The case for joined-up research on carbon emissions from the building stock: adding value to household and building energy datasets

To reach UK objectives for reducing carbon emissions, it is argued that joined-up research on energy use in buildings is essential to develop and support government policy initiatives. The performance based approach introduced in Part-L of the 2006 Building Regulations has further underlined the role of coordinated research to monitor their effectiveness and provide feedback for subsequent revisions. Unfortunately, differences in dwelling classifications systems used in major household surveys currently hinder much of the supporting analysis that might improve SAP and other energy models. The Carbon Reduction in Buildings project has begun a process of integrating or organising existing building energy datasets into a coherent structure for the domestic sector. In addition, it is proposed to archive these for researchers via a building data repository that would facilitate joined-up research more widely

Milton Keynes Park Revisited: changes in internal temperatures

27-30 April 2006 The Carbon Reduction in Buildings project has undertaken a pilot longitudinal survey based on a study of 160 ‘low-energy’ homes in 1989 in Milton Keynes Energy Park. In that study, a sub-sample of 29 dwellings was monitored on an hourly basis for internal temperature for the living room and main bedroom over 2 years. The follow up study has been in progress since 2005 and consists of 15 dwellings from the original detailed survey. Findings include that under an average daily external temperature of 5 ºC, internal temperatures were predicted from regression analysis to be 20.1ºC (95%CI:19.7, 20.5) for the living room in 2005 and 19.5 ºC (95 %CI:19.1, 19.9) for the bedroom. This was not significantly different from the 1990 baseline study, except for main bedroom evening temperatures (6pm-11pm) which were found to have decreased by -1.3°C (95%CI -2.4, 0.08; p-value 0.04). This may be indicative of higher ventilation rates since almost all participants in 2005 reported opening bedroom windows through winter

Engineering Admissions Criteria: Focusing on Ultimate Professional Success

The majority of Australian Universities use performance in the higher school examinations as the primary basis of admission into undergraduate programs for current school leavers. In 2005 an analysis of academic performance in the UTS undergraduate Engineering program showed a relatively low correlation with Higher School Certificate (HSC) results, particularly for students outside the top performance bands. This led to a rethinking of the admissions processes, and the introduction of a broader admission scheme. This scheme incorporated the results of an admission questionnaire which was designed with substantial input from industry, and which aimed to provide an indication of both likely academic success within the degree program as well as (and possibly more importantly) the likely success as a graduate Engineer. The key criteria related to affinity with, and motivations for, an Engineering career and addressed both the attitude and aptitude of students in terms of emotional intelligence characteristics. In this paper we describe the design and introduction of this scheme, and how input from industry was used to construct a questionnaire. We provide an analysis of early outcomes from the process in terms of student performance, and the extent to which course performance correlates to questionnaire results. We also include recommendations on how these schemes may be used to improve the retention and success of Engineering students and how to better match the aptitudes of engineering graduates with the needs and aspirations of Industry and Business

A Possible Indicator of Oxidative Damage in Smokers: (13Z)-Lycopene?

In vitro, the gaseous phase of cigarette smoke is known to induce both isomerization and degradation of dietary carotenoids, such as β-carotene and lycopene. However, the effects of cigarette smoke on the composition of circulating lycopene in vivo are not well understood. In this study, we examined the lycopene profiles of plasma from non-smokers and smokers. No oxidative intermediates of lycopene that have been observed previously in vitro were detected in the plasma, but evidence of isomerization of the carotenoid was seen. Four geometric forms of lycopene were detected in the plasma of both smokers and non-smokers, namely the (5Z), (9Z), (13Z) and (all-E) forms. The relative amounts of these isomers differed between the two cohorts and there was a significant difference (p < 0.05) between smokers and non-smokers for the ratio of total-Z:all-E lycopene, and in the relative amounts of (13Z) and (all-E)-lycopene. The ratio of (all-E):(13Z)-lycopene was 0.84:1.00 in smokers compared to 1.04:1.00 in non-smokers. In smokers, the (13Z)-isomer was generated in preference to the more thermodynamically stable (5Z) and (9Z)-isomers. This mirrors the scenario seen in vitro, in which the formation of (13Z)-lycopene was the main isomer that accompanied the depletion of (all-E) lycopene, when exposed to cigarette smoke. The results suggest that the relative amount of (13Z)-lycopene could be used as an indicator of oxidative damage to lycopene in vivo

Reconstitution of muscle F-actin from Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) with carotenoids – binding characteristics of astaxanthin and canthaxanthin.

The binding of carotenoids to the myofibrillar protein F-actin purified from the white muscle of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) was studied using in vitro reconstitution. The binding of astaxanthin and canthaxanthin was saturable, and analysis revealed the presence of a single carotenoid-binding site. The dissociation constants (Kd) for actin prepared from 2.5 Kg FW fish were 1.04 ± 0.13 μg carotenoid mg-1 actin and 0.54 ± 0.11 μgmg-1 for astaxanthin and canthaxanthin, respectively. The saturation binding level (Bmax) for astaxanthin was 1.39 ± 0.07 μgmg-1 and 1.04 ± 0.08 μgmg-1 for canthaxanthin. These values were higher for F-actin prepared from organic and small (~0.5 Kg FW) salmon than for non-organic and larger, mature fish. The structural specificity of carotenoid binding revealed a preference for carotenoids that possess a keto group at C-4 on the end-group of the molecule, but the presence of hydroxyl groups at C-3 or C-4 reduced overall binding efficiency. The study suggests that the ability of myofibrillar proteins to bind carotenoids is not a limiting factor governing the deposition of carotenoids in the muscle of salmonids

