BACKGROUND: Online self-management diaries are used to support patients' self-management skills and facilitate associated behavioral changes. Although web-based diaries are well-known as a potential self-management tool, reasons that patients use (or do not use) self-management diaries, as well as …

Climate change and continuous urbanization contribute to an increased urban vulnerability towards flooding. Only relying on traditional flood control measures is recognized as inadequate, since the damage can be catastrophic if flood controls fail. The idea of a flood-resilient city – one which can withstand …

Equine assisted coaching (EAC) is a new technique to make people aware of their body language with the help of the horse. The benefits of this training concerning the people have been researched before. However, there is no indication how the horse is experiencing these trainings in any studies. Therefore …

In the life of flowering plants, seed germination is a critical step to ensure survival into the next generation. Generally the seed prior to germination has been in a dormant state with a low rate of metabolism. In the transition from a dormant seed to a germinating seed, various epigenetic mechanisms …

This paper describes a comparative case study that aims to uncover the quantifiable differences between non-interactive and interactive public displays in the urban environment. The study involved a large temporary interactive public display on a central city square showing a selection of custom-made …

In this review, we present the growing scientific evidence showing the importance of protein and amino acid provision in nutritional support and their impact on preservation of muscle mass and patient outcomes.

THE PDCA-CYCLE MIGHT NOT BE APPLICABLE in situations where change is unplanned or emergent. In situations of planned change the Deming cycle is used worldwide and proven to be very effective. However in an emergent change process the PDCA might not be the applicable. These emergent changes increase. …

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014. Creating agents that are capable of emulating similar socio-cultural dynamics to those found in human interaction remains as one of the hardest challenges of artificial intelligence. This problem becomes particularly important when considering embodied …

In the Dutch armed forces clothing sizes are determined using 3D body scans. To evaluate if the predicted size based on the scan analysis matches the best fit, 35 male soldiers fitted a combat jacket and combat pants. It was shown that the predicted jacket size was slightly too large. Therefore, an adjustment …

In many countries the Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) is extinct or numbers are declining; resulting in a classification as “near threatened” on the IUCN’s Red List. In one-third of the European countries, however, conservation efforts, enabled the return of the species or the improvement of weakened populations. …