The Role of Smart Cities on Smart Healthcare Management

This qualitative study examines the role of Smart Cities in smart healthcare management. Interviews with eight practitioners in the field were conducted and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The findings highlight the significant contributions of Smart Cities in healthcare, such as improved data collection, analysis, and communication between providers and patients. Challenges include the integration of healthcare technologies within Smart City infrastructures and addressing privacy and security concerns. The research underscores the importance of robust digital infrastructures and collaborative efforts between public and private sectors to support the implementation of smart healthcare services in Smart Cities. Recommendations include enhancing adaptability to new technologies and improving communication between healthcare providers and patients

Optimizing the Infrastructure of Electric Vehicles and Developing Business Models for Sustainability

Transportation is one of the major sources of economy for any country. But the main problem with the vehicles is the amount of pollution conducted by them. One needs a particular source that creates Net Zero Carbon Emissions. Electric vehicles are becoming a popular source of transportation as they do not produce any carbon emissions. But due to a lack of proper infrastructure and customer awareness, consumers hesitate to decide on an Electric Vehicle to date. The paper also covers the expansion of VANET Technology that can improve the traffic management system and reduce the number of accidents. For this reason, this paper aims to identify the area of improvement in building the infrastructure of electric vehicles with economic policies

Prescribing differences in family practice for diabetic patients in Germany according to statutory or private health insurance: the case of DPP-4-inhibitors and GLP-1-agonists

Background: The objective of this study was to analyze prescription decisions for family practice (FP) patients with Diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM2) using the case of the incretin mimetics Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DDP-4) inhibitors and Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonists dependent on patients’ health insurance status (statutory or private) in Germany. This study is important since the scientific debate is still open with regard to DPP-4-inhibitors and GLP-1-agonists, where some critics are raising questions on potential long-term risks for patients. Methods: Data for this analysis were sourced from the German health services research register CONTENT (CONTinuous morbidity registration Epidemiologic NeTwork), in which FP health services information, generated by family practitioners, is continuously collated, e.g. patients’ health insurance status, morbidity and pharmacotherapy. Patients with Diabetes mellitus type 1 (DM1) were excluded from the study. Results: From the family practices collaborating in the CONTENT research network, there were 7298 patients treated with pharmacotherapeutic agents for DM2 between 01.09.2009 and 31.08.2014. 586 (8.03%) of these patients had private insurance. Prescriptions for the incretin mimetics were 40.6% higher (9.7 vs. 6.9%; p < 0.0001) for patients with private insurance compared to patients with statutory health insurance. This finding was confirmed with multivariable analyses. Conclusions: There was a statistically significant difference found in prescription patterns according to the patient’s health insurance status for the incretin mimetics in this sample population of German patients with DM2. Obviously, these differences result from the eligibility for reimbursement according to patients’ health insurance status. Whether incretin mimetics pose specific long term risks for particular patients is yet to be determined

A Mannheim Best Smart City Case: New Measuring System for the Complex Analysis of Spatially Distributed Environmental Data

Serving Smart City (SC) and societal objectives (i.e. contributing to better air quality and combat the Corona virus), a novel measuring device is presented as the latest offspring of the SC Ecosystem Mannheim. In this paper – based on the description of the concerted activities of the various players of the Mannheim SC ecosystem – we aim to present the findings of our study of the distribution of gases and particles and their impact on the health of SC citizens of all ages and the ecological balance. Furthermore, the relationship between CO2 and liquid aerosols is discussed. In particular, the questions of how corona-relevant droplets spread and how quickly they evaporate are investigated. A broad portfolio of possible applications suggested by Nevoox rounds off the article. The practical case is interlinked with the results of the DevOps Competences for Smart Cities project with competences being the common denominator. The case reflects necessary transversal (such as creative, innovative, entrepreneurial, networking) and technical competences (i.e. related to coding, data architechture, big data, cloud computing or AI) to exist in an ecosystem aiming for sustainable innovation

Optimization of Cities through Green Spaces

� reviewed paper REAL CORP 2023 Proceedings/Tagungsband 18-20 September 2023 – https://www.corp.at ISBN 978-3-9504945-2-5. Editors: M. SCHRENK, V. V: POPOVICH, P. ZEILE, P. ELISEI, C.BEYER, J. RYSER, H. R. KAUFMANN – Ljubljana, Slovenia 575 Optimization of Cities through Green Spaces Hans Rüdiger Kaufmann, Thomas Walch, Gamze Ünsal-Peter, Danny Westphal, Thomas Schäfer, Stefan Bley, Matthias Rädle (Hans Rüdiger Kaufmann, University of Applied Management Studies; Mannheim, DE; [email protected]) (Thomas Walch, Factory Agency; Mannheim, DE; [email protected]) (Gamze Ünsal-Peter, Hochschule Mannheim; Mannheim, DE; [email protected]) (Danny Westphal, Hochschule Mannheim; Mannheim, DE; [email protected]) (Thomas Schäfer, Hochschule Mannheim; Mannheim, DE; [email protected]) (Stefan Bley, City of Mannheim; Mannheim, DE; [email protected]) (Matthias Rädle, Hochschule Mannheim; Mannheim, DE; [email protected]) 1 ABSTRACT In general, the trend prevailed in recent years that the effects of civilization's interventions in environmental conditions have not been as prominent in publications as they were before the outbreak of the Corona pandemic. The Corona pandemic has focused attention on the most pressing problems in recent years, such as, in metrological terms, the dispersion of liquid aerosols. Although incidences due to Corona are still extremely high, and the number of days of illness has a massive impact on industrial and societal processes, Corona is no longer considered the No. 1 issue. This is due in particular to the lower mortality that has resulted from the immunization of the population and the attenuation of the dangerousness of the new generations of the pathogen. By pushing the topic of Corona off the front pages of journals, previously discussed priorities are increasingly resurfacing. Against this backdrop, the long ‘dead’ discussion about the occurrence and effects of particulate matter is gaining momentum again. This paper revisits a previous Real Corp conference paper (Westphal et al., 2022), in which the authors suggest and explain the contributions of an innovative measurement device (ProxiCube) developed by the City of Mannheim’s ecosystem addressing the key success factors for awarded Smart Cities and the various factors of an urban management model. This paper exemplifies the cube’s contribution by a specifically designed and conducted research experiment. In the research setting of the City of Mannheim, a city in the forefront of the Smart City movement in Germany, the empirical part of the paper comprises the parameters of liquid aerosol, dry particulate matter, CO2, humidity, temperature, pressure and light conditions which were measured by innovative and internationally awarded air quality measurement devices (ProxiCube) (see Westphal et al., 2022) simultaneously at five parallel measurement points of the city at a high data rate. With the measurement constellation, influences can be visualized such as the daily course of all these measured variables at a busy street juxtaposed to the backyard of adjacent buildings or to the building itself implying a crucial impact for the citizens’ life quality

