Search results for: urban dynamics

Authors: Emma Pope, Demos Parapanos

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Rural tourism has become more obvious and prevalent, with tourists’ increasingly seeking authentic experiences. This movement accelerated post-Covid, putting destinations in danger of reaching levels of saturation called ‘overtourism’. Whereas the phenomenon of overtourism has been frequently discussed in the urban context by academics and practitioners over recent years, it has hardly been referred to in the context of rural tourism, where perhaps it is even more difficult to manage. Rural tourism was historically considered small-scale, marked by its traditional character and by having little impact on nature and rural society. The increasing number of rural areas experiencing overtourism, however, demonstrates the need for new approaches, especially as the impacts and enablers of overtourism are context specific. Cumbria, with approximately 47 million visitors each year, and 23,000 operational enterprises, is one of these rural areas experiencing overtourism in the UK. Using the county of Cumbria as an example, this paper aims to explore better planning and management in rural destinations by clustering the area into rural and ‘urban-rural’ tourism zones. To achieve the aim, this study uses secondary data from a variety of sources to identify variables relating to visitor economy development and demand. These data include census data relating to population and employment, tourism industry-specific data including tourism revenue, visitor activities, and accommodation stock, and big data sources such as Trip Advisor and All Trails. The combination of these data sources provides a breadth of tourism-related variables. The subsequent analysis of this data draws upon various validated models. For example, tourism and hospitality employment density, territorial tourism pressure, and accommodation density. In addition to these statistical calculations, other data are utilized to further understand the context of these zones, for example, tourist services, attractions, and activities. The data was imported into ARCGIS where the density of the different variables is visualized on maps. This study aims to provide an understanding of the geographical context of visitor economy development and tourist behavior in rural areas. The findings contribute to an understanding of the spatial dynamics of tourism within the region of Cumbria through the creation of thematized maps. Different zones of tourism industry clusters are identified, which include elements relating to attractions, enterprises, infrastructure, tourism employment and economic impact. These maps visualize hot and cold spots relating to a variety of tourism contexts. It is believed that the strategy used to provide a visual overview of tourism development and demand in Cumbria could provide a strategic tool for rural areas to better plan marketing opportunities and avoid overtourism. These findings can inform future sustainability policy and destination management strategies within the areas through an understanding of the processes behind the emergence of both hot and cold spots. It may mean that attract and disperse needs to be reviewed in terms of a strategic option. In other words, to use sector or zonal policies for the individual hot or cold areas with transitional zones dependent upon local economic, social and environmental factors.

Keywords: overtourism, rural tourism, sustainable tourism, tourism planning, tourism zones

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Authors: Toka Aly

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Historically, marketplaces were the most important nodes and focal points of cities, where different activities took place. Commercial streets offer more than just spaces for shopping; they also offer choices for social activities and cultural exchange. They are considered the backbone of the city’s vibrancy and vitality. Despite that, the public life in Cairo’s commercial streets has deteriorated, where the shopping activities became reliant mainly on 'planned formal places', mainly in privatized or indoor spaces like shopping malls. The main aim of this paper is to explore the key elements and tools of assessing the successfulness of commercial streets in Cairo. The methodology followed in this paper is based on a case study methodology (multiple cases) that is based on assessing and analyzing the physical and social elements in historical and contemporary commercial streets in El Muiz Street and Baghdad Street in Cairo. The data collection is based on personal observations, photographs, maps and street sections. Findings indicate that the key factors of analyzing commercial streets are factors affecting the sensory experience, factors affecting the social behavior, and general aspects that attract people. Findings also indicate that urban features have clear influence on shopping pedestrian activities in both streets. Moreover, in order for a commercial street to be successful, shopping patterns must provide people with a quality public space that can provide easy navigation and accessibility, good visual continuity, and well-designed urban features and social gathering. Outcomes of this study will be a significant endeavor in providing a good background for urban designers on analyzing and assessing successfulness of commercial streets. The study will also help in understanding the different physical and social pattern of vending activities taking place in Cairo.

Keywords: activities, commercial street, marketplace, successful, vending

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Authors: Jiahui Song

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The application of an electric field can cause poration at cell membranes. This includes the outer plasma membrane, as well as the membranes of intracellular organelles. In order to analyze and predict such electroporation effects, it becomes necessary to first evaluate the electric fields and the transmembrane voltages. This information can then be used to assess changes in the pore formation energy that finally yields the pore distributions and their radii based on the Smolchowski equation. The dynamic pore model can be achieved by including a dynamic aspect and a dependence on the pore population density into the pore formation energy equation. These changes make the pore formation energy E(r) self-adjusting in response to pore formation without causing uncontrolled growth and expansion. By using dynamic membrane tension, membrane electroporation in response to a 180kV/cm trapezoidal pulse with a 10 ns on time and 1.5 ns rise- and fall-times is discussed. Poration is predicted to occur at times beyond the peak at around 9.2 ns. Modeling also yields time-dependent distributions of the membrane pore population after multiple pulses. It shows that the pore distribution shifts to larger values of the radius with multiple pulsing. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are also carried out for a fixed field of 0.5 V/nm to demonstrate nanopore formation from a microscopic point of view. The result shows that the pore is predicted to be about 0.9 nm in diameter and somewhat narrower at the central point.

