Sustainable energy saving alternatives in small buildings

Day lighting significance in architectural designs is well established for enhancing visual comfort, energy-efficiency and low carbon buildings development. Practising the atrium element in the modern architectures has been increasingly popular in recent years because of the fact that the transitional space with good environmental elements can improve the quality of the buildings and reduce extra energy utilisation. The present study explores the advantages and effectiveness of the atrium on the energy performance of small buildings, a case study of ‘The Azuma Row House’. Based on local micro-climate data Autodesk Ecotect Analysis was performed to calculate the daylight factors and the energy demand of the building. A comparison was made with atrium and without atrium in the building to evaluate overall energy savings. The results show a higher annual heating energy demand with atrium 3443 kWh compared without atrium 2526 kWh. The annual cooling energy demand without atrium 2516 kWh is significantly greater than with atrium 912 kWh. The total energy requirements under no atrium case is about 5042 kWh which is considerably higher than the total annual energy demand with atrium 4355 kWh. The total amount of energy saved is about 15.7% per year by introducing the sunlight through the atrium. Along with the increasing issue of the energy crisis, environmental problem and the beautiful design of atrium, the development of atrium in modern architecture designing is feasible to have a good future

The value of multimodality imaging for detection, characterisation and management of a wall adhering structure in the right atrium

The case presents a wall adherent structure in the right atrium in a young patient with peripheral tcell lymphoma followed by successful prolonged lysis therapy resulting in the resolution of the thrombus is presented. This case highlights the utility of multimodality imaging in an accurate assessment of the right atrium thrombus and the effectiveness of prolonged lysis therapy.peer-reviewe

Cor triatriatum sinister with situs inversus totalis in an infant.

Cor triatriatum sinister is a rare congenital cardiac malformation characterized by a membrane in the left atrium which separates the left atrium into the proximal and distal chambers.Association of cor triatriatum is extremely rare with situs inversus totalis. This article reports a rare case of cor triatriatum sinister with situs inversus totalis in a 5 month old female infantpeer-reviewe

Left atrial anomalous muscular band as incidental finding during video-assisted mitral surgery

Congenital fibromuscular bands have been described inleft ventricle or right atrium and have been diagnosed by echocardiography and CT scan. The first report of anomalous band in the left atrium was described in 1897 by Rollestone (1). We hereby present a case of a patient with an incidental finding of left atrial band during a minimally invasive mitral surgery procedure

Hepatocarcinoma with tumor thrombus occupying the right atrium and portal vein in a patient with hereditary hemochromatosis and liver cirrhosis

We present the case of a 46-year old patient with Child-Pugh class C cirrhosis with MEDL-Score 16, and hepatocellular carcinoma invading the inferior vena cava and the right atrium. The etiology of cirrhosis is type 1 hereditary hemochromatosis with positive HFE C282Y/C282Y and H63D/H63D mutations. A systematic review of the literature was performed and only 30 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma with tumor thrombosis extending into the right atrium have been described. To our knowledge, this is the first case that evidences the presence in hereditary hemochromatosis of hepatocellular carcinoma with atypical invasion into the right atrium. Screening of patients with a family history of hereditary hemochromatosis allows detection of the disease in the asymptomatic phase, allowing initiation of early therapy and improved prognosis

Numerical and experimental study of atrium enclosure fires in a full scale fire test facility. Póster

For the present work, a 3-D numerical model has been implemented to simulate the thermal and fluid fields induced by an enclosure fire in an atrium and for smoke exhaust system assessment. This study is focused on the ‘Fire Atrium’, a new full-scale fire test facility of the Technological Metal Centre in Murcia, Spain. It is an aluminium prismatic squared base building of 19.5 m x 19.5 m x 20 m with several vents arranged in its walls and four exhaust fans at the roof

Systematic Analysis of Gene Expression Differences between Left and Right Atria in Different Mouse Strains and in Human Atrial Tissue

Background: Normal development of the atria requires left-right differentiation during embryonic development. Reduced expression of Pitx2c (paired-like homeodomain transcription factor 2, isoform c), a key regulator of left-right asymmetry, has recently been linked to atrial fibrillation. We therefore systematically studied the molecular composition of left and right atrial tissue in adult murine and human atria. Methods: We compared left and right atrial gene expression in healthy, adult mice of different strains and ages by employing whole genome array analyses on freshly frozen atrial tissue. Selected genes with enriched expression in either atrium were validated by RT-qPCR and Western blot in further animals and in shock-frozen left and right atrial appendages of patients undergoing open heart surgery. Results: We identified 77 genes with preferential expression in one atrium that were common in all strains and age groups analysed. Independent of strain and age, Pitx2c was the gene with the highest enrichment in left atrium, while Bmp10, a member of the TGFb family, showed highest enrichment in right atrium. These differences were validated by RT-qPCR in murine and human tissue. Western blot showed a 2-fold left-right concentration gradient in PITX2 protein in adult human atria. Several of the genes and gene groups enriched in left atria have a known biological role for maintenance of healthy physiology, specifically the prevention of atrial pathologies involved in atrial fibrillation, including membrane electrophysiology, metabolic cellular function, and regulation of inflammatory processes. Comparison of the array datasets with published array analyses in heterozygous Pitx2c+/2 atria suggested that approximately half of the genes with left-sided enrichment are regulated by Pitx2c. Conclusions: Our study reveals systematic differences between left and right atrial gene expression and supports the hypothesis that Pitx2c has a functional role in maintaining ‘‘leftness’’ in the atrium in adult murine and human hearts

Design and low energy ventilation solutions for atria in the tropics

A generic atrium building was designed to incorporate low energy solutions and features of both vernac�ular and contemporary South Asian architecture. To achieve low energy and comfort within the atrium space, some key design variables were examined by running a dynamic thermal model (DTM) for some representative cases. This DTM model was developed with multiple levels and zones to simulate the heat and air movement throughout the building and validated with the data measured in a real building of similar form. The modelling study was carried out to investigate the effects of two roof forms for the atrium and three low cost ventilation solutions on indoor thermal comfort. It reveals that low cost ven�tilation and acceptable comfort are achievable in this traditional form of architecture and low energy solutions and careful design can complement well its functional aspects and even enhance its aesthetic and practical qualities. The solar heat gain, air temperature, and mean radiant temperature in the atrium were used to assess the effectiveness of clerestory windows with opaque rooftop (i.e. side-lit model) as compared to the fully transparent glazed rooftop (i.e. top-lit model). Data on cooling loads, indoor air temperature, and mean radiant temperature were used to evaluate the design options with special consideration on local adaptable thermal comfort criteria. The possible effects of the research outcomes on the incorporation of atria are discussed at the end

Numerical study of the adhered smoke plume for fire in an atrium

In case of fire in an adjacent room to an atrium, one of the most important parameters in fire safety design is the smoke free height in the atrium. A recent article [1] reports on a series of small-scale experiments and the development of a new one-line equation for the mass flow rate of the spill plume. In our paper, we first describe a calculation method to determine the smoke layer interface height in CFD-simulations. A series of CFD-simulations is validated, based on the experiments of [1]. Large-scale atria are also simulated and discussed. The presence of a “more-dimensional” effect is detected and discussed