Missouri Western State University

Motion capture (mocap) systems are extensively utilized in healthcare for monitoring rehabilitation programs, facilitating clinical gait assessments for early Alzheimer’s diagnosis, managing walking disorders, and developing exoskeleton suits. However, like many other healthcare technologies, mocap systems have some flaws, like missing markers and occlusions. Given mocap data’s sequential and temporal nature, understanding marker relationships and capturing global dependencies are crucial for effective human motion recovery applications. To address these challenges, we proposed an unsupervised transformers framework for human motion recovery, called IMU-Trans. We evaluated our framework’s generalizability across two clinical datasets and tested its robustness by adjusting the missing marker rates, comparing its performance against low-dimensional Kalman filtering, long short-term memory (LSTM), and gated recurrent unit (GRU) models. Our experimental results demonstrated that IMU-Trans outperforms state-of-the-art models by training in an unsupervised manner. The closest competitor, GRU, demonstrated an RMSE of 1.35 ± 0.82, 2.36 ± 1.26, 3.43 ± 1.73, and 4.39 ± 2.18 cm for 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50% missing rates, respectively. IMU-Trans outperformed GRU with an RMSE of 1.26 ± 0.60, 2.06 ± 0.88, 2.68 ± 1.04, and 3.05 ± 1.22 for the same rates. Notably, our framework performs well even with higher missing data rates, creating opportunities for advancements in data analytics and indicating a promising future for motion capture in healthcare.

Our study evaluates students’ approaches to and perceptions of the use of hands-on at-home laboratory kits (HALK) experiments, open-source computer-based simulations (OSCBS), and their combination (OSCBS-HALK) in undergraduate introductory asynchronous online physics courses. Anonymous survey data from students who had completed online physics courses with labs based on simulations, at-home lab kits, or both were collected using a modified version of the Learn Questionnaire (MVLQ). Findings in this study indicate that among the six scales (interest and relevance; peer support; staff enthusiasm and support; teaching for understanding; alignment; and constructive feedback) used to measure students’ perceptions of the teaching and learning environments, interest and relevance, peer support, and teaching for understanding had statistically significant different means across the three lab types. Post-hoc comparisons using the Tukey HSD test for the interest and relevance scale indicated that students viewed using a combination approach of OSCBS and HALK labs (M = 3.98, SD = 0.61) more significantly positive than using computer-simulated labs only (M = 3.56, SD = 0.75). Compared to other labs, computer-simulated labs were perceived to lead to a deep approach to learning. However, they had the lowest interest and relevance, peer support, and alignment ranking among the three lab groups. Thus, developing strategies to improve students’ engagement and ability to translate the simulations into physical processes is recommended for OSCBS.

Synopsis Basic science research, also called “curiosity-driven research,” is fundamental work done with no immediate economic goals but rather a focus on discovery for discovery’s sake. However, basic science research is often needed to seed more applied, economically oriented, research. Both basic and applied research efforts are important aspects of the “bioeconomy,” defined here as the contributions to the overall economy from various biology-related fields spanning everything from museum-based natural history research to agricultural food and material production to healthcare. Here, we propose that more collaborative efforts across federal granting agencies in a venture-capitalist-like “PO-driven model” can help drive applied innovation from collaborations facilitated by program officers (POs). POs from NSF, DOE, DARPA, USDA, NASA, and other federal agencies should seek out parallel and complementary research ideas from grantees and provide funds to build teams of researchers who may otherwise be unaware of one another. Researchers working in different fields may also be unaware that the different organisms they are studying independently may have evolved similar traits (i.e., convergent evolution) that POs may recognize and who can then facilitate novel research avenues connecting those independent researchers (we provide examples of some projects inspired by convergent evolution here). In this top-down approach to research funding, the US bioeconomy will be pouring fuel on the fire of scientific productivity in this country.

Classmates’ academic and executive function (EF) skills are important predictors of individual EF and achievement. The present study investigated the effects of peer EF, using a battery of measures, on individual EF and academic achievement in preschool. Peer effects were assessed for 321 preschool-aged children from 48 classrooms. Using hierarchical linear modeling, peer EF predicted student gains in executive function, vocabulary, and math, but not literacy. Results suggested that classrooms with higher overall EF had students who achieved more skills over the course of the school year in comparison to children in classrooms with lower levels of EF. The effect of fall peer EF on spring student EF was greater for low-income dual language learners (DLLs) than monolinguals. Findings suggest that EF, math, and vocabulary knowledge are socially mediated by peers and can have differential effects on DLLs.

