Experts In Different Fields Research Articles

Outdoor thermal comfort research in urban areas of Central and Southeast Europe: A review

Constant urban population growth and intensive urbanization lead to increased pressure on urban areas leading to uncomfortable living conditions. The quality of urban living conditions often depends on the thermal comfort of the open urban spaces, which are used on the daily basis. That is the reason why the attention towards outdoor thermal comfort (OTC) is increasing in the last decade among the researchers from different fields of expertise. In this article, the review of the outdoor thermal comfort research in urban areas of 11 countries of Central and Southeast Europe in the last decade (2010-2019). The main aim of the review is to give a comprehensive, systematic and complete insight in the current situation in the OTC research interest. The results of the review show increased but uneven interest in outdoor thermal comfort by the end of the research period in countries of the Central and Southeast Europe. In total, 120 articles on the topic of outdoor thermal comfort were identified in the research area. The most significant contribution to the urban outdoor thermal comfort research comes from Hungary, Serbia and Greece. Furthermore, five research objectives were identified: methodology improvement and development, climate sensitive and comfortable urban design and planning, citizens/pedestrian comfort and health assessment and improvement, tourism and health sector support and literature review.

Negotiating Proximity in Sustainable Urban Planning: A Swedish Case

In striving for sustainability, urban policy and planning increasingly emphasize proximity ideals in order to go beyond established mobility- and speed-oriented accessibility strategies. Yet proximity is a fluid concept with many contextualized meanings, cutting across most sectors of urban planning. When proximity is realized in actual planning, clarity and communicability are therefore required. Here we explored how urban planners in different fields of expertise understand and apply the proximity concept. Furthermore, we tested a collaborative tool enabling transparent discussion and fostering a joint basis for further application. Qualitative data were collected via six semi-structured, focus-group workshops with 35 planners of various competencies working in three western Swedish municipalities. The results indicated that planning goals of proximity were negotiated according to three understandings: One derived from the established understanding of transportation and land-use integration, relying on planners’ expert views; a second emphasizing the local community understanding, highlighting the social context of neighborhoods; and a third comprising the personal environment understanding of the individual’s closest physical space at a detailed scale level. Collaborative exercises resulted in the development of a communicative tool for negotiating perceived understandings of proximity, as well as planning goals.

Key Components for Antibiotic Dose Optimization of Sepsis in Neonates and Infants.

Sepsis in neonates and infants remains a major cause of death despite a decline in child mortality and morbidity over the last decades. A key factor in further reducing poor clinical outcomes is the optimal use of antibiotics in sepsis management. Developmental changes such as maturation of organ function and capacity of drug metabolizing enzymes can affect the pharmacokinetic profile and therefore the antibiotic exposure and response in neonates and infants. Optimal antibiotic treatment of sepsis in neonates and young infants is dependent on several key components such as the determination of treatment phase, the administered dose and the resulted drug exposure and microbiological response. During the initial phase of suspected sepsis, the primary focus of empirical treatment is to assure efficacy. Once bacterial infection as the cause of sepsis is confirmed the focus shifts toward a targeted treatment, ensuring an optimal balance between efficacy and safety. Interpretation of antibiotic exposure and microbiological response in neonates and infants is multifaceted. The response or treatment effect can be determined by the microbiological parameters (MIC) together with the characteristics of the pathogen (time- or concentration dependent). The antibiotic response is influenced by the properties of the causative pathogen and the unique characteristics of the vulnerable patient population such as reduced humoral response or reduced skin barrier function. Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of antibiotics may be used to increase effectiveness while maximizing safety and minimizing the toxicity, but requires expertise in different fields and requires collaborations between physicians, lab technicians, and quantitative clinical pharmacologists. Understanding these clinical, pharmacological, and microbiological components and their underlying relationship can provide a scientific basic for proper antibiotic use and reduction of antibiotic resistance in neonates and infants. This highlights the necessity of a close multidisciplinary collaboration between physicians, pharmacists, clinical pharmacologists and microbiologist to assure the optimal utilization of antibiotics in neonates and young infants.

Cooperativeness – A necessary trait for interpreters? A study on temperament and character dimensions of experts in different fields

Aims and Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate whether particular temperament and personality traits are more characteristic to interpreters’ expert performance than to expert performance in other fields. Design: To these ends, the Temperament and Character Inventory by Cloninger et al. (1994) and the distractibility scale of the Revised Dimensions of Temperament Survey by Windle (1992) were used. Data and Analyses: The data was gathered from two groups of interpreters (simultaneous and consecutive) and was compared to one group of foreign language teachers and one of non-linguistic experts from different fields of society. The group size varied between 20 and 23 participants each. The analyses were carried out with multivariate analysis of variance, supplemented with Bonferroni corrected contrasts. Findings: The results seem to indicate that temperament and character traits may have different impacts on different expert groups. In this study, in comparison to the control groups of foreign language teachers and non-linguistic experts, high cooperativeness was found to be more characteristic to simultaneous and consecutive interpreters. Cooperativeness also appears to be valued by recruiters and trainers of interpreters, for instance. Originality: The study was the first one comparing interpreters’ temperament and character dimensions with those of other expert groups, such as foreign language teachers and non-linguistic experts. Significance and Limitations: Among the different temperament and personality traits, at least cooperativeness seems to have a connection to the abilities and skills needed in the profession of an interpreter. More research, however, is needed to reveal possible connections of various temperament and personality traits with expertise in different fields. In this particular case, additional studies could show whether individuals with high cooperativeness become more easily interested in such professions as interpreting, or whether the high cooperativeness is a result of more experience and expertise in interpreting.

Analysis of the Features Important for the Effectiveness of Physical Activity-Related Apps for Recreational Sports: Expert Panel Approach.

BackgroundA large number of people participate in individual or unorganized sports on a recreational level. Furthermore, many participants drop out because of injury or lowered motivation. Potentially, physical activity–related apps could motivate people during sport participation and help them to follow and maintain a healthy active lifestyle. It remains unclear what the quality of running, cycling, and walking apps is and how it can be assessed. Quality of these apps was defined as having a positive influence on participation in recreational sports. This information will show which features need to be assessed when rating physical activity–related app quality.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to identify expert perception on which features are important for the effectiveness of physical activity–related apps for participation in individual, recreational sports.MethodsData were gathered via an expert panel approach using the nominal group technique. Two expert panels were organized to identify and rank app features relevant for sport participation. Experts were researchers or professionals in the field of industrial design and information technology (technology expert panel) and in the field of behavior change, health, and human movement sciences who had affinity with physical activity–related apps (health science expert panel). Of the 24 experts who were approached, 11 (46%) agreed to participate. Each panel session consisted of three consultation rounds. The 10 most important features per expert were collected. We calculated the frequency of the top 10 features and the mean importance score per feature (0-100). The sessions were taped and transcribed verbatim; a thematic analysis was conducted on the qualitative data.ResultsIn the technology expert panel, applied feedback and feedforward (91.3) and fun (91.3) were found most important (scale 0-100). Together with flexibility and look and feel, these features were mentioned most often (all n=4 [number of experts]; importance scores=41.3 and 43.8, respectively). The experts in the health science expert panels a and b found instructional feedback (95.0), motivating or challenging (95.0), peer rating and use (92.0), motivating feedback (91.3), and monitoring or statistics (91.0) most important. Most often ranked features were monitoring or statistics, motivating feedback, works good technically, tailoring starting point, fun, usability anticipating or context awareness, and privacy (all n=3-4 [number of experts]; importance scores=16.7-95.0). The qualitative analysis resulted in four overarching themes: (1) combination behavior change, technical, and design features needed; (2) extended feedback and tailoring is advised; (3) theoretical or evidence base as standard; and (4) entry requirements related to app use.ConclusionsThe results show that a variety of features, including design, technical, and behavior change, are considered important for the effectiveness of physical activity–related apps by experts from different fields of expertise. These insights may assist in the development of an improved app rating scale.

Nanomotors for Nucleic Acid, Proteins, Pollutants and Cells Detection.

