How In-Home Technologies Mediate Caregiving Relationships in Later Life

In-home technologies can support older adults' activities of daily living, provide physical safety and security, and connect elders to family and friends. They facilitate aging in place while reducing caregiver burden. One of older adults' primary concerns about in-home technologies is their potential to reduce human contact, particularly from cherished caregivers. In this exploratory in situ study, we provided an ecosystem of networked monitoring technologies to six older adults and their caregivers. We analyzed the amount and content of communication between them. The amount of noncomputer-mediated communication did not decrease through the 6-week study. The content of communication coalesced into four themes: communication about the technologies, communication facilitated by technologies, intrusiveness of technologies, and fun and playfulness with the technologies. Results suggest that in-home technologies, designed with sensitivity to older adults' primary motivations, have the potential to shape and tailor important relationships in later life.     

Managing digital collections: Towards a strategic framework for the development of appropriate and effective organisational data policies. Part I 1

This article begins by looking at changes in the student body in recent years as useful indicators of how libraries need to alter and adapt their student library provision. Among the concepts explored are the student as consumer-customer, the Google generation, greater than ever competition among students especially for the job market, new technology as fashion accessory as much as learning tool, the widening participation agenda for higher education, and the almost ubiquitous presence of multi-functional electronic devices.

There is an examination of some challenges for librarians in meeting the needs and demands of this new generation of students. These include the balancing of electronic and print provision, the future of the physical library environment, push rather than pull to deliver library services, anytime anywhere access to information, integration with other university services, and helping to fit students for the world of work.

The main message of the article is that librarians are not under threat from the giant search engines as long as they embrace the interactive technologies which students so willingly and expertly use, and adapt them to get library services out to students as customers.     

The making of the Xian terra‐cotta soldiers

Abstract

This paper describes the making of a short film on the Xian terra‐cotta soldiers using our integrated HU‐MANOID software. The method of creating and animating the soldiers’ faces is first presented. Then, we show how our approach, based on metaballs and spline surfaces, was used for designing and deforming soldiers’ bodies. For the animation of the bodies, we describe the motion control methods. Clothes for the soldiers are then described as well as horses and decor design. For the rendering, we explained our strategy using parallel machines. Finally, problems of integration are addressed.     

Streamflow Simulation by SWAT Using Different Precipitation Sources in Large Arid Basins with Scarce Raingauges

Streamflow from the mountains is the main source of water for the lower plain in arid regions. Accurate simulation of streamflow is of great importance to the arid ecosystem. However, many large arid drainage basins in northwestern China have low density of precipitation stations, which makes the streamflow modeling and prediction very difficult. Based on raingauge data and Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) data combined with raingauge data, different approaches were explored for spatializing precipitation in large area with scarce raingauges. Spatialized precipitation was then input into Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), a semi-distributed hydrological model, to simulate streamflow. Results from a case study in the Manas river basin showed that simulated hydrographs using both the approaches are able to reproduce the watershed hydrological behavior. Moreover, statistical assessment indicated that hydrological model driven by the spatialized precipitation based on radar combined with raingauge data performed better than that based on gauge data. Radar precipitation estimator can provide a practical data source for hydrological modeling at a basin scale where the raingauge network is sparse.     

The Sanaga discharge at the Edea Catchment outlet (Cameroon): An example of hydrologic responses of a tropical rain‐fed river system to changes in precipitation and groundwater inputs and to flow regulation

The Sanaga River is one of Sub‐Saharan Africa's largest and greatly regulated rivers. Available flow data for this hydrosystem largely cover the pre‐ and post‐regulation periods. From comparisons between unregulated (hypothetical) and observed scenarios, it has been possible to separate and to quantify hydro‐climatic (groundwater + rainfall) change effects from anthropogenic impacts (especially dam‐related alterations). To appreciate shifts in the river regime, discontinuity detection tests and the IHA model were applied to discharge data series reflecting average and extreme flow conditions, respectively. Results obtained principally from the Hubert segmentation method reveal that a major discontinuity occurred in 1970–1971 separating a surplus phase between 1945–1946 and 1969–1970, and a deficient and much contrasted one, from 1971/1972. This implies that the Sanaga catchment is dominantly affected by hydro‐climatic changes. However, wide land cover/land use changes experienced here since 1988 have resulted in an increase in surface runoff. Additional quickflows linked to these changes may have partly compensated for the substantial decline in the dry season rainfall and groundwater inputs observed from this date. Although at the monthly scale, dam‐related impacts on average flows increase with stage of regulation, the seasonal variability of the river regime remains generally unaffected. A comparison of the IHA statistics, calculated from unregulated and observed streamflow data, show that hydrologic shifts occurring in maximum and minimum discharges are mostly significant from 1971/1972 and are mainly due to the action of dams. Minimum flows appear, however, widely impacted, thus reflecting the prime objective assigned to the existing reservoirs, constructed to supplement flows for hydroelectricity production during the dry season. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Camera Control in Computer Graphics

Recent progress in modelling, animation and rendering means that rich, high fidelity virtual worlds are found in many interactive graphics applications. However, the viewer's experience of a 3D world is dependent on the nature of the virtual cinematography, in particular, the camera position, orientation and motion in relation to the elements of the scene and the action. Camera control encompasses viewpoint computation, motion planning and editing. We present a range of computer graphics applications and draw on insights from cinematographic practice in identifying their different requirements with regard to camera control. The nature of the camera control problem varies depending on these requirements, which range from augmented manual control (semi‐automatic) in interactive applications, to fully automated approaches. We review the full range of solution techniques from constraint‐based to optimization‐based approaches, and conclude with an examination of occlusion management and expressiveness in the context of declarative approaches to camera control.     

