A new framework to switch from Zero Energy to Zero Power Buildings

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Haliplidae, Noteridae, Dytiscidae (Coleoptera) du Gabon (9ème partie). Parc National des Plateaux Batéké (missions 2010 et 2012)

Haliplidae, Noteridae, Dytiscidae (Coleoptera) of Gabon (9th part). Plateaux Batéké National Park (missions 2010 and2012).This work concerns the Coleoptera Hydradephaga collected in three localities of Plateaux Batéké National Park (Republic of Gabon) and in two localities external to the Park in two missions (2010 and 2012), in which altogether 82 species are listed (13 Noteridae and 69 Dytiscidae); considering also the species collected in previous missions (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008) in all 18 visited localities altogether 155 species are listed (1 Haliplidae, 17 Noteridae and 137 Dytiscidae). The Authors describe three new species: Bidessus batekensis (group sharpi, subgroup ovoideus) near B. toumodiensis Guignot, 1939, distinguishable by dark brown elytra without net testaceous longitudinal markings and by penis; Copelatus tondangoyei (group erichsoni, subgroup atrosulcatus) distinguishable from close species by penis; Copelatus fizpaci (group longicornis, subgroup guerini) closed to C. ateles Guignot, 1955, distinguishable by bigger size and by penis. Besides some types of species of the genus Copelatus Erichson, 1832 examined have permitted the description of other african species: C. sylvaticoides (group irinus, subgroup irinus). Some observations concerning species of Copelatus genus, that have dentate penis, are reported

From Zero Energy to Zero Power Buildings: A new framework to define high-energy performance and carbon-neutral buildings

The definition of Zero Energy Building (ZEB) has often been controversial both in regulation and research. This work explores a new evaluation framework introducing the Zero Power Building (ZPB) concept, a novel method that studies the relationship of buildings to the physical boundary, weighting system and analysis timeframe, approaching performance assessment at reduced time intervals. The methodology proposed in this paper showcases how the limitations of the ZEB can be overcome by adopting the ZPB concept on a reference com mercial building. The case study was analysed under two different scenarios, with and without an electric storage system. The application of the ZPB concept on an hourly basis poses a challenge to the case study performance, considering both final energy use and CO2 emissions. Specifically, the building commonly accepted as a ZEB turns as a ZPB for only 54.76% of annual hours and as carbon-neutral building for 55.58% of annual hours. The paper presents an innovative methodology that aims to assist in the design and operation of future buildings, as well as provide guidance for policymakers and regulators. The findings emphasize the significance of using dynamic assessment strategies to accurately evaluate the buildings performances and enable meaningful com parisons in various contexts

Influence of surface chemistry and morphology of nanoparticles on protein corona formation

Nanomaterials offer promising solutions as drug delivery systems and imaging agents in response to the demand for better therapeutics and diagnostics. However, the limited understanding of the interaction between nanoparticles and biological entities is currently hampering the development of new systems and their applications in clinical settings. Proteins and lipids in biological fluids are known to complex with nanoparticles to form a “biomolecular corona”. This has been shown to affect particles' morphology and behavior in biological systems and their interactions with cells. Hence, understanding how nanomaterials' physicochemical properties affect the formation and composition of this biocorona is a crucial step. This work evaluates existing literature on how morphology (size and shape), and surface chemistry (charge and hydrophobicity) of nanoparticles influence the formation of protein corona. The latest evidence suggest that although surface charge promotes the interaction with proteins and lipids, surface chemistry plays a leading role in determining the affinity of the nanoparticle for biomolecules and, ultimately, the composition of the corona. More recently the study of additional nanoparticles' properties like shape and surface chirality have demonstrated a significant effect on protein corona architecture, providing new tools to tailor biomolecular corona formation. This article is categorized under: Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Emerging Technologies. Toxicology and Regulatory Issues in Nanomedicine > Toxicology of Nanomaterials

Management issues in systems engineering

When applied to a system, the doctrine of successive refinement is a divide-and-conquer strategy. Complex systems are sucessively divided into pieces that are less complex, until they are simple enough to be conquered. This decomposition results in several structures for describing the product system and the producing system. These structures play important roles in systems engineering and project management. Many of the remaining sections in this chapter are devoted to describing some of these key structures. Structures that describe the product system include, but are not limited to, the requirements tree, system architecture and certain symbolic information such as system drawings, schematics, and data bases. The structures that describe the producing system include the project's work breakdown, schedules, cost accounts and organization

Modelling a fifth-generation bidirectional low temperature district heating and cooling (5GDHC) network for nearly Zero Energy District (nZED)

Abstract Current sustainability challenges place entire communities at the centre of the energy revolution, rather than individual buildings. The need to develop energy-efficient and low-carbon economies lies at the heart of fifth-generation district heating and cooling (5GDHC) networks. The potential of these networks is represented by a lower working temperature close to the ground temperature, usually between 10 and 25 °C. Thanks to this feature, the network presents optimal conditions to be used as a heat source for reversible heat pumps. 5GDHC networks provide users with a fundamental active role, giving the possibility of extracting and releasing energy into the thermal network, while producing heating and cooling simultaneously. The integration of renewable sources and reduced heat losses are added values to be taken into consideration. Given the limited application of 5GDHC networks, this paper aims to evaluate the energy advantages of coupling several users within a bidirectional fifth-generation network based on the integration of reversible heat pumps with on-site production by renewable sources and waste energy recovery. An integrated model of 5GDHC network with buildings was developed in order to meet the energy needs of a neighbourhood made up of users with different energy profiles throughout a whole year. To enhance future applications, the energy performance of the 5GDHC network model was studied through a simulation tool. An hourly numerical calculation tool was developed to simulate the behaviour of the network and the users' response over an annual period, estimating the energy shared between users during both the heating and cooling seasons. The results obtained are presented not only in terms of energy exchanged in the network, but also in the form of performance indexes of the individual users, identifying advantageous combinations between the users for future design developments of these systems. The outcomes of this paper highlight the integration of established technologies into fifth-generation thermal networks, with a view to a future development of nearly Zero Energy Districts (nZED)