A Backup Gateway to Access a Service-oriented Heterogeneous Home Network

Domotics has been favoured by a constant increase of popularity in the last decade. Because of the many home network concepts in this field, it is potentially viable to include several different network technologies in a home automation system; if these technologies are optimally combined then it is presumable to accomplish better results in performance, affordability and stability. For this reason, it is recommended to use each of them for the use of specific services that fit more accurately with their characteristics and capabilities. Nonetheless, besides the diversity of such environments, they all share a common subject: a need for remote control. Actual trends in Domotics are closely oriented to the foremost elements associated with ubiquitous control, which is a significant topic due to the important advantages of having the possibility to manage home services from anywhere at any time. This paper describes a model for a secure, scalable and reliable remote-controlled home automation system; the role of this model is to provide users with a backup gateway to be able to control the services at home (or other buildings) in case of a failure of the main access. The development is focused on a proper handling of the underlying technologies, invisible to the user, to enable the backup gateway agents communicate with both the external agents and the home network agents

Remote-Controlled Home Automation Systems with Different Network Technologies

This paper describes an investigation into the potential for remote controlled operation of home automation systems. It considers problems with their implementation, discusses possible solutions through various network technologies and indicates how to optimize the use of such systems. The home is an eternal, heterogeneous, distributed computing environment, which certainly requires a careful study before developing any suitable Home Automation System (HAS) that will accomplish its requirements. Nevertheless the latest attempts at introducing Home Automation Systems in actual homes for all kinds of users are starting to be successful thanks to the continuous standardization process that is lowering the prices and making devices more useful and easier to use for the end user. Even so several important issues are always to be handled strictly before developing and installing a Home Automation System; factors like security, reliability, usefulness, robustness and price are critical to determine if the final product will accomplish the expected requirements

Single-particle dispersion, Lagrangian structure function and Lagrangian energy spectrum in two-dimensional incompressible turbulence

The single-particle dispersion, Lagrangian structure functions and Lagrangian energy spectra characteristic of two-dimensional incompressible turbulent flows are investigated theoretically and numerically. The domain of validity of the classical asymptotic estimates is extended; it is shown in particular that the asymptotic behavior of the single-particle dispersion at small times remains valid throughout the whole self-similar range when the Lagrangian energy spectrum is steeper than ω−1. Straightforward estimates of the Lagrangian integral time scale TL and the diffusion coefficient at large times K, based on energy and enstrophy, are proposed; to some extent, they remain valid locally, which allows an analysis of the spatial variability of TL and K within a single turbulent field. Finally, the detrimental effect of artificial numerical diffusion on the numerical simulation of Lagrangian statistics is highlighted and discussed

Assistive Human-Machine Interfaces for Smart Homes

Computer systems have shown in the past (Zajicek, 2000) that they can be powerful allies in home-based health care and offer great potential to improve quality of life - but only if they are designed to take into consideration the specific needs of their beneficiaries. Satisfying usability as well as the functional requirements in such a home setting are equally critical. This paper discusses the development of user interfaces, following the “Designfor- all” philosophy, oriented towards a multi-agent system interacting with an intelligent engine. Originally, the system will focus on the control of white goods (large kitchen appliances) but will have scalability properties making it appropriate and extensible for the inclusion of other devices that may be deployed thereafter. The interfaces must be flexible enough to adapt to the targeted public, fit any user’s preferences and/or needs and make the interaction as simple and intuitive as possible. This work is part of the EU FP6 IST e-inclusion ‘EASY LINE+’ project

Energy harvesting: Estado del arte y diseño de un sensor de temperatura inalámbrico alimentado por energía fotoeléctrica con sistema de alimentación de apoyo por radiofrecuencia

El concepto de “Energy Harvesting“ se refiere al proceso mediante el cual la energía que se encuentra en el ambiente es convertida en electricidad para alimentar pequeños dispositivos autónomos haciéndolos autosuficientes. El trabajo a realizar se dividirá en dos partes: una teórica y otra práctica. La parte teórica consistirá en un pequeño estado del arte sobre las actuales formas de recolectar energía del medio ambiente enfocado únicamente hacia la alimentación de sensores. Se hará una aproximación a cada una de las tecnologías con sus posibles aplicaciones, las soluciones comerciales disponibles, los avances más novedosos y los kits de evaluación disponibles en la actualidad. También se analizarán las diferentes opciones que existen para el almacenamiento de esa energía, los microcontroladores de ultra baja potencia disponibles y las tecnologías de transmisión de información por radiofrecuencia de baja potencia. La parte práctica consistirá en la experimentación con dos kits de evaluación de Energy Harvesting: uno de captación de energía por radiofrecuencia y otro de energía fotovoltaica. Finalmente se combinarán los dos kits de evaluación en un único dispositivo cuya funcionalidad sea la de un sensor de temperatura inalámbrico con un sistema de alimentación inteligente. Este sistema consistirá en que el sensor recargue su batería principalmente mediante una célula fotovoltaica y que en el caso de la carga de la batería baje de un límite, se active un mecanismo de emisión de energía por radiofrecuencia que pueda ser utilizada por el sensor para recargarse. Este trabajo fin de máster se ha realizado gracias a la beca de “cheque tecnológico” obtenido por la empresa Pariver

