Open Access Books

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are no longer objects gathering dust on a shelf; instead, they have become intrinsic in our everyday lives. They are now even taking on an indispensable role in many clinical and rehabilitation settings. In the past decade there has been a surge of interest in using ICT with elderly people, both with and without dementia, in various clinical and research settings. On the one hand, ICT can supplement the assessment of functional ability by more precisely evaluating the nature and extent of functional impairment; on the other hand, ICT can be used to support elderly people in their everyday activities, as well as to ameliorate symptoms and improve quality of life through stimulation and rehabilitation. This is the intention driving the development of Serious Games (SG), which are digital applications (often based on Virtual Reality) specifically adapted for purposes other than entertaining, including rehabilitation, training and education. Finally, ICT can also play a key role in the development of interactive educational programs to support caregivers of people living with dementia. A handful of interesting studies have started to investigate the effectiveness of employing ICT in people with different types of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). It is therefore timely to attempt to scope this newly emerging field, as well as to foster a dialogue among the different professionals, including academics, clinicians and computer engineers, working in the area. With this in mind, the Research Topic “ICT for assessment and rehabilitation in Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders” aims to provide new and interesting insights into the current use of ICT in healthy and pathological aging. The intent is also to identify challenges and new perspectives in the field, gather recommendations for the application of ICT in AD and related disorders in clinical practice, and to showcase cutting edge clinical research. The articles included in this Frontier Research Topics have more than achieved this aim and are a perfect illustration of how ICT can be used to enhance the lives of people living dementia and their caregivers.

The thesis is dedicated to the question of how legal culture affects the perception of morality in patent law regimes and whether a better understanding of the terms can ease their complex relationship. To this end, the role of moral considerations in European, German, US and Chinese patent law is analyzed. The analysis shows the unique and paradoxical relationship between immorality and illegality in patent law compared to other areas of law. Furthermore, it is found that the interpretation of the fundamental function of patent law significantly influences the understanding of morality in patent law. Therefore, a moral standard in patent law cannot be identified universally across different patent law systems. Consequently, (legal) cultural aspects must always be included in the interpretation of patent law. Ultimately, aspects of legal culture and societal interests can be balanced in a proportionality approach.

Security force assistance is central to the counterinsurgency campaign of U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan. The outcome will hinge on the effectiveness of the assistance provided to the Afghan National Army, Afghan National Police, and other security forces. This report provides an overview of Soviet efforts to improve and facilitate the training and development of Afghan security forces.

Polyamines are ubiquitous polycations essential for all cellular life. The most common polyamines in eukaryotes, spermine, spermidine, and putrescine, exist in millimolar intracellular concentrations that are tightly regulated through biosynthesis, catabolism, and transport. Polyamines interact with, and regulate, negatively charged macromolecules, including nucleic acids, proteins, and ion channels. Accordingly, alterations in polyamine metabolism affect cellular proliferation and survival through changes in gene expression and transcription, translation, autophagy, oxidative stress, and apoptosis. Dysregulation of these multifaceted polyamine functions contribute to multiple disease processes, thus their metabolism and function have been targeted for preventive or therapeutic intervention. The correlation between elevated polyamine levels and cancer is well established, and ornithine decarboxylase, the rate-limiting biosynthetic enzyme in the production of putrescine, is a bona fide transcriptional target of the Myc oncogene. Furthermore, induced polyamine catabolism contributes to carcinogenesis that is associated with certain forms of chronic infection and/or inflammation through the production of reactive oxygen species. These and other characteristics specific to cancer cells have led to the development of polyamine-based agents and inhibitors aimed at exploiting the polyamine metabolic pathway for chemotherapeutic and chemopreventive benefit. In addition to cancer, polyamines are involved in the pathologies of neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, parasitic and infectious diseases, wound healing, ischemia/reperfusion injuries, and certain age-related conditions, as polyamines are known to decrease with age. As in cancer, polyamine-based therapies for these conditions are an area of active investigation. With recent advances in immunotherapy, interest has increased regarding polyamine-associated modulation of immune responses, as well as potential immunoregulation of polyamine metabolism, the results of which could have relevance to multiple disease processes. The goal of this Special Issue of Medical Sciences is to present the most recent advances in polyamine research as it relates to health, disease, and/or therapy.

Ancient Greek history holds a special place in the works of many 19th-c. writers. The same goes for Cyprian Norwid, one of the most eminent poets in the history of Polish literature, a thinker, and an artist. This book scrutinizes Norwid’s fascination with Greek history and culture, especially his peculiar synthesis of Greek thought and Christianity. It focuses on the key themes of the relationship of Platonism with early Christian writings and their presence in Norwid’s contemporary culture, the opposition of memory and history in 19th-c. literature and social life, and the image of the artist and its influence on social life in modern everyday. The book analyzes Norwid’s oeuvre in a broad comparison with representatives of French, German, and British literature and the humanities.

Welche Antworten findet Design auf die Krisen der Gegenwart? Merle Ibach schaut auf Projektgemeinschaften, die mit Kreativitätstechniken, DIY-Praktiken und Open-Source-Prototyping an einer Vision jenseits des Wachstums arbeiten. Aus designethnografischer Perspektive zeigt sie, wie sich die Gemeinschaften körperlich und sinnlich mit den sozio-materiellen Anforderungen einer künftigen Postwachstumsgesellschaft vertraut machen. Die Beobachtungen zeigen anschaulich, wie das Machen, Denken und Fühlen einer Low-Tech-Zukunft aussehen kann – für Gestalter*innen, Zukunftsinteressierte und alle, die verstehen wollen, wie mit Hammer, 3D-Drucker und Buntstift kollektives Krisenwissen entsteht.

Il volume affronta il tema della possibile rilevanza economica del patrimonio artistico in una città d'arte, nello specifico Firenze, prendendo come esempio concreto ai fini di una ricerca scientifica la figura del "restauratore artistico" nella duplice veste di attore economico e di risorsa ambientale e culturale per la città. Lo studio empirico delle imprese private di tale settore localizzate nell'area fiorentina è accompagnato e introdotto da un'ampia analisi sulle politiche di tutela e valorizzazione dei beni culturali e sul sistema di attori economici, non economici ed istituzionali che in esse sono coinvolti.

Remanufacturing and Advanced Machining Processes for Materials and Components presents current and emerging techniques for machining of new materials and restoration of components, as well as surface engineering methods aimed at prolonging the life of industrial systems. It examines contemporary machining processes for new materials, methods of protection and restoration of components, and smart machining processes. • Details a variety of advanced machining processes, new materials joining techniques, and methods to increase machining accuracy • Presents innovative methods for protection and restoration of components primarily from the perspective of remanufacturing and protective surface engineering • Discusses smart machining processes, including computer-integrated manufacturing and rapid prototyping, and smart materials • Provides a comprehensive summary of state-of-the-art in every section and a description of manufacturing methods • Describes the applications in recovery and enhancing purposes and identifies contemporary trends in industrial practice, emphasizing resource savings and performance prolongation for components and engineering systems The book is aimed at a range of readers, including graduate-level students, researchers, and engineers in mechanical, materials, and manufacturing engineering, especially those focused on resource savings, renovation, and failure prevention of components in engineering systems.

This edited volume presents the results of a European research project – ‘CHILD-UP’ (Children Hybrid Integration: Learning Dialogue as a way of Upgrading Policies of Participation), which analyses the hybrid integration of children with migration backgrounds into schools across Europe. Using qualitative data and theoretical foundations obtained through interviews and focus groups, the book ultimately centres the perspectives and experiences of both the children and the professionals working with them. In doing so, it explores the complex position migrant children occupy in host societies, their exercise of agency, challenges and inspirational local practices that support hybrid integration and innovative educational planning. It also analyses the facilitation of conversations concerning children’s personal experiences and social relations, second language learning and language mediation, based on video- and audio-recordings of school activities. The book will be of relevance to researchers, academics, scholars, and faculty in the fields of sociology of education, child development, migration and multicultural studies. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

The Comstocks of Cornell is the autobiography written by naturalist educator Anna Botsford Comstock about her life and her husband's, entomologist John Henry Comstock—both prominent figures in the scientific community and in Cornell University history.A first edition was published in 1953, but it omitted key Cornellians, historical anecdotes, and personal insights. Karen Penders St. Clair's twenty-first century edition returns Mrs. Comstock's voice to her book by rekeying her entire manuscript as she wrote it, and preserving the memories of the personal and professional lives of the Comstocks that she had originally intended to share. The book includes a complete epilogue of the Comstocks' last years and fills in gaps from the 1953 edition. Described as serious legacy work, the book is an essential part of Cornell University history and an important piece of Cornell University Press history.

