An investigation of the suitability of Artificial Neural Networks for the prediction of core and local skin temperatures when trained with a large and gender-balanced database

Neural networks have been proven to successfully predict the results of complex non-linear problems in a variety of research fields, including medical research. Yet there is paucity of models utilising intelligent systems in the field of thermoregulation. They are under-utilized for predicting seemingly random physiological responses and in particular never used to predict local skin temperatures; or core temperature with a large dataset. In fact, most predictive models in this field (non-artificial intelligence based) focused on predicting body temperature and average skin temperature using relatively small gender-unbalanced databases or data from thermal dummies due to a lack of larger datasets. This paper aimed to address these limitations by applying Artificial Intelligence to create predictive models of core body temperature and local skin temperature (specifically at forehead, chest, upper arms, abdomen, knees and calves) while using a large and gender-balanced experimental database collected in office-type situations. A range of Neural Networks were developed for each local temperature, with topologies of 1–2 hidden layers and up to 20 neurons per layer, using Bayesian and the Levemberg-Marquardt back-propagation algorithms, and using various sets of input parameters (2520 NNs for each of the local skin temperatures and 1760 for the core temperature, i.e. a total of 19400 NNs). All topologies and configurations were assessed and the most suited recommended. The recommended Neural Networks trained well, with no sign of over-fitting, and with good performance when predicting unseen data. The recommended Neural Network for each case was compared with previously reported multi-linear models. Core temperature was avoided as a parameter for local skin temperatures as it is impractical for non-contact monitoring systems and does not significantly improve the precision despite it is the most stable parameter. The recommended NNs substantially improve the predictions in comparison to previous approaches. NN for core temperature has an R-value of 0.87 (81% increase), and a precision of ±0.46 °C for an 80% CI which is acceptable for non-clinical applications. NNs for local skin temperatures had R-values of 0.85-0.93 for forehead, chest, abdomen, calves, knees and hands, last two being the strongest (increase of 72% for abdomen, 63% for chest, and 32% for calves and forehead). The precision was best for forehead, chest and calves, with about ±1.2 °C, which is similar to the precision of existent average skin temperature models even though the average value is more stable

ReSCon '12, Research Student Conference: Book of Abstracts

The fifth SED Research Student Conference (ReSCon2012) was hosted over three days, 18-20 June 2012, in the Hamilton Centre at Brunel University. The conference consisted of 130 oral and 70 poster presentations, based on the high quality and diverse research being conducted within the School of Engineering and Design by postgraduate research students. The conference is held annually, and ReSCon plays a key role in contributing to research and innovations within the School

Ubiquitous Technologies for Emotion Recognition

Emotions play a very important role in how we think and behave. As such, the emotions we feel every day can compel us to act and influence the decisions and plans we make about our lives. Being able to measure, analyze, and better comprehend how or why our emotions may change is thus of much relevance to understand human behavior and its consequences. Despite the great efforts made in the past in the study of human emotions, it is only now, with the advent of wearable, mobile, and ubiquitous technologies, that we can aim to sense and recognize emotions, continuously and in real time. This book brings together the latest experiences, findings, and developments regarding ubiquitous sensing, modeling, and the recognition of human emotions

Collaborative Networks, Decision Systems, Web Applications and Services for Supporting Engineering and Production Management

This book focused on fundamental and applied research on collaborative and intelligent networks and decision systems and services for supporting engineering and production management, along with other kinds of problems and services. The development and application of innovative collaborative approaches and systems are of primer importance currently, in Industry 4.0. Special attention is given to flexible and cyber-physical systems, and advanced design, manufacturing and management, based on artificial intelligence approaches and practices, among others, including social systems and services

