Search

Despite the rising interest in open access (OA) diamond journals as a scholarly journal publishing model, their sustainability remains a pressing concern. Using the Open Access Diamond Journals Study (OADJS) Dataset, we examined the characteristics and factors of OA diamond journal publishing that are associated with high sustainability. From 1335 journals, 476 journals with low sustainability and 438 journals with high sustainability were selected and compared. Our analysis revealed that factors such as the region and official language of the publishing country and the discipline, ownership, and financial status of the journal were significantly associated with sustainability. Journals owned by government or national agencies, those with financial stability, and those promoting open practices like unrestricted text and data mining are more likely to be sustainable. This study also discusses the implications of these findings for the future of scholarly publishing and the open science movement. Ultimately, we emphasize the need for national and international support to enhance the sustainability of OA diamond journals and propose that a collective approach involving policymakers, funding agencies, and journal administrators is crucial for fostering a sustainable open access ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is insufficient evidence on the effect of nanoparticles, particularly liposomes loaded with a statin, on acute ischemic stroke. We investigated the impact of atorvastatin-loaded PEG (polyethylene glycol) conjugated liposomes (LipoStatin) on the outcomes in rats with cerebral ischemia–reperfusion. PEGylated liposome loaded with atorvastatin was developed as a nanoparticle to specifically accumulate in an ischemic region and release the drug to ameliorate the harmful effects of the stroke. LipoStatin was administered to rats with transient middle cerebral artery occlusion through the tail vein immediately after reperfusion (LipoStatin group). LipoStatin efficiently accumulated at the cerebral ischemic injury site of the rat. The LipoStatin group showed a significantly reduced infarct volume (p < 0.01) in brain micro-MR imaging and improved neurological function recovery compared to the control group (p < 0.05). In addition, markedly improved brain metabolism using fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose micro-PET/CT imaging was demonstrated in the LipoStatin group compared with the control group (p < 0.01). Mechanistically, as a result of evaluation through IL-1 beta, TNF-alpha, ICAM-1, and Iba-1 mRNA expression levels at 5 days after cerebral ischemia, LipoStatin showed significant anti-inflammatory effects. Protein expression of occludin, JAM-A, Caveolin-1, and eNOS by western blot at 3 days and fluorescent images at 7 days showed considerable recovery of blood–brain barrier breakdown and endothelial dysfunction. PEGylated LipoStatin can be more effectively delivered to the ischemic brain and may have significant neuroprotective effects. Thus, PEGylated LipoStatin can be further developed as a promising targeted therapy for ischemic stroke and other major vascular diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Targeted delivery of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) to an area of a blood vessel with fluidic flow is hampered by the lack of a suitable real‐time imaging modality for MNPs, the control system complexity, and low targeting performance. Herein, an offline programming guidance (OLPG) scheme for aggregated MNPs is proposed based on a real‐time aggregation volume estimator. The proposed aggregation volume estimator based on a magnetic drug‐targeting simulator reflects volume changes of aggregated MNPs; hence, it can model a magnetic force acting on aggregated MNPs in real time while enhancing targeting performance. The proposed guidance system is evaluated using a simulation testbed and in vitro model of the rat brain, which yields comparable results at different fluid viscosities, flow velocities, target areas, and flow types. The OLPG with the aggregation volume estimator improves targeting performance by 116%–409% compared with the default mode, and by 111%–180% compared to the performance without the aggregation volume estimator. Furthermore, a guidance margin predicts enhanced targeting performance (root‐mean‐square error < 5%) irrespective of the flow environment. The proposed guidance strategy has the potential to overcome the problems caused by the lack of an imaging modality, control‐system complexity, and low targeting performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To enhance open access (OA) journal publishing environments, this study proposed and applied a diagnostic framework for OA journal publishing. The framework includes three dimensions: OA policy establishment and disclosure, OA sustainability and journal openness quality. By applying this framework to nine OA journals in the field of science and technology in Korea, challenges faced by OA publishing were uncovered. For the dimension of OA policy establishment and disclosure, it was found that participants had lower perceptions of the importance of OA‐related financial disclosure and archiving policies compared with copyright policies. The dimension of OA sustainability was recognized as critical among participants. Finance was recognized as the most critical component of OA sustainability. Financial sources were mostly internal funding and article processing charges (APC), and participants perceived the current financial status of their journal positively. However, they were concerned about long‐term financial security. For the journal openness quality dimension, the participants were hesitant in disclosing reviews and reviewers, which can facilitate the prevention of fake peer review of predatory journals. Based on the findings, the article discusses how the challenging issues identified could be addressed. The results of this study may provide a guide for OA policy and OA system development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to provide user-centered evidence for health professionals to make optimal use of images for the effective dissemination of health information on Facebook (FB). Design/methodology/approach: Using an eye-tracking experiment and a survey method, this study examined 42 participants' reading patterns as well as recall and recognition outcomes with 36 FB health information posts having various FB post features. Findings: The findings demonstrated that FB posts with text-embedded images received more attention and resulted in the highest recall and recognition. Meanwhile, compared to text-embedded images, visual only images yielded less effective recall of information, but they caught the viewers' attention; graphics tended to attract more attention than photos. For effective communication, the text features in FB posts should align with the formats of the images. Practical implications: The findings of this study provide practical implications for health information disseminators by suggesting that text-embedded images should be used for effective health communication. Originality/value: This study provided evidence of users' different viewing patterns for FB health information posts and the relationship between FB post types and recall and recognition outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetic heat-based brain stimulation of specific lesions could promote the restoration of impaired motor function caused by chronic stroke. We delivered localized stimulation by nanoparticle-mediated heat generation within the targeted brain area via focused magnetic stimulation. The middle cerebral artery occlusion model was prepared, and functional recovery in the chronic-phase stroke rat model was demonstrated by the therapeutic application of focused magnetic stimulation. We observed a transient increase in blood–brain barrier permeability at the target site of < 4 mm and metabolic brain activation at the target lesion. After focused magnetic stimulation, the rotarod score increased by 390 ± 28% (p < 0.05) compared to the control group. Standardized uptake value in the focused magnetic stimulation group increased by 2063 ± 748% (p < 0.01) compared to the control group. Moreover, an increase by 24 ± 5% (p < 0.05) was observed in the sham group as well. Our results show that non-invasive focused magnetic stimulation can safely modulate BBB permeability and enhance neural activation for chronic-phase stroke treatment in the targeted deep brain area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetic particle imaging (MPI) is an emerging noninvasive molecular imaging method that can image the concentration and position of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles. Its applications in the biomedical field are increasing rapidly. However, the scalability of MPI is the major barrier to its clinical use at the moment. For a large bore size of MPI, it is important to achieve a high magnetic gradient for high image resolution with a large field-of-view (FOV) while allowing fast scanning and high sensitivity. In this article, we present a small-rabbit-scale three-dimensional (3-D) amplitude modulation (AM) MPI system with a bore size of 90 mm and a high magnetic gradient of up to 4 T/m/μ0. The AM MPI with a soft core can allow a large FOV and good resolution while minimizing the peripheral nerve stimulation constraint and hardware requirements. This new design guideline and optimum design parameters of 3-D AM MPI for scalability were suggested and verified by simulation and experimental studies to allow fast scanning with high resolution and high sensitivity while avoiding vibration and heating issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although regional journals publish high‐quality research in diverse languages, research published in non‐English‐speaking countries (NESC) tends to have lower international visibility. By outlining the characteristics of SCOPUS journals published in NESC, this study aimed to inform regional scholarly communities interested in internationalizing their journals. A list of 294 SCOPUS journals in the Library and Information Science (LIS) field was extracted from the SCOPUS database; 39.12% of SCOPUS LIS journals (115 journals) were published in NESC. After excluding journals published in English‐speaking countries as well as journals published by international commercial publishers, this study analysed the characteristics of 62 journals. Forty‐eight (77.42%) of the 62 analysed journals were open access (OA) journals, and 37 (77.08%) of which were diamond OA journals. Although journals from NESC had relatively lower impact, journals that primarily used English (journal homepage, specified manuscript language) had higher impact than non‐English journals. This article discusses the importance of supporting OA (including diamond) journals to ensure international access of NESC journals, the limitations of this study, including relying on the SCOPUS LIS journals and quantitative analysis, and an agenda for future research regarding the internationalization of regional journals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Likelihood of Neisseria gonorrhoeae (Ng) infection in women exposed to male sex partners with increasing Ng burdens and enhancement by Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) is not defined.Methods: We identified men with urethritis and their regular female sex partners. Exposure to Ng burdens present in men was compared in Ng-infected versus -uninfected partners. Association of Ng infection in women with burdens in male partners was estimated using logistic regression. Association of Ct coinfection and Ng burdens in women adjusted for burdens in male partners was estimated by linear regression.Results: 1816 men were enrolled; 202 had ≥ 2 partners, 91 who confirmed monogamy and were enrolled; 77% were married. Seventy were partners of Ng-infected men; 58 (83%) were Ng-infected, 26 (45%) Ct-coinfected. Infected women had partners with 9.3-fold higher Ng burdens than partners of uninfected women (p = 0.0041). Association of Ng infection in women with upper quartiles of Ng burdens in partners increased (Odds Ratios ≥ 2.97) compared to the first quartile (p = 0.032). Ng burdens in Ct-coinfected women were 2.82 fold higher than in Ct-uninfected women (p = 0.036).Conclusion: Ng infections increased in women whose partners were infected with higher Ng burdens. Ct coinfection was associated with increased Ng burdens in women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to understand how artificial Intelligence (AI) and related technologies are currently being utilized in public and academic libraries and how librarians perceive the adoption of new technologies in their relative libraries. Design/methodology/approach: Using an online survey questionnaire, the authors collected survey responses from both public and academic librarians that were subscribed to information science-centered listservs in North America. The quantitative survey responses (N = 242) were measured through use of multiple chi-square tests and crosstab analyses. Findings: The current use and awareness of AI and related technologies were more reported from academic librarians; however, public librarians' reported perceptions on such technologies were generally more positive. In all, 67% of them responded that AI and related technologies will transform the library's functions, and 68% of librarians reported that they are interested in training. This study discussed the significance of training for preparing librarians for AI and related technologies and the further examination on the role of librarians in the new era. Originality/value: This study examined public and academic librarians' perceptions toward the adoption of six emerging technologies which often appear in the LIS literature as well as addressed as the Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Performance of trunk rehabilitation exercises while sitting on movable surfaces with feet on the ground can increase trunk and leg muscle activations, and constraining the feet to move with the seat isolates control of the trunk. However, there are no detailed studies on the effects of these different leg supports on the trunk and leg muscle activations under unstable and forcefully perturbed seating conditions. We have recently devised a trunk rehabilitation robot that can generate unstable and forcefully perturbed sitting surfaces, and can be used with ground-mounted or seat-connected footrests. In this study, we have evaluated the differences in balance performance, trunk movement and muscle activation (trunk and legs) of fourteen healthy adults caused by the use of these different footrest configurations under the different seating scenarios. The center of pressure and trunk movement results show that the seat-connected footrest may be a more suitable choice for use in a balance recovery focused rehabilitation protocol, while the ground-mounted footrest may be a more suitable choice for a trunk movement focused rehabilitation protocol. Although it is difficult to make a clear selection between footrests due to the mixed trends observed in the muscle activation results, it appears that the seat-connected footrest may be preferable for use with the unstable seat as it causes greater muscle activations. Furthermore, the results provide limited evidence that targeting of a particular muscle group may be possible through careful selection