Keywords: high-intensity, nanosecond, dynamics, electroporation

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Authors: Muhammad Qasim, Laura Minet

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Victoria (BC), Canada, is a major cruise ship destination, attracting over 600,000 tourists annually. Residents of the James Bay neighborhood, home to the Ogden Point cruise terminal, have expressed concerns about the impacts of cruise ship activity on local traffic, air pollution, and safety compliance. This study evaluates the effects of cruise ship-induced traffic in James Bay, focusing on traffic flow intensification, density surges, changes in traffic mix, and speeding violations. To achieve these objectives, traffic data was collected in James Bay during two key periods: May, before the peak cruise season, and August, during full cruise operations. Three Miovision cameras captured the vehicular traffic mix at strategic entry points, while nine traffic counters monitored traffic distribution and speeding violations across the network. Traffic data indicated an average volume of 308 vehicles per hour during peak cruise times in May, compared to 116 vehicles per hour when no ships were in port. Preliminary analyses revealed a significant intensification of traffic flow during cruise ship "hoteling hours," with a volume increase of approximately 10% per cruise ship arrival. A notable 86% surge in taxi presence was observed on days with three cruise ships in port, indicating a substantial shift in traffic composition, particularly near the cruise terminal. The number of tourist buses escalated from zero in May to 32 in August, significantly altering traffic dynamics within the neighborhood. The period between 8 pm and 11 pm saw the most significant increases in traffic volume, especially when three ships were docked. Higher vehicle volumes were associated with a rise in speed violations, although this pattern was inconsistent across all areas. Speeding violations were more frequent on roads with lower traffic density, while roads with higher traffic density experienced fewer violations, due to reduced opportunities for speeding in congested conditions. PTV VISUM software was utilized for fuzzy distribution analysis and to visualize traffic distribution across the study area, including an assessment of the Level of Service on major roads during periods before and during the cruise ship season. This analysis identified the areas most affected by cruise ship-induced traffic, providing a detailed understanding of the impact on specific parts of the transportation network. These findings underscore the significant influence of cruise ship activity on traffic dynamics in Victoria, BC, particularly during peak periods when multiple ships are in port. The study highlights the need for targeted traffic management strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of increased traffic flow, changes in traffic mix, and speed violations, thereby enhancing road safety in the James Bay neighborhood. Further research will focus on detailed emissions estimation to fully understand the environmental impacts of cruise ship activity in Victoria.

Keywords: cruise ship tourism, air quality, traffic violations, transport dynamics, pollution

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Authors: Lunthita M. Duthely, John T. Avella, John Ganapati Coleman

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For as many as one in three adolescents living in the United States, the adolescent years is a period of low well-being and mental health challenges—from depressive symptoms to mild to moderate psychological diagnoses. Longitudinal population health studies demonstrated that these challenges persist in young adulthood, and beyond. The positive psychology (PS) approach is a more preventative approach to well-being, which contrasts the traditional, deficits approach to curing mental illness. The research among adult populations formed the basis for PS studies among adolescents. The empirical evidence for the effectiveness of PS interventions exists for both adult and youth populations. Positive Psychology interventions target individuals’ strengths, such as hope and optimism, and positive emotions, such as gratitude. Positive psychology interventions such as increasing gratitude, proved effective in many outcomes among youth, including psychological, social, and academically-related outcomes. Although gratitude-inducing studies have been conducted for the past decade in the United States, few studies have been conducted among samples of urban youth, particularly youth of diverse cultural backgrounds. For nearly two decades, the secular practice of meditation has been tested among adults and more recently among youth, focused mostly among clinical samples. The field of Contemplative Sciences explores practices such as Hatha Yoga, Tai Chi, and Meditation, as preventative practices among children and adolescents. A more recent initiative is to explore Contemplative Practices in the school environment. Contemplative Practices yield a variety of positive outcomes, including academic, social, psychological, physiological, and neurological changes among children and adolescents. Again, few studies were conducted among adolescents of diverse cultural backgrounds. The purpose of this doctoral dissertation research study was to test a gratitude-meditation intervention among middle school students attending a public charter school, located in an urban region of Metropolitan Miami. The objective of this presentation is to summarize the challenges and success of bringing a positive psychology and meditation intervention into an urban middle school. Also, the most recent findings on positive psychology and meditation interventions conducted in school environments will be presented as well.

Keywords: adolescents, contemplative intervention, gratitude, secular meditation, positive psychology, school engagement, Sri Chinmoy

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Authors: Khizar Z. Choudhrya, Richard Coles, Salman Qureshi, Robert Ashford, Salim Khan, Rabia R. Mir

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Abstract: The majority of existing landscape research has been derived by conducting heuristic evaluations, without having empirical insight of real participant visual response. In this research, a modern multimodal measurement approach (using narratives and eye tracking) was applied to investigate visual behaviour in perceiving naturalistic and urban environments. This research is unique in exploring gaze behaviour on environmental images possessing different levels of saliency. Eye behaviour is predominantly attracted by salient locations. The concept of methodology of this research on naturalistic and urban environments is drawn from the approaches in market research. Borrowing methodologies from market research that examine visual responses and qualities provided a critical and hitherto unexplored approach. This research has been conducted by using mixed methodological quantitative and qualitative approaches. On the whole, the results of this research corroborated existing landscape research findings, but they also identified potential refinements. The research contributes both methodologically and empirically to human-environment interaction (HEI). This study focused on initial impressions of environmental images with the help of eye tracking. Taking under consideration the importance of the image, this study explored the factors that influence initial fixations in relation to expectations and preferences. In terms of key findings of this research it is noticed that each participant has his own unique navigation style while surfing through different elements of landscape images. This individual navigation style is given the name of ‘visual signature’. This study adds the necessary clarity that would complete the picture and bring an insight for future landscape researchers.

