1,721,042 research outputs found
Telemedicine systems for collaborative diagnosis over the Internet: Towards virtual "collaboratories"
No full textThe working experience of the National Institute for Cancer Research (INRC) of Genova, Italy, in the use of Internet technology for second opinions and teleconsultations in histology and cytology is presented. In the first section, the current state of the art of telepathology is reviewed and the main requirements, which generally address a telepathology system, are briefly analyzed. The second section investigates the experience of using Internet technology at INRC in current telepathology consultations. The evolution from static to dynamic telepathology in relation to the speed of the current communication channel is discussed. Finally, the concept of collaboration laboratories, defined in previous works as collaboratories, is introduced
Toxic Release Damage Distance Assessment Based on the Short-Cut Method: A Case Study for the Transport of Chlorine and Hydrochloric Acid in Densely Urbanized Areas in the Mediterranean Region
No full textThe transportation of dangerous goods by road is the most accident-prone mode of transportation, even if accidents involving road transportation of dangerous goods are considered as a Low Probability and High Consequence event (LPHC event). However, several dangerous goods are transported by road networks, such as petroleum products and chemicals, which can generate major dangerous consequences such as spills, explosions, fires, or toxic clouds. In this context, this article presents a method to calculate and quickly quantify the sizes of impact zones characterized by high lethality and irreversible injuries to people in the case of a hazardous materials transport accident. This method is used as a module for the analysis of the consequences of different potential accident scenarios, for the Web-GIS platform proposed by LOSE+LAB, that implements appropriate ICT tools and systems for monitoring the flow of goods that would enable a continuous monitoring system at the cross-border level and transmit data and information to the territory actors involved in the management of dangerous goods according to the ADR standard. The proposed method provides the user with a visualization of the possible outcomes of an event by reproducing the impact area for different accident scenarios, which can provide quick maps of the hazard and represents a decision support system for territorial governance in terms of intervention and response protocols for emergency management in the cases of dangerous goods accidents
Optimal Planning with Technology Selection for Wind Power Plants in Power Distribution Networks
No full textThis paper proposes a comprehensive decision framework to optimally plan wind power plants (WPPs) with technology selection in the distribution network. The proposed framework aims to maximize the net present value (NPV) associated with the WPP investment over a given planning horizon for various bus locations. The proposed design accounts for various practical cost factors, historical data of wind speeds, and WPP installation restrictions due to territorial information, environmental considerations, and work constraints, in the decision making process of optimal planning and technology selection for WPP. The planning problem, which maximizes the NPV over the potential WPP installation locations, potential technologies, and the size of WPPs, is formulated as a constrained optimization problem. The proposed design is evaluated using case studies to test its concrete practices with a radial network of 33-bus distribution system
The MAKE-IT project: Manufacturing Agents in a Knowledge-based Environment driven by Internet Technologies
No full textMAKE-IT (Manufacturing Agents in a Knowledge-based Environment driven by Internet Technologies) is a research project whose objective is the definition and the implementation of "small" software architectures that can be taken into account as agents - which can perform simple rule-based actions while performing a quite heavy and complex coordination. The main field of application of the MAKE-IT agents is the workflow management of information in small or medium-sized manufacturing enterprises, specifically when their information system is based on the Microsoft Windows architecture
A Fully Distributed Robust MPC Approach for Frequency and Voltage Regulation in Smart Grids with Active and Reactive Power Constraints
No full textShortly, power distribution grids will incorporate large amounts of distributed energy resources and flexible loads, allowing the operation of a portion of the network in islanded mode to increase the reliability and resilience of the whole power system. A fully distributed robust model predictive control (MPC) strategy for voltage and frequency regulation in interconnected distribution grids is stated. Each grid node represents a collection of prosumers with a large active and reactive power regulation capacity. The advantages of this approach rely on the capability to afford any type of uncertainties, without making any assumption on the probability density function, on distributed generation and load nowcasting. We propose a two-stage architecture: at the first stage, an MPC approach, based on the distributed alternating direction method of multipliers (dADMM), is performed, considering the data nowcasting; instead, the second stage (based on robust distributed team decision theory) takes as input the trajectory of the first stage to compensate the noise that affects the system. The developed architecture has been tested on a modified IEEE5 bus system, considering multiple loads and renewable generation
