RESTful Discovery and Eventing for Service Provisioning in Assisted Living Environments

Service provisioning in assisted living environments faces distinct challenges due to the heterogeneity of networks, access technology, and sensing/actuation devices in such an environment. Existing solutions, such as SOAP-based web services, can interconnect heterogeneous devices and services, and can be published, discovered and invoked dynamically. However, it is considered heavier than what is required in the smart environment-like context and hence suffers from performance degradation. Alternatively, REpresentational State Transfer (REST) has gained much attention from the community and is considered as a lighter and cleaner technology compared to the SOAP-based web services. Since it is simple to publish and use a RESTful web service, more and more service providers are moving toward REST-based solutions, which promote a resource-centric conceptualization as opposed to a service-centric conceptualization. Despite such benefits of REST, the dynamic discovery and eventing of RESTful services are yet considered a major hurdle to utilization of the full potential of REST-based approaches. In this paper, we address this issue, by providing a RESTful discovery and eventing specification and demonstrate it in an assisted living healthcare scenario. We envisage that through this approach, the service provisioning in ambient assisted living or other smart environment settings will be more efficient, timely, and less resource-intensive.

High laser-induced damage threshold HfO2 films prepared by ion-assisted electron beam evaporation

HfO2 films were deposited by electron beam evaporation with different deposition parameters. The properties such as refractive index, weak absorption, and laser induced damage thresholds (LIDTs) of these films have been investigated. It was found that when pulsed Nd:YAG 1064 nm laser is used to investigate LIDT of films: Metallic character is the main factor that influences LIDTs of films obtained from Hf starting material by ion-assisted reaction, and films prepared with higher momentum transfer parameter P have fewer metallic character; The ion-assisted reaction parameters are key points for preparing high LIDT films and if the parameters are chose properly, high LIDT films can be obtained. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The laser-assisted cold spray process

Thick metal coatings are currently deposited via two well established routes, Laser or arc based cladding, and thermal spray. A new coating technique known as Laser-assisted Cold Spray (LCS), which aims to expand on the capabilities of the two process routes currently available, is under development at the University of Cambridge in the UK. LCS is a development of the Cold Spray process (CS) in which coatings are built up from powder particles which are entrained within a gas stream and accelerated through a de Laval nozzle, impacting the substrate at supersonic speeds that exceed a material dependent critical velocity.

Preparation of high laser induced damage threshold antireflection film using interrupted ion assisted deposition

Single layers and antireflection films were deposited by electron beam evaporation, ion assisted deposition and interrupted ion assisted deposition, respectively. Antireflection film of quite high laser damage threshold (18J/cm(2)) deposited by interrupted ion assisted deposition were got. The electric field distribution, weak absorption, and residual stress of films and their relations to damage threshold were investigated. It was shown that the laser induced damage threshold of film was the result of competition of disadvantages and advantages, and interrupted ion assisted deposition was one of the valuable methods for preparing high laser induced damage threshold films. (c) 2007 Optical Society of America

Influence of oxygen post-treatment on laser-induced damage of antireflection coatings prepared by electron-beam evaporation and ion beam assisted deposition

Antireflection coatings at the center wavelength of 1053 nm were prepared on BK7 glasses by electron-beam evaporation deposition (EBD) and ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD). Parts of the two kinds of samples were post-treated with oxygen plasma at the environment temperature after deposition. Absorption at 1064 nm was characterized based on surface thermal lensing (STL) technique. The laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) was measured by a 1064-nm Nd:YAG laser with a pulse width of 38 ps. Leica-DMRXE Microscope was applied to gain damage morphologies of samples. The results revealed that oxygen post-treatment could lower the absorption and increase the damage thresholds for both kinds of as-grown samples. However, the improving effects are not the same. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Emprego de tecnologias não invasivas de cuidado de enfermagem nos partos acompanhados por enfermeiras obstétricas em maternidade filantrópica do Médio-Paraíba/RJ

A presente pesquisa aborda a temática da assistência ao parto hospitalar na Região Médio-Paraíba, considerando a política pública de humanização do parto e nascimento A medicalização do parto e nascimento vem ocorrendo em todo o mundo. Mesmo em países desenvolvidos, a grande maioria dos partos vaginais e de baixo risco ainda é conduzida com práticas intervencionistas sem evidências científicas de sua eficácia. Em contraposição a este modelo assistencial implantou-se a política de humanização do parto e nascimento. A enfermeira obstétrica tem sido elemento importante para a consolidação do uso de práticas consideradas humanizadas na assistência ao parto de baixo risco em ambiente hospitalar. O objeto deste estudo foi o emprego de tecnologias não invasivas de cuidado de enfermagem em partos acompanhados por enfermeiras obstétricas na Associação de Proteção a Maternidade e à Infância de Resende/RJ (APMIR). Os objetivos foram: identificar as tecnologias não invasivas de cuidado de enfermagem obstétrica (TNICE) usualmente empregadas por enfermeiras obstétricas no cuidado a parturientes; discutir o emprego dessas TNICE por enfermeiras obstétricas no cuidado a parturientes sob a perspectiva da humanização do parto e nascimento; caracterizar o processo de implementação das TNICE na assistência ao parto na maternidade. Trata-se de pesquisa descritiva, quantitativa desenvolvida em uma maternidade filantrópica da região sul-fluminense que pertence ao Médio-Paraíba, na qual enfermeiras obstétricas estão incluídas na equipe de acompanhamento do parto. Foram analisados os registros correspondentes aos partos acompanhados por enfermeiras obstétricas compreendendo o período de Novembro de 2012 à Julho de 2013. Houve registro de 84 partos neste período. Os dados foram obtidos através de Livro de Registros de Parto do serviço. Os registros foram feitos em formulário próprio implantado a partir da pesquisa. O projeto foi submetido à apreciação do Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa do Centro Universitário de Barra Mansa, tendo sido aprovado segundo parecer número 347.254 de 30/07/2013. Os dados foram analisados por procedimentos estatísticos descritivos. Os resultados apontaram que a atuação da enfermeira obstétrica no cuidado à mulher em trabalho de parto caracteriza-se por medidas que promovem a autonomia da mulher no cenário onde ela é protagonista marcando assim a forte presença dessas profissionais neste cenário onde a existência de práticas intervencionistas é significante e muito presente. O estudo concluiu que o cuidado de enfermagem obstétrica pautado sobre as tecnologias não invasivas de cuidado favorece uma assistência humanizada ao parto. Acredita-se que para um cuidado no transcorrer fisiológico do parto é necessário estabelecer uma relação de intimidade, de interação e de empatia com cada mulher dentro do seu contexto, dando a ela encorajamento para tomar posse daquilo que compete somente a ela.