Could in-home sensors surpass human observation of people with Parkinson’s at high risk of falling? An ethnographic study

Self-report underpins our understanding of falls among people with Parkinson’s (PwP) as they largely happen unwitnessed at home. In this qualitative study, we used an ethnographic approach to investigate which in-home sensors, in which locations, could gather useful data about fall risk. Over six weeks, we observed five independently mobile PwP at high risk of falling, at home. We made field notes about falls (prior events and concerns) and recorded movement with video, Kinect, and wearable sensors. The three women and two men (aged 71 to 79 years) having moderate or severe Parkinson’s were dependent on others and highly sedentary. We most commonly noted balance protection, loss, and restoration during chair transfers, walks across open spaces and through gaps, turns, steps up and down, and tasks in standing (all evident walking between chair and stairs, e.g.). Our unobtrusive sensors were acceptable to participants: they could detect instability during everyday activity at home and potentially guide intervention. Monitoring the route between chair and stairs is likely to give information without invading the privacy of people at high risk of falling, with very limited mobility, who spend most of the day in their sitting rooms.

Could the cosmic acceleration be transient? A cosmographic evaluation

A possible slowing down of the cosmic expansion is investigated through a cosmographic approach. By expanding the luminosity distance to fourth order and fitting the SN Ia data from the most recent compilations (Union, Constitution and Union 2), the marginal likelihood distributions for the deceleration parameter today suggest a recent reduction of the cosmic acceleration and indicate that there is a considerable probability for q(0) > 0. Also in contrast to the prediction of the Lambda CDM model, the cosmographic q(z) reconstruction permits a cosmic expansion history where the cosmic acceleration could already have peaked and be presently slowing down, which would imply that the recent accelerated expansion of the universe is a transient phenomenon. It is also shown that to describe a transient acceleration the luminosity distance needs to be expanded at least to fourth order. The present cosmographic results depend neither on the validity of general relativity nor on the matter-energy contents of the universe.

Nitrosyl ethylenediaminetetraacetate ruthenium(II) complex promotes cellular growth and could be used as nitric oxide donor in plants

Over recent years nitric oxide (NO) not only has appeared as an important endogenous signaling molecule in plants and as a mediator in many developmental and physiological processes, but has also received recognition as a plant hormone. The impressive recent achievements in elucidating the role of NO in plants have come about by the application of NO donors. The aim herein was to study the effects of the different NO donors, sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and the nitrosyl ethylenediaminetetraacetate ruthenium(II) ([Ru(NO)(Hedta)]) complex on cellular growth in embryogenic suspension cultures of Araucaria angustifolia. Appraisal of our data revealed that [Ru(NO)(Hedta)] stimulated about 60% of cellular growth in embryogenic suspension cultures of A. angustifolia, with results similar to those observed with the SNP donor. Nevertheless, application of the NO scavenger PTIO (2-phenyl-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide) inhibited this cellular growth in both. Cellular growth was correlated with an increase in endogenous NO levels after 21 days of culture, especially in treatments with NO donors. Our results demonstrated that the [Ru(NO)Hedta] complex could possibly be used as a NO donor in plants. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Metastatic melanoma positively influences pregnancy outcome in a mouse model: could a deadly tumor support embryo life?

The incidence of melanoma is increasing worldwide. It is one of the leading cancers in pregnancy and the most common malignancy to metastasize to placenta and fetus. There are no publications about experimental models of melanoma and pregnancy. We propose a new experimental murine model to study the effects of melanoma on pregnancy and its metastatic process. We tested several doses of melanoma cells until we arrived at the optimal dose, which produced tumor growth and allowed animal survival to the end of pregnancy. Two control groups were used: control (C) and stress control (SC) and three different routes of inoculation: intravenous (IV), intraperitoneal (IP) and subcutaneous (SC). All the fetuses and placentas were examined macroscopically and microscopically. The results suggest that melanoma is a risk factor for intrauterine growth restriction but does not affect placental weight. When inoculated by the SC route, the tumor grew only in the site of implantation. The IP route produced peritoneal tumoral growth and also ovarian and uterine metastases in 60% of the cases. The IV route produced pulmonary tumors. No placental or fetal metastases were obtained, regardless of the inoculation route. The injection of melanoma cells by any route did not increase the rate of fetal resorptions. Surprisingly, animals in the IV groups had no resorptions and a significantly higher number of fetuses. This finding may indicate that tumoral factors released in the host organism to favor tumor survival may also have a pro-gestational action and consequently improve the reproductive performance of these animals.

Could saturation effects be visible in a future electron-ion collider?

We expect to observe parton saturation in a future electron-ion collider. In this Letter we discuss this expectation in more detail considering two different models which are in good agreement with the existing experimental data on nuclear structure functions. In particular, we study the predictions of saturation effects in electron-ion collisions at high energies, using a generalization for nuclear targets of the b-CGC model, which describes the ep HERA quite well. We estimate the total. longitudinal and charm structure functions in the dipole picture and compare them with the predictions obtained using collinear factorization and modern sets of nuclear parton distributions. Our results show that inclusive observables are not very useful in the search for saturation effects. In the small x region they are very difficult to disentangle from the predictions of the collinear approaches. This happens mainly because of the large uncertainties in the determination of the nuclear parton distribution functions. On the other hand, our results indicate that the contribution of diffractive processes to the total cross section is about 20% at large A and small Q(2), allowing for a detailed study of diffractive observables. The study of diffractive processes becomes essential to observe parton Saturation. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Forensiska Undersökningar av Molntjänster

Användning av molntjänster har gjort forensiska undersökningar mer komplicerade. Däremot finns det goda förutsättningar om molnleverantörerna skapar tjänster för att få ut all information. Det skulle göra det enklare och mer tillförlitligt. Informationen som ska tas ut från molntjänsterna är svår att få ut på ett korrekt sätt. Undersökningen görs inte på en skrivskyddad kopia, utan i en miljö som riskerar att förändras. Det är då möjligt att ändringar görs under tiden datan hämtas ut, vilket inte alltid syns. Det går heller inte att jämföra skillnaderna genom att ta hashsummor på filerna som görs vid forensiska undersökningar av datorer. Därför är det viktigt att dokumentera hur informationen har tagits ut, helst genom att filma datorskärmen under tiden informationen tas ut. Informationen finns sparad på flera platser då molntjänsterna Office 365 och Google Apps används, både i molnet och på den eller de datorer som har använts för att ansluta till molntjänsten. Webbläsare sparar mycket information om vad som har gjorts. Därför är det viktigt att det går att ta reda på vilka datorer som har använts för att ansluta sig till molntjänsten, vilket idag inte möjligt. Om det är möjligt att undersöka de datorer som använts kan bevis som inte finns kvar i molnet hittas. Det bästa ur forensisk synvinkel skulle vara om leverantörerna av molntjänster erbjöd en tjänst som hämtar ut all data som rör en användare, inklusive alla relevanta loggar. Då skulle det ske på ett mycket säkrare sätt, då det inte skulle gå att ändra informationen under tiden den hämtas ut. 

