Sustainable refurbishment solutions for high-rise residential buildings in subtropical areas

Conference Theme: Mass Customisation and Sustainability in HousingBuilding maintenance and refurbishment has become a particular concern in developed economies, as there are many old buildings in urban areas. While various refurbishment methods have been developed for the purpose of sustainable development, these refurbishment approaches are designed for specific climatic condition and building characteristic. Until now, there is not much suggestion on which sustainable refurbishment methods are more suitable for subtropical areas like Hong Kong. This paper aims to bridge this gap by developing a set of sustainable refurbishment methods applicable to high-rise residential buildings in Hong Kong. The research begins by a comprehensive literature review of the existing sustainable refurbishment methods. The results of literature review form the basis of a preliminary screening according to the local climate and buildings feature. Interviews with experienced industry experts are conducted in order to confirm the applicability of the proposed methods. Through the above studies, a list of sustainable refurbishment methods for subtropical regions as well as a set of principles for selecting refurbishment methods are identified. The results of this study should help owners and design team members identify sustainable refurbishment to maximise the chance of success.published_or_final_versio

Evaluation of Supplemental Energy Source for Grazing Stocker Cattle

Thirty-six steers grazing smooth bromegrass pastures were used to evaluate the effects of a supplemental energy source on available forage, grazing gains, subsequent finishing gains, and carcass characteristics. Supplementation treatments evaluated were: no supplement, a supplement with starch as the primary source of energy, and a supplement with fat as the primary source of energy. Supplements were formulated to provide the same quantity of protein and energy per head daily. Supplementation with the starchbased or fat-based supplement during the grazing phase resulted in higher (P \u3c 0.05) grazing gains than feeding no supplement. Supplementation during the grazing phase had no effect (P \u3e 0.05) on finishing gain, feed intake, and feed:gain. Steers supplemented with the starch-based supplement had greater (P \u3c 0.05) final finishing live weight and greater (P \u3c 0.05) hot carcass weight than those that received no supplement

Evaluation of Supplemental Energy Source for Grazing Stocker Cattle

A total of 108 steers grazing smooth bromegrass pastures were used to evaluate the effects of supplemental energy source on available forage, grazing gains, subsequent finishing gains, and carcass characteristics in 2014, 2015, and 2016. Supplementation treatments evaluated were: no supplement, a supplement with starch as the primary source of energy, and a supplement with fat as the primary source of energy. Supplements were formulated to provide the same quantity of protein and energy per head daily. Supplementation with the starch-based or fat-based supplement during the grazing phase resulted in higher (P \u3c 0.05) grazing gains than feeding no supplement during all three years. In 2014 and 2016, grazing gains of steers supplemented with the starch-based or fat-based supplement were similar (P \u3e 0.05). In 2015, steers supplemented with the fat-based supplement had greater (P \u3c 0.05) grazing gains than those that received the starch-based supplement. In 2014, supplementation during the grazing phase had no effect (P \u3e 0.05) on finishing gain, feed intake, and feed:gain. Steers supplemented with the starch-based supplement had greater (P \u3c 0.05) final finishing liveweight, and greater (P \u3c 0.05) hot carcass weight than those that received no supplement. In 2015, steers fed the fat-based supplement had higher (P \u3c 0.05) final finishing liveweight, greater (P \u3c 0.05) hot carcass weight, and lower (P \u3c 0.05) finishing gain than those supplemented with the starch-based supplement or fed no supplement

Evaluation of Supplemental Energy Source for Grazing Stocker Cattle

Seventy-two steers grazing smooth bromegrass pastures were used to evaluate the effects of supplemental energy source on available forage, grazing gains, subsequent finishing gains, and carcass characteristics in 2014 and 2015. Supplementation treatments evaluated were: no supplement, a supplement with starch as the primary source of energy, and a supplement with fat as the primary source of energy. Supplements were formulated to provide the same quantity of protein and energy per head daily. Supplementation with the starch-based or fat-based supplement during the grazing phase resulted in higher (P \u3c 0.05) grazing gains than feeding no supplement during both years. In 2015, steers supplemented with the fat-based supplement had greater (P \u3c 0.05) grazing gains than those that received the starch-based supplement. In 2014, supplementation during the grazing phase had no effect (P \u3e 0.05) on finishing gain, feed intake, and feed:gain. Steers supplemented with the starch-based supplement had greater (P \u3c 0.05) final finishing liveweight, and greater (P \u3c 0.05) hot carcass weight than those that received no supplement. In 2015, steers supplemented with the fat-based supplement had higher (P \u3c 0.05) final finishing liveweight and hot carcass weight and lower (P \u3c 0.05) finishing gain than those supplemented with the starch-based supplement or fed no supplement