Introduction. Pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma (PPGL) is a rare hormonally active tumor of chromaffin tissue. Delayed diagnosis of this disease can lead to severe, even fatal, complications. Surgical treatment of PPGL without the necessary preoperative preparation can cause intraoperative uncontrolled hemodynamic impairment. In addition, since 2017, PPGL has been recognized as a malignant tumor due to the presence of metastatic potential. All these factors determine the need for early diagnosis of PPGL, which is based, first of all, on knowledge of the clinical picture by specialists in various fields. Aim. To check and confirm the epidemiological characteristics of PPGL as well as the most common clinical symptoms in the whole group of PPGL and in subgroups of clinical forms; to form a risk group for screening for PPGL. Materials and methods. There were enrolled 353 patients in the study. These patients were operated on at the St. Petersburg State University Hospital in the period from 2010 to 2022 inclusive. All the patients were verified PPGL diagnosis histologically. Clinical symptoms were assessed: a) retrospectively, by analyzing complaints and anamnesis from the initial examination in medical histories upon admission to the hospital for surgical treatment b) both in the entire group as a whole and in subgroups of clinical forms (paroxysmal, constant, mixed, asymptomatic). Statistical analysis was performed using the Python 3.11 programming language (Python Software Foundation, USA). descriptive statistics of quantitative characteristics are presented in the form of medians, first and third quartiles in me format [q1; q3], categorical features – in the form of absolute and relative frequencies in the format n (%). the frequency histogram was constructed using the Matplotlib 3.8.2 library. Results . PPGL is most common in women over 40 years of age. The most common symptoms of PPGL are the following: a feeling of rapid heartbeat (55.95%), headache (41.07%), arterial hypertension (AH) in the form of hypertensive crises (55.65%), constant increase in blood pressure (38.39%), episodes of moderate increases in blood pressure (24.11%), sweating (30.65%), general weakness and fatigue (26.19%), hot flashes or chills (24.11%). These symptoms are formed into the criteria for screening for PPGL. In the asymptomatic clinical form – lower back pain is more common (14%); with paroxysmal – panic attacks (10%); with mixed – thirst and dry mouth (10%), and with constant form – the actual constant nature of hypertension (100%). Conclusion. In a large sample of patients with a rare pathology, the most characteristic symptom complex was identified, characteristic of both PPGL and individual clinical forms. A risk group has been formed for screening for PPGL.

This study investigates the potential of using rice, corn, and millet flour, as well as burdock root flour, as a fortifying additive in the production of gluten-free butter cookies. The control sample was a classic butter cookie recipe using a gluten-free mixture of rice, corn, and millet flour. Burdock root flour was added in varying proportions (5%, 10%, 15%) to the remaining recipe components, replacing them. The samples were evaluated based on physical and chemical indicators, including ash content, alkalinity, moisture content, wettability, and iron content. Organoleptic properties were also considered. The results showed an increase in iron and ash content compared to the control sample. Sample 3 was found to be the most successful based on physical and chemical indicators, while sample 1 was the best according to organoleptic indicators.

This study investigates the potential of incorporating plant and animal raw materials, specifically wheat germ flour and egg albumin, into the production of enriched bread. To evaluate the impact of these additives on the quality of the resulting bread, various concentrations of wheat germ flour and egg albumin were introduced into the rye-wheat mixture during the kneading process. The results indicate that the addition of these components significantly affects the porosity of the bread samples. One sample exhibited an increase in porosity, while two others showed a decrease compared to the control sample. However, the porosity values for the control sample and one of the test samples aligned with standard values. Furthermore, the study reveals that increasing the amounts of wheat germ flour and egg albumin in the recipes leads to a decrease in alkalinity and moisture content. Based on the overall results, one sample was found to be the most successful according to physico-chemical indicators, while another sample was deemed the best according to organoleptic assessments.

The relevance of the application of additive technologies in modern production conditions is substantiated. An algorithm for performing topological optimization of the product design is proposed. Various directions of application of these technologies are considered and the effectiveness of their implementation in production is shown.

People can identify as morning types or evening types. Research has shown that evening types are generally less happy and have a lower sense of well‐being. While there is limited research in consumer psychology on chronotypes, one question may be asked: Would they gain from the experiential advantage (where people elicit greater happiness from experiential vs. material purchases) and become happier? We find that evening types, in fact, elicit lower levels of happiness from their experiential purchases compared to morning types and, in effect, feel happier from their material purchases. Furthermore, this is because of the greater subjective distance they feel from their experiential purchases. This research contributes to our understanding of long‐term happiness in a significant section of society—evening types and also calls on researchers to explore the topic of evening chronotype happiness and well‐being in greater depth from a marketing perspective.

