bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A General-Purpose Uniform Random Number Package
Authors: Chen E. Jack
Published: August 2020

As computer capacities and simulation technologies advance, simulation has become the method of choice for modeling and analysis. The fundamental advantage of simulation is that it can tolerate far less restrictive modeling assumptions, leading to an underlying model that is more reflective of reality and thus more valid, leading to better decisions. Simulation studies are typically preceded by transforming in a more or less complicated way of a sequence of numbers between 0 and 1 produced by a pseudorandom generator into an observation of the measure of interest. Random numbers are a fundamental resource in science and technology. A facility for generating sequences of pseudorandom numbers is a fundamental part of computer simulation systems. Furthermore, random number generators also play an important role in cryptography and in the blockchain ecosystem. All samples of the sequence are generated independently of each other, and the value of the next sample in the sequence cannot be predicted, regardless of how many samples have already been produced.
Individual Cloud
Authors: Sugiyama Shigeki
Published: August 2020

It will be thought for sure that any kinds of knowledge will be accumulated and enhanced as Unique Cloud and Smart Cloud. And as a result of this phenomenon, the related space for the world will be able to be indulged in the world of getting processed information as a final use of data for a daily life. This is a very comfortable world to live, but, on the other hand, there might be a possibility which there will be many or some who live only under the offered information and knowledge from intelligent computer systems (Mini Cloud, Unique Cloud, Smart Cloud). So, it is very important to have knowledge of us in investigating whether or not Unique Cloud and Individual Cloud are useful enough to use by inspecting from the outside world even though we are to live in the hypothetical world. And here the authors propose a method to resolve some of the problems under these situations by an idea of “Individual Cloud.”
Modeling of Uncertain Nonlinear System With Z-Numbers
Authors: Jafari Raheleh , Razvarz Sina , Gegov Alexander , Paul Satyam
Published: August 2020

In order to model the fuzzy nonlinear systems, fuzzy equations with Z-number coefficients are used in this chapter. The modeling of fuzzy nonlinear systems is to obtain the Z-number coefficients of fuzzy equations. In this work, the neural network approach is used for finding the coefficients of fuzzy equations. Some examples with applications in mechanics are given. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed neural network is effective for obtaining the Z-number coefficients of fuzzy equations.
Cyber Profiling in Criminal Investigation
Authors: Yu Szde
Published: August 2020

The line between street crimes and cybercrimes has been increasingly blurry, given the prevalence of internet access. In all kinds of criminal investigations, digital information has become relevant and even crucial in most cases. Investigators are gradually relying on information retrieved from electronic platforms to find leads and evidence. When comprehensive information is not always attainable, the use of cyber profiling may provide further insight into crucial questions regarding identity, time, and location. Cyber profiling is essentially an analysis on the digital footprints associated with a person whose identity may or may not have been known. The purpose is to reveal information that is not readily visible in the digital footprints, such as personality, motives, and counter-forensic efforts. This chapter introduces what cyber profiling is and how it can help with criminal investigation.
A Utility Theory of Privacy and Information Sharing
Authors: Puaschunder Julia
Published: August 2020

Today enormous data storage capacities and computational power in the e-big data era have created unforeseen opportunities for big data hoarding corporations to reap hidden benefits from individuals' information sharing, which occurs bit by bit in small tranches over time. Behavioral economics describes human decision-making fallibility over time but has—to this day—not covered the problem of individuals' decisions to share information about themselves in tranches on social media and big data administrators being able to reap a benefit from putting data together over time and reflecting the individual's information in relation to big data of others.
The 2018 Facebook Data Controversy and Technological Alienation
Authors: Mitra Ananda , Khosrowshahi Yasmine
Published: August 2020

The controversy surrounding the way in which data was obtained and used by a private corporation, Cambridge Analytica, in connection with the US Presidential election of 2016 begs a series of questions and points to the critical connection between big data and a variety of fundamental human imperatives such as privacy and freedom of expression amongst others. This chapter uses the issues surrounding the controversy as a point of departure to explore two related issues – first the way in which the “technologically alienated” individual makes technological decisions without being mindful of the consequences of the technological choices and secondly the way in which the alienation can be utilized to obtain detailed information from the structured and unstructured data that makes up the gigantic corpus of big data.
Threats and Vulnerabilities of Mobile Applications
Authors: M. Thangavel , M. Divyaprabha , C. Abinaya
Published: August 2020

