Highway Research Articles

Birational Kleinian groups

We study birational Kleinian groups, i.e. groups of birational transformations of complex projective varieties acting in a free, properly discontinuous and cocompact way on an open subset of the variety with respect to the usual topology. We obtain a classification in dimension 2.

The Creator Destroyer Method

In this article, we focus on a new perspective for asymmetric red teaming. In asymmetric red teaming, there are two issues that are problematic to deal with. Firstly, to red team it is advised to bring in external people for a fresh view, but this may cause problems for reasons of sensitivity. Secondly, although creativity is highly valued, there is an implicit rationality bias in the thinking of most professionals.In the Netherlands, a method has been developed – and tested – that has a high potential to address both issues at the same time. Firstly, the exercise is designed such that it will detach the security officers from their daily routine and thinking. As part of it, the participants have to invent – and play – a mythical persona, with mythical powers, that are a threat for the interests they must protect. This approach will get the officers out of their daily routine, and lead to a free way of thinking – detached from their daily work. Above that, the mythical powers of their persona trigger a creative approach on finding possible new modus operandi. This way, the first issue – just to work with your own team and at the same time come to fresh creative views as if you are an outsider – can be addressed.Secondly, also the rationality bias will be addressed. By developing and playing mythical persona, the process of creativity taps in into a deeper, subconscious, level. You tap in to the deeper level of archetypes and non-rationality. The participants can leave behind their rationality bias that permeates the western (labor) culture.Thirdly, an extra element has been built in the method. By handing out cards, the participants are asked to reflect on certain emotions and sins in the context of their security issue. It leads to an additional layer of creativity on top of the other ones. In one of the exercises, for example, a participant drew the card on vanity. The outcome was that if someone like a prime minister would visit the organization, the head of security would not leave the welcoming to the subordinates, as it should be conforming the protocol. The head of security would personally come downstairs instead to welcome this guest, as this visit would be the career highlight. Meaning that when the stakes are the highest – the most vulnerable guests possible are visiting your organization – the coordinator is not in place when something happens. The exercise can be carried out within two hours. If a guided come-back-hour within a week is held, this will lead to additional results. The method needs special attention in the way it is carried out. Firstly, the framing of the exercise – before the actual exercise is started – is crucial. Only then the free-thinking process really takes off. Secondly, during the exercise, the facilitator of the exercise never at any moment interferes with the contents of the process.

Relationship Between Road Traffic Composition and Noise Emission: an Investigation Based on Hungarian National Public Road Traffic Data

Different vehicles contribute to the noise emission of the total road traffic in different ways and degrees. Therefore, emission calculation methods classify road vehicles based on their typical noise emission parameters. This article investigated the role of the four vehicle categories of CNOSSOS-EU method (light motor vehicles, medium heavy vehicles, heavy vehicles, and powered two-wheelers) in generating road traffic noise emissions. Based on traffic data available for national public roads in Hungary, the proportion of each vehicle category in the total road traffic was determined, providing the average distribution and other statistical parameters for each road category. The impact of changes in the traffic composition on noise emission was analysed based on the statistical parameters. The results show the dominance of light vehicles for all road categories (76–89% on average). The average proportion of heavy vehicles is also significant on controlled-access highways (motorways: 21%, expressways: 15%) and main roads (9%). The deviation from the average traffic composition can cause a noticeable difference in road traffic noise emission (up to nearly 3 dB). It was found that the impact of changing the proportion of heavy and light vehicles on noise emission is higher on roads inside built-up areas.

Use of Google Sites as A Web-Based Learning Media in Physics Learning for High School Teachers in Langsa City

Differentiated learning is a key component of the Merdeka Curriculum, which emphasizes the need for media that supports students in learning according to their individual characteristics and pace. As a result, teachers must develop suitable learning media. Platforms like Google Sites offer a free and accessible way for teachers to create materials and assessments that students can access anytime. Therefore, teacher training in using Google Sites to create web-based learning media is essential to support differentiated learning in the Merdeka Curriculum. The training was held at Muhammadiyah High School in Langsa City and was attended by 25 Physics teachers who were members of the Langsa City Physics Teachers Organization (MGMP). The effectiveness of the training was measured using a participant response questionnaire with a total of 14 statements, which included indicators of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and perceptions. The results of the training showed that teachers were satisfied, and there was an increase in teachers' knowledge, skills, and attitudes in using Google Sites as a web-based physics learning media. Teachers expressed optimism about using Google Sites as a tool that can facilitate student learning according to individual preferences.

