Editorial: Using Technology to Combat Diseases and Help People With Disabilities

Editorial on the Research Topi

Vanishing Preons in the Fifth Dimension

We examine supersymmetric solutions of N=2, D=5 gauged supergravity coupled to an arbitrary number of abelian vector multiplets using the spinorial geometry method. By making use of methods developed in hep-th/0606049 to analyse preons in type IIB supergravity, we show that there are no solutions preserving exactly 3/4 of the supersymmetry.Comment: 19 pages, latex. Reference added, and further modification to the introductio

The return of the four- and five-dimensional preons

We prove the existence of 3/4-BPS preons in four- and five-dimensional gauged supergravities by explicitly constructing them as smooth quotients of the AdS_4 and AdS_5 maximally supersymmetric backgrounds, respectively. This result illustrates how the spacetime topology resurrects a fraction of supersymmetry previously ruled out by the local analysis of the Killing spinor equations.Comment: 10 pages (a minor imprecision has been corrected

Dilaton Domain Walls and Dynamical Systems

Domain wall solutions of $d$-dimensional gravity coupled to a dilaton field $\sigma$ with an exponential potential $\Lambda e^{-\lambda\sigma}$ are shown to be governed by an autonomous dynamical system, with a transcritical bifurcation as a function of the parameter $\lambda$ when $\Lambda<0$. All phase-plane trajectories are found exactly for $\lambda=0$, including separatrices corresponding to walls that interpolate between $adS_d$ and adS_{d-1} \times\bR, and the exact solution is found for $d=3$. Janus-type solutions are interpreted as marginal bound states of these ``separatrix walls''. All flat domain wall solutions, which are given exactly for any $\lambda$, are shown to be supersymmetric for some superpotential $W$, determined by the solution.Comment: 30 pp, 11 figs, significant revision of original. Minor additional corrections in version to appear in journa

Cross-Comparison of Climate Change adaptation Strategies Across Large River Basins in Europe, Africa and Asia

A cross-comparison of climate change adaptation strategies across regions was performed, considering six large river basins as case study areas. Three of the basins, namely the Elbe, Guadiana, and Rhine, are located in Europe, the Nile Equatorial Lakes region and the Orange basin are in Africa, and the Amudarya basin is in Central Asia. The evaluation was based mainly on the opinions of policy makers and water management experts in the river basins. The adaptation strategies were evaluated considering the following issues: expected climate change, expected climate change impacts, drivers for development of adaptation strategy, barriers for adaptation, state of the implementation of a range of water management measures, and status of adaptation strategy implementation. The analysis of responses and cross-comparison were performed with rating the responses where possible. According to the expert opinions, there is an understanding in all six regions that climate change is happening. Different climate change impacts are expected in the basins, whereas decreasing annual water availability, and increasing frequency and intensity of droughts (and to a lesser extent floods) are expected in all of them. According to the responses, the two most important drivers for development of adaptation strategy are: climate-related disasters, and national and international policies. The following most important barriers for adaptation to climate change were identified by responders: spatial and temporal uncertainties in climate projections, lack of adequate financial resources, and lack of horizontal cooperation. The evaluated water resources management measures are on a relatively high level in the Elbe and Rhine basins, followed by the Orange and Guadiana. It is lower in the Amudarya basin, and the lowest in the NEL region, where many measures are only at the planning stage. Regarding the level of adaptation strategy implementation, it can be concluded that the adaptation to climate change has started in all basins, but progresses rather slowl

