Zürich Airport (Switzerland)

Understanding how disasters impact communities and how humanitarian organisations respond is essential for improving disaster preparedness, response, and policy. However, humanitarian organizations, government agencies and scientific institutions often report on disaster impacts and response in unstructured narrative reports, limiting its accessibility for systematic analysis. In this study, we developed a data-driven pipeline to extract and classify impact and response information from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) disaster appeals and operational reports. We processed the text into clean sentences and manually annotated a stratified set of reports, covering different climate hazard types. Sentences were labelled as reporting impacts, reporting response measures, or neither, and those describing impacts or responses were further categorised into a taxonomy of 24 impact subclasses and 26 response subclasses. Annotations were used to train four text classification models for detecting and classifying impact- and response-related sentences. Our approach demonstrates the feasibility of automatically extracting structured disaster impact and response data from humanitarian narrative reports, enabling large-scale analytics and supporting evidence-based disaster management.

<strong class="journal-contentHeaderColor">Abstract.</strong> This study investigates spatial and temporal variability of bedload transport in four Swiss mountain streams using continuous Swiss Plate Geophone (SPG) monitoring. This surrogate measuring system had been calibrated in previous studies to produce reliable estimates of bedload transport rates. The measurements were analysed at two different time scales: short-term transport events typically covering a duration of a few weeks and multi-year annual transport totals. Power-law relations between dimensionless transport intensity and shear stress were derived to evaluate the temporal variability in the steepness of transport relations and in the reference shear stress. Results were compared with predictive equations developed for mountain streams. Findings show substantial variability both within and across sites, likely reflecting the influence of sediment availability, stream slope, streambed texture and flow history. Overall, continuous monitoring highlights the strong role of temporal spatial variability on bedload transport levels, possibly due to changing sediment availability and bed surface composition, and with implications for predictive modelling and river management.

Internet of Things (IoT) systems are pervasive and increasingly managed through mobile applications. However, poorly designed mobile applications can expose sensitive information to external adversaries. Mitigating such vulnerabilities requires both developers and researchers to apply well-established practices and design secure systems based on clearly defined approaches for vulnerability detection. Although databases such as Open Worldwide Application Security Project (OWASP) and Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) catalog known IoT vulnerabilities, no standardised methodology exists for detecting security weaknesses in IoT Mobile applications (IoTMas) during IoT mobile application development. Building on prior research, our research objectives are to: (1) identify, classify, and prioritize critical security vulnerabilities in IoTMAs, (2) survey existing Vulnerability Detection Approaches (VDAs) for IoT mobile applications, (3) critically evaluate the effectiveness of existing VDAs by analyzing their evaluation methodologies and dataset validation, and (4) formulate evidence-based recommendations based on the limitations of existing methods for detecting security vulnerabilities in IoTMAs. We performed a systematic literature review (SLR) from selected primary studies (PSs). From 856 papers retrieved from six academic databases—Scopus, Springer, and Engineering Village, which hosts Compendex (covering IEEE Xplore and the ACM Digital Library), and Inspec (IET)—we reviewed 39 research papers. Our findings include: (1) identification of 52 security vulnerabilities, eight critical (i.e, reported in at least four studies); (2) discovery of seven distinct VDAs; (3) comprehensive VDAs effectiveness evaluation using empirical metrics, accuracy assessments, reproducibility analysis, comparative studies, and validation across diverse IoTMAs marketplaces; (4) recommendations to guide developers and practitioners in selecting appropriate VDAs, thereby supporting the development of secure IoTMAs and enhanced penetration testing. Our study raises awareness of state-of-the-art VDAs, identifies research gaps in existing approaches, and provides recommendations to enhance existing techniques and guide new development, supporting software engineers in making informed technique selection decisions.

AI ethics frameworks—grounded in principles of transparency, fairness, and accountability—have become the dominant mechanism for governing algorithmic systems. However, by treating AI as a neutral technology amenable to technical fixes, they obscure its status as a political project embedded in power, inequality, and historical injustice. In this paper, we introduce the concept of algorithmic contestation—the use of collective, tactical interventions to challenge and reshape the socio-political forces that drive the design and deployment of AI. Drawing on Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals, we derive ten “Rules for Radical AI” that activists and researchers can deploy, including “Reveal the Code,” “Organize a Data Strike,” and “Seize Policy Windows.” We first map mainstream ethics principles onto Alinsky’s tactical logic, then illustrate these dynamics through two case studies—the San Francisco facial recognition ban and a New York City gig worker data strike. Finally, we discuss methodological limits, ethical risks, and future research avenues and issue a manifesto: proper AI accountability arises not from compliance alone but from collective contestation of algorithmic power.

Abstract The characteristic and strongly precipitating cloud band near extratropical cyclones is associated with a coherent cross‐isentropically ascending airstream, the warm conveyor belt (WCB). The WCB ascent characteristics and associated diabatic heating are influenced by cloud microphysical processes and environmental conditions in the WCB inflow region. The former relies on the cloud microphysical parametrisation, and the latter on initial and/or boundary conditions of thermodynamic variables. Altogether, this introduces uncertainty in numerical weather prediction (NWP) forecasts of the WCB characteristics and ultimately the prediction of the large‐scale midlatitude flow. We quantify the relative influence of perturbations on various cloud microphysical processes and WCB inflow temperature and moisture (via modification of sea‐surface temperature) for a case study and thereby focus on uncertainty in WCB ascent behaviour, associated precipitation characteristics, and properties of the amplifying ridge downstream of the ascent region. To disentangle individual uncertainty contributions, we build a high‐resolution 70‐member perturbed parameter ensemble (PPE) with the Icosahedral Nonhydrostatic (ICON) modelling framework. The PPE systematically combines parameter perturbations and samples the phase space spanned by parameter uncertainty ranges. Based on the PPE, computationally cheap statistical surrogate models are developed that subsequently facilitate variance‐based sensitivity analysis for the target variables. Our results suggest that changes to environmental conditions controlling WCB inflow properties most strongly influence WCB ascent behaviour, total surface precipitation sums, and the ridge amplitude. Yet, the microphysical perturbations locally modify vertical velocity along WCB ascent and determine the precipitation efficiency, which affects meso‐scale precipitation characteristics as well as the spatial distribution and intensity of precipitation. Moreover, the microphysical perturbations distinctly influence the large‐scale flow pattern, albeit to a lesser extent than the perturbations applied to the WCB inflow characteristics.

In air traffic flow management (ATFM), unexpected events such as bad weather conditions regularly reduce airport capacity. In such cases of temporarily reduced capacity, the EUROCONTROL Network Manager issues a regulation, which results in arriving flights being assigned a new target time of arrival (TTA), usually on a first-planned, first-served (FPFS) basis. These TTA assignments, however, may be inefficient due to the varying delay costs of individual flights. Therefore, one of the solutions of the SESAR project HARMONIC aims to develop a platform for collaborative optimization of arrival flight lists - a Target Time Management System (TTMS). The TTMS allows airspace users (AUs) and the airport to provide their preferences as input for an optimization of the arrival flight list. In this regard, one challenge is to define conformance criteria applying to the preferences submitted by the AUs in order to reduce the possibility that the preferences of individual AUs intentionally manipulate the optimization process, thus ensuring fairness among AUs. These conformance criteria should be easy to understand and have little or no negative impact on the optimization results. In this paper, we investigate the impact of different configurations of easy-to-understand conformance criteria on the quality of the optimization results. The experimental evaluation shows that the application of conformance criteria has only a minor impact on the quality of the flight lists. Our results will inform the choice of conformance criteria for the live trials of the TTMS developed in the course of the HARMONIC project.

