Continuous Movement Research Articles

Posture Risk Assessment and Workload Estimation for Material Handling by Computer Vision

Workers in material handling tasks often suffer from work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) caused by inaccurate work postures or the lifting of excessively heavy loads. Therefore, effective ergonomic assessment of workers is needed to improve worker productivity while reducing the risk of musculoskeletal disorders. This paper proposes a noninvasive method for evaluating posture risks and load analysis in manual material handling tasks. The study focuses on three main aspects: first, using 3D pose recognition technology to extract the 3D coordinates and joint angles of the human body. Second, the REBA method was improved by using fuzzy logic theory to more effectively capture the slow transition features of continuous movement by humans without abruptly altering risk scores, as well as to increase the accuracy and consistency of posture risk evaluation. Third, joint torque and workloads were estimated using biomechanical calculations by integrating pressure insoles and 3D joint coordinate data. Experiments show that this method can effectively evaluate posture risks and workloads in manual material handling tasks, with a correlation coefficient of 0.817 ( p < 0.01 ) between fuzzy logic REBA and REBA and an error rate of 15% in estimating workloads of eight joints. This method can help reduce occupational health risks for workers and industries and improve work efficiency.

Movement fracturing “the international” —or, what does it mean to give primacy to movement?

Movement fracturing “the international” —or, what does it mean to give primacy to movement?

Nanomechanical action opens endo-lysosomal compartments

Endo-lysosomal escape is a highly inefficient process, which is a bottleneck for intracellular delivery of biologics, including proteins and nucleic acids. Herein, we demonstrate the design of a lipid-based nanoscale molecular machine, which achieves efficient cytosolic transport of biologics by destabilizing endo-lysosomal compartments through nanomechanical action upon light irradiation. We fabricate lipid-based nanoscale molecular machines, which are designed to perform mechanical movement by consuming photons, by co-assembling azobenzene lipidoids with helper lipids. We show that lipid-based nanoscale molecular machines adhere onto the endo-lysosomal membrane after entering cells. We demonstrate that continuous rotation-inversion movement of Azo lipidoids triggered by ultraviolet/visible irradiation results in the destabilization of the membranes, thereby transporting cargoes, such as mRNAs and Cre proteins, to the cytoplasm. We find that the efficiency of cytosolic transport is improved about 2.1-fold, compared to conventional intracellular delivery systems. Finally, we show that lipid-based nanoscale molecular machines are competent for cytosolic transport of tumour antigens into dendritic cells, which induce robust antitumour activity in a melanoma mouse model.

Knowledge building through academic development

In order to counter-act obsolescence, an important aspect of organisational well-being in turbulent times, is the collective responsibility and capability of all workers to co-create organisational knowing -- in other words, what constitutes quality in the open distance learning (ODL) context. This implies a culture of innovation in an environment that is continuously changing. In this context where social change is the norm the organisation cannot depend on existing practices. Rather, it requires the ability to re-invent the collective understanding of the organisation; this is known as contextual knowledge building. Knowledge building is the creation of ideas and the improvement of ideas that have a life out in the world where they are subject to social processes of evaluation, revision and application. Within such an organisational culture, learning refers to ongoing reflective work which brings innovation closer to the central work of the organisation. This, in turn, leads to a shared community in which an individual contributes to the shared intellectual property of the organisation as a whole. Therefore, learning is necessitated by this process and integral to it. The resulting community knowledge is a form of new information that other community members can all build on together. There is continual movement beyond current understanding and best practice toward “lifelong innovativeness”. Thus, capacity development and knowledge building involve everyone in the institution, not only the academic staff. The paper reflects the importance of academic development in a continuously changing environment through a reflective case study analysis.

Magnetic Lateral Ladder for Unidirectional Transport of Microrobots: Design Principles and Potential Applications of Cells-on-Chip.

