Indoor Outdoor Research Articles

Growth, Development, and Survival of Portunus pelagicus Larvae and Juveniles in Different Feed Regimens, Rearing Media, and Stocking Densities

Various factors in P. pelagicus seed production and grow-out culture were investigated in this study. Experiments were conducted to 1) compare natural and artificial feeds for larval production, 2) evaluate indoor tank and outdoor net cages as rearing media, and 3) assess different stocking densities for grow-out culture. Growth, development, and survival were assessed for the performance of each variable. (I) In larval production, the development of megalopa larvae into crab instar was synchronous in both natural and artificial feed treatments in a 5-day rearing observation. Crab instars began to appear on Day 4 with 27% composition in both feeds. Although survival appeared to be relatively higher in natural feed (43.96 ± 6.04%), this was not significant from survival in artificial feed treatment (33.33 ± 13.34), (t = 0.726, p > 0.05). (II) In Phase I growout culture, a two-variable design experiment was conducted to assess growth performance and survival of crab juveniles reared in indoor tanks and outdoor net cages at different stocking densities. Specific growth rate (SGR) differed significantly (t = 2.937, p < 0.05) between indoor tanks (6.39 ± 0.24%.d-1) and outdoor net cages (8.31 ± 1.11%.d-1). However, mean survival rate was better in indoor tanks (20.83 ± 9.24%) than outdoor net cages (8.94 ± 3.58% only), (t = 2.938, p = 0.015). In terms of stocking density, SGR was highest in 75 ind.m-2 (7.87 ± 2.44%.d-1). However, growth performance and survival of juveniles among different stocking densities were not significantly different (p > 0.05). Furthermore, two-factor ANOVA results have shown that growth performance of the juveniles was influenced by both the differences in rearing medium and stocking density, but not in terms of survival (F = 0.120, p = 0.888). (III) In Phase II grow-out culture, juveniles attained highest SGR (3.54 ± 0.56%.d-1) at 5 ind.m-2 stocking density. This was followed by 15 ind.m-2 (3.45 ± 2.39%.d-1) and by 10 ind.m-2 (2.33 ± 0.50%.d-1) (p > 0.05). However, survival rate was highest in 15 ind.m-2 (46.67 ± 0.00%), but the differences among other stocking densities were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Overall, results suggest that artificial feed can be an alternative for Artemia in rearing megalopae to crab instar stage. Stocking density in Phase I and II grow-out culture did not substantially affect growth performance and survival of juvenile P. pelagicus. However, higher stocking density increases incidence of cannibalism among reared crabs.

Multi-Frequency Multi-Scenario Millimeter Wave MIMO Channel Measurements and Modeling for B5G Wireless Communication Systems

Millimeter wave (mmWave) bands have been utilized for the fifth generation (5G) communication systems and will no doubt continue to be deployed for beyond 5G (B5G). However, the underlying channels are not fully investigated at multi-frequency bands and in multi-scenarios by using the same channel sounder, especially for the outdoor, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), and vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) conditions. In this paper, we conduct multi-frequency multi-scenario mmWave MIMO channel measurements with 4 × 4 antennas at 28, 32, and 39 GHz bands for three cases, i.e., the human body and vehicle blockage measurements, outdoor path loss measurements, and V2V measurements. The channel characteristics, including blockage effect, path loss and coverage range, and non-stationarity and spatial consistency, are thoroughly studied. The blockage model, path loss model, and time-varying channel model are proposed for mmWave MIMO channels. The channel measurement and modeling results will be of great importance for further mmWave communication system deployments in indoor hotspot, outdoor, and vehicular network scenarios for B5G.

Benchmark Dataset Based on Category Maps with Indoor–Outdoor Mixed Features for Positional Scene Recognition by a Mobile Robot

This study was conducted to develop original benchmark datasets that simultaneously include indoor–outdoor visual features. Indoor visual information related to images includes outdoor features to a degree that varies extremely by time, weather, and season. We obtained time-series scene images using a wide field of view (FOV) camera mounted on a mobile robot moving along a 392-m route in an indoor environment surrounded by transparent glass walls and windows for two directions in three seasons. For this study, we propose a unified method for extracting, characterizing, and recognizing visual landmarks that are robust to human occlusion in a real environment in which robots coexist with people. Using our method, we conducted an evaluation experiment to recognize scenes divided up to 64 zones with fixed intervals. The experimentally obtained results using the datasets revealed the performance and characteristics of meta-parameter optimization, mapping characteristics to category maps, and recognition accuracy. Moreover, we visualized similarities between scene images using category maps. We also identified cluster boundaries obtained from mapping weights.

