Positioning And Design Recommendations For Materials Of Efficient Thermal Storage Mass In Passive Buildings

The role of mass in energy storage has long been a subject of interest in passive buildings. Thermal mass is used to diminish temperature variations for interior spaces in desert or semi- desert climates. Energy from solar and internal gains during the day in winter is often greater than daytime heating requirements. This energy can be stored in materials within the building, and released at night to offset building heat loss. In a similar manner, building mass may allow the interior to remain cooler during the daytime in summer and reduce air conditioning requirements. In this paper, the geometric and energetic positioning of thermal mass has been studied in order to determine most convenient locations. It is found that floors receive direct solar energy for a high percentage of time, usually 70%-90% of the radiation transmitted through the window during the day (9 am to 3 pm solar time). The materials related to the technical efficiency of thermal mass are reviewed specifying the thickness most suitable for storing solar heat in the winter or keeping the interior cool in summer.Fil: Esteves, Alfredo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Ambiente, Habitat y Energia.; ArgentinaFil: Mercado, Ma. Victoria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Ambiente, Habitat y Energia.; ArgentinaFil: Ganem, Carolina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Ambiente, Habitat y Energia.; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Artes y Diseño; ArgentinaFil: Gelardi, Daniel. Universidad de Mendoza. Instituto Para El Estudio del Medio Ambiente; Argentin

Local allergic rhinitis: entopy or spontaneous response?

Background The existence of a local allergic rhintis was proposed on the basis of the detection of nasal IgE in the absence of a systemic sensitization. Nevertheless, the significance of this phenomenon remains still unclear.We assessed the presence of mucosal nasal IgE in patients with ascertained allergic rhinitis, nonallergic rhinitis with inflammation and in healthy controls.Methods Consecutive patients with a well ascertained diagnosis (clinical history, skin prick test, specific IgE assay, nasal endoscopy, nasal cytology) underwent an immunoenzymatic measurement of specific IgE to grass, cypress, parietaria and olive in nasal scrapings.Results Fifteen patients with allergic rhinitis, 12 with non allergic rhinitis and 14 healthy subjects were studied. The patients with allergic and nonallergic rhinitis had higher nasal symptoms as compared to control subjects. Systemic sensitizatition (assessed by skin test and CAP-RAST) was obviously more frequent in allergic rhinitis, than in the other two groups. Allergen-specific nasal IgE could be detected in all groups (86,7, 33,3, and 50 % positive, respectively), even more frequently in the control group than in nonallergic rhinitis patients. No difference among allergens was identified. Out of the 26 non-allergic patients (non allergic rhinitis + controls) nasal IgE were positive in 11(42 %).Discussion According to the results, the presence of nasal IgE against allergens seems to be a non-specific phenomenon, since they can be detected also in non allergic rhinitis and in healthy subjects.Conclusion It can be hypothesized that the nasal IgE production represents a form of spontaneous immune response. Keywords: Allergic rhinitis, Nonallergic rhinitis, Sensitization, Nasal IgE, Local allergic rhinitis, Entop

Epstein-barr virus induced cellular changes in nasal mucosa

A 21-year-old man presented with nasal obstruction of the right nasal fossa of 1 year duration. Nasal endoscopy revealed in the right inferior turbinate head a rounded neoplasm about 1 cm in diameter. Cytologic study of a nasal scraping specimen disclosed numerous clusters containing columnar cells with cytomegaly, prominent multinucleation, markedly sparse shortened cilia; the cytoplasm contained an acidophil area and a small round area that stained poorly; cells with a large intracytoplasmic vacuole that was acidophil and PAS+. Serology tests using the nested polymer chain reaction (PCR) technique on serum, nasal and pharyngeal smears revealed an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection that was confirmed at electron microscopy. The clinical and cytological features resolved 19 months after the initial evaluation. CONCLUSION: The authors advise carrying out clinical (endoscopy, serology, etc.) evaluation of all endonasal neoplasms and to routinely perform cytological study on nasal scraping specimens. When samples test positive for EBV, nasal and nasopharyngeal endoscopy should be performed regularly to detect possible evidence for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC)

