Search results for: demonstration wildfire detection and action from space

Authors: Donghyun Lee, Cam Nguyen

Abstract:

Multi-band systems offer a great deal of benefit in modern communication and radar systems. In particular, multi-band antenna-array radar systems with their extended frequency diversity provide numerous advantages in detection, identification, locating and tracking a wide range of targets, including enhanced detection coverage, accurate target location, reduced survey time and cost, increased resolution, improved reliability and target information. An accurate calibration is a critical issue in antenna array systems. The amplitude and phase errors in multi-band and multi-polarization antenna array transceivers result in inaccurate target detection, deteriorated resolution and reduced reliability. Furthermore, the digital beam former without the RF domain phase-shifting is less immune to unfiltered interference signals, which can lead to receiver saturation in array systems. Therefore, implementing integrated front-end architecture, which can support calibration function with low insertion and filtering function from the farthest end of an array transceiver is of great interest. We report a dual K/Ka-band T/R/Calibration switch module with quasi-elliptic dual-bandpass filtering function implementing a Q-enhanced metamaterial transmission line. A unique dual-band frequency response is incorporated in the reception and calibration path of the proposed switch module utilizing the composite right/left-handed meta material transmission line coupled with a Colpitts-style negative generation circuit. The fabricated fully integrated T/R/Calibration switch module in 0.18-μm BiCMOS technology exhibits insertion loss of 4.9-12.3 dB and isolation of more than 45 dB in the reception, transmission and calibration mode of operation. In the reception and calibration mode, the dual-band frequency response centered at 24.5 and 35 GHz exhibits out-of-band rejection of more than 30 dB compared to the pass bands below 10.5 GHz and above 59.5 GHz. The rejection between the pass bands reaches more than 50 dB. In all modes of operation, the IP1-dB is between 4 and 11 dBm. Acknowledgement: This paper was made possible by NPRP grant # 6-241-2-102 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). The statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors.

Keywords: microwaves, millimeter waves, T/R switch, wireless communications, wireless communications

Procedia PDF Downloads 149

Authors: Zonglin Yang, Tatsuya Akiyama, Kerry S. Williamson, Michael J. Franklin, Thiruvarangan Ramaraj

Abstract:

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that forms surface-associated microbial communities (biofilms) on artificial implant devices and on human tissue. Biofilm infections are difficult to treat with antibiotics, in part, because the bacteria in biofilms are physiologically heterogeneous. One measure of biological heterogeneity in a population of cells is to quantify the cellular concentrations of ribosomes, which can be probed with fluorescently labeled nucleic acids. The fluorescent signal intensity following fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis correlates to the cellular level of ribosomes. The goals here are to provide computationally and statistically robust approaches to automatically quantify cellular heterogeneity in biofilms from a large library of epifluorescent microscopy FISH images. In this work, the initial steps were developed toward these goals by developing an automated biofilm detection approach for use with FISH images. The approach allows rapid identification of biofilm regions from FISH images that are counterstained with fluorescent dyes. This methodology provides advances over other computational methods, allowing subtraction of spurious signals and non-biological fluorescent substrata. This method will be a robust and user-friendly approach which will enable users to semi-automatically detect biofilm boundaries and extract intensity values from fluorescent images for quantitative analysis of biofilm heterogeneity.

Keywords: image informatics, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, biofilm, FISH, computer vision, data visualization

Procedia PDF Downloads 121

Authors: Ren Moses, Emmanuel Kidando, Eren Ozguven, Yassir Abdelrazig

Abstract:

This study applied traffic speed and occupancy to develop clustering models that identify different traffic conditions. Particularly, these models are based on the Dirichlet Process Mixture of Generalized Linear regression (DML) and change-point regression (CR). The model frameworks were implemented using 2015 historical traffic data aggregated at a 15-minute interval from an Interstate 295 freeway in Jacksonville, Florida. Using the deviance information criterion (DIC) to identify the appropriate number of mixture components, three traffic states were identified as free-flow, transitional, and congested condition. Results of the DML revealed that traffic occupancy is statistically significant in influencing the reduction of traffic speed in each of the identified states. Influence on the free-flow and the congested state was estimated to be higher than the transitional flow condition in both evening and morning peak periods. Estimation of the critical speed threshold using CR revealed that 47 mph and 48 mph are speed thresholds for congested and transitional traffic condition during the morning peak hours and evening peak hours, respectively. Free-flow speed thresholds for morning and evening peak hours were estimated at 64 mph and 66 mph, respectively. The proposed approaches will facilitate accurate detection and prediction of traffic congestion for developing effective countermeasures.

Keywords: traffic congestion, multistate speed distribution, traffic occupancy, Dirichlet process mixtures of generalized linear model, Bayesian change-point detection

Procedia PDF Downloads 278

Authors: Michel T. Leger, Shawn Martin

Abstract:

Leading an ecologically responsible lifestyle represents a difficult challenge. Though research in environmental education does point to an increase in the intention to act more responsibly towards the environment, this intent does not seem to translate to concrete ecological action. This mixed methods collective case study explores the adoption of ecological actions in the family, a context of socio-ecological transformation rarely examined in the scientific literature. More specifically, it takes into account the popular use of social media today to explore the potential role social media, namely Facebook, in promoting environmental action. In other words, for families who are intent on adopting an ecologically friendly lifestyle, could the use of Facebook positively affect the way family members relate to the environment and bring about real change in their daily household actions? To answer this question, twenty-one families living in an urban setting were recruited and then divided them into two distinct groups. The first group of families attempted to lower their household electrical bill as part of a private Facebook group, while the other aimed to do the same, but without the directed use of social media. For both groups, we recorded the amount of kilowatt-hours used during the project as well as the amount used for the same months the previous year, adjusting for temperature variations. Exit interviews were also conducted with each family in order to try to understand the processes of eco-citizenship development in the context of family. Results seem to suggest that both virtual social networks and one-on-one support can help to increase environmental awareness in participating family. Interestingly, families from the Facebook group seemed to demonstrate a higher degree of environmental engagement, and younger family members in this group were more active in the processes of collective behavioral change.

