Mobility Support Research Articles

Aging in Place and ‘The Little Things’: Prioritizing Mobile Health and Social Care in Rural Communities

ABSTRACT Older adults are more frequently wanting to age in place. Governments are seeking cost-effective and efficient methods of supporting aging populations. Older adults who want to stay in their homes for as long as possible encounter multiple barriers, including struggling to maintain their homes, inadequate levels of social and healthcare support, and the lack of financial capacity to pay for home support services. The Mobile Seniors’ Wellness Network (MSWN), a multi-disciplinary and person-centered mobile health and social support intervention study was designed to investigate and support aging in place for older adults living in rural New Brunswick, Canada. Secondary analysis of case notes and exit interviews using content analysis revealed concerns with the lack of affordable and mobile care services for vulnerable rural older adults. Older adults revealed that their needs include “the little things” rather than grand gestures or sweeping policies to age in place such as assistance with grounds and home maintenance, in addition to relational and person-centered health and social care in the home. Reliance on private service delivery and volunteer organizations can increase the likelihood that older adults will experience a breakdown of social support networks tied together loosely by friends, family, and their communities. When services are unattainable aging in place becomes an unreachable goal.

Feasibility and Acceptability of Smartphone Interventions for Maternal and Child Health in Slum Settings in Kampala, Uganda

The use of mobile phones for health interventions has become increasingly popular in low-income settings, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed to investigate the acceptability of a smartphone intervention to provide maternal and child health messages for women living in slum settings in Uganda. The study utilized a mixed-methods design, comprising a survey and interviews. A total of 200 women participated in the survey, and 23 women participated in the interview sessions. The results indicated a high level of acceptability of the smartphone intervention, with the majority of women expressing their willingness to receive maternal and child health messages via their mobile phones. The women reported that the messages were informative, relevant, and useful for their daily lives. They also appreciated the privacy and convenience of receiving messages on their phones. However, some women expressed concern about the cost of receiving the messages and the need for support to access and use the technology. The study findings suggest that mobile phone interventions for maternal and child health promotion are acceptable to women living in slum settings in Uganda. The findings also highlight the need for equitable access to mobile phones and support for technology use in these settings.

The Effects of Participating in International Mobility for Russian Scientists

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the opening of borders, numerous measures have been taken to internationalize Russian science. In particular, publications in journals that are listed in international scientific citation databases have become a point of closer focus. Universities and scientific organizations began inviting foreign professors and sending their own staff and students abroad on international internships. After the start of the Special Military Operation in Ukraine in 2022, Russian science faced numerous sanctions that entailed a reduction in international cooperation. However Russian scientists have accumulated 30 years of experience in active participation in international cooperation and academic mobility. Nevertheless, there is still a significant lack of understanding of how this experience will impact the scientific careers of Russian scientists going forward. In this article, the authors present the results of a study dedicated to exploring this issue. The theoretical framework for the analysis is based on such a concept as “the Three Careers of an Academic” (organizational, cognitive, and community careers) proposed by German experts in sociology of science Johan Gläser and Grit Laudel. The empirical data used in the study include materials from in-depth interviews with young scientists under the age of 39, collected in 2020–2021 as part of a project known as “International Mobility of Russian Young Researchers”, as well as the results of a sociological survey of 7,255 highly productive scientists conducted under the “Monitoring of education markets and organizations” in 2022. All respondents had spent more than three months abroad. The study revealed that international mobility has a comprehensive impact, noticeable in all three components of a scientific career. Acquired knowledge and skills, as well as involvement in international projects contribute to the development of a researcher’s cognitive career, while new professional connections promote advancement in the international scientific community. As for the “organizational dimension” of a career, mobility does not have a direct influence on career advancement. However, mobility often leads to personal changes, particularly influencing one’s determination to switch jobs and seek better conditions. These assessments are presented for the first time and can be useful in developing recommendations for science and technology policies regarding the revision of mobility support programs in light of the new geopolitical reality.