A Review of Techniques for 3D Reconstruction of Indoor Environments

Indoor environment model reconstruction has emerged as a significant and challenging task in terms of the provision of a semantically rich and geometrically accurate indoor model. Recently, there has been an increasing amount of research related to indoor environment reconstruction. Therefore, this paper reviews the state-of-the-art techniques for the three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of indoor environments. First, some of the available benchmark datasets for 3D reconstruction of indoor environments are described and discussed. Then, data collection of 3D indoor spaces is briefly summarized. Furthermore, an overview of the geometric, semantic, and topological reconstruction of the indoor environment is presented, where the existing methodologies, advantages, and disadvantages of these three reconstruction types are analyzed and summarized. Finally, future research directions, including technique challenges and trends, are discussed for the purpose of promoting future research interest. It can be concluded that most of the existing indoor environment reconstruction methods are based on the strong Manhattan assumption, which may not be true in a real indoor environment, hence limiting the effectiveness and robustness of existing indoor environment reconstruction methods. Moreover, based on the hierarchical pyramid structures and the learnable parameters of deep-learning architectures, multi-task collaborative schemes to share parameters and to jointly optimize each other using redundant and complementary information from different perspectives show their potential for the 3D reconstruction of indoor environments. Furthermore, indoor–outdoor space seamless integration to achieve a full representation of both interior and exterior buildings is also heavily in demand.

Resource allocation and location decision of a UAV-relay for reliable emergency indoor communication

In this article, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) as a half-duplex decode-and-forward (DF) relay constructs a reliable link between the indoor user and the outdoor base station (BS) in an emergency scenario. During the outdoor–indoor signal propagation, the signal passing through the wall accelerates signal fading makes the signal fading model for outdoor communication not applicable to outdoor–indoor communication and increases the outage probability of the link. We propose an outdoor–indoor signal fading model and derive a closed expression of the outage probability. In order to minimize the outage probability and ensure that each link has the same outage probability, we made a decision-making scheme and designed a location optimization-power allocation-bandwidth allocation fairness (LPB-fairness) algorithm. The decision-making scheme iteratively optimizes two sub-problems: location optimization and power-bandwidth allocation. The simulation results show that reasonable location optimization, power allocation and bandwidth allocation can ensure the minimum outage probability, and the gaps of outage probability between relay links are within 1%.

Comprehensive experimental testing and analysis on parabolic trough solar receiver integrated with radiation shield

Parabolic trough collectors (PTCs) are the most mature way to harvest high-temperature heat source and widely applied in solar thermal utilizations. Parabolic trough solar receivers as the heat-collecting elements (HCEs) are the key parts of PTC, but face with a knotty problem that is exploding radiative heat loss under high operating temperature, which exerts a significantly negative role on the overall performance of the PTC system. For effectively reducing the heat loss and improving the thermal performance of solar receiver, a structurally optimized HCE with an inner radiation shield was proposed, designed, and manufactured. Furthermore, the indoor heat loss and outdoor thermal efficiency testing were carried out in the Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IEECAS) to validate comprehensive thermal performance of the proposed HCEs. The results show that the radiation shield plays an effective role in reducing the heat loss and improving the thermal efficiency. The heat loss of the proposed HCE is significantly reduced by 28.0% compared to the conventional HCE at the absorber temperature of 550 °C. And the proposed HCE possesses superior performance at high operating temperature and low solar irradiance. In the case of inlet temperature of 350 °C and solar irradiance of 600 W/m2, the thermal efficiencies of proposed HCE and conventional HCE are 49.4 and 51.8% respectively, and the thermal efficiency of the proposed HCE is effectively enhanced by 4.9%.

A scalable fingerprint-based angle-of-arrival machine learning approach for cellular mobile radio localization

It is well-known that the performance of radio frequency fingerprinting is strongly dependent on the variation of the received strength signal indicator (RSSI), that can be caused by devices which came from different vendors (or even the same) and by changes of environment (from outdoor to indoor, for example). Given that, we propose an innovative and scalable fingerprint-based localization technique using the mobile user horizontal angle to estimate its position. Performance of traditional fingerprinting based on RSSI and of our proposal are compared under different scenarios (number of base stations), environments (outdoor, indoor, and indoor–outdoor), and presence/absence of noise. Numerical results show that the proposed method presents smaller error predictions for most of environments and scenarios investigated. In addition, our proposal is less sensitive to environment changing (from outdoor to indoor) and more stable when applied in indoor or outdoor environments, considering scenarios with fewer base stations (cellular networks in suburban or rural regions) and less data for training (less costly drive-tests performed by telecom operators).

