Mechanoreceptors Research Articles

No Evidence of Sensory Neuropathy in a Traditional Mouse Model of Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second-most common neurodegenerative disorder worldwide and is diagnosed based on motor impairments. Non-motor symptoms are also well-recognised in this disorder, and peripheral neuropathy is a frequent but poorly appreciated non-motor sign. Studying how central and peripheral sensory systems are affected can contribute to the development of targeted therapies and deepen our understanding of the pathophysiology of PD. Although the cause of sporadic PD is unknown, chronic exposure to the pesticide rotenone in humans increases the risk of developing the disease. Here, we aimed to investigate whether peripheral neuropathy is present in a traditional model of PD. Mice receiving intrastriatal rotenone showed greatly reduced dopamine terminals in the striatum and a reduction in tyrosine hydroxylase-positive neurons in the Substantia nigra pars compacta and developed progressive motor impairments in hindlimb stepping and rotarod but no change in spontaneous activity. Interestingly, repeated testing using gold-standard protocols showed no change in gut motility, a well-known non-motor symptom of PD. Importantly, we did not observe any change in heat, cold, or touch sensitivity, again based upon repeated testing with well-validated protocols that were statistically well powered. Therefore, this traditional model fails to replicate PD, and our data again reiterate the importance of the periphery to the disorder.

Optical and electrical properties and applications of two-dimensional carbon-based nanomaterials

As an emerging material, two-dimensional (2D) carbon-based nanomaterials have unique optical and electrical properties due to their unique atomic layer structure. On the one hand, due to their high transmittance, high carrier mobility, controllable Fermi level, and wide spectral light saturation absorption characteristics, they can be applied in new-generation solar cells, organic light-emitting diodes, touch screens, and fiber optic devices. On the other hand, due to their unique nanostructure, they have high specific surface area, low diffusion distance, high conductivity, and ion conductivity. They can serve as substrates and work together with other materials as electrode materials for future fuel cells and lithium-ion batteries and have significant advantages in fields such as sensors. This article mainly summarizes the impact of two-dimensional carbon-based nanomaterials represented by graphene, Mxene, and 2D covalent organic frameworks (COFs) on their optical and electrical properties, and summarizes the latest practical applications and research progress of these nanomaterials in the field of optics and electronics. In addition, a corresponding summary and outlook have been made on the problems that need to be solved in future applications of 2D carbon-based nanomaterials.

Teaching advanced technology (ADAS) and use of touch screens in driver training in Norway

As many as 4,601 people were injured or killed on the roads in Norway in 2022. This number is too high and highlights the necessity of putting road safety on the agenda. The car industry today is represented by a vast increase in advanced technology for drivers to interact with, and knowing how and when to use this technology is crucial for safe driving. Thus, our research question was: Does the Norwegian driver training industry teach advanced driver assistance technology (ADAS) and touch screens in their driver training?A survey was distributed to 1,058 driving schools in Norway, resulting in 333 responses. The results showed that driving instructors spend considerably more effort on teaching inbuilt driving assist technologies that enhance driving safety than on those that are designed to enhance safety but that, if not understood well, could lead to hazardous outcomes. Suggestions on how to improve driver training and driving instructor education are made. Research and practical implications are presented to make sure that driving education is updated and aligned with technological advancements in the automobile industry and to ensure traffic safety for all road users.

Research on strong noise environment and piano teaching application based on virtual data space system

Music is the art of both sound and hearing. Among many musical instruments, the piano has the title of "king of instruments". Unlike the violin, which is delicate and soft, the piano's tone is noble and graceful. The pianist Nergoz once said that the purpose of all piano playing is to make sound and to create sound. So, how to use the piano to create a beautiful sound? This is an essential concern for all piano players. Therefore, it is important to practice tone, both in practice and in playing music, and only when the fingers touch the keys can a beautiful tone be produced. Tone is important in the whole process of piano playing. Both the expressiveness of the piano and its appeal to the listener are closely related to the quality of the tone. The part of the key that is touched, the intensity and the technique all have an important influence on the tone. The scientific approach to finger touch is a particularly important skill and technical criterion, both in the process of learning the piano and when performing it.

