Search results for: design challenges

Authors: Mohamed Gherbi

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The informal trade has invaded the Algerian cities, especially in their peripherals. About 1368 informal markets have been registrated during 2013 where the important ones are known by Doubaï Markets. They appeared since the adoption of the new system of the economy market in 1990. It permitted the intervention of new actors: the importers but also the fake ones. The majority of them were 'ex-Trabendistes' who have chosen to settle and invest in big and small cities of center and east of Algeria, mainly Algiers, El Eulma, Aïn El Fekroun, Tadjnenent, and Aïn M’lila. This study will focus on the case of the city of El Eulma which contains more of 1000 importers (most of them are fake). They have changed the image and architecture of some important streets of the city, without respecting rules of urbanism such as those included in the building permit for instance. The case of 'Doubaï' place in El Eulma illustrates this situation. This area is not covered by a Soil Occupation Plan (responsible of the design of urban spaces), even if this last covers other zones nearby surrounding of it. These importers helped by the wholesale and retail traders installed in 'Doubaï' place, have converted spaces inside and outside of residential buildings in deposits and sales of goods. They have squatted sidewalks to expose their goods imported predominantly from the South-East Asian countries. The scenery that reigns resembles partly to the bazaar of the Middle East and Chinese cities like Yiwu. These signs characterize the local ambiance and give the particularity to this part of the city. A customer tide from different cities and outside of Algeria comes daily to visit this district. The other zones surrounding have underwent the same change and have followed the model of 'Doubaï' place. Consequently, the mechanical movement has finished by stifling an important part of the city and the prices of land and real estate have reached exorbitant values and can be compared to prices charged in Paris due to the rampant speculation that has reached alarming dimensions. Similarly, renting commercial premises did not escape this logic. This paper will explain the reasons responsible of this change, the logic of importers through their acts in different spaces of the city.

Keywords: Doubaï place, design of urban spaces, fake importers, informal trade

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Authors: Pallavi Bhogaram, Xiaolong Wu, Min He, Onyedikachi Okenwa

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A transportation network is a realization of a spatial network, describing a structure which permits either vehicular movement or flow of some commodity. Examples include road networks, railways, air routes, pipelines, and many more. The transportation network plays a vital role in maintaining the vigor of the nation’s economy. Hence, ensuring the network stays resilient all the time, especially in the face of challenges such as heavy traffic loads and large scale natural disasters, is of utmost importance. In this paper, we used the Neo4j application to develop the graph. Neo4j is the world's leading open-source, NoSQL, a native graph database that implements an ACID-compliant transactional backend to applications. The Southern California network model is developed using the Neo4j application and obtained the most critical and optimal nodes and paths in the network using centrality algorithms. The edge betweenness centrality algorithm calculates the critical or optimal paths using Yen's k-shortest paths algorithm, and the node betweenness centrality algorithm calculates the amount of influence a node has over the network. The preliminary study results confirm that the Neo4j application can be a suitable tool to study the important nodes and the critical paths for the major congested metropolitan area.

Keywords: critical path, transportation network, connectivity reliability, network model, Neo4j application, edge betweenness centrality index

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Authors: A. A. Altalbe, N. W Bergmann

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There has been significant recent interest in on-line learning, as well as considerable work on developing technologies for virtual laboratories for engineering students. After reviewing the state-of-the-art of virtual laboratories, this paper steps back from the technology issues to look in more detail at the pedagogical issues surrounding virtual laboratories, and examines the role of gathering student feedback in the development of such laboratories. The main contribution of the paper is a set of student surveys before and after a prototype deployment of a simulation laboratory tool, and the resulting analysis which leads to some tentative guidelines for the design of virtual engineering laboratories.

Keywords: engineering education, elearning, electrical engineering, virtual laboratories

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Authors: Gebreegziabher Hailu

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This paper presents the development of residual power series methods aimed at efficiently solving stiff differential equations, which pose significant challenges in numerical analysis due to their rapid changes in solution behavior. The RPSM is a numerical approach that generates polynomial-based approximate solutions without the need for linearization, discretization, or perturbation techniques, making it straightforward to implement and less prone to computational errors. We introduce an approach that utilizes power series expansions combined with residual minimization techniques to enhance convergence and stability. By analyzing the theoretical foundations of stiffness, we delve into the formulation of the residual power series method, detailing how it effectively captures the dynamics of stiff systems while maintaining computational efficiency. Numerical experiments demonstrate the method's superiority in terms of accuracy and computational cost when compared to traditional methods like implicit Runge-Kutta or multistep techniques. We also explore adaptive strategies within our framework to automatically adjust parameters based on the stiffness characteristics of the problem at hand. Ultimately, our findings contribute to the broader toolkit for tackling stiff differential equations, offering a robust alternative that promises to streamline computational workflows in various applied mathematics and engineering contexts.

