Use Of Portable Devices Research Articles

Advances and Challenges Associated with Low-Cost Pulse Oximeters in Home Care Programs: A Review.

Oximeters have significantly evolved since their invention and are essential for monitoring chronic diseases in home care. However, commercial models can present an economic barrier. Therefore, we conducted a review of the use of low-cost pulse oximeters in the home care of patients with respiratory diseases. Our review included studies addressing oxygen saturation and heart rate monitoring in adults, focusing on the use of portable devices. Our search identified advances in vital signs monitoring that could provide accessible solutions for non-clinical settings. Although there are challenges related to clinical validation and accuracy, these oximeters may improve medical care, particularly in resource-limited areas. As a result, the accessibility of these devices opens up new possibilities for patients with chronic respiratory diseases in home care, enabling regular self-monitoring and increasing control over their health.

Development of a Compact NDIR CO2 Gas Sensor for a Portable Gas Analyzer

A carbon dioxide (CO2) gas sensor based on non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) technology has been developed and is suitable for use in portable devices for high-precision CO2 detection. The NDIR gas sensor comprises a MEMS infrared emitter, a MEMS thermopile detector with an integrated optical filter, and a compact gas cell with high optical coupling efficiency. A dual-ellipsoid mirror optical system was designed, and based on optical simulation analysis, the structure of the dual-ellipsoid reflective gas chamber was designed and optimized, achieving a coupling efficiency of up to 54%. Optical and thermal simulations were conducted to design the sensor structure, considering thermal management and light analysis. By optimizing the gas cell structure and conditioning circuit, we effectively reduced the sensor’s baseline noise, enhancing the overall reliability and stability of the system. The sensor’s dimensions were 20 mm × 10 mm × 4 mm (L × W × H), only 15% of the size of traditional NDIR gas sensors with equivalent detection resolution. The developed sensor offers high sensitivity and low noise, with a sensitivity of 15 μV/ppm, a detection limit of 90 ppm, and a resolution of 30 ppm. The total power consumption of the whole sensor system is 6.5 mW, with a maximum power consumption of only 90 mW.

Maximizing productivity, harnessing the power of portable gadgets for SMTE business communication in Eastern Cape peri-urban areas

This study examines attitudes towards the use of portable devices for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) adoption in Small and Medium-sized Tourism Enterprises (SMTEs) in peri-urban areas of the South African Eastern Cape province. A comprehensive examination of portable gadgets in business ICT and their impact on SMTEs in Eastern Cape peri-urban areas was performed using a non-probability purposive sampling technique to select eight SMTEs, with a quantitative methodology approach adopted, using a structured questionnaire for an in-depth interview. Data captured from structured interview sessions were deductively coded with the aid of software (NVivo version 12), with the transcribed interview data divided into different meaningful codes in this process; developed based on the difference, similarities, and meanings that emerged. The findings suggest a positive attitude towards portable digital device and technology use in SMTEs in the tourism sector in Eastern Cape peri-urban areas. Smartphones were found to play a crucial role as essential business tools, particularly favored in rural settings, while laptops were indicated as valued for their portability, serving as indispensable tools for daily business activities, while tablets hold less significance. The results highlight participant reliance on smartphones for business operations as critical, since these devices streamline numerous tasks, improve convenience, and enable seamless connectivity while mobile. The use of tablets in the tourism and hospitality sectors appears to be limited. The finding’s additionally indicated participants are heavily reliant on laptops for routine business activities, due to their portability and convenience. Desktop computers were, furthermore, found to primarily be used as backup systems, indicating a diverse, portable ICT gadget usage pattern among participants.

Modern material and technical support of the educational and training process in rowing at the stage of basic training

The article examines modern views on the training of rowing athletes, as well as the importance of using modern technical means in the training process. As a result of the literature analysis, it was found that when working with rowers at the stage of basic training, insufficient attention is paid to the operational analysis of information obtained during the training process. The relevance of this study is also due to the fact that the issue of the possibility of using modern technical means and portable devices by rowing athletes has not been covered in the scientific literature. The purpose of the work was to determine which technical means are used by rowers in the training process and to determine their priority in the opinion of the athletes themselves. The article describes the results of a questionnaire about the use of material and technical means and equipment in the training process of rowers aged 14-16 at the stage of basic training. It was found that the priority element of the training process according to the rowers is the material and technical base, namely: a gym, a modern paddle and special sports clothes. At the same time, the vast majority of respondents said they would like to be able to train with modern technical equipment such as wearables and GPS. Information from portable devices makes it possible to analyze the capabilities and physiological characteristics of athletes. This helps the athlete and coach to receive automatic feedback on how to improve personal results and prevent injuries. The use of portable devices in combination with modern inventory requires further research. In the future, we plan to develop a training program for rowers 14-16 y.o. with the use of portable devices in the training process.