Keywords: human-environment interaction (HEI), multimodal measurement, narratives, eye tracking

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Authors: Amol Parikh

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The goal of this study is to understand the most preferred ways to spend time at an airport while waiting for a flight to board. Survey was done on 1639 people of the United States of America. In the overall data, it was found that majority people always preferred spending time doing something in their mobile phone. Second most preferred option was reading something, followed by wanting a companion to talk to or to eat/drink. Least preferred option was to eat/drink alone. Overall data was then filtered based on age, gender, income and urban density groups. Percentage of people wanting to use a mobile phone was highest in the age group of 18-24. People aged 45 and above chose reading as the most preferred option. In any of the ranges of income, gender or urban density using mobile phone was the most preferred option. Conclusion of this study is that introducing a mobile app to search for a companion at an airport to do like minded activity would get noticed by majority travelers and would be a business idea worth trying as wanting a companion to talk or eat/drink with is not the least preferred option.

Keywords: waiting for a flight, airport, mobile phone, companion

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Authors: Eusebio Odiari, Mark Birkin, Susan Grant-Muller, Nicolas Malleson

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Big data typically refers to consumer datasets revealing some detailed heterogeneity in human behavior, which if harnessed appropriately, could potentially revolutionize our understanding of the collective phenomena of the physical world. Inadvertent missing values skew these datasets and compromise the validity of the thesis. Here we discuss a conceptually consistent strategy for identifying other relevant datasets to combine with available big data, to plug the gaps and to create a rich requisite comprehensive dataset for subsequent analysis. Specifically, emphasis is on how these methodologies can for the first time enable the construction of more detailed pictures of passenger demand and drivers of mobility on the railways. These methodologies can predict the influence of changes within the network (like a change in time-table or impact of a new station), explain local phenomena outside the network (like rail-heading) and the other impacts of urban morphology. Our analysis also reveals that our new imputation data model provides for more equitable revenue sharing amongst network operators who manage different parts of the integrated UK railways.

Keywords: big-data, micro-simulation, mobility, ticketing-data, commuters, transport, synthetic, population

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Authors: Sanjeev Sinha, Samir Saurav

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The rapid growth of urban areas in India has led to transportation challenges like traffic congestion and an increase in accidents. Despite efforts by state governments and local administrations to improve urban transport, the surge in private vehicles has worsened the situation. Patna, located in Bihar State, is an example of the trend of increasing reliance on private motor vehicles, resulting in vehicular congestion and emissions. The existing transportation infrastructure is inadequate to meet future travel demands, and there has been a notable increase in the share of private vehicles in the city. Additionally, there has been a surge in economic activities in the region, which has increased the demand for improved travel convenience and connectivity. To address these challenges, a study was conducted to assess the most suitable transit mode for the proposed transit corridor outlined in the Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) for Patna. The study covered four stages: developing screening criteria, evaluating parameters for various alternatives, qualitative and quantitative evaluations of alternatives, and implementation options for the most viable alternative. The study suggests that a mass transit system such as a metro rail is necessary to enhance Patna's urban public transport system. The New Metro Policy 2017 outlines specific prerequisites for submitting a Metro Rail Project Proposal to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), including the preparation of a CMP, the formation of an Urban Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA), the creation of an Alternative Analysis Report, the development of a Detailed Project Report, a Multi-Modal Integration Plan, and a Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Plan. In 2018, the Comprehensive Mobility Plan for Patna was prepared, setting the stage for the subsequent steps in the metro rail project proposal. The results indicated that from the screening and analysis of qualitative parameters for different alternative modes in Patna, it is inferred that the Metro Rail and Monorail score 82.25 and 70.50, respectively, on a scale of 100. Based on the initial analysis and alternative evaluation in the form of quantitative analysis, the Metro Rail System significantly outperformed the Monorail system. The Metro Rail System has a positive Economic Net Present Value (ENPV) at a 14% internal rate of return, while the Monorail has a negative value. In conclusion, the study recommends choosing metro rail over monorail for the proposed transit corridor in Patna. However, the lack of broad-based technical expertise may result in implementation delays and increased costs for monorail.

Keywords: comprehensive mobility plan, alternative analysis, mobility corridors, mass transit system

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Authors: Lin Chang

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Birmingham, England was a town in the late-eighteenth century and became the nation’s second largest city in the late nineteenth century. The city expanded rapidly in terms of its population and size. Three generations of artists from a local family, the Lines, made a large number of drawings and paintings depicting the growth and changes of their city. At first sight, the meaning of the pictures seems straight-forward: providing records of what were torn down and newly-built. However, except for being read as maps, the pictures reveal a struggle in vision as to whether unsightly manufactories and their smoking chimneys should be visualized and how far the borders of the town should have been positioned and understood as they continued to grow and encroached upon its immediate countryside. This art-historic paper examines some topographic views by the Lines family and explores how they, through unusual depiction of rural and urban scenery, manage to give form to the borderlands between the country and the city. This paper argues that while the idea of the country and the city seems to be common sense, the two realms actually pose difficulty for visual representation as to where exactly their borders are and the idea itself has dichotomized the way people consider landscape imageries to be.

Keywords: Birmingham, suburb, urban fringes, landscape

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Authors: Taimur Khan, Zakirullah, Muhammad Shahab

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The SARS-CoV-2 variant BA.2.86 (Omicron) has emerged with unique mutations that may increase its transmission and infectivity. This study investigates how these mutations alter the Omicron receptor-binding domain's interaction network and dynamic properties (RBD) compared to the wild-type virus, focusing on its binding affinity to the human ACE2 (hACE2) receptor. Protein-protein docking and all-atom molecular dynamics simulations were used to analyze structural and dynamic differences. Despite the structural similarity to the wild-type virus, the Omicron variant exhibits a distinct interaction network involving new residues that enhance its binding capacity. The dynamic analysis reveals increased flexibility in the RBD, particularly in loop regions crucial for hACE2 interaction. Mutations significantly alter the secondary structure, leading to greater flexibility and conformational adaptability compared to the wild type. Binding free energy calculations confirm that the Omicron RBD has a higher binding affinity (-70.47 kcal/mol) to hACE2 than the wild-type RBD (-61.38 kcal/mol). These results suggest that the altered interaction network and enhanced dynamics of the Omicron variant contribute to its increased infectivity, providing insights for the development of targeted therapeutics and vaccines.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2, molecular dynamic simulation, receptor binding domain, vaccine

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Authors: Xiuguo Zhao, He Li, Alireza Yazdani, Xiaoning Zheng, Xinxi Xu

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Wound infected poses a serious threat to the surgery on the patient during the process of surgery. Understanding the bacteria-carrying particles (BCPs) transportation and deposition in the open surgical wound model play essential role in protecting wound against being infected. Therefore BCPs transportation and deposition in the surgical wound model were investigated using force-coupling method (FCM) based computational fluid dynamics. The BCPs deposition in the wound was strongly associated with BCPs diameter and concentration. The results showed that the rise on the BCPs deposition was increasing not only with the increase of BCPs diameters but also with the increase of the BCPs concentration. BCPs deposition morphology was impacted by the combination of size distribution, airflow patterns and model geometry. The deposition morphology exhibited the characteristic with BCPs deposition on the sidewall in wound model and no BCPs deposition on the bottom of the wound model mainly because the airflow movement in one direction from up to down and then side created by laminar system constructing airflow patterns and then made BCPs hard deposit in the bottom of the wound model due to wound geometry limit. It was also observed that inertial impact becomes a main mechanism of the BCPs deposition. This work may contribute to next study in BCPs deposition limit, as well as wound infected estimation in surgical-site infections.

Keywords: BCPs deposition, computational fluid dynamics, force-coupling method (FCM), numerical simulation, open surgical wound model

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Authors: Mennatallah M. Hussein, Olivier de Weck

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The advancement of space exploration demands a robust space launch services program capable of reliably propelling payloads into orbit. Despite rigorous testing and quality assurance, launch failures still occur, leading to significant financial losses and jeopardizing mission objectives. Traditional failure prediction methods often lack the sophistication to account for multi-mode failure scenarios, as well as the predictive capability in complex dynamic systems. Traditional approaches also rely on expert judgment, leading to variability in risk prioritization and mitigation strategies. Hence, there is a pressing need for robust approaches that enhance launch vehicle reliability from lift-off until it reaches its parking orbit through comprehensive simulation techniques. In this study, the developed model proposes a multi-mode launch vehicle simulation framework for predicting failure scenarios when incorporating new technologies, such as new propulsion systems or advanced staging separation mechanisms in the launch system. To this end, the model combined a 6-DOF system dynamics with comprehensive data analysis to simulate multiple failure modes impacting launch performance. The simulator utilizes high-fidelity physics-based simulations to capture the complex interactions between different subsystems and environmental conditions.

Keywords: launch vehicle, failure prediction, propulsion anomalies, rocket launch simulation, rocket dynamics

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Authors: Mokhtar Djeddou, Amine Mehel, Georges Fokoua, Anne Tanière, Patrick Chevrier

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Commuters' exposure to air pollution, particularly to particle matter, inside vehicles is a significant health issue. Assessing particles concentrations and characterizing their distribution is an important first step to understand and propose solutions to improve car cabin air quality. It is known that particles dynamics is intimately driven by particles-turbulence interactions. In order to analyze and model pollutants distribution inside the car the cabin, it is crucialto examine first the single-phase flow topology and turbulence characteristics. Within this context, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations were conducted to model airflow inside a full-scale car cabin using Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS)approach combined with the first order Realizable k- εmodel to close the RANS equations. To validate the numerical model, a campaign of velocity field measurements at different locations in the front and back of the car cabin has been carried out using hot-wire anemometry technique. Comparison between numerical and experimental results shows a good agreement of velocity profiles. Additionally, visualization of streamlines shows the formation of jet flow developing out of the dashboard air vents and the formation of large vortex structures, particularly in the back seats compartment. These vortex structures could play a key role in the accumulation and clustering of particles in a turbulent flow

Keywords: car cabin, CFD, hot wire anemometry, vortical flow

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Authors: Vidya Yadav

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India’s youth bulge is now sharpest at the critical 15-24 age group, even as its youngest, and oldest age groups begin to narrow. As the ‘single year, age data’ for the 2011 Census releases the data on the number of people at each year of age in the population. The data shows that India’s working age population (15-64 years) is now 63.4 percent of the total, as against just short of 60 percent in 2001. The numbers also show that the ‘dependency ratio’ the ratio of children (0-14) and the elderly (65 above) to those in the working age has shrunk further to 0.55. “Even as the western world is in ageing situation, these new numbers show that India’s population is still very young”. As the fertility falls faster in urban areas, rural India is younger than urban India; while 51.73 percent of rural Indians are under the age of 24 and 45.9 percent of urban Indians are under 24. The percentage of the population under the age of 24 has dropped, but many demographers say that it should not be interpreted as a sign of the youth bulge is shrinking. Rather it is because of “declining fertility, the number of infants and children reduces first, and this is what we see with the number of under age 24. Indeed the figure shows that the proportion of children in the 0-4 and 5-9 age groups has fallen in 2011 compared to 2001. For the first time, the percentage of children in the 10-14 age group has also fallen, as the effect of families reducing the number of children they have begins to be felt. The present paper key issue is to examine that “whether this growing youth bulge has the right skills for the workforce or not”. The study seeks to examine the youth population structure and employment distribution among them in India during 2001-2011 in different industrial category. It also tries to analyze the workforce participation rate as main and marginal workers both for male and female workers in rural and urban India by utilizing an abundant source of census data from 2001-2011. Result shows that an unconscionable number of adolescents are working when they should study. In rural areas, large numbers of youths are working as an agricultural labourer. Study shows that most of the youths working are in the 15-19 age groups. In fact, this is the age of entry into higher education, but due to economic compulsion forces them to take up jobs, killing their dreams of higher skills or education. Youths are primarily engaged in low paying irregular jobs which are clearly revealed by census data on marginal workers. That is those who get work for less than six months in a year. Large proportions of youths are involved in the cultivation and household industries works.