Assistive technology for memory support in dementia

BACKGROUND: The sustained interest in electronic assistive technology in dementia care has been fuelled by the urgent need to develop useful approaches to help support people with dementia at home. Also the low costs and wide availability of electronic devices make it more feasible to use electronic devices for the benefit of disabled persons. Information Communication Technology (ICT) devices designed to support people with dementia are usually referred to as Assistive Technology (AT) or Electronic Assistive Technology (EAT). By using AT in this review we refer to electronic assistive devices. A range of AT devices has been developed to support people with dementia and their carers to manage their daily activities and to enhance safety, for example electronic pill boxes, picture phones, or mobile tracking devices. Many are commercially available. However, the usefulness and user-friendliness of these devices are often poorly evaluated. Although reviews of (electronic) memory aids do exist, a systematic review of studies focusing on the efficacy of AT for memory support in people with dementia is lacking. Such a review would guide people with dementia and their informal and professional carers in selecting appropriate AT devices. Objectives PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of AT for memory support in people with dementia in terms of daily performance of personal and instrumental activities of daily living (ADL), level of dependency, and admission to long-term care. SECONDARY OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of AT on: users (autonomy, usefulness and user-friendliness, adoption of AT); cognitive function and neuropsychiatric symptoms; need for informal and formal care; perceived quality of life; informal carer burden, self-esteem and feelings of competence; formal carer work satisfaction, workload and feelings of competence; and adverse events. SEARCH METHODS: We searched ALOIS, the Specialised Register of the Cochrane Dementia and Cognitive Improvement Group (CDCIG), on 10 November 2016. ALOIS is maintained by the Information Specialists of the CDCIG and contains studies in the areas of dementia prevention, dementia treatment and cognitive enhancement in healthy people. We also searched the following list of databases, adapting the search strategy as necessary: Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD) Databases, up to May 2016; The Collection of Computer Science Bibliographies; DBLP Computer Science Bibliography; HCI Bibliography: Human-Computer Interaction Resources; and AgeInfo, all to June 2016; PiCarta; Inspec; Springer Link Lecture Notes; Social Care Online; and IEEE Computer Society Digital Library, all to October 2016; J-STAGE: Japan Science and Technology Information Aggregator, Electronic; and Networked Computer Science Technical Reference Library (NCSTRL), both to November 2016; Computing Research Repository (CoRR) up to December 2016; and OT seeker; and ADEAR, both to February 2017. In addition, we searched Google Scholar and OpenSIGLE for grey literature. SELECTION CRITERIA: We intended to review randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and clustered randomised trials with blinded assessment of outcomes that evaluated an electronic assistive device used with the single aim of supporting memory function in people diagnosed with dementia. The control interventions could either be 'care (or treatment) as usual' or non-technological psychosocial interventions (including interventions that use non-electronic assistive devices) also specifically aimed at supporting memory. Outcome measures included activities of daily living, level of dependency, clinical and care-related outcomes (for example admission to long-term care), perceived quality of life and well-being, and adverse events resulting from the use of AT; as well as the effects of AT on carers. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently screened all titles and abstracts identified by the search. MAIN RESULTS: We identified no studies which met the inclusion criteria. Authors' conclusions This review highlights the current lack of high-quality evidence to determine whether AT is effective in supporting people with dementia to manage their memory problems

Optimized Preoperative Planning of Double Outlet Right Ventricle Patients by 3D Printing and Virtual Reality:A Pilot Study

OBJECTIVES: In complex double outlet right ventricle (DORV) patients, the optimal surgical approach may be difficult to assess based on conventional two-dimensional (2D) ultrasound (US) and computed tomography (CT) imaging. The aim of this study is to assess the added value of 3D printed and 3D Virtual Reality (VR) models of the heart used for surgical planning in DORV patients, supplementary to the gold standard 2D imaging modalities.METHODS: Five patients with different DORV-subtypes and high-quality CT scans were selected retrospectively. 3D prints and 3D-VR models were created. Twelve congenital cardiac surgeons and paediatric cardiologists, from three different hospitals, were shown 2D-CT first, after which they assessed the 3D print and 3D-VR models in random order. After each imaging method, a questionnaire was filled in on the visibility of essential structures and the surgical plan.RESULTS: Spatial relationships were generally better visualized using 3D methods (3D printing/3D-VR) than in 2D. The feasibility of VSD patch closure could be determined best using 3D-VR reconstructions (3D-VR 92%, 3D print 66%, and US/CT 46%, P &lt; 0.01). The percentage of proposed surgical plans corresponding to the performed surgical approach was 66% for plans based on US/CT, 78% for plans based on 3D printing, and 80% for plans based on 3D-VR visualization.CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that both 3D printing and 3D-VR have additional value for cardiac surgeons and cardiologists over 2D imaging, because of better visualization of spatial relationships. As a result, the proposed surgical plans based on the 3D visualizations matched the actual performed surgery to a greater extent.</p