Digital twins are considered the next step in IoT-based cyber-physical systems; they allow for the real-time monitoring of assets, and they provide a comprehensive understanding of a system behavior, ...allowing for data-driven insights and informed choices. However, no comprehensive framework exists for the development of IoT-based digital twins. Moreover, the existing frameworks do not consider the aspects introduced by the Industry 5.0 paradigm, such as sustainability, human-centricity, and resilience. This paper proposes a framework based on the one defined as the outcome of a project funded by the European Union between 2010 and 2013 called the IoT Architectural Reference Model (IoT-A or IoT-ARM), with the aim of the development and implementation of a standard IoT framework that includes digital twins. This framework establishes and implements a standardized collection of architectural instruments for modeling IoT systems in the 5.0 era, serving as a benchmark for the design and implementation of an IoT architecture focused on digital twins and enabling the sustainability, resilience, and human-centricity of the information system. Furthermore, a proof of concept of a monitoring digital twin for a vertical farming system has been developed to test the validity of the framework, and a discussion of applications in the manufacturing and service sectors is presented.
The introduction of the Internet of Things (IoT) in the construction industry is evolving facility maintenance (FM) towards predictive maintenance development. Predictive maintenance of building ...facilities requires continuously updated data on construction components to be acquired through integrated sensors. The main challenges in developing predictive maintenance tools for building facilities is IoT integration, IoT data visualization on the building 3D model and implementation of maintenance management system on the IoT and building information modeling (BIM). The current 3D building models do not fully interact with IoT building facilities data. Data integration in BIM is challenging. The research aims to integrate IoT alert systems with BIM models to monitor building facilities during the operational phase and to visualize building facilities’ conditions virtually. To provide efficient maintenance services for building facilities this research proposes an integration of a digital framework based on IoT and BIM platforms. Sensors applied in the building systems and IoT technology on a cloud platform with opensource tools and standards enable monitoring of real-time operation and detecting of different kinds of faults in case of malfunction or failure, therefore sending alerts to facility managers and operators. Proposed preventive maintenance methodology applied on a proof-of-concept heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) plant adopts open source IoT sensor networks. The results show that the integrated IoT and BIM dashboard framework and implemented building structures preventive maintenance methodology are applicable and promising. The automated system architecture of building facilities is intended to provide a reliable and practical tool for real-time data acquisition. Analysis and 3D visualization to support intelligent monitoring of the indoor condition in buildings will enable the facility managers to make faster and better decisions and to improve building facilities’ real time monitoring with fallouts on the maintenance timeliness.
Low-carbon technology innovation(L-CTI) is an essential way to realize the socio-economic transition to a low-carbon model. However, relatively few studies have been conducted on the calculation of ...low-carbon technology innovation efficiency(L-CTIE) and the identification of factors influencing it. The study intends to assess the L-CTIE of new energy enterprises(L-CTI-NEEs) and to analyze its influencing factors, so as to further improve the L-CTIE capability.
Using the panel data of new energy enterprises(NEEs) in 2010-2020, DEA(BCC)-Malmquist-Tobit method is constructed to static and dynamic evaluate the L-CTIE of new energy enterprises(L-CTIE-NEEs), and analyze its influencing factors with triple helix theory.
During the study period, the L-CTIE among NEEs was quite different, and the Malmquist index change trend had phased characteristics. From the perspective of factors influencing innovation efficiency, technology integration capacity of enterprises, support intensity of government and cooperation scale of government-enterprises-universities & research institutions play a crucial part in promoting the EEFCH, PECH and SECH of L-CTIE-NEEs, while resource conversion capacity of universities & research institutions only promotes PECH.
According to the research results, a triple helix model of L-CTI-NEEs is constructed to enhance its L-CTIE level.
