ABSTRACT
Given the prospect of low birth rate and aging population among developed countries, which further resulted in the shortage of workforces, service robots have been gradually applied to real-life from past academic research. This paper introduces the development of a service robot that is designed for food service in fast-food restaurants with the innovative improvement of mapping, localization, and navigation. Moreover, this research took the initiative of integrating 3D point cloud map and 2D occupancy grid map (OGM) in order to build a PC-OGM. In another word, using the sensory fusion method allows the service robot to adapt to a more complicated environment as well as enhance its positioning. In terms of its navigation function, the adaptive motion controller is refined so the service robot could navigate through narrow aisles smoothly. Finally, friendly contact-free food service robots were evaluated at fast-food restaurants in order to gain feedback from diners and waiters. Their feedback was broken down into 3 categories, availability, reliability, and satisfaction, for further analysis. As COVID-19 assails the world, we also look into future possibilities of food service robot deployment among restaurants to keep food and surface free from the virus. Author
ABSTRACT
The development of new medical procedures and medical services in the environment that has been changed by COVID-19 is indispensable for the improvement of public health. This paper discusses how the concept of incentive systems and employees’ entrepreneurship can be applied to achieve innovation performance within a hospital sector in South Korea. The purpose of this study is to examine relationships among the incentive system, employees’ entrepreneurship and innovation performance. In addition, the study investigates the moderating effect of locus of control between all of model path. A confirmatory factor analysis validated the measurement model, and subsequently, a structural equation modeling tested the proposed model by using SPSS 26.0, while data were analyzed using AMOS 20.0 statistics software. The result of the paper shows the positive effects of the incentive system on employees’ entrepreneurship. Furthermore, employees’ entrepreneurship has a significant influence on the product innovation and process innovation. Finally, the moderating effect according to locus of control was partially adopted. The results of the study are expected to suggest academic and practical implications to the private hospital field. © 2021, Success Culture Press. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
If age boundaries are arbitrarily or roughly defined, age-related analyses can result in questionable findings. Here, we aimed to delineate the uniquely age-dependent immune features of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a retrospective study of 447 patients, stratified according to age distributions of COVID-19 morbidity statistics into well-defined age-cohorts ( 2-25y, 26-38y, 39-57y, 58-68y, and 69- 79y). Agedependent susceptibilities and severities of the disease were observed in COVID-19 patients. A comparison of the lymphocyte counts among the five age- groups indicated that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS- CoV-2) infection led to age-dependent lymphopenia. Among the lymphocyte subsets, the CD8(+) T cell count alone was significantly and age-dependently decreased (520, 385, 320, 172, and 139 n/ mu l in the five age-groups, respectively). In contrast, the CD4(+) T cell, B cell, and natural killer cell counts did not differ among age-cohorts. Age and CD8(+) T cell counts ( r=.0.435, p<0.0001) were negatively correlated in COVID- 19 patients. Moreover, SARS-CoV-2 infection age-dependently increased the plasma C-reactive protein concentrations (2.0, 5.0, 9.0, 11.6, and 36.1 mg/L in the five age-groups, respectively). These findings can be used to elucidate the role of CD8+ T cells in age-related pathogenesis and to help develop therapeutic strategies for COVID-19.