scholarly journals The Design of an Intelligent Robotic Wheelchair Supporting People with Special Needs, including for Their Visual System

Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Dorian Cojocaru ◽  
Liviu Florin Manta ◽  
Cristina Floriana Pană ◽  
Andrei Dragomir ◽  
Alexandru Marin Mariniuc ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Special Needs ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Intelligent System ◽  
Vision System ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Classical Systems ◽  
Medical Security ◽  
Primary Evaluation

The paper aims to study the applicability and limitations of the solution resulting from a design process for an intelligent system supporting people with special needs who are not physically able to control a wheelchair using classical systems. The intelligent system uses information from smart sensors and offers a control system that replaces the use of a joystick. The necessary movements of the chair in the environment can be determined by an intelligent vision system analyzing the direction of the patient’s gaze and point of view, as well as the actions of the head. In this approach, an important task is to detect the destination target in the 3D workspace. This solution has been evaluated, outdoor and indoor, under different lighting conditions. In order to design the intelligent wheelchair, and because sometimes people with special needs also have specific problems with their optical system (e.g., strabismus, Nystagmus) the system was tested on different subjects, some of them wearing eyeglasses. During the design process of the intelligent system, all the tests involving human subjects were performed in accordance with specific rules of medical security and ethics. In this sense, the process was supervised by a company specialized in health activities that involve people with special needs. The main results and findings are as follows: validation of the proposed solution for all indoor lightning conditions; methodology to create personal profiles, used to improve the HMI efficiency and to adapt it to each subject needs; a primary evaluation and validation for the use of personal profiles in real life, indoor conditions. The conclusion is that the proposed solution can be used for persons who are not physically able to control a wheelchair using classical systems, having with minor vision deficiencies or major vision impairment affecting one of the eyes.

The Role of BIM in the Architectural Design Process

2010 ◽  
pp. 587-618 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita Moum
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Life Problems ◽  
The Many ◽  
Holistic Research

The objective of this chapter is to identify the role of BIMs in the architectural design process from the practitioners’ point of view. The chapter investigates the main factors affecting the practitioners’ use of BIM, and how BIM impacts their work and interactions. The chapter presents a holistic research approach as well as the findings from its application in four real-life projects. In these projects, much of the practitioners’ focus was on upgrading skills and improving technology. Nevertheless, a number of their challenges were linked to the nature of the architectural design process, particularly to its “hardto- grasp” iterative and intuitive features. A conclusion of this research indicates that the role of BIM is affected by the many interdependencies, relations and interfaces embedded in the highly complex and partly unpredictable real world practice. A future challenge would be to understand, master and balance these relationships - upstream and downstream across multiple levels, processes and activities. The presented holistic research approach and the related findings contributed to research which aimed to embrace the complexity of real-life problems and gain a more comprehensive understanding of what is happening in practice.

Bleak Weather for Sun-Shine AG: A Case Study of Impairment of Assets

2014 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominic Detzen ◽  
Tobias Stork genannt Wersborg ◽  
Henning Zülch
Keyword(s):  
Real Life ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Professional Judgment ◽  
Economic Point ◽  
Instructional Resource

ABSTRACT This case originates from a real-life business situation and illustrates the application of impairment tests in accordance with IFRS and U.S. GAAP. In the first part of the case study, students examine conceptual questions of impairment tests under IFRS and U.S. GAAP with respect to applicable accounting standards, definitions, value concepts, and frequency of application. In addition, the case encourages students to discuss the impairment regime from an economic point of view. The second part of the instructional resource continues to provide instructors with the flexibility of applying U.S. GAAP and/or IFRS when students are asked to test a long-lived asset for impairment and, if necessary, allocate any potential impairment. This latter part demonstrates that impairment tests require professional judgment that students are to exercise in the case.

scholarly journals The contribution of the Italian residents in neurology to the COVID-19 crisis: admirable generosity but neurological training remains their priority

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Tassorelli ◽  
Vincenzo Silani ◽  
Alessandro Padovani ◽  
Paolo Barone ◽  
Paolo Calabresi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Training ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Healthcare Management ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Research Activity ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Italian Regions ◽  
Training And Research

