Building envelope design for climate change mitigation: a case study of hotels in Greece

This paper presents results of a study of the impact of future climate change scenarios as developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and implemented in weather files for specific future time slices (2020, 2050 and 2080) for the three climatic regions of Greece on the design of the external envelope of a hotel building in Greece. The impact of climate change on the hotel is assessed via hourly simulations of a calibrated model developed using the software TRNSYS. Additionally, the paper aims to identify optimal refurbishment strategies, given the constraints of the existing case-study building when transposed to the three different climatic zones in Greece. Two modes of the hotel building were studied: ‘all year’ and ‘seasonally’ operated. It was found that different external envelope energy-efficient strategies can be applied depending on the climatic zone and whether the hotel is all-year or seasonally operated

Consumo de álcool e drogas: principais achados de pesquisa de âmbito nacional, Brasil 2005

OBJECTIVE: To assess alcohol and drug use in a representative sample of the urban Brazilian population and their correlation with sexual and reproductive health. METHODS: Data from a national population-based survey with a complex sampling, performed in 2005 was used. A total of 5,040 individuals from both genders, in the age group from 16 to 65 years old, were interviewed. Issues regarding drug and alcohol use and sexual behavior were assessed. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used. RESULTS: Alcohol was the most frequently used substance, with reports of regular use in the lives of 18% of interviewees. Use of illegal drugs was mentioned by 9% of the interviewees especially marijuana and snorted cocaine; injected drugs use was not frequent. There was a decrease in snorted cocaine use and an increase in marijuana use (in the last 12 months), compared to results of a similar survey conducted in 1998. History of sexual abuse was a risk factor for drug use and regular alcohol use. Interviewees mentioning the role of religion in their background, being White, and female were less likely to use alcohol in a regular way, which is especially prevalent among elderly males.Leisure activities and absence of current religious practice were associated with drug use. CONCLUSIONS: The regular or irregular alcohol use is prevalent in the urban Brazilian population, whereas injected drug use is rare. Over the last decade there was a decline in cocaine use. A history of sexual abuse was central to later use of alcohol and drugs.OBJETIVO: Analisar os padrões de consumo de álcool e drogas de uma amostra representativa da população urbana brasileira na sua inter-relação com a saúde sexual e reprodutiva. MÉTODOS: Dados de inquérito de base populacional, de abrangência nacional, com plano amostral complexo, realizado em 2005. Foram entrevistados 5.040 indivíduos de ambos os sexos, na faixa etária de 16 a 65 anos. Analisaram-se questões relativas consumo de álcool e drogas e comportamento sexual. Utilizou-se análise bivariada e multivariada. RESULTADOS: O álcool foi a substância mais freqüentemente utilizada, com relato de uso regular, na vida, por 18% dos entrevistados. O consumo de drogas ilícitas foi referido por 9% dos entrevistados, especialmente, maconha e cocaína aspirada, com uso de drogas injetáveis infreqüente. Observou-se declínio do consumo de cocaína aspirada e incremento do uso de maconha (nos últimos 12 meses), comparados a resultados de pesquisa similar realizada em 1998. Histórico de abuso sexual constituiu fator de risco do consumo de drogas e uso regular de álcool. A referência por parte do entrevistado ao papel da religião na sua formação, ser branco e do sexo feminino se mostraram protetores frente ao consumo regular de álcool, particularmente prevalente entre homens mais velhos. As opções de lazer e a ausência de práticas religiosas atuais se mostraram associadas ao consumo de drogas. CONCLUSÕES: O consumo de álcool, regular ou não, é prevalente na população urbana brasileira, enquanto o uso de drogas injetáveis se mostrou raro. Ao longo da última década observou-se declínio no consumo de cocaína. Histórico de abuso sexual se mostrou central ao consumo posterior de drogas e álcool

Endothelial Cell-Specific Deletion of P2Y2 Receptor Promotes Plaque Stability in Atherosclerosis-Susceptible ApoE-Null Mice

OBJECTIVE: Nucleotide P2Y2 receptor (P2Y2R) contributes to vascular inflammation by increasing vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 expression in endothelial cells (EC), and global P2Y2R deficiency prevents fatty streak formation in apolipoprotein E null (ApoE-/-) mice. Because P2Y2R is ubiquitously expressed in vascular cells, we investigated the contribution of endothelial P2Y2R in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. APPROACH AND RESULTS: EC-specific P2Y2R-deficient mice were generated by breeding VEcadherin5-Cre mice with the P2Y2R floxed mice. Endothelial P2Y2R deficiency reduced endothelial nitric oxide synthase activity and significantly altered ATP- and UTP (uridine 5'-triphosphate)-induced vasorelaxation without affecting vasodilatory responses to acetylcholine. Telemetric blood pressure and echocardiography measurements indicated that EC-specific P2Y2R-deficient mice did not develop hypertension. We investigated the role of endothelial P2Y2R in the development of atherosclerotic lesions by crossing the EC-specific P2Y2R knockout mice onto an ApoE-/- background and evaluated lesion development after feeding a standard chow diet for 25 weeks. Histopathologic examination demonstrated reduced atherosclerotic lesions in the aortic sinus and entire aorta, decreased macrophage infiltration, and increased smooth muscle cell and collagen content, leading to the formation of a subendothelial fibrous cap in EC-specific P2Y2R-deficient ApoE-/- mice. Expression and proteolytic activity of matrix metalloproteinase-2 was significantly reduced in atherosclerotic lesions from EC-specific P2Y2R-deficient ApoE-/- mice. Furthermore, EC-specific P2Y2R deficiency inhibited nitric oxide production, leading to significant increase in smooth muscle cell migration out of aortic explants. CONCLUSIONS: EC-specific P2Y2R deficiency reduces atherosclerotic burden and promotes plaque stability in ApoE-/- mice through impaired macrophage infiltration acting together with reduced matrix metalloproteinase-2 activity and increased smooth muscle cell migration