Keywords: main, marginal, youth, work

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Authors: Spoorthi Sripad

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Rapid advancements in LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology, coupled with the synergy of remote sensing, have revolutionized Earth observation methodologies. This paper delves into the transformative impact of integrated LiDAR and remote sensing systems. Focusing on miniaturization, cost reduction, and improved resolution, the study explores the evolving landscape of terrestrial and aquatic environmental monitoring. The integration of multi-wavelength and dual-mode LiDAR systems, alongside collaborative efforts with other remote sensing technologies, presents a comprehensive approach. The paper highlights the pivotal role of LiDAR in environmental assessment, urban planning, and infrastructure development. As the amalgamation of LiDAR and remote sensing reshapes Earth observation, this research anticipates a paradigm shift in our understanding of dynamic planetary processes.

Keywords: LiDAR, remote sensing, earth observation, advancements, integration, environmental monitoring, multi-wavelength, dual-mode, technology, urban planning, infrastructure, resolution, miniaturization

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Authors: Carmen E. Zapata, José F. Jiménez, Mauricio Ramiréz, Natalia A. Cano

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The majority of the urban areas in Latin America face the challenges associated with city planning and development problems, attributed to human, technical, and economical factors; therefore, we cannot ignore the issues related to climate change because the city modifies the natural landscape in a significant way transforming the radiation balance and heat content in the urbanized areas. These modifications provoke changes in the temperature distribution known as “the heat island effect”. According to this phenomenon, we have the need to conceive the urban planning based on climatological patterns that will assure its sustainable functioning, including the particularities of the climate variability. In the present study, it is identified the Local Climate Zones (LCZ) in the Metropolitan Area of the Aburrá Valley (Colombia) with the objective of relocate the air quality monitoring stations as a partial solution to the problem of how to measure representative air quality levels in a city for a local scale, but with instruments that measure in the microscale.

Keywords: air quality, monitoring, local climatic zones, valley, monitoring stations

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Authors: Jonathan Galvan-Colin, Ariel Valladares, Renela Valladares, Alexander Valladares

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Both porous materials and bulk metallic glasses have been studied due to their potential applications and their exceptional physical and chemical properties. However, each material presents certain drawbacks which have been thought to be overcome by generating bulk metallic glass foams (BMGF). Although some experimental reports have been performed on multicomponent BMGF, still no ab initio works have been published, as far as we know. We present an approach based on the expanding lattice (EL) method to generate binary amorphous nanoporous Cu64Zr36. Starting from two different configurations: a 108-atom crystalline cubic supercell (cCu64Zr36) and a 108-atom amorphous supercell (aCu64Zr36), both with an initial density of 8.06 g/cm3, we applied EL method to halve the density and to get 50% of porosity. After the lattice expansion the supercells were subject to ab initio molecular dynamics for 500 steps at constant room temperature. Then, the samples were geometry-optimized and characterized with the pair and radial distribution functions, bond-angle distributions and a coordination number analysis. We found that pores appeared along specific spatial directions different from one to another and that they differed in size and form as well, which we think is related to the initial structure. Due to the lack of experimental counterparts our results should be considered predictive and further studies are needed in order to handle a larger number of atoms and its implication on pore topology.

Keywords: ab initio molecular dynamics, bulk mettalic glass, porous alloy

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Authors: Maliha Afroz Nitu, Shahreen Mukashafat Semontee

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The concept of biophilic design has emerged as a transformative approach to restore the intrinsic connection between people and nature, an innate bond disrupted by urbanization and industrialization. As urbanization progresses, it is crucial to raise awareness about these issues in order to ensure people can live and work in healthy environments that enhance well-being. Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, faces challenges arising from unplanned urban expansion, leading to a notable disconnect between city dwellers and their natural surroundings, a problem prevalent in rapidly developing megacities. Significant interdisciplinary research consistently shows that connecting indoor and outdoor spaces can improve mental and physical well-being by rekindling a connection with the natural world. However, there is a significant lack of study on the implementation of biophilic design principles in the built environment to tackle these problems, despite the well-documented advantages. The Palashi Government Staff Quarter, a 3.8-acre housing area for government staff with around 1,000 residents in Dhaka, has been selected as a case study. The main goal is to create and implement biophilic design solutions to address social, environmental, and health issues while also enhancing the built environment. A methodology applicable to improving biophilic design is developed according to the needs of the residents. This research uses a comprehensive approach, including site inspections and structured and semi-structured interviews with residents to gather qualitative data on their experiences and needs. A total of ten identical six-story buildings have been surveyed, with varying resident responses providing insight into their different perspectives. Based on these findings, the study proposes alternative design strategies that integrate biophilic elements such as daylight, air, plants, and water into buildings through windows, skylights, clerestories, green walls, vegetation, and constructed water bodies. The objective of these strategies is to improve the built environment that restores the existing disconnection between humans and nature. Comparative analyses of the current and proposed scenarios demonstrate substantial upgrades in the built environment, as well as major improvements in the physical and psychological well-being of residents. Although this research focuses on a particular government housing, the findings can be applied to other residential areas in Dhaka and similar urban environments. The study highlights the importance of biophilic design in housing and provides recommendations for policymakers and architects to improve living conditions by integrating nature into urban settings.

