The Evolution of ICT in the Public Safety domain: Challenges and Opportunities

The services provided by public safety organizations bring value to society by creating a stable and secure environment. These services include protection to people environment and properties and they address a large number of threats both natural and man-made, acts of terrorism, technological, radiological or environmental accidents. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have always played an important role in the public safety domain. The capability of exchanging information (e.g., voice or data) is essential to improve the coordination of public safety officers during an emergency crisis. Wireless communications are particularly important in field operations to support the mobility of first responders. Operational and business requirements in the public safety domain are significantly different from the commercial domain. Innovative ICT concepts and technologies may not be directly applicable to the public safety domain or they need to be customized to fit specific requirements (e.g., security). This paper will identify the most significant challenges in the Public Safey domain, the main technical enablers and the opportunities provided by new ICT technologies. In particular, this paper focuses on the lack of interoperability and broadband connectivity for public safety organizations. The potential evolution paths for ICT in the public safety domain will also be described.JRC.G.6-Security technology assessmen

MIDDLEWARE FOR SMART HETEROGENEOUS CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE NETWORKS INTERCOMMUNICATION

Svrha je ovog preglednog rada objasniti princip i izložiti rezultate dosadašnjih istraživanja nove SWEEPS tehnike ispiranja korijenskog kanala. Standardna obrada korijenskih kanala tijekom endodontskog liječenja uključuje mehaničku instrumentaciju ručnim ili strojnim instrumentima te kemijsku obradu sredstvima za ispiranje poput NaOCl i EDTA. Tijekom instrumentacije kanala formiraju se debris i zaostatni sloj, koje je potrebno ukloniti. U dezinfekciji endodontskog prostora zuba ključan je raspad bakterijskog biofilma koji se postiže brzim strujanjem sredstva za ispiranje u kanalu. Dinamičan protok sredstva za ispiranje u kanalu potreban je za dosezanje svih dijelova endodontskog prostora, održavanje učinkovite koncentracije sredstva i za stvaranje smičnog stresa na stijekama koji uklanja biofilm. Zbog ograničenja pasivnog ispiranja špricom i iglom (nedovoljna izmjena tekućine u korijenskom kanalu) došlo je do razvoja brojnih tehnika aktivacije sredstva za ispiranje, poput zvučno i ultrazvučno aktiviranog ispiranja. Noviji doprinos poboljšanju učinkovitosti dezinfekcije korijenskih kanala predstavlja laserski aktivirano ispiranje (engl. laser-activated irrigation, LAI) pomoću erbij lasera. Posebna tehnika LAI zove se fotonima inducirano fotoakustično strujanje (engl. photon-induced photoacoustic streaming, PIPS), a temelji se na nastanku kavitacija i šok-valova koji čiste stijenke kanala. Tehnološkim napretkom postavki lasera omogućen je razvoj novih tehnika. Emisija fotoakustičnog strujanja pojačana udarnim valom (engl. Shock Wave Enchanced Emission of Photoacoustic Streaming, SWEEPS) nova je tehnika ispiranja korijenskih kanala koja se temelji na pojačanju šok-valova dodatnim pulsom laserske zrake. U literaturi još nema dovoljno radova na temelju kojih bi se mogao jasno definirati učinak SWEEPS tehnike.The aim of this study is to explain the principles and present the results of past research of the new SWEEPS root canal irrigation technique. Standard procedure during endodontic therapy involves mechanical instrumentation using hand or rotary files and chemical treatment that uses irrigants such as NaOCl and EDTA. During root canal instrumentation, debris and smear layer are formed and they need to be removed. Deattachment of bacterial biofilm plays a key role in endodontic disinfection and is originated by a fast stream of irrigant inside the root canal. Dinamic flow of irrigant inside the root canal is necessary for reaching all parts of endodontic space, maintaining an effective irrigant concentration and producing shear stress on root canal walls, which removes the biofilm. Limitations of passive needle irrigation (insufficient exchange of irrigant in the root canal) induced the development of numerous irrigation activation techniques, such as sonic and ultrasonic activation of irrigation. A new contribution to improving the efficiency of root canal disinfection is laser-activated irrigation (LAI) using erbium lasers. A special technique that LAI uses is photon-induced photoacoustic streaming (PIPS) and it is based on producing cavitations and shockwaves which debride the root canal walls. Technological progress of laser settings enabled the development of new techniques. Shock Wave Enchanced Emission of Photoacoustic Streaming (SWEEPS) is a new irrigation activation technique based on the enchancement of shockwaves by using additional laser pulse. There have not been enough papers published to clearly define the efficacy of SWEEPS technique