An electronic equipment for marbling meat grade detection based on digital image processing and support vector machine

This work proposes an electronic equipment which determines the marbling grade in beef rib eye according to the American grading scale using digital image processing and machine learning, achieving an 88.89 % coincidence level with grading done by beef specialists. Existing solutions which use image processing usually require calibration methods due to working in non-controlled environments. Furthermore, they only acquire the fat distribution from the longissimus dorsi muscle with an approximate accuracy of 80 %, without referring the distribution to any quality standard. In this work, meat samples are placed in a food grade stainless-steel enclosure with a touch screen and a digital RGB camera. The device acquires an image of the rib eye, which is then analyzed using techniques such as adaptive histogram analysis based on the HSV color model, histogram peaks detection for grayscale thresholding and a linear Support Vector Machine (SVM). The SVM determines the marbling grade based on the American Standard and shows it via a graphical user interface. The classifier was compared with a k-Nearest Neighbors (kNN) and Random Forest (RF) models, to choose the one with the best performance for marbling grade prediction. The SVM and the kNN models obtained a better performance than RF in identifying the marbling level. The estimated American Standard grade was compared to gold standard reference tests performed by specialists from the National Agrarian University in Lima-Peru, where the SVM achieved the aforementioned 88.89 % coincidence level.

Development of a facial recognition model using optimized convolution neural network with Tiny-ML and fingerprint authentication for safe lock entry

Safe boxes have been used for centuries to protect valuable items, and their design and construction have evolved over time to improve security. In this study, we carried out the design and implementation of a facial recognition technology using optimized convolutional neural networks (CNNs) with TinyML and fingerprint. The facial recognition system is designed using pre-trained CNN architectures then optimized with TinyML to make it fit into resource constrained edge device, the fingerprint recognition is designed using ridge matching biometric algorithm which fits in perfectly into the microcontroller-based system. The safe box was fabricated using sheet metal and insulated using heat resistive material (fiber glass), components like OV2640 camera module, ESP32-S3, R305 Fingerprint sensor, 4.3 inches touch screen TFT display and a charging module to manage and charge the systems battery were used. The system was implemented to be a level two security and two-way verification system using secured Wi-Fi to access the system before the facial and fingerprint recognition functionality is activated, the sequence of operation can either be facial recognition before fingerprint recognition or fingerprint recognition before facial recognition. Evaluating the system’s facial recognition performance with confusion matrix, of all the optimized CNN architectures like VGGNet, SENet, RestNet, MobileNet-V2, EfficientNet-B0, SENet Architecture performed best outputting an accuracy of 98%, precision of 92%, also SENet unoptimized model performed same, MobileNet-V2 performed optimally in the inference speed test with a speed of 15ms/images with the fingerprint also evaluated using confusion matrix and perform with 98% accuracy. It was noticed that the inference speed of the unoptimized model is faster than that of the TinyML optimized model which is justifiable based on the processing clock speed, memory usage, GPU and architecture of the microcontroller/microprocessor. From the result obtained TinyML proves to be suitable mean for edge AI (artificial intelligence) and is recommended for future research and development.

Phase Behavior and Rheological Properties of AES/CAPB/H2O Ternary System

Cleaning products are often formulated as mixtures of surfactants because the properties of surfactant mixtures are easier to adjust than those of a single surfactant. Therefore, it is of great significance to study the phase diagram of surfactant mixtures. In this paper, the phase behavior of the alkyl ethoxysulfate (AES)/cocamidopropyl betaine (CAPB)/H2O ternary system was investigated at room temperature using polarizing optical microscopy (POM) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and the identified phases of the samples with various compositions were used to construct the ternary phase diagram of the AES/CAPB/H2O system which contains normal micellar phase (L1), normal hexagonal phase (H1), lamella phase (Lα), and one transition region (L1 → H1). The viscosity distribution of the AES/CAPB/H2O system was determined by a Brookfield DV2T touch screen viscometer. In addition, the effects of the weight percentage of CAPB and salts on the viscosity and rheological properties of the AES/CAPB/H2O system were also investigated. This work not only enriches the phase diagram of surfactant systems, but also has important guiding significance for the design and development of cleaning products.

Effect of polyvinylpyrrolidone concentration on optical properties of CuCrO2 thin films

In this study, CuCrO2 thin films were fabricated by spin-coating technique on alkali-free glass substrates and a two-step annealing process. The copper-based delafossite CuCrO2 is a p-type transparent conductive oxide that exhibits a wide energy bandgap and excellent stability. To improve the transmittance of CuCrO2 thin films, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) was used as a porogen for preparing thin films with high transmittance and high haze values. The highest transmittance of 73.75% was achieved with 0.5 g of PVP. The bandgaps of prepared CuCrO2 thin films were estimated at 2.82 eV to 3.11 eV. The prepared CuCrO2 thin films had a porous structure and high transmittance. The high potential transmittance of porous CuCrO2 thin films makes them applicable to photovoltaic systems, transistors and touch screens or displays in the future.

