Posture Assessment in Dentistry for Different Visual Aids Using 2D Markers

Attention and awareness towards musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in the dental profession has increased considerably in the last few years. From recent literature reviews, it appears that the prevalence of MSDs in dentists concerns between 64 and 93%. In our clinical trial, we have assessed the dentist posture during the extraction of 90 third lower molars depending on whether the operator performs the intervention by the use of the operating microscope, surgical loupes, or with the naked eye. In particular, we analyzed the evolution of the body posture during different interventions evaluating the impact of visual aids with respect to naked eye interventions. The presented posture assessment approach is based on 3D acquisitions of the upper body, based on planar markers, which allows us to discriminate spatial displacements up to 2 mm in translation and 1 degree in rotation. We found a significant reduction of neck bending in interventions using visual aids, in particular for those performed with the microscope. We further investigated the impact of different postures on MSD risk using a widely adopted evaluation tool for ergonomic investigations of workplaces, named (RULA) Rapid Upper Limb Assessment. The analysis performed in this clinical trial is based on a 3D marker tracker that is able to follow a surgeon’s upper limbs during interventions. The method highlighted pros and cons of different approaches.

Automatic Measurement of Neutral Foot Posture Using Three-Dimensional Scanning

The Rearfoot Angle (RFA) is the most commonly method used for foot posture assessment, and it is also a method for evaluating the subtalar joint neutral foot posture. However, orthopedists and researchers often meet trouble for the measurements of the RFA and neutral foot posture due to lacking measurement with automation and objectivity. In general, the RFA was measured using a goniometer to align with manual markers on the foot. The purpose of this study implements the automatic computing of leg angle, foot angle, and RFA by the foot model using Three-Dimensional (3D) scanning. This study contributes to the algorithms to The purpose of this study implement the automatic and objective computing of leg angle, foot angle, and RFA by the foot model using 3D scanning. The automatic calculation on leg angle, foot angle, and neutral foot posture has been created, test, and validated completely in this study. There are two algorithm methods proposed to determine the midpoint on the leg or foot outline. The midline has been computed by linear regression through five midpoints. The leg and foot angles are calculated by the tibial and calcaneal midlines, respectively. Through the subject standing on eversion foot platforms, the neutral posture of the foot can be computed by the leg and foot angles determined by the 3D model scanned of the foot with various tilt angles. The determinations of the midpoint and midline have been demonstrated algorithm by MATLAB. Based on comparing with the goniometer measured, selecting the midpoint algorithm of the limit points and the lowest point methods to determine the tibial and calcaneal midlines respectively would carry out better results. The foot 3D scanning measurement proposed in this study has been tested and validated from the goniometer. This study can determine the leg angle, foot angle, and neutral foot postures for a subject with normal weight status, but be not suitable for that with obese weight status. In the future, this study can provide guidance for foot posture assessment and personal insoles design.

Research on the Key Technologies of Network Security-Oriented Situation Prediction

In today’s increasingly severe network security situation, network security situational awareness provides a more comprehensive and feasible new idea for the inadequacy of various single solutions and is currently a research hotspot in the field of network security. At present, there are still gaps or room for improvement in network security situational awareness in terms of model scheme improvement, comprehensive and integrated consideration, algorithm design optimization, etc. A lot of scientific research investments and results are still needed to improve the form of network security in a long and solid way. In this paper, we propose a network security posture assessment model based on time-varying evidence theory for the existing multisource information fusion technology that lacks consideration of the problem of threat occurrence support rate over time and make the threat information reflect the law of time change by introducing a time parameter in the basic probability assignment value. Thus, the existing hierarchical threat posture quantitative assessment technique is improved and a hierarchical multisource network security threat posture assessment model based on time-varying evidence theory is proposed. Finally, the superiority of the proposed model is verified through experiments.

Possible Factors Affecting Pre-School Children's Irregular Posture Formation

Background. A review of the health and physical activity of children and teenagers in Lithuania over the last twenty years has shown that many aspects of pupil physical capacity have deteriorated between 1992 and 2012 (Venckunas, Emeljanovas, Mieziene, & Volbekiene, 2017). Also research has shown that musculoskeletal disorders were most commonly found in children aged 4 to 6 years (Daniusevičiutė-Brazaitė & Grėbliauskienė, 2019). Therefore, if these negative trends continue, the growing health problems will pose a greater threat to human well-being and become a serious financial burden for the state and society. Currently technologies are an integral part of everyday life, so the need for interactive games or animated programs cannot be doubted. Research (Lobel, Engels, Stone, Burk, & Granic, 2017) has shown that the use of play-based intervention for children significantly improves fine and visual motor performance. Hence, it is important to identify the possible factors affecting pre-school children’s irregular posture formation. Methods. The study included 377 preschool children from 4 to 6 years old. Three evaluations were performed in the study: posture (using W. K. Hoeger posture assessment methodology), abdominal and back muscle endurance, and balance (Arcinavičius,, Kesminas, & Milčarek, 2004). Results. Assessing the results of the shoulder position of 5-year-old children, results showed that only 16% had good shoulder posture, satisfactory – 74%, bad – 10%. Age was found to have no effect on posture assessment results. According to the study, balance, back, and abdominal functional capacity were better in 6-year-old children. Conclusion. After analyzing 4-year old children group torso, abdomen, lower spine and legs, we can see that a higher percentage of children had a satisfactory posture in the aforementioned body parts. According to the posture results, the most abnormal part of the body was the abdomen. The study data showed that 6-year-old subjects’ balance, lower spine and abdominal performance were better compared to other age groups. Keywords: preschool child, physical activity, posture.

Rancang bangun meja dan kursi kerja untuk perbaikan postur kerja pada pekerja pengolah ikan berdasarkan pengukuran NBM dan RULA

Slouching and squatting work postures in the fish cleaning process can cause skeletal muscle injury. Based on the results of previous research conducted by Adelia (2020), the results of the existing NBM show that workers have complaints in the muscles of the neck, arms, back, waist, buttocks, hands, wrists, thighs, knees, and feet. The result of total muscle complaints individual skeletal is 75, meaning that the existing work posture requires work improvement. Improvement of working posture can be done by designing work aids in the form of desks and chairs. The determination of the MSDs risk level category was carried out by identifying the skeletal muscle complaints felt by workers using a Nordic body map (NBM) questionnaire, a working posture assessment was carried out to determine the score level in work posture using the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) method with the help of CATIA V5R20 software. Assistive devices in the form of desks and work chairs are designed based on complaints experienced by workers and use the anthropometric approach in determining the dimensions of work aids. Based on the results of the implementation of work aids, there was a change in the score for skeletal muscle complaints and work posture. The results showed that the average NBM value of individual muscle complaints was 56.75, this is included in the moderate risk level and the results of the RULA analysis on the repair work posture experienced a change in the final score, namely 4 (yellow).