232 research outputs found
Author Correction:A cattle graph genome incorporating global breed diversity
No full textThe original version of this Article omitted from the author list the 12th and 13th authors Dennis Muhanguzi and Wilson Amanyire, who are from the ‘School of Biosecurity, Biotechnology and Laboratory Sciences (SBLS), College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity, Makerere University, P.O Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda’. Consequently, the final sentence of the Author Contributions incorrectly read ‘D.W., P.T., E.A.J.C., C.E., E.T.O., E.R.A., A. Tijjani, K.M., A.F., B.R.F., A.Q., U.C. and P.W. provided samples and expertise for the studies’. This has been replaced with ‘D.W., P.T., W.A., D.M., E.A.J.C., C.E., E.T.O., E.R.A., A. Tijjani, K.M., A.F., B.R.F., A.Q., U.C. and P.W. provided samples and expertise for the studies’. This has been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article
Finite element modeling for health monitoring and condition assessment of long-span bridges
No full textSerious limitations and problems on the practical use of Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) and finite element (FE) modeling for the purpose of structural health monitoring and condition assessment are discussed in this paper. The key issues in FE modeling of long2span bridges for health monitoring and condition assessment has been studied by our group for several years. The FE models of the TsingMa Bridge (TMB) in Hong Kong and Runyang Yangtse Bridge (RYB) in Jiangsu have been developed respectively for the purpose of structural health assessment and installation of a structural health system on RYB. The result shows that the model for the purpose of health assessment should be developed on the basis of transition theory for linking elements between local-scale at material points and full-scale at the structural level. Model updating and validation are necessary for an accurate modeling of the complicated bridge structures. Some critical components are determined from the analysis of the structural response by using the FE model of TMB in full-scale, then the local FE models are developed and used to determine the behavior of hot-spot stress and fatigue accumulation at critical locations
Creating a comfortable working environment for cath lab physicians: Design of a body support
No full textThis project is about developing a solution for cath lab physicians. A cath lab physician is a medical doctor, with a background in cardiology, neurology, electro physiology or radiology, who performs cath lab procedures. A cath lab procedure is a minimal invasive procedure in which a catheter is brought into the body of a patient via a small incision. Cath lab physicians suffer from injuries due to the heavy physical workload of their job. The lead apron they wear to protect themselves against the radiation used during the procedures, in combination with long periods of standing, are the main cause of these injuries. An analysis is performed to get more insight in the nature of the injuries and of the environment of the physicians. To start prototyping in an early stage, a short ideation phase took place directly after the analysis. As a result, this phase brought requirements, wishes and concluded with two design directions. A stool with some new features was the best solution. This stool was designed to support the user. The seat will prevent the injuries on the legs while the integrated sternum support reduces the forces in the back muscle. A test was performed to validate the effect of the sternum support. The test shows a reduction between 10% and 15% of the tension in the back muscle. Further research will have to show if the use of the designed solution will actually prevent hernias in the future.Industrial Design EngineeringIndustrial Desig
Single-frequency precise point positioning with optimal filtering
No full textCivil Engineering and Geoscience
Building on Experiences: The Hospital Stakeholder Participation Method
No full textRoyal Haskoning BM (healthcare department at Hoofddorp)* operates actively in the healthcare market, designing and consulting within care housing projects. Anticipating changes in the healthcare sector, Royal Haskoning foresees a strategic value that could profit the contractor by involving hospital stakeholders (employees, visitors and patients) in the early stage of the design phase of hospital building projects. User participation in architecture has been implemented but to a limited extent. Compared to user participation in product design, the involvement has many shortcomings, e.g. the user group of patients and visitors has never been involved, the stakeholders were only involved in the evaluative end phase of the building design process and there was often a mismatch in communications between hospital stakeholders and architects. In order to enable the design team (the architects) to benefit from the hospital stakeholder involvement, a common language must emerge which facilitates the design team to access stakeholder experiences and use these experiences for information and inspiration in the early phase of the hospital building design process. This common language should be a commonly shared design language that hospital stakeholders and the design team use to communicate verbally and visually. The common design language is the foundation of the Hospital Stakeholder Participation Method and includes both conventional design research methods (observation and interviewing) in order to obtain observable and explicit stakeholder knowledge, and generative techniques (group session, sensitising and generative tools) in order to obtain tacit and latent knowledge. Implementation of this method in an early stage of the design process would expose fully the hospital stakeholders’ experiences that contribute to an optimal hospital environment. *Since 2009: 4Building b.v.Industrial Design EngineeringProduct Innovation Managemen
Microwave-Promoted Synthesis of n-Propyl Propionate using Metal Triflate Catalysts in Batch and Continuous Flow Configurations
