ALBERT

Description: Nowadays, construction, maintenance, reparation, rehabilitation, retrofitting, and demolition from infrastructure and buildings generate large amounts of urban waste, which usually are inadequately disposed due to high costs and technical limitations. On the other hand, the increasing demand for natural aggregates for concrete production seriously affects mountains and rivers as they are the source of these nonrenewable goods. Consequently, the recycling of aggregates for concrete is gaining attention worldwide as an alternative to reduce the environmental impacts caused by the extraction of nonrenewable goods and disposal of construction and demolition waste (C&DW). Therefore, this article describes the effect on the mechanical properties of new concrete using recycled aggregates obtained from old paving stones. Results show that replacing 50% by weight of the fine and coarse aggregate fractions in concrete with recycled aggregate does not meaningfully affect its mechanical behavior, making the use of recycled aggregates in new precast paving stones possible. Therefore, the latter can reduce environmental impacts and costs for developing infrastructure and building projects.

Description: This paper focuses on optimal sensor deployment for indoor localization with a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm. Our goal is to obtain an algorithm to deploy sensors taking the number of sensors, accuracy and coverage into account. Contrary to most works in the literature, we consider the presence of obstacles in the region of interest (ROI) that can cause occlusions between the target and some sensors. In addition, we aim to obtain all of the Pareto optimal solutions regarding the number of sensors, coverage and accuracy. To deal with a variable number of sensors, we add speciation and structural mutations to the well-known non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II). Speciation allows one to keep the evolution of sensor sets under control and to apply genetic operators to them so that they compete with other sets of the same size. We show some case studies of the sensor placement of an infrared range-difference indoor positioning system with a fairly complex model of the error of the measurements. The results obtained by our algorithm are compared to sensor placement patterns obtained with random deployment to highlight the relevance of using such a deployment algorithm.

Description: Shea trees grow across 4 million km2 of sub-Saharan Africa. Shea parklands provide a sustainable source of edible fat (shea butter) that, in terms of volume, is currently second only to cocoa butter as a vegetal source of stearic acid in the multi-billion dollar chocolate and cosmetic sectors. However, in terms of international trade, shea has been opaque to consumers of edible products (where the majority of shea exports end their global journey) and actually only well-known in western markets as a cosmetic ingredient. The millions of women collectors have been disconnected from global supply chains, as the majority of their sheanuts are factory processed, supplied by traders who, in many cases, do not understand quality issues nor share knowledge with their village-based collectors—this is the “Paradox of paradoxa”. This review provides the background to this issue by contextualizing the industry and describing how weak post-harvest quality control impacts the shea supply chain. The paper then explains how this knowledge was incorporated into a 3D animation available for free transmission to rural African audiences and viewing on portable devices like video capable mobile phones. This tool offers the potential of low-cost multiple benefits to users, which we term here a win-cubed [win3] opportunity, where women collectors can receive free knowledge of using less resources to produce higher quality shea kernels which in turn offer higher extraction yields, lowering production costs, of a better and more marketable product.

Description: Sustainable fishing includes the socioeconomic status of fishers. We combined empirical quality of life (QOL) and subjective lived experiences methods to explore the social sustainability of artisanal fishers in five fishery collectives along the coast of Jalisco, Mexico, where the average daily income is slightly above the poverty level. The QOL scores were also related to annual catch and incomes within each collective. A QOL index is used in this study that combines importance and achievement ratings scores; the results are indicative of an acceptable QOL for fishermen. The concept of lived experiences, incorporating aspects of life relating to Mind, Body, Work and People was explored through interviews with 12 fishers. The QOL data revealed that family and friends are important indicators related to positive QOL reported by the sample, while economic indicators were not important. Although four of the five collectives perceived that the future looks worse than the present and past, there was limited correlation between catch or income and QOL. However, while the lived experiences exercise in part supported the QOL findings, in that People was the most important dimension for almost all of the fishers interviewed, negative economic gaps related to poor catches and incomes were prevalent in the Mind and Work dimensions. The findings suggest that to understand the socioeconomic component of sustainable fisheries, both of these approaches should be considered, as they can illuminate different aspects of fishers’ lives that need to be considered during the development of fisheries’ management policies.

