In the Computer Systems Department, we have developed a Web-based and mobile application for the self-administered assessment of nutrient intake and food consumption among adults and children, called the Open Platform for clinical nutrition (OPEN). The application is based on the scientifically validated food composition data and evidence-based dietary guidelines and recommendations. In cooperation with the Biotechnical faculty, University of Ljubljana, in 2012 we formed a new national food composition table for plant foods (CRP V4-1047-"the Slovenian food composition table – Foods of plant origin"). We considered the European standard CEN/TP 387, defined by the European NoE EuroFIR. IJS is a member of the following networks and has participated in the creation of this standard, as well as in the development of Web services, which provide a link between the different European information centers (FP7 EuroFIR NEXUS, IJS subcontractor). In 2012 we also participated in the European project "Updated food composition database for nutrient intake", which was commissioned by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Food composition data used by OPKP were provided in an appropriate form to EFSA for the purposes of verification of the safety aspects of food and drinks that are frequently consumed in Slovenia (JSI has participated in the project as a partner). In 2012, we upgraded OPEN for the purposes of the Slovenian national study on malnutrition. We developed a mobile application and by using it performed the screening of malnutrition among the Slovenian population at admission to hospital (Ministry of health RS, leader the Slovenian Society for Clinical Nutrition, IJS partner). In collaboration with the Clinical Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolic diseases, UMC Ljubljana, we have upgraded OPEN for the needs of diabetic patients and presented the results on the Endocrinology Congress of Nurses and Healthcare Provides with international participation, "The Investment in the Prevention is Worthy".
F.15 Development of a new information system/databases
COBISS.SI-ID: 4166264Typically, ecosystem models are nonlinear and have many parameters, the studied systems can often be only partially observed, and their measurements are sparse and imperfect due to noise. All of these constraints can lead to identifiability problems, i.e., the inability to uniquely identify the unknown model parameters, making parameter estimation an even harder optimization task. Furthermore, the implicit definition of the cost function requires expensive numerical ODE simulations that have to be performed for every parameter solution investigated during the optimization process. As a result, parameter identification is a challenging and computationally expensive optimization task, which calls for the use of advanced meta-heuristic approaches, such as evolutionary or swarm-based methods. We conduct an empirical comparison of four meta-heuristic optimization methods, and one local optimization method as a baseline, on a representative task of parameter estimation in a model of the food web dynamics in Lake Bled. The empirical evaluation shows that the meta-heuristic global optimization methods for parameter identification are clearly superior and should be preferred over local optimization methods. The observability of the system shows a strong influence, where less complete observations make the optimization task much more dificult. The results clearly indicate the importance of choosing a relevant cost function when the modeled systems dynamics is only partially observed. While the use of a simple one-step trapezoidal-based integrator for supervised prediction makes parameter identification much faster, the use of a multistep variable-coeficient integrator for unsupervised prediction produces much better parameter estimates from real-measured data.
F.27 Contribution to preserving/protecting natural and cultural heritage
COBISS.SI-ID: 25389607A so-called »Differential Ant-Stigmergy Algorithm« was applied to a real-world problem, where the efficiency of the radial and axial subsonic impeller of a vacuum cleaner produced by Domel d.o.o. was optimized. Here, the radial impeller was presented using parametric modeling. Due to a large number of parameters and consequently enormous search space, an efficient metaheuristic approach was inevitable. As a result the aerodynamic power was increased by twenty per cent.
F.07 Improvements to an existing product
COBISS.SI-ID: 12465435We developed a software-based solution to automate the power control of desktop PCs. The deployment of the proposed system is simply done over the existing infrastructure (i.e. hardware) of the organization, thus minimizing the required investment. The controlling software, named Power Server, reads events from the personnel registration terminals. These events generate the power-state changes of the owner's PC, turning it on when arriving to office, and off when leaving home. Power Server also reacts to remote VPN connections in a similar way. The user may also modify the configuration and select, for example, to put the PC into a low-energy sleep or hibernation mode instead of turning it off. The energy savings come from the fact that each PC is kept running strictly for the time it is being used, neither more nor less. Since even the latest low-power desktop PCs consume around 40 watts of power when idle, the potential savings of a Power Server installation are very promising: more than 52% of energy-consumption reduction, which means more than 10,000 EUR a year for an organization hosting just 300 desktop PCs.
F.11 Development of a new service
COBISS.SI-ID: 25839399We organized the BIOMA 2012 conference (Bioinspired Optimization Methods and their Applications). The fifth biennial conference included the presentations and discussions on the newest theoretical and practical results on nature-inspired optimization methods and their applications. The conference presentations are included in the conference proceedings. Jurij Šilc was the programme committee chair of the conference.
B.02 Presiding over the programming board of a conference
COBISS.SI-ID: 25812007