The relation between building assessment systems and building performance simulation

The aim of the paper is to reveal the relationship between building performance simulation and building assessment systems as a performance indicator. The paper is part of an ongoing research project on developing a guideline for effective use of building performance simulation in design towards high performance buildings. The description of high performance buildings will be interpreted as sustainable (green) buildings and the assessment criteria of the level of performance will be evaluated by building assessment (rating) systems. The rating systems’ expectations are nearly the same based on global benefits, but vary depends on the stage where they are going to be questioned during design process. Thus, the paper will describe both the design process stages and the stakeholders as decision takers who affect the future performance of the building. By analysing current rating systems as a performance indicator, the available information necessary for assessment during design process will reveal the possibilities (potential?) of using building performance simulation as a support tool for getting high performance buildings

Effects of occupant behavior on the energy performance of dwellings

Chapter 3 is a sensitivity analysis conducted using the actual heating behavior data of occupants in the OTB sample. The aim was to model heating behavior and heating energy consumption using Markov chains and Monte Carlo methods. Secondly we wanted to evaluate the robustness of energy consumption of a dwelling to heating behaviors such as thermostat, radiator and ventilation control, as well as presence. The results of this Chapter were compared to Guerra Santin’s work (2010), which analyzes the same data using correlation and regression analyses. This Chapter deals with the Research Question I of this thesis: “Q I. What is the sensitivity of a dwelling’s heating energy consumption to occupant behavior?" The sub-questions are: 1. What are the existing models developed for the occupant behavior and energy performance relationship? and how different are the results of these models in terms of calculating the influence of occupant behavior on energy performance? 2. How can behavior be modelled in order to assess the robustness of the energy performance in dwellings to occupant behavior? 3. What is the weight of each behavioral aspect in terms of its influence on energy consumption?” The research reported in this Chapter was a collaborative work between Harputlugil and Bedir. The data was collected by a questionnaire prepared by Guerra Santin and Bedir, using OTB’s means of data collection. Data organization and initial statistical analysis was done by Bedir, simulations were conducted by Harputlugil and Bedir together, and finally the evalutation of outputs were done by the same authors. The co-author (G. Harputlugil) has given permission to include this paper in this thesis

Mechanisms of Preconditioning Against Surgical Stress by Short-Term Dietary Protein Restriction

Dietary restriction (DR) or reduced food intake without malnutrition encompasses a variety of dietary interventions including reduction of calories or specific macronutrients such as amino acids or total protein. Even though DR is known to result in various beneficial health effects, including extended longevity and increased stress resistance, the underlying nutritional and genetic requirements remain incompletely understood. Previous studies in lower organisms, as well as in mammals, point to the importance of the restriction of dietary protein intake in DR benefits. Previously our lab has shown that short-term restriction of intake of individual essential amino acids protects against hepatic ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI) via activation of the amino acid deprivation sensing protein, general control non-derepressible 2 (GCN2). Interestingly, GCN2 was no longer required for the protective effects of total dietary protein restriction (PR) against hepatic IRI. We thus investigated the potential role of a distinct amino acid sensing pathway involving the mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) kinase, which is normally repressed upon PR. To test the hypothesis that reduced mTORC1 signaling is required for benefits of PR against hepatic IRI, we used a mouse model with liver specific deletion of the mTORC1 repressor gene tuberous sclerosis complex 1 (TSC1), leading to constitutive hepatic mTORC1 activation (LTsc1KO). Although one week of PR was able to reduce circulating growth factors and amino acid levels and activate hepatic GCN2 signaling in both LTsc1KO and WT mice, LTsc1KO mice failed to gain the preconditioning benefits of PR against hepatic IRI. To understand the molecular mechanism underlying the genetic requirement for the TSC complex in PR benefits, we focused on the observation that PR improved hepatic insulin sensitivity in WT but not LTsc1KO mice. Additional data from liver specific insulin receptor knockout (LIrKO) mice and in WT mice using pharmacological PI3K inhibition by wortmannin indicated a partial requirement for post-reperfusion insulin/Akt signaling in PR-mediated protection from hepatic IRI. In addition to defects in insulin signaling important for PR action, LTsc1KOs also failed to upregulate hepatic production of another potent protective molecule, hydrogen sulfide (H2S), which was increased in WT mice upon PR and required for PR-mediated protection from hepatic IRI. Finally, we investigated the mechanisms of regulation of hepatic H2S production. Using an in vitro model of increased H2S production upon serum deprivation, we identified growth hormone (GH) as a negative regulator of H2S production through JAK/STAT signaling, and increased autophagy as the likely source of free cysteine, the substrate for cystathionine gamma lyase (CGL)-mediated H2S production. The mechanistic details of how in vivo PR translates into increased H2S production, and the potential role of mTORC1, GH signaling and autophagy in this process remain to be fully elucidated.Biological Sciences in Public Healt

Simulation as a tool to develop guidelines for the design of school schemes for four climatic regions of Turkiye

This paper describes the use of transient building performance simulation in order to develop design guidelines for educational buildings in Turkiye. The premise of the work is that design decisions taken during early stages of the building process have a large impact on the performance of the resulting building and hence need solid underpinning. Yet straightforward application of building performance in these early stages has proven to be difficult. Hence this paper applies sensitivity analysis to the outcomes of simulations carried out with the ESP-r simulation program in order to identify the most relevant parameters in school design. This allows building designers to make informed decisions, without having to revert to modelling and simulation. The research described in this paper is part of an ongoing project of preparing a design guideline for Turkish building designers who intend to design with climate

Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) As An Assessment Approach For Architectural Design: Case Study of Architectural Design Studio

Architectural design is an effective decision-making activity based on problem solving. Within this context, assessment of architectural design is complex. This complexity is not based on content and volume of problems, but also heterogeneity and uncertainty of information provided for assessment, subjective approaches, and a large number of the criterion for assessment. To solve the problems stated, within the content of this article, assessment methodology based on Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) – a Multi Criteria Decision Making(MCDM) methodology- supporting an effective comparative analysis among the alternative projects based on determined criterion is applied. The methodology is implemented with a case study of one of the design studios of Çankaya University with observation, research and assessment of the whole education term. The outcomes of the AHP-based approach suggested by the research are consistent with those obtained by traditional assessment methods, since it has been seen that this approach can provide numerical results that are comparable, measurable, gradable, consistent and can be reported separately for each assessor. However, it has also been found that the AHP-based method is suitable for evaluating only a limited number of projects. There is a possibility that the evaluation period can be longer, and the process may be somewhat tedious if the number of projects increases. With the research, and by setting thresholds levels for evaluation, it has become clear that successful and unsuccessful projects can be separated for achievement/competence. Consequently, it has been observed that the approach has considerable potentials to be further developed to evaluate architectural projects comparatively, especially for architectural students projects, and other architectural projects such as architectural design competitions

Histone methylation and methyltransferase enzyme Set8 in hepatocellular carcinoma

Ankara : The Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics and the Institute of Engineering and Science of Bilkent University., 2010.Thesis (Master's) -- Bilkent University, 2010.Includes bibliographical references leaves 78-83.Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most prevalent and lethal cancers worldwide. The epigenetic modifications, which are involved in virtually all cellular processes are also involved in the carcinogenic process, and this is a growing new field of investigation. HCC has also been associated with several epigenetic aberrations which include the ones in histone modifications, histone methyltransferase enzymes, and the epigenetic machinery. The transition from cirrhosis to HCC is related to senescence bypass, and the distinctions between senescence and immortality in HCC cell lines. Global levels of H3K4me3, H3K9me3, H3K27me3, H3K36me3, H3R2me2, H3R17me2 and H4K20me3 histone marks were evaluated in well-differentiated and poorly differentiated HCC cell lines in the presence and absence of TGF-β induced senescence. No prominent changes in the levels of these histone modifications were indentified in response to TGF-β induced senescence. However, H4K20me3 levels appeared to correlate with the differentiation status of the cell lines, where a loss of methylation was observed in poorly differentiated cell lines. In order to address the mechanism of this loss, H4K20 specific methyltransferases were analyzed in terms of their transcript levels, and only the expression pattern of monomethyl transferase Set8 was found to correlate with the H4K20me3 methylation patterns. A potential role played by Set8 in HCC development was investigated via overexpression and knockdown studies. But no significant role could be attributed to this enzyme in this study.Harputlugil, EylülM.S

Simulation as a tool to develop guidelines for the design of school schemes for four climatic regions of Turkiye

This paper describes the use of transient building performance simulation in order to develop design guidelines for educational buildings in Turkiye. The premise of the work is that design decisions taken during early stages of the building process have a large impact on the performance of the resulting building and hence need solid underpinning. Yet straightforward application of building performance in these early stages has proven to be difficult. Hence this paper applies sensitivity analysis to the outcomes of simulations carried out with the ESP-r simulation program in order to identify the most relevant parameters in school design. This allows building designers to make informed decisions, without having to revert to modelling and simulation. The research described in this paper is part of an ongoing project of preparing a design guideline for Turkish building designers who intend to design with climate

Relation between design requirements and building performance simulation

The aim of this paper is to reveal the relation between basic design requirements and the use of building performance simulation in current design practice. As a starting point to focus future research on building performance simulation a number of interviews with building design practitioners were conducted to find the answer to the question: "What general information can be obtained on the building design requirements, providing a background for the context in which future building performance simulation tools or support environments will be used?" The results of the interviews with world leading building services professionals are elaborated focusing on the relationship of value drivers and design requirements, which prescribe the building performance. The literature review on architectural programming together with the outcomes of the interviews will reveal whether the value drivers such as flexibility, functionality and sustainability are identified in the program of requirements, accommodating the client’s expectation on the building performance or not. The results are summarized and interpreted suggesting alternatives for the use of building performance simulation

The application of systems engineering on the building design process

The evolution in the design process is usually based on the choice of a method for designing the system, in which its preference is previously selected by a process available to use and not by an open selection process. An open system approach is both a technical approach to design concepts and a preferred business strategy that is becoming widely applied by manufacturers of large complex systems. Although systems engineering consider both the business and the technical needs of customers, their goals is to provide a quality product that meets all user needs. This paper describes the capabilities of using some available systems engineering standards (like EIA-632) in the design process. Then, a methodological approach will be proposed for the practice of requirements engineering by applying quality assessment and control to design in early phases. This paper also discusses the need for a rigorous systems engineering process, which incorporates open systems concepts and principles to make a design method more or less appropriate by promoting multiple sources of supply and technology insertion. To demonstrate the applicability and efficiency of those standards, an application case study focusing more on applying systems engineering concepts to the building design is described along with verification and validation processes