Assisted Living System with Adaptive Sensor's Contribution.

Multimodal sensing and data processing have become a common approach in modern assisted living systems. This is widely justified by the complementary properties of sensors based on different sensing paradigms. However, all previous proposals assume data fusion to be made based on fixed criteria.

Consistency of Outputs of the Selected Motion Acquisition Methods for Human Activity Recognition.

The aim of this paper is to choose the optimal motion sensor for the selected human activity recognition. In the described studies, different human motion measurement methods are used simultaneously such as optoelectronics, video, electromyographic, accelerometric, and pressure sensors. Several analyses of activity recognition were performed: recognition correctness for all activities together, matrices of the recognition errors of the individual activities for all volunteers for the individual sensors, and recognition correctness of all activities for each volunteer and each sensor.

Ruthenium Complexes Bearing Thiophene-Based Unsymmetrical N-Heterocyclic Carbene Ligands as Selective Catalysts for Olefin Metathesis in Toluene and Environmentally Friendly 2-Methyltetrahydrofuran.

Three mono-N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ruthenium 2-isopropoxybenzylidene (10 a-c) and one bis(NHC) indenylidene complex (8) bearing an unsymmetrical N-heterocyclic carbene ligand were synthesized and structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The catalytic activity of the newly obtained complexes were evaluated in ring-closing metathesis (RCM) and ene-yne (RCEYM) reactions in toluene and environmentally friendly 2-MeTHF under air. The results confirmed that although all tested reactions can be successfully mediated by catalysts 10 a-c, their general reactivity is lower than the benchmark all-purpose Ru catalysts with symmetrical NHC ligands.

Hoveyda-Grubbs catalyst analogues bearing the derivatives of N-phenylpyrrol in the carbene ligand - structure, stability, activity and unique ruthenium-phenyl interactions.

We have synthesized a series of N-phenylpyrrole and N-phenylindole carbenes and used them as ruthenium-ligating moieties in the synthesis of Hoveyda-Grubbs catalyst derivatives. We show that most of these complexes are difficult to synthesize and unstable apart from the N-phenylpyrrole-2,6-diisopropylphenyl ruthenium complex and its perbrominated derivative. These two systems are almost completely inactive in ring-closing metathesis at room temperature and become active only at 80 °C.

Validation of a quantitative phosphorus loss assessment tool.

Pasture Phosphorus Management Plus (PPM Plus) is a tool that allows nutrient management and conservation planners to evaluate phosphorus (P) loss from agricultural fields. This tool uses a modified version of the widely used Soil and Water Assessment Tool model with a vastly simplified interface. The development of PPM Plus has been fully described in previous publications; in this article we evaluate the accuracy of PPM Plus using 286 field-years of runoff, sediment, and P validation data from runoff studies at various locations in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Georgia.

Seamless tracing of human behavior using complementary wearable and house-embedded sensors.

This paper presents a multimodal system for seamless surveillance of elderly people in their living environment. The system uses simultaneously a wearable sensor network for each individual and premise-embedded sensors specific for each environment. The paper demonstrates the benefits of using complementary information from two types of mobility sensors: visual flow-based image analysis and an accelerometer-based wearable network.

Assessing substitution patterns, rates and homoplasy at HVRI of Steller sea lions, Eumetopias jubatus.

Despite the widely recognized incidence of homoplasy characterizing this region, the hypervariable region I (HVRI) of the mitochondrial control region is one of the most frequently used genetic markers for population genetic and phylogeographic studies. We present an evolutionary analysis of HVRI and cytochrome b sequences from a range-wide survey of 1031 Steller sea lions, Eumetopias jubatus, to quantify homoplasy and substitution rate at HVRI. Variation in HVRI was distributed across 41 variable sites in the 238-bp segment examined.

Environmental neurotoxic effects: the search for new protocols in functional teratology.