of the seat and footrest conditions. Therefore, it may be possible to utilize the trunk rehabilitation robot to maximize the training outcomes for a wide range of patients through careful selection of training protocols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The photo-physical properties of metal nano clusters are sensitive to their surrounding medium. Fluorescence enhancement, quenching, and changes in the emitted photon properties are usual events in the sensing applications using these nano materials. Combining this sensitivity with unique properties of self-assembled structures opens new opportunities for sensing applications. Here, we synthesized gold nanoclusters by utilizing phenylalanine amino acid as both capping and reducing molecule. Phenylalanine is able to self-assemble to rod-shaped nano structure in which the π–π interaction between the aromatic rings is a major stabilizing force. Any substance as iodide anion or molecule that is able to weaken this interaction influence the fluorescence of metal nano-clusters. Since the building blocks of the self-assembled structure are made through the reaction of gold ions and phenylalanine, the oxidized products and their effect of sensing features are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) exhibiting certain superparamagnetic properties are optimal for drug delivery because they facilitate imaging and targeting of biological interactions at the cellular and molecular levels. In terms of monitoring, magnetic particle imaging (MPI) yields real-time MNPs position and concentration data, and guides MNPs to desired positions if an actuation function is available. Here, we describe a new, user-driven steering scheme for MNPs based on a virtual field free point (FFP). The scheme utilizes a general MPI system, with no need for additional hardware. The scheme facilitates interactive user manipulation with real-time imaging and MNPs actuation within the body. An FFP with four coils is used to model the resultant magnetic force and a virtual FFP to linearize that force with respect to the relative positions of the MNPs and the real FFP. Simulations and experiments confirm that the direction and magnitude of the forces exerted on MNPs via manipulation of the virtual FFP are controllable. An intuitive guidance system featuring real-time MPI at 2 Hz and user-driven virtual FFP manipulation (via a computer mouse) is employed to show that MNPs trajectories can be controlled. Our MPI-based navigation platform allows the user to effectively guide MNPs using real-time visual feedback, facilitating targeted drug delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There are significant variabilities in guideline-concordant documentation in asthma care. However, assessing clinician's documentation is not feasible using only structured data but requires labor-intensive chart review of electronic health records (EHRs). A certain guideline element in asthma control factors, such as review inhaler techniques, requires context understanding to correctly capture from EHR free text.Methods: The study data consist of two sets: (1) manual chart reviewed data-1039 clinical notes of 300 patients with asthma diagnosis, and (2) weakly labeled data (distant supervision)-27,363 clinical notes from 800 patients with asthma diagnosis. A context-aware language model, Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) was developed to identify inhaler techniques in EHR free text. Both original BERT and clinical BioBERT (cBERT) were applied with a cost-sensitivity to deal with imbalanced data. The distant supervision using weak labels by rules was also incorporated to augment the training set and alleviate a costly manual labeling process in the development of a deep learning algorithm. A hybrid approach using post-hoc rules was also explored to fix BERT model errors. The performance of BERT with/without distant supervision, hybrid, and rule-based models were compared in precision, recall, F-score, and accuracy.Results: The BERT models on the original data performed similar to a rule-based model in F1-score (0.837, 0.845, and 0.838 for rules, BERT, and cBERT, respectively). The BERT models with distant supervision produced higher performance (0.853 and 0.880 for BERT and cBERT, respectively) than without distant supervision and a rule-based model. The hybrid models performed best in F1-score of 0.877 and 0.904 over the distant supervision on BERT and cBERT.Conclusions: The proposed BERT models with distant supervision demonstrated its capability to identify inhaler techniques in EHR free text, and outperformed both the rule-based model and BERT models trained on the original data. With a distant supervision approach, we may alleviate costly manual chart review to generate the large training data required in most deep learning-based models. A hybrid model was able to fix BERT model errors and further improve the performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A subgroup of patients with asthma has been reported to have an increased risk for asthma-associated infectious and inflammatory multimorbidities (AIMs). To systematically investigate the association of asthma with AIMs using a large patient cohort, it is desired to leverage a broad range of electronic health record (EHR) data sources to automatically identify AIMs accurately and efficiently.Methods: We established an expert consensus for an operational definition for each AIM from EHR through a modified Delphi technique. A series of questions about the operational definition of 19 AIMS (11 infectious diseases and 8 inflammatory diseases) was generated by a core team of experts who considered feasibility, balance between sensitivity and specificity, and generalizability. Eight internal and 5 external expert panelists were invited to individually complete a series of online questionnaires and provide judgement and feedback throughout three sequential internal rounds and two external rounds. Panelists' responses were collected, descriptive statistics tabulated, and results reported back to the entire group. Following each round the core team of experts made iterative edits to the operational definitions until a moderate (≥ 60%) or strong (≥ 80%) level of consensus among the panel was achieved.Results: Response rates for each Delphi round were 100% in all 5 rounds with the achievement of the following consensus levels: (1) Internal panel consensus: 100% for 8 definitions, 88% for 10 definitions, and 75% for 1 definition, (2) External panel consensus: 100% for 12 definitions and 80% for 7 definitions.Conclusions: The final operational definitions of AIMs established through a modified Delphi technique can serve as a foundation for developing computational algorithms to automatically identify AIMs from EHRs to enable large scale research studies on patient's multimorbidities associated with asthma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to understand how college students' personal and health-related characteristics are related to their reading behaviors and cognitive outcomes of Facebook health information through eye tracking data and cognitive outcomes. Design/methodology/approach: This study analyzed users' gaze movement data and results of recall and recognition tests to investigate users' reading patterns and their consequences with cognitive outcomes. The gaze movements are analyzed with eye tracking data including the average fixation count and time to first fixation. Findings: The results of reading patterns show that Texts and Images are highly viewed and viewed immediately by participants when the posts were presented. There was no clear pattern with fixation counts to determine cognitive outcomes. However, the findings of study suggest that there