OBJECTIVES This study explores the analytic implications of using questions about difficulty with daily activities that do not specify whether to consider assistance. METHODS For 1,054 Asset and Health Dynamics of the Oldest Old Study Wave 2 respondents, we compared responses to questions about difficulty without reference to assistance (ambiguous difficulty) to those about difficulty without...

Historic masonry heritages, such as cathedrals, colonnades, and arch bridges, were constructed with individual components (e.g., stones, bricks, other materials) bound together with, e.g., mortar, they are very vulnerable to foundation settlement, especially differential settlement which occurs frequently in engineering practice. These structures discontinuous, therefore, their behavior under i...

In recent years different control architectures have been proposed for autonomous robots that are required to carry out service tasks robustly in civilian environments. In this paper a novel architecture is presented, which differs from the typical approaches from two main points of view: it is non hierarchical and it introduces an additional level of representation and reasoning based on image...

Lie group analysis is applied to a mathematical model for thin liquid films, namely nonlinear fourth order partial differential equation in two independent variables. A three-dimensional symmetry algebra found and reductions ordinary equations are obtained by using its one-dimensional subalgebras. Two of these studied the reduction method Jacobi last multiplier method, be linearizable. Furtherm...

The effective management and promotion of tourism can increase the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of any country significantly. This paper presents the design of a simplified and generic architecture of a 3-Dimension (3D) model virtual walk-through for tourist centers and historical heritages. We believe that this model could be adapted for its implementation in any state or country. The countrie...

Based on a study of 149 parochial-school students enrolled in kindergarten through eighth grade, this article explores children’s outdoor recess activities in an urban setting—with a focus on how age, gender, and size of play group influence their outdoor play preferences—and examines changes in children’s activity preferences over a single recess period. The majority of the children in the stu...