Abstract Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has severely impacted the Italian healthcare system, underscoring a dramatic shortage of specialized doctors in many disciplines. The situation affected the activity of the residents in neurology, who were also offered the possibility of being formally hired before their training completion. Aims (1) To showcase examples of clinical and research activity of residents in neurology during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy and (2) to illustrate the point of view of Italian residents in neurology about the possibility of being hired before the completion of their residency program. Results Real-life reports from several areas in Lombardia—one of the Italian regions more affected by COVID-19—show that residents in neurology gave an outstanding demonstration of generosity, collaboration, reliability, and adaptation to the changing environment, while continuing their clinical training and research activities. A very small minority of the residents participated in the dedicated selections for being hired before completion of their training program. The large majority of them prioritized their training over the option of earlier employment. Conclusions Italian residents in neurology generously contributed to the healthcare management of the COVID-19 pandemic in many ways, while remaining determined to pursue their training. Neurology is a rapidly evolving clinical field due to continuous diagnostic and therapeutic progress. Stakeholders need to listen to the strong message conveyed by our residents in neurology and endeavor to provide them with the most adequate training, to ensure high quality of care and excellence in research in the future.

Adherence, Persistence, and Effectiveness in Real Life. Multicenter Long-Term Study on the Use of Pirfenidone and Nintedanib in the Treatment of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

2021 ◽  
pp. 089719002110086
Author(s):  
Fiorenzo Santoleri ◽  
Luigia Auriemma ◽  
Antonella Spacone ◽  
Stefano Marinari ◽  
Fabio Esposito ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis ◽  
Pulmonary Fibrosis ◽  
Pharmacological Study ◽  
Functional Decline ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Response To Treatment ◽  
First Year ◽  
Long Term Study ◽  
Second Year

Background: In the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), nintedanib and pirfenidone, with their different mechanisms of action, lead to a reduction in the rate of progression of the fibrosis process measured by the reduction of functional decline, and, in particular, the decrease in forced vital capacity (FVC) and of the diffusion capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide (DLCO). The objective of this study was to analyze real-life adherence, persistence and efficacy in the use of pirfenidone and nintedanib in the treatment of IPF. Methods: A non-interventional multicenter retrospective observational pharmacological study in real-life treat-ment at 1 and 2 years was conducted. Furthermore, we analyzed the levels of FVC and DLCO at 6 and 12 months, respectively, from the start of treatment. Results: We identified 144 patients in the period between January 2013 and April 2019. From the point of view of adherence, there is no difference between the two drugs, even though patients who used pirfenidone had increasingly higher values: 0.90 vs 0.89, in the first year, and 0.91 vs 0.84, in the second year. In the first year of treatment, the percentage of persistent patients was 67% and 76%, while in the second year, it dropped to 47% and 53% for pirfenidone and nintedanib, respectively. Conclusion: The stratification of the adherence values as a function of the response to treatment in terms of FVC at 12 months for both study drugs showed that patients with optimal response scored adherence of more than 90%.

scholarly journals ALVIC versus the Internet: Redesigning a Networked Virtual Environment Architecture

2008 ◽  
Vol 2008 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Quax ◽  
Jeroen Dierckx ◽  
Bart Cornelissen ◽  
Wim Lamotte
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Generic Framework ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Networked Virtual Environment ◽  
Near Future

The explosive growth of the number of applications based on networked virtual environment technology, both games and virtual communities, shows that these types of applications have become commonplace in a short period of time. However, from a research point of view, the inherent weaknesses in their architectures are quickly exposed. The Architecture for Large-Scale Virtual Interactive Communities (ALVICs) was originally developed to serve as a generic framework to deploy networked virtual environment applications on the Internet. While it has been shown to effectively scale to the numbers originally put forward, our findings have shown that, on a real-life network, such as the Internet, several drawbacks will not be overcome in the near future. It is, therefore, that we have recently started with the development of ALVIC-NG, which, while incorporating the findings from our previous research, makes several improvements on the original version, making it suitable for deployment on the Internet as it exists today.

Positive evaluation in the language of human resources: textbooks versus reality

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-152
Author(s):  
Pavel Reich
Keyword(s):  
Human Resources ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Business English ◽  
Evaluative Language ◽  
English Textbooks ◽  
General Business ◽  
Hr Managers ◽  
Authentic Language ◽  
Positive Evaluation

Abstract The aim of the present paper is to focus on the language of Human Resources (HR) as one of the subfields of English for business purposes in respect of positive evaluation and stancetaking and to identify to what extent evaluative language common in real-life situations is reflected in currently available textbooks of English for HR (EHR). Authentic language is taken from blogs and interviews with prominent HR managers on www.thehrdirector.com, which is a global online magazine dedicated to HR professionals. The corpus created from these texts is analysed from the point of view of evaluative language and the data ascertained are put into contrast with the language presented in three commonly available HR English textbooks. The analysis focusses on the lexical level of language and is based on the Appraisal framework (and the system of Attitude) of Systemic Functional Linguistics. Even though the present study is intended as qualitative rather than quantitative, the findings are quantified in order to shed some light on the commonality and frequency of some of the phenomena ascertained and their reflection in the textbooks. The outcomes of the analysis might serve as food for thought and inspiration for tertiary-level teachers of general business English courses as well as highly specialised courses focusing on the language of human resources.