Building Shape that Promotes Sustainable Architecture. Evaluation of the Indicative Factors and Its Relation with the Construction Costs

The energy that the building sector consume including both, the production and operation of buildings are directly proportional to the shape and the thermo-physical properties of the building envelope. The shapes that the architect decides on influences the costs of the construction as well as the energy demands for the life-cycle of the building. The present paper analyse four factors indicated by the bibliography to measure efficiency of the shape of the building. Theserelate different building variables: Envelope Area of Building (Ae), Conditioned Volume (Vc), Floor Area of Building (Ac), Perimeter of Building (Pb). The four factors studied are: Compactness Factor (Ae/Vc); Characteristic Length (Vc/Ae); Compactness Index (Pb/Pc) and Shape Factor (Ae/Ac). This paper also explores the relationship between the SF (shapefactor) and the cost of the construction of the building in relation to floor area, where a high degree of correlation is found, high R2 (<0.89). Therefore, it can be concluded that SF optimizes decisions concerning the shape of building in order to reach lower surface areas (compatible with an aesthetic, harmonic and functional design) that yield the lowest economic and energetic costs of construction.Fil: Esteves Miramont, Alfredo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Ambiente, Hábitat y Energía; ArgentinaFil: Esteves, Matias Jose. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Ciencias Humanas, Sociales y Ambientales; ArgentinaFil: Mercado, Maria Victoria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Ambiente, Hábitat y Energía; ArgentinaFil: Barea Paci, Gustavo Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Ambiente, Hábitat y Energía; ArgentinaFil: Gelardi, Daniel. Universidad de Mendoza. Instituto Para El Estudio del Medio Ambiente; Argentin

Acoustic pharyngometry: clinical and instrumental correlations in sleep disorders

Summary Matteo Gelardi 1 , Alessandro Maselli del Giudice 2 , Francesco Cariti 3 , Michele Cassano 4 , Aline Castelante Farras 5 , Maria Luisa Fiorella 6 , Pasquale Cassano 7 1 ENT specialist (Physician of the Bari University Otorhinolaryngology Department - Italy) 2 Physician (ENT Resident - Bari University - Italy) 3 Physician (ENT Resident - Bari University - Italy) 4 ENT specialist (Researcher of the Foggia University Otorhinolaryngology Department - Italy) 5 ENT specialist (Fellow of the Foggia University Otorhinolaryngology Department - Italy) 6 ENT specialist (Researcher of the Bari University Otorhinolaryngology Department - Italy) 7 ENT and Audiology specialist (Head of the Foggia University Otorhinolaryngology Department and Full Professor of Otorhinolaryngology at Foggia University - Italy)Bari University - Italy; Foggia University - ItalyDr. Michele Cassano Via: Crispi 34/C CEP: 70123 Bari - Italy. Telephone: 00xx39-080-5235508/ 00xx39-3388105268 Fax: 00xx39-080-5211318. Dra. Aline Castelante Farras Rua Sete de Setembro, 676 Centro Vila Velha - ES Telefone: 27-32393661 E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Paper submitted to the ABORL-CCF SGP (Management Publications System) on July 29th, 2005 and accepted for publication on November 3th, 2006. cod. 567

new tailor made bio organoclays for the remediation of olive mill waste water

A systematic study aimed at obtaining new organoclays for the treatment of Olive Mill Waste water (OMW) has been performed. Several organoclays have been prepared by loading different amounts of the biocompatible surfactant Tween20 onto the K10 montmorillonite (MMT). Complementary kinetic and equilibrium studies on the adsorption of the Tween20 onto the MMT have been carried out and the characterization of the new tailor-made bio-materials has been performed by means of the XRD and FT-IR measurements. Finally the prepared bio-organoclays have been successfully applied for the OMW remediation and they proved to be highly effective in decreasing the organic content (OC) to an extent that depends on both the amount of loaded surfactant and the experimental protocols applied

A faringometria acústica: correlações clínico-instrumentais nos distúrbios do sono

A faringometria acústica representa um método atual baseado no principio físico da reflexão acústica, útil à análise volumétrica do espaço orofaringolaringotraqueal. OBJETIVO: Este estudo se propõe a avaliar as variações dos parâmetros faringométricos em indivíduos portadores de distúrbios respiratórios do sono (DRS), para estabelecer uma relação entre as variações morfovolumétricas do espaço orofaringolaríngeo e a existência e gravidade da patologia. FORMA DE ESTUDO: Clínico e experimental. MATERIAL E MÉTODO: Foram examinados 110 pacientes, 70 com DRS e 40 normais, durante o período de Junho/04 a Junho/05. Todos os pacientes foram submetidos à faringometria acústica que permitiu uma avaliação da área oro e hipofaríngea através de um gráfico explicativo. RESULTADOS: Os parâmetros obtidos nos pacientes com DRS mostraram uma importante diferença com respeito ao grupo controle, principalmente na amplitude da I onda (significantemente menor nos pacientes com macroglossia), na extensão do segmento OF, na amplitude do segmento OF e na área hipofaríngea. COLCLUSÃO: A faringometria acústica, mesmo não sendo uma técnica padronizada, pode auxiliar no diagnóstico das síndromes obstrutivas do sono, na localização dos possíveis pontos de obstrução e da gravidade da patologia, e no monitoramento dos pacientes submetidos a cirurgias desobstrutivas das vias aéreas superiores

Catching allergy by a simple questionnaire

Background: Identifying allergic rhinitis requires allergy testing, but the first-line referral for rhinitis are usually primary care physicians (PCP), who are not familiar with such tests. The availability of easy and simple tests to be used by PCP to suggest allergy should be very useful. Methods: The Respiratory Allergy Prediction (RAP) test, based on 9 questions and previously validated by a panel of experts, was evaluated in this study. Results: An overall number of 401 patients (48.6% males, age range 14-62 years) with respiratory symptoms was included. Of them, 89 (22.2%) showed negative results to SPT, while 312 (77.8%) had at least one positive result to SPT. Cohen's kappa coefficient showed that all questions had an almost perfect excellent agreement between pre and post-test. The algorithm of decision-tree growth Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detector showed that answering yes to the question 4 (Your nasal/ocular complains do usually start or worsen during the spring?), 6 (Did you ever had cough or shortness of breath, even during exercise?) and 8 (Do you use nasal sprays frequently?) gave a probability to have a positive SPT of 85%. Conclusions: These findings show that RAP test can be proposed as an useful tool to be used by physician other than allergists when evaluating patients with rhinitis, suggesting the need of allergy testing

Development and Implementation of the AIDA International Registry for Patients With Undifferentiated Systemic AutoInflammatory Diseases

Objective: This paper points out the design, development and deployment of the AutoInflammatory Disease Alliance (AIDA) International Registry dedicated to pediatric and adult patients affected by Undifferentiated Systemic AutoInflammatory Diseases (USAIDs). Methods: This is an electronic registry employed for real-world data collection about demographics, clinical, laboratory, instrumental and socioeconomic data of USAIDs patients. Data recruitment, based on the Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) tool, is designed to obtain standardized information for real-life research. The instrument is endowed with flexibility, and it could change over time according to the scientific acquisitions and potentially communicate with other similar tools; this platform ensures security, data quality and data governance. Results: The focus of the AIDA project is connecting physicians and researchers from all over the world to shed a new light on heterogeneous rare diseases. Since its birth, 110 centers from 23 countries and 4 continents have joined the AIDA project. Fifty-four centers have already obtained the approval from their local Ethics Committees. Currently, the platform counts 290 users (111 Principal Investigators, 179 Site Investigators, 2 Lead Investigators, and 2 data managers). The Registry is collecting baseline and follow-up data using 3,769 fields organized into 23 instruments, which include demographics, history, symptoms, trigger/risk factors, therapies, and healthcare information access for USAIDs patients. Conclusions: The development of the AIDA International Registry for USAIDs patients will facilitate the online collection of real standardized data, connecting a worldwide group of researchers: the Registry constitutes an international multicentre observational groundwork aimed at increasing the patient cohort of USAIDs in order to improve our knowledge of this peculiar cluster of autoinflammatory diseases