304 research outputs found
Enhancing Mobile Devices with Cooperative Proactive Computing
Abstract-With the increasing popularity of smartphones and with the fact that they are connected to the Internet most of the time, people manage to stay online everywhere they go. They can access online services remotely at any time they want, using their mobile devices. However, in order to make the best out of these circumstances, the users have to use sophisticated mobile applications. These applications do not have to only address key aspects like collaboration and cooperation between various devices but have to deal also with the involvement of the users in order to achieve the desired outcome. The main contribution of this paper is to present a solution, i.e., Proactive Engine for Mobile Devices (PEMD), together with its implementation for Androidbased systems, for enhancing mobile devices with proactive properties. The model serves as a basis for developing smart applications that are able to perform complex real-world tasks. Furthermore, it provides a method for achieving cooperation, coordination and collaboration of multiple smart devices. Finally, we provide the performance experiments and we discuss the results and the effects of using PEMD on different devices
Decay-assisted collinear resonance ionization spectroscopy: Application to neutron-deficient francium
This paper reports on the hyperfine-structure and radioactive-decay studies
of the neutron-deficient francium isotopes Fr performed with the
Collinear Resonance Ionization Spectroscopy (CRIS) experiment at the ISOLDE
facility, CERN. The high resolution innate to collinear laser spectroscopy is
combined with the high efficiency of ion detection to provide a
highly-sensitive technique to probe the hyperfine structure of exotic isotopes.
The technique of decay-assisted laser spectroscopy is presented, whereby the
isomeric ion beam is deflected to a decay spectroscopy station for alpha-decay
tagging of the hyperfine components. Here, we present the first
hyperfine-structure measurements of the neutron-deficient francium isotopes
Fr, in addition to the identification of the low-lying states of
Fr performed at the CRIS experiment.Comment: Accepted for publication with Physical Review
Laser spectroscopy of francium isotopes at the borders of the region of reflection asymmetry
The magnetic dipole moments and changes in mean-square charge radii of the
neutron-rich isotopes were measured with the
newly-installed Collinear Resonance Ionization Spectroscopy (CRIS) beam line at
ISOLDE, CERN, probing the to atomic
transition. The values for
and follow the observed increasing
slope of the charge radii beyond . The charge radii odd-even
staggering in this neutron-rich region is discussed, showing that
has a weakly inverted odd-even staggering while
has normal staggering. This suggests that both isotopes
reside at the borders of a region of inverted staggering, which has been
associated with reflection-asymmetric shapes. The value supports a shell model configuration for the
ground state. The values support the tentative
spin, and point to a intruder ground state configuration.Comment: Accepted for publication with Physical Review
Magnetic Moment of the Fragmentation Aligned 61Fe(9/2)+ Isomer
We report on the g factor measurement of the isomer in (). The isomer was produced and spin-aligned via a projectile-fragmentation
reaction at intermediate energy, the Time Dependent Perturbed Angular
Distribution (TDPAD) method being used for the measurement of the g factor. For
the first time, due to significant improvements of the experimental technique,
an appreciable residual alignment of the isomer has been observed, allowing a
precise determination of its g factor: . Comparison of the
experimental g factor with shell-model and mean field calculations confirms the
spin and parity assignments and suggests the onset of deformation due
to the intrusion of Nilsson orbitals emerging from the .Comment: 4 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Magnetic moments of Cu and Cu nuclei measured by in-source laser spectroscopy
We have obtained information on the atomic hyperfine splitting and, hence, on magnetic moments in neutron rich Cu isotopes by scanning the frequency of the narrow-band laser of the first excitation step in the resonance ionization laser ion source. The deduced magnetic moments are Cu, I = 1) = +2.48(2)(7) ; Cu, I=6) = +1.24(4)(6) and Cu, I=1) = +1.86(4)(6) ; Cu, I=6) = +1.50(7)(8). The results of the scans analysis point out on existence of a new isomer in Cu. It's deduced magnetic moment is (-)3.50(7)(11) that is in a good agreement with I=3 assignment. The method of in-source atomic spectroscopy, as well as the analysis of the obtained data, is described. The results are discussed in terms of single-particle configurations coupled to the Ni core
Capabilities and quality of life in Dutch psycho-geriatric nursing homes: an exploratory study using a proxy version of the ICECAP-O
Contains fulltext :
