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Technological developments in the last 20 years have been instrumental in service provision by offering new means of interaction among stakeholders in virtual environments. However, in most service sectors, the consumer journey is growing in complexity, which calls for a multifaceted service logic. While a number of ICT companies have been expanding their portfolio from an entirely virtual to additional physical experience, a seamless merger of both physical and virtual worlds in service provision may still be some way off. This applies to advisory services for Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) solutions, a recently opened market of great importance in the contemporary ageing society. In this position paper, we expand on the concepts of engagement platforms and engagement ecosystems to argue that an integration of physical and virtual worlds is necessary for AAL advisory services. We first determine the extent to which current service platforms are acting as ‘engagement platforms’ by presenting key insights from an analysis of platforms and services promoting AAL products for older adults. The focus lays on the stakeholder involvement, the interaction and feedback features. Second, we identify the key features that a platform must have to qualify as an engagement platform. Third, the debate delves deeper on how to integrate both virtual and physical dimensions in an optimal solution for stakeholders’ engagement. Finally, we present the concept of an ‘Authorized Active Advisor’ as a solution of utmost relevance in this field due to preferences evidenced by older age groups and to insufficiencies exposed in most service platforms, such as lack of personalization and interaction features.

While Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) solutions have conquered some market niches of service provisions to the ageing society, those services are often still provided in isolation and in a technocentric way. In this position paper, we build on the concepts of engagement ecosystems and engagement platforms to argue that an integration of physical and virtual worlds is necessary for service provisions in the AAL field in general and in advisory services in particular. We discuss the challenge on how to integrate virtual and physical dimensions in a solution for stakeholders’ engagement. With a focus on the ‘human touch’, we conceptualize Active Advisors, embedded in the scope of the EU-funded project ActiveAdvice. We state that the concept of a human advisor is of utmost relevance in this field due to the digital divide still affecting older age groups. Active Advisors help to overcome the shortage of most service and product platforms, i.e. lack of personalization and interaction, and a t the same time offer a face-to-face (f2f) experience in the consumer-organization interactions.

For the last 10 years, ageing well in the community has become a key concern of the European Union and its member states. Action plans as well as distinct programs such as the Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) Joint Programme are evidence of this engagement. Since then, many AAL products and services have been developed and implemented in the European market. Up to now, however, access to, and the availability of these solutions is difficult, and the information on their use is scarce. ActiveAdvice, an AAL EU-funded project aims to develop an online platform which offers both information on AAL solutions as well as advice to end users. This paper discusses the application of a multi-stakeholder perspective approach. It discusses the user-centered development and reflects on the establishment of AAL ecosystems and the functional requirements of the ActiveAdvice platform. It includes an extended methodological framework, which explains conclusively the ActiveAdvice stakeholders’ identification process and the user-centered requirements analysis, built on 38 semi-structured interviews with three stakeholder groups – consumers, businesses and governments. The integration of different stakeholders in the development and implementation of AAL solutions is a necessity as well as a challenge. This holds also true for the development of the ActiveAdvice platform.

Accessible passenger transport and personal mobility in public transportation are essential factors of Smart Cities. While ongoing transport research focuses on covering ‘first mile and last mile’, it lacks the perspective of the AAL domain, enabling personal mobility for older adults and persons with disabilities. Therefore, an investigation of the current situation of transportation systems in Vienna and Zurich, analysing five mayor action areas was carried out. The identified issues are highlighted thus suggesting a policy-driven approach for implementation of an accessible and intermodal transport system based on a public transport model, which is able to tackle the first mile and last mile problem for all passengers in general, as well as for older adults and persons with disabilities in particular.

