Analysis of the impacts of economic and social indicators to sustainability assessment

Literature review shows that there is no standard method to assess buildings’ sustainability neither to identify which items/indicators should be assess. Literature also reveals that early phases of a building project are essential to assure the buildings’ sustainability. As so, a research project has been established aiming at improving early design stages of a building project by providing concepts and methods for increasing the whole life-cycle sustainability performance. Therefore, in a first phase it is essential to analyse which is the impact of taking into account sustainable indicators during the initial phases of a building, and which should be the chosen ones. Hence, the paper proposes a methodology to analyse the impact of considering social and economic indicators in a sustainable building construction and its assessment.COST, European Science Foundatio

Sustainability assessment and standardisation : steel buildings

This paper aims at evaluating in what extent are the existing sustainability assessment methodologies capable of truly reward the benefits of steel-intensive buildings in comparison with other building construction solutions. This evaluation consists in describing the more common sustainability assessment methodologies from the steel construction point of view and in comparing existing assessments to steel buildings. The pros and cons of each will also be pointed out, in order to determine the best practices of each methodology.Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS

Assessment of solar XXI building sustainability by SBToolPT methodology

In this paper that focus on the building sector, it’s presented the evaluation of the sustainable performance of an office building in Lisbon – Solar XXI. This analysis was performed using the SBTool PT methodology, which is a methodology initially developed by (Mateus and Bragança 2006) at Minho’s University, for application in residential buildings. This study confirmed not only the high performance of Solar XXI but also the flexibility and adaptability of SBTool PT to different kinds of buildings, locations and cultural concepts.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Selection of key sustainable indicators to steel buildings in early design phases

The construction industry attempts to produce buildings with the least possible environmental impact. However, construction activities still greatly impacting the environment; therefore, it is necessary to consider a sustainable project approach, based on its performance. Sustainability is an important issue to consider in design, due to environmental concerns and economic and social issues, promoting the architectural quality and economic advantages. This paper aims to identify the phases that a design project should pass through, emphasising the importance and ability of earlier ones to influence the level of sustainability, performance and life cost over project life. Then one intends to select a set of sustainability indicators, based on a pre-set list, predicting its adaptability to the conceptual and pre-design phases under steel buildings. The output of this paper is aimed to aid the development of a tool/concepts that would enable designers to compare and evaluate the consequences of different design solutions, based on preliminary data and facilitate the collaboration between various partners and client and eventually yield a sustainable and high performance building through its life cycle.Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS

The impact of psychostimulants on central and peripheral neuro-immune regulation: a scoping review of cytokine profiles and their implications for addiction

It is now well-accepted that psychostimulants act on glial cells causing neuroinflammation and adding to the neurotoxic effects of such substances. Neuroinflammation can be described as an inflammatory response, within the CNS, mediated through several cytokines, reactive oxygen species, chemokines and other inflammatory markers. These inflammatory players, in particular cytokines, play important roles. Several studies have demonstrated that psychostimulants impact on cytokine production and release, both centrally and at the peripheral level. Nevertheless, the available data is often contradictory. Because understanding how cytokines are modulated by psychoactive substances seems crucial to perspective successful therapeutic interventions, here, we conducted a scoping review of the available literature. We have focused on how different psychostimulants impact on the cytokine profile. Publications were grouped according to the substance addressed (methamphetamine, cocaine, methylphenidate, MDMA or other amphetamines), the type of exposure and period of evaluation (acute, short- or long-term exposure, withdrawal, and reinstatement). Studies were further divided in those addressing central cytokines, circulating (peripheral) levels, or both. Our analysis showed that the classical pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β were those more investigated. The majority of studies have reported increased levels of these cytokines in the central nervous system after acute or repeated drug. However, studies investigating cytokine levels during withdrawal or reinstatement have shown higher variability in their findings. Although we have identified fewer studies addressing circulating cytokines in humans, the available data suggest that the results may be more robust in animal models than in patients with problematic drug use. As a major conclusion, an extensive use of arrays for relevant cytokines should be considered to better determine which cytokines, upon the classical ones, may be involved in the progression from episodic use to the development of addiction. A concerted effort is still necessary to address the link between peripheral and central immune players, including from a longitudinal perspective. Until there, the identification of new biomarkers and therapeutic targets to envision personalized immune-based therapeutics will continue to be unlikely.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Dopamine up-regulates Th17 phenotype from individuals with generalized anxiety disorder

