correlation coefficients were used to examine the degree of association between the test and retest trials of the VJ. The VJ showed a higher correlation and agreement in the 4-year-old, compared with the 5-year old, group (rc = 0.956 vs. 0.796; α = 0.95 vs. 0.84; ICC: 0.828; 95% CI: 0.730-0.891 vs 0.739; 95% CI: 0.589-0.834). Effect sizes were small ( d ≤ 0.285) for all the VJ tests performed. Fair to poor significant relationships were established between the VJ (test), VJ (retest), and the SLJ. No significant association was observed between the VJ and the 25 -m dash tests. Our findings suggest that the Sargent jump test is reliable when executed by 4- and 5-year-olds. The lack of a strong association with other measures of leg power should be taken into account at the time of selecting the most appropriate test to assess this strength dimension.

On Gait Analysis Estimation Errors Using Force Sensors on a Smart Rollator.

Gait analysis can provide valuable information on a person's condition and rehabilitation progress. Gait is typically captured using external equipment and/or wearable sensors. These tests are largely constrained to specific controlled environments. In addition, gait analysis often requires experts for calibration, operation and/or to place sensors on volunteers. Alternatively, mobility support devices like rollators can be equipped with onboard sensors to monitor gait parameters, while users perform their Activities of Daily Living. Gait analysis in rollators may use odometry and force sensors in the handlebars. However, force based estimation of gait parameters is less accurate than traditional methods, especially when rollators are not properly used. This paper presents an evaluation of force based gait analysis using a smart rollator on different groups of users to determine when this methodology is applicable. In a second stage, the rollator is used in combination with two lab-based gait analysis systems to assess the rollator estimation error. Our results show that: (i) there is an inverse relation between the variance in the force difference between handlebars and support on the handlebars-related to the user condition-and the estimation error; and (ii) this error is lower than 10% when the variation in the force difference is above 7 N. This lower limit was exceeded by the 95.83% of our challenged volunteers. In conclusion, rollators are useful for gait characterization as long as users really need the device for ambulation.