The management of traumatic cardiac arrest (TCA) focuses on the immediate treatment of reversible causes, including bilateral thoracostomy. In our prehospital emergency service, bilateral thoracostomy has been recommended since 2012 for the management of TCA. We sought to analyse the prehospital management and clinical course of patients with TCA, focusing on changes over time in the use of thoracostomy. In this single-centre retrospective observational study, we included patients with TCA managed by physicians of the prehospital service of Lausanne University Hospital from 2012 to 2024. The primary outcome was the annual rate of bilateral thoracostomy. Secondary outcomes included the rate of additional on-site measures, such as pelvic binder placement and airway management, and follow-up at 48h. Among 3206 cardiac arrests during the study period, 473 (15%) were TCAs. Among the 247 patients with resuscitation attempts, thoracostomy was judged as indicated in 223 (90%) and performed in 148 (66%). Twenty-seven (18%) patients who had a thoracostomy were alive on arrival at hospital, with 9 (6.1%) still alive at 48h. The mean annual proportion of patients in whom a thoracostomy was performed was 68% (range 0-100%) and increased significantly over the years (p<0.001). The annual rate of thoracostomy in TCA patients increased significantly in the period 2012 to 2024. Larger studies are required to determine the impact of thoracostomy on survival.

ObjectiveBecause of high-altitude operations, cold exposure is common for helicopter emergency medical services. However, drug emulsions such as propofol and etomidate are prone to degradation and the formation of lipid droplets, possibly large enough to cause pulmonary embolism, when frozen. Amiodarone may be prone to crystallization, possibly causing phlebitis, when exposed to cold temperatures. The aim of this study was to microscopically identify physical changes in common emergency drugs under cold exposure. MethodsExposure time frames and temperature ranges were chosen according to real-world data collected on a rescue helicopter in Switzerland. Samples were stored in a laboratory freezer with a temperature range of −2.3°C (27.7°F) for 1 hour, 0.6°C to −3.6°C (33.1°F-25.5°F) for 12 hours, and −22°C (−7.6°F) for 1 hour and 12 hours. Analysis was performed under a light microscope. ResultsNo physical changes in the form of large lipid droplets or crystallization were found in the samples stored at −2.3°C (27.7°F). Lipid droplets were found in the propofol samples stored at 0.6°C to −3.4°C (33.1°F-25.5°F) and −22°C (−7.6°F) over 12 hours. ConclusionThere was no observation of physical changes under temperature conditions commonly found in helicopter emergency medical services. However, lipid droplets could be observed in the propofol samples with long exposure times or under deep frozen temperature conditions. These findings highlight the need to establish a safe threshold for cold exposure of medications in the prehospital environment.

Background: Grip strength is widely used as a surrogate parameter for functional status. The current gold standard, the JAMAR® Hydraulic Dynamometer (JAMAR® Hydraulic), presents challenges for individuals with painful finger joints or low grip strength. Therefore, the objective of this observational study was to assess comparability across the JAMAR® Smart, the Martin Vigorimeter and the gold standard. Additionally, the intrasubject and intersession reliability of all three devices were examined, which are essential for quality control before generating normative data. Methods: Forty healthy participants (aged 37.0 ± 11.3 years) were included, and a subset of 20 participants was randomly selected for retesting. Grip strength testing involved five attempts per measurement device. Results: Intrasubject reliability was excellent (ICC3,1: 0.91–0.97), and a strong correlation (ICC3,1: 0.90–0.98) was found between the first attempt and the best of five as well as between the best of two or three attempts and the best of five, demonstrating robust reliability across multiple measures. Intersession reliability was good to excellent (ICC3,1: 0.85–0.97) across all three devices, which was confirmed by Bland–Altman analysis. The PCC (r) revealed moderate to very strong agreement with the current gold standard JAMAR® Hydraulic (r = 0.68–0.98), with increased differences between the Martin Vigorimeter and the JAMAR® Hydraulic measurements, particularly at low and high values. Conclusions: The proposed devices are suitable for test-retest analysis with 2–3 attempts. Despite high correlations between all three devices, the diverging levels of agreement between the Martin Vigorimeter and the established gold standard warrant caution against using these devices interchangeably.