The Usefulness of Activity Trackers in Elderly with Reduced Mobility: A Case Study

This study was conducted to determine the accuracy and usefulness of two current commercially available activity trackers in rollator dependent elderly with reduced mobility (RME), compared with elderly with normal mobility (NME) and healthy adults (HA). Methods: Accuracy of pedometers placed at hip (Fitbit Ultra and Samsung GT-I9300 mobile phone) and wrist (Fitbit Ultra) were evaluated against actual steps (video) in RME (n=5), NME (n=7) and HA (n=6). Walk speed, Tinetti gait score and device percent error was calculated and analyzed in SPSS using Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U and correlation tests. Results: NME and HA walked significantly faster (p = 0.001) than RME, had significantly higher gait score (p < 0.05). Gait scores were correlated with walking speed and negatively with pedometer percent error (p < 0.01). Estimation error in RME were >60% at all device locations Conclusions: Slow walking speed and gait disorders hamper the utility of pedometers for physical activity measurement in rollator dependent elderly, with estimation errors >60%. The tested devices are better suited for use by ostensibly healthy elderly or adult populations.European Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) Project AAL-2011-4- 09

Influence of Input/output Operations on Processor Performance

Nowadays, computers are frequently equipped with peripherals that transfer great amounts of data between them and the system memory using direct memory access techniques (i.e., digital cameras, high speed networks, . . . ). Those peripherals prevent the processor from accessing system memory for significant periods of time (i.e., while they are communicating with system memory in order to send or receive data blocks). In this paper we study the negative effects that I/O operations from computer peripherals have on processor performance. With the help of a set of routines (SMPL) used to make discrete event simulators, we have developed a configurable software that simulates a computer processor and main memory as well as the I/O scenarios where the periph-erals operate. This software has been used to analyze the performance of four different processors in four I/O scenarios: video capture, video capture and playback, high speed network, and serial transmission

Magnetohidrodinámica relativista numérica: Aplicaciones en relatividad especial y general.

RESUMEN En muchos escenarios astrof´ýsicos (acreci´on de discos, chorros, colapso estelar, etc) podemos encontrar que los campos magn´eticos juegan un papel crucial en uni´on a velocidades relativistas y/o fuertes campos gravitatorios. En muchos de estos escenarios se cumplen las condiciones necesarias para poder ser descritos en terminos de la magnetohidrodin´amica relativista ideal (RMHD). El objetivo principal de esta Tesis ha sido el desarrollo de un c´odigo capaz de resolver las ecuaciones de la magnetohidrodin´amica en relatividad especial y general basado en t´ecnicas de alta resoluci´on de captura de choques (HRSC). Este tipo de t´ecnicas explota el car´acter conservativo e hiperb´olico del sistema de ecuaciones en cuesti´on. El n´ucleo de las t´ecnicas HRSC lo constituye una discretizaci´on de las ecuaciones en forma conservativa y la evaluaci´on de los flujos entre celdas num´ericas contiguas para el avance temporal de las ecuaciones. De entre las diversas estrategias para el c´alculo de dichos flujos, optamos por el desarrollo de un algoritmo basado en la descomposici´on espectral de las matrices jacobianas del sistema de ecuaciones (concretamnete desarrollomaos lo que, en el lenguaje del an´alisis num´erico, se conoce como resolvedor del problema de Riemann de tipo Roe y un resolvedor del problema de Riemann de tipo HLL). Para ello, partimos de las ecuaciones de la magnetohidrodin´amica relativista escritas en diferentes sistemas de variables (conservadas, primitivas, covariantes). Realizamos el an´alisis espectral de las ecuaciones (el c´alculo de los autovalores y autovectores de las matrices jacobianas, caracterizaci´on de los estados degenerados de los autovalores) en t´erminos de las variables covariantes, procediendo despues a la renormalizaci´on y transformaci´on de los autovectores a los otros sistemas de variables, especialmente al sistema de variables conservadas, ya que los algoritmos HRSC avanzan en el tiempo estas variables. En la tesis se describe los ingredientes m´as importantes del c´odigo. tanto en su versi´on RMHD y GRMHD, incluido el procedimiento num´erico adoptado para asegurar la preservaci´on de la condici´on de divergencia nula del campo magn´etico, dentro de un esquema HRSC. En el c´odigo de GRMHD se adopta el formalismo 3+1 para describir los efectos de la curvatura del espacio-tiempo. Se describen tambi´en las dos estrategias alternativas adoptadas para calcular los flujos entre las celdas num´ericas. Se muestra el funcionamiento del c´odigo en la resoluci´on de una selecci´on de problemas unidimensionales y bidimensionales, as´ý como simulaciones de chorros axisim´etricos y procesos de acreci´on sobre agujero negro de Schwarzschild y Kerr. __________________________________________________________________________________________________Magnetic fields play a crucial role in several astrophysical scenarios, some of them (accretion disks, jets, stellar collapse,...) in association with relativistic speeds, and/or gravitational fields. In most case a description in terms of ideal relativistic magnetohydrodinamics is adequete. In this Thesis we present a general procedure to solve numerically the relativistic magnetohidrodynamics (RMHD) equations and the general relativistic magnetohidrodynamics (GRMHD) equations. The numerical code, based on high-resolution shock-capturing (HRSC) techniques, solves the equations written in conservation form and computes the numerical fluxes. In upwind HRSC methods these fluxes are obtained from the solution of a discontinous initial value problem (Riemann problem) between neighbour zones and usually are obtained in terms of the spectral descomposition (eigenvalues and eigenvectors) of the Jacobian matrices fluxes. We must study carefully the spectral descomposition and must characterize the degenerated eigenvalues and renormalized the eigenvactors to use in the HRSC methods. We described the different thecniques used in the code, also the special procedure that is used to enforce the conservation of magnetic flux along the evolution. In order to take gravitational fields into account we adopt the 3+1 formalism and we have implemented two alternative strategies to calcul the numerical fluxes. To show the capabilities of the code, we present results of various tests, including 1D and 2D. Also we present some simulations of magnetised jets and magnetised fluid accretion onto a Schwarzschild and Kerr black hole