Logical aspects of experimental design and analysis

2020 ◽  
pp. 142-151
Author(s):  
Валерий Иванович Хабаров
Keyword(s):  
Model Theory ◽  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Linear Models ◽  
Intelligent System ◽  
Knowledge Bases ◽  
Object Identification ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Applied Theory ◽  
Formal Representation ◽  
Active Object

Предложена схема формализации задач активной идентификации объекта с использованием аппарата теории моделей - современного раздела математической логики. Теория моделей позволяет погрузить предмет “планирование и анализ эксперимента” в контекст семантического анализа. Семантический анализ понимается как установление соответствия между миром и его формальным представлением. С этой точки зрения представления об исследуемом объекте выражаются в некоторой прикладной теории. Предложен вывод модели для данной теории как процесс интерпретации, в котором ключевая роль отводится “экспериментатору”. Полученные результаты могут быть использованы при проектировании архитектур интеллектуальных систем для экспериментальных исследований, для построения онтологии эксперимента, создания баз знаний Purpose. The purpose of this work is to formalize the tasks of active object identification based on the apparatus of model theory - a modern section of mathematical logic. Model theory allows putting the subject “planning and analysis of an experiment” in the context of semantic analysis. Semantic analysis is understood as establishing a correspondence between the world and its formal representation. From this point of view, the concept of the object under study is expressed in some applied theory, which allows applying formal methods of model theory to it. Methods. It is assumed that the model is derived for this theory as an interpretation process, in which the key role is assigned to the experimenter. As a research method, it is proposed to use commutative diagrams that reflect the process of interpretation and extension of communication diagrams for the so-called equipped theories of planning and analysis of experiments. Results. The properties of the proposed models are proved and examples for planning a regression experiment are presented as an illustration. It is proved that for linear models it is possible to construct a finitely axiomatization capable theory. Findings, originality. The obtained results can be used in the design of architectures for an intelligent system in experimental research, building an experiment ontology and creation of knowledge bases. These studies will allow using logical programming to implement images of the presented commutative diagrams for equipped theories as applied systems for planning and interpreting the experiment

scholarly journals Design Process of Energy Effective Shredding Machines for Biomass Treatment

10.14311/1622 ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 52 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juraj Beniak ◽  
Juraj Ondruška ◽  
Viliam Čačko
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Saving ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Electric Energy ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Processed Material ◽  
Material Saving

The shredding process has not been sufficiently investigated for the design of better, energy and material saving shredding machines. In connection with present-day concern about the environment, ecology, energy saving, recycling, and finding new sources of energy, we need to look at the design of shredding machinery, the efficiency of the machines that we using, and ways of improving them to save electric energy for their operation. This paper deals with sizing and designing shredding machines from the point of view of energy consumption and optimization for specific types of processed material.

scholarly journals Monitoring of Grid Scientific Workflows

2008 ◽  
Vol 16 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 205-216
Author(s):  
Bartosz Balis ◽  
Marian Bubak ◽  
Bartłomiej Łabno
Keyword(s):  
Real Life ◽  
Scientific Workflow ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Scientific Workflows ◽  
Monitoring Data ◽  
Monitoring Point ◽  
Loosely Coupled ◽  
Provenance Data ◽  
On Line ◽  
Monitoring Architecture

Scientific workflows are a means of conducting in silico experiments in modern computing infrastructures for e-Science, often built on top of Grids. Monitoring of Grid scientific workflows is essential not only for performance analysis but also to collect provenance data and gather feedback useful in future decisions, e.g., related to optimization of resource usage. In this paper, basic problems related to monitoring of Grid scientific workflows are discussed. Being highly distributed, loosely coupled in space and time, heterogeneous, and heavily using legacy codes, workflows are exceptionally challenging from the monitoring point of view. We propose a Grid monitoring architecture for scientific workflows. Monitoring data correlation problem is described and an algorithm for on-line distributed collection of monitoring data is proposed. We demonstrate a prototype implementation of the proposed workflow monitoring architecture, the GEMINI monitoring system, and its use for monitoring of a real-life scientific workflow.

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