Keywords: residual power series methods, stiff differential equoations, numerical approach, Runge Kutta methods

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Authors: Mijoh A. Gbededo, Kapila Liyanage, Sabuj Mallik

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The emerging approaches to sustainable manufacturing are considered to be solution-oriented with the aim of addressing the environmental, economic and social issues holistically. However, the analysis of the interdependencies amongst the three sustainability dimensions has not been fully captured in the literature. In a recent review of approaches to sustainable manufacturing, two categories of techniques are identified: 1) Sustainable Product Development (SPD), and 2) Sustainability Performance Assessment (SPA) techniques. The challenges of the approaches are not only related to the arguments and misconceptions of the relationships between the techniques and sustainable development but also to the inability to capture and integrate the three sustainability dimensions. This requires a clear definition of some of the approaches and a road-map to the development of a holistic approach that supports sustainability decision-making. In this context, eco-innovation, social impact assessment, and life cycle sustainability analysis play an important role. This paper deployed an integrative approach that enabled amalgamation of sustainable manufacturing approaches and the theories of reciprocity and motivation into a holistic simulation-based impact analysis framework. The findings in this research have the potential to guide sustainability analysts to capture the aspects of the three sustainability dimensions into an analytical model. Additionally, the research findings presented can aid the construction of a holistic simulation model of a sustainable manufacturing and support effective decision-making.

Keywords: life cycle sustainability analysis, sustainable manufacturing, sustainability performance assessment, sustainable product development

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Authors: Mahtab Makaremi Masouleh, Günter Wozniak

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This research is part of an interdisciplinary project, promoting the design of a light temporary installable textile defence system against flood. In case river water levels increase abruptly especially in winter time, one can expect massive extra load on a textile protective structure in term of impact as a result of floating debris and even tree trunks. Estimation of this impulsive force on such structures is of a great importance, as it can ensure the reliability of the design in critical cases. This fact provides the motivation for the numerical analysis of a fluid structure interaction application, comprising flexible slender shaped and free-surface water flow, where an accelerated heavy flotsam tends to approach the membrane. In this context, the analysis on both the behavior of the flexible membrane and its interaction with moving flotsam is conducted by finite elements based solvers of the explicit solver and implicit Abacus solver available as products of SIMULIA software. On the other hand, a study on how free surface water flow behaves in response to moving structures, has been investigated using the finite volume solver of Star CCM+ from Siemens PLM Software. An automatic communication tool (CSE, SIMULIA Co-Simulation Engine) and the implementation of an effective partitioned strategy in form of an implicit coupling algorithm makes it possible for partitioned domains to be interconnected powerfully. The applied procedure ensures stability and convergence in the solution of these complicated issues, albeit with high computational cost; however, the other complexity of this study stems from mesh criterion in the fluid domain, where the two structures approach each other. This contribution presents the approaches for the establishment of a convergent numerical solution and compares the results with experimental findings.

Keywords: co-simulation, flexible thin structure, fluid-structure interaction, implicit coupling algorithm, moving flotsam

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Authors: Kalluru Maheswaramma, Putta Padma

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This study makes an attempt to demonstrate the wondrous world of the upwardly middle black community in Gloria Naylor’s Linden Hills. Gloria Naylor’s first novel The Women of Brewster Place is about the working class and Linden Hills about middle-class Black America. Naylor believes their serenity that is lost in the middle or working class black people as they move into the upper patriarchal society. Naylor challenges the different forms of superiority, homophobia, and chauvinism, interracial bias, and the like, which plague a community so significantly trying to be acceptable in the larger white community. In an ironic twist, Naylor creates characters that recognize their desire for a solid black community but who in reality ignore blackness and negate any emergent sign of its development. Linden Hills is an expose of the wealthy and spiritually dissolute upper class. Linden Hills is an examination of an upper-middle-class African American community in which women are largely exploited or invisible and in which men have, in the course of upward mobility, sacrificed their racial identity and their essence. Linden Hills is a social world, which includes firm stratification, false values, and an immobilizing impact on its residents. Touching a brief note upon the origin and development of African American Literature as well a note on the chosen writer and her works, the paper proceeds to depict the middle-class black community of Linden Hills.

Keywords: gloria naylor, linden hills, African American community, the middle black community

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Authors: Simon Arunga, Teddy Kwaga, Rita Kageni, Michael Gichangi, Nyawira Mwangi, Fred Kagwa, Rogers Mwavu, Amos Baryashaba, Luis F. Nakayama, Katharine Morley, Michael Morley, Leo A. Celi, Jessica Haberer, Celestino Obua

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Purpose: The main aim for creating the Multimodal Database of Retinal Images for Africa (MoDRIA) was to provide a publicly available repository of retinal images for responsible researchers to conduct algorithm development in a bid to curb the challenges of ophthalmic artificial intelligence (AI) in Africa. Methods: Data and retina images were ethically sourced from sites in Uganda and Kenya. Data on medical history, visual acuity, ocular examination, blood pressure, and blood sugar were collected. Retina images were captured using fundus cameras (Foru3-nethra and Canon CR-Mark-1). Images were stored on a secure online database. Results: The database consists of 7,859 retinal images in portable network graphics format from 1,988 participants. Images from patients with human immunodeficiency virus were 18.9%, 18.2% of images were from hypertensive patients, 12.8% from diabetic patients, and the rest from normal’ participants. Conclusion: Publicly available data repositories are a valuable asset in the development of AI technology. Therefore, is a need for the expansion of MoDRIA so as to provide larger datasets that are more representative of Sub-Saharan data.

Keywords: retina images, MoDRIA, image repository, African database

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Authors: Covadonga Rodrigo, Felipe Alvarez Arrieta, Ana Garcia Serrano

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Mobile augmented reality technologies have become very popular in the last years in the educational field. Researchers have studied how these technologies improve the engagement of the student and better understanding of the process of learning. But few studies have been made regarding the accessibility of these new technologies applied to digital humanities. The goal of our research is to develop an accessible mobile application with embedded augmented reality main characters of the art work and gamification events accompanied by multi-sensorial activities. The mobile app conducts a learning itinerary around the artistic work, driving the user experience in and out the museum. The learning design follows the inquiry-based methodology and social learning conducted through interaction with social networks. As for the software application, it’s being user-centered designed, following the universal design for learning (UDL) principles to assure the best level of accessibility for all. The mobile augmented reality application starts recognizing a marker from a masterpiece of a museum using the camera of the mobile device. The augmented reality information (history, author, 3D images, audio, quizzes) is shown through virtual main characters that come out from the art work. To comply with the UDL principles, we use a version of the technology acceptance model (TAM) to study the easiness of use and perception of usefulness, extended by the authors with specific indicators for measuring accessibility issues. Following a rapid prototype method for development, the first app has been recently produced, fulfilling the EN 301549 standard and W3C accessibility guidelines for mobile development. A TAM-based web questionnaire with 214 participants with different kinds of disabilities was previously conducted to gather information and feedback on user preferences from the artistic work on the Museo del Prado, the level of acceptance of technology innovations and the easiness of use of mobile elements. Preliminary results show that people with disabilities felt very comfortable while using mobile apps and internet connection. The augmented reality elements seem to offer an added value highly engaging and motivating for the students.

Keywords: H.5.1 (multimedia information systems), artificial, augmented and virtual realities, evaluation/methodology

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Authors: Karandeep Kaur

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This paper presents the design of power amplifier (PA) for mmWave communication systems. The designed amplifier uses GlobalFoundries 22 FDX technology and works at an operational frequency of 140 GHz in the D-Band. With a supply voltage of 0.8V for the super low threshold voltage transistors, the amplifier is biased in class AB and has a total current consumption of 50 mA. The measured saturated output power from the power amplifier is 5.6 dBm with an output-referred 1dB-compression point of 1.6dBm. The measured gain of PA is 19 dB with 3 dB-bandwidth ranging from 120 GHz to 140 GHz. The chip occupies an area of 795µm × 410µm.

Keywords: mmWave communication system, power amplifiers, 22FDX, D-Band, cross-coupled capacitive neutralization

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Authors: Shukri Dughman, Anthony Rossiter

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This paper builds on earlier work which demonstrated that Model Predictive Control (MPC) may give a poor choice of default feed forward compensator. By first demonstrating the impact of future information of target changes on the performance, this paper proposes a pragmatic method for identifying the amount of future information on the target that can be utilised effectively in both finite and infinite horizon algorithms. Numerical illustrations in MATLAB give evidence of the efficacy of the proposal.

Keywords: model predictive control, tracking control, advance knowledge, feed forward

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Authors: Eman H. El-Gamal, Maher E. Saleh, Mohamed Rashad, Ibrahim Elsokkary, Mona M. Abd El-Latif

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Biochar application to calcareous soils could potentially influence the nitrogen dynamics that affect the bioavailability of plants. This study was carried out to investigate the effect of incubation periods on the changes of nitrogen levels (total nitrogen TN and exchangeable ammonium NH₄⁺ and nitrate NO₃⁻) in biochar-treated calcareous soil. The incubation course was extended to 144 days at 30 ± 3 ℃ and at 50% of soil water holding capacity (WHC). Two types of biochars were obtained by pyrolysis at 500 ℃ from rice husk (RHB) and sugarcane bagasse (SCBB). The experiment was planned in a factorial experimental design with three factors (6 periods '24 days for each period' × 3 biochar types 'un-amended, RHB and SCBB' × 3 nitrogen fertilizers 'control, ammonium nitrate; AN and animal manure; AM') in a completely randomized design. The results obtained showed that the highest level of TN was found in the first 24 days of the incubation period in all treatments. However, the amount of TN was decreased with proceeding incubation period up to 144 days and reached to the lowest level at the end of incubation with values of change rate was 17.5, 16.6, and 14.6 g kg⁻¹ day⁻¹ for the un-amended, RHB and SCBB treated soil, respectively. The values of change rate in biochar-soils treated with nitrogen fertilizers were decreased gradually through the whole incubation time from 127.22 to 12.45 g kg⁻¹ day⁻¹ and from 65.00 to 13.43 g kg⁻¹ day⁻¹ for AN and AM respectively, in the case of RHB-soil. While in SCBB-soil, these values were decreased from 70.83 to 12.13 g kg⁻¹ day⁻¹ and from 59.17 to 11.48 g kg⁻¹ day⁻¹ for AN and AM treatments, respectively. The lowest concentration of exchangeable NH₄⁺ was generally found through the period from 24-48 days of incubation. However, the addition of nitrogen fertilizers, enhanced NH₄⁺ production through incubation periods. In the case of RHB-soil, the value of change rate in NH₄⁺ level in the first 24 days of incubation was 0.43 mg kg⁻¹ day⁻¹ and with the addition of AN and AM this value increased to 1.54 and 4.38 mg kg⁻¹ day⁻¹, respectively. In the case of SCBB-soil, the value of change rate in NH₄⁺ level was 0.29 mg kg⁻¹ day⁻¹ which increased to 1.04 mg kg⁻¹ day⁻¹ at the end of incubation, and due to the addition of AN and AM this value increased to 2.78 and 1.90 mg kg⁻¹ day⁻¹ in the first 24 days of incubation period, respectively. However, as compared to the control treatment, the lowest rate of change in NH₄⁺ level was found at the end of incubation. On the other hand, incubation of all biochars-amended soil and treated with AN and AM decreased the concentration levels of NO₃⁻, especially through the first 24-72 days of incubation period. As a result, the values of change rate in NO₃⁻ concentrations in all treatments were almost negative.