Survey of IP-based air-to-ground data link communication technologies

The main purpose of an air traffic management system is to provide air traffic services to an aircraft moving within the controlled airspace. Very high frequency (VHF) radio in continental regions, as well as high frequency (HF) radio and satellite communications in remote areas, are used today as the primary way of delivering air traffic services. The technical limitations and constraints associated with the current technology, such as line-of-sight requirement, vulnerability to interference, and limited coverage, cause degraded voice quality and discontinuity in service. At the same time, voice-based communication may affect flight safety due to poor language skills, call sign confusion, and failure to use standard phraseology. For this reason, text-based communication over a VHF data link (VDL) has been proposed as an alternative. However, it is predicted that VDL will be insufficient to support increasing air traffic and intensive data exchanges due to its lack of mobility support and limited resources to ensure service continuity. This paper surveys next-generation data link technologies based on the current state of the "industry standard" for aeronautical communication. These include Aeronautical Mobile Airport Communication System (AeroMACS), L-band Digital Aeronautical Communications System (LDACS), and Airborne New Advanced Satellite Techniques & Technologies in a System Integrated Approach (ANASTASIA). The paper also surveys IP-based text communication solutions over these next-generation data links. We analyze the efficiency of the proposed solutions with regard to service continuity and aeronautical application requirements. We conclude the survey by identifying open problems and future trends.

Deep learning based next word prediction aided assistive gaming technology for people with limited vocabulary

AimVocabulary is the base for communication and vocabulary deficits reduce effective social communication. This study aims to develop and analyze English language-based assistive gaming technology to support individuals with vocabulary deficits. Materials and methodsThe developed intervention is based on deep learning technology for next word prediction, and it is equipped with web and mobile application interaction support. Various deep learning models, including long short-term memory, bidirectional long short-term memory, and bidirectional encoder representations from transformers, were learned and deployed using an open-source dataset corpus. The proposed intervention was analyzed using a specified task of a 5-minute lecture on a simple technical topic. The completed activities were also evaluated by professionals using vocabulary-related expert characteristics. ResultsThe results of the conducted 5-minutetask on social domain without intervention and later with intervention improved. The results were assessed by counting vocabulary words as well as by vocabulary specialists. The levels of centraltendencies and deviations changed as the task improved with the proposed intervention. Mean, median, and standard deviation scores of the experimental group improved significantly (189.1, 194.0, and 67.61) in comparison to the control group (125.4, 127.0, and 43.55). Furthermore, language specialists observed significant differences in the mean and median without intervention (12.84 and 13.0) compared to the intervention group (24.23 and 24.0, respectively). ConclusionsThe outcome of the experiments appears to be in favor of the suggested intervention. As a result, the suggested deep learning based next word prediction aided assistive gaming technology could support persons in overcoming their limited vocabulary disadvantages. In the future, the integration of the proposed technology into existing communication enhancement technology could achieve better results.

Development of a novel nonrigid support friction stir welding repair robot for aluminum alloy train

PurposeThis paper aims to develop a specific type of mobile nonrigid support friction stir welding (FSW) robot, which can adapt to aluminum alloy trucks for rapid online repair.Design/methodology/approachThe friction stir welding robot is designed to complete online repair according to the surface damage of large aluminum alloy trucks. A rotatable telescopic arm unit and a structure for a cutting board in the shape of a petal that was optimized by finite element analysis are designed to give enough top forging force for welding to address the issues of inadequate support and significant deformation in the repair process.FindingsThe experimental results indicate that the welding robot is capable of performing online surface repairs for large aluminum alloy trucks without rigid support on the backside, and the welding joint exhibits satisfactory performance.Practical implicationsCompared with other heavy-duty robotic arms and gantry-type friction stir welding robots, this robot can achieve online welding without disassembling the vehicle body, and it requires less axial force. This lays the foundation for the future promotion of lightweight equipment.Originality/valueThe designed friction stir welding robot is capable of performing online repairs without dismantling the aluminum alloy truck body, even in situations where sufficient upset force is unavailable. It ensures welding quality and exhibits high efficiency. This approach is considered novel in the field of lightweight online welding repairs, both domestically and internationally.

The WHO atlas for female-genital schistosomiasis: Co-design of a practicable diagnostic guide, digital support and training.

