Multi-Agent Architecture for Dependent Environments. Providing Solutions for Home Care

Obtaining novel and effective solutions for home care is one of the aims of Ambient Intelligence. Elderly and disabled people require special care services, and emerging technologies facilitate the development of intelligent environments in their homes. This paper presents AMADE, a multi-agent architecture for the control and supervision of home care environments. AMADE integrates an innovative alert management system as well as automated identification, location, and movement control systems. This study proposes a new perspective in tackling the problem of home care. An initial prototype based on the AMADE architecture was successfully tested in a real environment and the results obtained are presented within this paper

Developing Home Care Intelligent Environments: From Theory to Practice

One of the main aims of the pervasive systems is to be able to adapt themselves in execution time to the changes in the number of resources available, the mobility of the users, variability in the needs of the users and failures of the system. This work presents HoCa, a multi-agent based architecture designed to facilitate the development of pervasive systems. HoCa presents a new model where multi-agent systems and service oriented architectures are integrated to facilitate compatible services. HoCa has been applied to case study in a real scenario, aimed to provide automatic assistance to dependent people at their home, and the results obtained are presented in this paper

Agents in Home Care: A Case Study

Home Care is the term used to refer to any kind of care to a person at his own home. This article presents a case study of the HoCa hybrid multiagent architecture aimed at improving of dependent people in their homes. Hoca architecture uses a set of distributed components to provide a solution to the needs of the assisted people and its main components are software agents that interact with the environment through a distributed communications system. This paper describes the hybrid multiagent system in a home care environment and presents the results obtained

Applying HoCCAC to Plan Task the COPD Patient: A Case Study

This paper presents a multiagent system that facilitates the performance of daily tasks for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) patient within a context-aware environment. The paper analyzes the relevant aspects of context-aware computing and presents a prototype that can be applied to monitor COPD patient at their homes. The system includes computational elements that are integrated within a domestic environment with the goal of capturing context-related information and managing the events carried out by the patient. The services are support by the processing and reasoning out of the data received by the agents in order to offer proactive solutions to the user. The results obtained with this prototype are presented in this paper

Context-aware multiagent system: Planning home care tasks

Context-aware systems are able to capture information from the context in which they are executed, assign a meaning to the gathered information, and change their behavior accordingly. As a result, the systems can offer services to users according to their individual situation within the context. This article analyzes the important aspects of context-aware computing such as capturing information for context attributes and determining the manner of interacting with users in the environment. Used in conjunction with mobile devices, context-aware systems are specifically used to improve the usability of applications and services. This article proposes the home care context-aware computing (HoCCAC) multiagent system that identifies and maintains a permanent fix on the location of patients in their home, and manages the infrastructure of services within their environment securely and reliably by processing and reasoning the data received. Based on the multiagent system, a prototype was developed to monitor patients in their home. The HoCCAC multiagent system uses a critical path method-based planning model that, in the present study, prepares the most optimal task-planning schedule for the patients in their home, is capable of reacting automatically when faced with dangerous or emergency situations, replanning any plans in progress and sending alert messages to the system. The results obtained with this prototype are presented in this article

Sistema multiagente sensible al contexto

[EN] It is important to note that any context can set the stage for performing automated tasks. At the same time, systems tend to offer collaborative support for users in their context. Keeping the context in mind raises the issue of the need to provide technological solutions that help users with regards to their profile and location, as well as changes that can occur in their environment. Although the techniques developed to date for context-aware systems provide a solid base for modeling and interpreting the context, there are aspects that have been sufficiently well covered in current systems. A context-aware system uses the surrounding environment to modify its behavior and thus better satisfy user needs. For the last several years, multiagent systems have been studied as an alternative for modeling context-aware systems, although they do not always cover all of the real needs for distributed systems. Multiagent systems facilitate the ability to reuse functionalities and to optimize the compatibility between different platforms. The present research study will introduce the Home Care Context-Aware Computing (HoCCAC) architecture, a multiagent architecture specially designed to meet the needs required by context-aware systems. HoCCAC defines a set of agents that optimizes the management of contextual information and improves the development of distributed, adaptable and ubiquitous systems with a certain degree of intelligence. HoCCAC achieves this by using information provider agents and incorporating the Critical Path Method (CPM) planning method and Case Based Reasoning (CBR) in the Interpreter Agent, the primary agent of the architecture. Although context-aware systems have numerous applications for different kinds of users, they may be very useful in studying the problems associated with an aging population, a situation of particular concern in many of the most developed countries in the world. Improving the social and economic consequences associated with an aging population is one of the goals of current national health care systems which must provide the best possible assistance to this group of dependent individuals, while ensuring its sustainability. Consequently, in order to test the HoCCAC architecture, a case study was defined, consisting of the development of a multiagent system prototype specially designed to improve services in the assistance and medical care at home for dependent persons, particularly those suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). The results obtained are quite satisfactory, demonstrating that the HoCCAC multiagent architecture can model and implement context aware systems very efficiently.[ES] En una sociedad claramente influenciada por las nuevas tecnologías, los nuevos avances en computación sensible al contexto han supuesto un cambio importante en los hábitos de interacción de los usuarios con los sistemas informáticos y la información contextual. Es necesario tener en cuenta que cualquier contexto puede proporcionar un escenario para la realización de tareas automatizadas. Al mismo tiempo, los sistemas tienden a ofrecer un soporte colaborativo a los usuarios en su entorno. Tener en cuenta el contexto, introduce la necesidad de aportar soluciones tecnológicas que ayuden al usuario en función de su perfil y su situación, así como de los cambios que se producen en su entorno. Aunque las técnicas desarrolladas hasta ahora dentro de la computación sensible al contexto proporcionan una base sólida para modelar e interpretar el contexto, hay aspectos que no han sido cubiertos de manera plenamente satisfactoria en los sistemas actuales. Un sistema sensible al contexto utiliza su entorno para modificar su comportamiento y así satisfacer mejor las necesidades del usuario. Durante los últimos años los sistemas multiagente han sido estudiados como una alternativa para modelar sistemas sensibles al contexto, aunque no siempre cubren todas las necesidades reales de los sistemas distribuidos. Los sistemas multiagente facilitan la reutilización de funcionalidades y optimización de la compatibilidad entre distintas plataformas. Este trabajo de investigación presenta la arquitectura Home Care Context-Aware Computing (HoCCAC). Se trata de una arquitectura multiagente especialmente desarrollada para satisfacer las necesidades que requieren los sistemas sensibles al contexto. HoCCAC define un conjunto de agentes que optimizan la gestión de información contextual y mejoran el desarrollo de sistemas distribuidos, adaptables, ubicuos, y con cierto grado de inteligencia. Esto lo logra HoCCAC con la utilización de agentes proveedores de información y la integración del mecanismo de planificación Critical Path Method (CPM) y razonamiento Case Based Reasoning (CBR) en el principal agente de la arquitectura, el agente Intérprete. Aunque los sistemas sensibles al contexto tienen numerosas aplicaciones para todo tipo de usuarios, son muy útiles especialmente en problemas asociados con las personas mayores o discapacitados, una realidad presente en los países más desarrollados del mundo. Mejorar las consecuencias sociales y económicas del envejecimiento poblacional es un reto para la concepción actual de los sistemas nacionales de salud y bienestar, los cuales han de garantizar la mejor asistencia a este colectivo de personas dependientes, de forma sostenible. Por este motivo para probar la utilidad de la arquitectura HoCCAC, se define un caso de estudio que consiste en el desarrollo de un prototipo de sistema multiagente orientado a mejorar los servicios de asistencia y cuidados médicos en el hogar a personas dependientes, especialmente con la Enfermedad Pulmonar Obstructiva Crónica (EPOC). Las conclusiones obtenidas han sido satisfactorias, demostrando que la arquitectura multiagente HoCCAC permite modelar e implementar sistemas basados en la sensibilidad contextual de forma eficiente