Keywords: ammonium nitrate, animal manure, biochar, rice husk, sugarcane bagasse

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Authors: Jagdish Prasad Sahoo

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The increase in active earth pressure during the event of an earthquake results sliding, overturning and tilting of earth retaining structures. In order to improve upon the stability of structures, the soil mass is often reinforced with various types of reinforcements such as metal strips, geotextiles, and geogrids etc. The stresses generated in the soil mass are transferred to the reinforcements through the interface friction between the earth and the reinforcement, which in turn reduces the lateral earth pressure on the retaining walls. Hence, the evaluation of earth pressure in the presence of seismic forces with an inclusion of reinforcements is important for the design retaining walls in the seismically active zones. In the present analysis, the effect of reinforcing horizontal layers of reinforcements in the form of sheets (Geotextiles and Geogrids) in sand used as backfill, on reducing the active earth pressure due to earthquake body forces has been studied. For carrying out the analysis, pseudo-static approach has been adopted by employing upper bound theorem of limit analysis in combination with finite elements and linear optimization. The computations have been performed with and out reinforcements for different internal friction angle of sand varying from 30 ° to 45 °. The effectiveness of the reinforcement in reducing the active earth pressure on the retaining walls is examined in terms of active earth pressure coefficient for presenting the solutions in a non-dimensional form. The active earth pressure coefficient is expressed as functions of internal friction angle of sand, interface friction angle between sand and reinforcement, soil-wall interface roughness conditions, and coefficient of horizontal seismic acceleration. It has been found that (i) there always exists a certain optimum depth of the reinforcement layers corresponding to which the value of active earth pressure coefficient becomes always the minimum, and (ii) the active earth pressure coefficient decreases significantly with an increase in length of reinforcements only up to a certain length beyond which a further increase in length hardly causes any reduction in the values active earth pressure. The optimum depth of the reinforcement layers and the required length of reinforcements corresponding to the optimum depth of reinforcements have been established. The numerical results developed in this analysis are expected to be useful for purpose of design of retaining walls.

Keywords: active, finite elements, limit analysis, presudo-static, reinforcement

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Authors: Mehrnoosh Askarizadeh

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The increasing variations of the business world correspond with a high diversity of theoretical perspectives used in project management research. This diversity is reflected by a variety of influencing factors, which have been the subject of empirical studies. This article aims to systemize the different streams of research on the basis of a literature review and at developing a research framework influencing factors. We will identify fundamental elements of a project management theory. The framework consists of three dimensions: design, context, and goal. Its purpose is to support the combination of different perspectives and the development of strategies for further research.

Keywords: project, goal, project management, influencing factors

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Authors: Joana Pimenta, Lorena Coelho, José Silva, Vanessa Miranda, Jorge Laranjeira, Rui Soares

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In this paper, the results of R&D on an innovative food package for increased shelf-life are presented. SAP4MA aims at the development of a printed active device that enables smart packaging solutions for food preservation, targeting the extension of the shelf-life of the packed food through the controlled release of active natural antioxidant agents at the onset of the food degradation process. To do so, SAP4MA focuses on the development of active devices such as printed heaters and batteries/supercapacitors in a label format to be integrated on packaging lids during its injection molding process, promoting the passive release of natural antioxidants after the product is packed, during transportation and in the shelves, and actively when the end-user activates the package, just prior to consuming the product at home. When the active device present on the lid is activated, the release of the natural antioxidants embedded in the inner layer of the packaging lid in direct contact with the headspace atmosphere of the food package starts. This approach is based on the use of active functional coatings composed of nano encapsulated active agents (natural antioxidants species) in the prevention of the oxidation of lipid compounds in food by agents such as oxygen. Thus keeping the product quality during the shelf-life, not only when the user opens the packaging, but also during the period from food packaging up until the purchase by the consumer. The active systems that make up the printed smart label, heating circuit, and battery were developed using screen-printing technology. These systems must operate under the working conditions associated with this application. The printed heating circuit was studied using three different substrates and two different conductive inks. Inks were selected, taking into consideration that the printed circuits will be subjected to high pressures and temperatures during the injection molding process. The circuit must reach a homogeneous temperature of 40ºC in the entire area of the lid of the food tub, promoting a gradual and controlled release of the antioxidant agents. In addition, the circuit design involves a high level of study in order to guarantee maximum performance after the injection process and meet the specifications required by the control electronics component. Furthermore, to characterize the different heating circuits, the electrical resistance promoted by the conductive ink and the circuit design, as well as the thermal behavior of printed circuits on different substrates, were evaluated. In the injection molding process, the serpentine-shaped design developed for the heating circuit was able to resolve the issues connected to the injection point; in addition, the materials used in the support and printing had high mechanical resistance against the pressure and temperature inherent to the injection process. Acknowledgment: This research has been carried out within the Project “Smart and Active Packing for Margarine Product” (SAP4MA) running under the EURIPIDES Program being co-financed by COMPETE 2020 – the Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalization and under Portugal 2020 through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Keywords: smart package, printed heat circuits, printed batteries, flexible and printed electronic

