Distributed systems are concerned with how to organize a set of computing and distributed resources for specific applications. They promote forms of collaboration among different kinds of autonomous computers that appear to its users as a single coherent system. This paper is a short report of R&D activities and applications in the field of distributed system carried out by the research group. Compute-intensive applications for mass screening programs will be discussed. Moreover, a digital device for remote patient control with a look to the pervasive distributed sensor networks for personal safety applications is described. SFINGE, a research project on collaborative distributed systems based on virtual organizations is under development to innovate the production process in e-learning. At the purpose, is involved the Computer Center for Science at the INFN-Bari. It is a high-throughput computing facility connected to the European Grid Infrastructure and Worldwide LHC Grid.

1. Introduction Bioengineering is an applied engineering discipline with the aims to develop specific methods and technologies for a better understanding of biological phenomena and health solutions to face the problems regarding the sciences of life. It is based on fields such as biology, electronic engineering, information technology (I.T.), mechanics and chemistry (MIT, 1999). Methods of Bioengineering concern: the modeling of the physiological systems , the description of electric phenomena or magnetic ones ,the processing of data, the designing of medical equipments and materials or tissues, the study of organisms and the analysis of the link structure property typical of biomaterials or biomechanical structures. Technologies of Bioengineering include: biomedical and biotechnological instruments (from the elementary components to the most complex hospital systems), prosthesis, robots for biomedical uses, artificial intelligent system, sanitary management systems, information systems, medical informatics, telemedicine (J. E. Bekelman et al, 2003). Biomedicine has recently had an innovative impulse through applications of computer science in Bioengineering field. Medical Informatics or better the Bioinformatics technology is characterized by the development of automatic applications in the biological sector whose central element is the information. There are several reasons to apply the “computer science” in many fields, such as the biomedical one. Advantages as the turn-around time and precision are among the basically improving factors for a job. For example the identification of the functions of genes has taken advantage from the application of an automatically system of analysis of database containing the result of many experiments of microarray getting information on the human genes involved in pathologies (C. Müller et al, 2009). With a such approach regions with specifically activities have been identified inside the DNA regions, different regions exist in the genome, some stretches are the actual genes, others regulates the functions of the former ones. Other research have been made through computational techniques on the Functional Genomics, Biopolymers and Proteomics, Biobank e Cell Factory (M. Liebman et al, 2008). This chapter explores a particularly promising area of systems development technological based on the concept of knowledge. The knowledge is useful learning result obtained by an information processing activity. The Knowledge Engineering, regards the integration of the knowledge in computer systems in order to solve the difficult problems which typically require a high level of human specialization. (M. C. Linn, 1993). Whereas standalone computer system have had an important impact in Biomedicine, the computer networks are nowadays a technology to investigate new opportunities of innovation. The capacity of the networks to link so many information allows both to improve the already exis

In questo lavoro si presenta uno studio per lo sviluppo di sistemi collaborativi in ambito e-learning con particolare riferimento al Grid Computing e ai modelli collaborativi territoriali inter-istituzionali.

Nowadays, the interest in applications of e-learning is becoming more and more meaningful in various social and production areas. There are numerous proposals for new learning solutions mediated by technologies that depart from technological innovations. In this paper a method for development innovative solutions in e-learning applications based on the centrality of the studies of human-computer interaction is proposed. In particular, it explores the concept of usability and proposes a design framework. An application to the construction of an e-learning system is also presented

In questo lavoro sono presentati i principi generali che definiscono l’usabilità nell’e-learning, con particolare riguardo alle dimensioni dell’interfaccia comunicativa e di quella cognitiva.

ABSTRACT: This paper will present the Knowledge Grid based system model, the architecture and the de-sign principles focusing the discussion on the biomedical imaging process.

In questo lavoro viene proposta un'architettura di sistema distribuito collaborativo basato sull' e-learning. In particolare si discutono soluzioni basate sulla Virtual Organization (VO) per costruire scenari multi istituzionali in cui si condividono risorse computazionali e di apprendimento quali LMS e MOODLE. Uno scenario che propone un modello collaborativo territoriale dell’istruzione e della formazione è anche presentato.

Progettisti, sviluppatori e designer di ambienti didattici sono necessari per ottenere sistemi efficaci, accessibili, flessibili e distribuiti, sulla base di specifiche che siano mirate a fornire un apprendimento personalizzato. Le principali caratteristiche dei sistemi e-learning riguardano proprio la loro capacità di riconoscere le esigenze dei diversi studenti, il loro comportamento educativo e anche le loro capacità. Questi sistemi dovrebbero essere in grado di fornire opportune raccomandazioni per migliorare l’efficienza del processo di formazione.