Search

Research on augmented reality (AR) in education is gaining momentum worldwide. This field has been actively growing over the past decades in terms of the research and development of new technologies. Reviews in the field of AR in education consist of systematic literature reviews and meta-analyses (around 45), surveys (around 33), and only one bibliometric analysis. However, these reviews do not provide a general synthesis of the research published in the field to depict its evolution over the years. This study used the metadata of articles from a 25-year period (1995-2020) to conduct a bibliometric analysis. A total of 3,475 studies were considered. In this study, we used tools such as the Scopus database, the bibliometrix R package, and the VOSviewer analysis tool. The analysis of the literature is based on the metadata, author, content, and citation information extracted from the dataset. In addition, we focus on comparing literature published mainly in journals (articles, articles in press, and reviews) and those published in other sources (conference papers, books, and book chapters). Practitioners could use the results of this study to make decisions about the adoption of AR technologies in education.

Surprisingly, distance education is quite an old concept. Its origins date back to the first correspondence-based course, which took place via the postal service in Boston, USA, in the 18th century. Rapid technological developments, especially in video and audio streaming, have increased the availability of such courses and moved learning into the virtual world. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we are witnessing an accelerated revolution in the learning process, as nearly all forms of education have been shifted online. Will this have a destructive effect on the human psyche? Is humanity sufficiently aware and ready for such a dramatic change? Will we return to physical in-classroom studies, or is remote distance education set to become the new norm? In particular, in medicine, computer science, fine arts, or architectural design, such a rapid change in the way students learn can be quite challenging. In this paper, we provide an overview of the history of distance learning, taking into account teachers' and students' points of view in both secondary and higher education.

The recent phenomenon of worldwide declining enrolments in engineering-related degrees has led to the gradual decrease in the number of engineering graduates. This decrease occurs at a time of increasing demand in the labour market for highly qualified engineers, who are necessary for the implementation of fundamental societal functions. This paper initially presents a survey of practices, which are currently employed by academic institutions in Europe in order to increase the attractiveness of their engineering studies. It then provides a detailed analysis of the benefits and proliferation of distance education to increase attractiveness of engineering studies based on a set of interviews. Results of this study highlight a lack of a distance-learning dimension in the implementation of engineering studies in the European Area and discusses in detail ways in which distance learning can be utilised in engineering studies for the benefit of increasing their attractiveness. It has also been noted that institutions employing distance learning as part of their engineering studies, see this as highly beneficial for their students but also for the academic institution itself with some reservations in terms of the pedagogical adequacy of materials and instructional approaches used in distance education courses.

In this present study the ability of the SimSphere Soil Vegetation Atmosphere Transfer (SVAT) model in estimating key parameters characterising land surface interactions was evaluated. Specifically, SimSphere's performance in predicting Net Radiation (Rnet), Latent Heat (LE), Sensible Heat (H) and Air Temperature (Tair) at 1.3 and 50m was examined. Model simulations were validated by ground-based measurements of the corresponding parameters for a total of 70 days of the year 2011 from 7 CarboEurope network sites. These included a variety of biomes, environmental and climatic conditions in the models evaluation. Overall, model performance can largely be described as satisfactory for most of the experimental sites and evaluated parameters. For all model parameters compared, predicted H fluxes consistently obtained the highest agreement to the in-situ data in all ecosystems, with an average RMSD of 55.36Wm-2. LE fluxes and Rnet also agreed well with the in-situ data with RSMDs of 62.75 and 64.65Wm-2 respectively. A good agreement between modelled and measured LE and H fluxes was found, especially for smoothed daily flux trends. For both Tair 1.3m and Tair 50m a mean RMSD of 4.14 and 3.54 °C was reported respectively. This work presents the first all-inclusive evaluation of SimSphere, particularly so in a European setting. Results of this study contribute decisively towards obtaining a bet ter understanding of the model's structure and its correspondence to the real world system. Findings also further establish the model's capability as a useful teaching and research tool in modelling Earth's land surface interactions. This is of considerable importance in the light of the rapidly expanding use of the model worldwide, including ongoing research by various Space Agencies examining its synergistic use with Earth Observation data towards the development of operational products at a global scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hardware-based courses in computer science studies require much effort from both students and teachers. The most important part of students' learning is attending in person and actively working on laboratory exercises on hardware equipment. This paper deals with a specific group of students, those who are marginalized by not being able to regularly attend lessons and perform the laboratory exercises. This group of "busy students" includes older students, and those who travel, are employed or are parents. In particular it describes how such students achieved impressive results in a hardware-based course by using Open Educational Resources (OER). These facilitated students' learning process and gave busy students the opportunity to organize their learning time so as to work on the hardware courses remotely from home when they had time and opportunity. The results of the evaluation show significant improvements, both in grade distribution and course throughput, after implementing the new Open Educational Resources approach.

