Dr. Shahnawaz Anwer
@polyu.edu.hk
Research Assistant Professor, BRE/FCE
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Ergonomics; Occupational Health and Safety; Exoskeleton Devices; Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders and Fatigue; Wearable sensors; Rehabilitation
Scopus Publications
Scholar Citations
Scholar h-index
Scholar i10-index
Scopus Publications
Imran Mehmood, Heng Li, Waleed Umer, Jie Ma, Muhammad Saad Shakeel, Shahnawaz Anwer, Maxwell Fordjour Antwi-Afari, Salman Tariq, and Haitao Wu
Elsevier BV
Ma Jie, Heng Li, Shahnawaz Anwer, Waleed Umer, Maxwell Fordjour Antwi-Afari, and Eric Bo Xiao
Informa UK Limited
Objectives. This systematic review aims to report the evaluation of wearable biosensors for the real-time measurement of stress and fatigue using sweat biomarkers. Methods. A thorough search of the literature was carried out in databases such as PubMed, Web of Science and IEEE. A three-step approach for selecting research articles was developed and implemented. Results. Based on a systematic search, a total of 17 articles were included in this review. Lactate, cortisol, glucose and electrolytes were identified as sweat biomarkers. Sweat-based biomarkers are frequently monitored in real time using potentiometric and amperometric biosensors. Wearable biosensors such as an epidermal patch or a sweatband have been widely validated in scientific literature. Conclusions. Sweat is an important biofluid for monitoring general health, including stress and fatigue. It is becoming increasingly common to use biosensors that can measure a wide range of sweat biomarkers to detect fatigue during high-intensity work. Even though wearable biosensors have been validated for monitoring various sweat biomarkers, such biomarkers can only be used to assess stress and fatigue indirectly. In general, this study may serve as a driving force for academics and practitioners to broaden the use of wearable biosensors for the real-time assessment of stress and fatigue.
Shahnawaz Anwer, Heng Li, Maxwell Fordjour Antwi-Afari, Aquil Maud Mirza, Mohammed Abdul Rahman, Imran Mehmood, Runhao Guo, and Arnold Yu Lok Wong
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Weihao Sun, Maxwell Fordjour Antwi-Afari, Imran Mehmood, Shahnawaz Anwer, and Waleed Umer
Elsevier BV
Imran Mehmood, Heng Li, Waleed Umer, Aamir Arsalan, Shahnawaz Anwer, Mohammed Aquil Mirza, Jie Ma, and Maxwell Fordjour Antwi-Afari
Elsevier BV
Waleed Umer, Yantao Yu, Maxwell Fordjour Antwi Afari, Shahnawaz Anwer, and Arshad Jamal
Elsevier BV
Jie Ma, Heng Li, Xinge Yu, Xin Fang, Bo Fang, Zeyu Zhao, Xingcan Huang, Shahnawaz Anwer, and Xuejiao Xing
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Jie Ma, Heng Li, Xingcan Huang, Bo Fang, Zeyu Zhao, Imran Mehmood, Yiming Liu, Guo Zhang, Xin Fang, Mehrdad Arashpour,et al.
Elsevier BV
Melanie A Holden, Miriam Hattle, Jos Runhaar, Richard D Riley, Emma L Healey, Jonathan Quicke, Danielle A van der Windt, Krysia Dziedzic, Marienke van Middelkoop, Danielle Burke,et al.
Elsevier BV
Shahnawaz Anwer, Heng Li, Waleed Umer, Maxwell Fordjour Antwi-Afari, Imran Mehmood, Yantao Yu, Carl Haas, and Arnold Yu Lok Wong
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Melissa Leung, Mandy M. P. Kan, Hugo M. H. Cheng, Diana E. De Carvalho, Shahnawaz Anwer, Heng Li, and Arnold Y. L. Wong
MDPI AG
Laptop use appears to contribute to poor working postures and neck pain among university students. Postural braces have the potential to improve upper back/neck posture and therefore might have a role as an ergonomic aid for this population. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the short-term effects of scapular bracing on pain, fatigue, cervicothoracic posture, and the activity of the neck and upper-back muscles in healthy college students. A randomized controlled crossover trial was conducted to evaluate the self-reported pain and fatigue, the amplitude and median frequency of surface electromyography in neck extensors, upper trapezius, and lower trapezius, as well as the neck and shoulder sagittal alignment (measured by inertial sensors and digital photographs) during a 30-min typing task in a sample of young, healthy university students with or without a scapular brace. The brace condition resulted in significantly smaller levels of bilateral trapezius muscle activity (p < 0.01). Rounded shoulder posture was slightly better in the brace condition, but these differences were not significant (p > 0.05). There were no significant immediate differences in pain or fatigue scores, neck alignment, or the electromyographic activity of the other muscles tested between brace and non-brace conditions (all p > 0.05). However, bracing appears to immediately reduce the electromyographic activity of the lower trapezius muscles (p < 0.05). These findings shed some light on the possible advantages of scapular bracing for enhancing laptop ergonomics in this group of individuals. Future studies are warranted to evaluate the effects of different types of braces, the importance of matching the brace to the user, and the short- and long-term effects of brace use on computer posture and muscle activity.
Maxwell Fordjour Antwi-Afari, Heng Li, Alan Hoi Shou Chan, JoonOh Seo, Shahnawaz Anwer, Hao-Yang Mi, Zezhou Wu, and Arnold Yu Lok Wong
Elsevier BV
Imran Mehmood, Heng Li, Yazan Qarout, Waleed Umer, Shahnawaz Anwer, Haitao Wu, Mudasir Hussain, and Maxwell Fordjour Antwi-Afari
Elsevier BV
Tiffany H. T. Wong, Kaden S. K. Lee, Sharon M. C. Lo, Mandy M. P. Kan, Crystal Kwan, Emmanuelle Opsommer, Shahnawaz Anwer, Heng Li, Arnold Y. L. Wong, and Veronika Schoeb
MDPI AG
Background and Objectives: Although chronic low back pain (CLBP) is known to negatively affect multiple aspects of the lives of older people, prior qualitative studies mainly focused on the lived experiences of older people with CLBP in Western countries. Given cultural and contextual differences and poor understanding of CLBP in older women with CLBP, it is important to better understand the concerns and lived experiences of Chinese older women with CLBP. The current study aimed to investigate the experiences, challenges, concerns, and coping strategies of older women with CLBP in Hong Kong. Research Design and Methods: A total of 15 community-dwelling older women with CLBP aged ≥60 years were recruited from a physiotherapy clinic or a community center for semi-structured interviews. The interviews were audio recorded and transcribed ‘verbatim’. The transcription was imported to NVivo 12 software. Thematic analysis was conducted using Braun and Clarke’s method. Results: Five themes were identified: (1) physical impacts of CLBP on daily life; (2) psychological influences of CLBP; (3) management of CLBP; (4) family support; and (5) social activities and support. Discussion and implications: Negative physical and psychosocial impacts of CLBP were common among older women, and they adopted diverse pain management strategies, although some of their treatment options were influenced by the Chinese culture. Misbeliefs and responses of family and friends also affected their management strategies. Elderly community centers are a significant source of social support for older women with CLBP, making it an ideal platform for establishing self-help groups to facilitate their self-management of CLBP.
Mohammed Abdul-Rahman, Wale Alade, and Shahnawaz Anwer
MDPI AG
Globally, most higher educational institutions can no longer house their students within their campuses due to the increased number of enrolments and the unavailability of land for spatial expansion, especially in urban areas. This leads to studentification which negatively impacts university towns. Developing resilience against the negative impacts of studentification will make university towns more sustainable. However, there is no existing community resilience index designed for that purpose. Thus, this study develops a composite resilience index for university towns, using Akoka, a university town in Lagos, Nigeria, as a case study. The composites of the index were determined by prioritizing online user-generated content mined from Twitter between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2021 using artificial intelligence, while the elements of resilience and risk reduction were developed through the Delphi and analytic hierarchy process. The research outcomes showed that the physical, economic, social, and cultural criteria subjected to comparisons represented ≥70% of the total weights. These criteria made up the outcome indicators, while the integrated community-based risk reduction program model was adopted for the process indicators. Both outcome and process indicators formed the localized composite resilience index for Akoka, Lagos, Nigeria. This proposed composite resilience index would help the town to assess and build resilience against the negative impacts of studentification and provide a methodology for other university towns to create theirs using similar methods.
Dephanie Cheok Ieng Chiang, Maxwell Fordjour Antwi-Afari, Shahnawaz Anwer, Saeed Reza Mohandes, and Xiao Li
Emerald
PurposeGiven the growing concern about employees' well-being, numerous researchers have investigated the causes and effects of occupational stress. However, a review study on identifying existing research topics and gaps is still deficient in the extant literature. To fill this gap, this review study aims to present a bibliometric and science mapping approach to review the state-of-the-art journal articles published on occupational stress in the construction industry.Design/methodology/approachA three-fold comprehensive review approach consisting of bibliometric review, scientometric analysis and in-depth qualitative discussion was employed to review 80 journal articles in Scopus.FindingsThrough qualitative discussions, mainstream research topics were summarized, research gaps were identified and future research directions were proposed as follows: versatile stressors and stress model; an extended subgroup of factors in safety behavior; adaptation of multiple biosensors and bio-feedbacks; evaluation and comparison of organizational stress interventions; and incorporation of artificial intelligence and smart technologies into occupational stress management in construction.Originality/valueThe findings of this review study present a well-rounded framework to identify the research gaps in this field to advance research in the academic community and enhance employees' well-being in construction.
Shahnawaz Anwer, Heng Li, Dilshad Anwar, and Arnold Yu Lok Wong
Elsevier
Shahnawaz Anwer, Heng Li, Mohammed Abdul-Rahman, and Maxwell Fordjour Antwi-Afari
International Association for Automation and Robotics in Construction (IAARC)
Maxwell Fordjour Antwi-Afari, Shahnawaz Anwer, Waleed Umer, Hao-Yang Mi, Yantao Yu, Sungkon Moon, and Md. Uzzal Hossain
Elsevier BV
Pratyakshi Munshi, Moazzam Hussain Khan, Nitin Kumar Arora, Shibili Nuhmani, Shahnawaz Anwer, Heng Li, and Ahmad H. Alghadir
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
AbstractWhile many studies suggested the isolated effects of plyometric and whole-body vibration exercises on physical performance variables, only few studies have compared the acute effects of plyometric and whole-body vibration on the occurrence of post-activation potentiation and the resultant improvements in performance. Therefore, we aimed to compare the acute effects of plyometric exercises and whole-body vibration training on physical performance in collegiate basketball players. Twenty-four collegiate male basketball players (age 20.8 ± 2.02 years, height 1.79 ± 0.7 m, and weight 71.2 ± 7.6 kg) participated in this randomized crossover study. Subjects were received both plyometric and whole-body vibration exercises after a 48-h washed-out period. Countermovement Jump height, sprint, and agility time were measured at baseline, 4- and 12-min post-plyometric, and whole-body vibration exercises. The result suggests a positive effect of both the plyometric and whole-body vibration exercises on countermovement jump and agility time (p = 0.001). While the countermovement jump height and agility were higher in the plyometric group (mean difference 1.60 cm and 0.16 s, respectively), the sprint performance was higher in the whole-body vibration group. However, these differences were statistically non-significant between the two groups (p > 0.05). This study suggests that both plyometric and whole-body vibration exercises may improve post-activation potentiation, which leads to better physical performance.Trial registration CTRI/2019/05/019059. Registered with the Clinical trials registry, India on 10/05/2019. http://ctri.nic.in/Clinicaltrials/advsearch.php.