Context-aware and Home Care: Improving the quality of life for patients living at home

This paper presents a multiagent system that facilitates the performance of daily tasks for people within a context-aware environment. The paper analyzes the important aspects of context-aware computing and presents a prototype that can be applied to monitor dependent individuals in their homes. The system includes computation elements that are integrated within a domestic environment with the goal of capturing context-related information and managing the events carried out by the patient. The services are support by the processing and reasoning out of the data received by the agents in order to offer proactive solutions to the user. The results obtained with this prototype are presented in this paper

Image et transmission des savoirs dans les mondes hispaniques et hispano-américains

C'est devenu une banalité que de dire que l'image est aujourd'hui partout autour de nous. Cette présence quotidienne, voire envahissante à certains égards, de l'image fait que l'on peut même parler au XXe siècle d'une "civilisation de l'image". Les progrès de l'instruction, le développement de la presse et de l'imprimerie, l'apparition de techniques nouvelles (la photographie, puis le cinéma), ont conduit en effet à donner à l'image une importance inconnue jusque-là. Mais l'image a traditionnellement servi d'instrument privilégié de communication, de support didactique, par sa charge émotionnelle et symbolique. Ce volume permet d'approcher à partir de cas et de situations concretes, dans les mondes hispaniques et hispano-américains, l'évolution historique et contextualisée de la transmission des savoirs via l'image ainsi que la nature et les spécificités des documents iconographiques permettant cette approche. Les cinquante quatre interventions rassemblées dans ce volume ont été regroupées dans quatre rubriques, respectivement intitulées "Représentations et lieux de mémoire", "Du manuscrit au livre. Symboliques et emblématiques", "L'imagerie scolaire" et "Medias. Presse, publicité, cinéma". Les supports utilisés par les auteurs de toutes ces contributions sont extrêmement variés, et vont du dessin ou de la gravure et de la peinture (y compris les peintures murales) à la sculpture, à la photographie (y compris sous forme de diapositives) et au cinéma, sans oublier le théâtre et, sans doute plus original, la monnaie. Le manuscrit, le livre et la presse constituent bien entendu autant d'éléments sur lesquels porte l'analyse iconographique

Contemporary use of cefazolin for MSSA infective endocarditis: analysis of a national prospective cohort

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the real use of cefazolin for methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) infective endocarditis (IE) in the Spanish National Endocarditis Database (GAMES) and to compare it with antistaphylococcal penicillin (ASP). Methods: Prospective cohort study with retrospective analysis of a cohort of MSSA IE treated with cloxacillin and/or cefazolin. Outcomes assessed were relapse; intra-hospital, overall, and endocarditis-related mortality; and adverse events. Risk of renal toxicity with each treatment was evaluated separately. Results: We included 631 IE episodes caused by MSSA treated with cloxacillin and/or cefazolin. Antibiotic treatment was cloxacillin, cefazolin, or both in 537 (85%), 57 (9%), and 37 (6%) episodes, respectively. Patients treated with cefazolin had significantly higher rates of comorbidities (median Charlson Index 7, P <0.01) and previous renal failure (57.9%, P <0.01). Patients treated with cloxacillin presented higher rates of septic shock (25%, P = 0.033) and new-onset or worsening renal failure (47.3%, P = 0.024) with significantly higher rates of in-hospital mortality (38.5%, P = 0.017). One-year IE-related mortality and rate of relapses were similar between treatment groups. None of the treatments were identified as risk or protective factors. Conclusion: Our results suggest that cefazolin is a valuable option for the treatment of MSSA IE, without differences in 1-year mortality or relapses compared with cloxacillin, and might be considered equally effective