Questions concerning the use of evidence in policy making increasingly attract the interest of both policymakers and researchers. It is broadly recognized that the development of integrated policy frameworks can be facilitated by the use of quantitative analytical methods, such as system modeling, computer simulation, trend analysis, and scenario analysis. Although policy projections based on these methods cannot provide direct solutions to policy problems, they can help to minimize the undesirable effects of a policy choice. This paper presents the concept design of a policy projection tool that estimates the macro-level effects of patient charges. In particular, the paper explores the usefulness of system dynamics modeling for the development of the projection tool. The overall objective of the policy projection tool is to generate evidence relevant for the analysis of patient payment policies. Based on the concept projection tool, a simplified consumption-revenue module is developed for the estimation of the annual health care consumption and the revenue from patient payments during one year. The module is applied to data from six Central and Eastern European countries to test its accuracy. The results from the module testing provide directions for further modeling steps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim. Development of method for design a two-level active shielding system for an industrial frequency magnetic field based on a quasi)static model of a magnetic field generated by power line wires and compensating windings of an active shielding system, including coarse open and precise closed control. Methodology. At the first level rough control of the magnetic field in open-loop form is carried out based on a quasi-static model of a magnetic field generated by power line wires and compensating windings of an active shielding system. This design calculated based on the finite element calculations system COMSOL Multiphysics. At the second level, a stabilizing accurate control of the magnetic field is implemented in the form of a dynamic closed system containing, in addition plant, also power amplifiers and measuring devices of the system. This design calculated based on the calculations system MATLAB. Results. The results of theoretical and experimental studies of optimal two-level active shielding system of magnetic field in residential building from power transmission line with a «Barrel» type arrangement of wires by means of active canceling with single compensating winding are presented. Originality. For the first time, the method for design a two-level active shielding system for an power frequency magnetic field based on a quasi-static model of a magnetic field generated by power line wires and compensating windings of an active shielding system, including coarse open and precise closed control is developed. Practical value. It is shown the possibility to reduce the level of magnetic field induction in residential building from power transmission line with a «Barrel» type arrangement of wires by means of active canceling with single compensating winding with initial induction of 3.5 µT to a safe level for the population adopted in Europe with an induction of 0.5 µT. References 53, figures 9. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a result of many factors, including the European Union's aim to increase the share of electrical energy from renewable sources, the number of distributed-generation (DG) devices in Europe is significantly increasing. Increasing numbers of DG units may cause problems with power quality (PQ). In this paper, a PQ-management algorithm is presented that reduces or even solves this problem in low-voltage grids. This algorithm will be implemented as one of several software modules in a system for distributed power operation and PQ management in low-voltage grids. PQ management in this context means maintaining PQ within prescribed limits by optimizing the control of generators, storage units, and controllable loads. Significant advantages of the presented approach are that the algorithm is universal and that it adapts its control variables automatically. Therefore, a detailed analysis of the grid in advance is not necessary. Furthermore, local PQ control of distributed resources can work autonomously and continuously without triggering by external signals, which is advantageous in the case of loss of communications. Various simulations to validate the effectiveness and stable operation of the algorithm were performed and results presented that show a marked improvement in PQ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ever since the Regional Acidification Information and Simulation Model (RAINS) has been constructed, the treatment of uncertainty has remained an issue of major interest. In a recent review of the model performed for the Clean Air for Europe (CAFE) programme of the European Commission, a more systematic and structured uncertainty analysis has been recommended. This paper aims at contributing to the scientific debate how this can be achieved. Because of its complex structure on the one hand and limited research resources (time, computational capacities) on the other hand a full-blown uncertainty analysis in RAINS is hardly feasible. Therefore, all types of uncertainty require more efficient ways for uncertainty analysis. With respect to parameter uncertainty, we propose to focus research efforts for uncertainty analysis on key parameters. Among