Sante Harbor : a proposed residential development for the North Station area

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1985.MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH.Includes bibliographical references.by Anthony W. Caner and David J. Geller.M.S

Desired points at minimum cost in the “Optimize Energy Performance” credit of leed certification

This paper presents a method that guides designers in obtaining the desired number of earned points in the “Optimize Energy Performance” credit of the “Energy and Atmosphere” category of LEED version 4 (v4) certification at minimum cost. The model creates different scenarios, identifies the LEED points and  costs for each scenario. The energy analysis calculations are performed by Sefaira, the quantities of materials are received from Autodesk Revit, and the cost information comes from the RSMeans Database. A macro in Excel automates the process. An office building was used as a case study to illustrate the applicability of the proposed method. The minimum cost necessary to achieve any number of points in the “Optimize Energy Performance” credit were calculated, such as a minimum cost of $842,500 to obtain 16 points, and$476,684 for 5 points. The primary contributions of this research include (1) the development of a tool that allows designers to pick the most economical alternative for the desired points in the “Optimize Energy Performance” credit, and (2) the first time integrated use of an energy simulation software (Sefaira), a cost database (RSMeans), and a BIM software (Autodesk Revit)

Patentes de invención, nuevas tecnologías y la aprobación privada del conocimiento público

In this working paper an examination is made of the logical balance of the deductive argument that commonly appears in various economic texts to justify a system of patents of invention. The examination mentioned should be applied in times of radical technological change in the world to avoid a priori extensions of the legal and institutional protection provided by a system of patents of invention based on past technological realities. The result of the examination shows partial lack of balance when proper account is taken of the financial expenses and coordination efforts by governments as well as of the free distribution of useful knowledge in the fields of biotechnology and the Internet. To refer to that nonlegitimate appropriation of public knowledge by the private sector the term ‘epistemo-piracy’ is coined by analogy with ‘bio-piracy’ of common use. The fields of biotechnology and the Internet were chosen because they are preponderant to explain the rise in the number of patents of invention in the world.

Impact of drainage on soil-forming mechanisms in a French Albeluvisol: Input of mineralogical data in mass-balance modelling

International audienceResearch on soil pedogenesis has mainly focused on the long-term soil formation and has most often neglected recent soil evolutions in response to human practices. Such recent soil evolutions are however of considerable interest to study the timing of soil forming processes in response to changes in environmental conditions. In this paper, we model the Albeluvisol evolution in response to agricultural drainage. This was considered as a model case to study the velocity of mineralogical changes in soil as a result of eluviation and redox processes. We used a space-for-time substitution approach in combination with mass balance modelling based on mineralogical data in order to identify and characterise the mineralogical transformations responsible for the recent soil evolution in response to subsurface drainage. This approach allowed demonstrating that the main effects of subsurface drainage are (i) increasing precipitation of Mn oxides and Mn-rich ferrihydrite with decreasing distance to the drain as a result of the change in redox conditions and (ii) increasing loss of clay-sized oxides and smectites due to the enhanced eluviation in the vicinity of the drain. Both processes induce significant matter fluxes in comparison with those that occurred over the long-term soil formation. Nowadays, the precipitation of Mn oxides and Mn-rich ferrihydrite seems to still be active in the studied soil. On the opposite, the eluviation process appears less active than immediately after the drainage network installation, if not totally inactive. It thus demonstrates that some soil processes may have significant impact on the soil mineralogical composition even if they are only active over very short periods of time after a change in environmental conditions

Modeling information flow in the supply chain of structural steel components

 Accessing the required information in the supply chain of structural steel components is critical for minimiz­ing costly reworks and delays. This paper identifies the information items generated in the different phases of the supply chain related to structural steel components and formalizes the process of producing and using this information. Precise details about different features of the components (e.g., their geometry and weight, connection details, cutting/bending/ punching requirements, and the type and grade of the material) are set in the various tasks performed in the different phases of the supply chain. Regardless of whether one uses paper-based systems or advanced technologies such as smart tags and radio-frequency identification (RFID), a better understanding is achieved of the processes through which a structural steel component passes. The results of this research can be used to streamline the information flow in the supply chain of structural steel components, regardless of the type of tracking technology used, hence reducing delays and reworks

Groundwater level assessment and prediction in the Nebraska Sand Hills using LIDAR-derived lake water level

