Optimal Control Strategies for Passive Heating and Cooling Elements Reduce Loads by Two-Thirds in the Adaptive Reuse of a San Francisco Bay Area Office

Housing crises in urban centers and growing climate concerns are encouraging city planners and building owners to explore the conversion of commercial buildings into energy-efcient dwellings. Passive solar heating, shading, and natural ventilation are attractive in such adaptive reuse projects since they minimize operational energy, but they sufer from the perception of limited efectiveness, and passive heating is ofen disregarded entirely in cloudy climates. At the same time, passive heating has recently shown promise in the cloudy winters of western Oregon and upstate New York, allowing the San Francisco Bay area to provide an excellent opportunity for further exploration. Passive cooling measures, in turn, are essential to prevent overheating. Tis work investigates the conversion of a brick ofce space in Berkeley, CA into a residential lof, using movable insulation, operable windows, thermal mass, and shading to diminish the need for mechanical conditioning to the extent possible. To determine this extent, preliminary explorations in EnergyPlus were followed by Hooke-Jeeves and particle-swarm optimizations of control thresholds, following feld-validated techniques for passive heating and cooling simulation. Optimized parameters included skylight tilt; schedules for movable insulation, shading, and natural ventilation; and thermal mass quantity, each required to minimize annual sensible heating and cooling energy while maintaining adaptive thermal comfort. With optimal control, over half of the heating need could be met by passive solar collection and storage; likewise, most cooling (~80%) could be accomplished passively if shading and natural ventilation were well-controlled. Without these controls, most of the beneft was lost. We therefore propose replacing the term “passive” with “well-controlled passive” to refect the importance of controls in sensing conditions and adjusting movable elements to maximize the performance of these systems

A study on the modeling for obesity

This study primarily aims to develop an Agent Based Model (ABM) that can simulate the obesity rates based on statistical analysis and to find out how obesity is affected by risk factors in a Canadian environment. As obesity can have many causes, it is assumed that various risk factors, not just a decisive one, have an influence on obesity and they interact with one another. Therefore, unlike most previous studies, I approached the obesity problem as a Complex -Adaptive System (CAS). The data used for this study was provided by Statistics Canada, and the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS). This survey is a cross-sectional survey that collects self-reported information related to health status, health care utilization, and health determinants for the Canadian population. To build the Obesity ABM, it is necessary to find out which risk factors are closely associated with obesity and to what extent they interact with one another. Twelve categories of factors that are expected to influence the obesity rate were chosen on the basis of the related works. Through the statistical data analysis carried out, the main factors and variables for obesity were identified and their respective mathematical relationships obtained. From this, two categories that have several sub-factors for the obesity model were chosen. I implemented statistical data analysis on the CCHS dataset to see the interrelationship among the factors. Also, I implemented a year-to-year analysis that can show how people change their obesity status each year. Based on the data analysis result, I defined rules for how each risk factor changes each year. These rules are applied to the obesity model using NetLogo. The architecture of obesity model implementation consists of three main parts: The population module, the risk factor module, and the results module. Performance evaluation was conducted to examine whether the obesity model can simulate the obesity rate. For this evaluation, the data of CCHS from 2009 to 2014 and the result of the obesity model which is generated by simulation are compared. Model calibration was executed to fit the actual data to the model test result. The result of the model test shows that the percentage error is less than 5%. This means that the obesity model has high validity in predicting obesity for each risk factor. The obesity ABM is a useful tool to find out the risk factors related to obesity and their relationships in the Canadian population. Thus, this model can potentially assist to improve obesity management at various levels. At the individual level, everyone can find what kinds of strategies are best fit to improve her/his physical condition. Also, at a government or community level, it could help develop policies for people to continue to implement these strategies well. This will lead to reducing the associated social costs and help to promote national health.Master of Science in Applied Computer Scienc

Scaled boundary FEM :methodology development and applications for offshore wave diffraction

PhD ThesisMany offshore structures have been installed to harvest resources in the ocean. These large structures undergo several experimental and numerical tests before they are constructed. A reliable and efficient analysis tool is therefore crucial to this industry. Many methods have been introduced; each offering different advantages while providing the solution, as well as suffering from certain limitations. The scaled boundary finite element method (SBFEM) was developed to solve engineering problems. This particular method combines the advantages of two commonly used methods in the offshore industry, the Finite Element Method (FEM) and the Boundary Element Method (BEM), making it a suitable semi-analytical approach that requires less computational time while satisfying the boundary condition at infinity. Several attempts at using this method to solve the hydrodynamic problem have been executed with great success. However, there is still much room for further development. The first part of this thesis discusses further application of the two-dimensional SBFEM, using the proposed advantages by manipulating the position of the scaling centre to solve for more complex geometry. This methodology has also been extended with an integrated model to evaluate the wave-structure-soil interaction examining offshore monopile deflection. The second part of this thesis develops a three-dimensional (3D) SBFEM model. General formulations in the Scaled Boundary coordinates for the 3D SBFEM model have been developed and are presented in detail. Case studies have been carried out demonstrating the validity and efficiency of the 3D model. These developments are important in allowing extended usage of the methodology to solve more complex problems such as wave interaction with floating offshore structures. Due to its clear advantages in computational efficiency and accuracy, the extended SBFEM model can be applied to engineering problems in hydrodynamic analysis for more complex wave-structure interaction in the offshore industry

