Search results for: shrimp pond rehabilitation

Authors: Christine Odinga, Fred Otieno, Josiah Adeyemo

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A study was done to establish the effectiveness of wetland plants: Echinocloa pyramidalis (L) and Cyperus papyrus (L) in purifying wastewater from sugar factory stabilization pond effluent. A pilot-scale Free Water Surface Wetland (FWSCW) system was constructed in Chemelil sugar factory, Kenya for the study. The wetland was divided into 8 sections (cells) and planted with C. papyrus and E. pyramidalis in alternating sequence. Water samples and plant specimen were taken fortnightly at inlets and outlets of the cells and analysed for total phosphates and total nitrates. The data was analysed by use of Microsoft excel and SPSS computer packages. Water analysis recorded a reduction in the nutrient levels between the inlet pond nine and the final outlet channel to River Nyando. The plants grown in the wetland experienced varied increases and reductions in the level of total foliar nitrogen and phosphorous, indicating that though the nutrients were being removed from the wetland, the same were not those assimilated by the plants either. The control plants had higher folia phosphorous and nitrogen, an indication that the system of the constructed wetland was able to eliminate the nutrients effectively from the plants.

Keywords: wetlands, constructed, plants, nutrients, wastewater, industrial

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Authors: Sung Hyun Kim

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Introduction: Sleep disturbance is common in children with developmental disorders (D.D.). Sleep disturbance has a variety of negative effects, such as behavior problems, medical problems, and even developmental problems in children with D.D. However, to our best knowledge, there has been no proper treatment for sleep disorders in children with D.D. Therefore, we conduct this study to know the positive effects of intensive rehabilitation therapy in children with D.D. on the degree of sleep disturbance. Method: We prospectively recruited 22 patients with a diagnosis of D.D. during the period of January 2022 through May 2022. The inclusion criteria were as follows: 1) a patient who would participate in the intensive rehabilitation therapy of our institution; 2) the age participant under 18 years at the time of assessment; 3) a child who has consented to participate in the study by signing the consent form by the legal guardian. We investigated the clinical characteristics of participants by the medical record, including sex, age, underlying diagnosis of D.D., and Gross Motor Function Measures (GMFM). Before starting the intensive rehabilitation therapy, we conducted a Sleep disturbance scale for children (SDSC). It contains 26 questions about children’s sleep, and those questions are grouped into six subscales, such as Disorders of initiating and maintaining sleep (DIMS), Sleep Breathing Disorders(SBD), Disorders of arousal(DOA), Sleep-Wake Transition Disorders(SWTD), Disorders of excessive somnolence(DOES) and Sleep Hyperhydrosis(SHY). We used the t-score, which was calculated by comparing the scores of normal children. Twenty two patients received 8 weeks of intensive rehabilitation, including daily physical and occupational therapy. After that, we did follow up with SDSC. The comparison between SDSC before and after intensive rehabilitation was calculated using the paired t-test, and P< 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Demographic data and clinical characteristics of 22 patients are enrolled. Patients were 4.03 ± 2.91 years old, and of the total 22 patients, 14 (64%) were male, and 8 (36%) were female. Twelve patients(45%) were diagnosed with Cerebral palsy(C.P.), and the mean value of participants’ GMFM was 47.82 ± 20.60. Each mean value of SDSC’s subscales was also calculated. DIMS was 62.36 ± 13.72, SBD was 54.18 ± 8.39, DOA was 49.59 ± 7.01, SWTD was 58.95 ± 9.20, DOES was 53.09 ± 15.15, SHY was 52.14 ± 8.82, and the total was 59.86 ± 13.18. These values suggest that children with D.D. have sleep disorders. After 8 weeks of intensive rehabilitation treatment, the score of DIMS showed improvement(p=0.016), but not the other subscale and total score of SDSC. Conclusion: This result showed that intensive rehabilitation could be helpful to patients of D.D. with sleep disorders. Especially intensive rehabilitation therapy itself can be a meaningful treatment in inducing and maintaining sleep.

Keywords: sleep disorder, developmental delay, intensive rehabilitation therapy, cerebral palsy

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Authors: Mina Beheshti, Vida Shams, Mojtaba Esfandiari, Farzaneh Abdollahi, Abdolreza Ohadi

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Most of the people who survive a stroke need rehabilitation tools to regain their mobility. The core function of these devices is a brake actuator. The goal of this study is to design and control a magnetorheological brake which can be used as a rehabilitation tool. In fact, the fluid used in this brake is called magnetorheological fluid or MR that properties can change by variation of the magnetic field. The braking properties can be set as control by using this feature of the fluid. In this research, different MR brake designs are first introduced in each design, and the dimensions of the brake have been determined based on the required torque for foot movement. To calculate the brake dimensions, it is assumed that the shear stress distribution in the fluid is uniform and the fluid is in its saturated state. After designing the rehabilitation brake, the mathematical model of the healthy movement of a healthy person is extracted. Due to the nonlinear nature of the system and its variability, various adaptive controllers, neural networks, and robust have been implemented to estimate the parameters and control the system. After calculating torque and control current, the best type of controller in terms of error and control current has been selected. Finally, this controller is implemented on the experimental data of the patient's movements, and the control current is calculated to achieve the desired torque and motion.

