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This study aimed to determine the associations of childhood exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) and parabens (PBs) with oxidative stress and the activity of outer hair cells (OHCs) in the cochlea of children with hearing loss (HL). A total of 641 children were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Urinary concentrations of BPA and four PBs including methyl paraben (MP), ethyl paraben (EP), propyl paraben (PP), and butyl paraben (BP) were quantified by using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MSMS). Four urinary biomarkers of oxidative stress, 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), 8-nitroguanine (8-NO2Gua), 4-hydroxynonenal mercapturic acid (HNE-MA), and 8-isoprostaglandin F2α (8-iso-PGF2α), were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Hearing tests were conducted by an audiologist in the audiometric test room, and the results were confirmed by an otolaryngologist. The activity of OHCs in the cochlea was measured by distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs). The associations of BPA/PB exposure and oxidative stress with the activity of OHCs at different frequencies were evaluated in the multivariable linear regression models. There were 91 children with HL, for an incidence of approximately 14.2 %. There was a significant negative association between the presence of EP (1.5 K Hz, 3 K Hz) or PP (2 K Hz) or 8-OHdG (1 K Hz, 1.5 K Hz, 2 K Hz) and the activity of OHCs in the left ear. Significant results were also observed for BPA (2 K Hz), MP (1 K Hz, 1.5 K Hz, 2 K Hz), EP (3 K Hz), and 8-OHdG (2 K Hz) in the right ear. This study revealed that exposure to BPA/PBs reduces the activity of OHCs, especially at middle frequencies, in children.

Highlights 1. This is a meta-analysis to evaluate the relationship between secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in both adults and children. 2. Our meta-analysis revealed a significantly positive association between SHS exposure and possible OSA in children and adults. 3. Both smoking in mothers and fathers are associated with significantly higher risk of OSA in children.

The rapid development of mobile Internet technology has brought about the flourishing growth of social media live streaming. This study employs social presence theory as the primary framework to investigate the impact of Facebook Live’s features of sociality, immediacy, and entertainment on users’ sense of presence. These features were then considered within the dimensions of awareness, emotion, and cognition. The influence of social presence on user engagement behaviors was divided into browsing behavior, interactive behavior, and creative behavior. Using snowball sampling, an online survey was administered to Facebook Live users, and 416 valid responses were collected. The research team used software to analyze the data, primarily encompassing descriptive statistics, reliability and validity analyses, structural equation modeling, and mediation effects testing. The research findings are as follows. First, the media characteristics of Facebook Live significantly influence the sense of presence. Specifically, sociality, immediacy, and entertainment on Facebook Live have a notable impact on users’ awareness, emotion, and cognition. Second, different dimensions of social presence have distinct effects on various user engagement behaviors. Notably, the dimensions of awareness, emotion, and cognition of social presence positively affect users’ browsing and interactive behaviors, while emotion influences users’ creative behavior. The third finding was that awareness, emotion, and cognition act as intermediates between Facebook Live’s media characteristics and user engagement behaviors. Implications are discussed.

The advent of virtual reality technology has provided a new approach for assessing and training cognitive processing ability, with the design of simulations used to replicate real events in everyday lives. To better understand how head mounted displays/flat screen displays (HMDs/FSDs) and differences in the individuals who use them affect cognitive performance and the use of VR systems, our research group created the Stroop task-embedded virtual reality driving system (STEVRDS) and conducted a 2 × 2 between-group factorial design experiment among college students. The study examined the effects of HMDs and FSDs that differ in monovision/stereovision and field of view, the impact of gender (males vs. females) on users' performances in virtual driving and Stroop trials, and users' psychophysiological responses while using the system. The participants' subjective perceptions toward STEVRDS were also assessed to support the analyses/interpretations of cognitive performance, as well as provide empirical data relating to user experiences. The statistical analyses showed both main and interaction effects of HMDs/FSDs and gender on task performance, psychophysiological responses, and user evaluations of the system. The psychophysiological patterns exhibited during the use of STEVRDS further extended the findings. Overall, our results were comparable with cognitive phenomena reported in other studies/in real-life experiences or explained by logical reasoning, which suggests that the design/development of the STEVRDS is suitable for cognitive assessment/training. Practical implications are discussed for the application of HMDs and FSDs in evaluating and enhancing cognitive processing ability and the need for specific tailoring for male and female users.