IP-10/CXCL10 induction in human pancreatic cancer stroma influences lymphocytes recruitment and correlates with poor survival

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is characterized by an abundant desmoplastic reaction driven by pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) that contributes to tumor progression. Here we sought to characterize the interactions between pancreatic cancer cells (PCCs) and PSCs that affect the inflammatory and immune response in pancreatic tumors. Conditioned media from mono- and cocultures of PSCs and PCCs were assayed for expression of cytokines and growth factors. IP-10/CXCL10 was the most highly induced chemokine in coculture of PSCs and PCCs. Its expression was induced in the PSCs by PCCs. IP-10 was elevated in human PDAC specimens, and positively correlated with high stroma content. Furthermore, gene expression of IP-10 and its receptor CXCR3 were significantly associated with the intratumoral presence of regulatory T cells (Tregs). In an independent cohort of 48 patients with resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, high IP-10 expression levels correlated with decreased median overall survival. Finally, IP-10 stimulated the ex vivo recruitment of CXCR3+ effector T cells as well as CXCR3+ Tregs derived from patients with PDAC. Our findings suggest that, in pancreatic cancer, CXCR3+ Tregs can be recruited by IP-10 expressed by PSCs in the tumor stroma, leading to immunosuppressive and tumor-promoting effects

Far-IR Excited OH Lines from Orion KL Outflows

Accepted in ApJ letters, 2006 March 2As part of the first far-IR line survey towards Orion KL, we present the detection of seven new rotationally excited OH Lambda-doublets (at 48, 65, 71, 79, 98 and 115 um). Observations were performed with the Long Wavelength Spectrometer (LWS) Fabry-Perots on board the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO). In total, more than 20 resolved OH rotational lines, with upper energy levels up to 620 K, have been detected at an angular and velocity resolutions of 80$'' and 33 km s^-1 respectively. OH line profiles show a complex behavior evolving from pure absorption, P-Cygni type to pure emission. We also present a large scale 6' declination raster in the OH ^2\Pi_3/2 J=5/2^+-3/2^- and ^2\Pi_3/2 J=7/2^-5/2^+ lines (at 119.441 and 84.597 um) revealing the decrease of excitation outside the core of the cloud. From the observed profiles, mean intrinsic line widths and velocity offsets between emission and absorption line peaks we conclude that most of the excited OH arises from Orion outflow(s), i.e. the ``plateau'' component. We determine an averaged OH abundance relative to H_2 of X(OH)=(0.5-1.0)x10^-6, a kinetic temperature of 100 K and a density of n(H_2)=5x10^5 cm^-3. Even with these conditions, the OH excitation is heavily coupled with the strong dust continuum emission from the inner hot core regions and from the expanding flow itself.Peer reviewe

The Water Vapor Abundance in Orion KL Outflows

We present the detection and modeling of more than 70 far-IR pure rotational lines of water vapor, including the 18O and 17O isotopologues, towards Orion KL. Observations were performed with the Long Wavelength Spectrometer Fabry-Perot (LWS/FP; R~6800-9700) on board the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) between ~43 and ~197 um. The water line profiles evolve from P-Cygni type profiles (even for the H2O18 lines) to pure emission at wavelengths above ~100 um. We find that most of the water emission/absorption arises from an extended flow of gas expanding at 25+-5 kms^-1. Non-local radiative transfer models show that much of the water excitation and line profile formation is driven by the dust continuum emission. The derived beam averaged water abundance is 2-3x10^-5. The inferred gas temperature Tk=80-100 K suggests that: (i) water could have been formed in the "plateau" by gas phase neutral-neutral reactions with activation barriers if the gas was previously heated (e.g. by shocks) to >500 K and/or (ii) H2O formation in the outflow is dominated by in-situ evaporation of grain water-ice mantles and/or (iii) H2O was formed in the innermost and warmer regions (e.g. the hot core) and was swept up in ~1000 yr, the dynamical timescale of the outflow.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ letters [2006 August 7] (5 pages 2, figures, not edited

