Major European Research Project Research Articles

Evaluation of integrated control of three dog transmitted zoonoses: Rabies, visceral leishmaniasis and cystic echinococcosis, in Morocco

The present study is a component of a major European research project, ICONZ (Integrated Control of Neglected Zoonoses). The objective of this component was to implement, and then evaluate an Integrated Control Intervention (ICI) against three dog transmitted zoonoses, namely rabies, visceral leishmaniasis, and cystic echinococcosis. This was undertaken in Sidi Kacem Province (northwestern Morocco) where 22 control and 22 treated douars (villages) were randomly allocated to two control and one evaluation interventions over a period of 13 months. Across the 44 douars, an overall total of 6922 dogs were registered, 4519 were vaccinated against rabies, and 2885 persons attended the complementary health education campaigns; whereas, within the 22 treated douars, 466 dogs received anti-sandfly collars (deltamethrin-impregnated) and 2487 were dewormed (praziquantel). Evaluation of the ICI, revealed that (i) a canine rabies vaccination coverage of 65.0% was achieved, (ii) the use of deltamethrin-impregnated collars for dogs provided highly significant protection (p = 0.01) against leishmaniasis infection of more than 44%, and up to 100% for dogs that had kept the collar until the end of the intervention, (iii) despite a non-significant difference (p>0.05), dog-deworming with praziquantel yielded a reduction in the rate of Echinococcus granulosus infection, and (iv) health education was successful in improving respondents’ knowledge; However, the target communities remained unconvinced of the necessity of changing some of their risky behaviours. Lastly, the estimated total cost of the global intervention, including its research components, was US$ 143,050, of which 67% was for disease control work with clear evidence of significant economies of scale due to targeting three diseases together. It appears from this study that the integrated control approach against the three zoonoses was effective on both economic and logistical levels.

CITY LOGISTICS – STATUS AND TRENDS

City logistics aims to increase the efficiency and mitigate the negative effects of logistics processes and activities, and at the same time support the sustainable development of the urban areas. Major European and national research projects, undertaken from the end of the last century onwards, indicate that the state of the urban area logistics is quite critical. The situation requires a comprehensive analysis and active participation of the authorities and companies in order to solve the growing problems and define the sustainable solutions which would encourage the economic development and improve the living conditions in the city. In order to make logistics activities less routine, and thereby more efficient, many initiatives have been launched, especially in the terms of environmental impact and service quality. However, the changes are slow and environmental trends are setting new challenges. The main problem is the lack of planning activities and comprehensive and long term policy of city logistics. Decisions of city planners are often inadequate, without the analysis of existing situation and interaction of city logistics and complex socio-economic system of the city and its surrounding, without research and studies of different measures and impacts on the overall city logistics system. This article presented the current situation and trends in the implementation of logistics chains within the urban areas in order to highlight the complexity of solving the problems of a complex city logistics system.

Nanoremediation and International Environmental Restoration Markets

Nanoscale zero‐valent iron (nZVI) is the most commonly used nanoremediation material. While there has been a reasonable level of application of nZVI technologies for in situ remediation in the United States, its utilization across Europe has been much more limited. There has been significant uncertainty about the balance between deployment risks and benefits for nanoparticles (NPs), which has affected the regulatory position in several countries. Some member states of the European Union (EU) take a strong precautionary view of the risks from the deployment of NPs into the subsurface, preventing the adoption of the technology. This article provides a risk–benefit assessment for nZVI based on published information and describes the steps that will be taken by a major European research project (NanoRem), as part of its work to provide a basis for better informed decision making in European environmental restoration markets. A key part of this process is dialogue between practitioners and researchers. NanoRem therefore has an active process of communication with different stakeholder networks (regulators, service providers, and site owners). NanoRem hopes to stimulate a consensus on appropriate use of nanoremediation and thereby stimulate effective technology transfer to the European remediation market. ©2015 The Authors

MODSafe Project–Overview of a Proposed Life Cycle Approach for Urban Guided Transport Systems

Strong local histories have led in the past to particular local safety concepts, requirements and acceptance schemes for metro, tram and light rail systems from country to country and even from city to city. Urban guided transportation has often been the trendsetter in technology application, driverless or unattended operation projects for example, impacting the life cycle complexity for these kinds of systems. Furthermore, interchangeability of components (crossacceptance) is more and more a driving force to reduce procurement costs and commercial risks, but turns out to be technically challenging.Recent Urban Guided Transport applications have been increasingly assessed by taking into account the existing European railway application standards. The European Commission is encouraging a harmonization drive, notably through its support of major European research projects such as MODSafe – Modular Urban Transport Safety and Security Analysis, one of the latest EU-funded projects in the European Transport sector.The purpose of the MODSafe project is to undertake research of major steps of the Safety Life Cycle of urban guided transport systems in Europe. Even if the rail safety landscape in urban guided transport is highly diversified, the sector will benefit from some kind of harmonization. Beyond safety and security related aspects the MODSafe project deals with life cycle responsibilities as well as acceptance, approval and certification processes.This paper presents one of the key results of the MODSafe project, namely a life cycle approach proposal for urban guided transport systems with typical life cycle phase related roles & responsibilities and key activities. Its application aims reducing the future efforts needs for new or upgraded urban guided transport systems. This paperpresents an overview of the life cycle approach proposal.