Palladium-Catalyzed Carbonyl Allylation Reactions Using Tin Chloride: A Mini-Review

The treatment of allylic alcohols as synthons of carbanions for carbonyl allylation reactions in the presence of a Pd-SnCl2 system has been one of the most interesting and most useful developments demonstrated by Yoshiro Masuyama and co-workers in the field of organic synthesis. The reaction makes use of palladium as an effective catalyst and tin (II) chloride as a low-valent reducing agent which also effectively transforms the allylic group to a nucleophilic group. The organic, as well as organometallic, chemistry of how the transformations occur and how the metals take part in the reaction is of great interest. These could help allow for better optimization of reagents and solvents, for better control of the extent of reaction or yield of desired product, and for possible applications in other reaction systems. This review will focus primarily on the work of Yoshiro Masuyama and various co-workers on carbonyl allylation reactions making use of a Pd-SnCl2 system or substitutes thereof

Fe(III) complexes in cyclohexane oxidation: comparison of catalytic activities under different energy stimuli

In this study, the mononuclear Fe(III) complex [Fe(HL)(NO3)(H2O)2]NO3 (1) derived from N0 -acetylpyrazine-2-carbohydrazide (H2L) was synthesized and characterized by several physicochemical methods, e.g., elemental analysis, infrared (IR) spectroscopy, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), and single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The catalytic performances of 1 and the previously reported complexes [Fe(HL)Cl2] (2) and [Fe(HL)Cl(µ-OMe)]2 (3) towards the peroxidative oxidation of cyclohexane under three different energy stimuli (microwave irradiation, ultrasound, and conventional heating) were compared. 1-3 displayed homogeneous catalytic activity, leading to the formation of cyclohexanol and cyclohexanone as final products, with a high selectivity for the alcohol (up to 95%). Complex 1 exhibited the highest catalytic activity, with a total product yield of 38% (cyclohexanol + cyclohexanone) under optimized microwave-assisted conditions.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Differential expression of interferon-induced protein with tetratricopeptide repeats 3 (IFIT3) in Alzheimer\u27s disease and HIV-1 associated neurocognitive disorders

The United Nations projects that one in every six people will be over the age of 65 by the year 2050. With a rapidly aging population, the risk of Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD) becomes a major concern. AD is a multifactorial disease that involves neurodegeneration in the brain with mild dementia and deficits in memory and other cognitive domains. Additionally, it has been established that individuals with Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 (HIV-1) experience a 5 to 10-year accelerated aging and an increased risk of developing HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). Despite a significant amount of clinical evidence pointing towards a potential overlap between neuropathogenic processes in HAND and AD, the underlying epigenetic link between these two diseases is mostly unknown. This study is focused on identifying differentially expressed genes observed in both AD and HAND using linear regression models and a more robust significance analysis of microarray. The results established that the dysregulated type 1 and 2 interferon pathways observed in both AD and HAND contribute to the similar pathologies of these diseases within the brain. The current study identifies the important roles of interferon pathways in AD and HAND, a relationship that may be useful for earlier detection in the future

A case study using a methodological approach to developing user interfaces for elderly and disabled people

In this paper, we present a case study on the development of interfaces for elderly and disabled users. The domain of the case study was situated in the home environment, where we focused on producing affordable technologies to enable users to interact with and to control home appliances. We have developed ambient user interfaces that are integrated in familiar home artefacts, such as televisions and digital picture frames. These interfaces are connected remotely to a home network and are adaptive to users’ expected increasing physical and cognitive needs. To support the development of the project, we created a novel methodology that is grounded in the ethical issues associated with a project of this nature. Our success with it has led to us presenting it here as a practical approach to developing user interfaces for a range of interactive applications, especially where there may be diverse user populations. This paper describes our journey through this project, how the methodology has been used throughout and the development of our user interfaces and their evaluation

1D Copper(II)-aroylhydrazone coordination polymers: magnetic properties and microwave assisted oxidation of a secondary alcohol

The 1D Cu(II) coordination polymers [Cu-3(L-1)(NO3)(4)(H2O)(2)](n) (1) and [Cu-2(H2L2)(NO3)(H2O)(2)](n)(NO3)(n) (2) have been synthesized using the aroylhyrazone Schiff bases N'(1),N'(2)-bis(pyridin-2-ylmethylene)oxalohydrazide (H2L1) and N'(1),N'(3)-bis(2-hydroxybenzylidene)malonohydrazide (H4L2), respectively. They have been characterized by elemental analysis, infrared (IR) spectroscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), single crystal X-ray diffraction and variable temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements (for 2). The ligand (L-1)(2-) coordinates in the iminol form in 1, whereas the amide coordination is observed for (H2L2)(2-) in 2. Either the ligand bridge or the nitrate bridge in 2 mediates weak antiferromagnetic coupling. The catalytic performance of 1 and 2 has been investigated toward the solvent-free microwave-assisted oxidation of a secondary alcohol (1-phenylethanol used as model substrate). At 120 degrees C and in the presence of the nitroxyl radical 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperydil-1-oxyl (TEMPO), the complete conversion of 1-phenylethanol into acetophenone occurs with TOFs up to 1,200 h(-1).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio