Early visual ERPs are influenced by individual emotional skills

Processing information from faces is crucial to understanding others and to adapting to social life. Many studies have investigated responses to facial emotions to provide a better understanding of the processes and the neural networks involved. Moreover, several studies have revealed abnormalities of emotional face processing and their neural correlates in affective disorders. The aim of this study was to investigate whether early visual event-related potentials (ERPs) are affected by the emotional skills of healthy adults. Unfamiliar faces expressing the six basic emotions were presented to 28 young adults while recording visual ERPs. No specific task was required during the recording. Participants also completed the Social Skills Inventory (SSI) which measures social and emotional skills. The results confirmed that early visual ERPs (P1, N170) are affected by the emotions expressed by a face and also demonstrated that N170 and P2 are correlated to the emotional skills of healthy subjects. While N170 is sensitive to the subject’s emotional sensitivity and expressivity, P2 is modulated by the ability of the subjects to control their emotions. We therefore suggest that N170 and P2 could be used as individual markers to assess strengths and weaknesses in emotional areas and could provide information for further investigations of affective disorders.     

Walking speed and peak plantar pressure distribution during barefoot walking in persons with diabetes

Background. The impact of walking speed has not been evaluated as a feasible outcome measure associated with peak plantar pressure (PPP) distribution, which may result in tissue damage in persons with diabetic foot complications. The objective of this pilot study was to determine the walking speed and PPP distribution during barefoot walking in persons with diabetes. Methods. Nine individuals with diabetes and nine age–gender matched individuals without diabetes participated in this study. Each individual was marked at 10 anatomical landmarks for vibration and tactile pressure sensation tests to determine the severity of sensory deficits on the plantar surface of the dominant limb foot. A steady state walking speed, PPP, the fore and rear foot (F/R) PPP ratio and gait variables were measured during barefoot walking. Results. Persons with diabetes had a significantly slower walking speed than the age–gender matched group resulting in a significant reduction of PPP at the F/R foot during barefoot walking (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in F/R foot PPP ratio in the diabetic group compared with the age–gender matched group during barefoot walking (p > 0.05). There was a significant difference between the diabetic and non‐diabetic groups for cadence, step time, toe out angle and the anterior–posterior excursion (APE) for centre of force (p < 0.05). Conclusion. Walking speed may be a potential indicator for persons with diabetes to identify PPP distribution during barefoot walking in a diabetic foot. However, the diabetic group demonstrated a more cautious walking pattern than the age–gender matched group by decreasing cadence, step length and APE, and increasing step time and toe in/out angle. People with diabetes may reduce the risk of foot ulcerations as long as they are able to prevent severe foot deformities such as callus, hammer toe or charcot foot. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Value-based design for the elderly: An application in the field of mobility aids

In the aging society, the need for the elderly to remain mobile and independent is higher than ever. However, many aids supporting mobility often fail to target real needs and lack acceptance. The aim of this study is to demonstrate how value-based design can contribute to the design of mobility aids that address real needs and thus, lead to high acceptance. We elicited values, facilitators, and barriers of mobility of older adults via ten in-depth interviews. Next, we held co-creation sessions, resulting in several designs of innovative mobility aids, which were evaluated for acceptance via nine in-depth interviews. The interviews resulted in a myriad of key values, such as “independence from family” and “doing their own groceries.” Design sessions resulted in three designs for a wheeled walker. Their acceptance was rather low. Current mobility device users were more eager to accept the designs than non-users. The value-based approach offers designers a close look into the lives of the elderly, thereby opening up a wide range of innovation possibilities that better fit their actual needs. Product service systems seem to be a promising focus for targeting human needs in mobility device design.