Multipurpose medical assistant robot (Docto-Bot) based on internet of things

<span>The world's population is growing every day, and so is the number of patients. People's life expectancy is increasing due to technology's welfare, but the problem is that the health sector has always faced a shortage of inadequate doctors. This research main objective was to design and implement a biomedical-based medical assistant robot named "Docto-Bot" to deal with this problem. This research concerns this medical assistant robot's design and development for the disabled and the patients in need. Such a robot's prime utilization is to minimize person-to-person contact and ensure the cleaning, sterilization, and support in hospitals and similar facilities such as quarantine. This prototype robot consists of a medicine reminding and medicine providing system, Automatic hand sanitizer and IoT based physiological monitoring system (body temperature, pulse rate, ECG, Oxygen saturation level). A direct one-to-one server-based communication method and user-end android app maintaining system designed. It also included the controlling part, which control automatically and manually by users. Docto-Bot will play a very significant factor in bio-medical robot applications. Though the achievements described in the paper look fruitful and advanced, shortcomings still exist.</span>

Performances of Bali cow kept by the palm oil farmers in Rokan Hulu, Riau

The development of the beef cattle population in Indonesia can be done by increasing the cows’ performance keeping by oil palm farmers. The research aimed to study Bali cows’ production system and performance maintained by oil palm farmers in Karya Mulya Village, Rambah Samo District, Rokan Hulu Regency, Riau. Fifteen farmers as respondent with 33 of their Bali cows were the subjects of observation. This research was conducted using the interview method, focused on the production system, body size, and reproductive performance. Data were analyzed descriptively, quantitative, and qualitative. The study results on body size showed that the Bali cows had a chest circumference of 156.68±7.07 cm, shoulder height 112.73±8.86 cm, absolute body length 113.77±5.26 cm, relative body length 105±6.89 cm, body weight 253.65±28.64 kg, and body condition score 2.91±0.50. Reproductive performance includes the calving interval is 376.96±77.65 days, weaning time is 7.74±1.16 months, postpartum estrus 72.00±36.81 days, postpartum mating 72.00±36.81 days, service per conception 1.23±0.8, calf mortality 6.25%, calf weaning weight at 205 days is 97.59±22.88 kg, cows reproductive index 0.96 ± 0.26 and productivity 68.23 ± 46.89. It concluded that Bali cows raised by oil palm farmers in Rokan Hulu, Riau had good performance and body size.

CENTRAL OBESITY ASSOCIATED WITH CHARACTERISTICS OF VASOMOTOR SYMPTOMS IN MENOPAUS WOMEN

Vasomotor complaints are common on postmenopausal women. Most women feel these complaints within 2 years after entering menopause; some of them will even feel up to a decade. In addition to vasomotor complaints, the incidence of central obesity also increases in menopause. The poor adipocyte system in central obesity that affects the central nervous system, body temperature and excessive sympathetic nerve activity have been suspected to be a cause of vasomotor syndrome at menopause. The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between central obesity and the characteristic of vasomotor symptoms in postmenopausal women. Method: this observational analytic study used a cross sectional design. The number of samples were 86 women aged 45-55 years who had been in postmenopausal period. Sampling technique was consecutive sampling. The independent variable was central obesity while the dependent variable was vasomotor symptoms. The data was taken using modified MENQOL questionnaire and direct measurements waist circumference to determine central obesity in the respondents. Data was tested using contingency coefficient test with α 0.05. Results: There were 59.3% respondents who experienced central obesity. More than eighty percent respondents with central obesity also experienced vasomotor symptoms which were considered disturbing. There was a significant relation between central obesity and the characteristic of vasomotor symptoms in postmenopausal women (p=0.00; r=0.513). Conclusion: The presence of central obesity leads to disturbing vasomotor symptoms in postmenopausal women

Novel Insights into the Role of Probiotics in Respiratory Infections, Allergies, Cancer, and Neurological Abnormalities

In recent years, probiotics have attracted public attention and transformed the social perception of microorganisms, convening a beneficial role/state on human health. With aging, the immune system, body physiology, and intestinal microbiota tend to change unfavorably, resulting in many chronic conditions. The immune-mediated disorders can be linked to intestinal dysbiosis, consequently leading to immune dysfunctions and a cluster of conditions such as asthma, autoimmune diseases, eczema, and various allergies. Probiotic bacteria such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium species are considered probiotic species that have a great immunomodulatory and anti-allergic effect. Moreover, recent scientific and clinical data illustrate that probiotics can regulate the immune system, exert anti-viral and anti-tumoral activity, and shields the host against oxidative stress. Additionally, microbiota programming by probiotic bacteria can reduce and prevent the symptoms of respiratory infections and ameliorate the neurological status in humans. This review describes the most recent clinical findings, including safe probiotic therapies aiming to medicate respiratory infections, allergies, cancer, and neurological disorders due to their physiological interconnection. Subsequently, we will describe the major biological mechanism by which probiotic bacteriotherapy expresses its anti-viral, anti-allergic, anticancer, and neuro-stimulatory effects.

