Applications of Infrared Thermography as innovative technological solution in sports injuries

Infrared thermography IR is a technique, which allows us to get rapidly and non-invasive thermal images from objects or human beings. (Barnes, 1967). In Medicine, its usefulness as diagnosis tool was accepted decades ago (BenEliyahu, 1990), but other techniques with a higher efficiency -such as magnetic resonance or x-rays- ousted it. Nevertheless, the technological improvements on thermographic cameras and new studies on sport injuries are reinforcing new applications (Ring, 2006)

Technological Solutions Potentially Influencing the Future of Long-Term Care. ENEPRI Research Report No. 114, April 2012

This report provides a forecast of the potential direct and indirect influences of various kinds of technologies on the LTC milieu, answering the following question: from a technology-driven perspective: “Consider each technological solution. What could be its future usage in the LTC sector?” Future technological deployments will induce changes in the respective roles of the care recipient and of the formal and informal carers, with an impact on three major concerns: the transformation of the care recipient into a proactive subject, the augmented potentiality for home care and the new functions that informal carers could assume.

Knowledge management in a New Zealand tree farming company:Ambiguity and resistance to the "technology solution"

Purpose - Managers at the company attempt to implement a knowledge management information system in an attempt to avoid loss of expertise while improving control and efficiency. The paper seeks to explore the implications of the technological solution to employees within the company. Design/methodology/approach - The paper reports qualitative research conducted in a single organization. Evidence is presented in the form of interview extracts. Findings - The case section of the paper presents the accounts of organizational participants. The accounts reveal the workers' reactions to the technology-based system and something of their strategies of resistance to the system. These accounts also provide glimpses of the identity construction engaged in by these knowledge workers. The setting for the research is in a knowledge-intensive primary industry. Research was conducted through observation and interviews. Research limitations/implications - The issues identified are explored in a single case-study setting. Future research could look at the relevance of the findings to other settings. Practical implications - The case evidence presented indicates some of the complexity of implementation of information systems in organizations. This could certainly be seen as more evidence of the uncertainty associated with organizational change and of the need for managers not to expect an easy adoption of intrusive IT solutions. Originality/value - This paper adds empirical insight to a largely conceptual literature. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Cyberbullying : a threat to student mental health and wellbeing

Cyberbullying is a threat to student mental health and wellbeing. As predicted the consequences of cyberbullying have been shown to be more detrimental to students than traditional bullying because of the wider audience and the 24/7 nature of this form of bullying. It is becoming an increasingly vexatious problem for victims, students who bully, educators and parents. Parents and the community are turning to schools to provide preventative strategies and to manage incidents of cyberbullying. Some sections of the community believe there is a technological solution to the problem, or that the law should be overhauled to address the problem more effectively. However, bullying is a deeply embedded social relationship problem, of which cyberbullying is one form. Therefore, planned prevention and intervention strategies need to be considered in the context of the social relationships in the whole school community.

Issues of Digital Ecosystems Approach to Biological Ecosystem Simulation Model Fit Optimization

This study examines the application of digital ecosystems concepts to a biological ecosystem simulation problem. The problem involves the use of a digital ecosystem agent to optimize the accuracy of a second digital ecosystem agent, the biological ecosystem simulation. The study also incorporates social ecosystems, with a technological solution design subsystem communicating with a science subsystem and simulation software developer subsystem to determine key characteristics of the biological ecosystem simulation. The findings show similarities between the issues involved in digital ecosystem collaboration and those occurring when digital ecosystems interact with biological ecosystems. The results also suggest that even precise semantic descriptions and comprehensive ontologies may be insufficient to describe agents in enough detail for use within digital ecosystems, and a number of solutions to this problem are proposed.