different approaches to select key parameters that have been discussed in the literature screening methods seem to be particularly appropriate for complex, deterministic Integrated Assessment models such as RAINS. Surprisingly, in Integrated Assessment modelling for air pollution problems of screening design have not been taken up so far. As a case study we consider the emission module of RAINS. We show that its structure allows for a straightforward and effective screening procedure [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The improvement in resolution of climate models has always been mentioned as one of the most important factors when investigating past climatic conditions, especially in order to evaluate and compare the results against proxy data. Despite this, only a few studies have tried to directly estimate the possible advantages of highly resolved simulations for the study of past climate change. Motivated by such considerations, in this paper we present a set of high-resolution simulations for different time slices of the mid-to-late Holocene performed over Europe using the state-of-the-art regional climate model COSMO-CLM. After proposing and testing a model configuration suitable for paleoclimate applications, the aforementioned midto- late Holocene simulations are compared against a new pollen-based climate reconstruction data set, covering almost all of Europe, with two main objectives: testing the advantages of high-resolution simulations for paleoclimatic applications, and investigating the response of temperature to variations in the seasonal cycle of insolation during the mid-tolate Holocene. With the aim of giving physically plausible interpretations of the mismatches between model and reconstructions, possible uncertainties of the pollen-based reconstructions are taken into consideration. Focusing our analysis on near-surface temperature, we can demonstrate that concrete advantages arise in the use of highly resolved data for the comparison against proxyreconstructions and the investigation of past climate change. Additionally, our results reinforce previous findings showing that summertime temperatures during the mid-to-late Holocene were driven mainly by changes in insolation and that the model is too sensitive to such changes over Southern Europe, resulting in drier and warmer conditions. However, in winter, the model does not correctly reproduce the same amplitude of changes evident in the reconstructions, even if it captures the main pattern of the pollen data set over most of the domain for the time periods under investigation. Through the analysis of variations in atmospheric circulation we suggest that, even though the wintertime discrepancies between the two data sets in some areas are most likely due to high pollen uncertainties, in general the model seems to underestimate the changes in the amplitude of the North Atlantic Oscillation, overestimating the contribution of secondary modes of variability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the first ensemble modelling experiment in relation to birch pollen in Europe. The sevenmodel European ensemble of MACC-ENS, tested in trial simulations over the flowering season of 2010, was run through the flowering season of 2013. The simulations have been compared with observations in 11 countries, all members of the European Aeroallergen Network, for both individual models and the ensemble mean and median. It is shown that the models successfully reproduced the timing of the very late season of 2013, generally within a couple of days from the observed start of the season. The end of the season was generally predicted later than observed, by 5 days or more, which is a known feature of the source term used in the study. Absolute pollen concentrations during the season were somewhat underestimated in the southern part of the birch habitat. In the northern part of Europe, a recordlow pollen season was strongly overestimated by all models. The median of the multi-model ensemble demonstrated robust performance, successfully eliminating the impact of outliers, which was particularly useful since for most models this was the first experience of pollen forecasting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The virtual physiological human (VPH) initiative encompasses a wide range of activities, including structural and functional imaging, data mining, knowledge discovery tool and database development, biomedical modelling, simulation and visualization. The VPH community is developing from a multitude of relatively focused, but disparate, research endeavours into an integrated effort to bring together, develop and translate emerging technologies for application, from academia to industry and medicine. This process initially builds on the evolution of multi-disciplinary interactions and abilities, but addressing the challenges associated with the implementation of the VPH will require, in the very near future, a translation of quantitative changes into a new quality of highly trained multi-disciplinary personnel. Current strategies for undergraduate and on-the-job training may soon prove insufficient for this. The European Commission seventh framework VPH network of excellence is exploring this emerging need, and is developing a framework of novel training initiatives to address the predicted shortfall in suitably skilled VPH-aware professionals. This paper reports first steps in the implementation of a coherent VPH training portfolio.

Introduction: With PACS and medical imaging technology maturing, the importance of organizational maturity and effective deployment of PACS in the hospital enterprise are becoming significant., Objective: The objective of this paper is twofold. Firstly, PACS literature on maturity and evolvability in the hospital enterprise is analyzed, resulting in an overview of the relevant developments concerning maturity of PACS. Secondly, this paper looks at the development of a maturity model for PACS technology., Methods and Results: Using structured search queries, we identified 34 papers reporting relevant aspects of maturity and evolvability of PACS. From the results of a meta-analytic review on PACS maturity and evolvability, we propose a model--the PACS maturity model (PMM)--that describes five levels of PACS maturity and the corresponding process focus., Conclusion: We argue that this model can help hospitals to gain insights into their (strategic) objectives for growth and maturity with regard to PACS, the electronic patient record (EPR) and other health information systems. Moreover, the proposed model can be applied as a valuable tool for organizational assessments, monitoring and benchmarking purposes. Hence, the PMM contributes to an integral alignment model for PACS technology.

The Virtual Physiological Human (VPH) is an initiative, strongly supported by the European Commission (EC), that seeks to develop an integrated model of human physiology at multiple scales from the whole body through the organ, tissue, cell and molecular levels to the genomic level. VPH had its beginnings in 2005 with informal discussions amongst like-minded scientists which led to the STEP project, a Coordination Action funded by the EC that began in early 2006. The STEP project greatly accelerated the progress of the VPH and proved to be a catalyst for wide-ranging discussions within Europe and for outreach activities designed to develop a broad international approach to the huge scientific and technological challenges involved in this area. This paper provides an overview of the VPH and the developments it has engendered in the rapidly expanding worldwide activities associated with the physiome. It then uses one particular project, the Living Human Project, to illustrate the type of advances that are taking place to further the aims of the VPH and similar initiatives worldwide.

