A resource management scenario for traditional and scientific management of pink shrimp (Farfantepenaeus paulensis) in the Patos Lagoon estuary (RS), Brazil

Abstract Background This article aims to discuss the incorporation of traditional time in the construction of a management scenario for pink shrimp in the Patos Lagoon estuary (RS), Brazil. To meet this objective, two procedures have been adopted; one at a conceptual level and another at a methodological level. At the conceptual level, the concept of traditional time as a form of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) was adopted. Method At the methodological level, we conduct a wide literature review of the scientific knowledge (SK) that guides recommendations for pink shrimp management by restricting the fishing season in the Patos Lagoon estuary; in addition, we review the ethno-scientific literature which describes traditional calendars as a management base for artisanal fishers in the Patos Lagoon estuary. Results Results demonstrate that TEK and SK describe similar estuarine biological processes, but are incommensurable at a resource management level. On the other hand, the construction of a “management scenario” for pink shrimp is possible through the development of “criteria for hierarchies of validity” which arise from a productive dialog between SK and TEK. Conclusions The commensurable and the incommensurable levels reveal different basis of time-space perceptions between traditional ecological knowledge and scientific knowledge. Despite incommensurability at the management level, it is possible to establish guidelines for the construction of “management scenarios” and to support a co-management process.

New functional and biomechanical assessments for the improvement of the surgical navigation systems for joint replacement in the human lower limb

In case of severe osteoarthritis at the knee causing pain, deformity, and loss of stability and mobility, the clinicians consider that the substitution of these surfaces by means of joint prostheses. The objectives to be pursued by this surgery are: complete pain elimination, restoration of the normal physiological mobility and joint stability, correction of all deformities and, thus, of limping. The knee surgical navigation systems have bee developed in computer-aided surgery in order to improve the surgical final outcome in total knee arthroplasty. These systems provide the surgeon with quantitative and real-time information about each surgical action, like bone cut executions and prosthesis component alignment, by mean of tracking tools rigidly fixed onto the femur and the tibia. Nevertheless, there is still a margin of error due to the incorrect surgical procedures and to the still limited number of kinematic information provided by the current systems. Particularly, patello-femoral joint kinematics is not considered in knee surgical navigation. It is also unclear and, thus, a source of misunderstanding, what the most appropriate methodology is to study the patellar motion. In addition, also the knee ligamentous apparatus is superficially considered in navigated total knee arthroplasty, without taking into account how their physiological behavior is altered by this surgery. The aim of the present research work was to provide new functional and biomechanical assessments for the improvement of the surgical navigation systems for joint replacement in the human lower limb. This was mainly realized by means of the identification and development of new techniques that allow a thorough comprehension of the functioning of the knee joint, with particular attention to the patello-femoral joint and to the main knee soft tissues. A knee surgical navigation system with active markers was used in all research activities presented in this research work. Particularly, preliminary test were performed in order to assess the system accuracy and the robustness of a number of navigation procedures. Four studies were performed in-vivo on patients requiring total knee arthroplasty and randomly implanted by means of traditional and navigated procedures in order to check for the real efficacy of the latter with respect to the former. In order to cope with assessment of patello-femoral joint kinematics in the intact and replaced knees, twenty in-vitro tests were performed by using a prototypal tracking tool also for the patella. In addition to standard anatomical and articular recommendations, original proposals for defining the patellar anatomical-based reference frame and for studying the patello-femoral joint kinematics were reported and used in these tests. These definitions were applied to two further in-vitro tests in which, for the first time, also the implant of patellar component insert was fully navigated. In addition, an original technique to analyze the main knee soft tissues by means of anatomical-based fiber mappings was also reported and used in the same tests. The preliminary instrumental tests revealed a system accuracy within the millimeter and a good inter- and intra-observer repeatability in defining all anatomical reference frames. In in-vivo studies, the general alignments of femoral and tibial prosthesis components and of the lower limb mechanical axis, as measured on radiographs, was more satisfactory, i.e. within ±3°, in those patient in which total knee arthroplasty was performed by navigated procedures. As for in-vitro tests, consistent patello-femoral joint kinematic patterns were observed over specimens throughout the knee flexion arc. Generally, the physiological intact knee patellar motion was not restored after the implant. This restoration was successfully achieved in the two further tests where all component implants, included the patellar insert, were fully navigated, i.e. by means of intra-operative assessment of also patellar component positioning and general tibio-femoral and patello-femoral joint assessment. The tests for assessing the behavior of the main knee ligaments revealed the complexity of the latter and the different functional roles played by the several sub-bundles compounding each ligament. Also in this case, total knee arthroplasty altered the physiological behavior of these knee soft tissues. These results reveal in-vitro the relevance and the feasibility of the applications of new techniques for accurate knee soft tissues monitoring, patellar tracking assessment and navigated patellar resurfacing intra-operatively in the contest of the most modern operative techniques. This present research work gives a contribution to the much controversial knowledge on the normal and replaced of knee kinematics by testing the reported new methodologies. The consistence of these results provides fundamental information for the comprehension and improvements of knee orthopedic treatments. In the future, the reported new techniques can be safely applied in-vivo and also adopted in other joint replacements.

