Adaptive distributed outlier detection for WSNs.

The paradigm of pervasive computing is gaining more and more attention nowadays, thanks to the possibility of obtaining precise and continuous monitoring. Ease of deployment and adaptivity are typically implemented by adopting autonomous and cooperative sensory devices; however, for such systems to be of any practical use, reliability and fault tolerance must be guaranteed, for instance by detecting corrupted readings amidst the huge amount of gathered sensory data. This paper proposes an adaptive distributed Bayesian approach for detecting outliers in data collected by a wireless sensor network; our algorithm aims at optimizing classification accuracy, time complexity and communication complexity, and also considering externally imposed constraints on such conflicting goals. The performed experimental evaluation showed that our approach is able to improve the considered metrics for latency and energy consumption, with limited impact on classification accuracy.

Robot-aided intensive training in post-stroke recovery.

The successful motor rehabilitation of stroke patients requires an intensive and task-specific therapy approach. The plasticity of the adult human brain provides opportunities to enhance traditional rehabilitation programs for these individuals. Intensive robot-aided sensorimotor training may have a positive effect on reducing impairment and disability and increasing reorganization of the adult brain. This approach may therefore efficaciously complement standard post-stroke multidisciplinary programs as shown by recent experimental trials.

An unusual cause of aspiration pneumonia.

We report a case of aspiration admitted to our rehabilitation unit in a patient with dysphagia due to diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis or Forestier's disease of the cervical spine, in whom an episode of pneumonia had occurred. Clinical and instrumental findings, including radiography of the spine, (CT Scan) and videofluoroscopy, confirmed the diagnosis. The dysphagia was hypothesized to be due to mechanical compression and inflammatory changes, accompanied by fibrosis in the esophagus wall. The aspiration pneumonia probably had multifactorial etiology: dysphagia, abnormal cough reflex, colonization of the oropharynx by virulent bacteria, etc. No aspiration pneumonia occurred after medical treatment and rehabilitation had been started. We review the medical literature on this unusual cause of aspiration pneumonia.