Quantification of thermal resilience in buildings: Evaluation of Building Envelope Performance and Operational Parameters

Climate change and extreme heat are critical issues which have been faced all over the world. Consequently, designers strive to monitor and assess the performance of facades by developing environmental assessments at the early design stages, since design changes do not require many resources. Rapid urban expansion in many parts of the world is...

Shining a light on automated diaphragm function quantification: Towards an ultrasound-based, reproducible measuring tool

<b>Background: </b>The diaphragm is poorly monitored in the Intensive care unit (ICU), despite its evident importance in respiration. Ultrasound (US) is frequently employed to evaluate diaphragm thickness (DT) and diaphragm thickening factor (DTF) but requires expertise and only covers a small diaphragm area. Therefore, advanced US (post-...

Measurement of aortic valve regurgitation after valve-sparing root replacement - a quantitative and intraoperative method

<b>Introduction </b>Aortic valve regurgitation (AR) is a common type of aortic valve disease that affects the surrounding tissues of the heart. Surgery may be required in patients with acute or chronic AR, aortic root disease or ascending aortic dissection. A viable alternative to traditional aortic valve replacement that offers encouraging...

Quantifying complex relations between spit growth and its hydrodynamic drivers, in non-tidal, wind-dominated lake environments: Application to the Marker Wadden (Lake Markermeer, The Netherlands): Spit quantification at the Marker Wadden

Many sand spits are morphodynamically complex cases that are hard to quantify. Therefore, most case studies on sand spits in a specific type of environment, are descriptive or even non-existent. As is the case for spits in low-energy lake environments, like the two spits at the Marker Wadden islands. Because quantification is necessary for spits...

Quantitative characteristics of brain lesions: a data visualization tool

One of the principal signs of disease progression in brain tumor patients is an increase in tumor size between time-separated medical image acquisitions. The current diagnosis of tumor progression is based on visual appraisal or manual measurement of largest diameters, neither of which is a fully quantitative measure. The RANO criteria dictate...

From the seashore to the stratosphere: A step closer to continuous lung monitoring using wearable ultrasound: Lung sliding quantification

<b>Background</b>: The prevention of ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI) is an important topic in criticalcare. Lung overdistention is a great attributor to VILI. Regional evaluation of the pulmonary mechanicsis a relatively new method and is currently being studied using electrical impedance tomography (EIT)and computed tomography (CT)....

Quantifying track condition based on soil properties

Soil is an important part of a railway track structure. It provides the foundation for the structure and distributes the imposed loads. Consequently, soil has an influence on the condition of a track structure and a low quality soil can ultimately cause failure of the track structure. To be able to include the condition of a soil in the...

Cost and Benefit Analysis of BIM Implementation in Construction Projects

Building Information Modelling (BIM) constitutes an innovative way of creating and managing data among multiple disciplines and it is recently introduced in Architecture Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry. The adoption rate of BIM is considered low due to a lack of awareness regarding these methodologies and their outcomes. Although...

Agent-based modelling and simulation for quantification of resilience in air transport: The effects of a sudden and unexpected bad weather disturbance on conventional approach operations

Socio-technical systems consist of deeply interconnected and interdependent social entities and technical systems that collaborate to achieve a global goal. The individual characteristics and behaviours of each involved actor and their interactions define the resulting overall emergent system behaviour. Due to increased complexities in socio...

Validation of 3D-printed guidance systems for genioplasties in orthognathic surgery: A retrospective validation study & preparation for a multicenter intervention study

A chin deformity does not rarely accompany dentofacial deformities. A correction of the chin (genioplasty) is sometimes indicated in addition to orthognathic surgery. Computer-assisted surgery allows virtual planning in...

Advancing the Use of Methane Emission Quantification Using TROPOMI Data

Methane is the second-strongest anthropogenic greenhouse gas, whose concentrations have more than doubled since pre-industrial times. Due to its short atmospheric lifetime, it is promising for climate change mitigation. This thesis focuses on estimating methane emissions from time-averaged satellite-measured concentration maps. The current...

Quantifying the effects of anthropogenic heat sources on the water temperature in the drinking water distribution system

The temperature of drinking water is an important parameter, affecting physical, chemical, biological and aesthetic properties of the water. Currently, measurements exceeding the legal limit of 25ᵒC at the tap are exceptional. However, there are reasons to believe that the number of exceedances will increase due to climate change and...

Quantifying Take-Over Quality: A Novel Approach Utilizing a Scenario-Specific Optimized Reference Trajectory

Due to recent advancements in automated driving systems, drivers are able to withdraw themselves from the control loop of the vehicle in certain driving situations. However, system limits occur relatively frequently, which results in the driver having to take back control. It is argued most currently used take-over quality quantification methods...

Healthcare Sustainability Mode and Effect Analysis: Design, validation, and clinical application of the HSMEA tool to improve the environmental sustainability of healthcare

Sustainability is becoming more important in numerous industries, including healthcare. Action to achieve sustainability is undertaken by various means, such as the Green Deal Healthcare. Several tools exist that can assess the environmental impact of a certain industry or company, but no tools exist that aid in actively lowering this...

Macro-scale performance of a mega-feeder nourishment: Describing and predicting the long-term feeding performance

A mega-feeder nourishment is a concentrated nourishment that disperses over time due to wind, waves, and tide, and as a result ‘feeds’ its adjacent coasts. During the design phase of a nourishment, performance indicators can enable an objective comparison of a mega-feeder nourishment to alternative nourishment strategies, In the case of an...