Design of alternative energy storage systems for hybrid vehicles based on statistical processing of driving cycles information

Hybrid vehicles represent the future for automakers, since they allow to improve the fuel economy and to reduce the pollutant emissions. A key component of the hybrid powertrain is the Energy Storage System, that determines the ability of the vehicle to store and reuse energy. Though electrified Energy Storage Systems (ESS), based on batteries and ultracapacitors, are a proven technology, Alternative Energy Storage Systems (AESS), based on mechanical, hydraulic and pneumatic devices, are gaining interest because they give the possibility of realizing low-cost mild-hybrid vehicles. Currently, most literature of design methodologies focuses on electric ESS, which are not suitable for AESS design. In this contest, The Ohio State University has developed an Alternative Energy Storage System design methodology. This work focuses on the development of driving cycle analysis methodology that is a key component of Alternative Energy Storage System design procedure. The proposed methodology is based on a statistical approach to analyzing driving schedules that represent the vehicle typical use. Driving data are broken up into power events sequence, namely traction and braking events, and for each of them, energy-related and dynamic metrics are calculated. By means of a clustering process and statistical synthesis methods, statistically-relevant metrics are determined. These metrics define cycle representative braking events. By using these events as inputs for the Alternative Energy Storage System design methodology, different system designs are obtained. Each of them is characterized by attributes, namely system volume and weight. In the last part the work, the designs are evaluated in simulation by introducing and calculating a metric related to the energy conversion efficiency. Finally, the designs are compared accounting for attributes and efficiency values. In order to automate the driving data extraction and synthesis process, a specific script Matlab based has been developed. Results show that the driving cycle analysis methodology, based on the statistical approach, allows to extract and synthesize cycle representative data. The designs based on cycle statistically-relevant metrics are properly sized and have satisfying efficiency values with respect to the expectations. An exception is the design based on the cycle worst-case scenario, corresponding to same approach adopted by the conventional electric ESS design methodologies. In this case, a heavy system with poor efficiency is produced. The proposed new methodology seems to be a valid and consistent support for Alternative Energy Storage System design.

Technical innovations for the diagnosis and the rehabilitation of motor and perceptive impairments of the child with Cerebral Palsy

