BENCHMARK PROBLEMS FOR TESTING OPTIMIZATION METHODS APPLIED AT WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS

Στην εργασία αυτή παρουσιάζονται δύο προβλήματα βελτιστοποίησης, που σχετίζονται με θέματα διαχείρισης υδατικών πόρων και έχουν τα ακόλουθα χαρακτηριστικά: α) Το ολικό βέλτιστο είναι γνωστό β) Η περιοχή διακύμανσης των τιμών της αντικειμενικής συνάρτησης είναι γνωστή γ) Παρουσιάζουν άπειρα τοπικά ακρότατα δ) Η εφαρμογή τους είναι εύκολη και ε) Ο υπολογιστικός όγκος για την εύρεση τιμών της αντικειμενικής συνάρτησης είναι περιορισμένος. Επιπλέον, ο βαθμός δυσκολίας του ενός από αυτά είναι μεταβλητός και μπορεί να ρυθμιστεί μέσω των δεδομένων, χωρίς να αλλάξει το ολικό βέλτιστο. Λόγω αυτών των χαρακτηριστικών, τα παρουσιαζόμενα προβλήματα είναι κατάλληλα για την αξιολόγηση μεθόδων βελτιστοποίησης, ιδιαίτερα μάλιστα κατά την εφαρμογή τους σε θέματα διαχείρισης υδατικών πόρων.In this paper, two problems are presented and investigated, which are relevant to water resources management. These problems have the following features: a) Their global optimum is known b) The range of the values of the objective function is known c) The number of local optima is infinite d) Their application is easy and e) The computational effort that is required for the calculation of objective function values is low. Moreover, the difficulty of one of them can be adjusted, through the input parameters, without changing global optimum. Due to these favourite features, the two presented problems are suitable for evaluation of the performance of optimization techniques, in particular when applied to water resources management issues

Knowledge, perceptions, and expectations of Artificial intelligence in radiography practice: A global radiography workforce survey

Background Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies have already started impacting clinical practice across various settings worldwide, including the radiography profession. This study is aimed at exploring a world-wide view on AI technologies in relation to knowledge, perceptions, and expectations of radiography professionals. Methods An online survey (hosted on Qualtrics) on key AI concepts was open to radiography professionals worldwide (August 1st to December 31st 2020). The survey sought both quantitative and qualitative data on topical issues relating to knowledge, perceptions, and expectations in relation to AI implementation in radiography practice. Data obtained was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) (v.26) and the six-phase thematic analysis approach. Results A total of 314 valid responses were obtained with a fair geographical distribution. Of the respondents, 54.1% (157/290) were from North America and were predominantly clinical practicing radiographers (60.5%, 190/314). Our findings broadly relate to different perceived benefits and misgivings/shortcomings of AI implementation in radiography practice. The benefits relate to enhanced workflows and optimised workstreams while the misgivings/shortcomings revolve around de-skilling and impact on patient-centred care due to over-reliance on advanced technology following AI implementation. Discussion Artificial intelligence is a tool but to operate optimally it requires human input and validation. Radiographers working at the interface between technology and the patient are key stakeholders in AI implementation. Lack of training and of transparency of AI tools create a mixed response of radiographers when they discuss their perceived benefits and challenges. It is also possible that their responses are nuanced by different regional and geographical contexts when it comes to AI deployment. Irrespective of geography, there is still a lot to be done about formalised AI training for radiographers worldwide. This is a vital step to ensure safe and effective AI implementation, adoption, and faster integration into clinical practice by healthcare workers including radiographers. Conclusion Advancement of AI technologies and implementation should be accompanied by proportional training of end-users in radiography and beyond. There are many benefits of AI-enabled radiography workflows and improvement on efficiencies but equally there will be widespread disruption of traditional roles and patient-centred care, which can be managed by a well-educated and well-informed workforce

Knowledge, perceptions, and expectations of Artificial intelligence in radiography practice: A global radiography workforce survey

BACKGROUND: Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies have already started impacting clinical practice across various settings worldwide, including the radiography profession. This study is aimed at exploring a world-wide view on AI technologies in relation to knowledge, perceptions, and expectations of radiography professionals. METHODS: An online survey (hosted on Qualtrics) on key AI concepts was open to radiography professionals worldwide (August 1st to December 31st 2020). The survey sought both quantitative and qualitative data on topical issues relating to knowledge, perceptions, and expectations in relation to AI implementation in radiography practice. Data obtained was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) (v.26) and the six-phase thematic analysis approach. RESULTS: A total of 314 valid responses were obtained with a fair geographical distribution. Of the respondents, 54.1% (157/290) were from North America and were predominantly clinical practicing radiographers (60.5%, 190/314). Our findings broadly relate to different perceived benefits and misgivings/shortcomings of AI implementation in radiography practice. The benefits relate to enhanced workflows and optimised workstreams while the misgivings/shortcomings revolve around de-skilling and impact on patient-centred care due to over-reliance on advanced technology following AI implementation. DISCUSSION: Artificial intelligence is a tool but to operate optimally it requires human input and validation. Radiographers working at the interface between technology and the patient are key stakeholders in AI implementation. Lack of training and of transparency of AI tools create a mixed response of radiographers when they discuss their perceived benefits and challenges. It is also possible that their responses are nuanced by different regional and geographical contexts when it comes to AI deployment. Irrespective of geography, there is still a lot to be done about formalised AI training for radiographers worldwide. This is a vital step to ensure safe and effective AI implementation, adoption, and faster integration into clinical practice by healthcare workers including radiographers. CONCLUSION: Advancement of AI technologies and implementation should be accompanied by proportional training of end-users in radiography and beyond. There are many benefits of AI-enabled radiography workflows and improvement on efficiencies but equally there will be widespread disruption of traditional roles and patient-centred care, which can be managed by a well-educated and well-informed workforce

A convex programming framework for optimal and bounded suboptimal well field management

This paper presents a groundwater management model, considering the interaction between a confined aquifer and an unlooped Water Distribution Network (WDN), conveying the groundwater into the Water Works distribution mains. The pumps are controlled by regulating the characteristic curves. The objective of the management is to minimize the total cost of pump operations over a multistep time horizon, while fulfilling a set of time-varying management constraints. Optimization in groundwater management and pressurized WDNs have been widely investigated in the literature. Problem formulations are often convex, hence global optimality can be attained by a wealth of algorithms. Among these, the Interior Point methods are extensively employed for practical applications, as they are capable of efficiently solving large-scale problems. Despite this, management models explicitly embedding both systems without simplifications are rare, and they usually involve heuristic techniques. The main limitation with heuristics is that neither optimality nor suboptimality bounds can be guarantee. This paper extends the proof of convexity to mixed management models, enabling the use of Interior Point techniques to compute globally optimal management solutions. If convexity is not achieved, it is shown how suboptimal solutions can be computed, and how to bind their deviation from the optimality. Experimental results obtained by testing the methodology in a well field located nearby Copenhagen (DK), show that management solutions can consistently perform within the 99.9% of the true optimum. Furthermore it is shown how not considering the Water Distribution Network in optimization is likely to result in unfeasible management solutions

Assessment of air quality microsensors versus reference methods: The EuNetAir Joint Exercise – Part II

The EuNetAir Joint Exercise focused on the evaluation and assessment of environmental gaseous, particulate matter (PM) and meteorological microsensors versus standard air quality reference methods through an experimental urban air quality monitoring campaign. This work presents the second part of the results, including evaluation of parameter dependencies, measurement uncertainty of sensors and the use of machine learning approaches to improve the abilities and limitations of sensors. The results confirm that the microsensor platforms, supported by post processing and data modelling tools, have considerable potential in new strategies for air quality control. In terms of pollutants, improved correlations were obtained between sensors and reference methods through calibration with machine learning techniques for CO (r = 0.13–0.83), NO (r = 0.24–0.93), O (r = 0.22–0.84), PM10 (r = 0.54–0.83), PM2.5 (r = 0.33–0.40) and SO (r = 0.49–0.84). Additionally, the analysis performed suggests the possibility of compliance with the data quality objectives (DQO) defined by the European Air Quality Directive (2008/50/EC) for indicative measurements.Peer Reviewe

Assessment of air quality microsensors versus reference methods: The EuNetAir Joint Exercise - Part II

The EuNetAir Joint Exercise focused on the evaluation and assessment of environmental gaseous, particulate matter (PM) and meteorological microsensors versus standard air quality reference methods through an experimental urban air quality monitoring campaign. This work presents the second part of the results, including evaluation of parameter dependencies, measurement uncertainty of sensors and the use of machine learning approaches to improve the abilities and limitations of sensors. The results confirm that the microsensor platforms, supported by post processing and data modelling tools, have considerable potential in new strategies for air quality control. In terms of pollutants, improved correlations were obtained between sensors and reference methods through calibration with machine learning techniques for CO (r2=0.13-0.83), NO2 (r2=0.24-0.93), O3 (r2=0.22-0.84), PM10 (r2=0.54-0.83), PM2.5 (r2=0.33-0.40) and SO2 (r2=0.49-0.84). Additionally, the analysis performed suggests the possibility of compliance with the data quality objectives (DQO) defined by the European Air Quality Directive (2008/50/EC) for indicative measurements

Assessment of air quality microsensors versus reference methods: The EuNetAir joint exercise

The 1st EuNetAir Air Quality Joint Intercomparison Exercise organized in Aveiro (Portugal) from 13th–27th October 2014, focused on the evaluation and assessment of environmental gas, particulate matter (PM) and meteorological microsensors, versus standard air quality reference methods through an experimental urban air quality monitoring campaign. The IDAD-Institute of Environment and Development Air Quality Mobile Laboratory was placed at an urban traffic location in the city centre of Aveiro to conduct continuous measurements with standard equipment and reference analysers for CO, NOx, O3, SO2, PM10, PM2.5, temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, solar radiation and precipitation. The comparison of the sensor data generated by different microsensor-systems installed side-by-side with reference analysers, contributes to the assessment of the performance and the accuracy of microsensor-systems in a real-world context, and supports their calibration and further development. The overall performance of the sensors in terms of their statistical metrics and measurement profile indicates significant differences in the results depending on the platform and on the sensors considered. In terms of pollutants, some promising results were observed for O3 (r2: 0.12–0.77), CO (r2: 0.53–0.87), and NO2 (r2: 0.02–0.89). For PM (r2: 0.07–0.36) and SO2 (r2: 0.09–0.20) the results show a poor performance with low correlation coefficients between the reference and microsensor measurements. These field observations under specific environmental conditions suggest that the relevant microsensor platforms, if supported by the proper post processing and data modelling tools, have enormous potential for new strategies in air quality control