Mission-Critical Communications from LMR to 5G: a Technology Assessment approach for Smart City scenarios

Radiocommunication networks are one of the main support tools of agencies that carry out actions in Public Protection & Disaster Relief (PPDR), and it is necessary to update these communications technologies from narrowband to broadband and integrated to information technologies to have an effective action before society. Understanding that this problem includes, besides the technical aspects, issues related to the social context to which these systems are inserted, this study aims to construct scenarios, using several sources of information, that helps the managers of the PPDR agencies in the technological decisionmaking process of the Digital Transformation of Mission-Critical Communication considering Smart City scenarios, guided by the methods and approaches of Technological Assessment (TA).As redes de radiocomunicações são uma das principais ferramentas de apoio dos órgãos que realizam ações de Proteção Pública e Socorro em desastres, sendo necessário atualizar essas tecnologias de comunicação de banda estreita para banda larga, e integra- las às tecnologias de informação, para se ter uma atuação efetiva perante a sociedade . Entendendo que esse problema inclui, além dos aspectos técnicos, questões relacionadas ao contexto social ao qual esses sistemas estão inseridos, este estudo tem por objetivo a construção de cenários, utilizando diversas fontes de informação que auxiliem os gestores destas agências na tomada de decisão tecnológica que envolve a transformação digital da Comunicação de Missão Crítica considerando cenários de Cidades Inteligentes, guiado pelos métodos e abordagens de Avaliação Tecnológica (TA)

Integrated topological representation of multi-scale utility resource networks

PhD ThesisThe growth of urban areas and their resource consumption presents a significant global challenge. Existing utility resource supply systems are unresponsive, unreliable and costly. There is a need to improve the configuration and management of the infrastructure networks that carry these resources from source to consumer and this is best performed through analysis of multi-scale, integrated digital representations. However, the real-world networks are represented across different datasets that are underpinned by different data standards, practices and assumptions, and are thus challenging to integrate. Existing integration methods focus predominantly on achieving maximum information retention through complex schema mappings and the development of new data standards, and there is strong emphasis on reconciling differences in geometries. However, network topology is of greatest importance for the analysis of utility networks and simulation of utility resource flows because it is a representation of functional connectivity, and the derivation of this topology does not require the preservation of full information detail. The most pressing challenge is asserting the connectivity between the datasets that each represent subnetworks of the entire end-to-end network system. This project presents an approach to integration that makes use of abstracted digital representations of electricity and water networks to infer inter-dataset network connectivity, exploring what can be achieved by exploiting commonalities between existing datasets and data standards to overcome their otherwise inhibiting disparities. The developed methods rely on the use of graph representations, heuristics and spatial inference, and the results are assessed using surveying techniques and statistical analysis of uncertainties. An algorithm developed for water networks was able to correctly infer a building connection that was absent from source datasets. The thesis concludes that several of the key use cases for integrated topological representation of utility networks are partially satisfied through the methods presented, but that some differences in data standardisation and best practice in the GIS and BIM domains prevent full automation. The common and unique identification of real-world objects, agreement on a shared concept vocabulary for the built environment, more accurate positioning of distribution assets, consistent use of (and improved best practice for) georeferencing of BIM models and a standardised numerical expression of data uncertainties are identified as points of development.Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Ordnance Surve

The drama of Ahmed Yerima : studies in Nigerian theatre

The Drama of Ahmed Yerima. Studies in Nigerian Theatre gives a detailed development of Nigerian theatre from its ritualistic nature in the 16th Century up to the literary form of the 21st century. It looks at the trajectory movement of the theatre through television to cinema and video film/Nollywood. It explores the aesthetics, thematic preoccupation, recurrent ideologies, language, style and the relevance of the plays of Ahmed Parker Yerima to African socio-cultural milieu from socio-political contextualization point of view. It also reveals how Ahmed Yerima has allowed ideology and style to merge with dramatic technique, and at the same time speaking against various Nigerian governments’ anti-people policies. For emphasis, the work interrogates Yerima’s plays written in the tail end of military regime in Nigeria as well as in the nascent democratic rule (1997-2011). Ahmed Yerima firmly establishes his prese nce on the Nigerian stage during these periods with a succession of theatrical outputs and productions. In selecting the plays analyzed, special emphasis is placed on those works that have political and social relevance to the contemporary Nigerian societyModern and Contemporary Studie