As social robots begin to assume various social roles in society, the demand for understanding how social robots work and communicate grows rapidly. While literature on explainable artificial intelligence suggests that transparency about a social robot's working mechanism can evoke users' positive attitudes, transparency may also have negative outcomes. This study investigates the paradoxical effects of the transparency of facial recognition technology and speech recognition technology in human-robot interactions. Based on a lab experiment and combined analyses of users' quantitative and qualitative responses, this study suggests that the transparency of facial recognition technology in human-robot interaction increases users' social presence, reduces privacy concerns, and enhances users’ acceptance of robots. However, exposure to both facial and speech recognition technologies revives users’ privacy worries. This study further parses users’ open-ended evaluation of the prospective application of social robots’ tracking technologies and discusses the theoretical, practical, and ethical value of the findings.

Obesity is often viewed as a consequence of “lack of willpower” or other behavioral choices, rather than a complex array of biological and other factors. Many undergraduates in pre-nursing or biology programs have minimal exposure to the physiology and pathophysiology of obesity, including learning about leptin and other hormones involved in appetite control. Because obesity was not previously explicitly covered as s standalone topic in the pre-nursing pathophysiology course at my institution, I developed materials for teaching about the pathophysiology of obesity. These materials were designed at two different levels for use in two different pathophysiology courses: one, a survey of pathophysiology topics for pre-nursing majors, and the other, an in-depth exploration of the molecular and cellular basis of selected diseases for upper division biology majors. In both courses, a case of human leptin deficiency and the ob/ob mouse model are used to introduce the importance of hormones in appetite control and body weight. In the molecular basis of disease course, obesity is covered as part of a unit organized around metabolic syndrome. The discussion includes molecular and cellular mechanisms that link obesity to several other diseases, including type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis. Informal feedback from students in the pre-nursing course at the end of the course suggested that students shifted their thinking about obesity from a purely behavioral phenomenon to a more nuanced understanding of obesity as a multifactorial condition. Overall, devoting class time to biological mechanisms of obesity has resulted in increased student understanding of the complex nature of body weight regulation. None. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Older, chronically ill adults already at risk for social isolation experienced exacerbated isolation due these COVID-19 interventions. This study aimed to describe the narratives of older adults with chronic illness during COVID-19, connect them to the broader literature and use them as exemplars for a holistic analysis of policies for respiratory pandemics. Using narratives related to COVID-19 experiences from a larger research study on spiritual coping with chronic heart failure, the study rendered the themes of isolation, uncertainty, and making the best of it which were connected to additional literature validating the experiences of the participants. The narratives and their themes were then used as a launching point for a holistic analysis of the pandemic response and its effects on well-being for older adults. Clinicians and policymakers should carefully consider not just the physical health burden of a respiratory pandemic on older, chronically, ill adults, but also the holistic health burdens of policies. With these broader health domain considerations in mind ethical and practical recommendations future responses to viral respiratory pandemics are offered.

This essay focuses attention on Polanyi’s 1946 book Science, Faith and Society as an early constructive philosophical effort to rehabilitate belief and show that it is integral to science. Particularly important is the opening chapter “Science and Reality,” which is Polanyi’s inaugural gambit directly to address the question about the nature of science in metaphysical terms. Polanyi’s metaphysical account of science affirms that fundamental beliefs of scientists, although largely not articulable, guide their effort to discern Gestalten to which they are committed as elements of reality. However, real entities remain partially hidden and later inquiry may reveal indeterminate future manifestations. My discussion in this essay reviews thematically akin publications preceding Science, Faith and Society and some of Polanyi’s later writing that re-works ideas in his early book. I also suggest that Polanyi’s ideas in Science, Faith and Society were likely influenced by his work with Dorothy Emmet.

This study highlights the development and application of a predictive analytics system in a Midwestern hospital to assess and manage the risk of patient readmissions within 30 days of discharge. By integrating advanced analytical modeling with electronic health records, the system enables the creation of personalized care plans by accurately predicting patients' readmission risks and the optimal timing for interventions. The results suggest that such models can significantly improve resource allocation and the personalization of care plans, thereby reducing unnecessary readmissions and aligning with value-based, patient-centered healthcare goals.

Views of obesity as a consequence of "lack of willpower" or other behavioral choices, rather than a complex array of biological and other factors, are quite common among undergraduate students. Many undergraduates in pre-nursing or biology programs have little exposure to the physiology and pathophysiology of obesity, including learning about leptin and other hormones involved in appetite control. I developed materials for teaching about the pathophysiology of obesity in two different pathophysiology courses: one designed as a survey of pathophysiology topics for pre-nursing majors, and the other designed as an in-depth exploration of the molecular and cellular basis of selected diseases for upper division biology majors. In the molecular basis of disease course, obesity is covered as part of a unit organized around metabolic syndrome. The discussion includes molecular and cellular mechanisms that link obesity to several other diseases, including type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis. This article briefly describes the approaches I have taken for teaching obesity to two different undergraduate student populations, and lists several resources that may be useful tools for teaching about obesity.