The treatment of the Cerebral Palsy (CP) is considered as the “core problem” for the whole field of the pediatric rehabilitation. The reason why this pathology has such a primary role, can be ascribed to two main aspects. First of all CP is the form of disability most frequent in childhood (one new case per 500 birth alive, (1)), secondarily the functional recovery of the “spastic” child is, historically, the clinical field in which the majority of the therapeutic methods and techniques (physiotherapy, orthotic, pharmacologic, orthopedic-surgical, neurosurgical) were first applied and tested. The currently accepted definition of CP – Group of disorders of the development of movement and posture causing activity limitation (2) – is the result of a recent update by the World Health Organization to the language of the International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health, from the original proposal of Ingram – A persistent but not unchangeable disorder of posture and movement – dated 1955 (3). This definition considers CP as a permanent ailment, i.e. a “fixed” condition, that however can be modified both functionally and structurally by means of child spontaneous evolution and treatments carried out during childhood. The lesion that causes the palsy, happens in a structurally immature brain in the pre-, peri- or post-birth period (but only during the firsts months of life). The most frequent causes of CP are: prematurity, insufficient cerebral perfusion, arterial haemorrhage, venous infarction, hypoxia caused by various origin (for example from the ingestion of amniotic liquid), malnutrition, infection and maternal or fetal poisoning. In addition to these causes, traumas and malformations have to be included. The lesion, whether focused or spread over the nervous system, impairs the whole functioning of the Central Nervous System (CNS). As a consequence, they affect the construction of the adaptive functions (4), first of all posture control, locomotion and manipulation. The palsy itself does not vary over time, however it assumes an unavoidable “evolutionary” feature when during growth the child is requested to meet new and different needs through the construction of new and different functions. It is essential to consider that clinically CP is not only a direct expression of structural impairment, that is of etiology, pathogenesis and lesion timing, but it is mainly the manifestation of the path followed by the CNS to “re”-construct the adaptive functions “despite” the presence of the damage. “Palsy” is “the form of the function that is implemented by an individual whose CNS has been damaged in order to satisfy the demands coming from the environment” (4). Therefore it is only possible to establish general relations between lesion site, nature and size, and palsy and recovery processes. It is quite common to observe that children with very similar neuroimaging can have very different clinical manifestations of CP and, on the other hand, children with very similar motor behaviors can have completely different lesion histories. A very clear example of this is represented by hemiplegic forms, which show bilateral hemispheric lesions in a high percentage of cases. The first section of this thesis is aimed at guiding the interpretation of CP. First of all the issue of the detection of the palsy is treated from historical viewpoint. Consequently, an extended analysis of the current definition of CP, as internationally accepted, is provided. The definition is then outlined in terms of a space dimension and then of a time dimension, hence it is highlighted where this definition is unacceptably lacking. The last part of the first section further stresses the importance of shifting from the traditional concept of CP as a palsy of development (defect analysis) towards the notion of development of palsy, i.e., as the product of the relationship that the individual however tries to dynamically build with the surrounding environment (resource semeiotics) starting and growing from a different availability of resources, needs, dreams, rights and duties (4). In the scientific and clinic community no common classification system of CP has so far been universally accepted. Besides, no standard operative method or technique have been acknowledged to effectively assess the different disabilities and impairments exhibited by children with CP. CP is still “an artificial concept, comprising several causes and clinical syndromes that have been grouped together for a convenience of management” (5). The lack of standard and common protocols able to effectively diagnose the palsy, and as a consequence to establish specific treatments and prognosis, is mainly because of the difficulty to elevate this field to a level based on scientific evidence. A solution aimed at overcoming the current incomplete treatment of CP children is represented by the clinical systematic adoption of objective tools able to measure motor defects and movement impairments. A widespread application of reliable instruments and techniques able to objectively evaluate both the form of the palsy (diagnosis) and the efficacy of the treatments provided (prognosis), constitutes a valuable method able to validate care protocols, establish the efficacy of classification systems and assess the validity of definitions. Since the ‘80s, instruments specifically oriented to the analysis of the human movement have been advantageously designed and applied in the context of CP with the aim of measuring motor deficits and, especially, gait deviations. The gait analysis (GA) technique has been increasingly used over the years to assess, analyze, classify, and support the process of clinical decisions making, allowing for a complete investigation of gait with an increased temporal and spatial resolution. GA has provided a basis for improving the outcome of surgical and nonsurgical treatments and for introducing a new modus operandi in the identification of defects and functional adaptations to the musculoskeletal disorders. Historically, the first laboratories set up for gait analysis developed their own protocol (set of procedures for data collection and for data reduction) independently, according to performances of the technologies available at that time. In particular, the stereophotogrammetric systems mainly based on optoelectronic technology, soon became a gold-standard for motion analysis. They have been successfully applied especially for scientific purposes. Nowadays the optoelectronic