Improving the well-being of older people by reducing their energy consumption through energy-aware systems

Abstract-Fuel poverty is becoming a problem amongst the older community in the UK. We propose an assistive technology for reduced energy consumption in aid of active aging. We introduce how the well-being of older people within the community can be improved by reducing anxiety associated with fuel poverty. A recommender and behavioural change system will be introduced, which enables older people to improve their energy footprint through energy-aware systems. Using systems to help reduce fuel poverty will invariably improve their general well-being. Results show how this technology can be accepted and act as an enabler in improving the overall well-being of older people

Energy-aware systems for improving the well-being of older people by reducing their energy consumption

Fuel poverty is becoming a problem amongst the older community in the UK. To help reduce the anxiety that fuel poverty places on older members of the community, this paper will first address why such systems are necessary before introducing a system and various interfaces for engaging and promoting better energy usage. Key areas of the proposed prototype will be discussed which focuses on a recommender and behavioural change system which enables older people to improve their energy footprint through energy-aware systems. Using systems to help reduce fuel poverty will invariably improve their general well-being. Results show how this technology can be accepted and act as an enabler in improving the overall well-being of older people as well as other system considerations. In addition, a number of subsequent phases of the project will be detailed which will discuss a longer test duration, an analysis of the data harvested and future directions

Coupling a model of human thermoregulation with computational fluid dynamics for predicting human-environment interaction

This paper describes the methods developed to couple a commercial CFD program with a multi-segmented model of human thermal comfort and physiology. A CFD model is able to predict detailed temperatures and velocities of airflow around a human body, whilst a thermal comfort model is able to predict the response of a human to the environment surrounding it. By coupling the two models and exchanging information about the heat transfer at the body surface the coupled system can potentially predict the response of a human body to detailed local environmental conditions. This paper presents a method of exchanging data, using shared files, to provide a means of dynamically exchanging simulation data with the IESD-Fiala model during the CFD solution process. Additional code is used to set boundary conditions for the CFD simulation at the body surface as determined by the IESD-Fiala model and to return information about local environmental conditions adjacent to the body surface as determined by the CFD simulation. The coupled system is used to model a human subject in a naturally ventilated environment. The resulting ventilation flow pattern agrees well with other numerical and experimental work

Especificidade linguocultural das unidades fraseológicas no processo do ensino de línguas