Predicting seismic sustainability for a complex CHESST interaction by AHP using LWST

Underground and over-ground structures are affected by the external forces (tsunami, earthquake, storm, etc.) that are directly related to the environment and change in climate. For this reason, a complex CHESST (Climate-Human-Environment-Structure-Soil-Tunnel) interaction model is proposed in this research which is categorized based on the structure types (building, bridge, elevated, road/rail). The best CHESST interaction model is selected based on the AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) by using LWST (Logical Weightage Selection Technique). The LWST depends on the proposed modified logical scale. The logical weightage matrices are prepared for the three criteria (Environment and Climate, Social, and Economic), three sub-criteria under each criteria, and goal (selection of best CHESST interaction model). The weightage selection technique is validated based on the acceptable rate of decision change sensitivity. The elevated (alternative of the CHESST interaction model) shows the maximum value of seismic sustainability index (SSI) among all alternatives based on the AHP results. Also, the maximum fluctuation rate of strain is found for the elevated structure of the CHESST interaction model from the shake table test results. The most seismic sustainable CHESST interaction model is elevated expressway according to the SSI because of showing highest priority of 0.368. However, there is a scope to enhance this research in future by considering more alternatives, criteria, sub-criteria, etc.

Using the Duolingo Application as a Vocabulary Learning Tool in Higher Education

The use of technology in education has grown rapidly in recent years. One of the increasingly popular language learning apps is Duolingo. This app provides an easy-to-use, interactive and free way to learn many languages, including foreign languages. This study aims to determine the use of the Duolingo application as a means of learning vocabulary in tertiary institutions. This study uses quantitative methods by collecting population and samples. The data obtained through the distribution of questionnaires. The questionnaire was created by using the Google form. The number of questions is 15 with the categories strongly agree, agree, disagree and strongly disagree. The study was conducted through surveys and interviews with a number of students who used Duolingo as a vocabulary learning tool. In addition, research also observes the effect of using this application by assessing students' learning progress after using Duolingo. The results of the study show that the Duolingo application makes a positive contribution to learning vocabulary in universities. Students say the app provides a fun learning experience and inspires them to keep practicing. The app's interactive features, such as play-based exercises, also help increase learning engagement and enhance student engagement. In addition, this research also shows that students' learning progress after using Duolingo increases significantly. Using this application provides flexible learning access and allows students to study anytime, anywhere according to their interests and schedule. In short, the use of the Duolingo application as a tool for learning vocabulary in tertiary institutions can be considered effective and useful. This application can be an interesting and effective alternative to improve students' understanding and fluency of vocabulary. However, it is important to continue researching and developing the use of this learning technology so that it can be optimized and adapted to the needs and characteristics of each educational institution

An Analysis of The Extent of Strategic Entrepreneurships’ Dimensions which applied by the leaders of The National Security Advisory

Strategic entrepreneurship is one of the contemporary administrative trends that elevate the status of organizations by enhancing their level of performance, and its importance is particularly clear for security organizations. The current research aims to diagnose the level of practice of strategic Entrepreneurship in the National Security Advisory in Iraq. The research community was represented by the administrative leaders of the National Security Advisory, and the research included a sample of (133) of the leaders of the surveyed Advisory, and the questionnaire was the main tool for collecting data and information related to the research. The current research adopted the descriptive analytical approach, being the most appropriate for the research as it is embodied in follow-up, investigation, and codification in a qualitative way to know the phenomenon in terms of subject and content, and to reach results and generalizations that help in understanding reality, and a number of statistical methods were used, including the mean, standard deviation, coefficient of variation, and percentages, Correlation coefficient and regression coefficient, through the statistical program (SPSS). The research reached a set of conclusions, the most prominent of which was the interest of the National Security Adviser in entrepreneurial culture, which raises the level of strategic Entrepreneurship, resulting from strengthening its position through the ability to make decisions and follow up on its implementation carefully, in addition to having a clear philosophy through which it attracts promising ideas in a high way.