Functionalized microrobots, which are directionally manipulated in a controlled and precise manner for specific tasks, face challenges. However, magnetic field-based controls constrain all microrobots to move in a coordinated manner, limiting their functions and independent behaviors. This article presents a design principle for achieving unidirectional microrobot transport using an asymmetric magnetic texture in the shape of a lateral ladder, which the authors call the "railway track." An asymmetric magnetic energy distribution along the axis allows for the continuous movement of microrobots in a fixed direction regardless of the direction of the magnetic field rotation. The authors demonstratedprecise control and simple utilization of this method. Specifically, by placing magnetic textures with different directionalities, an integrated cell/particle collectorcan collect microrobots distributed in a large area and move them along a complex trajectory to a predetermined location. The authors can leverage the versatile capabilities offered by this texture concept, including hierarchical isolation, switchable collection, programmable pairing, selective drug-response test, and local fluid mixing for target objects. The results demonstrate the importance of microrobot directionality in achieving complex individual control. This novel concept represents significant advancement over conventional magnetic field-based control technology and paves the way for further research in biofunctionalized microrobotics.

Yoga for musculoskeletal pain, discomfort, perceived stress, and quality of sleep in industry workers: a randomized controlled trial.

Work-related musculoskeletal pain and discomfort are due to repetitive, unnatural, continuous movements and postures. Yoga therapy is beneficial for pain and disability in occupational settings. The current study aims to investigate the effect of yoga on musculoskeletal pain, stress, and sleep quality among industry workers. The study was conducted as a parallel randomized controlled open-label trial. An allocation ratio of 1:1 was followed for randomization. A health survey was used to recruit 90 male workers in machinery manufacturing industries from Bengaluru. A specially designed yoga module was administered five days a week for eight weeks to yoga group. The waitlisted control group received lifestyle suggestions. Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire (CMDQ), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were administered at baseline, at the fourth week and eighth weeks. Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance (RM-ANOVA) was conducted to elicit the group*time interactions. Ninety participants (Yoga = 45, Control = 45) with age 40.57 ± 6.85 were randomized. Significant interactions were found in CMDQ, VAS, PSS and PSQI scores. Further, between group comparison demonstrate significant difference between the groups at the end of 8weeks for CMDQ, VAS and PSS scores. Yoga can be used to reduce musculoskeletal pain, discomfort, perceived stress and improve sleep quality among industry workers. CTRI/2022/03/040894.

Characteristics of multi-channel intermuscular directional coupling based on time-varying partial directional coherence analysis

The human body transmits directional information between muscles during upper limb movements, and this will be particularly evident when the dominant muscle changes during movement transitions. By capturing the electromyography (EMG) signals of wrist flexion and extension continuous transition movements, we investigated the characteristics of multichannel intermuscular directional coupling and directional information transmission, and consequently explored the control mechanism of Central nervous system (CNS) and the coordination mechanism of motor muscles. Multi-channel EMG was collected from 12 healthy subjects under continuous translational movements of wrist flexion and extension, and the time-varying biased directional coherence analysis (TVPDC) model was constructed using partial directional coherence analysis (PDC) frequency domain directionality to study the directional information transfer characteristics in the time–frequency domain, screen closely related muscle pairs and perform directional coupling significance analysis. Palmaris longus (PL) played a dominant role under wrist flexion movements(WF), Extensor Carpi Radialis (ECR) played a dominant role under wrist extension movements(WE), and the remaining muscles responded to them with information and Biceps Brachii (BB) played a responsive role throughout the movement; flexor pairs had the highest positive coupling values in the beta band during Conversion action1 (MC1) and WF phases, and extensor pairs had the highest positive coupling values in the gamma band during Conversion action2(MC2) phase and the highest coupling values in the beta band during WE phase. TVPDC can effectively analyze the multichannel intermuscular directional coupling and information transmission relationship of surface electromyography under wrist flexion and extension transition movements, providing a reference for exploring the control mechanism of CNS and abnormal control mechanism in patients with motor dysfunction in a new perspective.