The development of nanomachines able to operate at the nanoscale, performing complex tasks such as drug delivery, precision surgery, or cell detection, constitutes one of the most important challenges in nanotechnology. The principles that rule the nanoscale are completely different from the ones which govern the macroscopic world and, therefore, the collaboration of scientists with expertise in different fields is required for the effective fabrication of these tiny machines. In this review, the most recent advances carried out in the synthesis and application of nanomachines for diagnosis applications will be presented in order to provide a picture of their potential in the detection of important biomolecules or pathogens in a selective and controlled manner.

An integrated multiscale approach for characterization of rock masses subjected to tunnel excavation

The design of tunnels must be conducted based on the knowledge of the territory. The longer the structure, the larger the area to be investigated, and the greater the number of surveys and tests to be performed in order to thoroughly examine all the relevant features. Therefore, optimization of the investigation process is strongly required to obtain complete and reliable data for the design of the infrastructure. The fast development of remote sensing technologies and the affordability of their products have contributed to proving their benefits as supports for investigation, encouraging the spreading of automatic or semi-automatic methods for regional scale surveys. Similarly, considering the scale of the rock outcrop, photogrammetric and laser scanner techniques are well-established techniques for representing geometrical features of rock masses, and the benefits of non-contact surveys in terms of safety and time consumption are acknowledged. Unfortunately, in most cases, data obtained at different scales of investigations are only partially integrated or compared, probably due to the missing exchange of knowledge among experts of different fields (e.g. geologists and geotechnical engineers). The authors, after experiencing such a lack of connection among the results of different surveys concerning tunnels, propose a multiscale approach for the optimization of the investigation process, starting from the regional scale, to obtain the data that can be useful not only for planning more detailed surveys in a preliminary phase, but also for making previsions on the discontinuity sets that are present in the rock masses subjected to excavations. A methodological process is proposed and illustrated by means of a case study. Preliminary results are discussed to highlight the potentiality of this method and its limitations.

Roadmap to Achieve 25% Hypertension Control in Africa by 2025.

The Pan-African Society of Cardiology (PASCAR) has identified hypertension as the highest area of priority action to reduce heart disease and stroke on the continent. The aim of this PASCAR roadmap on hypertension was to develop practical guidance on how to implement strategies that translate existing knowledge into effective action and improve detection, treatment and control of hypertension and cardiovascular health in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) by the year 2025. Development of this roadmap started with the creation of a consortium of experts with leadership skills in hypertension. In 2014, experts in different fields, including physicians and nonphysicians, were invited to join. Via face-to-face meetings and teleconferences, the consortium made a situation analysis, set a goal, identified roadblocks and solutions to the management of hypertension and customized the World Heart Federation roadmap to Africa. Hypertension is a major crisis on the continent but very few randomized controlled trials have been conducted on its management. Also, only 25.8% of the countries have developed or adopted guidelines for management of hypertension. Other major roadblocks are either government and health-system related or health care professional or patient related. The PASCAR hypertension task force identified a 10-point action plan to be implemented by African ministries of health to achieve 25% control of hypertension in Africa by 2025. Hypertension affects millions of people in SSA and if left untreated, is a major cause of heart disease and stroke. Very few SSA countries have a clear hypertension policy. This PASCAR roadmap identifies practical and effective solutions that would improve detection, treatment and control of hypertension on the continent and could be implemented as is or adapted to specific national settings.

Предмет, объект, задачи взрывотехнической экспертизы

The paper discusses the problematic aspects of the trace evidence research on explosive devices and traces of an explosion. The correlation and place of trace evidence researches in the explosive technological expert examination are shown. The subject, object, and tasks of these researches during such an examination are specified. The paper reveals that all tasks of the trace evidence research are addressed during the explosive technological expert examination as well. The author develops and correlates the structure of such concepts as subject, object, and tasks of the trace evidence researches with the content and structure of the trace evidence researches in the explosive technological expert examination which are integrated in nature. The study proves that such a nature requires specialized knowledge applied in various branches of forensic examination and, consequently, single-discipline and multi-discipline expert panels involving experts in different fields.