Portable devices for diagnosis and monitoring of glaucoma: a scoping review protocol

IntroductionGlaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in the world. The need to diagnose glaucoma early in its natural history before extensive sight loss occurs cannot be overemphasised. However,...

Examining the Influence of Children and Parents’ Portable Device Use on Sedentary Behavior and Physical Activity Levels

The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between the usage of screen-based media devices by children and their parents and its influence on sedentary behavior and physical activity. A cohort of 43 parents with typically developing children aged 8 to 12 years was selected for the study, utilizing convenience sampling methods through social media platforms across Central Macedonia, Greece. Parents filled out a survey regarding their children and themselves, assessing daily portable device use, sedentary behavior, and physical activity. Two standard regression models were employed to examine how criterion variables (child portable device use in Model 1 and parent portable device use in Model 2) related to predictor variables: child age, child sex, child daily sedentary time, and child physical activity. The findings revealed a significant and positive association between child sedentary time and child portable device use. Similar, child sedentary time exhibited a significant and positive association with parent portable device use. Child age, sex, and physical activity did not show a significant relationship with either parent or child portable device use. In summary, there is a clear connection between child sedentary behavior and portable device use, whereas physical activity does not exhibit a significant relationship. This implies that young children who extensively use portable devices may be susceptible to adopting a sedentary lifestyle. Additionally, results suggest a potential correlation between adults’ portable device use and sedentary habits, which may be reflected in similar behavior in their children.

The impact of privacy violations on subsequent consumer preferences for anthropomorphized products

In the mobile Internet era, the widespread use of portable devices seamlessly connects consumer decision-making scenarios, potentially leading to the spillover of the impact of privacy violations into subsequent consumption decisions. Results from five experiments demonstrate that those consumers who experience a privacy violation (vs. a non-privacy violation) exhibit a lower purchase intention and preference for anthropomorphized (vs. non-anthropomorphized) products due to the symbolic meaning of “social others” embedded within the product and messages. Perceptual boundary invasion and social avoidance tendency are sequential mediators in this process. Yet, the negative effect diminishes when a product is anthropomorphized as a family member (vs. anthropomorphized with a general social role). The findings provide valuable managerial insight into comprehending and mitigating the spillover effects of privacy violations in anthropomorphized product design and online encounters.

MALL with Young Learners: Methodological and Ethical Considerations in Quasi-Experimental Research Design

The enormous developments in technology and hence the widespread use of hand-held devices in the last few decades have led to great interest in mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) as a new way of language education. MALL is considered an effective method particularly for young language learners due to their higher level of familiarity with the technology compared to their predecessors. Thus, an increasing number of mobile apps focusing on language education of children has been developed recently. It has also attracted researchers who carry out studies on MALL in terms of various perspectives such as learners’ learning processes and perspectives. However, an important aspect of MALL which is the use of portable devices and apps individually out of school settings poses possible problems in terms of carrying out quasi-experimental studies. To this end, this paper combines three major areas in Applied Linguistics, namely, MALL, quasi-experimental research design, and young language learners and focuses on salient issues which are identified as lack of control, training, convenience of MALL activities for children, and ethical issues. Based on the TPACK framework, a new framework is proposed to incorporate young learners’ characteristics in MALL studies. It is believed that the consideration of these points will be beneficial to future studies utilising quasi-experimental design in MALL with children.

A Low Phase Jitter MEMS Oscillator with Centrally-Anchored Piezoelectric Resonator for Wide Temperature Range Real Time Clock Applications.

This paper describes prototype temperature compensated piezoelectric MEMS oscillators operating in the wide temperature range of -40 °C to 85 °C for RTC applications. The AlN-on-Si resonator is centrally anchored at one point and designed for low power operation with a wide frequency tuning range of 5000 ppm. The oscillators exhibit a stable sinusoidal output at about 497 kHz frequency for time keeping applications with an integrated phase jitter being 10× better than the best commercially available MEMS RTC oscillators for supplementary use in portable devices for clocking audio circuits. The measured oscillator performance remains relatively unchanged when comparing the wafer level packaged capped MEMS resonator with the uncapped one, showing great potential for a high performance low-power RTC oscillator.