Numerical Experiment and Design of a Two-Rod Crank Knee Press with an Internal Layout of the Motor Drive

In crank presses, an important role is played by the presence of actuators with dwell, in which, with continuous movement of the input links, the output working link remains stationary at some part of the work. The use of a high-class structural group (fourth class) expands the functionality of the crank press, including it can ensure the link dwell of the working link on a given section of movement during the required period of time. As a result of the conducted numerical research, four variants of actuators of the crank knee press were designed. Due to the rational choice of the positions of racks and crosshead guide, the best layout of the dimensions of the press mechanism has been achieved. Changing the coordinates of the racks accordingly allows for designing a mechanism with upper or lower dwells of the working links. The duration of the dwell of the working link (slider) can be adjusted by selecting the distance between the racks with rotational pairs and a crosshead guide of the mechanism. All this is shown on the basis of a numerical experiment based on kinematic analysis. In addition, the proposed structure of the mechanism makes it possible to ensure the exact link dwell, which cannot be achieved due to the well-known knee presses based on the second-class mechanism.

COMPREHENSIVE CONTROL MEASURES IN THE VERY LARGE TAKISAKA LANDSLIDE AREA IN JAPAN

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the comprehensive control measures in the very large Takisaka landslide area in Japan. The Takisaka landslide area is one of the most representative large landslide areas in Japan. The location of the Takisaka landslide is extremely peculiar and this landslide could pose a great threat to the surrounding area. The landslide area is directly adjacent to the main channel of the Agano River, which has a length of 210 km and a catchment area of 7,710 km2 and flows from the eastern part of Fukushima Prefecture through Niigata Prefecture to the Sea of Japan. In the worst case, if the Takisaka landslide were to occur on a large scale, the sliding mass of soil could dam up the mainstream of the Agano River. In this case, a large reservoir would be created upstream and many residential areas would be flooded. In addition, if the reservoir were to burst, there would be flooding downstream. In order to avoid such a situation, the Takisaka landslide area must be managed extremely carefully, and comprehensive and drastic countermeasures must be taken. Originally, it is impossible to completely prevent such a large landslide by hard countermeasures using engineering structures alone. Therefore, for such a large landslide, it is necessary to monitor the amount of landslide movement in real-time continuously and to immediately issue an evacuation order to nearby residents when a critical amount of movement is measured. At the same time, however, it is also necessary to install hard measures using engineering structures to prevent the continuous movement of the landslide. This report first describes the characteristics of the Takisaka landslide. Then, comprehensive control measures, both soft measures and hard measures, are reported. The main part of the soft measures is the early warning system based on the comprehensive real-time monitoring system of this landslide. The main components of the hard measures are drainage works to collect and channel dangerous groundwater, such as drainage tunnels, drainage wells, and drainage boreholes. Finally, the effect of the drainage works already installed is illustrated three-dimensionally.

Subject-Independent Estimation of Continuous Movements Using CNN-LSTM for a Home-Based Upper Limb Rehabilitation System

Subject-Independent Estimation of Continuous Movements Using CNN-LSTM for a Home-Based Upper Limb Rehabilitation System

Research on the identification and integration of folk dance creation elements based on big data technology

Abstract In order to identify the elements of folk dance creation, two methods of continuous folk dance movement recognition are proposed in this paper. By considering the dance movement patterns as a whole and the templates as incomplete patterns, OE-DTW is applied to match them to segment and recognize each movement pattern one by one. To enhance the performance, a global restriction K-Repetition and endpoint detection condition are proposed to match with OE-DTW, and a penalty-based layer matching algorithm is proposed by using the layer structure feature of SegSVD so that the endpoint of the input movement pattern can be determined by the top layer matching of the latter when matching with the template pattern. Meanwhile, the similarity between two patterns based on this algorithm can also be calculated by the local results obtained from the weighted cumulative layer matching. Experiments show that the average recognition rate of OE-DTW is 0.891, SegSVD is 0.86, and CDP is 0.828. Both methods can effectively deal with the continuous action recognition problem, and they have better recognition results compared with CDP.