Skin Temperature Response to a 1 km Swim Performed in Normal and Cold‐Water

Cold‐water swimming is a recreational activity that may become a future Winter Olympic event. However, unintentional cold‐water exposure can lead to hypothermia or death. Changes in body temperature are known to diminish swimming performance in persons experiencing hypothermia, although thermal changes during recreational exposure are not well characterized. This study examined skin temperature responses to a one‐kilometer swim in normal and cold‐water. Competitive swimmers (2 male and 2 female; age 44±17 years; BMI 24±2) completed a one‐kilometer swim (22 laps × 75 foot lengths) under free‐living indoor (25.5°C water and 25.0°C air) and cold outdoor (10.9°C water and 6.5°C) conditions. Skin temperature was determined with a digital infrared camera on the center of right palm, cubital fossa of arm, lateral aspect of pectoral muscle, cheek, and average of the four locations at 8.7±1.7 minutes before the swim (pre), then 0.6±0.2 and 6.4±2.1 minutes after the swim. Data (mean±SD) was analyzed with repeated measures ANOVA with significance if P<0.05. Swimmers completed the indoor and outdoor swim events in 20.7±1.7 and 21.8±1.1 minutes respectively. Average indoor skin temperature at −8.7, +0.6 and +6.4 minutes was 94.0±1.7, 85.3±1.9, and 88.1±2.2°C. Average outdoor skin temperature at −8.7, +0.6 and +6.4 minutes was 83.0±3.6, 53.5±2.3, and 67.7±2.0°C. At all times average outdoor skin temperature was lower than indoor, with the lowest temperature 0.6 minutes post‐swim. Palm indoor temperature at −8.7, +0.6 and +6.4 minutes was 91.6±3.9, 83.1±0.5, and 87.3±5.0°C. Palm outdoor temperature at −8.7, +0.6 and +6.4 minutes was 75.1±7.9, 47.4±2.7, and 58.1±2.7°C. At all times outdoor palm temperature was lower than indoor, with the lowest temperature 0.6 minutes post‐swim. Similar thermal responses were observed in the cheek, cubital fossa and pectoral locations. While time to complete the indoor and outdoor one km swims were similar, swimming in cold water was associated with delayed rewarming in the palm and cheek relative to cubital fossa and pectoral muscle.

ECG Assessment of Cardiac Function Before, During, and After a 1km Swim Performed in Normal and Cold‐Water

Cold‐water swimming is a recreational activity that may become a future Winter Olympic event. However, unintentional cold‐water exposure can lead to arrhythmias, changes in electrocardiogram (ECG) appearance, and death. This study sought to characterize cardiac responses to recreational one‐kilometer swims performed in normal and cold‐water. Competitive swimmers (2 male 2 female; age 44±17 years; BMI 24±2) completed a one‐kilometer swim (22 laps × 75‐foot lengths) under free‐living indoor (25.5°C water and 25.0°C air) and cold outdoor (10.9°C water and 6.5°C) conditions. Continuous ECGs were obtained with a waterproof recording system (Actiwave, CamNtech Inc., Boerne, TX). ECG PR‐, QT‐, and RR‐intervals (sec), ventricular diastole (sec), and heart rate (beats/minute) were measured 8.7±1.7 minutes before the swim, then 0.6±0.2, 3.0±0.0 and 6.4±2.1 minutes after the swim. Data (mean±SD) was analyzed with repeated measures ANOVA with significance if P<0.05. Swimmers completed the indoor and outdoor swim events in 20.7±1.7 and 21.8±1.1 minutes, respectively. For the indoor swim, PR‐interval (sec) at −8.7, +0.6, +3, and +6.4 minutes was 0.12±0.01, 0.12±0.01, 0.11±0.01, and 0.12±0.01, and PR‐interval for the outdoor swim at −8.7, +0.6, +3.0 and +6.4 minutes was 0.13±0.01, 0.13±0.01, 0.13±0.01, and 0.14±0.01 (sec). PR‐interval was significantly longer at +6.4 minutes post cold‐water swim. For the indoor swim, ventricular diastole (sec) at −8.7, +0.6, +3, and +6.4 minutes was 0.37±0.06, 0.22±0.04, 0.30±0.01, and 0.32±0.05 (sec), and for the outdoor swim at −8.7, +0.6, +3.0 and +6.4 minutes ventricular diastole was 0.35±0.08, 0.19±0.02, 0.30±0.04, and 0.24±0.06 (sec). Ventricular diastole was significantly shorter at +6.4 minutes post cold‐water swim. No significant changes were observed for QT‐interval, RR‐interval, and heart rate between swim conditions. These parameters were also assessed for the ECG recordings collected during the 20.7±1.7‐minute normal and 21.8±1.1‐minute cold‐water swims to characterize the physiological response during swim exercise. This study of normal and cold‐water one‐kilometer recreational swimmers determined that a waterproof ECG could generate a continuous record of changes in cardiac function. During cold‐water swim recovery (+6.4 minutes) PR interval was lengthened and ventricular diastole was shortened suggesting an influence of temperature on cardiac function.

