A Twin Spiral Planar Antenna for UWB Medical Radars

A planar-spiral antenna to be used in an ultrawideband (UWB) radar system for heart activity monitoring is presented. The antenna, named “twin,” is constituted by two spiral dipoles in a compact structure. The reflection coefficient at the feed point of the dipoles is lower than −8 dB over the 3–12 GHz band, while the two-dipoles coupling is about −20 dB. The radiated beam is perpendicular to the plane of the spiral, so the antenna is wearable and it may be an optimal radiator for a medical UWB radar for heart rate detection. The designed antenna has been also used to check some hypotheses about the UWB radar heart activity detection mechanism. The radiation impedance variation, caused by the thorax vibrations associated with heart activity, seems to be the most likely explanation of the UWB radar operation

Attitudes expressed in online comments about environmental factors in the tourism sector: an exploratory study

The object of this exploratory study is to identify the positive, neutral and negative environment factors that affect users who visit Spanish hotels in order to help the hotel managers decide how to improve the quality of the services provided. To carry out the research a Sentiment Analysis was initially performed, grouping the sample of tweets (n = 14459) according to the feelings shown and then a textual analysis was used to identify the key environment factors in these feelings using the qualitative analysis software Nvivo (QSR International, Melbourne, Australia). The results of the exploratory study present the key environment factors that affect the users experience when visiting hotels in Spain, such as actions that support local traditions and products, the maintenance of rural areas respecting the local environment and nature, or respecting air quality in the areas where hotels have facilities and offer services. The conclusions of the research can help hotels improve their services and the impact on the environment, as well as improving the visitors experience based on the positive, neutral and negative environment factors which the visitors themselves identified

“That’s for old so and so’s!”: does identity influence older adults’ technology adoption decisions?

The role of identity in older adults’ decision-making about assistive technology adoption has been suggested but not fully explored. This scoping review was conducted to better understand how older adults’ self-image and their desire to maintain this, influences their decision-making processes regarding assistive technology adoption. Using the five-stage scoping review framework by Arksey and O’Malley, a total of 416 search combinations were run across 9 databases, resulting in a final yield of 49 articles. From these 49 articles, five themes emerged: (1) Resisting the negative reality of an ageing and/or disabled identity; (2) Independence and control are key; (3) The aesthetic dimension of usability; (4) Assistive technology as a last resort; and (5) Privacy versus pragmatics. The findings highlight the importance of older adults’ desire to portray an identity consistent with independence, self-reliance and competence, and how this desire directly impacts their assistive technology decision-making adoption patterns. These findings aim to support the adoption of assistive technologies by older adults to facilitate engagement in meaningful activities, enable social participation within the community, and promote health and well-being in later life

Vulnerable Users’ Perceptions of Transport Technologies

As the global population continues to grow, age and urbanize, it is vital to provide accessible transport so that neither ageing nor disability constitute barriers to social inclusion. While technology can enhance urban access, there is a need to study the ways by which transport technologies - real-time information, pedestrian navigation, surveillance, and road pricing - could be more effectively adopted by users. The reason for this is that some people, and particularly vulnerable populations, are still likely to reluctantly use (or even avoid using) technologies perceived as 'unknown' and 'complicated'. Based on evidence from British and Swedish case studies on older people's perceptions of the aforementioned transport technologies, as well as on a Swedish case study of visually impaired people's perceptions, this article makes the case that technology is only one tool in a complex socio-technical system, and one which brings challenges. The authors also suggest that although vulnerable populations are not homogeneous when expressing attitudes towards transport technologies, their assessment criteria tend to be 'pro-social' as they usually consider that the societal benefits outweigh the personal benefits. Emphasising aspects linked to the technologies' pro-social potential or relevance to the individual user could increase acceptance

Technologies to support community-dwelling persons with dementia: a position paper on issues regarding development, usability, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness, deployment, and ethics

Background: With the expected increase in the numbers of persons with dementia, providing timely, adequate, and affordable care and support is challenging. Assistive and health technologies may be a valuable contribution in dementia care, but new challenges may emerge. Objective: The aim of our study was to review the state of the art of technologies for persons with dementia regarding issues on development, usability, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness, deployment, and ethics in 3 fields of application of technologies: (1) support with managing everyday life, (2) support with participating in pleasurable and meaningful activities, and (3) support with dementia health and social care provision. The study also aimed to identify gaps in the evidence and challenges for future research. Methods: Reviews of literature and expert opinions were used in our study. Literature searches were conducted on usability, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness, and ethics using PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, and PsycINFO databases with no time limit. Selection criteria in our selected technology fields were reviews in English for community-dwelling persons with dementia. Regarding deployment issues, searches were done in Health Technology Assessment databases Results: According to our results, persons with dementia want to be included in the development of technologies; there is little research on the usability of assistive technologies; various benefits are reported but are mainly based on low-quality studies; barriers to deployment of technologies in dementia care were identified, and ethical issues were raised by researchers but often not studied. Many challenges remain such as including the target group more often in development, performing more high-quality studies on usability and effectiveness and cost-effectiveness, creating and having access to high-quality datasets on existing technologies to enable adequate deployment of technologies in dementia care, and ensuring that ethical issues are considered an important topic for researchers to include in their evaluation of assistive technologies. Conclusions: Based on these findings, various actions are recommended for development, usability, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness, deployment, and ethics of assistive and health technologies across Europe. These include avoiding replication of technology development that is unhelpful or ineffective and focusing on how technologies succeed in addressing individual needs of persons with dementia. Furthermore, it is suggested to include these recommendations in national and international calls for funding and assistive technology research programs. Finally, practitioners, policy makers, care insurers, and care providers should work together with technology enterprises and researchers to prepare strategies for the implementation of assistive technologies in different care settings. This may help future generations of persons with dementia to utilize available and affordable technologies and, ultimately, to benefit from them

Managing behavioural and psychological symptoms in people with dementia and their carers living at home/community- A mixed methods evidence synthesis for non-pharmacological interventions

Plain English Summary Background Two-thirds of people with dementia live at home and many experience distressing symptoms such as aggression, wandering, agitation, emotional problems, known as behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), which result in poor outcomes. We aimed to combine evidence from various sources to find out what types of non-drug based interventions might be helpful for people with dementia and their carers. We also conducted focus groups (FG) and interviews with service users and providers around managing BPSD

Zero Order Degradation Rate of Vitamin C in Fresh Orange and Strawberry Juices without Any Preservatives during Storage

Fresh orange and strawberry are rich in vitamin C, which is an essensial nutrient to promote a healthy imunne system. Vitamin C is easily degraded through oxidation process into dehydroascorbic acid during storage. Therefore, it is important to study the factors influencing the degradation rate of vitamin C in fruit juices without any preservatives. The aims of this research were to study the kinetic degradation of vitamin C in fresh orange (concentrated and nonconcentrated) and strawberry juices during storage and how the temperature affects these kinetics. Fresh juices were stored at room, refrigerated and frozen temperature. The content of vitamin C in fresh juices were analyzed using direct iodometric titration. Kinetic study of vitamin C degradation for these juices were carried out under isothermal condition. The degradation rates of vitamin C in fresh fruit juices based on zero kinetic model were compared. At room temperature the degradation rates of vitamin C in strawberry juice were about ten times faster than those in the orange juice. At refrigerated temperature the degradation rates of vitamin C in orange and strawberry juices with sugar were twice lower than theirs without sugar addition