Analysis of the main provisions of the theory of parallel-hierarchical transformations

The article presents an analysis of the main principles of parallel-hierarchical transformations theory. The continuous movement of society towards the automation of everyday life requires the creation of fundamentally new software and hardware solutions. Considering the current physical limitations of integrated circuits, it is evident that improving software processing is the way to go. The main problem lies in the increasing complexity of architecture and supporting such code. The ideas of parallel-hierarchical networks allow for a significant increase in processing speed through process parallelization while maintaining the relative simplicity of the software solution's architecture. The proposed structure of the parallel-hierarchical network allows for modelling the operation principle of a distributed neural network and forms a deterministic network using spatial-temporal division. The general rules of direct and inverse parallel-hierarchical transformation and their application to image recognition tasks are discussed. A block diagram of the algorithm for the basic model of nonlinear direct network transformation is shown. A mathematical model of direct parallel-hierarchical transformation is presented using an example. Compared to known numerical transformation methods involving simple operations like addition, the model enables complex functional signal processing in real-time scale, as well as unambiguity and reversibility with good convergence of the computational process.

Key Accessibilities Issues (KAIs) for People with Disabilities (PwDs) at Electric Train Service (ETS) Station

The establishment of various acts and legislation for PwDs rights signify a strong ethical value and positive support from the government to ensure equal rights for all citizens. It also serves as guidelines for the professional to plan and design their projects. The Malaysian Standard (MS) 1184:2014 for instance contains six KAIs to be considered by the project team during the early planning stage to ensure continuous movement of the PwDs. On the contrary, many researchers reported that Malaysia is still lacking in considering and providing equal accessibility and facilities for this group. This paper aims to investigate whether the provision of KAIs for the PwDs provided at ETS station complies with the MS1184:2014. Three ETS stations in Perak were chosen for the case study. Document analysis of the MS1184:2014 was conducted to identify the KAIs dimensions to be provided for the PwDs at the stations. From the document analysis conducted, an observation checklist was developed to assess the availability and compliance of the KAIs dimensions with the MS1184:2014. The observation was recorded in a tabular method. From the tabulated information, the types and frequency of the availability and compliance of the facilities were determined. The research revealed that although majority of the sub-dimensions/facilities were available at the stations, they do not all comply with the MS. Some of the sub-dimensions/facilities do not function properly and cannot be used by PwDs. The physical barrier or incompliance facilities that were identified throughout the observations could be minimized to give the PwDs accessibility to use the ETS services. Besides, the ETS stations need to provide a more inclusive environment so that the PwDs can be independent and are capable to actively participate with the community. The research also suggested that when it comes to developing or creating better public transportation stations, customer feedback is crucial. The designer or the local authority should be more inventive in designing a barrier-free environment and infrastructure.

Dynamics of Threads Wrapping a Filament's Leg Prior to the Eruption on 2021 October 28

Although the magnetic field structures of solar filaments have been studied for several decades, the detailed evolution of the structure around a filament prior to its eruption is rarely observed. On 2021 October 28 in AR 12887, a major solar flare (X1.0 class) occurred at 15:35 UT. Based on the Solar Dynamics Observatory high-spatial-resolution observations, we find this flare is associated with the eruption of two filaments, namely F1 and F2. The two filaments are initially independent. The western leg (WLEG) of F1 approaches the northern leg of F2, due to the continuous movement and rotation of the magnetic field in which the WLEG roots in. We find first that there are some threads wrapping the WLEG. Brightening and bidirectionally plasmoid flows that originate from a brightening are detected in these threads, then the threads disappear, and the two filaments connect. NLFFF extrapolation reveals that there is a toroidal magnetic structure enveloping the WLEG and corresponding spatially to the threads. It is expected that a filament is enveloped by toroidal magnetic fields. According to the observations and extrapolation, we suggest that these threads represent the toroidal magnetic fields wrapping the WLEG. This paper provides new details about the dynamics of the toroidal magnetic fields. Magnetic reconnection takes place in the toroidal fields and thus destroys the fields, then F1 and F2 connect, and subsequently, the two filaments erupt and the flare occurs.