The rise of interest in collaborative robotic cells for assembly or manufacturing has been attested by their inclusion among the enabling technologies of Industry 4.0. In collaborative cells, robots ...work side by side with human operators allowing to address a larger production scope characterized by medium production volumes and significant product variability. Despite the advances in research and the availability of suitable industrial robot models, several open problems still exist, due to the shift in the way of working: correct assessment of the economic profitability, definition of a suitable process plan, task assignment to humans and robots, intuitive and fast robot programming. This paper addresses the task assignment problem by proposing a method for the classification of tasks starting from the hierarchical decomposition of production activities. Task classification is employed for workload distribution and detailed activity planning. The method relays on the assumption that tasks should be allocated, exploiting the different skills and assets of humans and robots, regardless of workload balancing. The proposed method was firstly tested on a simplified assembly process executed in laboratory, then it has been applied to the redesign of an actual industrial process.
Hydrological monitoring systems relying on radar data and distributed hydrological models are now feasible at large-scale and represent effective early warning systems for flash floods. Here we ...describe a system that allows hydrological occurrences in terms of streamflow at a national scale to be monitored. We then evaluate its operational application in Italy, a country characterized by various climatic conditions and topographic features. The proposed system exploits a modified conditional merging (MCM) algorithm to generate rainfall estimates by blending data from national radar and rain-gauge networks. Then, we use the merged rainfall fields as input for the distributed and continuous hydrological model, Continuum, to obtain real-time streamflow predictions. We assess its performance in terms of rainfall estimates from MCM, using cross-validation and comparison with a conditional merging technique at an event-scale. We also assess its performance against rainfall fields from ground-based data at catchment-scale. We further evaluate the performance of the hydrological system in terms of streamflow against observed data (relative error on high flows less than 25% and Nash–Sutcliffe Efficiency greater than 0.5 for 72% and 46% of the calibrated study sections, respectively). These results, therefore, confirm the suitability of such an approach, even at national scale, over a wide range of catchment types, climates, and hydrometeorological regimes, and for operational purposes.
Optical stimulation technologies are gaining great consideration in cardiology, neuroscience studies, and drug discovery pathways by providing control over cell activity with high spatio‐temporal ...resolution. However, this high precision requires manipulation of biological processes at genetic level concealing its development from broad scale application. Therefore, translating these technologies into tools for medical or pharmacological applications remains a challenge. Here, an all‐optical nongenetic method for the modulation of electrogenic cells is introduced. It is demonstrated that plasmonic metamaterials can be used to elicit action potentials by converting near infrared laser pulses into stimulatory currents. The suggested approach allows for the stimulation of cardiomyocytes and neurons directly on commercial complementary metal‐oxide semiconductor microelectrode arrays coupled with ultrafast pulsed laser, providing both stimulation and network‐level recordings on the same device.
The complementary metal‐oxide semiconductor (CMOS) multi‐electrode array coupled with picosecond near infrared laser pulses is capable of stimulating electrogenic cells. When irradiated, the plasmonic material covering the CMOS microelectrode arrays (MEAs) electrodes produces nanoampere currents due to the hot electron injection in the cleft. This can specifically elicit cardiomyocytes and neuronal cells directly in situ without genetic or thermal tools.
Cardiovascular adverse events (CVAEs) are linked to Carfilzomib (CFZ) therapy in multiple myeloma (MM); however, no validated protocols on cardiovascular risk assessment are available. In this ...prospective study, the effectiveness of the European Myeloma Network protocol (EMN) in cardiovascular risk assessment was investigated, identifying major predictors of CVAEs. From January 2015 to March 2020, 116 MM patients who had indication for CFZ therapy underwent a baseline evaluation (including blood pressure measurements, echocardiography and arterial stiffness estimation) and were prospectively followed. The median age was 64.53 ± 8.42 years old, 56% male. Five baseline independent predictors of CVAEs were identified: office systolic blood pressure, 24-h blood pressure variability, left ventricular hypertrophy, pulse wave velocity value and global longitudinal strain. The resulting 'CVAEs risk score' distinguished a low- and a high-risk group, obtaining a negative predicting value for the high-risk group of 90%. 52 patients (44.9%) experienced one or more CVAEs: 17 (14.7%) had major and 45 (38.7%) had hypertension-related events. In conclusion, CVAEs are frequent and a specific management protocol is crucial. The EMN protocol and the risk score proved to be useful to estimate the baseline risk for CVAEs during CFZ therapy, allowing the identification of higher-risk patients.
Sarcoidosis is a systemic granulomatous disease that may affect the myocardium. This study evaluated the diagnostic and prognostic value of 2-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography in cardiac ...sarcoidosis (CS).
Eighty-three patients with extracardiac, biopsy-proven sarcoidosis and definite/probable diagnosis of cardiac involvement diagnosed from January 2005 through December 2016 were included. Strain parameters in early stages of CS, in a subgroup of 23 CS patients with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) within normal limits (LVEF> 52% for men: > 54% for women, mean value: 57.3% ± 3.8%) and no wall motion abnormalities was compared with 97 controls (1:4) without cardiac disease. LV and right ventricular (RV) global longitudinal (GLS), circumferential (GCS), and radial (GRS) strain and strain rate (SR) analyses were performed with TomTec software and correlated with cardiac outcomes (including heart failure and arrhythmias). This study was approved by the Mayo Clinic Institutional Review Board, and all patients gave informed written consent to participate.
Mean age of CS patients was 53.6 ± 10.8 years, and 34.9% were women. Mean LVEF was 43.2% ± 12.4%; LV GLS, - 12.4% ± 3.7%; LV GCS, - 17.1% ± 6.5%; LV GRS, 29.3% ± 12.8%; and RV wall GLS, 14.6% ± 6.3%. In the 23 patients with early stage CS with normal LVEF and RV systolic function, strain parameters were significantly reduced when compared with controls (respectively: LV GLS, - 15.9% ± 2.5% vs - 18.2% ± 2.7% P = .001; RV GLS, - 16.9% ± 4.5% vs - 24.1% ± 4.0% P < .001). A LV GLS value of - 16.3% provided 82.2% sensitivity and 81.2% specificity for the diagnosis of CS (AUC 0.91), while a RV value of - 19.9% provided 88.1% sensitivity and 86.7% specificity (AUC 0.93). Hospital admission and heart failure significantly correlated to impaired LV GLS (> - 14%).
Reduced strain values in the LV GLS and RV GLS can be used in the diagnostic algorithm in patients with suspicion of cardiac sarcoidosis. These values also correlate with adverse cardiovascular events.
Current evidence suggests that aortic blood pressure has a superior prognostic value with respect to brachial pressure for cardiovascular events, but direct measurement is not feasible in daily ...clinical practice.
The aim of the present study is the clinical validation of a multiscale mathematical model for non-invasive appraisal of central blood pressure from subject-specific characteristics.
A total of 51 young male were selected for the present study. Aortic systolic and diastolic pressure were estimated with a mathematical model and were compared to the most-used non-invasive validated technique (SphygmoCor device, AtCor Medical, Australia). SphygmoCor was calibrated through diastolic and systolic brachial pressure obtained with a sphygmomanometer, while model inputs consist of brachial pressure, height, weight, age, left-ventricular end-systolic and end-diastolic volumes, and data from a pulse wave velocity study.
Model-estimated systolic and diastolic central blood pressures resulted to be significantly related to SphygmoCor-assessed central systolic (r = 0.65 p <0.0001) and diastolic (r = 0.84 p<0.0001) blood pressures. The model showed a significant overestimation of systolic pressure (+7.8 (-2.2;14) mmHg, p = 0.0003) and a significant underestimation of diastolic values (-3.2 (-7.5;1.6), p = 0.004), which imply a significant overestimation of central pulse pressure. Interestingly, model prediction errors mirror the mean errors reported in large meta-analysis characterizing the use of the SphygmoCor when non-invasive calibration is performed.
In conclusion, multi-scale mathematical model predictions result to be significantly related to SphygmoCor ones. Model-predicted systolic and diastolic aortic pressure resulted in difference of less than 10 mmHg in the 51% and 84% of the subjects, respectively, when compared with SphygmoCor-obtained pressures.
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