Ten meter walk test with mobile devices: A dataset with accelerometer, magnetometer, and gyroscope.

This paper presents a dataset related to the performance of the Ten Meter Walking Test, a test to allow locomotor capacity in different research and clinical settings. One of the most important parameters to measure is the gait speed during a path of ten meters. The data available in this dataset consists of accelerometer, magnetometer, and gyroscope data acquired with a mobile device in a waistband. The experiments were performed two times by 109 individuals (30 males and 79 females) in different senior residences in the Fundão municipality (Portugal). The dataset includes 208 samples because the sensors reported some failures. The acquisition of the sensors data allows the creation of a technological method for the automatic measurement of features related to the Ten Meter Walk Test, promoting patient independence in measuring their physical health status.

Mobile and wearable technologies for the analysis of Ten Meter Walk Test: A concise systematic review.

Physical issues started to receive more attention due to the sedentary lifestyle prevalent in modern culture. The Ten Meter Walk Test allows measuring the person's capacity to walk along 10 m and analyzing the advancement of various medical procedures for ailments, including stroke. This systematic review is related to the use of mobile or wearable devices to measure physical parameters while administering the Ten Meter Walk Test for the analysis of the performance of the test. We applied the PRISMA methodology for searching the papers related to the Ten Meter Walk Test. Natural Language Processing (NLP) algorithms were used to automate the screening process. Various papers published in two decades from multiple scientific databases, including IEEE Xplore, Elsevier, Springer, EMBASE, SCOPUS, Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), and PubMed Central were analyzed, focusing on various diseases, devices, features, and methods. The study reveals that chronometer and accelerometer sensors measuring spatiotemporal features are the most pertinent in the Gait characterization of most diseases. Likewise, all studies emphasized the close relation between the quality of the sensor's data obtained and the system's ultimate accuracy. In other words, calibration procedures are needed because of the body part where the sensor is worn and the type of sensor. In addition, using ambient sensors providing kinematic and kinetic features in conjunction with wearable sensors and consistently acquiring walking signals can enhance the system's performance. The most common weaknesses in the analyzed studies are the sample size and the unavailability of continuous monitoring devices for measuring the Ten Meter Walk Test.

Environmental and economic analysis of bioethanol production from sugarcane molasses and agave juice.

In this article, sugarcane molasses and agave juice were compared as potential feedstocks for producing bioethanol in Mexico in terms of their environmental impact and economic factors. Life cycle assessment (LCA) using SimaPro was carried out to calculate environmental impacts by using a cradle-to-gate approach. A preliminary economic analysis was performed to determine the economic feasibility of the studied options. Also, capital goods costs were obtained using the Aspen Plus economy package. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis was involved to compare the environmental and economic viability of producing bioethanol from sugarcane molasses and agave juice. LCA results revealed that cultivation and fermentation were the most harmful stages when producing bioethanol from sugarcane molasses and agave juice, respectively. Furthermore, when it was derived from agave juice rather than sugarcane molasses, it had more environmental benefits. This was ascribed to the lower consumption rate of fertilizers, pesticides, and emissions given off from the former. Regarding financial aspects, the preliminary analysis showed that producing bioethanol was not economically viable when grid energy alone was used. However, if power from the grid is partially replaced with renewable energy, producing bioethanol becomes economically feasible, and sugarcane molasses is the most suitable feedstock.

Hypocholesterolemic Effect and In Vitro Pancreatic Lipase Inhibitory Activity of an Opuntia ficus-indica Extract.

Cholesterol control is fundamental for prevention of cardiovascular disorders. In this work, the hypocholesterolemic activity of an aqueous Opuntia ficus-indica extract (AOE) was tested in triton-induced mice. The inhibitory activity on pancreatic lipase enzyme was evaluated in vitro by the same extract. Furthermore, polyphenol content of the extract was evaluated. Hypercholesterolemia was induced in three groups of mice by intraperitoneal administration of Triton WR-1339. After induction of hypercholesterolemia, the groups were treated with an AOE (500 mg/kg) and saline solution and the positive control group with orlistat, respectively. Cholesterol levels were measured 24 h later in peripheral blood. The levels of blood cholesterol after administration of AOE significantly decreased compared to negative control. The inhibitory activity of AOE on pancreatic lipase enzyme was evaluated at concentrations from 60 to 1000 µg/mL. The AOE inhibited the pancreatic lipase with an IC50 = 588.5 µg/mL. The AOE had a high content of polyphenolic compounds. These results show that AOE is able to prevent hypercholesterolemia by pancreatic lipase inhibition, in part due to its polyphenolic compounds.