SISO Space Reference FOM - Tools and Testing

The Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization (SISO) Space Reference Federation Object Model (SpaceFOM) version 1.0 is nearing completion. Earlier papers have described the use of the High Level Architecture (HLA) in Space simulation as well as technical aspects of the SpaceFOM. This paper takes a look at different SpaceFOM tools and how they were used during the development and testing of the standard.The first organizations to develop SpaceFOM-compliant federates for SpaceFOM development and testing were NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC), the University of Calabria (UNICAL), and Pitch Technologies.JSC is one of NASA's lead centers for human space flight. Much of the core distributed simulation technology development, specifically associated with the SpaceFOM, is done by the NASA Exploration Systems Simulations (NExSyS) team. One of NASA's principal simulation development tools is the Trick Simulation Environment. NASA's NExSyS team has been modifying and using Trick and TrickHLA to help develop and test the SpaceFOM.The System Modeling And Simulation Hub Laboratory (SMASH-Lab) at UNICAL has developed the Simulation Exploration Experience (SEE) HLA Starter kit, that has been used by most SEE teams involved in the distributed simulation of a Moon base. It is particularly useful for the development of federates that are compatible with the SpaceFOM. The HLA Starter Kit is a Java based tool that provides a well-structured framework to simplify the formulation, generation, and execution of SpaceFOM-compliant federates.Pitch Technologies, a company specializing in distributed simulation, is utilizing a number of their existing HLA tools to support development and testing of the SpaceFOM. In addition to the existing tools, Pitch has developed a few SpaceFOM specific federates: Space Master for managing the initialization, execution and pacing of any SpaceFOM federation; EarthEnvironment, a simple Root Reference Publisher; and Space Monitor, a graphical tool for monitoring reference frames and physical entities.Early testing of the SpaceFOM was carried out in the SEE university outreach program, initiated in SISO. Students were given a subset of the FOM, that was later extended. Sample federates were developed and frameworks were developed or adapted to the early FOM versions.As drafts of the standard matured, testing was performed using federates from government, industry, and academia. By mixing federates developed by different teams the standard could be tested with respect to functional correctness, robustness and clarity.These frameworks and federates have been useful when testing and verifying the design of the standard. In addition to this, they have since formed a starting point for developing SpaceFOM-compliant federations in several projects, for example for NASA, ESA as well as SEE

Defective FoxP3+ Treg cell differentiation in the gut of Type 1 Diabetic patients

Environmental factors that act at the intestinal level such as diet, drugs, and microflora have a high impact on the pathogenesis of autoimmune Type 1 Diabetes (T1D), but it is still unclear how the gut milieu affects autoimmunity outside the intestine. Here we show that peripheral FoxP3+ Treg cell differentiation, a mechanism that takes place in the gut and is crucial to maintain systemic immune tolerance, is impaired in T1D patients. These results provide the first evidence that gut mucosa alteration could predispose to autoimmune T1D by affecting systemic immune regulation

Alkali Silica Reaction in concrete: the Argentinian experience

Argentina is an extended country where a large variety of aggregates is available even in the same region. More than 100 examples of structures, placed in regions with different climates, damaged by ASR have been reported since 1950. Many tests on mortar or concrete involving different temperatures, alkali contents, and sample volumes have been studied in order to find the most suitable conditions for the evaluation of reactive aggregates. This paper summarizes the present knowledge and design criteria adopted in Argentina in order to avoid or mitigate ASR in concrete.Laboratorio de Entrenamiento Multidisciplinario para la Investigación Tecnológica (LEMIT

Alkali Silica Reaction in concrete: the Argentinian experience

Argentina is an extended country where a large variety of aggregates is available even in the same region. More than 100 examples of structures, placed in regions with different climates, damaged by ASR have been reported since 1950. Many tests on mortar or concrete involving different temperatures, alkali contents, and sample volumes have been studied in order to find the most suitable conditions for the evaluation of reactive aggregates. This paper summarizes the present knowledge and design criteria adopted in Argentina in order to avoid or mitigate ASR in concrete.Laboratorio de Entrenamiento Multidisciplinario para la Investigación Tecnológica (LEMIT

