Heat metering: socio-technical challenges in district-heated social housing

Individual heat metering and charging (IMC) are seen as promising methods to reduce domestic heating and hot water use through the provision of financial incentives. The heat consumption measured by meters is influenced by both the dwelling characteristics and the behaviour of the occupant, but heating charges would ideally relate to occupant behaviour only. This dilemma can be especially relevant under two circumstances: if the thermal performance of the dwelling is poor and/or if heating costs represent a substantial part of the occupants’ income, i.e. in social housing. The case of a district-heated council block in London is presented where the installation of individual heat meters was planned in 2010 but had to be suspended due to concerns about implications for occupant heating costs in light of the thermal performance of the building. It illustrates a technically and socially complex environment where fairness in allocating heating costs is an important concern. The case also shows how lack of funding or other issues on the infrastructure side can hinder behaviour-orientated measures such as IMC. A holistic energy conservation strategy addressing both physical building properties and occupant behaviour is therefore essential and should be supported by policy

Deciphering the role of Epstein-Barr virus in the pathogenesis of T and NK cell lymphoproliferations

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a highly successful herpesvirus, colonizing more than 90% of the adult human population worldwide, although it is also associated with various malignant diseases. Primary infection is usually clinically silent, and subsequent establishment of latency in the memory B lymphocyte compartment allows persistence of the virus in the infected host for life. EBV is so markedly B-lymphotropic when exposed to human lymphocytes in vitro that the association of EBV with rare but distinct types of T and NK cell lymphoproliferations was quite unexpected. Whilst relatively rare, these EBV-associated T and NK lymphoproliferations can be therapeutically challenging and prognosis for the majority of patients is dismal. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge on the role of EBV in the pathogenesis of these tumours, and the implications for treatment. \ud \u

How to support growth with less energy

There is considerable potential to support growth with less use of primary energy and lower carbon emissions. This can be achieved through technical solutions (existing and new), as well as behavioural change. The goal of securing growth with lower carbon emissions is just one of several strategic goals that need to be satisfied. Of the others, the need to develop alternatives to an energy system heavily dependent on oil and natural gas and to maintain security of energy supply are likely to be the most important. The strategic goals are to achieve major reductions in the energy intensity of transport, buildings in use, and to achieve corresponding reductions in energy intensity of the major building materials. Key challenges associated with these strategic goals include: • the development of technologies to produce carbon-free cement, carbon-free steel, carbon-free glass • enabling infrastructural developments that provide a framework for a wide range of low-carbon technologies and increase energy diversity and security of supply • identification of key energy-efficiency tipping points and the construction of technology policy • development of methane-fired modular fuel cells • improved capabilities to model whole energy systems, i.e. adequately modelling both demand and supply, social/economic as well as technical, and assessing the impact outside of the UK system boundary • better low-carbon planning and improved co-ordination of planning, building control and other policy tools • better monitoring and feedback on the real performance of energy efficient technologies. The implication of the Energy White Paper goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 60% by 2050 is a six-fold reduction in the carbon intensity of the UK economy. In the longer run, it is clear that we will move towards a carbon-free economy. Within this transition, developments in supply, distribution and end-use technologies will be multiplicative, while action to constrain demand growth is crucial to the rate of the overall transition

Understanding Disaster Risk on Volcanic Islands: a research agenda

April 11-13, 200

Twilight Intensity Variation of the Infrared Hydroxyl Airglow

The vibration rotation bands of the hydroxyl radical are the strongest features in the night airglow and are exceeded in intensity in the dayglow only by the infrared atmospheric bands of oxygen. The variation of intensity during evening twilight is discussed. Using a ground-based Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS), hydroxyl intensity measurements as early as 3 deg solar depression were made. Models of the twilight behavior show that this should be sufficient to provide measurement of the main portion of the twilight intensity change. The instrument was equipped with a liquid nitrogen-cooled germanium detector whose high sensitivity combined with the efficiency of the FTS technique permits spectra of the region 1.1 to 1.6 microns at high signal-to-noise to be obtained in two minutes. The use of a polarizer at the entrance aperture of the instrument reduces the intensity of scattered sunlight by a factor of at least ten for zenith observations

Hemostatic function and progressing ischemic stroke: D-dimer predicts early clinical progression