Smart devices like mobile phones, tablets, and laptops have become necessities in our lives due to the services they provide. However, in recent days, mobile applications have become a major threat for an attack. One of the most attractive features of smartphones is the availability of a large number of apps for users to download and install. However, it also means hackers can easily distribute malware to smartphones, launching various attacks. Each day, a mobile device attack is changing dynamically, and it is very difficult to represent a complete set of threats and vulnerabilities. Mobile phone security has become an important aspect of security issues in wireless multimedia communications. The development of mobile applications has increased drastically; hence, it is our responsibility to protect our devices and the data within them. Being aware is the first step to protect data. Thus, to prevent the mobile from the threats, efforts are required to form the application developer, app market administrator, and user to defend against the malware. This article explores those threats and vulnerabilities of mobile applications.
Secure and Reliable Knowledge-Based Intrusion Detection Using Mobile Base Stations in Smart Environments
Authors: N. Ambika
Published: August 2020

Wireless sensor nodes are low cost tiny devices deployed in unsupervised environment. These devices require some kind of security mechanism to tackle different kinds of attacks. Intrusion detection is one such methodology used where the malicious activity is observed, and the target is isolated. Many authors have suggested different methodologies which are detailed in the work. The article also uses intrusion detection scheme to provide reliable network. A mobile agent and an assistance node aids in increasing security and efficiency of the work. The illegitimacy of the node is inferred using the data provided by the assistance and mobile agent. The work minimizes 12.9% of energy consumption, increases security by 3.025%, and increases reliability by 7.07% compared to the previous work.
Software Component Technology
Authors: Rehioui Fadoua
Published: August 2020

The data gives the key to make the decisions and the complexity of the information from the leads to the bad decisions. There it needed a method for improvement as a result of the amount of this data. This chapter discusses the developing of information systems, by their data, information, and the knowledge resulted by proposing a component identification approach and the management component for data management. The advantage of using component is to manage the information system by dividing it to several parts with less complexity.
Challenges in Big Data Analysis
Authors: Govindarajan M.
Published: August 2020

Big data brings new opportunities to modern society and challenges to data scientists. On one hand, big data holds great promises for discovering subtle population patterns and heterogeneities that are not possible with small-scale data. On the other hand, the massive sample size and high dimensionality of big data introduce unique computational and statistical challenges, including scalability and storage bottleneck, noise accumulation, spurious correlation, incidental endogeneity, and measurement errors. These challenges are distinguished and require new computational and statistical paradigm. Prior to data analysis, data must be well constructed. However, considering the variety of datasets in big data, the efficient representation, access, and analysis of unstructured or semi-structured data are still challenging. Understanding the method by which data can be preprocessed is important to improve data quality and the analysis results. The purpose of this chapter is to highlight the big data challenges and also provide a brief description of each challenge.
Big Data Analytics and IoT in Smart City Applications
Authors: Rath Mamata
Published: August 2020

Big data analytics is a sophisticated approach for fusion of large data sets that include a collection of data elements to expose hidden prototype, undetected associations, showcase business logic, client inclinations, and other helpful business information. Big data analytics involves challenging techniques to mine and extract relevant data that includes the actions of penetrating a database, effectively mining the data, querying and inspecting data committed to enhance the technical execution of various task segments. The capacity to synthesize a lot of data can enable an association to manage impressive data that can influence the business.
Statistical Techniques for Research
Authors: Casas-Rosal Jose Carlos , León-Mantero Carmen , Jiménez-Fanjul Noelia , Maz-Machado Alexander
Published: August 2020

Data analysis and statistics are tools that are involved in research and are essential to it. There is a wide variety of techniques that allow one to analyze any set of data depending of the desired goal. However, and due to the variety of techniques, its misuse is very common, and the results obtained from its application cannot be taken into consideration because of its non-validity. The objective of this chapter is to create a classification of the main statistical techniques used in different research fields, adding a brief definition of them and specifying their utility, data hypothesis needed for their use, and software required to use them. Special emphasis is placed in R, a free and open source software with multiple packages what allows one to apply these techniques in an effective and simple way. Among the statistical techniques that are desired to be included in this classification are descriptive analysis, graphic analysis, parametrical and non-parametrical hypothesis testing, principal component analysis, factor analysis, and structural equation modeling.
Applications of Decision Support Systems in Aviation
Authors: Shmelova Tetiana , Sikirda Yuliya
Published: August 2020

In this chapter, the authors have made an analysis of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) documents on risk assessment and the impact of the social environment on the aviation system. The conceptual models of decision support systems (DSS) for human-operator (H-O) of air navigation system (ANS) have been presented, such as air traffic control (ATC) operators, flight dispatcher, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) operator. The chapter presents some cases of DSSs that have been developed by the authors and students at National Aviation University, Ukraine. These researches are designed for operators such as pilots of manned and unmanned aircraft, flight dispatchers, ATC operators, aviation managers, as well for scientists, engineers, air crash investigators, teachers, academicians, researchers, and students seeking current research on the application of DSS in the field of aviation.
EDRC
Authors: Pandey Sarvesh , Shanker Udai
Published: August 2020