Up to 56 million young and adult women of African origin suffer from Female Genital Schistosomiasis (FGS). The transmission of schistosomiasis happens through contact with schistosomiasis infested fresh water in rivers and lakes. The transmission vector is the snail that releases immature worms capable of penetrating the human skin. The worm then matures and mates in the blood vessels and deposits its eggs in tissues, causing urogenital disease. There is currently no gold standard for FGS diagnosis. Reliable diagnostics are challenging due to the lack of appropriate instruments and clinical skills. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends "screen-and-treat" cervical cancer management, by means of visual inspection of characteristic lesions on the cervix and point-of-care treatment as per the findings. FGS may be mistaken for cervical cancer or sexually transmitted diseases. Misdiagnosis may lead to the wrong treatment, increased risk of exposure to other infectious diseases (human immunodeficiency virus and human papilloma virus), infertility and stigmatisation. The necessary clinical knowledge is only available to a few experts in the world. For an appropriate diagnosis, this knowledge needs to be transferred to health professionals who have minimal or non-existing laboratory support. Co-design workshops were held with stakeholders (WHO representative, national health authority, FGS experts and researchers, gynaecologists, nurses, medical doctors, public health experts, technical experts, and members of the public) to make prototypes for the WHO Pocket Atlas for FGS, a mobile diagnostic support tool and an e-learning tool for health professionals. The dissemination targeted health facilities, including remote areas across the 51 anglophone, francophone and lusophone African countries. Outcomes were endorsed by the WHO and comprise a practical diagnostic guide for FGS in low-resource environments.

A Method for 5G–ICN Seamless Mobility Support Based on Router Buffered Data

The 5G core network adopts a Control and User Plane Separation (CUPS) architecture to meet the challenges of low-latency business requirements. In this architecture, a balance between management costs and User Experience (UE) is achieved by moving User Plane Function (UPF) to the edge of the network. However, cross-UPF handover during communication between the UE and the remote server will cause TCP/IP session interruption and affect continuity of delay-sensitive real-time communication continuity. Information-Centric Networks (ICNs) separate identity and location, and their ability to route based on identity can effectively handle mobility. Therefore, based on the 5G-ICN architecture, we propose a seamless mobility support method based on router buffered data (BDMM), making full use of the ICN’s identity-based routing capabilities to solve the problem of UE cross-UPF handover affecting business continuity. BDMM also uses the ICN router data buffering capabilities to reduce packet loss during handovers. We design a dynamic buffer resource allocation strategy (DBRAS) that can adjust the buffer resource allocation results in time according to network traffic changes and business types to solve the problem of unreasonable buffer resource allocation. Finally, experimental results show that our method outperforms other methods in terms of average packet delay, weighted average packet loss rate, and network overhead. In addition, our method also has good performance in average handover delay.

Mobile Application-Based Support for Periodontal Treatment Improves Clinical, Cognitive, and Psychomotor Outcomes: A Randomized Controlled Trial Study.

This study aims to evaluate the clinical, cognitive, and psychomotor changes that emerged among patients with gingivitis and patients with periodontitis via mobile application assistance. Forty subjects were randomly and evenly distributed into test and control groups and were administered a professional mechanical plaque removal (PMPR) procedure. The clinical parameters examined were bleeding on probing (BoP), probing pocket depth (PPD), and the oral hygiene index (OHI-S). The test group was administered a mobile application intervention, namely PerioUICare, which provided users with continuous education and motivation and served as a daily dental hygiene reminder. The comparative results of the mean values of all parameters between the groups (inter-group) and within the groups (intra-group) after one- and three-month evaluations were analyzed. A one-month inter-group evaluation uncovered significant differences in the BoP, PPD, cognitive, and psychomotor scores of subjects with gingivitis and the BoP, OHI-S, cognitive, and psychomotor scores of subjects with periodontitis. A three-month inter-group evaluation revealed significant differences across all parameters except for PPD in subjects with periodontitis. The results of the intra-group comparison demonstrated statistically significant differences in all parameters in the test group but no significant differences in the cognitive and psychomotor scores of the control group. This study revealed that mobile application-based support for periodontal treatment can be considered effective.

