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Background: The ActiPASS software was developed from the open-source Acti4 activity classification algorithm for thigh-worn accelerometry. However, the original algorithm has not been validated in children or compared with a child-specific set of algorithm thresholds. This study aims to evaluate the accuracy of ActiPASS in classifying activity types in children using 2 published sets of Acti4 thresholds. Methods: Laboratory and free-living data from 2 previous studies were used. The laboratory condition included 41 school-aged children (11.0 [4.8] y; 46.5% male), and the free-living condition included 15 children (10.0 [2.6] y; 66.6% male). Participants wore a single accelerometer on the dominant thigh, and annotated video recordings were used as a reference. Postures and activity types were classified with ActiPASS using the original adult thresholds and a child-specific set of thresholds. Results: Using the original adult thresholds, the mean balanced accuracy (95% CI) for the laboratory condition ranged from 0.62 (0.56–0.67) for lying to 0.97 (0.94–0.99) for running. For the free-living condition, accuracy ranged from 0.61 (0.48–0.75) for lying to 0.96 (0.92–0.99) for cycling. Mean balanced accuracy for overall sedentary behavior (sitting and lying) was ≥0.97 (0.95–0.99) across all thresholds and conditions. No meaningful differences were found between the 2 sets of thresholds, except for superior balanced accuracy of the adult thresholds for walking under laboratory conditions. Conclusions: The results indicate that ActiPASS can accurately classify different basic types of physical activity and sedentary behavior in children using thigh-worn accelerometer data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mental illnesses such as depression are typically neurologically related psychological disorders that affect people's mood, thinking and behavior. As the number of students who are concerned about their mental health continues to rise, depression has emerged as a mental health concern that has a significant impact on both students' academic performance and overall lives. To identify depression in students at an earlier stage, the purpose of this study was to provide a potentially unique approach. An approach to the detection of mental illnesses that is based on deep learning networks is proposed in this paper. First, facial expression and physical activity data are utilized for detecting depression. Second, the transformer model is utilized to extract the characteristics of the individual's physical behavior, and the multiregional attention network (MRAN) is utilized to extract the characteristics of the individual's emotions. The information that is obtained from the two modalities is complementary. Finally, at the fusion stage, this work applies the classification prediction of depression and nondepression (normal) at the decision level. This is done to ensure that the respective modal properties that were learned by the two channels are preserved in their entirety. We have demonstrated that our strategy is highly effective by performing experimental validation using a dataset that we developed ourselves. It is possible to identify depression in children at an earlier stage with the help of this effective remedy. It is anticipated that the findings of this study will provide an efficient screening tool for depression to educational institutions and organizations that focus on mental health, hence assisting students in receiving essential assistance and intervention at an earlier stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES: Both high and low levels of occupational physical activity are associated with back pain. Thus, there might be a “sweet- and sour-spot” of occupational physical activity for back pain. Our aim was to investigate if there exists an occupational physical activity “sweet- (lowest risk) and sour-spot” (highest risk) for back pain. METHODS: A total of 396 eldercare workers from 20 Danish nursing homes participated. Occupational physical activity was measured between 1–4 working days using thigh-worn accelerometry. Back pain intensity was reported monthly on a scale from 0–10 over 1-year. A zero-inflated mixed-effects model was developed regressing occupational physical activity against back pain, adjusted for confounders. The “sweet- and sour-spot” were defined as the occupational physical activity compositions (sitting, standing, light, and moderate-to-vigorous) associated with the 5% lowest and highest risk for back pain, respectively. RESULTS: The composition associated with the lowest risk of back pain – the “sweet-spot”– consisted of 71% worktime spent sitting, 18% spent standing, 5% spent on light physical activity and 6% spent on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. The composition associated with highest risk for back pain –the “sour-spot”– consisted of 8% worktime spent sitting, 66% spent standing, 4% spent on light physical activity, and 21% spent on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. CONCLUSIONS: The “sweet-spot” of occupational physical activity for back pain among eldercare workers involves more sitting and light physical activity time, while the “sour-spot” involves more standing and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity time. Research on the occupational physical activity “sweet- and sour-spot” is needed.

Abstract Background Physical behaviors such physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep are associated with mortality, but there is a lack of epidemiological data and knowledge using device-measured physical behaviors. Purpose To assess the feasibility of baseline data collection using the Prospective Physical Activity, Sitting, and Sleep consortium (ProPASS) protocols in the specific context of Saudi Arabia. ProPASS is a recently developed global platform for collaborative research that aims to harmonize retrospective and prospective data on device-measured behaviors and health. Using ProPASS methods for collecting data to perform such studies in Saudi Arabia will provide standardized data from underrepresented countries. Method This study explored the feasibility of baseline data collection in Saudi Arabia between November and December 2022 with a target recruitment of 50 participants aged ≥ 30 years. Established ProPASS methods were used to measure anthropometrics, measure blood pressure, collect blood samples, carry out physical function test, and measure health status and context of physical behaviors using questionnaires. The ActivPal™ device was used to assess physical behaviors and the participants were asked to attend two sessions at (LHRC). The feasibility of the current study was assessed by evaluating recruitment capability, acceptability, suitability of study procedures, and resources and abilities to manage and implement the study. Exit interviews were conducted with all participants. Result A total of 75 participants expressed an interest in the study, out of whom 54 initially agreed to participate. Ultimately, 48 participants were recruited in the study (recruitment rate: 64%). The study completion rate was 87.5% of the recruited participants; 95% participants were satisfied with their participation in the study and 90% reported no negative feelings related to participating in the study. One participant reported experiencing moderate skin irritation related to placement of the accelerometer. Additionally, 96% of participants expressed their willingness to participate in the study again. Conclusion Based on successful methodology, data collection results, and participants’ acceptability, the ProPASS protocols are feasible to administer in Saudi Arabia. These findings are promising for establishing a prospective cohort in Saudi Arabia.

