NAVIO - A Navigation Service for Pedestrains

In the research project NAVIO (Pedestrian Navigation Systems in Combined Indoor/Outdoor Environments) at our university (Vienna University of Technology), we are working on the improvement of navigation services for pedestrians. We are mainly focusing on the information aspect of location-based services, i.e., on the user\u27s task at hand and the support of the user\u27s decisions by information provided by navigation services. Specifications allow us to select appropriate sensor data and to integrate data when and where needed, to propose context-dependent routes fitting to partly conflicting interests and goals as well as to select appropriate communication methods in terms of supporting the user by various multimedia cartography forms. In this paper, these tasks are addressed in three different work packages: Integrated positioning, Pedestrian route modeling, and Multimedia route communication. In this paper we will concentrate on the findings of the first work package. For continuous positioning of a pedestrian suitable location, technologies include GNSS and indoor location techniques, cellular phone positioning, dead reckoning sensors (e.g. magnetic compass, gyro and accelerometers) for measurement of heading and travelled distance as well as barometric pressure sensors for height determination. The integration of these sensors in a modern multi-sensor system can be performed using an adapted Kalman filter. To test and to demonstrate our approach, we take a use case scenario into account, i.e., the guidance of visitors to departments of the University. The results of simulation studies and practical tests will confirm whether such a service can achieve a high level of performance for the guidance of pedestrians in urban areas and in mixed indoor and outdoor environments

Association of cetuximab with adverse pulmonary events in cancer patients: a comprehensive review

Compounds derived from biologic sources, or biologicals, are increasingly utilized as therapeutic agents in malignancy. Development of anti-cancer targeted therapies from biologics is increasingly being utilized. Cetuximab, a chimeric monoclonal antibody, is one such anti-cancer targeted therapeutic that has shown efficacy in quelling the rate of patient decline in colorectal, head/neck, and non-small cell lung cancer. However, due to the relatively recent addition of biologic compounds to the therapeutic arsenal, information related to adverse reactions is less well known than those seen in traditional chemotherapeutics. Dermatologic reactions have been demonstrated as the most frequent side effect cited during cetuximab therapy for malignancy; however, other effects may lead to greater morbidity. In general, pulmonary complications of therapeutics can lead to significant morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this review is to compile the various pulmonary side effects seen in patients treated with cetuximab for various malignancies, and to compare the incidence of these adverse reactions to standard therapies

Net ecosystem exchange of CO2 and energy fluxes of turf in the Denver urban ecosystem and an adjacent tallgrass prairie

Ziel der Studie war es, den Austausch von CO2 und Energie einer urbanen Rasenfläche und einer Langgrasprärie zu vergleichen, wichtige Steuergrößen zu identifizieren und den Einfluss des „urban sprawl“ in einem semi-ariden Klima auf Kohlenstoff-, Energie- und Wasserbudgets abzuschätzen. Enge Beziehungen zeigten sich zwischen Vegetationsentwicklung, Energieflüssen und dem NettoÖkosystemaustausch von CO2 (NEE). Die Bewässerung des Rasens beeinflusste Energie- und Kohlenstoffflüsse und verstärkte die beobachteten Unterschiede zwischen den Messstandorten. Im Vergleich zur Langgrasprärie war die latente Wärme die wichtigste Energiesenke der Rasenfläche, was wiederum direkt die standörtliche Evapotranspiration beeinflusste. Der kumulierte NEE der Rasenfläche übertraf den der Prärie aufgrund einer längeren Wachstumsperiode und einer höheren Netto-CO2-Aufnahme. Die Berücksichtigung von CO2-Emissionen durch die Bewirtschaftung der Rasenflächen führte zu deutlichen Verschiebungen in der Gesamtkohlenstoffbilanz. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Rasenflächen in Denver als Kohlenstoffsenken fungieren können und dadurch zu einem bestimmten Grad zur Verminderung von CO2 Emissionen in urbanen Gebieten beitragen können.This study compares carbon and energy exchanges of turf in an urban ecosystem and that of a tallgrass prairie, identifies key drivers of these exchanges, and assesses the impact of urban sprawl in a semi-arid climate on carbon, energy, and water budgets. Close links were found between vegetation development, energy fluxes, and net ecosystem exchange of CO2 (NEE). Irrigation of turf influenced energy and carbon fluxes and contributed to the differences observed between sites. In comparison to tallgrass prairie, energy partitioning at the turf site was dominated by latent heat energy, directly affecting evapotranspiration. Cumulative turf NEE exceeded that of tallgrass prairie due to a longer growing season and higher daily net CO2 uptake. However, including carbon emissions due to turf management resulted in considerable offsets. The results suggest that lawns in Denver can function as carbon sinks and vegetation may therefore contribute to the mitigation of carbon emissions in urban areas to a certain degree.von Thomas Sebastian Thienel

Estimates of energy partitioning, evapotranspiration, and net ecosystem exchange of CO2 for an urban lawn and a tallgrass prairie in the Denver metropolitan area under contrasting conditions

Lawns as a landcover change substantially alter evapotranspiration, CO2, and energy exchanges and are of rising importance considering their spatial extent. We contrast eddy covariance (EC) flux measurements collected in the Denver, Colorado, USA metropolitan area in 2011 and 2012 over a lawn and a xeric tallgrass prairie. Close linkages between seasonal vegetation development, energy fluxes, and net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO2 were found. Irrigation of the lawn modified energy and CO2 fluxes and greatly contributed to differences observed between sites. Due to greater water inputs (precipitation + irrigation) at the lawn in this semi-arid climate, energy partitioning at the lawn was dominated by latent heat (LE) flux. As a result, evapotranspiration (ET) of the lawn was more than double that of tallgrass prairie (2011: 639(±17) mm vs. 302(±9) mm; 2012: 584(±15) mm vs. 265(±7) mm). NEE for the lawn was characterized by a longer growing season, higher daily net uptake of CO2, and growing season NEE that was also more than twice that of the prairie (2011: −173(±23) g C m−2 vs. -81(±10) g C m−2; 2012: −73(±22) g C m−2 vs. -21(±8) g C m−2). During the drought year (2012), temperature and water stress greatly influenced the direction and magnitude of CO2 flux at both sites. The results suggest that lawns in Denver can function as carbon sinks and conditionally contribute to the mitigation of carbon emissions - directly by CO2 uptake and indirectly through effects of evaporative cooling on microclimate and energy use.Publikationsfonds ML