Effectiveness of improved cookstoves to reduce indoor air pollution in developing countries. The case of the cassamance natural subregion, Western Africa

The Spanish NGO "Alianza por la Solidaridad" has installed improved cookstoves in 3000 households during 2012 and 2013 to improve energy efficiency reducing fuelwood consumption and to improve in-door air quality. The type of cookstoves were Noflaye Jeeg and Noflaye Jaboot and were installed in the Cassamance Natural Subregion covering part of Senegal, The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau. The Technical University of Madrid (UPM) has conducted a field study on a sample of these households to assess the effect of improved cookstoves on kitchen air quality. Measurements of carbon monoxide (CO) and fine particle matter (PM2.5) were taken for 24-hr period before and after the installation of improved cook-stoves. The 24-hr mean CO concentrations were lower than the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for Guinea-Bissau but higher for Senegal and Gambia, even after the installation of improved cookstoves. As for PM2.5 concentrations, 24-hr mean were always higher than these guidelines. However, improved cookstoves produced significant reductions on 24-hr mean CO and PM2.5 concentrations in Senegal and for mean and maximum PM2.5 concentration on Gambia. Although this variability needs to be explained by further research to determine which other factors could affect indoor air pollution, the study provided a better understanding of the problem and envisaged alternatives to be implemented in fu-ture phases of the NGO project.

Simulation of impulse response for indoor visible light communications using 3D CAD models

n this article, a tool for simulating the channel impulse response for indoor visible light communications using 3D computer-aided design (CAD) models is presented. The simulation tool is based on a previous Monte Carlo ray-tracing algorithm for indoor infrared channel estimation, but including wavelength response evaluation. The 3D scene, or the simulation environment, can be defined using any CAD software in which the user specifies, in addition to the setting geometry, the reflection characteristics of the surface materials as well as the structures of the emitters and receivers involved in the simulation. Also, in an effort to improve the computational efficiency, two optimizations are proposed. The first one consists of dividing the setting into cubic regions of equal size, which offers a calculation improvement of approximately 50% compared to not dividing the 3D scene into sub-regions. The second one involves the parallelization of the simulation algorithm, which provides a computational speed-up proportional to the number of processors used.

Integration of SCORM packages into web games

This paper presents a model that enables the integration of SCORM packages into web games. It is based on the fact that SCORM packages are prepared to be integrated into Learning Management Systems and to communicate with them. Hence in a similar way they can also be integrated into web games. The application of this model results in the linkage between the Learning Objects inside the package and specific actions or conditions in the game. The educational content will be shown to the players when they perform these actions or the conditions are met. For example, when they need a special weapon they will have to consume the Learning Object to get it. Based on this model we have developed an open source web platform which main aim is to facilitate teachers the creation of educational games. They can select existing SCORM packages or upload their own ones and then select a game template in which the Learning Objects will be integrated. The resulting educational game will be available online. Details about the model and the developed platform are explained in this paper. Also links to the platform and an example of a generated game will be provided.

A scalable SIEM correlation engine and its application to the Olympic Games IT infrastructure

The security event correlation scalability has become a major concern for security analysts and IT administrators when considering complex IT infrastructures that need to handle gargantuan amounts of events or wide correlation window spans. The current correlation capabilities of Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), based on a single node in centralized servers, have proved to be insufficient to process large event streams. This paper introduces a step forward in the current state of the art to address the aforementioned problems. The proposed model takes into account the two main aspects of this ?eld: distributed correlation and query parallelization. We present a case study of a multiple-step attack on the Olympic Games IT infrastructure to illustrate the applicability of our approach.

