Healthcare Services Interoperability in Kenya: Challenges and Opportunities

In an attempt to assess the Kenyan healthcare system, this study looks at the current efforts that are already in place, what challenges they face, and what strategies can be put into practice to foster interoperability. By reviewing a variety of literature and using statistics, the paper ascertains notable impediments such as the absence of standard protocols, lack of adequate technological infrastructure, and weak regulatory frameworks. Resultant effects from these challenges regarding health provision target enhanced data sharing and merging for better patient outcomes and allocation of resources. It also highlights several opportunities that include the adoption of emerging technologies, and the establishment of public-private partnerships to strengthen the healthcare framework among others. In this regard, the article provides recommendations based on stakeholder views and global best practices addressed to policymakers, medical practitioners, and IT specialists concerned with achieving effective interoperability within Kenya’s health system. This research is relevant because it adds knowledge to the existing literature on how healthcare quality can be improved to make it more patient-centered especially in Kenya.

Implementing Marine XML for Observed CTD Data in a Marine Data Exchange Platform

In order to archive, quality control and disseminate a large variety of marine data in a marine data exchange platfonn, a marine XML has been developed to encapsulate marine data, which provides an efficient means to store, transfer and display marine data. This paper first presents the details of the main marine XML elements and then gives an example showing how to transform CTD-observed data into Marine XML format, which illustrates the XML encapsulation process of marine observed data.

XML-based Data Processing in Network Supported Collaborative Design

In the course of network supported collaborative design, the data processing plays a very vital role. Much effort has been spent in this area, and many kinds of approaches have been proposed. Based on the correlative materials, this paper presents extensible markup language （XML） based strategy for several important problems of data processing in network supported collaborative design, such as the representation of standard for the exchange of product model data （STEP） with XML in the product information expression and the management of XML documents using relational database. The paper gives a detailed exposition on how to clarify the mapping between XML structure and the relationship database structure and how XML-QL queries can be translated into structured query language （SQL） queries. Finally, the structure of data processing system based on XML is presented.

Key technology of ship product data exchange based on STEP

In this paper, in order to implement the share and exchange of the ship product data, a new kind of global function model is established. By researching on the development and trend of the application of ship STEP (standard for the exchange of product model data) standards, the AIM (application interpreted model) of AP216 is developed and improved as an example, aiming at the characteristics and practical engineering of ship industry in our country. The data exchange interfaces are formed based on STEP in the CAD/CAM for the ship by all function modules and shared databases under the global function model. The share and exchange of all information and data are solved in the design, manufacture and all life-cycle of ship products among different computer application systems. The research work makes foundation for the ship industry informatization.

Data Exchange in Grid Workflow

In existing web services-based workflow, data exchanging across the web services is centralized, the workflow engine intermediates at each step of the application sequence. However, many grid applications, especially data intensive scientific applications, require exchanging large amount of data across the grid services. Having a central workflow engine relay the data between the services would resu＇lts in a bottleneck in these cases. This paper proposes a data exchange model for individual grid workflow and multiworkflows composition respectively. The model enables direct communication for large amounts of data between two grid services. To enable data to exchange among multiple workflows, the bridge data service is used.

To Overcome the Obstacle of Data Exchange to Increase the Utilization Efficiency of Accounting Data

On Nov.4^(th), AQSIQ (General Administration of Quality Supervision,Inspection and Quarantine of the People' s Republic of China), SAC (Standardization Administrationof China), National Audit Office of China (CNAO), and National Ministry of Finance of China jointlyheld the conference press on the national standard of Information Technology--Data Interface ofAccounting Software (GB/T 19581-2004) in Beijing. The standard was approved and issued on Sept. 20,2004 by AQSIQ and SAC, and it would come into effect all over the whole nation from January 1^(st),2005. Pu Changcheng, Vice Director of AQSIQ, Shi Aizhong, Vice Director of CNAO, Li Zhonghai. amember of the Party Group of AQSIQ and Director of SAC, the other leaders of concerned departmentssuch as National Ministry of Finance, National Telegraphy Office, and etc. attended the ConferencePress and made speeches. They fully affirmed the important significance and the achievements onstandardization work of electronic government business, and also they set new demands on the workfor the future.