Fabrication and Characterization of Nanostructured Tin doped Indium Oxide Coatings by the Instrument of Spray Pyrolysis

Nanostructured indium tin oxide (ITO) coating is one of the transparent conductive oxides (TCO) materials utilized as a transparent electrode. Due to its high demand in various applications like liquid crystal displays, touch screens, light emitting devices, and solar cells, ITO coatings have garnered significant research attention, owing to their excellent properties of high visible light transmittance and low resistance. Nanostructured coating of tin -doped Indium Oxide (ITO) was fabricated on glass slides utilizing the instrument of chemical spray pyrolysis (CSP), with varying levels of Sn-doping at 0, 3, 6, and 9 wt%. The effect of tin content on the many physical characteristics of the resulting coatings has been examined. The analysis of x-ray diffraction (XRD) displayed the characteristic orientations. The coatings have a polycrystalline cubic lattice structure along (400) as the preferred growth direction. Morphological measurements indicate that the samples possess a highly uniform surface and the grain size for the ITO samples is 100 nm displaying a nanostructure for all samples. The optical transmittance was measured over 75% for coating with tin content equal to 0wt%, while the transmittance of the Sn-doped films can range from 78% to 84% at 700 nm and the values of the direct bandgap were measured as 3.6, 3.65, 3.675, and 3.7eV for Sn doping 0, 3, 6, and 9 wt% respectively. In the visible area, the nanostructured ITO coatings exhibit elevated values of transmittance which makes them suitable for various optoelectronic applications such as window materials in solar cells. The results indicate a desirable reduction in the electrical resistivity with rising the number of carriers per unit volume and mobility with increasing tin content in the samples. The minimum electrical resistivity and maximum carrier concentration were achieved for ITO coating with tin content equal to 9wt%. The incorporation of Sn dopant significantly changes the overall electrical properties of indium oxide films, this is favorable for transparent conducting oxide.

Research on the design and application of 3D scene animation game entertainment system based on user motion sensing participation

Developed a 3D indoor virtual scene assembly system based on dual touch screen. The system adopts a combination of 2D views and 3D views. The 2D and 3D views are displayed on the two touch screens. We have comprehensively designed various interactive operations of 2D view and 3D view from the perspectives of simplicity, easy learning and easy to use, and reduced the complex 3D interactive operations to 2D interactive operations. Users can conduct two-dimensional interactive operation and 3D interactive operation based on two display screens, which can realize the efficient assembly of 3D virtual scene. The results indicate significant differences in the number of modifications of mode A and B (t = 2.982, p = 0.006 < 0.01), effective design time (t = 4.990, p < 0.001), first design satisfaction (t = 5.074, p = <0.001) and final design satisfaction (t = 2.787, p = 0.010 < 0.05). Participants in mode A had fewer modifications and shorter effective design times compared to mode B. Study and design a new workbench supporting the collaborative design of 3D virtual scenes. The workbench can support a three-dimensional indoor virtual scene assembly system based on dual touch screen, and designers and users can assemble the virtual scene together. The workbench mainly consists of two touch displays and a holographic display device. The holographic display device displays the three-dimensional scene designed by the user in real time, and supports the designer and the user to operate the three-dimensional scene through the touch film attached to it. Touch display enables designers and users to assemble scenes on 2D views through simple touch operations such as drag and drop. The face-to-face collaborative design method provided by the workbench is more conducive to the communication between designers and users, so as to improve the design efficiency of 3D scenes.

Intelligent perceptual textiles based on ionic-conductive and strong silk fibers

Endowing textiles with perceptual function, similar to human skin, is crucial for the development of next-generation smart wearables. To date, the creation of perceptual textiles capable of sensing potential dangers and accurately pinpointing finger touch remains elusive. In this study, we present the design and fabrication of intelligent perceptual textiles capable of electrically responding to external dangers and precisely detecting human touch, based on conductive silk fibroin-based ionic hydrogel (SIH) fibers. These fibers possess excellent fracture strength (55 MPa), extensibility (530%), stable and good conductivity (0.45 S·m–1) due to oriented structures and ionic incorporation. We fabricated SIH fiber-based protective textiles that can respond to fire, water, and sharp objects, protecting robots from potential injuries. Additionally, we designed perceptual textiles that can specifically pinpoint finger touch, serving as convenient human-machine interfaces. Our work sheds new light on the design of next-generation smart wearables and the reshaping of human-machine interfaces.

