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Bioinspiration & Biomimetics Jul 2023In bio-inspired design, the concept of 'function' allows engineers and designers to move between biological models and human applications. Abstracting a problem to... (Review)
Review
In bio-inspired design, the concept of 'function' allows engineers and designers to move between biological models and human applications. Abstracting a problem to general functions allows designers to look to traits that perform analogous functions in biological organisms. However, the idea of function can mean different things across fields, presenting challenges for interdisciplinary research. Here we review core ideas in biology that relate to the concept of 'function,' including adaptation, tradeoffs, and fitness, as a companion to bio-inspired design approaches. We align these ideas with a top-down approach in biomimetics, where engineers or designers start with a problem of interest and look to biology for ideas. We review how one can explore a range of biological analogies for a given function by considering function across different parts of an organism's life, such as acquiring nutrients or avoiding disease. Engineers may also draw inspiration from biological traits or systems that exhibit a particular function, but did not necessarily evolve to do so. Such an evolutionary perspective is important to how biodesigners search biological space for ideas. A consideration of the evolution of trait function can also clarify potential trade-offs and biological models that may be more promising for an application. This core set of concepts from evolutionary and organismal biology can aid engineers and designers in their search for biological inspiration.
Topics: Humans; Biomimetics; Models, Biological; Engineering; Biology
PubMed: 37429293
DOI: 10.1088/1748-3190/ace5fb -
Journal of Advanced Nursing Jun 2024To identify factors associated with resilience in family caregivers of Asian older people with dementia based on Luthar and Cicchetti's definition of resilience. (Review)
Review
AIM
To identify factors associated with resilience in family caregivers of Asian older people with dementia based on Luthar and Cicchetti's definition of resilience.
DESIGN
Integrative review of resilience in family caregivers of Asian older people with dementia reported by studies with quantitative and qualitative research designs.
DATA SOURCES
Databases used for the literature search included CINAHL, PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO and Google Scholar.
REVIEW METHODS
A total of 565 potentially relevant studies published between January 1985 and March 2024 were screened, and 27 articles met the inclusion criteria.
RESULTS
Family caregivers were most commonly adult children of care recipients, female and providing care in their home. Two themes emerged from the review: factors associated with adversity (dementia severity, caregiver role strain, stigma, family stress, female gender, low income and low education) and factors associated with positive adaptational outcomes (positive aspect of caregiving, social support and religiosity/spirituality).
CONCLUSION
In our review of Asian research, four new factors-caregiver role strain, stigma, family stress and positive aspects of caregiving-emerged alongside those previously identified in Western studies. A paradigm shift was observed from a focus on factors associated with adversity to factors associated with positive adaptational outcomes, particularly after the issuance of the WHO's 2017 global action plan for dementia. However, a gap remains between WHO policy recommendations and actual research, with studies often neglecting to address gender and socioeconomic factors.
IMPACT
The review findings will broaden healthcare providers' understanding of resilience in dementia caregivers and use them to develop comprehensive programmes aimed at reducing factors associated with adversity and enhancing those associated with positive adaptational outcomes. This approach can be customized to incorporate Asian cultural values, empowering caregivers to navigate challenges more effectively.
NO PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION
This paper is an integrative review and does not include patient or public contributions.
PubMed: 38863175
DOI: 10.1111/jan.16272 -
IEEE Transactions on Cybernetics Aug 2023Quadrotors are one of the popular unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) due to their versatility and simple design. However, the tuning of gains for quadrotor flight...
Quadrotors are one of the popular unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) due to their versatility and simple design. However, the tuning of gains for quadrotor flight controllers can be laborious, and accurately stable control of trajectories can be difficult to maintain under exogenous disturbances and uncertain system parameters. This article introduces a novel robust adaptive control synthesis methodology for a quadrotor robot's attitude and altitude stabilization. The proposed method is based on the fuzzy reinforcement learning and strictly negative imaginary (SNI) property. The first stage of our control approach is to transform a nonlinear quadrotor system into an equivalent negative-imaginary (NI) linear model by means of the feedback linearization (FL) technique. The second phase is to design a control scheme that adapts online the SNI controller gains via fuzzy Q -learning. The performance of the designed controller is compared with that of a fixed-gain SNI controller, a fuzzy-SNI controller, and a conventional PID controller in a series of numerical simulations. Furthermore, the proofs for the stability of the proposed controller and the adaptive laws are provided using the NI theorem.
PubMed: 35666787
DOI: 10.1109/TCYB.2022.3175366 -
IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks... Aug 2023A memory mechanism has attracted growing popularity in tracking tasks due to the ability of learning long-term-dependent information. However, it is very challenging for...
A memory mechanism has attracted growing popularity in tracking tasks due to the ability of learning long-term-dependent information. However, it is very challenging for existing memory modules to provide the intrinsic attribute information of the target to the tracker in complex scenes. In this article, by considering the biological visual memory mechanisms, we propose the novel online tracking method via an attention-driven memory network, which can mine discriminative memory information and enhance the robustness and reliability of the tracker. First, to reinforce effectiveness of memory content, we design a novel attention-driven memory network. In the network, the long memory module gains property-level memory information by focusing on the state of the target at both the channel and spatial levels. Meanwhile, in reciprocity, we add a short-term memory module to maintain good adaptability when confronting drastic deformation of the target. The attention-driven memory network can adaptively adjust the contribution of short-term and long-term memories to tracking results under the weighted gradient harmonized loss. On this basis, to avoid model performance degradation, an online memory updater (MU) is further proposed. It is designed to mining for target information in tracking results through the Mixer layer and the online head network together. By evaluating the confidence of the tracking results, the memory updater can accurately judge the time of updating the model, which guarantees the effectiveness of online memory updates. Finally, the proposed method performs favorably and has been extensively validated on several benchmark datasets, including object tracking benchmark-50/100 (OTB-50/100), temple color-128 (TC-128), unmanned aerial vehicles-123 (UAV-123), generic object tracking -10k (GOT-10k), visual object tracking-2016 (VOT-2016), and VOT-2018 against several advanced methods.
PubMed: 37566501
DOI: 10.1109/TNNLS.2023.3299412 -
Disability and Rehabilitation.... Feb 2024Throughout the world, mobility devices are usually distributed using product-based business models, where a device is provided to a user, and serviced or replaced when... (Review)
Review
PURPOSE
Throughout the world, mobility devices are usually distributed using product-based business models, where a device is provided to a user, and serviced or replaced when the user returns to the clinic with an issue. Moving to a service-based business model can provide continuous and customised support for the user, and provide the clinicians and manufacturers with better data to base their decisions on. This study reviews papers on assistive technology service-based business models and considerations in designing such a model to optimise economic and social value. It then applies the findings to the mobility device space.
METHOD
A systematic literature search was undertaken in PubMed, Web of Science, and OVID databases to analyse studies that discuss service delivery models used to provide assistive products. Inductive thematic analysis determined the themes, facilitators and barriers associated with providing a service. Findings were applied to mobility device service provision.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION
Themes from the 29 relevant papers were grouped into four categories: (affordability/availability/education), (customisability/usability/adaptability), (quality/sustainability/impact), and (policy/privacy/security). The most common themes were customisability, affordability, availability, and education. There is a need for service-based delivery models to replace conventional product-based models, and many considerations to optimise their design. No publications discussed the design and implementation of a service-based model for mobility device provision that uses modern sensors, software and other digital technologies to optimise the service. Service-based models that use modern digital technologies are new for the mobility device field, but much can be learnt from other fields.
PubMed: 38349125
DOI: 10.1080/17483107.2024.2313077 -
Frontiers in Plant Science 2024Intercropping is considered advantageous for many reasons, including increased yield stability, nutritional value and the provision of various regulating ecosystem...
Intercropping is considered advantageous for many reasons, including increased yield stability, nutritional value and the provision of various regulating ecosystem services. However, intercropping also introduces diverse competition effects between the mixing partners, which can negatively impact their agronomic performance. Therefore, selecting complementary intercropping partners is the key to realizing a well-mixed crop production. Several specialized intercrop breeding concepts have been proposed to support the development of complementary varieties, but their practical implementation still needs to be improved. To lower this adoption threshold, we explore the potential of introducing minor adaptations to commonly used monocrop breeding strategies as an initial stepping stone towards implementing dedicated intercrop breeding schemes. While we acknowledge that recurrent selection for reciprocal mixing abilities is likely a more effective breeding paradigm to obtain genetic progress for intercrops, a well-considered adaptation of monoculture breeding strategies is far less intrusive concerning the design of the breeding programme and allows for balancing genetic gain for both monocrop and intercrop performance. The main idea is to develop compatible variety combinations by improving the monocrop performance in the two breeding pools in parallel and testing for intercrop performance in the later stages of selection. We show that the optimal stage for switching from monocrop to intercrop testing should be adapted to the specificity of the crop and the heritability of the traits involved. However, the genetic correlation between the monocrop and intercrop trait performance is the primary driver of the intercrop breeding scheme optimization process.
PubMed: 38799097
DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1394413 -
Frontiers in Health Services 2023Policy implementation science (IS) is complex, dynamic, and fraught with unique study challenges that set it apart from biomedical or clinical research. One important...
Policy implementation science (IS) is complex, dynamic, and fraught with unique study challenges that set it apart from biomedical or clinical research. One important consideration is the ways in which policy interacts with local contexts, such as power and social disadvantage (e.g., based on ability, race, class, sexual identity, geography). The complex nature of policy IS and the need for more intentional integration of equity principles into study approaches calls for creative adaptations to existing implementation science knowledge and guidance. Effectiveness-implementation hybrid studies were developed to enhance translation of clinical research by addressing research questions around the effectiveness of an intervention and its implementation in the same study. The original work on hybrid designs mainly focused on clinical experimental trials; however, over the last decade, researchers have applied it to a wide range of initiatives and contexts, including more widespread application in community-based studies. This perspectives article demonstrates how effectiveness-implementation hybrid studies can be adapted for and applied to equity-centered policy IS research. We draw upon principles of targeted universalism and Equity in Implementation Research frameworks to guide adaptations to hybrid study typologies, and suggest research and engagement activities to enhance equity considerations; for example, in the design and testing of implementing strategies. We also provide examples of equity-centered policy IS studies. As the field of policy IS rapidly evolves, these adapted hybrid type studies are offered to researchers as a starting guide.
PubMed: 37771411
DOI: 10.3389/frhs.2023.1220629 -
Journal of Biopharmaceutical Statistics Mar 2024Adaptive designs, such as group sequential designs (and the ones with additional adaptive features) or adaptive platform trials, have been quintessential efficient...
Adaptive designs, such as group sequential designs (and the ones with additional adaptive features) or adaptive platform trials, have been quintessential efficient design strategies in trials of unmet medical needs, especially for generating evidence from global regions. Such designs allow interim decision making and making adjustment to study design when necessary, meanwhile maintaining study integrity and operating characteristics. However, driven by the heightened competitive landscape and the desire to bring effective treatment to patients faster, innovation in the already functional designs is still germane to further propel drug development to a more efficient path. One way to achieve this is by leveraging external real-world data (RWD) in the adaptive designs to support interim or final decision making. In this paper, we propose a novel framework of incorporating external RWD in adaptive design to improve interim and/or final analysis decision making. Within this framework, researchers can prespecify the decision process and choose the timing and amount of borrowing while maintaining objectivity and controlling of type I error. Simulation studies in various scenarios are provided to describe power, type I error, and other performance metrics for interim/final decision making. A case study in non-small cell lung cancer is used for illustration on proposed design framework.
PubMed: 38515261
DOI: 10.1080/10543406.2024.2330212 -
Global Health, Science and Practice Dec 2023Through the collection and utilization of timely data, program implementers can review feedback and make rapid adjustments and adaptations to interventions while they...
Through the collection and utilization of timely data, program implementers can review feedback and make rapid adjustments and adaptations to interventions while they are in progress.Responsive feedback mechanisms (RFMs), which emphasize flexibility and iterative adaptation, provide opportunities for improving the fit and feasibility of a program, as well as its effectiveness. The (re)solve project-a 5-year, multicountry project testing new, context-specific solutions to address unmet need for family planning-used responsive feedback to ensure products and services designed and implemented were responsive to the context and preferences of health care workers, women, and girls. The adaptive learning meeting (ALM) cycle was designed as an RFM during implementation. This frequent series of rapid, actionable, cross-team meetings builds on several existing frameworks and practices. The ALM cycle used rapid, close to real-time data and observations from a wide range of stakeholders; routine monitoring data; and a structured, facilitated process to examine and act on feedback. Each cycle was repeated every 2 weeks for 3 months in Burkina Faso. During each cycle, the team interpreted data and feedback from multiple sources; assessed pragmatic, actionable options to address the feedback; and identified and agreed upon short- and long-loop adaptations that could improve the implementation process, coordination, efficiency, and outputs of the project. The ALM cycle proved helpful in engendering practices of surfacing and checking assumptions, careful interpretation of data, options analysis, and decision-making. The emphasis was on actionable feedback for improvement of the intervention rather than rigor of results and findings. The (re)solve project's experience with designing, structuring, and implementing the ALM cycle to address challenges and gaps in implementation can be informative for similar programs seeking to implement RFMs in complex and dynamic settings, especially where technology-based RFMs are not an option.
Topics: Humans; Female; Burkina Faso; Learning
PubMed: 38110203
DOI: 10.9745/GHSP-D-22-00217 -
Journal of Advanced Nursing Mar 2024To understand the strategies used to continue providing psychosocial support to cancer patients during the pandemic, including outcomes and implications beyond the... (Review)
Review
AIMS
To understand the strategies used to continue providing psychosocial support to cancer patients during the pandemic, including outcomes and implications beyond the pandemic.
DESIGN
A systematic review of original research.
DATA SOURCES
ProQuest Health & Medicine, CINAHL Complete (via EBSCOhost), Scopus, and PubMed were searched for original work published between January 2020 and December 2022.
METHODS
Abstract and title screening identified eligible articles for full-text review. Following a full-text review, data were extracted from eligible articles, and a risk of bias assessment was conducted. A synthesis without meta-analysis was performed.
RESULTS
Thirty-four articles met the selection criteria. These articles provide evidence that systematic adaptations during the pandemic improved the assessment and screening of psychological needs and/or increased the number of clients accessing services. Additionally, while the pandemic was associated with decreased psychosocial well-being for cancer patients, five intervention studies reported improvements in psychosocial well-being. Barriers, strategies, and recommendations were described.
CONCLUSION
Adapting psychosocial support during a pandemic can be successful, achieved relatively quickly, and can increase the uptake of support for people experiencing cancer.
IMPLICATIONS FOR PATIENT CARE
It is imperative that these adaptations continue beyond the pandemic to maximize adaptive psychosocial outcomes for a group vulnerable to ongoing mental health concerns.
IMPACT
While the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with increased psychosocial need for cancer patients, evidence in the review suggested that adaptations made to service delivery facilitated increased access for patients who may not previously have been able to access support. Additionally, improvements in psychosocial well-being were achieved. These findings are relevant for clinicians and decision-makers who fund and design psychosocial support services for cancer patients.
REPORTING METHOD
The review was guided by PRISMA Guidelines and the SWiM Reporting Guideline.
PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION
No patient or public contribution.
PubMed: 38553869
DOI: 10.1111/jan.16175