Blockchain and IIoT Enabled Solution for Social Distancing and Isolation Management to Prevent Pandemics

Pandemics have always been a nightmare for humanity,especially in developing countries.Forced lockdowns are considered one of the effective ways to deal with spreading such pandemics.Still,developing countries cannot afford such solutions because these may severely damage the country’s econ-omy.Therefore,this study presents the proactive technological mechanisms for business organizations to run their standard business processes during pandemic-like situations smoothly.The novelty of this study is to provide a state-of-the-art solution to prevent pandemics using industrial internet of things(IIoT)and blockchain-enabled technologies.Compared to existing studies,the immutable and tamper-proof contact tracing and quarantine management solution is proposed.The use of advanced technologies and information security is a critical area for practitioners in the internet of things(IoT)and corresponding solutions.Therefore,this study also emphasizes information security,end-to-end solution,and experimental results.Firstly,a wearable wristband is proposed,incorporating 4G-enabled ultra-wideband(UWB)technology for smart contact tracing mechanisms in industries to comply with standard operating procedures outlined by the world health organization(WHO).Secondly,distributed ledger technology(DLT)omits the centralized dependency for transmitting contact tracing data.Thirdly,a privacy-preserving tracing mechanism is discussed using a public/private key cryptography-based authentication mechanism.Lastly,based on geofencing techniques,blockchain-enabled machine-to-machine(M2M)technology is proposed for quarantine management.The step-by-step methodology and test results are proposed to ensure contact tracing and quarantine management.Unlike existing research studies,the security aspect is also considered in the realm of blockchain.The practical implementation of the proposed solution also obtains the results.The results indicate the successful implementation of blockchain-enabled contact tracing and isolation management using IoT and geo-fencing techniques,which could help battle pandemic situations.Researchers can also consider the 5G-enabled narrowband internet of things(NB-IoT)technologies to implement contact tracing solutions.

Standardization of critical care management of non-critically ill patients with COVID-19

The large global outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)has seriously endangered the health care system in China and globally.The sudden surge of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection has revealed the shortage of critical care medicine resources and intensivists.Currently,the management of non-critically ill patients with COVID-19 is performed mostly by non-intensive care unit(ICU)physicians,who lack the required professional knowledge,training,and practice in critical care medicine,especially in terms of continuous monitoring of the respiratory function,intervention,and feedback on treatment effects.This clinical problem needs an urgent solution.Therefore,here,we propose a series of clinical strategies for non-ICU physicians aimed at the standardization of the management of non-critically ill patients with COVID-19 from the perspective of critical care medicine.Isolation management is performed to facilitate the implementation of hierarchical monitoring and intervention to ensure the reasonable distribution of scarce critical care medical resources and intensivists,highlight the key patients,timely detection of disease progression,and early and appropriate intervention and organ function support,and thus improve the prognosis.Different management objectives are also set based on the high-risk factors and the severity of patients with COVID-19.The approaches suggested herein will facilitate the timely detection of disease progression,and thus ensure the provision of early and appropriate intervention and organ function support,which will eventually improve the prognosis.

Wind-diesel hybrid power system integration in the south Algeria

In most isolated sites situated in south Algeria, the diesel generators are the major source of electrical energy. Indeed, the power supply of these remote regions still poses order problems （technical, economical and ecological）. The electricity produced with the help of diesel generators is very expensive and responsible for CO2 emission. These isolated sites have significant wind energy potential. Hence, the use of twinning wind-diesel is widely recommended, especially to reduce operating deficits. The objective of this paper is to study the global modeling of a hybrid system which compounds wind turbine generator, diesel generator and storage system. This model is based on the control strategy to optimize the functioning of the hybrid system and to consolidate the gains to provide proper management of energy sources （wind, diesel, battery） depending on the load curve of the proposed site. The management is controlled by a controller which ensures the opening/closing of different power switches according to meteorological conditions （wind speed, air mass, temperature, etc）.