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Authors: Elkington Sibusiso Mnguni

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In South Africa, mining has been a key economic sector since the discovery of gold in 1886 in the Witwatersrand region, where the city of Johannesburg is located. However, some mines have since been decommissioned, and the continuous pumping of acid mine drainage (AMD) also stopped causing the AMD to rise towards the ground surface. This posed a serious environmental risk to the groundwater resources and river systems in the region. This paper documents the development and extent of the environmental damage as well as the measures implemented by the government to alleviate such damage. The study will add to the body of knowledge on the subject of AMD treatment to prevent environmental degradation. The method used to gather and collate relevant data and information was the desktop study. The key findings include the social and environmental impact of the AMD, which include the pollution of water sources for domestic use leading to skin and other health problems and the loss of biodiversity in some areas. It was also found that the technical intervention of constructing a plant to pump and treat the AMD using the high-density sludge technology was the most effective short-term solution available while a long-term solution was being explored. Some successes and challenges experienced during the implementation of the project are also highlighted. The study will be a useful record of the current status of the AMD treatment interventions in the region.

Keywords: acid mine drainage, groundwater resources, pollution, river systems, technical intervention, high density sludge

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Authors: Marko Niinimaki

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Cryptocurrencies are getting increasingly popular, but very few of them can be conveniently used in daily mobile phone purchases. To solve this problem, we demonstrate how to build a functional prototype of a mobile cryptocurrency-based e-commerce application the communicates with Near-Field Communication (NFC) tags. Using the system, users are able to purchase physical items with an NFC tag that contains an e-commerce URL. The payment is done simply by touching the tag with a mobile device and accepting the payment. Our method is constructive: we describe the design and technologies used in the implementation and evaluate the security and performance of the solution. Our main finding is that the analysis and measurements show that our solution is feasible for e-commerce.

Keywords: cryptocurrency, e-commerce, NFC, mobile devices

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Authors: Constantin Ott, Dietmar Drummer

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The direct encapsulation of electronic components is an effective way of protecting components against external influences. In addition to achieving a sufficient protective effect, there are two other big challenges for satisfying the increasing demand for encapsulated circuit boards. The encapsulation process should be both suitable for mass production and offer a low component load. Injection molding is a method with good suitability for large series production but also with typically high component stress. In this article, two aims were pursued: first, the development of a calculation model that allows an estimation of the occurring forces based on process variables and material parameters. Second, the evaluation of a new approach for stress reduction by means of thermoplastic foam injection molding. For this purpose, simulation-based process data was generated with the Moldflow simulation tool. Based on this, component stresses were calculated with the calculation model. At the same time, this paper provided a model for estimating the forces occurring during overmolding and derived a solution method for reducing these forces. The suitability of this approach was clearly demonstrated and a significant reduction in shear forces during overmolding was achieved. It was possible to demonstrate a process development that makes it possible to meet the two main requirements of direct encapsulation in addition to a high protective effect.

Keywords: encapsulation, stress reduction, foam-injection-molding, simulation

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Authors: M. de Miguel Molina, V. Santamarina Campos, M. V. Segarra Oña, B. de Miguel Molina

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Safety and security concerns play a key role during the design of civil UAs (aircraft controlled by a pilot who is not onboard it) by the producers and the offer of different services by the operators. At present, European countries have fragmented regulations about the manufacture and use of civil drones, therefore the European institutions are trying to approach all these regulations into a common one. In this sense, not only law but also ethics can give guidelines to the industry in order to obtain better reports from their clients. With our results, we would like to give advice to the European industry, as well as give new insights to the academia and policymakers.

Keywords: ethics, regulation, safety, security

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Authors: Juan M. Rodriguez-Diaz

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The precision of parameter estimators in the Gaussian linear model is traditionally accounted by the variance-covariance matrix of the asymptotic distribution. However, this measure can underestimate the true variance, specially for small samples. Traditionally, optimal design theory pays attention to this variance through its relationship with the model's information matrix. For this reason it seems convenient, at least in some cases, adapt the optimality criteria in order to get the best designs for the actual variance structure, otherwise the loss in efficiency of the designs obtained with the traditional approach may be very important.