Kinematic and heart rate demands in 4x4 vs 7x7 small sided games in professional soccer players

Comparación de las variables cinemáticas y de frecuencia cardiaca en dos posesiones en fútbol

Towards the automatic generation of card games through Grammar-Guided Genetic Programming

We demonstrate generating complete and playable card games using evolutionary algorithms. Card games are represented in a previously devised card game description language, a context-free grammar. The syntax of this language allows us to use grammar-guided genetic programming. Candidate card games are evaluated through a cascading evaluation function, a multi-step process where games with undesired properties are progressively weeded out. Three representa- tive examples of generated games are analysed. We observed that these games are reasonably balanced and have skill ele- ments, they are not yet entertaining for human players. The particular shortcomings of the examples are discussed in re- gard to the generative process to be able to generate quality games

Corporate social responsibility in portfolio selection: A "goal games" against nature approach

Nowadays, there is an uprising social pressure on big companies to incorporate into their decision-making process elements of the so-called social responsibility. Among the many implications of this fact, one relevant one is the need to include this new element in classic portfolio selection models. This paper meets this challenge by formulating a model that combines goal programming with "goal games" against nature in a scenario where the social responsibility is defined through the introduction of a battery of sustainability indicators amalgamated into a synthetic index. In this way, we have obtained an efficient model that only implies solving a small number of linear programming problems. The proposed approach has been tested and illustrated by using a case study related to the selection of securities in international markets.

Effectiveness of improved cookstoves to reduce indoor air pollution in developing countries. The case of the Cassamance Natural Subregion, Western Africa

The Spanish NGO "Alianza por la Solidaridad" has installed improved cookstoves in 3000 households during 2012 and 2013 to improve energy efficiency reducing fuelwood consumption and to improve indoor air quality. The type of cookstoves were Noflaye Jeeg and Noflaye Jaboot and were installed in the Cassamance Natural Subregion covering part of Senegal, The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau. The Technical University of Madrid (UPM) has conducted a field study on a sample of these households to assess the effect of improved cookstoves on kitchen air quality. Measurements of carbon monoxide (CO) and fine particle matter (PM2.5) were taken for 24-hr period before and after the installation of improved cookstoves. The 24-hr mean CO concentrations were lower than the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for Guinea-Bissau but higher for Senegal and Gambia, even after the installation of improved cookstoves. As for PM2.5 concentrations, 24-hr mean were always higher than these guidelines. However, improved cookstoves produced significant reductions on 24-hr mean CO and PM2.5 concentrations in Senegal and for mean and maximum PM2.5 concentration on Gambia. Although this variability needs to be explained by further research to determine which other factors could affect indoor air pollution, the study provided a better understanding of the problem and envisaged alternatives to be implemented in future phases of the NGO project.

