Narrow Results

This paper measures the impact of a micronutrient training among women farmers with young children on the demand for zinc-enhanced varieties. We conducted a randomized control trial by providing micronutrient training in randomly selected villages in May–June 2017. These farmers were also given information on the biofortification of rice with zinc. One week after the training, we conducted a phone-based bidding for high-zinc rice seeds among trainees and their counterparts in control villages. More than 70% of the treated female farmers participated in the bidding for high-zinc rice seed, but only 23% of the women in the control group participated in the bidding. Female farmers who self-reported that they had input into most or all decisions on the use of income generated from rice bid a higher price than other female farmers. The results suggest the effectiveness of the micronutrient training, at least in a short period immediately after the training.

Mobile phones are very useful devices. One can phone with them and one can also use them to reach and teach students in high schools as well as in universities. To this end, with an example, the feasibility of the approach was demonstrated. A science simulation using the processing power of the phone was also shown.

Digital watermarking technology would be very useful as part of a related service introduction system (RSIS); which links physical objects in the real world, such as printed photographs, to those in the cyber world. In this paper, we focus on a camera-equipped mobile phone as an RSIS terminal, and propose a fast watermark detection scheme for the captured images. The proposed scheme consists of two processes; to correct geometric distortion of the captured image, and to detect watermark information from the corrected image. For our scheme, we also propose a fast quadrangle detection algorithm and a robust watermarking algorithm. Moreover, we introduce a quantitative evaluation method for determining the reliability of watermark detection, which is essential for RSIS services. Finally, we show that the proposed scheme enables users to detect embedded information far less than one second, even when implemented as a Java application on a mobile phone with limited resources, and our experiments confirm the efficiency of our scheme.

As one important clue to understand people's behavior and life pattern, transportation mode (such as walking, bicycling, taking bus, driving, taking light-rail or subway, etc.) information has already widely used in mobile recommendation, route planning, social networking and health caring. This paper proposes a transportation mode recognition method using probability fusion of extreme learning machines (ELMs). Two ELM classification models are trained to recognize accelerometer data and Global Positioning System (GPS) data, respectively. Fuzzy output vectors of these two ELMs are transformed into probability vectors and fused to determine the final result. Experimental results verify that the proposed method is effective and can obtain higher recognition accuracy than traditional fusion methods.

The adverse effects of excessive mobile phone (MP) use on children include deprivation from sleep, increased risk of lack of concentration, depression, anxiety and obesity. No such study has been conducted in children from Pakistan. Objectives: To assess the association of MP usage and musculoskeletal disorders in school going children. Methods: This was a cross sectional survey. Data were collected from different private schools of Karachi, Pakistan. Convenient non probability sampling technique was used. A sample size of 385 students was taken keeping a confidence interval of 95% with 5% margin of error. Results: A total of 385 subjects participated. It was also noticed that 75.6% (291) students have smart phone and 5.2% (20) have conventional phone and remaining 19.2% (74) have camera phone. It was noticed that the participants 306 (79.5%) said they slept for 1–2h daily and 30 (7.8%) had sleep for 3–4h daily. One hundred and four 104 (27%) had noticed pain in neck. Conclusion: The use of MP for any activity was associated with sleep deprivation and pain in wrist/hands followed by neck and upper back pain. The usage of MP should be limited to avoid the stress on musculoskeletal parts of the body.

Singapore Heart Foundation Launches Mobile CPR Download.

NHG Annual Scientifc Congress (ASC).

With the popularization of communication equipment and the decreasing communication fees, almost everyone owns at least one mobile phone, because there are multiple features in the mobile phone, such as address books, notebooks, on-line electronic dictionaries, text messaging, etc. While it brings us its convenience, it also provides us with more opportunities to enter Chinese characters. According to the current statistics, the most popular way to communicate is to use text messaging in the mobile phone, as well as sending e-mail. Therefore, how to efficiently input Chinese characters has become quite important. At present, the most accepted method of Chinese input is phonetic symbol input. Therefore, the point behind this paper is to revise the disadvantages of phonetic symbol input and use the recombination of phonetic symbols on the keyboard to reduce the typing time.

Mobile phones (MPs) progressed from a tool of the privileged few to a gadget for the masses. However, the physical effects, which enable wireless information transmission, did not change; MP technology still relies on pulsed high-frequency electromagnetic (EM) fields. Therefore, the health risks, associated with EM fields, remain. Studies that investigated these health risks have reported dizziness, numbness in the thigh, and heaviness in the chest. This study investigates neurological effects that are caused by EM fields radiated from MPs. The heart rate variability (HRV) can be used as a measure for these neurological effects, because the automated nervous system modulates the HRV. We measured the HRV of 14 healthy male volunteers. We used the following nonlinear parameters to quantify the MP radiation effects on HRV: approximate entropy (ApEn), capacity dimension (CaD), correlation dimension (CD), fractal dimension (FD), Hurst exponent (H), and the largest Lyapunov exponent (LLE). The results indicate that there is a measurable difference in the parameter values when the MP is kept close to the chest and when it is kept close to the head. However, these differences are very small and statistical analysis showed that they have no clinical significance. Furthermore, the result analysis does not show a consistent trend, which indicates that there is no underlying pathological effect.