This study assesses three factors that influence the quantification of children's and adolescents' physical activity (PA) using accelerometers: selection of (1) non-wear algorithm, (2) epoch length and (3) cut-points. A total of 1525 participants from MoMo wave 3 (2018–2022), aged 6–17 years, wore GT3X accelerometers (ActiGraph, LLC, Pensacola, FL, USA) during waking hours. Acceleration counts were reintegrated into lengths of 1, 5, 15, 30, and 60 s epochs. Two non-wear time algorithms and two sets of cut-points were applied to each epoch length. Differences were found in both the comparison of the non-wear time algorithms and the comparison of the cut-points when the different epoch lengths were considered. This may result in large differences in estimated sedentary behavior and PA values. We propose to pool the data by merging and combining multiple accelerometer datasets from different studies and evaluate them in a harmonized way in the future. In addition to the need for future validation studies using short epoch lengths for young children, we also propose to conduct meta-analyses. This allows the use of data from multiple studies to validate cut-points and to propose a consensual set of cut-points that can be used in different settings and projects. The high discrepancy between results when comparing different epoch lengths has to be considered when interpreting accelerometer data and is regarded a confounding variable when comparing levels of PA between studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Physical behaviors such physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep are associated with mortality, but there is a lack of epidemiological data and knowledge using device-measured physical behaviors. Purpose: To assess the feasibility of baseline data collection using the Prospective Physical Activity, Sitting, and Sleep consortium (ProPASS) protocols in the specific context of Saudi Arabia. ProPASS is a recently developed global platform for collaborative research that aims to harmonize retrospective and prospective data on device-measured behaviors and health. Using ProPASS methods for collecting data to perform such studies in Saudi Arabia will provide standardized data from underrepresented countries. Method: This study explored the feasibility of baseline data collection in Saudi Arabia between November and December 2022 with a target recruitment of 50 participants aged ≥ 30 years. Established ProPASS methods were used to measure anthropometrics, measure blood pressure, collect blood samples, carry out physical function test, and measure health status and context of physical behaviors using questionnaires. The ActivPal™ device was used to assess physical behaviors and the participants were asked to attend two sessions at (LHRC). The feasibility of the current study was assessed by evaluating recruitment capability, acceptability, suitability of study procedures, and resources and abilities to manage and implement the study. Exit interviews were conducted with all participants. Result: A total of 75 participants expressed an interest in the study, out of whom 54 initially agreed to participate. Ultimately, 48 participants were recruited in the study (recruitment rate: 64%). The study completion rate was 87.5% of the recruited participants; 95% participants were satisfied with their participation in the study and 90% reported no negative feelings related to participating in the study. One participant reported experiencing moderate skin irritation related to placement of the accelerometer. Additionally, 96% of participants expressed their willingness to participate in the study again. Conclusion: Based on successful methodology, data collection results, and participants' acceptability, the ProPASS protocols are feasible to administer in Saudi Arabia. These findings are promising for establishing a prospective cohort in Saudi Arabia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate structural analyses of continuous fiber-reinforced polymers (FRPs) are imperative for diverse engineering applications, demanding efficient material constitutive models. Nonetheless, the constitutive modeling of FRPs is complicated by the nonlinear behavior resulting from internal damages and the inherent plasticity. Consequently, this study presents an innovative anisotropic constitutive model for FRPs, designed to adeptly capture both the damage evolution and plasticity. All requisite parameters can be easily obtained through fundamental mechanical tests, rendering the model practical and user-friendly. The model utilizes the three-dimensional Puck criteria to determine damages, initiating the evolution process through a combination of continuum damage mechanics and linear stiffness attenuation methods. This evolution is coupled with a one-parameter plastic model. Subsequently, the numerical implementation method, integrated into ANSYS, is detailed. This emphasizes the Cauchy stress and consistent tangent stiffness solution strategy. Finally, the effectiveness of the developed model is demonstrated through comprehensive verification, encompassing existing biaxial tension and open-hole-tension tests conducted on carbon and glass FRP laminates. The simulation results exhibit a remarkable correspondence with the experimental data, validating the reliability and accuracy of the proposed model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ever since the COVID‐19 pandemic, working from home (WFH) has emerged as a common alternative work environment, but the possible influence on daily physical behavior (PB) (i.e., physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior (SB)) remains unclear. This study aimed to examine daily associations between PB and the work environment (i.e., WFH, working at the office (WAO)), as well as to explore and identify patterns of PB within each work environment. An observational study using a dual‐accelerometer system to continuously assess PB for at least 5 days was conducted. The sample consisted of 55 participants providing 276 days of assessment. Additional demographic, contextual, and psychological variables were measured via baseline questionnaire and several smartphone prompts per day. To analyze the effects of the work environment on PB, multilevel analyses were conducted. For the identification of patterns within each work environment, latent class trajectory modelling was applied. Associations between the work environment and various PA parameters were found, indicating that WFH has a negative effect on MVPA time, steps, and physical activity intensity (MET), but a positive effect on short PA bouts (≤5 min). No associations between the work environment and any SB parameter (i.e., SB time, SB breaks, SB bouts) were found. Latent class trajectory modelling revealed three MVPA patterns for days WFH, and two patterns for days WAO. Given the growing prevalence of WFH and the positive health effects associated with MVPA, daily‐tailored solutions to enhance MPVA while WFH are urgently needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disease and the primary cause of dementia worldwide. Despite the magnitude of AD's impact on patients, caregivers, and society, nearly all AD clinical trials fail. A potential contributor to this high rate of failure is that established clinical outcome assessments fail to capture subtle clinical changes, entail high burden for patients and their caregivers, and ineffectively address the aspects of health deemed important by patients and their caregivers. AD progression is associated with widespread changes in physical behavior that have impacts on the ability to function independently, which is a meaningful aspect of health for patients with AD and important for diagnosis. However, established assessments of functional independence remain underutilized in AD clinical trials and are limited by subjective biases and ceiling effects. Digital measures of real-world physical behavior assessed passively, continuously, and remotely using digital health technologies have the potential to address some of these limitations and to capture aspects of functional independence in patients with AD. In particular, measures of real-world gait, physical activity, and life-space mobility captured with wearable sensors may offer value. Additional research is needed to understand the validity, feasibility, and acceptability of these measures in AD clinical research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food processes have been requiring increasingly more accurately designed operations. Successful design results in products with high quality, in addition to offering energy and cost savings. To these ends, fundamental knowledge regarding the physical properties and thermodynamic mechanisms of the material is essential. The aim of this review was to highlight important concepts and applications of some thermophysical properties (density, specific heat, thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity), as well as recent methods for their determination. The rheology of fluids and solids is widely discussed according to the concepts, classification, modeling and applications involved in food and equipment design. Herein, we report destructive and non-destructive assays for the evaluation of food properties. Due to the complexity of food systems, the effects of modifications of the structure and physicochemical reactions on the quality of the resulting food are addressed based on thermodynamic aspects. This analytical perspective was adopted in food systems rich in fats, proteins, polysaccharides and simple sugars. Using the information reported in this study, formulations and unit operations can be better designed. In addition, process failures become more predictable when fundamental knowledge is available. Therefore, food losses can be avoided, quality can be maintained and operations can be effectively resumed when deviations from ideal conditions are evidenced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop 60-s epoch accelerometer intensity cut points for vertical axis count and vector magnitude (VM) output from hip-worn triaxial accelerometers among women 60–91 years old. We also compared these cut points against cut points derived by multiplying 15-s epoch cut points by four. Methods: Two hundred apparently healthy women wore an ActiGraph GT3X+ accelerometer on their hip while performing a variety of laboratory-based activities that were sedentary (watching television and assembling a puzzle), low light (washing/drying dishes), high light (laundry and dust mopping), or moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (400-m walk) intensity. Oxygen uptake was measured using an Oxycon portable calorimeter. Sedentary behavior and physical activity intensity