Emotion and Stress Recognition Related Sensors and Machine Learning Technologies

This book includes impactful chapters which present scientific concepts, frameworks, architectures and ideas on sensing technologies and machine learning techniques. These are relevant in tackling the following challenges: (i) the field readiness and use of intrusive sensor systems and devices for capturing biosignals, including EEG sensor systems, ECG sensor systems and electrodermal activity sensor systems; (ii) the quality assessment and management of sensor data; (iii) data preprocessing, noise filtering and calibration concepts for biosignals; (iv) the field readiness and use of nonintrusive sensor technologies, including visual sensors, acoustic sensors, vibration sensors and piezoelectric sensors; (v) emotion recognition using mobile phones and smartwatches; (vi) body area sensor networks for emotion and stress studies; (vii) the use of experimental datasets in emotion recognition, including dataset generation principles and concepts, quality insurance and emotion elicitation material and concepts; (viii) machine learning techniques for robust emotion recognition, including graphical models, neural network methods, deep learning methods, statistical learning and multivariate empirical mode decomposition; (ix) subject-independent emotion and stress recognition concepts and systems, including facial expression-based systems, speech-based systems, EEG-based systems, ECG-based systems, electrodermal activity-based systems, multimodal recognition systems and sensor fusion concepts and (x) emotion and stress estimation and forecasting from a nonlinear dynamical system perspective

Artificial Intelligence for detection and prevention of mold contamination in tomato processing

openIl presente elaborato si propone di analizzare l'uso dell'intelligenza artificiale attraverso il riconoscimento di immagini per rilevare la presenza di muffa nei pomodori durante il processo di essiccazione. La muffa nei pomodori rappresenta un rischio sia per la salute umana sia per l'industria alimentare, comportando, anche, una serie di problemi che vanno oltre l'aspetto estetico. Essa è causata principalmente da funghi che si diffondono rapidamente sulla superficie dei pomodori. Tale processo compromette così la qualità con la conseguente produzione di tossine che possono influire sulla salute umana. L'obiettivo sperimentale di questo lavoro è il problema dello spreco e della perdita di prodotto nell'industria alimentare. Quando i pomodori sono colpiti da muffe, infatti, diventano inadatti al consumo, con conseguente perdita di cibo. Lo spreco di pomodori a causa delle muffe rappresenta anche la perdita di preziose risorse, utili alla produzione, come terra, acqua, energia e tempo. Il proposito è testare, anche nella fase iniziale, la capacità di un algoritmo di rilevamento degli oggetti per identificare la muffa, e adottare misure preventive. L'analisi sperimentale ha previsto l'addestramento dell'algoritmo con un'ampia serie di foto, tra cui pomodori sani e rovinati di diversi tipi, forme e consistenze. Per etichettare le immagini e creare le epoche di addestramento è stato quindi utilizzato YOLOv7, l'algoritmo di rilevamento degli oggetti scelto, basato su reti neurali. Per valutare le prestazioni sono state utilizzate metriche di valutazione, tra cui “Precision” e “Recall”. L'ipotesi di applicazione dell'intelligenza artificiale in futuro sarà un grande potenziale per migliorare i processi di produzione alimentare, facilitando, così, l'identificazione delle muffe. Il rilevamento rapido delle muffe faciliterebbe la separazione tempestiva dei prodotti contaminati, riducendo così il rischio di diffusione delle tossine e preservando la qualità degli alimenti non contaminati. Questo approccio contribuirebbe a ridurre al minimo gli sprechi alimentari e le inefficienze delle risorse associate allo scarto di grandi quantità di prodotto. Inoltre, l'integrazione della computer vision nel contesto dell'HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) potrebbe migliorare i protocolli di sicurezza alimentare grazie a un rilevamento accurato e tempestivo. Questa tecnologia potrà offrire, dando priorità alla prevenzione, una promettente opportunità per migliorare la qualità, l'efficienza e la sostenibilità dei futuri processi di produzione alimentare.This study investigates the use of computer vision couples with artificial intelligence to detect mold in tomatoes during the drying process. Mold presence in tomatoes poses threats to human health and the food industry as it leads to several issues beyond appearance. It is primarily caused by fungi that spread rapidly over the tomato surface, compromising their quality, and potentially producing toxins that can harm human health. The experimental aim of this work focused on the issue of wastage and loss within the food industry. When tomatoes succumb to mold, they become unsuitable for consumption, resulting in a loss of food and resources. Considering that tomato production requires resources such as land, water, energy, and time, wasting tomatoes due to mold also represents a waste of these valuable resources. The goal was to evaluate the mold detection capabilities of an object detection algorithm, particularly in its early stages, to facilitate preventative measures. This experimental analysis entailed training the algorithm with an extensive array of images, encompassing a variety of healthy and spoiled tomatoes of different shapes, types, textures and drying stages. The chosen object detection algorithm, YOLOv7, is convolutional neural network-based and was utilized for image labeling and training epochs. Evaluation metrics, including precision and recall, were utilized to assess the algorithm's performance. The implementation of artificial intelligence in the future has significant potential for enhancing food production processes by streamlining mold identification. Prompt mold detection would expedite segregation of contaminated products, thus reducing the risk of toxin dissemination and preserving the quality of uncontaminated food. This approach could minimize food waste and resource inefficiencies linked to discarding significant product amounts. Furthermore, integrating computer vision in the HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) context could enhance food safety protocols via accurate and prompt detection. By prioritizing prevention, this technology offers a promising chance to optimize quality, efficiency, and sustainability of future food production processes

