ANGELAH: A Framework for Assisting Elders At Home

The ever growing percentage of elderly people within modern societies poses welfare systems under relevant stress. In fact, partial and progressive loss of motor, sensorial, and/or cognitive skills renders elders unable to live autonomously, eventually leading to their hospitalization. This results in both relevant emotional and economic costs. Ubiquitous computing technologies can offer interesting opportunities for in-house safety and autonomy. However, existing systems partially address in-house safety requirements and typically focus on only elder monitoring and emergency detection. The paper presents ANGELAH, a middleware-level solution integrating both ”elder monitoring and emergency detection” solutions and networking solutions. ANGELAH has two main features: i) it enables efficient integration between a variety of sensors and actuators deployed at home for emergency detection and ii) provides a solid framework for creating and managing rescue teams composed of individuals willing to promptly assist elders in case of emergency situations. A prototype of ANGELAH, designed for a case study for helping elders with vision impairments, is developed and interesting results are obtained from both computer simulations and a real-network testbed

Effect of vibration on the scour process around cylindrical structures under unidirectional flow in a sandy bed

The structures that support wind turbines in offshore wind farms are dynamically sensitive and can vibrate as a consequence of their slenderness and their location in severe environments subject to strong wind and wave load. The granular soils in which such structures are often located are highly responsive to vibrations; depending on their initial state, these soils might experience processes such as compaction, dilation, and liquefaction. Their behaviour in response to structural movement and the effect on the rate of scour is the subject of the present work. Laboratory experiments have been conducted to investigate the effects of vibration on the scour process in granular soil. A series of storms were simulated by a continuous sequence of periods with and without vibration applied to a model pile. The results show that although scour depths are initially reduced by vibration (backfilling), the lateral extent of the scour hole grows and the final scour depth and extent can be significantly greater than for an equivalent test without vibration

Local Scour Mechanism around Dynamically Active Marine Structures in Noncohesive Sediments and Unidirectional Current

This paper sheds light on the mechanism of post equilibrium sea bed scour around dynamically active marine structures such as wind turbines. Exposure of a fully developed scour hole (at equilibrium state) around a wind turbine mono-pile to the cyclic movement of the structure leads to the backfilling and deformation of the scour hole. The existing approaches to scour prediction for foundation design of offshore wind turbines generally consider wind turbines as static structures and ignore the physical impact of the cyclic movement of the pile on the supporting soil and, hence, on the scour process. Through an experimental program, this paper explains the influence of the cyclic movement of the pile on the local scour in noncohesive sediments. A series of flume tests at two scales were conducted. Simple hydrodynamic conditions and bed sediment configurations were adopted to highlight the effect of pile movement. The results obtained indicate that a mechanism exists by which the scour hole can be significantly deeper and wider in extent than that predicted by conventional methods. This arises through a multistage process consisting of periodically alternating cyclically loaded and unloaded stages simulating a sequence of storms

The cost of recovery protocols in web-based database systems

The cost of recovery protocols is important with respect to system performance during normal operation and failure in terms of overhead, and time taken to recover failed transactions. The cost of recovery protocols for web database systems has not been addressed much. In this paper, we present a quantitative study of cost of recovery protocols. For this purpose, we use an experiment setup to evaluate the performance of two recovery algorithms, namely the, two-phase commit algorithm and log-based algorithm. Our work is a step towards building reliable protocols for web database systems.<br /

Recent Advances in the Surface Functionalization of PLGA-Based Nanomedicines

Therapeutics are habitually characterized by short plasma half-lives and little affinity for targeted cells. To overcome these challenges, nanoparticulate systems have entered into the disease arena. Poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) is one of the most relevant biocompatible materials to construct drug nanocarriers. Understanding the physical chemistry of this copolymer and current knowledge of its biological fate will help in engineering efficient PLGA-based nanomedicines. Surface modification of the nanoparticle structure has been proposed as a required functionalization to optimize the performance in biological systems and to localize the PLGA colloid into the site of action. In this review, a background is provided on the properties and biodegradation of the copolymer. Methods to formulate PLGA nanoparticles, as well as their in vitro performance and in vivo fate, are briefly discussed. In addition, a special focus is placed on the analysis of current research in the use of surface modification strategies to engineer PLGA nanoparticles, i.e., PEGylation and the use of PEG alternatives, surfactants and lipids to improve in vitro and in vivo stability and to create hydrophilic shells or stealth protection for the nanoparticle. Finally, an update on the use of ligands to decorate the surface of PLGA nanomedicines is included in the review

Effects of two different management systems on hormonal, behavioral, and semen quality in male dromedary camels