Adoption and regular use of portable devices for movie consumption purposes among University of Salamanca students

El presente trabajo estudia el caso de los hábitos de consumo de cine entre los nativos digitales, tomando como punto de partida una muestra de estudiantes universitarios de entre 18 y 24 años de edad. El objetivo principal de este artículo es mostrar la importancia creciente que están adquiriendo los dispositivos portátiles en el consumo de cine y cuáles son sus implicaciones sobre el consumo de los jóvenes adultos. Para ello, se analizarán dos objetivos específicos a través del análisis estadístico de los datos obtenidos de una encuesta de preguntas cerradas, con el fin de conocer qué tipo de cine prefieren consumir los jóvenes adultos y a través de qué dispositivos realizan dicho consumo. Los resultados reflejan la creciente importancia que en este contexto ha adquirido la portabilidad en los últimos años, constituyéndose como un factor clave a la hora de consumir contenidos cinematográficos fragmentados y fragmentarios, un aspecto que tiene como efecto que el usuario joven vea películas y series principalmente a través de plataformas de vídeo bajo demanda (en adelante VOD). Este hecho se explica debido a que el consumo audiovisual se realice en la actualidad a la carta, dónde, cómo y cuándo el usuario quiere, algo típico de nuestra sociedad actual, en la que predomina la cultura de la inmediatez y la velocidad.

Multi-task localization of the hemidiaphragms and lung segmentation in portable chest X-ray images of COVID-19 patients.

The COVID-19 can cause long-term symptoms in the patients after they overcome the disease. Given that this disease mainly damages the respiratory system, these symptoms are often related with breathing problems that can be caused by an affected diaphragm. The diaphragmatic function can be assessed with imaging modalities like computerized tomography or chest X-ray. However, this process must be performed by expert clinicians with manual visual inspection. Moreover, during the pandemic, the clinicians were asked to prioritize the use of portable devices, preventing the risk of cross-contamination. Nevertheless, the captures of these devices are of a lower quality. The automatic quantification of the diaphragmatic function can determine the damage of COVID-19 on each patient and assess their evolution during the recovery period, a task that could also be complemented with the lung segmentation. We propose a novel multi-task fully automatic methodology to simultaneously localize the position of the hemidiaphragms and to segment the lung boundaries with a convolutional architecture using portable chest X-ray images of COVID-19 patients. For that aim, the hemidiaphragms' landmarks are located adapting the paradigm of heatmap regression. The methodology is exhaustively validated with four analyses, achieving an 82.31% 2.78% of accuracy when localizing the hemidiaphragms' landmarks and a Dice score of 0.9688 0.0012 in lung segmentation. The results demonstrate that the model is able to perform both tasks simultaneously, being a helpful tool for clinicians despite the lower quality of the portable chest X-ray images.

A 3-to-5 V Input, 80 Peak-to-Peak Voltage (Vpp) Output, 2.75% Total Harmonic Distortion Plus Noise (THD+N), 2.9 μF Load Piezoelectric Actuator Driver with Four-Switch Buck–Boost

As human–computer interaction has become increasingly popular, haptic technology has become a research topic of great interest, since vibration perception, as a type of haptic feedback, can enhance user experience during an interaction. However, the high power consumption of existing drivers makes them unsuitable for use in portable devices. In this paper, a bidirectional four-switch buck–boost converter (FSBBC) and Proportional–Integral (PI)–Proportional (P) feedback control are proposed to implement a driver in a high-capacitance piezoelectric actuator which is capable of recovering the energy stored in the high-capacitance load and increasing efficiency. The FSBBC offers an extended input voltage range, rendering significant technological advantages in diverse applications such as automobiles, laptops, and smartphones. By implementing specific control strategies, the FSBBC not only outperforms conventional buck–boost converters in boosting performance, but also ensures that the output and input voltages retain the same polarity. This effectively addresses the polarity inversion challenge inherent to traditional buck–boost circuits. Within the FSBBC, the significant reduction in voltage stress endured by the MOSFET effectively minimizes system costs and size and enhances reliability. The proposed system was simulated in Simulink, which was combined with testing on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). The driver is capable of driving capacitors of up to 2.9 μF, with 80 Vpp output and 2.75% total harmonic distortion (THD) observed in the test.