Keywords: environmental education, family-based eco-citizenship, social media, case study

Procedia PDF Downloads 135

Authors: Aulia Dwi Nastiti

Abstract:

A number of studies and reports on terrorism have continuously addressed the role of internet and online activism to support terrorist and extremist groups. In particular, they stress on social media’s usage that generally serves for the terrorist’s propaganda as well as justification of their causes. While those analyses are important to understand how social media is a vital tool for global network terrorism, they are inadequate to explain the online communication patterns that enable terrorism acts. Beyond apparent online narratives, there is a deep cyber sphere where the very vein of terrorism movement lies. That is a hidden space in the internet called ‘darknet’. Recent investigations, particularly in Middle Eastern context, have shed some lights that this invisible space in the internet is fundamental to maintain the terrorist activities. Despite that, limited number of research examines darknet within the issue of terrorist movements in Indonesian context—where the country is considered quite a hotbed for extremist groups. Therefore, this paper attempts to provide an insight of darknet operation in Indonesian cases. By exploring how the darknet is used by the Indonesian-based extremist groups, this paper maps out communication patterns of terrorist groups on the internet which appear as an intermingled network. It shows the usage of internet is differentiated in different level of anonymity for distinctive purposes. This paper further argues that the emerging terrorist communication network calls for a more comprehensive counterterrorism strategy on the Internet.

Keywords: communication pattern, counterterrorism, darknet, extremist groups, terrorism

Procedia PDF Downloads 276

Authors: Alyona Cerfontyne, Levita D'Souza, Lefteris Patlamazoglou

Abstract:

Unlike adoption and donor-assisted reproduction, misattributed paternity occurring within the context of spontaneous conception and outside of formally recognised practices of having a child remains largely an understudied phenomenon. In adulthood, to discover misattributed paternity, i.e., that the man you call your father is not related to you genetically, can have profound implications for everyone affected. Until the advent of direct-to-consumer DNA testing 20 years ago, such discoveries were relatively rare. Despite the growing number of individuals uncovering their biogenetic paternity through genetic testing, there is very limited research on misattributed paternity from the perspective of adult children affected by it. No research exists on how to support these individuals through counselling post-discovery. Framed as insider action research, this study aimed to explore the perceived psychosocial consequences of misattributed paternity discoveries and coping strategies used by individuals who discover their misattributed paternity status in adulthood. In total, 12 individuals with misattributed paternity participated in semi-structured interviews in July-August 2022. The collected data was analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. The study’s results indicate that discovering misattributed paternity in adulthood can be likened to a watershed moment forever changing the trajectory of one’s life. Psychological experiences consistent with trauma, as well as grief and loss, re-evaluation of close family relationships, reestablishment of one’s identity, as well as experiencing a profound need to belong are the key themes emerging from the analysis of psychosocial experiences. Post-discovery, individuals with misattributed paternity employ a wide range of emotional and problem-focused coping strategies, amongst which seeking connection with those who understand, searching for information on the new biogenetic family and finding new meanings to life are most prominent. The study contributes both to the academic and practical knowledge of experiences of misattributed paternity and highlights the importance of further research on the topic.

Keywords: discovery of misattributed paternity, misattributed paternity, paternal discrepancy, psychosocial consequences, coping

Procedia PDF Downloads 73

Authors: Serdal Pamuk, Irem Cay

Abstract:

Our model is based on the theory of reinforced random walks coupled with Michealis-Menten mechanisms which view endothelial cell receptors as the catalysts for transforming both tumor and macrophage derived tumor angiogenesis factor (TAF) into proteolytic enzyme which in turn degrade the basal lamina. The model consists of two main parts. First part has seven differential equations (DE’s) in one space dimension over the capillary, whereas the second part has the same number of DE’s in two space dimensions in the extra cellular matrix (ECM). We connect these two parts via some boundary conditions to move the cells into the ECM in order to initiate capillary formation. But, when does this movement begin? To address this question we estimate the thresholds that activate the transport equations in the capillary. We do this by using steady-state analysis of TAF equation under some assumptions. Once these equations are activated endothelial, pericyte and macrophage cells begin to move into the ECM for the initiation of angiogenesis. We do believe that our results play an important role for the mechanisms of cell migration which are crucial for tumor angiogenesis. Furthermore, we estimate the long time tendency of these three cells, and find that they tend to the transition probability functions as time evolves. We provide our numerical solutions which are in good agreement with our theoretical results.

Keywords: angiogenesis, capillary formation, mathematical analysis, steady-state, transition probability function

Procedia PDF Downloads 145

Authors: Madhuka G. P. D. Udantha, Gihan V. Dias, Surangika Ranathunga

Abstract:

Today Websites contain very interesting applications. But there are only few methodologies to analyze User navigations through the Websites and formulating if the Website is put to correct use. The web logs are only used if some major attack or malfunctioning occurs. Web Logs contain lot interesting dealings on users in the system. Analyzing web logs has become a challenge due to the huge log volume. Finding interesting patterns is not as easy as it is due to size, distribution and importance of minor details of each log. Web logs contain very important data of user and site which are not been put to good use. Retrieving interesting information from logs gives an idea of what the users need, group users according to their various needs and improve site to build an effective and efficient site. The model we built is able to detect attacks or malfunctioning of the system and anomaly detection. Logs will be more complex as volume of traffic and the size and complexity of web site grows. Unsupervised techniques are used in this solution which is fully automated. Expert knowledge is only used in validation. In our approach first clean and purify the logs to bring them to a common platform with a standard format and structure. After cleaning module web session builder is executed. It outputs two files, Web Sessions file and Indexed URLs file. The Indexed URLs file contains the list of URLs accessed and their indices. Web Sessions file lists down the indices of each web session. Then DBSCAN and EM Algorithms are used iteratively and recursively to get the best clustering results of the web sessions. Using homogeneity, completeness, V-measure, intra and inter cluster distance and silhouette coefficient as parameters these algorithms self-evaluate themselves to input better parametric values to run the algorithms. If a cluster is found to be too large then micro-clustering is used. Using Cluster Signature Module the clusters are annotated with a unique signature called finger-print. In this module each cluster is fed to Associative Rule Learning Module. If it outputs confidence and support as value 1 for an access sequence it would be a potential signature for the cluster. Then the access sequence occurrences are checked in other clusters. If it is found to be unique for the cluster considered then the cluster is annotated with the signature. These signatures are used in anomaly detection, prevent cyber attacks, real-time dashboards that visualize users, accessing web pages, predict actions of users and various other applications in Finance, University Websites, News and Media Websites etc.