Keywords: correlated observations, information matrix, optimality criteria, variance-covariance matrix

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Authors: Ciaran Friel, Jerry Suls, Mark Butler, Patrick Robles, Samantha Gordon, Frank Vicari, Karina W. Davidson

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Physical activity guidelines focus on increasing moderate-intensity activity for older adults, but adherence to recommendations remains low. This is despite the fact that scientific evidence supports that any increase in physical activity is positively correlated with health benefits. Behavior change techniques (BCTs) have demonstrated effectiveness in reducing sedentary behavior and promoting physical activity. This pilot study uses a Personalized Trials (N-of-1) design to evaluate the efficacy of using four BCTs to promote an increase in low-intensity physical activity (2,000 steps of walking per day) in adults aged 45-75 years old. The 4 BCTs tested were goal setting, action planning, feedback, and self-monitoring. BCTs were tested in random order and delivered by text message prompts requiring participant engagement. The study recruited health system employees in the target age range, without mobility restrictions and demonstrating interest in increasing their daily activity by a minimum of 2,000 steps per day for a minimum of five days per week. Participants were sent a Fitbit® fitness tracker with an established study account and password. Participants were recommended to wear the Fitbit device 24/7 but were required to wear it for a minimum of ten hours per day. Baseline physical activity was measured by Fitbit for two weeks. In the 8-week intervention phase of the study, participants received each of the four BCTs, in random order, for a two-week period. Text message prompts were delivered daily each morning at a consistent time. All prompts required participant engagement to acknowledge receipt of the BCT message. Engagement is dependent upon the BCT message and may have included recording that a detailed plan for walking has been made or confirmed a daily step goal (action planning, goal setting). Additionally, participants may have been directed to a study dashboard to view their step counts or compare themselves to their baseline average step count (self-monitoring, feedback). At the end of each two-week testing interval, participants were asked to complete the Self-Efficacy for Walking Scale (SEW_Dur), a validated measure that assesses the participant’s confidence in walking incremental distances, and a survey measuring their satisfaction with the individual BCT that they tested. At the end of their trial, participants received a personalized summary of their step data in response to each individual BCT. The analysis will examine the novel individual-level heterogeneity of treatment effect made possible by N-of-1 design and pool results across participants to efficiently estimate the overall efficacy of the selected behavioral change techniques in increasing low-intensity walking by 2,000 steps, five days per week. Self-efficacy will be explored as the likely mechanism of action prompting behavior change. This study will inform the providers and demonstrate the feasibility of an N-of-1 study design to effectively promote physical activity as a component of healthy aging.

Keywords: aging, exercise, habit, walking

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Authors: Tim Nikolsky

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This paper seeks to explore the different ways in which music producers choose to embrace various levels of technology based on musical values, objectives, affordability, access and workflow benefits. Current digital audio production workflow is questioned. Engineers and music producers of today are increasingly divorced from the tangibility of music production. Making music no longer requires you to reach over and turn a knob. Ideas of authenticity in music production are being redefined. Calculations from the mathematical algorithm with the pretty pictures are increasingly being chosen over hardware containing transformers and tubes. Are mouse clicks and movements equivalent or inferior to the master brush strokes we are seeking to conjure? We are making audio production decisions visually by constantly looking at a screen rather than listening. Have we compromised our music objectives and values by removing the ‘hands-on’ nature of music making? DAW interfaces are making our musical decisions for us not necessarily in our best interests. Technological innovation has presented opportunities as well as challenges for education. What do music production students actually need to learn in a formalised education environment, and to what extent do they need to know it? In this brave new world of omnipresent music creation tools, do we still need tangibility in music production? Interviews with prominent Australian music producers that work in a variety of fields will be featured in this paper, and will provide insight in answering these questions and move towards developing an understanding how tangibility can be rediscovered in the next generation of music production.

Keywords: analogue, digital, digital audio workstation, music production, plugins, tangibility, technology, workflow

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Authors: Mohammad Talei, Neda Ranjbar Nosheri, Reza Kazemi Gorzadini

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Today municipalities are searching for the new tools for increasing the public participation in different levels of urban planning. This approach of urban planning involves the community in planning process using participatory approaches instead of the long traditional top-down planning methods. These tools can be used to obtain the particular problems of urban furniture form the residents’ point of view. One of the tools that is designed with this goal is public participation GIS (PPGIS) that enables citizen to record and following up their feeling and spatial knowledge regarding main problems of the city, specifically urban furniture, in the form of maps. However, despite the good intentions of PPGIS, its practical implementation in developing countries faces many problems including the lack of basic supporting infrastructure and services and unavailability of sophisticated public participatory models. In this research we develop a PPGIS using of Web 2 to collect voluntary geodataand to perform spatial analysis based on Spatial OnLine Analytical Processing (SOLAP) and Spatial Data Mining (SDM). These tools provide urban planners with proper informationregarding the type, spatial distribution and the clusters of reported problems. This system is implemented in a case study area in Tehran, Iran and the challenges to make it applicable and its potential for real urban planning have been evaluated. It helps decision makers to better understand, plan and allocate scarce resources for providing most requested urban furniture.