systems have significantly improved their performances in term of spatial and temporal resolution, however many laboratories continue to use the protocols designed on the technology available in the ‘70s and now out-of-date. Furthermore, these protocols are not coherent both for the biomechanical models and for the adopted collection procedures. In spite of these differences, GA data are shared, exchanged and interpreted irrespectively to the adopted protocol without a full awareness to what extent these protocols are compatible and comparable with each other. Following the extraordinary advances in computer science and electronics, new systems for GA no longer based on optoelectronic technology, are now becoming available. They are the Inertial and Magnetic Measurement Systems (IMMSs), based on miniature MEMS (Microelectromechanical systems) inertial sensor technology. These systems are cost effective, wearable and fully portable motion analysis systems, these features gives IMMSs the potential to be used both outside specialized laboratories and to consecutive collect series of tens of gait cycles. The recognition and selection of the most representative gait cycle is then easier and more reliable especially in CP children, considering their relevant gait cycle variability. The second section of this thesis is focused on GA. In particular, it is firstly aimed at examining the differences among five most representative GA protocols in order to assess the state of the art with respect to the inter-protocol variability. The design of a new protocol is then proposed and presented with the aim of achieving gait analysis on CP children by means of IMMS. The protocol, named ‘Outwalk’, contains original and innovative solutions oriented at obtaining joint kinematic with calibration procedures extremely comfortable for the patients. The results of a first in-vivo validation of Outwalk on healthy subjects are then provided. In particular, this study was carried out by comparing Outwalk used in combination with an IMMS with respect to a reference protocol and an optoelectronic system. In order to set a more accurate and precise comparison of the systems and the protocols, ad hoc methods were designed and an original formulation of the statistical parameter coefficient of multiple correlation was developed and effectively applied. On the basis of the experimental design proposed for the validation on healthy subjects, a first assessment of Outwalk, together with an IMMS, was also carried out on CP children. The third section of this thesis is dedicated to the treatment of walking in CP children. Commonly prescribed treatments in addressing gait abnormalities in CP children include physical therapy, surgery (orthopedic and rhizotomy), and orthoses. The orthotic approach is conservative, being reversible, and widespread in many therapeutic regimes. Orthoses are used to improve the gait of children with CP, by preventing deformities, controlling joint position, and offering an effective lever for the ankle joint. Orthoses are prescribed for the additional aims of increasing walking speed, improving stability, preventing stumbling, and decreasing muscular fatigue. The ankle-foot orthosis (AFO), with a rigid ankle, are primarily designed to prevent equinus and other foot deformities with a positive effect also on more proximal joints. However, AFOs prevent the natural excursion of the tibio-tarsic joint during the second rocker, hence hampering the natural leaning progression of the whole body under the effect of the inertia (6). A new modular (submalleolar) astragalus-calcanear orthosis, named OMAC, has recently been proposed with the intention of substituting the prescription of AFOs in those CP children exhibiting a flat and valgus-pronated foot. The aim of this section is thus to present the mechanical and technical features of the OMAC by means of an accurate description of the device. In particular, the integral document of the deposited Italian patent, is provided. A preliminary validation of OMAC with respect to AFO is also reported as resulted from an experimental campaign on diplegic CP children, during a three month period, aimed at quantitatively assessing the benefit provided by the two orthoses on walking and at qualitatively evaluating the changes in the quality of life and motor abilities. As already stated, CP is universally considered as a persistent but not unchangeable disorder of posture and movement. Conversely to this definition, some clinicians (4) have recently pointed out that movement disorders may be primarily caused by the presence of perceptive disorders, where perception is not merely the acquisition of sensory information, but an active process aimed at guiding the execution of movements through the integration of sensory information properly representing the state of one’s body and of the environment. Children with perceptive impairments show an overall fear of moving and the onset of strongly unnatural walking schemes directly caused by the presence of perceptive system disorders. The fourth section of the thesis thus deals with accurately defining the perceptive impairment exhibited by diplegic CP children. A detailed description of the clinical signs revealing the presence of the perceptive impairment, and a classification scheme of the clinical aspects of perceptual disorders is provided. In the end, a functional reaching test is proposed as an instrumental test able to disclosure the perceptive impairment. References 1. Prevalence and characteristics of children with cerebral palsy in Europe. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2002 Set;44(9):633-640. 2. Bax M, Goldstein M, Rosenbaum P, Leviton A, Paneth N, Dan B, et al. Proposed definition and classification of cerebral palsy, April 2005. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2005 Ago;47(8):571-576. 3. Ingram TT. A study of cerebral palsy in the childhood population of Edinburgh. Arch. Dis. Child. 1955 Apr;30(150):85-98. 4. Ferrari A, Cioni G. The spastic forms of cerebral palsy : a guide to the assessment of adaptive functions. Milan: Springer; 2009. 5. Olney SJ, Wright MJ. Cerebral Palsy. Campbell S et al. Physical Therapy for Children. 2nd Ed. Philadelphia: Saunders. 2000;:533-570. 6. Desloovere K, Molenaers G, Van Gestel L, Huenaerts C, Van Campenhout A, Callewaert B, et al. How can push-off be preserved during use of an ankle foot orthosis in children with hemiplegia? A prospective controlled study. Gait Posture. 2006 Ott;24(2):142-151.

