Development of RFID Mat Sensor System for Person-Centered Care in Group Homes

We have developed a system with a flexible RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) antenna mat to assist caregivers in a group home. In Japan, a group home is a type of home-based care service for elderly persons who suffer from dementia. The caregivers working in the group home must always pay attention to such persons. Since the level of dependency of each elderly person is different, the caregivers must check whether the person requires support or not. However, the checking demands extra efforts on part of the caregivers in addition to the support tasks. To simplify this task, we introduce a system consisting of RFID antenna sheet sensors and RFID tags embedded in inner shoes or slippers of the elderly persons. The system can assist the caregivers to monitor the activities of the persons with dementia by specifying whether the person passed through the sheet on the corridor. It not only helps the caregivers to understand such persons by reviewing their activities but also keeps them informed about the person’s ongoing activities.The original publication is available at JAIST Press http://www.jaist.ac.jp/library/jaist-press/index.htmlKICSS 2007 : The Second International Conference on Knowledge, Information and Creativity Support Systems : PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONFERENCE, November 5-7, 2007, [Ishikawa High-Tech Conference Center, Nomi, Ishikawa, JAPAN

An Empirical Study of an RFID Mat Sensor System in a Group Home

We have been developing an RFID (radio frequency identification) mat system to assist caregivers in a group home. In Japan, the number of group homes offering home-like care for elderly persons suffering from dementia has increased considerably. Even though the smaller number of people residing in a group home makes it suitable for family-like care, the scarcity of caregivers increases the burden, especially during the night. To augment caregiver attention, we developed floor mats with embedded RFID antennae and slippers with RFID tags. These can help caregivers be aware of the activities of persons suffering from dementia by specifying whether an individual has passed over a mat in a particular corridor. This not only helps the caregivers understand such persons by reviewing their activities but also keeps them informed about their current activities. We introduced the floor mats in a real group home and confirmed the feasibility of the system. In this study, we describe the system and lessons learned from our experiment

Photic Stimulation of Intracellular cAMP-Dependent Protein Kinase in Paramecium

The cellular concentration of Paramecium protein kinase A (PKA) exhibits a bi-modal pattern in a 12-h light and 12-h dark cycle, with peaks around midday and immediately after dusk, in contrast to that measured in constant darkness (DD) which exhibits a mono-phasic pattern with a trough after subjective midday and a peak around subjective midnight. The bi-modal increases in PKA concentration caused by the onset (dawn) and offset (dusk) of illumination might contribute discrete phase-advances of the motility rhythm in P. multimicronucleatum. Fluctuation of PKA concentrations in DD is significantly related to that of frequency of changing moving-direction, on which PKA concentrations elevated during illumination may be additively observed to cause the bi-modal pattern

Differentiation of Sialyl Linkage Isomers by One-Pot Sialic Acid Derivatization for Mass Spectrometry-Based Glycan Profiling

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) has been used for high-throughput glycan profiling analysis. In spite of the biological importance of sialic acids on nonreducing ends of glycans, it is still difficult to analyze glycans containing sialic acid residues due to their instability and the presence of linkage isomers. In this Article, we describe a one-pot glycan purification/derivatization method employing a newly developed linkage-specific sialic acid derivatization for MS-based glycan profiling with differentiation of sialyl linkage isomer. The derivatization, termed sialic acid linkage specific alkylamidation (SALSA), consists of sequential two-step alkylamidations. As a result of the reactions, α2,6- and α2,3-linked sialic acids are selectively amidated with different length of alkyl chains, allowing distinction of α2,3-/α2,6-linkage isomers from given mass spectra. Our studies using <i>N</i>-glycan standards with known sialyl linkages proved high suitability of SALSA for reliable relative quantification of α2,3-/α2,6-linked sialic acids compared with existing sialic acid derivatization approaches. SALSA fully stabilizes both α2,3- and α2,6-linked sialic acids by alkylamidation; thereby, it became possible to combine SALSA with existing glycan analysis/preparation methods as follows. The combination of SALSA and chemoselective glycan purification using hydrazide beads allows easy one-pot purification of glycans from complex biological samples, together with linkage-specific sialic acid stabilization. Moreover, SALSA-derivatized glycans can be labeled via reductive amination without causing byproducts such as amide decomposition. This solid-phase SALSA followed by glycan labeling has been successfully applied to human plasma <i>N</i>-glycome profiling

Assessment of pleural air leakage using digital chest drainage system after surgical pulmonary resection: Comparison of visible alveolar air leakage with the digital value measured by a digital chest drainage system

<div><p>Background</p><p>The sensitivity of postoperative pleural air leakage (PAL) after pulmonary resection is evaluated by a simple subjective grading method in clinical practice. A new electronic digital chest drainage evaluation system (DCS) recently became clinically available. This study was designed to evaluate the clinical application of the DCS in monitoring the airflow volume and managing postoperative PAL.</p><p>Methods</p><p>We prospectively enrolled 25 patients who underwent pulmonary resection. Postoperative PAL was evaluated using both conventional PAL grading based on the physician’s visual judgment (analog chest drainage evaluation system [ACS]: Level 0 = no leakage to 4 = continuous leakage) and the DCS. The DCS digital measurement was recorded as the flow volume (ml/min), which was taken once daily from postoperative day 1 to the day of chest drainage tube removal.</p><p>Results</p><p>In total, 45 measurements were performed on 25 patients during the evaluation period. Postoperative PAL was observed in five patients (20.0%) and judged as ACS Level >1. The mean DCS values corresponding to ACS Levels 0, 1, 2, and 3 were 2.42 (0.0–11.3), 48.6 (35.4–67.9), 95.6 (79.7–111.5), and 405.3 (150.3–715.6), respectively. The Spearman correlation test showed a significant positive correlation between the ACS PAL level and DCS flow volume (<i>R</i> = 0.8477, <i>p</i> < 0.001).</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>A relationship between the visual PAL level by the ACS and the digital value by the DCS was identified in this study. The numeric volume obtained by the DCS has been successful in information-sharing with all staff. The digital PAL value evaluated by the DCS is appropriate, and the use of the DCS is promising in the treatment of postoperative PAL after pulmonary resection.</p></div

Connection and measurement of the ACS and DCS.

<p>(A) Normal state. (B) Measurement state.</p