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Evaluating the Impact of Environmental Award Criteria in EU Construction Public Procurement: Assessing the Alignment of GPP with the Principles of Non-Discrimination and Competition
No full textApplication of the ECOV method for assessing the load-bearing capacity of existing structures
No full textThis publication contains the proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Circularity in the Built Environment (CiBEn2025), held in Tampere, Finland, in September 16–18, 2025. The book includes both abstracts and papers of the contributions presented in the conference, as the authors were given the freedom to choose which type they submitted. All the contributions, except the keynotes, have been peer-reviewed in a double-blind setting by two independent reviewers. In this book, the contributions are listed under each theme in the alphabetical order of the title, so no order of importance is implied. The proceedings have been put together from ‘camera-ready’ files delivered by the authors. Due to this, some discrepancies may appear in the graphical appearance and/or how the content is structured. How to cite this publication as a whole: Huuhka, S. (Ed.). 2025. Circularity in the Built Environment: Proceedings of the 2025 conference held in Tampere, Finland, September 16–18 2025. Tampere: Tampere University. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17092525 How to cite a contribution in this publication: Author, A. (2025). Title of the contribution. In: Huuhka, S. (Ed.). Circularity in the Built Environment: Proceedings of the 2025 conference held in Tampere, Finland, September 16–18 2025. Tampere: Tampere University. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17092525Reusing precast concrete for a circular economy. European Commission. award Number:958200. 10.13039/50110000078
Understanding the desing, synthesis and properties of novel Na ion conducting electrolytes
No full textnot availabl
Modeling of current-voltage characteristics of high-efficiency kesterite solar cells
No full textArticle Modeling of current-voltage characteristics of high-efficiency kesterite solar cells Graphical abstract Highlights • State-of-the-art kesterite solar cells closely follow single diode formalism • Dark and light reconciliation attests close-to-ideal current-voltage behavior • Defective kesterite layer hypothesized as main open-circuit voltage-limiting factor • Carrier trapping via shallow states greatly contributes to shunt currents Correspondence [email protected] In brief Kesterite-based solar cells do not typically show close agreement with the idealistic single diode model. Scaffidi et al. demonstrate that the optoelectronic quality enhancements in recent solution processing baselines for kesterite thin films lead to a closer-to-ideal behavior, remarkably reconciling dark and light responses. Through robust device modeling, the dominant source of losses in the device is identified as a defect-rich layer restraining its voltage output, while light is also shed on the mechanism responsible for leakage currents.This research received funding from the European Union’s H2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation under grant agreement number 952982 (CUSTOM-ART) and 866018 (SENSATE: low-dimensional semiconductors for optically tunable solar harvesters) as well as from the Renew-PV European COST action (CA21148). R.S. thanks the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO) for funding through the Fundamental Research PhD Fellowship (1178024N) and a travel grant for a long stay abroad (V462623N). Y.G. thanks the European Union’s H2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement number 10115148. A. J.-A. and E.S. acknowledge funding from the Agencia Estatal de Investigacio´n, MICINN Spain, project ACT-FAST (PCI2023-145971-2) from the CETP-Partnership Program 2022. A.B. is thankful for the grant SIR/2022/001011 from SERB India. Z.J.L.-K. acknowledges the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation for the Ramon y Cajal Fellowship (RYC2021-033239-I). E.S. acknowledges f inancial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation from the CURIO-CITY project (PID2023-148976OB-C41). This work was part of the Maria de Maetzu Units of Excellence Programme CEX2023-001300-M, funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. E.S. acknowledges the ICREA Academia program
Personalizing Transcranial Electrical Stimulation: Electric Field Insights And Beta Dynamics In Aging And Motor Control
No full textTranscranial electrical stimulation (tES) is a promising noninvasive brain
stimulation technique for studying the brain and treating clinical disorders. The
technique consists of applying electrodes on the scalp, through which a lowintense current then flows, thereby generating an electric field in the brain. However, the effects of tES show significant variability across individuals. This doctoral dissertation aims to optimize tES by addressing two critical sources of
variability: anatomy and neurophysiology. In parallel, this work explores the
oscillatory dynamics underlying interlimb motor control, an essential part of daily
life that is compromised by aging and various clinical disorders.
