Reclaimed asphalt pavement with waste frying oil and crumb rubber

The application of Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) has become a relatively standard material in the road industry in most countries. However, some of the problems associated with the addition of RAP to asphalt mixtures are the increase in moisture and cracking damage. The addition of rejuvenators into the recycled mixture containing RAP is also needed to enhance its performance although the rutting resistance remains a major issue. Therefore, there is a need to investigate the incorporation of other materials in the design of the asphalt mixture to achieve improved properties and better performance. This study was carried out to investigate the performance of the recycled asphalt mixture that consists of the conventional asphalt binder with 60/70 penetration grade, 25% and 40% RAP, and the incorporation of waste materials comprising 2.6% and 4.7% Waste Frying Oil (WFO) as the rejuvenator and 1.5% Crumb Rubber (CR) with sieve size of 0.15 mm as the modifier. The study was divided into three stages, namely evaluation of material properties, analysis of the asphalt binder properties, and determination and analysis of the asphalt mixture performance. Based on the results, the addition of 25% and 40% RAP in the asphalt mixture along with WFO and CR lowered the Indirect Tensile Strength (ITS) by 31.1% and 47.3%, respectively, which fulfilled the requirement of the ITS ratio test. The resilient modulus pattern for the recycled asphalt mixture containing WFO and CR was identical at 25 and 40 °C. When tested at 40 °C, the 25% and 40% RAP with incorporated WFO and CR generated a significant resilient modulus of 848 and 901 MPa, respectively. The recycled asphalt mixture with WFO and CR also exhibited a lower permanent strain than that of the virgin asphalt binder. The rutting values of all asphalt mixtures in the wheel tracking test demonstrated a similar pattern at 45 and 60 °C test temperatures. The rutting resistance of the recycled asphalt mixture with WFO and CR slightly improved compared to the virgin asphalt binder at 60 °C. Therefore, the incorporation of WFO and CR has a considerable influence on the RAP performance while preserving the environment and reducing pollution through the recycling of waste materials

Ubiquitous Healthcare Information System: Toward Crossing the Security Chasm

Ubiquitous healthcare information system is increasingly seen as a viable option for reducing the inherent time lag and inaccuracies in the traditional model of healthcare and promoting the delivery and practice of evidence-based healthcare―as and when needed―without any location and time constraints. Although promising, the realization of ubiquitous healthcare information system brings several threats and risks rooted in real-time collection, analysis, storage, transmission, and access of critical medical data. In this research, we address information security concerns pertaining to the paradigm of ubiquitous healthcare information system. To accomplish this we use National Institute for Standards and Technology’s (NIST’s) system development lifecycle model (SDLC) as the underlying framework to explore the current state of ubiquitous healthcare from the perspective of security. We then leverage the model to propose future research directions in this area. By implementing the NIST’s SDLC model in such a manner, we offer a different dynamic of healthcare security that has not been addressed in literature before

Development of implementation models for hospital information system (HIS) in Malaysian public hospitals

Studies have shown that Hospital Information System (HIS) implementation improve hospital’s management and activities in terms of cost and time reductions. However, there are only 15.2% out of 138 Malaysian Public Hospitals implemented HIS. Literatures have further highlighted various issues and challenges with regards to its implementation. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the implementation of THIS, IHIS and BHIS’s hospitals as well as factors affecting them. This study employed a mixed methods approach to answer the research objectives. In the first phase of this study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine participants consisted of the hospital directors, Information Technology officers and HIS users. It is found that THIS’s hospital implementation phases differed from IHIS and BHIS’s hospitals, while IHIS and BHIS’s hospitals have similar phases based on Business Interaction Phases of Business Action Theory. Human context was discovered to play important roles in the HIS implementation. A survey was conducted in the second phase of this study among HIS users at different categories of HIS’s hospitals. Two hundred and twenty-nine questionnaires were returned to yield a response rate of 45.8%. Based on ANOVA findings, factors affecting THIS implementation were significantly different from those in IHIS and BHIS’s hospitals. There was no significance different between IHIS and BHIS’s hospitals. There are three major contributions of this study: 1) Distinctive implementation phases for THIS hospital and IHIS-BHIS hospital were discovered for HIS implementation. 2) New models of HIS implementation which highlight the Human context were proposed, and 3) Different factors were found to affect HIS implementation at different types of HIS’s hospitals

