Frameworks for Protocol Implementation

This paper reports on the development of a catalogue of frameworks for protocol implementation. Frameworks are software structures developed for a specific application domain, which can be re-used in the implementation of various different concrete systems in this domain. By using frameworks we aim at increasing the effectiveness of the protocol implementation process. We assume that whenever protocols are directly implemented from their specifications one may be able to increase the correctness and the speed of the implementation process, and the maintainability of the resulting system. We argue that frameworks should match the concepts underlying the techniques used for specifying protocols. Consequently, we couple the development of frameworks for protocol implementation to the investigation of the different alternative design models for protocol specification. This paper presents the approach we have been using to develop frameworks, and illustrates this approach with an example of framework

Grid simulation services for the medical community

The first part of this paper presents a selection of medical simulation applications, including image reconstruction, near real-time registration for neuro-surgery, enhanced dose distribution calculation for radio-therapy, inhaled drug delivery prediction, plastic surgery planning and cardio-vascular system simulation. The latter two topics are discussed in some detail. In the second part, we show how such services can be made available to the clinical practitioner using Grid technology. We discuss the developments and experience made during the EU project GEMSS, which provides reliable, efficient, secure and lawful medical Grid services

Interoperability and FAIRness through a novel combination of Web technologies

Data in the life sciences are extremely diverse and are stored in a broad spectrum of repositories ranging from those designed for particular data types (such as KEGG for pathway data or UniProt for protein data) to those that are general-purpose (such as FigShare, Zenodo, Dataverse or EUDAT). These data have widely different levels of sensitivity and security considerations. For example, clinical observations about genetic mutations in patients are highly sensitive, while observations of species diversity are generally not. The lack of uniformity in data models from one repository to another, and in the richness and availability of metadata descriptions, makes integration and analysis of these data a manual, time-consuming task with no scalability. Here we explore a set of resource-oriented Web design patterns for data discovery, accessibility, transformation, and integration that can be implemented by any general- or special-purpose repository as a means to assist users in finding and reusing their data holdings. We show that by using off-the-shelf technologies, interoperability can be achieved atthe level of an individual spreadsheet cell. We note that the behaviours of this architecture compare favourably to the desiderata defined by the FAIR Data Principles, and can therefore represent an exemplar implementation of those principles. The proposed interoperability design patterns may be used to improve discovery and integration of both new and legacy data, maximizing the utility of all scholarly outputs

Seismic and solar performance of historical city. Urban form-based multicriteria analysis

The understanding of the global performance of a historical city is a complex balance of several specific issues and requires a multi-disciplinary approach to face with actual urban phenomena and challenges, such as the seismic risk and energy efficiency, that are strongly influenced by urban form. This paper focuses on the potential of urban metrics and typological indicators for describing the seismic vulnerability and the solar radiation availability of distinct urban textures, and the correlation between the two aspects. Comparative analysis at fabric scale was conducted on the historical centre of Rieti (Latium, Italy), to underline the main seismic and solar indicators. In the last decade, we witnessed the spreading of urban scale assessment and analysis tools, but seldom using an integrated approach to face the complexity of the historical city. Relying on morpho-typological indicators, the proposed method characterizes the fabrics in terms of seismic vulnerability and solar availability through a multicriteria analysis. The analysis reveals substantial differences between fabrics using three groups of indicators: Plan, Space and Analysis-oriented. Each group describes different features of the urban fabrics that affect seismic and solar performance and suggests improvement strategies. The purpose is to support policymaker and designer in the urban renovation process