Shahnawaz Anwer, Heng Li, Maxwell Fordjour Antwi-Afari, Waleed Umer, Imran Mehmood, and Arnold Yu Lok Wong
Emerald
Purpose Since construction workers often need to carry various types of loads in their daily routine, they are at risk of sustaining musculoskeletal injuries. Additionally, carrying a load during walking may disturb their walking balance and lead to fall injuries among construction workers. Different load carrying techniques may also cause different extents of physical exertion. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of different load-carrying techniques on gait parameters, dynamic balance, and physiological parameters in asymptomatic individuals on both stable and unstable surfaces. Design/methodology/approach Fifteen asymptomatic male participants (mean age: 31.5 ± 2.6 years) walked along an 8-m walkway on flat and foam surfaces with and without a load thrice using three different techniques (e.g. load carriage on the head, on the dominant shoulder, and in both hands). Temporal gait parameters (e.g. gait speed, cadence, and double support time), gait symmetry (e.g. step time, stance time, and swing time symmetry), and dynamic balance parameters [e.g. anteroposterior and mediolateral center of pressure (CoP) displacement, and CoP velocity] were evaluated. Additionally, the heart rate (HR) and electrodermal activity (EDA) was assessed to estimate physiological parameters. Findings The gait speed was significantly higher when the load was carried in both hands compared to other techniques (Hand load, 1.02 ms vs Head load, 0.82 ms vs Shoulder load, 0.78 ms). Stride frequency was significantly decreased during load carrying on the head than the load in both hands (46.5 vs 51.7 strides/m). Step, stance, and swing time symmetry were significantly poorer during load carrying on the shoulder than the load in both hands (Step time symmetry ration, 1.10 vs 1.04; Stance time symmetry ratio, 1.11 vs 1.05; Swing time symmetry ratio, 1.11 vs 1.04). The anteroposterior (Shoulder load, 17.47 mm vs Head load, 21.10 mm vs Hand load, −5.10 mm) and mediolateral CoP displacements (Shoulder load, −0.57 mm vs Head load, −1.53 mm vs Hand load, −3.37 ms) significantly increased during load carrying on the shoulder or head compared to a load in both hands. The HR (Head load, 85.2 beats/m vs Shoulder load, 77.5 beats/m vs No load, 69.5 beats/m) and EDA (Hand load, 14.0 µS vs Head load, 14.3 µS vs Shoulder load, 14.1 µS vs No load, 9.0 µS) were significantly larger during load carrying than no load. Research limitations/implications The findings suggest that carrying loads in both hands yields better gait symmetry and dynamic balance than carrying loads on the dominant shoulder or head. Construction managers/instructors should recommend construction workers to carry loads in both hands to improve their gait symmetry and dynamic balance and to lower their risk of falls. Practical implications The potential changes in gait and balance parameters during various load carrying methods will aid the assessment of fall risk in construction workers during loaded walking. Wearable insole sensors that monitor gait and balance in real-time would enable safety managers to identify workers who are at risk of falling during load carriage due to various reasons (e.g. physical exertion, improper carrying techniques, fatigue). Such technology can also empower them to take the necessary steps to prevent falls. Originality/value This is the first study to use wearable insole sensors and a photoplethysmography device to assess the impacts of various load carrying approaches on gait parameters, dynamic balance, and physiological measures (i.e. HR and EDA) while walking on stable and unstable terrains.
Imran Mehmood, Heng Li, Waleed Umer, Aamir Arsalan, M. Saad Shakeel, and Shahnawaz Anwer
Elsevier BV
Ahmad H. Alghadir, Hamayun Zafar, Zaheen Ahmed Iqbal, Shahnawaz Anwer, and Amir Iqbal
Wiley
In comparison with the people with normal sight, the mean center of gravity (COG) velocity is significantly higher among blind people. A strong relationship has been shown between jaw and neck sensorimotor and postural control. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of different static and dynamic jaw positions on postural stability among subjects with blindness.
Maxwell Fordjour Antwi-Afari, Yazan Qarout, Randa Herzallah, Shahnawaz Anwer, Waleed Umer, Yongcheng Zhang, and Patrick Manu
Elsevier BV