Development of advanced tools and methods for the assessment and management of risk due to atypical major accident scenarios

Proper hazard identification has become progressively more difficult to achieve, as witnessed by several major accidents that took place in Europe, such as the Ammonium Nitrate explosion at Toulouse (2001) and the vapour cloud explosion at Buncefield (2005), whose accident scenarios were not considered by their site safety case. Furthermore, the rapid renewal in the industrial technology has brought about the need to upgrade hazard identification methodologies. Accident scenarios of emerging technologies, which are not still properly identified, may remain unidentified until they take place for the first time. The consideration of atypical scenarios deviating from normal expectations of unwanted events or worst case reference scenarios is thus extremely challenging. A specific method named Dynamic Procedure for Atypical Scenarios Identification (DyPASI) was developed as a complementary tool to bow-tie identification techniques. The main aim of the methodology is to provide an easier but comprehensive hazard identification of the industrial process analysed, by systematizing information from early signals of risk related to past events, near misses and inherent studies. DyPASI was validated on the two examples of new and emerging technologies: Liquefied Natural Gas regasification and Carbon Capture and Storage. The study broadened the knowledge on the related emerging risks and, at the same time, demonstrated that DyPASI is a valuable tool to obtain a complete and updated overview of potential hazards. Moreover, in order to tackle underlying accident causes of atypical events, three methods for the development of early warning indicators were assessed: the Resilience-based Early Warning Indicator (REWI) method, the Dual Assurance method and the Emerging Risk Key Performance Indicator method. REWI was found to be the most complementary and effective of the three, demonstrating that its synergy with DyPASI would be an adequate strategy to improve hazard identification methodologies towards the capture of atypical accident scenarios.

Modeling systems and vis/NIR device to improve peach and nectarine pre and post-harvest fruit maturity management

During the last decade peach and nectarine fruit have lost considerable market share, due to increased consumer dissatisfaction with quality at retail markets. This is mainly due to harvesting of too immature fruit and high ripening heterogeneity. The main problem is that the traditional used maturity indexes are not able to objectively detect fruit maturity stage, neither the variability present in the field, leading to a difficult post-harvest management of the product and to high fruit losses. To assess more precisely the fruit ripening other techniques and devices can be used. Recently, a new non-destructive maturity index, based on the vis-NIR technology, the Index of Absorbance Difference (IAD), that correlates with fruit degreening and ethylene production, was introduced and the IAD was used to study peach and nectarine fruit ripening from the “field to the fork”. In order to choose the best techniques to improve fruit quality, a detailed description of the tree structure, of fruit distribution and ripening evolution on the tree was faced. More in details, an architectural model (PlantToon®) was used to design the tree structure and the IAD was applied to characterize the maturity stage of each fruit. Their combined use provided an objective and precise evaluation of the fruit ripening variability, related to different training systems, crop load, fruit exposure and internal temperature. Based on simple field assessment of fruit maturity (as IAD) and growth, a model for an early prediction of harvest date and yield, was developed and validated. The relationship between the non-destructive maturity IAD, and the fruit shelf-life, was also confirmed. Finally the obtained results were validated by consumer test: the fruit sorted in different maturity classes obtained a different consumer acceptance. The improved knowledge, leaded to an innovative management of peach and nectarine fruit, from “field to market”.

