Design and prototype of a train-to-wayside communication architecture

Telecommunication has become very important in modern society and seems to be almost omnipresent, making daily life easier, more pleasant and connecting people everywhere. It does not only connect people, but also machines, enhancing the efficiency of automated tasks and monitoring automated processes. In this context the IBBT (Interdisciplinary Institute for BroadBand Technology) project TRACK (TRain Applications over an advanced Communication networK), sets the definition and prototyping of an end-to-end train-to-wayside communication architecture as one of the main research goals. The architecture provides networking capabilities for train monitoring, personnel applications and passenger Internet services. In the context of the project a prototype framework was developed to give a complete functioning demonstrator. Every aspect: tunneling and mobility, performance enhancements, and priority and quality of service were taken into consideration. In contrast to other research in this area, which has given mostly high-level overviews, TRACK resulted in a detailed architecture with all different elements present

Open Problems on Central Simple Algebras

We provide a survey of past research and a list of open problems regarding central simple algebras and the Brauer group over a field, intended both for experts and for beginners.Comment: v2 has some small revisions to the text. Some items are re-numbered, compared to v

New diagnostic and treatment strategies in renal artery stenosis: a promising pursuit or disappointment foretold?

Clinical management of renal artery stenosis has seen a major shift, after randomised clinical trials have shown no group benefit of endovascular intervention relative to optimal medical control. However, the inclusion criteria of these trials have been criticised for focusing on a subset of patients with atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis where intervention was unlikely to be beneficial. Moreover, new imaging and computational techniques have become available, which have the potential to improve identification of patients that will respond to interventional treatment. This review addresses the challenges associated with clinical decision making in patients with renal artery stenosis. Opportunities for novel diagnostic techniques to improve patient selection are discussed, along with ongoing Dutch studies and network initiatives that investigate these strategies

PReS-FINAL-2148: Rheumates@work a cognitive behavioural internet based intervention promoting physical activity in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis: Preliminary results of a randomized clinical trail

Introduction: Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) is a chronic disease in which periods of active inflammation alternate with periods of inactive disease in an unpredictable way. Although impairments are most pronounced in children with disease activity, deficits like fatigue, decreased physical activity, low aerobic and anaerobic exercise remain impaired long after disease control is obtained. Exercise and physical activity (PA) can be seen as a type of behaviour. Therefore we expect that cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) could be a successful approach to improve exercise capacity and PA levels in children with JIA. To increase PA levels in children with JIA an internet-based program has been developed. A pilot showed to be effective in improving PA and exercise capacity in children with JIA. Objectives: The aim of this multicenter study is to explore the efficacy of an internet based cognitive behavioural intervention Rheumates@work on PA and exercise capacity. Methods: We performed a randomized controlled trial. Patients with JIA aged 8-12 year, with access to internet were selected for this study. PA was measured with a 7-day activity diary and an Actical accelerometer. PA level was categorized by time spend on moderate to vigorous PA and the number of days with 1 hour of moderate to vigorous PA. Aerobic exercise capacity was assessed by the Bruce treadmill test expressed by walking time. Disease activity was assessed by using the JIA core set. Adherence was electronically monitored. Patients with low physical activity defined as equal to or less than three days of one hour of moderate to vigorous PA or with a low exercise capacity defined as less than P5 on the Bruce treadmill test were included. Results: Out of 83 selected patients, 49 eligible patients were included and randomized in the intervention (n = 28) and control waiting list group (n = 21). Adherence was good 26 out of 28 patients (93%) completed the program. The intervention group improved significantly in exercise capacity (p.01), and in number of minutes spend on vigorous activity (p.00). The control group did not improve significant. Disease activity did not increase in both groups. Conclusion: Preliminary results show that the internet based cognitive behavioural program rheumates@work was effective in improving exercise capacity and stimulated the patients to be more vigorously active. Rheumates@work is safe to administer

Adaptive Shared Control of a Brain-Actuated Simulated Wheelchair

The use of shared control techniques has a profound impact on the performance of a robotic assistant controlled by human brain signals. However, this shared control usually provides assistance to the user in a constant and identical manner each time. Creating an adaptive level of assistance, thereby complementing the user's capabilities at any moment, would be more appropriate. The better the user can do by himself, the less assistance he receives from the shared control system; and vice versa. In order to do this, we need to be able to detect when and in what way the user needs assistance. An appropriate assisting behaviour would then be activated for the time the user requires help, thereby adapting the level of assistance to the specific situation. This paper presents such a system, helping a brain-computer interface (BCI) subject perform goal-directed navigation of a simulated wheelchair in an adaptive manner. Whenever the subject has more difficulties in driving the wheelchair, more assistance will be given. Experimental results of two subjects show that this adaptive shared control increases the task performance. Also, it shows that a subject with a lower BCI performance has more need for extra assistance in difficult situations, such as manoeuvring in a narrow corridor

Recent developments and future trends of industrial agents

The agent technology provides a new way to design and engineer control solutions based on the decentralization of control over distributed structures, addressing the current requirements for modern control systems in industrial domains. This paper presents the current situation of the development and deployment of agent technology, discussing the initiatives and the current trends faced for a wider dissemination and industrial adoption, based on the work that is being carried out by the IEEE IES Technical Committee on Industrial Agents

How can the stigma of public transport as the ‘poor man’s vehicle’ be overcome to enhance sustainability and climate change mitigation?

Natural Resources Forum, a United Nations Sustainable Development Journal is running a special series over the 2009-2011 period on themes to be considered by the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development in its 18th and 19th sessions: chemicals, mining, sustainable consumption and production, transport and waste management. In this issue, experts address the question: “How can the stigma of public transport as the ‘poor man’s vehicle’ be overcome to enhance sustainability and climate change mitigation?

Rapid Turnover of 2-LTR HIV-1 DNA during Early Stage of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy

BACKGROUND: Despite prolonged treatment with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), the infectious HIV-1 continues to replicate and resides latently in the resting memory CD4+ T lymphocytes, which blocks the eradication of HIV-1. The viral persistence of HIV-1 is mainly caused by its proviral DNA being either linear nonintegrated, circular nonintegrated, or integrated. Previous reports have largely focused on the dynamics of HIV-1 DNA from the samples collected with relatively long time intervals during the process of disease and HAART treatment, which may have missed the intricate changes during the intervals in early treatment. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this study, we investigated the dynamics of HIV-1 DNA in patients during the early phase of HARRT treatment. Using optimized real time PCR, we observed significant changes in 2-LTR during the first 12-week of treatment, while total and integrated HIV-1 DNA remained stable. The doubling time and half-life of 2-LTR were not correlated with the baseline and the rate of changes in plasma viral load and various CD4+ T-cell populations. Longitudinal analyses on 2-LTR sequences and plasma lipopolysaccharide (LPS) levels did not reveal any significant changes in the same treatment period. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our study revealed the rapid changes in 2-LTR concentration in a relatively large number of patients during the early HAART treatment. The rapid changes indicate the rapid infusion and clearance of cells bearing 2-LTR in the peripheral blood. Those changes are not expected to be caused by the blocking of viral integration, as our study did not include the integrase inhibitor raltegravir. Our study helps better understand the dynamics of HIV-DNA and its potential role as a biomarker for the diseases and for the treatment efficacy of HAART