Spatiotemporal Modeling of a Pervasive Game

Given pervasive games that maintain a virtual spatiotemporal model of the physical world, game designers must contend with space and time in the virtual and physical, but an integrated conceptual model is lacking. Because the problem domains of GIS and Pervasive Games overlap, Peuquet's Triad Representational Framework is exapted, from the domain of GIS, and applied to Pervasive Games. Using Dix et al.'s three types of space and Langran's notion of time, virtual time and space are then be mapped to the physical world and vice versa. The approach is evaluated using the pervasive game called Codename: Heroes, as case study.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figur

Distributed Technology-Sustained Pervasive Applications

Technology-sustained pervasive games, contrary to technology-supported pervasive games, can be understood as computer games interfacing with the physical world. Pervasive games are known to make use of 'non-standard input devices' and with the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT), pervasive applications can be expected to move beyond games. This dissertation is requirements- and development-focused Design Science research for distributed technology-sustained pervasive applications, incorporating knowledge from the domains of Distributed Computing, Mixed Reality, Context-Aware Computing, Geographical Information Systems and IoT. Computer video games have existed for decades, with a reusable game engine to drive them. If pervasive games can be understood as computer games interfacing with the physical world, can computer game engines be used to stage pervasive games? Considering the use of non-standard input devices in pervasive games and the rise of IoT, how will this affect the architectures supporting the broader set of pervasive applications? The use of a game engine can be found in some existing pervasive game projects, but general research into how the domain of pervasive games overlaps with that of video games is lacking. When an engine is used, a discussion of, what type of engine is most suitable and what properties are being fulfilled by the engine, is often not part of the discourse. This dissertation uses multiple iterations of the method framework for Design Science for the design and development of three software system architectures. In the face of IoT, the problem of extending pervasive games into a fourth software architecture, accommodating a broader set of pervasive applications, is explicated. The requirements, for technology-sustained pervasive games, are verified through the design, development and demonstration of the three software system architectures. The ...Comment: 64 pages, 13 figure

Transfemoral treatment for iliac occlusive disease with endoluminal stent-grafts

Objectives:Percutaneous treatment of iliac artery occlusive disease has replaced open vascular reconstruction for several indications. A balloon angioplasty with or without stent is not an option in the presence of infrainguinal extension of the disease. The authors describe a technique that allows the construction of an aorto- or iliofemoral graft through a single groin incision, using a 4 mm PTFE graft, anchoring it proximally with a Palmaz stent and dilating both to the desired diameter.Design:Retrospective non-randomised study.Materials and Methods:Nineteen procedures were performed in 16 patients mainly because of ischaemic rest pain, often with trophic skin changes or minor gangrene. Three patients had a bilateral procedure. Twelve patients had one or more associated procedures: 10 distal bypasses, one thrombectomy, one reimplantation of a distal bypass on the iliofemoral graft, one contralateral profundaplasty and two stents of the contralateral common iliac artery.Results:Two patients died, one of small bowel ischaemia and the other of a myocardial infarction. During the mean follow-up of 8.8 months, two graft thromboses occurred. In another patient bilateral stenting of a residual stenosis was necessary.Conclusions:Our experience shows that the reported technique is feasible. Whether the procedure is truly “less invasive” and the long-term results acceptable remains to be shown

Penerapan Teknologi General Packet Radio Service Pada Sistem Monitoring Sepeda Motor

General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) merupakan sistem transmisi berbasis paket untuk Global System for Mobile (GSM). Pengembangan sistem keamanan menggunakan GPRS merupakan salah satu bidang yang terus mengalami pembaharuan terutama di negara Indonesia dimana keamanan masih menjadi salah satu fokus dalam perbaikan. Tingkat keamanan kendaraan terutama sepeda motor di Indonesia masih sangat kurang terjamin, hal ini menjadi latar belakang tugas akhir ini dirancang. Alat ini dirancang untuk dapat memberikan informasi tentang keberadaan sepeda motor baik dalam informasi kehilangan maupun informasi posisi kendaraan. Data mengenai informasi kehilangan akan dikirimkan langsung ke Handphone pengguna dengan transmisi GSM dan data mengenai informasi posisi berupa data lintang dan bujur akan dikirimkan menuju database yang dibuat dengan menggunakan MySQl melalui GPRS serta dapat diakses menggunakan website dengan halaman utama menggunakan HyperText Markup Language (HTML) dan koneksi dengan Google Maps API. Peta dasar yang dinamis membuat akurasi yang lebih baik antara data pelacakan dengan penandaan posisi pada peta. Data mengenai posisi akan didapat melalui Global Positioning System (GPS) yang kemudian data tersebut akan diolah menjadi data yang siap dikonversikan pada peta dan dalam bentuk sebuah marker

Endovascular Repair of Inflammatory Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms with Special Reference to Concomitant Ureteric Obstruction

AbstractObjectives: to study the technical feasibility and results of endovascular treatment of inflammatory abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA).Design: prospective study.Material and methods: seven patients underwent endovascular repair of an inflammatory AAA. Five patients (8 ureters) were treated with ureteric stents CT scans were obtained one year.Results: the early technical success rate was 100%. Four ureters remained entrapped at one year. Partial regression of periaortic fibrosis was documented in three patients, while four patients showed no regression.Conclusion: endovascular reconstruction of inflammatory abdominal aneurysms is technically feasible. Further study is warranted with regard to the evolution of the periaortic fibrosis and the possible benefits for patients with concomitant hydronephrosis

Diabetes mellitus and the metabolic syndrome do not abolish, but might reduce, the cardioprotective effect of ischemic postconditioning

ObjectiveIschemic preconditioning fails to protect the diabetic heart against lethal reperfusion injury. Because the pathways of ischemic pre- and postconditioning partially overlap, we evaluated the cardioprotective effect of ischemic postconditioning in mouse models of type 2 diabetes (ObOb) and the metabolic syndrome (DKO).MethodsMice (C57BL/6J, ObOb, and DKO; aged 24 weeks; n = 24, n = 28, and n = 18, respectively) underwent reperfusion after 30 minutes of coronary occlusion with or without ischemic postconditioning (3 cycles of 10 seconds reperfusion–reocclusion). Left ventricular contractility and infarct size were assessed 60 minutes later with pressure conductance analysis and 2,3,5-triphenyl-tetrazolium chloride staining, respectively. In a second cohort (C57BL/6J and DKO; aged 12 weeks; n = 31 and n = 24, respectively) cardiac cine magnetic resonance imaging was performed after 1 and 10 weeks, followed by pressure conductance analysis and Sirius red staining.ResultsIn the C57BL6/J mice, the infarct size was lower (40%, P < 10−5) and the load independent preload recruitable stroke work was greater after ischemic postconditioning (P < .05). In the ObOb and DKO mice, ischemic postconditioning reduced the infarct size by 24% (P < 10−5). In the C57BL/6J mice, the ejection fraction was greater and the myocardial mass was lower 10 weeks after ischemic postconditioning (P < .05). Tagging grid deformation was increased after ischemic postconditioning in both infarcted and remote areas. After ischemic postconditioning, the survival and ejection fraction were greater in the DKO mice (67% vs 17% and 44% ± 11% vs 59% ± 2%, P < .05 for both), and the collagen content was lower for both C57BL/6J and DKO mice (P < .05 for both).ConclusionsThe cardioprotective effect of ischemic postconditioning was sustained in C57BL/6J mice after 10 weeks and protected against adverse left ventricular remodeling. In mouse models of type 2 diabetes, protection against lethal reperfusion injury is present, leading to increased survival after ischemia and reperfusion