Advancing the distributed real-time database systems (DRTDBS) performance requires critical consideration of the reasons for data inaccessibility (i.e., predictability and consistency, scheduling and conflict resolution schemes, and commit process). Traditionally, execute-commit conflict is handled through the two-phase commit protocol to ensure the consistency of the database by blocking an incoming cohort intending to access the data item(s) already locked by other prepared cohort. Such blocking makes the transaction execution time of incoming cohort unpredictable due to unbounded waiting time. This chapter proposes an early data lending-based real-time commit (EDRC) protocol that increases data accessibility by providing the means to start the lending process early. Furthermore, lender is permitted to lend its uncommitted data items just after the completion of data processing task. The EDRC protocol outperforms state-of-the-art distributed commit protocols particularly PROMPT, 2SC, and SWIFT under all load conditions.
Narrowband Internet of Things
Authors: Routray Sudhir K.
Published: August 2020

Internet of things (IoT) is emerging as an essential part of modern connected living environment. It is very much affecting our day to day lifestyles, businesses, social interactions and many more aspects of modern world. Due to the ubiquity of this technology, it needs a large number of sensors for its operations. The energy and bandwidth required for IoT are challenging issues. There are different versions of IoTs used in different application domains. For situations with limited resources, narrowband IoT (NBIoT) can be used. NBIoT is a leaner, greener, and more efficient version of IoT. It takes less power and bandwidth than other versions of IoTs. However, its functions are suitable for many different applications. Specifically for rural areas and large scale applications in resource limited scenarios, it is the first choice. In this article, we present the main features of NBIoT, its potential and applications across different domains.
Application of Biogeography-Based Optimization to Antennas and Wireless Communications
Authors: Goudos Sotirios K.
Published: August 2020

The purpose of this chapter is to briefly describe the BBO algorithm and present its application to antenna and wireless communications design problems. This chapter presents results from design cases that include patch antenna, linear antenna array, and a partial transmit sequence (PTS) scheme for OFDM signals based on BBO. The chapter is supported with an adequate number of references. This chapter is subdivided into five sections. The “background” section presents the issues, problems, and trends with BBO. Then the authors briefly present the main BBO algorithm. In the next section, they describe the design cases and present the numerical results. An outline of future research directions is provided in the following section while in the “conclusion” section the authors conclude the chapter and discuss the advantages of using a BBO-based approach in the design and optimization of wireless systems and antennas. Finally, an “additional reading section” gives a list of readings to provide the interested reader with useful sources in the field.
Design and Analysis of AWG and FDL-Based Optical Switch in Data Centre Network
Authors: Shukla Vaibhav , Choubey Dilip Kumar
Published: August 2020

Optical networking technologies can play a significant role in the realization of grid and data centre systems. The new and developing internet applications are progressively becoming high performance and network based, and the performance of these applications are depending on the optical network and cloud computing services. In this chapter, the authors discuss the capabilities of optical transmission and the switching techniques. An AWG-based optical switch is discussed in the chapter and the performance of switch is measured in physical and network layer parameters. Design modifications in the switch is suggested, for improving the performance of switch. The overall performance of switch is also measured when the switch is placed into the network where cascading of two or more switches are required.
Challenges and Opportunities of VLC Application in Intelligent Transportation Systems
Authors: Kostic-Ljubisavljevic Aleksandra , Mikavica Branka
Published: August 2020

With the development of light emitting diodes (LEDs), the communication in visible light spectrum, visible light communication (VLC), becomes an alternative to the existing wireless technologies. Integration of VLC systems with intelligent transportation systems (ITS) can significantly improve many aspects of transportation and traffic. The use of unlicensed bandwidth and wider implementation of VLC LED lighting, both in infrastructure and in vehicles, provide an energy-efficient data transmission with sufficiently large data rates at low cost. The application of VLC systems is still at an early stage of the development. However, due to numerous advantages, the wider adoption of VLC systems is expected in near future. This chapter presents an analysis of the possibilities of VLC application in ITS scenarios. Main characteristics of VLC in ITS in terms of architecture, modulation and standardization are addressed. Some challenges and open issues are also emphasized.
Television Use and Consumption of Elderly Americans
Authors: Dunn Robert Andrew , Marshall Stephen W.
Published: August 2020