Keywords: rehabilitation, magnetorheological fluid, knee, brake, adaptive control, robust control, neural network control, torque control

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Authors: Adrian Bostan, Nicolae Tapus, Adriana Tapus

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The purpose of this research paper is to study and develop a system that is able to help identify problems and improve human rehabilitation after traumatic injuries. Traumatic injuries in human’s lower limbs can occur over a life time and can have serious side effects if they are not treated correctly. In this paper, we developed an intelligent cane (IntelliCane) so as to help individuals in their rehabilitation process and provide feedback to the users. The first stage of the paper involves an analysis of the existing systems on the market and what can be improved. The second stage presents the design of the system. The third part, which is still under development is the validation of the system in real world setups with people in need. This paper presents mainly stages one and two.

Keywords: IntelliCane, 3D printing, microprocessor, weight measurement, rehabilitation tool

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Authors: Modupe C. Alasa

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One of the major parameters for ensuring a country’s economic growth and development is the extent to which the citizens are involved in agriculture. The general objective of this study is to determine the assessment of vocational rehabilitation of visually impaired persons in poultry farming at blind center, Ogbomoso, Nigeria. A total number of 70 students will be selected randomly through the use of structured questionnaire out of the total number of students which is 120. Data will be collected from the farmers’ personal characteristics and other specific objectives related to the work. The results will be analyzed with the use of simple statistical tools as frequency, percentage, means and standard deviations. Conclusion and recommendations will be suggested based on result findings of the study.

Keywords: assessment, impair, poultry, rehabilitation, vocational

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Authors: Ahmed Torad

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Background: Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent musculoskeletal condition characterized by pain and functional impairment. While various rehabilitation approaches have been employed, the effectiveness of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) compared to traditional rehabilitation exercises remains unclear. Objective: This randomized controlled trial aimed to compare the effects of HIIT and traditional rehabilitation exercises on pain reduction, functional improvement, and quality of life in individuals with knee OA. Methods: A total of 120 participants diagnosed with knee OA were randomly allocated into two groups: the HIIT group (n=60) and the traditional rehabilitation group (n=60). The HIIT group participated in a 12-week supervised program consisting of high-intensity interval exercises, while the traditional rehabilitation group followed a conventional physiotherapy regimen. Outcome measures included visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), and the Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36) at baseline and after the intervention period. Results: Both groups showed significant improvements in pain scores, functional outcomes (WOMAC), and quality of life (SF-36) after 12 weeks of intervention. However, the HIIT group demonstrated superior pain reduction (p<0.001), functional improvement (p<0.001), and physical health-related quality of life (p=0.002) compared to the traditional rehabilitation group. No significant differences were observed in mental health-related quality of life between the two groups. Conclusion: High-intensity interval training appears to be a more effective rehabilitation approach than traditional exercises for individuals with knee osteoarthritis, resulting in greater pain reduction, improved function, and enhanced physical health-related quality of life. These findings suggest that HIIT may represent a promising intervention strategy for managing knee OA and enhancing the overall well-being of affected individuals.

Keywords: knee osteoarthritis, high-intensity interval training, traditional rehabilitation exercises, randomized controlled trial, pain reduction, functional improvement, quality of life

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Authors: Yasser Almazrua

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Terrorism is a multidimensional phenomenon that has increased recently. Many countries started combating terrorism through security forces; however, there has been relatively little attention given to rehabilitation programs for people involved in such terrorism acts. In Saudi Arabia, after facing so many terrorist attacks, they started understanding and countering terrorism differently by establishing Mohammad bin Naif Counselling and Care Center in 2006. The center now is considered one of the top experience centers in the world for terrorist rehabilitation and ideology correction. The center offers different programs such as training, educational, social, art and psychological programs. One of the approaches that have been used by psychological experts at the center is Narrative Therapy. It is a therapeutic approach that focuses on the ability of the client to identify their personal life story. The client during therapy works as a storyteller where he or she gets insight, meaning and better understanding of their own lives. Because each client at the center had a story, it can be better fit method for rehabilitation towards healing and personal development. The case describes a 34-years-old man who was involved in some terrorism activities locally by technically and financially supporting a terrorist group related to Al-Qaida. The beneficiary joined Mohammad bin Naif Counseling and Care Center after serving his sentence. Informed of consent has been given to the beneficiary before starting the therapeutic program. Both qualitative and quantitative data on the beneficiary are collected by self-reporting during the initial session, and by using a psychological measurement. The result found that the beneficiary was not insightful about himself, and he had a high level of repression which relatedly moved him to be targeted for recruitment in the terrorist group. With rehabilitation and by using the therapeutic approach, the beneficiary improved on the level of insight, specifically about himself and also about the experience. This case illustrates the importance of considering the effect of Narrative Therapy in terrorist rehabilitation programs.