Testing the Resilience of MEC-Based IoT Applications Against Resource Exhaustion Attacks

Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) is an emerging computing model that provides the necessary on-demand resources and services to the edge of the network, ensuring powerful computing, storage capacity, mobility, location, and context awareness support to emerging Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Nonetheless, its complex hierarchical model introduces new architectural interdependencies, which can influence the resilience of IoT applications against cyber attacks. Although application resilience has been investigated in the context of cloud computing, existing studies are not directly applicable to such an extended edge-cloud paradigm. The use of different enabling technologies at the edge of the network, such as various wireless access technologies and virtualization, implies several threats and challenges that make the analysis and deployment of resilience mechanisms a technically challenging problem. In this paper, we first present an overview of the threat model, describing the threats for the different layers of this paradigm. We then study the impact of resource-exhausting attacks – a particularly relevant class for this paradigm - on three different IoT applications exploiting the services offered by the MEC-based architecture. We adopt a testing-based methodology conceived to characterize the resilience of such applications under attack. A set of most important resilience-related indicators are also identified. The characterization's results are useful to support the analyst in planning proper protection means at individual architectural layers.

E-Dharmagita Learning Model Innovation with Mobile and Multimedia Technology

Purpose: Yadnya ceremony is a sacred sacrifice performed with sincere and wholehearted devotion by Hindus to God, spiritual leaders or teachers, fellow humans, the ancestors, and Bhuta_Kala. The implementation of the Yadnya ceremony is_usually accompanied by a spiritual chant of the Hindus known as Dharmagita. Nowadays, a lot of young generations do not know and are even more indifferent to the Dharmagita. Using books as a source of Dharmagita information is less attractive since there are no audio examples or recordings of correct songs that can be listened to. The Android-based e-Dharmagita application was built to overcome these problems to facilitate the younger generation in getting more interesting information about Dharmagita.Methods: e-Dharmagita was constructed with the support of mobile and multimedia technology. In addition, the information presented was related to the Yadnya Ceremony by implementing a complex Tree Algorithm.Results: This research produced an e-Dharmagita Application, of which user acceptance testing using the PSSUQ Method resulted in a score incudes in the excellent category. Therefore, the application could be accepted well in the implementation the Information Technology in Balinese Culture and Hinduism, especially the innovation of a more modern and attractive Dharmagita learning model.Novelty: The Dharmagita learning model using a mobile application is a new model that has not existed before.

Research on Improvement and Optimization Design of Mobile Switching in RPL Routing Protocol

In response to the shortcomings of the current RPL routing protocol, fully utilizing the idea of opportunistic routing, this study proposes an improved RPL routing protocol node mobility switching method to enhance the mobility support of wireless sensor IPv6 networks. Analyze existing RPL routing protocol solutions and identify their shortcomings; Analyze the challenges encountered in designing and improving routing protocols, and based on the specific application of RPL in 6LoWPAN technology, propose an overall design concept for the mobile switching method of an improved RPL routing protocol; Then, specific design will be carried out for the improved routing protocol mobile switching method, including mobile node detection, discovery and selection of the optimal parent node, link switching, etc; Finally, simulation implementation is carried out to verify its low energy consumption and low latency. Its research content involves disciplines such as the Internet of Things, computer simulation technology, and computer network technology, and has high theoretical and practical value.

Development of a Detection System for Types of Weeds in Maize (Zea mays L.) under Greenhouse Conditions Using the YOLOv5 v7.0 Model

Corn (Zea mays L.) is one of the most important cereals worldwide. To maintain crop productivity, it is important to eliminate weeds that compete for nutrients and other resources. The eradication of these causes environmental problems through the use of agrochemicals. The implementation of technology to mitigate this impact is also a challenge. In this work, an artificial vision system was implemented based on the YOLOv5s (You Only Look Once) model, which uses a single convolutional neural network (CNN) that allows differentiating corn from four types of weeds, for which a mobile support structure was built to capture images. The performance of the trained model had a value of mAP@05 (mean Average Precision) at a threshold of 0.5 of 83.6%. A prediction accuracy of 97% and a mAP@05 of 97.5% were obtained for the maize class. For the weed classes, Lolium perenne, Sonchus oleraceus, Solanum nigrum, and Poa annua obtained an accuracy of 86%, 90%, 78%, and 74%, and a mAP@05 of 81.5%, 90.2%, 76.6% and 72.0%, respectively. The results are encouraging for the construction of a precision weeding system.

