Fire safety of timber buildings – the case of photovoltaic systems

Photovoltaic (PV) systems play an important role in reducing society’s dependence on carbon-based energy sources, and their coupling with timber buildings is an interesting and expected solution for meeting sustainability requirements in the modern built environment. However, both PV systems and timber structures have unique fire safety challenges, and their combination may introduce additional risks. Therefore, relevant fire hazards associated with each of the technologies and their pairing are discussed. The findings highlight the importance of revising fire testing standards and developing tailored safety measures to identify and manage these risks

The application of digital PCR as a reference measurement procedure to support the accuracy of quality assurance for infectious disease molecular diagnostic testing

BACKGROUND: Nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) assist in the diagnosis of numerous infectious diseases. They are typically sensitive and specific and can be quickly developed and adapted. Far more challenging is the development of standards to ensure NAATs are performing within specificationreference materials take time to develop and suitable reference measurement procedures (RMPs) have not been available. This study investigated digital PCR (dPCR) RMP delivery of traceability for NAAT external quality assessment (EQA). METHODS: Three National Metrology Institutes (NMIs) applied reverse transcription (RT)-dPCR as a candidate RMP to estimate the RNA quantity in 32 independent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 materials. The results were combined to value assign the respective materials: 21 materials were used in 6 rounds of EQA over 17 months for 61 laboratories for COVID-19 testing results compared with reference values. RESULTS: The agreement between the 3 NMIs showed <2-fold difference between laboratories. EQA laboratory reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RTqPCR) values estimation of viral RNA quantity showed good median agreement with RT-dPCR reference valuehowever, RT-qPCR differences were generally between 10- and 50-fold between laboratories. CONCLUSION: This work demonstrates how RT-dPCR can provide reference values for whole virus materials for NAAT quality assurance. RT-dPCR values guided EQA control material selection and provided EQA participants with traceability to RNA copy number delivered through the RMP. This approach can be used to support routine reference material use as well as to standardize quality assurance for NAATs where established reference materials are not available, such as in disease outbreaks

Findability of geothermal energy websites in seven EU countries and Iceland

Obtaining information on scientific topics and access to websites with multidimensional data is a crucial part of any geothermal project development. Using the Internet to publish information according to the FAIR principles (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability and Reusability) on topics that are not yet well known to stakeholders could improve not only general knowledge but also public acceptance for increased use of geothermal in the future. This research lists 90 geothermal websites from eight countries: nine in Austria, 13 in Croatia, eight in Hungary, 17 in Italy, seven in Germany, 16 in Iceland, 13 in the Netherlands and seven in Slovenia, and classifies them based on findability and content criteria. It is an issue that only 41 % of these national-relevant websites are easy to find using a browser and keywords, while for the rest an expert advice is needed. The user-impression by searching these websites was checked, for example, on language, graphical presentation, type of information, content, and references. It was expected that Iceland, Italy and Germany, as the countries with the largest geothermal utilization, have the most information available. Iceland has the most findable and quality websites, while Italy has the most listed websites but only a few are easy to find. Germany is not ranked as high as expected. The Netherlands and Croatia do not stand out but have few very good websites. Hungary and Austria show similar results while Slovenia needs most improvements

Survival of Eurasian lynx in the human-dominated landscape of Europe

Survival and cause-specific mortality rates are vital for evidence-based population forecasting and conservation, particularly for large carnivores, whose populations are often vulnerable to human-caused mortalities. It is therefore important to know the relationship between anthropogenic and natural mortality causes to evaluate whether they are additive or compensatory. Further, the relation between survival and environmental covariates could reveal whether specific landscape characteristics influence demographic performance. We used telemetry data on 681 Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), a model apex predator with large spatial requirements, that were tracked across their European distribution. Through time-to-event analyses, we sought to determine the variables associated with differences in their survival. Illegal killing was the main cause of mortality (33.8%), and mortality rates were similar in protected and hunted populations (8.6% and 7.0% per year, respectively). Survival varied greatly across populations (70–95% per year). Across all study sites, higher hunting and anthropogenic mortality rates were partially compensated by lower rates of other mortality causes but not by natural mortality alone. Variation in survival depended on sex (female survival was 1.5 times greater than male survival) and seasonality (highest risk during hunting season and winter), and lower survival rates were correlated with higher human modification of landscapes at both coarse (home range composition) and fine (habitat use within home range) scales. Some variation in survival was driven by unobserved factors, which, given the high rates of human-caused mortalities, including illegal killing, are of foremost concern. Due to the low natural mortality rates in protected and hunted populations, we conclude that anthropogenic causes of mortality are likely close to additive, such that maintaining or increasing refuge habitat with little human disturbance is critical to lynx conservation