AbstractOur objective was to evaluate the effect of stress-related dose of dopamine (DA) on the in vitro proliferation and cytokine production in polyclonally-activated T cells from healthy individuals or individuals with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Our results demonstrated that cell cultures from GAD group proliferated less following T cell activation, as compared with control group. The addition of DA reduced the proliferative response in cell cultures from healthy but not from GAD individuals. The cytokine profile in GAD individuals revealed Th1 and Th2 deficiencies associated with a dominant Th17 phenotype, which was enhanced by DA. A similar DA-induced immunomodulation was also observed in PPD-activated cell cultures from GAD individuals. Unlike the control, DA-enhanced Th17 cytokine production in GAD individuals was not affected by glucocorticoid. In conclusion, our results show that the T cell functional dysregulation in GAD individuals is significantly amplified by DA. These immune abnormalities can have impact in increasing the susceptibility of individuals with anxiety disorders to infectious diseases and inflammatory/autoimmune disorders

Neuron-Microglia Contact-Dependent Mechanisms Attenuate Methamphetamine-Induced Microglia Reactivity and Enhance Neuronal Plasticity

Exposure to methamphetamine (Meth) has been classically associated with damage to neuronal terminals. However, it is now becoming clear that addiction may also result from the interplay between glial cells and neurons. Recently, we demonstrated that binge Meth administration promotes microgliosis and microglia pro-inflammation via astrocytic glutamate release in a TNF/IP(3)R2-Ca2+-dependent manner. Here, we investigated the contribution of neuronal cells to this process. As the crosstalk between microglia and neurons may occur by contact-dependent and/or contact-independent mechanisms, we developed co-cultures of primary neurons and microglia in microfluidic devices to investigate how their interaction affects Meth-induced microglia activation. Our results show that neurons exposed to Meth do not activate microglia in a cell-autonomous way but require astrocyte mediation. Importantly, we found that neurons can partially prevent Meth-induced microglia activation via astrocytes, which seems to be achieved by increasing arginase 1 expression and strengthening the CD200/CD200r pathway. We also observed an increase in synaptic individual area, as determined by co-localization of pre- and post-synaptic markers. The present study provides evidence that contact-dependent mechanisms between neurons and microglia can attenuate pro-inflammatory events such as Meth-induced microglia activation

The transmission of unconventional monetary policy to bank credit supply : evidence from the TLTRO

We assess the transmission of the Targeted Longer-Term Refinancing Operations (TLTRO) to the bank credit supply for the Euro area (2014:05-2018:01) and for Portugal (2011:01-2018:01), using a panel data setup. For the Euro area, we find a positive relationship between the TLTRO and the amount of credit granted to the real economy. For the vulnerable countries, the effects of the TLTRO on the stock of credit increased from 2016 to 2017. Among the group of small banks, the effects are stronger in less vulnerable countries. We also find that competition has no statistically significant impact on the transmission of the TLTRO to the bank credit supply for the Euro area. For Portugal, using a difference-in-differences model, we find no statistically significant impact of the TLTRO on credit granted by banks. Finally, bidding banks set lower interest rates than non-bidding banks and the difference seems to be larger in 2017. In Portugal, the effects of the TLTRO on loan interest rates also increased from 2016 to 2017 and are stronger for small banks.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Recombinant family 3 carbohydrate-binding module as a new additive for enhanced enzymatic saccharification of whole slurry from autohydrolyzed eucalyptus globulus wood

By-products resulting from lignocellulosics pretreatment affect the digestibility of resulting whole slurries, but this can be minimized by additives supplementation. In this work, a family 3 carbohydrate-binding module (CBM3), recombinantly produced from Escherichia coli, was used as additive in the enzymatic hydrolysis of the whole slurry from autohydrolyzed Eucalyptus globulus wood (EGW). At the higher dosage used (30 mg/gsolids), CBM3 led to an increase in glucose yield from 75 to 89%. A similar result was obtained for bovine serum albumin (BSA) (11% increase), which has a well-documented additive effect. CBM3 had no effect on the non-productive binding of enzymes, since it could not bind to EGW lignin, while it rapidly bound to cellulose, as shown by fluorescence microscopy. CBM3 is a valid additive for enhanced lignocellulosic saccharification and a valuable alternative to costly additives (e.g. polyethylene glycol) as it can be affordably produced from heterologous bacterium, thus contributing to more cost-efficient biomass valorization bioprocesses.This work was developed under the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit, COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020—Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. The research leading to the reported results has received funding from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) through the project MultiBiorefinery (POCI-01–0145-FEDER-016403) and through grants to C. Oliveira (SFRH/BPD/110640/2015) and D. Gomes (SFRH/BD/88623/2012).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio