Bioinformatics

This book is divided into different research areas relevant in Bioinformatics such as biological networks, next generation sequencing, high performance computing, molecular modeling, structural bioinformatics, molecular modeling and intelligent data analysis. Each book section introduces the basic concepts and then explains its application to problems of great relevance, so both novice and expert readers can benefit from the information and research works presented here

Novel Validation Techniques for Autonomous Vehicles

L'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmen

A vision-based approach for human hand tracking and gesture recognition.

Hand gesture interface has been becoming an active topic of human-computer interaction (HCI). The utilization of hand gestures in human-computer interface enables human operators to interact with computer environments in a natural and intuitive manner. In particular, bare hand interpretation technique frees users from cumbersome, but typically required devices in communication with computers, thus offering the ease and naturalness in HCI. Meanwhile, virtual assembly (VA) applies virtual reality (VR) techniques in mechanical assembly. It constructs computer tools to help product engineers planning, evaluating, optimizing, and verifying the assembly of mechanical systems without the need of physical objects. However, traditional devices such as keyboards and mice are no longer adequate due to their inefficiency in handling three-dimensional (3D) tasks. Special VR devices, such as data gloves, have been mandatory in VA. This thesis proposes a novel gesture-based interface for the application of VA. It develops a hybrid approach to incorporate an appearance-based hand localization technique with a skin tone filter in support of gesture recognition and hand tracking in the 3D space. With this interface, bare hands become a convenient substitution of special VR devices. Experiment results demonstrate the flexibility and robustness introduced by the proposed method to HCI.Dept. of Computer Science. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis2004 .L8. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 43-03, page: 0883. Adviser: Xiaobu Yuan. Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 2004

A distributed simulation methodology for large-scale hybrid modelling and simulation of emergency medical services

This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University LondonHealthcare systems are traditionally characterised by complexity and heterogeneity. With the continuous increase in size and shrinkage of available resources, the healthcare sector faces the challenge of delivering high quality services with fewer resources. Healthcare organisations cannot be seen in isolation since the services of one such affects the performance of other healthcare organisations. Efficient management and forward planning, not only locally but rather across the whole system, could support healthcare sector to overcome the challenges. An example of closely interwoven organisations within the healthcare sector is the emergency medical services (EMS). EMS operate in a region and usually consist of one ambulance service and the available accident and emergency (A&E) departments within the coverage area. EMS provide, mainly, pre-hospital treatment and transport to the appropriate A&E units. The life-critical nature of EMS demands continuous systems improvement practices. Modelling and Simulation (M&S) has been used to analyse either the ambulance services or the A&E departments. However, the size and complexity of EMS systems constitute the conventional M&S techniques inadequate to model the system as a whole. This research adopts the approach of distributed simulation to model all the EMS components as individual and composable simulations that are able to run as standalone simulation, as well as federates in a distributed simulation (DS) model. Moreover, the hybrid approach connects agent-based simulation (ABS) and discrete event simulation (DES) models in order to accommodate the heterogeneity of the EMS components. The proposed FIELDS Framework for Integrated EMS Large-scale Distributed Simulation supports the re-use of existing, heterogeneous models that can be linked with the High Level Architecture (HLA) protocol for distributed simulation in order to compose large-scale simulation models. Based on FIELDS, a prototype ABS-DES distributed simulation EMS model was developed based on the London EMS. Experiments were conducted with the model and the system was tested in terms of performance and scalability measures to assess the feasibility of the proposed approach. The yielded results indicate that it is feasible to develop hybrid DS models of EMS that enables holistic analysis of the system and support model re-use. The main contributions of this thesis is a distributed simulation methodology that derived along the process of conducting this project, the FIELDS framework for hybrid EMS distributed simulation studies that support re-use of existing simulation models, and a prototype distributed simulation model that can be potentially used as a tool for EMS analysis and improvement.MATCH Programm

Earth Observations for Addressing Global Challenges

"Earth Observations for Addressing Global Challenges" presents the results of cutting-edge research related to innovative techniques and approaches based on satellite remote sensing data, the acquisition of earth observations, and their applications in the contemporary practice of sustainable development. Addressing the urgent tasks of adaptation to climate change is one of the biggest global challenges for humanity. As His Excellency António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, said, "Climate change is the defining issue of our time—and we are at a defining moment. We face a direct existential threat." For many years, scientists from around the world have been conducting research on earth observations collecting vital data about the state of the earth environment. Evidence of the rapidly changing climate is alarming: according to the World Meteorological Organization, the past two decades included 18 of the warmest years since 1850, when records began. Thus, Group on Earth Observations (GEO) has launched initiatives across multiple societal benefit areas (agriculture, biodiversity, climate, disasters, ecosystems, energy, health, water, and weather), such as the Global Forest Observations Initiative, the GEO Carbon and GHG Initiative, the GEO Biodiversity Observation Network, and the GEO Blue Planet, among others. The results of research that addressed strategic priorities of these important initiatives are presented in the monograph