Modelling energy consumption in supermarkets to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions using EnergyPlus

New refrigeration system configurations and other innovating technologies in retail supermarkets need to be considered to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. In supermarkets, there is a strong interaction between the refrigerated display cases, supermarket structure, internal machinery, customers, and the store’s HVAC system. The impact of these interactions on the energy and carbon emissions of a medium sized supermarket in Paris was modelled using EnergyPlus™. The results were calibrated against a typical UK store and validated against the Paris store. The effects of applying the technologies identified to have the greatest potential to reduce carbon emissions (changing the refrigerant to R744, switching from gas to electrical heating and adding doors to chilled cabinets) were modelled. The impact of climate change on ambient temperature and the impact of changes to the grid conversion factor were predicted for the store in Paris from 2020 to 2050

Acute dizziness in rural practice: Proposal of a diagnostic procedure

Acute dizziness is a frequent index symptom in the emergency department as well as in the rural practice office. Most acute dizziness, however, is not dangerous, but some types are highly dangerous. Clinical routine acute dizziness can be separated into frequent benign syndromes including benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), vestibular neuritis, Meniθre's disease or vestibular migraine, and what is here referred to as the «white shark» of dizziness, i.e. a stroke in the posterior circulation or more rarely a tumor in the posterior fossa. A practical concept is presented to clarify most frequent acute dizziness syndromes using clinical and low budget methods

Phase transitions in magnetic and superconducting systems with fluctuating valence. Chemical potential evidence

We investigate the critical behaviour of the chemical potential and average occupation numbers using the extended s—f model with intersite Cooper pairing for systems with fluctuating valence. The model is able to describe phase transitions from normal ferromagnet to normal paramagnet at Τ = Τc, from superconducting paramagnet to normal paramagnet at Τ = Ts, as well as reentrant phase transitions with three critical temperatures Τs1, Tc and Τs2 (Ts1 < Tc < Τ52). Present investigation, as well as recent results obtained for another models suggest one-to-one correspondence between critical temperatures of the system and kinks appearing in the temperature dependence of the chemical potential and average occupation numbers. This, in turn, indicates a possibility to apply the measurement of the chemical potential vs. temperature as an experimental universal tool when looking for phase transitions in solids

Chemical potential as a detector of phase transitions in solids

We show that the chemical potential exhibits small but distinct kinks at all critical temperatures as the evidence for phase transitions in the electronic system, structural phase transitions included. In the case of, at least, two kinds of interacting electrons average occupation numbers exhibit the same behavior

Analytical and stability studies on medical cosmetics

Two simple and sensitive spectrofluorimetric (method Ι) and spectrophotometric (method ΙΙ) methods have been developed for the determination of some chloride containing toothpastes and panthenol-containing cosmetic preparations respectively. Method Ι is based on quantitative fluorescence quenching of (terbium-salicylate-hexamine ternary complex) by fluoride which could be measured at λem/λex of 547nm/322nm. The ∆Fconcentration plot was rectilinear over the concentration range of 0.5-20 µg/ml. Method ΙΙ depends reaction of panthenol with nitrobenzoxadiazole chloride (NBD-Cl) and measuring the absorbance of the resultant product at 480nm. The absorbance- concentration plot was rectilinear over the concentration range of 2-20 µg/m

Role of communal and private forestland tenure regimes in regulating forest ecosystem goods and services in Rombo district, Tanzania

This study was undertaken to compare provisioning of forest ecosystem goods and services in Manuo Hill Communal Forest and Shirima Private Forest in Rombo District, Tanzania. Fuel wood was a key forest ecosystem good and biodiversity protection was a key forest ecosystem service identified. Manuo Hill communal forest had lower endowments values in terms of number of stems (1376 stems/ha), basal area (2.6 m2/ha),  volume (7.3 m3/ha) and carbon stock (2.1 tons/ha) compared to the Shirima private forest with 2214 stems/ha, basal area of 3.2 m2/ha, volume of 11.2 m3/ha and carbon stock of 3.2 tons/ha. Only volume andcarbon stock were significantly different between the forests. Species diversity was more or less similar between the forests. Tree removals were higher in communal (1.5 m3/ha) than in private (1.0 m3/ha) but they were not significantly different. Endowments in terms of tenure rights were better in communal forest than in private. More people were entitled to fuel woodfrom communal forest (78%) than from private (32%). Environmental benefits of biodiversity protection were entitled to everybody in both forests. It was concluded that no single tenure regime can achieve all objectives of forest management. Instead, balancing between different tenures is recommended.Key words: forest ecosystems, tenure regimes, endowment and  entitlement, goods and services

A cross-cultural comparison of sleep patterns between typically developing children and children with ASD living in Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom

Background: Sleep is crucial for child development, especially for children with ASD. While it is known that children with ASD experience more severe sleep problems and that these problems tend to persist compared to their typically developing counterparts, these findings tend to come from only Western countries. A cross-cultural study is important to understand if the prevailing understanding of sleep in children with ASD can be extended to different cultural backgrounds. Aim: A cross-cultural study is conducted, involving typically developing children and children with ASD aged 5–12 across two countries: Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom. Methods and procedures: Using a combination of questionnaires measuring ASD severity (CARS-2), sleep quality (CSHQ), sociodemographic and lifestyle variables and sleep diaries, 244 children were sampled using a mixture of snowball and convenience sampling methods. Outcomes and results: Children with ASD experience more sleep problems compared to typically developing children in Saudi Arabia, and these problems similarly persist across time. Specifically, it was found that children with ASD in Saudi Arabia experience greater sleep onset latency and a greater number of night awakenings. Additionally, across the ASD groups, it was found that children from Saudi Arabia generally experienced poorer sleep than children in the United Kingdom in terms of shorter sleep duration, although children in the United Kingdom tended to report more instances of sleep anxiety and parasomnias. Conclusions and implications: Several reasons such as parental education about sleep hygiene, cultural influences and social hours were put forward as potential explanations for cross-cultural differences. Findings served to emphasise the importance of culturally-appropriate interventions and public education regarding child sleep

MicroRNAs in Cardiac Hypertrophy

Like other organs, the heart undergoes normal adaptive remodeling, such as cardiac hypertrophy, with age. This remodeling, however, is intensified under stress and pathological conditions. Cardiac remodeling could be beneficial for a short period of time, to maintain a normal cardiac output in times of need; however, chronic cardiac hypertrophy may lead to heart failure and death. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are known to have a role in the regulation of cardiac hypertrophy. This paper reviews recent advances in the field of miRNAs and cardiac hypertrophy, highlighting the latest findings for targeted genes and involved signaling pathways. By targeting pro-hypertrophic genes and signaling pathways, some of these miRNAs alleviate cardiac hypertrophy, while others enhance it. Therefore, miRNAs represent very promising potential pharmacotherapeutic targets for the management and treatment of cardiac hypertrophy. - 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland