Proceedings of IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS'94), 1994
ABSTRACT This paper deals with task and execution planning for manufacturing systems. We describe... more ABSTRACT This paper deals with task and execution planning for manufacturing systems. We describe a system named TPMS (task planning for manufacturing systems). The final goal of this system is to automatically generate programs or sets of commands for robots, AGV's, numerical control machines and other components of the system without the need of spending much time programming the flexible manufacturing system (FMS) components. The sequence of operations to be handled by the manufacturing system depends on the constraints for the task. Three types of constraints are defined and explained: processing constraints, feasibility constraints and geometric constraints. The symbolic plan for the task is represented in the form of a precedence graph. High level operations can be converted into programs or sets of instructions to control the manufacturing system's equipment. The main contributions of TPMS are the following. To put together symbolic planning and execution planning; it is being developed to work for complete manufacturing systems (and not for controlling only one robot); different industrial operations (assembly, welding, drilling, …) can be considered at the same time
21st International Conference on Advanced Information Networking and Applications Workshops (AINAW'07), 2007
This paper presents a Multi-Agent Market simulator designed for developing new agent market strat... more This paper presents a Multi-Agent Market simulator designed for developing new agent market strategies based on a complete understanding of buyer and seller behaviors, preference models and pricing algorithms, considering user risk preferences and game theory for scenario analysis. This tool studies negotiations based on different market mechanisms and, time and behavior dependent strategies. The results of the negotiations between agents are analyzed by data mining algorithms in order to extract rules that give agents feedback to improve their strategies. The system also includes agents that are capable of improving their performance with their own experience, by adapting to the market conditions, and capable of considering other agent reactions.
Rio Grande do Norte (RN) shows the highest relative incidence of papillary carcinomas in Brazil. ... more Rio Grande do Norte (RN) shows the highest relative incidence of papillary carcinomas in Brazil. To analyze histological features that might be associated with this incidence, the authors compared thyroid glands from 463 autopsies performed in RN with 427 surgical and autopsy glands previously studied in Sao Paulo (SP). The authors found 41 papillary thyroid microcarcinomas (PTMs) in 35 glands (8.1%), an incidence similar to the one reported in SP (7.8%). However, PTMs were predominantly nonencapsulated nonsclerosing at microscopy (44.0%), in contrast with SP where these types of lesion represented only 4 out of 32 PTMs (12.5%; P = .0046). The authors suggest that these nonencapsulated lesions with no sign of inflammation may represent an early stage that may evolve to clinical cancers, contributing to the high incidence of clinically differentiated thyroid carcinomas observed in RN.
To assess renal dysfunction and outcome in patients treated exclusively with colistin vs. other a... more To assess renal dysfunction and outcome in patients treated exclusively with colistin vs. other antibiotics. Prospective cohort study in a mixed ICU in a university-affiliated hospital. 185 patients infected with Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa after an ICU stay longer than 48 h: 55 in the colistin group and 130 in the noncolistin group, similar in age, APACHE II, medical status, and SOFA score. We recorded data on epidemiology and severity of illness, site of infection, renal function before and after treatment, clinical cure, and mortality. Clinical cure was defined as simultaneous normalization of central temperature (< or = 38 degrees), leukocyte count (< or = 10,000/mm3), and PaO2/FIO2 ratio (>187). Before treatment creatinine was 0.9+/-0.2 in the colistin group and 0.9+/-0.1 in the noncolistin group; after treatment the value was 1.0+/-0.3 in both groups. The most frequent infection was ventilator-associated pneumonia: 53% vs. 66% in colistin and noncolistin groups, respectively, Acinetobacter was the cause in 65% and 60% and Pseudomonas in 35% and 53%. In the noncolistin group 81% of…
The main objective of this chapter was to identify most information gaps associated to the above ... more The main objective of this chapter was to identify most information gaps associated to the above topics in a context of a small over-populated Caribbean island, and in a context of the projected climate change impacts. It was also aimed at reviewing some of the existing literature regarding the impact of tourism and urban development on a tropical coastal scenario and discussing some of the most significant case studies and lesson-learning experiences of the historical non-sustainable approaches used by the tourism and housing construction industry in PR. We also examined some of the current controversies regarding the proposed coastal tourism and housing development expansion strategy in PR, as well as some of the most significant climate-related threats. Finally, we addressed the need to implement an alternative sustainable coastal tourism and housing development model, and made specific recommendations for reviewing and modifying existing strategies in a way that could also be he...