The politics of public space at São Paulo’s Parque Minhocão

São Paulo’s Minhocão (Big Worm) is a 3.5 km elevated expressway that cuts across a dense part of the central city. Opened in 1971, it was controversial from the start, and widely held responsible for the decline of the city’s historic centre in the 1970s and 1980s. However, it has been gradually tamed over the years, first closed to traffic at night, and then at weekends and on holidays, becoming an impromptu park, the Parque Minhocão, which has had official status since 2014. Those informal closures have been accompanied by numerous architectural schemes over the years to make the Minhocão a permanent park on the lines of New York’s High Line. The Parque Minhocão in its present condition represents a stand-off between various interest groups, all of whom have claims on it as public space. The paper explores the history of the Parque Minhocão since 1969 through different forms of visualisation, arguing that its present condition, however imperfect, keeps multiple and contradictory interests in balance.

De-infrastructuring automobility: The politics of urban highway repurposing and removal in São Paulo and Madrid

One of the most visible infrastructural legacies of the 20th century is the urban highway, which underpinned the massive transformations of cities and regions in the postwar period. As concerns grow about the climate impacts of car travel and urban sprawl, however, cities across the world have begun to remove or repurpose sections of urban highways to try and heal the social, economic, and ecological scars of their construction and promote sustainable urban development. These processes speak to key scholarly debates in geography and cognate fields on the relationship between transport infrastructure and processes of urban change. In this paper we explore two cases of what we call the “de-infrastructuring” of automobility: the piecemeal pedestrian appropriation of the Minhocão elevated highway in São Paulo and the ongoing political conflicts over the burial of the A-5 highway in Madrid. In each case, the peopling of highway infrastructure—whether by temporary occupation or permanent removal—is both a popular demand and a potential component of urban redevelopment strategies designed to channel investment back into the spaces that these infrastructures devalued. At the same time, these projects are ongoing, contested, and uncertain, and constitute broadly piecemeal and somewhat ephemeral attempts at repair, rather than more systemic approaches to undoing automobility and its socioecological impacts. Highway restructuring in São Paulo and Madrid therefore raises crucial questions about urban socioecological restructuring and the prospects for a just post-automobile city.

Review of the non-concentrating solar cookers with innovative absorber plates designs

Preparation of meals has been named as one of the leading factors that affect the consumption of energy consumed globally as well as global emissions of greenhouse gases. Still due to these reasons that solar cooking is cheap and can be done at large scale, it is appropriate. To discuss the plan of cheap solar cookers, this paper gives an introduction of them, namely; box cooker with or without. In a free and natural way without panels, funnels or reflectors. Other designs that encompass virtually all kinds of the solar cooker also included are Fresnel, indirect, and parabolic-dish and parabolic-trough types. Scope is discussed further. Heat conservation tips, performance criteria, cost aspects, and improvement processes for heating systems design. This also brings into focus a high temperature 24 hour indoor solar cooker.

Evaluation of the Literature on the Use of Space Underneath Elevated Highways in Urban Leftover Space Renewal

The construction of urban highways within and around the city has resulted in a significant amount of residual spaces, which are rarely incorporated into official planning and design efforts. This literature review paper provides an overview of space underneath elevated highways delivered by urban leftover space: What types of leftover space have been discussed? Which underneath elevated highways have been identified in leftover space? 112 scientific papers were analyzed for their 1) leftover space terms applied, 2) space underneath elevated highways studied, 3) current or potential underneath elevated highways discussed. Through the review, we found that although different types of space have been identified in leftover space, most studies did not consider underneath elevated highways synergies and trade-offs. The literature review highlights two knowledge gaps for future research: Firstly, the existing research on residual space under urban viaducts has been exhaustive in terms of connecting with environmental attributes. Secondly, the content of the social interaction and use of the remaining space under the viaducts can be connected to the content of the environmental attributes. The existing gaps in the research indicate the importance of exploring the potential impacts aimed at utilizing leftover spaces. By highlighting the value of the environmental attributes of under-bridge spaces, the literature study promotes the recognition of the association of social interactions with the environmental attributes of under-bridge spaces and further outlines future research directions for the remaining under-bridge spaces in the urban design process.