Summary The “water wars” between Alabama, Georgia, and Florida over water restrictions and allocation in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin (ACF) stem, in part, from the occurrence of several droughts in the 1980s, the dramatic increase in water use in the northern basin around Atlanta, and increased agricultural usage in the central basin. This study examines relationships between available surface climatological variables connected to evapotranspiration and climatic oscillations using canonical correlation analysis (CCA). Canonical loadings and cross loadings from CCA are evaluated in two tests using temperature and precipitation data and four climate oscillations – the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), and Southern Oscillation Index (SOI). In the first test, the six-month Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and all four seasons of the four climate oscillations from every subbasin in the ACF are evaluated, revealing relationships mostly with the AMO and NAO, and primarily with temperatures. In order to focus more on precipitation and the variance among the different temporal scales of the SPI, Test Two looks at the relationship between all four SPI variations and all four seasons of the climate oscillations from the extreme northern and southern subbasins. Test Two shows the twenty-four month SPI has the largest loadings and variance explained, which may be contributed to the longer frequencies in the AMO and PDO. The southern part of the basin is largely influenced by SOI, while the northern subbasin the AMO and PDO. Concurrent relationships between the same season of the climate oscillation and meteorological variable confirm previously researched directions of the relationships between the oscillation and precipitation or temperature in both Test One and Test Two.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a shared mental model (SMM) based intervention on student team mental model similarity and ultimately team performance in an undergraduate meteorology course. The team knowledge sharing (TKS) intervention was designed to promote team reflection, communication, and improvement planning. Results reveal that the TKS intervention was partially effective in enhancing student team SMM and team scores on meteorology lab assignments. The TKS intervention has potential for use in science courses where a teaming approach is used. Similar interventions could likely be developed, empirically examined, and potentially employed to promote success in handling complex challenges while working in teams in the classroom and beyond.

For decades, photovoltaic (PV) modules have been manufactured and tested under conditions that are not globally representative. With the emergence of renewable energy as a viable alternative to fossil fuel, a greater level of scrutiny is being targeted towards standards by which this renewable energy generation is being attended. Standard test conditions (STC) along with the established mid-latitude-based reference spectra are among the standards used to rate PV modules internationally. However, with the global impact that renewable energy technology is currently having and will continue to have in the future, such a new system that accounts for low-latitude regions of the world is imperative; and it has been proposed through this research paper. The model capitalizes on the gains of the current standards used, in order to account for the differences in the combination of spectral distribution, module temperature, solar irradiance and meteorological conditions that are representative of lower latitude regions. Equally important, the development of regional spectra is expected to increase the level of interest and investments in this technology, yielding an economy of scale reduction in the cost of solar PV systems in the region. This work centers on the need to develop a system of regional standardization using the Caribbean and Latin America as a test case. New reference spectra are proposed with the advantage of more relevant solar ratings for the region. The methodology employed in this research paper is also being proposed as a generic tool for other regions exploring regional standardization.

Usability and accessibility are key success factors for systems, which are developed for the Active and Assisted Living (AAL) target group. In order to maximise the uptake of the software solution implemented in the iCareCoops project, a broad study of usability and accessibility was conducted. A literature review revealed significant shortcomings in concrete implementation guidance across current publications and usability standardisation (WCAG, ISO). The subsequent low-fidelity prototype tests aimed at resolving the knowledge gap through extensive feedback from representative end-user groups. Paper prototypes of the user interface based on literature insights and early concepts allowed for a hands-on experience for participants. Thus, the test resulted in very specific instructions and recommendations for the user interface (UI) implementation. Due to the lack of literature on the practical implementation and the fruitful outcome of the iCareCoops process, we propose a best practice approach for future AAL solution development employing a mix of quantitative questionnaires, qualitative, semi-structured interviews, thinking aloud tests, and goal-driven evaluation with clear usability criteria, measurements and pass-fail indicators.

Short range weather forecasting and atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) processes are studied by using a one-dimensional ABL model where the horizontal advection terms are neglected. The ability of the model, the Florida State University atmospheric boundary layer (FSU1DPBL) model, to forecast minimum temperature is investigated in terms of thermal advection effects. The model is used for 12-, 24-, and 36-h forecasts of minimum temperatures. The minimum temperatures obtained from the model forecasts are compared with observations. The investigation is confined to days meeting criteria representative of clear and calm synoptic conditions. Errors between observations and model results are determined using thermal advection analysis in the boundary layer since horizontal thermal advection affects cooling rates at night. The errors are found to be strongly correlated with thermal advection in the lowest part of the ABL. By carrying out some case studies, it is seen that the model is more prone to errors in dry conditions. It is also confirmed that the strong thermal advection aloft getting closer and closer to the ground largely explains the difference in minimum temperatures between the model and observations. The results show that the model is also a useful tool for the short-range weather forecasting since it is not computationally expensive. The model is able to simulate well the nighttime minimum temperatures, and can be used operationally.

