Reference architectures for ambient assisted living: a scoping review protocol

INTRODUCTION

For the first time in human history, the number of older people will be higher than the number of children. The prevalence of chronic diseases, such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and mental disorders in older adults is high. Given that, it is essential to make usage of related technology to provide improved health conditions and reduce the costs for promoting ageing in place, and that is precisely the aim of Ambient Assisted Living technology. Considering that these systems provide significant benefit to a vast number of stakeholders, can be applied to the functional diversity of application domains and have high economic and social impacts, it is essential to create reusable and interoperable platforms and standards that are able to deal with the heterogeneity of applications and domains. In this sense, reference architectures have been proposed and evaluated. A comprehensive scoping review concerning the reference architectures must clarify specific aspects, such as what the main domains are and how the solutions effectively deal with them.

METHODS

This scoping review will follow the methodology framework defined in 'Scoping studies: advancing the methodology'. In this methodological framework, six stages are proposed for scoping review studies: identifying the research question; identifying relevant studies; study selection; charting the data; collating, summarising and reporting the results; and consultation. The research questions aim to investigate what are the motivations, stakeholders, benefits, domains, approaches, architectural components and governance aspects of the proposed reference architectures and models. The team will focus on the Scopus Document Search, PubMed (MEDLINE), IEEE Xplore Digital Library, ACM Digital Library and Science Direct electronic research databases. The search query is a combination of terms related to Ambient Assisted Living AND Reference Architecture.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

This is a scoping review study and there is no requirement for ethical approval, as primary data will not be collected. The results from this scoping review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and reported at scientific meetings. We intend to share the results with the International Standards and Conformity Assessment - SyC AAL from Canada to use the review as a basis for establishing an assessment model of reference architectures.

Cometabolic degradation of o-cresol and 2,6-dimethylphenol by Penicillium frequentans Bi 7/2

o-Cresol induced glucose-grown resting mycelia of Penicillium frequentans Bi 7/2 (ATCC-number: 96048) immediately oxidized o-cresol and other phenols. After precultivation on glucose and phenol degradation started after a lag-phase of 24 hours. Metabolites of o-cresol metabolism were methylhydroquinone, methyl-p-benzoquinone, 2-methyl-5-hydroxyhydroquinone and 2-methyl-5-hydroxy-p-benzoquinone. The initial reaction is probably catalyzed by a NADPH dependent hydroxylase which is specific for o-cresol. The metabolism of 2,6-dimethylphenol (2,6-xylenol) occurred via 2,6-dimethylhydroquinone, 2,6-dimethyl-p-benzoquinone, 2,6-dimethyl-3-hydroxyhydroquinone, 2,6-dimethyl-3-hydroxy-p-benzoquinone and 3-methyl-2-hydroxybenzoic acid.

The Pseudomonas phytotoxin coronatine mimics octadecanoid signalling molecules of higher plants

The phytotoxic principle, coronatine, which is present in several pathovars of the plant pathogen, Pseudomonas syringae was shown to be highly active in completely different, jasmonate-selective bioassays. At nanomolar to micromolar concentrations, coronatine induced the accumulation of defense-related secondary metabolites in several plant cell cultures, induced transcript accumulation of the elicitor-responsive gene encoding the berberine bridge enzyme of Eschscholtzia californica, as well as the coiling response of Bryonia dioica tendrils. Biological activity critically depended upon the structure of coronatine, and slight modifications, such as methylation of the carboxyl moiety or reduction of the carbonyl group, rendered the molecules almost inactive. Coronafacic acid, obtained by hydrolysis of coronatine, was also nearly inactive. Coronatine did not elicit the accumulation of endogenous jasmonic acid in the systems analyzed. While coronafacic acid is similar in structure to jasmonic acid, we found coronatine to be a close structural analogue of the cyclic C18-precursor of jasmonic acid, 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid. The phytotoxic symptoms produced by coronatine can now be understood on the basis of the toxin's action as a mimic of the octadecanoid signalling molecules of higher plants.

Unspecific degradation of halogenated phenols by the soil fungus Penicillium frequentans Bi 7/2

Resting phenol-grown mycelia of the fungus Penicillium frequentans strain Bi 7/2 were shown to be capable of metabolizing various monohalogenated phenols as well as 3,4-dichlorophenol. 2,4.dichlorophenol could be metabolized in the presence of phenol as cosubstrate. In the first degradation step the halogenated phenols were oxidized to the corresponding halocatechols. Halocatechols substituted in para-position (4-halocatechols) were further degraded under formation of 4-carboxymethylenbut-2-en-4-olide. A partial dehalogenation took place splitting the ring system. 3-Halocatechols were cleaved to 2-halomuconic acids as dead end metabolites without a dehalogenation step. Dichlorophenols were only transformed to the corresponding catechols. In addition 3,5-dichloro-catechol was O-methylated to give two isomers of dichloroguiacol. The halogenated catechols with the exception of 4-fluorocatechol partly polymerized oxidatively in the culture fluid to form insoluble dark-brown products. The degradation of halophenols are due to the action of unspecific intracellular enzymes responsible for phenol catabolism (phenol hydroxylase, catechol-1,2-dioxygenase, muconate cycloisomerase I).