The first section of this dissertation focuses on anatomical variability in
tES. Five experiments are presented which employ current flow modeling, a method that simulates the electric fields induced by tES based on head anatomy.
A first experiment demonstrates that combining T1w and T2w magnetic resonance imaging data enhances the accuracy of electric field simulations, compared to using solely T1w magnetic resonance imaging data.
Second, significant regional differences in the thickness of soft tissues, compact and spongy bone, and cerebrospinal fluid are identified across age groups, sexes, and head regions. These findings highlight the importance of individualized tES paradigms to ensure consistent dosing across populations.
Third, to further address anatomical variability, this work evaluates electric field quantification methods, revealing that different methods do not always concur. This has implications for electric field based tES dosing, and underscores the need for standardized practices in current flow modeling.
Fourth, a novel dosing strategy is proposed, which prospectively reversecalculates stimulation intensities to account for anatomical variability. This
approach significantly reduces interindividual differences in electric fields and is feasible for widespread clinical application.
Fifth and finally, an extended head model tailored for extracephalic tES montages (i.e., montages where at least one electrode is placed on a region outside the head, such as the shoulders) is introduced. This head model improves
current flow modeling accuracy compared to non-extended models, and enables
better tES optimizations for targeting regions such as the cerebellum. In a second section, through a series of three experiments, this dissertation explores neurophysiological variability in the context of interlimb motor control across two motor tasks. The specific focus is on event-related oscillatory
electroencephalography data.
Across the three experiments, movement-related beta desynchronization
(MRβD) emerges as a critical neurophysiological process underpinning interlimb coordination in the context of aging. Furthermore, this work positions MRβD in
the right sensorimotor cortex as a critical process during interlimb motor planning,
providing causal evidence through the use of beta-band transcranial alternating current, a tES modality involving the use of an alternating current, individualized
to the peak beta frequency during the motor planning phase.
Collectively, the work presented in this doctoral dissertation advances the
development of optimized tES protocols while deepening our understanding of the neurophysiological mechanisms driving motor control. By bridging anatomical and neurophysiological variability, this collection of experiments helps laying the
groundwork for precision neuromodulation techniques tailored to diverse
populations and clinical needs
Automatic Optimization of Reaction Engineering Processes
No full textDeze scriptie onderzoekt de toepassing van genetische algoritmen (GAs) op het gebied van reactortechniek, met een focus op het bepalen van de effectiviteit van GAs bij het oplossen van configuratieproblemen voor ideale reactorreeksen. Hierbij worden aangepaste genetische operatoren gebruikt, waaronder selectie, crossover en mutatie, samen met optimalisatietechnieken zoals NSGA-II, SLSQP en DE. Deze algoritmen worden ingezet om iteratief te zoeken naar de optimale rangschikking van reactorreeksen, met als doel het minimaliseren van de verblijftijd of het maximaliseren van de productopbrengst, terwijl het aantal operationele eenheden wordt geminimaliseerd. Er zijn twee GAs ontwikkeld. De eerste, gepresenteerd in deze scriptie, is bedoeld voor reacties met één hoofd reactie en wordt de Single Reaction Genetic Algorithm (SRGA) genoemd. De tweede GA is ontwikkeld voor toepassingen binnen parallelle reactieschema's, genaamd Parallel Reaction Genetic Algorithm (PRGA). Deze GAs zijn geoptimaliseerd door gebruik te maken van hypothetische chemische reactiekinetiek, waardoor het vermogen om moeilijke gevallen op te lossen verbeterd. Uit de optimalisatie bleek dat het PRGA-framework sneller presteert dan SRGA, dankzij het gebruik van SLSQP in plaats van DE. Bovendien werd duidelijk dat genketen groei mechanismen beter zijn voor de GAs dan gen mutatie mechanismen. De optimalisatie resulteerde in twee robuuste GAs die zowel ingenieurs als niet-ingenieurs kunnen gebruiken om ideale reactorconfiguraties efficiënt te optimaliseren
Cardiovascular profiling of women at risk for the development of gestational hypertensive disorders: an opportunity for patient-tailored management
No full textAlthough gestational hypertensive disorders (GHD) cover a range of distinct pathophysiological phenotypes, their clinical care and corresponding treatment modalities are alike and focus on maternal and fetal monitoring. GHD have proven to belong to the group of cardiovascular disorders. Still, no routine cardiovascular assessment, apart from sphygmomanometric blood pressure measurement, is part of their current management in perinatal care. Maternal hemodynamics assessment gathers information on important parameters of the maternal cardiovascular function and allows for discriminating between different pathophysiological phenotypes of GHD. This doctoral dissertation aimed to gain new insights into the underlying hemodynamic pathophysiological mechanisms of the different GHD phenotypes (Part I) and aimed to explore preventive and phenotype-specific therapeutic interventions (Part II) to allow for optimization of patient-tailored management instead of the “one size fits all” principle
Integrating data-driven methods and expert knowledge to develop personas: Balancing automation and multi-disciplinary validation
No full textData-driven personas are increasingly used to inform design decisions. Various methods are published to produce personas based on data collected from projects of different types and scales, each with a specific focus. This study aims to create a set of personas using data collected from a prior randomised controlled trial (RCT), which will be instrumental in designing future eHealth applications to support individuals with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Our method followed five phases for designing personas: (Phase I) expert analysis and variable selection, (Phase II) clustering, (Phase III) expert validation, (Phase IV) persona optimisation, and (Phase V) final check. To ensure that personas accurately reflected the patients, we employed the k-prototype algorithm to cluster mixed data and we focused on validation with colleagues, including medical colleagues, physiotherapists, a psychologist and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) experts. Seven different personas resulted from the clustering. A validation step involved a multidisciplinary team that assessed the personas' realism, giving an average rating of 8.0 out of 10. Based on their feedback, three of the personas were slightly updated. The final descriptions of all seven personas incorporated the clustered data and the proposed changes after the validation. We concluded that data-driven approaches and expert-based refinement to develop personas is an effective method for understanding the target population. This study highlighted the importance of validation, revealing that creating personas cannot be fully automated, as this may result in losing essential characteristics that only experts can identify. Future research includes demonstrating the practical use of personas.Funding
This research and the SharedHeart study were supported by H2020 CoroPrevention (grant 848056). The design and development of the SharedHeart applications were supported by UHasselt Special Research Fund (grant BOF18DOC26).
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank all validators, including Kim Bonné and Frank Vandereyt, in addition to the co-authors, for their valuable contribution to this work, in particular for insightful discussions and valuable feedback during the validation process
Een goed leven binnen planetaire grenzen in Genk: wijkhub Zwartberg
No full textDeze masterscriptie onderzoekt hoe een wijkhub kan bijdragen aan een gemeenschap die leeft binnen de planetaire
grenzen met een focus op de wijk Zwartberg in Genk. In een tijd van klimaatverandering, uitputting van natuurlijke
bronnen en toenemende sociale ongelijkheid staat de ruimtelijke ordening voor de uitdaging om bij te dragen aan
een regeneratieve en rechtvaardige transitie. Door mobiliteit niet langer louter te benaderen als een kwestie van
infrastructuur maar als hefboom voor ecologische en sociale duurzaamheid wordt in deze scriptie een geïntegreerde
ontwerpbenadering ontwikkeld.
Voor het onderzoek wordt er gekeken naar de rol van mobiliteit in het stedelijk weefsel en hoe deze via een circulaire,
inclusieve en toekomstgerichte benadering kan worden hertekend. In drie fasen worden theoretische en secundair
empirische inzichten verzameld zoals een historische analyse van mobiliteit, een diagnose van de hedendaagse
problematiek en een vertaalslag naar een ruimtelijk ontwerpvoorstel.
De casestudy van Zwartberg, een wijk met sociaal-economische uitdagingen maar ook met ruimtelijke potentie,
vormt het laboratorium waarin deze vraag wordt onderzocht. De wijk wordt benaderd als een plek waar nieuwe
verbindingen kunnen ontstaan tussen mobiliteit, collectieve infrastructuur en gemeenschapsvorming. De wijkhub
fungeert daarbij als ruimtelijke katalysator die inzet op gedeelde mobiliteit, lokale logistiek, hernieuwbare energie en
buurtgerichte voorzieningen