Keywords: narrative therapy, rehabilitation, Saudi Arabia, terrorism

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Authors: Bernat-Carles Serdà Ferrer, Arantza Del Valle Gómez

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The Quality of Life (QoL) paradigm is multidimensional, dynamic and modular and its definition differs across the cancer continuum. The challenge in the interpretation of QoL data in clinical research is that QoL is influenced by psychological phenomena such as adaptation to illness. This research aims to obtain a valid and sensitive assessment of QoL change over the continuum disease, and to evaluate a rehabilitation programme aimed at inverting the observed decrease in QoL when patients return to daily living activities. The sample comprised 66 men. Patients were first assessed to establish a baseline (P1-diagnosis). This was followed by a post-test (P2-discharge) and a then-test measurement (P3-retrospective evaluation) and after returning home patients were randomized in experimental and control groups. The experimental group attended a rehabilitation programme over 24 weeks (P4). Results show that from baseline to post-test, QoL decreased significantly. The recalibration then-test confirmed a low QoL in all periods evaluated. Significant differences between the experimental and control groups prove the positive effect of the Exercise Rehabilitation Programme (ERP) on QoL. Understanding the real dynamic of QoL over time would help to adapt rehabilitation programmes by improving sensitivity and efficacy and provide professionals with a more accurate perception of the impact of treatment and side effects on patients’ QoL. Our results underline the importance of changing the approach adopted by health professionals towards one of watchful waiting on patients’ QoL until their complete recovery in daily life.

Keywords: exercise, prostate cancer, quality of life, rehabilitation programme, response shift

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Authors: Hadi Mohammed

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The introduction of vocational education and training (VET) in correctional institutions as part of prisoner rehabilitation program is to help offenders develop marketable job skills and reduce re-offending thereby increasing the likely hood of successful reintegration back to their community. Offenders who participate in vocational education and training are significantly less likely to return to prison after released and are more likely to find employment after released than offenders who do not received such training. Those who participated in vocational training were 28% more likely to be employed after released from prison than those who did not received such training. This paper examined the effects of vocational training on offender rehabilitation as well as the effects of vocational training on the relationship between reformation and reintegration in Nigerian correctional institution. To address this two research question were formulated to guide the research. A survey research was employed. The participants were 200 offenders in Nigerian correctional institutions. Questionnaire items were administered. Mean, standard deviation and Partial Correlation were used for the data analysis. The findings revealed that vocational training has helped in offender rehabilitation in Nigerian correctional institutions. Similarly there was a moderate significant positive partial correlation between reformation and reintegration, controlling for vocational training, r=0.461, n=221, p<0.005 with moderate level of reformation and being associated with moderate level of reintegration. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that Nigerian Correctional Institutions should strengthen their vocational training program for offenders to be properly rehabilitated.

Keywords: correctional institutions, vocational education and training, offender rehabilitation

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Authors: Kalu Uka Orji, Nasiman Sapari, Khamaruzaman W. Yusof

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Exposure of galena (PbS), tealite (PbSnS2), and other associated minerals during mining activities release lead (Pb) and other heavy metals into the mining water through oxidation and dissolution. Heavy metal pollution has become an environmental challenge. Lead, for instance, can cause toxic effects to human health, including brain damage. Ex-mining pond water was reported to contain lead as high as 69.46 mg/L. Conventional treatment does not easily remove lead from water. A promising and emerging treatment technology for lead removal is the application of the electrocoagulation (EC) process. However, some of the problems associated with EC are systematic reactor design, selection of maximum EC operating parameters, scale-up, among others. This study investigated an EC process for the removal of lead from synthetic ex-mining pond water using a batch reactor and Fe electrodes. The effects of various operating parameters on lead removal efficiency were examined. The results obtained indicated that the maximum removal efficiency of 98.6% was achieved at an initial PH of 9, the current density of 15mA/cm2, electrode spacing of 0.3cm, treatment time of 60 minutes, Liquid Motion of Magnetic Stirring (LM-MS), and electrode arrangement = BP-S. The above experimental data were further modeled and optimized using a 2-Level 4-Factor Full Factorial design, a Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The four factors optimized were the current density, electrode spacing, electrode arrangements, and Liquid Motion Driving Mode (LM). Based on the regression model and the analysis of variance (ANOVA) at 0.01%, the results showed that an increase in current density and LM-MS increased the removal efficiency while the reverse was the case for electrode spacing. The model predicted the optimal lead removal efficiency of 99.962% with an electrode spacing of 0.38 cm alongside others. Applying the predicted parameters, the lead removal efficiency of 100% was actualized. The electrode and energy consumptions were 0.192kg/m3 and 2.56 kWh/m3 respectively. Meanwhile, the adsorption kinetic studies indicated that the overall lead adsorption system belongs to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The adsorption dynamics were also random, spontaneous, and endothermic. The higher temperature of the process enhances adsorption capacity. Furthermore, the adsorption isotherm fitted the Freundlish model more than the Langmuir model; describing the adsorption on a heterogeneous surface and showed good adsorption efficiency by the Fe electrodes. Adsorption of Pb2+ onto the Fe electrodes was a complex reaction, involving more than one mechanism. The overall results proved that EC is an efficient technique for lead removal from synthetic mining pond water. The findings of this study would have application in the scale-up of EC reactor and in the design of water treatment plants for feed-water sources that contain lead using the electrocoagulation method.

Keywords: ex-mining water, electrocoagulation, lead, adsorption kinetics

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Authors: Christopher Spiewak, M. R. Islam, Mohammad Arifur Rahaman, Mohammad H. Rahman, Roger Smith, Maarouf Saad

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For those who have lost the ability to move their hand, going through repetitious motions with the assistance of a therapist is the main method of recovery. We have been developed a robotic assistive device to rehabilitate the hand motions in place of the traditional therapy. The developed assistive device (RAD-HR) is comprised of four degrees of freedom enabling basic movements, hand function, and assists in supporting the hand during rehabilitation. We used a nonlinear computed torque control technique to control the RAD-HR. The accuracy of the controller was evaluated in simulations (MATLAB/Simulink environment). To see the robustness of the controller external disturbance as modelling uncertainty (±10% of joint torques) were added in each joints.

