Implementation and Evaluation of Exercise and Performance Learning Assistant System Platform for Yoga Pose Practices Using Node.js

To support people enjoying exercises or learning performances at home such as Yoga poses or traditional dances, we have developed Exercise and Performance Learning Assistant System (EPLAS). In EPLAS, the user can practice it by following the model performance of the instructor in the video. Then, the key poses of the user will be rated as the feedback by comparing the keypoints between the instructor and the user that are extracted by OpenPose. We have provided the platform using the web browser. However, OpenPose needs to run on OS directly. We developed the EPLAS platform in this paper using Node.js as the web application server. When a user requests it via the browser, the rating function is immediately executed on the server. Furthermore, we employ use Docker to simply distribute the platform. We invited 10 Okayama University students to do various Yoga positions using the EPLAS for assessments, and the results verified the success of the deployment. © 2022 IEEE.

An Implementation of Exercise and Performance Learning Assistant System Platform Using Node.js

To assist practicing exercises or learning performances by themselves at home under pandemic of COVID-19, we have studied the Exercise and Performance Learning Assistant System (EPLAS) and implemented the user interface using a web browser for practicing Yoga poses. EPLAS offers a video content of model actions by an instructor to be followed by the user, and automatically takes the photos of the critical poses. Then, it rates each critical pose by differences of body key points extracted by OpenPose between the user photo and the instructor one. In this paper, we implement the EPLAS platform using Node.js as the web application server to run the rating function automatically on the server when it is requested on the browser. For evaluations, we asked 10 students in Okayama University to practice 10 Yoga poses using the interface, and confirmed its correctness. © 2022 IEEE.

Identifying neighborhood reinforcement method to enhancing socioeconomic development in indonesia: A quintuple helix perspective

COVID-19 is having a significant impact on the world. Not only attacking the health sector, but the effect of this pandemic is also rooting in all industries. Several states are struggling with an economic recession within several months. Indonesia is one of the countries which experiences the economic downturn shown by the increase in the number of poverties, unemployment, and laid-off workers. While struggling with these issues, both government and Indonesian society should work together to prevent the economic recession. This research aims to capture the impact of social awareness by the community to slow down the pandemic’s effect. Social awareness as a snapshot of the neighborhood reinforcement method (NRM) is used to measure the program’s impact. This research is conducted in a subsidized housing community in Malang. Using structural equation model, this study attempts to measure five different aspects, including (i) economic aspects, (ii) human aspects, (iii) sociocultural aspects, (iv) political aspects, and (v) protection aspects. The result shows a different impact on each element, both positively or negatively. © 2022 by Emerald Publishing Limited.

Factors affecting recurrent positive RT-PCR results in clinically cured COVID-19 patients: a multicenter study

The aim of this study was to evaluate factors affecting the recurrence of positive RT-PCR results. By performing a retrospective analysis, we evaluated the clinical data of recurrent positive coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients in multiple medical institutions in Wuhan. We recruited COVID-19 patients who were hospitalized from January 1 to March 10, 2020, in three tertiary hospitals in Wuhan, met the discharge criteria and received at least one additional nucleic acid test before leaving the hospital. According to the RT-PCR results, patients were split into a recurrent positive group (RPos group) and a nonrecurrent positive group (non-RPos group). Clinical characteristics, therapeutic schedules and antibody titers were compared between the two groups. AI-assisted chest high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) technology was applied to investigate pulmonary inflammatory exudation and compare the extent of lung areas with different densities. This study involved 122 COVID-19 patients. There were no significant differences in age, sex, preexisting diseases, clinical symptoms, clinical classification, course of disease, therapeutic schedules or serum-specific antibodies between the two groups. A higher proportion of patients who showed pulmonary inflammatory exudation on HRCT scans were recurrent positive at the time of discharge than other patients (81.6% vs 13.7%, P < 0.01). In addition, the degree of pulmonary fibrosis was higher in the RPos group than in the non-RPos group (P < 0.05). Subpleural exudation at the peripheral edge of the lung and extensive pulmonary fibrosis at the time of discharge represent risk factors for the recurrence of COVID-19.

Screening strategy of TMPRSS2 inhibitors by FRET-based enzymatic activity for TMPRSS2-based cancer and COVID-19 treatment

Transmembrane serine protease (TMPRSS2) plays an oncogenic role in prostate cancer as the fusion gene with ERG, and has also been demonstrated to be essential for the cellular entry of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronaviruses (SARS-CoV). Thus, targeting TMPRSS2 is a promising strategy for therapies against both prostate cancer and coronavirus infection. Although Nafamostat and Camostat have been identified as TMPRSS2 inhibitors, severe side effects such as cerebral hemorrhage, anaphylactoid reaction, and cardiac arrest shock greatly hamper their clinical use. Therefore, more potent and safer drugs against this serine protease should be further developed. In this study, we developed a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based platform for effectively screening of inhibitors against TMPRSS2 protease activity. The disruption of FRET between green and red fluorescent proteins conjugated with the substrate peptide, which corresponds to the cleavage site of SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein, was measured to determine the enzymatic activity of TMPRSS2. Through an initiate pilot screening with around 100 compounds, Flupirtine, a selective neuronal potassium channel opener, was identified as a potential TMPRSS2 inhibitor from an FDA-approved drug library by using this screening platform, and showed inhibitory effect on the TMPRSS-dependent infection of SARS-CoV-2 Spike-pseudotyped lentiviral particles. This study describes a platform proven effective for rapidly screening of TMPRSS2 inhibitors, and suggests that Flupirtine may be worthy of further consideration of repurposing to treat COVID-19 patients.

Clinical characteristics and prognosis of COVID-19 patients with initial presentation of lung lesions confined to a single pulmonary lobe

Background: COVID-19 patients showed certain characteristic features of multiple signs in bilateral lungs. Some patients only had a single pulmonary lobe lesion, which has not been reported previously. Single pulmonary lobe lesions are easily missed or misdiagnosed if they do not receive enough attention. Objective: To study the imaging manifestations, clinical features and outcomes of patients with COVID-19 with only one single pulmonary lobe lesion. Methods: Patient clinical data were collected only from patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection by RT-PCR, which was confined to only single lobe lesions on chest CT imaging findings at the onset. Which lobe was frequently involved, the imaging manifestations, clinical features and outcomes were also analyzed. Result: From January 1, 2020, to March 14, 2020, a total of 367 inpatients were diagnosed with COVID-19, in which 50 (13.6%) patients were confirmed with only one single pulmonary lobe lesion. The most frequently involved lobe was the right lower lobe (18 patients, 36%, highest). Lesions in the lower lobe easily spread to all lobes of the bilateral lungs (P<0.001, χ2=10.264), especially the left lower lobe, and were less frequent in the right upper lobe. During hospitalization, 2 (4%) patients were admitted to the ICU, 2 (4%) patients died, and 28 (56%) patients developed lesions in other lobes within 6.32±3.71 days. Conclusions: The general pattern of COVID-19 imaging with localized nodules may also cause severe respiratory symptoms of bilateral lung disease, serious complications, or even death in patients with multiple lobe lesions or bilateral lung lesions, which should not be underestimated.