In modern linguistics, there is a great interest in the analysis of linguistic and cultural material in the process of teaching languages, an anthropocentric paradigm is formed, the language is considered not only within its communicative and cognitive function, but as a kind of cultural code of individual linguistic and cultural communities. The purpose of this scientific article is to study the manifestation of linguistic and cultural worldview and to study the linguistic and cultural aspect of learning English through phraseological level units. The study of the conceptual structure allows us to identify deeper and more significant properties of an object or phenomenon. Such properties represent generalized features of an object or phenomenon that are considered the most important and necessary for their identification, since the features of an object or phenomenon form the structure of the concept. The object of this scientific article is phraseological units that express the concepts of the inner world of a person, the specifics of their functioning and interpretation in the English language, and aspects of their use in the process of teaching English. All the subtleties of a nation's culture are reflected in its language, which is specific and unique since it captures the world and the person in it in different ways (BUYANOVA, 1998). “Therefore, the problem of the relationship between language and culture occupies one of the Central places in the problems of research conducted in the field of linguoculturology and cognitive science.”. Linguoculturology is the branch of linguistics that emerged at the intersection of linguistics and cultural studies and exploring the manifestations of the culture of the people, which were reflected and fixed in the language (VERESHCHAGIN, 1982).En la lingüística moderna existe un gran interés por el análisis del material lingüístico y cultural en el proceso de enseñanza de las lenguas, se forma un paradigma antropocéntrico, se considera la lengua no solo dentro de su función comunicativa y cognitiva, sino como una especie de código cultural de las comunidades lingüísticas y culturales individuales. El propósito de este artículo científico es estudiar la manifestación de la cosmovisión lingüística y cultural y estudiar el aspecto lingüístico y cultural del aprendizaje del inglés a través de unidades de nivel fraseológico. El estudio de la estructura conceptual nos permite identificar propiedades más profundas y significativas de un objeto o fenómeno. Tales propiedades representan características generalizadas de un objeto o fenómeno que se consideran las más importantes y necesarias para su identificación, ya que las características de un objeto o fenómeno forman la estructura del concepto. El objeto de este artículo científico son las unidades fraseológicas que expresan los conceptos del mundo interior de una persona, las especificidades de su funcionamiento e interpretación en el idioma inglés, y aspectos de su uso en el proceso de enseñanza del inglés. Todas las sutilezas de la cultura de una nación se reflejan en su lenguaje, que es específico y único ya que capta el mundo y la persona en él de diferentes formas (BUYANOVA, 1998). «Por tanto, el problema de la relación entre lengua y cultura ocupa uno de los lugares centrales en los problemas de la investigación realizada en el campo de la lingüoculturología y las ciencias cognitivas. La linguoculturología es la rama de la lingüística que surge en la intersección de la lingüística y los estudios culturales y explora las manifestaciones de la cultura de las personas, que se reflejaban y fijaban en la lengua (VERESHCHAGIN, 1982).Na linguística moderna, há um grande interesse na análise de material linguístico e cultural no processo de ensino de línguas, forma-se um paradigma antropocêntrico, a língua é considerada não apenas dentro de sua função comunicativa e cognitiva, mas como uma espécie de código cultural de comunidades linguísticas e culturais individuais. O objetivo deste artigo científico é estudar a manifestação da visão de mundo linguística e cultural e estudar o aspecto linguístico e cultural da aprendizagem do inglês por meio de unidades de nível fraseológico. O estudo da estrutura conceitual nos permite identificar propriedades mais profundas e significativas de um objeto ou fenômeno. Tais propriedades representam características generalizadas de um objeto ou fenômeno que são consideradas as mais importantes e necessárias para sua identificação, uma vez que as características de um objeto ou fenômeno formam a estrutura do conceito. O objeto deste artigo científico são as unidades fraseológicas que expressam os conceitos do mundo interior de uma pessoa, as especificidades de seu funcionamento e interpretação na língua inglesa e aspectos de seu uso no processo de ensino de inglês. Todas as sutilezas da cultura de uma nação se refletem em sua linguagem, que é específica e única, pois capta o mundo e a pessoa que nele se encontra de diferentes maneiras (BUYANOVA, 1998). «Portanto, o problema da relação entre língua e cultura ocupa um dos lugares centrais nos problemas da investigação realizada no campo da linguoculturologia e das ciências cognitivas”. A linguoculturologia é o ramo da linguística que surgiu na intersecção da linguística e dos estudos culturais e explorando as manifestações da cultura do povo, que se refletiam e se fixavam na língua (VERESHCHAGIN, 1982)

Union railways: Ad spot pricing dilemma? (B)

Faced with considerable losses and increased pressure to generate alternative sources of funding, Union Railways (UR) twice attempted to auction ad spots at their flagship trains and stations. On both the occasions, the market responded with substantially lower bids than management’s expectation. Surprised by the lackluster response, the management decided to conduct a detailed analysis of the ad spot market and engaged a team of advisers. They were tasked to help UR decide the base price for different types of ad spots (e.g. billboards, window skins, bogie door skins) and to recommend whether the ad spots be sold to either one or multiple intermediaries. Equipped with data (e.g. prevalent market rates and industry best practices) from multiple sources, the advisors faced the daunting task of designing a simple pricing mechanism that can work for multiple types of ad spots

Collapsing dynamics of relativistic fluid in modified gravity admitting a conformal Killing vector

The collapsing dynamics of relativistic fluid are explored in $f(R)$ gravity in a detailed systematic manner for the non-static spherically symmetric spacetime satisfying the equation of the conformal Killing vector. With quasi-homologous condition and diminishing complexity factor condition, exact solutions for dissipative as well as for non-dissipative systems are found and the astrophysical applications of these exact solutions are discussed. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that $f(R)=R$, which is the extensive restriction of $f(R)$ gravity, prior solutions of the collapsing fluid in general relativity, can be retrieved.Comment: 26 pages, version accepted for publication in the European Physical Journal

Chandra Observations of the Gamma-ray Binary LSI+61303: Extended X-ray Structure?

