Mobile Settings Research Articles

An Analysis of the Effect of Cross-Enrollment between High School and University on the Labor Market Performances

This study analyses the effect of cross-enrollment between high school and college on the college GPA as well as labor market performances. It uses a three-year(2017-2019) survey of the Graduates Occupational Mobility Survey(GOMS) and sets up the comparison group with similar attributes of the treated group based on the propensity score matching method. The results show that liberal arts students at high school who enrolled in science majors acquired a lower GPA at college than the comparison groups, but they were advantageous in employment. Similar results were found among science students who enrolled in liberal arts majors, but the results were not statistically significant. In addition, no meaningful differences were found in the probability of getting permanent job employments nor in earning levels. The results imply that cross-enrollment decisions do not seem to be a mere strategic behavior when it comes to college entrance. Therefore, it should to be encouraged to exploit the advantages of integrated learning rather than to be discouraged.

Exploring the utility of complementary separations in liquid chromatography

An alternative strategy is explored for the separation of samples by liquid chromatography (LC). Unlike traditional approaches that aim to resolve all components in a given sample within a single LC separation, the proposed strategy uses two or more distinct separations carried out with a different gradient program and/or using different separation chemistries i.e., a different set of mobile and stationary phase. This set of complementary incomplete separations (CIS) is selected such that each component is at least fully resolved once, meaning the most critical pairs of each individual separation can be left unseparated. This allows for a significant time saving per separation. To investigate whether such an approach can lead to overall shorter analysis times than is possible with the fastest single-run gradient separation, a comprehensive in-silico study covering a statistically significant number of samples is undertaken. The investigation shows that, for the presently considered sample sets and chemistries, CIS has a substantially higher probability, about two times greater for the simplest samples considered in this work and as much as 30 times greater for more complex samples, to fully resolve an unknown sample compared to a single gradient separation. Comparing separation speeds, the CIS approach can achieve complete sample resolution on average approximately four times faster than a single separation. Our findings thus demonstrate the potential of CIS in enhancing separation efficiency and offer insights regarding their use for solving analytical challenges.

Urologist-Administered MRI-Guided Transurethral Ultrasound Ablation of the Prostate Using a Mobile Treatment Center: A Case Series

Introduction: Transurethral ultrasound ablation (TULSA) relies on real-time MRI to precisely control the treatment of prostate cancer and avoid side effects. To overcome limited urologist access to MRI, we present a case series on the first use of a mobile TULSA treatment center. Methods: Clinical outcomes were retrospectively reviewed from our institutional database. A mobile MRI scanner was installed next to a surgical hospital, equipped with the ablation system and MRI-compatible anesthesia. Manufacturer testing confirmed that mobile TULSA continued to meet the requirements of fixed installations. Patients underwent preoperative assessment of candidacy for anesthesia and treatment in a mobile MRI setting. Positioning, anesthesia induction, and device placement were performed in the MRI scanner room. The intended ablation zone was delineated by the urologist using magnetic resonance images acquired with treatment devices in place. Ablation was controlled by the treatment software and monitored by the urologist using real-time MRI. A Foley catheter was placed for postoperative drainage; the patients awoke in the mobile MRI before transfer to postanesthesia care unit. Results: Six patients underwent TULSA in the mobile treatment unit, with no intraoperative complications. The median procedure time was 3.2 hours, with workflow improvements during equipment setup, patient positioning, and treatment planning. Contrast-enhanced images confirmed devascularization of the index lesion and successful nerve sparing. Six-month follow-up demonstrated promising PSA and MRI findings, and improvements in lower urinary tract symptoms. Conclusions: TULSA can be safely administered by urologists using a mobile MRI treatment center. Mobile MRI units could be used to expand patient access to TULSA.