Cloud computing - Moving to the cloud

Cloud computing innebär användning av datorresurser som är tillgängliga via ett nätverk, oftast Internet och är ett område som har vuxit fram i snabb takt under de senaste åren. Allt fler företag migrerar hela eller delar av sin verksamhet till molnet. Sogeti i Borlänge har behov av att migrera sina utvecklingsmiljöer till en molntjänst då drift och underhåll av dessa är kostsamma och tidsödande. Som Microsoftpartners vill Sogeti använda Microsoft tjänst för cloud computing, Windows Azure, för detta syfte. Migration till molnet är ett nytt område för Sogeti och de har inga beskrivningar för hur en sådan process går till. Vårt uppdrag var att utveckla ett tillvägagångssätt för migration av en IT-lösning till molnet. En del av uppdraget blev då att kartlägga cloud computing, dess beståndsdelar samt vilka för- och nackdelar som finns, vilket har gjort att vi har fått grundläggande kunskap i ämnet. För att utveckla ett tillvägagångssätt för migration har vi utfört flera migrationer av virtuella maskiner till Windows Azure och utifrån dessa migrationer, litteraturstudier och intervjuer dragit slutsatser som mynnat ut i ett generellt tillvägagångssätt för migration till molnet. Resultatet har visat att det är svårt att göra en generell men samtidigt detaljerad beskrivning över ett tillvägagångssätt för migration, då scenariot ser olika ut beroende på vad som ska migreras och vilken typ av molntjänst som används. Vi har dock utifrån våra erfarenheter från våra migrationer, tillsammans med litteraturstudier, dokumentstudier och intervjuer lyft vår kunskap till en generell nivå. Från denna kunskap har vi sammanställt ett generellt tillvägagångssätt med större fokus på de förberedande aktiviteter som en organisation bör genomföra innan migration. Våra studier har även resulterat i en fördjupad beskrivning av cloud computing. I vår studie har vi inte sett att någon tidigare har beskrivit kritiska framgångsfaktorer i samband med cloud computing. I vårt empiriska arbete har vi dock identifierat tre kritiska framgångsfaktorer för cloud computing och i och med detta täckt upp en del av kunskapsgapet där emellan.

Ubiquitous computing in education : a SWOT analysis by students and teachers

Learning from anywhere anytime is a contemporary phenomenon in the field of education that is thought to be flexible, time and cost saving. The phenomenon is evident in the way computer technology mediates knowledge processes among learners. Computer technology is however, in some instances, faulted. There are studies that highlight drawbacks of computer technology use in learning. In this study we aimed at conducting a SWOT analysis on ubiquitous computing and computer-mediated social interaction and their affect on education. Students and teachers were interviewed on the mentioned concepts using focus group interviews. Our contribution in this study is, identifying what teachers and students perceive to be the strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of ubiquitous computing and computer-mediated social interaction in education. We also relate the findings with literature and present a common understanding on the SWOT of these concepts. Results show positive perceptions. Respondents revealed that ubiquitous computing and computer-mediated social interaction are important in their education due to advantages such as flexibility, efficiency in terms of cost and time, ability to acquire computer skills. Nevertheless disadvantages where also mentioned for example health effects, privacy and security issues, noise in the learning environment, to mention but a few. This paper gives suggestions on how to overcome threats mentioned.

Soft computing in biometrics : a pragmatic appraisal

The ever increasing spurt in digital crimes such as image manipulation, image tampering, signature forgery, image forgery, illegal transaction, etc. have hard pressed the demand to combat these forms of criminal activities. In this direction, biometrics - the computer-based validation of a persons' identity is becoming more and more essential particularly for high security systems. The essence of biometrics is the measurement of person’s physiological or behavioral characteristics, it enables authentication of a person’s identity. Biometric-based authentication is also becoming increasingly important in computer-based applications because the amount of sensitive data stored in such systems is growing. The new demands of biometric systems are robustness, high recognition rates, capability to handle imprecision, uncertainties of non-statistical kind and magnanimous flexibility. It is exactly here that, the role of soft computing techniques comes to play. The main aim of this write-up is to present a pragmatic view on applications of soft computing techniques in biometrics and to analyze its impact. It is found that soft computing has already made inroads in terms of individual methods or in combination. Applications of varieties of neural networks top the list followed by fuzzy logic and evolutionary algorithms. In a nutshell, the soft computing paradigms are used for biometric tasks such as feature extraction, dimensionality reduction, pattern identification, pattern mapping and the like.

An Architectural Description Language for Enterprise Computing

Architectural description languages (ADLs) are used to specify high-level, compositional view of a software application. ADLs usually come equipped with a rigourous state-transition style semantics, facilitating specification and analysis of distributed and event-based systems. However, enterprise system architectures built upon newer middleware (implementations of Java’s EJB specification, or Microsoft’s COM+/ .NET) require additional expressive power from an ADL. The TrustME ADL is designed to meet this need. In this paper, we describe several aspects of TrustME that facilitate specification and anlysis of middleware-based architectures for the enterprise.