Treatment of sunitinib-induced hypertension in solid tumor by nitric oxide donors

[Abstract] Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptor (VEGFR) are overexpressed in the majority of renal cell carcinomas. This characteristic has supported the rationale of targeting VEGF-driven tumour vascularization, especially in clear cell RCC. VEGF-inhibiting strategies include the use of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (sunitinib, axitinib, pazopanib, and sorafenib) and neutralizing antibodies such as bevacizumab. Hypertension (HTN) is one of the most common adverse effects of angiogenesis inhibitors. HTN observed in clinical trials appears to correlate with the potency of VEGF kinase inhibitor against VEGFR-2: agents with higher potency are associated with a higher incidence of HTN. Although the exact mechanism by tyrosine kinase inhibitors induce HTN has not yet been completely clarified, two key hypotheses have been postulated. First, some studies have pointed to a VEGF inhibitors-induced decrease in nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and nitric oxide (NO) production, that can result in vasoconstriction and increased blood pressure. VEGF, mediated by PI3K/Akt and MAPK pathway, upregulates the endothelial nitric oxide synthase enzyme leading to up-regulation of NO production. So inhibition of signaling through the VEGF pathway would lead to a decrease in NO production, resulting in an increase in vascular resistance and blood pressure. Secondly a decrease in the number of microvascular endothelial cells and subsequent depletion of normal microvessel density (rarefaction) occurs upon VEGF signaling inhibition. NO donors could be successfully used not only for the treatment of developed angiogenesis-inhibitor-induced hypertension but also for preventive effects

On the Design of Ambient Intelligent Systems in the Context of Assistive Technologies

The design of Ambient Intelligent Systems (AISs) is discussed in the context of assistive technologies. The main issues include ubiquitous communications, context awareness, natural interactions and heterogeneity, which are analyzed using some examples. A layered architecture is proposed for heterogeneous sub-systems integration with three levels of interactions that may be used as a framework to design assistive AISs.Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología TIC2001-1868-C0