Shrub expansion modulates belowground impacts of changing snow conditions in alpine grasslands

Climate change is disproportionately impacting mountain ecosystems, leading to large reductions in winter snow cover, earlier spring snowmelt and widespread shrub expansion into alpine grasslands. Yet, the combined effects of shrub expansion and changing snow conditions on abiotic and biotic soil properties remains poorly understood. We used complementary field experiments to show that reduced snow cover and earlier snowmelt have effects on soil microbial communities and functioning that persist into summer. However, ericaceous shrub expansion modulates a number of these impacts and has stronger belowground effects than changing snow conditions. Ericaceous shrub expansion did not alter snow depth or snowmelt timing but did increase the abundance of ericoid mycorrhizal fungi and oligotrophic bacteria, which was linked to decreased soil respiration and nitrogen availability. Our findings suggest that changing winter snow conditions have cross-seasonal impacts on soil properties, but shifts in vegetation can modulate belowground effects of future alpine climate change

Shrub expansion modulates belowground impacts of changing snow conditions in alpine grasslands

From Wiley via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: received 2021-05-03, rev-recd 2021-06-18, accepted 2021-10-06, pub-electronic 2021-10-27Article version: VoRPublication status: PublishedFunder: Natural Environment Research Council; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000270; Grant(s): NE/N009452/1Funder: Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000268; Grant(s): BB/S010661/1Abstract: Climate change is disproportionately impacting mountain ecosystems, leading to large reductions in winter snow cover, earlier spring snowmelt and widespread shrub expansion into alpine grasslands. Yet, the combined effects of shrub expansion and changing snow conditions on abiotic and biotic soil properties remains poorly understood. We used complementary field experiments to show that reduced snow cover and earlier snowmelt have effects on soil microbial communities and functioning that persist into summer. However, ericaceous shrub expansion modulates a number of these impacts and has stronger belowground effects than changing snow conditions. Ericaceous shrub expansion did not alter snow depth or snowmelt timing but did increase the abundance of ericoid mycorrhizal fungi and oligotrophic bacteria, which was linked to decreased soil respiration and nitrogen availability. Our findings suggest that changing winter snow conditions have cross‐seasonal impacts on soil properties, but shifts in vegetation can modulate belowground effects of future alpine climate change

Technology transfer model for Austrian higher education institutions

The aim of this paper is to present the findings of a PhD research (Heinzl 2007, Unpublished PhD Thesis) conducted on the Universities of Applied Sciences in Austria. Four of the models that emerge from this research are: Generic Technology Transfer Model (Sect. 5.1); Idiosyncrasies Model for the Austrian Universities of Applied Sciences (Sect. 5.2); Idiosyncrasies-Technology Transfer Effects Model (Sect. 5.3); Idiosyncrasies-Technology Transfer Cumulated Effects Model (Sect. 5.3). The primary and secondary research methods employed for this study are: literature survey, focus groups, participant observation, and interviews. The findings of the research contribute to a conceptual design of a technology transfer system which aims to enhance the higher education institutions' technology transfer performance. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

Structurally encoded intraclass differences in EphA clusters drive distinct cell responses

Functional outcomes of ephrin binding to Eph receptors (Ephs) range from cell repulsion to adhesion. Here we used cell collapse and stripe assays, showing contrasting effects of human ephrinA5 binding to EphA2 and EphA4. Despite equivalent ligand binding affinities, EphA4 triggered greater cell collapse, whereas EphA2-expressing cells adhered better to ephrinA5-coated surfaces. Chimeric receptors showed that the ectodomain is a major determinant of cell response. We report crystal structures of EphA4 ectodomain alone and in complexes with ephrinB3 and ephrinA5. These revealed closed clusters with a dimeric or circular arrangement in the crystal lattice, contrasting with extended arrays previously observed for EphA2 ectodomain. Localization microscopy showed that ligand-stimulated EphA4 induces smaller clusters than does EphA2. Mutant Ephs link these characteristics to interactions observed in the crystal lattices, suggesting a mechanism by which distinctive ectodomain surfaces determine clustering, and thereby signaling, properties. © 2013 Nature America, Inc. All rights reserved

Appendix C. The Rotmoos glacier foreland: photographs from 1895 and 1999.

The Rotmoos glacier foreland: photographs from 1895 and 1999