Effects of two different management systems on male dromedary camel hormones, behaviors, and semen parameters were documented. Camels (n=6) were tested under two management systems: (i) housed in single boxes with 1-h freedom (H23); (ii) exposed to females for 17 h (from 3.30 p.m. to 8.30 a.m.) and then housed (ConExF). Blood was collected every morning; camel behavior was recorded twice a day: (i) from 7:00 to 8:00 a.m. to determine the short effects; (ii) from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. to determine the long effects. Each camel underwent a female parade and semen collection thrice a week; sexual behavior, libido, and semen parameters were assessed. Testosterone and cortisol concentrations were higher in ConExF than H23. Compared to the H23 group, ConExF&nbsp;group spent more time walking, standing tripods, and looking outside their pen/box but they spent less time eating, ruminating, resting, standing, and showing stereotypical behaviors. In the morning, ConExF group spent more time walking, ruminating, and showing typical sexual behaviors compared to themselves during afternoon time and the H23 group. However, in the afternoon time, ConExF camels put more time their heads outside the box through the window and showed higher frequencies of stereotypies, probably due to a higher level of frustration. While the sexual behavioral score was higher and ejaculates showed a higher fraction of milky white and white-colored semen in ConExF than H23 group, their libido was similar. Overall, 17 h of exposure led to an increase in testosterone and cortisol levels, enhancing sexual behavior and semen color, but leading to frustration

EP-1287: Software module for the characterization of geometric distortion in MRI-SIM using a large field of view phantom

The principal component regression (PCR) is often used to forecast macroeconomic variables when there are many predictors. In this letter, we argue that it makes sense to pre-whiten the predictors before including these in a PCR. With simulation experiments, we show that without such pre-whitening, spurious principal components can appear and that these can become spuriously significant in a PCR. With an illustration to annual inflation rates for five African countries, we show that non-spurious principal components can be genuinely relevant in empirical forecasting models

Optimisation of one stage electrostatic precipitator for welding fume filtration

AbstractIn addition to huge installations of electrostatic precipitators (ESP), as those employed for dust filtration in blast furnaces and cement factories, there are also small devices as the ones used for fume filtration in welding shops. The aim of this paper is to optimize the geometric characteristics and the electric operating conditions of a “one-stage” precipitator intended for the filtration of welding fumes. The experimental bench is composed of 2 units, each consisting in an horizontal wire (tungsten, diameter 0.1 mm), energized from a high-voltage supply (+15 kV, 5 mA), and equally distant from two vertical plate electrodes (aluminium, length 200 mm × variable width) connected to the ground. Two “one-factor-at-a-time” experiments paved the way for a composite experimental design that enabled the optimization of ESP geometry, i.e. the inter-electrode interval and width of the collecting electrodes

pH-dependent, extended release and enhanced in vitro efficiency against colon cancer of Tegafur formulated using chitosan-coated poly (ε-caprolactone) nanoparticles

Tegafur is used to treat various malignant lesions, including advanced gastric and colorectal cancers. However, its efficacy is limited by its low oral bioavailability, short half-life and serious toxicity. To address these drawbacks, a nanoformulation of poly(ε-caprolactone) nanoparticles coated with chitosan was developed for the delivery of Tegafur. Poly(ε-caprolactone) particles were prepared by an interfacial polymer disposition method, while surface functionalization with chitosan followed a coacervation procedure. Transmission electron microscopy and elemental analyses, and electrokinetics of the particles demonstrated that such core/shell nanostructure was obtained. Compared to unmodified particles, chitosan-coated nanoparticles demonstrated a substantially increased stability at both 4 and 25 ◦C over 30 days. Particles showed an encapsulation efficiency of ≈64% and a pH-dependent behavior in which complete Tegafur release was extended over 168, 48 or 24 h at pH 7.4 (blood), 6.5 (extracellular microenvironment of tumors) or 5.5 (endosomes/lysosomes of tumor cells), respectively. Based on hemocompatibility and cell viability tests, chitosan-coated nanoparticles exhibited satisfactory biocompatibility and safety for drug delivery. Furthermore, Tegafur-loaded chitosan-decorated particles demonstrated enhanced anticancer efficiency, with half maximal inhibitory concentration values in HT- 29 and T-84 cells of ≈ 4-fold and ≈3.5-fold less than that of the free drug and drug-loaded unmodified nanoparticles, respectively. In vivo studies are needed to fully assess their efficacy and safetyFEDER/Junta de Andalucía – Consejería de Transformaci´on Econ´omica, Industria, Conocimiento y Universidades, Spain (Grant P20_00346)