The present research offers a state-of-the-art review on the elderly and their consumption of television, including new advancements in the media, potential motivations, and resulting effects. As the elderly watch more television than any other demographic, it is imperative that the research community is familiar with the nature of that relationship. The authors first discuss the nature of television viewing in today's modern digital landscape. This overview is followed by an assessment of current television consumption by the elderly, with particular attention given to TV news, a popular genre for the elderly, and assessments of TV quality by senior citizens. Finally, the researchers discuss the effects of television on older audiences, including physical, emotional, and mental health.
Exploring the Integration of User-Generated Content in Media Organizations Through Participatory Journalism
Authors: Saridou Theodora A. , Veglis Andreas
Published: August 2020

This chapter aims to offer an in-depth description of the concept of participatory journalism, which holds an important and constantly evolving part in the digital media production. First, the chapter presents an analytical framework of the audience participation in online news production as the adoption of user-generated content (UGC) in media via different forms, tools, and applications and during different stages of news production is examined. Furthermore, the problems organizations have to deal with when amateur content is involved with the professional in the everyday work routine are investigated. Finally, in this chapter perspectives on the role of social media and semantic web in the future of participatory journalism are discussed.
A Comprehensive Update and Performance Evaluation of Friction Factor Formulae
Authors: Lukman Salihu , Oke Isaiah Adesola , Asani Afolabi M.
Published: August 2020

In this paper, explicit friction factor formulae (Fff), which is a function of Reynolds number (Re) and relative roughness (Rr) were updated and evaluated. Fff were obtained from archive and conduct performance evaluation. Performance evaluation of the Fff were conducted using relative error; model of selection (MSC) and the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) using Colebrook-White's friction factors as the reference Ff. The study revealed that there are 47 Fff in use. The growth of the Fff can be grouped into four subgroups based on the pattern and into three subgroups based on number of authors and into three subgroups, based on the accuracy. The growth rates were combinations of linear and exponential based on the pattern. The study revealed that Fff provided the lowest relative error of less than 1.00%, the highest MSC of greater than 6.64 and the lowest AIC of less than -34324.17. The study concluded that the recent and third generation Fff are the best and using Microsoft Excel Solver for calculating Ff in the pipe flow systems is a good tool for engineers.
Effect of Nanoparticle and Inclination Angle at Thermal Efficiency in Heatpipes
Authors: Razvarz Sina , Jafari Raheleh , Vargas Jarillo Cristóbal , Gegov Alexander
Published: August 2020

This chapter demonstrated an experimental study about the effect of inclination angle and nano particles in active fluids and curves related to thermosiphons and heatpipes. In this context, the chapter gives a brief overview of the effect of nano fluids on thermal conductivity and thermal efficiency enhancement of a heat pipe on the different operating state and next idea is studying of efficacy related to the inclination angle of the heat pipe. In this book chapter, there is an experimental investigation employing Al2O3 nanoparticle in order to study the enhancement of thermal characteristics of a heat tube in different inclination angle. Three cases, for Al2O3 nanoparticles in water with volume concentrations 1%, 2%, and 3% are considered and results are compared with the thermal performance of the heat pipe filled with pure water. The result of each case will present in the different angular of pipeline and clearly will show the effect of the gravity in the pipeline.
Renewable Resources and Value-Based Complex Forest Management
Authors: Pavlov Yuri P.
Published: August 2020

In the chapter the question of multifactor value-driven management of renewable resources of complex forest systems is investigated. Timber harvesting closely concerns local population from economic and ecological positions. The production is relevant only as means to achieve human values. Because of this, values are the focus of the decision making and the strategic management needs to clearly defining and structuring the fundamental values. In the paper value-oriented models, based on a multi-attribute utility function, which analytically represents human preferences, are discussed. Such value-based modeling permits mathematical description of complex multifactor processes and optimal control. The mathematical optimal control solutions define a well-founded ecologically, socially, and economically oriented strategy of forest resource management.
Overview of Solid Waste Management of Healthcare and Related Organisations
Authors: Oke Isaiah Adesola , Salihu Lukman , Mohammed Idi Dansuleiman , Afolabi Asani M.
Published: August 2020

This chapter provides information on the quantities and properties of healthcare wastes in various types of facilities located in developing countries, as well as in some industrialized countries. Most of the information has been obtained from the literature, while some information has been collected by the authors and from reports available to the authors. The range of hospital waste generation varies from 0.016 to 3.23 kg/bed-day. The relatively wide variation is due to the fact that some of the facilities surveyed may include out-patient services and district health clinics; these facilities essentially provide basic services and thus the quantities of waste generated are relatively small. On the other hand, the reported amount of infectious waste varied from 0.01 to 0.65 kg/bed-day. The characteristics of the components of healthcare wastes, such as the bulk density and the calorific value, have substantial variability. It was concluded that the world has made only slow progress in proper medical in past decades, with dramatic differences among countries and regions.
Managing Water Resources
Authors: Nayak Sabyasachi
Published: August 2020