Keywords: anomaly detection, clustering, pattern recognition, web sessions

Procedia PDF Downloads 274

Authors: Waleed K. Saib, Abdulsalam M. Alhawsawi, Essam Banoqitah

Abstract:

The idea of this research is to design a radiation spectrometer using LSO scintillation detector coupled to a C series of SiPM (silicon photomultiplier). The device can be used to detects gamma and X-ray radiation. This device is also designed to estimates the activity of the source contamination. The SiPM will detect light in the visible range above the threshold and read them as counts. Three gamma sources were used for these experiments Cs-137, Am-241 and Co-60 with various activities. These sources are applied for four experiments operating the SiPM as a spectrometer, energy resolution, pile-up set and efficiency. The SiPM is connected to a MCA to perform as a spectrometer. Cerium doped Lutetium Silicate (Lu₂SiO₅) with light yield 26000 photons/Mev coupled with the SiPM. As a result, all the main features of the Cs-137, Am-241 and Co-60 are identified in MCA. The experiment shows how photon energy and probability of interaction are inversely related. Total attenuation reduces as photon energy increases. An analytical calculation was made to obtain the FWHM resolution for each gamma source. The FWHM resolution for Am-241 (59 keV) is 28.75 %, for Cs-137 (662 keV) is 7.85 %, for Co-60 (1173 keV) is 4.46 % and for Co-60 (1332 keV) is 3.70%. Moreover, the experiment shows that the dead time and counts number decreased when the pile-up rejection was disabled and the FWHM decreased when the pile-up was enabled. The efficiencies were calculated at four different distances from the detector 2, 4, 8 and 16 cm. The detection efficiency was observed to declined exponentially with increasing distance from the detector face. Conclusively, the SiPM board operated with an LSO scintillator crystal as a spectrometer. The SiPM energy resolution for the three gamma sources used was a decent comparison to other PMTs.

Keywords: PMT, radiation, radiation detection, scintillation detectors, silicon photomultiplier, spectrometer

Procedia PDF Downloads 142

Authors: N. Uaphongsathorn, C. Worawong, S. Thaewpia

Abstract:

Background and significance: The population is aging in Thai society, the elderly dependent is at great risk of various functional, psychological, and socio-economic problems as well as less access to health care. They may require long term care at home to maximize their functional abilities and activities of daily living and to improve their quality of life during their own age. Therefore, there is a need to develop a home-based long term care to meet the long term care needs of elders dependent. Methods: The research purpose was to develop long term care model among the elderly dependent in Chaiyaphum province in Northeast region of Thailand. Action Research which is composing of planning, action, observation, and reflection phases was used. Research was carried out for 12 months in all sub-districts of 6 districts in Chaiyaphum province. Participants (N = 1,010) participating in the processes of model development were comprised of 3 groups: a) a total of 110 health care professionals, b) a total of 600 health volunteers and family caregivers and c) a total of 300 the elderly dependent with chronically medical illnesses or disabilities. Descriptive statistics and content analysis were used to analyze data. Findings: Results have shown that the most common health problems among elders dependent with physical disabilities to function independently were cardiovascular disease, dementia, and traffic injuries. The development of home-based long term care model among elders dependent in Chaiyaphum province was composed of six key steps. They are: a) initiating policies supporting formal and informal caregivers for the elder dependent in all sub-districts, b) building network and multidisciplinary team, c) developing 3-day care manager training program and 3-day care provider training program d) training case managers and care providers for the elderly dependent through team and action learning, e) assessing, planning and providing care based on care individual’s needs of the elderly dependent, and f) sharing experiences for good practice and innovation for long term care at homes in district urban and rural areas. Among all care managers and care providers, the satisfaction level for training programs was high with a mean score of 3.98 out of 5. The elders dependent and family caregivers addressed that long term care at home could contribute to improving life’s daily activities, family relationship, health status, and quality of life. Family caregivers and volunteers have feeling a sense of personal satisfaction and experiencing providing meaningful care and support for elders dependent. Conclusion: In conclusion, a home-based long term care is important to Thai elders dependent. Care managers and care providers play a large role and responsibility to provide appropriate care to meet the elders’ needs in both urban and rural areas in Thai society. Further research could be rigorously studied with a larger group of populations in similar socio-economic and cultural contexts.

Keywords: elderly people, care manager, care provider, long term care

Procedia PDF Downloads 289

Authors: Amrutha Jayan

Abstract:

The cities are attractors of the human population, offering opportunities for economic activities for different linguistic, cultural, and ethnic groups. The urban form and design of the city impact the life of these people. Social and cultural exclusions result in spatial segregation and gentrification. The spaces provided in cities must be inclusive for all these communities for them to feel part of the city and contribute to society. Intercultural urbanism is a theory and practice of city building, planning, and design of urban spaces and architectures that are cognizant of the social impact of the built environment. The postulate acknowledges cultural differences and opportunities for cultural exchange. Literature on intercultural urbanism, culture and space, spatial justice, and cultural inclusion are analyzed to identify parameters contributing to intercultural placemaking. A qualitative study on Mattancherry shows how the precinct has sustained throughout the years with different communities living together within a radius of 5 km, creating a diverse and vibrant environment. The research identifies the urban elements that contribute to intercultural interactions and maintain the synergy between these communities. The public spaces, porous edges, built-form, streets, and accessibility contribute to chance encounters and intercultural interactivity. The research seeks to find the factors that contribute to intercultural placemaking.

Keywords: intercultural urbanism, cultural inclusion, spatial justice, public space

Procedia PDF Downloads 203

Authors: Hong Yu, Ion Matei

Abstract:

Carbon fiber reinforced composites (CFRP) used as aircraft structure are subject to lightning strike, putting structural integrity under risk. Indirect damage may occur after a lightning strike where the internal structure can be damaged due to excessive heat induced by lightning current, while the surface of the structures remains intact. Three damage modes may be observed after a lightning strike: fiber breakage, inter-ply delamination and intra-ply cracks. The assessment of internal damage states in composite is challenging due to complicated microstructure, inherent uncertainties, and existence of multiple damage modes. In this work, a model based approach is adopted to diagnose faults in carbon composites after lighting strikes. A resistor network model is implemented to relate the overall electrical and thermal conduction behavior under simulated lightning current waveform to the intrinsic temperature dependent material properties, microstructure and degradation of materials. A fault detection and identification (FDI) module utilizes the physics based model and a particle filtering algorithm to identify damage mode as well as calculate the probability of structural failure. Extensive simulation results are provided to substantiate the proposed fault diagnosis methodology with both single fault and multiple faults cases. The approach is also demonstrated on transient resistance data collected from a IM7/Epoxy laminate under simulated lightning strike.