Evidence-informed health policy: are we beginning to get there at last

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

A novel shading analysis method for PV systems using sun path plots and high resolution performance data

This paper presents a technique for identifying and quantifying shading losses in PV systems. Five minute interval monitored data from domestic UK PV systems is used to assess the effects of trees and other shading objects on annual energy generation. Poor performance is identified from the relationship between in-plane irradiance and performance ratio. Shading events are identified by plotting the occurrences of poor performance on a ‘sun path plot’ of solar azimuth and elevation axes. Poor performance which concentrates about particular sun positions is identified as shading. Once identified, the energy loss due to shading is quantified

Using MODIS to detect cropping frequency variation in mechanized agriculture in Amazonia.

Policy makers concerned with managing rapidly developing agriculture on the Amazon frontier currently have no Basin-wide spatial and temporal information on exactly when and how soubean and other mechanized annual cropping have developed in the region. To address this, we present a reliminary evaluation of the use of moderate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 250 m vegetation index (VI) time-series data to detect croppping frequency in two municipalities, Vilhena, Rondônia, and Santarém, Pará

Seasonal changes in water quality and Sargassum biomass in southwest Australia

Sargassum C. Agardh is one of the most diverse genera of marine macro-algae and commonly inhabits shallow tropical and sub-tropical waters. This study aimed to investigate the effect of seasonality and the associated water quality changes on the distribution, canopy cover, mean thallus length and the biomass of Sargassum beds around Point Peron, Shoalwater Islands Marine Park, Southwest Australia. Samples of Sargassum and seawater were collected every three months from summer 2012 to summer 2014 from four different reef zones. A combination of in situ observations and WorldView-2 satellite remote-sensing images were used to map the spatial distribution of Sargassum beds and other associated benthic habitats. The results demonstrated a strong seasonal variation in the environmental parameters, canopy cover, mean thallus length, and biomass of Sargassum, which were significantly (P < 0.05) influenced by the nutrient concentration (PO43-, NO3-, NH4+) and rainfall. However, no variation in any studied parameter was observed among the four reef zones. The highest Sargassum biomass peaks occurred between late spring and early summer (from September to January). The results provide essential information to guide effective conservation and management, as well as sustainable utilisation of this coastal marine renewable resource

Adaptive carbon export response to warming in the Sargasso Sea

Ocean ecosystem models predict that warming and increased surface ocean stratification will trigger a series of ecosystem events, reducing the biological export of particulate carbon to the ocean interior. We present a nearly three-decade time series from the open ocean that documents a biological response to ocean warming and nutrient reductions wherein particulate carbon export is maintained, counter to expectations. Carbon export is maintained through a combination of phytoplankton community change to favor cyanobacteria with highcellular carbon-to-phosphorus ratios and enhanced shallow phosphorus recycling leading to increased nutrient use efficiency. These results suggest that surface ocean ecosystems may be more responsive and adapt more rapidly to changes in the hydrographic system than is currently envisioned in earth ecosystem models, with positive consequences for ocean carbon uptake

Using MODIS to detect cropping frequency variation in mechanized agriculture in Amazonia.

Policy makers concerned with managing rapidly developing agriculture on the Amazon frontier currently have no Basin-wide spatial and temporal information on exactly when and how soubean and other mechanized annual cropping have developed in the region. To address this, we present a reliminary evaluation of the use of moderate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 250 m vegetation index (VI) time-series data to detect croppping frequency in two municipalities, Vilhena, Rondônia, and Santarém, Pará