cut points for vertical axis and VM counts were derived for 60-s epochs from receiver operating characteristic and by multiplying the 15-s cut points by four; both were compared with oxygen uptake. Results: The median age was 74.5 years (interquartile range 70–83). The 60-s epoch cut points for vertical counts were 0 sedentary, 1–73 low light, 74–578 high light, and ≥579 moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. The 60-s epoch cut points for VM were 0–88 sedentary, 89–663 low light, 664–1,730 high light, and ≥1,731 moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. For both sets of cut points, the receiver operating characteristic approach yielded more accurate estimates than the multiplication approach. Conclusion: The derived 60-s epoch cut points for vertical counts and VM can be applied to epidemiologic studies to define sedentary behavior and physical activity intensities in older adult populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emergency evacuation simulation is significant for architectural design and emergency plan implementation. To explore the influence of evacuees' physical behavior and evacuees' decisions on the evacuation process, as well as to address the problems of traditional emergency evacuation models with insufficient detail of the situation (realism), low reusability, poor operability, and lack of subsequent scalability, this paper first analyzed pedestrian characteristics in emergencies. To describe pedestrian decision-making in an emergent evacuation situation, a multi-agent design based on decision theory was proposed, solving the multi-agent decision-making problem in an emergency evacuation environment by the A* algorithm. Then the designed multi-agent was embedded into the social force model by AnyLogic software. Finally, the model reproduces the pedestrian evacuation process in an emergency evacuation situation on the built platform, depicting three kinds of typical behaviors: pedestrian partnering, obstacle avoidance, and exit competition. In addition, this study also analyzed a large student apartment building by example and proposed corresponding optimization solutions to improve its evacuation capacity through simulation results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

N -phenyl-phthalamic acid (PPA) is a new type of plant growth regulator that is widely utilized on fruit trees and crops in China. Understanding the physical and chemical behavior of PPA in plants is crucial for formulating application strategies and predicting potential environmental risks. This study investigated the uptake, translocation, and metabolism processes of PPA in pepper and wheat after different treatments. The roots of pepper and wheat can rapidly absorb and translocate PPA to the stems and leaves. In the 100 μg/mL treatment group, the PPA concentrations in the roots, stems, and leaves of pepper reached their maximum within 10 h after treatment, with 19.8, 2.4, and 2.9 mg/kg, respectively. Similar results can be detected in wheat. PPA can also be translocated from treated leaves to the entire plant in both pepper and wheat, and it tends to accumulate more in the upper leaves, with PPA mass percentages of 36.4 % and 36.9 % in the upper leaves of wheat and pepper, respectively, at 96 h. PPA is easily degradable in the plant body and seeds (the t 1/2 was 1.3–3.3 d). The above results indicate that PPA is easily absorbed by the roots, leaves, and seeds of crops and, undergoes bidirectional translocation, and is easily degradable, which means that PPA can be applied in various ways and poses a relatively low risk to food safety. [Display omitted] • PPA is rapidly absorbed by crop roots and translocated upwards. • PPA is easily absorbed by crop leaves and translocated to other parts. • PPA undergoes bidirectional translocation within crops, but transfer ability is weak. • PPA is easily degraded in plants and seeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sedentary behaviors and low physical activity among hospitalized patients have detrimental effects on health and recovery. Wearable activity monitors are a promising tool to promote mobilization and physical activity. However, existing devices have limitations in terms of their outcomes and validity. The Activ8 device was optimized for the hospital setting. This study assessed the concurrent validity of the modified Activ8. Hospital patients performed an activity protocol that included basic (e.g., walking) and functional activities (e.g., room activities), with video recordings serving as the criterion method. The assessed outcomes were time spent walking, standing, upright, sedentary, and newly added elements of steps and transfers. Absolute and relative time differences were calculated, and Wilcoxon and Bland–Altman analyses were conducted. Overall, the observed relative time differences were lower than 2.9% for the basic protocol and 9.6% for the functional protocol. Statistically significant differences were detected in specific categories, including basic standing (p < 0.05), upright time (p < 0.01), and sedentary time (p < 0.01), but they did not exceed the predetermined 10% acceptable threshold. The modified Activ8 device is a valid tool for assessing body postures, motions, steps, and transfer counts in hospitalized patients. This study highlights the potential of wearable activity monitors to accurately monitor and promote PA among hospital patients.

Background: Current implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) devices are equipped with a device-embedded accelerometer capable of capturing physical activity (PA). In contrast, wearable accelerometer-based methods enable the measurement of physical behavior (PB) that encompasses not only PA but also sleep behavior, sedentary time, and rest-activity patterns. Objective: This systematic review evaluates accelerometer-based methods used in patients carrying an ICD or at high risk of sudden cardiac death. Methods: Papers were identified via the OVID MEDLINE and OVID EMBASE databases. PB could be assessed using a wearable accelerometer or an embedded accelerometer in the ICD. Results: A total of 52 papers were deemed appropriate for this review. Out of these studies, 30 examined device-embedded accelerometry (189,811 patients), 19 examined wearable accelerometry (1601 patients), and 3 validated wearable accelerometry against device-embedded accelerometry (106 patients). The main findings were that a low level of PA after implantation of the ICD and a decline in PA were both associated with an increased risk of mortality, heart failure hospitalization, and appropriate ICD shock. Second, PA was affected by cardiac factors (eg, onset of atrial fibrillation, ICD shocks) and noncardiac factors (eg, seasonal differences, societal factors). Conclusion: This review demonstrated the potential of accelerometer-measured PA as a marker of clinical deterioration and ventricular arrhythmias. Notwithstanding that the evidence of PB assessed using wearable accelerometry was limited, there seems to be potential for accelerometers to improve early warning systems and facilitate preventative and proactive strategies.

Abstract Background The Goldilocks Work Principle expresses that productive work should be designed to promote workers’ health. We recently showed that it is feasible to develop and implement modifications to productive work that change physical behaviors (i.e. sitting, standing and being active) in a direction that may promote health among industrial workers. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to conduct a cluster randomised controlled trial investigating health effects of implementing the Goldilocks Work intervention among industrial workers. Methods Our implementation plan consists of educating work teams, organizing implementation meetings, and providing feedback to workers. Three meetings with a preselected local workplace group will be scheduled. The first meeting educates the group to use a planning tool by which work can be planned to have ‘just right’ physical behaviors. The second and third meetings will focus on supporting implementation of the tool in daily work. An expected 28 clusters of work teams across two participating production sites will be randomized to either intervention or control group. Data collection will consist of 1) questionnaires regarding work and musculoskeletal health, 2) wearable sensor measurements of the physical behavior, and 3) assessment of general health indicators, including BMI, blood pressure, and fat percentage. The primary outcome is musculoskeletal health, measured by low back pain intensity, and secondary outcomes are 1) physical behaviors at work, 2) accumulated time in long bouts of sitting, standing, and being active and 3) perceived fatigue and energy during work. Furthermore, implementation and cost of the intervention will be evaluated based on questionnaires and data from the planning tool completed by the workers. Discussion This study will evaluate the effectiveness and implementation of a 12 - weeks Goldilocks Work intervention with the aim of improving musculoskeletal health among industrial workers. The cluster randomized controlled study design and the evaluation of the implementation, results and costs of the intervention will make it capable of contributing with valuable evidence of how productive work may be designed to promote industrial workers’ health. Trial registration Clinical trial registration was assigned 10–09-2021 (ISRCTN80969503). https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN80969503

A compendium of observational studies of adults that collected accelerometry to assess physical activity and sedentary behavior (i.e., physical behaviors) could facilitate cross-study comparisons, meta-analyses, and future research collaborations. Therefore, we performed a systematic search to identify observational studies, including surveillance systems, that collected accelerometry-measured physical activity and sedentary behavior among adults. We performed a search using PubMed, Web of Science, and SPORTDiscus for studies published on or before June 1, 2021. After screening 5686 abstracts and 1027 full text articles, we included 155 unique studies that collected accelerometry on at least 500 adults 18 years or older. Most studies used one accelerometer (n=146), although eight studies used two accelerometers and one study used four accelerometers. The country of data collection, age range, and accelerometer characteristics were abstracted and checked by a second reviewer. These datasets summarizing relevant observational studies of adults can be a resource to researchers seeking to identify data sources for accelerometer-measured physical activity and sedentary behavior from around the world.