A Proposal for Modeling Indoor–Outdoor Spaces through IndoorGML, Open Location Code and OpenStreetMap

Traditionally, the standards of spatial modeling are oriented to represent the quantitative information of space. However, in recent years an increasingly common challenge is appearing: flexibly and appropriately integrating quantitative information that goes beyond the purely geometric. This problem has been aggravated due to the success of new paradigms such as the Internet of Things. This adds an additional challenge to the representation of this information due to the need to represent characteristic information of the space from different points of view in a model, such as WiFi coverage, dangerous surroundings, etc. While this problem has already been addressed in indoor spaces with the IndoorGML standard, it remains to be solved in outdoor and indoor–outdoor spaces. We propose to take the advantages proposed in IndoorGML, such as cellular space or multi-layered space model representation, to outdoor spaces in order to create indoor–outdoor models that enable the integration of heterogeneous information that represents different aspects of space. We also propose an approach that gives more flexibility in spatial representation through the integration of standards such as OpenLocationCode for the division of space. Further, we suggest a procedure to enrich the resulting model through the information available in OpenStreetMap.

Experimental and numerical studies on indoor thermal comfort in fluid flow: A case study on primary school classrooms

Indoor thermal comfort in primary classrooms is important to students' learning and health. The studies focusing on it, especially under the subtropical plateau monsoon climate, are scarce. In this study, the indoor thermal comfort surveys and parameter measurements were made over the period from October 2018 to December 2018 in Kunming, China. A series of indoor thermal comfort and outdoor parameters were measured each 1 h and subjective questionnaire surveys were performed on the selected 20 students every week except on holidays. A series of three-dimensional numerical simulations were carried out using ANSYS Fluent.

Legacy PCB building remediation

AbstractPolychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) came onto the scene as an environmental threat quickly after they were discovered in humans and wildlife by Jensen in 1966. By October 1970, it was reported that PCBs were “truly ubiquitous pollutants” as PCBs were found at detectable concentrations in environmental samples throughout the world. Before 1971, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported that 26% of PCBs sold were used in open‐end use applications, such as caulks, sealants, plasticizers, surface coatings, ink, adhesive, and carbonless paper. Processing and distribution of PCBs in commerce were largely banned in the U.S. after July 1979 with certain continued uses authorized by the EPA. While PCBs were banned a long time ago, the ban had no immediate tangible effect on the continued use of regulated levels of PCBs in buildings constructed before the bans were implemented. Legacy buildings with PCB‐containing building materials continue to represent potential sources of indoor air, dust, outdoor air, and soil contamination. Where PCBs are present in building materials, they have the potential to pose a risk to building occupants. Proper removal of PCB‐containing materials is a highly effective approach to abating the risk. The removal can range from targeting specific building PCB‐containing materials through demolition of the building. Engineering and administrative controls can also be useful tools when addressing the risks posed by PCB‐containing materials.

Simplified speciation and atmospheric volatile organic compound emission rates from non-aerosol personal care products.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from personal care products (PCPs) can affect indoor air quality and outdoor air quality when ventilated. In this paper, we determine a set of simplified VOC species profiles and emission rates for a range of non‐aerosol PCPs. These have been constructed from individual vapor analysis from 36 products available in the UK, using equilibrium headspace analysis with selected‐ion flow‐tube mass spectrometry (SIFT‐MS). A simplified speciation profile is created based on the observations, comprising four alcohols, two cyclic volatile siloxanes, and monoterpenes (grouped as limonene). Estimates are made for individual unit‐of‐activity VOC emissions for dose‐usage of shampoos, shower gel, conditioner, liquid foundation, and moisturizer. We use these values as inputs to the INdoor air Detailed Chemical Model (INDCM) and compare results against real‐world case‐study experimental data. Activity‐based emissions are then scaled based on plausible usage patterns to estimate the potential scale of annual per‐person emissions for each product type (eg, 2 g limonene person−1 yr−1 from shower gels). Annual emissions from non‐aerosol PCPs for the UK are then calculated (decamethylcyclopentasiloxane 0.25 ktonne yr−1 and limonene 0.15 ktonne yr−1) and these compared with the UK National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory estimates for non‐aerosol cosmetics and toiletries.

