Wheelchair-based game design for older adults

Few leisure activities are accessible to institutionalized older adults using wheelchairs; in consequence, they experience lower levels of perceived health than able-bodied peers. Video games have been shown to be an engaging leisure activity for older adults. In our work, we address the design of wheelchair-accessible motion-based games. We present KINECTWheels, a toolkit designed to integrate wheelchair movements into motion-based games, and Cupcake Heaven, a wheelchair-based video game designed for older adults using wheelchairs. Results of two studies show that KINECTWheels can be applied to make motion-based games wheelchair-accessible, and that wheelchair-based games engage older adults. Through the application of the wheelchair as an enabling technology in play, our work has the potential of encouraging older adults to develop a positive relationship with their wheelchair. Copyright 2013 ACM

Regulation of the effects of CYP2E1-induced oxidative stress by JNK signaling

AbstractThe generation of excessive amounts of reactive oxygen species (ROS) leads to cellular oxidative stress that underlies a variety of forms of hepatocyte injury and death including that from alcohol. Although ROS can induce cell damage through direct effects on cellular macromolecules, the injurious effects of ROS are mediated largely through changes in signal transduction pathways such as the mitogen-activated protein kinase c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). In response to alcohol, hepatocytes have increased levels of the enzyme cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) which generates an oxidant stress that promotes the development of alcoholic steatosis and liver injury. These effects are mediated in large part through overactivation of JNK that alters cell death pathways. Targeting the JNK pathway or its downstream effectors may be a useful therapeutic approach to the oxidative stress generated by CYP2E1 in alcoholic liver disease

Cognitive abilities that predict success in a computer-based training program.

PURPOSE: The purposes of this study were (a) to identify cognitive abilities and other factors related to successful completion of training for computer-based tasks that simulated real jobs and (b) to create a brief assessment battery useful in assessing older adults for these kinds of jobs. DESIGN AND METHODS: Participants from three age groups (young, middle-aged, and older) completed a battery of cognitive measures. They then trained on one of three computer-based tasks that simulated actual jobs and were asked to perform the tasks for 3 days. We recorded whether they completed training and whether and how well they did the tasks. In a series of logistic regressions, we evaluated the ability of a subset of cognitive measures drawn from a larger battery to predict participants\u27 ability to successfully complete training and go on to task performance. RESULTS: Results confirmed theory-based expectations that measures of domain knowledge, crystallized intelligence, memory, and psychomotor speed would predict success in computer-based activities. A brief battery was able to predict older adults\u27 successful completion of training for one task but was less useful for another. IMPLICATIONS: A brief battery of cognitive measures may be useful in evaluating individuals for job selection. Different measures are related to job-related criteria depending on task and group evaluated, although it was not possible to identify a reduced battery for one task. The specific cognitive abilities related to participants\u27 success have implications for task and interface design for the elderly population

Uncertainty principles for orthonormal sequences

The aim of this paper is to provide complementary quantitative extensions of two results of H.S. Shapiro on the time-frequency concentration of orthonormal sequences in $L^2 (\R)$. More precisely, Shapiro proved that if the elements of an orthonormal sequence and their Fourier transforms are all pointwise bounded by a fixed function in $L^2(\R)$ then the sequence is finite. In a related result, Shapiro also proved that if the elements of an orthonormal sequence and their Fourier transforms have uniformly bounded means and dispersions then the sequence is finite. This paper gives quantitative bounds on the size of the finite orthonormal sequences in Shapiro's uncertainty principles. The bounds are obtained by using prolate sphero\"{i}dal wave functions and combinatorial estimates on the number of elements in a spherical code. Extensions for Riesz bases and different measures of time-frequency concentration are also given

The Q_{1,2}-Q_7 interference contributions to b -> s gamma at O(alpha_s^2) for the physical value of m_c

The B -> X_s gamma branching ratio is currently measured with around 5% accuracy. Further improvement is expected from Belle II. To match such a precision on the theoretical side, evaluation of O(alpha_s^2) corrections to the partonic decay b -> X_s^part gamma are necessary, which includes the b -> s gamma, b -> s g gamma, b -> s g g gamma, b -> s qbar q gamma decay channels. Here, we evaluate the unrenormalized contribution to b -> s gamma that stems from the interference of the photonic dipole operator Q_7 and the current-current operators Q_1 and Q_2. Our results, obtained in the cut propagator approach at the 4-loop level, agree with those found in parallel by Fael et al. who have applied the amplitude approach at the 3-loop level. Partial results for the same quantities recently determined by Greub et al. agree with our findings, too.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figur

The contrast between Atlantic and Pacific surface water fluxes

The Atlantic Ocean is known to have higher sea surface salinity than the Pacific Ocean at all latitudes. This is thought to be associated with the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and deep water formation in the high latitude North Atlantic - a phenomenon not present anywhere in the Pacific. This asymmetry may be a result of salt transport in the ocean or an asymmetry in the surface water flux (evaporation minus precipitation; E − P ) with greater E − P over the Atlantic than the Pacific. In this paper we focus on the surface water flux. Seven estimates of the net freshwater flux (E − P − R including runoff, R), calculated with different methods and a range of data sources (atmospheric and oceanic reanalyses, surface flux datasets, hydrographic sections), are compared. It is shown that E − P − R over the Atlantic is consistently greater than E − P − R over the Pacific by about 0.4 Sv (1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1). The Atlantic/Pacific E − P − R asymmetry is found at all latitudes between 30◦S and 60◦N. Further analysis with ERA-Interim combined with a runoff dataset demonstrates that the basin E − P − R asymmetry is dominated by an evaporation asymmetry in the northern high-latitudes, but by a precipitation asymmetry everywhere south of 30◦N. At the basin scale, the excess of precipitation over the Pacific compared to the Atlantic (∼ 30◦S - 60◦N) dominates the asymmetry. Also it is shown that the asymmetry is present throughout the year and quite steady from year to year. Investigation of the interannual variability and trends suggest that the precipitation trends are not robust between datasets and are indistinguishable from variability. However, a positive trend in evaporation (comparable to other published estimates) is seen in ERA-Interim, consistent with sea surface temperature increases