POLICY ANALYSIS OF HUMAN FACTORS AND SOCIAL INNOVATION IN EU EASI PROGRAMME REPORTS (2015-2022)

Purpose. The Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI), launched by the EU (European Union), represents a financial instrument with the objective of addressing a range of policy analysis areas, as follows: (I) social protection and innovation; (II) social exclusion and social policies; (III) living and working conditions; and (IV) employment, job conditions, mobility, and social entrepreneurship settings under the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+). Objectives. Therefore, the current research aims to structure and analyse in a comparative framework a wide range of EU policies and governance applied to the EaSI reports launched in the period 2015-2022, considering the policy context, key actors, policy content, legal instruments, implementation and governance structures and impact assessment of societal challenges, the role of human factors and the need for social innovation. Methodology. The analysis utilises both quantitative and qualitative methods, building on the comparative legal analysis and developing a triple evaluation: social, economic and political. In order to monitor and review the policy outcomes contained in the EaSI reports, the current study will use the Text-Based Diagramming of the programme Mermaid v10.9.0 Live Editor. Results and findings. The results of the analysis will evaluate and measure the extent to which the three EaSI reports launched in the period 2015-2022 have met the requirements of social innovation by assessing the policy and governance implementation mechanisms and tracking the relevance of two determinants: EU societal challenges and human factors. Conclusion. The framework of the EaSI reports provides the evaluation findings on multi-level policy and strategy approaches and summarises the findings and broader perspectives of the three reports on the effectiveness of social innovation governance. The research findings highlight the societal challenges in the EU, the interdisciplinary circumstances and the evidence-based interplay between the policy framework and the adaptability of multi-level governance.

WP5.7 - Do we follow-up our patients after emergency laparotomy?

Abstract Aim Emergency Laparotomy (EL) carries a high risk of major morbidity and mortality and patients can require an extended period of recovery after surgery. Within our organisation, all patients who undergo EL are supported by a dedicated 7-day service to support their mobility, motivation and goal settings as well as wellbeing needs. However, this support does not extend beyond discharge and we do not have standardised follow-up protocol. This audit aimed to review the outpatient follow-up that EL patients received. Methods EL data is recorded prospectively and submitted to the Emergency Laparotomy and Laparoscopic Audit (ELLSA). All ELLSA patients admitted between June 2021 and July 2022 were included. Electronic records were reviewed to see what follow-up they received. Results 258 patients underwent EL during this time period. Only 136 patients received follow-up (53%). Of the appointments carried out, 76% were review by Surgical Team and 45% were review by Colorectal Specialist Nurses. 70% of patients follow-up was face-to-face, with the remainder by telephone. The average time to surgical clinic follow-up was 111days (range 12-371 days). Conclusions Only half of the patients received any follow-up after EL, and even fewer received a face-to-face clinic with their consultant. There was also considerable delay for some patients. We feel this is evidence that a dedicated follow-up service for ELLSA patients is required to reduce this variation. We intend to implement a protocolised follow-up as a result of this audit.

Bangla Optical Character Recognition for Mobile Platforms: A Comprehensive Cross-Platform Approach

The development of Optical Character Recognition (OCR) systems for Bangla script has been an area of active research since the 1980s. This study presents a comprehensive analysis and development of a cross-platform mobile application for Bangla OCR, leveraging the Tesseract OCR engine. The primary objective is to enhance the recognition accuracy of Bangla characters, achieving rates between 90% and 99%. The application is designed to facilitate the automatic extraction of text from images selected from the device's photo library, promoting the preservation and accessibility of Bangla language materials. This paper discusses the methodology, including the preparation of training datasets, preprocessing steps, and the integration of the Tesseract OCR engine within a Dart programming environment for cross-platform functionality. This integration provides that the application could be introduced on mobile platforms without substantial alterations. The results demonstrate significant improvements in recognition accuracy, making this application a valuable tool for various practical applications such as data entry for printed Bengali documents, automatic recognition of Bangla number plates, and the digital archiving of vintage Bangla books. These improvements are crucial to further enhance the usability and reliability of Bangla OCR on mobile devices. Our cross-platform method for Bangla OCR on mobile devices provides a strong solution with exceptional identification accuracy, which helps in preserving and making Bangla language information accessible in digital format. This study has significant implications for future research and advancement in the field of optical character recognition (OCR) for intricate writing systems, especially in mobile settings.