Analyzing recommender systems for health promotion using a multidisciplinary taxonomy: A scoping review

Background: Recommender systems are information retrieval systems that provide users with relevant items (e.g., through messages). Despite their extensive use in the e-commerce and leisure domains, their application in healthcare is still in its infancy. These systems may be used to create tailored health interventions, thus reducing the cost of healthcare and fostering a healthier lifestyle in the population. Objective: This paper identifies, categorizes, and analyzes the existing knowledge in terms of the literature published over the past 10 years on the use of health recommender systems for patient interventions. The aim of this study is to understand the scientific evidence generated about health recommender systems, to identify any gaps in this field to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG3) (namely, “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”), and to suggest possible reasons for these gaps as well as to propose some solutions. Methods: We conducted a scoping review, which consisted of a keyword search of the literature related to health recommender systems for patients in the following databases: ScienceDirect, PsycInfo, Association for Computing Machinery, IEEExplore, and Pubmed. Further, we limited our search to consider only English-lan-guage journal articles published in the last 10 years. The reviewing process comprised three researchers who filtered the results simultaneously. The quantitative synthesis was conducted in parallel by two researchers, who classified each paper in terms of four aspects—the domain, the methodological and procedural aspects, the health promotion theoretical factors and behavior change theories, and the technical aspects—using a new multidisciplinary taxonomy. Results: Nineteen papers met the inclusion criteria and were included in the data analysis, for which thirty-three features were assessed. The nine features associated with the health promotion theoretical factors and behavior change theories were not observed in any of the selected studies, did not use principles of tailoring, and did not assess (cost)-effectiveness. Discussion: Health recommender systems may be further improved by using relevant behavior change strategies and by implementing essential characteristics of tailored interventions. In addition, many of the features required to assess each of the domain aspects, the methodological and procedural aspects, and technical aspects were not reported in the studies. Conclusions: The studies analyzed presented few evidence in support of the positive effects of using health recommender systems in terms of cost-effectiveness and patient health outcomes. This is why future studies should ensure that all the proposed features are covered in our multidisciplinary taxonomy, including integration with electronic health records and the incorporation of health promotion theoretical factors and behavior change theories. This will render those studies more useful for policymakers since they will cover all aspects needed to determine their impact toward meeting SDG3.European Union's Horizon 2020 No 68112

RISC-based architectures for multiple robot systems

Several approaches to multiple robot system control are discussed. In order to simplify the study a multilayered model is proposed: a control layer which directly acts on the dynamics of the manipulators, a coordination/communication layer which makes all the manipulators work together and a programming layer which interfaces with the user. For the first layer two architectural alternatives are studied: a centralized single processor system and a distributed multiprocessor with static task assignment. For the second case an implementation based on the 1960 family of RISC processors is introduced. For the second layer three possibilities are considered: serial interface, parallel bus and local area network. The latter is carefully studied and a low cost alternative to the standard deterministic network MAP is introduced. This cell network is based on the CSMA/DCR protocol implemented on the i82596 coprocessor. Two alternatives are discussed for the programming layer: a parallel programming language based on a scene approach and a C extended language used to program elementary tasks in a robot independent way coupled with an intelligent scheduler used to assign these tasks to the robot arms at run time

Intangibles factors and quality assessment of the service received in travel agencies

La adaptación de las agencias de viajes a los patrones de la Nueva Economía nos conduce a una tendencia hacia la reestructuración del sector, centrada en la búsqueda de nuevas estrategias competitivas. La creciente importancia de los activos intangibles para la consecución de dichas estrategias ha motivado este estudio, que trata de identificar aquellos factores intangibles, presentes en la prestación de este servicio, y que están directamente relacionados con la percepción, por parte del cliente, de una diferenciación en el servicio recibido.Adaptation of travel agencies to the standards of the New Economy is leading to a trend towards restructuring the sector aimed at finding new competitive strategies. The growing importance of intangible assets in achieving such strategies has motivated this study, which has tried to identify those intangible factors, present in the provision of the service, that have a direct relationship with the client´s perception of a differentiation in the service received