Search Results (1,242)

Background/Objectives: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) requires accessible and non-invasive biomarkers that can support early detection, especially in settings lacking specialized expertise. Sonification techniques may offer an alternative way to convey neurophysiological information through auditory perception. This study aimed to evaluate whether human listeners without EEG training can discriminate between sonified electroencephalographic (EEG) patterns from patients with AD and healthy controls. Methods: EEG recordings from 65 subjects (36 with Alzheimer’s, 29 controls) from the Open-Neuro ds004504 dataset were used. Data were processed through sliding-window spectral analysis, extracting relative band powers across five frequency bands (delta: 1–4 Hz, theta: 4–8 Hz, alpha: 8–13 Hz, beta: 13–30 Hz, gamma: 30–45 Hz) and spectral entropy, aggregated across 10 topographic regions. Extracted features were sonified via parameter mapping to independent synthesis sources per frequency band, implemented in an interactive web interface (Tone.js v14.8.49) enabling auditory evaluation. Eight evaluators without EEG experience blindly classified subjects into two groups based solely on listening to the sonifications. Results: Listeners achieved a mean classification accuracy of 76.12% (SD = 17.95%; range: 49.25–97.01%), exceeding chance performance (p = 0.001, permutation test). Accuracy variability across evaluators suggests that certain auditory cues derived from the sonified features were consistently perceived. Conclusions: Parametric EEG sonification preserves discriminative neurophysiological information that can be perceived through auditory evaluation, enabling above-chance differentiation between Alzheimer’s patients and healthy controls without technical expertise. This proof-of-concept study supports sonification as a complementary, accessible method for examining brain patterns in neurodegenerative diseases and highlight its potential contribution to the development of accessible diagnostic tools. Full article

Precast concrete industrial buildings are typically characterised by high fire risk due to the production or storage of materials/products having high combustion potential and the specific activities carried out in the facility. Due to the large dimensions of these buildings, common simplified and ordinary advanced methods for the determination of the fire-induced demand, both in terms of structural performance and the safety of occupants and firefighters, may be far from accurate. Most large industrial buildings rely on translucid surfaces installed on the roof to let zenithal natural light enter the building. These are typically made with polycarbonate, and lateral windows may eventually be installed. Due to the low glass transition temperature of polycarbonate, these openings can efficiently act as evacuators of smoke and heat, although they are currently neglected by most practitioners, leading to the installation of mechanical evacuators. Moreover, the shape of the roof system of such buildings, especially if wing-shaped elements coupled with either vault or shed elements are used, can naturally ease the smoke and heat evacuation process. This paper aims to provide a contribution to the characterisation of fire development in such buildings, presenting the results of both zone and computational-fluid-dynamic analyses carried out on archetypal precast industrial buildings with a typical arrangement of either vault or shed roof subjected to cellulosic fire. For this purpose, several parameters were investigated, including roof shape (vault and shed) and the effect of short or tall columns. Concerning zone models, other relevant parameters, such as the type of glazing, the installation of smoke and heat evacuators on the roof, and larger window areas, were analysed. Full article

The integration of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Digital Twin (DT) has emerged as an innovative tool in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) domain. To successfully utilize BIM and DT, it is crucial to update the 3D model in a timely and accurate manner. However, limitations remain when handling massive point clouds to reconstruct complex indoor structures with varying ceiling and floor heights. This study proposes a semi-automatic 3D model reconstruction method. First, point clouds are aligned with 3D Cartesian axes and the spatial extent of the indoor space is measured. Subsequently, the point clouds are projected onto each coordinate plane to hierarchically extract structural elements of a building component, such as boundary lines, rectangles, and cuboids. Boolean operations are then applied to the cuboids to reconstruct a 3D wireframe model. Additionally, wall points are segmented to identify openings like doors and windows. For validation, the method was applied to three typical building components with Manhattan-world structures: an office, a hallway, and a stairway. The reconstructed models were evaluated using reference points, resulting in positional accuracies of 0.033 m, 0.034 m, and 0.030 m, respectively. Finally, the resulting wireframe model served as a reference to build an as-built BIM model. Full article