Performance Comparison of Enthalpy Recovery Devices Using Liquid Desiccant and Desiccant Wheel

Abstract Heat recovery between outdoor air and indoor exhaust air is an effective approach for energy-saving in the air-conditioning system. Performances of enthalpy recovery devices using liquid desiccant (LD) and desiccant wheel (DW) are compared in the present study. Effects of key factors including desiccant flow rate, number of transfer units (NTUm), and air inlet parameters on recovery performance are analyzed. There exists the same ideal recovery efficiency with a given NTUm for these two kinds of devices. However, an optimal solution flow rate could be achieved for enthalpy recovery device using LD, while a higher rotation speed leads to a higher recovery efficiency for that using DW. Recovery efficiencies of the two devices increase with the increase in NTUm, while they have different ranges of NTUm. NTUm of the DW is usually superior to that of the LD, due to the material difference. Then, the optimum methods to improve recovery efficiency of the two devices are clarified, i.e., increasing NTUm for an enthalpy recovery device using LD and choosing a reasonable rotation speed for that using DW, respectively. The present research will be beneficial to cast light on the relation between enthalpy recovery devices using LD and DW.

Study on the Influence of Air Tightness of the Building Envelope on Indoor Particle Concentration

In order to grasp the building palisade structure tightness of indoor particulate matter mass concentration based on the particle penetration mechanism and settlement characteristics, this article analyzes the measurements of two different types of building air tightness of a Shenyang university office building in terms of indoor and outdoor particulate matter mass concentration levels from 2016-1-09 to 1-22, 2016-7-18 to 8-03, and 2017-2-28 to 3-13. The building outside the closed window that had no indoor source condition, the indoor office building and outdoor particle mass concentration, and the aperture size and shape of the envelope were analyzed to carry on the numerical simulation research by Fluent software, which was then analyzed; the results reveal that the measuring point of the I/O ratio is less than point B of the I/O ratio, measurement points of A linear regression fitting degree is lower than the fit of the measuring point B, and the causes for the measuring point A tightness (level 8) is superior to the measuring point B (level 4). When the gap height h is greater than 0.5 mm, the penetration rate of particles within the range of 0.25–2.5 μm particle size is close to 1. In different gap depths, the penetration rate of particles within the range of 0.1–1 μm particle size was close to 1. In diverse pressure difference, the 0.25–2.5 μm particles within the scope of penetration rate P is close to 1, the gap on both sides of the differential value ΔP; the greater the particle, the higher penetration rate. The larger the right-angle number of gap n, the lower the penetration rate of particles. The L-shaped gap and U-shaped gap have significantly better barrier effects in larger and smaller particles than the rectangular gap. The research results in this paper can help people understand and effectively control the influence of outdoor particles on the indoor air quality and provide reference data for the prediction of indoor particle mass concentration in buildings, which has theoretical basis and practical significance.

Distribution characteristics, source appointment, and health risk assessment of Cd exposure via household dust in six cities of China

This study investigated the characteristics and health risks of cadmium (Cd) in household dust in urban and rural areas during heating and non-heating periods. Seven hundred and sixty-two dust samples and 381 questionnaires were collected from households in the Chinese cities of Dalian, Taiyuan, Lanzhou, Shanghai, Wuhan, and Chengdu. The Cd concentration results of household dust indicated higher levels in urban areas and in heating periods because of the complex mankind activities and environmental influence factors. A correlation analysis and redundancy analysis demonstrated that smoking, cooking, and ventilation time were vital influencing factors for Cd levels in household dust. Cd in the indoor air, outdoor air, traffic air, and soil also contributed to the Cd in the household dust, among which soil contributed the most. The non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks of Cd in the household dust were acceptable. Ingestion was the primary pathway for residents’ exposure to Cd in household dust. And the different exposure behavior patterns of population in the study areas had a great impact on the health risk assessment results.