Improving cold chain technologies through the use of phase change material

Gemstone Team FRESH

Projeto e desenvolvimento de células robotizadas para soldadura e cladding

A utilização de equipamentos robóticos para o processo de soldadura por arco elétrico teve um forte crescimento nas décadas de 80 e 90, altura em que o custo e fiabilidade da tecnologia passou a permitir a integração de robôs em linhas de produção ou em células de fabrico. Depressa cresceram as exigências de uma produção com qualidade repetitiva e facilmente ajustável, e as restrições ao uso de processos manuais ou de tecnologias com pouca flexibilidade. Desde o início do século XXI que a renovação de uma estação de fabrico de peças soldadas para produção em série, especialmente no setor automóvel, parece forçada à integração de robôs industriais, que assim se tornaram símbolos de produtividade. A KAMAZ encontra-se atualmente a renovar alguns dos seus processos de fabrico, incluindo as áreas de soldadura por arco ou cladding. Esta Dissertação aborda o trabalho elaborado, depois de contratualizada com a ABB Rússia a instalação de novas células de fabrico robotizado nesta empresa. Este projeto tem início com o levantamento das necessidades, a verificação do processo existente, e a procura da solução tecnológica que se adapte a essas condições e cumpra os requisitos acordados. São realizadas modelações e simulações off-line em 3D, usando o software RobotStudio da ABB, que permitiram testar cada solução e analisar a sua adequação e viabilidade. Para maior garantia de se obter a qualidade esperada na fusão e deposição do material por processo com arco elétrico revestido a gás, foram realizados testes reais utilizando equipamento robótico em condições baseadas nos testes feitos no ambiente virtual. Por último, são ajustadas as localizações dos postos de trabalho ao layout existente e é feito o balanceamento do tempo de operação manual com o tempo do processo robotizado. Este projeto de Tese termina com a aceitação do cliente para a solução encontrada e para os resultados dos testes reais de ambos os processos.

Desenvolvimento de um Protótipo de Dispensador Automático de Medicamentos

O número de pessoas com idade superior a 65 anos aumentou consideravelmente nos últimos 40 anos. Este incremento de longevidade tem levado ao aparecimento de varias patologias relacionadas com a idade e ao aumento da prevalência das patologias cronicas. Uma grande maioria desta população e poli-medicada e assim sendo a gestão de medicamentos e uma área que pode proporcionar grandes benefícios aos idosos. A grande quantidade de medicamentos assim como as diferentes dosagens e os diferentes horários de toma fazem com que os idosos se confundam no cumprimento do esquema terapêutico aconselhado pelo medico, nomeadamente devido ao declínio cognitivo a que estão sujeitos devido ao envelhecimento humano. Torna-se, portanto, fundamental o desenvolvimento de sistemas inteligentes que auxiliem os idosos na gestão da sua medicação. A presente dissertação de mestrado foi materializada num dispositivo, designado ElderlySafety, que visa responder aos problemas da poli-medicação, através de uma solução tecnológica que incorpora as vertentes de controlo e comunicação. O objectivo do ElderlySafety e relembrar, de forma automática, o idoso da toma atempada dos seus medicamentos e consiste num prototipo de um dispositivo com varias compartições para organização dos vários medicamentos. Este aparelho apresenta 24 compartimentos, um deles referente a uma posição estática, considerada a posição `home' e os restantes dizem respeito a 23 tomas de medicação durante uma semana. Os compartimentos em questão devem ser preenchidos com a devida medicação, pelo cuidador do idoso, no inicio de cada semana. O aparelho esta conectado via Bluetooth a uma aplicação denominada ElderlySafety Online que permite monitorizar todo o sistema. E aqui que e feito o registo, com data, hora e nome do medicamento, de toda a medicação prescrita ao paciente. Também e possível a verificação de possíveis interações medicamentosas, bem como o acesso a informações acerca do que fazer em caso de esquecimento de uma ou mais tomas. Aquando a chegada da data e hora da toma de cada medicação, o aparelho desenvolvido emite um lembrete ao idoso e esse lembrete e feito através de um alerta luminoso. Se o sistema ElderlySafety verificar que o idoso se esquece da toma dos medicamentos tem a capacidade de interagir via e-mail com o cuidador, que poder a ser um familiar próximo, alertando-o para o esquecimento da toma de medicação do paciente a seu cuidado. Os testes de validação realizados ao ElderlySafety revelaram que o prototipo se mostra funcional e apto para integrar um ambiente de vida assistido de qualquer idoso.

SPARTIAN: Propuesta de mejoramiento de la gestión comercial de la empresa Wholesale and Retail Place LLC

El propósito básico de este proyecto es optimizar el proceso de ventas de la empresa internacional Wholesale and Retail Place LLC a través de una solución tecnológica. Para esto, se busca diagnosticar los procesos de gestión comercial de la empresa a través de indicadores que permitan medir su situación actual, con el propósito de implementar una aplicación móvil que se articule con la fuerza comercial que apoya el proceso de ventas, y se genere un impacto positivo en los indicadores formulados después de la aplicación de la herramienta móvil.

Potential economic impacts of terminator technologies: policy implications for developing countries

The terminator gene can render seeds sterile, so forcing farmers to purchase fresh seed every year. It is a technological solution to the problem of market failure that could increase the appropriability of R&D investment more effectively than intellectual property rights legislation or patents. This paper shows that appropriability should be more than tripled and that this leads to greater private R&D investment, which may be expected to double or triple. This would bring open-pollinating varieties into line with F1 hybrids, for which seed cannot be saved. In turn, the increased investment should raise yield increases to levels similar to those for hybrid crops. Thus, there are benefits to set against the possible ecological and environmental costs and the clear distributional and social consequences. The paper discusses the way the seed market is developing, the possible impacts, especially from a developing country viewpoint, and considers the policy changes that are needed.

