AustriaTech (Austria)

This paper presents a compact, multiband, flexible metasurface (flexi-meta) antenna structure consisting of metasurface antenna elements designed exclusively for 5G sub-6 GHz applications. The proposed flexi-meta antenna is realized by first creating a double-negative (DNG) metamaterial unit cell on a flexible (0.4 mm thick) FR-4 substrate. Then, an array of these DNG unit cells is suitably placed inside the rectangular ring-slotted patch using the Theory of characteristic modes (TCM), to achieve optimal performance in the sub-6 GHz band. The resulting flexi-meta antenna is compact with an overall volume of 300 mm 3 ([Formula: see text]). It exhibits a wide bandwidth of 1100 MHz (3.15–4.25 GHz), a peak gain of 5.5 dBi, a return loss of [Formula: see text] dB, and a radiation efficiency of 85%. These characteristics distinguish the flexi-meta antenna as cost effective, compact, conformal, high-performance contender for 5G sub-6GHz and IoT applications.

The facultatively anaerobic or microaerophilic bacteria of the genus Gardnerella are the most common species associated with bacterial vaginosis (BV). The treatment of BV is greatly complicated by the high rates of resistance to metronidazole and clindamycin among Gardnerella strains. We wanted to identify factors contributing to metronidazole resistance in G. vaginalis and performed high-throughput mass spectrometry on a selection of susceptible and resistant strains. We wanted to identify factors contributing to metronidazole resistance in G. vaginalis and performed high-throughput mass spectrometry on a selection of susceptible and resistant strains. We identified the downregulation of a novel nitroreductase, GvNR1, as the only relevant change in protein expression in a metronidazole-resistant derivative of the susceptible type of strain ATCC 14018 (emended Gardnerella genospecies 1; i.e. G. vaginalis sensu stricto). When tested in in vitro enzyme assays, GvNR1 displayed very marked nitroreductase activity with several nitro drugs, including metronidazole and other 5-nitroimidazoles. GvNR1 also rendered Escherichia coli BL21-AI much more susceptible to metronidazole when expressed in this strain. In metronidazole-resistant G. vaginalis clinical isolates (>8 µg/mL according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute), GvNR1 was found to be downregulated as well. In resistant clinical strains 33 other proteins were found to be differentially expressed. Of note, these include thioredoxin reductase and vaginolysin. The lowered expression levels of GvNR1 in resistant strains were not caused by mutations in the GvNR1 gene or in sequences directly flanking the gene but by downregulation of mRNA expression. This might explain why G. vaginalis becomes resistant to metronidazole so rapidly. We propose GvNR1 as a novel metronidazole resistance determinant in G. vaginalis.

Smart contracts are deployed and represented as bytecodes in blockchain networks, and these bytecodes are machine-readable codes. Only a small number of deployed smart contracts have their verified human-readable code publicly accessible to blockchain users. To improve the understandability of deployed smart contracts, we explored rule-based classification of smart contracts using iterative integration of fingerprints of relevant function interfaces and keywords. Our classification system included categories for standard contracts such as ERC20, ERC721, and ERC1155, and non-standard contracts like FinDApps, cross-chain, governance, and proxy. To do this, we first identified the core function fingerprints for all ERC token contracts. We then used an adapted header extractor tool to verify that these fingerprints occurred in all of the implemented functions within the bytecode. For the non-standard contracts, we took an iterative approach, identifying contract interfaces and relevant fingerprints for each specific category. To classify these contracts, we created a rule that required at least two occurrences of a relevant fingerprint keyword or interface. This rule was stricter for standard contracts: the 100% occurrence requirement ensures that we only identify compliant token contracts. For non-standard contracts, we required a minimum of two relevant fingerprint occurrences to prevent hash collisions and the unintentional use of keywords. After developing the classifier, we evaluated its performance on sample datasets. The classifier performed very well, achieving an F1 score of over 99% for standard contracts and a solid 93% for non-standard contracts. We also conducted a risk analysis to identify potential vulnerabilities that could reduce the classifier’s performance, including hash collisions, an incomplete rule set, manual verification bottlenecks, outdated data, and semantic misdirection or obfuscation of smart contract functions. To address these risks, we proposed several solutions: continuous monitoring, continuous data crawling, and extended rule refinement. The classifier’s modular design allows for these manual updates to be easily integrated. While semantic-based risks cannot be completely eliminated, symbolic execution can be used to verify the expected behavior of ERC token contract functions with a given set of inputs to identify malicious contracts. Lastly, we applied the classifier on contracts deployed Ethereum main network.

A numerical simulation of the circular cylinder as an obstacle in a double forward-facing (DFFS) step was performed. The size and position of the upstream cylinder (c1) and downstream cylinder (c2) were varied to explore their role in heat transfer in both laminar and turbulent conditions. Comparative results of the upper and lower half of the downstream cylinder were plotted as results to understand the heat transfer and flow characteristics around the downstream cylinder due to the effect of the upstream cylinder’s dimension and position. For Re = 800, when the c1 is placed near the bottom of the wall, it results in a pair of rear-side symmetrical vortices, and the c2 cylinder vortices become larger when the c1 is shifted towards the top wall. Additional flow separation happens adjacent to the steps when c1 is greater than c2. These vortices strongly influence the convection heat transfer from the step. However, when Reynolds number (Re) is increased from 800 to 80,000, these vortices’ size is decreased. When c1 moves from 0.375H to 0.75H, the average Nusselt number is increased significantly. Moreover, a hike in Re results in a higher average Nusselt number irrespective of the position of obstacles. The upstream cylinder significantly enhances the Nusselt number when it is placed near the top wall rather than the bottom wall.

