Internal Versus External Shading Devices Performance in Office Buildings

Abstract In this paper different configurations of an open-space office located in Rome has been simulated with EnergyPlus 8 to compare the performance of outdoor and indoor shading devices concerning the thermal and visual comfort and the overall primary energy use. The standard PMV indices [1] have been calculated considering also the effect of the diffuse and beam solar radiation directly reaching the occupants through the windows. Although the use of shades always improves the thermal comfort, the energy demand could increase as an effect of the internal position of shades in combination with particular orientations and glazing types

Comparison of Different Glare Indices through Metrics for Long Term and Zonal Visual Comfort Assessment

Nowadays different indices are used for the assessment of the visual discomfort related to glare, such as Daylight Glare Index, Daylight Glare Probability, and Vertical Eye illuminance. Regardless of their effectiveness in detecting glare perception, all these indices are intended to be local and instantaneous, not summarizing the long term glare perception through the space (Carlucci et al. 2015). In this work, a set of metrics able to express both the time constancy, i.e. availability, and the spatial uniformity, i.e. usability, has been used for detecting discrepancies and inconsistencies between the glare indices when dealing with time and space distribution. Results confirm that different glare indices can lead to different conclusions not only when considering point and instantaneous values but also when analysing availability and usability. Moreover, the availability and usability representations, indirectly confirm themselves effective in providing a global assessment of the confined space analysed, even when visual comfort is concerned

Identificaction and monitoring of waterlogged areas in a productive region of Argentina using Landsat information

El monitoreo de áreas inundadas y anegadas es fundamental para la Pampa argentina, una extensa región de alta productividad agrícola, ganadera e industrial. Áreas dentro de la Pampa argentina han experimentado un aumento del nivel freático en los últimos años, un factor clave que contribuye al desarrollo y la persistencia de las inundaciones. El seguimiento de estos fenómenos medioambientales extremos es esencial para alcanzar objetivos a largo plazo, p. aumentar el conocimiento para modelar y predecir la ocurrencia y evolución de eventos extremos; así como para objetivos a corto plazo, p.e. para brindar a los productores opciones potenciales de manejo del campo en caso de emergencia. Por lo tanto, el objetivo principal de este trabajo es desarrollar un método sencillo para monitorear las áreas afectadas, utilizando herramientas accesibles. Se eligió como sitio de estudio una región de 160 km2 del sureste de Córdoba para la cual se dispone de datos sobre la altura del nivel freático y la precipitación diaria. Para determinar las áreas inundadas del sitio, se utilizaron 18 imágenes Landsat-8/OLI de septiembre de 2019 a abril de 2021. En cada una de estas imágenes, los píxeles se etiquetaron según tres categorías: aguas abiertas, aguas mixtas y no acuáticas mediante la aplicación de una clasificación no supervisada de los índices de agua mNDWI y NDWI. A pesar de la falta de escenas debido a la nubosidad, las escenas pueden verse afectadas, la categoría de Aguas Abiertas y, en menor grado, la categoría de Aguas Mixtas, son capaces de capturar los cambios en la altura del nivel freático debido a la precipitación.The monitoring of ooded and waterlogged areas is essential for the Argentinean Pampas, an extensive at region of high agricultural, livestock and industrial productivity. Areas within the Argentinean Pampas have experienced a rise of the water table in recent years, a key factor contributing to the development and persistence of ooding. The monitoring of these extreme environmental events is essential for long-term objectives, e.g. increasing knowledge to model and predict the occurrence and evolution of extreme events; as well as for short-term objectives, e.g. to provide producers potential field management options in a ood emergency. Therefore, the main objective of this work is to develop a simple method for monitoring affected areas, using accessible tools. A 160 km2 region of southeastern Córdoba for which data on water table height and daily precipitation are available, was chosen as a study site. To determine the ooded areas of the site, 18 Landsat-8/OLI images from September 2019 - April 2021 were used. On each of these images, pixels were labeled according to three categories: Open Water, Mixed-Water and Non-Water by applying unsupervised classification of the mNDWI and NDWI water indices. Despite the lack of scenes due to cloud cover the scenes may suffer, the Open Water category, and to a lower degree the Mixed-Water category, are able to capture the changes in the water table height due to precipitation.Fil: Cappelletti, Lucía María. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera; Argentina. Instituto Franco-Argentino sobre Estudios del Clima y sus Impactos; ArgentinaFil: Schrapffer, Anthony. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera; Argentina. Instituto Franco-Argentino sobre Estudios del Clima y sus Impactos; ArgentinaFil: Sörensson, Anna. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera; Argentina. Instituto Franco-Argentino sobre Estudios del Clima y sus Impactos; Argentin