is a clear pattern of reading Facebook posts with areas of interest (AOIs). Among five AOIs observed, participants viewed Images first and then Texts when a Facebook post is presented. On the other hand, they read Texts more carefully than Images. The findings of this study suggest that while images contribute to gaining users' attention, a clear and precise message needs to be delivered in text message to ensure readers' correct understanding and application of health information. Originality/value: The user-centered evidence on reading behaviors and cognitive outcomes will make contributions to how health professionals and health organizations can make optimal use of Facebook for effective health information communication. Peer review: The peer-review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-05-2020-0177 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conventional cane (single cane) is widely used to promote gait ability of stroke survivors as it provides postural stability by extending the base of support. However, its use can reduce muscle activity in the user’s paretic side and cause upper limb neuropathies due to the intermittent and excessive loading of the upper limb. The provision of low magnitude support and speed regulation may result in collective improvement of gait parameters such as symmetry, balance and muscle activation. In this paper, we developed a robotic Haptic Cane (HC) that is composed of a tilted structure with motorized wheels and sensors to allow continuous haptic contact with the ground while moving at a regulated speed, and carried out gait experiments to compare the HC with an Instrumented conventional Cane (IC). The results show that use of the HC involved more continuous ground support force of a comparatively lesser magnitude than the IC, and resulted in greater improvements in the swing symmetry ratio and significant improvements in the step length symmetry ratio. Percentage of Non-Paretic Activity (%NPA) of paretic muscles (vastus medialis obliquus (VMO), semitendinosus (SMT), tibialis anterior (TBA) and gastrocnemius medialis (GCM)) in swing phase was significantly improved by the use of either device at fast speed. However, the use of HC improved %NPA of paretic VMO and SMT more than the use of IC at both preferred and fast speeds. It also significantly improved %NPA of paretic GCM in stance phase. Furthermore, comfortable speed with the HC was higher than with the IC and exhibited better RMS of anteroposterior (AP) tilt. Thus, the developed device with a simple and intuitive mechanism can provide efficient assistance for overground gait of stroke patients with a high possibility of widespread use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve an immersive virtual reality (VR) environment, omnidirectional treadmills (ODTs) allow users to perform locomotion in any direction. However, existing ODTs are heavy and complex, and operate at low speeds. This limits fast user motion and prevents natural interactions in real applications such as military training programs and interactive games. In this paper, we introduce a novel locomotion interface device with running capability, which uses an omnidirectional treadmill with a new power transmission mechanism and a locomotion controller that enables the user to make fast movements. As a result of the improved power transmission performance due to the simple and relatively lightweight structure, the proposed two-dimensional treadmill can generate a maximum speed of 3 m/s, with an acceleration of 3 m/s2. Moreover, through a pilot test with the proposed locomotion interface device, we verified that the fast directional changes during walking and running with the designed speed adaptation controller do not exceed the acceleration performance of the proposed system. Due to its wide range of movement speeds and acceleration capabilities, and lack of any motion constraints, the proposed locomotion interface device with a novel ODT can be used as a representative platform in various VR environments to enhance the immersive experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the status of data citation guidelines by analysing 15 style manuals and 100 data repositories in various fields. Analysis results are presented through a comparison with eight items in the Joint Declaration of Data Citation Principles (JDDCP). Only nine style manuals and only 20 repositories contain instructions regarding data citation. The guidelines generally agree on the importance of the author, publication date, title, and publisher, but there is large variation between the different guides. Analysis of the guidelines revealed that they generally reflect the principles of the JDDCP. In particular, the principle of Credit and Attribution is significantly reflected in style manuals and data repositories and supports one of the major motivations for data sharing. The principles of Unique Identification, Access, and Persistence are less well supported in data citation guidelines. However, the principles of Importance, Evidence, Specificity and Verifiability, and Interoperability and Flexibility are rarely supported. The findings of this study reveal that better guidelines are required, and future work could investigate developing and assessing the standard guidelines for data citation in different fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Targeted drug delivery using magnetic particles (MPs) and external magnets for focusing them at the diseased regions, called magnetic drug targeting (MDT), is a next-generation therapeutic method that is being continually improved. However, most existing magnetic systems cannot focus MPs in the targeted region due to there not being enough magnetic capturing force and absence of schemes to generate localized high magnetic field at the wall of the target region. This paper suggests a novel scheme to utilize half of a static saddle potential energy configuration generated using four electromagnets that not only enhances the pushing magnetic forces but also simultaneously generates pushing and attracting forces in the desired direction to help focus spherical MPs on the wall of the target region. Furthermore, by changing amplitudes or directions of the currents, the focal point in the target region can be changed. Through extensive simulations and in vitro experiments, we demonstrate that half of a static saddle magnetic potential energy configuration can be successfully utilized to attract and focus MPs at the wall of a target region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A magnetic drug-targeting system featuring real-time imaging, guidance, and local heating is required for more precise drug targeting and minimization of side effects. In this article, we present a novel electromagnetic navigation and heating system that not only guides and navigates magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) with real-time imaging feedback, but also uses focused MNP heating to release drugs while monitoring the temperature. The magnetic field amplitude and magnetic gradient play key roles in our integrated system; we enhanced the gradient and field within a field of view of 30 × 30 mm. Performance was examined via simulation employing COMSOL Multiphysics software and verified experimentally. After optimization, the maximum gradients attained on the x and y axes are 4.15 and 2.23 T/m/μ0, respectively, for the electromagnetic actuator mode, and 8.48 T/m/μ0 for the magnetic particle imaging mode. The magnetic field amplitude for heating was 19.70 mT at 100 kHz. We then built a two-dimensional MNPs navigation/heating system to demonstrate the in vitro feasibility of our scheme; this afforded a 1-Hz navigation update rate during MNPs guidance in a