An AAL collaborative system: the AAL4ALL and a mobile assistant case study

"15th IFIP WG 5.5 Working Conference on Virtual Enterprises, PRO-VE 2014, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, October 6-8, 2014"The areas of Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) and Intelligent Systems (IS) are in full development, but there are still some issues to be resolved. One issue is the myriad of user oriented solutions that are rarely built to interact or integrate with other systems available in the market. In this paper we present the AAL4ALL project and the UserAccess implementation, showing a novel approach towards virtual organizations, interoperability and certification. The aim of this project is to provide a collaborative network of services and devices that connect every user and product from other developers, building a heterogeneous ecosystem. Thus establishing an environment for collaborative care systems, which may be available to the users in from of safety services, comfort services and healthcare services.Project "AAL4ALL", co-financed by the European Community Fund FEDER, through COMPETE - Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade (POFC). Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), Lisbon, Portugal, through Project PEst-C/CTM/LA0025/2013 and the project PEst-OE/EEI/UI0752/2014. Project CAMCoF - Context-aware Multimodal Communication Framework fund-ed by ERDF -European Regional Development Fund through the COMPETE Pro-gramme (operational programme for competitiveness) and by National Funds through the FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) within project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-028980

The impact of social isolation on the health status and health-related quality of life of older people

Purpose: To investigate for socially isolated older people, and older people at risk of social isolation: (1) health status and health-related quality of life (HRQL); (2) the relationship between social isolation and health status/HRQL; (3) the relationship between two alternative measures of health status/HRQL. Methods: Older people at risk of social isolation (n = 393) completed the EQ-5D and the SF-12. Multiple regression analyses were performed to examine the relationship between levels of social isolation and health status/HRQL, controlling for demographic/clinical characteristics. The agreement between EQ-5D and SF-6D (SF-12) scores was explored using descriptive psychometric techniques. Results: Health status and health state values were much lower than UK general population age-matched norms. After controlling for depression, physical co-morbidities, age, gender, living alone status, employment and accommodation, social isolation was significantly associated, to a degree that was clinically relevant, with EQ-5D DSI, SF-6D (SF-12) and SF-12 MCS scores. The potential for ceiling effects on the EQ-5D with this population was identified. Conclusion: This work highlights the burden that social isolation may have on the health and well-being of older people. The potential HRQL gains from addressing social isolation may be considerable, with those at risk of social isolation also a key target group

Fluid mechanics and design aspects of a novel oscillatory flow screening mesoreactor

A novel, continuous, oscillatory flow screening mesoreactor, composed of tubes with smooth periodic constrictions, is presented as a new option for small-scale reaction engineering applications, particularly those involving the screening of solid catalysts. Experimental studies using particle image velocimetry have demonstrated that this reactor provides good fluid mixing, and is able to suspend catalyst particles with a wide range of sedimentation velocities. Results from 2D and 3D CFD simulations exhibit semi-quantitative agreement with the experimental data, and will aid in the design of future reactors. Potential application areas for this reactor are specialist chemical manufacture and high-throughput screening. Unlike conventional screening devices, the flow patterns in this reactor can be reproduced at larger scales, therefore, results in the laboratory can be related directly to larger scale production.Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - SFRH/BD/6954/2001