No full textTwo novel microwave reactor configurations were tested: - The batch mode configuration resulted in high superheating temperatures for several alcohols and enabled operation in the superheating regime - A new concept, a coiled continuous flow reactor in a single-mode cavity, was successfully built and operated. Compared to current equipment it exhibits increased predictability and control. Furthermore, due to its predictability, it can be optimised and customised in various ways, for instance to boost the intensity, to improve the efficiency or to adapt to specific needs. This makes it a promising alternative for current microwave equipmentIntensified Reaction & Separation SystemsProcess and EnergyMechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineerin
The Coherence Premium
No full textEvidence was found for the partial explanation of firm succes from a new point of view: coherence. A positive relationship was found between coherence, a specific form of strategic fit between a core capabilities system, a way to play (strategy) and a product and service portfolio, and premium (above normal financial performance, measured by sales growth, EBIT margin, ROA and P/E ratio). With a sample of 7000 MD&A's from 10-K filings, a coherence score was calculated using textual analysis (counting indicative words). The coherence scores were divided into three equally sized groups. The high coherence score group was found to outperform the low coherence score group for all metrics at a significance level of 0.10. For sales growth the differences were the largest: 9.5% and 12.1% for the low and high coherence groups respectively, with a significance level of 0.01.Management of TechnologyTechnology, Strategy and EntrepreneurshipTechnology, Policy and Managemen
DiaMediPort increasing elderly agency by improving triage at home
No full textThe rapidly aging Dutch baby boom generation threatens to overwhelm the healthcare system in the Netherlands (Hoedeman & Koki, 2020). The elderly, more than any other age group, are more prone to experiencing a steep decline in physical and cognitive health during hospitalization (Brown, 2020; Mathews, Arnold & Epperson, 2014). 61% of the elderly Dutch are unnecessarily admitted to emergency wards (G. de Kousemaeker of Fluent, personal communication, January 16, 2019). Likewise, the elderly, especially those from rural areas, are fueling more than a 50% increase in the number of persons 65+ who require nursing care at a home (CBS, 2019). A complex network of stakeholders interacts in the healthcare value chain to provide interventions for this vulnerable group. Yet, healthcare providers (HCPs) who collaborate together to diagnose, treat or adjust medications for the elderly are under immense pressure (SCP, 2019a). With its technology-enabled services, DiaMediPort aims to solve the shortages of HCPs by sending triage nurses to the homes of the elderly in distress and by virtually connecting them to general practitioners and medical specialists via information logistics. The research section of this project highlights the advantages of ensuring person-centered triage care in the Dutch elderly person’s home during the period of 2020. I conducted secondary and primary research (e.g. ethnographies, contextual maps, qualitative interviews) with an elderly couple in their extramural home, informal caregivers, district nurses and elderly care specialists from intramural facilities, ambulance and mobile night teams and elderly call centers. Five key conclusions are made based on the insights generated on triage moments, information flow, technology and the healthcare value chain. 1) There is an obvious disconnect between the government’s response to the elderly and what the elderly want. The Dutch Minister of Health, Sports and Wellbeing stated the role of each Dutch person is to care for other persons in the community; while the elderly interviewed state that independence is a core value and it must be accounted for during the development of an elderly triage service. 2) Triage moments are a source of needless and redundant suffering for the elderly person who lives in an extramural home. The informal caregiver must communicate with HCPs during these moments so that the decisions made on behalf of the elderly person are dynamic. Although nurses can handle a litany of triage moments, the healthcare system prohibits them from taking action without the supervision of a medical doctor. 3) The mobile night team becomes a part of the traditional medical system. When an informal caregiver or district nurse is unavailable, triage nurses perform unexpected tasks at night. 4) Information flow and open communication reduce the usage of human and financial resources and improve the elderly person’s medical outcomes. 5) The nurses who work at elderly care centers rely on ICT system information. Often the elderly’s digital records and other necessary information are not yet entered or updated. Hence, triage nurses must act in an information vacuum. The appearance and complaints of the person suffering from old age is the only information at their disposal. It is very difficult to read him. Sometimes, he lacks the words to express what is wrong. As a result, nurses cannot make informed medical decisions. DiaMediPort is ideally poised to tackle these issues and concerns. Besides, its services give reassurance to beneficiaries (e.g. elderly person and informal caregiver) and facilitate their independent living at home. The design section offers 2 tools that I created for DiaMediPort. Their 2 objectives were to 1) visually inform how HCPs and beneficiaries interact within the existing healthcare system and 2) convince HCPs and decision-makers (e.g. insurance providers, hospitals, governmental bodies) to adopt DiaMediPort’s services. The tool Stakeholder Perspectives has two components: 1) “DiaMediPort in Film” presents short films of elderly persons in triage situations; these stories are produced with cartoon cutouts and voice-overs. And 2) “DiaMediPort Platform” will be used in a co-creational workshop. It gives an overview of the DiaMediPort beneficiaries and stakeholders, their social context and how DiaMediPort acts as intermediary. The tool Layered System Overview illustrates the triage phases wherein DiaMediPort is capable of providing services
Nano-electromechanical switchable photonic metamaterials
No full textWe introduce mechanically reconfigurable electrostatically-driven photonic metamaterials (RPMs) as a generic platform for large-range tuning and switching of photonic metamaterial properties. Here we illustrate this concept with a high-contrast metamaterial electro-optic switch exhibiting relative reflection changes of up to 72% in the optical part of the spectrum
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