The Electronic Health Record between the Semantic Web and the right to privacy

Principale obiettivo della ricerca è quello di ricostruire lo stato dell’arte in materia di sanità elettronica e Fascicolo Sanitario Elettronico, con una precipua attenzione ai temi della protezione dei dati personali e dell’interoperabilità. A tal fine sono stati esaminati i documenti, vincolanti e non, dell’Unione europea nonché selezionati progetti europei e nazionali (come “Smart Open Services for European Patients” (EU); “Elektronische Gesundheitsakte” (Austria); “MedCom” (Danimarca); “Infrastruttura tecnologica del Fascicolo Sanitario Elettronico”, “OpenInFSE: Realizzazione di un’infrastruttura operativa a supporto dell’interoperabilità delle soluzioni territoriali di fascicolo sanitario elettronico nel contesto del sistema pubblico di connettività”, “Evoluzione e interoperabilità tecnologica del Fascicolo Sanitario Elettronico”, “IPSE - Sperimentazione di un sistema per l’interoperabilità europea e nazionale delle soluzioni di Fascicolo Sanitario Elettronico: componenti Patient Summary e ePrescription” (Italia)). Le analisi giuridiche e tecniche mostrano il bisogno urgente di definire modelli che incoraggino l’utilizzo di dati sanitari ed implementino strategie effettive per l’utilizzo con finalità secondarie di dati sanitari digitali , come Open Data e Linked Open Data. L’armonizzazione giuridica e tecnologica è vista come aspetto strategico per ridurre i conflitti in materia di protezione di dati personali esistenti nei Paesi membri nonché la mancanza di interoperabilità tra i sistemi informativi europei sui Fascicoli Sanitari Elettronici. A questo scopo sono state individuate tre linee guida: (1) armonizzazione normativa, (2) armonizzazione delle regole, (3) armonizzazione del design dei sistemi informativi. I principi della Privacy by Design (“prottivi” e “win-win”), così come gli standard del Semantic Web, sono considerate chiavi risolutive per il suddetto cambiamento.The main goal of the PhD research is providing the European and national state of the art on e-Health and the Electronic Health Record with a focus on Data Protection and Interoperability issues. It has been achieved through the overview of existing binding and non-binding EU legal documents and the analysis of selected European and national projects (as “Smart Open Services for European Patients” (EU); “Elektronische Gesundheitsakte” (Austria); “MedCom” (Denmark); “Infrastruttura tecnologica del Fascicolo Sanitario Elettronico”, “OpenInFSE: Realizzazione di un’infrastruttura operativa a supporto dell’interoperabilità delle soluzioni territoriali di fascicolo sanitario elettronico nel contesto del sistema pubblico di connettività”, “Evoluzione e interoperabilità tecnologica del Fascicolo Sanitario Elettronico”, “IPSE - Sperimentazione di un sistema per l’interoperabilità europea e nazionale delle soluzioni di Fascicolo Sanitario Elettronico: componenti Patient Summary e ePrescription” (Italy)). Legal and technical analyses show the urgent need to define models that encourage use of Health Data and to implement effective strategies improving usability of e-Health Data for secondary uses, such as Open Data and Linked Open Data. Technological and legal harmony is a strategic aspect for narrowing the gaps, such as conflicting data protection rules in different countries or the lack of interoperability between Electronic Health Record systems in Europe. To that end, three strategic guidelines are identified: (1) harmonization of law, (2) harmonization of rules, (3) harmonization of system design. Privacy by Design principles are a “proactive” and “win-win” key solution for this change, such as Semantic Web standards