Indoor positioning using Android Platform

In recent years, there has been a great increase in the development of wireless technologies and location services. For this reason, numerous projects in the location field, have arisen. In addition, with the appearance of the open Android operating system, wireless technologies are being developed faster than ever. This Project approaches the design and development of a system that combines the technologies of wireless, location and Android with the implementation of an indoor positioning system. As a result, an Android application has been obtained, which detects the position of a phone in a simple and useful way. The application is based on the WIFI manager API of Android. It combines the data stored in a SQL database with the wifi data received at any given time. Afterwards the position of the user is determined with the algorithm that has been implemented. This application is able to obtain the position of any person who is inside a building with Wi-Fi coverage, and display it on the screen of any device with the Android operating system. Besides the estimation of the position, this system displays a map that helps you see in which quadrant of the room are positioned in real time. This system has been designed with a simple interface to allow people without technology knowledge. Finally, several tests and simulations of the system have been carried out to see its operation and accuracy. The performance of the system has been verified in two different places and changes have been made in the Java code to improve its precision and effectiveness. As a result of the several tests, it has been noticed that the placement of the access point (AP) and the configuration of the Wireless network is an important point that should be taken into account to avoid interferences and errors as much as possible, in the estimation of the position. RESUMEN. En los últimos años, se ha producido un incremento en el desarrollo de tecnologías inalámbricas y en servicios de localización y posicionamiento. Por esta razón, han surgido numerosos proyectos relacionados con estas tecnologías. Por otra parte, un punto importante en el desarrollo de estas tecnologías ha sido la aparición del lenguaje Android que ha hecho que estas nuevas tecnologías se implementaran con una mayor rapidez. Este proyecto, se acerca al diseño y desarrollo de un sistema que combina tecnologías inalámbricas, de ubicación y uso de lenguaje Android para el desarrollo de una aplicación de un sistema de posicionamiento en interiores. Como consecuencia de esto se ha obtenido una aplicación Android que detecta la posición de un dispositivo móvil de una manera sencilla e intuititva. La aplicación se basa en la API WIFI de Android, que combina los datos almacenados en una base de datos SQL con los datos recibidos vía Wi-Fi en cualquier momento. A continuación, la posición del usuario se determina con el algoritmo que se ha implementado a lo largo de todo el proyecto utilizando código Android. Esta aplicación es capaz de obtener la posición de cualquier persona que se encuentra dentro de un edificio con cobertura Wi-Fi, mostrando por pantalla la ubicación del usuario en cualquier dispositivo que disponga de sistema operativo Android. Además de la estimación de la posición, este sistema muestra un mapa que le ayuda a ver en qué cuadrante de la sala está situado el usuario. Este sistema ha sido diseñado con una interfaz sencilla para permitir que usuarios sin conocimiento tecnológico o no acostumbrados al uso de los nuevos dispositivos de hoy en día puedan usarlo de una manera sencilla y de forma intuitiva. Por último, se han llevado a cabo varias pruebas y simulaciones del sistema para verificar su funcionamiento y precisión. El rendimiento del sistema se ha comprobado en dos puntos diferentes de la sala (lugar donde se han hecho todas las pruebas y desarrollado la aplicación) realizando cambios en el código Java para mejorar aún más la precisión y eficacia del posicionamiento. Como resultado de todo esto, se ha comprobado que la ubicación del punto de acceso (AP) y la configuración de la red inalámbrica es importante, y por ello se debe de tener en cuenta para evitar interferencias y tantos errores como sea posible en la estimación de la posición.

Optimization of multijunction solar cells through indoor energy yield measurements

The variability of the solar spectra in the field may reduce the annual energy yield of multijunction solar cells. It would, therefore, be desirable to implement a cell design procedure based on the maximization of the annual energy yield. In this study, we present a measurement technique to generate maps of the real performance of the solar cell for a range of light spectrum contents using a solar simulator with a computer-controllable spectral content. These performance maps are demonstrated to be a powerful tool for analyzing the characteristics of any given set of annual spectra representative of a site and their influence on the energy yield of any solar cell. The effect of luminescence coupling on buffering against variations of the spectrum and improving the annual energy yield is demonstrated using this method.

A Vision-based Quadrotor Multi-robot Solution for the Indoor Autonomy Challenge of the 2013 International Micro Air Vehicle Competition

This paper presents a completely autonomous solution to participate in the Indoor Challenge of the 2013 International Micro Air Vehicle Competition (IMAV 2013). Our proposal is a multi-robot system with no centralized coordination whose robotic agents share their position estimates. The capability of each agent to navigate avoiding collisions is a consequence of the resulting emergent behavior. Each agent consists of a ground station running an instance of the proposed architecture that communicates over WiFi with an AR Drone 2.0 quadrotor. Visual markers are employed to sense and map obstacles and to improve the pose estimation based on Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) and ground optical flow data. Based on our architecture, each robotic agent can navigate avoiding obstacles and other members of the multi-robot system. The solution is demonstrated and the achieved navigation performance is evaluated by means of experimental flights. This work also analyzes the capabilities of the presented solution in simulated flights of the IMAV 2013 Indoor Challenge. The performance of the CVG UPM team was awarded with the First Prize in the Indoor Autonomy Challenge of the IMAV 2013 competition.