According to sharia, men are superior to women. This supremacy of men is for the benefit of women, and there is no loss for her in it. As there is leader in every system, same is here, leader is very necessary and important for family system. The Religion Islam do not consider the equality of men and women on physical and natural basis and handover certain matters. if to establish this type of equality it will be contradictory to the laws of nature and the result will come Conspiracy and anarchism into the circle of social and cultural. Before taking into consideration the similarities between male and female in the light of Islam it is essential to explain the opinion of experts of psychological behavior. The first opinion is that there is a huge difference in thinking and understanding between men and women on negative disagreement. Those who are in favor of this opinion are given the name of (gender start) in modern science. The 2nd opinion, is there any reality in similarities and motives between male and female? If it is so, what is the nature of that? Psychologist are agreeing on a point that this is not easy to answer the questions between mental, practical and physical abilities of male and female. In the view of some investigators, it is observed that woman have more mental ability as compared to men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contribution: The scheme for virtual emulation experiments based on discrete logic which appropriately lowers students’ cognitive burden and possesses manipulatable interactive logic in tune with real experiments is put forward. The relationship between students’ experiential learning and the influence of cognitive burden is also discussed. Background: Many kinds of research prove that a great deal of time expense and complex experiment setup strategies are a must if one needs adequate exploration experience and results through real experiments. These outputs are also limited to lab resources, leading to students’ less experience gaining. Moreover, conventional virtual emulation experiments are possible solutions but the lowering of cognitive burden is not adjustable. Students still lack practical experience due to the less challenging and more mechanic interaction. Intended Outcomes: A scheme for virtual emulation experiments based on discrete logic which appropriately lowers students’ cognitive burden and possesses manipulatable interactive logic in tune with real experiments and an experiment system based on this scheme. Application Design: Students will deal with different experiment missions and prompts according to their cognitive level in virtual experiment scenarios instead of complex real ones. Students’ operation strategies and parameter settings are analyzed and presented for more proper designs. Findings: The analysis of the experiment data is exciting: students who have accomplished virtual emulation experiments take up the absolute majority of successors when it comes to transfer questions, which means they have got more practical experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Goldilocks Work Principle expresses that productive work should be designed to promote workers' health. We recently showed that it is feasible to develop and implement modifications to productive work that change physical behaviors (i.e. sitting, standing and being active) in a direction that may promote health among industrial workers. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to conduct a cluster randomised controlled trial investigating health effects of implementing the Goldilocks Work intervention among industrial workers.Methods: Our implementation plan consists of educating work teams, organizing implementation meetings, and providing feedback to workers. Three meetings with a preselected local workplace group will be scheduled. The first meeting educates the group to use a planning tool by which work can be planned to have 'just right' physical behaviors. The second and third meetings will focus on supporting implementation of the tool in daily work. An expected 28 clusters of work teams across two participating production sites will be randomized to either intervention or control group. Data collection will consist of 1) questionnaires regarding work and musculoskeletal health, 2) wearable sensor measurements of the physical behavior, and 3) assessment of general health indicators, including BMI, blood pressure, and fat percentage. The primary outcome is musculoskeletal health, measured by low back pain intensity, and secondary outcomes are 1) physical behaviors at work, 2) accumulated time in long bouts of sitting, standing, and being active and 3) perceived fatigue and energy during work. Furthermore, implementation and cost of the intervention will be evaluated based on questionnaires and data from the planning tool completed by the workers.Discussion: This study will evaluate the effectiveness and implementation of a 12 - weeks Goldilocks Work intervention with the aim of improving musculoskeletal health among industrial workers. The cluster randomized controlled study design and the evaluation of the implementation, results and costs of the intervention will make it capable of contributing with valuable evidence of how productive work may be designed to promote industrial workers' health.Trial Registration: Clinical trial registration was assigned 10-09-2021 (ISRCTN80969503). https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN80969503. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gobi sand is a commonly used soil material in China that can be classified as silty sand with a fines content of 30.1%. A series of laboratory tests were conducted on Gobi sand and many unique physical behaviors were found, such as a low permeability coefficient, sticky behavior after moisturization, and being located in the CL (low liquid limit clay) classification group. In addition, the critical state lines (CSL) of the Gobi silty sand in the e-lnp space decrease in parallel with decreasing initial void ratio e0, and the critical state stress ratio Mcs is not a constant but decreases with increasing confining pressure σ3 and initial void ratio e0. This is quite different from the unique CSL and Mcs observed from quartz clean sand and silty sand. Therefore, unified CSL and Mcs equations for the Gobi sand were proposed to express the unique critical state behavior affected by various pressure conditions and initial void ratios. It is believed that the composite mineral composition (containing 5 minerals) of Gobi silty sand plays a significant role in the reaction of these unique physical behaviors as well as the critical state behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emergency evacuation simulation is significant for architectural design and emergency plan implementation. To explore the influence of evacuees’ physical behavior and evacuees’ decisions on the evacuation process, as well as to address the problems of traditional emergency evacuation models with insufficient detail of the situation (realism), low reusability, poor operability, and lack of subsequent scalability, this paper first analyzed pedestrian characteristics in emergencies. To describe pedestrian decision-making in an emergent evacuation situation, a multi-agent design based on decision theory was proposed, solving the multi-agent decision-making problem in an emergency evacuation environment by the A* algorithm. Then the designed multi-agent was embedded into the social force model by AnyLogic software. Finally, the model reproduces the pedestrian evacuation process in an emergency evacuation situation on the built platform, depicting three kinds of typical behaviors: pedestrian partnering, obstacle avoidance, and exit competition. In addition, this study also analyzed a large student apartment building by example and proposed corresponding optimization solutions to improve its evacuation capacity through simulation results.