This research intends to understand whether users would adopt the interactive interface of hand gesture recognition for XRSPACE MANOVA in the virtual-reality environment. Different from the traditional joystick control and external sensors, XRSPACE MANOVA’s hand gesture recognition relies on cameras built into the head-mount display to detect users’ hand gestures and interact with the system to provide a more life-like immersive experience. To better understand if users would accept this hand gesture recognition, the current experiment compares users’ experiences with hand gesture recognition and joystick control for XRSPACE MANOVA while controlling for the effects of gender, college major, and the completion time. The results suggest that users of hand gesture recognition have better perceptions of enjoyment, satisfaction, and confirmation, which means that they have a relatively fun and satisfying experience and that their expectations of the system/technology confirm their actual usage. Based on the parametric statistical analyses, user assessments show that perceived usefulness, perceived ease-of-use, attitude, and perception of internal control suggest that, in terms of operating performance, users are more accepting of the traditional joystick control. When considering the length of usage time, this study finds that, when hand gesture recognition is used for a relatively longer time, users’ subjective evaluations of internal control and behavioral intention to use are reduced. This study has, therefore, identified potential issues with hand gesture recognition for XRSPACE MANOVA and discussed how to improve this interactive interface. It is hoped that users of hand gesture recognition will obtain the same level of operating experience as if they were using the traditional joystick control.

We study numerically the effects of a viscous fluid seabed on wave scattering with a solid obstacle of rectangular shape fixed at the free surface, on the seafloor, or internally within the water layer. The computational model is based on OpenFOAM and it is validated using existing analytical solutions for waves encountering an obstacle on a solid bed and available experimental data for waves propagating over a muddy seabed with no obstacles. With the consideration of a solid obstacle on a viscous fluid bottom, we examine the corresponding transformations of incident, reflected, and transmitted wave components. The velocity field near the obstacle and the wave forces exerted on the obstacle are also analyzed. Our simulations show that all wave components experience significant amplitude attenuation caused by the viscous fluid bed. For both surface and bottom obstacles, the presence of an obstacle enhances the damping of reflected waves. When an internally submerged obstacle is considered, transmitted waves are the most affected due to a prominent vortex generated in the lee of the obstacle. Patterns of the velocity field in the vicinity of the obstacle are shown to be controlled mainly by the obstacle with some modulations in magnitude and wavelength contributed by the viscous fluid bed. In view of the vertical wave force on the obstacle surface, both a phase shift and decrease in magnitude are observed. These findings enhance our understanding of the underlying physical processes in the wave–obstacle–mud problems. More studies are still needed in order to provide the necessary technical tools for the engineering design of coastal structures in muddy marine environments.

The researchers of this study designed a new virtual reality (VR)-assisted training system, IFOREAL, for gynecology students at their university and introduced it to potential trainees. Two versions of IFOREAL, each employing different devices, were developed. The consumer version uses a traditional LCD display and computer mouse, whereas the professional version utilizes a head-mounted display (HMD) and joystick controller for the virtual learning. Trainees watched simulated videos and interacted with the system to accomplish tasks. IFOREAL consists of several major learning modules of gynecology. This study used the normal spontaneous delivery module to research user experience and perceptions of the IFOREAL VR training system. The results suggested that most of the trainees' user experiences and perceptions of IFOREAL, using both the types of VR-assisted technology, were positively reported. Trainees who used the consumer version of IFOREAL perceived a stronger internal control, whereas trainees using the professional version perceived a better sense of virtual presence. Overall, trainees perceived the usefulness of the IFOREAL system which predicted their future intention to use the system and other similar VR-assisted training systems for learning. Furthermore, whether the virtual content of IFOREAL grabbed the trainees' attention predicted their future intenon to use professional devices of HMD/joysck for learning other subjects. The gender difference was also explored in the study. Generally speaking, female trainees gave better evaluations of IFOREAL compared to their male counterparts. They perceived a better internal control while using the consumer version than the professional version. Male trainees believed that the gadgets used in the professional version provided a better virtual presence and met their expectation of a virtual experience better. This study suggested that different versions of IFOREAL could serve trainees' different needs. Technology developers and trainers should tailor the application of different VR devices to assist with the training/learning in accordance with different conditions/trainees.