Keywords: biorobotics, rehabilitation, robotic assistive device, exoskeleton, nonlinear control

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Authors: Kasra Afsahi, Maryam Soheilifar, S. Hossein Hosseini, Omid Seyed Esmaeili, Rouzbeh Kezemi, Noushin Mehrbod, Nazanin Vahed, Tahereh Hajiahmad, Noureddin Nakhostin Ansari

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Background: Stroke is a disabling neurological disease. Rehabilitative therapies are important treatment methods. This clinical trial was done to compare the effects of VR beside conventional rehabilitation versus conventional rehabilitation alone on spasticity and motor function in stroke patients. Materials and Methods: In this open-label randomized controlled clinical trial, 40 consecutive patients with stable first-ever ischemic stroke in the past three to 12 months that were referred to a rehabilitation clinic in Tehran, Iran, in 2020 were enrolled. After signing the informed written consent form, subjects were randomly assigned by block randomization of five in each block as cases with 1:1 into two groups of 20 cases; conventional plus VR therapy group: 45-minute conventional therapy session plus 15-minute VR therapy, and conventional group: 60-minute conventional therapy session. VR rehabilitation is designed and developed with different stages. Outcomes were modified Ashworth scale, recovery stage score for motor function, range of motion (ROM) of shoulder abduction/wrist extension, and patients’ satisfaction rate. Data were compared after study termination. Results: The satisfaction rate among the patients was significantly better in the combination group (P=0.003). Only wrist extension was varied between groups and was better in the combination group. The variables generally had a statistically significant difference (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Virtual reality plus conventional rehabilitation therapy is superior versus conventional rehabilitation alone on the wrist and elbow spasticity and motor function in patients with stroke.

Keywords: stroke, virtual therapy, rehabilitation, treatment

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Authors: Haruna Karamba, Nafisa Muhammad Danyaro

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The study describe the action of natural latex (extract) of two sub-aquatic macrophytes plants i.e., Cassia occidentalis and Physalis angulata which were tested against two water snail species; Bulinus globusus and Lymnaea natalensis, the intermediate host of Bilharziasis (chistosomiasis) in the tropical countries. Bilherziasis is a disease prevalent and endermic to tropical Africa, seriously undermining health status of Nigerian youth. The easiest way to eradicate the disease is to eliminate the secondary host of the pathogen, chistosoma species. Therefore we carried out a research to investigate the molluscicidal effect of the leaf extract of C. occidentalis and P. angulata on mortality rate of B. globusus and L. natalensis water snails using pond water in the laboratory of science laboratory department of Kano State Polytechnic, Nigeria. One hundred and fifty juveniles’ snails were collected from Jakara Dam in the Northeastern part of Kano, Nigeria. The snails were put inside a plastic container and transported immediately to the laboratory where they were transferred into reservoir tank containing pond water and kept for 48 hours to get acclimatized with laboratory environment. Twelve water bathes 2/3 filled with pond water were prepared and kept in the laboratory. Leaf extract of the plants were obtained by blending and homogenizing the leaf tissue from which the extract were obtained and prepared in 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 ppm, in addition to 0 ppm, which served as control. Ten snails were placed in each of the twelve water bathes. Six water bathes for the species of C. accidentalis extract and other six for P. angulata. The treatment combinations were maintained for 2 days after which the number of living snails present in each water bathes were counted and subsequently at 2 days intervals. The result indicated that extracts from both plants were lethal to the snails as concentration of the extract increases particularly mortality rate was highest at 40 and 50 ppm. Conclusively the toxicity of the extracts from these plants proven lethal to snails and hence can be used as molluscicides for cheap and easy method of eliminating water snails and therefore reducing the incidence of Bilharziasis.

Keywords: schistosomiasis, bilharziasis, Bulinus globusus, Lymnea natalensis, Physalis angulata, Cassia occidentalis, Kano

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Authors: Ismail S. Bostanci, Ebru Akkaya

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Microalgae-derived biodiesel, fertilizer or industrial chemicals' production with wastewater has great potential. Especially water from a municipal wastewater treatment plant is a very important nutrient source for biofuel production. Microalgae biomass production in open ponds system is lower cost culture systems. There are many hurdles for commercial algal biomass production in large scale. One of the important technical bottlenecks for microalgae production in open system is culture contamination. The algae culture contaminants can generally be described as invading organisms which could cause pond crash. These invading organisms can be competitors, parasites, and predators. Contamination is unavoidable in open systems. Potential contaminant organisms are already inoculated if wastewater is utilized for algal biomass cultivation. Especially, it is important to control contaminants to retain in acceptable level in order to reach true potential of algal biofuel production. There are several contamination management methods in algae industry, ranging from mechanical, chemical, biological and growth condition change applications. However, none of them are accepted as a suitable contamination control method. This experiment describes an innovative contamination control method, 'Recirculated Sedimentation Method', to manage contamination to avoid pond cash. The method can be used for the production of algal biofuel, fertilizer etc. and algal wastewater treatment. To evaluate the performance of the method on algal culture, an experiment was conducted for 90 days at a lab-scale raceway (60 L) reactor with the use of non-sterilized and non-filtered wastewater (secondary effluent and centrate of anaerobic digestion). The application of the method provided the following; removing contaminants (predators and diatoms) and other debris from reactor without discharging the culture (with microscopic evidence), increasing raceway tank’s suspended solids holding capacity (770 mg L-1), increasing ammonium removal rate (29.83 mg L-1 d-1), decreasing algal and microbial biofilm formation on inner walls of reactor, washing out generated nitrifier from reactor to prevent ammonium consumption.