To contain the recent COVID‐19 outbreak, restrictions have been imposed, which has limited outdoor activity. These physical behavior changes can have serious health implications, but there is little objective information quantifying these changes. This study aimed to estimate the change in physical behavior levels during full lockdown conditions using objective data collected from a thigh‐worn activity monitor. Data used were from 6492 individuals in the 1970 British Cohort Study, collected between 2016 and 2018. Using walking bout characteristics, days were classified as either "indoor only" (n = 861), "indoor and exercise" (n = 167), and "outdoor active" (n = 31 934). When compared to "outdoor active" days, "indoor only" days had 6590 fewer steps per day (2320 vs 8876, p < 0.001), a longer sedentary time (1.5 h, p < 0.001), longer lying time (1.4 h, p < 0.001) and shorter standing (1.9 h, p < 0.001) and stepping (1.3 h, p < 0.001) times. The "indoor and exercise" days had a smaller number of steps compared to "outdoor active" (7932 vs 8876, p < 0.05). There is a strong relationship between reduced daily stepping, and increased sedentary time, with a range of poor health outcomes. This has important implications for public health policy and messaging during pandemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study is to ascertain the neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) subtypes significantly influencing progression to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) by ethnicity. In this retrospective cohort study, we included 386 cognitively normal individuals participating in the longitudinal Texas Alzheimer's Research and Care Consortium between February 2007 and August 2014. The primary outcome was time to incident MCI. Data driven NPS subtypes at baseline were identified and the effects of these subtypes on the outcome were obtained for Hispanic and non-Hispanic ethnic cohorts and summarized with a hazard ratio (HR). Three NPS subtypes were identified and internally validated: psychomotor apathy factor (including agitation, irritability, apathy), affective mood factor (including depression, anxiety), and physical behavior factor (including nighttime behavior, eating/appetite disturbances). In adjusted analysis, a psychomotor apathy score of NPS was the best predictor for MCI (HR = 2.19, p = 0.037) among non-Hispanics whereas physical behavior score was the most predictive of MCI (HR = 2.55, p = 0.029) among Hispanics. A high score of affective mood factor also tended to increase the risk of MCI (HR = 2.09, p = 0.06) in Hispanics. Progression from normal cognition to MCI was differentially predicted by NPS subtypes in Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites. These data may inform the allocation of efforts for monitoring individuals at-risk of MCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical behavior (ie, physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep) is a crucial lifestyle factor for preventing and managing diseases across the lifespan. However, less is known about potential work‐related psychological and cognitive outcomes such as productivity. The present study examined within‐person associations between physical behavior and self‐perceived work ability. To investigate the degree to which physical behavior parameters influence self‐perceived work ability in everyday life, we conducted an Ambulatory Assessment study in 103 university students over 5 days. Physical behavior was assessed continuously via a multi‐sensor system. Self‐perceived work ability was assessed repeatedly up to six times per day on smartphones. We employed multilevel modeling to analyze the within‐person effects of physical behavior on self‐perceived work ability. Physical activity intensity (MET) (β = 0.15 ± 0.06, t = 2.59, p = 0.012) and sit‐to‐stand transitions (β = 0.07 ± 0.03, t = 2.44, p = 0.015) were positively associated with self‐perceived work ability. Sedentary bouts (≥20 min) (β = −0.21 ± 0.08, t = −2.74, p = 0.006) and deviation from a recommended sleep duration (ie, 8 h) (β = −0.1 ± 0.04, t = −2.38, p = 0.018) were negatively associated with self‐perceived work ability. Exploratory analyses supported the robustness of our findings by comparing various time frames. Total sedentary time and sleep quality were not associated with self‐perceived work ability. Regular sleep durations, breaking up sedentary time through sit‐to‐stand transitions, and higher intensities of physical activity may be important for the regulation of self‐perceived work ability in university students' daily lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Multiple sclerosis often leads to fatigue and changes in physical behavior (PB). Changes in PB are often assumed as a consequence of fatigue, but effects of interventions that aim to reduce fatigue by improving PB are not sufficient. Since the heterogeneous nature of MS related symptoms, levels of PB of fatigued patients at the start of interventions might vary substantially. Better understanding of the variability by identification of PB subtypes in fatigued patients may help to develop more effective personalized rehabilitation programs in the future. This study aimed to identify PB subtypes in fatigued patients with multiple sclerosis based on multidimensional PB outcome measures. Methods Baseline accelerometer (Actigraph) data, demographics and clinical characteristics of the TREFAMS-ACE participants (n = 212) were used for secondary analysis. All patients were ambulatory and diagnosed with severe fatigue based on a score of ≥35 on the fatigue subscale of the Checklist Individual Strength (CIS20r). Fifteen PB measures were used derived from 7 day measurements with an accelerometer. Principal component analysis was performed to define key outcome measures for PB and two-step cluster analysis was used to identify PB types. Results Analysis revealed five key outcome measures: percentage sedentary behavior, total time in prolonged moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, number of sedentary bouts, and two types of change scores between day parts (morning, afternoon and evening). Based on these outcomes three valid PB clusters were derived. Conclusions Patients with severe MS-related fatigue show three distinct and homogeneous PB subtypes. These PB subtypes, based on a unique set of PB outcome measures, may offer an opportunity to design more individually-tailored interventions in rehabilitation. Trial registration Clinical trial registration no ISRCTN 82353628, ISRCTN 69520623 and ISRCTN 58583714.

The aim was to examine the effects of replacing self‐reported leisure‐time sedentary behavior with sleep, light‐to‐moderate physical activity, or vigorous physical activity on incident diabetes among Danish adults using isotemporal substitution modeling. Participants ≥25 years from the Danish Capital Region Health Survey 2007 (N = 69 800, response rate 52.3%), 2010 (N = 95 150, response rate 52.3%), and 2013 (N = 95 150, response rate 43.5%) were included. Information on daily sleep duration, leisure‐time sedentary behavior, and movement behaviors was collected by questionnaire. Information on incident diabetes was obtained from National registers. Analyses included Cox proportional hazards regression models and isotemporal substitution analyses, with time (in years) from baseline to incident diabetes or censoring December 31, 2017. Potential confounders, sex, age, BMI, ethnicity, education, smoking, inflammatory joint disease, perceived stress, physical and mental component scale and work status, were included. Out of N = 87 339 in the final study sample, n = 3007 had incident diabetes during a mean follow‐up time of 7.4 years. Adults with incident diabetes included more men, higher mean age, and higher BMI, compared to respondents without incident diabetes. Theoretically substituting 30 minutes of leisure‐time sedentary behavior with light‐to‐moderate PA (HR: 0.96; 95% CI: 0.94; 0.98) or with vigorous PA (HR: 0.82; 95% CI: 0.72; 0.94) decreased the risk of incident diabetes. We found no change in incident diabetes risk of substituting sedentary time with sleep (HR: 1.00; 95% CI: 0.97; 1.02). Substituting 30 minutes per day of leisure‐time sedentary behavior with light‐to‐moderate or vigorous PA may significantly reduce the risk of incident diabetes among adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As the number of cancer survivors increases, maintaining health-related quality of life in cancer survivorship is a priority. This necessitates accurate and reliable methods to assess how cancer survivors are feeling and functioning. Real-world digital measures derived from wearable sensors offer potential for monitoring well-being and physical function in cancer survivorship, but questions surrounding the clinical utility of these measures remain to be answered., Objective: In this secondary analysis, we used 2 existing data sets to examine how measures of real-world physical behavior, captured with a wearable accelerometer, were related to aerobic fitness and self-reported well-being and physical function in a sample of individuals who had completed cancer treatment., Methods: Overall, 86 disease-free cancer survivors aged 21-85 years completed self-report assessments of well-being and physical function, as well as a submaximal exercise test that was used to estimate their aerobic fitness, quantified as predicted submaximal oxygen uptake (VO 2 ). A thigh-worn accelerometer was used to monitor participants' real-world physical behavior for 7 days. Accelerometry data were used to calculate average values of the following measures of physical behavior: sedentary time, step counts, time in light and moderate to vigorous physical activity, time and weighted median cadence in stepping bouts over 1 minute, and peak 30-second cadence., Results: Spearman correlation analyses indicated that 6 (86%) of the 7 accelerometry-derived measures of real-world physical behavior were not significantly correlated with Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General total well-being or linked Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System-Physical Function scores (Ps≥.08). In contrast, all but one of the physical behavior measures were significantly correlated with submaximal VO 2 (Ps≤.03). Comparing these associations using likelihood ratio tests, we found that step counts, time in stepping bouts over 1 minute, and time in moderate to vigorous activity were more strongly associated with submaximal VO 2 than with self-reported well-being or physical function (Ps≤.03). In contrast, cadence in stepping bouts over 1 minute and peak 30-second cadence were not more associated with submaximal VO 2 than with the self-reported measures (Ps≥.08)., Conclusions: In a sample of disease-free cancer survivors, we found that several measures of real-world physical behavior were more associated with aerobic fitness than with self-reported well-being and physical function. These results highlight the possibility that in individuals who have completed cancer treatment, measures of real-world physical behavior may provide additional information compared with self-reported and performance measures. To advance the appropriate use of digital measures in oncology clinical research, further research evaluating the clinical utility of real-world physical behavior over time in large, representative samples of cancer survivors is warranted., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03781154; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03781154., (©Shelby L Bachman, Emma Gomes, Suvekshya Aryal, David Cella, Ieuan Clay, Kate Lyden, Heather J Leach. Originally published in JMIR Cancer (https://cancer.jmir.org), 15.07.2024.)