THz band drone communications with practical antennas: Performance under realistic mobility and misalignment scenarios

For 6G non-terrestrial communications, drones will offer uninterrupted connectivity for surveillance, sensing, and localization. They will also serve as drone base stations to support terrestrial base stations, providing large bandwidth, high-rate, and ultra-reliable low latency services. In this paper, for the first time in the literature, we depict the true performance of Terahertz (THz) band communications among drones by applying various channel selection and power allocation schemes with practical THz antennas within (0.75–4.4) THz under realistic mobility and misalignment scenarios. Through numerical simulations, we unveil the capacity of drone links under different channel selection and power allocation schemes within 10s to 100s of Gbps at distances (1–100) m, when drones are in motion and subject to (mis)alignment due to mobility and even under beam misalignment fading. However, when exposed to real drone mobility traces, the performance of all channel selection schemes drops significantly, sometimes by up to six orders of magnitude, due to the occasional reverse orientations of antennas. In addition to the capacity analysis, we report available frequency bands (transmission windows) considering all schemes and mobility patterns. We also identify a band that is commonly available under all considered mobility and misalignment settings, and we evaluate its performance in terms of spectral and energy efficiencies, which can be useful in designing THz transceivers for drone communications. Our findings emphasize the essence of active beam control solutions to achieve the desired capacity potential of THz drone communications, while also highlighting the challenges of utilizing the THz band for drone communications.

Polar contrast attention and skip cross-channel aggregation for efficient learning in U-Net

The performance of existing lesion semantic segmentation models has shown a steady improvement with the introduction of mechanisms like attention, skip connections, and deep supervision. However, these advancements often come at the expense of computational requirements, necessitating powerful graphics processing units with substantial video memory. Consequently, certain models may exhibit poor or non-existent performance on more affordable edge devices, such as smartphones and other point-of-care devices. To tackle this challenge, our paper introduces a lesion segmentation model with a low parameter count and minimal operations. This model incorporates polar transformations to simplify images, facilitating faster training and improved performance. We leverage the characteristics of polar images by directing the model’s focus to areas most likely to contain segmentation information, achieved through the introduction of a learning-efficient polar-based contrast attention (PCA). This design utilizes Hadamard products to implement a lightweight attention mechanism without significantly increasing model parameters and complexities. Furthermore, we present a novel skip cross-channel aggregation (SC2A) approach for sharing cross-channel corrections, introducing Gaussian depthwise convolution to enhance nonlinearity. Extensive experiments on the ISIC 2018 and Kvasir datasets demonstrate that our model surpasses state-of-the-art models while maintaining only about 25K parameters. Additionally, our proposed model exhibits strong generalization to cross-domain data, as confirmed through experiments on the PH2 dataset and CVC-Polyp dataset. In addition, we evaluate the model’s performance in a mobile setting against other lightweight models. Notably, our proposed model outperforms other advanced models in terms of IoU and Dice score, and running time.

Linked Care: A Harmonized Workflow for Medication Ordering, Prescription and Dispensing in Mobile Care Settings.

The growing demand for care amid changing demographics poses significant challenges exacerbated by decreasing healthcare professional availability. In Austria, the Linked Care project aims to address these challenges by developing an intersectoral, harmonized IT-supported workflow for medication ordering, prescription, and dispense in mobile care settings. A human centered design approach, with user-focused interviews and workshops was used to identify requirements and analyze the workflows. Activity diagrams were used represent workflows. The resulting harmonized workflow, developed through iterative collaboration with care organizations, integrates the LC platform into existing care software. To test and demonstrate the harmonized workflow, mockups were created and evaluated for usability, resulting in positive feedback and suggestions for enhancements. Current workflows revealed media breaches and inefficiencies, which the proposed harmonized workflow seeks to address. The paper concludes with implications for future developments, including the subsequent adoption of a HL7 FHIR Implementation Guide for Austria, based on the defined harmonized workflow, to streamline intersectoral communication and improve efficiency in mobile care settings.