Keywords: carbon composite, fault detection, fault identification, particle filter

Procedia PDF Downloads 181

Authors: Shiyi He, Yan Xia, Xiaoping Ouyang, Liang Chen, Zhongbing Zhang, Jinlu Ruan

Abstract:

As the key system of the spacecraft, various propelling system have been developing rapidly, including ion thrust, laser thrust, solar sail and other micro-thrusters. However, there still are some shortages in these systems. The ion thruster requires the high-voltage or magnetic field to accelerate, resulting in extra system, heavy quantity and large volume. The laser thrust now is mostly ground-based and providing pulse thrust, restraint by the station distribution and the capacity of laser. The thrust direction of solar sail is limited to its relative position with the Sun, so it is hard to propel toward the Sun or adjust in the shadow.In this paper, a novel nuclear thruster based on alpha decay and spontaneous fission is proposed and the principle of this radiation-thrust with alpha particle has been expounded. Radioactive materials with different released energy, such as 210Po with 5.4MeV and 238Pu with 5.29MeV, attached to a metal film will provides various thrust among 0.02-5uN/cm2. With this repulsive force, radiation is able to be a power source. With the advantages of low system quantity, high accuracy and long active time, the radiation thrust is promising in the field of space debris removal, orbit control of nano-satellite array and deep space exploration. To do further study, a formula lead to the amplitude and direction of thrust by the released energy and decay coefficient is set up. With the initial formula, the alpha radiation elements with the half life period longer than a hundred days are calculated and listed. As the alpha particles emit continuously, the residual charge in metal film grows and affects the emitting energy distribution of alpha particles. With the residual charge or extra electromagnetic field, the emitting of alpha particles performs differently and is analyzed in this paper. Furthermore, three more complex situations are discussed. Radiation element generating alpha particles with several energies in different intensity, mixture of various radiation elements, and cascaded alpha decay are studied respectively. In combined way, it is more efficient and flexible to adjust the thrust amplitude. The propelling model of the spontaneous fission is similar with the one of alpha decay, which has a more complex angular distribution. A new quasi-sphere space propelling system based on the radiation-thrust has been introduced, as well as the collecting and processing system of excess charge and reaction heat. The energy and spatial angular distribution of emitting alpha particles on unit area and certain propelling system have been studied. As the alpha particles are easily losing energy and self-absorb, the distribution is not the simple stacking of each nuclide. With the change of the amplitude and angel of radiation-thrust, orbital variation strategy on space debris removal is shown and optimized.

Keywords: alpha decay, angular distribution, emitting energy, orbital variation, radiation-thruster

Procedia PDF Downloads 186

Authors: T. Pakulski, L. Kryza, A. Linossier

Abstract:

The BEar Articulated TeleRobotic Inspection and Clasping Extremity is a lightweight, 5 DoF robotic manipulator for the Berlin Educational Assistant Rover (BEAR). BEAR is one of the educational planetary rovers developed under the Space Rover projects at the Chair of Space Technology of the Technische Universität Berlin. The projects serve to conduct research and train engineers by developing rovers for competitions like the European Rover Challenge and the DLR SpaceBot Cup. BEATRICE is the result of a cost-driven design process to deliver a simple but capable platform for a variety of competition tasks: object grasping and manipulation, inspection, instrument wielding and more. The manipulator’s simple mechatronic design, based on a combination of servomotors and stepper motors with planetary gearboxes, also makes it a practical tool for developing embedded control systems. The platform’s initial implementation relies on tele-operated control but is fully instrumented for future autonomous functionality. This paper describes BEATRICE’s development from its preliminary link model to its structural and mechatronic design, embedded control and AI and T. In parallel, it examines the influence of budget constraints and high personnel turnover commonly associated with student teams on the manipulator’s design. Finally, it comments on the utility of robot design projects for educating future engineers.

Keywords: education, low-cost, manipulator, robotics, rover

Procedia PDF Downloads 240

Authors: Waepa Wanhussen

Abstract:

The Ministry of Public Health has established policies accelerating health promotion to prevent public health problems in five border provinces of Thailand. One of these policies employs the religion to guide the community development and solve health issues consistent with the lifestyle and culture of those people. This policy is an important strategy to solve the problems due to the unrest and conflicts in the southern border provinces. This participatory action research aimed to develop mosques as healthy religion places in Narathiwat Province. In the development, the participatory action, consisting of 5 stages, was conducted from October 2012 - May 2013. Stage I: Conducting a survey for problems and needs for developing healthy religion places by employing community participation. Stage II: Analyzing problems and situations at a workshop containing informal interviews and group conversations with 200 participants (health providers at district level, Imams (the Muslim leaders), and community leaders). Stage III: Planning for developing healthy religion places by health providers, Imams, community leaders. Stage IV: Implementing the plan according to the conditions of problems and needs of the community in order to develop healthy religion places. Stage V: Evaluating the implementation by using the instrument, a criteria of being healthy religion place, for collecting data. Data were analyzed by using percentage. It was found that out of 630 mosques 575 (90.12%) passed the criteria of being a healthy religion place. Among these mosques, 190 mosques (30.15%) were in good and very good level, in which, after the implementation, the number of being good and very good healthy mosques increased by 22.58%. The researcher suggested that the developing sustainably healthy religion places require the participation of residences in the community and agencies such as local government, the Islamic Council of Narathiwat Province, and Council of Culture of Narathiwat Province. The healthy religion places can be used to strengthen and sustain health promotion and disease prevention in the community as health learning centers.

