MIFaaS: A Mobile-IoT-Federation-as-a-Service Model for dynamic cooperation of IoT Cloud Providers

In the Internet of Things (IoT) arena, a constant evolution is observed towards the deployment of integrated environments, wherein heterogeneous devices pool their capacities to match wide-ranging user requirements. Solutions for efficient and synergistic cooperation among objects are, therefore, required. This paper suggests a novel paradigm to support dynamic cooperation among private/public local clouds of IoT devices. Differently from . device-oriented approaches typical of Mobile Cloud Computing, the proposed paradigm envisages an . IoT Cloud Provider (ICP)-oriented cooperation, which allows all devices belonging to the same private/public owner to participate in the federation process. Expected result from dynamic federations among ICPs is a remarkable increase in the amount of service requests being satisfied. Different from the Fog Computing vision, the network edge provides only management support and supervision to the proposed Mobile-IoT-Federation-as-a-Service (MIFaaS), thus reducing the deployment cost of peripheral micro data centers. The paper proposes a coalition formation game to account for the interest of rational cooperative ICPs in their own payoff. A proof-of-concept performance evaluation confirms that obtained coalition structures not only guarantee the satisfaction of the players' requirements according to their utility function, but also these introduce significant benefits for the cooperating ICPs in terms of number of tasks being successfully assigned

Analysis of the superdefomed rotational bands

All available experimental data for the $\Delta I=2$ transition energies in superdeformed bands are analyzed by using a new one-point formula. The existence of deviations from the smooth behavior is confirmed in many bands. However, we stress that one cannot necessarily speak about staggering patterns as they are mostly irregular. Simulations of the experimental data suggest that the irregularities may stem from the presence of irregular kinks in the rotational spectra. This could be a clue but, at the moment, where such kinks come from is an open question.Comment: 6 pages, RevTex, 7 p.s. figures, submitted to P.R.

From "retailers" to health care providers: Transforming the role of community pharmacists in chronic disease management

© 2015. Community pharmacists are the third largest healthcare professional group in the world after physicians and nurses. Despite their considerable training, community pharmacists are the only health professionals who are not primarily rewarded for delivering health care and hence are under-utilized as public health professionals. An emerging consensus among academics, professional organizations, and policymakers is that community pharmacists, who work outside of hospital settings, should adopt an expanded role in order to contribute to the safe, effective, and efficient use of drugs-particularly when caring for people with multiple chronic conditions. Community pharmacists could help to improve health by reducing drug-related adverse events and promoting better medication adherence, which in turn may help in reducing unnecessary provider visits, hospitalizations, and readmissions while strengthening integrated primary care delivery across the health system. This paper reviews recent strategies to expand the role of community pharmacists in Australia, Canada, England, the Netherlands, Scotland, and the United States. The developments achieved or under way in these countries carry lessons for policymakers world-wide, where progress thus far in expanding the role of community pharmacists has been more limited. Future policies should focus on effectively integrating community pharmacists into primary care; developing a shared vision for different levels of pharmacist services; and devising new incentive mechanisms for improving quality and outcomes

Development of an integrated spine biomechanics framework combining in-vivo, in-silico and in-vitro methods

This is the author accepted manuscript.Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC

Replicating spine loading during functional and daily activities: An in vivo, in silico, in vitro research pipeline

This is the final version. Available on open access from Elsevier via the DOI in this record. Lifestyle heavily influences intervertebral disc (IVD) loads, but measuring in vivo loads requires invasive methods, and the ability to apply these loads in vitro is limited. In vivo load data from instrumented vertebral body replacements is limited to patients that have had spinal fusion surgery, potentially resulting in different kinematics and loading patterns compared to a healthy population. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a pipeline for the non-invasive estimation of in vivo IVD loading, and the application of these loads in vitro. A full-body Opensim model was developed by adapting and combining two existing models. Kinetic data from healthy participants performing activities of daily living were used as inputs for simulations using static optimisation. After evaluating simulation results using in vivo data, the estimated six-axis physiological loads were applied to bovine tail specimens. The pipeline was then used to compare the kinematics resulting from the physiological load profiles (flexion, lateral bending, axial rotation) with a simplified pure moment protocol commonly used for in vitro studies. Comparing kinematics revealed that the in vitro physiological load protocol followed the same trends as the in silico and in vivo data. Furthermore, the physiological loads resulted in substantially different kinematics when compared to pure moment testing, particularly in flexion. Therefore, the use of the presented pipeline to estimate the complex loads of daily activities in different populations, and the application of those loads in vitro provides a novel capability to deepen our knowledge of spine biomechanics, IVD mechanobiology, and improve pre-clinical test methods.Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC