A knowledge acquisition tool to assist case authoring from texts.

Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) is a technique in Artificial Intelligence where a new problem is solved by making use of the solution to a similar past problem situation. People naturally solve problems in this way, without even thinking about it. For example, an occupational therapist (OT) that assesses the needs of a new disabled person may be reminded of a previous person in terms of their disabilities. He may or may not decide to recommend the same devices based on the outcome of an earlier (disabled) person. Case-based reasoning makes use of a collection of past problem-solving experiences thus enabling users to exploit the information of others successes and failures to solve their own problem(s). This project has developed a CBR tool to assist in matching SmartHouse technology to the needs of the elderly and people with disabilities. The tool makes suggestions of SmartHouse devices that could assist with given impairments. SmartHouse past problem-solving textual reports have been used to obtain knowledge for the CBR system. Creating a case-based reasoning system from textual sources is challenging because it requires that the text be interpreted in a meaningful way in order to create cases that are effective in problem-solving and to be able to reasonably interpret queries. Effective case retrieval and query interpretation is only possible if a domain-specific conceptual model is available and if the different meanings that a word can take can be recognised in the text. Approaches based on methods in information retrieval require large amounts of data and typically result in knowledge-poor representations. The costs become prohibitive if an expert is engaged to manually craft cases or hand tag documents for learning. Furthermore, hierarchically structured case representations are preferred to flat-structured ones for problem-solving because they allow for comparison at different levels of specificity thus resulting in more effective retrieval than flat structured cases. This project has developed SmartCAT-T, a tool that creates knowledge-rich hierarchically structured cases from semi-structured textual reports. SmartCAT-T highlights important phrases in the textual SmartHouse problem-solving reports and uses the phrases to create a conceptual model of the domain. The model then becomes a standard structure onto which each semi-structured SmartHouse report is mapped in order to obtain the correspondingly structured case. SmartCAT-T also relies on an unsupervised methodology that recognises word synonyms in text. The methodology is used to create a uniform vocabulary for the textual reports and the resulting harmonised text is used to create the standard conceptual model of the domain. The technique is also employed in query interpretation during problem solving. SmartCAT-T does not require large sets of tagged data for learning, and the concepts in the conceptual model are interpretable, allowing for expert refinement of knowledge. Evaluation results show that the created cases contain knowledge that is useful for problem solving. An improvement in results is also observed when the text and queries are harmonised. A further evaluation highlights a high potential for the techniques developed in this research to be useful in domains other than SmartHouse. All this has been implemented in the Smarter case-based reasoning system

Automatically acquiring structured case representations: the SMART way.

Acquiring case representations from textual sources remains an interesting challenge for CBR research. Approaches based on methods in information retrieval require large amounts of data and typically result in knowledge-poor representations. The costs become prohibitive if an expert is engaged to manually craft cases or hand tag documents for learning. Thus there is a need for tools that automatically create knowledge-rich case representations from textual sources without the need to access large volumes of tagged data. Hierarchically structured case representations allow for comparison at different levels of specificity thus resulting in more effective retrieval than can be achieved with a flat structure. In this paper, we present a novel method for automatically creating, hierarchically structured, knowledge-rich cases from textual reports in the Smart- House domain. Our system, SMART, uses a set of anchors to highlight key phrases in the reports. The key phrases are then used to learn a hierarchically structured case representation onto which reports are mapped to create the corresponding structured cases. SMART does not require large sets of tagged data for learning, and the concepts in the case representation are interpretable, allowing for expert refinement of knowledge

