Impact targets as guidelines towards low carbon buildings: Preliminary concept

Developing building projects with low environmental impacts is a real challenge, yet a problem faced every day by designers. To that end, in the design process, iteration between propositions and objectives have been used that are complex and time consumption. The impact targets leading to low-carbon buildings have the potential to simplify this complexity and saving time in the building design process. This study introduces a methodology for the definition of impact targets for components and systems of buildings. The definition of impact targets has been envisaged as a two-step process combining top-down and bottom-up approaches. The desired impact target of building is defined by a top-down approach and the targets for components and systems by a bottom-up approach. Impact targets for the Swiss context are defined applying the methodology to the smart living building that aim at reaching the 2050 goals of the 2000-watt society vision. Through this approach, we were able to set up impact targets on the components and systems level for global warming potential indicator. Impact targets can be used as guidelines in the design process for developing component or system one by one without analysing the whole building, which is guided toward low carbon objectives

Towards a pre-design method for low carbon architectural strategies

To face climate change, Switzerland proposes the 2050 energy strategy by fixing greenhouse gas (GHG) emission targets for the built environment. Designers will then have to increase operating performances while inimizing embodied impacts. This represents an issue for the building design process. In addition, there is a relationship between the design efficiency and the early integration of the knowledge about design. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the potential of a pre-design method to identify the building design parameters that reach the 2050 climate change objectives. To that end, four major steps are developed in this project. First, design parameters (e.g. wall thermal transmittance) which influence the building GHG emissions the most, are identified thanks to a literature review. Morris method (Saltelli et al, 2004) is used to create combinations of design parameters changing their values one by one. Secondly, these combinations are attributed to architectural feasibility studies (Sinclair, 2013) developed in the brief design phase to perform lifecycle analysis. Thirdly, KBOB database (KBOB et al., 2014) and lifetime of components proposed by PI-BAT were used for assessing GHG emissions. Lesosai software was used for primary energy assessment. Lastly, the combinations of design parameters and their relative GHG emissions are interpreted with data mining and visualization techniques. The smart living lab building has been chosen as a case study: this building aims at achieving the 2050 goals of the 2000-watt society vision and will be built by 2020 in Fribourg, Switzerland. Thanks to the preliminary results it is possible to rank the design parameters according to their GHG contribution, in order to highlight them during the early building design stage. The method offers combinations of design parameters allowing to reach the 2050 climate change objectives. Data mining and visualization enable designers to easily find the values of these parameters to fit into the architectural strategy. In order to offer a wider range of design parameter values, techniques to enhance the database should be further investigated

Graphical representation of the smart living building research program

The smart living lab project is a pioneering, inter-disciplinary and inter-institutional platform that combines several fields of research related to construction technologies. It aims to be a center of national scope, recognized on an international level and involving a variety of players and institutions. One of the smart living lab’s projects is the design and construction of its own building, which will be at the cutting edge of research and best practice on sustainability. Before starting the construction of the smart living building, a preliminary research called smart living building (SLB) research program has been set up, of which this poster gives a graphical representation, meant to find a common language between the diverse disciplines involved in the subject

Smart Living Building Research Program - Executive Summary

The smart living lab project is a pioneering, inter-disciplinary and inter-institutional platform that combines several fields of research related to construction technologies. It aims to be a center of national scope, recognized on an international level and involving a variety of players and institutions. One of the smart living lab’s projects is the design and construction of its own building, which will be at the cutting edge of research and best practice on sustainability. Before starting the construction of the smart living building, a preliminary research called smart living building (SLB) research program has been set up, of which this report is the executive summary. Its objective is to sum up the research findings discovered in this frame, and to outline the way they can be used as fundamental requirements into the future operational design brief

A Case-Control Association Study Between Neurotrophin System and Alzheimer's Disease by TAMGeS (Three-Array Method for Genotyping of SNPs)

BACKGROUND: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are the most widespread genetic variations and represent the main investigation target in genetic association studies, which aim at revealing the genetic contribution to complex disease vulnerability. In the last few years, efficient high-throughput methodologies for SNP genotyping have been developed, many of which rely on microarray technology. Genotypes are assessed by comparing the signal intensities of allele-specific probes, which are labeled either by using four fluorescent dyes (one for each base), and hybridized on a single array, or by using only two dyes, thus investigating the polymorphic alleles, two by two, on separate arrays. The Two-Array approach shows the advantage of being practicable in every microarray laboratory, since it requires a dual-laser scanner, rather than a more expensive tetra-laser scanner. As a drawback, inferring all the six possible genotypes is not always feasible, because a number of systematic errors in the experimental protocol may differently affect signal intensities on separate arrays, thus making their comparison difficult. AIM OF THE STUDY: The first part of this work was aimed to develop and setup TAMGeS (Three-Array Method for Genotyping of SNPs), an exhaustive method for SNP genotyping through SBE (Single Base Extension) on dual-color microarrays, which allows for normalization of signals on distinct arrays by a bilinear regression theory-based approach. TAMGeS was then employed to genotype 21 SNPs within genes coding for nerve growth factor beta (NGFB), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and their receptors, nerve growth factor receptor (NGFR), neurotrophin tyrosine kinase receptor 1 and 2 (NTRK1 and 2), in Italian sporadic (n = 151) and familial (n = 100) Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients (SAD and FAD, respectively), and healthy subjects (CTRL, n = 97), since growing evidence indicates these genes as implicated in AD pathogenesis. RESULTS: TAMGeS efficiency was evaluated, in comparison with the Two-Array method, on both experimental and synthetic data. With synthetic data, TAMGeS reduced the frequency of errors by an order of magnitude, when the incidence of systematic errors was not negligible. With the experimental data (87 samples), TAMGeS reduced the percentage of missing genotypes from 54% (Two-Array Method) to 16%. Global performance of TAMGeS resulted in 84.1% genotype and 84.4% allele calls on average. The association study between neurotrophin system genes and AD showed that in single SNP analysis, allele-wise association was detected for rs2072446 (Ser205Leu) on NGFR in FAD (P = 0.047), while the intronic SNP rs2289656 on NTRK2 showed genotype-wise association in SAD (P = 0.0036). After sample stratification according to age at onset (65 years as cutoff), rs6336 (Hys568Tyr) on NTRK1 resulted associated to early-onset SAD in both allele- and genotype-wise analysis (P = 0.028 and 0.014, respectively), while rs1048218 (Gln75His) on BDNF showed allele-wise association in late-onset SAD (P = 0.047). Other SNPs demonstrated a trend to association in SAD and/or in FAD. In multi-locus analysis, rs1048218 and rs6336 showed epistatic interaction in FAD (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: TAMGeS represents an innovative method, which proved to be very effective in producing reliable SNP genotyping data by dual-color microarrays. The requirement of a third array is well balanced by the strong enhancement in data quality and by the greater flexibility of the experimental protocol. The results of the association study suggest that the neurotrophin system might be implicated in conferring genetic vulnerability to AD in our Italian sample. However, further investigations are required to better elucidate the role of neurotrophins and their receptors in AD pathogenesis

