Effects of different tools and working height on physical workload in vertical cleaning tasks applying ambient control techniques.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of different tools and working heights on physical workloads in vertical cleaning tasks. Thirty healthy adults were recruited to use a rag and a long-handle tool (LHT) to simulate cleaning operations on the Wii Fit board surfaces of 3 different heights, respectively. Participants used a lower 50th percentile force but were required to spend a longer time to finish the task while using an LHT than using a rag.

Disclosing Critical Voice Features for Discriminating between Depression and Insomnia-A Preliminary Study for Developing a Quantitative Method.

Depression and insomnia are highly related-insomnia is a common symptom among depression patients, and insomnia can result in depression. Although depression patients and insomnia patients should be treated with different approaches, the lack of practical biological markers makes it difficult to discriminate between depression and insomnia effectively. This study aimed to disclose critical vocal features for discriminating between depression and insomnia.

Predicting Emotional Valence of People Living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Using Daily Voice Clips: A Preliminary Study.

To detect depression in people living with the human immunodeficiency virus (PLHIV), this preliminary study developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model aimed at discriminating the emotional valence of PLHIV. Sixteen PLHIV recruited from the Taoyuan General Hospital, Ministry of Health and Welfare, participated in this study from 2019 to 2020. A self-developed mobile application (app) was installed on sixteen participants' mobile phones and recorded their daily voice clips and emotional valence values.

Body volume estimation equation for male laborers in Taiwan.

The purpose of this study was to develop a body volume () estimation equation for male laborers in Taiwan with body weight () and stature height () as initial estimators. A three-dimensional (3D) body scanner and a 3D foot scanner were used to measure the 3D range data of 100 male laborers in this study. Subjects' was extracted from the 3D body model, and and were used as independent variables in regression analysis.

Evaluation of a proposed chair with an arm support for wiring terminal blocks on a vertical plane.

To reduce the muscular exertion of an operator wiring terminal blocks on a vertical plane, a chair with a unique back that can be used as a back support or arm support is proposed in this study. A digital version of the chair was first developed based on anthropometric data and tested with a digital anthropometric subject using the Jack software before the physical chair was developed. To evaluate the effects of the physical chair, an experiment of wiring terminal blocks was conducted with 12 subjects to test whether the use of the arm support can reduce muscular exertion.

Differences in computer exposure between university administrators and CAD draftsmen.

This study utilized an external logger system for onsite measurements of computer activities of two professional groups-twelve university administrators and twelve computer-aided design (CAD) draftsmen. Computer use of each participant was recorded for 10 consecutive days-an average of 7.9+/-1.

Ergonomic risk factors for the wrists of hairdressers.

This study utilized a portable data logger to measure the wrist angles and forearm flexor and extensor electromyography (EMG) of 21 hairstylists. The hairstylists were divided into two groups, one with 11 barbers (9 males and 2 females) specializing in men's hairdressing, and one with 10 hairdressers (2 males and 8 females) specializing in women's hairdressing. The standard haircut task was divided into three subtasks: hair cutting, washing and blow-drying.

Design and feasibility study of an integrated pointing device apparatus for individuals with spinal cord injury.

Despite the commercial availability of numerous computer-pointing devices, many severely disabled individuals still rely on customized equipment to operate computers. This study presents a novel Integrated Pointing Device Apparatus (IPDA) that integrates numerous commercial pointing devices. The novel IPDA, which complies with a standard USB 1.