Keywords: healthy religion places, development of community participation, nursing informatics, health

Procedia PDF Downloads 276

Authors: Rajendra N. Ghosh, Paramjeet Singh, Niranjan Khandelwal, Sameer Vyas, Pratibha Singhi, Naveen Sankhyan

Abstract:

Background: Tuberculoma and neurocysticercosis (NCC) are two most common intracranial infections in developing country. They often simulate on neuroimaging and in absence of typical imaging features cause significant diagnostic dilemmas. Differentiation is extremely important to avoid empirical exposure to antitubercular medications or nonspecific treatment causing disease progression. Purpose: Better characterization and differentiation of CNS tuberculoma and NCC by using morphological and multiple advanced functional MRI. Material and Methods: Total fifty untreated patients (20 tuberculoma and 30 NCC) were evaluated by using conventional and advanced sequences like CISS, SWI, DWI, DTI, Magnetization transfer (MT), T2Relaxometry (T2R), Perfusion and Spectroscopy. rCBV,ADC,FA,T2R,MTR values and metabolite ratios were calculated from lesion and normal parenchyma. Diagnosis was confirmed by typical biochemical, histopathological and imaging features. Results: CISS was most useful sequence for scolex detection (90% on CISS vs 73% on routine sequences). SWI showed higher scolex detection ability. Mean values of ADC, FA,T2R from core and rCBV from wall of lesion were significantly different in tuberculoma and NCC (P < 0.05). Mean values of rCBV, ADC, T2R and FA for tuberculoma and NCC were (3.36 vs1.3), (1.09x10⁻³vs 1.4x10⁻³), (0.13 x10⁻³ vs 0.09 x10⁻³) and (88.65 ms vs 272.3 ms) respectively. Tuberculomas showed high lipid peak, more choline and lower creatinine with Ch/Cr ratio > 1. T2R value was most significant parameter for differentiation. Cut off values for each significant parameters have proposed. Conclusion: Quantitative MRI in combination with conventional sequences can better characterize and differentiate similar appearing tuberculoma and NCC and may be incorporated in routine protocol which may avoid brain biopsy and empirical therapy.

Keywords: advanced functional MRI, differentiation, neurcysticercosis, tuberculoma

Procedia PDF Downloads 546

Authors: Oxana Vasilyeva

Abstract:

This paper draws on research in progress focusing on independent art in the Russian Federation. I am using the concept of independent art to mean art free from state control and established restrictive narratives. The Russian state pursues its interests by supporting or forbidding certain forms of art, and art that promotes values in opposition to the official political course is often forbidden. Arguments presented below draw from fieldwork carried out in Russian cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg in June – August 2019, which included in-depth interviews with artists. This research explores socially engaged artistic works and their effect on socio-political state of affairs. It argues that artistic works entering public places have a potential to challenge autocratic system and inspire civil society to be critically engaged and to be capable to resist state propaganda. I am focusing on those artists who have a critical stance towards the current Russian political regime and analyzing their works in terms of transgression. By using the framework of transgression I aim to demonstrate how artists step across existing norms with their art influencing political and social order. To show the connection between the factors mentioned above, I will turn to two examples of transgressive aesthetics; one is individual and another is collective. The first example is Konstantin Benkovich, an artist who makes his works out of steel rebar, which is considered to be a symbol of the lack of freedom, as it is usually encountered in prison settings. The second example is a collective art practice called Monstration. It combines techniques of a demonstration and a carnival atmosphere. In 2019 Monstration was held in 30 Russian cities, despite the dissatisfaction of the authorities.

Keywords: art, culture, resistance, Russia

Procedia PDF Downloads 110

Authors: Chiung-Yao Huang, Yu-Cheng Lin, Chiung-Hui Chen

Abstract:

This study seeks to examine perceived environmental corporate social responsibility (ECSR) with a focus on negative environmental questions, related to intention of ethical investment intention after a environmental failure recovery. An empirical test was employed to test the hypotheses. We manipulated the information on negative ECSR activities of a hypothetical firm in a experimental design with a failure recovery treatment. The company’s negative ECSR recovery was depicted in a positive perspective (depicting a follow-up strong social action), whereas in the negative ECSR treatment it was described in a negative perspective (depicting a follow-up non social action). In both treatments, information about other key characteristics of the focal company were kept constant. Investors’ intentions to invest in the company’s stock were evaluated by multi-item scales. Results indicate that positive ECSR recovery information about a firm enhances investors’ intentions to invest in the company’s stock. In addition, perceived moral intensity has a significant impact on the intention of ethical investment and that perceived moral intensity also serves as a key moderating variable in the relationship between negative ECSR and the intention of ethical investment. Finally, theoretical and managerial implications of the findings are discussed. Practical implications: The results suggest that managers may need to be aware of perceived moral intensity as a key variable in restoring the intention of ethical investment. The results further suggest that perceived moral intensity has a direct, and it also has an moderating influence between ECSR and the intention of ethical investment. Originality/value: In an attempt to deepen the understanding of how investors perceptions of firm environmental CSR are connected with other investor‐related outcomes through ECSR recovery, the present research proposes a comprehensive model which encompasses ECSR and other key relationship constructs after a ECSR failure and recovery.

Keywords: ethical investment, Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility(ECSR), ECSR recovery, moral intensity

Procedia PDF Downloads 335

Authors: Wei Liu, Shuquan Wang, Yang Gao

Abstract:

Microgravity Science Experiment Rack (MSER) will be onboard TianHe (TH) spacecraft planned to be launched in 2018. TH is one module of Chinese Space Station. Microgravity Vibration Isolation System (MVIS), which is MSER’s core part, is used to isolate disturbance from TH and provide high-level microgravity for science experiment payload. MVIS is two stage vibration isolation system, consisting of Follow Unit (FU) and Experiment Support Unit (ESU). FU is linked to MSER by umbilical cables, and ESU suspends within FU and without physical connection. The FU’s position and attitude relative to TH is measured by binocular vision measuring system, and the acceleration and angular velocity is measured by accelerometers and gyroscopes. Air-jet thrusters are used to generate force and moment to control FU’s motion. Measurement module on ESU contains a set of Position-Sense-Detectors (PSD) sensing the ESU’s position and attitude relative to FU, accelerometers and gyroscopes sensing ESU’s acceleration and angular velocity. Electro-magnetic actuators are used to control ESU’s motion. Firstly, the linearized equations of FU’s motion relative to TH and ESU’s motion relative to FU are derived, laying the foundation for control system design and simulation analysis. Subsequently, two control schemes are proposed. One control scheme is that ESU tracks FU and FU tracks TH, shorten as E-F-T. The other one is that FU tracks ESU and ESU tracks TH, shorten as F-E-T. In addition, motion spaces are constrained within ±15 mm、±2° between FU and ESU, and within ±300 mm between FU and TH or between ESU and TH. A Proportional-Integrate-Differentiate (PID) controller is designed to control FU’s position and attitude. ESU’s controller includes an acceleration feedback loop and a relative position feedback loop. A Proportional-Integrate (PI) controller is designed in the acceleration feedback loop to reduce the ESU’s acceleration level, and a PID controller in the relative position feedback loop is used to avoid collision. Finally, simulations of E-F-T and F-E-T are performed considering variety uncertainties, disturbances and motion space constrains. The simulation results of E-T-H showed that control performance was from 0 to -20 dB for vibration frequency from 0.01 to 0.1 Hz, and vibration was attenuated 40 dB per ten octave above 0.1Hz. The simulation results of T-E-H showed that vibration was attenuated 20 dB per ten octave at the beginning of 0.01Hz.