Identification of brain electrical activity related to head yaw rotations
No full textAutomatizing the identification of human brain stimuli during head movements could lead towards a significant step forward for human computer interaction (HCI), with important applications for severely impaired people and for robotics. In this paper, a neural network‐based identification technique is presented to recognize, by EEG signals, the participant’s head yaw rotations when they are subjected to visual stimulus. The goal is to identify an input‐output function between the brain electrical activity and the head movement triggered by switching on/off a light on the participant’s left/right hand side. This identification process is based on “Levenberg–Marquardt” backpropagation algorithm. The results obtained on ten participants, spanning more than two hours of experiments, show the ability of the proposed approach in identifying the brain electrical stimulus associate with head turning. A first analysis is computed to the EEG signals associated to each experiment for each participant. The accuracy of prediction is demonstrated by a significant correlation between training and test trials of the same file, which, in the best case, reaches value r = 0.98 with MSE = 0.02. In a second analysis, the input output function trained on the EEG signals of one participant is tested on the EEG signals by other participants. In this case, the low correlation coefficient values demonstrated that the classifier performances decreases when it is trained and tested on different subjects
Environmental Impacts of Oil Spills and Response Technologies
No full textOil spill accidents are among the most environmentally damaging disasters in the world because of their serious consequences which can be identified in several areas such as the marine biological and physical environment, human health and society, economy, and politics. The environmental impacts of the oil spill in the marine environment can be directed or indirected as well as acute effects ranging from a few days to several years and chronic long-term effects. For this reason, several intervention methods are considered during oil spills in order to limit the deleterious damages of the incident and thus to protect the environment. These methods can be physical/mechanical, chemical, or biological. However, the choice of a response method is a considerable challenge both in environmental and economic viewpoints. Many variables can influence the environmental effects of a spill and the choice of response practices, such as location, weather conditions, spill rate, and type of oil. Within this context, the main purpose of this work is to highlight oil spills through a detailed review of the past oil spill accidents, analysing physical and chemical processes in water due to the released materials and the main environmental impacts as well as the countermeasures and clean up techniques
Data-Driven EEG Model for Predict the Risk during Roundabout Maneuvers
No full textThe behaviour of drivers is significantly influenced by their perception of risk, which can have a profound impact on the transportation environment. This can potentially undermine road safety and efficiency. This study addresses this crucial concern by introducing an algorithm that forecasts driver-perceived risk using data obtained from electroencephalogram (EEG). The algorithm employs a Support Vector Machine (SVM) to develop a strong and predictive model that can forecast perceived risk levels. This model can then be used to inform the implementation of preventive safety measures. The efficacy of the algorithm was evaluated through the use of driving simulations, which involved three participants utilising the SCANeR Studio driving simulator. The simulations involved traversing a two-lane roundabout filled with vehicles and allowed the participants to make decisions during the entry and navigation stages. The results demonstrated the effectiveness of this approach even with a limited dataset with respect to a Pattern Recognition Neural Network (PRNN). This research offers valuable insights into the potential for neurobiological data-driven strategies to enhance driver safety
Playing Against Nature: Risk Averse Behaviour of Physarum Polycephalum
No full textThe computational capabilities of the plasmodium of the slime mould Physarum polycephalum were first reported in 2001. Specifically, the ability of this organism to find the minimum-length path between two points in a labyrinth was demonstrated. This Physarum's ability has been attributed to chemo-attraction to food. More recently, it has been observed that slime moulds can choose conditions most amenable to their survival. Here we show how Physarum develops its route to food under a risk averse behaviour, as a game against nature, which means also choosing paths that are not the shortest ones
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