The return-flow of low-level air from the Gulf of Mexico over the southeast United States during the cool season is studied using numerical models. The key models are a newly developed airmass transformation (AMT) model and a one-dimensional planetary boundary layer (PBL) model. Both are employed to examine the thermodynamic structure over and to the north of the Gulf. Model errors for predicting minimum, maximum, and dewpoint temperatures at the surface during both offshore and onshore phases of the return-flow cycle are analyzed. PBL model forecasts indicate soil moisture values obtained from the Eta Model improve accuracy. It is shown that forecasts of maximum temperature for coastal locations are sensitive to the soil moisture used in the PBL model. The AMT model performs well in determining boundary layer parameters since it includes horizontal advective processes. The AMT model is also able to predict the regional differences caused by different surface forcing while passing over land or se...

Nighttime minimum temperatures at the Tallahassee Regional Airport (TLH) are colder in comparison with surrounding locations and other parts of the city, especially during the cool season (TLH minimum temperature anomaly). These cold events are examined using the one-dimensional Oregon State University atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) model including a two-layer model of soil hydrology. The model is used for 12-h forecasts of the ABL parameters, such as surface fluxes, surface inversion height, and minimum temperature when clear, calm synoptic conditions existed over the region at night. The minimum temperature forecasts are performed at TLH and a nearby location. Cooling in the surface inversion layer is examined in terms of turbulence and clear-air radiative effects, and it is confirmed that the lower temperatures at TLH are related to the clear-air radiative cooling even in the lower part of the inversion layer but not to cold-air drainage. Stability, ABL height, and surface inversion height a...

The unusual case of a rapidly developing land cyclone that occurred on 15–17 November 1989 over the United States and Canada is investigated to determine the physical mechanisms responsible for its development. Hourly surface and 12-h upper-air data are analyzed for this storm for the 36-h period beginning on 0000 UTC 15 November. Findings reveal that surface-based frontogenetic forcing and the diabatic effects of latent heating were primarily responsible for the initial development of the system. Proper positioning of the surface low with respect to a 500-mb short-wave trough and 250-mb jet streak yields the greatest deepening of 13 mb in 12 h at a later time. It is suggested that frontogenetic mechanisms contribute to development of this system prior to any favorable organization of the large-scale upper-tropospheric dynamic forcing.

The relatively rare case of an explosive land cyclone that occurred on I5–17 November 1989 over the United States and Canada is investigated to determine the physical mechanisms responsible for its development. Hourly surface and 12-h upper-air data are analyzed for this storm for the 36-h period beginning on 0000 UTC 15 November. The system appears to develop through favorable positioning of the surface low with respect to a 5OO-hPa short-wave trough and 250-hPa jet streak and yields the greatest deepening of 13 hPa in 12 h. Through an analysis of the terms in the quasigeostrophic height tendency equation, quasigeostrophic theory is deemed to be qualitatively inaccurate in diagnosing the development of this system. The performance of the National Meteorological Center's (currently known as the National Centers for Environmental Prediction) operational models is viewed, and errors in model forecasts of surface low position and intensity are attributed in large part to faulty initialization. A com...

The Tallahassee Regional Airport, on the city's southwest side, has a minimum temperature that is colder than minima of neighboring towns and other parts of Tallahassee when clear and calm conditions prevail over the area. The anomaly is described in detail with a series of comparison studies using daily minimum temperature data from nearby locations. This cold anomaly is statistically significant and is most common during the cold season. Its cause appears to be anomalous radiational cooling resulting from enhanced exposure of the ground to open sky, and local cooling rates are probably intensified by sandy soil conditions. Cold-air drainage does not appear to be an important factor.

This report summarizes discussions that took place during a Unidata Cooperative Program for Operational Meteorology, Education, and Training (COMET) workshop on Mesoscale Meteorology Instruction in the Age of the Modernized Weather Service. The workshop was held 13–17 June 1994 in Boulder, Colorado, and it was organized by the Unidata Users Committee, with help from Unidata, COMET, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research staff. The principal objective of the workshop was to assess the need for and to initiate those changes at universities that will be required if students are to learn mesoscale and synoptic meteorology more effectively in this era of rapid technological advances. Seventy-one participants took part in the workshop, which included invited lectures, breakout roundtable discussions on focused topics, electronic poster sessions, and a forum for discussing recommendations and findings in a plenary session. Leading scientists and university faculty in the area of synoptic and m...

The purpose of this study is the exploration of a new noninvasive method for detecting heart and respiratory rates using pressure transducers and medical tubing placed on a person’s chest. This device is intended to replace the individual who manually and visually takes vital signs in an emergency mass casualty situation. Instead it would provide a light weight device that can be carried in to the field, applied rapidly, and has the potential to be networked in such a way that one medical person can monitor 5-6 casualties simultaneously, thus acting as a force multiplier. The first step in the project was the validation of using pressure transducers to detect the desired signals. After the initial validation, the first board mount rendition of the system was implemented on a printed circuit board. An experiment was designed and carried out using a coil of latex tubing placed on a medical test mannequin that is used for breathing simulations. The pressure transducer read the change in pressure in this tubing and data was collected for several different respiratory rates. The results of this experiment are definitive. Respiratory rate can be derived using signal processing of the raw signal output from the system.

The room temperature reflectivity of the misfit layer compounds (MS)nTS2 (T = Nb, Ta) is investigated in the spectral range 1000-20000 cm-1, The reflectivity for the E-vector parallel to the (001) planes and the incident light along [001] is dominated by the charge carrier response. This pan of the spectra can be described using the Drude formula with the plasma frequency given by omega(p) = (Ne2/epsilon0epsilon(infinity)m*)0.5 (N = charge carrier concentration, m* = effective mass, epsilon(infinity) = high-frequency dielectric constant). For compounds with M = Sn, Pb the number of charge carriers is equal to that of the parent compound TS2. The observed anisotropy in the (001) plane is rather small and c-an be related to small differences in the effective masses (m[010]*/m[100] congruent-to 0.98). This effect is attributed to the orthorhombic distortion of the (TS2) sublattice. For compounds with M = La, Sm, Th, electron donation is indicated and the plasma frequency is determined by about 0.5, 0.2, 0.25 holes per T ion, respectively, in a single (TS2)- related conduction band.

In 1992 a precollege outreach program designed to bring weather satellite imagery into the classroom was developed jointly by the Florida Technological Research and Development Authority and The Florida State University Department of Meteorology. This initiative incorporates the NOAA Direct Readout Satellite-data ingest program into Florida public school districts for the enhancement of education in a variety of curriculum areas.

The magnetic susceptibility of phases with block type structures in the Nb2O5-2x system, with 0 or=0.05 reveals localized electrons, as suggested earlier.

Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome is due to pharyngeal obstruction of inspiratory airflow with preservation of thoraco-abdominal respiratory movements. This disease has been described for about thirty years, but is now the subject of growing interest. According to the increasingly abundant literature on this subject, OSAS is associated with essentially cardiovascular morbidity and mortality (systemic hypertension, pulmonary hypertension, heart failure, coronary heart disease, arrhythmias, cerebral vascular accidents and sudden death). The pathophysiology of its underlying mechanisms and its complications is complex and multifactorial. The diagnosis of this syndrome should be suspected on clinical interview (snoring, excessive daytime drowsiness, and apnoea during sleep) and is confirmed by polysomnography. Nasal continuous positive pressure with elimination of aggravating factors is the reference treatment in 1994. The diagnosis and management of this syndrome requires a multidisciplinary approach with collaboration between general practitioners, neurologists, maxillofacial/ENT surgeons, cardiologists and respiratory physicians.

This paper provides an account of the performance of a multimodel ensemble for real time forecasts of Atlantic tropical cyclones during 2004, 2005 and 2006. The Florida State University (FSU) superensemble is based on a suite of model forecasts and the interpolated official forecast that were received in real time at the National Hurricane Center. The FSU superensemble is a multimodel ensemble that utilizes forecasts from the member models by removing their individual biases based on a recent past history of their performances. This superensemble carries separate statistical weights for track and intensity forecasts for every 6 h of the member model forecasts. The real time results from 2004 show an improvement up to 15% for track forecasts and up to 11% for intensity forecasts for the superensemble compared to other models and consensus aids. During 2005, the superensemble intensity performance was best for most lead times. The consistency of the superensemble forecasts of track are also illustrated for several storms of 2004 season. The superensemble methodology produced impressive intensity forecasts for Rita and Wilma during 2005. The study shows the capability of the superensemble in predicting rapidly intensifying storms when most member models failed to capture their strengthening.