Keywords: PPGIS, spatial information, urbanizing futures, urban planning

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Authors: Ahmad Sharif Ahmadi, Yoshitaka Kajita

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Kabul, the capital and largest city in Afghanistan has been experiencing a massive population expansion and fast economic development in last decade, in which urban land has increasingly expanded and formed a high informal development territory in the city. This paper investigates the urban land development direction based on the integrated urbanization trends in Kabul city since the last and the fastest ever urban land growth period (1999-2008), which is parallel with the establishment of the new government in Afghanistan. Considering the existing challenges in terms of informal settlements, squatter settlements, the population expansion of the city, and fast economic development, as well as the huge influx of returning refugees from neighboring countries, and the sprawl direction of urbanization of the Kabul city urban fringes, this research focuses on the possible urban land development direction and trends for the city. The paper studies the feasible future land development direction of Kabul city in the northern part called Shamali basin, in which district 17 is the gateway for future development. The area has much developable area including eight districts of Kabul province, and the vast area of Parwan and Kapisa provinces. The northern area of the Kabul city generally has favorable conditions for further urbanization from the city. It is a large and relatively flat area of area in the northern part of Kabul city, with ample water resources available from the Panjshir basin as a base principle of land development direction in the area.

Keywords: Kabul city, land development trends, urban land development, urbanization

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Authors: Mahmoud Zakeri Niri, Saber Moazami, Arman Abdollahipour, Hossein Ghalkhani

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The objective of this research is to hydrological evaluation of four widely-used satellite precipitation products named PERSIANN, TMPA-3B42V7, TMPA-3B42RT, and CMORPH over Zarinehrood basin in Iran. For this aim, at first, daily streamflow of Sarough-cahy river of Zarinehrood basin was simulated using IHACRES rainfall-runoff model with daily rain gauge and temperature as input data from 1988 to 2008. Then, the model was calibrated in two different periods through comparison the simulated discharge with the observed one at hydrometric stations. Moreover, in order to evaluate the performance of satellite precipitation products in streamflow simulation, the calibrated model was validated using daily satellite rainfall estimates from the period of 2003 to 2008. The obtained results indicated that TMPA-3B42V7 with CC of 0.69, RMSE of 5.93 mm/day, MAE of 4.76 mm/day, and RBias of -5.39% performs better simulation of streamflow than those PERSIANN and CMORPH over the study area. It is noteworthy that in Iran, the availability of ground measuring station data is very limited because of the sparse density of hydro-meteorological networks. On the other hand, large spatial and temporal variability of precipitations and lack of a reliable and extensive observing system are the most important challenges to rainfall analysis, flood prediction, and other hydrological applications in this country.

Keywords: hydrological evaluation, IHACRES, satellite precipitation product, streamflow simulation

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Authors: Toni Buterin, Robert Doričić

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Mainstream bioethics, narrowed down mainly to human medicine and research, can hardly be expected to efficiently face modern challenges related to environmental issues. Departing from the interpretation of "European Bioethics" as a discipline considering ethical duties not only toward fellow humans, but to all living beings, this paper presents the results of a study conducted in three communities in Croatian Northern Adriatic region, selected for their recent experience of ecological threats (Labin – thermo-electric power plant; Bakar – cokery), or representing a highly-valuable and vulnerable natural insular pocket (Mali Lošinj – health tourism, dolphin wildlife refuge, fragrant gardens programme, etc.). After targeted workshops and interviews had been organised in those communities, the results of the obtained insights were combined with experts' opinion and a list of around hundred “bioethical standards” was formed. "Bioethical standards" represent a set of principles and measures of the correct attitude of people towards their own health, animals, plants, and the eco-system as a whole. "Bioethical standards" charter might improve the level of local community environmental consciousness, and provide direct guidance for its sustainable development (including its tourism-advertising ace card). The present paper discusses the standards' potential benefits and some implementational risks.

Keywords: bioethical standards, croatia, European bioethics, local communities

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Authors: Jaechun No

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This paper focuses on I/O optimizations of N-hybrid (New-Form of hybrid), which provides a hybrid file system space constructed on SSD and HDD. Although the promising potentials of SSD, such as the absence of mechanical moving overhead and high random I/O throughput, have drawn a lot of attentions from IT enterprises, its high ratio of cost/capacity makes it less desirable to build a large-scale data storage subsystem composed of only SSDs. In this paper, we present N-hybrid that attempts to integrate the strengths of SSD and HDD, to offer a single, large hybrid file system space. Several experiments were conducted to verify the performance of N-hybrid.