Smart homes and their users:a systematic analysis and key challenges

Published research on smart homes and their users is growing exponentially, yet a clear understanding of who these users are and how they might use smart home technologies is missing from a field being overwhelmingly pushed by technology developers. Through a systematic analysis of peer-reviewed literature on smart homes and their users, this paper takes stock of the dominant research themes and the linkages and disconnects between them. Key findings within each of nine themes are analysed, grouped into three: (1) views of the smart home-functional, instrumental, socio-technical; (2) users and the use of the smart home-prospective users, interactions and decisions, using technologies in the home; and (3) challenges for realising the smart home-hardware and software, design, domestication. These themes are integrated into an organising framework for future research that identifies the presence or absence of cross-cutting relationships between different understandings of smart homes and their users. The usefulness of the organising framework is illustrated in relation to two major concerns-privacy and control-that have been narrowly interpreted to date, precluding deeper insights and potential solutions. Future research on smart homes and their users can benefit by exploring and developing cross-cutting relationships between the research themes identified

Identifying the genetic control of salinity tolerance in the bread wheat landrace Mocho de Espiga Branca

Salinity tolerance in bread wheat is frequently reported to be associated with low leaf sodium (Na+) concentrations. However, the Portuguese landrace, Mocho de Espiga Branca, accumulates significantly higher leaf Na+ but has comparable salinity tolerance to commercial bread wheat cultivars. To determine the genetic loci associated with the salinity tolerance of this landrace, an F2 mapping population was developed by crossing Mocho de Espiga Branca with the Australian cultivar Gladius. The population was phenotyped for 19 salinity tolerance subtraits using both non-destructive and destructive techniques. Genotyping was performed using genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS). Genomic regions associated with salinity tolerance were detected on chromosomes 1A, 1D, 4B and 5A for the subtraits of relative and absolute growth rate (RGR, AGR respectively), and on chromosome 2A, 2B, 4D and 5D for Na+, potassium (K+) and chloride (Cl−) accumulation. Candidate genes that encode proteins associated with salinity tolerance were identified within the loci including Na+/H+ antiporters, K+ channels, H+-ATPase, calcineurin B-like proteins (CBLs), CBL-interacting protein kinases (CIPKs), calcium dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) and calcium-transporting ATPase. This study provides a new insight into the genetic control of salinity tolerance in a Na+ accumulating bread wheat to assist with the future development of salt tolerant cultivars.Chana Borjigin, Rhiannon K. Schilling, Nathaniel Jewell, Chris Brien, Juan Carlos Sanchez-Ferrero, Paul J. Eckermann ... et al

Understanding salinity tolerance of a bread wheat landrace Mocho de Espiga Branca

Salinity is one of the major abiotic stresses severely affecting cereal crop yields worldwide. Improving salinity tolerance of the most widely cultivated cereal, bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), is essential to increase grain yields on saline agricultural lands. Shoot sodium (Na⁺) exclusion is often reported as a major salinity tolerance mechanism in bread wheat. This process enables plants to reduce root-to-shoot Na⁺ transport by retrieving Na⁺ from the xylem and prevent toxic concentrations of Na⁺ from accumulating in the shoot. However, a Portuguese bread wheat landrace Mocho de Espiga Branca was recently identified with up to 10× higher leaf Na⁺ concentrations and yet maintained similar salinity tolerance compared to other bread wheat cultivars. The first focus of this PhD study was to understand how Mocho de Espiga Branca accumulates high concentrations of Na⁺ in the leaf compared to Gladius and Scout under salinity. DNA sequencing of a major Na⁺ exclusion gene TaHKT1;5-D revealed that a naturally occurring single nucleotide substitution resulted in a L190P amino acid residue change. This variation was found to disrupt the capability of TaHKT1;5-D to retrieve Na⁺ from the xylem and hence causing the high leaf Na⁺ accumulation in Mocho de Espiga Branca. A CAPS marker was developed to enable plant breeders to select for this allele in bread wheat. The second focus of this study was to identify novel genetic loci linked to salinity tolerance of Mocho de Espiga Branca. 19 salinity tolerance sub-traits were phenotyped in an F₂ population derived from Mocho de Espiga Branca and Gladius for quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis. Genomic regions significantly associated with salinity tolerance were detected on chromosomes 1A, 1D, 4A, 4B and 5A for the sub-traits of plant growth, and on chromosome 2A, 2B, 4D and 5D for Na⁺, potassium (K⁺) and chloride (Cl⁻) accumulation. A number of candidate genes that encode proteins associated with plant salinity tolerance were identified. These include Na⁺/H⁺ antiporters, K⁺ channels, Na⁺/calcium (Ca²⁺) transporter, H⁺-ATPase, calcineurin B-like proteins (CBLs) and CBL-interacting protein kinases (CIPKs). The third focus of this study was to investigate whether any difference(s) in accumulation of five known compatible solutes (glycine betaine, proline, sucrose, glucose and fructose) associated with osmotic adjustment were present in Mocho de Espiga Branca compared to Gladius and Scout under salinity. The concentrations of the detected compatible solutes in Mocho de Espiga Branca were found to respond similarly compared to Gladius and Scout in response to salinity, suggesting these organic solutes are not contributing to the ability of Mocho de Espiga Branca to maintain growth while accumulating high concentration of leaf Na⁺ salinity. Overall, in this PhD study, a SNP linked to impairment of the Na⁺ transporter TaHKT1;5-D was identified and shown to be responsible for the increased shoot Na⁺ concentration in Mocho de Espiga Branca. The findings highlight the importance of other mechanisms that are independent from Na⁺ exclusion in salinity tolerance of bread wheat and the need to investigate these further in the future.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, 202

Orientation method for people with cognitive disabilities

Doctoral Thesis (Degree in Biomedical Engineering)Pessoas com incapacidade (física ou cognitiva) representam uma pequena percentagem da população de um país. No entanto, os custos de saúde inerentes a este grupo de pessoas são habitualmente elevados quando comparados com uma pessoa normal. Assim, é necessário encontrar soluções que ajudem no dia a dia destas pessoas. Aquando do diagnóstico de perdas cognitivas, se tal já não tiver ocorrido, o paciente pode ser impedido de viver sozinho e a presença de um cuidador poderá ser necessária. De forma a diminuir esta invasão de privacidade e permitir uma vida independente do paciente na sua própria casa é necessária adaptar a mesma ao conceito de casa inteligente, a qual permite que o cuidador aceda de forma remota e verifique o estado do utilizador. Porém, a casa inteligente não permite a monitorização do utilizador quando este se encontra no exterior. Assim, de forma a manter-se seguro, este pode tornar-se um prisioneiro da sua própria habitação. Para que a pessoa com perdas cognitiva tenha uma normal interação com a sociedade surge a necessidade de um sistema de orientação adaptável ao exterior e que esteja em conformidade com este grupo de utilizadores. Se se considerarem os dois principais sistemas operativos para dispositivos móveis (i.e., iOS e Android) existe um grande número de aplicações que guiam o utilizador até ao destino pretendido utilizando GPS. Porém, existem muito poucas que sejam adequadas para pessoas com incapacidade. Por outro lado, para além da capacidade de orientação, existe uma outra característica deveras significativa do ponto de vista do cuidador, a capacidade de localização que lhe permite o acesso de forma remota à localização do utilizador final. Esta característica é vital uma vez que os métodos tradicionais de orientação são realmente dispendiosos, levando os cuidadores a acompanhar os pacientes durante as suas deslocações. Desta forma, tanto o tempo como os recursos despendidos durante a aprendizagem são desperdiçados. Vários autores desenvolveram sistemas de orientação adaptados tendo em consideração as características e especificidades do utilizador. A principal preocupação centrava-se na interface do utilizador, uma vez que consideravam que os sistemas disponíveis eram demasiado complexos para serem utilizados por este tipo de indivíduos. O sistema desenvolvido (i.e., CogHelper) tem uma interface adaptada ao utilizador, a qual utiliza realidade aumentada para concretizar o processo de orientação. O sistema possui também a capacidade de localização em tempo real onde o(s) cuidador(es) podem monitorizar o utilizador final. O nosso principal objectivo não recaiu sobre a interface do utilizador, uma vez que esta já tinha sido previamente estudada, mas na forma como a informação era fornecida ao utilizador. Desta forma, o caminho selecionado para guiar o utilizador é adaptado às suas preferências. De forma a prevenir possíveis erros durante o percurso, o sistema calcula possíveis pontos nos quais o utilizador pode tomar uma decisão errada, e alertá-lo de forma a manter-se no caminho correto. Estas características baseiam-se num módulo de pattern mining (para fornecer o caminho adaptado) e numa abordagem de computação especulativa (para antecipar possíveis erros do utilizador).People with disabilities (physical or cognitive) represent a small percentage of a country population. However, the health costs are usually higher when compared to an ordinary person. Thus, one should seek solutions to help the day life of such group of people. When diagnosed with cognitive disabilities the patient may be prevented to live alone and a caregiver may be needed. To avoid this privacy invasion and enable the patient to live independently in his home, there is the need to adapt it to the concept of smart house, which enables the caregiver to remotely access