Evaluation of the Road to Birth Software to Support Obstetric Problem-Based Learning Education with a Cohort of Pre-Clinical Medical Students

Integration of technology within problem-based learning curricula is expanding; however, information regarding student experiences and attitudes about the integration of such technologies is limited. This study aimed to evaluate pre-clinical medical student perceptions and use patterns of the “Road to Birth” (RtB) software, a novel program designed to support human maternal anatomy and physiology education. Second-year medical students at a large midwestern American university participated in a prospective, mixed-methods study. The RtB software is available as a mobile smartphone/tablet application and in immersive virtual reality. The program was integrated into problem-based learning activities across a three-week obstetrics teaching period. Student visuospatial ability, weekly program usage, weekly user satisfaction, and end-of-course focus group interview data were obtained. Survey data were analyzed and summarized using descriptive statistics. Focus group interview data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Of the eligible students, 66% (19/29) consented to participate in the study with 4 students contributing to the focus group interview. Students reported incremental knowledge increases on weekly surveys (69.2% week one, 71.4% week two, and 78.6% week three). Qualitative results indicated the RtB software was perceived as a useful educational resource; however, its interactive nature could have been further optimized. Students reported increased use of portable devices over time and preferred convenient options when using technology incorporated into the curriculum. This study identifies opportunities to better integrate technology into problem-based learning practices in medical education. Further empirical research is warranted with larger and more diverse student samples.

EFL Tertiary Learners' Perceptions on Ease of Use of Portable Devices in English Mobile Learning at a University in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

As the remarkable breakthrough of the age of revolution 4.0, mobile learning (M-learning) appears among the sharp development of modern technology. Their clever features have been discovered to have accompanied the exponential growth of mobile devices to enhance students' learning whenever and wherever. Mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) has so been considered to benefit individuals' English proficiency. Students' attitudes on utilizing mobile devices for learning while being connected to a wireless network need to be carried out, even though learning through mobile devices is expected to apply appropriately to teaching and learning. Through a survey of 207 university EFL students using a questionnaire with 13 English-Vietnamese statements within 20 minutes, this article aims to exhibit EFL learners' behaviors and acceptance of the use of mobile devices in English learning at a university in Vietnam. The survey ran within two weeks in the first semester of the 2019–2020 school year at a University in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. A quantitative approach was used to gather and analyze data from the questionnaire under SPSS version 20. Research findings demonstrated that learners' opinions regarding adopting portable technology in English learning are favorable. The learner supports this virtual learning thanks to mobile gadgets' smart functions offering convenient learning without demanding users' efforts to manipulate. Neither my current university firmly welcomes mobile learning applications to serve flexible education and training in the future.

Mobile Cloud Computing-Challenges and Future Prospects

With the expanding use of portable devices in modern environments, everything, including shopping, social networking, and information collecting, is now possible via mobile devices. Mobile phone use, on the other hand, is expanding by the day. Because the use of mobile devices has increased the number of computing jobs, so has the amount of processing of these tasks. Despite all of these gains in data storage and processing, mobile devices struggle to handle massive applications such as CPUs.
 MCC enables a mobile device to do operations or analyze data in the cloud and then return results to the device. Because the processing takes place in the cloud, it makes use of the mobile device's CPU capacity in comparison to non-cloud processing. I am faster at it. It also supports cloud storage, allowing you to view your data from everywhere on any device. We will explore concerns and obstacles in MCC as the data is processed on the internet and the results are given back to the mobile device in this research study. This can lead to concerns with security, integrity, and privacy. In this essay, we will cover the benefits, challenges, and limitations of mobile cloud computing and suggest possible solutions to these issues.

Advanced Thermoelectric Textiles for Power Generation: Principles, Design, and Manufacturing.

Self-powered wearable thermoelectric (TE) devices significantly reduce the inconvenience caused to users, especially in daily use of portable devices and monitoring personal health. The textile-based TE devices (TETs) exhibit the excellent flexibility, deformability, and light weight, which fulfill demands of long-term wearing for the human body. In comparison to traditional TE devices with their longstanding research history, TETs are still in an initial stage of growth. In recent years, TETs to provide electricity for low-power wearable electronics have attracted increasing attention. This review summarizes the recent progress of TETs from the points of selecting TE materials, scalable fabrication methods of TE fibers/yarns and TETs, structure design of TETs and reported high-performance TETs. The key points to develop TETs with outstanding TE properties and mechanical performance and better than available optimization strategies are discussed. Furthermore, remaining challenges and perspectives of TETs are also proposed to suggest practical applications for heat harvesting from human body.

