An eHealth-Care Driven Perspective on 5G Networks and Infrastructure

This work describes the advancements that next generation mobile networks can bring to emergency services on the basis of a fully 5G enabled medical emergency response scenario. An ambulance service combining autonomous driving, advanced on-board patient monitoring, remote diagnosis and remote control from the hospital is introduced, allowing increased levels of care during patient transport and improved early diagnosis, thus enhancing patient survival rates. Furthermore, it is shown that such an ambulance service requires a variety of different traffic types that can only be supported concurrently and with guaranteed quality of service by a high-performance network fulfilling all 5G key performance indicators. The scenario described combines a multitude of aspects and applications enabled by 5G mobile communications, including autonomous driving, ultra-high definition video streaming, tactile remote interaction and continuous sensing, into a compelling showcase for a 5G enabled future. A centralized radio access 5G network with space division multiplexed optical fronthaul using analog radio-over-fiber and optical beamforming is analyzed, fully supporting SDN and NFV for advanced network slicing and quality of service guarantee.</p

The next challenge for world wide robotized tele-echography experiment (WORTEX 2012): from engineering success to healthcare delivery.

Access to good quality healthcare remains difficult for many patients whether they live in developed or developing countries. In developed countries, specialist medical expertise is concentrated in major hospitals in urban settings both to improve clinical outcomes and as a strategy to reduce the costs of specialist healthcare delivery. In developing countries, millions of people have limited, if any, routine access to a healthcare system and due to economic and cultural factors the accessibility of any services may be restricted. In both cases, geographical, socio-political, cultural and economic factors produce ‘medically isolated areas’ where patients find themselves disadvantaged in terms of timely diagnosis and expert and/or expensive treatment. The robotized teleechography approach, also referred to as robotized teleultrasound, offers a potential solution to diagnostic imaging in medically isolated areas. It is designed for patients requiring ultrasound scans for routine care (e.g., ante natal care) and for diagnostic imaging to investigate acute and medical emergencies conditions, including trauma care and responses to natural disasters such as earthquakes. The robotized teleechography system can hold any standard ultrasound probe; this lightweight system is positioned on the patient’s body by a healthcare assistant. The medical expert, a clinician with expertise in ultrasound imaging and diagnosis, is in a distant location and, using a dedicated joystick, remotely controls the scanning via any available communication link (Internet, satellite). The WORTEX2012 intercontinental trials of the system conducted last year successfully demonstrated the feasibility of remote robotized tele-echography in a range of cultural, technical and clinical contexts. In addition to the engineering success, these trials provided positive feedback from the participating clinicians and patients on using the system and on the system’s perceived potential to transform healthcare in medically isolated areas. The next challenge is to show evidence that this innovative technology can deliver on its promise if introduced into routine healthcare

The Deep‐water corals of Cyprus: Environmental settings and ecological features (CYprus Cold‐corals Levantine SeA, Eastern MEditerraneaN: CYCLAMEN)

The recently started research project CYCLAMEN (CYprus Cold-corals Levantine SeA, Eastern MEditerraneaN), will conduct the first detailed study of cold-water coral communities in eastern Cypriot waters. Cold-water coral habitats have been found during exploratory surveys. The 2-yr long project will include the environmental characterization of the area, as well as the study of the spatial distribution of cold-water coral communities. In addition to the study of the biology of the coral species, genetic and eco-physiological studies will be included. This project is the first of its kind in Cyprus and will additionally have an associated scientific outreach programme in order to bring these ecosystems, still poorly known, to the general public. The project is led by the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO), and relies on the participation of research Institutions in Cyprus: The Cyprus Institute (CyI) and the NGO Enalia Physis Environmental Research Centre (EPERC); France: Aix-Marseille University – Mediterranean Institute for Biodiversity & Ecology (AMU-IMBE); Greece: The Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR); Mónaco: Centre Scientifique de Monaco (CSM); United Kingdom: National Oceanography Centre (NOC), and Spain: Universitat de Barcelona (UB). Here we present the conceptual frame of the project, the background knowledge and the first obtained results in the oceanographic cruise carried out in summer 2015

Digital Zooarchaeology: State of the art, challenges, prospects and synergies

This is the final version. Available on open access from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordDigital technologies are an increasingly pervasive medium for zooarchaeological scholarship, providing a means to document and preserve fragile zooarchaeological specimens, share primary data, address methodological questions, and spread the information to the wider public. During the last decade, a broad array of digital technologies has been widely applied for the creation of three-dimensional images of animal bones, with a number of freely accessible collections being developed and published online. To be beneficial for academic and non-academic audiences, the creation of these collections requires careful planning, and more attention is needed in order to ensure their longevity in the web as well as their future usability. Drawing on an online workshop, organised by the Science and Technology in Archaeology and Culture Research Center of The Cyprus Institute, titled “Zooarchaeology in the Digital Era”, this article aims to provide a snapshot of the current state of art, and the methods and digital tools being employed in the digitisation of animal remains. The article also raises some of the challenges that the international zooarchaeological community is facing in the era of Linked Open Data, including management, archiving, curation, storage, dissemination and communication of digital data to the scientific world and the wider public. In addition, the paper highlights the need for a stronger collaboration between archaeologists and researchers from the Digital Humanities’ sector in order to stimulate an innovative discourse and create fertile ground for the production of new scientific knowledge.European Union Horizon 202