Nonlinear constrained and saturated control of power electronics and electromechanical systems

Power electronic converters are extensively adopted for the solution of timely issues, such as power quality improvement in industrial plants, energy management in hybrid electrical systems, and control of electrical generators for renewables. Beside nonlinearity, this systems are typically characterized by hard constraints on the control inputs, and sometimes the state variables. In this respect, control laws able to handle input saturation are crucial to formally characterize the systems stability and performance properties. From a practical viewpoint, a proper saturation management allows to extend the systems transient and steady-state operating ranges, improving their reliability and availability. The main topic of this thesis concern saturated control methodologies, based on modern approaches, applied to power electronics and electromechanical systems. The pursued objective is to provide formal results under any saturation scenario, overcoming the drawbacks of the classic solution commonly applied to cope with saturation of power converters, and enhancing performance. For this purpose two main approaches are exploited and extended to deal with power electronic applications: modern anti-windup strategies, providing formal results and systematic design rules for the anti-windup compensator, devoted to handle control saturation, and “one step” saturated feedback design techniques, relying on a suitable characterization of the saturation nonlinearity and less conservative extensions of standard absolute stability theory results. The first part of the thesis is devoted to present and develop a novel general anti-windup scheme, which is then specifically applied to a class of power converters adopted for power quality enhancement in industrial plants. In the second part a polytopic differential inclusion representation of saturation nonlinearity is presented and extended to deal with a class of multiple input power converters, used to manage hybrid electrical energy sources. The third part regards adaptive observers design for robust estimation of the parameters required for high performance control of power systems.

Theoretical and Experimental Analysis of micro-CHP Energy Systems

In the framework of the micro-CHP (Combined Heat and Power) energy systems and the Distributed Generation (GD) concept, an Integrated Energy System (IES) able to meet the energy and thermal requirements of specific users, using different types of fuel to feed several micro-CHP energy sources, with the integration of electric generators of renewable energy sources (RES), electrical and thermal storage systems and the control system was conceived and built. A 5 kWel Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) has been studied. Using experimental data obtained from various measurement campaign, the electrical and CHP PEMFC system performance have been determinate. The analysis of the effect of the water management of the anodic exhaust at variable FC loads has been carried out, and the purge process programming logic was optimized, leading also to the determination of the optimal flooding times by varying the AC FC power delivered by the cell. Furthermore, the degradation mechanisms of the PEMFC system, in particular due to the flooding of the anodic side, have been assessed using an algorithm that considers the FC like a black box, and it is able to determine the amount of not-reacted H2 and, therefore, the causes which produce that. Using experimental data that cover a two-year time span, the ageing suffered by the FC system has been tested and analyzed.

Ethnosciences - A step towards the integration of scientific and non-scientific forms of knowledge in the management of natural resources for the future

Integration of indigenous knowledge and ethnoscientific approaches into contemporary frameworks for conservation and sustainable management of natural resources will become increasingly important in policies on an international and national level. We set the scene on how this can be done by exploring the key conditions and dimensions of a dialogue between ‘ontologies’ and the roles, which ethnosciences could play in this process. First, the roles which ethnosciences in the context of sustainable development were analysed, placing emphasis on the implications arising when western sciences aspire to relate to indigenous forms of knowledge. Secondly, the contributions of ethnosciences to such an ‘inter-ontological dialogue’ were explored, based on an ethnoecological study of the encounter of sciences and indigenous knowledge in the Andes of Bolivia, and reviewed experiences from mangrove systems in Kenya, India and Sri Lanka, and from case-studies in other ecosystems world-wide.

Neonatological and pulmonological management of bilateral pulmonary sequestration in a neonate

BACKGROUND: Bronchopulmonary sequestration is a lung malformation characterized by nonfunctioning lung tissue without primary communication with the tracheobronchial tree. Intrauterine complications such as mediastinal shift, pleural effusion or fetal hydrothorax can be present. We present the case of a newborn with bilateral intralobar pulmonary sequestration. METHODS: Prenatal ultrasonography in a primigravida at 20 weeks of gestation revealed echogenic masses in the right fetal hemithorax with mediastinal shift towards the left side. Serial ultrasound confirmed persistence of the lesion with otherwise appropriate fetal development. Delivery was uneventful and physical examination revealed an isolated intermittent tachypnea. Chest CT scan and CT angiography showed a bilateral intrathoracic lesion with arterial supply from the aorta. Baby lung function testing suggested possible multiple functional compartments. RESULTS: Right and left thoracotomy was performed at the age of 7 months. A bilateral intralobar sequestration with vascularisation from the aorta was resected. Pathological and histological examination of the resected tissue confirmed the surgical diagnosis. At the age of 24 months, the child was doing well without pulmonary complications. CONCLUSIONS: Bilateral pulmonary sequestration requires intensive prenatal and postnatal surveillance. Though given the fact of a bilateral pulmonary sequestration, postnatal outcome showed similar favourable characteristics to an unilateral presentation. Baby lung function testing could provide additional information for optimal postnatal management and timing of surgical intervention.