Managing insomnia in the elderly patient: from pharmacology to subthreshold depression

Insomnia is the most common and widespread sleep disorder. Managing insomnia in the elderly patient becomes a difficult challenge for the presence of a multi-disease and multi-drug condition. An organic and functional background that becomes even more fragile when the picture is complicated by psychomotor agitation and cognitive impairment. From the contribution of four experts of different fields and disciplines, stems the need to share an integrated vision that starts from the pharmacological basis of hypnotic drugs, delineates the features of depression in the elderly, addressed the delicate issue of chronic use/abuse of benzodiazepines and ultimately arrives to the management of behavioral disturbances. The pathway includes studies of clinical pharmacology and investigates the potential properties of trazodone, a multifunctional drug capable of acting on different biochemical and neurotransmitter pathways.

Interdisciplinary Data Driven Production Process Analysis for the Internet of Production

Recent developments in the industrial field are strongly influenced by requirements of the fourth industrial revolution (I4.0) for modern Cyber-Physical Production Systems (CPPS) and the coherent phenomenon of industrial big data (IBD). I4.0 is characterized by a growing amount of interdisciplinary work and cross-domain exchange of methods and knowledge. Similar to the development of the Internet of Things (IoT) for the consumer market, the emergence of an Internet of Production (IoP) in the industrial field is imminent. The future vision for an IoP is based on aggregated, multi-perspective and persistent data sets that can be seamlessly and semantically integrated to allow diagnosis and prediction in domain-specific real-time. In this paper, we demonstrate an exemplary scenario of collaborative cross-domain work, in which domain-experts from largely different fields of expertise, i.e. heavy plate rolling (HPR), injection molding (IM) and machine learning (ML), generate insights through data driven process analysis in two use cases. Specifically, in the HPR use case, reinforcement-learning was utilized to support the planning phase of the process aiming to reduce manual work load and to ultimately generate process plans that serve as a foundation for a simulation to calculate process results. On the contrary, in the IM use case, supervised-learning was utilized to learn a complex and computationally demanding finite element simulation model in order to predict process results for unknown process configurations, which can be used to optimize the process planning phase. While both use cases had the overall goal to utilize ML to gain new insights about the respective process, the actual ML application was utilized with reversed purpose. Particularly, in the HPR use case, ML was used to learn the process planning in order to calculate process results while in the IM use case, ML was used to predict process results in order to improve the process planning. We facilitate the communication between physically separated domain experts and the exchange of gained insights in the respective use cases by a framework that addresses the specific needs of cross-domain collaboration. We show that the insights gained from two largely different use cases are valuable to the domain experts of the other respective use case, facilitating cross-domain data driven production process analysis for future IoP scenarios.

Distributed Product Design in Educational Programs

In a collaborative setting between the Technical University Berlin and the University of Twente, a newly developed student project aims at distributed product design. In the course, four groups of ten students, with five students from each institute are given the assignment to develop a multidisciplinary product – in this case an electrical drive, autonomous scale model of a car.The course aims at addressing the ability to effectively collaborate using virtual methods by gaining knowledge and skills on collaborative technology, managing information exchange, effective and efficient storage of information, handling CAD co-development, managing and documenting different versions and variants and documenting design rationale. Additional learning goals focus on the development of project problem solving skills in an intercultural and multi-domain engineering team and furthermore the development of trust and conflict management in distributed teams. At the same time, the course exposes the students to industrial PLM and teamwork software. In this, different fields of expertise are combined, within the teams where members have different mind-sets, different point of views and working methods. In short, the course uses the development of the multi-disciplinary product preparing real-world working conditions. By positioning the groups as competing design bureaus, students pro-actively aim for the best product possible, thus the project aim as providing realistic circumstances.

Two French Oil Terminals in the WWII

Often, literature suggests that the Atlantic Wall was a set of support points (Stutzpunkte) and fortresses (Festungen) extended from Norway up to Spain. This concept is not completely wrong but it masks the logistics involved in its defence activity. In this article the parallel destiny of the Talards and Bouchemaine oil terminals active in France during the German occupation and both having failed a complete destruction is considered. Original air recognition images, archive documents, information from experts and visits on the terrain helped a lot in clarifying their history, organization and preservation states. From previous publications and the present article, it appears now clear that the Atlantic Wall study must be addressed as an interdisciplinary matter with the contributions of experts in different fields.

Are the Domains Considered by ICF Comprehensive Enough to Conceptualize Participation in the Patient with Hand Injuries?

Background Although participation is a core concept in multiple models of disability, there is no consensus on its definition. Objective The aim of this study was to extract participation domains based on review of theories, available outcome measures, and interviews with experts and the person with hand injuries to compare with the ICF domains of participation. Methods A qualitative approach using a deductive content analysis was employed to extend definitions of participation from theories. Later on, inductive qualitative method using semistructured interview with five experts in different fields and 30 patients with different hand injuries was used. Coding was performed with extracted domains from the content of data, and finally, the extracted domains were compared with the ICF domains of participation. Results Some of the extracted domains were not considered in ICF. Conclusion Subjective participation is the main forbearance part. Role, leisure, domestic life, environment, and others are also main missing meanings. This limitation can hinder measuring disability and health.

Preliminary study on launch vehicle design: Applications of multidisciplinary design optimization methodologies

The design of complex systems such as launch vehicles involves different fields of expertise that are interconnected. To perform multidisciplinary studies, concurrent engineering aims at providing a collaborative environment which often relies on data set exchange. In order to efficiently achieve system-level analyses (uncertainty propagation, sensitivity analysis, optimization, etc.), it is necessary to go beyond data set exchange which limits the capabilities of performance assessments. Multidisciplinary design optimization methodologies is a collection of engineering methodologies to optimize systems modelled as a set of coupled disciplinary analyses and is a key enabler to extend concurrent engineering capabilities. This article is focused on several examples of recent developments of multidisciplinary design optimization methodologies (e.g. multidisciplinary design optimization with transversal decomposition of the design process, multidisciplinary design optimization under uncertainty) with applications to launch vehicle design to illustrate the benefices of taking into account the coupling effects between the different physics all along the design process. These methods enable to manage the complexity of the involved physical phenomena and their interactions in order to generate innovative concepts such as reusable launch vehicles beyond existing solutions.

Special Issue on Biomedical Applications

Interdisciplinary research that integrates medical science, biotechnology, materials science, mechanical engineering, and manufacturing has seen rapid progress in recent years. Not only fundamental research into biological functions but also the development of clinical approaches to treating patients are being actively carried out by experts in different fields. For example, artificial materials, such as those used in orthopedic surgery and dental implants, are being used more widely in medical treatments. In the area of minimally invasive surgery using X-rays, CT, and MRI, medical devices possessing radiolucent and nonmagnetic properties are playing a major role. Medical auxiliary equipment, such as wheelchairs, prosthetic feet, and other objects used to supplement medical treatment, is also critical. To assure that such advances continue into the future, material development and manufacturing processes should eventually satisfy the requirements of medical and biological applications, which are being debated by experts in different fields. The applicable materials should have excellent specific strength and rigidity, high biocompatibility, and good formability. The various needs for material characteristics and functions make interdisciplinary research essential. Mechanical engineering and manufacturing technologies should be further developed to solve problems involved in the establishment of basic principles by integrating the knowledge of materials science, medical science, biology, chemistry, and other fields. This special issue addresses the latest research advances into the biomedical applications of different manufacturing technologies. This covers a wide area, including biotechnologies, biomanufacturing, biodevices, and biomedical technologies. We hope that learning more about these advances will enable the readers to share in the authors’ experience and knowledge of technologies and development. All papers were refereed through careful peer reviews. We would like express our sincere appreciation to the authors for their submissions and to the reviewers for their invaluable efforts, which have ensured the success of this special issue.