Large quantities of a number of man-made chemicals with the potential to disrupt the developing endocrine and nervous systems in wildlife and humans have been released into the environment. These chemicals are particularly damaging during the embryonic, fetal, and early postnatal periods because they resemble or interfere with the hormones, neurotransmitters, growth factors, and other signaling substances that normally control development. The effects are in many cases irreversible and often are expressed as changes in function rather than as obvious birth defects or clinical diseases.

Epidemiological analysis of persistent organochlorine contaminants in cetaceans.

Information is provided to test the hypothesis that organochlorines introduced into the environment since the early 1940s could threaten the reproductive potential of baleen whales and other cetaceans. Comparisons are made using data on the role of organochlorines in a model system, the Great Lakes region of North America, and in model animals, including humans, pinnipeds, and other wildlife. DDT and PCB are used as model organochlorines with the caveat that there may be thousands of other chemicals in the environment also involved.

Somatic and heritable effects of environmental genotoxins and the emergence of evolutionary toxicology.

The genetic effects of environmental pollutants include mutations in somatic cells or germinal cells that are the direct result of exposure to toxicants. Biomarkers that detect such mutagenic effects have been developed and tested in field studies on wildlife populations. However, another class of genetic effects resulting from pollution exposure exists.

Chromosomal variation in pocket gophers (Geomys) detected by sequential G-, R-, and C-band analyses.

The chromosomes of six taxa, representing five species of Geomys (G. attwateri, G. breviceps, G.

Further flow cytometric studies of the effects of triethylenemelamine on somatic and testicular tissues of the rat.

Exposure to the mutagen triethylenemelamine on rat bone marrow, blood, and testis was studied using flow cytometry of DAPI-stained nuclei. Increased coefficients of variation (CVs) of the G1 peaks were observed in bone marrow and blood after both 1 d and 5 d exposures. After 5 d exposure and 7 d recovery both tissues had recovered, in some cases to significantly lower CVs.

Occupational accidents in a selected chemical enterprise in Poland and an attempt to evaluate their economic effects.

An analysis was made of occupational accidents leading to temporary absence from work occurring in a selected chemical plant in the years 1988-1989. The authors also studied the possibilities of evaluating costs and financial losses for the enterprise due to occupational accidents. However, the results of the evaluation, in the Polish situation and based on records existing in the enterprise, were not very useful.

The past and present of the Polish National Health Services. Reform project.

This paper presents a short historical outline of the national health service (NHS) system in Poland. Consecutive stages of the NHS system reform are described (up to October 1991), including the period of early 80's and the Round Table Conference. The general principles of the project of the Polish NHS system reform, which is intended to be implemented with support from the World Bank, are presented.

Genetic damage in a population of slider turtles (Trachemys scripta) inhabiting a radioactive reservoir.

Turtles inhabiting a radioactive reservoir appear to experience genetic damage due to environmental exposure to low concentrations of long-lived radionuclides. Total body burdens for the 50 reservoir turtles examined in the survey ranged from 164.7-4679.

The problems of the rational use of the medical staff in industrial health care complexes.

The awareness of resources scarcity in the occupational health care makes one analyze allocation in the selected institutions of occupational health service in Poland. The principal issue was to find out the differentiation in medical staff use and the costs involved. Such conclusions resulting from inputs and outputs evaluation are expected to be a basis for economic rationalization of resources allocation.

[Economic aspects of functioning of the occupational health services. Proposed directions of the changes].

In Poland for several years a reform of the health and social care systems has been a subject of discussion. However, more attention has been paid to the problems pertaining to health policy than to modification of economic and financial system. This refers also to occupational health service (OHS), its role and place in industrial plant in general and in the system of social benefits offered by a given economic subject in particular.

[Specialization of physicians of the Industrial Health Care System in occupational medicine].

One of the principal issues concerning the analysis of industrial health care functioning is the problem of the practitioners' qualifications, including specialization. In the present paper the authors focus their attention on specializations of practitioners employed in regional Industrial Health Care Complexes. The analysis refers to two groups of problems concerning: a) those practitioners who are specialists in occupational health, and b) those who are going to obtain such specialization.