Use of portable devices to measure brain and heart activity during relaxation and comparative conditions: Electroencephalogram, heart rate variability, and correlations with self-report psychological measures

Recent technological advancements have enabled the development of portable devices that facilitate psychophysiological measurement in ecologically valid settings. The aim of the present study was to establish normative heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV), and electroencephalogram (EEG) power during relaxation and comparative conditions. Fifty healthy adult participants completed baseline psychological questionnaires and subjective ratings of relaxation while portable devices measured continuous EEG, HR, and HRV data during eyes-open (EO) and eyes-closed (EC) resting, relaxation induction, and patting a toy dog (TD). Subjective relaxation levels were higher after the relaxation and TD compared to EO and EC resting conditions. Psychophysiological indications of relaxation included higher HRV during relaxation, and higher delta, theta, and alpha power during the TD condition. EEG recorded using a portable wireless single-channel device showed frontal EC versus EO differences comparable with those reported using traditional laboratory-based EEG equipment. Additionally, alpha power was positively correlated with resilience and negatively correlated with depression, anxiety, and stress. Delta power correlated positively with subjective relaxation levels during relaxation. Overall, the results suggest that portable devices can provide valid measurements of psychophysiological activity during relaxation outside of laboratory settings. Changes in HRV and EEG waveforms reveal more information about physiological relaxation and show promise for real-world monitoring in fields of study that investigate human arousal, stress, and health.

Design of 8-Bit Hybrid Current Steering Digital to Analog Converter in a Standard 65nm CMOS Technology

A digital-to-analog converter (DAC) in electronics is a device that transforms digital signals into analog signals. There are various DAC architectures, and DAC's usefulness for a given application is determined by factors like resolution, INL, DNL, power consumption, maximum sampling frequency, and others. Because digital-to-analog conversion may damage a signal, a DAC with negligible faults for the application should be used. The current-steered digital-to-analog converter is well suited for high-speed applications because no buffers are needed for current steering architectures and the output is the total current drawn from the supply. In this paper, an 8-bit hybrid current steering digital-to-analog converter is proposed. Four cascode current sources with different weights are used in this architecture. The UMC 65nm CMOS technology was used to design the digital-to-analog converter. The INL and DNL were +0.19/-0.15 LSB and +0.28/-0.11 LSB respectively. The DAC uses roughly 3.25 mW at a supply voltage of 1.2V and a sample rate of 100 MHz. 12.751 mV was the output voltage at full scale. In comparison to earlier reports, the power, INL, DNL, and chip area used by the digital-to-analog converter in this architecture were significantly lower. It is appropriate for use in portable devices.

Exploring the added value of portable devices such as near infrared spectrometer in the field of illicit drugs analyses

Facing the problem of backlogs in the forensic laboratories, the field of illicit drugs analyses has recently seen the development of different types of portable devices. Their main purpose is to be used directly by the police in order to reduce the number of specimens that are sent to the laboratories. Several portable devices have shown promising results. To avoid misuses, the added value of these devices should be explored, in order to establish “good practices” and keep the communication channels open between the police and the laboratories. Adapting sampling procedures around the use of portable devices allows for real-time qualitative and quantitative data. Forensic scientists can therefore rapidly assess whether every specimen in a seizure contain illicit drugs and if the seizure is composed of specimens showing different composition. Based on these information, forensic scientists can proceed to an intelligence-led sampling and prioritise specimens that would require further analyses. Additionally, the availability of more analysis data can strengthen the confidence in the reporting of the sampling process and the analyses results. Various scenarios have been tested in an operational context at the Geneva Cantonal Police Force using an ultraportable NIR device. The focus was oriented on sampling issues and the intelligence produced. Results indicate a great potential to detect the different classes within a seizure and therefore to ensure a representative sampling for further analyses.

Use of Portable Devices and an Innovative and Non-Destructive Index for In-Field Monitoring of Olive Fruit Ripeness

A new non-destructive index of absorbance difference (IAD), calculated with different wavelengths as references, near the chlorophyll absorbance peak or that for anthocyanin, has been used to determine the fruit ripening of several fruit species using portable devices such as Standard DA-Meter® and Kiwi-Meter®. In this study, for the first time, the application of the IAD was evaluated on single, intact olives of the Leccino cultivar, as a single non-destructive maturity index to follow ripening in the field, directly on the tree. The IAD determined by both devices was found to be useful for monitoring the olive ripening, however, better performance was achieved with the Kiwi-Meter®. In fact, the IAD determined by this device was more effective at measuring all the studied olive ripening parameters in the calibration and validation datasets with acceptable accuracy. Specifically, better performance of the IDA by Kiwi-Meter® was observed in estimation of the color index (R2 = 0.817, DRMSEC = 0.404 and RPIQ = 3.863 for calibration and R2 = 0.752, DRMSECV = 0.574 and RPIQ = 3.244 for validation), confirming its potential for evaluating the degree of olive ripeness. This novel index has significant applicative possibilities, since it would allow rapid, on-site screening of the best harvesting time to improve the olive production in terms of both yield and quality.