Y-shaped channel and locally heated MNPs with temperature monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, a novel lower extremity gait rehabilitation device with a single actuator is presented. The proposed device, Mech-Walker, utilizes the single-degree of freedom eight-bar Jansen's mechanism. The mechanism is synthesized to generate the ankle trajectory of human gait, relative to the hip, in terms of both position and time. Two mechanisms, one for each leg, are applied reciprocally and are mechanically synchronized to guarantee symmetric gait. A custom designed seat-type weight support system mounted over a commercially available treadmill is also introduced. It not only supports the user and the mechanisms but also links the mechanism's base to the subject's hip. This vertically movable base allows ground contact proprioception for the user which is crucial in gait training. As this is a nonanthropomorphic design interacting with the leg only at hip and ankle via seat and footrest, respectively, it does not need to be aligned with the subject's joints, which facilitates the donning and doffing of the device. Adjustability of mechanism to different users has also been considered to provide an effective training tool. A prototype is manufactured, and pilot study with a healthy subject is conducted. Due to ease of control, cost-effectiveness, and high intrinsic safety, the proposed system potentially offers a novel tool for gait training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many international business researchers have made strenuous efforts to examine the influences of strategic leadership capabilities on organizational performance. However, when it comes down to latecomer firms from the Asia-Pacific region, there have been very few attempts to illuminate how the strategic role and capabilities of CEOs and top management teams are crucial to achieve successful internationalization. This, in turn, poses a substantial challenge to account for the case of RT Mart in one of the most competitive global market from the systematic framework of latecomer pathways. The main findings of the study suggest that a comprehensive perspective is needed on strategic leadership and its developmental process in explaining the success of challenger firms outperforming the incumbents. The changing context and micro foundation of the company is critical step in organizational transformation, rooted in leadership capabilities and activities, including absorptive and adaptive capacity, social intelligence, and capacity to leverage resource. It signifies the synergy effect of the four variables in the function of temporality and stages with the relative strength of the capacity to leverage resource by filling the gaps between the global and local dimensions, and by providing room for exploration and experimentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetic drug targeting has emerged as a promising approach for enhancing the efficiency of drug delivery. Recent developments in real-time monitoring techniques have enabled the guidance of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) in the vascular network. Despite recent developments in magnetic navigation, no comprehensive strategy for swarm of nanoparticles steering under fluid flow exists. This paper introduces a strategy for MNPs steering in a vascular network under fluid flow. In the proposed scheme, the swarm of nanoparticles are initially guided to an area that guarantees their successful guidance towards a desired direction (called safe zone) using an asymmetrical field function to handle swarm of nanoparticles. Then, a transporter field function is used to transfer the particles between the safe zones, and finally a sustainer field function is used to keep the particles within the safe zone. A steering algorithm is proposed to enhance the targeting performance in the multi-bifurcation vessel. Utilizing the proposed concept, a high success rate for targeting is achieved in simulations, which demonstrates the potential and limitations of swarm of nanoparticles steering under fluid flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the main challenges in the reduction of the electromagnetic wave is to develop lightweight absorber material with a wide absorption frequency. Hence, developing shielding materials that could shield electromagnetic radiation to prevent interference is highly desired for protection. The combination between the unique properties of polyamide (PA6) with free surfactant magnetite nanoparticle as core/shell nanofibers (PA6 @ Fe3O4) provides a promising low-cost, environmentally-friendly and electromagnetic shielding properties. Free surfactant magnetite nanoparticles (39 ± 3.5 nm average size) were prepared by the co-precipitation process and incorporated directly into the polyamide solution before the electrospinning technique. The mean average size of the prepared magnetite nanoparticles is compared based on X-ray diffraction (XRD), dynamic light scattering (DLS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The morphology, thermal stability and magnetic behavior of the resultant magnetite nanofibers (150 ± 25 nm average size) were investigated using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), respectively. Shielding effectiveness for magnetite polyamide core/shell nanofibers was measured at frequency 30 MHz–1.5 GHz. The results showed that core/shell nanofibers provide not only well-dispersed magnetite nanoparticles in the polyamide matrix but also controllable sized nanofibers with high magnetization. In addition, even with low magnetite loading of 1.7%, the fabricated nanofiber shows high thermal stability with good performance as electromagnetic shielding nanofiber. Therefore, magnetite polyamide core/shell nanofiber could be considered as a promising material for shielding application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to examine current trends and patterns of North Korea's knowledge production in science and technology (S&T) by employing scientometrics analysis. In order to capture the distinctive nature and characteristics of S&T activities in the Global South, this study analyzes co-occurring keywords of papers in the North Korean journal titled Technological Innovation to construct and visualize semantic and network structure of scientific knowledge. Although S&T has long been emphasized as an important means of rebuilding the economy and society in the country, research and development (R&D) activities have been veiled in the shadows, mainly due to difficulties in accessing adequate data and information. The results found that the terms "use" and "method" are predominately associated with a variety of keywords concerning urgent domestic issues regarding energy resources, agriculture, virus, and industrial automation. This pattern of knowledge production is manifested in the national S&T policy framework that has primarily focused on applied and problem-solving knowledge and techniques responding to social and economic needs. While North Korea has embraced S&T as a strategic means to cope with challenges encountered in its autarkic economy, a close and interactive relationship has established between science, technology and society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetic particle imaging (MPI) is a fast and sensitive technique for imaging of magnetic nanoparticle (MNP) concentrations. MPI directly measures and maps the particle concentration over a measured spatial position. Functional MPI (fMPI) is a specific application of MPI that aims to detect the change of cerebral blood volume (CBV) through imaging. Assuming that the concentration of MNPs in the CBV is uniform, the resultant concentration of MNPs can indicate the CBV changes. Magnetic particle spectroscopy (MPS) is basically a zero-dimensional MPI scanner which can be used to conduct spectroscopic studies and fMPI. In this letter, we suggest an MPS for fMPI with a bore size of 50 mm compatible with rat head dimensions. The system utilizes 0.015 T magnetic field at a frequency of 29.5 kHz and uses an integrated method to measure the small iron component of magnetic particles. Based on the integrated output signal, the MPS consisting of an excitation coil and a gradiometer coil with three parts—a receive coil, a cancellation coil, and a calibration coil—can detect down to 25 ng of Fe. The suggested MPS has demonstrated the achievement of sensitivity that is feasible for fMPI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Major changes of an aircraft configuration are conducted during the early design stage. It is important to include the airworthiness regulations at this stage while there is extensive freedom for designing. The purpose of this paper is to introduce an efficient design framework that integrates airworthiness guidelines and documentation at the early design stage. Design/methodology/approach: A new design and optimization process is proposed that logically includes the airworthiness regulations as design parameters and constraints by constructing a certification database. The design framework comprises requirements analysis, preliminary sizing, conceptual design synthesis and loads analysis. A design certification relation table (DCRT) describes the legal regulations in terms of parameters and values suitable for use in design optimization. Findings: The developed framework has been validated and demonstrated for the design of a Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) 23 four-seater small aircraft. The validation results show an acceptable level of accuracy to be applied during the early design stage. The total mass minimization problem has been successfully solved while satisfying all the design requirements and certification constraints specified in the DCRT. Moreover, successful compliance with FAR 23 subpart C is demonstrated. The proposed method is a useful tool for design optimization and compliance verifications during the early stages of aircraft development. Practical implications: The new certification database proposed in this research makes it simpler for engineers to access a large amount of legal documentation related to airworthiness regulations and provides a link between the regulation text and actual design parameters and their bounds. Originality/value: The proposed design optimization framework integrates the certification database that is built of several types of legal documents such as regulations, advisory circulars and standards. The Engineering Requirements and Guide summarizes all the documents and design requirements into a single document. The DCRT is created as a summary table that indicates the design parameters affected by a given regulation(s), the design stage at which the parameter can be evaluated and its value bounds. The introduction of the certification database into the design optimization framework significantly reduces the engineer's load related for airworthiness regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Variations in biofeedback coding schemes for postural control, in recent research, have shown significant differences in performance outcomes due to variations in coding schemes. However, the application of vibrotactile biofeedback coding schemes to gait symmetry training is not well explored. In this paper, we devised various vibrotactile biofeedback modes and identified their efficacy during gait symmetry training of individuals suffering from hemiparesis due to stroke. These modes are composed of variations in vibration type (on-time or intensity), and relation type (proportional or inversely-proportional) with the error in symmetry ratio. Eight individuals with stroke participated in walking trials. From dependent t-tests on the collected data, we found improved achievement of temporal gait symmetry while utilizing all the provided biofeedback modes compared to no biofeedback (P < 0.001). Furthermore, two-way repeated measures ANOVA revealed statistically significant difference in symmetry ratio for main effect of vibration type (P-value = 0.016, partial eta squared = 0.585). The participants performed better with modes of biofeedback with varying vibration on-times. Furthermore, participants showed better performance when the biofeedback varied proportionally with the error. These findings suggest that biofeedback coding schemes may have a significant effect on the performance of gait training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated how Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) data from the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) was cited in the scholarly literature. It addressed the following research questions: (1) What patterns of citations exist among authors of research articles using HINTS data? and (2) How is the citation format of HINTS data characterized? We collected scholarly articles that used HINTS data as primary or secondary data for analysis from Web of Science databases and HINTS publications on the NCI website. Among the resulting 250 articles, we identified citations to HINTS data themselves (data citations) and those to HINTS‐related documents (data‐related citations). Among the 250 articles, 156 articles (62.4%) cited HINTS data or HINTS‐related documents; only 29 articles (11.6%) cited HINTS data, while 127 (50.8%) cited HINTS‐related documents. Both data and data‐related citations increased over time. Data citation format varied, and 13 different compositions of citation elements were identified. Author, Title, and Location (URL) were common elements. The frequent use of URLs is undesirable due to URL instability. Furthermore, the data citations showed not only various compositions of citation elements but also ill‐defined element formats. Standardized citation formats are therefore needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stimulated by the Panmunjom Declaration on April 27, 2018, the authors have started identifying valid data sources and reliable standard methods to step inside North Korea. Taking a North Korea national approach to innovative capabilities, this research explores the status and structural characteristics of institutional collaboration during the year 2015. To accomplish this, the study takes a network analysis using co-authored publications in order to uncover the configuration of interaction based on the development of collaborative networks among various actors beyond the political sector. Data were obtained from a North Korean publication with a particular focus on innovation. Results show that while the political system strongly coordinates the North Korean innovation system, better linkage of research and production is needed in science-based problems, including better collaboration between universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leadership, although commonly assumed to be greatly significant, is not typically studied in terms of structural characteristics accounted for in organizational performance. The effect of top executive leadership is explored here as a key factor that reflects organizational characteristics by offering a new framework and presenting an empirical test of Korean business firms. This research can be possibly made by focusing on the size of the leadership which explicates the difference between structural, resource and contextual variables in organizations. The multivariate regression analysis shows that firm size, leadership, debt and export significantly affect organizational performance, as