Hydroxyurea Adherence for Personal Best in Sickle Cell Treatment (HABIT) efficacy trial: Community health worker support may increase hydroxyurea adherence of youth with sickle cell disease.

Despite disease-modifying effects of hydroxyurea on sickle cell disease (SCD), poor adherence among affected youth commonly impedes treatment impact. Following our prior feasibility trial, the "Hydroxyurea Adherence for Personal Best in Sickle Cell Treatment (HABIT)" multi-site randomized controlled efficacy trial aimed to increase hydroxyurea adherence for youth with SCD ages 10-18years. Impaired adherence was identified primarily through flagging hydroxyurea-induced fetal hemoglobin (HbF) levels compared to prior highest treatment-related HbF. Eligible youth were enrolled as dyads with their primary caregivers for the 1-year trial. This novel semi-structured supportive, multidimensional dyad intervention led by community health workers (CHW), was augmented by daily tailored text message reminders, compared to standard care during a 6-month intervention phase, followed by a 6-month sustainability phase. Primary outcomes from the intervention phase were improved Month 6 HbF levels compared to enrollment and proportion of days covered (PDC) for hydroxyurea versus pre-trial year. The secondary outcome was sustainability of changes up to Month 12. The 2020-2021 peak coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic disrupted enrollment and clinic-based procedures; CHW in-person visits shifted to virtual scheduled interactions. We enrolled 50 dyads, missing target enrollment. Compared to enrollment levels, both HbF level and PDC significantly - but not sustainably - improved within the intervention group (p=.03 and .01, respectively)with parallel increased mean corpuscular volume (MCV) (p=.05), but not within controls. No significant between-group differences were found at Months 6 or 12. These findings suggest that our community-based, multimodal support for youth-caregiver dyads had temporarily improved hydroxyurea usage. Durability of impact should be tested in a trial with longer duration of CHW-led and mobile health support.

Development of a knowledge base for an expert system supporting the decision of industrial mobile robot selection

With the growth of industrial mobile robots, more and more manufacturing companies are producing such robots. As a result, there is a growing market variety for companies wanting to adopt these robots. It is an economic advantage if a robot selected for a specific task can be operated optimally. To this end, the selection process must already be carried out with optimal operation in mind. In my research, I develop such an industrial mobile robot selection support system, which generates a knowledge base from a database and then supports the selection decision with an expert system. In this paper, I describe the structure, interrelationship and test results of this database and knowledge base.

Active Labour Market Policies for Rural NEETs in Lithuania: A Case of Rural Municipalities

This article aims to analyse active labour market policy efficiency for rural young NEETs integration into the labour market in the socioeconomic context of rural municipalities in Lithuania. For the empirical analysis, the administrative data of the public employment service concerning active labour market policy measures, e.g., training and mobility support, subsidised employment, and support for establishing or adapting workplaces of 2018 and 2022, as well as Lithuanian statistics data of 2018 and 2020 are used. The socio-economic environment of rural municipalities was analysed using the economic indicators (complex index), public transport accessibility, average wage, and free vacancies indicators. The recipient’s integration into employment after six months of participation in active labour market policy measures is analysed. The data revealed poor economic indicators, undeveloped public transport, lower average salaries, and a need for more vacancies in rural municipalities. The integration into employment fell significantly in two rural municipality clusters after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Bibliometric Analysis of Nursing Interventions to Improve Adherence to Treatment among Patients with Tuberculosis