The spatial variability of groundwater levels is often inferred from sparsely located hydraulic head observations in wells. The spatial correlation structure derived from sparse observations is associated with uncertainties that spread to estimates at unsampled locations. In areas where surface water represents the nearby groundwater level, remote sensing techniques can estimate and increase the number of hydraulic head measurements. This research uses light detection and ranging (LIDAR) to estimate lake surface water level to characterize the groundwater level in the Nebraska Sand Hills (NSH), an area with few observation wells. The LIDAR derived lake groundwater level accuracy was within 40 cm mean square error (MSE) of the nearest observation wells. The lake groundwater level estimates were used to predict the groundwater level at unsampled locations using universal kriging (UK) and kriging with an external drift (KED). The results indicate unbiased estimates of groundwater level in the NSH. UK showed the influence of regional trends in groundwater level while KED revealed the local variation present in the groundwater level. A 10-fold cross-validation demonstrated KED with better mean squared error (ME) [–0.003, 0.007], root mean square error (RMSE) [2.39, 4.46], residual prediction deviation (RPD) [1.32, 0.71] and mean squared deviation ratio (MSDR) [1.01, 1.49] than UK. The research highlights that the lake groundwater level provides an accurate and cost-effective approach to measure and monitor the subtle changes in groundwater level in the NSH. This methodology can be applied to other locations where surface water bodies represent the water level of the unconfined aquifer and the results can aid in groundwater management and modeling

Negotiating the selling price of hydropower energy using multi-agent systems in BOT

During the feasibility study of BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) hydropower investments, the selling price of energy is the most critical parameter that impacts the net present value (NPV) estimated by the investors. Investors usually consider the price of energy guaranteed by the government during their feasibility studies which is the worst case scenario. However, it is apparent that negotiations that take place between investor and broker determine the price of energy which is affected by various sources of uncertainty associated with the energy demand and country conditions. The objective of this study was to make a realistic estimate of the investor’s selling price by modeling the negotiation process between investor and broker using a multi-agent system (MAS). Thus, the factors affecting the negotiation process were identified, a negotiation protocol between the parties was set up, negotiation scenarios were determined, and modelled by using a MAS. The model was tested on a hydropower investment in Turkey and generated more realistic results compared to the current practice. Investors and brokers may benefit from this study because it considers the potential changes in the market as well as the negotiating postures of parties under different scenarios

Estimating the profitability of hydropower investments with a case study from Turkey

Energy demand has been increasing, but traditional sources of energy are depletable. New investments are needed in renewable energy production. Hydroelectric power plants are often considered a feasible renewable source of energy and are often organized as a public private partnerships (PPP). However, risk factors stemming from the macro environment as well as project conditions should be considered in performing feasibility studies. The objective of this study was to develop a method that can be used to predict the profitability of hydropower investments considering the relevant risk factors. To that end, a cash flow that represents the construction and operation period is set up, the risk fac­tors involved in such projects are identified, the impacts of these risk factors on the cash flow parameters are assessed, and Monte Carlo simulation is performed to estimate the net present value (NPV) of a hydropower investment. The proposed method was tested in a hydropower investment located in Turkey and generated credible results that could be of great benefit to potential investors operating in similar conditions. The primary contribution of this research is the creation of a method that allows investors to assess the profitability of a hydropower investment by using a stochastic approach

USP29-mediated HIF1α stabilization is associated with Sorafenib resistance of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by upregulating glycolysis

Understanding the mechanisms underlying evasive resistance in cancer is an unmet medical need to improve the efficacy of current therapies. In hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), aberrant expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 α (HIF1α) and increased aerobic glycolysis metabolism are drivers of resistance to therapy with the multi-kinase inhibitor Sorafenib. However, it has remained unknown how HIF1α is activated and how its activity and the subsequent induction of aerobic glycolysis promote Sorafenib resistance in HCC. Here, we report the ubiquitin-specific peptidase USP29 as a new regulator of HIF1α and of aerobic glycolysis during the development of Sorafenib resistance in HCC. In particular, we identified USP29 as a critical deubiquitylase (DUB) of HIF1α, which directly deubiquitylates and stabilizes HIF1α and, thus, promotes its transcriptional activity. Among the transcriptional targets of HIF1α is the gene encoding hexokinase 2 (HK2), a key enzyme of the glycolytic pathway. The absence of USP29, and thus of HIF1α transcriptional activity, reduces the levels of aerobic glycolysis and restores sensitivity to Sorafenib in Sorafenib-resistant HCC cells in vitro and in xenograft transplantation mouse models in vivo. Notably, the absence of USP29 and high HK2 expression levels correlate with the response of HCC patients to Sorafenib therapy. Together, the data demonstrate that, as a DUB of HIF1α, USP29 promotes Sorafenib resistance in HCC cells, in parts by upregulating glycolysis, thereby opening new avenues for therapeutically targeting Sorafenib-resistant HCC in patients