Water is linked to every facet of human development and prosperity. This paper seeks to capture the grassroots interventions undertaken by industry in improving the management of water resources. As water can directly impact the livelihood therefore the conservation, revival and development of water resources calls for a comprehensive and holistic approach. It puts into perspective the operational modality of industry in engaging with the community and improving the management of water resources. The objective is to provide a dynamic insight into the operational model of the industry in addressing the accumulated neglect in the water sector. An assessment of the operating model reiterates the positive social, economic, and environmental outcome in a sustainable manner. Therefore, it is proposed to explore operating beyond the level of “watershed” to larger level “river basin”. Going forward it is imperative to revive a culture of community base management of natural resources.
The Voice of Social Media, 1997-2018
Authors: Cook Bruce Lawrence
Published: August 2020

Until 2006, news and internet communication came from trusted sources which basically served as gatekeepers. In those times it was difficult for an individual to publish information. However, from 1997 to 2006, the advent of small writer websites permitted postings by lesser-known individuals. This article traces the historical shift from top-down communication to the early stages of Internet participation for individuals. While these developments would seem to have eliminated perceived problems with journalistic advocacy, the opposite may have occurred. Facebook is accused of contaminating a US presidential election and US President Donald Trump has been using Twitter to broadcast his own version of the news. As a result, the discussion has shifted to consideration of Social Media censorship and questions of freedom of expression.
Politics and Ethics and a National Framework to Combat Corruption in Zimbabwe
Authors: Zinyama Tawanda
Published: August 2020

One of the issues that has preoccupied the minds of researchers in Zimbabwe has always been the issue of governance and corruption. Rebuilding trust is critical to Zimbabwe in improving governance, public administration, combating corruption, and reconnecting the citizens with the government. There is, therefore, an urgent need to come up with viable blueprints for good governance in Zimbabwe. This paper seeks to interrogate issues of politics and ethics because they have a bearing on the realisation or lack thereof of the Zimbabwean Vision 2030.
Comparative Analysis of Applying Behavioral Public Policy to Telecommunication Market by International Organizations
Authors: Saito Nagayuki
Published: August 2020

Since the latter half of the 1990s, various policy methods to replace government regulations have been studied in Western countries. Among the trends, in recent years, international organizations such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the European Commission (EC), and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) have considered introducing behavioral public policy as a new policy method, substituting for governmental regulation. This article reviews the status of behavioral public policy being introduced in each international organization. Furthermore, we compare and verify the stages of behavioral public policy in terms of consumer protection policy in each international organization in the telecommunications market, based on a literature review.
The Role of DPPs in Promoting Local Government-Citizen Collaboration and Participation
Authors: Tamzini Khaled , Hafi Ynes , Ben Ouannes Achref , Borhani Roula
Published: August 2020

The aim of this chapter is to present the implementation of a pilot digital participatory platform (DPP) called “Baladiaty” in order to foster local government-citizens collaboration and participation in Tunisia. “Baladiaty” means in the Arabic language “My municipality”. “Baladiaty” is a DPP designed, developed, and commercialized by ARSELA in 2019, a Tunisian start-up located in the governorate of Sousse. This paper contains two main parts. The first is considered a theoretical part. The authors will focus on the two main terms and concepts of this research, namely: digital democracy and DPP. This first part will focus on the definition of the digital participatory platform (DPP), and its role in promoting participatory democracy, citizen engagement and their ubiquitous engagement throughout the open government concept. The second part would be considered as a case study presenting a recently designed pilot DPP “Baladiaty” in Tunisia. This paper could be considered theoretical by focusing on the presentation of a pilot DPP in Tunisia, a nascent democracy.
Technology and the Theory of Apocalypse
Authors: Korstanje Maximiliano Emanuel
Published: August 2020

This chapter ignites an interesting discussion around the idea of apocalypse or at the best to the role of technology by slicing humanity from nature. In terms of the British anthropologist Tim Ingold, one of the conceptual limitations of “dwelling perspective” as a project is the clear-cut division of humans from the natural environment. Unlike hunters and gatherers who have developed “relational” ties with the sensual world, we are educated to imagine ourselves as administrators of natural world. In view of this, the eco-friendly projects (as conservation parks) often exclude the presence of humans. The employment of technology denotes certain rationality which while sorting the environment according to our needs it creates a sentiment of culprit, which is expressed in the bottom-days´ narratives. Mankind, as outstanding specie, is the only one gifted by Gods to administer nature, but failed. Moved by greed and speculations, men governed with energy in backs to God and for that, they should be heavily punished.
How Mobile Technologies Are Leading to Economic Development in Sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: McKelvey Nigel , Crossan Adam , Curran Kevin
Published: August 2020