Topological Repairing of 3D Digital Images

We present here a new randomized algorithm for repairing the topology of objects represented by 3D binary digital images. By “repairing the topology”, we mean a systematic way of modifying a given binary image in order to produce a similar binary image which is guaranteed to be well-composed. A 3D binary digital image is said to be well-composed if, and only if, the square faces shared by background and foreground voxels form a 2D manifold. Well-composed images enjoy some special properties which can make such images very desirable in practical applications. For instance, well-known algorithms for extracting surfaces from and thinning binary images can be simplified and optimized for speed if the input image is assumed to be well-composed. Furthermore, some algorithms for computing surface curvature and extracting adaptive triangulated surfaces, directly from the binary data, can only be applied to well-composed images. Finally, we introduce an extension of the aforementioned algorithm to repairing 3D digital multivalued images. Such an algorithm finds application in repairing segmented images resulting from multi-object segmentations of other 3D digital multivalued images.

Digital sound broadcasting: Satellites or Terrestrial Networks?

When European laboratories decided to develop a digital sound broadcasting system (DSB), they specified three main conditions to fulfil:

• quality improvement up to the level of ‘CD’ sound, even in difficult reception conditions (mobile vehicles, etc)
• additional significant digital data transmissions in order to transform sound broadcasting into a really new service
• the possibility of a common system for satellite and terrestrial transmissions.

It is on these bases that the European project ‘Eureka 147’ defined the system called DAB (digital audio broadcasting). In 1992, the ITU Conference WARC 92 allocated 40 MHz to DSB in the L-band in the configuration of complementary terrestrial and satellite networks; nevertheless, the present state of technical possibilities makes such mixed networks almost unfeasible and the lack of available spectrum in VHF bands led a significant number of countries to envisage L-band for T-DAB. The situation could turn to a competition between terrestrial and satellite networks, especially because the bandwidth in L-band is not that large! France belongs to the countries facing this problem. L-band alone is intended to be used by T-DAB, and broadcasters taking part in the work of ‘Club DAB’ estimated that 20 MHz would be a minimum to ensure the success of T-DAB introduction. It is half of the DSB band. Splitting this band into two parts has already been decided by CEPT, but in the proportion of 1/3 for T-DAB. This organization intends to arrange a European planning meeting for T-DAB in July 1995, and, shortly after, several countries are ready to start the implementation of the terrestrial networks. At the same time, international broadcasters wonder whether satellite transmission could present an alternative to HF.     

Hierarchical classification of data streams: a systematic literature review

The classification task usually works with flat and batch learners, assuming problems as stationary and without relations between class labels. Nevertheless, several real-world problems do not assume these premises, i.e., data have labels organized hierarchically and are made available in streaming fashion, meaning that their behavior can drift over time. Existing studies on hierarchical classification do not consider data streams as input of their process, and thus, data is assumed as stationary and handled through batch learners. The same can be said about works on streaming data, as the hierarchical classification is overlooked. Studies concerning each area individually are promising, yet, do not tackle their intersection. This study analyzes the main characteristics of the state-of-the-art works on hierarchical classification for streaming data concerning five aspects: (i) problems tackled, (ii) datasets, (iii) algorithms, (iv) evaluation metrics, and (v) research gaps in the area. We performed a systematic literature review of primary studies and retrieved 3,722 papers, of which 42 were identified as relevant and used to answer the aforementioned research questions. We found that the problems handled by hierarchical classification of data streams include mainly classification of images, human activities, texts, and audio; the datasets are mostly created or synthetic data; the algorithms and evaluation metrics are well-known techniques or based on those; and research gaps are related to dynamic context, data complexity, and computational resources constraints. We also provide implications for future research and experiments to consider common characteristics shared amongst hierarchical classification and data stream classification.

     

High Figure of Merit (FOM) of Bragg Modes in Au‐Coated Nanodisk Arrays for Plasmonic Sensing

Gold‐coated nanodisk arrays of nearly micron periodicity are reported that have high figure of merit (FOM) and sensitivity necessary for plasmonic refractometric sensing, with the added benefit of suitability for surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), large‐scale microfabrication using standard photolithographic techniques and a simple instrumental setup. Gold nanodisk arrays are covered with a gold layer to excite the Bragg modes (BM), which are the propagative surface plasmons localized by the diffraction from the disk array. This generates surface‐guided modes, localized as standing waves, leading to highly confined fields confirmed by a mapping of the SERS intensity and numerical simulations with 3D finite element method. The optimal gold‐coated nanodisk arrays are applied for refractometric sensing in transmission spectroscopy with better performance than nanohole arrays and they are integrated to a 96‐well plate reader for detection of IgY proteins in the nanometer range in PBS. The potential for sensing in biofluids is assessed with IgG detection in 1:1 diluted urine. The structure exhibits a high FOM of up to 46, exceeding the FOM of structures supporting surface plasmon polaritons and comparable to more complex nanostructures, demonstrating that subwavelength features are not necessary for high‐performance plasmonic sensing.