Keywords: microgravity science experiment rack, microgravity vibration isolation system, PID control, vibration isolation performance

Procedia PDF Downloads 153

Authors: Sidiqat A. Aderinoye-Abdulwahab, Lateef L. Adefalu, Jubril O. Animashaun

Abstract:

Pastoralists in Nigeria are situated in dry regions - where water and pasture for livestock are particularly scarce, as well as areas with poor availability of social amenities and infrastructure. This study therefore explored how extension service could be used to reduce the exposure of nomads to effects of seasonality, climate change, and the poor environmental conditions. The study was carried out in Northern guinea Savannah region of Nigeria because pastoralists have settled there in large numbers due to desertification and low rainfall in the arid regions. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to arrive at the selection of two states (Kwara and Nassarawa) in the region. A total of 63 respondents were randomly chosen using simple random sampling. Focus group discussions and questionnaire were used to gather information while the data was analysed using content analysis. The facilities required by the sampled households are milking machine, cheese making machine, and preservatives to increase the shelf life of cheese. Whilst, the extension service required are demonstration on cheese making, training and seminars on animal husbandry. Additionally, livestock of pastoralists often encroach on farmers’ plots which usually result in pastoralist-farmer conflicts. The study thus recommends diversification of economic activity from livestock to non-livestock related activities as well as creation of grazing routes to reduce pastoralist/farmer conflict.

Keywords: arid region, coping strategies, livestock, livelihood

Procedia PDF Downloads 370

Authors: Sofia M. Karadimitriou, Kostas Triantafyllopoulos, Timothy Heaton

Abstract:

Reduced dimension Dynamic Spatio-Temporal Models (DSTMs) jointly describe the spatial and temporal evolution of a function observed subject to noise. A basic state space model is adopted for the discrete temporal variation, while a continuous autoregressive structure describes the continuous spatial evolution. Application of such a DSTM relies upon the pre-selection of a suitable reduced set of basic functions and this can present a challenge in practice. In this talk, we propose an online estimation method for high dimensional spatio-temporal data based upon DSTM and we attempt to resolve this issue by allowing the basis to adapt to the observed data. Specifically, we present a wavelet decomposition in order to obtain a parsimonious approximation of the spatial continuous process. This parsimony can be achieved by placing a Laplace prior distribution on the wavelet coefficients. The aim of using the Laplace prior, is to filter wavelet coefficients with low contribution, and thus achieve the dimension reduction with significant computation savings. We then propose a Hierarchical Bayesian State Space model, for the estimation of which we offer an appropriate particle filter algorithm. The proposed methodology is illustrated using real environmental data.

Keywords: multidimensional Laplace prior, particle filtering, spatio-temporal modelling, wavelets

Procedia PDF Downloads 413

Authors: Tuğçe Arslan

Abstract:

In the dark and gloomy times of the Middle Ages, high, majestic, and frightening structures were revealed in the architectural field. Thus, gothic architecture began to find a place for itself in different areas and spread its influence. Gothic has found its place in almost every literary genre and manages to show itself as the dominant genre in the works it enters. It has exploited many concepts, such as a chest full of bad feelings, and creates a gloomy, scary, frightening, and pessimistic mood in the story with these concepts. One of the essential concepts it uses while creating these feelings is the concept of “Doppelganger.” With this concept, the authors make sense of the uncanny; at this point, they allow the spaces to act like characters, just like the uncanny feeling Edgar Allan Poe creates in his story “The Fall of the House of the Usher.” In this story by Edgar Allan Poe, attention should be paid to the symbolic link between the two, as “House of Usher” refers to the family and the building. And indeed, it is possible to see this minor rift as representative of a breakdown in family unity, specifically between Madeline and Roderick. Because although the home is not alive, it has some supernatural features that make it look like a living, breathing being. Therefore, the remainder of this paper will argue that apart from the apparent twins, the house should also qualify as a Doppelganger in the story. This study will first explore the physical and mental disorders of the twins and their journey to complement each other; next, in an attempt to demonstrate how the house as a non-living needs to be considered as a Doppelganger of the twins, a close reading on the house depictions will be scrutinized.

Keywords: Edgar Allan Poe, doppelganger, uncanny, gothic, space, home

Procedia PDF Downloads 102

Authors: Areej Salaymeh, Loren Schwiebert, Stephen Remias, Jonathan Waddell

Abstract:

Extracting information from new data sources has emerged as a crucial task in many traffic planning processes, such as identifying traffic patterns, route planning, traffic forecasting, and locating infrastructure improvements. Given the advanced technologies used to collect Global Positioning System (GPS) data from dedicated GPS devices, GPS equipped phones, and navigation tools, intelligent data analysis methodologies are necessary to mine this raw data. In this research, an automatic detection framework is proposed to help identify and classify the locations of stopped GPS waypoints into two main categories: signalized intersections or highway congestion. The Delaunay triangulation is used to perform this assessment in the clustering phase. While most of the existing clustering algorithms need assumptions about the data distribution, the effectiveness of the Delaunay triangulation relies on triangulating geographical data points without such assumptions. Our proposed method starts by cleaning noise from the data and normalizing it. Next, the framework will identify stoppage points by calculating the traveled distance. The last step is to use clustering to form groups of waypoints for signalized traffic and highway congestion. Next, a binary classifier was applied to find distinguish highway congestion from signalized stop points. The binary classifier uses the length of the cluster to find congestion. The proposed framework shows high accuracy for identifying the stop positions and congestion points in around 99.2% of trials. We show that it is possible, using limited GPS data, to distinguish with high accuracy.

