Evaluation of PV technology implementation in the building sector

This paper presents a simulation case that shows the impact on energy consumption of a building applying photovoltaic shading systems. In order to make photovoltaic application more economical, the effect of a photovoltaic facade as a passive cooling system can result in a considerable energy cost reduction, with positive influence on the payback time of the photovoltaic installation. Photovoltaic shading systems can be applied to both refurbishment of old buildings and to new-build, offering attractive and environmentally integrated architectural solutions

Effectiviteit van het "Alternatieve Spoor" in de Noordelijke Friese Wouden

Bij een deel van de melkveehouderijbedrijven in de Noordelijke Friese Wouden (NFW) leeft de wens om mest bovengronds te mogen uitrijden. Een aantal bedrijven volgt daartoe een zogeheten alternatief spoor. Deze strategie bestaat uit een combinatie van maatregelen als een verlaging van de kunstmestgift en het voeren van een eiwitarm en structuurrijk rantsoen. De hoofdvraag binnen dit onderzoek is of toepassing van het alternatieve spoor, inclusief het bovengronds aanwenden van mest, een even lage ammoniakemissie oplevert in vergelijking met bedrijven die dit spoor niet volgen en mest emissiearm aanwenden

Steenmeel in droge bossen

Op grote schaal treedt op de hogere zandgronden verminderde vitaliteit van bomen en zelfs sterfte van eiken op. Dit komt vooral door droogte en verzuring. Het gebruik van steenmeel in droge bossen zou een oplossing kunnen zijn voor de nadelige effecten van verzuring. In een driejarig OBN-onderzoek is een literatuurstudie gedaan en zijn experimenten uitgevoerd in Het Nationale Park De Hoge Veluwe en in het Mastbos (Breda). In deze veldwerkplaats zijn de resultaten gepresenteerd van dit onderzoek naar het effect van steenmeel op de vitaliteit, groei en vegetatie van eiken, op de bodem- en de bladchemie en op het bodemleven in eikenbossen. Het toepassen van steenmeel lijkt veelbelovend na drie jaar experimenteren, maar meer onderzoek is gewenst. Aan een Plan van Aanpak voor de toediening van steenmeel in de praktijk wordt gewerkt. In het Nationale Park De Hoge Veluwe zijn de experimenten en andere eikenpercelen in de praktijk bekeken en bediscussieerd

Genome-wide association and Meta-analysis of age at onset in Parkinson Disease

Background and Objectives Considerable heterogeneity exists in the literature concerning genetic determinants of the age at onset (AAO) of Parkinson disease (PD), which could be attributed to a lack of well-powered replication cohorts. The previous largest genome-wide association studies (GWAS) identified SNCA and TMEM175 loci on chromosome (Chr) 4 with a significant influence on the AAO of PD; these have not been independently replicated. This study aims to conduct a meta-analysis of GWAS of PD AAO and validate previously observed findings in worldwide populations. Methods A meta-analysis was performed on PD AAO GWAS of 30 populations of predominantly European ancestry from the Comprehensive Unbiased Risk Factor Assessment for Genetics and Environment in Parkinson's Disease (COURAGE-PD) Consortium. This was followed by combining our study with the largest publicly available European ancestry dataset compiled by the International Parkinson Disease Genomics Consortium (IPDGC). Results The COURAGE-PD Consortium included a cohort of 8,535 patients with PD (91.9%: Europeans and 9.1%: East Asians). The average AAO in the COURAGE-PD dataset was 58.9 years (SD = 11.6), with an underrepresentation of females (40.2%). The heritability estimate for AAO in COURAGE-PD was 0.083 (SE = 0.057). None of the loci reached genome-wide significance (p < 5 × 10−8). Nevertheless, the COURAGE-PD dataset confirmed the role of the previously published TMEM175 variant as a genetic determinant of the AAO of PD with Bonferroni-corrected nominal levels of significance (p < 0.025): (rs34311866: β(SE)COURAGE = 0.477(0.203), pCOURAGE = 0.0185). The subsequent meta-analysis of COURAGE-PD and IPDGC datasets (Ntotal = 25,950) led to the identification of 2 genome-wide significant association signals on Chr 4, including the previously reported SNCA locus (rs983361: β(SE)COURAGE+IPDGC = 0.720(0.122), pCOURAGE+IPDGC = 3.13 × 10−9) and a novel BST1 locus (rs4698412: β(SE)COURAGE+IPDGC = −0.526(0.096), pCOURAGE+IPDGC = 4.41 × 10−8). Discussion Our study further refines the genetic architecture of Chr 4 underlying the AAO of the PD phenotype through the identification of BST1 as a novel AAO PD locus. These findings open a new direction for the development of treatments to delay the onset of PD

Discovery and functional prioritization of Parkinson's disease candidate genes from large-scale whole exome sequencing.

BACKGROUND: Whole-exome sequencing (WES) has been successful in identifying genes that cause familial Parkinson's disease (PD). However, until now this approach has not been deployed to study large cohorts of unrelated participants. To discover rare PD susceptibility variants, we performed WES in 1148 unrelated cases and 503 control participants. Candidate genes were subsequently validated for functions relevant to PD based on parallel RNA-interference (RNAi) screens in human cell culture and Drosophila and C. elegans models. RESULTS: Assuming autosomal recessive inheritance, we identify 27 genes that have homozygous or compound heterozygous loss-of-function variants in PD cases. Definitive replication and confirmation of these findings were hindered by potential heterogeneity and by the rarity of the implicated alleles. We therefore looked for potential genetic interactions with established PD mechanisms. Following RNAi-mediated knockdown, 15 of the genes modulated mitochondrial dynamics in human neuronal cultures and four candidates enhanced α-synuclein-induced neurodegeneration in Drosophila. Based on complementary analyses in independent human datasets, five functionally validated genes-GPATCH2L, UHRF1BP1L, PTPRH, ARSB, and VPS13C-also showed evidence consistent with genetic replication. CONCLUSIONS: By integrating human genetic and functional evidence, we identify several PD susceptibility gene candidates for further investigation. Our approach highlights a powerful experimental strategy with broad applicability for future studies of disorders with complex genetic etiologies

Energy performance of buildings and the integration of photovoltaics

Paper on the energy performance of buildings and the integration of photovoltaics

Numerical analysis of pv double skin facades

- ( DAME-BC = Dynamic Analysis and Modelling applied to Energy performance assessment and prediction of Buildings and Components

Cognitive Impairment in Fall-Related Studies in Parkinson's Disease

Contains fulltext : 154794.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: There is increasing evidence to suggest a tight relationship between cognitive impairment and falls in Parkinson's disease (PD). Here, we draw attention to a potentially significant flaw in the existent falls-related research, namely the apparent exclusion of patients with cognitive impairment or dementia. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to review all published, on-going or scheduled fall-related intervention studies, in order to investigate the extent to which cognitively impaired individuals with PD were included in these studies. METHODS: We analyzed published controlled trials regarding falls and PD in commonly used databases, as well as relevant ongoing clinical trials registered within the World Health Organization database, clinicaltrials.gov and the European Clinical Trials Database. Results : Fourteen of the fifteen published studies included had explicit cognitive exclusion criteria as part of their study protocol. Most of the 54 on-going PD fall-related studies excluded patients with cognitive impairment. CONCLUSIONS: This suggests that individuals with cognitive impairment or dementia are excluded from fall-related research studies. We strongly recommend that future work in this area should include a representative sample of patients with PD, including subjects with cognitive decline