Methodology proposal for acquisition of biotelemetric data in a real time

This work presents a methodological proposal for acquisition of biometric data through telemetry basing its development on a research-action and a case study. Nowadays, the qualified professionals of physical evaluation have to use specific devices to obtain biometric signals and data. These devices in the most of the time are high cost and difficult to use and handling. Therefore, the methodological proposal was elaborate in order to develop, conceptually, a bio telemetric device which could acquire the desirable biometric signals: oxymetry, biometrics, corporal temperature and pedometry which are essential for the area of physical evaluation. It was researched the existent biometrics sensors, the possible ways for the remote transmission of signals and the computer systems available so that the acquisition of data could be possible. This methodological proposal of remote acquisition of biometrical signals is structured in four modules: Acquisitor of biometrics data; Converser and transmitter of biometric signals; Receiver and Processor of biometrics signals and Generator of Interpretative Graphs. The modules aim the obtention of interpretative graphics of human biometric signals. In order to validate this proposal a functional prototype was developed and it is presented in the development of this work.

Geometric modeling from the medical images in the CAD system to support prosthesis design

This paper presents an individual designing prosthesis for surgical use and proposes a methodology for such design through mathematical extrapolation of data from digital images obtained via tomography of individual patient's bones. Individually tailored prosthesis designed to fit particular patient requirements as accurately as possible should result in more successful reconstruction, enable better planning before surgery and consequently fewer complications during surgery. Fast and accurate design and manufacture of personalized prosthesis for surgical use in bone replacement or reconstruction is potentially feasible through the application and integration of several different existing technologies, which are each at different stages of maturity. Initial case study experiments have been undertaken to validate the research concepts by making dimensional comparisons between a bone and a virtual model produced using the proposed methodology and a future research directions are discussed.

A case study of concurrent engineering application on the development of parts for the white goods industry in Brazil

This classical way to manage product development processes for massive production seems to be changing: high pressure for cost reduction, higher quality standards, markets reaching for innovation lead to the necessity of new tools for development control. Into this, and learning from the automotive and aerospace industries factories from other segments are starting to understand and apply manufacturing and assembly oriented projects to ease the task of generate goods and from this obtain at least a part of the expected results. This paper is intended to demonstrate the applicability of the concepts of Concurrent Engineering and DFM/DFA (Design for Manufacturing and Assembly) in the development of products and parts for the White Goods industry in Brazil (major appliances as refrigerators, cookers and washing machines), showing one case concerning the development and releasing of a component. Finally is demonstrated in a short term how was reached a solution that could provide cost savings and reduction on the time to delivery using those techniques.

(m,k)-Gur game: Exploiting message discards in order to increase the lifetime and spatial diversity in autonomic wireless sensor networks

The main concern in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) algorithms and protocols are the energy consumption. Thus, the WSN lifetime is one of the most important metric used to measure the performance of the WSN approaches. Another important metric is the WSN spatial coverage, where the main goal is to obtain sensed data in a uniform way. This paper has proposed an approach called (m,k)-Gur Game that aims a trade-off between quality of service and the increasement of spatial coverage diversity. Simulation results have shown the effectiveness of this approach. © 2012 IEEE.

THE SERVICE LIFE of IMPLANT-RETAINED OVERDENTURE ATTACHMENT SYSTEMS

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATIONS of MESSAGE EXCHANGES INTO WEB SERVICE-BASED APPLICATIONS

Web service-based application is an architectural style, where a collection of Web services communicate to each other to execute processes. With the popularity increase of Web service-based applications and since messages exchanged inside of this applications can be complex, we need tools to simplify the understanding of interrelationship among Web services. This work present a description of a graphical representation of Web service-based applications and the mechanisms inserted among Web service requesters and providers to catch information to represent an application. The major contribution of this paper is to discus and use HTTP and SOAP information to show a graphical representation similar to a UML sequence diagram of Web service-based applications.

A framework for monitoring and runtime recovery of web service-based applications

Service provisioning is a challenging research area for the design and implementation of autonomic service-oriented software systems. It includes automated QoS management for such systems and their applications. Monitoring, Diagnosis and Repair are three key features of QoS management. This work presents a self-healing Web service-based framework that manages QoS degradation at runtime. Our approach is based on proxies. Proxies act on meta-level communications and extend the HTTP envelope of the exchanged messages with QoS-related parameter values. QoS Data are filtered over time and analysed using statistical functions and the Hidden Markov Model. Detected QoS degradations are handled with proxies. We experienced our framework using an orchestrated electronic shop application (FoodShop).

Design of a reconfigurable pseudorandom number generator for use in intelligent systems

This paper deals with the design of a network-on-chip reconfigurable pseudorandom number generation unit that can map and execute meta-heuristic algorithms in hardware. The unit can be configured to implement one of the following five linear generator algorithms: a multiplicative congruential, a mixed congruential, a standard multiple recursive, a mixed multiple recursive, and a multiply-with-carry. The generation unit can be used both as a pseudorandom and a message passing-based server, which is able to produce pseudorandom numbers on demand, sending them to the network-on-chip blocks that originate the service request. The generator architecture has been mapped to a field programmable gate array, and showed that millions of numbers in 32-, 64-, 96-, or 128-bit formats can be produced in tens of milliseconds. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Retention force and fatigue strength of overdenture attachment systems

