Smart City: Zur Bedeutung des aktuellen Diskurses für die Arbeit am Zentrum Technik und Gesellschaft

Seit 2013 befasst sich eine interdisziplinäre Arbeitsgruppe am Zentrum Technik und Gesellschaft (ZTG) mit dem Thema Smart City. In diesem discussion paper werden die Ergebnisse dieser Arbeit zusammengefasst und diskutiert, um die ZTG-interne Diskussion und Meinungsbildung zum Thema zu unterstützen und unsere Perspektiven interessierten Dritten zugänglich zu machen. Kapitel 2 bietet ein Überblick über den Forschungs- und Diskussionsstand zum Thema Smart Cities sowie zu den vielfältigen Definitionen und Begriffsverständnissen. Die Smart City Strategien einiger Städte werden exemplarisch analysiert sowie eine Abgrenzung zu ähnlichen Konzepten vorgenommen. Des Weiteren werden kritische Aspekte des Smart City Konzepts dargestellt. In Kapitel 3 wird der Arbeitskreisinterne Diskussionsstand zusammenfasst (3.1) und berichten einzelne Forschungsbereiche des ZTG über ihre bisherigen Erfahrungen und die für diese relevanten Aspekte von Smart Cities (3.2). Im abschließenden 4. Kapitel wird der wissenschaftliche Diskussionsstand mit den ZTG-internen Perspektiven zusammengeführt und die Bedeutung für die zukünftige Arbeit am ZTG und darüber hinaus reflektiert. Eine wesentliche Erkenntnis lautet, dass Smart City Konzepte keine neuartigen Entwicklungsperspektiven repräsentieren, sondern existierende Leitvorstellungen ergänzen. Weiter sind Technologien dann smart, wenn sie den Interessen und Bedürfnissen der Menschen dienen und wenn sie soziale und politische Teilhabe und Inklusion sowie gerechte und demokratische Gesellschaftsstrukturen fördern. So können Smart Cities entstehen, die sich durch ihre hohe Lebensqualität auszeichnen.Since 2013, an interdisciplinary working group at the Center for Technology and Society (CTS) is dealing with the topic smart city. This discussion paper summarizes and discusses results of its activities. Thus, the CTS-internal discussion and opinion building on the topic shall be supported and the findings be made accessible to third parties. Chapter 2 of the paper looks at the state of research and discussion on smart cities and gives an overview of the diverse definitions and understandings of the term. Smart City strategies of selected examples are analysed. Furthermore, similarities and differences with related concepts are worked out and critical aspects of the smart city concept are outlined. Chapter 3 summarizes the working group's internal state of discussion (3.1) and CTS research areas describe their experiences and relevant aspects regarding smart city (3.2). The final chapter 4 merges the scientific discussion with the CTS-internal perspectives and reflects them towards their implications for the future work at the CTS and beyond. Major findings show that smart city concepts do not represent new development perspectives but complement existing conceptions. Furthermore they say that technology is smart when it serves the interests and needs of people, promotes social and political participation and inclusion as well as just and democratic social structures. In this way, cities characterized by a high quality of life will develop

Stewart-Gough Platform: Design and Construction with a Digital PID Controller Implementation

This document presents the design of a digital PID control for a Stewart-Gough platform, delimited by six degrees of freedom (DoF) that allow the final effector to have displacement in the XYZ axes and rotation with warpage, pitch, and yaw restrictions. It includes the study and resolution of the direct and inverse kinematics of the platform, as well as the workspace described by the final effector and its corresponding simulation of movements and joints to study extreme points and possible singularities. From the definition of characteristics, the CAD design generated from the generalized mathematical model of the public domain, and the general selection of materials for the construction of the functional prototype, a study of applied forces is generated to observe the points with stress concentrators, the safety factor, and possible deformations. The estimation of the sampling period for the selection of the microcontroller and an approximate definition of the response time are also considered. The development of this prototype and its documentation are proposed as didactic material for the study, design, and control of parallel mechanisms

Peptides Derived from Mycobacterium leprae ML1601c Discriminate between Leprosy Patients and Healthy Endemic Controls

The stable incidence of new leprosy cases suggests that transmission of infection continues despite worldwide implementation of MDT. Thus, specific tools are needed to diagnose early stage Mycobacterium leprae infection, the likely sources of transmission. M. leprae antigens that induce T-cell responses in M. leprae exposed and/or infected individuals thus are major targets for new diagnostic tools. Previously, we showed that ML1601c was immunogenic in patients and healthy household contacts (HHC). However, some endemic controls (EC) also recognized this protein. To improve the diagnostic potential, IFN-γ responses to ML1601c peptides were assessed using PBMC from Brazilian leprosy patients and EC. Five ML1601c peptides only induced IFN-γ in patients and HHC. Moreover, 24-hour whole-blood assay (WBA), two ML1601c peptides could assess the level of M. leprae exposure in Ethiopian EC. Beside IFN-γ, also IP-10, IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α, and MCP-1 were increased in EC from areas with high leprosy prevalence in response to these ML1601c peptides. Thus, ML1601c peptides may be useful for differentiating M. leprae exposed or infected individuals and can also be used to indicate the magnitude of M. leprae transmission even in the context of various HLA alleles as present in these different genetic backgrounds