Mobile technology today is increasingly being used to help improve underdeveloped and developing areas such as sub-Saharan Africa. With the statistics showing the number of adults in Africa owning mobile devices steadily increasing, mobile technology has been a popular area of interest to use to help improve areas such as healthcare and education throughout African cities and rural areas. Common that ways mobile technology is being used to help the residents of sub-Saharan Africa are in the sectors of health care and education. Mobile technologies being used in these areas whilst simple are incredibly effective and successful in helping to better the quality of health in education in sub-Saharan Africa. Many of the projects and systems developed using mobile technology focus mainly on urban areas. While reports state the huge increase in the number of those using mobile devices in Africa, along with the large estimated increase in the coming years, the difference between rural African countries and countries which contain urban cities is substantial.
Informational Competencies
Authors: Rascão José Poças
Published: August 2020

The objective of this work is to contribute to a reflection on the emergence of the concept of informational competences. The information and knowledge society need a science that studies the informational competences and processes of its construction, transmission, and use, based on the aggregation of existing literature. The structure of the article synthesizes the existing academic works, seeking to generate new knowledge. The results can be used to integrate informational competencies in the different sciences and or areas of knowledge. The article first seeks to identify the skills and the apparent processes and then focuses more in detail on some of them.
Massive Digital Libraries (MDLs) and the Impact of Mass-Digitized Book Collections
Authors: Weiss Andrew Philip
Published: August 2020

This chapter describes the characteristics of massive digital libraries (MDLs) and outlines their impact upon current information science issues, especially digital collection metadata, copyright and fair use, the diversity of source collections, and user privacy. MDLs rival physical libraries' print holdings in size, breadth, and depth, often approaching a scale previously found only among library consortia or national libraries. The concept further intersects the digital library with the wider development of ‘big data.' Examples include Google Books, HathiTrust, Internet Archive, Digital Public Library of America (DPLA), California Digital Library, Texas Digital Library, Gallica, and Europeana.
Generosity in Healthcare Policy Under the Obama Administration
Authors: Rouzbehani Khadijeh Roya
Published: August 2020

The landmark United States healthcare reform law—the Affordable Care Act—provides an opportunity to study the dynamics in healthcare sector.This article posits that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) constitutes an effective public policy alternative that remedies some of the previous problems which existed in America's healthcare system. The ACA seeks to reform the private insurance market, expand Medicaid to the working poor and to change the way medical decisions are made in end-of-life decisions. The central hypothesis of this paper is that the ACA is an improved alternative to the previous policy regime on healthcare in the United States. This hypothesis is unambiguously supported by the rational resource allocation model together with a host of other heuristic approaches. Claims made in this paper also relied on findings of empirical studies, reports, and evaluative studies on the performance of the ACA since its enactment into national legislation under the Obama administration.
Distribution of Selected Health Technology in Regions of Slovakia
Authors: Gavurova Beata , Kubak Matus
Published: August 2020

The health system's performance consists of three components: efficiency, availability, and resilience. These three economic categories are also influenced by the distribution of medical devices and equipment, both by the quality of satisfaction of medical needs, by geographical availability and by the cost - the degree of financial burden on the health system. However, only few research studies deal with the issue of regional disparities in the use of selected medical technology. The aim of presented study is to map the distribution of the magnetic resonance imaging scans in Slovak republic within the timespan 2008-2017 on NUTS 3, respectively NUTS 4 level. Correspondence analysis shows hidden associations between the analysed variables. Our results show that magnetic resonance imaging scans are highly concentrated in two big cities. Generally, the number of magnetic resonance imaging scans has increased over time from 0.6 scans per 100 000 habitants in 2008 to approximately 0.94 scans per 100 000 habitants in 2017.
Internet of Things and Data Science in Healthcare
Authors: Tzanis George , Fotopoulou Ourania-Ioanna
Published: August 2020

Undoubtedly the IoT is the future of technology, which can provide manifold benefits to health care. However, the posed challenges are also great. Concerning the analysis of healthcare data, various tools have been introduced to deal efficiently with the large volumes as well as the various peculiarities of data. The most popular representative of these modern tools is data mining. Although the KDD process has provided a lot of solutions, these techniques have to be scaled in order to deal with the new challenges posed by the big data paradigm. Cloud computing, as well as edge computing are the modern infrastructures that can provide the means to efficiently manage big data. Both cloud/edge computing and the IoT are very promising concepts of technology and their complementary characteristics assure that their integration, Cloud-IoT, provides a great potential of applications. The introduction of the Cloud-IoT paradigm in the healthcare domain can offer manifold benefits and opportunities that will considerably improve the quality of health care.
Highly Aged and After Cloud
Authors: Sugiyama Shigeki
Published: August 2020