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the stability of azacitidine (AZA) under clinical storage conditions (room temperature vs. refrigeration) to identify practical protocols that minimize waste and improve cost-effectiveness. Methods: AZA solutions (1 mg/mL) were stored at 23 ± 2 °C or 4 °C. Stability was assessed using a validated high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a Hypersil ODS C₁₈ column (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) using an isocratic mobile phase of 50 mM potassium phosphate buffer (pH 7.0)-acetonitrile (98:2, v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min, with UV detection at 245 nm and a 20 μL injection volume. The method demonstrated specificity for AZA and its main degradation product (DP), with LOD and LOQ of 12.56 μg/mL and 62.8 μg/mL, respectively. Linearity (R² = 0.9928), precision (RSD% < 5 for mid/high levels), and accuracy (mean recovery 96%) were established. Results: Azacitidine degraded rapidly at room temperature, with >85% loss within 24 h. In contrast, refrigeration at 4 °C significantly delayed degradation, with only ~26% loss observed over the same 24 h period. Chromatographic analysis confirmed the formation of a primary degradation product (tentatively identified as the open-ring hydrolytic species N-(formylamidino)-N′-β-D-ribofuranosylurea based on its chromatographic behavior and literature data), consistent with the known hydrolytic pathway. The applied HPLC-UV method offered an optimal balance of specificity and practicality for monitoring this main degradation trend under clinical storage conditions, distinguishing it from more complex techniques used primarily for structural elucidation. Conclusions: The pronounced instability of reconstituted AZA underscores the critical importance of strict adherence to immediate-use protocols. Refrigeration provides only a limited stability window. Based on our kinetic data, maintaining the reconstituted solution within an acceptable degradation limit (e.g., ≤10% loss) at 4 °C would require administration within a very short timeframe, supporting current handling guidelines to ensure therapeutic efficacy and minimize economic waste. Full article

Sustainable renovation is a critical aspect for designing energy-efficient buildings with reasonable cost and high indoor living standards. The objective of this paper is to investigate various renovation scenarios for an old, uninsulated building with a floor area of 100 m² located in Athens, aiming to determine the global optimal solution through a multi-criteria analysis. The multi-criteria analysis considers energy, economic, and thermal comfort criteria to perform a multi-lateral approach. Specifically, the criteria are: (i) maximization of the energy savings, (ii) minimization of the life cycle cost (LCC), and (iii) minimization of the mean annual predicted percentage of dissatisfied (PPD). These criteria are combined within a multi-criteria evaluation procedure that employs a global objective function for determining a global optimum solution. The examined retrofitting actions are the addition of external insulation, the replacement of the existing windows with triple-glazed windows, the addition of shading in the openings in the summer, the application of cool roof dyes, the use of a mechanical ventilation system with a heat recovery unit, and the installation of a highly efficient heat pump system. The interventions were examined separately, and the combined renovation scenarios were studied by including them in the external insulation because of their high importance. The present study encompassed the investigation of a baseline scenario and 26 different renovation scenarios, conducted through dynamic simulation on an annual basis. The results of the present analysis indicated that the global optimal renovation scenario, including the addition of external insulation, the installation of highly efficient heat pumps, and the use of shading in the openings in the summer, saved energy by 74% compared to the baseline scenario. The LCC was approximately EUR 33,000, the simple payback period of the renovation process was around 6 years, the annual CO₂ emissions avoidance reached 4.6 tn_CO2, and the PPD was at 9.7%. An additional sensitivity analysis for determining the optimal choice under varying weights assigned to the criteria revealed that this renovation design is the most favorable option in most cases. These results prove that the suggested renovation scenario is a feasible and viable solution that leads to a sustainable design from multiple perspectives. Full article

