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The development of digital twins leads to the pathway toward intelligent buildings. Today, the overwhelming rate of data in buildings carries a high amount of information that can provide an opportunity for a digital representation of the buildings and energy optimization strategies in the Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems. To implement a successful energy management strategy in a building, a data-driven approach should accurately forecast the HVAC features, in particular the indoor temperatures. Accurate predictions not only increase thermal comfort levels, but also play a crucial role in saving energy consumption. This study aims to investigate the capabilities of data-driven approaches and the development of a model for predicting indoor temperatures. A case study of an educational building is considered to forecast indoor temperatures using machine learning and deep learning algorithms. The algorithms' performance is evaluated and compared. The important model parameters are sorted out before choosing the best architecture. Considering real data, prediction models are created for indoor temperatures. The results reveal that all the investigated models are successful in predicting indoor temperatures. Hence, the proposed deep neural network model obtained the highest accuracy with an average RMSE of 0.16 °C, which renders it the best candidate for the development of a digital twin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Walking reports numerous benefits for older persons, yet its practice can be hindered by the built environment. This article seeks to understand how and why certain elements of the built environment facilitate or impede the everyday trips older persons complete on foot. It reports the findings of a set of walking interviews conducted in four central neighbourhoods of Santiago de Chile, where forty older persons were invited to walk and talk about the trips they complete on foot and the aspects that facilitate or hinder them. The findings reveal that older persons are aware of the benefits of walking and travel regularly on foot despite the barriers they find in their neighbourhoods. The presence/absence of greenery, the conditions of the facades and the level of cleanliness of the streets affect older persons' walking experience and can increase/diminish their willingness to walk. Damaged and poorly designed pedestrian infrastructure can cause fear, provoke accidents and become serious hazards. Older persons develop strategies to overcome these barriers, yet the data suggest that they see Santiago as a "disabling city" because it has obstacles that could be unsurmountable in a near future if an illness or an accident diminishes their abilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Public bike-sharing schemes have gained enormous popularity worldwide. However, so far most of the research has focused on issues regarding the functioning of these schemes in cities, with little attention on how these systems are perceived and managed by urban planning authorities, which is the aim of this paper. Methods: The analysis is set in Santiago, a highly segregated city composed of 37 independent districts. Two focus groups with urban planning authorities belonging to districts with and without functioning bike-sharing schemes were conducted. Information was processed using a thematic analysis framework, which permitted to reduce, reorganize, and analyze these testimonial data. Results: The main results show that bike-sharing schemes are perceived as being part of a larger phenomenon related to the city's socio-economic differences. A series of issues emerged that are related to urban planning authorities limitations in terms of governance and availability of planning instruments and strategies to cope with contrasting realities of the city. It was noted that bike-sharing schemes are helping to improve a neighborhood image, while, at the same time, promoting contemporary and cosmopolitan lifestyles. However, the functioning of bike-sharing schemes also is a reminder of the fragmented and dysfunctional governance of Santiago. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endocrine homeostasis and metabolic diseases have been the subject of extensive research in recent years. The development of new techniques and insights has led to a deeper understanding of the mechanisms underlying these conditions and opened up new avenues for diagnosis and treatment. In this review, we discussed the rise of metabolic diseases, especially in Western countries, the genetical, psychological, and behavioral basis of metabolic diseases, the role of nutrition and physical activity in the development of metabolic diseases, the role of single-cell transcriptomics, gut microbiota, epigenetics, advanced imaging techniques, and cell-based therapies in metabolic diseases. Finally, practical applications derived from this information are made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article lists the reviewers of the journal including Henry Abanda, George Adamson and Andrew Allan.

The improvement of walking contributes to maintain the minimum rate of physical activity and therefore the residents' public health. This is while the amount of walking in daily transport of inhabitants has significantly decreased during the last decades in Temuco, Chile. In addition, the impact of socio-demographic as well as social factors on the improvement of walking behavior has been paid less attention in previous studies. This study aims to examine the contribution of socio-demographic factors and the active family environment to walking behavior as well as walking level based on three types of destinations in Temuco. The results of "Encuesta Origin Destino" (EOD) in Temuco were used to examine the objectives. It was found that a high percentage of people who walk in Temuco belong to low-income families. Moreover, most of the people who walk, do not have a driver's license nor private cars in their household. Certain socio-demographic factors such as age, gender, driver's license, private cars, and access to TV were found to have associations with overall walking behavior as well as walking level depending on three different destination types. Furthermore, the correlation was found between walking behavior and active family environment. These findings were discussed and their implications were addressed as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ubiquity (devices becoming part of the context) and transparency (devices not interfering with daily activities) are very significant in healthcare monitoring applications for elders. The present study undertakes a scoping review to map the literature on sensor-based unobtrusive monitoring of older adults' frailty. We aim to determine what types of devices comply with unobtrusiveness requirements, which frailty markers have been unobtrusively assessed, which unsupervised devices have been tested, the relationships between sensor outcomes and frailty markers, and which devices can assess multiple markers. SCOPUS, PUBMED, and Web of Science were used to identify papers published 2010–2020. We selected 67 documents involving non-hospitalized older adults (65+ y.o.) and assessing frailty level or some specific frailty-marker with some sensor. Among the nine types of body worn sensors, only inertial measurement units (IMUs) on the waist and wrist-worn sensors comply with ubiquity. The former can transparently assess all variables but weight loss. Wrist-worn devices have not been tested in unsupervised conditions. Unsupervised presence detectors can predict frailty, slowness, performance, and physical activity. Waist IMUs and presence detectors are the most promising candidates for unobtrusive and unsupervised monitoring of frailty. Further research is necessary to give specific predictions of frailty level with unsupervised waist IMUs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper describes a system for older people to self-administer the 30-s chair stand test (CST) at home without supervision. The system comprises a low-cost sensor to count sit-to-stand (SiSt) transitions, and an Android application to guide older people through the procedure. Two observational studies were conducted to test (i) the sensor in a supervised environment (n = 7; m = 83.29 years old, sd = 4.19; 5 female), and (ii) the complete system in an unsupervised one (n = 7; age 64–74 years old; 3 female). The participants in the supervised test were asked to perform a 30-s CST with the sensor, while a member of the research team manually counted valid transitions. Automatic and manual counts were perfectly correlated (Pearson's r = 1, p = 0.00). Even though the sample was small, none of the signals around the critical score were affected by harmful noise; p (harmless noise) = 1, 95% CI = (0.98, 1). The participants in the unsupervised test used the system in their homes for a month. None of them dropped out, and they reported it to be easy to use, comfortable, and easy to understand. Thus, the system is suitable to be used by older adults in their homes without professional supervision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The editorial team greatly appreciates the reviewers who have dedicated their considerable time and expertise to the journal's rigorous editorial process over the past 12 months, regardless of whether the papers are finally published or not. The editors would like to express their sincere gratitude to the following reviewers for their generous contribution in 2019:. [Extracted from the article]

The article acknowledges the reviewers of the journal for their efforts in assessing the manuscripts including Kofi, Boone, Harry Boyer and Hans Janssen.