There have been more and more people who will live longer year by year. This phenomenon will become a global expansion in the number of highly aged people. It is said that the highly aged people will be likely to get a sudden bodily worse condition after the age of 75-80 in Japan. (This phenomenon may be also said for all of human) After the bodily worse conditions, all that they can do at present is to see a doctor, which is not so easy matter for those highly aged people. Because it is very difficult to find out a proper medical doctor with an appropriate atmosphere (; easy access, not much burden, proper medical treatment, after care, etc.) for an individual highly aged person. So, in this chapter, try to find out what can be done by using the present high technologies of “After Cloud; including AI, VR, and AR” in order not to cause more and further troubles for those highly aged people.
The Use of Maturity Method for Estimating In Situ Compressive Strength of Concrete
Authors: Kasal Pavel , Lorenc Václav , Wenighofer Werner
Published: August 2020

This paper describes four projects which were built with the use of concrete monitoring system of early age compressive strength based on maturity method. The paper also deals with experiences and benefits which came from the usage of monitoring system in these projects. First two examples are bridge projects „Petersdorfer See“ and „Seckachtal“ from Germany. The third project is a retirement home in Germany and the last example is Czech project of office building Vlněna in Brno. Maturity methods for estimating early age compressive strength of concrete are known since the 1950s. These methods use the principle that compressive strength is related to age, temperature history and concrete mix properties. Before the use of this method, each different concrete mix in use needs to be calibrated. Then temperature and time are measured since the concrete is poured. Several systems using maturity method for estimating real time compressive strength are available on the market. The use of these systems helps to determine earliest possible time for stripping the formwork, loading the structure, application of post tensioning forces and other critical operations during the construction time.
Pervious Concrete with Dense and Lightweight Aggregate
Authors: Hela Rudolf , Hubertová Michala
Published: August 2020

Discussion of the topic of water management has spread recently to the construction sector, where environmentally friendly solutions are being sought and individual materials or entire construction systems are entering the market, for the sole purpose of helping to conserve water, especially in built-up areas. Lightweight aggregates and pervious concrete (PC), in the form of porous concrete with natural or lightweight aggregates, appear to be a highly effective part of these systems.
Influence of “MC-Bauchemie” Additions on the Fine-Grained Concrete Properties
Authors: Gerasimova Ekaterina S. , Gumirova Elizaveta
Published: August 2020

The paper is devoted to research of influence of “MC-Bauchemie” additions on the fine-grained concrete properties, namely compressive strength. The results of testing of fine-grained concrete made on the basis of two different natural sands are presented. Characteristics of the initial materials used in the work (Portland cement, sands and additions-plasticizers) are given. The basic methods of preparation of mixes and testing of hardened cement stone and concrete are described. The optimal quantity of the selected additions on the example of cement paste and stone are established. Mobility dependences of concrete mixes on a type and quantity of plasticizers are received. The dependence of the additions effectiveness on the mobility of the concrete mix on the quality of the fine aggregate is shown. It is established that the most effective additive is PowerFlow 3100, its optimal amount for obtaining fine-grained concrete on the basis of JSC “Kar’er Myisyi” sand is 0.2 %.
Concrete Recycling as a Source of Polyfractional Mineral Raw Materials
Authors: Domanskaya Irina K. , Kapustin Fedor L. , Hela Rudolf
Published: August 2020

The problems of concrete recycling as a complex poly-reinforced composite characterized by unstable composition and properties are discussed. The peculiarity of recycling concrete scrap is that its return to the production cycle can be carried out in the form of different products: coarse aggregate (recycled aggregate), fine aggregate (sand from crushed concrete), as well as in the form of a dust-like fraction. It is shown that aggregates made of crushed concrete are inferior to natural analogues due to the presence of cement-sand mortar in their composition. Given the growing threat of depletion of natural resources, it seems appropriate to consider construction waste not only as secondary resources for the production of concrete and mortars, but also more widely: as a promising technogenic source of polymineral raw materials, including for firing technologies.
Verification and Validation of Corbels Strengthened by Unbonded Tendons and Bars
Authors: Bobek Lukáš , Juříček Lukáš , Číhal Michal , Kabeláč Jaromír , Konečný Michael
Published: August 2020