Design of floor structures against human‐induced vibrations

AbstractA simple method for designing floor structures against humaninduced vibrations is presented in a joint JRC‐ECCS publication, which was developed from two major European research projects supported by the Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS). The simple method is appropriate for floors where the response is dominated by the first eigenmode being excited by walking. This paper presents a general design method that was also developed within the scope of these RFCS projects and is based on a modal superposition approach. The method has a wider range of application as it may be applied to any floor type and, in addition to walking, other human activities can be readily included. The general design methodology has been successfully used in the UK since 2004 on a variety of steel‐framed floors, which have included office, hospital, residential and dance floors.

Operating Large Scale Membrane Bioreactors for Municipal Wastewater Treatment

During the last decade membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology has grown up to be state of the art in municipal wastewater treatment. Since 1999 the Erftverband has designed, tendered and commissioned three MBR for municipal wastewater treatment in Germany, with capacities from 3,000 to 45,000 m3/d. The Erftverband was one of the pioneers in the full scale application of the technology regularly hosted training and information workshops for plant designers and operators from all over the world.Operating Large Scale Membrane Bioreactors for Municipal Wastewater Treatment provides hands-on information on many aspects of MBR technology based on more than ten years of practical experience in the operation of MBR plants with hollow-fiber microfiltration units. It gives details on process configuration, investment and operation costs based on case studies and also in comparison to data from conventional activated sludge (CAS) treatment processes. The book contains the most recent research findings as Erftverband has been collaborating on many of the major European research projects dedicated to MBR technology.Actual process data from all treatment steps of the plants (mechanical pre-treatment, bioreactors, filtration, membrane cleaning) gives an insight into the long-term performance of the MBR plants and into the possible do's and dont's of full scale applications and the potential for further process optimisation. It is a good source of practical advice on tendering and construction, plant management and operation.Operating Large Scale Membrane Bioreactors for Municipal Wastewater Treatment is essential reading for practitioners and researchers, providing information on many aspects of MBR technology, including actual process data, graphs and pictures that illustrate the challenges of MBR design and operation.ISBN: 9781843393054 (Print)ISBN: 9781780401409 (eBook)

The international Boltzmann project – the contribution of the PTB

Abstract To support new determinations of the Boltzmann constant, which have been requested by the International Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM) and which are necessary for preparative steps towards new definitions of the kilogram, the ampere, the kelvin and the mole, an iMERAPlus joint research project is coordinating the European activities in this field in Spain (CEM), Denmark (DFM), France (LNE-INM/CNAM, University Paris North), Italy (INRiM, Universities of Naples and Milan), United Kingdom (NPL), Germany (PTB) and in the European Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM). In this major European research project, the Boltzmann constant will be determined with various methods. The aims and the progress to date of the PTB contribution are reviewed in this article. To cite this article: B. Fellmuth et al., C. R. Physique 10 (2009).

Major European research projects

Major European research projects

The CoastView project: Developing video-derived Coastal State Indicators in support of coastal zone management

This contribution outlines the philosophy and procedures adopted in a major European research project focused on the development of video systems in support of coastal zone management. The CoastView project has developed video-derived Coastal State Indicators (CSIs) that directly facilitate management decisions. Coastal State Indicators are defined here as, “ A reduced set of issue-related parameters that can simply, adequately and quantitatively describe the dynamic-state and evolutionary trends of a coastal system”. The process of defining useful CSIs involves close interaction between coastal managers, scientists and policy makers. Even with frequent formal discussions and colloquia between these parties the process of defining useful indicators frequently fails. An approach [Van Koningsveld, M., 2003. Matching specialist knowledge with end-user needs. PhD Thesis, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands, 173 p.] is described in this paper which guarantees the effectiveness of the resulting CSIs, and enhances the communication process between scientist and coastal managers. Some practical examples of the frame of reference are given by way of illustration and a detailed description is given of the procedure adopted within the CoastView project for defining and evaluating CSIs. The philosophies and methodologies used during the three year CoastView project have proved successful and provide a valuable template on which to base future research projects focussing on end-user oriented research.

Buoyancy-Induced Flow in Open Rotating Cavities

Buoyancy-induced flow can occur in the cavity between the co-rotating compressor disks in gas-turbine engines, where the Rayleigh numbers can be in excess of 1012. In most cases the cavity is open at the center, and an axial throughflow of cooling air can interact with the buoyancy-induced flow between the disks. Such flows can be modeled, computationally and experimentally, by a simple rotating cavity with an axial flow of air. This paper describes work conducted as part of ICAS-GT, a major European research project. Experimental measurements of velocity, temperature, and heat transfer were obtained on a purpose-built experimental rig, and these results have been reported in an earlier paper. In addition, 3D unsteady CFD computations were carried out using a commercial code (Fluent) and a RNG k‐ε turbulence model. The computed velocity vectors and contours of temperature reveal a flow structure in which, as seen by previous experimenters, “radial arms” transport cold air from the center to the periphery of the cavity, and regions of cyclonic and anticyclonic circulation are formed on either side of each arm. The computed radial distribution of the tangential velocity agrees reasonably well with the measurements in two of the three cases considered here. In the third case, the computations significantly overpredict the measurements; the reason for this is not understood. The computed and measured values of Nu for the heated disk show qualitatively similar radial distributions, with high values near the center and the periphery. In two of the cases, the quantitative agreement is reasonably good; in the third case, the computations significantly underpredict the measured values.