Information Systems Outsourcing. Enduring themes, global challenges, and process opportunities

he notion of outsourcing – making arrangements with an external entity for the provision of goods or services to supplement or replace internal efforts – has been around for centuries. The outsourcing of information systems (IS) is however a much newer concept but one which has been growing dramatically. This book attempts to synthesize what is known about IS outsourcing by dividing the subject into three interrelated parts: (1) Traditional Information Technology Outsourcing, (2) Information Technolgy Offshoring, and (3) Business Process Outsourcing. The book should be of interest to all academics and students in the field of Information Systems as well as corporate executives and professionals who seek a more profound analysis and understanding of the underlying factors and mechanisms of outsourcing.

A Communication Platform for Tele-monitoring and Tele-management of Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease characterized by blood glucose levels out of normal range due to inability of insulin production. This dysfunction leads to many short- and long-term complications. In this paper, a system for tele-monitoring and tele-management of Type 1 diabetes patients is proposed, aiming at reducing the risk of diabetes complications and improving quality of life. The system integrates Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPAN), mobile infrastructure, and Internet technology along with commercially available and novel glucose measurement devices, advanced modeling techniques, and tools for the intelligent processing of the available diabetes patients information. The integration of the above technologies enables intensive monitoring of blood glucose levels, treatment optimisation, continuous medical care, and improvement of quality of life for Type 1 diabetes patients, without restrictions in everyday life activities.

Professionalism and Information Technology: Positioning and Mediation

The starting point of this paper is the assumption that - on the one hand - information technology (IT) is increasingly shaping the professional knowledge base and on the other the relation between organisation and profession. IT is changing the role, responsibilities and practices of social workers and therefore it is important to deal with the impact of IT on social work (representative for many: Harlow and Webb 2003; Burton and van den Broek 2008). Hence, the general aim of this paper is to stimulate a basic discussion on “IT application in social work“, or rather, in a more general way, on „technology and professions“. Secondly, it is about an analytical differentiation of the process of informatisation, respectively formalisation. Thirdly we want to discuss the assumption and overall combination of efficiency, effectiveness and IT. Therefore this paper is arranged as follows: After some opening remarks (chapter 1) we outline case management systems as research object (2). Further on, we confront the approach of reflexive professionalism (3) with the process of formalization (4). Subsequently, we touch on the debate of “technologies of care” (5) and conclude with some short remarks on a research program (6).

Revenue Management in Make-To-Order Manufacturing: Case Study of Capacity Control at ThyssenKrupp VDM

While revenue management (RM) is traditionally considered a tool of service operations, RM shows considerable potential for application in manufacturing operations. The typical challenges in make-to-order manufacturing are fixed manufacturing capacities and a great variety in offered products, going along with pronounced fluctuations in demand and profitability. Since Harris and Pinder in the mid-90s, numerous papers have furthered the understanding of RM theory in this environment. Nevertheless, results to be expected from applying the developed methods to a practical industry setting have yet to be reported. To this end, this paper investigates a possible application of RM at ThyssenKrupp VDM, leading to considerable improvements in several areas.

Generalizability and Applicability of Model-Based Business Process Compliance-Checking Approaches – A State-of-the-Art Analysis and Research Roadmap

With a steady increase of regulatory requirements for business processes, automation support of compliance management is a field garnering increasing attention in Information Systems research. Several approaches have been developed to support compliance checking of process models. One major challenge for such approaches is their ability to handle different modeling techniques and compliance rules in order to enable widespread adoption and application. Applying a structured literature search strategy, we reflect and discuss compliance-checking approaches in order to provide an insight into their generalizability and evaluation. The results imply that current approaches mainly focus on special modeling techniques and/or a restricted set of types of compliance rules. Most approaches abstain from real-world evaluation which raises the question of their practical applicability. Referring to the search results, we propose a roadmap for further research in model-based business process compliance checking.