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This open access book presents thirteen outstanding doctoral dissertations in Information Technology from the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, Italy. Information Technology has always been highly interdisciplinary, as many aspects have to be considered in IT systems. The doctoral studies program in IT at Politecnico di Milano emphasizes this interdisciplinary nature, which is becoming more and more important in recent technological advances, in collaborative projects, and in the education of young researchers. Accordingly, the focus of advanced research is on pursuing a rigorous approach to specific research topics starting from a broad background in various areas of Information Technology, especially Computer Science and Engineering, Electronics, Systems and Control, and Telecommunications. Each year, more than 50 PhDs graduate from the program. This book gathers the outcomes of the thirteen best theses defended in 2020-21 and selected for the IT PhD Award. Each of the authors provides a chapter summarizing his/her findings, including an introduction, description of methods, main achievements and future work on the topic. Hence, the book provides a cutting-edge overview of the latest research trends in Information Technology at Politecnico di Milano, presented in an easy-to-read format that will also appeal to non-specialists.

This open access book establishes a dialog among the medical and intelligent system domains for igniting transition toward a sustainable and cost-effective healthcare. The Person-Centered Care (PCC) positions a person in the center of a healthcare system, instead of defining a patient as a set of diagnoses and treatment episodes. The PCC-based conceptual background triggers enhanced application of Artificial Intelligence, as it dissolves the limits of processing traditional medical data records, clinical tests and surveys. Enhanced knowledge for diagnosing, treatment and rehabilitation is captured and utilized by inclusion of data sources characterizing personal lifestyle, and health literacy, and it involves insights derived from smart ambience and wearables data, community networks, and the caregivers’ feedback. The book discusses intelligent systems and their applications for healthcare data analysis, decision making and process design tasks. The measurement systems and efficiency evaluation models analyze ability of intelligent healthcare system to monitor person health and improving quality of life.

Synthetic biology is a field of biotechnology that is rapidly growing in various applications, such as in medicine, environmental sustainability, and energy production. However these technologies also have unforeseen risks and applications to humans and the environment. This open access book presents discussions on risks and mitigation strategies for these technologies including biosecurity, or the potential of synthetic biology technologies and processes to be deliberately misused for nefarious purposes. The book presents strategies to prevent, mitigate, and recover from ‘dual-use concern’ biosecurity challenges that may be raised by individuals, rogue states, or non-state actors. Several key topics are explored including opportunities to develop more coherent and scalable approaches to govern biosecurity from a laboratory perspective up to the international scale and strategies to prevent potential health and environmental hazards posed by deliberate misuse of synthetic biology without stifling innovation. The book brings together the expertise of top scholars in synthetic biology and biotechnology risk assessment, management, and communication to discuss potential biosecurity governing strategies and offer perspectives for collaboration in oversight and future regulatory guidance.

This open access book gathers authoritative contributions concerning multiscale problems in biomechanics, geomechanics, materials science and tribology. It is written in memory of Sergey Grigorievich Psakhie to feature various aspects of his multifaceted research interests, ranging from theoretical physics, computer modeling of materials and material characterization at the atomic scale, to applications in space industry, medicine and geotectonics, and including organizational, psychological and philosophical aspects of scientific research and teaching as well. This book covers new advances relating to orthopedic implants, concerning the physiological, tribological and materials aspects of their behavior; medical and geological applications of permeable fluid-saturated materials; earthquake dynamics together with aspects relating to their managed and gentle release; lubrication, wear and material transfer in natural and artificial joints; material research in manufacturing processes; hard-soft matter interaction, including adhesive and capillary effects; using nanostructures for influencing living cells and for cancer treatment; manufacturing of surfaces with desired properties; self-organization of hierarchical structures during plastic deformation and thermal treatment; mechanics of composites and coatings; and many more. Covering established knowledge as well as new models and methods, this book provides readers with a comprehensive overview of the field, yet also with extensive details on each single topic.

​This open access book describes modern applications of computational human modeling in an effort to advance neurology, cancer treatment, and radio-frequency studies including regulatory, safety, and wireless communication fields. Readers working on any application that may expose human subjects to electromagnetic radiation will benefit from this book’s coverage of the latest models and techniques available to assess a given technology’s safety and efficacy in a timely and efficient manner. Describes computational human body phantom construction and application; Explains new practices in computational human body modeling for electromagnetic safety and exposure evaluations; Includes a survey of modern applications for which computational human phantoms are critical.