Toward an international standard for PCR-based detection of Escherichia coli O157 : Part 1. Assay development and multi-center validation

As part of a major European research project, a diagnostic PCR assay, including an internal amplification control, was developed and validated in a collaborative trial for the detection of Escherichia coli O157. The assay is based on amplification of sequences of the rfbE O157 gene. The collaborative trial, including 12 international laboratories, was carried out in two phases: phase (a) was performed with identical PCR reagents, including the internal control, provided by the sending laboratory; phase (b) was performed on the same samples and internal control but using in-house PCR reagents of own choice. Phase (a) showed an inclusivity (detection of target strains) of 96.8% and the exclusivity (negative response from nontarget strains) was 100%. The overall performance resulted of phase (a) in an accordance of 98.8, concordance of 98.6, and a concordance odds ratio of 1.11. Phase (b) results showed an accuracy of 100% with all partners and by using different polymerase types and thermocycler models. This indicates that the assay, under consideration as an international standard, was just as reproducible between laboratories, as repeatable within a laboratory. The assay is taken further for validation on carcass-rinse samples.

Structural design of stainless steel members — comparison between Eurocode 3, Part 1.4 and test results

The paper describes the test results of an ongoing major European research project which is concerned with the further development and refinement of structural design guidance for stainless steel. The paper concentrates on the work carried out to date on the design of beams, columns and beam–columns and compares the test results with resistances predicted by the design pre-standard for structural stainless steel, ENV 1993-1-4. In general, the design guidance is conservative. The tests on CHS beams indicate that the limiting diameter-to-thickness ratios for section classification can be considerably increased. For welded I-section beams, the ENV 1993-1-4 lateral torsional buckling curve appears very conservative and the less conservative curve adopted in ENV 1993-1-1 for carbon steel appears to give a better fit to the data.

European helicopter rotor noise research—Highlights of recent projects

Significant advances in understanding, modeling, and controlling helicopter rotor noise have been made in the course of several major European rotor aeroacoustic research projects over the past years. The availability of the German–Dutch Wind Tunnel (DNW), in particular, has enabled research on relatively large main rotor models (up to typically 40% full scale). Here, the simultaneous application and use of blade-mounted absolute pressure sensors to study the very aeroacoustic source mechanisms, of advanced acoustic-data acquisition systems for the radiated noise, of non-intrusive flow visualization as well as flow and blade deflection measurement techniques to investigate the rotor wake and the blade dynamic response has provided much insight into the physics of rotor aeroacoustics, particularly into the rotor blade-vortex interaction (BVI) impulsive noise phenomenon. In efforts towards controlling BVI impulsive noise, in some research projects, active blade-root control techniques have been investigated to favorably affect the BVI geometry and thus minimize the impulsive noise radiation. Much of the experimental data acquired served as benchmark information to enhance the mathematical modeling of the rotor wake, the rotor airloads, and the noise radiation. In this lecture, several major European helicopter aeroacoustic research projects are discussed.

A parametric windtunnel test on rotorcraft aerodynamics and aeroacoustics (Helishape) — test procedures and representative results

Within the framework of a major European co-operative research project on rotorcraft aerodynamics and acoustics (Helishape), a parametric model rotor test was conducted in the open test section of the DNW using DLR's MWM test rig, and a highly instrumented model of a fully articulated ECF rotor equipped with blades of advanced design with two exchangeable blade tips. One set of blade tips (7A) was rectangular, while the other (7AD1) was a swept-back parabolic-anhedral shape. The objectives of this experimental research were to evaluate noise reduction techniques (conceptionally by variation of rotor speed, dedicated tip shapes and advanced aerofoils, as well as operationally, by identifying low noise, BVI-minimising, descent procedures) and to validate the partners’ aerodynamic and aeroacoustic codes. A comprehensive set of simultaneous acoustic and aerodynamic blade surface pressure data and blade dynamic and performance data was measured. In addition, valuable information on the tip-vortex geometry and blade-vortex miss distance was obtained by LLS flow visualisation. The experimental equipment, the test procedures, and the test matrix are briefly described. A survey of the main results is presented and the trends of the most important parameter variations for both rotors are discussed.

Human Resource Management: A European Perspective

Considers the concept of Human Resource Management (HRM), noting particularly its origin in the USA and critiques of the concept in Europe. Data from a major European research project are examined. Differences between various European countries in their approach to HRM are identified and differences between HRM in Europe and the United States are suggested. It is argued that there is a need for the development of a model which relates more closely than the American literature to European HRM; and some tentative thoughts about such a model are proposed.