Applying User Experience (UX) Principles to Net Zero Energy Buildings

As buildings have become more complex, interpreting building performance becomes challenging. A Building Automation System (BAS) has hundreds of data points that monitor performance but the data is frequently under-utilized. Over 20% of a building’s energy is wasted through energy inefficiencies that go undetected. Building controls are not going to get easier, but methods are being developed to simplify monitoring building performance. An Energy Dashboard is a graphic interface for a BAS that simplifies the monitoring and control of a building. An energy dashboard automatically tracks building energy use to help detect overconsumption patterns or malfunctioning equipment. Energy dashboards allow for building occupants to monitor energy usage easily in real-time, an effective way to engage occupant behavior changes. This study designed and evaluated a prototype energy dashboard that demonstrates how to monitor net zero energy commercial buildings of the future. The energy dashboard compared energy consumption and generation patterns for a variety of building systems and solar energy equipment in an HVAC laboratory. The energy dashboard was evaluated by university students with a background in HVAC to gather feedback and improve the energy dashboard’s diagnostic abilities. The result is an easy to deploy graphic interface that can help building professionals interpret and improve performance of complex buildings. The students were also asked questions to rank importance of performance indicators based off a previously done study. An analysis was done to determine where students aligned with building professionals. This study improved on current key performance indicators and how to simplify building performance metrics

Analysis of changes in financial items of the Turkish banking sector with VAR model

A restructuring program has been realized in the Turkish Banking Sector after the crises of 2000 and 2001. At the same time the restructuring program was implemented in the economy. Volatility is considered one of the most important risk indicator. The high volatility in a data set means that the risk is high. The aim of the study is to predict the strong changes in the main activity items of the banking sector from the post-crisis period to the present, based on the number of delays. During the period from the end of 2002 to the end of 2017, the volatility of the main financial items at the end of the three-month period has been analyzed in the Turkish Banking Sector. Afterwards, these main items were taken into consideration of past trends and predictive equations related to the levels that can be reached in the future were established. As a result of the analysis, it is seen that the highest change is primarily in the volume of the sector and in the loans and deposit items immediately afterwards. The high change in these two main factors in balance sheet naturally leads to a high volatility of the balance sheet total as well.peer-reviewe

LOS INTERESES DE SARKOZY Y LAS TRIBULACIONES DE LA POLÍTICA FRANCESA HACIA LIBIA

The French foreign policy process that accompanied the birth of the Fifth Republic and the collapse of the colonial system was inspired by the idea of greatness (grandeur de La France). National pride in the exercise of foreign policy, operated for many years as a counterweight to the decline of its international position as a power. However, from De Gaulle to Chirac, French policy was able to get some achievements based on a design that combined the national interest with the idea of grandeur. Although some scholars argue that “the foreign policy of no other Western state is driven by such narcissism” (Muravchick, 2007), other studies focus on the particularities of the French political system and the concept of monochromatic presidential government (Elgie & Griggs, 2000), a system of government in which the president decides the contents of the policy and is responsible for their successes and failures. For the Mediterranean region, the policy of the governments of the Fifth Republic acted on broadly similar principles until Nicolas Sarkozy came to power. Therefore, this paper focuses on the changes that occurred in the French position towards the Mediterranean region during the presidential term of Sarkozy and stresses the president’s unequivocal responsibility. Furthermore, the article emphasizes the direct engagement of France during the events in Libya in 2011 as the result of a personal interest rather than a foreign policy design

Solubilization capacity of surfactant due to its different chain length of lipophile and hydrophile

The aim of the study is to look at the influence of different chain length of hydrophile and lipophile of the surfactants to their solubilization capacity. The solubilization capacity of surfactants with different chain lengths of lipophile and hydrophile has been performed by preparing somesolubilization form formulas, using several kinds of lipophilic chain length, i.e. cetyl (C-16), stearyl (C-18), and oleyl (C=18 with unsaturated chain) alcohols and ethyleneoxyde chain length of 2, 10 and 20 respectively. After preparation, the solubilited forms were then stored at temperature of 25O and 45OC, and observed if there were any solubilization occurred. The results have showed that it needs an optimum length of ethyleneoxyde to have better solubilization; at certain longer ethylenoxyde the longer the length of lipophilic chain, the more solubilization would be, therefore, unsaturated hydrocarbon chain caused diminution of solubilization; whatever the surfactant used as an agent of solubilization, storage at a higher room temperature would facilitate the solubilization to occur.Key words : surfactant, solubilizatio

The comparision of glybenclamide and metformin-loaded bacterial cellulose/gelatin nanofibres produced by a portable electrohydrodynamic gun for diabetic wound healing