Keywords: biophilic design, residential, built environment, human nature connection, urban, Dhaka

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Authors: Krystian Chachula, Robert Nowak

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Manufacturing home-made explosives and synthetic drugs is an increasing problem in Europe. To combat that, a data fusion system is proposed for the detection and localization of production sites in urban environments. The data consists of measurements of properties of wastewater performed by various sensors installed in a sewage network. A four-stage fusion strategy allows detecting sources of waste products from known chemical reactions. First, suspicious measurements are used to compute the amount and position of discharged compounds. Then, this information is propagated through the sewage network to account for missing sensors. The next step is clustering and the formation of tracks. Eventually, tracks are used to reconstruct discharge events. Sensor measurements are simulated by a subsystem based on real-world data. In this paper, different discharge scenarios are considered to show how the parameters of used algorithms affect the effectiveness of the proposed system. This research is a part of the SYSTEM project (SYnergy of integrated Sensors and Technologies for urban sEcured environMent).

Keywords: continuous monitoring, information fusion and sensors, internet of things, multisensor fusion

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Authors: Asra Yousuf, Ajaykumar Tannirkulum

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Inferring rural-urban migration trends can help design effective policies that promote better urban planning and rural development. In this paper, we describe how machine learning algorithms can be applied to predict internal migration decisions of people. We consider data collected from household surveys in Tamil Nadu to train our model. To measure the performance of the model, we use data on past migration from National Sample Survey Organisation of India. The factors for training the model include socioeconomic characteristic of each individual like age, gender, place of residence, outstanding loans, strength of the household, etc. and his past migration history. We perform a comparative analysis of the performance of a number of machine learning algorithm to determine their prediction accuracy. Our results show that machine learning algorithms provide a stronger prediction accuracy as compared to statistical models. Our goal through this research is to propose the use of data science techniques in understanding human decisions and behaviour in developing countries.

Keywords: development, migration, internal migration, machine learning, prediction

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Authors: Richard Renou, Laurent Soulard

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Lasers are widely used in glass material processing, from waveguide fabrication to channel drilling. The gradual damage of glass optics under UV lasers is also an important issue to be addressed. Glass materials (including metallic glasses) can undergo a permanent densification under laser-induced shock loading. Despite increased interest on interactions between laser and glass materials, little is known about the structural mechanisms involved under shock loading. For example, the densification process in silica glasses occurs between 8 GPa and 30 GPa. Above 30 GPa, the glass material returns to the original density after relaxation. Investigating these unusual mechanisms in silica glass will provide an overall better understanding in glass behaviour. Non-Equilibrium Molecular Dynamics simulations (NEMD) were carried out in order to gain insight on the silica glass microscopic structure under shock loading. The shock was generated by the use of a piston impacting the glass material at high velocity (from 100m/s up to 2km/s). Periodic boundary conditions were used in the directions perpendicular to the shock propagation to model an infinite system. One-dimensional shock propagations were therefore studied. Simulations were performed with the STAMP code developed by the CEA. A very specific structure is observed in a silica glass. Oxygen atoms around Silicon atoms are organized in tetrahedrons. Those tetrahedrons are linked and tend to form rings inside the structure. A significant amount of empty cavities is also observed in glass materials. In order to understand how a shock loading is impacting the overall structure, the tetrahedrons, the rings and the cavities were thoroughly analysed. An elastic behaviour was observed when the shock pressure is below 8 GPa. This is consistent with the Hugoniot Elastic Limit (HEL) of 8.8 GPa estimated experimentally for silica glasses. Behind the shock front, the ring structure and the cavity distribution are impacted. The ring volume is smaller, and most cavities disappear with increasing shock pressure. However, the tetrahedral structure is not affected. The elasticity of the glass structure is therefore related to a ring shrinking and a cavity closing. Above the HEL, the shock pressure is high enough to impact the tetrahedral structure. An increasing number of hexahedrons and octahedrons are formed with the pressure. The large rings break to form smaller ones. The cavities are however not impacted as most cavities are already closed under an elastic shock. After the material relaxation, a significant amount of hexahedrons and octahedrons is still observed, and most of the cavities remain closed. The overall ring distribution after relaxation is similar to the equilibrium distribution. The densification process is therefore related to two structural mechanisms: a change in the coordination of silicon atoms and a cavity closing. To sum up, non-equilibrium molecular dynamics were carried out to investigate silica behaviour under shock loading. Analysing the structure lead to interesting conclusions upon the elastic and the densification mechanisms in glass materials. This work will be completed with a detailed study of the mechanism occurring above 30 GPa, where no sign of densification is observed after the material relaxation.

Keywords: densification, molecular dynamics simulations, shock loading, silica glass

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Authors: Mostafa Mohammadpour, Christoph Kapeller, Christy Li, Josef Scharinger, Christoph Guger

Abstract:

Interictal spikes provide valuable information on electrocorticography (ECoG), which aids in surgical planning for patients who suffer from refractory epilepsy. However, the shape and temporal dynamics of these spikes remain unclear. The purpose of this work was to analyze the shape of interictal spikes and measure their distance to the seizure onset zone (SOZ) to use in epilepsy surgery. Thirteen patients' data from the iEEG portal were retrospectively studied. For analysis, half an hour of ECoG data was used from each patient, with the data being truncated before the onset of a seizure. Spikes were first detected and grouped in a sequence, then clustered into interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs) and non-IED groups using two-step clustering. The distance of the spikes from IED and non-IED groups to SOZ was quantified and compared using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test. Spikes in the IED group tended to be in SOZ or close to it, while spikes in the non-IED group were in distance of SOZ or non-SOZ area. At the group level, the distribution for sharp wave, positive baseline shift, slow wave, and slow wave to sharp wave ratio was significantly different for IED and non-IED groups. The distance of the IED cluster was 10.00mm and significantly closer to the SOZ than the 17.65mm for non-IEDs. These findings provide insights into the shape and spatiotemporal dynamics of spikes that could influence the network mechanisms underlying refractory epilepsy.

Keywords: spike propagation, spike pattern, clustering, SOZ

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Authors: Nitin Dewangan, Nitin Kattula, Megha Anawat

Abstract:

Hydraulic reservoir is the key component in the mobile construction vehicles; most of the off-road earth moving construction machinery requires bigger side hydraulic reservoirs. Their reservoir construction is very much non-uniform and designers used such design to utilize the space available under the vehicle. There is no way to find out the space utilization of the reservoir by oil and validity of design except virtual simulation. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) helps to predict the reservoir space utilization by vortex mapping, path line plots and dwell time prediction to make sure the design is valid and efficient for the vehicle. The dwell time acceptance criteria for effective reservoir design is 15 seconds. The paper will describe the hydraulic reservoir simulation which is carried out using CFD tool acuSolve using automated mesh strategy. The free surface flow and moving reference mesh is used to define the oil flow level inside the reservoir. The first baseline design is not able to meet the acceptance criteria, i.e., dwell time below 15 seconds because the oil entry and exit ports were very close. CFD is used to redefine the port locations for the reservoir so that oil dwell time increases in the reservoir. CFD also proposed baffle design the effective space utilization. The final design proposed through CFD analysis is used for physical validation on the machine.

Keywords: reservoir, turbulence model, transient model, level set, free-surface flow, moving frame of reference

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Authors: Tzu-Jung Tseng, Pei-Hsuen Han, Tsung-Hsueh Lu

Abstract:

Background: Ensuring patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) access to hospitals that could perform percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in time is an important concern of healthcare managers. One commonly used the method to assess the coverage of population access to PCI hospital is the use GIS-estimated linear distance (crow's fly distance) between the district centroid and the nearest PCI hospital. If the distance is within a given distance (such as 20 km), the entire population of that district is considered to have appropriate access to PCI. The premise of using district centroid to estimate the coverage of population resident in that district is that the people live in the district are evenly distributed. In reality, the population density is not evenly distributed within the administrative district, especially in rural districts. Fortunately, the Taiwan government released basic statistical area (on average 450 population within the area) recently, which provide us an opportunity to estimate the coverage of population access to PCI services more accurate. Objectives: We aimed in this study to compare the population covered by a give PCI hospital according to traditional administrative district versus basic statistical area. We further examined if the differences between two geographic units used would be larger in a rural area than in urban area. Method: We selected two hospitals in Tainan City for this analysis. Hospital A is in urban area, hospital B is in rural area. The population in each traditional administrative district and basic statistical area are obtained from Taiwan National Geographic Information System, Ministry of Internal Affairs. Results: Estimated population live within 20 km of hospital A and B was 1,515,846 and 323,472 according to traditional administrative district and was 1,506,325 and 428,556 according to basic statistical area. Conclusion: In urban area, the estimated access population to PCI services was similar between two geographic units. However, in rural areas, the access population would be overestimated.

Keywords: accessibility, basic statistical area, modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP), percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI)

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Authors: Nadjet Brahmia

Abstract:

The evolution of urban forms, the new aspects of mobility, the ways of life and economic models make public transport conventional collective low-performing on the majority of largest Algerian cities, particularly in the west of Algeria. On the other side, the information and communication technologies (ICT) open new eventualities to develop a new mode of transport which brings together both the tenders offered by the public service collective and those of the particular vehicle, suitable for urban requirements, social and environmental. Like the concrete examples made in the international countries in terms of on-demand transport systems (ODT) more particularly in the developed countries, this article has for objective the opportunity analysis to establish a service of ODT at the level of a few towns of Oran Wilaya, such a service will be subsequently spread on the totality of the Wilaya if not on the whole of Algeria. In this context, we show the different existing means of transport in the current network whose aim to illustrate the points of insufficiency accented in the present transport system, then we discuss the solutions that may exhibit a service of ODT to the problem studied all around the transport sector, to carry at the end to highlight the capabilities of ODT replying to the transformation of mobilities, this in the light of well-defined cases.

Keywords: mobility, on-demand transport, public transport collective, transport system

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Authors: Eirini Krasaki

Abstract:

This paper addresses the problem of designing spaces in a consistently changing environment. Space is considered as a totality of forces that coexist in the same place. Forces form the identity of space and characterize the entities that coexist within the same totality. Interior space is considered as a totality of forces which develop within an envelope. This research focuses on the formation of the tripole space-forces-totality and studies the relation of this tripole to the interior space. The point of departure for this investigation has been set the historic center of Athens, a city center where the majority of building mass is unused. The objective of the study is to connect the development of interior spaces to the alterations of the conceptions that form the built environment. The research focuses on Evripidou street, an axis around which expand both commercial and residential centers. Along Evripidou street, three case studies elaborate: a) In case study 01, Evripidou street is examined as a megastructure in which totalities of interior spaces develop. b) In case study 02, a particular group of entities (polykatoikia) that expand in Evripidou street is investigated. c) In case study 03, a particular group of entities (apartment) that derives from a specific envelope is investigated. Throughout the studies and comparisons of different scales, a design methodology that addresses the design of interior space in relation to the dynamics of the built environment is evolved.

