Implementing Productivity Based Demand Response in Office Buildings Using Building Automation Standards

Demand response is an effective method that can solve known issues in electrical power systems caused by peak power demand and intermittent supply from renewable sources. Office buildings are good candidates for implementing demand response because they usually incorporate building management systems which are able to control and monitor various electrical devices, from lighting to HVAC, security to power management. In order to study the feasibility of using an existing office building management system to implement demand response, a simulator for a typical office building has been built which models the energy consumption characteristics of the building. With the help of this simulator, an Indoor Environment Quality based control algorithm is developed whose aim is to minimise reduction in productivity in an office building during a demand response application. This research revealed two key elements of automatic demand response: lighting loads need to be utilised in every demand response scenario along with HVAC, and the control system needs to be able to operate rapidly because of changing conditions. A multi-agent based demand response control algorithm for lighting is then developed and used to test the suitability of two communication protocols currently widely used in office buildings: KNX and LonWorks. The results show that excessive overload of the communication channel and the lag caused by slow communication speeds using these protocols present serious problems for the implementation of real time agent based communication in office buildings. A solution to these problems is proposed

Using Funds of Knowledge to Identify Gifts and Talents: The Role of Home Visits

This paper argues that home visits can play a critical role in identifying gifts and talents of bilingual students through students' funds of knowledge. Underrepresentation of students who are culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD), particularly bilingual children, in gifted programs has been a long-term concern in education. One problem of underrepresentation of bilingual students in gifted education is rooted in teacher under referrals of bilingual children for screening. Bilingual students exhibit gifted characteristics in differing ways than their peers from non-diverse backgrounds (Esquierdo & Arreguin-Anderson, 2012). Students' funds of knowledge frame their patterns of learning, knowing, and doing around their unique cultural and linguistic experiences and can serve as a valuable resource in the gifted and talented screening process. The purpose of the paper is to promote the use of home visits as an alternative talent screening approach to assist teachers in the identification of bilingual students' potential characteristics of giftedness through students' funds of knowledge

Evaluation of the new turkish penal law regarding to environmental crimes

In this study, theNewTurkish Penal Law is evaluated in terms of it's implications on protecting and preserving the environment. It is clear that the New Turkish Penal Law contains significant revisions compare to the Former Turkish Penal Law. However, the New Turkish Penal Law appears to be incompatible with the Turkish Constitutional Law. In addition, the punishments and penalties proposed for environmental crimes may be insufficient to protect and to improve the environment.Arastırmada farklı boyutlarıyla kamuoyunda tartısılan Yeni Türk Ceza Kanunu; çevrenin korunması ve gelistirilmesi baglamında incelenmis, yaptırımları, çevre üzerindeki olası etkileri yönüyle degerlendirilmis ve öneriler olusturulmustur. Yürürlükteki Anayasa ve yasalarla olan iliskileri baglamında detaylı yorumların yapıldıgı arastırmanın bulguları Yeni Türk Ceza Kanununun Eski Türk Ceza Kanununa kıyasla yenilikler içerdigini ancak bütüncül bir yaklasımdan uzak oldugunu ve yaptırımlarının çevrenin korunması ve gelistirilmesinde yetersiz kalacagını ortaya koymaktadır

Ipsilateral olecranon and distal radius fracture: A case report

WOS: 000397094300056PubMed ID: 25544490INTRODUCTION: Concomitant ipsilateral olecranon and distal radius fracture are rare injuries. Their clinical presentation is unusual and investigation and management is poorly described. PRESENTATION OF CASE: We present a 55-year-old woman patient who fell off sustaining a concomitant distal radius and olecranon fracture in the same extremity. On examination, there was gross swelling of the proximal and distal forearm and no neurovascular deficit. Radiographs confirmed distal radius and olecranon fracture. Patient was treated with open reduction and anatomic locking plate for olecranon and a closed reduction percuteneous K wire fixation with penning fixator for distal radius fracture. After physical therapy program, functional results were good and DASH score was 60. DISCUSSION: Several different combinations of fracture with dislocation have been described, but, to our knowledge, concurrent ipsilateral olecranon and distal radius fracture has not been reported before. In the literature review there are two similar cases in the English literature. CONCLUSION: Ipsilateral olecranon and distal radius fracture is a very rare injury due to different trauma mechanisms. However we should keep in mind that there may be adjacent joints and structures for concomitant injuries

Dužinsko-maseni i dužinsko-dužinski odnos za 21 vrstu riba ulovljenih u Izmirskom zaljevu

This study exhibits relationships between length-weight and length-length for 21 fish species caught in Izmir Bay. Coefficients a and b for the length-weight relationships (LWRs) and length-length relationships (LLRs) were calculated with W=aLb formulae and as equations of TL=a+bFL and TL=a+bSL respectively. Equations of length-length for converting standard length and fork length into total length and vice versa were proven linear. The involved relationships were significantly interrelated (R2>0.942). Values b in the LWRs varied from 2.21 to 3.96 (mean ± SE: 3.15 ± 0.08). The student’s t-test showed that 87.9% of values b were significantly different from 3.U ovom radu se prikazuje povezanost dužinsko-masenog odnosa i dužinsko-dužinskog odnosa za 21 vrstu riba ulovljenih u Izmirskom zaljevu. Koeficijenti a i b za odnos dužinsko-masenog (LWR) i odnos dužinsko-dužinskog (LLR) izračunati su s formulama W = a/b i kao jednadžbom TL = a + bFL i TL = a + bSL. Jednadžbe za pretvaranja standardne duljine i vilične duljine u ukupnu duljinu i obrnuto, pokazale su se linearnima. Uključeni odnosi bili su značajno međusobno povezani (R2> 0,942). Vrijednosti b u LWR varirale su od 2,21 do 3,96 (srednja vrijednost ± SE: 3,15 ± 0,08). Stu-dentov t-test pokazao je da se 87,9% vrijednosti b značajno razlikuje od 3