Empirically-Informed Modal Rationalism

In this chapter, it is suggested that our epistemic access to metaphysical modality generally involves rationalist, a priori elements. However, these a priori elements are much more subtle than ‘traditional’ modal rationalism assumes. In fact, some might even question the ‘apriority’ of these elements, but I should stress that I consider a priori and a posteriori elements especially in our modal inquiry to be so deeply intertwined that it is not easy to tell them apart. Supposed metaphysically necessary identity statements involving natural kind terms are a good example: the fact that empirical input is crucial in establishing their necessity has clouded the role and content of the a priori input, as I have previously argued (Tahko forthcoming). For instance, the supposed metaphysically necessary identity statement involving water and its microstructure can only be established with the help of a controversial a priori principle concerning the determination of chemical properties by microstructure. The Kripke-Putnam framework of modal epistemology fails precisely because it is unclear whether the required a priori element is present. My positive proposal builds on E. J. Lowe’s work. Lowe holds that our knowledge of metaphysical modality is based on our knowledge of essence. Lowe’s account strives to offer a uniform picture of modal epistemology: essence is the basis of all our modal knowledge. This is the basis of Lowe’s modal rationalism. I believe that Lowe’s proposal is on the right lines in the case of abstract objects, but I doubt that it can be successfully applied to the case of natural kinds. Accordingly, the case of natural kinds will be my main focus and I will suggest that modal rationalism, at least as it is traditionally understood, falls short of explaining modal knowledge concerning natural kinds. Yet, I think that Lowe has identified something of crucial importance for modal epistemology, namely the essentialist, a priori elements present in our modal inquiry. The upshot is that rather than moving all the way from modal rationalism to modal empiricism, a type of hybrid approach, ‘empirically-informed modal rationalism’, can be developed.Peer reviewe

Holography at an Extremal De Sitter Horizon

Rotating maximal black holes in four-dimensional de Sitter space, for which the outer event horizon coincides with the cosmological horizon, have an infinite near-horizon region described by the rotating Nariai metric. We show that the asymptotic symmetry group at the spacelike future boundary of the near-horizon region contains a Virasoro algebra with a real, positive central charge. This is evidence that quantum gravity in a rotating Nariai background is dual to a two-dimensional Euclidean conformal field theory. These results are related to the Kerr/CFT correspondence for extremal black holes, but have two key differences: one of the black hole event horizons has been traded for the cosmological horizon, and the near-horizon geometry is a fiber over dS_2 rather than AdS_2.Comment: 15 page

Dental treatment and risk of variant CJD - a case control study

Abstract Objective: Knowledge of risk factors for variant CJD (vCJD) remains limited, but transmission of prion proteins via re-useable medical devices, including dental instruments, or enhanced susceptibility following trauma to the oral cavity is a concern. This study aimed to identify whether previous dental treatment is a risk factor for development of vCJD. Design: Case control study Methods: Risk factor questionnaires completed by interview with relatives of 130 vCJD patients and with relatives of 66 community and 53 hospital controls were examined by a dental surgeon. Responses regarding dental treatments were analysed. Results: We did not find a statistically significant excess of risk of vCJD associated with dental treatments with the exception of extractions in an unmatched analysis of vCJD cases with community controls (p=0.02). However, this result may be explained by multiple testing. Conclusions: This is the first published study to date to examine potential links between vCJD and dental treatment. There was no convincing evidence found of an increased risk of variant CJD associated with reported dental treatment. However, the power of the study is restricted by the number of vCJD cases to date and does not preclude the possibility that some cases have resulted from secondary transmission via dental procedures. Due to the limitations of the data available, more detailed analyses of dental records are required to fully exclude the possibility of transmission via dental treatment

Polymorphism discovery and association analyses of the interferon genes in type 1 diabetes.

BACKGROUND: The aetiology of the autoimmune disease type 1 diabetes (T1D) involves many genetic and environmental factors. Evidence suggests that innate immune responses, including the action of interferons, may also play a role in the initiation and/or pathogenic process of autoimmunity. In the present report, we have adopted a linkage disequilibrium (LD) mapping approach to test for an association between T1D and three regions encompassing 13 interferon alpha (IFNA) genes, interferon omega-1 (IFNW1), interferon beta-1 (IFNB1), interferon gamma (IFNG) and the interferon consensus-sequence binding protein 1 (ICSBP1). RESULTS: We identified 238 variants, most, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), by sequencing IFNA, IFNB1, IFNW1 and ICSBP1, 98 of which where novel when compared to dbSNP build 124. We used polymorphisms identified in the SeattleSNP database for INFG. A set of tag SNPs was selected for each of the interferon and interferon-related genes to test for an association between T1D and this complex gene family. A total of 45 tag SNPs were selected and genotyped in a collection of 472 multiplex families. CONCLUSION: We have developed informative sets of SNPs for the interferon and interferon related genes. No statistical evidence of a major association between T1D and any of the interferon and interferon related genes tested was found.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are