For many years, readability indices have been utilized to estimate the reading grade level (RGL) of textual material. They have been used chiefly for primary and secondary grade level material, but are applicable to collegiate texts as well. In this study, seven readability indices for 52 atmospheric science textbooks were obtained to estimate their RGL. Half of the texts chosen were of a general or introductory nature, while the other half were specialized or advanced texts. Because only a small sample of the entire text was utilized in their computation, any index may not be exactly representative of RGL of the text as a whole; however, they are likely to be useful in comparing one book to another. While the readability level of a text should not be the sole reason for adopting or rejecting a textbook, it should he a consideration.

A mesoscale mixed-layer model of the planetary boundary layer is applied to the flow past a mountain island during a cold air outbreak over the Kuroshio Current. Utilizing data taken during AMTEX '75, the governing equations are integrated in time to simulate development of a Karman vortex street downstream of the island of Cheju-do. The use of open lateral boundary conditions and an encroachment scheme which allows some mountain grid points to experience occasional encroachment of mixed-layer fluid as the mixed-layer deepens (and decroachment as the mixed layer thins) is also discussed. Comparing various non-dimensional parameters on vortex-street characteristics, it is shown that the simulated vortex street resembles the observed atmospheric one rather well. Uncertainty in formulating the proper value of the eddy viscosity and the implication this has on Reynolds number comparisons are also discussed. DOI: 10.1111/j.2153-3490.1982.tb01844.x

L'existence, a Dakar, d'un reservoir animal de leptospires, d'abord entrevue par Goez en 1934 (9), a ete amplement confirmee par la suite (5)(7)(19). Mais l'incidence chez l'homme de la leptospirose-maladie apparaissait relativement jaible, d'apres une enquete clinique et serologique pratiquee en 1965 a l'Hopital Le Dantec par l'un de nous, avec M. Payet et coll. (15). Des travaux plus recents de J. Van Riel, R. Baylet et M. Rioche (20) ont montre que le reservoir animal etait nettement plus important qu'on ne le soupconnait initialement. Il nous a donc paru utile, dans une etude a la fois retrospective et prospective, de reexaminer l'incidence de cette zoonose en pathologie humaine, a partir des donnees serologiques et cliniques recueillies dans les hopitaux de la region de Dakar et, plus precisement, dans le service de Medecine interne de l'Hopital Le Dantec.

This study examines the structure of horizontal modes (meandering, vortical modes or fossil turbulence) in a layer of intermittent turbulence occurring at the top of a strongly stratified nocturnal inversion layer as observed by fast response aircraft data. The spatial variation of the coefficients of the principal components identify regular coherent structures with mainly horizontal motions. Conditional sampling is formulated in terms of this spatial variation. The quasi-horizontal motions are characterized by relatively sharp edges (transition zones) where horizontal convergence or divergence, small-scale turbulence and vertical fluxes seem to be concentrated. Zones of horizontal divergence appear to be associated with ejection of cold air from the underlying surface inversion while the convergent zones might be due to random “collisions” between horizontal modes.

The incidence of leptospirosis in West Africa is still almost unknown. Doubtful or positive serological tests were found in approx. 35% of the patients admitted to the hospital, among which leptospirosis could clinically or biologically be suspected. This rather high proportion reflects the frequency of recent or past contacts with leptospira antigen. It is in agreement with the high infestation prevalence observed among several domestic or wild animals, besides small rodents. On the countrary, it should be noted that the leptospirosis-illness, at least in its pure form, with its characteristic hepatic, renal and neurological signs, is seldom seen. Seven typical cases only (among which five at the hosptical Le Dantec) have been diagnosed in Dakar during these last 6 years. Even taking into account that the proportion of atypical, fruste or undiagnosed forms is not negligible, leptospirosis does not appear to be a major medical problem in Senegal.

Autologous rosette-forming T lymphocytes were enumerated in periphal blood of patients with established alcoholic cirrhosis and compared with T lymphocytes forming rosettes with sheep red blood cells (total and 'active' rosette-forming cells; RFC). Decreased autologous RFC was the most frequent T lymphocyte abnormality observed in 43 patients and was shown to occur even in patients with normal total and 'active' RFC. No correlation was found between autologous RFC and total or 'active' RFC. Skin anergy to 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene was noted in 44% of the patients tested. Autologous RFC did not correlate with delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity to 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene.