This study addressed the development of a pilot plant for pyrolysis of scrap tires to obtain carbon black and other byproducts. The work was motivated by the goal of contributing to the development and dissemination of knowledge about existing technologies that allow modern economies to transform waste into valuable products, by documenting and discussing an empirical application in Brazil. Thispaper describes the development of a market for steel scrap, pyrolytic oil and carbon black products obtained from a vacuum pyrolysis process. The research work was conducted in Brazil, and was guided by the twofold purpose of reducing the environmental impacts, while gaining economical sustainability. Modern economies increasingly need to devise strategies to address energy generation while preserving natural ecosystems. These strategies include leveraging the use of renewable energy sources. Acknowledging that scrap tires hold an enormous potential as a sustainable energy option, this study aimed to contribute to the development and maturity of eco-friendly processing approaches to realize its full potential. The work involved a preliminary phase concerned with the operation of vacuum pyrolysis of scrap tires at a laboratorial scale, followed by the design of the pilot plant that operated for 10 years, at the time of the study, with a 100 kg/h batch flow. Results show that the yield of the pyrolysis process was 41% pyrolytic oil, 38% carbon black, 12% gas, and 8.9% steel scrap, with a calorific value of 36 MJ/kg per tire. The carbon black was composed of 90% carbon, and the pyrolytic oil was composed of 66% gasoline and 33% other oils, which have higher quality and can be commercialized with a potential profit over 3 million dollars/year.

Objectives: The study reported in this article aimed to identify: (i) the most relevant applications supported by smart city infrastructure with an impact on the provision of healthcare; (ii) the types of technologies being used; (iii) the maturity levels of the applications being reported; and (iv) major barriers for their dissemination. Methods: A systematic review was performed based on a literature search. Results: A total of 44 articles were retrieved. These studies reported on smart city applications to support population surveillance, active ageing, healthy lifestyles, disabled people, response to emergencies, care services organization, and socialization. Conclusions: Most of the included articles were either of a descriptive and conceptual nature or in an early stage of development, which means that a major barrier for their dissemination is their lack of concreteness.

Since none of the existing systematic reviews of the literature related to smart cities have focused on smart cities applications using context-aware features, this study aims to provide a comprehensive view of (1) the characteristics of context-aware applications supported by smart cities’ infrastructures, (2) the characteristics of the context-aware technologies being used, and (3) the maturity level of the identified applications. An electronic search was conducted on Scopus, Web of Science, and IEEE Xplore databases, combining relevant keywords. After the studies’ selection, 27 studies were included. The results show the interest in using context-aware features to develop smart cities’ applications targeting public health, tourism experience, urban mobility, active citizenship, shopping experience, management of urban infrastructures, public alerts, recommenders, and smart environments. Moreover, the applications reported by the included studies do not allow the execution of actions without the explicit consent of the users, and they integrate personal sensors, sensors deployed in the city and crowdsourcing mechanisms to acquire primary context attributes (i.e., location, activity, and environment) and secondary context attributes (i.e., speed, physical activity, points of interest, stress, and tourists’ emotions). In addition, the included studies present scarce details about context reasoning, data privacy, integrity, and confidentiality, data aggregation and accuracy, and data interoperability. Finally, the results also indicate low maturity level of the developed applications, which is evidenced by the lack of user-centred evaluations, as well as by the difficulty in integrating important technologies being developed for smart cities.

Journal of Medical Internet Research - International Scientific Journal for Medical Research, Information and Communication on the Internet #Preprint #PeerReviewMe: Warning: This is a unreviewed preprint. Readers are warned that the document has not been peer-reviewed by expert/patient reviewers or an academic editor, may contain misleading claims, and is likely to undergo changes before final publication, if accepted, or may have been rejected/withdrawn. Readers with interest and expertise are encouraged to sign up as peer-reviewer, if the paper is within an open peer-review period. Please cite this preprint only for review purposes or for grant applications and CVs (if you are the author). Background: It is estimated that 23% of adults and 55% of older adults do not meet the recommended levels of physical activity. Thus, improving the levels of physical activity is of paramount importance, but it requires the use of low cost resources that facilitate universal access without depleting the health system. The high number of applications available constitute an opportunity but it also makes it quite difficult for the layperson to select the most appropriate application. Furthermore, the information available in the play stores is often insufficient, lacks quality and is not evidence-based and the systematic reviews fail to assess applications quality using standardized and validated instruments. Objective: This review aims to systematically assess the features, the content and the quality of the most popular applications that can be used to measure and, potentially, to promote physical activity. Methods: Systematic searches were conducted in Apple App Store, Google Play and Windows Phone Store between December 2017 and January 2018. Applications were included if they had as primary objective to assess aspects of physical activity, had a user rating of at least 4, had a number of ratings equal or superior to 100 and were free. Applications meeting these criteria were independently assessed by two reviewers regarding their general and technical information, aspects of physical activity, presence of behaviour change techniques and quality. Data was analysed using means and standard deviations or frequencies and percentage. Results: Of the 51 applications included in this review, none specified the age of the target group and only one mentioned the involvement of health professionals. Most applications offered the possibility to work in background (n=50) and allowed data sharing (n=40). Regarding physical activity, most applications measured steps and distance (n=11) or steps, distance and time (n=17). Only 18 applications, all of which measured number of steps, followed the guidelines on recommendations for physical activity. On average, 5.5 (SD: 1.8) behaviour change techniques were identified per application. The most frequently used were “provide feedback on performance” (n=50) and “prompt self-monitoring of behaviour” (n=50). Overall quality score was 3.88 (SD: 0.34). Conclusions: Although, the overall quality of the applications was moderate, the quality of their content, particularly, the use of international guidelines on physical activity, should be improved. Additionally, a more in depth assessment of applications should be performed before release to the general public, in particular, regarding their reliability and validity. Clinical Trial: Not applicable