Background Wearable activity trackers are regarded as a new opportunity to deliver health promotion interventions. Indeed, while the prediction of active behaviors is currently primarily relying on the processing of accelerometer sensor data, the emergence of smart clothes with multi-sensing capacities is offering new possibilities. Algorithms able to process data from a variety of smart devices and classify daily life activities could therefore be of particular importance to achieve a more accurate evaluation of physical behaviors. This study aims to (1) develop an activity recognition algorithm based on the processing of plantar pressure information provided by a smart-shoe prototype and (2) to determine the optimal hardware and software configurations. Method Seventeen subjects wore a pair of smart-shoe prototypes composed of plantar pressure measurement insoles, and they performed the following nine activities: sitting, standing, walking on a flat surface, walking upstairs, walking downstairs, walking up a slope, running, cycling, and completing office work. The insole featured seven pressure sensors. For each activity, at least four minutes of plantar pressure data were collected. The plantar pressure data were cut in overlapping windows of different lengths and 167 features were extracted for each window. Data were split into training and test samples using a subject-wise assignment method. A random forest model was trained to recognize activity. The resulting activity recognition algorithms were evaluated on the test sample. A multi hold-out procedure allowed repeating the operation with 5 different assignments. The analytic conditions were modulated to test (1) different window lengths (1–60 seconds), (2) some selected sensor configurations and (3) different numbers of data features. Results A window length of 20 s was found to be optimum and therefore used for the rest of the analysis. Using all the sensors and all 167 features, the smart shoes predicted the activities with an average success of 89%. “Running” demonstrated the highest sensitivity (100%). “Walking up a slope” was linked with the lowest performance (63%), with the majority of the false negatives being “walking on a flat surface” and “walking upstairs.” Some 2- and 3-sensor configurations were linked with an average success rate of 87%. Reducing the number of features down to 20 does not alter significantly the performance of the algorithm. Conclusion High-performance human behavior recognition using plantar pressure data only is possible. In the future, smart-shoe devices could contribute to the evaluation of daily physical activities. Minimalist configurations integrating only a small number of sensors and computing a reduced number of selected features could maintain a satisfying performance. Future experiments must include a more heterogeneous population.

Introduction: In Parkinson's disease (PD), the high burden of motor and non-motor symptoms, such as cognitive impairment or falls, is associated with rapid disease progression and mortality. This is often reflected by an increased drop-out rate of PD patients in longitudinal studies. Active physical behavior can impact the disease course beneficially and has an overall positive effect on health. Contrarily, sedentary behavior is associated with cognitive impairment in PD. The aim of this study was to investigate whether sedentary physical behavior assessed in the home environment and cognitive impairment can predict health-related study attrition due to sickness and death in PD.Methods: Data of 45 PD patients, longitudinally assessed, were analyzed. Of those, 20 patients completed six yearly visits, 16 dropped out due to sickness or death, and nine for other reasons. All patients wore a mobile device to assess physical behavior and completed cognitive testing.Results: Logistic regression revealed global cognition was the primary predictor for health-related drop-out in varying models (p ≤ .04). In the survival analysis, cognitive impairment (p = .005) and longer sedentary mean bout length (p = .02) were associated with drop-out due to sickness and death. The occurrence of health-related study drop-out or death was highest in patients with both impaired cognition and longer sedentary bouts.Conclusions: Cognition was the primary predictor for study drop-out due to sickness and death. However, it seems that sedentary behavior might have a potential negative influence on PD patients' health, especially those with cognitive impairment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Hospital in Motion is a multidimensional implementation project aiming to improve movement behavior during hospitalization. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of Hospital in Motion on movement behavior. Methods This prospective study used a pre-implementation and post-implementation design. Hospital in Motion was conducted at 4 wards of an academic hospital in the Netherlands. In each ward, multidisciplinary teams followed a 10-month step-by-step approach, including the development and implementation of a ward-specific action plan with multiple interventions to improve movement behavior. Inpatient movement behavior was assessed before the start of the project and 1 year later using a behavioral mapping method in which patients were observed between 9:00 am and 4:00 pm. The primary outcome was the percentage of time spent lying down. In addition, sitting and moving, immobility-related complications, length of stay, discharge destination home, discharge destination rehabilitation setting, mortality, and 30-day readmissions were investigated. Differences between pre-implementation and post-implementation conditions were analyzed using the chi-square test for dichotomized variables, the Mann Whitney test for non-normal distributed data, or independent samples t test for normally distributed data. Results Patient observations demonstrated that the primary outcome, the time spent lying down, changed from 60.1% to 52.2%. For secondary outcomes, the time spent sitting increased from 31.6% to 38.3%, and discharges to a rehabilitation setting reduced from 6 (4.4%) to 1 (0.7%). No statistical differences were found in the other secondary outcome measures. Conclusion The implementation of the multidimensional project Hospital in Motion was associated with patients who were hospitalized spending less time lying in bed and with a reduced number of discharges to a rehabilitation setting. Impact Inpatient movement behavior can be influenced by multidimensional interventions. Programs implementing interventions that specifically focus on improving time spent moving, in addition to decreasing time spent lying, are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humans in the industrialized world spend a large amount of daily time in sedentary behavior. Since sedentariness negatively impacts a variety of psychophysiological outcomes, the identification of antecedents that lead to sedentary behavior is an important public health issue. In this context, mood, a central indicator for both psychological well‐being and mental health, is severely understudied. To investigate whether mood dimensions influence subsequent sedentary behavior, we assessed both constructs at baseline via questionnaires and via ambulatory assessment (AA) over 5 days in 92 university employees. We continuously measured sedentary behavior using accelerometers and assessed mood repeatedly 10 times each day on smartphone diaries. We employed multiple regression analyses to analyze between‐subject effects and multilevel modeling to analyze within‐subject effects. Higher momentary ratings of valence (P <.05) and energetic arousal (P <.01) predicted lower amounts of subsequent sedentary behavior, whereas higher ratings of calmness (P <.01) predicted higher amounts of subsequent sedentary behavior. The context moderated the effect of energetic arousal and calmness on sedentary behavior with increased effects in the home compared to the work context. Mood significantly predicted sedentary behavior on a within‐subject level but not on a between‐subject level. Preliminary evidence suggests that mood regulates sedentary behavior in everyday life. Time‐sensitive analyses, such as from moment to moment revealed an association between mood and sedentary behavior (within‐subject), whereas analyses between different individuals revealed no associations (between‐subject). These preliminary findings may inform multicomponent intervention strategies that target mood, to reduce sedentary behavior in daily life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Accidental falls are common among community-dwellers, probably due to the level of physical activity and impaired postural stability. Today, fall risk prediction tools' discriminative validity are only moderate. In order to increase the accuracy, multiple variables such as highly validated objective field measurements of physical activity and impaired postural stability should be adressed in order to predict falls. The main aim of this paper is to describe the ≥65 years NOrthern jutland Cohort of Fall risk Assessment with Objective measurements (NOCfao) investigating the association between physical activity and impaired postural stability and the risk of fall episodes among community-dwelling older adults.Methods: The study consists of a baseline session where the participants are asked to respond to three questionnaires, perform physical tests (i.e., measuring strength in the upper and lower extremities, balance, and walking speed), participate in an assessment of pain sensitivity, and to wear an ankle mounted pedometer for measuring physical activity for 5 days. Subsequently, the fall incidences and the circumstances surrounding the falls during the previous 1 to 2 months will be recorded throughout a one-year follow-up period.Discussion: This study will add to the present-day understanding of the association between physical activity and impaired postural stability and the risk of fall episodes among community-dwelling older adults. These data will provide valid and reliable information on the relationship between these variables and their significance for community-dwelling older adults.Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT2995317. Registered December 13th, 2016. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: A simple single-unit activity monitor (Activ8), which is based on a tri-axial accelerometer, measures specific body postures and movements, and has potential for research and clinical practice to monitor and optimize physical behavior of people with chronic conditions. However, the validity of the Activ8 in people with lower-limb amputation is unknown. Studying validity in this specific group is needed because they often have postures and movements that differ from the normal population, and which might affect validity. Therefore our study aimed to validate the Activ8 to measure body postures and movements in people with a lower-limb amputation. Methods: Thirty people with a unilateral lower-limb amputation and who are able to walk with a prosthesis completed two activity protocols in a simulated home setting: one with basic activities (only one posture or movement) and one with functional activities from daily living. Outcomes of the Activ8 (used in thigh-fixed position and pocket position) were compared to outcomes of video observation (the reference method). Primary analyses focused on the agreement in duration of merged measures of physical activity (walking, running, cycling, standing) and sedentary behavior (lying/sitting) with the Activ8 used in thigh-fixed position. Additional analyses included the detection of specific types of physical activity, the effects of amputation level and cause, and the validity of the Activ8 in pocket position. Results: Overall percentage time differences between Activ8 (thigh-fixed position) and video observation for merged measures of physical activity and sedentary behavior outcomes were -2.7% and 2.3%, respectively. These percentages were -1.6% and 1.3% for the basic protocol, and -3.9% and 3.6% for the functional protocol, respectively. For specific postures and movements, differences were larger (ranging from -12.6% to 7.1%). Conclusion: The Activ8 activity monitor has acceptable validity to measure physical activity and sedentary behavior in people with a unilateral lower-limb amputation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In order to develop an innovative, environmentally friendly composite materials for the construction industry, this study aims to exploit three types of waste material to manufacture cement mortars for producing lightweight concretes, ecologically friendly paving slabs and pavers. For this purpose, the response surface methodology (RSM) was investigated to predict and optimize the physical properties of mortars made from dune sand (DS) combined with recycled sand (RS), which are abundant in the desert and considered as waste products, reinforced by polymerized polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers of two different lengths, 20 mm and 30 mm, respectively. This investigation was carried out to assess the material's capacity in terms of engineering criteria, including air content in the fresh state (Ac), shrinkage (Sh), flexural displacement (Yf), ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), and water absorption (WA). Further, the chemical composition and mineralogical transformations at high temperatures of the produced mortar were examined. The ANOVA analysis of variance and a desirability function (DF) test are developed based on the Box-Behnken Design to predict and optimize variables and output responses by maximizing the mechanical properties and minimizing the physical properties. The obtained results reveal a significant improvement in the physical properties of the mortars, 6.25% Sh, 43% Yf, 4.65% UPV, and 6.54% WA, confirming the beneficial effect of fiber-reinforced products compared with those without fibers. The proposed quadratic model proves the validity of the experimental results with a better accuracy of less than 4.5% error. The optimal formulation obtained in this protocol consisted of 50% DS, 50% RS, and 2% PET, with a length of 12.70 mm. This mix yielded 0.799% Ac, −95.28 μm/m Sh, 5.79 mm Yf, 3855.11 m/s UPV, and 11.91% WA, presenting an attractive option for applications in eco-construction sustainability. Therefore, The RSM model correlates well with the experimental data, which has contributed to an improvement in the physical-mechanical features. Consequently, this eco-mortar has several applications in buildings, roads, bridges, for bending elements (beams, slabs) and can also be used for repairing damaged structures. [Display omitted] • The RSM methodology has been used for the optimization and prediction process. • The three types of waste used DS-RS-PF have proven essential in eco-construction. • The 50/50 sand mixture is relevant for the high quality of the studied mortar. • DS-RS-PF combination decreases Ac, Sh, WA and increases Yf, UPV, showing high behavior. • Abandoned dune sand is considered to be waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sedentary behavior (SB) has emerged as an independent public-health risk and may contribute to the lower bone mineral density (BMD) in old (>60 years of age) than young adults. The purpose of this study was to quantify SB and habitual physical behavior (PB) in community-dwelling older adults and how this correlates with BMD. In 112 relatively healthy and independent-living individuals aged 72.5 ± 6.4 years, BMD, PB and SB were determined using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry and 7-day three-dimensional accelerometry, respectively. In men, only healthy and osteopenic BMDs were found, whereas in women, osteoporotic BMD classifications also occurred. Our sample spent ∼61%, 7%, 12% and 19% of daily waking hours in SB, standing, LIPA [light intensity physical activity (PA)] and MVPA (medium-to-vigorous intensity PA), respectively. In men, after accounting for covariates (BMI, total fat, android:gynoid ratio), sleeping (hours/day), number of breaks in SB, number of SB ≥ 5 min, number of PA bouts, total duration of PA bouts (min), mean PA bouts duration (min), LIPA (%PA bout time) and MVPA (%PA bout time) were all predictors of BMD. In women, after accounting for covariates (age, BMI, total fat, android:gynoid ratio), SB (hours/day), SB (% waking hours), LIPA (hours/day), LIPA (% waking hours), MVPA (% waking hours) and number of short SB (i.e.,

Background: The self-monitoring of physical activity is an effective strategy for promoting active lifestyles. However, accurately assessing physical activity remains challenging in certain situations. This study evaluates a novel floor-vibration monitoring system to quantify housework-related physical activity., Objective: This study aims to assess the validity of step-count and physical behavior intensity predictions of a novel floor-vibration monitoring system in comparison with the actual number of steps and indirect calorimetry measurements. The accuracy of the predictions is also compared with that of research-grade devices (ActiGraph GT9X)., Methods: The Ocha-House, located in Tokyo, serves as an independent experimental facility equipped with high-sensitivity accelerometers installed on the floor to monitor vibrations. Dedicated data processing software was developed to analyze floor-vibration signals and calculate 3 quantitative indices: floor-vibration quantity, step count, and moving distance. In total, 10 participants performed 4 different housework-related activities, wearing ActiGraph GT9X monitors on both the waist and wrist for 6 minutes each. Concurrently, floor-vibration data were collected, and the energy expenditure was measured using the Douglas bag method to determine the actual intensity of activities., Results: Significant correlations (P<.001) were found between the quantity of floor vibrations, the estimated step count, the estimated moving distance, and the actual activity intensities. The step-count parameter extracted from the floor-vibration signal emerged as the most robust predictor (r 2 =0.82; P<.001). Multiple regression models incorporating several floor-vibration-extracted parameters showed a strong association with actual activity intensities (r 2 =0.88; P<.001). Both the step-count and intensity predictions made by the floor-vibration monitoring system exhibited greater accuracy than those of the ActiGraph monitor., Conclusions: Floor-vibration monitoring systems seem able to produce valid quantitative assessments of physical activity for selected housework-related activities. In the future, connected smart home systems that integrate this type of technology could be used to perform continuous and accurate evaluations of physical behaviors throughout the day., (©Yuki Nakajima, Asami Kitayama, Yuji Ohta, Nobuhisa Motooka, Mayumi Kuno-Mizumura, Motohiko Miyachi, Shigeho Tanaka, Kazuko Ishikawa-Takata, Julien Tripette. Originally published in JMIR Formative Research (https://formative.jmir.org), 25.04.2024.)