Estimation of the flooded area over the pantanal, a South American floodplain, using modis data

Tropical floodplains, such as Pantanal in Central South America, are important features for land-atmosphere interactions. Schemes to account for floodplains should therefore be included in Earth System Models, but this requires observations of flooded area for validation. Satellite data is a possible solution to estimate the flooded area but it is important to evaluate the different flood detection algorithms available in order to use the most efficient for the region. This work explores different methods to estimate the flooded area from the MODIS MOD09A1 satellite surface reflectance product using spectral indexes (mNDWI, NDMI, NDMI-NDVI) to detect the presence of water. We include the traditional threshold-based methods but also some unsupervised classification methods such as the k-means and the Principal Component Analysis applied on the water-related spectral indexes. The calibration and validation of these methods are based on the hydrological knowledge of the region, coming from land surface models, river discharge observation and from previous satellite estimations of the flooded area. The NDMI index seems too sensible to the vegetation which leads to error in the estimation of the flooded area. The other methods were spatially and temporally consistent with previous studies over the Pantanal.Las llanuras aluviales tropicales, como el Pantanal en el centro de América del Sur, son características importantes para las interacciones tierra-atmósfera. Por lo tanto, los esquemas para dar cuenta de las llanuras aluviales deberían incluirse en los modelos del sistema terrestre, pero esto requiere observaciones del área inundada para su validación. Los datos satelitales son una posible solución para estimar el área inundada, pero es importante evaluar los diferentes algoritmos de detección de inundaciones disponibles para utilizar el más eficiente para la región. Este trabajo explora diferentes métodos para estimar el área inundada a partir del producto de reflectancia de superficie del satélite MODIS MOD09A1 utilizando índices espectrales (mNDWI, NDMI, NDMI-NDVI) para detectar la presencia de agua. Incluimos los métodos tradicionales basados ​​en umbrales, pero también algunos métodos de clasificación no supervisados, como las k-medias y el Análisis de Componentes Principales aplicados a los índices espectrales relacionados con el agua. La calibración y validación de estos métodos se basan en el conocimiento hidrológico de la región, proveniente de modelos de superficie terrestre, observación de caudales de ríos y de estimaciones satelitales previas del área inundada. El índice NDMI parece demasiado sensible a la vegetación, lo que induce a errores en la estimación de la superficie inundada. Los otros métodos fueron espacial y temporalmente consistentes con estudios previos sobre el Pantanal.Fil: Schrapffer, Anthony. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera; Argentina. Instituto Franco-Argentino sobre Estudios del Clima y sus Impactos; ArgentinaFil: Cappelletti, Lucía María. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera; Argentina. Instituto Franco-Argentino sobre Estudios del Clima y sus Impactos; ArgentinaFil: Sörensson, Anna. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera; Argentina. Instituto Franco-Argentino sobre Estudios del Clima y sus Impactos; Argentin

insar decorrelation to assess and prevent volcanic risk

SAR� can� be� invaluable� describing� pre�eruption� surface� deformation� and� improving� the� understanding� of� volcanic� processes.� This� work� studies� correlation� of� pairs� of� SAR� images� focusing� on� the� inༀ䃻uence� of� surface,� climate� conditions� and� acquisition� band.� Chosen� L�band� and� C�band� images� (ENVISAT,� ERS� and� ALOS)� cover� most� of� the� Yellowstone� caldera� (USA)� over� a� span� of� 4� years,� sampling� all� the� seasons.� Interferograms� and� correlation� maps� are� generated� and� studied� in� relation� to� snow� depth� and� temperature.� To� isolate� temporal� decorrelation� pairs� of� images� with� the� shortest� baseline� are� chosen.� Results� show� good� performance� during� winter,� bad� attitude� towards� wet� snow� and� good� coherence� during� summer� with� L�band� performing� better� over� vegetation