The principal bundle structure of continuum mechanics

In this paper it is shown that the structure of the configuration space of any continua is what is called in differential geometry a principle bundle. A principal bundle is a structure in which all points of the manifold (each configuration in this case) can be naturally projected to a manifold called the base manifold, which in our case represents pure deformations. All configurations projecting to the same point on the base manifold (same deformation) are called fibers. In this paper, it is shown that each of these fibers is then naturally isomorphic to the Lie group SE(3) representing pure rigid body motions. Furthermore, it will be shown that it is possible to define intrinsically (coordinate free), what is called a connection and this allows to split any continua motion in a rigid body sub-motion and a deformable one in a completely coordinate free way. As a consequence of that it is then possible to properly define a pure deformation space on which an elastic energy can be defined and this will be related to other literature on intrinsic strain which has not shown the geometric structure which will be presented in this work. This will be shown using screw theory and Lie groups. Screw theory is vastly used in the analysis of rigid body mechanisms but is not normally used to analyse continua. The paper will also relate known concepts of continua like helicity and enstrophy to screw theory concepts which will become evident by the presented construction.

Transit-oriented development: A case study of exterior-to-interior noise control for buildings near transit and highway noise sources

A case study of acoustical design for mixed-used, transit-oriented development is presented. The project is two, six-story mixed-used residential buildings near a rapid transit station and heavily traveled elevated highway in the San Francisco Bay Area. The buildings are metal frame construction over concrete podiums. The California Building Code requires the building shell to be designed to provide interior noise from exterior noise sources not to exceed 45 dBA Ldn. Exterior noise due to trains and buses serving the transit station, and traffic on the elevated highway, required high sound attenuating windows and acoustically rated walls and roofs. Initially, none of the exterior wall assemblies included batt insulation in the stud cavities, only continuous rigid insulation behind the façade. Modeling was done to compare the exterior wall assemblies with and without batt insulation in the stud cavities combined with various window configurations. Estimates of the building shell transmission loss are presented along with a summary of noise control recommendations for building roof, windows, and doors.

Review: Modern Mobility Aloft: Elevated Highways, Architecture, and Urban Change in Pre-Interstate America

Review: <i>Modern Mobility Aloft: Elevated Highways, Architecture, and Urban Change in Pre-Interstate America</i>

Benefit Through Vehicles Passing on Highways in Electrical Power Generation

The turbulent airflow caused by vehicular movement on highways is a source of kinetic energy for wind energy (WE) that can be utilized to power highway lighting and communications. The purpose of the current work is to design, install and measure the extent of benefit from small wind turbines along a Highway (HW) in one of the governorates of Iraq - Dohuk. In this investigation, wind speed measurements are close to a significant HW on the Dohuk-Zakho-Iraq (DZI) Road. The three positional characteristics are examined for the wind turbines' optimal position. These factors are heights above ground level, lateral distances from the road shoulder, and the wind turbines' highway-facing orientation. It is possible to supply electrical power for side lighting of external roads via vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT), which are produced from disturbances in air movement. In addition, a battery pack has been used to store energy to sustain fluctuations caused by stopped vehicle traffic and to ensure load operation in the event of a wind turbine stop. A 500W capacity vertical axis windmill is being worked on. The suggested landscaping technique has generated exceptional and long-lasting effects for a price of under 350 US dollars.

Vertical variation of source-apportioned PM2.5 and selected volatile organic compounds near an elevated expressway in an urban area.

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are associated with adverse health effects and show spatial variation in three dimensions. The present study attempted to evaluate source contributions of PM2.5 and toxic VOCs in a metropolitan area focusing on the associated vertical variations. A special emphasis is put on the effects of the elevated expressway on the vertical variability of contribution estimates of the identified sources. Nine source factors, i.e., soil dust, sea salt/oil combustion, secondary nitrate, industrial emission, aged VOCs/secondary aerosol, traffic-related I, solvent use/industrial process, secondary sulfate, and traffic-related II, were identified using positive matrix factorization (PMF). The main contributors to PM2.5 were secondary sulfate (19.1%) and traffic-related emissions (traffic-related I and II, 16.1%), whereas the largest contributors to VOCs were traffic-related emissions (37.6%). The influence of the elevated expressway is suggested to be particularly critical on vertical variations of traffic-related emissions, including aging and secondary formation of locally accumulated air pollutants near roads. Increasing the building porosity under the viaduct could reduce the accumulation of air pollutants caused by the shelter effect. Additionally, in-street barriers would be beneficial in reducing population exposure to traffic-related emissions by altering the airflows near roads.

