Active-passive Strategy for Enhanced Synergistic Photothermal-Ferroptosis Therapy in NIR-I/II Biowindows

Ferroptosis therapy (FT) is an attractive strategy to selectively damage cancer cells by lipid peroxides (LPO) over accumulation. However, this therapy suffers from poor therapeutic efficacy due to the limited...

A metaheuristic-based framework for index tracking with practical constraints

Recently, numerous investors have shifted from active strategies to passive strategies because the passive strategy approach affords stable returns over the long term. Index tracking is a popular passive strategy. Over the preceding year, most researchers handled this problem via a two-step procedure. However, such a method is a suboptimal global-local optimization technique that frequently results in uncertainty and poor performance. This paper introduces a framework to address the comprehensive index tracking problem (IPT) with a joint approach based on metaheuristics. The purpose of this approach is to globally optimize this problem, where optimization is measured by the tracking error and excess return. Sparsity, weights, assets under management, transaction fees, the full share restriction, and investment risk diversification are considered in this problem. However, these restrictions increase the complexity of the problem and make it a nondeterministic polynomial-time-hard problem. Metaheuristics compose the principal process of the proposed framework, as they balance a desirable tradeoff between the computational resource utilization and the quality of the obtained solution. This framework enables the constructed model to fit future data and facilitates the application of various metaheuristics. Competitive results are achieved by the proposed metaheuristic-based framework in the presented simulation.

Thermal performance of a novel lightweight emergency construction system in different climates

Prefabricated, lightweight construction systems, thanks to their quicker construction processes, cheapness, higher portability, and adaptability, are increasingly proposed all around the world as emergency architectures (after natural disasters, pandemics, etc.), and as affordable housing solutions in countries with increasing housing demand. Due to their low thermal inertia, however, these buildings are often characterized by poor thermal performance in hot climates due to indoor overheating. The possible application of passive cooling measures is often investigated to improve their thermal performance. Among others, cool materials present some advantages in terms of ease of application and costs. However, few studies investigated the impact of this passive strategy on the thermal performance of emergency buildings. For this reason, this work evaluates the impact of cooling materials on the thermal performance of a novel lightweight prefabricated construction system (HOMEDONE) based on the assembly of reinforced-EPS panels. First, a numerical model of an experimental mock-up was created and calibrated on experimental data. Then, the thermal performance of a typical temporary housing solution was numerically evaluated under different climatic locations. Finally, the effectiveness of cooling finishing materials is investigated. The potential of cooling materials in reducing the energy demand for the studied construction system is then highlighted.

Applying an active strategy for updating the potential properties of human-machine complexes in the processes of their design and operation

The analysis of the literature, reflecting the problem of potentiality in creating complex systems, including human-machine complexes (HMC) is carried out. On the basis of the generalized data, potentiality is defined as a fundamental property of objective reality, an integral part of the integrity structure of complex objects, which in the process of their functioning manifests itself in the form of engineering control situations unforeseen by the developers. A strategy for solving the problem of revealing the potential properties of HMC is considered from the viewpoint of comparing two approaches of “passive” and “active” strategies. A “passive” strategy means that the situations that arise unforeseen by the developers are taken into account by them, usually in the future when improving the technique. This approach does not consider the specifics of manifesting the systemic properties of the HMC and is incorrect from the methodological positions of modern systemic studies that assert the equivalence of subject-object relations in HMC. An “active” strategy for solving the problem under study includes a targeted search, disclosure and actualization of the potential properties of an object not only at the stages of its design and creation, but also at the stages of the exploitation in the joint activity of all professionals, namely developers, operators, engineering psychologists. This approach is based on forecasting and studying the potential properties of an exploited object on the basis of organizing a systematic and controlled cognitive process and studying the dynamics of changes in its operational characteristics under conditions of external factors that go beyond normal situations. It is concluded that to assess the characteristics of the HMC and determine the rational organization of its structures, it is necessary to develop an “active” strategy that allows using any type of information, including accurate data obtained on the basis of the deterministic methods of analysis, and inaccurate data obtained on the basis of an analysis of intuition, experience, considering all specialists’ values of judgments and figurative guesses, which will contribute to disclosing the potential of the created technical objects in the process of ergonomic support for their design and operation.