Assessment Of Long-Term Visual And Thermal Comfort And Energy Performance In Open-Space Offices With Different Shading Devices

Solar radiation plays a significant role in reducing building energy consumption for air-conditioning and lighting and affects thermal and visual comfort conditions. Additionally, for the occupants of confined spaces, daylight strongly affects not only the human performance but also the general well-being, both from a psychological and physiological point of view. On the other hand, large windows on building façades may facilitate the entry of daylight and solar heat gains, increasing the risks of overheating or visual discomfort. In these cases, the proper use and control of shading devices is mandatory to prevent glare and direct solar radiation on the occupants, even while affecting the energy performance. The best balance between those contrasting requisites has to be defined by comparing the behavior of different combinations of glazing systems and shading devices, while considering the specific application context. In the assessment, different metrics are needed to analyze both comfort and energy aspects. In this paper, the effects of external and internal roller shades, both on thermal and visual comfort and on overall building energy demand, have been considered for the climatic conditions of Rome. An open-space office with windows distributed on a single façade or on opposite façades, and directed towards 2 orientations (South or South/North and East or East/West) has been simulated. The window area and the glazing system have been changed in order to evaluate the shading performance in several office configurations. The thermal comfort indoor conditions have been controlled by fixing adequate operative temperature set points. Shades with three different levels of solar and light transmission coefficients have been chosen for the comparison. To fulfill occupant visual comfort, the shades are controlled based on two set points: on a limit glare index of 22 DGI and on the maximum total solar radiation incident on the windows - 150 W m-2. An illuminance level of 500 lux during the hours of occupation is guaranteed by dimmable artificial lighting. Concerning the energy performance, the office primary energy demand for heating, cooling and lighting have been calculated. The assessment of the long-term comfort conditions has been conducted on a seasonal basis, taking into account both the thermal and visual comfort conditions. Regarding thermal comfort, the Discomfort Time weighted by the Predicted Percent of Dissatisfied (WDTPPD) and the radiant temperature asymmetry have been calculated in 9 points in the office including also the effect of the diffuse and beam solar radiation directly reaching the occupants. The visual comfort has been assessed through three climate-based metrics: the Spatial Daylight Autonomy (sDA), which describes the annual sufficiency of ambient daylight levels, the Annual Sunlight Exposure (ASE), which describes the annual potential risk of visual discomfort in interior work environments and the Daylight Glare Probability (DGP), which is the percentage of disturbed people. The dynamic simulation has been conducted in EnergyPlus 8, while the visual aspects have been analyzed with DaySim and equivalent lighting simulation codes

TCT-713 Impact And Evolution Of Right Ventricular Dysfunction After MitraClip In High Risk Patients With Functional Mitral Regurgitation

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Apatinib for the treatment of gastric cancer

Apatinib, a small-molecule inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2, has demonstrated encouraging anti-cancer activity in gastric cancer within both in vitro and in vivo models. AREAS COVERED: Apatinib's efficacy, tolerability and safety have been evaluated in one Phase II and one Phase III study in metastatic/advanced gastric cancer. In this review, we focus on the mechanism of action of apatinib, its pharmacokinetic profile and its clinical activity in the treatment of advanced/metastatic gastric cancer. Expert commentary: Unfortunately, as yet, there is no definitive biomarker data for apatinib in gastric cance

Evolutionary strategies of object-sign

The present study examines the relationship between design and culture. The article focuses on discovering the mechanics through which a design remains or it is modified. By exploring the product of design, from a semiotic perspective and the evolutionary theory, this research tries to clarify the ways in which the design brings meanings; therefore, its role in the maintenance and revitalization of cultural identity is assessed. Starting from an inter- and trans-disciplinary perspective, a theoretical reflection and proposal is defined. The proposal is then validated through a case analysis driven Content Analysis and Multivariate Data Processing methodology. Finally, the accelerated transit of the objects of consumption in the contemporary society is analyzed