L’abbaye de Morimond est fondée aux confins de la Lorraine, de la Bourgogne et de la Champagne vers 1117 par des moines venus de Cîteaux. Elle s’installe sur le site d’un ancien ermitage comme en témoigne la pancarte de fondation datant elle de 1126. Elle fut cependant très largement ruinée durant la Révolution et l’Empire au point que les moines blancs renoncèrent à y rétablir une communauté durant la Restauration.L’historiographie de cette antique abbaye du Bassigny a été significativement renouvelée ces dix dernières années avec l’organisation de colloques et la multiplication des publications historiques et archéologiques.Les fouilles dirigées par Benoît Rouzeau dans les années 2003-2013 passées au crible de la documentation écrite médiévale et moderne donnent un nouvel éclairage de ce que fut la quatrième fille de Cîteaux.Le monastère a disposé rapidement d’un patrimoine architectural de tout premier plan. Les fouilles et les recherches ont mis en lumière les conditions d’implantation des bâtiments dans la grande clôture. La trame du réseau hydraulique imposée en partie par l’hydrographie a préfiguré l’emplacement des édifices claustraux qui sont édifiés durant les XIIe et XIIIe siècles. Avec l’archéologie du bâti, les techniques de construction de l’abbatiale sont maintenant mieux connues. Un imposant groupe de bâtiments à l’ouest de l’enclos associé à l’hôtellerie est livré à la sagacité des chercheurs et montre au combien les moines blancs ont eux-mêmes très largement transformé leur enclos avant les reconstructions du siècle des Lumières.Cet ouvrage a pour but de présenter une grande variété des artefacts livrés par la fouille. De la céramique culinaire à la vaisselle en verre, en passant par le mobilier métallique et les monnaies, ces études présentent un matériel de qualité à la croisée des influences lorraine, bourguignonne et champenoise.À la lecture de ces pages histoire et archéologie se mêlent constamment pour faire revivre ce que fut le monastère de Morimond.

This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contact

On 10 May 2009, in the town of Burzaco, Carlos Mayo passed away. He was a great historian of the colonial world of Río de la Plata, but also a committed professor. His death has represented a great loss both for the field of colonial social history and for those of us who shared in some way part of his life. For this reason, a group of friends and disciples who, in one way or another, were linked to him and remain connected to his fond memory, thought of paying him an austere but heartfelt tribute, which took place in a meeting held at the National Academy of History on May 8, 2019. In this meeting we could share the fruit of his work, refer to his unique anecdotes and commemorate him in the best way. In addition, on that occasion we agreed to preserve his memory through this book. The meeting was very positive, as more than ten years after his death, we had a pending debt with his legacy. This publication bears testimony to our affection and pays tribute to his beloved memory.

W artykule zaprezentowano zagadnienia związane z edukacją zdalną uczniów z niepełnosprawnościami w czasie pandemii COVID-19. Dotyczy doboru odpowiednich form kształcenia w przypadku dzieci w szkole podstawowej na wsi w powiecie białostockim (województwo podlaskie). Opisane zostały dobrane metody i formy kształcenia na odległość na podstawie zmieniających się przepisów prawa oświatowego w latach 2019–2022. Analiza indywidualnych przypadków dzieci z niepełnosprawnościami uczęszczających do jednej szkoły w gminie wiejskiej pokazuje wielorakość możliwości doboru metod i form pomimo pandemii. Wskazuje na potrzebę analiz możliwości i trudności poszczególnych dzieci uczących się w placówce w przygotowaniu efektywnej formy kształcenia dla tych dzieci. Opisano kształcenie dzieci z niepełnosprawnościami na podstawie doświadczeń pedagoga szkolnego.

Grilles, caméras, miradors. Les obstacles entre l’Europe et le Maghreb se multiplient pour empêcher les migrants clandestins d’aller vers le nord. Instituées par des États qui sont à la peine avec leurs politiques d’intégration, ces frontières barrent le passage, refoulent des individus en quête d’un ailleurs fantasmé qui fut celui de plusieurs générations. Au nord, en France, leurs cousins, descendants d’immigrés, font face à d’autres frontières, d’une nature certes différente. Ici, ce sont les ségrégations sociales et ethno-raciales, véritables plafonds de verre, qui séparent et rejettent. Autant de trajets, de connexions, de parcours et d’expériences que ce livre interroge et partage entre le Maghreb et les quartiers. Enquête sociologique, cet ouvrage apporte un recadrage théorique sur la gestion des frontières par les migrants et un éclairage multiple de douze témoignages, douze coups de projecteur analytiques, qui permettent de renouveler l’information disponible.