JSON-ASR:A lightweight data storage and exchange format for automatic systematic reviews of TCM

Objectives:The aim of this study was to investigate and develop a data storage and exchange format for the process of automatic systematic reviews(ASR)of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM).Methods:A lightweight and commonly used data format,namely,JavaScript Object Notation(JSON),was introduced in this study.We designed a fully described data structure to collect TCM clinical trial information based on the JSON syntax.Results:A smart and powerful data format,JSON-ASR,was developed.JSON-ASR uses a plain-text data format in the form of key/value pairs and consists of six sections and more than 80 preset pairs.JSON-ASR adopts extensible structured arrays to support the situations of multi-groups and multi-outcomes.Conclusion:JSON-ASR has the characteristics of light weight,flexibility,and good scalability,which is suitable for the complex data of clinical evidence.

Reflections on Applications of International Standards for Financial Data Exchange in China Securities and Futures Markets

1.1. Development of international data exchange standards in securities field Securities market involves a large number of participants, like investors, securities companies, exchanges, clearingcorporations and so on. Businesses among the participants are completed via data exchange. Therefore, the data exchange protocols serve an important factor to determine and promote the sate and rapid development of the securities market.

Flexible substructure online hybrid test system using conventional testing devices

This paper presents a substructure online hybrid test system that is extensible for geographically distributed tests. This system consists of a set of devices conventionally used for cyclic tests to load the tested substructures onto the target displacement or the target force. Due to their robustness and portability, individual sets of conventional loading devices can be transported and reconfigured to realize physical loading in geographically remote laboratories. Another appealing feature is the flexible displacement-force mixed control that is particularly suitable for specimens having large disparities in stiffness during various performance stages. To conduct a substructure online hybrid test, an extensible framework is developed, which is equipped with a generalized interface to encapsulate each substructure. Multiple tested substructures and analyzed substructures using various structural program codes can be accommodated within the single framework, simply interfaced with the boundary displacements and forces. A coordinator program is developed to keep the boundaries among all substructures compatible and equilibrated. An Interuet-based data exchange scheme is also devised to transfer data among computers equipped with different software environments. A series of online hybrid tests are introduced, and the portability, flexibility, and extensibility of the online hybrid test system are demonstrated.

Research on Application Technology Oriented Rapid Response Manufacturing in the Distributed Network Environment

A new chance of developing traditional manufacturing industry comes forth with the development of network technology. Application technology oriented rapid response manufacturing in the distributed network environments, that is, how to take advantage of the Intranet and Internet, combine the numerous manufacturing resources spread around the region, the country and even the globe is the key to the agile design, manufacturing and the buildup of comprehensively competitive power, at the same time, is also an important research direction in the field of advanced manufacturing technology. Rapid response manufacturing in the distributed network environment is a newly manufactory pattern that can be used to implement the conception of agile design and manufacturing, but there are some new problems coming with it, which will directly influence the enterprise’s ability of rapid response in the distributed network manufacturing pattern and lead to the failure of the league and the lost of the given orders. In this paper, we establish some approaches to solve these problems in product development process. The paper then presents the research on key application technologies and solutions includes: network safety strategy which guarantees data transferring among the leaguer members, production data management based on Web/DOT (Distributed Object Technology) and XML criteria which guarantees data exchange in structure-variance characteristic environments, the network platform which provides the conversion service of different types of CAD files each other. All of these solutions are aim for technology problems existing in the distributed network environments and among the league members. Finally, the paper takes one project, that is, the establishment of the online application service system for Shanghai Advance Manufacturing Technology Research Center as a good instance.

Horn of plenty:Value of the international registry for pediatric chronic myeloid leukemia

Chronic myeloid leukemia(CML)in minors is a rare disease which can be effectively treated by tyrosine kinase inhibitors(TKIs)since the year 2000.A majority of pediatricians will encounter one or two CML patients in the course of their careers and will typically have to rely on written information along with their own intuition to provide care.Knowledge of response to TKIs and of agespecific side effects has an impact on the design of pediatric CML trials in many ways aiming to contribute toward greater predictability of clinical improvements.Information from a registry on a rare disease like CML offers the enormous benefit of enabling treating physicians to interact and share their collective experience.The International Registry on Pediatric CML(IR-PCML)was founded at Poitiers/France almost 10 years ago.Since then,the number of collaboration centers and in parallel of registered patients continuously increased(>550 patients as of December 2019).Ideally,from a given treatment center in a country data are transferred to a national coordinator who interacts with the IR-PCML.In the sense of quality assurance,the registry can offer dissemination of knowledge on state-of-the-art diagnostics(including reference appraisal),optimal treatment approaches,and follow-up procedures within a network that is exerting its strength via participation.With continuous growth during the recent years,very rare subgroups of patients could be identified(e.g.,CML diagnosed at age<3 years,children presenting with specific problems at diagnosis or during course of treatment)which had not been described before.Publications coming from the IR-PCML disseminated this useful information derived from patients who robustly participate and share information about their disease,among themselves and with their caregivers and clinicians.Patient input driving the collection of data on this rare leukemia is the basis for the considerable success of bringing new therapeutics into clinical use.