Keywords: SSD, data section, I/O optimizations, hybrid system

Procedia PDF Downloads 418

Authors: Inigo Sanz-Pena, Shanika Arachchi, Dilani Dhammika, Sanjaya Mallikarachchi, Jeewantha S. Bandula, Alison H. McGregor, Nicolas Newell

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The use of orthotic braces for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients is the most common non-surgical treatment to prevent deformity progression. The traditional method to create an orthotic brace involves casting the patient’s torso to obtain a representative geometry, which is then rectified by an orthotist to the desired geometry of the brace. Recent improvements in 3D scanning technologies, rectification software, CNC, and additive manufacturing processes have given the possibility to compliment, or in some cases, replace manual methods with digital approaches. However, the rectification process remains dependent on the orthotist’s skills. Therefore, the rectification process needs to be carefully characterized to ensure that braces designed through a digital workflow are as efficient as those created using a manual process. The aim of this study is to compare 3D scans of patients with AIS against 3D scans of both pre- and post-rectified casts that have been manually shaped by an orthotist. Six AIS patients were recruited from the Ragama Rehabilitation Clinic, Colombo, Sri Lanka. All patients were between 10 and 15 years old, were skeletally immature (Risser grade 0-3), and had Cobb angles between 20-45°. Seven spherical markers were placed at key anatomical locations on each patient’s torso and on the pre- and post-rectified molds so that distances could be reliably measured. 3D scans were obtained of 1) the patient’s torso and pelvis, 2) the patient’s pre-rectification plaster mold, and 3) the patient’s post-rectification plaster mold using a Structure Sensor Mark II 3D scanner (Occipital Inc., USA). 3D stick body models were created for each scan to represent the distances between anatomical landmarks. The 3D stick models were used to analyze the changes in position and orientation of the anatomical landmarks between scans using Blender open-source software. 3D Surface deviation maps represented volume differences between the scans using CloudCompare open-source software. The 3D stick body models showed changes in the position and orientation of thorax anatomical landmarks between the patient and the post-rectification scans for all patients. Anatomical landmark position and volume differences were seen between 3D scans of the patient’s torsos and the pre-rectified molds. Between the pre- and post-rectified molds, material removal was consistently seen on the anterior side of the thorax and the lateral areas below the ribcage. Volume differences were seen in areas where the orthotist planned to place pressure pads (usually at the trochanter on the side to which the lumbar curve was tilted (trochanter pad), at the lumbar apical vertebra (lumbar pad), on the rib connected to the apical vertebrae at the mid-axillary line (thoracic pad), and on the ribs corresponding to the upper thoracic vertebra (axillary extension pad)). The rectification process requires the skill and experience of an orthotist; however, this study demonstrates that the brace shape, location, and volume of material removed from the pre-rectification mold can be characterized and quantified. Results from this study can be fed into software that can accelerate the brace design process and make steps towards the automated digital rectification process.

Keywords: additive manufacturing, orthotics, scoliosis brace design, sculpting software, spinal deformity

Procedia PDF Downloads 145

Authors: Maximilian A. Richter

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The public authority needs to understand the role and impacts of autonomous vehicle (AV) on the mobility system. At present, however, research shows that the impact of AV on cities varies. As a consequence, it is difficult to make recommendations to policymakers on how they should prepare for the future when so much remains unknown about this technology. The study aims to provide an overview of the literature on how autonomous vehicles will affect the cities and traffic of the future. To this purpose, the most important studies are first selected, and their results summarized. Further on, it will be clarified which advantages AV have for cities and how it can lead to an improvement in the current problems/challenges of cities. To achieve the research aim and objectives, this paper approaches a literature review. For this purpose, in a first step, the most important studies are extracted. This is limited to studies that are peer-reviewed and have been published in high-ranked journals such as the Journal of Transportation: Part A. In step 2, the most important key performance indicator (KPIs) (such as traffic volume or energy consumption) are selected from the literature research. Due to the fact that different terms are used in the literature for similar statements/KPIs, these must first be clustered. Furthermore, for each cluster, the changes from the respective studies are compiled, as well as their survey methodology. In step 3, a sensitivity analysis per cluster is made. Here, it will be analyzed how the different studies come to their findings and on which assumptions, scenarios, and methods these calculations are based. From the results of the sensitivity analysis, the success factors for the implementation of autonomous vehicles are drawn, and statements are made under which conditions AVs can be successful.

Keywords: autonomous vehicles, city of the future, literature review, traffic simulations

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Authors: Muhammad Mohsin, Fawad Ahmad, Fatima Batool, Muhammad Kaab Zarrar

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The integration of the Internet of Things (IoT) and edge computing devices offers a transformative approach to electronic waste management, particularly in the dismantling of printed circuit boards (PCBs). This paper explores how these technologies optimize operational efficiency and improve environmental sustainability by addressing challenges such as data security, interoperability, scalability, and real-time data processing. Proposed solutions include advanced machine learning algorithms for predictive maintenance, robust encryption protocols, and scalable architectures that incorporate edge computing. Case studies from leading e-waste management facilities illustrate benefits such as improved material recovery efficiency, reduced environmental impact, improved worker safety, and optimized resource utilization. The findings highlight the potential of IoT and edge computing to revolutionize e-waste dismantling and make the case for a collaborative approach between policymakers, waste management professionals, and technology developers. This research provides important insights into the use of IoT and edge computing to make significant progress in the sustainable management of electronic waste

Keywords: internet of Things, edge computing, waste PCB disassembly, electronic waste management, data security, interoperability, machine learning, predictive maintenance, sustainable development

Procedia PDF Downloads 31