There are several measures that summarize the mortality experience of a population. Of these measures, life expectancies are generally preferred based on their simpler interpretation and direct age standardization, which makes them directly comparable between different populations. However, traditional life expectancy estimations are highly inaccurate for smaller populations and consequently are seldom used in small-area applications. In this paper, the authors compare the relative performance of traditional life expectancy estimation with a Bayesian random-effects approach that uses correlations (i.e., borrows strength) between different age groups, geographic areas, and sexes to improve the small-area life expectancy estimations. In the presented Monte Carlo simulations, the Bayesian random-effects approach outperforms the traditional approach in terms of bias, root mean square error, and coverage of the 95% confidence intervals. Moreover, the Bayesian random-effects approach is found to be usable for populations as small as 2,000 person-years at risk, which is considerably smaller than the minimum of 5,000 person-years at risk recommended for the traditional approach. As such, the proposed Bayesian random-effects approach is well-suited for estimation of life expectancies in small areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: During the ITER operation, various Test Breeding Modules (TBM) will be tested in the equatorial ports of the reactor. These TBMs are currently being developed in several research centres around in the world. The Helium-Cooled Pebble Bed (HCPB) blanket is one of two breeder blanket concepts developed in Europe. HCPB uses Beryllium pebbles act as a neutron multiplier and Li4SiO4 or Li2TiO3 pebbles act as breeder materials. The structural analysis of the breeding blanket is complex in terms of its geometry and loading conditions. Advanced computer codes are needed in order to determine the reliability of the various designs. In this context the mechanical characterization of pebble beds is important in order to simulate their behaviour. This paper illustrates three-axial experimental tests performed on Li2TiO3 pebble beds. In addition, preliminary results of the numerical simulations are shown. The numerical analyses were performed using an original model, based on the elastic–plastic behaviour of a single pebble, implemented in an FEM code. The paper highlights the importance of the confining pressure on the mechanical behaviour of pebble beds and the possibility of simulating them with homogeneous materials. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) poses an immense challenge to water management in Europe. Aiming at a "good ecological status" of surface waters in 2015, integrated river basin management plans need to be in place by 2009, and broadly supported by stakeholders. Information & Communication Technology (ICT) tools, such as computational models, are very helpful in designing river basin management plans (rbmp-s). However, many scientists believe that a single integrated modelling system to support the WFD cannot be developed, and integrated systems need to be quite tailored to the local situation and evolve during a collaborative planning process. As a consequence there is an urgent need to increase the flexibility of modelling systems, such that dedicated model systems can be developed from available building blocks. In the recent past a number of initiatives have been started to develop an IT framework for modelling to meet the required flexibility. In Europe the international project HarmonIT, which is sponsored by the European Commission, is developing and implementing a standard interface for modelling components and other relevant tools: The Open Modelling Interface (OpenMI). This paper describes the HarmonIT project and objectives in general. The current progress is described. It describes the roles for different types of stakeholders in modelling, varying from software coders to non-specialized users of decision support systems. It will provide insight in the requirements imposed when using the OpenMI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present counterparty risk by a jump in the underlying price and a structural change of the price process after the default of the counterparty. The default time is modeled by a default-density approach. Then we study an exponential utility-indifference price of an European option whose underlying asset is exposed to this counterparty risk. Utility-indifference pricing method normally consists in solving two optimization problems. However, by using the minimal entropy martingale measure, we reduce it to solving only one optimal control problem. In addition, to overcome the incompleteness obstacle generated by the possible jump and the change in structure of the price process, we employ the BSDE-decomposition approach in order to decompose the problem into a global-before-default optimal control problem and an after-default one. Each problem works in its own complete framework. We demonstrate the result by numerical simulation of an European option price under the impact of the size of the jump, intensity of the default, absolute risk aversion and change in the underlying volatility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The paper presents NeMo, a model for the simulation of district heating networks. • The thermal inertia of the heat carrier fluid is used to shift the thermal load. • The flow rate regulation allows to shave the peak load during two typical weeks. • Water velocity, heat load pattern and grid topology affect the flexibility figures. • NeMo is released as supplementary material of the article. The possibility of recovering waste and renewable heat in urban areas has made district heating networks one of the key infrastructures for decarbonising the heating sector in Europe. The ability to shift the heat production over time is an important asset to improve the competitiveness of both new and existing networks. To this purpose, the present study evaluates the flexibility potential provided by the water volume enclosed in the network pipelines using the district heating network of Verona (Italy) as a case study. Given the users heat demand in two representative weeks, computer simulations were carried out to calculate the network's thermal response to circulating flow rate variations. The latter were designed to cause an early or late shift in the daily peak thermal load. The local temperature drop at the users substations compared to the current situation was used as a relative discomfort indicator. The simulations were carried out using the model NeMo, which has been attached as supplementary material to this publication. The simulation results show that the network pre-charge strategy achieves significant benefits in terms of both peak shaving and load shifting with a limited impact on discomfort for the users. Furthermore, the paper shows that the available storage capacity of the network is significantly influenced by the duration of the flow adjustment, by the average velocity of the heat carrier fluid and by the daily heat demand pattern. Finally, it is shown that the energy flexibility of the network also depends on its topology. In this regard, the article provides preliminary indications on the number and position of the bypass pipes needed to implement the proposed flow rate variations. In conclusion, the article shows that the thermal inertia of the heat carrier fluid is an interesting source of flexibility for existing networks, and the results highlight its potential and limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we explore the impact of vegetation cover and soil moisture coupling on climate simulations over the Europe. For this purpose, the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) is used. The analysis is based on three targeted simulations for the period 1981-2010: a control experiment (with a simple land-surface model that mimics interaction of soil and atmosphere); an experiment with land-surface temperature and soil moisture coupling, and an experiment with both soil moisture and interactive vegetation coupling. The amplitude and interannual variability of surface air temperature, precipitation and evaporation for summer and winter seasons are examined. Compared to the control experiment, increasing of surface temperature over the continental Europe is found for the experiment with soil-moisture model for both, winter and summer seasons. However, when ICTP AGCM is coupled with the dynamic vegetation model, increasing of surface temperature is simulated only during the summer, while it is reduced during the winter. Generally, the dynamic vegetation model reduces total precipitation over the observed domain, and areas with the most pronounced decrease of the total precipitation coincide with areas of reduced evaporation. The results indicate substantial impact of soil moisture and vegetation coupling on amplitudes of simulated surface air temperature, precipitation and evaporation with predominant contribution of the soil moisture coupling. Contrary, the impact on the interannual variability of analyzed variables is rather weak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PRACE (Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe), an international not-for-profit association that brings together the five largest European supercomputing centers and involves 26 European countries, has allocated more than half a billion core hours to computer simulations to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Alongside experiments, these simulations are a pillar of research to assess the risks of different scenarios and investigate mitigation strategies. While the world deals with the subsequent waves of the pandemic, we present a reflection on the use of urgent supercomputing for global societal challenges and crisis management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A European chemical weather forecasting portal is presented in this paper that has been developed within the COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) ES0602 action, “Towards a European Network on Chemical Weather Forecasting and Information Systems”. The portal includes an access to a substantial number (currently 21) of available chemical weather forecasting systems and their numerical forecasts; these cover in total more than 30 regions in Europe. This portal can be used, e.g., to find out, which services are available for a specific domain, for specific source categories or for specific pollutants. The portal currently expands its functionalities to allow for a harmonized presentation and inter-comparison of the various available forecasts, as well as for the computation of model ensemble predictions. It provides functions for obtaining relevant supplementary information, e.g., using the Model Documentation System of the European Environmental Agency. The new portal is an open access system, through which chemical weather forecasts can be added to the system, and the predictions can be accessed, analysed and inter-compared. Such a single point of reference for the European chemical weather forecasting information has previously not been in operation. We present the characteristics of the new portal, and discuss how this activity complements the GEMS and PROMOTE air quality forecasting portals. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Bulgarian Emergency Response System (BERS) is being developed in the Bulgarian National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology since 1994. BERS is based on numerical weather forecast meteorological information and a numerical long-range dispersion model accounting for the transport, dispersion, chemical and radioactive transformations of pollutants. In the present paper, the further development of this system for a mixture of radioactive gaseous and aerosol pollutants is described. The basic module for the BERS, the numerical dispersion model EMAP, is upgraded with a “dose calculation block”. Two scenarios for hypothetical accidental atmospheric releases from two NPPs, one in Western, and the other in Eastern Europe, are numerically simulated. The effective doses from external irradiation, from air submersion and ground shinning, effective dose from inhalation and absorbed dose by thyroid gland formed by 37 different radionuclides, significant for the early stage of a nuclear accident, are calculated as dose fields for both case studies and discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Lightweight roof and wall structural systems are widely used for cladding of steel portal frames. It is a well-known fact, that assembled systems of profiled sheeting and purlins show significant stiffness to in-plane loads, which action is referred to as stressed skin effect. This research aimed to investigate the influencing parameters of stressed skin effect in those nonstandard diaphragm constructions, in which seam fasteners are omitted. The focus of this paper is on the results of an experimental test programme, that investigated the stiffness of nonstandard, 3.00 × 3.00 m sized diaphragm configurations for in-plane static load. The experimental results are compared against analytical results derived from calculated shear flexibilities according to current ECCS formulae. Upon experimental test results, a verified and validated numerical model is developed, and the range of experimental tests is extended by numerical simulations. The conclusions of numerical analyses demonstrated, that the effect of purlin section height and thickness is not followed by current ECCS provisions. The intended purpose of the research is to develop the current ECCS stressed skin design formulae to incorporate nonstandard diaphragm constructions, which are commonly used in industrial practice in Europe. The innovative feature of formulae improvement is to comprise the effect of those parameters, which are influencing shear flexibility and are not addressed in the current ECCS design methodology. Upon experimental, analytical and numerical results a modification is presented to current formulae of shear flexibility, which gives a better approach in nonstandard cases. • Experimental panel test series was conducted in order to examine the stiffening effect of commonly installed diaphragm configurations. • The main objective of the research is to examine nonstandard diaphragm constructions, in which seam fasteners are omitted. • To date no international study was performed to examine the stiffening effect of nonstandard steel diaphragms. • Upon experimental results a FE model was developed and verified, and an extended parametric study was carried out. • Based on these results a proposal is made in order to amend current ECCS formulae to incorporate nonstandard diaphragms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article was to present the possibilities and examples of using Tecnomatix Plant Simulation (by Siemens) to simulate the production process (increase production, eliminate idle time, etc.) and by applying simulated output in real manufactoring processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The identification of isolation signatures is fundamental to better understand the genetic structure of human populations and to test the relations between cultural factors and genetic variation. However, with current approaches, it is not possible to distinguish between the consequences of long-term isolation and the effects of reduced sample size, selection and differential gene flow. To overcome these limitations, we have integrated the analysis of classical genetic diversity measures with a Bayesian method to estimate gene flow and have carried out simulations based on the coalescent. Combining these approaches, we first tested whether the relatively short history of cultural and geographical isolation of four “linguistic islands” of the Eastern Alps (Lessinia, Sauris, Sappada and Timau) had left detectable signatures in their genetic structure. We then compared our findings to previous studies of European population isolates. Finally, we explored the importance of demographic and cultural factors in shaping genetic diversity among the groups under study. A combination of small initial effective size and continued genetic isolation from surrounding populations seems to provide a coherent explanation for the diversity observed among Sauris, Sappada and Timau, which was found to be substantially greater than in other groups of European isolated populations. Simulations of micro-evolutionary scenarios indicate that ethnicity might have been important in increasing genetic diversity among these culturally related and spatially close populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of climate change and changes in ozone precursor emission on summer surface ozone in Europe was studied using a regional CTM over the period 1990 to 2100. Two different climate simulations under the SRES A1B scenario together with ozone precursor emission changes from the RCP4.5 scenario were used as model input. In southern Europe regional climate change leads to increasing surface ozone concentrations during April-September, but projected emission reductions in Europe have a stronger effect, resulting in net reductions of surface ozone concentrations. In northern Europe regional climate change decreases surface O3 and reduced European emissions acts to further strengthen this trend also when including increasing hemispheric background concentrations. The European O3 precursor emission reductions in RCP4.5 are substantial and it remains to be seen if these reductions can be achieved. There is substantial decadal variability in the simulations forced by climate variability which is important to consider when looking at changes in surface O3 concentrations, especially until the first half of the 21st century. In order to account for changes in background O3 future regional model studies should couple global (hemispheric) and regional CTMs forced by a consistent set of meteorological and precursor emission data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An overall appraisal of runoff changes at the European scale has been hindered by "white space" on maps of observed trends due to a paucity of readily-available stream- flow data. This study tested whether this white space can be filled using estimates of trends derived from model simulations of European runoff. The simulations stem from an ensemble of eight global hydrological models that were forced with the same climate input for the period 1963--2000. The derived trends were validated for 293 grid cells across the European domain with observation-based trend estimates. The ensemble mean overall provided the best representation of trends in the observations. Maps of trends in annual runoff based on the ensemble mean demonstrated a pronounced continental dipole pattern of positive trends in western and northern Europe and negative trends in southern and parts of eastern Europe, which has not previously been demonstrated and discussed in comparable detail. Overall, positive trends in annual streamflow appear to reflect the marked wetting trends of the winter months, whereas negative annual trends result primarily from a widespread decrease in streamflow in spring and summer months, consistent with a decrease in summer low flow in large parts of Europe. High flow appears to have increased in rain-dominated hydrological regimes, whereas an inconsistent or decreasing signal was found in snow-dominated regimes. The different models agreed on the predominant continental-scale pattern of trends, but in some areas disagreed on the magnitude and even the direction of trends, particularly in transition zones between regions with increasing and decreasing runoff trends, in complex terrain with a high spatial variability, and in snow-dominated regimes. Model estimates appeared most reliable in reproducing observed trends in annual runoff, winter runoff, and 7-day high flow. Modelled trends in runoff during the summer months, spring (for snow influenced regions) and autumn, and trends in summer low flow were more variable -- both among models and in the spatial patterns of agreement between models and the observations. The use of models to display changes in these hydrological characteristics should therefore be viewed with caution due to higher uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Discussions on raising pension eligibility age focus more on improvement in life expectancy (LE) and health expectancy measures than on socioeconomic differences in these measures. Therefore, this study assesses the level of socioeconomic differences in these two measures in Western-Europe. Methods Data from seven annual waves (1995-2001) of the European Community Household Panel were used. Health and socioeconomic information was collected using standardised questionnaires. Health was measured in terms of disability in daily activities. Socioeconomic status was determined as education level at baseline. Multi-state Markov modelling was applied to obtain age-specific transition rates between health states for every country, educational level and gender. The multi-state life table method was used to estimate LE and disability free life expectancy (DFLE) according to country, educational level and gender. Results When comparing high and low educational levels, differences in partial DFLE between the ages 50 and 65 years were 2.1 years for men and 1.9 years for women. At age 65 years, for LE the difference between high and low educated groups was 3 years for men and 1.9 years for women, and for DFLE the difference between high and low educated groups was 4.6 years for men and 4.4 years for women. Similar patterns were observed in all countries, although inequalities tended to be greater in the southern countries. Conclusions Educational inequalities, favouring the higher educated, exist on both sides of the retirement eligibility age. Higher educated persons live longer in good health before retirement and can expect to live longer afterwards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the Sustained Emotionally Coloured Machine-human Interaction using Nonverbal Expression (SEMAINE) API project, an open source model for developing emotion-oriented systems, funded by European Community's Seventh Framework Programme. The system aimed to contribute to interoperability and reuse of system components in the research community by encouraging and simplifying the use of standard representation formats. A detailed description of three small example system is presented to illustrate how integration between existing and new components are put into reality with minimal effort.

In Europe, two market designs are discussed for electricity trade and transmission. We argue that their performance in the presence of market power can be represented by two models from the literature. In contrast to examples for simple two-node networks, we show that in more complex networks a general ranking of both designs is not possible. Hence, computational models are required to evaluate the designs for realistic parameter assumptions. We extend existing formulations of both models to represent them as equilibrium problems with equilibrium constraints (EPEC) with equivalent representation of demand, fringe generation, and strategic generators. In a numerical simulation for the Northwestern European network, the integrated market design performs better. This difference illustrates the impact of small assumptions on the outcome of strategic models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]