Osteopathic empirical research: a bibliometric analysis from 1966 to 2018

Background Despite the increasing use of osteopathy, a manipulative complementary and alternative medicine therapy, in the general population, its efficacy continues to be debated. In this era of evidence-based practice, no studies have previously reviewed the scientific literature in the field to identify published knowledge, trends and gaps in empirical research. The aims of this bibliometric analysis are to describe characteristics of articles published on the efficacy of osteopathic interventions and to provide an overall portrait of their impacts in the scientific literature. Methods A bibliometric analysis approach was used. Articles were identified with searches using a combination of relevant MeSH terms and indexing keywords about osteopathy and research designs in MEDLINE and CINAHL databases. The following indicators were extracted: country of primary author, year of publication, journals, impact factor of the journal, number of citations, research design, participants’ age group, system/body part addressed, primary outcome, indexing keywords and types of techniques. Results A total of 389 articles met the inclusion criteria. The number of empirical studies doubled every 5 years, with the United States, Italy, Spain, and United Kingdom being the most productive countries. Twenty-three articles were cited over 100 times. Articles were published in 103 different indexed journals, but more than half (53.7%) of articles were published in one of three osteopathy-focused readership journals. Randomized control trials (n = 145; 37.3%) and case reports (n = 142; 36.5%) were the most common research designs. A total of 187 (48.1%) studies examined the effects of osteopathic interventions using a combination of techniques that belonged to two or all of the classic fields of osteopathic interventions (musculoskeletal, cranial, and visceral). Conclusion The number of osteopathy empirical studies increased significantly from 1980 to 2014. The productivity appears to be very much in sync with practice development and innovations; however, the articles were mainly published in osteopathic journals targeting a limited, disciplinary-focused readership.

Design and Evaluation of an Online Squat Fitness System: Lessons Learned During the Early COVID-19 Pandemic in Japan

COVID-19 has changed our lives and limited our ability to have adequate physical activity (PA). It is necessary to replace outdoor PA with home-based fitness. However, people lack access, skills, and even motivation for home-based fitness. To address these issues, we designed a free access self-monitoring and coaching and music-based interactive online squat fitness system. Body weight squat was utilized for fitness exercise and evaluated based on three indices: knee width, hip depth, and rhythm. An online survey on changes in exercise due to the COVID-19 pandemic and exercise habits was conducted to investigate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on PA. We collected data from 557 respondents 5 months after the system first released and analyzed 200 visitors' performance on squat exercise and the other relevant parameters. Visitors were divided into three groups according to their age: younger, middle, and older groups. Results showed that the younger group had better squat performance than the middle and older groups in terms of hip depth and rhythm. We highlighted the lessons learned about the system design, fitness performance evaluation, and social aspects, for future study of the design and development of similar home-based fitness systems. We provided first-hand results on the relation between the COVID-19 pandemic and physical exercise among different age groups in Japan, which was valuable for policy making in the post-COVID-19 era.

Energy-saving MAC protocol design for body sensor networks

Remote and online patient monitoring can significantly reduce the cost for the health care system. Body Sensor Network (BSN) plays a key role in real-time remote health monitoring. Although the BSN can reduce the health monitoring cost, some technical challenges arise. One of the major challenges in BSN is the power consumption. The power recharge is very difficult and inconvenient in BSNs. Therefore, energy saving is one of the most appropriate approaches to prolong the network lifetime. In the thesis, we propose a context-aware Medium Access Control (MAC) design to extend the network lifetime of the BSN. The proposed MAC reduces data transmission by determining the more valuable fraction of data. The high-value portion of the data is transmitted, while the low-value fraction of the data is omitted, at the sensor node. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method can reduce the transmission energy by up to 30% compared to the existing method called burst communications.

Energy-saving MAC protocol design for body sensor networks

Remote and online patient monitoring can significantly reduce the cost for the health care system. Body Sensor Network (BSN) plays a key role in real-time remote health monitoring. Although the BSN can reduce the health monitoring cost, some technical challenges arise. One of the major challenges in BSN is the power consumption. The power recharge is very difficult and inconvenient in BSNs. Therefore, energy saving is one of the most appropriate approaches to prolong the network lifetime. In the thesis, we propose a context-aware Medium Access Control (MAC) design to extend the network lifetime of the BSN. The proposed MAC reduces data transmission by determining the more valuable fraction of data. The high-value portion of the data is transmitted, while the low-value fraction of the data is omitted, at the sensor node. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method can reduce the transmission energy by up to 30% compared to the existing method called burst communications.