Background: Interest in research on the topic of nursing interventions and medication adherence in tuberculosis (TB) patients has increased. In future research, researchers need information about trends and new things for the topic of nursing intervention research and medication adherence in tuberculosis patients in the future. Purpose: The purpose of this research is to explore the trend of the number of publications, the trend of the number of citations, the journal with the highest number of publications, network visualisation, overlay visualisation, and density visualisation on the topic of nursing interventions and medication adherence in tuberculosis patients through bibliometric analysis. Research method: Bibliometric analysis was used in this study. The data is identified through the https://app.dimensions.ai/ database, which is then selected using the PRISMA flowchart. Papers are limited to publication in 2018-2023, focusing on the fields of health sciences, nursing, public health, the science of services and health systems, information science, and types of publications are articles. Data were analysed using VOSviewer, and then the analysis results were reviewed by co-occurrence. Results: A search for publications on nursing interventions to improve medication adherence in TB patients resulted in 60,204 articles. After being filtered through the specified criteria, the number of articles obtained was 3,237. The peak of publications on nursing interventions to improve medication adherence in TB patients occurred in 2018. Meanwhile, the lowest number of publications occurred in 2023. The health sector and other fields such as Human society, Information and computing science, and Psychology carry out research on nursing interventions to improve medication adherence in TB patients. In addition, health trends in nursing interventions to improve medication adherence in TB patients currently focus on using digital technology-based interventions such as mobile health applications, health education, and family support. The density visualisation shows that the topics not widely researched related to nursing interventions to improve medication adherence in TB patients are application, mobile health, health education, family, social support, stigma, and attitude. Conclusion: The topic of nursing interventions to improve medication adherence in TB patients is a topic that needs to be further developed in various countries. Suggestions for other researchers: please choose a theme included in the visualisation category that has not been widely researched to find novelty for future studies.

Development of a Living Laboratory to Verify Assistive Technology in Simulated Indoor and Outdoor Spaces

Assistive robots and technologies can play a key role in supporting the independence and social participation of older people, helping them living healthy lives and reducing the burden on caregivers. To support the effective development of assistive robots and technologies, it is important to develop a “living laboratory” to verify and adapt technology in real-life living spaces. The purpose of this study is to validate assistive robots using a living laboratory that simulates typical indoor and outdoor real-life situations. The rationale is to enable evaluation of daily living activities of older people in a simulated living space. To minimize the risk of trauma after falls, a ceiling suspension system was installed in the living laboratory. Six different commercially available mobility and transfer support robots were introduced and tested. We demonstrated that effective scenarios could be implemented using these assistive robots within the living laboratory. We implemented a 3D markerless motion capturing system in the outdoor space and showed that outdoor activities, including walking up and down a ramp, could be verified with sufficient accuracy in three cases: (i) normal use without a robot, (ii) use of the ceiling suspension system, and (iii) use of a mobility support robot on three healthy subjects. These results suggest that the proposed living laboratory can support testing and verification of assistive robots in simulated living environments.

Penerapan Metode Simple Additive Pada Sistem Pendukung Keputusan Untuk Pemilihan Handphone

The choice of mobile phone is an important decision in today's information technology era. In this context, the application of the Simple Additive method in the decision support system (DSS) becomes relevant to assist users in choosing a mobile phone that suits their needs and preferences. The Simple Additive method provides a simple yet effective framework for combining diverse criteria for evaluating mobile options. This study aims to develop SPK based on the Simple Additive method to improve accuracy and efficiency in the decision-making process of mobile phone selection. Through data analysis and system testing, it is hoped that the results of this research can make a positive contribution to the development of decision support systems for mobile phone selection. The purpose of this study is to implement an Android-based decision support system to assist users in choosing a mobile phone that suits their needs. Data collection is in the form of interviews and literature studies. This Mobile Selection Decision Support System was built with the help of Simple Additive Weighting in choosing mobile phones based on user needs and MySQL as a data storage. This Decision Support System for Mobile Selection was tested using black box testing successfully and system validation got results that were in accordance with the brand and specifications of the Mobile Phone. This Mobile Selection Decision Support System is expected to make it easier for users to choose the mobile phone needed.

Implementation of Http Security Protocol for Internet of Things Based on Digital Envelope

The popularity of the Internet of Things (IoT) has been growing in recent years. Low-end or constrained devices are the best IoT device that provides energy efficiency, small size, and mobility support. Unfortunately, connected devices can create security hazards between devices and servers, so ensuring each sender's and receiver's identity is crucial. This research proposes an authentication scheme using the digital envelope method to overcome authentication problems on constrained devices. Encryption is used to secure the data sent by the digital envelope method. The performance achieved is still within tolerance, considering the authentication scheme has succeeded in providing some security services, namely authentication, data confidentiality, data integrity, and non-repudiation.