measured by net income. The mechanism of Korean business firms needs to readjust to the new environment for organizational performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the web-based automated disease-related topic extraction system, called to DiTeX, which monitors important disease-related topics and provides associated information. National disease surveillance systems require a considerable amount of time to inform people of recent outbreaks of diseases. To solve this problem, many studies have used Internet-based sources such as news and Social Network Service (SNS). However, these sources contain many intentional elements that disturb extracting important topics. To address this challenge, we employ Natural Language Processing and an effective ranking algorithm, and develop DiTeX that provides important disease-related topics. This report describes the web front-end and back-end architecture, implementation, performance of the ranking algorithm, and captured topics of DiTeX. We describe processes for collecting Internet-based data and extracting disease-related topics based on search keywords. Our system then applies a ranking algorithm to evaluate the importance of disease-related topics extracted from these data. Finally, we conduct analysis based on real-world incidents to evaluate the performance and the effectiveness of DiTeX. To evaluate DiTeX, we analyze the ranking of well-known disease-related incidents for various ranking algorithms. The topic extraction rate of our ranking algorithm is superior to those of others. We demonstrate the validity of DiTeX by summarizing the disease-related topics of each day extracted by our system. To our knowledge, DiTeX is the world’s first automated web-based real-time service system that extracts and presents disease-related topics, trends and related data through web-based sources. DiTeX is now available on the web through . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are a promising candidate for use as carriers in drug delivery systems. A navigation system with real-time actuation and monitoring of MNPs is inevitably required for more precise targeting and diagnosis. In this paper, we propose a novel electromagnetic navigation system with a coil combined with a soft magnetic core. This system can be used for magnetic particle imaging (MPI) and electromagnetic actuator functions with a higher steering force and enhanced monitoring resolution. A soft magnetic core with coils can increase the magnetic gradient field. However, this also generates harmonic noise, which makes it difficult to acquire MNP monitoring signals with MPI. Therefore, the use of amplitude modulation magnetic particle imaging (AM MPI) is suggested. AM MPI uses a low-amplitude excitation field combined with a low-frequency drive field. Using this system, the measured signal becomes less sensitive to the soft magnetic core. Based on the new MPI scheme and the combination of the coil with the magnetic cores, the proposed navigation system can implement one-dimensional (1-D) MNP navigation and 2-D MPI. The proposed navigation system can shorten the 1-D guidance time by about 25% for MNPs in the size range of 45–60 nm and give an improved 2-D imaging resolution of 43%, compared with an air-coil structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Responding to the disparities in accessing and obtaining health information and healthcare among immigrant populations, the present study focused on Asian Americans. Using a sample that reflects Asian Americans' cultural and linguistic diversities, the goal was to explore the typologies of health information source and their predictability to unmet healthcare needs (i.e., the experience of not being able to get needed medical care).Methods: Data were drawn from the 2015 Asian American Quality of Life Survey (N = 2,592), conducted using culturally and linguistically sensitive approaches. Latent class analysis on nine sources of health information across interpersonal networks (family members, close friends, acquaintances, and health professionals) and Internet-based communication technologies (mobile apps, email listservs, social networking sites, online communities, and health websites) identified six classes: 'resource-heavy,' 'human-oriented,' 'expertise-focused,' 'family-dominant,' 'resource-scarce,' and 'health professional-dominant.'Results: Compared to the resource-heavy group, the odds of having an unmet healthcare need were 2.94 times greater in the family-dominant group and 4.13 times greater in the resource-scarce group.Discussion: Findings provide implications for interventions with respect to subgroups to be prioritized and areas to be targeted in efforts to promote access and acquisition of health information and health services in Asian Americans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aging, injury, or ailments can contribute to impaired balance control and increase the risk of falling. Provision of light touch augments the sense of balance and can thus reduce the amount of body sway. In this study, a wearable reaction wheel-based system is used to deliver light touch-based balance biofeedback on the subject’s back. The system can sense torso tilt and, using reaction wheels, generates light touch. A group of 7 healthy young individuals performed balance tasks under 12 trial combinations based on two conditions each of standing stance and surface types and three of biofeedback device status. Torso tilt data, collected from a waist-mounted smartphone during all the trials, were analyzed to determine the efficacy of the system. Provision of biofeedback by the device significantly reduced RMS of mediolateral (ML) trunk tilt (p<0.05) and ML trunk acceleration (p<0.05). Repeated measures ANOVA revealed significant interaction between stance and surface on reduction in RMS of ML trunk tilt, AP trunk tilt, ML trunk acceleration, and AP trunk acceleration. The device shows promise for further applications such as virtual reality interaction and gait rehabilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetic drug targeting is a promising technique that can deliver drugs to the diseased region, while keeping the drug away from healthy parts of body. Introducing a human in the control loop of a targeted drug delivery system and using inherent bilateralism of a haptic device at the same time can considerably improve the performance of targeted drug delivery systems. In this paper, we suggest a novel intelligent haptic guidance scheme for steering a number of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) using forbidden region virtual fixtures and a haptic rendering scheme with multi particles. Forbidden region virtual fixtures are a general class of guidance modes implemented in software, which help a human-machine collaborative system accomplish a specific task by constraining a movement into limited regions. To examine the effectiveness of our proposed scheme, we implemented a magnetic guided drug delivery system in a virtual environment using a physics-based model of targeted drug delivery including a multi-branch blood vessel and realistic blood dynamics. We performed user studies with different guidance modes: unguided, semi virtual fixture and full virtual fixture modes. We found out that the efficiency of targeting was significantly improved using the forbidden region virtual fixture and the proposed haptic rendering of MNPs. We can expect that using intelligent haptic feedback in real targeted drug delivery systems can improve the targeting efficiency of MNPs in multi-branch vessels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The blood--brain barrier (BBB) hinders drug delivery to the brain. Despite various efforts to develop preprogramed actuation