Empirical evidence shows that physical behavior positively impacts human health. Recently, researchers have started to differentiate between physical activity and sedentary behavior showing independent effects on somatic health. However, whether this differentiation is also relevant for mood dimensions is largely unknown. For investigating the dynamic relationships between sedentary behavior and mood dimensions in daily life, ambulatory assessment (AA) has become the state‐of‐the‐art methodology. To investigate whether sedentary behaviors influence mood dimensions, we conducted an AA study in the everyday life of 92 university employees over 5 days. We continuously measured sedentary behavior via accelerometers and assessed mood repeatedly 10 times each day on smartphone diaries. To optimize our sampling strategy, we used a sophisticated sedentary‐triggered algorithm. We employed multilevel modeling to analyze the within‐subject effects of sedentary behavior on mood. Sedentary time (15‐minute intervals prior to each e‐diary assessment) and sedentary bouts (30‐minute intervals of uninterrupted sedentary behavior) negatively influenced valence and energetic arousal (all Ps < 0.015). In particular, the more participants were sedentary in their everyday life, the less they felt well and energized. Exploratory analyses of the temporal course of these effects supported our findings. Sedentary behavior can be seen as a general risk factor because it impacts both somatic and mental health. Most importantly, physical activity and sedentary behavior showed independent effects on mood dimensions. Accordingly, future studies should consider the two sides of the physical behavior coin: How should physical activity be promoted? and How can sedentary behavior be reduced? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sedentary behavior (SB) has emerged as an independent public-health risk and may contribute to the lower bone mineral density (BMD) in old (>60 years of age) than young adults. The purpose of this study was to quantify SB and habitual physical behavior (PB) in community-dwelling older adults and how this correlates with BMD. In 112 relatively healthy and independent-living individuals aged 72.5 ± 6.4 years, BMD, PB and SB were determined using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry and 7-day three-dimensional accelerometry, respectively. In men, only healthy and osteopenic BMDs were found, whereas in women, osteoporotic BMD classifications also occurred. Our sample spent ∼61%, 7%, 12% and 19% of daily waking hours in SB, standing, LIPA [light intensity physical activity (PA)] and MVPA (medium-to-vigorous intensity PA), respectively. In men, after accounting for covariates (BMI, total fat, android:gynoid ratio), sleeping (hours/day), number of breaks in SB, number of SB ≥ 5 min, number of PA bouts, total duration of PA bouts (min), mean PA bouts duration (min), LIPA (%PA bout time) and MVPA (%PA bout time) were all predictors of BMD. In women, after accounting for covariates (age, BMI, total fat, android:gynoid ratio), SB (hours/day), SB (% waking hours), LIPA (hours/day), LIPA (% waking hours), MVPA (% waking hours) and number of short SB (i.e., <5 min), total time spent in PA (min) significantly correlated with BMD. In conclusion, the PB predictors of bone health in older persons include: night time sleeping duration, number of short bouts of SB, number and duration of bouts of PA relative to total waking hours. While radar graphs of PB patterns for healthy, osteopenic, osteoporotic individuals highlighted significant differences in PB between them, they were not consistent with the expectations from the Mechanostat Theory: i.e., more loading leads to better bone. Rather, our results suggest that a balance of activities must be maintained across the PB spectrum, where certain PB parameters are especially impactful in each sex, supporting the recently coined multifactorial-based variations in the Mechanostat threshold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research was conducted to study the effect of different concentrations of styrene lumen monomer on the physical properties of beech wood. Physical test samples were prepared according to ASTM-D1037 standard and treated with vacuum-pressure method at five concentration levels; 0, 40, 60, 80 and 100 percent of soluble monomer. For polymerization, treated samples were heated in oven for two 24-hour period at 90 and 103ºC respectively. Monomer and polymer absorption, density variation, water absorption, swelling and anti-swelling efficiency (ASE) were determined. According to the results, Monomer and polymer absorption were increment by monomer concentration increase, and they were reported 38.2% and 26% in highest level. With polymer absorption enhancement, density of wood increased from 0/63g/cm³ in control to 0/91g/cm³ in the highest monomer concentration level that reduces pores in wood-polymer structure. Absorbed polymer enhancement decreased hydrophilicity and dimensional changes of treated samples, so that water absorption and swelling volume of the samples saturated with 100% concentration of monomer were decreased 64% and 45.3% after the longest immersion time. Highest Anti-swelling efficiency of Styrene-saturated samples was determined 56.15% in the maximum concentration level of treatment.

Sedentary behaviors and low physical activity among hospitalized patients have detrimental effects on health and recovery. Wearable activity monitors are a promising tool to promote mobilization and physical activity. However, existing devices have limitations in terms of their outcomes and validity. The Activ8 device was optimized for the hospital setting. This study assessed the concurrent validity of the modified Activ8. Hospital patients performed an activity protocol that included basic (e.g., walking) and functional activities (e.g., room activities), with video recordings serving as the criterion method. The assessed outcomes were time spent walking, standing, upright, sedentary, and newly added elements of steps and transfers. Absolute and relative time differences were calculated, and Wilcoxon and Bland-Altman analyses were conducted. Overall, the observed relative time differences were lower than 2.9% for the basic protocol and 9.6% for the functional protocol. Statistically significant differences were detected in specific categories, including basic standing ( p < 0.05), upright time ( p < 0.01), and sedentary time ( p < 0.01), but they did not exceed the predetermined 10% acceptable threshold. The modified Activ8 device is a valid tool for assessing body postures, motions, steps, and transfer counts in hospitalized patients. This study highlights the potential of wearable activity monitors to accurately monitor and promote PA among hospital patients.