Agents in Online Healthcare Digital Library Management of the National Resource for Infection Control

In this paper, we describe a specification for the use of agents within the National Resource for Infection Control (NRIC - www.nric.org.uk) in the UK. The National Resource for Infection Control is an Internet medical digital library that provides a single point of access to quality appraised, evidence based information within the field of infection control. One of the most important aspects of running an online healthcare digital library is the improvement of the functionality provided to the users, in order to facilitate the transfer of information in as useful a manner as possible. Software agents can help solve some of the problems involved in this process in an efficient manner. The methods by which agents may be used in this scenario to aid the improvement of this digital library are detailed here

A Monitoring and Advisory System for Diabetes Patient Management Using a Rule-Based Method and KNN

Diabetes is difficult to control and it is important to manage the diabetic’s blood sugar level and prevent the associated complications by appropriate diabetic treatment. This paper proposes a system that can provide appropriate management for diabetes patients, according to their blood sugar level. The system is designed to send the information about the blood sugar levels, blood pressure, food consumption, exercise, etc., of diabetes patients, and manage the treatment by recommending and monitoring food consumption, physical activity, insulin dosage, etc., so that the patient can better manage their condition. The system is based on rules and the K Nearest Neighbor (KNN) classifier algorithm, to obtain the optimum treatment recommendation. Also, a monitoring system for diabetes patients is implemented using Web Services and Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) programming

Multi-agent model of hepatitis C virus infection

Objectives: The objective of this study is to design a method for modeling hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection using multi-agent simulation and to verify it in practice. Methods and materials: In this paper, first, the modeling of HCV infection using a multi-agent system is compared with the most commonly used model type, which is based on differential equations. Then, the implementation and results of the model using a multi-agent simulation is presented. To find the values of the parameters used in the model, a method using inverted simulation flow and genetic algorithm is proposed. All of the data regarding HCV infection are taken from the paper describing the model based on the differential equation to which the proposed method is compared. Results: Important advantages of the proposed method are noted and demonstrated; these include flexibility, clarity, re-usability and the possibility to model more complex dependencies. Then, the simulation framework that uses the proposed approach is successfully implemented in C++ and is verified by comparing it to the approach based on differential equations. The verification proves that an objective function that performs the best is the function that minimizes the maximal differences in the data. Finally, an analysis of one of the already known models is performed, and it is proved that it incorrectly models a decay in the hepatocytes number by 40%. Conclusions: The proposed method has many advantages in comparison to the currently used model types and can be used successfully for analyzing HCV infection. With almost no modifications, it can also be used for other types of viral infections

Принцип побудови і структура бази даних програмного санаторного комплексу «Курорт Менеджер»

The present article deals with problems of the spa facilities management, and the database structure of modern sanatorium complex software, which automates the functions and activities and also improves the quality of institutions streamline information flows and brings customer’s service to a new higher level. The conclusions about the feasibility of using this system in the workflow institution.The “Resort Manager" sanatorium software consists of 3 units: “The Settle”,”The Setting Procedures”and “Dining room”Unit “The Settle” is designed to registrate customers in sanatorium database and to automatize all the proceses connected with it. For this purpose the database includes such tables as “customers”, “room”, “config”, “archive” and so on.Unit “The Setting Procedures” is designed to generate customer’s medical procedures list with taking into consideration a lot of factors such as procedures incompatability, maximal procedures number per day and so on. For this purpose the database includes such tables as “procedures”, “incompetable procedures”, “config”, “archive” and so on.Unit “Dining room” is designed to automatize calculation processes of needed ingredients for cooking, number of meals and general usage of foods for each day.  For this purpose the database includes such tables as “ingredients”, “meals”, “days” “config”, “archive” and so onВ данной статье рассмотрены проблемы организации процесса управления санаторно-курортными учреждениями, а также структура базы данных современного программного санаторного комплекса, который позволяет автоматизировать деятельность и повысить качество функционирования учреждения, упростить информационные потоки и вывести обслуживание клиентов на качественно новый уровень. Сделаны выводы о целесообразности использования данной системы в рабочем процессе учрежденияУ даній статті розглянуто проблеми організації процесу управління санаторно-курортними установами, а також структуру бази даних сучасного програмного санаторного комплексу, який дозволяє автоматизувати діяльність та підвищити якість функціонування установи, спростити інформаційні потоки та вивести обслуговування клієнтів на якісно новий рівень. Зроблено висновки щодо доцільності використання даної системи в робочому процесі установ

Agent-based Computing in Java

Agents are powerful, autonomous entities capable of performing simple, or vastly complex, operations individually or in groups of agent systems. Their capabilities extend significantly as mobile agents distributed across a network. Agent-based computing is a widely used technology with a broad range of applications, particularly in distributed computing and agent-based modeling. Many types of systems can be designed using the different architectures that define how they act, communicate, migrate, and more. This paper surveys agent-based computing, their architectures, and efforts at the standardization of certain aspects of the technology. It explores an existing framework called Jade through the lens of a demonstration based on the Sugarscape model, implemented using Jade’s library. Finally, it presents a new framework, called NOMAD, a simple barebones framework which comprises the most essential components needed for a mobile agent framework. With it, a user can quickly and more deeply understand the vital challenges agent systems must address, such as communication and code mobility, and the solutions needed to be implemented. They’ll be able to use the framework to extend its capabilities, create new components, and build powerful agent systems of their own

HoCaMA: Home Care Hybrid Multiagent Architecture

Home Care is one of the main objectives of Ambient Intelligence. Nowadays, the disabled and elderly population, which represents a significant part of our society, requires novel solutions for providing home care in an effective way. In this chapter, we present HoCaMA, a hybrid multiagent architecture that facilitates remote monitoring and care services for disabled patients at their homes. HoCaMA combines multiagent systems and Web services to facilitate the communication and integration with multiple health care systems. In addition, HoCaMA focuses on the design of reactive agents capable of interacting with different sensors present in the environment, and incorporates a system of alerts through SMS and MMS mobile technologies. Finally, it uses Radio Frequency IDentification and JavaCard technologies to provide advanced location and identification systems, as well as automatic access control facilities. HoCaMA has been implemented in a real environment and the results obtained are presented within this chapter

Third international workshop on Authoring of adaptive and adaptable educational hypermedia (A3EH), Amsterdam, 18-22 July, 2005

The A3EH follows a successful series of workshops on Adaptive and Adaptable Educational Hypermedia. This workshop focuses on models, design and authoring of AEH, on assessment of AEH, conversion between AEH and evaluation of AEH. The workshop has paper presentations, poster session and panel discussions