Study on the evolution of transient flow field in WDS based on numerical and experimental methods

In order to reveal transient characteristics of flow field in WDS of HPs, theoretical analysis, numerical simulation and experiment are combined to investigate nine transitions. Detached eddy simulation is adopted to solve flow field and dynamic mesh technology is applied to achieve continuous movement of valves. The results show that numerical simulation is consistent with experiment, wherein the maximum difference is approximately 0.74% of HS(DT6, 1.3 m). HU has stronger influence on the flow stability in WDS, specifically analysed by pressure fluctuation range, the peaks of HS, TKE and wavelength etc. The pressure fluctuation phenomenon in load increasing processes is weaker than that in load rejection processes, wherein peaks and troughs of pressure are larger at the cases with more load change. In addition, the preconditions of unit before load rejection significantly affect swirling strength and TKE of transient flow in load rejection processes, but it is irrelevant to the maximum values of HS. The maximum values of HS under different conditions basically appear in the surge tank when the valves are about 20% closed. The round-trip time of wave propagation is far less than tV (Δt=1.254s<<10.32s), hence indirect water hammer also proves reasonable design. This study not only provides guidance to the operation of HPs, but also provides reference for design.

The Effectiveness of Therapeutic Exercises Accompanied by Electrical Stimulation in the Rehabilitation of Paraplegic Patients in the Elderly

Therapeutic exercise in combination with electrical stimulation has become an important method to help improve movement and raise functional efficiency in elderly paraplegics. Therefore, this research focused on designing a rehabilitation program with electrical stimulation to raise the functional efficiency of the elderly with paraplegia and to know its effect on the muscle tone of the muscles of the upper and lower extremities of the affected part. In this paper, the researcher used the experimental approach due to its suitability to the nature of the research, using the intentional method in selecting a sample of 8 patients with simple and medium degrees. The results showed the positive effect of rehabilitative exercises with electrical stimulation used in a sample in improving muscle tone and reducing the effects of spasms in it, as well as a positive effect of the rehabilitative exercise program with electrical stimulation in increasing and improving the range of motion, and an improvement was also found in the angles of the joints of the affected limbs as a result of continuous movement and continuation in the performance of the proposed rehabilitation exercises in a sample with the ability of the injured individuals to perform strength training and improve the movement level. In conclusion, the researcher recommends being guided by the therapeutic program in rehabilitation and paying attention to flexibility and orthotics together as two sides of the same coin to get rid of muscle spasm in particular and improve muscle tone in general, and to pay attention to the development of muscle strength, balance, flexibility and views of the affected muscles.

Effects of Biofeedback on Muscle Effort Reduction when Holding Positions with a Powered Upper Limb Exoskeleton

Exoskeletons have the potential to support daily activities by assisting the movement performance. Previous studies have shown that powered elbow exoskeletons can reduce muscle effort during continuous cyclic movement. However, natural movements have embedded stationary hold periods as well as transitions between postures. The human performance when using exoskeletons for more natural movements should be evaluated. In this study, we implemented visual and haptic electromyography (EMG) biofeedback to help people use an upper limb exoskeleton to perform a target position matching task. Participants (n=36) did not significantly reduce their muscle effort during hold periods when provided with biofeedback. Participants had difficulty relaxing their muscles at more flexed postures during hold periods, suggesting that they continued to provide effort instead of taking advantage of the device. To fully benefit from robotic exoskeletons, additional training and more advanced controllers might be needed.