Implementación de marketplace digital de productos para panaderías y restaurantes en la empresa AS

Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina. Facultad de Economía y Planificación. Departamento Académico de Gestión EmpresarialLa transformación digital no es un producto ni una solución, sino un proceso constante que abarca nuevas tecnologías y formas de trabajo para mantener la competitividad a través de la innovación permanente. La empresa AS considera a la innovación como factor fundamental para potenciar su crecimiento y mantenerse vigente con sus clientes. Este trabajo muestra cómo la empresa AS, adoptó la transformación digital como estrategia para incrementar las ventas en el canal minorista B2B mediante la implementación de un marketplace digital en 2018 como nuevo canal de distribución para las panaderías y restaurantes del Perú enfocándose en 3 variables principales para ello: clientes, vendedores y productos. La empresa AS determinó al marketplace como la herramienta a implementar basándose en un estudio realizado por una reconocida consultora de Lima, siendo la herramienta digital que más se alineó a la capacidad y necesidades de la empresa y clientes B2B. La empresa AS contrató un equipo de desarrollo tecnológico encargada de desarrollar las funcionalidades del marketplace y se aplicó la técnica “desing thinking” que se centra en conocer las necesidades del cliente para alcanzar al “product market fit”. Se trabajó en un marco de trabajo ágil “scrum” por la flexibilidad que lo caracteriza, generando incrementos funcionales en sprints de 2 semanas cada uno. Se seleccionó una muestra de 100 clientes restaurantes para la implementación del piloto digital para luego expandir la herramienta digital a nivel nacional y a panaderías también. Se concluyó que el marketplace es una herramienta clave para incrementar las ventas en una empresa B2B, con desarrollos funcionales alineados a las necesidades de los clientes y con una fuerza de ventas capacitada constantemente sobre los beneficios y uso de la tecnología.Digital transformation is not a product or a solution, but a constant process that encompasses new technologies and ways of working to maintain competitiveness through permanent innovation. The AS company considers innovation as a fundamental factor to enhance its growth and stay current with its customers. This work shows how the AS company, adopted the digital transformation as a strategy to increase sales in the B2B retail channel by implementing a digital marketplace in 2018 as a new distribution channel for bakeries and restaurants in Peru, focusing on 3 main variables to this: customers, vendors and products. The company AS determined the marketplace as the tool to be implemented based on a study carried out by a renowned consulting firm in Lima, being the digital tool that was most aligned to the capacity and needs of the company and B2B clients. The AS company hired a technological development team in charge of developing the marketplace functionalities and the “desing thinking” technique was applied, which focuses on knowing the client's needs to achieve the “product market fit”. We worked in an agile framework "scrum" due to the flexibility that characterizes it, generating functional increments in sprints of 2 weeks each. A sample of 100 restaurant customers was selected for the implementation of the digital pilot to later expand the digital tool nationwide and to bakeries as well. It was concluded that the marketplace is a key tool to increase sales in a B2B company, with functional developments aligned to the needs of customers and with a sales force constantly trained on the benefits and use of technology

Cooperative Intersection Crossing Over 5G

IEEE Autonomous driving is a safety critical application of sensing and decision-making technologies. Communication technologies extend the awareness capabilities of vehicles, beyond what is achievable with the on-board systems only. Nonetheless, issues typically related to wireless networking must be taken into account when designing safe and reliable autonomous systems. The aim of this work is to present a control algorithm and a communication paradigm over 5G networks for negotiating traffic junctions in urban areas. The proposed control framework has been shown to converge in a finite time and the supporting communication software has been designed with the objective of minimizing communication delays. At the same time, the underlying network guarantees reliability of the communication. The proposed framework has been successfully deployed and tested, in partnership with Ericsson AB, at the AstaZero proving ground in Goteborg, Sweden. In our experiments, three heterogeneous autonomous vehicles successfully drove through a 4-way intersection of 235 square meters in an urban scenario