Background/Aims: Intermittent hypoxia (IH) has been shown to exert preconditioning-like cardioprotective effects. It also has been reported that IH preserves intracellular pH (pHi) during ischemia and protects cardiomyocytes against ischemic reperfusion injury. However, the exact mechanism is still unclear. Methods: In this study, we used proton indicator BCECF-AM to analyze the rate of pHi recovery from acidosis in the IH model of rat neonatal cardiomyocytes. Neonatal cardiomyocytes were first treated with repetitive hypoxia-normoxia cycles for 1-4 days. Cells were then acid loaded with NH4Cl, and the rate of pHi recovery from acidosis was measured. Results: We found that the pHi recovery rate from acidosis was much slower in the IH group than in the room air (RA) group. When we treated cardiomyocytes with Na+-H+ exchange (NHE) inhibitors (Amiloride and HOE642) or Na+-free Tyrode solution during the recovery, there was no difference between RA and IH groups. We also found intracellular Na+ concentration ([Na+]i) significantly increased after IH exposure for 4 days. However, the phenomenon could be abolished by pretreatment with ROS inhibitors (SOD and phenanathroline), intracellular calcium chelator or Na+-Ca2+ exchange (NCX) inhibitor. Furthermore, the pHi recovery rate from acidosis became faster in the IH group than in the RA group when inhibition of NCX activity. Conclusions: These results suggest that IH would induce the elevation of ROS production. ROS then activates Ca2+-efflux mode of NCX and results in intracellular Na+ accumulation. The rise of [Na+]i further inhibits the activity of NHE-mediated acid extrusion and retards the rate of pHi recovery from acidosis during IH.

The current experimental study examined whether different degrees of immersive and interactive experience made a difference in users’ perceptions and intention to adopt a novel VR-based MR training system. In this paper, virtual reality was used as an educational technology that allowed users to virtually rotate 3-D objects and helped to enhance their spatial ability, which would be particularly useful in future careers in STEM. A 2 (display) $\times \,\, 2$ (controller) $\times \,\, 2$ (gender) experimental design was conducted. Researchers used a 2-D monoscopic display and a stereoscopic display to manipulate two different conditions of immersion, while a computer mouse and a hand-held controller were applied to measure the effects from two different levels of interactivity. Gender was examined due to prior research suggesting that males were better at MR tasks than females. The dependent variables were various perceptions and behavioral intentions developed from relevant theories in technology acceptance. The results showed that users’ positive perceptions and intention to use the novel MR system were amplified whenever better immersive and interactive experiences were provided simultaneously, or when the inferior immersive and interactive experiences were offered at the same time. Females under a better immersive environment perceived better feelings of enjoyment, confirmation, satisfaction, and behavioral intention, compared with their male counterparts. Theoretical contributions in perceptions and use intention of educational technology, with a specific focus on VR, were discussed. Practical implications for developers of educational technology and K-12/college educators were provided.

In this paper, we demonstrate an innovative electromagnetic targeting system utilizing a passive magnetic-flux-concentrator for tracking endobronchoscope used in the diagnosis process of lung cancer tumors/lesions. The system consists of a magnetic-flux emitting coil, a magnetic-flux receiving electromagnets-array, and high permeability silicon-steel sheets rolled as a collar (as the passive magnetic-flux-concentrator) fixed in a guide sheath of an endobronchoscope. The emitting coil is used to produce AC magnetic-flux, which is consequently received by the receiving electromagnets-array. Due to the electromagnetic-induction, a voltage is induced in the receiving electromagnets-array. When the endobronchoscope’s guide sheath (with the silicon-steel collar) travels between the emitting coil and the receiving electromagnets-arrays, the magnetic flux is concentrated by the silicon-steel collar and thereby the induced voltage is changed. Through analyzing the voltage−pattern change, the location of the silicon−steel collar with the guide sheath is targeted. For testing, a bronchial-tree model for training medical doctors and operators is used to test our system. According to experimental results, the system is successfully verified to be able to target the endobronchoscope in the bronchial-tree model. The targeting errors on the x-, y- and z-axes are 9 mm, 10 mm, and 5 mm, respectively.

The World Health Organization predicts that, by 2050, 400 million people will be aged 80 years or more. In Japan and Taiwan, many elderly persons have health problems but live alone and require long-term medical care. Living and caring for the elderly persons at home is a critical issue that governments in many countries need to pay attention to. The most common safety incident for elderly persons at home is falling. Previous research groups have used video cameras to monitor falls in elderly persons. The use of cameras may cause privacy intrusions, for example if the person being monitored is in the bathroom or toilet. In this study, we used IoT technology to monitor the heart rate data of an elderly person on a smart phone and issue a fall notification when the elderly person is at home. We installed the pulse detection sensor inside the shoe, obtained the heart rate data from the toes, and uploaded these data to a cloud storage space. If an elderly person falls and an abnormal heart rate is detected at the same time, the system will send a warning message to the caregiver or family member through LINE Notify. Caregivers or family members can check the heart rate status of the elderly at home at any time through a mobile application after receiving the notification. Through this study, we effectively improved the function of smart care (e-Health) through the fall warning notification and heart rate monitoring for elderly persons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]