The impact of green premium on the development of green-labelled offices in the U.K.

The perceived wisdom in many studies is that the establishment of a premium value is an essential prerequisite for the promotion of green buildings. This green premium is then a driver of the development of new green buildings, as well as an agent of the green transformation of the existing non-labeled properties. In this study, green premium is assessed as a potential driver of labeled office property development. Thirty-two commercial real estate professionals, working for organizations that are involved in the development, sale, letting or management of green offices, were interviewed across four cities in the United Kingdom: London, Manchester, Birmingham, and Edinburgh. The results reveal that after 15 years of an active development of green offices, the existence of a green rent premium remains elusive. Similarly, no evidence was found of a willingness to pay more to occupy greenlabeled offices. The results suggest that a green premium cannot be simply seen in terms of a headline rent but more widely by reference to future income streams. Consequently, we propose a ‘‘green letting premium’’ as the primary motivation for the development of green offices. Our study contributes significantly to how green premium is defined, understood, and valued globally

The impact of green premium on the development of green-labelled offices in the U.K.

The perceived wisdom in many studies is that the establishment of a premium value is an essential prerequisite for the promotion of green buildings. This green premium is then a driver of the development of new green buildings, as well as an agent of the green transformation of the existing non-labeled properties. In this study, green premium is assessed as a potential driver of labeled office property development. Thirty-two commercial real estate professionals, working for organizations that are involved in the development, sale, letting or management of green offices, were interviewed across four cities in the United Kingdom: London, Manchester, Birmingham, and Edinburgh. The results reveal that after 15 years of an active development of green offices, the existence of a green rent premium remains elusive. Similarly, no evidence was found of a willingness to pay more to occupy greenlabeled offices. The results suggest that a green premium cannot be simply seen in terms of a headline rent but more widely by reference to future income streams. Consequently, we propose a ‘‘green letting premium’’ as the primary motivation for the development of green offices. Our study contributes significantly to how green premium is defined, understood, and valued globally

Rien que des seuils : réflexion sur l'esthétique de l'interstice dans les oeuvres de Gabriel JOSIPOVICI

International audienc

Europe's future exploration of Main Belt Comets

We discuss possible European missions to explore the recently identified population of "main belt comets", which are small bodies with some asteroid-like properties and some comet-like ones. Various options have been proposed to ESA in recent years, and we will present these, and discuss future possibilities

2019 European Thyroid Association Guidelines on the Management of Thyroid Dysfunction following Immune Reconstitution Therapy.

Thyroid dysfunction (TD) frequently occurs as an autoimmune complication of immune reconstitution therapy (IRT), especially in individuals with multiple sclerosis treated with alemtuzumab, a pan-lymphocyte depleting drug with subsequent recovery of immune cell numbers. Less frequently, TD is triggered by highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), or patients undergoing bone-marrow/hematopoietic-stem-cell transplantation (BMT/HSCT). In both alemtuzumab-induced TD and HIV/HAART patients, the commonest disorder is Graves' disease (GD), followed by hypothyroidism and thyroiditis; Graves' orbitopathy is observed in some GD patients. On the contrary, GD is rare post-BMT/HSCT, where hypothyroidism predominates probably as a consequence of the associated radiation damage. In alemtuzumab-induced TD, the autoantibodies against the thyrotropin receptor (TRAb) play a major role, and 2 main aspects distinguish this condition from the spontaneous form: (1) up to 20% of GD cases exhibit a fluctuating course, with alternating phases of hyper- and hypothyroidism, due to the coexistence of TRAb with stimulating and blocking function; (2) TRAb are also positive in about 70% of hypothyroid patients, with blocking TRAb responsible for nearly half of the cases. The present guidelines will provide up-to-date recommendations and suggestions dedicated to all phases of IRT-induced TD: (1) screening before IRT (recommendations 1-3); (2) monitoring during/after IRT (recommendations 4-7); (3) management of TD post-IRT (recommendations 8-17). The clinical management of IRT-induced TD, and in particular GD, can be challenging. In these guidelines, we propose a summary algorithm which has particular utility for nonspecialist physicians and which is tailored toward management of alemtuzumab-induced TD. However, we recommend prompt referral to specialist endocrinology services following diagnosis of any IRT-induced TD diagnosis, and in particular for pregnant women and those considering pregnancy

Human perceptions of artificial surfaces for field hockey

Measuring the performance of a sports surface is typically derived from a series of field and laboratory tests that assess the playing properties under simulated game conditions. However, from a player’s perspective their own comfort and confidence in the surface and its playing characteristics are equally if not more important. To date no comparative study to measure playing preference tests has been made. The aim of this research was to develop a suitable method for eliciting player perceptions of field hockey pitches and determine the key themes that players consider when assessing field hockey pitches. To elicit meaningful unbiased human perceptions of a playing surface, an individual subjective analysis was carried out, using interviews and inductive analysis of the recorded player statements. A qualitative analysis of elite hockey players (n = 22) was performed to obtain their perceptions immediately after a competitive match. The significant surface characteristics that emerged as part of an inductive analysis of their responses were grouped together and formed five general themes or dimensions: player performance, playing environment, pitch properties, ball interaction and player interaction. Each dimension was formed from a hierarchy of sub-themes. During the analysis, relationships between the dimensions were identified and a structured relationship model was produced to highlight each relationship. Players’ responses suggested that they perceived differences between pitches and that the majority of players considered a ‘hard’ pitch with a ‘low’ ball bounce facilitating a ‘fast’ game speed was desirable. However, further research is required to understand the relative importance of each theme and to develop appropriate measurement strategies to quantify the relevant engineering properties of pitch materials

The proposed Caroline ESA M3 mission to a Main Belt Comet

We describe Caroline, a mission proposal submitted to the European Space Agency in 2010 in response to the Cosmic Visions M3 call for medium-sized missions. Caroline would have travelled to a Main Belt Comet (MBC), characterizing the object during a flyby, and capturing dust from its tenuous coma for return to Earth. MBCs are suspected to be transition objects straddling the traditional boundary between volatile–poor rocky asteroids and volatile–rich comets. The weak cometary activity exhibited by these objects indicates the presence of water ice, and may represent the primary type of object that delivered water to the early Earth. The Caroline mission would have employed aerogel as a medium for the capture of dust grains, as successfully used by the NASA Stardust mission to Comet 81P/Wild 2. We describe the proposed mission design, primary elements of the spacecraft, and provide an overview of the science instruments and their measurement goals. Caroline was ultimately not selected by the European Space Agency during the M3 call; we briefly reflect on the pros and cons of the mission as proposed, and how current and future mission MBC mission proposals such as Castalia could best be approached