Features extraction and analysis for device-free human activity recognition based on channel statement information in b5G wireless communications

Features extraction and analysis for human activity recognition (HAR) have been studied for decades in the 5th generation (5G) and beyond the 5th generation (B5G) era. Nowadays, with the extensive use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the civil field, integrating wireless signal receivers on UAVs could be a better choice to receive hearable signals more conveniently. In recent years, the HAR system based on CSI based on WiFi radar has received widespread attention due to its low cost and privacy protection property. However, in the existing CSI-based HAR system, there are two disadvantages: (1) The detection threshold is manually set, which limits its adaptability and immediacy in different wireless environments. (2) A sole classifier is used to complete the recognition, resulting in poor robustness and relatively low recognition accuracy. In this paper, we propose a CSI-based device-free HAR (CDHAR) system with WiFi-sensing radar integrated on UAVs to recognize everyday human activities. Firstly, by using machine learning, CDHAR applies kernel density estimation (KDE) to obtain adaptive detection thresholds to complete the extraction of activity duration. Second, we proposed a random subspace classifier ensemble method for classification, which applies the frequency domain feature instead of the time domain feature, and we choose each kind of feature in the same amount. Finally, we prototype CDHAR on commercial WiFi devices and evaluate its performance in both indoor environment and outdoor environments. The experiment results tell that even if experimental scenario varies, the accuracy of activity durations extraction can reach 98% and 99.60% whether in outdoor or indoor environments. According to the extracted data, the recognition accuracy in outdoor and indoor environments can reach 91.2% and 90.2%, respectively. CDHAR ensures high recognition accuracy while improving the adaptability and instantaneity.

Effects of particulate matter gamma radiation on oxidative stress biomarkers in COPD patients.

Inhalation of particulate matter (PM) radioactivity is an important pathway of ionizing radiation exposure. We investigated the associations between short-term exposures to PM gamma radioactivity with oxidative stress in COPD patients. Urinary concentrations of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and malondialdehyde (MDA) of 81 COPD patients from Eastern Massachusetts were measured 1-4 times during 2012-2014. Daily ambient and indoor PM gamma activities (gamma-3 through gamma-9) were calculated based on EPA RadNet data and indoor-outdoor infiltration ratios. Linear mixed-effects models were used to examine the associations between biomarkers with PM gamma activities for moving averages from urine collection day to 7 days before. Our results indicate that ambient and indoor PM gamma activities were positively associated with 8-OHdG, with stronger effects for exposure windows closer to urine collection day. For per interquartile range increase in indoor PM gamma activities averaged over urine collection day and 1 day before, 8-OHdG increased from 3.41% (95% CI: -0.88, 7.88) to 8.87% (95% CI: 2.98, 15.1), adjusted for indoor black carbon. For MDA, the timing of greatest effects across the exposure week varied but was nearly all positive. These findings provide insight into the toxigenic properties associated with PM radioactivity and suggest that these exposures promote systemic oxidative stress.

NeuralIO: Indoor?Outdoor Detection via Multimodal Sensor Data Fusion on Smartphones

The indoor–outdoor (IO) status of mobile devices is fundamental information for various smart city applications. In this paper, we present NeuralIO, a neural-network-based method for dealing with the IO detection problem for smartphones. Multimodal data from various sensors on a smartphone are fused through neural network models to determine the IO status. A data set containing more than one million labeled samples is then constructed. We test the performance of an early fusion scheme in various settings. NeuralIO achieves an accuracy above 98% in 10-fold cross-validation and an accuracy above 90% in a real-world test.

Influence of urban canopy green coverage and future climate change scenarios on energy consumption of new sub-urban residential developments using coupled simulation techniques: A case study in Alexandria, Egypt

The trend of urban and suburban developments is concluding that more than 70% of the world population will be living in urban areas by mid-21st century within dis-comfortable built environment. In Egypt, a concern about climate change resilient communities is having more listeners after Paris climate agreement in 2015. Therefore, assessing present and future outdoor microclimatic effects on the indoor environmental quality and energy consumption in turn is crucial to build the capacities for mitigation and adaptation strategies. In this research work, the coupled outdoor–indoor simulation methodology is applied using ENVI-met and DesignBuilder to let buildings respond to the street canyon conditions since indoor simulation packages does not consider urban details. Such mutual relation is explored in a site case in Borg El-Arab, Alexandria, Egypt, in which urban canopy green coverage (trees, green walls and roofs) have been applied. Comparing results of indoor thermal comfort for the examined site buildings in present until end of century (2020, 2050 and 2080) with and without the urban canopy green coverage; show that indicators and adaptation strategies can be developed for climate change scenarios.