Keywords: contamination control, microalgae culture contamination, pond crash, predator control

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Authors: Lauretta Ighedo, Bukola Okunade, Monisade Okunade

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In order to determine the effect of spent oil on the growth rates of indigenous phytoplankton in an aquaculture pond, a study was carried out on varying concentrations of samples using the bioassay procedure for a period of 14 days. Four divisions Cyanophyta, Chlorophyta, Euglenophyta and Bacillariophyta were observed in the water samples collected from the Aquaculture pond. The growth response was measured using a microprocessor photocolorimeter at optical density of 680nm. A general assessment of spent oil contaminated samples showed either a sharp rise or fall in growth rate from day 0 to day 2 followed by increased growth response for most higher concentration of pollutants up to Day 8, then fluctuations in the growth response pattern for the other days. There was no marked significant difference in the growth response of phytoplankton in the spent oil impacted water samples. The lowest and highest phytoplankton abundance was recorded in 10/90ml and 2.5/97.5ml spent oil impacted water sample respectively. Oscillatoria limosa, Chlorella sp., Microcystis aeruginosa, Nitzschia sp. and Navicula sp. showed high tolerance to oil pollution and these species used as bioindicators of an organic polluted environment increased abundantly and can therefore be employed in the cleanup and bioremediation process of an oil polluted freshwater body.

Keywords: phytoplankton, pollution, species abundance, environmental characteristics

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Authors: Ledi Neçaj

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Introduction: Cardio-respiratory rehabilitation is the set of coordinated interventions needed to provide the best physical, psychological, and social conditions so that patients with chronic or post-acute cardiopulmonary disease, with their efforts, maintain or resume optimal functioning in society through improved health behaviors. Purpose: To study the effectiveness of the application of Cardio-Respiratory Rehabilitation in the typology of patients with chronic or post-acute cardiomyopathy and chronic respiratory diseases in order to facilitate their therapeutic use and to improve the overall quality of life. Material and Method: This is a prospective study including patients with COPD and cardiac disease who were included in the rehabilitation program during the period January 2019 - November 2021. The study was conducted at the University Hospital Center "Mother Teresa" in Tirana, University Hospital "SHEFQET NDROQI", AMERICAN Hospital, HYGEA Hospital, and "Our Lady of Good Counsel, Tirana". An individual chart was used to collect sociodemographic, physical, clinical, and functional examinations for each patient. Results: The study included 253 patients, with a mean age of 62.1 (± 7.9) years, ranging from 48 to 82 years. (67.6%) of the patients were males, and (32.4%) female. Male patients predominated in all age groups, with a statistically significant difference with females (p<0.01). The most common cardiac pathologies are coronary artery bypass (24%), cerebral stroke (9%), myocardial infarction (17%), Stent placement (8%) (p<0.01). Correlation matrix of risk factors found a significant correlation of alcohol consumption with diabetes, smoking, dyslipidemia, sedentary life, obesity, AVC, and hypertension. Functional capacity estimated by change in metabolic equivalents (MET) improved by 46% from 4. ±2.2 to 7.2± .8 METs (p<0.01). Duration of exercise after rehabilitation was increased by 21% compared to baseline (p<0.01). The mean score of all three subscales of the questionnaire: symptoms (p=0.03), activity (p<0.01), and impact (p<0.01) after rehabilitation, was lower compared to pre-rehabilitation. Conclusions: The rehabilitation program has impacted on improving the quality of life, reducing symptoms, reducing the impact of negative factors on daily life, and reducing dyspnea during daily activities.

Keywords: cardio-respiratory rehabilitation, physical exercise, quality of life, diseases

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Authors: Nina Robson, Kenneth John Faller II, Vishalkumar Ahir, Arthur Ricardo Deps Miguel Ferreira, John Buchanan, Amarnath Banerjee

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This paper describes the development of a virtual-reality system ARWED, which will be used in physical rehabilitation of patients with reduced upper extremity mobility to increase limb Active Range of Motion (AROM). The ARWED system performs a symmetric reflection and real-time mapping of the patient’s healthy limb on to their most affected limb, tapping into the mirror neuron system and facilitating the initial learning phase. Using the ARWED, future experiments will test the extension of the action-observation priming effect linked to the mirror-neuron system on healthy subjects and then stroke patients.

Keywords: physical rehabilitation, mirror neuron, virtual reality, stroke therapy

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Authors: Pim Terachinda, Witaya Wannasuphoprasit, Wasuwat Kitisomprayoonkul, Anan Srikiatkhachorn

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Restoration of hand function and dexterity remain challenges in rehabilitation after stroke. We have developed soft exoskeleton hand robot in which using tendon-driven mechanism. Finger flexion and extension can be triggered by a foot switch and force can be adjusted manually depending on patient’s grip strength. The objective of this study is to investigate feasibility and safety of this device. The study was done in 2 stroke patients with the strength of the finger flexors/extensors grade 1/0 and 3/1 on Medical Research Council scale, respectively. Grasp and release training was performed for 30 minutes. No complication was observed. Results demonstrated that the device is safe, and therapy can be tailored to individual patient’s need. However, further study is required to determine recovery and rehabilitation outcomes after training in patients after nervous system injury.