Forming method and cross-section deformation of transition section of finned special-shaped tubes in 3D free bending technology

In 3D free-bending technology, the bending forming of the tube consists of the transition section and the stable forming section. However, because of the continuous movement of the bending die and tube in the transition section, the forming mechanism of the tube in the transition zone is relatively complex and still unclear. In addition, due to the complexity of the cross-section deformation of the finned special-shaped tube (FSST), its application in the heat dissipation pipeline of aerospace vehicles is severely hindered. To address the above issues, in this paper, a 3D free-bending forming process method, which can effectively coordinate the movement of FSST and the bending die in the transition section, was proposed. Meanwhile, an analytical model of FSST bending forming was established, which can effectively characterize the elastic-plastic evolution of the FSST cross-section and match the bending radius with the cross-sectional bending moment effectively. Then, the effectiveness of the process method and analytical model was verified by finite element model (FEM), and experiments. Further, FEM and experiments were used to investigate the influence of the process parameters of the transition section on the forming radius and cross-section deformation of FSST after springback. The results from this study show that reasonable coordination of the rotation speed of the bending die and the advancing speed of FSST in the transition zone can improve the forming quality of FSST.

Pilot-scale testing of natural gas pipeline monitoring based on phase-OTDR and enhanced scatter optical fiber cable

In this paper, we present the results of lab and pilot-scale testing of a continuously enhanced backscattering, or Rayleigh enhanced fiber cable that can improve distributed acoustic sensing performance. In addition, the Rayleigh-enhanced fiber is embedded within a tight buffered cable configuration to withstand and be compatible for field applications. The sensing fiber cable exhibits a Rayleigh enhancement of 13 dB compared to standard silica single-mode fiber while maintaining low attenuation of ≤ 0.4 dB/km. We built a phase-sensitive optical time domain reflectometry system to interrogate the enhanced backscattering fiber cable both in lab and pilot-scale tests. In the laboratory experiment, we analyzed the vibration performance of the enhanced backscattering fiber cable and compared it with the standard single-mode telecom fiber. Afterward, we field validated for natural gas pipeline vibration monitoring using a 4-inch diameter steel pipeline operating at a fixed pressure level of 1000 psi, and a flow rate of 5, 10, 15, and 20 ft/s. The feasibility of gas pipeline monitoring with the proposed enhanced backscattering fiber cable shows a substantial increase in vibration sensing performance. The pilot-scale testing results demonstrated in this paper enable pipeline operators to perform accurate flow monitoring, leak detection, third-party intrusion detection, and continuous pipeline ground movement.

Inhibition of midfrontal theta with transcranial ultrasound explains greater approach versus withdrawal behavior in humans

Recent reviews highlighted low-intensity transcranial focused ultrasound (TUS) as a promising new tool for non-invasive neuromodulation in basic and applied sciences. Our preregistered double-blind within-subjects study (N = 152) utilized TUS targeting the right prefrontal cortex, which, in earlier work, was found to positively enhance self-reported global mood, decrease negative states of self-reported emotional conflict (anxiety/worrying), and modulate related midfrontal functional magnetic resonance imaging activity in affect regulation brain networks. To further explore TUS effects on objective physiological and behavioral variables, we used a virtual T-maze task that has been established in prior studies to measure motivational conflicts regarding whether participants execute approach versus withdrawal behavior (with free-choice responses via continuous joystick movements) while allowing to record related electroencephalographic data such as midfrontal theta activity (MFT). MFT, a reliable marker of conflict representation on a neuronal level, was of particular interest to us since it has repeatedly been shown to explain related behavior, with relatively low MFT typically preceding approach-like risky behavior and relatively high MFT typically preceding withdrawal-like risk aversion. Our central hypothesis is that TUS decreases MFT in T-maze conflict situations and thereby increases approach and reduces withdrawal. Results indicate that TUS led to significant MFT decreases, which significantly explained increases in approach behavior and decreases in withdrawal behavior. This study expands TUS evidence on a physiological and behavioral level with a large sample size of human subjects, suggesting the promise of further research based on this distinct TUS-MFT-behavior link to influence conflict monitoring and its behavioral consequences. Ultimately, this can serve as a foundation for future clinical work to establish TUS interventions for emotional and motivational mental health.