Wound dressings made from natural polymers are an important aspect of biomaterials. Protein-based materials are less likely to instigate an immunogenic response and have the capacity to degrade in vivo, also without triggering an inflammatory response. Therefore, gelatin (GEL) was chosen and combined with bacterial cellulose (BC) to produce nanofibres and the potential of an all-natural polymer construct was determined. GEL and BC were successfully electrospun with metformin (Met) and glybenclamide (Gb) using a portable, point of need electrospinning set up. The virgin fibre group exhibited a significant effect on the proliferation of L929 (mouse fibroblast) cells but all fibre samples can safely be applied on wound site without risk of cytotoxicity. According to the results obtained by animal tests, the GEL-BC-Gb group showed better recovery than the GEL-BC-Met group. Diabetic wounds treated with GEL-BC-Met were characterized by moderate re-epithelialization and partially organized granulation tissue. Moderate to complete re-epithelialization and well-formed granulation tissue were observed in diabetic wounds treated with GEL-BC-Gb. The histologic scores obtained on day 14 confirmed that the GEL-BC-Gb group played a stronger wound-healing role compared to the GEL-BC-Met group. The highest decrease of TNF-α level was observed in the GEL-BC-Gb group at the end of the experiment but there is no significant difference between drug-loaded fibre groups. Therefore, topical administration of Met and Gb in a sustained release form has a high potential for diabetic wound healing with high bioavailability and fewer systemic side effects but Gb showed better improvement according to the results of the animal tests

A novel treatment strategy for preterm birth: Intra-vaginal progesterone-loaded fibrous patches

Progesterone-loaded poly(lactic) acid fibrous polymeric patches were produced using electrospinning and pressurized gyration for intra-vaginal application to prevent preterm birth. The patches were intravaginally inserted into rats in the final week of their pregnancy, equivalent to the third trimester of human pregnancy. Maintenance tocolysis with progesterone-loaded patches was elucidated by recording the contractile response of uterine smooth muscle to noradrenaline in pregnant rats. Both progesterone-loaded patches indicated similar results from release and thermal studies, however, patches obtained by electrospinning had smaller average diameters and more uniform dispersion compared to pressurized gyration. Patches obtained by pressurized gyration had better results in production yield and tensile strength than electrospinning; thereby pressurized gyration is better suited for scaled-up production. The patches did not affect cell attachment, viability, and proliferation on Vero cells negatively. Consequently, progesterone-loaded patches are a novel and successful treatment strategy for preventing preterm birth

Two new xanthones from Artocarpus obtusus

Two new xanthones, pyranocycloartobiloxanthone A (1) and dihydroartoindonesianin C (2), were isolated from the stem bark of Artocarpus obtusus Jarrett by chromatographic separation. Their structures were determined by using spectroscopic methods and comparison with known related compounds. Pyranocycloartobiloxanthone A (1) showed strong free radical scavenging activity by using DPPH assay as well as cytotoxicity towards K562, HL-60, and MCF7 cell lines

Accelerated diabetic wound healing by topical application of combination oral antidiabetic agents-loaded nanofibrous scaffolds: An in vitro and in vivo evaluation study

The combination of oral antidiabetic drugs, pioglitazone, metformin, and glibenclamide, which also exhibit the strongest anti-inflammatory action among oral antidiabetic drugs, were loaded into chitosan/gelatin/polycaprolactone (PCL) by electrospinning and polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP)/PCL composite nanofibrous scaffolds by pressurized gyration to compare the diabetic wound healing effect. The combination therapies significantly accelerated diabetic wound healing in type-1 diabetic rats and organized densely packed collagen fibers in the dermis, it also showed better regeneration of the dermis and epidermis than single drug-loaded scaffolds with less inflammatory cell infiltration and edema. The formation of the hair follicles started in 14 days only in the combination therapy and lower proinflammatory cytokine levels were observed compared to single drug-loaded treatment groups. The combination therapy increased the wettability and hydrophilicity of scaffolds, demonstrated sustained drug release over 14 days, has high tensile strength and suitable cytocompatibility on L929 (mouse fibroblast) cell and created a suitable area for the proliferation of fibroblast cells. Consequently, the application of metformin and pioglitazone-loaded chitosan/gelatin/PCL nanofibrous scaffolds to a diabetic wound area offer high bioavailability, fewer systemic side effects, and reduced frequency of dosage and amount of drug

Genome sequence of an Australian kangaroo, Macropus eugenii, provides insight into the evolution of mammalian reproduction and development.

BACKGROUND: We present the genome sequence of the tammar wallaby, Macropus eugenii, which is a member of the kangaroo family and the first representative of the iconic hopping mammals that symbolize Australia to be sequenced. The tammar has many unusual biological characteristics, including the longest period of embryonic diapause of any mammal, extremely synchronized seasonal breeding and prolonged and sophisticated lactation within a well-defined pouch. Like other marsupials, it gives birth to highly altricial young, and has a small number of very large chromosomes, making it a valuable model for genomics, reproduction and development. RESULTS: The genome has been sequenced to 2 × coverage using Sanger sequencing, enhanced with additional next generation sequencing and the integration of extensive physical and linkage maps to build the genome assembly. We also sequenced the tammar transcriptome across many tissues and developmental time points. Our analyses of these data shed light on mammalian reproduction, development and genome evolution: there is innovation in reproductive and lactational genes, rapid evolution of germ cell genes, and incomplete, locus-specific X inactivation. We also observe novel retrotransposons and a highly rearranged major histocompatibility complex, with many class I genes located outside the complex. Novel microRNAs in the tammar HOX clusters uncover new potential mammalian HOX regulatory elements. CONCLUSIONS: Analyses of these resources enhance our understanding of marsupial gene evolution, identify marsupial-specific conserved non-coding elements and critical genes across a range of biological systems, including reproduction, development and immunity, and provide new insight into marsupial and mammalian biology and genome evolution