Using CommonKADS to Build an Expertise Model for Breast Cancer Prognosis and Therapy

One of the major aspects in breast cancer research is the identification of prognostic factors accurate enough to define different therapeutic decisions; each prognostic factor on its own is not sufficient for the prediction of the biological behaviour of the tumour, but a combination of these parameters is necessary. More over, nowadays growth of cancer literature, specifically on biological aspects, is of exponential nature, and the management of the knowledge deriving from cancer research needs a knowledge conceptualisation in order to semplify the process of guideline production in cancer prognosis and therapy. The work described here focuses on the definition of a conceptual knowledge model of the prognosis and the therapy of breast cancer. Our approach to the conceptualisation of the problem fol lows the CommonKADS (Knowledge Acquisition and Design Structuring) Library for Expertise Modelling. The aim of this work is to provide a first conceptual- isation of breast cancer prognosis and therapy, while evaluating the efficacy of the Com monKADS methodology in facing the problem

Agent-Based Enhanced Workflow in Manufacturing Information Systems: the MAKE-IT Approach

Manufacturing is one of the main fields of application of software agent technology. In this respect, several current research projects focus on workflow management, with the aim of an integration and coordination among plant and business activities. In section I, the state of the art is presented, relevant to software agents and to the technologies currently adopted in the exploitation of agents in manufacturing information systems. In section II, the possibility of developing real-time agents at the shop floor level is investigated. In section III, the MAKE-IT (Manufacturing Agents in a Knowledgebased Environment driven by Internet Technologies) approach to agent-based enhanced workflow in manufacturing information system is presented. Finally section IV presents our conclusions

Introduction to the special section humans and industry 4.0

Since the start of industrialization, machine capabilities have increased in such a way that human control of processes has evolved from simple (with mechanization) to cognitive (with computerization), and even emotional (with semi/full automation). The processes have also evolved from simple to complicated, and now complex systems, in the emerging context of Industry 4.0. The objective of the special issue “Human and Industry 4.0” is to benefit from studies and results from current manufacturing projects to highlight clues and good practices to design intelligent manufacturing systems for Industry 4.0, then paying attention to human involvements in order to unsure what it looks like in practice and how to realize these systems, especially when it comes to maintenance and operations. This paper aims to summarize the scientific papers that contributed to the Special Issue “Human and Industry 4.0”.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Traffic-based Control of Truck Platoons on Freeways

This abstract deals with the control of truck platoons traveling in freeways. In order to improve their travel performance, in terms of travelling times and comfort and to guarantee safety, a hierarchical control scheme is proposed for each platoon. At the high level, the reference speed is computed according to a PI-based control rule with the main aim of reducing the time spent by the platoon in the congested area. This reference speed is communicated to the low control level which implements a Linear Quadratic Tracking policy and determines the optimal speed for each truck in the platoon. The application of these hierarchical controllers to a case study shows the effectiveness of the proposed scheme

A model predictive approach to control vehicle skidding by sideslip angle estimation

Circular external fixators using hexapod struts are a valuable tool in the treatment of complex, multiplanar limb deformities

Remote real-time monitoring and control of contamination in underground storage tank systems of petrol products

A system to monitor and to control contamination in the soil, as well as in the aquifer is presented. Specifically, the system is suitable to monitor continuously, remotely, and in real-time the soil surrounding underground storage tank (UST) systems, such as in petrol service stations. The system has also functions for remediation, due to the possibility to be configured as a soil venting system. A prototype has been running for more than three years in a petrol service station in Genova, Italy. Results show that, in daily work, frequent small-medium leakages may occur, which may be related to several events, the most frequent of which is the delivery of petrol products to the USTs. In these cases, the system can diagnose the leakage and start remediation by a specific soil venting process. Some considerations on the cost/benefit evaluation of this technology and on the utility to insert it as an important step to assure zero emissions to the soil in connection with petrol product storage and manufacturing are discussed

Using CommonKADS to build an expertise model for breast cancer prognosis and therapy

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