Malmquist indices of productivity growth for Islamic and conventional banks in Malaysia

This paper studies the total factor productivity （TFP） of banks in Malaysia with the emphasis on comparing the relative productivities of Islamic and Conventional banks. The Malmquist index approach is used to decompose productivity growth into technical efficiency and technological change. The productivity growth is measured and decomposed into technical change and efficiency change. The efficiency change is further decomposed into pure efficiency change and scale efficiency. It is found that Islamic banks＇ productivity growth is limited by its lack of technological change compared to its conventional counterparts. Nonetheless, both types of banks are operating at the correct level in terms of scale or size.

Towards a Virtual Asian-Pacific Seismological Network

Regional international cooperation in seismic data exchange and joint seismological analysis in the Asian-Pacific regions plays an important role in the reduction of earthquake disasters in these regions as well as the development of global seismology. Based on the up-to-date development of new technology and digital broadband seismology, we discussed the Asian Seismological Commission (ASC) Proposal “Asian-Pacific Seismological Data Center”. We applied the concept of virtual seismological network (Ottemoeller and Havskov, 1999) to the proposed ASC data exchange program. Based on the development of digital seismology, we introduced a concept of “modern earthquake catalogues” which include not only location parameters and magnitudes as in the conventional earthquake catalogues but also new parameters of earthquakes such as CMT, radiated energy, STF, and earthquake rupture process. We recommended a web-based regional international data exchange program between the ASC members with the purpose of forming a virtual Asian-Pacific seismological network, and the interpretation and analysis of broadband digital seismic waveforms conducted at distributed “data centers”.

An efficient parallel algorithm for ocean circulation numerical model based on irregular rectangle decomposition scheme

A parallel algorithm of circulation numerical model based on message passing interface（MPI） is developed using serialization and an irregular rectangle decomposition scheme. Neighboring point exchange strategy（NPES） is adopted to further enhance the computational efficiency. Two experiments are conducted on HP C7000 Blade System, the numerical results show that the parallel version with NPES（PVN） produces higher efficiency than the original parallel version（PV）. The PVN achieves parallel efficiency in excess of 0.9 in the second experiment when the number of processors increases to 100, while the efficiency of PV decreases to 0.39 rapidly. The PVN of ocean circulation model is used in a fine-resolution regional simulation, which produces better results. The capability of universal implementation of this algorithm makes it applicable in many other ocean models potentially.

AEIC: Present and Future Program

The establishment of the ASEAN Earthquake Information Center (AEIC) was endorsed by the 40th Meeting of the Committee on Science and Technology held in October 2000, at the request of the ASEAN Sub-Committee on Meteorology and Geophysics (SCMG) to obtain the ASEAN Standing Committee’s (ASC) approval to officially use the name “ASEAN Earthquake Information Center (AEIC)”. As part of AEIC activities, the SCMG implemented a project on the ASEAN Seismic Network for Rapid Exchange of Strong Earthquake Data (ASNET RESED). The project was implemented by the ASCMG with funding support from the Government of Japan through the Japan ASEAN Co-operation Promotion Program (JACPP). The aim of the project is to facilitate the rapid exchange of data and information on earthquakes with magnitudes greater than 5.5 on the Richter scale, and to link all of the ASEAN National Seismological Centers through the Internet to disseminate earthquake information. For the future program, we propose a seismic data exchange between the National Seismological Centers in ASEAN countries as well as world seismological centers using the facilities in the AEIC. The plan is basically to develop and update the software and hardware in the NSC and AEIC for data communication. To refresh our knowledge in seismology and data communication, we arrange the training sessions for both topics.

Tractable XML data exchange via relations

We consider data exchange for XML documents： given source and target schemas, a mapping between them, and a document conforming to the source schema, construct a target document and answer target queries in a way that is consistent with the source information. The problem has pri- marily been studied in the relational context, in which data- exchange systems have also been built. Since many XML documents are stored in relations, it is natural to consider using a relational system for XML data exchange. However, there is a complexity mismatch between query answering in relational and in XML data exchange. This indicates that to make the use of relational systems pos- sible, restrictions have to be imposed on XML schemas and mappings, as well as on XML shredding schemes. We isolate a set of five requirements that must be ful- filled in order to have a faithful representation of the XML data-exchange problem by a relational translation. We then demonstrate that these requirements naturally suggest the in- lining technique for data-exchange tasks. Our key contribu- tion is to provide shredding algorithms for schemas, docu- ments, mappings and queries, and demonstrate that they en- able us to correctly perform XML data-exchange tasks using a relational system.

A RESTful proxy and data model for linked sensor data

The vision of a Digital Earth calls for more dynamic information systems,new sources of information,and stronger capabilities for their integration.Sensor networks have been identified as a major information source for the Digital Earth,while Semantic Web technologies have been proposed to facilitate integration.So far,sensor data are stored and published using the Observations&Measurements standard of the Open Geospatial Consortium(OGC)as data model.With the advent of Volunteered Geographic Information and the Semantic Sensor Web,work on an ontological model gained importance within Sensor Web Enablement(SWE).In contrast to data models,an ontological approach abstracts from implementation details by focusing on modeling the physical world from the perspective of a particular domain.Ontologies restrict the interpretation of vocabularies toward their intended meaning.The ongoing paradigm shift to Linked Sensor Data complements this attempt.Two questions have to be addressed:(1)how to refer to changing and frequently updated data sets using Uniform Resource Identifiers,and(2)how to establish meaningful links between those data sets,that is,observations,sensors,features of interest,and observed properties?In this paper,we present a Linked Data model and a RESTful proxy for OGC’s Sensor Observation Service to improve integration and inter-linkage of observation data for the Digital Earth.

StarFL - a modularised metadata language for sensor descriptions

An ever-increasing number of sensor resources are being exposed via the World Wide Web to become part of the Digital Earth.Discovery,selection and use of these sensors and their observations require a robust sensor information model,but the consistent description of sensor metadata is a complex and difficult task.Currently,the only available robust model is SensorML,which is intentionally designed in a very generic way.Due to this genericness,interoperability can hardly be achieved without the definition of application profiles that further constrain the use and expressiveness of the root language.So far,such SensorML profiles have only been developed up to a limited extent.This work describes a new approach for defining sensor metadata,the Starfish Fungus Language(StarFL)model.This language follows a more restrictive approach and incorporates concepts from the recently published Semantic Sensor Network Ontology to overcome the key issues users are experiencing with SensorML.StarFL defines a restricted vocabulary and model for sensor metadata to achieve a high level of interoperability and a straightforward reusability of sensor descriptions.

A Review on TSO-DSO Data Exchange,CIM Extensions and Interoperability Aspects

The exchange of information between transmission system operators(TSOs)and distribution system operators(DSOs)is a common practice.However,the evolution of the regulatory frameworks in Europe has increased the need for enhancing TSO-DSO data exchange and interoperability.This paper provides an overview of the TSO-DSO data exchanges and demonstrates the best practices using International Electrotechnical Commission(IEC)common information model(CIM),including the implementation of IEC common grid model exchange standard(CGMES),and discussion of the corresponding advantages,disadvantages,and challenges.Furthermore,this paper evaluates and reports the activities already carried out within European projects,with particular focus on TSO-DSO interoperability.Finally,this paper concludes the need for TSOs and DSOs to rely on standard-based solutions when performing TSO-DSO data exchange,which enables the efficient operation and development of the future power systems.

Internet of Things:Objectives and Scientific Challenges

The Internet of Things （IoT） is aimed at enabling the interconnection and integration of the physical world and the cyber space. It represents the trend of future networking, and leads the third wave of the IT industry revolution. In this article, we first introduce some background and related technologies of IoT and discuss the concepts and objectives of IoT. Then, we present the challenges and key scientific problems involved in IoT development. Moreover, we introduce the current research project supported by the National Basic Research Program of China （973 Program）. Finally, we outline future research directions.