110478.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)PURPOSE: To validate the ICECAP-O capability measure in psycho-geriatric elderly in nursing homes, we compared the capability scores of restrained and unrestrained clients. Both nursing staff and family were used as proxies for assessing clients' capabilities. METHOD: For 122 psycho-geriatric elderly, a total of 96 nursing professionals and 68 family members completed a proxy questionnaire. We investigated the convergent and discriminant validity of the ICECAP-O and measures of care dependency, health-related quality of life, and overall quality of life. We also directly compared ICECAP-O scores of the 56 clients for whom both nursing staff and family members had completed the questionnaire. RESULTS: Convergent validity between ICECAP-O and care dependency, health-related, and overall quality of life measures could be established, as well as discriminant validity for the restrained and unrestrained groups. Nursing and family proxy ICECAP-O tariffs were not significantly correlated. DISCUSSION: ICECAP-O measures a more general concept than health-related quality of life and can differentiate between restrained and non-restrained psycho-geriatric clients. Since nurses seem to be able to assess the current quality of life of clients using the ICECAP-O more precisely than the family proxies, for now the use of nursing proxies is recommended in a nursing home setting
Rheological Characteristics of Municipal Thickened Excess Activated Sludge (TEAS): Impacts of pH, Temperature, Solid Concentration and Polymer Dose
Rheological characterization of sludge is known to be an essential tool to optimize flow, mixing and other process parameters in wastewater treatment plants. This study deals with the characterization of thickened excess activated sludge in comparison to raw primary sludge and excess activated sludge. The effects of key parameters (total solid concentration, temperature, and pH) on the rheology and flow behavior of thickened excess activated sludge were studied. The rheological investigations were carried out for total solid concentration range of 0.9–3.7 %w/w, temperature range of 23–55 °C, and pH range of 3.6–10.0. Different rheological model equations were fitted to the experimental data. The model equations with better fitting were used to calculate the yield stress, apparent, zero-rate, infinite-rate viscosities, flow consistency index, and flow index. The decrease in concentration from 3.7 to 3.1 %w/w resulted in a drastic reduction of yield stress from 27.6 to 11.0 Pa, while a further reduction of yield stress to 1.3 Pa was observed as solid concentration was reduced to 1.3 %w/w. The viscosity at higher shear rate (>600 s−1) decreased from 0.05 Pa·s down to 0.008 Pa·s when the total solid concentration was reduced from 3.7 to 0.9 %. Yield stress decreased from 20.1 Pa down to 8.3 Pa for the Bingham plastic model when the temperature was raised from 25 to 55 °C. Activation energy and viscosity also showed decreasing trends with increasing temperature. Yield stress of thickened excess activated sludge increased from a value of 6.0 Pa to 8.3 Pa when the pH was increased from 3.6 to 10.0. The effect of polymer dose on the rheological behavior of the thickening of excess activated sludge was also investigated, and the optimum polymer dosage for enhanced thickener performance was determined to be 1.3 kg/ton DS
The development of a multidisciplinary fall risk evaluation tool for demented nursing home patients in the Netherlands
BACKGROUND: Demented nursing home patients are at high risk for falls. Falls and associated injuries can have a considerable influence on the autonomy and quality of life of patients. The prevention of falls among demented patients is therefore an important issue. In order to intervene in an efficient way in this group of patients, it is important to systematically evaluate the fall risk profile of each individual patient so that for each patient tailor-made preventive measures can be taken. Therefore, the objective of the present study is to develop a feasible and evidence based multidisciplinary fall risk evaluation tool to be used for tailoring preventive interventions to the needs of individual demented patients. METHODS: To develop this multidisciplinary fall risk evaluation tool we have chosen to combine scientific evidence on the one hand and experts' opinions on the other hand. Firstly, relevant risk factors for falling in elderly persons were gathered from the literature. Secondly, a group of Dutch experts in the field of falls and fall prevention in the elderly were consulted to judge the suitability of these risk factors for use in a multidisciplinary fall risk evaluation tool for demented nursing home patients. Thirdly, in order to generate a compact list of the most relevant risk factors for falling in demented elderly, all risk factors had to fulfill a set of criteria indicating their relevance for this specific target population. Lastly the final list of risk factors resulting from the above mentioned procedure was presented to the expert group. The members were also asked to give their opinion about the practical use of the tool. RESULTS: The multidisciplinary fall risk evaluation tool we developed includes the following items: previous falls, use of medication, locomotor functions, and (correct) choice and use of assistive and protective devices. The tool is developed for the multidisciplinary teams of the nursing homes. CONCLUSION: This evidence and practice based multidisciplinary fall risk evaluation tool targets the preventive interventions aimed to prevent falls and their negative consequences in demented nursing home patients
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