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The continuous evolution of digital technologies applied to the more traditional world of industrial automation led to Industry 4.0, which envisions production processes subject to continuous monitoring and able to dynamically respond to changes that can affect the production at any stage (resilient factory). The concept of agility, which is a core element of Industry 4.0, is defined as the ability to quickly react to breaks and quickly adapt to changes. Accurate approaches should be implemented aiming at managing, optimizing and improving production processes. In this vision paper, we show how process management (BPM) can benefit from the availability of raw data from the industrial internet of things to obtain agile processes by using a top-down approach based on automated synthesis and a bottom-up approach based on mining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Impaired walking ability is a common disability in stroke survivors and is a known risk factor of fall. Navigation of uneven terrain is essential for rural residents of regions in much of the developing world even for basic activities of daily living. AIMS: This is a preliminary exploratory study to evaluate kinematic gait parameters of the ankle joint in stroke survivors in comparison to typical adults. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seven chronic adult stroke survivors and seven age-matched typical adults were recruited for the study. Measurement of ankle and subtalar joint kinematics at different events of the gait cycle was recorded and analyzed using a motion analyzing software, Kinovea 0.8.15. Settings and Design: This is a prospective pilot study. Statistical Analysis Used: Descriptive statistics. RESULTS: During different events of the gait cycle, a large difference in range of motion in ankle and subtalar joints was noticed between stroke survivors and typical participants on pebbles and sand. CONCLUSIONS: The impact of gait deviations on joint kinetics is a future direction that will inform rehabilitation professionals on strategies to prevent joint loading, leading to dysfunction. Early intervention strategies to improve joint kinematics on different surfaces can potentially reduce the risk of fall, making the patient safe to ambulate on uneven terrains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The work capacity assessment (WCA) tool is a new tool developed specifically to assess worker suitability for working conditions in India. This study presents the preliminary results of reliability (interrater) and internal consistency of the WCA tool. AIMS: The aim of this study is to develop a work capacity tool for working conditions in India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The steps for instrument development were followed stringently. The newly developed tool addressed three categories of work: heavy manual labor, sustained labor, and sedentary work. Four participants in heavy manual labor, five in sustained labor, and five in sedentary work performed activities specified by the new scale; videography was done simultaneously. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Internal consistency between the items in the scale was ascertained by Cronbach's alpha. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was calculated for intertester reliability. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Some items in each of the three categories were removed from the final tool due to lack of variance between participants. After omitting these items, alpha was 0.65 and 1 in heavy manual labor, 0.95 and -0.14 in sustained labor, and 0.83 in sedentary work. All test items with the exception of isometric strength and posture sustainability in heavy manual labor correlated well with other items (>0.7). The final tool is fairly robust in terms of internal consistency and reliability. This is a preliminary report, and the tool needs to be further validated before clinical use on a larger and heterogeneous population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluates the feasibility of kinematic gait parameters in institutionalized 40 geriatric population using easily available software and associated objects of evaluation. The findings of this study revealed that recording and analysis of gait, using kinovea software and web cams is a feasible and objective method of gait analysis to detect abnormalities that may predispose to falls in elderly. This will help the rehabilitation practitioner to plan and implement gait strategies and interventions, thus reducing the risk and incidence of fall in elderly population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a disabling condition worldwide. In CLBP, neuroimaging studies demonstrate abnormal activities in cortical areas responsible for pain modulation, emotional, and sensory components of pain experience [i.e., pregenual and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (pgACC, dACC), and somatosensory cortex (SSC), respectively]. This pilot study, conducted in a university setting, evaluated the feasibility, safety, and acceptability of a novel electroencephalography-based infraslow-neurofeedback (EEG ISF-NF) technique for retraining activities in pgACC, dACC and SSC and explored its effects on pain and disability. Participants with CLBP (n = 60), recruited between July'20 to March'21, received 12 sessions of either: ISF-NF targeting