Handheld-assisted field data collection for occupational risk assessment.

A computerized handheld procedure is presented in this paper. It is intended as a database complementary tool, to enhance prospective risk analysis in the field of occupational health. The Pendragon forms software (version 3.2) has been used to implement acquisition procedures on Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and to transfer data to a computer in an MS-Access format. The data acquisition strategy proposed relies on the risk assessment method practiced at the Institute of Occupational Health Sciences (IST). It involves the use of a systematic hazard list and semi-quantitative risk assessment scales. A set of 7 modular forms has been developed to cover the basic need of field audits. Despite the minor drawbacks observed, the results obtained so far show that handhelds are adequate to support field risk assessment and follow-up activities. Further improvements must still be made in order to increase the tool effectiveness and field adequacy.

ERICA: use of screens and consumption of meals and snacks by Brazilian adolescents

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To describe the length of exposure to screens and the prevalence of consumption of meals and snacks by Brazilian adolescents in front of screens. METHODS We evaluated 74,589 12 to 17-year old adolescents from 1,247 schools in 124 Brazilian municipalities. A self-administered questionnaire was used. Its segment regarding nutrition contained questions about using TV, computers, and video game systems, having meals while watching TV, and consuming snacks in front of screens. Consumption of meals and snacks in front of screens was analyzed according to the following variables: geographical region, gender, age range, type of school (public or private), and school shift. The prevalences and their respective 95% confidence intervals were estimated under a complex sampling design. RESULTS A great deal of the adolescents (73.5%, 95%CI 72.3-74.7) reported spending two or more hours a day in front of screens. That habit was more frequent among male adolescents, private school students, morning shift students, and students from Brazil’s South region. More than half of the adolescents (56.6%, 95%CI 55.4-57.8) reported almost always or always having meals in front of TV, and 39.6% (95%CI 38.8-40.5) of them said they consumed snacks in front of screens exactly as often. Both situations were the most prevalent ones among the girls, who attended public schools and were from Brazil’s Midwest region. CONCLUSIONS Length of exposure to screens and consumption of meals and snacks almost always or always in front of screens are high among Brazilian adolescents. It is necessary to develop strategies aiming to reduce the length of screen use, considering the media reality that children and adolescents have been experiencing from earlier and earlier ages. That context must therefore be analyzed in an indissociable way.

Mesurer l'amplitude articulaire du genou: goniométre universel ou smartphone [Measurement of the knee range of motion: standard goniometer or smartphone?].

Universal standard goniometer is an essential tool to measure articulations' range of motion (ROM). In this time of technological advances and increasing use of smartphones, new measurement's tools appear as specific smartphone applications. This article compares the iOS application "Knee Goniometer" with universal standard goniometer to assess knee ROM. To our knowledge, this is the first study that uses a goniometer application in a clinical context. The purpose of this study is to determine if this application could be used in clinical practice.

Micro-ordinateurs de poche : du gadget à l'irremplaçable [Handheld computers: the gadget that became an invaluable tool]

Les ordinateurs de poche ont le potentiel de devenir un outil de travail indispensable pour le médecin praticien. De part une facilité d'utilisation toujours plus grande, un format ultra-portable, une grande capacité de stockage de l'information et de synchronisation à de multiples bases de données, ils permettent l'accès en tout temps et littéralement au lit du malade à une gamme complète de ressources médicales. Cet article se veut une lllustration des différentes possibilités d'utilisation de ces nouveaux outils, au travers de situations cliniques banales rencontrées par tout praticien.

Using clusters of computers for large QU-GENE simulation experiments

The QU-GENE Computing Cluster (QCC) is a hardware and software solution to the automation and speedup of large QU-GENE (QUantitative GENEtics) simulation experiments that are designed to examine the properties of genetic models, particularly those that involve factorial combinations of treatment levels. QCC automates the management of the distribution of components of the simulation experiments among the networked single-processor computers to achieve the speedup.