In search of optimal consumption: a review of causes and solutions to the Energy Performance Gap in residential buildings

The assessment of building performance through energy certificates is important for tracking and improving the energy efficiency of the building stock. The reliability of these assessments is critical for achieving future energy targets. However, there is evidence of a significant Energy Performance Gap (EPG) in buildings, defined as the difference between measured and calculated energy consumption. This work performs a systematic review of EPG causes and reduction strategies in the context of heating of residential buildings. It introduces the concept of “optimal” consumption, in contrast to “theoretical” (i.e. calculated with standards) and “actual” (i.e. measured) consumption, which enables a more rigorous classification of causes and potential solutions to the EPG. This review found that inaccuracies in modelling of building characteristics and occupant behaviour has been most studied by researchers. It found that many EPG reduction strategies have been proposed, which can be categorized into two groups. The first aims to improve the energy consumption calculation by correcting the standard assumptions and/or considering new approaches to create energy certificates. The second group focuses on improving the actual performance of the building's energy systems, through better monitoring, maintenance, and general usage of the building. A range of practical strategies were identified, which are relevant to a range of stakeholder groups. At the same time, this work also highlights that understanding of the relative importance of EPG causes and the potential impact of the corresponding solutions is incomplete

Energy Performance Certificate for buildings as a strategy for the energy transition: Stakeholder insights on shortcomings

Improving building performance is key to tackling the challenges of climate change, considering that buildings account for 40% of the global energy consumption. The urgent need for energy efficiency improvement of buildings calls for the implementation of suitable policy instruments, including performance assessments. Currently, the performance of buildings is officially assessed by Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) schemes. However, EPCs certify the design more than the building, relying on simulations and assumptions rather than on the buildings' actual demand for energy which is partly determined by occupant behaviour, execution of the work and malfunctioning of the equipment. This work investigates how the governance of the performance certification scheme could be improved with the objective of a more robust EPC scheme. Based on a qualitative study through interviews with energy experts the current EPC system in Switzerland is characterized, allowing to understand important limitations. The insights help to shape a list of recommendations for further development of the EPC scheme. This research is relevant because the failure to correctly assess building performance leads to excess carbon emissions and higher energy costs, undermining the attainability of the energy policy targets

Sleep Bruxism and SDB in Albanian Growing Subjects: A Cross-Sectional Study

The aim of this study was to evaluate a possible correlation between sleep bruxism and risk factors of developing obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in a sample of growing subjects and to assess parental awareness about sleep bruxism in their children. Methods: The sample was composed of 310 subjects (173 females and 137 males), with a mean age of 8.9 years, attending “Ndre Mjeda” school of Tirana (Albania). All parents of the children participating in the study were asked to fill in a questionnaire manually or via a digital version. The questionnaire was composed of three sections: personal data, sleep quality data, and OSAS risk factors, and it was filled out by both parents. Results: Of our samples, 41.3% presented with bruxism, and 16.5% of the parents ground their teeth. Oral breathing was reported in 11.9% of the subjects, and among these, 40% of the subjects were affected by bruxism (p &gt; 0.05). Of the subjects, 18.7% snore overnight. Comparing it with sleep bruxism, the two phenomena are often related (p = 0.00). Conclusions: Heredity, night-sweating, nycturia, oral breathing, and snoring seem to have a significant correlation with bruxism

Sleep Bruxism and SDB in Albanian Growing Subjects: A Cross-Sectional Study

The aim of this study was to evaluate a possible correlation between sleep bruxism and risk factors of developing obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in a sample of growing subjects and to assess parental awareness about sleep bruxism in their children. Methods: The sample was composed of 310 subjects (173 females and 137 males), with a mean age of 8.9 years, attending “Ndre Mjeda” school of Tirana (Albania). All parents of the children participating in the study were asked to fill in a questionnaire manually or via a digital version. The questionnaire was composed of three sections: personal data, sleep quality data, and OSAS risk factors, and it was filled out by both parents. Results: Of our samples, 41.3% presented with bruxism, and 16.5% of the parents ground their teeth. Oral breathing was reported in 11.9% of the subjects, and among these, 40% of the subjects were affected by bruxism (p > 0.05). Of the subjects, 18.7% snore overnight. Comparing it with sleep bruxism, the two phenomena are often related (p = 0.00). Conclusions: Heredity, night-sweating, nycturia, oral breathing, and snoring seem to have a significant correlation with bruxism