Due to the very limited information available during building design phase, lighting automation systems tend to follow pre-defined control curves and use normative default values. However, these are unlikely to reflect the wide variation in daily working hours and individual lighting preferences. Inadequate user modelling can result in missed energy and comfort targets, as well as insufficient light doses. Given that the building sector accounts for around one third of the world's energy demand, and lighting is one of the main consumers, a higher level of user representation in lighting control systems is essential to meet climate and environmental targets. The general practical applicability of user-centred concepts usually fails due to implementation, inadequate mapping of objectives to required parameters, availability of information and mapping in control systems. This comprehensive literature review of 160 articles evaluates the potential of individual control concepts in relation to the target criteria of lighting systems and identifies the necessary technical system components for greater applicability. The focus of the review is on daylight and artificial lighting and their application in office environments. From the results obtained, key elements for better implementation of user-centred concepts in lighting control were derived. These include zoned lighting, human-in-the-loop approaches, and sensor fusion. Post-occupancy evaluation, supported by social science methods, can help to capture relevant physiological and psychological parameters. The review concludes that post-occupancy optimisation of user-centred lighting applications offers great potential for overcoming previous design limitations and subsequently reducing performance gaps.

This paper describes some of the work carried out within the Horizon 2020 project MIDES (MIcrobial DESalination for low energy drinking water), which is developing the world's largest demonstration of a low-energy sys-tem to produce safe drinking water. The work in focus concerns the support for operational decisions on desalination plants, specifically applied to a mi-crobial-powered approach for water treatment and desalination, starting from the stages of process modelling, process simulation, optimization and lab-validation, through the stages of plant monitoring and automated control. The work is based on the application of the environment IPSEpro for the stage of process modelling and simulation; and on the system DataBridge for auto-mated control, which employs techniques of Machine Learning.

In modern radar systems, often planar transmission lines, such as stripline, microstrip line or coplanar waveguides are used to distribute signals between different components. In this paper we present a way to realize low-loss distribution with embedded waveguides by radiating laterally from an MMIC housed in an eWLB package into a waveguide. In this work, the waveguide is made half of a 3d-part and the other half is realized as cavity in a low cost non RF printed circuit board. For a proof of concept study, the chip was replaced by a differential microstrip line back-to-back structure. Different manufacturing tolerances and their impact on the performance will be shown. A prototype was built, measured and compared to the simulation results. It will be shown that the splitted PCB-waveguide channel has a loss of 0.11 dB/cm and that the transition from PCB-waveguide to differential microstrip line will lead to an insertion loss of 2.55 dB.

In contemporary society, most individuals, and especially leaders and managers in organizations, are confronted with complex decision problems on a daily basis. Decisions become complex when they are distributed and unstructured, so that a single decision maker relying solely on her own knowledge has little chances to solve it properly. This is true in various contexts, ranging from small private companies to large public institutions. Nowadays, the sustainability of business models and growth of organizations depend on their capability to make good decisions and ultimately to solve those highly complex problems.

Problem, research strategy, and findings: Youth are traditionally excluded from participation within planning venues, though planners increasingly recognize the value and knowledge that youth can bring to planning efforts. Yet planners struggle to find ways to incorporate youth ideas and decision making that are not exploitative, tokenizing, or coercive. Arnstein’s “A Ladder of Citizen Participation” provides useful insights into how youth can participate in decision making through partnerships with adults for whom the ladder was designed. In this article, we use case studies of youth-focused planning initiatives to examine the potential for including youth in Arnstein’s original ladder. These include Youth–Plan Learn Act Now (Y-PLAN), Youth Engagement and Action for Health (YEAH!), and Growing Up Boulder (GUB). Within each case study we analyze the goals, methodology, and projects of each program to determine how each expands or limits youth participation. The case studies vary based on the degree of participation, youth experience, and their geographical and institutional bounding. We then propose new rungs located between “placation” and “partnership” that offer youth an opportunity to partner with adults to engage in a planning project. Each new rung offers youth opportunities to participate in the planning process, though adults retain decision-making power. These rungs are divided by their directionality of power and whether youth are granted power to participate or seek it themselves. Further research could refine these rungs, especially within larger contexts of planning theory and the history of shared decision-making processes. Methodological challenges to this study could be addressed in some of these future research efforts.Takeaway for practice: Practicing planners are challenged with ways to authentically include youth voices in productive and nontokenistic decision-making frameworks. Planners can apply these lessons to engage youth in different contexts to support the elevation of their involvement, voice, and power in the planning process.

KurzfassungSeit der Einführung der ONR 24810:2013‐01‐15 liegt ein Bemessungskonzept für geokunststoff‐bewehrte Erddämme zum Schutz gegen massive Steinschlagereignisse vor. In der Folge wurden weitergehende Versuche durchgeführt, die eine Optimierung der Konstruktion in bautechnischer und wirtschaftlicher Hinsicht zulassen. Als Ergebnis wird eine Unterscheidung von fünf Bautypen von Steinschlagschutzdämmen sinnvoll: Zunächst wird zwischen reinen Erddämmen, Dämmen mit Steinschlichtung und geokunststoffbewehrten Dämmen unterschieden. Letztere werden um zwei weitere Bautypen mit ausgeprägter Bewehrung in Dammlängsachse ergänzt, die große Dammabschnitte zur Aufnahme von Impaktlasten aktivieren können: Geokunststoffbewehrte Dämme mit erhöhter Querverteilung und mit stark erhöhter Querverteilung. Das neue Bemessungskonzept ist in der ONR 24810:2017 (Technischer Steinschlagschutz) beschrieben. Dieses Regelwerk wird bereits in vielen Ländern, wie z.B. Deutschland, Schweiz, Norwegen, Island, Kanada, verwendet.