pgACC, dACC + SSC, a ratio of pgACC*2/dACC + SSC, or Placebo-NF. Descriptive statistics demonstrated that ISF-NF training is feasible [recruitment rate (7 participants/month), dropouts (25%; 20–27%), and adherence (80%; 73–88%)], safe (no adverse events reported), and was moderate to highly acceptable [Mean ± SD: 7.8 ± 2.0 (pgACC), 7.5 ± 2.7 (dACC + SCC), 8.2 ± 1.9 (Ratio), and 7.7 ± 1.5 (Placebo)]. ISF-NF targeting pgACC demonstrated the most favourable clinical outcomes, with a higher proportion of participants exhibiting a clinically meaningful reduction in pain severity [53%; MD (95% CI): − 1.9 (− 2.7, − 1.0)], interference [80%; MD (95% CI): − 2.3 (− 3.5, − 1.2)], and disability [73%; MD (95% CI): − 4.5 (− 6.1, − 2.9)] at 1-month follow-up. ISF-NF training is a feasible, safe, and an acceptable treatment approach for CLBP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Comprehensive and interdisciplinary measurement of rehabilitation outcome is an essential part of the assessment and prognosis of a patient. Thus, this requires substantial contributions from the patient, their family and the rehabilitation professional working with them. Moreover, the measurement tool should be comprehensive and must consider the cultural compatibility, cost efficiency and contextual factors of the region.Methods: The Comprehensive Rehabilitation Outcome Measurement Scale (CROMS) was developed through consensus and followed the Delphi process incorporating inputs from various rehabilitation professionals. The domains and items were finalized using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The tool was validated in two native languages and back-translated considering the semantic equivalence of the scale. Intra-class correlation coefficient was performed to determine the agreement between the therapist and patient-reported scales.Results: The final CROMS carries 32 comprehensive items that can be completed by the person with disability and the professional team. CROMS compares well to similar items on FIM (l ICC of 0.93) and has good internal consistency with a Cronbach's Alpha of 0.92 for both patient and therapist reported measures.Conclusions: The 32 item CROMS is a tool that can potentially be used to evaluate the functional independence of various patient populations, predominantly patients with neurological disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Comparison of sway parameters of visually impaired participants to that of the sighted population may give insight into the intrinsic risk of falls relative to the surface. Sway is a natural mechanism to adjust the posture and maintain balance. But the sway characteristics on uneven surfaces are ill explored. There is a paucity of evidence on baseline values of sway amplitude in visually impaired women in comparison to sighted women, which underpins the importance of this study. Methods: Eighteen visually impaired young women and an equal number of age-matched sighted peers were recruited by convenience to this prospective observational study. Sway amplitude of the participants were measured using a sway meter on three different surfaces, with eyes opened and closed conditions, using videography and analyzed using Kinovea motion analyzing software. Demographics and participant characteristics were summarized using descriptive statistics. The comparison were performed using independent sample t -test. Results: Visually impaired women demonstrated lower amplitude of sway than sighted young women, irrespective of the surface. Discussion: There was a gradual increase in sway amplitude as the standing surfaces changed from even to sand and pebbles, respectively, for both groups. Implications for Practitioners: Contrary to the existing evidence, the results of this study indicate that visually impaired young individuals may not be not at higher intrinsic risk of falls on various terrains than their sighted peers. The authors hypothesize that the lower sway among visually impaired participants can be attributed to the learned strategy for safety from exposure to real-life pragmatic environments during everyday activities, which enabled them to adopt postural strategies as a safety measure. Hence, this strategy can potentially be used in dynamic situations to decrease the propensity for falls during ambulation in visually impaired individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE: Development of an easy to use tool for the assessment of Developmental Coordination Disorder that is applicable to Indian children. METHODS: The steps for instrument development were followed stringently. In order to ensure the robustness of the tool, psychometric properties were determined with 127 children attending various schools. The Winsteps program was used to analyze data for a Rasch model analysis. RESULTS: The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy (KMO) analysis showed an acceptable limit. The real item separation reliability of 4.84 demonstrates that the items of this tool create a well-defined variable. CONCLUSION: This study met the objectives that it attempted to. The final tool consists of two versions- the Assessment Battery for Children with coordination Disorder-Short Version (ABCD-SV) consisting of 12 items, and the ABCD-FV consisting of 20 items. ABCD fulfills criterion A and B of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) criteria for Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]