Sinais e sintomas associados às doenças sexualmente transmissíveis no Brasil, 2005

OBJECTIVE: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are a major determinant of population disease burden worldwide. The objective of the study was to assess self-reported morbidity associated to STIs according to gender. METHODS: The study data were obtained from a 2005 study consisting of a multistage probabilistic sample of 5,040 respondents, aged 16-65 years, living in urban areas in Brazil. These data were compared with those from a previous 1998 study. Bivariate analyses were carried out using Pearson's chi-square test and simple linear regression followed by logistic regression. RESULTS: In both men and women, the variables: previous HIV testing, personal belief in unfaithful love, and number of sexual partners in a lifetime were significantly associated to STIs. In women only, the covariates: low family income, living in the Center-West, Southeast and South regions, and reporting of physical violence were independently associated to STIs. In men, the variables associated were: age group (35 years or more), living in the South region and in the state of São Paulo, and self-perceived HIV infection risk. CONCLUSIONS: Signs and symptoms associated to STIs have strong gender differences in the general population and education interventions should be specifically targeted to either men or women.OBJETIVO: As doenças sexualmente transmissíveis (DST) constituem um dos principais determinantes da carga de doença das populações em todo o mundo. O objetivo do estudo foi avaliar a morbidade auto-referida associada à ocorrência de DST, segundo gênero. MÉTODOS: Os dados analisados referem-se à pesquisa realizada em 2005 e foram obtidos a partir de amostra probabilística em múltiplos estágios de 5.040 entrevistados, com 16-65 anos de idade, moradores nas regiões urbanas do Brasil. Esses dados foram cotejados com aqueles de pesquisa anterior, de 1998. Realizaram-se análises bivariadas, utilizando teste qui-quadrado de Pearson e regressão linear simples, seguidas por regressão logística. RESULTADOS: Tanto para homens quanto para mulheres as variáveis: testagem anterior para o HIV, crença pessoal de que pode haver amor sem fidelidade e número de pessoas com quem teve relações sexuais na vida mostraram-se significativamente associadas ao desfecho. Porém, somente entre as mulheres as covariáveis a seguir se mostraram independentemente associadas ao desfecho: renda familiar baixa, residência na Região Centro-Oeste, Sudeste e Sul, e relato de violência física. Para os homens, as variáveis independentemente associadas foram: faixa etária (35 anos ou mais), residência na Região Sul e Estado de São Paulo, e auto-avaliação de risco de se infectar com o HIV. CONCLUSÕES: Sinais e sintomas associados às DST apresentam forte diferencial de gênero na população geral, devendo ser objeto de intervenções educativas claramente distintas

Observations and modelling of microphysical variability, aggregation and sedimentation in tropical anvil cirrus outflow regions

Aircraft measurements of the microphysics of a tropical convective anvil (at temperatures ~−60 °C) forming above the Hector storm, over the Tiwi Islands, Northern Australia, have been conducted with a view to determining ice crystal aggregation efficiencies from in situ measurements. The observed microphysics have been compared to an explicit bin-microphysical model of the anvil region, which includes crystal growth by vapour diffusion and aggregation and the process of differential sedimentation. It has been found in flights made using straight and level runs perpendicular to the storm that the number of ice crystals initially decreased with distance from the storm as aggregation took place resulting in larger crystals, followed by their loss from the cloud layer due to sedimentation. The net result was that the mass (i.e. Ice Water Content) in the anvil Ci cloud decreased, but also that the average particle size (weighted by number) remained relatively constant along the length of the anvil outflow. Comparisons with the explicit microphysics model showed that the changes in the shapes of the ice crystal spectra as a function of distance from the storm could be explained by the model if the aggregation efficiency was set to values of Eagg~0.5 and higher. This result is supported by recent literature on aggregation efficiencies for complex ice particles and suggests that either the mechanism of particle interlocking is important to the aggregation process, or that other effects are occuring, such as enhancement of ice-aggregation by high electric fields that arise as a consequence of charge separation within the storm. It is noteworthy that this value of the ice crystal aggregation efficiency is much larger than values used in cloud resolving models at these temperatures, which typically use E~0.0016. These results are important to understanding how cold clouds evolve in time and for the treatment of the evolution of tropical Ci in numerical models

Exploring sex differences in attitudes towards the descriptive and substantive representation of women

This article unpacks the rationales that might be behind individual-level support for the idea that there ought to be more women present in political institutions. We outline two distinct rationales: the substantive position that sees an increase in women’s descriptive representation as important in bringing about a subsequent improvement in women’s substantive representation, or the justice-plus position that sees an increase in the descriptive representation of women as important for reasons of justice or other symbolic benefits. We find that women are more likely than men to support an increase in descriptive representation and that women are more likely to hold both the view that an increase in descriptive representation was desirable and that such an increase would improve the representation of women’s political interests. Men are found to be more likely to support an increase in descriptive representation but not relate descriptive representation to substantive representation in any way: the justice-plus rationale