Investigating variation in replicability

Although replication is a central tenet of science, direct replications are rare in psychology. This research tested variation in the replicability of 13 classic and contemporary effects across 36 independent samples totaling 6,344 participants. In the aggregate, 10 effects replicated consistently. One effect – imagined contact reducing prejudice – showed weak support for replicability. And two effects – flag priming influencing conservatism and currency priming influencing system justification – did not replicate. We compared whether the conditions such as lab versus online or US versus international sample predicted effect magnitudes. By and large they did not. The results of this small sample of effects suggest that replicability is more dependent on the effect itself than on the sample and setting used to investigate the effect

Canagliflozin and Cardiovascular and Renal Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Chronic Kidney Disease in Primary and Secondary Cardiovascular Prevention Groups

Background: Canagliflozin reduces the risk of kidney failure in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease, but effects on specific cardiovascular outcomes are uncertain, as are effects in people without previous cardiovascular disease (primary prevention). Methods: In CREDENCE (Canagliflozin and Renal Events in Diabetes With Established Nephropathy Clinical Evaluation), 4401 participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease were randomly assigned to canagliflozin or placebo on a background of optimized standard of care. Results: Primary prevention participants (n=2181, 49.6%) were younger (61 versus 65 years), were more often female (37% versus 31%), and had shorter duration of diabetes mellitus (15 years versus 16 years) compared with secondary prevention participants (n=2220, 50.4%). Canagliflozin reduced the risk of major cardiovascular events overall (hazard ratio [HR], 0.80 [95% CI, 0.67-0.95]; P=0.01), with consistent reductions in both the primary (HR, 0.68 [95% CI, 0.49-0.94]) and secondary (HR, 0.85 [95% CI, 0.69-1.06]) prevention groups (P for interaction=0.25). Effects were also similar for the components of the composite including cardiovascular death (HR, 0.78 [95% CI, 0.61-1.00]), nonfatal myocardial infarction (HR, 0.81 [95% CI, 0.59-1.10]), and nonfatal stroke (HR, 0.80 [95% CI, 0.56-1.15]). The risk of the primary composite renal outcome and the composite of cardiovascular death or hospitalization for heart failure were also consistently reduced in both the primary and secondary prevention groups (P for interaction >0.5 for each outcome). Conclusions: Canagliflozin significantly reduced major cardiovascular events and kidney failure in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease, including in participants who did not have previous cardiovascular disease

Canagliflozin and renal outcomes in type 2 diabetes and nephropathy

BACKGROUND Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of kidney failure worldwide, but few effective long-term treatments are available. In cardiovascular trials of inhibitors of sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2), exploratory results have suggested that such drugs may improve renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS In this double-blind, randomized trial, we assigned patients with type 2 diabetes and albuminuric chronic kidney disease to receive canagliflozin, an oral SGLT2 inhibitor, at a dose of 100 mg daily or placebo. All the patients had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 30 to <90 ml per minute per 1.73 m2 of body-surface area and albuminuria (ratio of albumin [mg] to creatinine [g], >300 to 5000) and were treated with renin–angiotensin system blockade. The primary outcome was a composite of end-stage kidney disease (dialysis, transplantation, or a sustained estimated GFR of <15 ml per minute per 1.73 m2), a doubling of the serum creatinine level, or death from renal or cardiovascular causes. Prespecified secondary outcomes were tested hierarchically. RESULTS The trial was stopped early after a planned interim analysis on the recommendation of the data and safety monitoring committee. At that time, 4401 patients had undergone randomization, with a median follow-up of 2.62 years. The relative risk of the primary outcome was 30% lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group, with event rates of 43.2 and 61.2 per 1000 patient-years, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.59 to 0.82; P=0.00001). The relative risk of the renal-specific composite of end-stage kidney disease, a doubling of the creatinine level, or death from renal causes was lower by 34% (hazard ratio, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.81; P<0.001), and the relative risk of end-stage kidney disease was lower by 32% (hazard ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.86; P=0.002). The canagliflozin group also had a lower risk of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke (hazard ratio, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.67 to 0.95; P=0.01) and hospitalization for heart failure (hazard ratio, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.47 to 0.80; P<0.001). There were no significant differences in rates of amputation or fracture. CONCLUSIONS In patients with type 2 diabetes and kidney disease, the risk of kidney failure and cardiovascular events was lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group at a median follow-up of 2.62 years