Factors that influence the effectiveness of online advertising in enhancing consumer's purchase intention among young adults in Malaysia

The advertising industry is seeing growth for online advertising, where it has now exceeded the performance of TV advertising. However, the advertising industry in Malaysia still relies heavily on traditional forms of advertising. This paper therefore aims to determine the factors that might affect the effectiveness of online advertising in enhancing consumers' purchase intention. As young adults are more exposed to online advertising as compared to other age groups, convenience sampling is applied to approach Millennials around the city areas of Malaysia. A sample size of 300 respondents is selected for this study to ensure that the data accuracy is acceptable. Furthermore, the hierarchy of effects model and the source credibility theory are applied to study the effects of online advertising towards young adults in Malaysia. The results show that there are significant relationships between the advertising appeal (emotional), credibility of endorser, and the exposure rate of online advertisements with consumers' purchase intention. However, it was found that the creativity of online advertisements does not have a relationship with consumers' purchase intention. This study helps local marketers and advertisers to strategize more effective online advertising campaigns that better attract the attention of young adults and influence their purchase intention

Multiple Kinases Can Phosphorylate the N-Terminal Sequences of Mitochondrial Proteins in Arabidopsis thaliana

Phosphorylation of the transit peptides of nuclear-encoded preprotein is a well-known regulatory process of protein import in plant chloroplasts. In the Arabidopsis Protein Phosphorylation Site Database, 103 out of 802 mitochondrial proteins were found to contain one or more experimentally proven phosphorylation sites in their first 60 amino acid residues. Analysis of the N-terminal sequences of selected mitochondrial preproteins and their homologs from 64 plant species showed high conservation among phosphorylation sites. The ability of kinases from various sources including leaf extract (LE), root extract (RE), wheat germ lysate (WGL), and STY kinases to phosphorylate N-terminal sequences of several respiratory chain proteins were examined by in vitro kinase assays. The three STY kinases were shown to phosphorylate the N-terminal sequences of some proteins we tested but exhibited different specificities. Interestingly, the N-terminal sequences of two mitochondrial ATP synthase beta subunit 1/3 (pF1 beta-1/3) could be phosphorylated by LE and RE but not by STY kinases, suggesting that there are uncharacterized presequence-phosphorylating kinases other than STY kinases present in RE and LE. Mitochondrial import studies showed that the import of RRL-synthesized pF1 beta s was impeded by the treatment of LE, and the addition of a short SSU transit peptide containing a phosphorylatable 14-3-3 binding site could enhance the import of LE-treated pF1 beta s. Our results suggested that the transit peptide of pSSU can compete with the presequences of pF1 beta s for an uncharacterized kinase(s) in leaf. Altogether, our data showed that phosphorylation of transit peptides/presequences are not uncommon for chloroplast-targeted and mitochondria-targeted proteins, albeit possibly differentially regulated

Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine implementation in middle-income countries

Since 2000, the widespread adoption of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) has had a major impact in the prevention of pneumonia. Limited access to international financial support means some middle-income countries (MICs) are trailing in the widespread use of PCVs. We review the status of PCV implementation, and discuss any needs and gaps related to low levels of PCV implementation in MICs, with analysis of possible solutions to strengthen the PCV implementation process in MICs

Blue Carbon Science, Management and Policy Across a Tropical Urban Landscape

The ability of vegetated coastal ecosystems to sequester high rates of “blue” carbon over millennial time scales has attracted the interest of national and international policy makers as a tool for climate change mitigation. Whereas focus on blue carbon conservation has been mostly on threatened rural seascapes, there is scope to consider blue carbon dynamics along highly fragmented and developed urban coastlines. The tropical city state of Singapore is used as a case study of urban blue carbon knowledge generation, how blue carbon changes over time with urban development, and how such knowledge can be integrated into urban planning alongside municipal and national climate change obligations. A systematic review of blue carbon studies in Singapore was used to support a qualitative review of Singapore’s blue carbon ecosystems, carbon budget, changes through time and urban planning and policy. Habitat loss across all blue carbon ecosystems is coarsely estimated to have resulted in the release of ∼12.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide since the beginning of the 20th century. However, Singapore’s remaining blue carbon ecosystems still store an estimated 568,971 – 577,227 tonnes of carbon (equivalent to 2.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide) nationally, with a small proportion of initial loss offset by habitat restoration. Carbon is now a key topic on the urban development and planning agenda, as well as nationally through Singapore’s contributions to the Paris Agreement. The experiences of Singapore show that coastal ecosystems and their blue carbon stocks can be successfully managed along an urban coastline, and can help inform blue carbon science and management along other rapidly urbanizing coastlines throughout the tropics