Data integration for quantitative analysis of sustainability

The development of an integrated data repository for urban sustainability analysis is presented; it aims to enhance quantitative analysis of urban sustainability on real statistical data with relevant geographic references. The method is complementary to qualitative and quantitative analyses of sample data, which are the main approaches adopted in conventional urban sustainability analysis. The paper highlights the background and importance of using statistical data for urban planning and analysis. Selected statistics sources and various geospatial objects relevant to the geo-references of the statistical data are reviewed. The conceptual model of the integrated data repository is described and the logical integration of statistics from different sources is illustrated. The detailed geospatial conceptual model shows the geospatial classes, main attributes and relationships between these geospatial classes. The paper details the procedure of setting up a server-based database to host both geospatial and non-geospatial data, and uses PostGIS query to interrogate geospatial information in the database, including how to convert the database tables from other formats. A geographic information system (GIS) is introduced as a user-side tool to reveal geospatial and non-geospatial data. Case studies of application of the database for urban sustainability analysis are described. Data maps generated for these case studies can assist planning and design professionals in analysing some urban sustainability issues. Potential applications in various sustainability analyses, barriers and future improvements are also discussed

Implementation of web-based virtual reality technology in public participation

Urban planning and design processes involve the participation of various stakeholders, who mostly are lay people in planning and design. Thus, a crucial way to get the support of those lay people is to provide a visual and comprehensible media to represent the planning and design outcomes, which enable them to understand the planning and design directly. Virtual reality (VR) technology is an advanced visualisation technology with the characteristics of dynamic and realistic 3D visualisation, interactively navigation and web-delivery. It has been used in many aspects of urban design and management to represent the objects and phenomenon of the urban environment. This paper presents a study of comprehensively implementing VRML (Virtual Reality Modelling Language) and web-based databases to represent 3D urban models of the master planning of the west Cambridge University Campus. This aims to facilitate web-based participatory consultation to allow staff, students and local residents to learn about and debate the planning and building proposals. Interactive 3D virtual reality models were created of a number of proposed urban development projects in Cambridge and published on the University web site along with mechanisms for surveying users’ opinions of the proposals. These were linked to relational databases on the web server for recording survey responses. Care was taken to provide the participants with a friendly interface and interactive functions to easily navigate the model and accurately understand the issues involved. This paper starts with reviewing the theory and practice of implementing virtual reality visualisation for public participation in urban design. The technical details of creating the 3D virtual reality models, merging them into the web site and linking objects in the virtual reality model with databases, are described. Finally the advantages of, and the barriers to, this kind of virtual reality application are addressed

A critical review of sustainable built environment development in Iran

Population explosion, irresponsible consumerism, environmental catastrophes, tremendous market-based urban development and the dedication of cities to cars and concrete rather than citizens and environment has put a big question mark over the future of the world’s developing countries. Urban sustainability has emerged as the only solution to the environmental, social and economic challenges facing our cities. In recent years in countries struggling with the concept of urban sustainability, such as Iran, academic circles and the state have had heated debates over sustainable development. The purpose of this paper is to examine the current situation of sustainable development of the built environment in Iran. The focus is on recognition of urban governance, policies and regulations. The paper examines the scope of sustainable technologies employed in Iran in terms of the development of energy efficiency and renewable energies. This is followed by an investigation of urban sustainability assessment methods through which the paper tackles policy, technology and assessment mechanism issues from a perspective of sustainable built environment development in both theoretical research and practical development in Iran

Using virtual reality technology to facilitate web-based public participation

Virtual reality as an advanced visualisation technology is used in many aspects of urban design and management to assist the various stakeholders’ better understanding of the urban environment. This paper is based on an EPSRC funded research project – “Web-Based Participation for Campus-Scale Project Design: The West Cambridge Site”, which aims to facilitate web-based participatory consultation to allow staff, students and local residents to learn about, and debate, planning and building proposals by Cambridge University. Interactive 3D virtual reality models were created of a number of proposed urban development projects in Cambridge and published on the University web site along with mechanisms for surveying users’ opinions of the proposals. These were linked to relational databases on the web server for recording survey responses. Care was taken to provide the participants with a friendly interface and interactive functions to easily navigate the model and accurately understand the issues involved. This paper starts with reviewing the theory and practice of implementing virtual reality visualisation for public participation in urban design. The technical details of creating the 3D virtual reality models, merging them into the web site and linking objects in the virtual reality model with databases, are described. Finally the advantages of, and the barriers to, this kind of virtual reality application are addressed