Keywords: hand, rehabilitation, robot, stroke

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Authors: Bilal Ahmed

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Rehabilitation of congenital and acquired maxillofacial defects is always a challenging clinical scenario. These defects pose major physiological and psychological threat not only to the patient but to the entire family. There has been an enormous scientific development in maxillofacial rehabilitation with the advent of CAD CAM, 3-D scanning, Osseo-integrated implants and improved restorative materials. There are also specialized centers with latest diagnostic and treatment facilities in the developed countries. However, in certain clinical case scenarios, conventional prosthodontic principles are still the gold standards. Similarly in a less developed world, financial and technical constraints are factors affecting treatment planning and final outcomes. However, we can do a lot of benefits to the affected human beings, even with use of simple and cost-effective conventional prosthodontic techniques and materials. These treatment strategies may sometimes be considered as intermediate or temporary options, but with regular follow-up maintenance these can be used on a definitive basis.

Keywords: maxillofacial defects, obturators, prosthodontics, medical and health sciences

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Authors: Rakkrit Duangsoithong, Jermphiphut Jaruenpunyasak, Alba Garcia

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The use of foot recognition can be applied in many medical fields such as the gait pattern analysis and the knee exercises of patients in rehabilitation. Generally, a camera-based foot recognition system is intended to capture a patient image in a controlled room and background to recognize the foot in the limited views. However, this system can be inconvenient to monitor the knee exercises at home. In order to overcome these problems, this paper proposes to use the deep learning method using Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) for foot recognition. The results are compared with the traditional classification method using LBP and HOG features with kNN and SVM classifiers. According to the results, deep learning method provides better accuracy but with higher complexity to recognize the foot images from online databases than the traditional classification method.

Keywords: foot recognition, deep learning, knee rehabilitation, convolutional neural network

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Authors: Santony Santony, Teguh Rahayu Sartono, Iin Noor Chozin

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Introduction: Pneumonia is acute inflammation on lung parenchyma which is caused by bacteria, virus, fungi, or parasite. In Indonesia, Pneumonia is among the ten inpatient cases. Length of stay is related to the increased morbidity rate, nosocomial infection, and costs. The aim of this study is to assess the effect of pulmonary rehabilitation on the difference in length of stay and the level of Interleukin 6 (IL-6) as an inflammation biomarker for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) patients in non-intensive rooms. Therefore, pulmonary rehabilitation as adjunctive therapy can be routinely exercised in order to shorten the length of stay, along with the decrease in IL-6 level. Methods: This study was conducted from May to October 2019 at Saiful Anwar General Hospital, Malang. 40 community-acquired pneumonia patients in non-intensive rooms were divided into two groups. 20 patients in the treatment group and 20 patients in the control group, all of them were selected through both inclusion and exclusion criteria. This study used simple consecutive random sampling. In the treatment group, pulmonary rehabilitation performed was composed of breathing exercise, effective coughing technique, clapping (percussion), postural drainage, as well as respiratory muscle training using incentive spirometry device. Pulmonary rehabilitation was conducted twice over five days with a minimum duration of 15 minutes. Blood samples were taken both on the first and the fifth day of the treatment to measure IL-6 level as an inflammation biomarker. Result: For the treatment group, the length of stay was 5.35 days whereas the control group 7.6 days. It can be seen that the treatment group had a shorter length of stay by 2.25 days (P<0,001). The IL-6 level on the first day for the treatment group was 36.27 pg/ml, whereas on the fifth day was 34.36 pg/ml. There was a decrease in IL-6 level on the fifth day of treatment even though it was not statistically significant (P=0.628). IL-6 level on the control group for the first day was 67.76 pg/ml, and after the fifth day, the level decreased to 54.43 pg/ml. There seemed to be a decrease in the IL-6, but it was not statistically significant (P=0.502). On the fifth day, the treatment group showed an average IL-6 level of 34.36 pg/ml. This value was lower than that of the control group which did not receive pulmonary rehabilitation having an IL-6 level of 54.43 pg/ml, even though it was not statistically significant (p=0.221). Conclusion: This study concluded that pulmonary rehabilitation as an adjunctive therapy shortened length of stay by 2.25 days for community-acquired pneumonia patients in a non-intensive room. Both groups experienced a decrease in IL-6 level on the fifth day in comparison with the first day even though it was not statistically significant P>0,05. IL-6 level as an inflammation biomarker decreased on the fifth day of treatment which was in accordance with improvement on pneumonia patients.

Keywords: community-acquired pneumonia, interleukin-6, length of stay, pulmonary rehabilitation

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Authors: Charuvan Kasemsap

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This research was studied in Bangnampriao District, Chachernsao Province, Thailand. The primary data relating to flooding, drought, and saline intrusion problem on agriculture were collected by surveying, focus group, and in-depth interview with agricultural officers, technical officers of irrigation department, and local government leader of Bangnampriao District. The likelihood and consequence of risk were determined the risk index by risk assessment matrix. In addition, the risk index and the total coping capacity scores were investigated the vulnerability index by vulnerability matrix. It was found that the high-risk drought and saline intrusion was dramatically along Bang Pakong River owing to the end destination of Chao Phraya Irrigation system of Central Thailand. This leads yearly the damage of rice paddy, mango tree, orchard, and fish pond. Therefore, some agriculture avoids rice growing during January to May, and also pumps fresh water from a canal into individual storage pond. However, Bangnampriao District will be strongly affected by the impacts of climate change. Monthly precipitations are expected to decrease in number; dry seasons are expected to be more in number and longer in duration. Thus, the risk and vulnerability of agriculture are also increasing. Adaptation strategies need to be put in place in order to enhance the resilience of the agriculture.