Composition comparison of Zhejiang Longquan celadon and its imitation in Dapu kiln of Guangdong in the Ming Dynasty of China (1368–1644 CE) by LA-ICP-MS

Identification of Longquan celadon and its imitation is more and more caught the attention of experts in different fields. In this paper, by using laser ablation- inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) and other analytical methods, body and glaze of samples from Zhejiang Longquan celadon and its imitation in Dapu kiln of Guangdong in the Ming Dynasty of China were determined. Our research reveals that (1) the celadon bodies from the Dapu kiln contain less Al2O3, Mo, V, Cr and Ni, and more SiO2 content than those of the Longquan kiln; (2) the celadon glazes from both the Longquan and Dapu kilns show higher content of CaO, Al2O3, Ba, Sr, P2O5 and MnO than the corresponding bodies; and (3) both the celadon bodies and glazes from the Dapu kiln have higher ΣREE and in particular significantly negative Ce anomalies, distinctly different from those from Longquan kiln. These results would not only provide a good basis to identify the Longquan celadon and its imitation, and even to protract the global trade route in ancient time, but also be beneficial to better understanding the recovery and transmission of Longquan celadon manufacturing technology.

Tackling Regional Public Health Issues Using Mobile Health Technology: Event Report of an mHealth Hackathon in Thailand.

Hackathons are intense, short, collaborative events focusing on solving real world problems through interdisciplinary teams. This is a report of the mHealth hackathon hosted by Khon Kaen University in collaboration with MIT Sana and faculty members from Harvard Medical School with the aim to improve health care delivery in the Northeast region of Thailand. Key health challenges, such as improving population health literacy, tracking disease trajectory and outcomes among rural communities, and supporting the workflow of overburdened frontline providers, were addressed using mHealth. Many modifications from the usual format of hackathon were made to tailor the event to the local context and culture, such as the process of recruiting participants and how teams were matched and formed. These modifications serve as good learning points for hosting future hackathons. There are also many lessons learned about how to achieve a fruitful collaboration despite cultural barriers, how to best provide mentorship to the participants, how to instill in the participants a sense of mission, and how to match the participants in a fair and efficient manner. This event showcases how interdisciplinary collaboration can produce results that are unattainable by any discipline alone and demonstrates that innovations are the fruits of collective wisdom of people from different fields of expertise who work together toward the same goals.

Roadmap to achieve 25% hypertension control in Africa by 2025.

SummaryBackground and aim:The Pan-African Society of Cardiology (PASCAR) has identified hypertension as the highest area of priority for action to reduce heart disease and stroke on the continent. The aim of this PASCAR roadmap on hypertension was to develop practical guidance on how to implement strategies that translate existing knowledge into effective action and improve detection, treatment and control of hypertension and cardiovascular health in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) by the year 2025.Methods:Development of this roadmap started with the creation of a consortium of experts with leadership skills in hypertension. In 2014, experts in different fields, including physicians and non-physicians, were invited to join. Via faceto- face meetings and teleconferences, the consortium made a situation analysis, set a goal, identified roadblocks and solutions to the management of hypertension and customised the World Heart Federation roadmap to Africa.Results:Hypertension is a major crisis on the continent but very few randomised, controlled trials have been conducted on its management. Also, only 25.8% of the countries have developed or adopted guidelines for the management of hypertension. Other major roadblocks are either government and health-system related or healthcare professional or patient related. The PASCAR hypertension task force identified a 10-point action plan to be implemented by African ministries of health to achieve 25% control of hypertension in Africa by 2025.Conclusions:Hypertension affects millions of people in SSA and if left untreated, is a major cause of heart disease and stroke. Very few SSA countries have a clear hypertension policy. This PASCAR roadmap identifies practical and effective solutions that would improve detection, treatment and control of hypertension on the continent and could be implemented as is or adapted to specific national settings.

Working at the National Institutes of Health: Developing a New Set of Cross-Over Skills as an Applied Medical Anthropologist

This article reviews a portion of my professional career in academia and outside of academia for the purpose of highlighting the cross-over professional development skills that I learned to use in different fields of expertise. Although I had received my academic doctoral training at an applied medical anthropology program (Wayne State University, Detroit, MI) in the 1980s and a few years later completed a postdoctoral fellowship program which earned me a Masters of Public Health degree (MPH) from Emory University (Atlanta, GA), I really did not know what it was truly like to be a public health professional until I was hired, trained, and worked for the National Institutes of Health. Cross-over skills are skills that allow a professional to transfer to another high-skilled professional job successfully. It is not until I immersed myself in a completely different work setting when I discovered that these cross-over professional development skills were advantageous to my professional career.