Actual energy performance of a zero-carbon neighbourhood

The evolution towards zero-energy buildings and districts brings along uncertainties about the operational performance, strengths and weaknesses of these technologies, that are often new and unfamiliar to both the designers, owners and users. In Kortrijk, an exemplary zero-carbon neighbourhood is designed, built and evaluated in the framework of a European demonstration project ECO-Life ‘Sustainable zero-carbon ECO-town developments improving quality of life across EU’. The neighbourhood counts about 200 dwellings in highly energy-efficient buildings with different ventilation technologies and collective RES based on solar, biomass or aero-thermal energy. During the building process and the first years of operation, the energy performance of the neighbourhood is evaluated after intensive monitoring and testing by Ghent University’s research group of building physics, construction and services. This paper presents two focal points of the research: the energy demand of the buildings and the interaction with the occupants, and the energy performance of the neighbourhoods' low-temperature district heating system

Thin-Capped Atheromata With Reduced Collagen Content in Pigs Develop in Coronary Arterial Regions Exposed to Persistently Low Endothelial Shear Stress

Objective—The mechanisms promoting the focal formation of rupture-prone coronary plaques in vivo remain incompletely understood. This study tested the hypothesis that coronary regions exposed to low endothelial shear stress (ESS) favor subsequent development of collagen-poor, thin-capped plaques. Approach and Results—Coronary angiography and 3-vessel intravascular ultrasound were serially performed at 5 consecutive time points in vivo in 5 diabetic, hypercholesterolemic pigs. ESS was calculated along the course of each artery with computational fluid dynamics at all 5 time points. At follow-up, 184 arterial segments with previously identified in vivo ESS underwent histopathologic analysis. Compared with other plaque types, eccentric thin-capped atheromata developed more in segments that experienced lower ESS during their evolution. Compared with lesions with higher preceding ESS, segments persistently exposed to low ESS (<1.2 Pa) exhibited reduced intimal smooth muscle cell content; marked intimal smooth muscle cell phenotypic modulation; attenuated procollagen-I gene expression; increased gene and protein expression of the interstitial collagenases matrix-metalloproteinase-1, -8, -13, and -14; increased collagenolytic activity; reduced collagen content; and marked thinning of the fibrous cap. Conclusions—Eccentric thin-capped atheromata, lesions particularly prone to rupture, form more frequently in coronary regions exposed to low ESS throughout their evolution. By promoting an imbalance of attenuated synthesis and augmented collagen breakdown, low ESS favors the focal evolution of early lesions toward plaques with reduced collagen content and thin fibrous caps—2 critical determinants of coronary plaque vulnerability.Novartis (Firm)Boston Scientific CorporationBehrakis Foundation (Research Fellowship)Hellenic Heart FoundationHellenic Atherosclerosis SocietyNational Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant RO1 GM49039

Breaking Barriers in Teaching and Learning - Perspectives on Twentieth-Century American Identity

At Southern Oregon University, a course designated as HON 315: Perspectives on Twentieth-Century American Identity has been developed and offered with a high degree of success for several terms. Its pedagogical flexibility, high level of student participation, and exceptionally high course-evaluation ratings from students indicate that it might serve as a useful model for honors programs and colleges as a lower-level honors course in United States history or perhaps adapted to other disciplines. The course description is as follows: This course is a study of the development of the United States in the twentieth century and early twenty-first century, focusing on the evolution of American identity, society, and culture. Throughout the term, the course progresses sequentially, examining specific years as focal points for comparative analysis. The criteria for selecting particular years are subjective, based on the instructor’s choices, but not random. The twenty years, designated as focal points, represent pivotal moments in larger movements and trends involving race, class, and gender; the development of advertising and consumer culture; the emergence and evolution of mass popular culture; the onset of major social movements, especially those in pursuit of civil rights, women’s rights, and LGBTQIA+ rights; changes in patterns of daily living; and the burgeoning role of science and technological change in transmitting culture and affecting daily life

Breaking Barriers in Teaching and Learning - Perspectives on Twentieth-Century American Identity

At Southern Oregon University, a course designated as HON 315: Perspectives on Twentieth-Century American Identity has been developed and offered with a high degree of success for several terms. Its pedagogical flexibility, high level of student participation, and exceptionally high course-evaluation ratings from students indicate that it might serve as a useful model for honors programs and colleges as a lower-level honors course in United States history or perhaps adapted to other disciplines. The course description is as follows: This course is a study of the development of the United States in the twentieth century and early twenty-first century, focusing on the evolution of American identity, society, and culture. Throughout the term, the course progresses sequentially, examining specific years as focal points for comparative analysis. The criteria for selecting particular years are subjective, based on the instructor’s choices, but not random. The twenty years, designated as focal points, represent pivotal moments in larger movements and trends involving race, class, and gender; the development of advertising and consumer culture; the emergence and evolution of mass popular culture; the onset of major social movements, especially those in pursuit of civil rights, women’s rights, and LGBTQIA+ rights; changes in patterns of daily living; and the burgeoning role of science and technological change in transmitting culture and affecting daily life

Chromatin loop anchors are associated with genome instability in cancer and recombination hotspots in the germline