Chemical Separation of Copper from the Printed Circuit Board of Dead Electronic Gadget Cell Phone Set (Samsung J-2)

The increasing popularity of electronic devices among the public has increased electronic waste (e-waste). Most electronic devices become obsolescent after their use and generate hazardous chemicals if not disposed properly. The conducting networks in all electronic gadgets are made up of Copper (Cu) that can be retrieved by the chemical segregated method. In this experiment, a hydrometallurgical technique was used as acid leaching, selective recovery of Cu from the leachate using the group separation methods and measured the Cu metal separated from the acid leach. 5.05 g CuO is extracted which is equivalent to 4.03 g of Cu from the Samsung J-2 cell phone having an initial weight of 18.33 g PCBs. Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) and Energy Dispersed X-ray analysis (EDX) techniques are used for the characterization of the extract. The recovery of Cu from this technique is about 93 % of the PCB board of Samsung J-2 mobile set.

Reimagining Accessibility: Leveraging Deep Learning in Smartphone Applications to Assist Visually Impaired People Indoor Object Distance Estimation

Every other aspect of life is organized around the sight. A person with vision impairment suffers severely from independent mobility and quality of life. The proposed framework combines mobile deep learning with distance estimation algorithms to detect and classify indoor objects with estimated distance in real-time during indoor navigation. The user, wearing the device with a lanyard or holding it in a way that positions the camera forward, identifies in real-time surroundings indoor objects with estimated distance and voice commentary. Moreover, the mobile framework provides an estimated distance to the obstacles and suggests a safe navigational path through voice-guided feedback. By harnessing the power of deep learning in a mobile setting, this framework aims to improve the independence of visually impaired individuals by facilitating them a higher degree of independence in indoor navigation. This study's proposed mobile object detection and distance estimation framework achieved 99.75% accuracy. This research contributes by leveraging mobile deep learning with identifying objects in real-time, classification and distance estimation, a state-of-the-art approach to use the latest technologies to enhance indoor mobility challenges faced by visually impaired people.

Real-time non-invasive hemoglobin prediction using deep learning-enabled smartphone imaging

BackgroundAccurate measurement of hemoglobin concentration is essential for various medical scenarios, including preoperative evaluations and determining blood loss. Traditional invasive methods are inconvenient and not suitable for rapid, point-of-care testing. Moreover, current models, due to their complex parameters, are not well-suited for mobile medical settings, which limits the ability to conduct frequent and rapid testing. This study aims to introduce a novel, compact, and efficient system that leverages deep learning and smartphone technology to accurately estimate hemoglobin levels, thereby facilitating rapid and accessible medical assessments.MethodsThe study employed a smartphone application to capture images of the eye, which were subsequently analyzed by a deep neural network trained on data from invasive blood test data. Specifically, the EGE-Unet model was utilized for eyelid segmentation, while the DHA(C3AE) model was employed for hemoglobin level prediction. The performance of the EGE-Unet was evaluated using statistical metrics including mean intersection over union (MIOU), F1 Score, accuracy, specificity, and sensitivity. The DHA(C3AE) model’s performance was assessed using mean absolute error (MAE), mean-square error (MSE), root mean square error (RMSE), and R^2.ResultsThe EGE-Unet model demonstrated robust performance in eyelid segmentation, achieving an MIOU of 0.78, an F1 Score of 0.87, an accuracy of 0.97, a specificity of 0.98, and a sensitivity of 0.86. The DHA(C3AE) model for hemoglobin level prediction yielded promising outcomes with an MAE of 1.34, an MSE of 2.85, an RMSE of 1.69, and an R^2 of 0.34. The overall size of the model is modest at 1.08 M, with a computational complexity of 0.12 FLOPs (G).ConclusionsThis system presents a groundbreaking approach that eliminates the need for supplementary devices, providing a cost-effective, swift, and accurate method for healthcare professionals to enhance treatment planning and improve patient care in perioperative environments. The proposed system has the potential to enable frequent and rapid testing of hemoglobin levels, which can be particularly beneficial in mobile medical settings.Trial RegistrationThe clinical trial was registered on the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (No. ChiCTR2100044138) on 20/02/2021.