Keywords: agriculture, bangnampriao, climate change, risk assessment

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Authors: Parastou Kharazmi

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In this paper, rehabilitation methods for pipeline by advanced polymeric coating such as relining are reviewed. A number of diverse methods which are globally used are described and a brief summary of advances in technology, methods and materials is provided. The paper explains why it is claimed that sewerage rehabilitation with relining in residential buildings is environmentally friendly and economical, the importance of the quality control procedure is discussed and several quality tests are proposed.

Keywords: buildings, composite, material, renovation

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Authors: Chaudhary Muhammad Aqdus Ilyas, Matthias Rehm, Kamal Nasrollahi, Thomas B. Moeslund

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This paper presents the investigation of data collection procedures, associated with robots when placed with traumatic brain injured (TBI) patients for rehabilitation purposes through facial expression and mood analysis. Rehabilitation after TBI is very crucial due to nature of injury and variation in recovery time. It is advantageous to analyze these emotional signals in a contactless manner, due to the non-supportive behavior of patients, limited muscle movements and increase in negative emotional expressions. This work aims at the development of framework where robots can recognize TBI emotions through facial expressions to perform rehabilitation tasks by physical, cognitive or interactive activities. The result of these studies shows that with customized data collection strategies, proposed framework identify facial and emotional expressions more accurately that can be utilized in enhancing recovery treatment and social interaction in robotic context.

Keywords: computer vision, convolution neural network- long short term memory network (CNN-LSTM), facial expression and mood recognition, multimodal (RGB-thermal) analysis, rehabilitation, robots, traumatic brain injured patients

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Authors: W. Wararam, K. Angchanpen, T. Pattamapitoon, K. Chunkao, O. Phewnil, M. Srichomphu, T. Jinjaruk

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The research focused on the efficiency for treating high organic wastewater from pla-som production process by anaerobic tanks, oxidation ponds and constructed wetland treatment systems (APCW). The combined system consisted of 50-mm plastic screen, five 5.8 m3 oil-grease trap tanks (2-day hydraulic retention time; HRT), four 4.3 m3 anaerobic tanks (1-day HRT), 16.7 m3 oxidation pond no.1 (7-day HRT), 12.0 m3 oxidation pond no.2 (3-day HRT), and 8.2 m3 constructed wetland plot (1-day HRT). After washing fresh raw fishes, they were sliced in small pieces and were converted into ground fish meat by blender machine. The fish meat was rinsed for 8 rounds: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7 by tap water and 4 and 8 by rice-wash-water, before mixing with salt, garlic, steamed rice and monosodium glutamate, followed by plastic wrapping for 72-hour of edibility. During pla-som production processing, the rinsed wastewater about 5 m3/day was fed to the treatment systems and fully stagnating storage in its components. The result found that, 1) percentage of treatment efficiency for BOD, COD, TDS and SS were 93, 95, 32 and 98 respectively, 2) the treatment was conducted with 500-kg raw fishes along with full equipment of high organic wastewater treatment systems, 3) the trend of the treatment efficiency and quantity in all indicators was similarly processed and 4) the small pieces of fish meat and fish blood were needed more than 3-day HRT in anaerobic digestion process.

Keywords: organic substance, Pla-Som family industry, wastewater, APCW system

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Authors: Inalegwu Stephany Akipu

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Before the advent of Colonialists on the shores of Nigeria between the 16th and 17th Centuries, there existed the traditional systems of governance which was successful with Women as active participants. However, the current state of politics in Nigeria reveals an obvious absence of women in the Country’s governance. Being that the economy rests on the quality of leaders and their constructive contribution to the plight of the masses, it becomes pertinent to exhaust all the avenues that may be open to good governance-women inclusive. It is against this backdrop that this paper attempts to compare the machinery that were in place in pre-colonial Nigerian governance that aided the womenfolk to successfully reign or assist in leadership with the seeming lack of interest by women in present times. Factors that militate against the women will also be highlighted. Furthermore, suggestions are made on how to revive these successful traditional systems of governance. The paper concludes by emphasising the role of women as the needed catalysts for this aforementioned rehabilitation of traditional systems and the impact of media in achieving this feat.

Keywords: catalysts, governance, media, rehabilitation

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Authors: J. Hroudova, J. Zach, L. Vodova

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When insulation and rehabilitation of structures is important to use quality building materials with high utility value. One potentially interesting and promising groups of construction materials in this area are advanced, thermally insulating plaster silicate based. With the present trend reduction of energy consumption of building structures and reducing CO2 emissions to be developed capillary-active materials that are characterized by their low density, low thermal conductivity while maintaining good mechanical properties. The paper describes the results of research activities aimed at the development of thermal insulating and rehabilitation material ongoing at the Technical University in Brno, Faculty of Civil Engineering. The achieved results of this development will be the basis for subsequent experimental analysis of the influence of thermal and moisture loads developed on these materials.