The digital divide first emerged as an important social and human rights issue in the 1990s. With the rapid development of wireless network technology (e.g., Wi-Fi and cellular networks) and mobile terminal devices (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and tablets), this issue has shifted to concern mobile Internet access. The three main Chinese telecom operators (China Mobile Communications Corporation, China Unicom Communications Corporation, and China Telecom Communications Corporation) have recently promoted unlimited data plans (UDPs) to reduce information usage costs and increase mobile data use. However, assessments of the impact of these policy changes on the mobile digital divide are limited. This study therefore offers insights into how a reduction in information costs can eliminate this divide. Using a difference-in-differences (DID) approach based on a monthly panel of system-generated mobile app data for subscribers, we find that the UDPs have various effects on promoting the use of mobile Internet and on the digital divide, depending on whether subscribers are of high or low socioeconomic status (i.e., urban versus rural and rich versus poor). We show that the relative differences are alleviated, but the absolute difference further increases after the implementation of a UDP subscription. In addition, a UDP subscription has heterogeneous effects on lifestyles. For the poor or those in rural areas, only promoting UDP does not effectively narrow the mobile digital divide because of insufficient cognition about and persistent weaknesses in the use of information technology.

Over the past decade, there have been dramatic increases in the usage of mobile phones in the world. Currently available smart mobile phones are capable of storing enormous amounts of personal information/data. The smart mobile phone is also capable of connecting to other devices, with the help of different applications. Consequently, with these connections comes the requirement of security to protect personal information. Nowadays, in many applications, a biometric fingerprint recognition system has been embedded as a primary security measure. To enable a biometric fingerprint recognition system in smart mobile phones, without any additional costs, a built-in high performance camera can be utilized. The camera can capture the fingerprint image and generate biometric traits that qualify the biometric fingerprint authentication approach. However, the images acquired by a mobile phone are entirely different from the images obtained by dedicated fingerprint sensors. In this paper, we present the current trend in biometric fingerprint authentication techniques using mobile phones and explore some of the future possibilities in this field.

This research presents a client and server-based mobile application for recognition and authentication of banknotes; the system extracted the shape context (SC), Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT), gradient location and orientation histogram (GLOH), and Histogram of Gradient (HOG). It then reduces the feature set using Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Bag of Words and proposed two-dimension reduction approach based on low variance and high correlation filter. The classification was done using a 2-fold Weighted Majority Average (WMA) Ensemble technique with MPLNN and MCSVM as base classifiers. The application was built using Unity 3D; it was tested on Naira, USD, CAD and Euro banknotes and the experimental results proved that the implemented feature vector and the proposed feature reduction and classification technique presented the best results and with promising recognition accuracy, detection rate, and processing time.

Background: De Quervain tenosynovitis (DQT) has been associated with repetitive movements of the radial first dorsal compartment. Since 2007, smartphones have become ingrained in society. Their functionality is primarily performed by dexterity of the user’s thumb(s). The aim of this study was to review the current literature regarding the correlation between DQT and smartphone usage as a systematic review has not previously been presented.

Methods: A literature review was conducted electronically using the EMBASE, PubMed, Cochrane and MEDLINE search libraries during May of 2019. Studies eligible for inclusion were English-language studies assessing the link between mobile phone use and DQT. Included studies were required to report on focused outcomes. Only original data studies were included. Case studies, those with data sets collected prior to 2007, foreign language research were excluded.

Results: A positive Finkelstein’s result within the cohorts was found in a mean of 51.54% of participants. Odds ratios (OR) of 1.5 to 2.3 were found with increasing frequency of text messages and DQT. Females were found to have a higher frequency of text messages daily. Internet browsing and gaming on mobile phones were associated with an OR of 2.21 and 2.61 respectively. DQT associated pain correlated to a mild disruption in daily tasks. On a visual analogue scale, this pain was represented as a 4 out of 10.

Conclusions: In conclusion, there appears to be a linear association between frequency of text messages and incidence of DQT. Additionally, there is an association between DQT pain and a mild disruption to daily activities other than mobile phone use.

The unabated influx of transnational labour migrants has been accompanied by complex societal fissures, from differential policies to the creation of isolated cultural geographies. In Singapore, citizens voice their aggravation caused by transients’ lack of acculturation, and the resultant risks posed to the cosmopolitan vision of the state. We examine the intersection of transnational acculturation with mediated communication via mobile phones within the domains of life and work. Data from in-depth qualitative interviews (75) allowed for thick descriptions. We find that, despite encountering heterotopic practices, transnational migrant workers engage in a phenomenon we label ‘bounded cosmopolitanism’, or the ability to engage in learning, enjoy economic growth, and embrace cultural hybridity, to escape the shackles of race, class, and gender. Mobile phones play a significant role in providing open participatory spaces; yet; this phenomenon signifying openness, innovation, and acceptance is restricted to organizational workspaces. We therefore conclude with comments on the implications of applying management perspectives to broader societal challenges, and propose shifting of the discourse from the bounded confines of the organization to that of society.

In this paper, a novel modified algorithm for audio communication is applied to optical communications module by audio interface of mobile phone. This module and Android APP of mobile phone can undertake two-way communication, which together constitute a standard independent communication system, and the system is scalable which can even become a platform and implement a variety of rich and useful functions. Furthermore, we combine the LED light with the communication platform. Received by the communication module and then passing the audio interface of the mobile phone, the light signal can be demodulated and transferred into the information on Android APP. The LED light, communication module and the mobile phone form a relatively integrate communication system.