An ontology-based approach for data integration in regionally interoperable healthcare systems

In order to best utilize the limited resource of medical resources, and to reduce the cost and improve the quality of medical treatment, we propose to build an interoperable regional healthcare systems among several levels of medical treatment organizations. In this paper, our approaches are as follows:(1) the ontology based approach is introduced as the methodology and technological solution for information integration; (2) the integration framework of data sharing among different organizations are proposed(3)the virtual database to realize data integration of hospital information system is established. Our methods realize the effective management and integration of the medical workflow and the mass information in the interoperable regional healthcare system. Furthermore, this research provides the interoperable regional healthcare system with characteristic of modularization, expansibility and the stability of the system is enhanced by hierarchy structure.

Low cost technology applied to thermometry of grains

Modern agriculture demands investments in technology that allows the farmers to improve productivity and quality of their products, aiming to establish themselves in a competitive market. However, the high costs of acquiring and maintaining such technology may be an inhibiting factor to its spread and acceptance, mainly to a large number of small grain Brazilian farmers, who need low cost innovative technological solutions, suitable for their financial reality. Starting from this premise, this paper presents the development of a low cost prototype for monitoring the temperature and humidity of grains stored in silos, and the economic implications of cost/benefit ratio of innovative applications of low cost technology in the process of thermometry of grains. The prototype was made of two electronic units, one for acquisition and another one for data reception, as well as software, which offered the farmers more precise information for the control of aeration. The data communication between the electronic units and the software was reliable and both were developed using low cost electronic components and free software tools. The developed system was considered as potentially viable to small grain Brazilian farmers; it can be used in any type of small silos. It provided reduction of costs of installation and maintenance and also offered an easy expansion system; besides the low cost of development when compared to similar products available in the Brazilian market.

Validação de aplicativo comercial visando a incorporação da realidade aumentada a um modelo de avaliação pós-ocupação

Post-Occupancy Evaluation of buildings considers user satisfaction, building pathologies and performance, as well as users interventions in the built environment. The possibility of identifying interventions regardless of the user could provide a significant gain in the efficiency of Post-Occupancy Evaluations. We foresee the application of Augmented Reality (AR) to improve the identification of renovations by overlapping the construction information model with an image of the actual building. This article validates the use of AR on existing smartphone and tablet applications. This study proposes the incorporation of AR into the planning, execution and application of Post-Occupancy Evaluation. For the planning, this study proposes the development of a new research tool. With regards to the execution, this study examined the data collection conditions on site through the visualization of overlapping models. For the application, this study proposes displaying the results through the use of RA information layers. The transparency oft he RA model was used to allow comparison between the virtual model and the real model. The development and adaptation of the virtual model and the solution developed for the experiment of the RA proposal are presented and discussed. The experiment points to shortcomings that still make the proposed technological solution unfeasible.

High efficiency envelope tracking buck converter for RFPA using GaN HEMTs

—In this paper, application of a new technological solution for power switches based on Gallium Nitride and a filter design methodology for high efficiency Envelope Amplifier in RF transmitters are proposed. Comparing to Si MOSFETs, GaN HEMTs can provide higher efficiency of the Envelope Amplifier, due to better Figure Of Merit (lower product of on- resistance and gate charge). Benefits of their application were verified through the experimental results. The goal of the filter design is to generate the envelope reference with the minimum possible distortion and to improve the efficiency of the Amplifier, obtaining the optimum trade-off between conduction and switching losses.

Impact of automatic meetering infrastructure on multiutility business models

In the last decade energy utility sector has undergone major changes in terms of liberalization, increased competition, efforts in improving energy efficiency, and in new technological solution such as smart meter and grid operations. There are new information technology solutions (e.g. Advanced Metering Infrastructure /AMI ) on the horizon that will not only introduce new technical and organizational concepts, but have a very strong potential to radically change modus operandi of utility companies. Coordinated, multi-utility programs can help accelerate the development and market success of new high-efficiency technologies. These programs provide opportunities for researchers to develop new high-efficiency equipment for manufacturers to sell this new equipment with utility help, for utilities to increase the amount of energy they save from incentive programs, and for consumers to benefit from lower utility bills and a cleaner environment (as energy is reduced, pollutants produced at power plants decline).