This study evaluated retention force and fatigue resistance of two overdenture attachment systems. Twenty samples (O-ring and Bar-Clip) from two manufacturers (Conexao Sistemas de Protese and Lifecore Biomedical) were prepared and divided into four groups: (i) Conexao/O-ring; (ii) Conexao/Bar-Clip; (iii) Lifecore/O-ring and (iv) Lifecore/Bar-Clip, with five samples in each group. They were submitted to mechanical fatigue test using a servohydraulic machine performing 5500 cycles of insertion and removal (f=0.8 Hz), immersed in artificial saliva. Retention force values were obtained three times (0, 3000 and after 5500 cycles) simulating the clinical service, using a tensile strength at 1 mm min(-1) and load cell of 1 kN. Data were analysed with analysis of variance and Tukey's test at 5% level. Results showed that Conexao/Bar-Clip specimens had significantly higher retention values than Lifecore/Bar-Clip (44.61 and 18.44 N, respectively), Conexao/O-ring specimens had significantly lower values than Lifecore/O-ring (13.91 and 19.75 N, respectively). Conexao/Bar-Clip values were always significantly higher than those of Conexao/O-ring group (44.61 and 13.91 N, respectively). Lifecore (O-ring and Bar-Clip) presented similar values (19.75 and 18.44 N, respectively). The systems evaluated showed satisfactory retention force values, before and after fatigue testing. Conexao/Bar-Clip specimens presented the highest values. A 5-year simulation of insertion and removal did not decrease retention values or fracture components.

On the efficiency of an alternative codification for multiobjective service restoration in electric distribution networks

This paper proposes an alternative codification to solve the service restoration in electric power distribution networks using a SPEA2 multiobjective evolutionary algorithm, assuming the minimization of both the load not supplied and the number of switching operations involved in the restoration plan. Constrains as the line, power source and voltage drop limits in order to avoid the activation of protective devices are all included in the proposed algorithm. Experimental results have shown the convenience on considering these new representations in the sense of feasibility maintenance and also in the sense of better approximation to the Pareto set. ©2009 IEEE.

Pricing of reactive power support provided by distributed generators in transmission systems

Distributed Generation, microgrid technologies, two-way communication systems, and demand response programs are issues that are being studied in recent years within the concept of smart grids. At some level of enough penetration, the Distributed Generators (DGs) can provide benefits for sub-transmission and transmission systems through the so-called ancillary services. This work is focused on the ancillary service of reactive power support provided by DGs, specifically Wind Turbine Generators (WTGs), with high level of impact on transmission systems. The main objective of this work is to propose an optimization methodology to price this service by determining the costs in which a DG incurs when it loses sales opportunity of active power, i.e, by determining the Loss of Opportunity Costs (LOC). LOC occur when more reactive power is required than available, and the active power generation has to be reduced in order to increase the reactive power capacity. In the optimization process, three objectives are considered: active power generation costs of DGs, voltage stability margin of the system, and losses in the lines of the network. Uncertainties of WTGs are reduced solving multi-objective optimal power flows in multiple probabilistic scenarios constructed by Monte Carlo simulations, and modeling the time series associated with the active power generation of each WTG via Fuzzy Logic and Markov Chains. The proposed methodology was tested using the IEEE 14 bus test system with two WTGs installed. © 2011 IEEE.

Wireless mesh networks planning based on parameters of quality of service

The use of QoS parameters to evaluate the quality of service in a mesh network is essential mainly when providing multimedia services. This paper proposes an algorithm for planning wireless mesh networks in order to satisfy some QoS parameters, given a set of test points (TPs) and potential access points (APs). Examples of QoS parameters include: probability of packet loss and mean delay in responding to a request. The proposed algorithm uses a Mathematical Programming model to determine an adequate topology for the network and Monte Carlo simulation to verify whether the QoS parameters are being satisfied. The results obtained show that the proposed algorithm is able to find satisfactory solutions.

One-year clinical evaluation of composite restorations in posterior teeth: Effect of adhesive systems

This clinical study assessed the performance of posterior composite resins applied with the Adper™ Single Bond Plus (SB) and Adper ™ Scotchbond SE (SE) adhesive systems and Filtek ™ Supreme Plus composite resin, using modified US Public Health Service criteria. A total of 97 restorations were placed in posterior teeth by two calibrated operators. Application of the materials followed manufacturers' instructions. The restorations were evaluated by two examiners at baseline and after one year. Statistical analyses were conducted using the proportion test at a significance level of 5% (p<0.05). All the restorations evaluated (ie, 100%) received an alpha rating for the criteria of marginal discoloration and marginal integrity at baseline. At one year, for marginal discoloration, 64.6% of SB and 61.2% of SE received an alpha rating. For marginal integrity, 72.9% of SB and 77.6% of SE received an alpha rating. The other restorations received bravo ratings for both criteria. None of the teeth that received the restorative systems presented caries lesions around the restorations. A total of eight teeth presented postoperative sensitivity one week after baseline, five with SB and three with SE; the symptom had disappeared one year later. One year later, composite resin restorations using either adhesive system showed satisfactory clinical performance.

A Dataset for Evaluating Intrusion Detection Systems in IEEE 802.11 Wireless Networks

Internet access by wireless networks has grown considerably in recent years. However, these networks are vulnerable to security problems, especially those related to denial of service attacks. Intrusion Detection Systems(IDS)are widely used to improve network security, but comparison among the several existing approaches is not a trivial task. This paper proposes building a datasetfor evaluating IDS in wireless environments. The data were captured in a real, operating network. We conducted tests using traditional IDS and achieved great results, which showed the effectiveness of our proposed approach.

An approach to mitigate denial of service attacks in ieee 802.11 networks

Wireless networks are widely deployed and have many uses, for example in critical embedded systems. The applications of this kind of network meets the common needs of most embedded systems and addressing the particularities of each scenario, such as limitations of computing resources and energy supply. Problems such as denial of service attacks are common place and cause great inconvenience. Thus, this study presents simulations of denial of service attacks on 802.11 wireless networks using the network simulator OMNeT++. Furthermore, we present an approach to mitigate such attack, obtaining significant results for improving wireless networks.