Analysis of crucial molecules involved in herniated discs and degenerative disc disease

OBJECTIVES: Herniated discs and degenerative disc disease are major health problems worldwide. However, their pathogenesis remains obscure. This study aimed to explore the molecular mechanisms of these ailments and to identify underlying therapeutic targets. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Using the GSE23130 microarray datasets downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database, differentially co-expressed genes and links were identified using the differentially co-expressed gene and link method with a false discovery rate ,0.25 as a significant threshold. Subsequently, the underlying molecular mechanisms of the differential co-expression of these genes were investigated using Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis. In addition, the transcriptional regulatory relationship was also investigated. RESULTS: Through the analysis of the gene expression profiles of different specimens from patients with these diseases, 539 differentially co-expressed genes were identified for these ailments. The ten most significant signaling pathways involving the differentially co-expressed genes were identified by enrichment analysis. Among these pathways, apoptosis and extracellular matrix-receptor interaction pathways have been reported to be related to these diseases. A total of 62 pairs of regulatory relationships between transcription factors and their target genes were identified as critical for the pathogenesis of these diseases. CONCLUSION: The results of our study will help to identify the mechanisms responsible for herniated discs and degenerative disc disease and provides a theoretical basis for further therapeutic study

Research on the influence of abrupt climate changes on the analysis of typical meteorological year in China

The conventional, typical meteorological year (TMY) based on continuous-year original meteorological records without considering abrupt climate changes (ACC) may not be able to represent a real “typical” climate properly. Consequently, building performance analyses and simulations based on TMY may be not accurate. Current research rarely tackles this issue in TMY development. This paper presents an innovative TMY development with the consideration of ACC in the original meteorological records. It is based on the Chinese standard weather database method (CSWD) with the meteorological records of six Chinese cities in different climate zones. It applies the Moving t-test method to identify and exclude ACC points and to refine the timescales for TMY development. It also depicts the development of individual typical meteorological months again with the ACC impact to improve the accuracy of TMY. The method has been verified in several building energy consumption and thermal comfort analyses. The results demonstrate that the analysis based on the new TMY climate datasets when considering ACC will end up with less energy consumption and better thermal performance compared to the analyses based on the conversion dataset without considering ACC. This experimental research will refine TMY development, and further improve building energy performance analysis and design

Indoor Environmental Quality Study for Higher Education Buildings

Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in school buildings has been concerned widely for many years, whilst research into the IEQ issues in higher education (HE) buildings has been overlooked to some extent. This chapter presents an experimental study of the IEQ issues in two typical HE buildings in London using the post-occupancy evaluation (POE) methods. Various aspects of the IEQ have been considered in terms of human comfort in buildings, including indoor air quality, noise level, lighting, occupants’ perception, and so on. IEQ data have been collected using various IEQ meters and data loggers, as well as questionnaire surveys taken by the respondents. The results of the study reveal important findings. In terms of thermal comfort, several spaces were found to exceed the recommended temperature limit of 25°C. The data on indoor air quality indicated that rooms, particularly those with natural ventilation, such as the architectural studio, significantly exceeded the recommended CO2 limit of 1500 ppm. Moreover, the survey feedback collected from the building occupants aligned with the IEQ data, particularly in the area of thermal comfort. The respondents’ feedback provided valuable insights into their experiences and perceptions of the indoor environment, further reinforcing the findings obtained from the objective IEQ measurements. The work also discusses recommendations and possible actions to improve the IEQ in HE buildings

Biomaterials delivery strategies to repair degenerated intervertebral discs by regulating the inflammatory microenvironment

Intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) is one of the leading causes of lower back pain. Although IVDD cannot directly cause death, it can cause pain, psychological burdens, and economic burdens to patients. Current conservative treatments for IVDD can relieve pain but cannot reverse the disease. Patients who cannot tolerate pain usually resort to a strategy of surgical resection of the degenerated disc. However, the surgical removal of IVDD can affect the stability of adjacent discs. Furthermore, the probability of the reherniation of the intervertebral disc (IVD) after surgery is as high as 21.2%. Strategies based on tissue engineering to deliver stem cells for the regeneration of nucleus purposes (NP) and annulus fibrosus (AF) have been extensively studied. The developed biomaterials not only locally withstand the pressure of the IVD but also lay the foundation for the survival of stem cells. However, the structure of IVDs does not provide sufficient nutrients for delivered stem cells. The role of immune mechanisms in IVDD has recently become clear. In IVDD, the IVD that was originally in immune privilege prevents the attack of immune cells (mainly effector T cells and macrophages) and aggravates the disease. Immune regulatory and inflammatory factors released by effector T cells, macrophages, and the IVD further aggravate IVDD. Reversing IVDD by regulating the inflammatory microenvironment is a potential approach for the treatment of the disease. However, the biological factors modulating the inflammatory microenvironment easily degrade in vivo. It makes it possible for different biomaterials to modulate the inflammatory microenvironment to repair IVDD. In this review, we have discussed the structures of IVDs and the immune mechanisms underlying IVDD. We have described the immune mechanisms elicited by different biological factors, including tumor necrosis factors, interleukins, transforming growth factors, hypoxia-inducible factors, and reactive oxygen species in IVDs. Finally, we have discussed the biomaterials used to modulate the inflammatory microenvironment to repair IVDD and their development

Node formation mechanisms in acoustofluidic capillary bridges

Using acoustofluidic channels formed by capillary bridges two models are developed to describe nodes formed from leaky and evanescent waves. The capillary bridge, formed between a microscope slide (waveguide) and a strip of polystyrene film (fluid guide) excludes solid-sidewall interactions in the channel. With this simplification, our experimental and numerical study showed that waves emitted from a single plane surface, interfere and form the nodes without any resonance in the fluid. Both models pay particular attention to the elements of the tensors normal to the solid-liquid interfaces, they find that the nodes form initially in the solid and then, antinodes in the stress emit waves into the fluid, replicating the pattern. In fluids with depths near half an acoustic wavelength most nodes are formed by leaky waves. In the glass, normal stress tensors reveal that water-loading reduces node-node separation and forms an overlay type waveguide which aligns the nodes predominantly along the channel. One new practical insight is that node separation can be controlled by water depth. In 0.2 mm deep channels (which are smaller than a ¼ wavelength) nodes from evanescent waves were realized. Here a suspension of yeast cells formed a pattern of small dot-like clumps of cells on the surface of the polystyrene film. We found the same pattern in the normal component of sound intensity in water near the polystyrene. The capillary bridge channel developed for this study is simple, low-cost, and could be developed for filtration, separation, or patterning of biological species in rapid immuno-sensing applications

Acoustofluidic Patterning inside Capillary Tubes Using Standing Surface Acoustic Waves

Acoustofluidic platform has great potentials to integrate capillary tubes for controlling and manipulating microparticles and biological cells in both non-flowing and continuous-flow settings. In order to effectively manipulate microparticles/cells inside capillary tubes, it is essential to fully understand and control the patterns generated inside the capillary tubes with different cross-sections, and to investigate the influences of configuration and position arrangement of electrodes along with the capillary tubes. This paper aims to systematically investigate the patterning and alignment of microparticles inside glass capillary tubes using thin film surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices. Through both experimental studies and numerical modelling, effects of various cross-section geometries of the capillary tubes and their positioning with respect to the direction of interdigital transducers (IDTs) of the SAW device in both a stationary fluid and a continuous flow fluid were studied. Results showed that for the rectangular glass capillary tubes, the patterned lines of particles are parallel to the tube’s side walls, irrelevant to the tube positions along with the IDTs, which is mainly caused by the standing wave field generated inside the rectangular glass tube. Whereas for the circular glass capillary tubes, alignment patterns of particles are quite different along the tube’s height. At the bottom of the circular tube, particles are patterned into lines parallel to the tube direction, because the acoustic waves propagate into the water and form a standing wave along the direction of the circular tube. Whereas at the middle height of the tube, the particles are patterned into lines perpendicular to the tube direction, because the formed standing waves also propagate around the circular cross-section of the tube and are perpendicular to the tube direction. For the cases with a continuous liquid flow, under the agitation of acoustic waves, particles are patterned in lines parallel to the flow directions for both the rectangular and circular glass tubes, and the fluid flow enhances and smoothens the patterned lines of the particles