Urban building energy modeling (UBEM) is crucial for assessing energy consumption patterns at the city-scale and for supporting data driven planning and decarbonization strategies. However, its practical deployment is often hindered by the need to balance detailed physics-based simulations with acceptable computation times when thousands of buildings are involved. This work presents a large-scale real world UBEM case study and proposes a workflow that combines EnergyPlus simulations, high-performance computing (HPC), and open urban datasets to model the energy consumption of the building stock in the Municipality of Bologna, Italy. Geometric data such as building footprints and heights were acquired from the Bologna Open Data portal and complemented by aerial light detection and ranging (LiDAR) measurements to refine elevations and roof geometries. Non-geometrical building characteristics, including wall materials, insulation levels, and window properties, were derived from local building regulations and the European TABULA project, enabling the assignment of archetypes in contexts where granular information about building materials is not available. The pipeline’s modular design allows us to analyze different combinations of retrofitting scenarios, making it possible to identify the groups of buildings that would benefit the most. A key feature of the workflow is the use of Leonardo, the supercomputer hosted and managed by Cineca, which made it possible to simulate the energy consumption of approximately 25,000 buildings in less than 30 min. In contrast to approaches that mainly reduce computation time by simplifying the physical model or aggregating representative buildings, the HPC-based workflow allows the entire building stock to be individually simulated (within the intrinsic simplifications of UBEM) without introducing further compromises in model detail. Overall, this case study demonstrates that the combination of open data and HPC-accelerated UBEM can deliver city-scale energy simulations that are both computationally tractable and sufficiently detailed to inform municipal decision-making and future digital twin applications. Full article

In arid open-pit mines, rainfall-triggered slope instability presents significant risks, but quantitative thresholds are poorly defined due to limited integration of transient seepage and stability in low-permeability soils. This study fills this gap by using GeoStudio’s SEEP/W and SLOPE/W modules to simulate rainfall effects on a moderately steep-slope (51° average) limestone mine slope in Ningxia’s Kazimiao Mining Area (annual precipitation: 181.1 mm). The novelty lies in identifying a 12 h saturation window under intense rainfall (≥100 mm h⁻¹), during which pore water pressure stabilizes as soil reaches saturation, creating an “infiltration buffering effect” driven by arid soil properties (hydraulic conductivity: 2.12 × 10⁻⁴ cm s⁻¹). Results show that the factor of safety (FOS) drops sharply within 12 h (e.g., from 1.614 naturally to 1.010 at 200 mm h⁻¹) and then stabilizes, with FOS remaining >1.05 (basically stable) under rainfall intensities ≤ 50 mm h⁻¹, but drops into the less-stable range (1.00–1.05) at 100–200 mm h⁻¹, reaching marginal stability (FOS ≈ 0.98–1.02) after 24 h of extreme events, according to GB/T 32864-2016. Slope protection measures increase FOS (e.g., 2.518 naturally). These findings quantify higher instability thresholds in arid compared to humid regions, supporting regional guidelines and informing early-warning systems amid climate-related extremes. This framework enhances sustainable slope management for mines worldwide in arid–semi-arid zones. Full article

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) offer intrinsically high open-circuit voltages in the kilovolt range; however, conventional diode rectifier interfaces clamp the voltage prematurely, restricting access to the high-energy portion of the mechanical cycle and preventing delivery-centric control. This work develops a unified physical basis for contact–separation (CS) TENGs by confirming the consistency of the canonical $V_{oc}$–$C_s$ relation with a dual-capacitor energy model and analytically establishing that both terminal voltage and storable electrostatic energy peak near maximum plate separation. Leveraging this insight, a self-powered gas-discharge-tube (GDT) rectifier bridge is devised to replace two diodes and autonomously trigger conduction exclusively in the high-voltage window without auxiliary bias. An inductive buffer regulates the current slew rate and reduces $I^{2}R$ loss, while the proposed topology realizes two decoupled power rails from a single CS-TENG, enabling simultaneous sensing/processing and actuation. A low-power microcontroller is powered from one rail through an energy-harvesting module and executes an operator-based nonlinear controller to regulate the actuator-side rail via a MOSFET–resistor path. Experimental results demonstrate earlier and higher-efficiency energy transfer compared with a diode-bridge baseline, robust dual-rail decoupling under dynamic loading, and accurate closed-loop voltage tracking with negligible computational and energy overhead. These findings confirm the practicality of the proposed self-powered architecture and highlight the feasibility of integrating operator-theoretic control into TENG-driven rectifier interfaces, advancing delivery-oriented power extraction from high-voltage TENG sources. Full article