It is also possible that your web browser is not configured or not able to display style sheets. ... more It is also possible that your web browser is not configured or not able to display style sheets. In this case, although the visual presentation will be degraded, the site should continue to be functional. We recommend using the latest version of Microsoft or Mozilla web browser to ...
In a globalized world members of groups may be anywhere, and the need for ubiquitous Idea Generat... more In a globalized world members of groups may be anywhere, and the need for ubiquitous Idea Generation emerged. This led to two main needs: the creation of Smart Decision Rooms prepared for this new reality and following the Ambient Intelligence paradigm and ...
Objective. To determine the value of voxel-based morphometry (VBM) of brain SPECT (single-photon ... more Objective. To determine the value of voxel-based morphometry (VBM) of brain SPECT (single-photon emission computed tomography) images (BSI) in discriminating active central nervous system (CNS) manifestations in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. Patients and Methods. Forty SLE patients (mean age 33 yrs) and 33 normal volunteers were submitted to BSI. SLE patients were screened for the presence of CNS involvement following the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) case definition. Patients with CNS infections, uraemia, diabetes and previous ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke were excluded. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were obtained in a 2T scanner (Elscint Prestige) with T1-and T2-weighted images. BSI were performed after injection of 1110 MBq (30 mCi) of 99m Tc-ECD (ethyl-cysteinate-dimer). BSI were analysed using the statistical parametric mapping. After normalization, segmentation and smoothing the groups of SLE patients with active and inactive CNS manifestations and healthy volunteers were compared using VBM. Post-processed images were compared voxel-by-voxel using t-test in order to determine differences of intensity between groups. This analysis included grand mean scaling, proportional threshold masking (set to 0.4) and implicit masking. A P-value of 0.001 and cluster size of 32 were taken into consideration. Results. VBM analyses of BSI did not show any differences between SLE patients with inactive CNS involvement and normal controls. However, the group of SLE patients with active CNS involvement had a global hypoperfusion, more intense in the frontal, dorsolateral and medial temporal lobe when compared with SLE patients without CNS involvement (P ¼ 0.001) and healthy volunteers (P ¼ 0.001). Conclusion. VBM of BSI is a useful and objective method for detecting perfusion abnormalities in SLE patients, which is indicative of active CNS involvement. However, it is not helpful in differentiating the clinical sub-types of CNS involvement according to the ACR classification.
An Assembly Robotic System can be seen as a community of agents cooperating to solve a common pro... more An Assembly Robotic System can be seen as a community of agents cooperating to solve a common problem. Here, we will describe the work we are doing concerning the illustration of Multi-Agent Cooperation in a robotic testbed. At the agent's high level we have a software layer to control the Intelligent System tasks and to support Inter Process Communication between the agent and the other ones. The main modules of this layer are: the Monitor, the Communication Module, the Intelligent System, Self-Knowledge and the Acquaintances of other Intelligent ...
A Multi-Agent System Architecture is here justified and described for the sake of its application... more A Multi-Agent System Architecture is here justified and described for the sake of its application to an Assembly Robotics Testbed. Cooperative policies between distributed Agents, leading to either Negotiation or Client/Server protocols, as well as appropriate knowledge have been studied, classified and implemented. This specific architecture as well as knowledge are then responsible for sophisticated behavior both in terms of inter-Agent Cooperation and Agent local control. Several scenaria where different cooperative and ...
The correlation between TNM classification and histological scores of malignancy, and the correla... more The correlation between TNM classification and histological scores of malignancy, and the correlation of these parameters with the prognosis was evaluated in 16 cases of squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue. The cases were selected from the files of "Dr. Luiz Antônio" Cancer ...
Background Is Impulse Oscillometry System (IOS) a valuable tool to measure respiratory system fu... more Background Is Impulse Oscillometry System (IOS) a valuable tool to measure respiratory system function in Children? Asthma (A) is the most prevalent chronic respiratory disease in children. Therefore, early and accurate assessment of respiratory function is of tremendous clinical interest in diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of respiratory conditions in this subpopulation. IOS has been successfully used to measure lung function in
Despite the advances in argumentation on group decision negotiation there is a need to simulate a... more Despite the advances in argumentation on group decision negotiation there is a need to simulate and identify the personality of participants. To make participants' agents more human-like and to increase their flexibility in the negotiation process in group decision-making, the authors investigated the role of personality behaviours of participants applied to the conflict style theme. The negotiation is made in a bilateral way where both parties are OCEAN participant agents based on the five-factor model of personality (Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Negative emotionality).
Amongst troubleshooting tasks, correct diagnosis of faults is a complex and time consuming task. ... more Amongst troubleshooting tasks, correct diagnosis of faults is a complex and time consuming task. Bayesian Networks provide a modelling approach suitable to cater for the uncertainty inherent in human reasoning. The method presented in this paper, valid towards any system, is applied to a UMTS/WLAN test platform which replicates real world cellular networks. The results conclusively show Bayesian Networks automatically
Nowadays computing technology research is focused on the development of Smart Environments. Follo... more Nowadays computing technology research is focused on the development of Smart Environments. Following that line of thought several Smart Rooms projects were developed and their appliances are very diversified. The appliances include projects in the context of ...
Proceedings of IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS'94), 1994
ABSTRACT This paper deals with task and execution planning for manufacturing systems. We describe... more ABSTRACT This paper deals with task and execution planning for manufacturing systems. We describe a system named TPMS (task planning for manufacturing systems). The final goal of this system is to automatically generate programs or sets of commands for robots, AGV's, numerical control machines and other components of the system without the need of spending much time programming the flexible manufacturing system (FMS) components. The sequence of operations to be handled by the manufacturing system depends on the constraints for the task. Three types of constraints are defined and explained: processing constraints, feasibility constraints and geometric constraints. The symbolic plan for the task is represented in the form of a precedence graph. High level operations can be converted into programs or sets of instructions to control the manufacturing system's equipment. The main contributions of TPMS are the following. To put together symbolic planning and execution planning; it is being developed to work for complete manufacturing systems (and not for controlling only one robot); different industrial operations (assembly, welding, drilling, …) can be considered at the same time
21st International Conference on Advanced Information Networking and Applications Workshops (AINAW'07), 2007
This paper presents a Multi-Agent Market simulator designed for developing new agent market strat... more This paper presents a Multi-Agent Market simulator designed for developing new agent market strategies based on a complete understanding of buyer and seller behaviors, preference models and pricing algorithms, considering user risk preferences and game theory for scenario analysis. This tool studies negotiations based on different market mechanisms and, time and behavior dependent strategies. The results of the negotiations between agents are analyzed by data mining algorithms in order to extract rules that give agents feedback to improve their strategies. The system also includes agents that are capable of improving their performance with their own experience, by adapting to the market conditions, and capable of considering other agent reactions.
Rio Grande do Norte (RN) shows the highest relative incidence of papillary carcinomas in Brazil. ... more Rio Grande do Norte (RN) shows the highest relative incidence of papillary carcinomas in Brazil. To analyze histological features that might be associated with this incidence, the authors compared thyroid glands from 463 autopsies performed in RN with 427 surgical and autopsy glands previously studied in Sao Paulo (SP). The authors found 41 papillary thyroid microcarcinomas (PTMs) in 35 glands (8.1%), an incidence similar to the one reported in SP (7.8%). However, PTMs were predominantly nonencapsulated nonsclerosing at microscopy (44.0%), in contrast with SP where these types of lesion represented only 4 out of 32 PTMs (12.5%; P = .0046). The authors suggest that these nonencapsulated lesions with no sign of inflammation may represent an early stage that may evolve to clinical cancers, contributing to the high incidence of clinically differentiated thyroid carcinomas observed in RN.
To assess renal dysfunction and outcome in patients treated exclusively with colistin vs. other a... more To assess renal dysfunction and outcome in patients treated exclusively with colistin vs. other antibiotics. Prospective cohort study in a mixed ICU in a university-affiliated hospital. 185 patients infected with Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa after an ICU stay longer than 48 h: 55 in the colistin group and 130 in the noncolistin group, similar in age, APACHE II, medical status, and SOFA score. We recorded data on epidemiology and severity of illness, site of infection, renal function before and after treatment, clinical cure, and mortality. Clinical cure was defined as simultaneous normalization of central temperature (< or = 38 degrees), leukocyte count (< or = 10,000/mm3), and PaO2/FIO2 ratio (>187). Before treatment creatinine was 0.9+/-0.2 in the colistin group and 0.9+/-0.1 in the noncolistin group; after treatment the value was 1.0+/-0.3 in both groups. The most frequent infection was ventilator-associated pneumonia: 53% vs. 66% in colistin and noncolistin groups, respectively, Acinetobacter was the cause in 65% and 60% and Pseudomonas in 35% and 53%. In the noncolistin group 81% of…
The main objective of this chapter was to identify most information gaps associated to the above ... more The main objective of this chapter was to identify most information gaps associated to the above topics in a context of a small over-populated Caribbean island, and in a context of the projected climate change impacts. It was also aimed at reviewing some of the existing literature regarding the impact of tourism and urban development on a tropical coastal scenario and discussing some of the most significant case studies and lesson-learning experiences of the historical non-sustainable approaches used by the tourism and housing construction industry in PR. We also examined some of the current controversies regarding the proposed coastal tourism and housing development expansion strategy in PR, as well as some of the most significant climate-related threats. Finally, we addressed the need to implement an alternative sustainable coastal tourism and housing development model, and made specific recommendations for reviewing and modifying existing strategies in a way that could also be he...
It is also possible that your web browser is not configured or not able to display style sheets. ... more It is also possible that your web browser is not configured or not able to display style sheets. In this case, although the visual presentation will be degraded, the site should continue to be functional. We recommend using the latest version of Microsoft or Mozilla web browser to ...
In a globalized world members of groups may be anywhere, and the need for ubiquitous Idea Generat... more In a globalized world members of groups may be anywhere, and the need for ubiquitous Idea Generation emerged. This led to two main needs: the creation of Smart Decision Rooms prepared for this new reality and following the Ambient Intelligence paradigm and ...
Objective. To determine the value of voxel-based morphometry (VBM) of brain SPECT (single-photon ... more Objective. To determine the value of voxel-based morphometry (VBM) of brain SPECT (single-photon emission computed tomography) images (BSI) in discriminating active central nervous system (CNS) manifestations in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. Patients and Methods. Forty SLE patients (mean age 33 yrs) and 33 normal volunteers were submitted to BSI. SLE patients were screened for the presence of CNS involvement following the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) case definition. Patients with CNS infections, uraemia, diabetes and previous ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke were excluded. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were obtained in a 2T scanner (Elscint Prestige) with T1-and T2-weighted images. BSI were performed after injection of 1110 MBq (30 mCi) of 99m Tc-ECD (ethyl-cysteinate-dimer). BSI were analysed using the statistical parametric mapping. After normalization, segmentation and smoothing the groups of SLE patients with active and inactive CNS manifestations and healthy volunteers were compared using VBM. Post-processed images were compared voxel-by-voxel using t-test in order to determine differences of intensity between groups. This analysis included grand mean scaling, proportional threshold masking (set to 0.4) and implicit masking. A P-value of 0.001 and cluster size of 32 were taken into consideration. Results. VBM analyses of BSI did not show any differences between SLE patients with inactive CNS involvement and normal controls. However, the group of SLE patients with active CNS involvement had a global hypoperfusion, more intense in the frontal, dorsolateral and medial temporal lobe when compared with SLE patients without CNS involvement (P ¼ 0.001) and healthy volunteers (P ¼ 0.001). Conclusion. VBM of BSI is a useful and objective method for detecting perfusion abnormalities in SLE patients, which is indicative of active CNS involvement. However, it is not helpful in differentiating the clinical sub-types of CNS involvement according to the ACR classification.
An Assembly Robotic System can be seen as a community of agents cooperating to solve a common pro... more An Assembly Robotic System can be seen as a community of agents cooperating to solve a common problem. Here, we will describe the work we are doing concerning the illustration of Multi-Agent Cooperation in a robotic testbed. At the agent's high level we have a software layer to control the Intelligent System tasks and to support Inter Process Communication between the agent and the other ones. The main modules of this layer are: the Monitor, the Communication Module, the Intelligent System, Self-Knowledge and the Acquaintances of other Intelligent ...
A Multi-Agent System Architecture is here justified and described for the sake of its application... more A Multi-Agent System Architecture is here justified and described for the sake of its application to an Assembly Robotics Testbed. Cooperative policies between distributed Agents, leading to either Negotiation or Client/Server protocols, as well as appropriate knowledge have been studied, classified and implemented. This specific architecture as well as knowledge are then responsible for sophisticated behavior both in terms of inter-Agent Cooperation and Agent local control. Several scenaria where different cooperative and ...
The correlation between TNM classification and histological scores of malignancy, and the correla... more The correlation between TNM classification and histological scores of malignancy, and the correlation of these parameters with the prognosis was evaluated in 16 cases of squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue. The cases were selected from the files of "Dr. Luiz Antônio" Cancer ...
Background Is Impulse Oscillometry System (IOS) a valuable tool to measure respiratory system fu... more Background Is Impulse Oscillometry System (IOS) a valuable tool to measure respiratory system function in Children? Asthma (A) is the most prevalent chronic respiratory disease in children. Therefore, early and accurate assessment of respiratory function is of tremendous clinical interest in diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of respiratory conditions in this subpopulation. IOS has been successfully used to measure lung function in
Despite the advances in argumentation on group decision negotiation there is a need to simulate a... more Despite the advances in argumentation on group decision negotiation there is a need to simulate and identify the personality of participants. To make participants' agents more human-like and to increase their flexibility in the negotiation process in group decision-making, the authors investigated the role of personality behaviours of participants applied to the conflict style theme. The negotiation is made in a bilateral way where both parties are OCEAN participant agents based on the five-factor model of personality (Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Negative emotionality).
Amongst troubleshooting tasks, correct diagnosis of faults is a complex and time consuming task. ... more Amongst troubleshooting tasks, correct diagnosis of faults is a complex and time consuming task. Bayesian Networks provide a modelling approach suitable to cater for the uncertainty inherent in human reasoning. The method presented in this paper, valid towards any system, is applied to a UMTS/WLAN test platform which replicates real world cellular networks. The results conclusively show Bayesian Networks automatically
Nowadays computing technology research is focused on the development of Smart Environments. Follo... more Nowadays computing technology research is focused on the development of Smart Environments. Following that line of thought several Smart Rooms projects were developed and their appliances are very diversified. The appliances include projects in the context of ...
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Papers by Carlos Dorville Ramos