This paper introduces three lip-based product biosensors as novel form factors for health monitoring that display pH levels through color variation. Using the unique properties of lip-based products such as different colors, easy application and reapplication on lips, interaction with saliva, we aim to provide an always-available and non-invasive access to information typically obtained through lab analysis. This paper presents our skin-safe fabrication processes and technical evaluations of a lipstick, lip tint, and lip gloss. We created a mobile app with a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model to detect the pH levels. Our dataset involved six users, eight different lighting conditions, three cameras and seven pH levels. The results showed improved detection of pH variations compared to traditional methods. A user study with 11 participants was conducted to evaluate usability. This approach offers a convenient and unexplored form factor for monitoring biochemical information, blending self-expression with health awareness.

This systematic review focused on the validity of markerless motion capture (MMC) systems used for human movement assessment during tasks that involve physical interaction with objects. Five electronic databases were searched until May 2025. Eligible studies (i) assessed the validity of an MMC system, (ii) required human participants to perform tasks that involved physical interaction with objects (e.g., lifts, carrying, gait with loads), (iii) employed a marker-based reference system, and (iv) reported at least one kinematic metric. Risk of bias was assessed using the SURE checklist. A best-evidence synthesis was conducted to classify the level of evidence across included studies. Fifteen studies met eligibility (median = 21 participants per study). In general, MMC systems presented good performance in capturing the waveforms related to movement (i.e., high associations with reference systems), but its level of precision (i.e., the magnitude of differences to the reference systems) still requires improvement regarding tasks involving human–object interactions. Most tasks analyzed were lifts, gait with load, squatting and reaching/manipulation, and technical gestures. There was strong evidence for the validity of MMC for implementation during lifting tasks. In summary, markerless motion capture (MMC) systems exhibit promising evidence of validity for some human–object interaction tasks, that is, especially when lifting as strong evidence was observed across studies on this type of task. In contrast, some evidence for tasks including gait under load, squatting, reaching, or touchscreen interaction is limited, moderate, or conflicting. Notwithstanding these limitations, most studies were observed to have moderate- to high-quality methodology. Additional research is required to optimize protocols to study the measurement error aspects of MMC under human–object interaction in real-world environments.

Background: Recent technological advances have enabled the development of portable data acquisition systems that facilitate the collection of brain signals during sports tasks. The main objective of the present systematic review was to collate evidence regarding studies that have analysed brain-derived indices related to ball kicking action. Methods: The PRISMA guidelines were followed in the protocol for this review. Six electronic databases were searched (IEEE Xplore, Scopus, Web of Science, APA PsycNet, EBSCOHost, and PubMed). The search string followed a PICOS/PECOS framework: participants as human able-bodied subjects regardless of age, evaluated while performing a ball kick task, and reported results of brain-derived metrics. The RoBANS tool was used to evaluate the risk-of-bias of the included studies. Results: The database searches resulted in a total of 1748 records, of which 8 original research articles met all the inclusion criteria. Most studies used EEG systems while few employed fNIRS. Qualitative synthesis indicated that skilled ball kicking performance was generally accompanied by phase-specific cortical dynamics (e.g., within frontal, sensorimotor/central, and parieto-occipital regions) whereas anxiety and injury appear to shift cortical engagement toward potentially compensatory, less efficient control strategies. Data on measurement error was limited while blinding aspects were frequently omitted across studies. Finally, one problem identified in this review was that only one-fourth studies used an opponent attempting to block the shots. Conclusions: Preliminary evidence suggest that kicking outcomes tended to be linked with specific brain patterns. Future studies need to improve the design of experimental tasks so that they more closely resemble what occurs in a real game. Trial registration: The review protocol was registered in OSF Preregistration under ID #NZASB.

BACKGROUND Markerless systems based on pose estimation algorithms emerged as one promising solution to tracking human movements under real-world conditions. Despite their advantages over traditional marker-based systems (e.g., lower invasiveness, processing time, and cost), previous systematic reviews have not yet examined the measurement properties and feasibility of markerless tracking systems for ball-kicking assessments. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to provide a protocol for a systematic review of evidence from scientific studies that evaluated ball kicking across football codes using markerless, camera-based tracking systems. METHODS The proposed protocol follows the PRISMA-P checklist and was preregistered in the Open Science Framework platform prior to run the electronic searches. A Boolean search strategy will be adopted including terms related to the research question population (Football, Soccer, Rugby, Futsal), exposure (markerless, marker-less, dynamic movement capture, body scan, pose estimation, kinect, deeplabcut, openpose, MediaPipe, alphapose, Theia3D, neural network) and outcomes (kick, shoot, shot, pass, punt, ball handling, ball-kicking, goal-directed, skill, technical). Five databases will be used for the searches (PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, IEEE Xplore and EBSCO). The risk of bias of resulting pertinent literature will be assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal Checklist for Analytical Cross-Sectional Studies. Qualitative/descriptive synthesis in addition to evidence gap maps and best evidence synthesis is planned to synthesize included studies. RESULTS From an initial pilot search conducted on August, 2026, we found that some comprehensive literature reviews (N = 16) addressed ball kicking movement/kinematics (37% narrative, 44% systematic and 19% with meta-analysis), whereas none of these previous review studies examined solely the application of markerless tracking systems in understanding ball kicking kinematics. CONCLUSIONS The present study provides preliminary results, rationale and a protocol for performing a systematic summary of the highest level of evidence available from scientific studies that adopted markerless tracking systems to assess ball kicking kinematics across football codes. CLINICALTRIAL OSF Open Science Framework - Aug 31, 2026 - under Registration ID #jm9vw; URL: osf.io/jm9vw

Stuttering, affecting approximately 1% of the global population, is a complex speech disorder significantly impacting individuals’ quality of life. Prior studies using electromyography (EMG) to examine orofacial muscle activity in stuttering have presented mixed results, highlighting the variability in neuromuscular responses during stuttering episodes. Fifty-five participants with stuttering and 30 individuals without stuttering, aged between 18 and 40, participated in the study. EMG signals from five facial and cervical muscles were recorded during speech tasks and analyzed for mean amplitude and frequency activity in the 5–15 Hz range to identify significant differences. Upon analysis of the 5–15 Hz frequency range, a higher average amplitude was observed in the zygomaticus major muscle for participants while stuttering (p < 0.05). Additionally, when assessing the overall EMG signal amplitude, a higher average amplitude was observed in samples obtained from disfluencies in participants who did not stutter, particularly in the depressor anguli oris muscle (p < 0.05). Significant differences in muscle activity were observed between the two groups, particularly in the depressor anguli oris and zygomaticus major muscles. These results suggest that the underlying neuromuscular mechanisms of stuttering might involve subtle aspects of timing and coordination in muscle activation. Therefore, these findings may contribute to the field of biosensors by providing valuable perspectives on neuromuscular mechanisms and the relevance of electromyography in stuttering research. Further research in this area has the potential to advance the development of biosensor technology for language-related applications and therapeutic interventions in stuttering.