Search results

The last ten years have seen a sharp increase in externally supported capacity development initiatives for disaster risk management. However, not all of them have generated sustainable results. The purpose of this paper is to scrutinize the current focus on training as the main tool for capacity development in the context of disaster risk management, and to argue for the necessity to address capac

The use of prosthetic hands are limited partly due to the fact that they lack the provision of sensory feedback to the user. A first step to providing sensory feedback is having adequate sensors in the prosthesis. The WiseSkin project targets the use of artificial skin embedding ultra-low power wireless sensor nodes. This paper provides an overview of the WiseSkin artificial skin for tactile prost

a) The use of a solid phase reaction (silver silicate) for avoiding ortho ester formation in some difficult glycosyl donor/acceptor systems. Thus seven monodeoxygenated analogues of 2-(Trimethylsilyl)ethyl betha-lactoside were synthesiszed. Silver silcate was successfully used in betha 1-4 coupling of 2- and 3-deoxy glucosides to to acetobromogalactose. By similar means, the monodeoxylactosyl brom

Energy efficiency scenarios are developed in the national and international context to explore and evaluate different policy designs and visions of how energy will be generated, distributed and used in the future. However, these scenarios are often developed using conventional bottom-up modelling tools that, to only a limited extent, take into account decentralised decision-making frameworks, such

In this thesis, polymerisation techniques or deposition methods have been developed permitting the creation of thin molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) films or patterns and their interfacing with transducer surfaces for biosensor applications. The creation of ultra thin films has been achieved using two different techniques, spin-coating and in-situ polymerization of thin films of monomers conta

Uniform circular arrays (UCAs) are naturally suited to provide 360 degrees of coverage in the azimuthal plane. In this paper, we describe a new approach for synthesizing array patterns with guaranteed maximum sidelobe levels for any look direction. The advantage of this approach is that it is computationally efficient which makes it eminently suitable for real-time beamforming and beamsteering app

Packaging has a significant impact on the efficiency of logistical systems and therefore, improvements in the retail supply chain can be achieved through the integration and development of the systems of packaging and logistics. In order to enable these improvements, models are needed that facilitate evaluations along the supply chain in order to grasp the whole picture and avoid sub-optimisations

The 2008–2009 global financial crisis triggered ‘Green Energy Economy’ (GEE) policy packages to stimulate green growth in many countries. China soon became a leader and, supported by its 11th Five-Year Plan (2006–2010), devoted approximately one-third of its US$ 647 billion stimulus package to green energy technologies. Since then, numerous policy instruments have been implemented to encourage ‘Gr

The performance of an iris recognition system depends greatly on how well the iris segmentation part of the system performs its task. The performance of an iris segmenta- tion algorithm can be evaluated using different criteria and methods. Some of the methods evaluate the performance of the segmentation algorithm based on the performance of the whole iris recognition system. Other methods evaluat

Theoretical considerations of eye design allow us to find routes along which the optical structures of eyes may have evolved. If selection constantly favours an increase in the amount of detectable spatial information, a light-sensitive patch will gradually turn into a focused lens eye through continuous small improvements of design. An upper limit for the number of generations required for the co