Risk Exposure to Particles – including Legionella pneumophila – emitted during Showering with Water-Saving Showers

The increase in legionellosis incidence in the general population in recent years calls for a better characterization of the sources of infection, such as showering. Water-efficient shower systems that use water atomization technology may emit slightly more inhalable bacteria-sized particles than traditional systems, which may increase the risk of users inhaling contaminants associated with these water droplets. To evaluate the risk, the number and mass of inhalable water droplets emitted by twelve showerheads—eight using water-atomization technology and four using continuous-flow technology— were monitored in a shower stall. The water-atomizing showers tested not only had lower flow rates, but also larger spray angles, less nozzles, and larger nozzle diameters than those of the continuous-flow showerheads. A difference in the behavior of inhalable water droplets between the two technologies was observed, both unobstructed or in the presence of a mannequin. The evaporation of inhalable water droplets emitted by the water-atomization showers favored a homogenous distribution in the shower stall. In the presence of the mannequin, the number and mass of inhalable droplets increased for the continuous-flow showerheads and decreased for the water-atomization showerheads. The water-atomization showerheads emitted less inhalable water mass than the continuous-flow showerheads did per unit of time; however, they generally emitted a slightly higher number of inhalable droplets—only one model performed as well as the continuous-flow showerheads in this regard. To specifically assess the aerosolisation rate of bacteria, in particular of the opportunistic water pathogen Legionella pneumophila, during showering controlled experiments were run with one atomization showerhead and one continuous-flow, first inside a glove box, second inside a shower stall. The bioaerosols were sampled with a Coriolis® air sampler and the total number of viable (cultivable and noncultivable) bacteria was determined by flow cytometry and culture. We found that the rate of viable and cultivable Legionella aerosolized from the water jet was similar between the two showerheads: the viable fraction represents 0.02% of the overall bacteria present in water, while the cultivable fraction corresponds to only 0.0005%. The two showerhead models emitted a similar ratio of airborne Legionella viable and cultivable per volume of water used. Similar results were obtained with naturally contaminated hoses tested in shower stall. Therefore, the risk of exposure to Legionella is not expected to increase significantly with the new generation of water-efficient showerheads

Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Computing

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a subject garnering increasing attention in both academia and the industry today. The understanding is that AI-enhanced methods and techniques create a variety of opportunities related to improving basic and advanced business functions, including production processes, logistics, financial management and others. As this collection demonstrates, AI-enhanced tools and methods tend to offer more precise results in the fields of engineering, financial accounting, tourism, air-pollution management and many more. The objective of this collection is to bring these topics together to offer the reader a useful primer on how AI-enhanced tools and applications can be of use in today’s world. In the context of the frequently fearful, skeptical and emotion-laden debates on AI and its value added, this volume promotes a positive perspective on AI and its impact on society. AI is a part of a broader ecosystem of sophisticated tools, techniques and technologies, and therefore, it is not immune to developments in that ecosystem. It is thus imperative that inter- and multidisciplinary research on AI and its ecosystem is encouraged. This collection contributes to that