Keywords: Delaunay triangulation, clustering, intelligent transportation systems, GPS data

Procedia PDF Downloads 260

Authors: Maryam Fallahpoor, Biswajeet Pradhan

Abstract:

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) serves as a valuable tool in mitigating the scarcity of human resources required for the evaluation and categorization of vast quantities of medical imaging data. When AI operates with optimal precision, it minimizes the demand for human interpretations and, thereby, reduces the burden on radiologists. Among various AI approaches, deep learning (DL) stands out as it obviates the need for feature extraction, a process that can impede classification, especially with intricate datasets. The advent of DL models has ushered in a new era in medical imaging, particularly in the context of COVID-19 detection. Traditional 2D imaging techniques exhibit limitations when applied to volumetric data, such as Computed Tomography (CT) scans. Medical images predominantly exist in one of two formats: neuroimaging informatics technology initiative (NIfTI) and digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM). Purpose: This study aims to employ DL for the classification of COVID-19-infected pulmonary patients and normal cases based on 3D CT scans while investigating the impact of image format. Material and Methods: The dataset used for model training and testing consisted of 1245 patients from IranMehr Hospital. All scans shared a matrix size of 512 × 512, although they exhibited varying slice numbers. Consequently, after loading the DICOM CT scans, image resampling and interpolation were performed to standardize the slice count. All images underwent cropping and resampling, resulting in uniform dimensions of 128 × 128 × 60. Resolution uniformity was achieved through resampling to 1 mm × 1 mm × 1 mm, and image intensities were confined to the range of (−1000, 400) Hounsfield units (HU). For classification purposes, positive pulmonary COVID-19 involvement was designated as 1, while normal images were assigned a value of 0. Subsequently, a U-net-based lung segmentation module was applied to obtain 3D segmented lung regions. The pre-processing stage included normalization, zero-centering, and shuffling. Four distinct 3D CNN models (ResNet152, ResNet50, DensNet169, and DensNet201) were employed in this study. Results: The findings revealed that the segmentation technique yielded superior results for DICOM images, which could be attributed to the potential loss of information during the conversion of original DICOM images to NIFTI format. Notably, ResNet152 and ResNet50 exhibited the highest accuracy at 90.0%, and the same models achieved the best F1 score at 87%. ResNet152 also secured the highest Area under the Curve (AUC) at 0.932. Regarding sensitivity and specificity, DensNet201 achieved the highest values at 93% and 96%, respectively. Conclusion: This study underscores the capacity of deep learning to classify COVID-19 pulmonary involvement using real 3D hospital data. The results underscore the significance of employing DICOM format 3D CT images alongside appropriate pre-processing techniques when training DL models for COVID-19 detection. This approach enhances the accuracy and reliability of diagnostic systems for COVID-19 detection.

Keywords: deep learning, COVID-19 detection, NIFTI format, DICOM format

Procedia PDF Downloads 63

Authors: Teng Zhang, Shenshi Huang, Gang Xu, Xuelin Zhang, Shouxiang Lu

Abstract:

With the acceleration of urbanization and the increasing of the population in the city, the evacuation of pedestrians suffering from disaster environments such as fire in a room or other limited space becomes a vital issue in modern society. Mice have been used in experimental crowd evacuation in recent years for its good similarities to human in physical structure and stress reaction. In this study, the effect of experience or memory on the collective behavior of mice was explored. To help mice familiarize themselves with the design of the space and the stimulus caused by smoke, we trained them repeatedly for 2 days so that they can escape from the emergency conditions as soon as possible. The escape pattern, trajectories, walking speed, turning angle and mean individual escape time of mice in each training trail were analyzed. We found that mice can build memory quickly after the first trial on the first day. On the second day, the evacuation of mice was maintained in a stable and efficient state. Meanwhile, the group with size of 30 (G30) had a shorter mean individual escape time compared with G12. Furthermore, we tested the experience of evacuation skill of mice after several days. The results showed that the mice can hold the experience or memory over 3 weeks. We proposed the importance of experience of evacuation skill and the research of training methods in experimental evacuation of mice. The results can deepen our understanding of collective behavior of mice and conduce to the establishment of animal models in the study of pedestrian crowd dynamics in emergency conditions.

Keywords: experience, evacuation, mice, group size, behavior

Procedia PDF Downloads 252

Authors: Desiree Di Marco

Abstract:

The aim of this work is to show through the lens of art first which kind of reality was the one represented through fascist maps, and second to study the impact of the fascist regime’s cartography (FRC) on observers eye’s. In this study, it is assumed that the FRC’s representation of reality was simplified, timeless, and even a-spatial because it underrates the concept of territoriality. Cubism and Picasso’s paintings will be used as counter-examples to mystify fascist cartography’s ideological assumptions. The difference between the gaze of an observer looking at the surface of a fascist map and the gaze of someone observing a Picasso painting is impressive. Because there is always something dark, hidden, behind and inside a map, the world of fascist maps was a world built starting from the observation of a “window” that distorted reality and trapped the eyes of the observers. Moving across the map, they seem as if they were hypnotized. Cartohypnosis is the state in which the observer finds himself enslaved by the attractive force of the map, which uses a sort of “magic” geography, a geography that, by means of symbolic language, never has as its primary objective the attempt to show us reality in its complexity, but that of performing for its audience. Magical geography and hypnotic cartography in fascism blended together, creating an almost mystical, magical relationship that demystified reality to reduce the world to a conquerable space. This reduction offered the observer the possibility of conceiving new dimensions: of the limit, of the boundary, elements with which the subject felt fully involved and in which the aesthetic force of the images demonstrated all its strength. But in the early 20th century, the combination of art and cartography gave rise to new possibilities. Cubism which, more than all the other artistic currents showed us how much the observation of reality from a single point of view falls within dangerous logic, is an example. Cubism was an artistic movement that brought about a profound transformation in pictorial culture. It was not only a revolution of pictorial space, but it was a revolution of our conception of pictorial space. Up until that time, men and women were more inclined to believe in the power of images and their representations. Cubist painters rebelled against this blindness by claiming that art must always offer an alternative. Indeed the contribution of this work is precisely to show how art can be able to provide alternatives to even the most horrible regimes and the most atrocious human misfortunes. It also enriches the field of cartography because it "reassures" it by showing how much good it can be for cartography if also for other disciplines come close. Only in this way researcher can increase the chances for the cartography of a greater diffusion at the academic level.

Keywords: cartography, Picasso, fascism, culture

Procedia PDF Downloads 52

Authors: Guillermo E. Quintero, Edwin G. Perez, Oriel Sanchez, Christian Espinosa-Bustos, Denis Fuentealba, Margarita E. Aliaga

Abstract:

Bisulfite ion (HSO3-) has been used as a preservative in food, drinks, and medication. However, it is well-known that HSO3- can cause health problems like asthma and allergic reactions in people. Due to the above, the development of analytical methods for detecting this ion has gained great interest. In line with the above, the current use of colorimetric and/or fluorescent probes as a detection technique has acquired great relevance due to their high sensitivity and accuracy. In this context, 2-quinolinone derivatives have been found to possess promising activity as antiviral agents, sensitizers in solar cells, antifungals, antioxidants, and sensors. In particular, 7-(diethylamino)-2-quinolinone derivatives have attracted attention in recent years since their suitable photophysical properties become promising fluorescent probes. In Addition, there is evidence that photophysical properties and reactivity can be affected by the study medium, such as micellar media. Based on the above background, 7-(diethylamino)-2-quinolinone derivatives based chalcone will be able to be incorporated into a cationic micellar environment (Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, CTAB). Furthermore, the supramolecular control induced by the micellar environment will increase the reactivity of these derivatives towards nucleophilic analytes such as HSO3- (Michael-type addition reaction), leading to the generation of new colorimetric and/or fluorescent probes. In the present study, two derivatives of 7-(diethylamino)-2-quinolinone based chalcone DQD1-2 were synthesized according to the method reported by the literature. These derivatives were structurally characterized by 1H, 13C NMR, and HRMS-ESI. In addition, UV-VIS and fluorescence studies determined absorption bands near 450 nm, emission bands near 600 nm, fluorescence quantum yields near 0.01, and fluorescence lifetimes of 5 ps. In line with the foregoing, these photophysical properties aforementioned were improved in the presence of a cationic micellar medium using CTAB thanks to the formation of adducts presenting association constants of the order of 2,5x105 M-1, increasing the quantum yields to 0.12 and the fluorescence lifetimes corresponding to two lifetimes near to 120 and 400 ps for DQD1 and DQD2. Besides, thanks to the presence of the micellar medium, the reactivity of these derivatives with nucleophilic analytes, such as HSO3-, was increased. This was achieved through kinetic studies, which demonstrated an increase in the bimolecular rate constants in the presence of a micellar medium. Finally, probe DQD1 was chosen as the best sensor since it was assessed to detect HSO3- with excellent results.

Keywords: bisulfite detection, cationic micelle, colorimetric probes, quinolinone derivatives

Procedia PDF Downloads 77

Authors: Romella C. Lina, Matthew Daniel V. Leysa, Zarah D. F. Libozada, Maria Francesca I. Lirio, Angelo A. Liwag, Gabriel D. Ramos, Margaret M. Natividad

Abstract:

This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of Buteyko Method in asthma control and quality of life of school-age children wherein a pretest-posttest design was utilized to measure the changes after the administration of Buteyko Method. Fourteen (14) subjects with bronchial asthma, aged 7-11 participated in the study. They were equally divided into two groups: the control group received no intervention while the experimental group was asked to attend sessions of Buteyko Method lecture and demonstration. The experimental group was visited for three (3) consecutive weeks to monitor their progress and compliance. Both groups were asked to answer ACQ pre- and post-intervention and PAQLQ before the start of the intervention phase and every week during the follow-up visits. In comparing the asthma control pre-test and post-test mean scores of the control group, no significant difference was noted (p=0.177) while the experimental group showed a significant difference after the administration of Buteyko Method (p=0.002). Moreover, the quality of life pre-test and post-test mean scores of the control group showed no significant difference in any week within one month of follow-up (p=0.736, 0.604, 0.689) while the experimental group showed a significant difference on the third week (p = 0.035) and fourth week (p=0.002) but no significant difference on the second week (p=0.111). Therefore, the use of Buteyko Method within 3-4 weeks as an adjunct to conventional management of asthma helps in improving asthma control and quality of life of school-age children.

Keywords: Buteyko Method, asthma, school-age children, asthma control, quality of life

Procedia PDF Downloads 404

Authors: P. Selva, B. Lorraina, J. Alexis, A. Seror, A. Longuet, C. Mary, F. Denard

Abstract:

Over the past four decades, the fatigue behavior of nickel-based alloys has been widely studied. However, in recent years, significant advances in the fabrication process leading to grain size reduction have been made in order to improve fatigue properties of aircraft turbine discs. Indeed, a change in particle size affects the initiation mode of fatigue cracks as well as the fatigue life of the material. The present study aims to investigate the fatigue behavior of a newly developed nickel-based superalloy under biaxial-planar loading. Low Cycle Fatigue (LCF) tests are performed at different stress ratios so as to study the influence of the multiaxial stress state on the fatigue life of the material. Full-field displacement and strain measurements as well as crack initiation detection are obtained using Digital Image Correlation (DIC) techniques. The aim of this presentation is first to provide an in-depth description of both the experimental set-up and protocol: the multiaxial testing machine, the specific design of the cruciform specimen and performances of the DIC code are introduced. Second, results for sixteen specimens related to different load ratios are presented. Crack detection, strain amplitude and number of cycles to crack initiation vs. triaxial stress ratio for each loading case are given. Third, from fractographic investigations by scanning electron microscopy it is found that the mechanism of fatigue crack initiation does not depend on the triaxial stress ratio and that most fatigue cracks initiate from subsurface carbides.

Keywords: cruciform specimen, multiaxial fatigue, nickel-based superalloy

Procedia PDF Downloads 277

Authors: M. Magrini, D. Moroni, G. Palazzese, G. Pieri, D. Azzarelli, A. Spada, L. Fanucci, O. Salvetti

Abstract:

Railway crossings are complex entities whose optimal management cannot be addressed unless with the help of an intelligent transportation system integrating information both on train and vehicular flows. In this paper, we propose an integrated system named SIMPLE (Railway Safety and Infrastructure for Mobility applied at level crossings) that, while providing unparalleled safety in railway level crossings, collects data on rail and road traffic and provides value-added services to citizens and commuters. Such services include for example alerts, via variable message signs to drivers and suggestions for alternative routes, towards a more sustainable, eco-friendly and efficient urban mobility. To achieve these goals, SIMPLE is organized as a System of Systems (SoS), with a modular architecture whose components range from specially-designed radar sensors for obstacle detection to smart ETSI M2M-compliant camera networks for urban traffic monitoring. Computational unit for performing forecast according to adaptive models of train and vehicular traffic are also included. The proposed system has been tested and validated during an extensive trial held in the mid-sized Italian town of Montecatini, a paradigmatic case where the rail network is inextricably linked with the fabric of the city. Results of the tests are reported and discussed.

Keywords: Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), railway, railroad crossing, smart camera networks, radar obstacle detection, real-time traffic optimization, IoT, ETSI M2M, transport safety

Procedia PDF Downloads 485