Aplicación del método acelerado de la barra de mortero en el estudio de combinación de agregados

En Argentina, el método IRAM 1674 (MABM) es utilizado para caracterizar la reactividad alcalina de los agregados, en forma individual o a través de su combinación. Si bien esto último está desaconsejado a nivel internacional, las normas de agregados vigentes (IRAM 1512, IRAM 1531) y el CIRSOC 201-2005 contemplan esta posibilidad. El objetivo del presente trabajo es realizar, en base a la información proveniente de experiencias realizadas por los autores, un análisis crítico del grado de confiabilidad del MABM para caracterizar la combinación de agregados. Los antecedentes disponibles permiten concluir que la aplicación del MABM en la evaluación de “mezclas de agregados”, sólo es aconsejable cuando se intenta verificar si los agregados bajo estudio poseen un comportamiento de tipo “pessimum”. El uso extendido del MABM para la evaluación del desempeño de la denominada “mezcla de obra” debe ser reconsiderado a la luz de los resultados informados en este trabajo

Biomarkers for risk stratification and antibiotic stewardship in elderly patients

Elderly; Infection; ProcalcitoninAnciano; Infección; ProcalcitoninaAncià; infecció; ProcalcitoninaPurpose Optimal treatment of infections in the elderly patients population is challenging because clinical symptoms and signs may be less specific potentially resulting in both, over- and undertreatment. Elderly patients also have a less pronounced immune response to infection, which may influence kinetics of biomarkers of infection. Methods Within a group of experts, we critically reviewed the current literature regarding biomarkers for risk stratification and antibiotic stewardship in elderly patients with emphasis on procalcitonin (PCT). Results The expert group agreed that there is strong evidence that the elderly patient population is particularly vulnerable for infections and due to ambiguity of clinical signs and parameters in the elderly, there is considerable risk for undertreatment. At the same time, however, this group of patients is particularly vulnerable for off-target effects from antibiotic treatment and limiting the use of antibiotics is therefore important. The use of infection markers including PCT to guide individual treatment decisions has thus particular appeal in geriatric patients. For the elderly, there is evidence that PCT is a valuable biomarker for assessing the risk of septic complications and adverse outcomes, and helpful for guiding individual decisions for or against antibiotic treatment. There is need for additional educational efforts regarding the concept of “biomarker-guided antibiotic stewardship” for health care providers caring for elderly patients. Conclusion Use of biomarkers, most notably PCT, has high potential to improve the antibiotic management of elderly patients with possible infection for improving both, undertreatment and overtreatment. Within this narrative review, we aim to provide evidence-based concepts for the safe and efficient use of PCT in elderly patients.Open access funding provided by University of Basel

Sialoendoscopia: una nueva alternativa en el tratamiento de la patología salival. Nuestra experiencia

Objectives: Sialoendoscopy is a procedure used to visualize the salivary ducts and their pathology. It can be used either as a diagnostic method to rule out inflammatory processes in the parotid and submandibular glands (diagnostic sialoendoscopy) or to treat pathological areas (stenosis, extract foreign bodies or sialolithiasis) through the use of appropriate instruments (interventionist sialoendoscopy). We attempt to prove a declining rate of salivary gland excision. Patients and method: Sialoendoscopy was performed in 8 patients. Results: Of these, 50 % of patients were diagnosed as having sialolithiasis and the other 50 % had chronic sialoadenitis. In patients with sialolithiasis, sialoendoscopy allowed the extraction of the calculus in two patients (50 %). In the remainder, sialoendoscopy provided confirmation of the diagnosis in all cases. Conclusions: Sialoendoscopy is a new technique for use in the diagnosis, treatment and post-operative management of sialolithiasis, sialoadenitis and other salivary gland pathologies