<p><b>Background and Purpose:</b> Early clinical progression of ischemic stroke is common and is associated with increased risk of death and dependency. We hypothesized that activation of the coagulation system is an important contributor in some cases of deterioration. We aimed to characterize alterations in circulating hemostatic markers in patients with progressing stroke.</p> <p><b>Methods:</b> Consecutive acute ischemic stroke admissions were recruited. Progressing stroke was defined by deterioration in components of the Scandinavian Stroke Scale. Hemostatic markers (coagulation factors VIIc, VIIIc, and IXc, prothrombin fragments 1+2 [F1+2], thrombin-antithrombin complexes [TAT], D- dimer, fibrinogen, von Willebrand factor [vWF] and tissue plasminogen activator) were measured within 24 hours of symptom recognition.</p> <p><b>Results:</b> Fifty-four (25%) of the 219 patients met criteria for progressing stroke. F1+2 (median 1.28 versus 1.06 nmol/L, P=0.01), TAT (5.28 versus 4.07 mug/L, P lt 0.01), D-dimer ( 443 versus 194 ng/mL, P lt 0.001) and vWF (216 versus 198 IU/dL, P lt 0.05) levels were higher in these patients than in stable/improving patients. In logistic regression analysis, with all important clinical and laboratory variables included, only natural log D-dimer (odds ratio [OR]: 1.87; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.38 to 2.54; P=0.0001) and mean arterial blood pressure (OR: 1.26 per 10 mm Hg change; 95% CI: 1.05 to 1.51; P=0.01) remained independent predictors of progressing stroke.</p> <p><b>Conclusions:</b> There is evidence of excess thrombin generation and fibrin turnover in patients with progressing ischemic stroke. Measurement of D-dimer levels can identify patients at high risk for stroke progression. Further research is required to determine whether such patients benefit from acute interventions aimed at modifying hemostatic function.</p&gt

Dynamic trust models for ubiquitous computing environments

A significant characteristic of ubiquitous computing is the need for interactions of highly mobile entities to be secure: secure both for the entity and the environment in which the entity operates. Moreover, ubiquitous computing is also characterised by partial views over the state of the global environment, implying that we cannot guarantee that an environment can always verify the properties of the mobile entity that it has just received. Secure in this context encompasses both the need for cryptographic security and the need for trust, on the part of both parties, that the interaction is functioning as expected. In this paper we make a broad assumption that trust and cryptographic security can be considered as orthogonal concerns (i.e. an entity might encrypt a deliberately incorrect answer to a legitimate request). We assume the existence of reliable encryption techniques and focus on the characteristics of a model that supports the management of the trust relationships between two entities during an interaction in a ubiquitous environment

What can 14 CO measurements tell us about OH?

The possible use of 14CO measurements to constrain hydroxyl radical (OH) concentrations in the atmosphere is investigated. 14CO is mainly produced in the upper atmosphere from cosmic radiation. Measurements of 14CO at the surface show lower concentrations compared to the upper atmospheric source region, which is the result of oxidation by OH. In this paper, the sensitivity of 14CO mixing ratio surface measurements to the 3-D OH distribution is assessed with the TM5 model. Simulated 14CO mixing ratios agree within a few molecules 14CO cm¿3 (STP) with existing measurements at five locations worldwide. The simulated cosmogenic 14CO distribution appears mainly sensitive to the assumed upper atmospheric 14C source function, and to a lesser extend to model resolution. As a next step, the sensitivity of 14CO measurements to OH is calculated with the adjoint TM5 model. The results indicate that 14CO measurements taken in the tropics are sensitive to OH in a spatially confined region that varies strongly over time due to meteorological variability. Given measurements with an accuracy of 0.5 molecules 14CO cm¿3 STP, a good characterization of the cosmogenic 14CO fraction, and assuming perfect transport modeling, a single 14CO measurement may constrain OH to 0.2¿0.3×106 molecules OH cm¿3 on time scales of 6 months and spatial scales of 70×70 degrees (latitude×longitude) between the surface and 500 hPa. The sensitivity of 14CO measurements to high latitude OH is about a factor of five higher. This is in contrast with methyl chloroform (MCF) measurements, which show the highest sensitivity to tropical OH, mainly due to the temperature dependent rate constant of the MCF¿OH reaction. A logical next step will be the analysis of existing 14CO measurements in an inverse modeling framework. This paper presents the required mathematical framework for such an analysis