Auditory feedback decreases timing variability for discontinuous and continuous motor tasks in autistic adults.

Autistic individuals demonstrate greater variability and timing error in their motor performance than neurotypical individuals, likely due at least in part to atypical cerebellar characteristics and connectivity. These motor difficulties may differentially affect discrete as opposed to continuous movements in autistic individuals. Augmented auditory feedback has the potential to aid motor timing and variability due to intact auditory-motor pathways in autism and high sensitivity in autistic individuals to auditory stimuli. This experiment investigated whether there were differences in timing accuracy and variability in autistic adults as a function of task (discontinuous vs. continuous movements) and condition (augmented auditory feedback vs. no auditory feedback) in a synchronization-continuation paradigm. Ten autistic young adults aged 17-27 years of age completed the within-subjects study that involved drawing circles at 800 milliseconds intervals on a touch screen. In the discontinuous task, participants traced a series of discrete circles and paused at the top of each circle for at least 60 milliseconds. In the continuous task, participants traced the circles without pausing. Participants traced circles in either a non-auditory condition, or an auditory condition in which they heard a tone each time that they completed a circle drawing. Participants had significantly better timing accuracy on the continuous timing task as opposed to the discontinuous task. Timing consistency was significantly higher for tasks performed with auditory feedback. This research reveals that motor difficulties in autistic individuals affect discrete timing tasks more than continuous tasks, and provides evidence that augmented auditory feedback may be able to mitigate some of the timing variability present in autistic persons' movements. These results provide support for future investigation on the use of music-based therapies involving auditory feedback to address motor dysfunction in autistic individuals.

A Robust FOPD Controller That Allows Faster Detection of Defects for Touch Panels

A Robust FOPD Controller That Allows Faster Detection of Defects for Touch Panels

Material Selection of Conductive Fibers for Touchable Gloves and Application of Graphene

In recent years, nanometer conductive materials are the focus of research. Graphene is widely recognized and used in recent years, they have excellent flexibility, mechanical strength and electrical conductivity, with low dimensions and large specific surface area characteristics, in the field of sensors and daily life has great application potential, perhaps some emerging nanomaterials and technologies can provide the possibility of progress for touch screen gloves. Most touchscreen gloves on the market today use metal fibers, but compared with other metals and non-metallic materials, graphene is undoubtedly a suitable and superior conductive fiber choice now and in the future.

A Two-Level Highlighting Technique Based on Gaze Direction to Improve Target Pointing and Selection on a Big Touch Screen

In this paper, we present an approach to improve pointing methods and target selection on tactile human–machine interfaces. This approach defines a two-level highlighting technique (TLH) based on the direction of gaze for target selection on a touch screen. The technique uses the orientation of the user’s head to approximate the direction of his gaze and uses this information to preselect the potential targets. An experimental system with a multimodal interface has been prototyped to assess the impact of TLH on target selection on a touch screen and compare its performance with that of traditional methods (mouse and touch). We conducted an experiment to assess the effectiveness of our proposition in terms of the rate of selection errors made and time for completion of the task. We also made a subjective estimation of ease of use, suitability for selection, confidence brought by the TLH, and contribution of TLH to improving the selection of targets. Statistical results show that the proposed TLH significantly reduces the selection error rate and the time to complete tasks.

A multifunctional display based on photo-responsive perovskite light-emitting diodes

Current display screens are typically only used for information display, but can have a range of different sensors integrated into them for functions such as touch control, ambient light sensing and fingerprint sensing. Photo-responsive light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which can display information and respond to light excitation, could be used to develop future ultra-thin and large screen-to-body ratio screens. However, photo-response is difficult to achieve with conventional display technologies. Here, we report a multifunctional display that uses photo-responsive metal halide perovskite LEDs as pixels. The perovskite LED display can be simultaneously used as a touch screen, ambient light sensor and image sensor (including for fingerprint drawing) without integrating any additional sensors. The light-to-electricity conversion efficiency of the pixels also allow the display to act as a photovoltaic device that can charge the equipment.

A Comparative Study on the Operational Efficiency of Joystick and Touch Screen Control Methods for Sugarcane Harvesters

Reducing cumbersome mechanical control components is one of the trends of modern agricultural machinery towards a high degree of automation. Whether the control components of sugarcane harvesters can gradually be replaced by central control screens, similar to car cabins, is an unresolved question. At the level of human machine interaction, this involves comparing the efficiency between joystick and touch screen control. This paper conducts a simulated experiment to compare and study the efficiency and user experience of joystick and touch screen control in adjusting the topper and base cutter heights of sugarcane harvesters, aiming to provide a reasonable basis for the design of control interfaces in sugarcane harvester cabins. The electromyographic signals, experiment duration, and subjective cognitive evaluations of participants in both the topper and base cutter groups were analyzed. The results showed that the efficiency, learnability, and ease of use of different control methods varied under different operational tasks. For the topper that corresponds to the operating behavior and height transformation in real time, joystick control demonstrated superior ease of use and operational efficiency compared to touch screen control, with weaker learnability. There was no discernible difference in muscle activation levels between the two control methods. Consequently, joystick control is deemed more suitable for the height adjustment of the topper. Regarding the base cutter with non-real-time mapping of operating behavior and height changes, no significant disparity in ease of use and learnability was observed between the two control methods. Touch screen control yielded lower muscle activation levels and garners higher overall subjective cognitive scale ratings. Thus, touch screen control is considered more suitable for base cutter height adjustment. Lastly, the paper proposes the optimal combination of software and hardware for control components in sugarcane harvester cabins, and provides an objective and multidimensional experimental analysis method for future research on similar human machine interaction interfaces.

Survey on Eye Gaze Tracking to Control Cursor Movement

In Controlling the mouse by a physically challenged person is really a tough one. To find a solution for the people who cannot use the Mouse physically, we have proposed this mouse cursor control using Eye Movements. Eye gaze is an alternative way of accessing a computer using eye movements to control the mouse. For someone who fine touch screens, mouse inaccessible, eye gaze is an alternative method to allow a user to operate their computer, using the movement of their eyes. Eye movement can be regarded as a pivotal real-time input medium for human-computer communication, which is especially important for people with physical disability. In order to improve the reliability, mobility, and usability of eye tracking technique in user-computer dialogue, a novel eye control system is proposed in this system using Webcam and without using any extra hardware. The proposed system focuses on providing a simple and convenient interactive mode by only using user’s eye. The usage flow of the proposed system is designed to perfectly follow human natural habits. The proposed system describes the implementation of both iris and movement of cursor according to iris position which can be used to control the cursor on the screen using webcam and implemented using Python

Machine Learning in Teaching Piano Touch Technique and Tonal Expression

Music is the art of both sound and hearing. Among many musical instruments, the piano has the title of "king of instruments". Unlike the violin, which is delicate and soft, the piano's tone is noble and graceful. The pianist Nergoz once said that the purpose of all piano playing is to make sound and to create sound. So, how to use the piano to create a beautiful sound? This is an essential concern for all piano players. Therefore, it is important to practice tone, both in practice and in playing music, and only when the fingers touch the keys can a beautiful tone be produced. Tone is important in the whole process of piano playing. Both the expressiveness of the piano and its appeal to the listener are closely related to the quality of the tone. The part of the key that is touched, the intensity and the technique all have an important influence on the tone. The scientific approach to finger touch is a particularly important skill and technical criterion, both in the process of learning the piano and when performing it.

A Study of Customer Preference Transmission for New Energy Vehicles Based on a Signaling Game and Separating Equilibrium

Although there are many methods that can be used to obtain customer preferences for new energy vehicles, most studies generally overlook the fact that customer preferences are private information. The purpose of this study is to investigate the transmission mechanism of customer preferences by taking into account situations in which customers lie. Through a signaling game model, this study analyzed the transmission mechanism of customer preference information for the center control touch screen of new energy vehicles based on separation equilibrium. The results show that when inequality (1) remains, such an equilibrium forms: the customers send the real preference signal, the manufacturer then adopts a new sample consistent with the received signal and prices the product accordingly, and, finally, the customers pay for the new NEV. When inequality (2) remains, the following equilibrium forms: customers signal the opposite of their private preference, the manufacturer then adopts a new sample opposite to the received signal, and, finally, customers pay for the new NEV.