We present a 50 ks observation of the gamma-ray binary LSI+61303 carried out with the ACIS-I array aboard the Chandra X-ray Observatory. This is the highest resolution X-ray observation of the source conducted so far. Possible evidence of an extended structure at a distance between 5 and 12 arcsec towards the North of LSI+61303 have been found at a significance level of 3.2 sigma. The asymmetry of the extended emission excludes an interpretation in the context of a dust-scattered halo, suggesting an intrinsic nature. On the other hand, while the obtained source flux, of F_{0.3-10 keV}=7.1^{+1.8}_{-1.4} x 10^{-12} ergs/cm^2/s, and hydrogen column density, N_{H}=0.70+/-0.06 x 10^{22} cm^{-2}, are compatible with previous results, the photon index Gamma=1.25+/-0.09 is the hardest ever found. In light of these new results, we briefly discuss the physics behind the X-ray emission, the location of the emitter, and the possible origin of the extended emission ~0.1 pc away from LSI+61303.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

Jet-Induced Nucleosynthesis in Misaligned Microquasars

The jet axes and the orbital planes of microquasar systems are usually assumed to be approximately perpendicular, eventhough this is not currently an observational requirement. On the contrary, in one of the few systems where the relative orientations are well-constrained, V4641Sgr, the jet axis is known to lie not more than ~36 degrees from the binary plane. Such a jet, lying close to the binary plane, and traveling at a significant fraction of the speed of light may periodically impact the secondary star initiating nuclear reactions on its surface. The integrated yield of such nuclear reactions over the age of the binary system (less the radiative mass loss) will detectably alter the elemental abundances of the companion star. This scenario may explain the anomalously high Li enhancements (roughly ~20-200 times the sun's photospheric value; or, equivalently, 0.1-1 times the average solar system value) seen in the companions of some black-hole X-ray binary systems. (Such enhancements are puzzling since Li nuclei are exceedingly fragile - being easily destroyed in the interiors of stars - and Li would be expected to be depleted rather than enhanced there.) Gamma-ray line signatures of the proposed process could include the 2.22 MeV neutron capture line as well as the 0.478 MeV 7Li* de-excitation line, both of which may be discernable with the INTEGRAL satellite if produced in an optically thin region during a large outburst. For very energetic jets, a relatively narrow neutral pion gamma-decay signature at 67.5 MeV could also be measurable with the GLAST satellite. We argue that about 10-20% of all microquasar systems ought to be sufficiently misaligned as to be undergoing the proposed jet-secondary impacts.Comment: ApJ, accepted. Includes referee's suggestions and some minor clarifications over previous versio

Adding the reliability on tree based topology construction algorithms for wireless sensor networks

Topology control is a technique used in wireless sensor networks to maximize energy efficiency and network lifetime. In previous literature, many tree based techniques have been proposed to save energy and increase the network lifetime. In tree based algorithms, the most promising solution is the formation of a network backbone, which serves on behalf of rest of the nodes in the network and therefore leading towards Connected Dominating Set (CDS) formulation. However, one imminent problem with all tree based solution is a compromise on network reliability. Therefore, to address reliability issues in tree based solutions, in this paper, we propose Poly3 which maintains cliques of size three in order to achieve network reliability on top of the CDS algorithm. This makes the network more robust to link removal. Our empirical and mathematical analysis reveals that Poly3 provides better reliability than algorithms of the same kind

Compact relativistic geometries in f(R,G)f(R,G) gravity

One of the possible potential candidates for describing the universe's rapid expansion is modified gravity. In the framework of the modified theory of gravity $f(R,G)$, the present work features the materialization of anisotropic matter, such as compact stars. Specifically, to learn more about the physical behavior of compact stars, the radial, and tangential pressures as well as the energy density of six stars namely $Her X-1$, $SAXJ1808.4-3658$, $4U1820-30$, $PSR J 1614 2230$, $VELA X-1$, and $Cen X-3$ are calculated. Herein, the modified theory of gravity $f(R,G)$ is disintegrated into two parts i.e. the $\tanh$ hyperbolic $f(R)$ model and the three different $f(G)$ model. The study focuses on graphical analysis of compact stars wherein the stability aspects, energy conditions, and anisotropic measurements are mainly addressed. Our calculation revealed that, for the positive value of parameter n of the model $f(G)$, all the six stars behave normally.Comment: Some changes have been made. " To appear in International Journal of Geometric Methods in Modern Physics