and check the user status. However, the smart house is not able to monitor the user when he goes outside its premises. Thus, in order to keep the user safe, he may become a prisoner of his own home. To engage people with cognitive disabilities in a normal interaction with the surrounding environment there is the need of a portable orientation system that works outdoors and is adapted to this audience. If one look over the two main operative systems for mobile devices (i.e., iOS and Android) there is a huge number of applications that guides the user through GPS to the intended destination. However, there are just a few adapted to people with disabilities. Besides the orientation feature there is also another important one from the perspective of the caregivers, i.e., a localization feature which allows these second type of users to remotely access the main user location. This is specially important since traditional methods are very expensive, and due to this lack of information caregivers tend to be all the time with the patient during his journey. Thus, the effort and resources spent to teach the user are wasted. Different authors had developed adapted orientation systems considering the user specificities and characteristics. Their main concern was the user interface, since they considered that available systems were too complex to be used by these group of people. The system that was developed (i.e., CogHelper) has an adapted interface, which uses augmented reality to provide the orientation to the user. It has also a real-time localization feature where caregivers may know the user location. Our focus was not on the user interface, since it was already studied, but on how to provide the necessary information to the user. Thus, the path followed by the user is adapted to his preferences. In order to avoid mistakes during the traveling path, the system may calculate possible locations in which the user takes the wrong turn and alert him to keep on the correct path. These features are based on a pattern mining module (to provide the preferred path) and on a speculative computation approach (to anticipate possible user mistakes).The work of João Ramos is supported by a doctoral grant by FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (SFRH/BD/89530/2012)

Solar Power System Plaing & Design

Photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar power (CSP) systems for the conversion of solar energy into electricity are technologically robust, scalable, and geographically dispersed, and they possess enormous potential as sustainable energy sources. Systematic planning and design considering various factors and constraints are necessary for the successful deployment of PV and CSP systems. This book on solar power system planning and design includes 14 publications from esteemed research groups worldwide. The research and review papers in this Special Issue fall within the following broad categories: resource assessments, site evaluations, system design, performance assessments, and feasibility studies

Matching SMARTHOUSE Technology to Needs of the Elderly and Disabled

SMARTHOUSE technology comprises of devices that help the elderly and people with disabilities to live independently in their homes. This paper presents our experiences from a three month pilot project involving the application of CBR techniques to match the needs of the elderly and those with disabilities to SMARTHOUSE technology. The SMARTHOUSE problem was decomposed into sub-tasks and generalised concepts were added for each sub-task. This decomposition and generalisation enabled the use of a standard decision tree based iterative retrieval strategy. Documented real situations were used to create a small case base and a prototype implemented using RECALL with TCL script was evaluated on three test cases. Results showed that the generated solutions to be comparable to that of a domain expert's solutions