Accessibility and the so-called ‘15 min city’ paradigm are critical dimensions in agendas involving urban policies. However, when interested in accounting for accessibility from a formal perspective, researchers and practitioners should use pertinent indicators. Additionally, most of the indicators focus on the number of facilities reachable within a given time window, while the counterpart of the latter, i.e., as a measure of attractiveness, such as the number of users that can reach that given area, is not evaluated explicitly. In this paper, a comprehensive method able to capture accessibility and attractivity simultaneously will be presented. The formulation is based on a refinement of the gravity model. As the main input, the actual number of residents was used and included in the computation. Therefore, the resulting values of accessibility and attractivity are intended to represent the real status of different degrees of walkable accessibility in urban areas. As a test field, three Italian cities were explored. The method proposed and discussed throughout the paper is aimed at providing an operative tool for planners, as well as for private stakeholders, when they are in charge of evaluating the degree of ‘walkable’ accessibility. Furthermore, the use of open and standardized data is intended to be a main strength of the proposed methodology, as it can be easily replicated in other contexts. Full article

Environmental factors motivate migration across the globe, calling for better planning. Although the US experienced such movements during the COVID-19 pandemic, literature on population mobility and outcomes for receiving communities in the US is scarce. We use a mixed-methods case study approach to explore the COVID-era population movement trends in the US Northeast (NE) Region and their outcomes for receiving communities to draw lessons for strategic regional planning aiming to achieve sustainable and equitable outcomes of disaster-induced movements. Utilizing the Statistics of Income data and focus group data collected from 27 local experts in 22 rural counties of NE, which experienced the highest relative numbers of in-movers between 2016 and 2020, the findings revealed the top receiving counties were predominantly rural areas where urbanites moved from within NE. This movement challenged the housing market and services, disproportionately burdening socioeconomically disadvantaged groups in receiving communities. The COVID-19 experience opened a window of opportunity for regional planning to prepare desirable outcomes of such mobilities by addressing existing issues in receiving communities while incorporating pulse and slow population movements into the agenda. The right policy timing and communication among communities are keys to building trust and ensuring integration of newcomers into receiving communities. Full article

The emerging development of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) software receivers has opened new opportunities in diverse operations. However, non-line-of-sight (NLOS) concatenated signal reception is one prevalent deterioration factor causing positioning errors in urban scenarios. To enhance integrity and reliability through receiver autonomous integrity monitoring (RAIM) techniques in urban environments, distinguishing between line-of-sight (LOS) and NLOS signals facilitates the exclusion of NLOS channels: this is challenging due to uncertain signal reflections/refractions from diverse obstruction conditions in the built environment. Moreover, NLOS features show similarity to multipath effects like scattering and diffraction which causes difficulty in identifying the NLOS type. Recent work exploited NLOS detections with multi-correlator outputs using neural networks that outperform using signal strength techniques for NLOS detection. This paper proposes a neural network approach designed to recognise and learn spatial features among early, late, and prompt correlator outputs, differentiating between correlations, and also by memorising temporal features to acquire propagation information. Specifically, the spatial features of correlator IQ streams are derived from convolutional layers incorporated with concatenations, to formulate associate models like early-minus-late discrimination. A Recurrent Neural Network (RNN), i.e., long short-term memory (LSTM), is integrated to obtain comprehensive temporal features; hereby, a softmax classifier is appended in the last layer to distinguish between NLOS and LOS signals. By simulating synthetic datasets generated by a Spirent simulator and captured by a software-defined radio (SDR), the correlator outputs are acquired during the scalar tracking stage. The product of the proposed network demonstrates high performance in terms of accuracy, time consumption and sensitivity, affirming the efficiency of utilising early-stage correlations for NLOS detection. Moreover, an impact analysis of varying the sliding window length on NLOS discrimination underscores the need to fine-tune the parameter, as well as balancing accuracy, operation complexity and sensitivity. Full article

Epilepsy is a prevalent neurological disorder where reliable seizure tracking is essential for patient care. Existing documentation often relies on self-reports, which are unreliable, creating a need for objective, wearable-based solutions. Prior work has shown that Electrocardiography (ECG)-based seizure detection is feasible but limited by small datasets. This study addresses this issue by evaluating Matrix Profile, MADRID, and TimeVQVAE-AD on SeizeIT2, the largest open wearable-ECG dataset with 11,640 recording hours and 886 annotated seizures. Using standardized preprocessing and clinically motivated windows, we benchmarked sensitivity, false-alarm rate (FAR), and a Harmonic Mean Score integrating both metrics. Across methods, TimeVQVAE-AD achieved the highest sensitivity, while MADRID produced the lowest FAR, illustrating the trade-off between detecting seizures and minimizing spurious alerts. Our findings show ECG anomaly detection on SeizeIT2 can reach clinically meaningful sensitivity while highlighting the sensitivity–false alarm trade-off. By releasing reproducible benchmarks and code, this work establishes the first open baseline and enables future research on personalization and clinical applicability. Full article