schemes for magnetic drug delivery, the unmodeled aggregation phenomenon limits drug delivery performance. This paper proposes a novel scheme with an aggregation model for a feed-forward magnetic actuation design. A simulation platform for aggregated particle delivery is developed and an actuation scheme is proposed to deliver aggregated magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) using a discontinuous asymmetrical magnetic actuation. The experimental results with a Y-shaped channel indicated the success of the proposed scheme in steering and disaggregation. The delivery performance of the developed scheme was examined using a realistic, three-dimensional (3D) vessel simulation. Furthermore, the proposed scheme enhanced the transport and uptake of MNPs across the BBB in mice. The scheme presented here facilitates the passage of particles across the BBB to the brain using an electromagnetic actuation scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Robot-assisted rehabilitation systems have shown promising advantages over traditional therapist-based methods. The type of the controller has an important role in the efficiency of such systems. In this regard, this paper presents a new assist-as-needed (AAN) controller for 4-cable planar robots. The main purpose is to design a bounded-input AAN controller with an adjustable assistance level and a guaranteed closed-loop stability. The proposed controller involves the advantages of both the model-based and non-model-based AAN controllers, and in this way can increase the efficiency of rehabilitation. The controller aims to follow a desired trajectory by allowing an adjustable tracking error, which enables the human subject to freely move the target limb inside this error area. This feature of the controller gives an important advantage over the existing model-based controllers. The controller also compensates for the dynamic modeling uncertainties of the system through an adaptive neural network. The adaptive term includes a forgetting factor to adjust the assistance level of neural network term. The stability of the closed-loop system is analysed, and the uniformly ultimately bounded stability is proven. The effectiveness of the proposed control scheme is validated through simulations conducted for gait rehabilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rotor speed control of wind turbines is a key factor in achieving the maximum power of wind. It is known that a high-performance controller can significantly increase the amount of energy that can be captured from this source. The main problem regarding this issue is the lack of information about the correct dynamic model of the system. This uncertainty of the model is generally associated with unknown parameters (structured uncertainty) and/or external disturbances (unstructured uncertainty). Some adaptive and robust control approaches are developed in the literature in order to deal respectively with structured and unstructured uncertainties. In this paper, to compensate for both types of uncertainty, a robust controller, which includes an adaptive feedforward term, is proposed to track the optimal speed. In addition to considering the uncertainties, another advantage of the presented approach is that, using a smooth control effort, it provides global asymptotic tracking. A complete stability proof of the system is presented, and simulation results illustrate the effectiveness of the controller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Triple Helix Model has been used for science-mapping in research collaboration since the 1980s. As knowledge-producing activities have rapidly expanded and become interrelated, the triple helix framework is limited in uncovering a broader range of stakeholders and multilateral collaborative activities. In this vein, the present study employs the N-tuple Helix Model as a suitable alternative to analyze the structure of scientific collaboration networks beyond university-industry-government (UIG) relations. The networks of N-tuple Helix relations embedded in Sino-Korean research collaboration are examined in terms of five actors, such as universities, industries, governments, hospitals, and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). The results found that the quintuple helical network exists in Sino-Korean research collaboration. While traditional UIG actors play a pivotal role, hospital and NGO sectors emerge as new drivers for knowledge production and innovation. Each sector is significantly associated with the others and plays distinctive roles and functions. The overall findings provide new insight into a possible change in the traditional Triple Helix framework by demonstrating an alternative 'five-helix model' of innovation as a new evolving structure and new dynamic of international collaboration in science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. This study investigated trends in the health information-seeking behaviour of the U.S. foreign-born population over a ten-year period and examined whether health information disparities between this population and native-born citizens have decreased. Method. Data were collected from six iterations of the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS): HINTS 2 (2005), HINTS 3 (2007), HINTS 4 Cycle 1 (2011), Cycle 2 (2012), Cycle 3 (2013), and Cycle 4 (2014). Analysis. The percentage distribution of all variables across the foreign-born and native-born populations was examined using Chi/squared analysis. Results. Increasing rates of health information-seeking in foreign-born populations as well as Internet use for health information-seeking were observed over the ten-year period. However, compared with the U.S.-born population, the foreign-born population was consistently less likely to seek health information or to use the Internet as its first source for health information and had more difficulty understanding found information. Conclusion. Since the foreign-born population exhibits persistent disparities in accessing and using health information, efforts should be focused on enhancing the accessibility of online health information to this population and improving health information literacy to facilitate use of this information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a robust tracking controller is designed for fully constrained cable-driven parallel robots (CDPRs). One of the main challenges of controller design for this type of robotic systems is that the cables should always be in tension, where this tension is generally generated through an actuator mechanism coupled with gearboxes. On the other hand, the presence of parametric and nonparametric modeling uncertainties is a common problem in designing a precise nonlinear tracking controller for these manipulators. To deal with these problems, in this paper two separate controllers are designed for the subsystems of the robot. First, an adaptive robust feedback controller with an adaptive feedforward term is designed for the dynamics of the CDPR, constituting the outer-loop dynamics. This controller is robust with respect to the modeling uncertainties of the system. Furthermore, the output of this controller is bounded, which guarantees a saturated desired input for the inner-loop dynamics. Next, a high-gain robust controller is developed for the inner-loop dynamics, which include the actuator-gearbox model. The stability of the overall system is analyzed through a theory of cascaded systems, and it is shown that the system is uniformly practically asymptotically stable. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme is validated through simulations on a 4-cable planar robot in both nominal and perturbed conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]