MITF-MIR211 axis is a novel autophagy amplifier system during cellular stress

Macroautophagy (autophagy) is an evolutionarily conserved recycling and stress response mechanism. Active at basal levels in eukaryotes, autophagy is upregulated under stress providing cells with building blocks such as amino acids. A lysosome-integrated sensor system composed of RRAG GTPases and MTOR complex 1 (MTORC1) regulates lysosome biogenesis and autophagy in response to amino acid availability. Stress-mediated inhibition of MTORC1 results in the dephosphorylation and nuclear translocation of the TFE/MITF family of transcriptional factors, and triggers an autophagy- and lysosomal-related gene transcription program. The role of family members TFEB and TFE3 have been studied in detail, but the importance of MITF proteins in autophagy regulation is not clear so far. Here we introduce for the first time a specific role for MITF in autophagy control that involves upregulation of MIR211. We show that, under stress conditions including starvation and MTOR inhibition, a MITF-MIR211 axis constitutes a novel feed-forward loop that controls autophagic activity in cells. Direct targeting of the MTORC2 component RICTOR by MIR211 led to the inhibition of the MTORC1 pathway, further stimulating MITF translocation to the nucleus and completing an autophagy amplification loop. In line with a ubiquitous function, MITF and MIR211 were co-expressed in all tested cell lines and human tissues, and the effects on autophagy were observed in a cell-type independent manner. Thus, our study provides direct evidence that MITF has rate-limiting and specific functions in autophagy regulation. Collectively, the MITF-MIR211 axis constitutes a novel and universal autophagy amplification system that sustains autophagic activity under stress conditions.No sponso

The impact of low molecular weight heparin on obstetric outcomes among unexplained recurrent miscarriages complicated with methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene polymorphism

Objectives: The association between methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene polymorphisms and unexplained recurrent miscarriage is elusive. The recommendations for improving pregnancy outcomes in these patients keep changing based on the available evidence. The aim of this study is to analyze the impact of low molecular weight heparin on obstetric outcomes of recurrent miscarriage patients complicated with methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene polymorphism. Material and methods: We reviewed medical records of 121 patients with a history of recurrent miscarriage complicated by methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene polymorphisms, retrospectively. From among them, 68 patients were treated only with folic acid and iron. The remaining 53 patients were treated with folic acid, iron and prophylactic doses of low molecular weight heparin. The subsequent pregnancy outcomes of these patients were noted. Results: The live birth rate was higher in patients with anticoagulant therapy than in patients without anticoagulant therapy (48.5% vs. 69.8%, respectively, p: 0.015) and the congenital anomaly rate was lower in anticoagulant therapy group (17.6% vs. 3.8%, respectively, p: 0.022). The other obstetric outcomes were found to be similar between the two groups. Conclusions: The current study demonstrated that low molecular weight heparin improved the live birth rates among unex­plained recurrent miscarriage patients complicated with methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene polymorphisms. How­ever, the routine use of low molecular weight heparin did not improve the late pregnancy complications in these selected patients in the eastern region of our country. Further studies are needed to discriminate the effect of anticoagulation on the live birth rate of each of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene polymorphism type

Design Manufacture and Performance Test of a Reciprocating Refrigeration Compressor

The first generation of refrigeration compressors is reciprocating type compressors, the second generation is scroll type, and the third generation is screw type compressors that are available on the market. Although the need of semi-hermetic refrigeration compressor in Turkey market is 15000 per year, there is no any domestic manufacturer of semi-hermetic refrigeration compressor, and consequently Turkey imports all of the refrigeration compressors from abroad market. In this study, the performance and the manufacturing processes of the semi-hermetic refrigeration compressor that is designed and manufactured with a hundred percent of domestic opportunities are investigated. The performance tests of the compressor are done, the catalogue of the compressor is prepared and it is 12 % more efficient in comparison with equivalent European one

Effects of gestational and lactational exposure to low dose mercury chloride (HgCl2) on behaviour, learning and hearing thresholds in WAG/Rij rats

We investigated the effects of inorganic mercury exposure during gestational/lactational periods on the behaviour, learning and hearing functions in a total of 32, 5-week-old and 5-month-old WAG/Rij rats (equally divided into 4 groups as 5-week and 5-month control mercury exposure groups). We evaluated the rats in terms of locomotor activity (LA), the Morris-water-maze (MWM) test and the passive avoidance (PA) test to quantify learning and memory performance; we used distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) tests to evaluate hearing ability. There were no significant differences between the 5-week-old rat groups in LA, and we detected a significant difference (p < 0.05) in the HgCl2-treated group in PA, MWM and DPOAE tests compared with the control group. The HgCl2-treated 5-week-old group exhibited worse emotional memory performance in PA, worse spatial learning and memory performances in MWM. There were no significant differences between the groups of 5-month-old rats in LA, MWM or PA. However, the DPOAE tests worsened in the mid- and high-frequency hearing thresholds. The HgCl2-treated 5-month-old group exhibited the most hearing loss of all groups. Our results convey that mercury exposure in young rats may worsen learning and memory performances as well as hearing at high-frequency levels. While there was no statistically significant difference in the behavior and learning tests in adult rats, the DPOAE test produced poorer results. Early detection of effects of mercury exposure provides medicals team with an opportunity to determinate treatment regimens and mitigate ototoxicity. DPOAE test can be used in clinical and experimental research investigating heavy metal ototoxicity