This paper presents research on a naturally ventilated room with a façade opening covered by openwork grating. The first part describes experimental measurements of airflow velocity through the façade opening. Then, a numerical model of the room with the opening is introduced and validated using the experimental data. The core of the research consists of a series of numerical simulations in which the inflow and outflow of air are determined hour by hour using official data from a typical meteorological year and statistical climatic data for building energy calculations. Among the findings is a strong dependence of the opening performance on the façade orientation and the season of the year. For almost the entire year, excluding the daytime in July, the average ambient temperature is lower than the assumed inner temperature, which can cause heat losses due to air exchange (solar irradiation is not taken into account). The highest heat losses, close to 10 kW per window slot for all façades, are expected in February. The analysis confirms that, in temperate climates, natural ventilation is beneficial, especially when utilizing night cooling. The energy savings for a single window slot in July may reach up to 0.012 kWh/m². Full article

This study investigates the acoustic conditions of a design studio (Studio 130) in the Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design at Afyon Kocatepe University by integrating 14 weeks of continuous noise measurements with perception data collected from 192 students. Noise measurements were conducted in accordance with ISO 3382-3:2022 guidelines at three locations—window front, door side, and studio midpoint—during morning, noon, and evening periods, with 10 min recordings at each session. The results indicate that when students were present, the equivalent continuous noise level (Leq) reached an average of 65.5 dB(A), with peak levels rising to 72.3 dB(A) during jury sessions. These values substantially exceed the recommended 35 dB(A) classroom threshold by the World Health Organization and the 35–45 dB(A) limits specified in national regulations for indoor educational spaces. Survey findings reveal that 88% of students experienced loss of concentration, 72% reported decreased productivity, 60% had difficulty communicating, and 52% reported fatigue due to noise exposure. Pearson correlation analysis demonstrated a strong relationship between measured noise levels and reported negative effects (r = 0.966). Moreover, independent samples t-test results confirmed that student presence significantly increased studio noise levels (t = 4.98, p < 0.001). The novelty of this research lies in its combined use of longitudinal objective measurements and subjective perception data, addressing the unique open-plan, collaborative, and critique-based pedagogical structure of design studios. The findings highlight that acoustic comfort is a critical component of learning quality in studio-based education. Based on the results, the study proposes several design and material interventions—including spatial dividers, acoustic ceiling panels, fabric-wrapped absorbers, and impact-reducing flooring—to enhance auditory comfort. Overall, the study emphasizes the necessity of integrating acoustic design strategies into studio pedagogy to support concentration, communication, and learning performance. Full article

The PHEND (Past Has Ears at Notre-Dame) collaborative research project is being carried out by a team of multidisciplinary researchers interested in the acoustic history of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. The project involved the creation of seven digital models representing the interior of the monument between 1182 and 2018. To support one of the virtual reconstructions, that of 1868, a technical report was drawn up based on the written and iconographic archives of the restorations carried out between 1845 and 1870 by the architects Eugène Viollet-le-Duc (1814–1879) and Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Lassus (1807–1857). The archives come mainly from the “Fonds Viollet-le-Duc”, from the work diary of the “Médiathèque du patrimoine et de la photographie” (MPP), and from the archives of the Notre-Dame chapter. In order to select the most relevant data for the digital reconstruction, the research addresses specific questions regarding the cathedral’s materiality, such as structural modifications, restorations, and the choice of materials and furnishings. To understand how the interior of the cathedral was transformed in the 19th century, a detailed inventory of its condition was compiled at two points in time: at the beginning of the restoration in 1848 and following its completion in 1868. In parallel with this work, to provide a graphic representation of the changes that had occurred in each area, comparative illustrations were produced showing the situation before and after restoration. The modifications were then detailed by area: general restoration (vaults, openings, paving), and redevelopment of the choir and the main body of the building (chapels, transept, nave). This research revealed the building’s profound structural changes and the fact that the renovations spared no space. These included mainly modifications to the high windows, a complete redesign of the decorative layout of the choir and chapels, the restoration of all the vaults and paving at different levels, and a complete restoration of the organ. Full article