Abstract Background Chromatin loops form a basic unit of interphase nuclear organization, with chromatin loop anchor points providing contacts between regulatory regions and promoters. However, the mutational landscape at these anchor points remains under-studied. Here, we describe the unusual patterns of somatic mutations and germline variation associated with loop anchor points and explore the underlying features influencing these patterns. Results Analyses of whole genome sequencing datasets reveal that anchor points are strongly depleted for single nucleotide variants (SNVs) in tumours. Despite low SNV rates in their genomic neighbourhood, anchor points emerge as sites of evolutionary innovation, showing enrichment for structural variant (SV) breakpoints and a peak of SNVs at focal CTCF sites within the anchor points. Both CTCF-bound and non-CTCF anchor points harbour an excess of SV breakpoints in multiple tumour types and are prone to double-strand breaks in cell lines. Common fragile sites, which are hotspots for genome instability, also show elevated numbers of intersecting loop anchor points. Recurrently disrupted anchor points are enriched for genes with functions in cell cycle transitions and regions associated with predisposition to cancer. We also discover a novel class of CTCF-bound anchor points which overlap meiotic recombination hotspots and are enriched for the core PRDM9 binding motif, suggesting that the anchor points have been foci for diversity generated during recent human evolution. Conclusions We suggest that the unusual chromatin environment at loop anchor points underlies the elevated rates of variation observed, marking them as sites of regulatory importance but also genomic fragility

Supply chain environmental management maturity in a pulp and paper company

In this research it was assessed the level of Suppy Chain Environmental management (SCEM) maturity in a focal company of a pulp and paper supply chain. Thy were used semi-structured interviews in different companies of the supply chain to collect he data which was analysed through the use of qualitative data analysis software. To evaluate the SCEM practices, it was used Ferreira's (2014) model, which establishs 53 practices organized into 8 groups. It was verified that SCEM practices of internal environmental management type, operational ecodesign practices and operational waste reduction and risk minimization practices are fully adopted by the company. Furthermore, the evidence points to a process of evolution from the reactive and preventive levels to the proactive level, strategically establishing environmental principles and objectives to ensure business sustainability, and achieving competitive advantage and differentiation in the market. Finally, the adoption of practices involving customers and suppliers makes the process more effective and efficient and the role of the focal company is fundamental resulting from that coercive pressures that complement and extend the initial normative pressures

Computational model combined with in vitro experiments to analyse mechanotransduction during mesenchymal stem cell adhesion.

The shape that stem cells reach at the end of adhesion process influences their differentiation. Rearrangement of cytoskeleton and modification of intracellular tension may activate mechanotransduction pathways controlling cell commitment. In the present study, the mechanical signals involved in cell adhesion were computed in in vitro stem cells of different shapes using a single cell model, the so-called Cytoskeleton Divided Medium (CDM) model. In the CDM model, the filamentous cytoskeleton and nucleoskeleton networks were represented as a mechanical system of multiple tensile and compressive interactions between the nodes of a divided medium. The results showed that intracellular tonus, focal adhesion forces as well as nuclear deformation increased with cell spreading. The cell model was also implemented to simulate the adhesion process of a cell that spreads on protein-coated substrate by emitting filopodia and creating new distant focal adhesion points. As a result, the cell model predicted cytoskeleton reorganisation and reinforcement during cell spreading. The present model quantitatively computed the evolution of certain elements of mechanotransduction and may be a powerful tool for understanding cell mechanobiology and designing biomaterials with specific surface properties to control cell adhesion and differentiation

On the Convergence of Non-Integer Linear Hopf Flow

The evolution of a rotationally symmetric surface by a linear combination of its radii of curvature equation is considered. It is known that if the coefficients form certain integer ratios the flow is smooth and can be integrated explicitly. In this paper the non-integer case is considered for certain values of the coefficients and with mild analytic restrictions on the initial surface. We prove that if the focal points at the north and south poles on the initial surface coincide, the flow converges to a round sphere. Otherwise the flow converges to a non-round Hopf sphere. Conditions on the fall-off of the astigmatism at the poles of the initial surface are also given that ensure the convergence of the flow. The proof uses the spectral theory of singular Sturm-Liouville operators to construct an eigenbasis for an appropriate space in which the evolution is shown to converge.Comment: 22 page

Segue: Overviewing Evolution Patterns of Egocentric Networks by Interactive Construction of Spatial Layouts

Getting the overall picture of how a large number of ego-networks evolve is a common yet challenging task. Existing techniques often require analysts to inspect the evolution patterns of ego-networks one after another. In this study, we explore an approach that allows analysts to interactively create spatial layouts in which each dot is a dynamic ego-network. These spatial layouts provide overviews of the evolution patterns of ego-networks, thereby revealing different global patterns such as trends, clusters and outliers in evolution patterns. To let analysts interactively construct interpretable spatial layouts, we propose a data transformation pipeline, with which analysts can adjust the spatial layouts and convert dynamic egonetworks into event sequences to aid interpretations of the spatial positions. Based on this transformation pipeline, we developed Segue, a visual analysis system that supports thorough exploration of the evolution patterns of ego-networks. Through two usage scenarios, we demonstrate how analysts can gain insights into the overall evolution patterns of a large collection of ego-networks by interactively creating different spatial layouts.Comment: Published at IEEE Conference on Visual Analytics Science and Technology (IEEE VAST 2018