Thermal Behavior in Glass Houses through the Analysis of Scale Models

Reducing energy expenditure in the construction sector requires the implementation of passive strategies in buildings. In Spain, consumption is centered on air conditioning systems associated with the demand for the building’s thermal envelope. A critical point of the enclosures is represented by glazed holes where much of the energy that is consumed is lost; however, homes increasingly tend to have large window openings due to the comfort and visual well-being they provide to users. In this study, we focus on an extreme case, analyzing a fully glazed house in its four orientations. It is necessary to evaluate the most energy efficient passive strategy for this type of construction. The results are based on the temperature analysis obtained during the monitoring of two scale models of a glass house. The results indicate that solar control foil glasses perform better in warmer weather stations. Regarding the cantilever installation, it influences the interior temperature and the central hours of the day, mitigating the increase in temperature as well as slowing the nighttime cooling.

The Application Of Living Walls For Acoustic Comfort

Interior space comfort encompasses design performance criteria beyond the thermal qualities of the space. The acoustic performance has shown to be an essential factor for the productivity levels of the users of the space, and is essential for overall indoor environment quality to be maintained. This research focuses on the potential of integrating living walls within indoor spaces, such as atriums and halls, to provide a passive strategy for noise insulation. The procedure is conducted through a series of acoustic measurements and calculations to determine the sound absorption coefficient of living walls in-situ. A case study space is used to evaluate the integration of living walls to provide acoustic comfort.

The Application Of Living Walls For Acoustic Comfort

Interior space comfort encompasses design performance criteria beyond the thermal qualities of the space. The acoustic performance has shown to be an essential factor for the productivity levels of the users of the space, and is essential for overall indoor environment quality to be maintained. This research focuses on the potential of integrating living walls within indoor spaces, such as atriums and halls, to provide a passive strategy for noise insulation. The procedure is conducted through a series of acoustic measurements and calculations to determine the sound absorption coefficient of living walls in-situ. A case study space is used to evaluate the integration of living walls to provide acoustic comfort.

Using CFD to Evaluate Natural Ventilation through a 3D Parametric Modeling Approach

Predicting building air change rates is a challenge for designers seeking to deal with natural ventilation, a more and more popular passive strategy. Among the methods available for this task, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) appears the most compelling, in ascending use. However, CFD simulations require a range of settings and skills that inhibit its wide application. With the primary goal of providing a pragmatic CFD application to promote wind-driven ventilation assessments at the design phase, this paper presents a study that investigates natural ventilation integrating 3D parametric modeling and CFD. From pre- to post-processing, the workflow addresses all simulation steps: geometry and weather definition, including incident wind directions, a model set up, control, results’ edition, and visualization. Both indoor air velocities and air change rates (ACH) were calculated within the procedure, which used a test house and air measurements as a reference. The study explores alternatives in the 3D design platform’s frame to display and compute ACH and parametrically generate surfaces where air velocities are computed. The paper also discusses the effectiveness of the reference building’s natural ventilation by analyzing the CFD outputs. The proposed approach assists the practical use of CFD by designers, providing detailed information about the numerical model, as well as enabling the means to generate the cases, visualize, and post-process the results.

Adaptation to Other Agent’s Behavior Using Meta-Strategy Learning by Collision Avoidance Simulation

In human’s cooperative behavior, there are two strategies: a passive behavioral strategy based on others’ behaviors and an active behavioral strategy based on the objective-first. However, it is not clear how to acquire a meta-strategy to switch those strategies. The purpose of the proposed study is to create agents with the meta-strategy and to enable complex behavioral choices with a high degree of coordination. In this study, we have experimented by using multi-agent collision avoidance simulations as an example of cooperative tasks. In the experiments, we have used reinforcement learning to obtain an active strategy and a passive strategy by rewarding the interaction with agents facing each other. Furthermore, we have examined and verified the meta-strategy in situations with opponent’s strategy switched.