Keywords: methodology, research by design, interior, envelope, dynamics

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Authors: Betim Bahtiri, B. Arash, R. Rolfes

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Epoxy-based materials are frequently exposed to high-humidity environments in many engineering applications. As a result, their material properties would be degraded by water absorption. A full characterization of the material properties under hygrothermal conditions requires time- and cost-consuming experimental tests. To gain insights into the physics of diffusion mechanisms, atomistic simulations have been shown to be effective tools. Concerning the diffusion of water in polymers, spatial trajectories of water molecules are obtained from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations allowing the interpretation of diffusion pathways at the nanoscale in a polymer network. Conventional MD simulations of water diffusion in amorphous polymers lead to discrepancies at low temperatures due to the short timescales of the simulations. In the proposed model, this issue is solved by using a combined scheme of autonomous basin climbing (ABC) with kinetic Monte Carlo and reactive MD simulations to investigate the diffusivity of water molecules in epoxy resins across a wide range of temperatures. It is shown that the proposed simulation framework estimates kinetic properties of water diffusion in epoxy resins that are consistent with experimental observations and provide a predictive tool for investigating the diffusion of small molecules in other amorphous polymers.

Keywords: epoxy resins, water diffusion, autonomous basin climbing, kinetic Monte Carlo, reactive molecular dynamics

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Authors: Yibeltal T. Bayou, Yohana S. Mashalla, Gloria Thupayagale-Tshweneagae

Abstract:

Background: Maternal mortality has been shown to be lower in urban areas than in rural areas. However, disparities for the fast-growing population of urban poor who struggle as much their rural counterparts to access quality healthcare are masked by the urban averages. The aim of this paper is to report on the findings of antenatal adequacy among slum residents in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods and Materials: A quantitative and cross-sectional community-based study design was employed. A stratified two-stage cluster sampling technique was used to determine the sample and data was collected using structured questionnaire administered to 837 women aged 15-49 years. Binary logistic regression models were employed to identify predictors of adequacy of antenatal care. Results: The majority of slum residents did not have adequate antenatal care services i.e., only 50.7%, 19.3% and 10.2% of the slum resident women initiated early antenatal care, received adequate antenatal care service contents and had overall adequate antenatal care services. Pregnancy intention, educational status and place of ANC visits were important determinant factors for adequacy of ANC in the study area. Women with secondary and above educational status were 2.9 times more likely to have overall adequate care compared to those with no formal education. Similarly, women whose last pregnancy was intended and clients of private healthcare facilities were 1.8 and 2.8 times more likely to have overall adequate antenatal care compared to those whose last pregnancy was unintended and clients of public healthcare facilities respectively. Conclusion: In order to improve ANC adequacy in the study area, the policymaking, planning, and implementation processes should focus on the poor adequacy of ANC among the disadvantaged groups in particular and the slum residents in general.

Keywords: Addis Ababa, adequacy of antenatal care, slum residents, maternal mortality

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Authors: Natàlia Garcia Soler, Timothy Moss

Abstract:

Despite the multiple benefits of sustainable urban drainage, as demonstrated in numerous case studies across the world, urban rainwater harvesting techniques are generally restricted to isolated model projects. The leap from niche to mainstream has, in most cities, proved an elusive goal. Why policies promoting rainwater harvesting are limited in their widespread implementation has seldom been subjected to systematic analysis. Much of the literature on the policy, planning and institutional contexts of these techniques focus either on their potential benefits or on project design, but very rarely on a critical-constructive analysis of past experiences of implementation. Moreover, the vast majority of these contributions are restricted to single-case studies. There is a dearth of knowledge with respect to, firstly, policy implementation processes and, secondly, multi-case analysis. Insights from both, the authors argue, are essential to inform more effective rainwater harvesting in cities in the future. This paper presents preliminary findings from a research project on rainwater harvesting in cities from a social science perspective that is funded by the Swedish Research Foundation (Formas). This project – UrbanRain – is examining the challenges and opportunities of mainstreaming rainwater harvesting in three European cities. The paper addresses two research questions: firstly, what lessons can be learned on suitable policy incentives and planning instruments for rainwater harvesting from a meta-analysis of the relevant international literature and, secondly, how far these lessons are reflected in a study of past and ongoing rainwater harvesting projects in a European forerunner city. This two-tier approach frames the structure of the paper. We present, first, the results of the literature analysis on policy and planning issues of urban rainwater harvesting. Here, we analyze quantitatively and qualitatively the literature of the past 15 years on this topic in terms of thematic focus, issues addressed and key findings and draw conclusions on research gaps, highlighting the need for more studies on implementation factors, actor interests, institutional adaptation and multi-level governance. In a second step we focus in on the experiences of rainwater harvesting in Berlin and present the results of a mapping exercise on a wide variety of projects implemented there over the last 30 years. Here, we develop a typology to characterize the rainwater harvesting projects in terms of policy issues (what problems and goals are targeted), project design (which kind of solutions are envisaged), project implementation (how and when they were implemented), location (whether they are in new or existing urban developments) and actors (which stakeholders are involved and how), paying particular attention to the shifting institutional framework in Berlin. Mapping and categorizing these projects is based on a combination of document analysis and expert interviews. The paper concludes by synthesizing the findings, identifying how far the goals, governance structures and instruments applied in the Berlin projects studied reflect the findings emerging from the meta-analysis of the international literature on policy and planning issues of rainwater harvesting and what implications these findings have for mainstreaming such techniques in future practice.

Keywords: institutional framework, planning, policy, project implementation, urban rainwater management

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