Keywords: insulation materials, rehabilitation materials, lightweight aggregate, fly ash, slag, hemp fibers, glass fibers, metakaolin

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Authors: Honey Bryant, Elvina Chu

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Stroke is the leading cause of disability in adults in Canada and directly related to depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders; with an estimated annual cost of $50 billion in health care. Strokes not only impact the individual but society as a whole. Current stroke rehabilitation does not include Music Therapy, although it has success in clinical research in the use of stroke rehabilitation. This study examines the use of neurologic music therapy (NMT) in conjunction with stroke rehabilitation to improve sleep quality, reduce stress levels, and promote neurogenesis. Existing research on NMT in stroke is limited, which means any conclusive information gathered during this study will be significant. My novel hypotheses are a.) stroke patients will become less depressed and less anxious with improved sleep following NMT. b.) NMT will reduce stress levels and promote neurogenesis in stroke patients admitted for rehabilitation. c.) Beneficial effects of NMT will be sustained at least short-term following treatment. Participants were recruited from the in-patient stroke rehabilitation program at Providence Care Hospital in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. All participants-maintained stroke rehabilitation treatment as normal. The study was spilt into two groups, the first being Passive Music Listening (PML) and the second Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT). Each group underwent 10 sessions of intensive music therapy lasting 45 minutes for 10 consecutive days, excluding weekends. Psychiatric Assessments, Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), Hospital Anxiety & Depression Rating Scale (HADS), and Music Engagement Questionnaire (MusEQ), were completed, followed by a general feedback interview. Physiological markers of stress were measured through blood pressure measurements and heart rate variability. Serum collections reviewed neurogenesis via Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and stress markers of cortisol levels. As this study is still on-going, a formal analysis of data has not been fully completed, although trends are following our hypotheses. A decrease in sleepiness and anxiety is seen upon the first cohort of PML. Feedback interviews have indicated most participants subjectively felt more relaxed and thought PML was useful in their recovery. If the hypothesis is supported, larger external funding which will allow for greater investigation of the use of NMT in stroke rehabilitation. As we know, NMT is not covered under Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP), so there is limited scientific data surrounding its uses as a clinical tool. This research will provide detailed findings of the treatment of neuropsychiatric aspects of stroke. Concurrently, a passive music listening study is being designed to further review the use of PML in rehabilitation as well.

Keywords: music therapy, psychotherapy, neurologic music therapy, passive music listening, neuropsychiatry, counselling, behavioural, stroke, stroke rehabilitation, rehabilitation, neuroscience

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Authors: Mehrdad Kamali-Sanzighi, Maziar Kamali-Sanzighi

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The aim of this research was to study zooplankton community density, diversity and Saprobi index in carp ponds at Golestan province, Gonbade Kavous city, Iran. Zooplankton sampling was done monthly in each pond during one carp culture time. Our analysis showed 27 genus from 4 groups (Protozoa 12, Rotatoria 8, Copepoda 4 and Cladocera 3). The highest and lowest frequency of zooplankton groups were belongs to Rotatoria, Copepoda, Cladocera and Protozoa with 46, 28, 23 and 3 percent, respectively. No significant differences between saprobi index of six carp ponds (P>0.05) were observed. Saprobi index indicated Class ßmesosaprob for six analysis ponds. There was a general tendency to decrease and significantly in the saprobi index with the value range of 1.52-1.70 from the beginning to end of the culture season (P<0.05). Also, gradual improvement of water quality observed toward the end of culture period and these reasons are partly a result of natural and management processed such as seasons changes (climate), water exchange (replacement of water) and pause of introduce of fertilizer materials to the ponds. According to the ability of saprobi index in monitoring of water quality condition and health of different water resources, focus to similar kind of effective research is necessary in future time.

Keywords: zooplankton, saprobi pollution index, water quality, fish pond, east of Golestan Province

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Authors: Abu S. M. G. Kibria, Alison M. Behie, Robert Costanza, Colin Groves, Tracy Farrell

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This study is aimed to understand the level of access and the influence of livelihood capitals in maintaining access and control of ecosystem services (ESS) in the Sundarbans, Bangladesh. Besides the villagers, we consider other stakeholders including the forest department, coast guard, police, merchants, pirates and villagers who ‘controlled’ or ‘maintained’ access to ESS (crab catching, shrimp fry, honey, shrimp, mixed fish, fuel wood) in this region. Villagers used human, physical, natural and social capitals to gain access to ESS. The highest level of access was observed in crab catching and the lowest was found in honey collection, both of which were done when balancing the costs and benefits of accessing one ESS against another. The outcomes of these ongoing access negotiations were determined by livelihood capitals of the households. In addition, it was often found that the certain variables could have a positive effect on one ESS and a negative effect on another. For instance, human, social and natural capitals (eldest daughter’s education and No. of livelihood group membership and) had significant positive effects on honey collection while two components of human and social capitals including ‘eldest son’s education’ and ‘severity of pirate problem’ had exactly the opposite impact. These complex interactions were also observed in access to other ESS. It thus seems that access to ESS is not anything which is provided, but rather it is achieved by using livelihood capitals. Protecting any ecosystem from over exploitation and improve wellbeing can be achieved by properly balancing the livelihood capital-access nexus.

Keywords: provisioning services, access level, livelihood capital, interaction, access gain

Procedia PDF Downloads 259