Monday, 13 November 2023 Successfully obtained projects at UP FAMNIT and UP IAM in October
UP FAMNIT and UP IAM were once again successful in the public call for (co)financing research projects for the year 2023, funding from the Agency for Research and Innovation (ARIS), where UP FAMNIT successfully obtained partnership basic research projects (ARIS) and targeted research programme (ARIS).
Partnership basic research projects (ARIS), entitled: “Improving B-WIM performance based on big data and artificial intelligence,” is funded for a period of 3 years and led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Klen Čopič Pucihar from the Department of Information Sciences and Technologies (UP FAMNIT).
Leading partner: ZAG - Zavod za gradbeništvo Slovenije
The increasing number of heavy goods vehicles has a significant impact on road safety and infrastructure management. Overloaded vehicles are particularly problematic as they increase safety risks and accelerate the destruction of road infrastructure. Preventing congestion starts with traffic monitoring, while traditional static weighing, while providing the most accurate results, is expensive and inefficient for heavy traffic. As a result, we use Weigh-in-Motion (WIM) systems to collect information on traffic loads, but these have significant drawbacks. The project aims to address these shortcomings through an alternative approach - using big data and advanced artificial intelligence (AI) methods.
Targeted research programme (ARIS) entitled: “Monitoring of vector-borne diseases in vectors in Slovenia,”is funded for a period of 3 years and led by the dr. Katja Adam (UP FAMNIT) and Tatjana Horvat (UL MF).
The project, which will focus on the control of mosquito and tick populations in Slovenia and the pathogens they transmit, has an interdisciplinary approach. The objectives of the project include the surveillance of populations of invasive and emerging mosquito and tick species in Slovenia, including in urban areas, with a particular focus on endemic areas of the country during periods of seasonal vector activity. In addition, efforts are made to identify new vector-borne pathogens of relevance to human health and to assess the risk of introduction and outbreak of these new pathogens. As part of their field work, they will monitor mosquitoes and ticks and identify vector-borne pathogens using modern diagnostic approaches.
The Institute Andrej Marušič (UP IAM) successfully obtained two small basic research projects (ARIS), both funded for a period of 3 years, led by Dr. Diego De Leo and Dr. Dragan Marušič.
Hamilton cycles with rotational symmetry in connected vertex-transitive graphs, leader, UP IAM, UP leader: dr. Dragan Marušič
Motivated by recently introduced graph parameter that quantifies how symmetric a Hamilton cycle in a graph can be the proposed project on symmetries of Hamilton cycles in connected vertex-transitive graphs. The main object of the proposed project is to study Hamilton compression of connected vertex-transitive graphs, those for which the existency Hamilton cycles is already known, and in view of the connection with the polycirculant conjecture, also those for which no information on Hamilton cycles has been obtained thus far. In this sense the proposed project has a clear link to the Lovasz hamiltonicity problem for vertex-transitive graphs.
Lonely? Mix method study of general and vulnerable populations to understand the link between loneliness and mental health, leader, UP IAM, UP leader: dr. Diego de Leo
As social beings, humans have a fundamental need to belong. Social relationships and good social integration are therefore crucial for developing a sense of emotional fulfilment and life satisfaction. When the need for belonging is not met, we talk about social isolation and/or loneliness. Both concepts are now recognised as an important public health problem, as they are associated with various negative consequences for (mental) health, such as depression, low life satisfaction, high blood pressure, premature mortality and increased risk of suicidal behaviour. The proposed project, therefore, aims to (i) explore the construct of loneliness in-depth, (ii) examine the negative impact of loneliness on individuals at different life periods using different research approaches, (iii) identify vulnerable groups within these life periods for whom loneliness is one of the most important risk factors for the development of mental health problems, (iv) and design high quality and culturally specific interventions.