Reinforced corbels are frequently used in industrial halls. A number of existing corbels are prestressed by unbonded tendons or bars in order to increase their load-bearing capacity, decrease the deflections and restrain cracks spreading. The goal of the project was experimental validation of the reinforced concrete corbel strengthened using unbonded tendons via CSFM (Compatible Stress Field Method). The method is based on materially nonlinear calculation considering the tension stiffening effect of rebars and compression softening of concrete. These effects and other assumptions implemented in CSFM capture real behavior of reinforced concrete members. Besides, CSFM is verified using an independent analysis, which is based on similar assumptions as those in Compatible Stress Field Method.
Design of Concrete Hinges According to Leonhard
Authors: Havlíček Peter , Šoltész Július
Published: August 2020

Concrete hinges are characterized by a high load-bearing capacity and deformability. They are nearly maintenance-free and have a high durability if designed and constructed properly. Concrete hinges are perfectly suited to control the flow of forces and to efficiently reduce constraints. The concept more than 130 years old. The first massive joints were developed by Claus Kӧpcke already in 1880. However, due to the difficult construction process, an alternative type of joint was developed, where the concrete contact surface was replaced with embedded lead or steel plates. The breakthrough in this technology was made by Augustine Masnager, who in 1908 developed a durable and easy-to-manufacture reinforced concrete hinge. While Masnager attributed the transfer of the entire load to the reinforcement, French engineer Eugène Freyssinet proved that the throat reinforcement is unnecessary because the load is transmitted through a thin layer of concrete in the throat due to the tri-axial state of stress. This technology is now used throughout Europe and the USA. The best-known experts in this field were Fritz Leonhardt, E.O. Fessler and G.D. Base. Today's design models are based on their research. The vast majority of them are based on empirical approaches and disallow the proper construction of concrete hinges up to the state-of-the-art. For this reason, the research shows effort to modernize them.
The Analysis of Shear Forces Flow around the Supports of Flat Slabs
Authors: Šarvaicová Simona , Borzovič Viktor
Published: August 2020

This paper deals with both linear and non-linear analysis of shear forces distribution in the area near the supports of the flat slabs. With a cross-section ratio of cmax / cmin > 3, the main amount of the shear stress is concentrated near the column or wall corners bases. As a consequence of this phenomenon, it is necessary to reduce the control perimeter when evaluating the punching shear resistance of a flat slab. The fragments of the flat slabs with the thickness of 200 mm supported by a wall with various loading conditions were analyzed. The results according to the Eurocode 2 were compared to a non-linear shear resistance evaluation that was calibrated based on the results from the previous experiments. Based on thus evaluated punching shear resistances, the theoretical reduced control perimeter was determined and subsequently it was compared to design model Eurocode 2. The physical basis for determining reduced control perimeters is based on the shear force concentration near the support.
Safety of Eurocode Model for Prediction of Shear Strength of Bridge Deck Slabs
Authors: Vidaković Aleksandar , Halvonik Jaroslav
Published: August 2020

Deck slabs of box girder bridges designed according to the theory of allowable stresses are mostly without shear reinforcement. In the case of new bridges, designed according to Eurocodes, significantly increases an application of shear reinforcement. This raises a question: are bridges built before implementation of the Eurocodes safe? The paper deals with safety analysis of the models for prediction of the shear capacity using results of more than 40 tests carried out on clamped slabs subjected to concentrated load. The analyses have shown that methods based on an effective shear width provide unsafe results for shear span to effective depth ratio larger than 3. A significant improvement of the model's safety has been attained by limiting the distance of critical section from the inner edge of the loaded area.
Reliability of Slender Reinforced Concrete Columns in Second Generation of Eurocodes
Authors: Fillo Ľudovít , Benko Vladimír , Dobrý Jakub
Published: August 2020

Design of slender reinforced concrete columns based on currently valid series of codes has its blank spaces. Authors of this articles are systematically working on filling these blank spaces with theoretical and experimental verifications, with focus on upcoming series of Eurocodes. They are attending the meetings of work group TC250-SC2-WG1, which is preparing changes in the new series. In this article we are presenting our suggested changes based on calculations and series of slender reinforced concrete columns experiments.
Operation Modal Analysis of Pedestrian Bridge in Kroměříž
Authors: Bezručová Kristína , Nečas Radim , Kolacek Jan
Published: August 2020

The publication outlines the issue of the experimental determination of modal parameters of structures using a method called operational modal analysis. The principle of the method and possible approaches of calculation of modal parameters are presented. An example of the method’s application is the determination of mode shapes and frequencies of the repaired footbridge in Kroměříž where the dynamic test was performed twice – before and after reinforcement of the structure. The results of both dynamic tests and their comparisons with the results of the calculation model performed in the ANSYS environment are presented in this article. Additionally, and integral to this article is a description of the completed footbridge reconstruction.