Comparison of low-power wireless communication technologies for wearable health-monitoring applications

Health monitoring technologies such as Body Area Network (BAN) systems has gathered a lot of attention during the past few years. Largely encouraged by the rapid increase in the cost of healthcare services and driven by the latest technological advances in Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) and wireless communications. BAN technology comprises of a network of body worn or implanted sensors that continuously capture and measure the vital parameters such as heart rate, blood pressure, glucose levels and movement. The collected data must be transferred to a local base station in order to be further processed. Thus, wireless connectivity plays a vital role in such systems. However, wireless connectivity comes at a cost of increased power usage, mainly due to the high energy consumption during data transmission. Unfortunately, battery-operated devices are unable to operate for ultra-long duration of time and are expected to be recharged or replaced once they run out of energy. This is not a simple task especially in the case of implanted devices such as pacemakers. Therefore, prolonging the network lifetime in BAN systems is one of the greatest challenges. In order to achieve this goal, BAN systems take advantage of low-power in-body and on-body/off-body wireless communication technologies. This paper compares some of the existing and emerging low-power communication protocols that can potentially be employed to support the rapid development and deployment of BAN systems.

Cognitive effects following acute wild blueberry supplementation in 7 – 10 year old children

Purpose: Previously, anthocyanin-rich blueberry treatments have shown positive effects on cognition in both animals and human adults. However, little research has considered whether these benefits transfer to children. Here we describe an acute time-course and dose–response investigation considering whether these cognitive benefits extend to children. Methods: Using a double-blind cross-over design, on three occasions children (n = 21; 7–10 years) consumed placebo (vehicle) or blueberry drinks containing 15 or 30 g freeze-dried wild blueberry (WBB) powder. A cognitive battery including tests of verbal memory, word recognition, response interference, response inhibition and levels of processing was performed at baseline, and 1.15, 3 and 6 h following treatment. Results: Significant WBB-related improvements included final immediate recall at 1.15 h, delayed word recognition sustained over each period, and accuracy on cognitively demanding incongruent trials in the interference task at 3h. Importantly, across all measures, cognitive performance improved, consistent with a dose–response model, with the best performance following 30 g WBB and the worst following vehicle. Conclusion: Findings demonstrate WBB-related cognitive improvements in 7- to 10-year-old children. These effects would seem to be particularly sensitive to the cognitive demand of task.

Concord Grape Juice, cognitive function and driving performance: a 12 week, placebo controlled, randomised, crossover trial in mothers of pre-teen children

Background: Daily consumption of Concord grape juice (CGJ) over three to four months has been shown to improve memory function in adults with mild cognitive impairment, and reduce blood pressure in hypertensive adults. These benefits are likely due to the high concentration of polyphenols in CGJ. Increased stress can impair cognitive function and elevate blood pressure. Thus we examined the potential beneficial effect of CGJ in individuals experiencing somewhat stressful demanding lifestyles. Objective: To examine the effects of twelve weeks’ daily consumption of CGJ on cognitive function, driving performance, and blood pressure in healthy, middle-aged working mothers. Design: Twenty five healthy mothers of pre-teen children, aged 40-50 years, who were employed for > 30 hours/week consumed 12oz (355ml) CGJ (containing 777mg total polyphenols) or an energy, taste and appearance matched placebo daily for twelve weeks according to a randomised, crossover design with a four week washout. Verbal and spatial memory, executive function, attention, blood pressure and mood were assessed at baseline, six weeks and twelve weeks. Immediately following the cognitive battery, a subsample of seventeen females completed a driving performance assessment in the University of Leeds Driving Simulator. The twenty five minute driving task required participants to match the speed and direction of a lead vehicle. Results: Significant improvements in immediate spatial memory and driving performance were observed following CGJ relative to placebo. There was evidence of an enduring effect of CGJ such that participants who received CGJ in arm 1 maintained better performance in the placebo arm. Conclusions: Cognitive benefits associated with chronic consumption of flavonoid-rich grape juice are not exclusive to adults with mild cognitive impairment. Moreover, these cognitive benefits are apparent in complex everyday tasks such as driving. Effects may persist beyond cessation of flavonoid consumption and future studies should carefully consider the length of washout within crossover designs.

The effects of corporate and country sustainability characteristics on the cost of debt: an international investigation

We investigate the relationship between corporate and country sustainability on the cost of bank loans. We look into 470 loan agreements signed between 2005 and 2012 with borrowers based in 28 different countries across the world and operating in all major industries. Our principal findings reveal that country sustainability, relating to both social and environmental frameworks, has a statistically and economically impactful effect on direct financing of economic activity. An increase of one unit in a country's sustainability score is associated with an average decrease in the cost of debt by 64 basis points. Our international analysis shows that the environmental dimension of a country's institutional framework is approximately twice as impactful as the social dimension, when it comes to determining the cost of corporate loans. On the other hand, we find no conclusive evidence that firm-level sustainability influences the interest rates charged to borrowing firms by banks. Our main findings survive a battery of robustness tests and additional analyses concerning subsamples, alternative sustainability metrics and the effects of financial crisis.

Le développement de la prosodie dans le syndrome de Williams et le syndrome de Down chez des enfants de langue anglaise

The aim of the present study is to investigate the developmental profile of three aspects of prosody function, i.e. affect, focus and turn-endings in children with Williams and in those with Down’s syndrome compared to typically developing English speaking children. The tasks used were part of the computer-based battery, Profiling Elements of Prosody for Speech Communication (Peppe, McCann & Gibon, 2003). Cross-sectional developmental trajectories linking chronological and non-verbal mental age and affects and turn-ending functions of prosody were constructed. The results showed an atypical profile in both clinical populations. More interestingly, the profiles were atypical for different reasons, suggesting multiple and possibly different developmental pathways to the acquisition of prosody in these two populations.