An approach to teach Calculus/Mathematical Analysis (for engineering students) using computers and active learning – its conception, development of materials and evaluation

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Doutor em Ciências da Educação

Evaluation of the determinism of the actuator sensor interface (ASI) on programmable logic controllers (PLC), personal computers (PC) and real-time operating systems (RTOS)

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the determinism of the AS-lnterface network and the 3 main families of control systems, which may use it, namely PLC, PC and RTOS. During the course of this study the PROFIBUS and Ethernet field level networks were also considered in order to ensure that they would not introduce unacceptable latencies into the overall control system. This research demonstrated that an incorrectly configured Ethernet network introduces unacceptable variable duration latencies into the control system, thus care must be exercised if the determinism of a control system is not to be compromised. This study introduces a new concept of using statistics and process capability metrics in the form of CPk values, to specify how suitable a control system is for a given control task. The PLC systems, which were tested, demonstrated extremely deterministic responses, but when a large number of iterations were introduced in the user program, the mean control system latency was much too great for an AS-I network. Thus the PLC was found to be unsuitable for an AS-I network if a large, complex user program Is required. The PC systems, which were tested were non-deterministic and had latencies of variable duration. These latencies became extremely exaggerated when a graphing ActiveX was included in the control application. These PC systems also exhibited a non-normal frequency distribution of control system latencies, and as such are unsuitable for implementation with an AS-I network. The RTOS system, which was tested, overcame the problems identified with the PLC systems and produced an extremely deterministic response, even when a large number of iterations were introduced in the user program. The RTOS system, which was tested, is capable of providing a suitable deterministic control system response, even when an extremely large, complex user program is required.

Direct numerical simulation of turbulent flames on parallel computers

Magdeburg, Univ., Fak. für Verfahrens- und Systemtechnik, Diss., 2012

A Novel Memory-centric Architecture and Organization of Processors and Computers

The modern computer systems that are in use nowadays are mostly processor-dominant, which means that their memory is treated as a slave element that has one major task – to serve execution units data requirements. This organization is based on the classical Von Neumann's computer model, proposed seven decades ago in the 1950ties. This model suffers from a substantial processor-memory bottleneck, because of the huge disparity between the processor and memory working speeds. In order to solve this problem, in this paper we propose a novel architecture and organization of processors and computers that attempts to provide stronger match between the processing and memory elements in the system. The proposed model utilizes a memory-centric architecture, wherein the execution hardware is added to the memory code blocks, allowing them to perform instructions scheduling and execution, management of data requests and responses, and direct communication with the data memory blocks without using registers. This organization allows concurrent execution of all threads, processes or program segments that fit in the memory at a given time. Therefore, in this paper we describe several possibilities for organizing the proposed memory-centric system with multiple data and logicmemory merged blocks, by utilizing a high-speed interconnection switching network.

Photogrammetric surveying of wood piles on handheld devices

Magdeburg, Univ., Fak. für Informatik, Diss., 2015

ParallelKnoppix - Rapid deployment of a linux cluster for MPI parallel processing using non-dedicated computers

This note describes ParallelKnoppix, a bootable CD that allows creation of a Linux cluster in very little time. An experienced user can create a cluster ready to execute MPI programs in less than 10 minutes. The computers used may be heterogeneous machines, of the IA-32 architecture. When the cluster is shut down, all machines except one are in their original state, and the last can be returned to its original state by deleting a directory. The system thus provides a means of using non-dedicated computers to create a cluster. An example session is documented.

Dispositius handheld per a aplicacions mèdiques: disseny i implementació d'interfícies del protocol Start

Els sistemes dʼatenció mèdica en situacions de pèrdues humanes massives necessiten classificar un número molt elevat de víctimes en un temps limitat i amb pocs recursos disponibles. Els mètodes clàssics es basen en una etiqueta de triatge de paper on el personal dʼemergències anota lʼestat del pacient juntament amb una quantitat reduïda dʼinformació. En aquest projecte descrivim lʼanàlisi, disseny i implementació dʼinterfícies gràfiques per dispositius mòbils pel protocol de triatge START, per ser utilitzades pels equips dʼemergència. Els components del projecte inclouen un dispositiu portàtil Nokia N810 amb connexió GPS, i IDBlue, un lector dʼetiquetes RFID per Bluetooth.