Optimizing ankle-brachial index measurement for peripheral arterial disease screening in mobile clinics

ObjectiveMultidisciplinary mobile clinics (MMCs) provide a robust venue to provide health care access and peripheral arterial disease (PAD) screening to underserved populations. The ankle-brachial index (ABI) can facilitate PAD diagnosis; however, traditional supine ABI measurements may be challenging technically in a mobile outreach clinic with limited infrastructure, whereas seated ABI offers technical ease. In this study, the usefulness and feasibility of performing supine ABI, seated ABI, and seated ABI with a calculation to account for seated hydrostatic pressure (seated-adjusted ABI) were compared in a mobile outreach setting. MethodsProspective data were collected from patients at five independent MMCs focused on diabetic foot and PAD screening with ABI for underserved communities. Three techniques were used to measure the ABI: seated ABI, seated-adjusted ABI using a formula to account for hydrostatic ankle pressure, and traditional supine ABI using a foldable massage table that is 5% of the cost of a medical stretcher. Comparative analysis was performed using the Student t test analysis and one-way analysis of variance. The frequency of completed seated ABI, seated-adjusted ABI, and supine ABI examinations performed at independent MMCs was quantified to determine feasibility. ResultsIn 166 individuals experiencing homelessness or housing instability who were screened over the course of five MMCs, 89 underwent PAD screening with ABI. Of the patients screened, 38 patients had seated, seated-adjusted, and supine ABIs measured (43% of total number of patients undergoing any ABI measurement). PAD (ABI < 0.9) was identified in one patient using all three ABI methods. Noncompressible ABI (ABI ≥ 1.3) were identified in 32 patients (32/38 [84%]) screened with seated ABI. Of these 32 patients, 24 (75%) continued to have noncompressible ABIs using seated-adjusted ABI. Of these 24 patients, 4 (17%) continued to have noncompressible ABI using supine ABI. The average seated ABI significantly differed from supine ABI (1.34 vs 1.14; P < .0001). The average seated ABI also significantly differed from seated-adjusted ABI (1.34 vs 1.29; P = .026). The average seated-adjusted ABI significantly differed from supine ABI (1.29 vs 1.14; P = .0204). ConclusionsWe found that seated and seated-adjusted ABI are grossly inaccurate and more often lead to falsely elevated noncompressible ABI (32/38 [84%] and 24/38 [75%], respectively) compared with supine ABI (6/38 [16%]). We recommend using supine ABI on patients for PAD screening. Supine measurement is technically feasible in outreach mobile clinics using a transportable folding massage table and is a more accurate tool for PAD screening.

ARPocketLab—A Mobile Augmented Reality System for Pedagogic Applications

The widespread adoption of digital technologies in educational systems has been globally reflecting a shift in pedagogic content delivery that seems to fit modern generations of students while tackling relevant challenges faced by the current scholar context, e.g., progress traceability, pedagogic content fair access and intuitive visual representativeness, mobility issue mitigation, and sustainability in crisis situations. Among these technologies, augmented reality (AR) emerges as a particularly promising approach, allowing the visualization of computer-generated interactive data on top of real-world elements, thus enhancing comprehension and intuition regarding educational content, often in mobile settings. While the application of AR to education has been widely addressed, issues related to performance interaction and cognitive performance are commonly addressed, with lesser attention paid to the limitations associated with setup complexity, mostly related to experiences configurating tools, or contextual range, i.e., technical/scientific domain targeting versatility. Therefore, this paper introduces ARPocketLab, a digital, mobile, flexible, and scalable solution designed for the dynamic needs of modern tutorship. With a dual-interface system, it allows both educators and students to interactively design and engage with AR content directly tied to educational outcomes. Moreover, ARPocketLab’s design, aimed at handheld operationalization using a minimal set of physical resources, is particularly relevant in environments where educational materials are scarce or in situations where remote learning becomes necessary. Its versatility stems from the fact that it only requires a marker or a surface (e.g., a table) to function at full capacity. To evaluate the solution, tests were conducted with 8th-grade Portuguese students within the context of Physics and Chemistry subject. Results demonstrate the application’s effectiveness in providing didactic assistance, with positive feedback not only in terms of usability but also regarding learning performance. The participants also reported openness for the adoption of AR in pedagogic contexts.

A systematic review of mobile brain/body imaging studies using the P300 event-related potentials to investigate cognition beyond the laboratory.

The P300 ERP component, related to the onset of task-relevant or infrequent stimuli, has been widely used in the Mobile Brain/Body Imaging (MoBI) literature. This systematic review evaluates the quality and breadth of P300 MoBI studies, revealing a maturing field with well-designed research yet grappling with standardization and global representation challenges. While affirming the reliability of measuring P300 ERP components in mobile settings, the review identifies significant hurdles in standardizing data cleaning and processing techniques, impacting comparability and reproducibility. Geographical disparities emerge, with studies predominantly in the Global North and a dearth of research from the Global South, emphasizing the need for broader inclusivity to counter the WEIRD bias in psychology. Collaborative projects and mobile EEG systems showcase the feasibility of reaching diverse populations, which is essential to advance precision psychiatry and to integrate varied data streams. Methodologically, a trend toward ecological validity is noted, shifting from lab-based to real-world settings with portable EEG system advancements. Future hardware developments are expected to balance signal quality and sensor intrusiveness, enriching data collection in everyday contexts. Innovative methodologies reflect a move toward more natural experimental settings, prompting critical questions about the applicability of traditional ERP markers, such as the P300 outside structured paradigms. The review concludes by highlighting the crucial role of integrating mobile technologies, physiological sensors, and machine learning to advance cognitive neuroscience. It advocates for an operational definition of ecological validity to bridge the gap between controlled experiments and the complexity of embodied cognitive experiences, enhancing both theoretical understanding and practical application in study design.

Privacy-preserving deep learning approaches for effective utilization of wearable health data

Wearable technology can significantly impact human existence by allowing for innovative perspectives on the outside world, such as through the use of augmented reality (AR) programs. Electronic gadgets that are worn as clothing, gadgets, or even incorporated into our bodies are called wearable gadgets. While there are many prospective advantages to smartwatches, their widespread and continuous use raises several privacy problems as well as complex data protection hurdles. Among the newer areas of healthcare informatics involves cognitive computation, which uses biological as well as physical information to autonomously track an individual's emotional status in mobility settings. While effective computation technologies hold great promise for enhancing everyday life, privacy problems and challenges must be addressed before analyzing physical information. Federated knowledge is a viable option for creating high-performing algorithms while protecting people's confidentiality. We used federated training to analyze cardiac activity information that was gathered from smart wristband tracking of anxiety levels during various situations. By protecting the confidentiality of information, we were able to accomplish promising outcomes when implementing federated training in Internet of Things-based wearable physiological tracking devices.

Breaking barriers: assessing the impact of clinical quality improvements on reducing health disparities in hypertension care among Mumbai’s urban slums

The clinical quality improvement initiatives, led by the organisation’s Health Equity Working Group (HEWG), aim to support healthcare providers to provide equitable, quality hypertension care worldwide. After coordinating with the...

Resonant Electro-Mechanical Coupling – A Possible Renewable Energy Source

This paper looks at a simple Electro-Mechanical System that is tuned to resonate with both mechanical and electrical resonance. The intention is to couple the system resonance such that the amplitude of the output voltage is increased. The basic setup consists of a forced Mass-Spring System consisting of a speaker driving a mass attached to a tension-spring. The mass is a Neodymium cylindrical magnet. The vertically driven system couples to a magnet coil which sits over the magnet. Thus, by induction a voltage is generated within the coil. The coil is connected in series with a set of electrolytic capacitors. The resulting Resistor-Capacitor-Inductor (RCL) circuit is so designed as to resonate. The idea behind this coupling is to increase the output voltage of the circuit, thereby creating a voltage supply that could be boosted via transformer action, if necessary. Noting that the resulting circuit provides a source of single-phase electricity, such a setup could be used to charge small electronic devices like cellphones and mobile earphone sets. Mechanical resonance is indicated by the erratic vibration of the speaker, spring and magnet system. Knowing the magnet mass and measured resonant frequency the approximate spring constant can be calculated. The resonant frequency is then used as the driving frequency for the electrical circuit consisting of the RCL components. Noting the electric circuit resonance frequency, the approximate capacitance needed can be calculated using the driving frequency and the inductance of the said magnet coil. Using the circuit capacitance and appropriate circuit resistance, the maximised quality factor is sought, therefore the objective of the electric circuit design is to maximise the output voltage. The power generated by the device was found to be less than ~1 W. This system can be optimized to deliver maximum power output at the required resonant frequency, by greatly increasing the coil turns, using closer tolerances between the moving magnet and the wound coil and/or using materials that would ensure added magnetic coupling. Such a system can be used as a possible source of renewable energy especially on reciprocating engines, where exciting forces are available.

MOBILE ADDITIONAL ARMOR PROTECTION FOR A TRUCK

BACKGROUND: The use of armored vehicles allows, under the threat of constant enemy influence, to protect special vehicles and special equipment from the effects of light and heavy small arms, landmines, hand grenade launchers during marches or special operations. However, at present, the issue of protecting freight transport used for transporting personnel, mortar crews, materiel, etc. is quite acute. The goal of the work is to develop a mobile set of additional armor protection for the body of a truck in order to reduce the likelihood of injury to personnel during their transportation by firearms, cumulative ammunition, fragments of artillery ammunition, as well as military equipment during its transportation. Materials and methods. Determination of parameters for the duration of the penetration process and subsequent behavior of armor protection, obtaining accurate data on the resistance and effectiveness of additional armor, analysis of the stress-strain state was performed in the Ansys program. Data were obtained on the penetration process, transition energy and subsequent behavior of armor protection, which will be used to improve armored structures and structures, as well as to improve the safety of equipment in real combat conditions. Results. The article discusses the problem of armor protection of vehicles. Examples are given of the use of additional armor protection for weapons, military and special equipment, in particular in the context of a special military operation. The study presents a mobile set of additional armor protection for the body of a truck, designed to protect personnel from injury from firearms and fragments from exploding ammunition when transported on trucks. Armor protection is made in the form of hinged armor plates, anti-cumulative grilles, secured on the outside with fastening elements. Installed on the outside of the body, armor screens act as barriers, which significantly increases the protective properties when fired from firearms. The article simulates the proposed protection set and analyzes the stress-strain state. Conclusion. Based on the calculations, the values of the maximum speeds and flight range of the bullet were determined for the strength of the additional set of armor protection.

Non-invasive pulse arrival time as a surrogate for oscillometric systolic blood pressure changes during non-pharmacological intervention

Background. Non-invasive continuous blood pressure (BP) monitoring is of longstanding interest in various cardiovascular scenarios. In this context, pulse arrival time (PAT), i.e., a surrogate parameter for systolic BP (change), became very popular recently, especially in the context of cuffless BP measurement and dedicated lifestyle interventions. Nevertheless, there is also understandable doubt on its reliability in uncontrolled and mobile settings. Objective. The aim of this work is therefore the investigation whether PAT follows oscillometric systolic BP readings during moderate interventions by physical or mental activity using a medical grade handheld device for non-invasive PAT assessment. Approach. A study was conducted featuring an experimental group performing a physical and a mental task, and a control group. Oscillometric BP and PAT were assessed at baseline and after each intervention. Interventions were selected randomly but then performed sequentially in a counterbalanced order. Multivariate analyses of variance were used to test within-subject and between-subject effects for the dependent variables, followed by univariate analyses for post-hoc testing. Furthermore, correlation analysis was performed to assess the association of intervention effects between BP and PAT. Main results. The study included 51 subjects (31 females). Multivariate analysis of variances showed that effects in BP, heart rate, PAT and pulse wave parameters were consistent and significantly different between experimental and control groups. After physical activity, heart rate and systolic BP increased significantly whereas PAT decreased significantly. Mental activity leads to a decrease in systolic BP at stable heart rate. Pulse wave parameters follow accordingly by an increase of PAT and mainly unchanged pulse wave analysis features due to constant heart rate. Finally, also the control group behaviour was accurately registered by the PAT method compared to oscillometric cuff. Correlation analyses revealed significant negative associations between changes of systolic BP and changes of PAT from baseline to the physical task (−0.33 [−0.63, 0.01], p < 0.048), and from physical to mental task (−0.51 [−0.77, −0.14], p = 0.001), but not for baseline to mental task (−0.12 [−0,43,0,20], p = 0.50) in the experimental group. Significance. PAT and the used digital, handheld device proved to register changes in BP and heart rate reliably compared to oscillometric measurements during intervention. Therefore, it might add benefit to future mobile health solutions to support BP management by tracking relative, not absolute, BP changes during non-pharmacological interventions.