Interplay between elastic instabilities and shear-banding: three categories of Taylor–Couette flows and beyond

In the past twenty years, shear-banding flows have been probed by various techniques, such as rheometry, velocimetry and flow birefringence. In micellar solutions, many of the data collected exhibit unexplained spatiotemporal fluctuations. Recently, it has been suggested that those fluctuations originate from a purely elastic instability of the shear-banding flow. In cylindrical Couette geometry, the instability is reminiscent of the Taylor-like instability observed in viscoelastic polymer solutions. The criterion for purely elastic Taylor–Couette instability adapted to shear-banding flows suggested three categories of shear-banding depending on their stability. In the present study, we report on a large set of experimental data which demonstrates the existence of the three categories of shear-banding flows in various surfactant solutions. Consistent with theoretical predictions, increases in the surfactant concentration or in the curvature of the geometry destabilize the flow, whereas an increase in temperature stabilizes the flow. However, experiments also exhibit some interesting behaviors going beyond the purely elastic instability criterion.National Science Foundation (U.S.). Graduate Research Fellowship Progra

A robotic irrigation system for urban gardening and agriculture

Water supply limits and continued population growth have intensified the search for measures to conserve water in urban gardening and agriculture. The efficiency of water use is depended on performance of the irrigation technologies and management practices. In this study, a robotic irrigation system was developed that consists of a moving bridge manipulator and a sensor-based platform. The manipulator constructed is partly using open-source components and software, and is easily reconfigurable and extendable. In combination to the sensor-based platform this custom-made manipulator has the potential to monitor the soil water content (SWC) in real time. The irrigation robotic system was tested in an experimental soil tank. The total surface of the soil tank was divided by a raster into 18 equal quadrants. The water management for maintaining water content in the soil tank within tolerable lower limit (refill point) was based on three irrigation treatments: i) quadrants whose SWC is below the refill point are irrigated; ii) quadrants are irrigated only when the daily mean SWC of the tank is below the refill point and only for those whose actual SWC is lower than that limit; and iii) quadrants are irrigated every two days with constant amount of water. A comparison of the results of the three irrigation treatments showed that the second treatment gave less irrigation events and less applied water. Finally, we could conclude that the performance of the fabricated robotic system is appropriate and it could play an important role in achieving sustainable irrigation into urban food systems. © the Author(s), 2019

Establishment of a framework for the design of robotic photovoltaic cleaning systems

Given the prominent role of solar energy among the other clean energy sources, the increase of photovoltaic (PV) systems efficiency becomes crucial. A problem that was recognized to degrade the performance of photovoltaic panels is related to the accumulation of dust (soiling) on their surface. In general, the common practice of manual cleaning of PV systems is not efficient. For this reason, it has emerged the need for automatic cleaning procedures. Automated solutions include integrated cleaning systems and robotized solutions. From a robot design perspective there exist a plethora of issues to be considered, including its energy autonomy but also the employment of appropriate path planning and control methodologies. The available cleaning methods have to be assessed in regard to their suitability for a robotized solution and the corresponding operation parameters have to be optimized. A monitoring system can assist in targeted cleaning beyond the scheduled routine cleaning operations. Towards that direction a suitable concept may integrate intelligent monitoring of a solar photovoltaic power plant using autonomous drones. An effective robotic cleaning solution can be further enhanced using other modern technologies including advanced image processing, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and internet of things (IoT). The objective of this work is to provide a general perspective of the problem. The motivation for the development of robotized PV cleaning solutions is justified and the application requirements are identified. A general framework for the design of PV cleaning robots is established. Relevant works are reviewed, already proposed systems are categorized and research challenges are identified

AN ONLINE 3D DATABASE SYSTEM FOR ENDANGERED ARCHITECTURAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL HERITAGE IN THE SOUTH-EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN

The World Heritage Convention, drawn by various international bodies in 1972, was designed to protect cultural or natural places of outstanding universal value so that future generations may be able to enjoy them. Responding to these principles as well as to the Charter on the Preservation of Digital heritage (Vancouver, 2003), this multidisciplinary project, which involves archaeologists, art historians, conservators and computer scientists, aims to create an open access, 3D interactive online geo-database of endangered architectural and archaeological heritage in the South Eastern Mediterranean basin; a region of tremendous cultural importance whose rech heritage is unfortunately threatened by both natural and human factors. A wide range of 3D modelling and topographic techniques have been applied to create accurate reconstructions of heritage sites, enriched by a extensive array of metadata