The impact of vegetative and solid roadway barriers on particulate matter concentration in urban settings.

A potentially important approach for reducing exposure to traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) is the use of roadside barriers to reduce dispersion from highway sources to adjacent populated areas. The Trees Reducing Environmental Exposures (TREE) study investigated the effect of vegetative and solid barriers along major controlled-access highways in Atlanta, Georgia, USA by simultaneously sampling TRAP concentration at roadside locations in front of barriers and at comparison locations down-range. We measured black carbon (BC) mass concentration, particle number concentration (PNC), and the size distribution of ultrafine aerosols. Our sample sites encompassed the range of roadway barrier options in the Atlanta area: simple chain-link fences, solid barriers, and vegetative barriers. We used Generalized Linear Mixed Models (GLMMs) to estimate the effect of barrier type on the ratio of particle concentrations at the comparison site relative to the roadside site while controlling for covariates including wind direction, temperature, relative humidity, traffic volume, and distance to the roadway. Vegetative barriers exhibited the greatest TRAP reduction in terms of BC mass concentration (37% lower behind a vegetative barrier) as well as PNC (6.7% lower), and sensitivity analysis was consistent with this effect being more pronounced when the barrier was downwind of the highway. The ultrafine size distribution was comprised of modestly smaller particles on the highway side of the barrier. Non-highway particle sources were present at all sample sites, most commonly motor vehicle emissions from nearby arterials or secondary streets, which may have obscured the effect of roadside barriers.

Rapid and Efficient detection of perfluorooctanoic acid by up–conversion molecular imprinting fluorescent probe

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is a persistent pollutant that is hazardous and bioaccumulates, seriously harming both the environment and humans. However, detecting PFOA in a sensitive, affordable and pollution–free way remains a challenge. This work combines up–conversion luminescent materials and molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) to prepare up–conversion molecularly imprinted fluorescent probe NH2–NaYF4: Yb3+, Ho3+@MIP, using NaYF4:Yb3+, Ho3+ as the luminescent signal source with a mesoporous structure. The PFOA and the probes generate fluorescence quenching based on the F–F interaction and electrostatic adsorption. This can sensitively detect 0.05–15 nmol/l PFOA in aqueous solution. This work provides a fresh and practical method for detecting PFOA in aqueous solutions.

Ramalhoa adherens (Ramalho 2015) n. gen., n. comb., a loftusiid attached benthic foraminifera (family Ramalhoidae n. fam.) from the Upper Jurassic of Portugal

A new attaching species displaying a polygonal subepidermal network was described by Ramalho (2015) from the upper Tithonian of the eastern sector of theAlgarve Basin, southern Portugal as Amijiella? adherens. The genus Amijiella Loeblich and Tappan displays different gross test morphology, internal structure as well as an unattached free way of life. Therefore, the Portuguese taxon is herein described as the new genus Ramalhoa with the new combination R. adherens (Ramalho). So far, Ramalhoa with its polygonal subepidermal network is unique among the attaching agglutinated foraminifera and assigned to a new family Ramalhoidae herein. Other agglutinated attached foraminifera displaying a subepidermal network are recorded from the Lower Cretaceous and treated in open nomenclature due to poor material available.

The Role of Trait Mindfulness in the Quality of Life of the Adult Population: A Systematic Review

The present systematic review synthesizes the evidence of the interaction of quality of life with trait mindfulness in the adult population. Following the PRISMA methodology, quantitative articles with primary results on the association between quality of life and mindfulness in adults aged 18 to 65 years, published between 1979 and 2022 in English and Spanish, were considered. Searches were carried out in Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and PsycNet. The risk of bias was assessed using a methodological rigor scoring tool. In the end, 10 articles that met the criteria showed that the mindfulness trait may improve the quality of life of adults in a moderate to high way, due to the process of acceptance and coping consciously, without judgments and reactions, minimizing negative effects such as stress. Additionally, challenges regarding the conceptualization, measurement, and inclusion of third variables were identified.