Description: Coastal fisheries contribute to global food security, since fish are an important source of protein for many coastal communities in the world. However, they are constrained by problems, such as weak management of fisheries and overfishing. Local communities perceive that they are fishing less, as in other fisheries in the world. The aim of this study was to evaluate the fisheries sustainability in the Jalisco coast through the fishing footprint, or fishprint (FP), based on the primary productivity required (PPR) and the appropriated surface by the activity (biocapacity). The total catch was 20,448.2 metric tons from 2002–2012, and the average footprint was calculated to be 65,458 gha/year, a figure that quadrupled in a period of 10 years; the biocapacity decreased, and the average trophic level of catches was 3.1, which implies that it has remained at average levels, resulting in a positive balance between biocapacity and ecological footprint. Therefore, under this approach, the fishing activity is sustainable along the coast of Jalisco.

Description: The impact of resources on social unrest is of increasing interest to political leaders, business and civil society. Recent events have highlighted that (lack of) access to critical resources, including food, energy and water, can, in certain circumstances, lead to violent demonstrations. In this paper, we assess a number of political fragility indices to see whether they are good indicators of propensity to food riots. We found that the most accurate is the Political Instability and Absence of Violence Indicator of the Worldwide Governance Indicators by the World Bank. We compute a likelihood of experiencing a food riot for each quartile of this index. We found that the self-sufficiency of food does not seem to affect the likelihood of the occurrence of food riots, but that the level of political stability of a country does have a role. In addition, we identify a monthly and annual threshold for the Food and Agriculture Organisation Food Price Index, above which food riots in fragile states are more likely to occur.

Description: Sensing systems in combination with treatment tools and intelligent information management are the basis on which the cities and urban environments of the future will be built. Progress in the research and development of these new and intelligent scenarios is essential to achieve the objectives of efficiency, integration, sustainability, and quality of life for people who live in cities. To achieve these objectives, it is essential to investigate the development of cheaper, more accurate, and smarter hardware devices, which will form the basis of the intelligent environments of the future. This article focuses on an approach based on intelligent multi-agent systems that are integrated into basic hardware devices for the Internet of Things (IoT). A multi-agent architecture is proposed for the fast, efficient, and intelligent management of the generated data. A layer of services adapted to the needs of the new intelligent environments is built on this architecture. With the aim of validating this architecture, a case study based on electric vehicles of the e-bike type is proposed.

Description: During creep, magnesium alloys undergo microstructural changes due to temperature and stress. These alterations are associated with the evolution of the present phases at a microstructural level, creating different strain rates during primary and tertiary creep, and with the stability of the inter-metallic phase Mg17Al12 formed at these temperatures. In this paper, the results of creep testing of high-pressure die-cast AZ91 magnesium alloys are reported. During creep, continuous and discontinuous precipitates grow, which influences creep resistance. The creep mechanism that acts at these intermediate temperatures up to 150 °C is termed dislocation climbing. Finally, the influence of the type of precipitates on the creep behavior of alloys is determined by promoting the formation of continuous precipitates by a short heat treatment prior to creep testing.

Description: This paper presents a new application of photogrammetric techniques for protecting cultural heritage. The accuracy of the method and the fact that it can be used to carry out different tests without contact between the sample and the instruments can make this technique very useful for authenticating and cataloging artworks. The application focuses on the field of pictorial artworks, and wooden panel paintings in particular. In these works, the orography formed by the brushstrokes can be easily digitalized using a photogrammetric technique, called Structured Light System, with submillimeter accuracy. Thus, some of the physical characteristics of the brushstrokes, like minimum and maximum heights or slopes become a fingerprint of the painting. We explain in detail the general principles of the Structured Light System Technique and the specific characteristics of the commercial set-up used in this work. Some experiments are carried out on a sample painted by us to check the accuracy limits of the technique and to propose some tests that can help to stablish a methodology for authentication purposes. Finally, some preliminary results obtained on a real pictorial artwork are presented, providing geometrical information of its metric features as an example of the possibilities of this application.

Description: Teaching children with intellectual disabilities is a big challenge for most parents and educators. Special education teachers use learning strategies to develop and enhance motivation for complex learning tasks. Literacy acquisition is an essential and life-long skill for a child with intellectual disabilities. In this context, technology can support specific strategies that will help children learn to read. This paper introduces a Tangible User Interface (TUI) system based on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to support literacy for children with Down syndrome. Our proposed system focuses on the integration of RFID tags in 3D printed objects and low cost toys. The paper describes the experience of using some materials covering the tags and the different problems related to the material and distance of radio wave propagation. The results of a preliminary evaluation in a special education institution showed that the system helps to improve the interaction between teachers and children. The use of a TUI seems to give a physical sensory experience to develop literacy skills in children with Down syndrome.