Energy-Efficient Building Retrofits: An Assessment of Regulatory Proposals under Uncertainty

Improving energy efficiency in European Union buildings will require retrofitting much of the existing stock due to limited new construction opportunities. Given uncertainty in energy prices and technology costs stemming from deregulation, a stochastic optimisation framework is desirable for long-term decision support. We synthesise treatment of uncertainty and risk management to obtain insights about the impact of retrofits on energy consumption, costs, CO2 emissions, and risk at real buildings in Austria and Spain. The optimal strategy for the Spanish site is to invest in photovoltaic and solar thermal technologies. This lowers expected costs by 8.5% and reduces expected primary energy consumption and CO2 emissions by 20% relative to using existing equipment. By limiting exposure to volatile energy prices, the strategy also yields a nearly 10% reduction in risk. We obtain similar results also for the Austrian site. Via this framework, tradeoffs among competing objectives and the effectiveness of proposed regulation may be assessed. Specifically, we find that more stringent restrictions on energy efficiency are economically viable if regulation also facilitates enhanced operational decision support for buildings. Indeed, primary energy consumption can be lowered only through more on-site generation such as combined heat and power, which is more complex for building managers to deploy

Pratique anesthésique à Lubumbashi: indications, types de chirurgie et types de patient

Introduction: Cette étude a pour objectif de décrire la pratique anesthésique dans un pays à faible revenu et où le plateau technique anesthésique est moins équipé. Méthodes: Une étude descriptive transversale a été menée durant l'année 2013. L'enquête a concerné les pratiques anesthésiques, les indications chirurgicales et les caractéristiques des malades. L'encodage et l'analyse des données ont été réalisées grâce aux logiciels Epi Info 3.5.3 et Excel 2010. Résultats: Nous avons enregistré 2358 patients dont l'âge médian était de 29 + 15 ans, avec 81,5% âgés de 11 à 50 ans. Parmi eux, 67,3% des malades étaient du sexe féminin. Dans ensemble, 62,5% de ces patients étaient pris en charge pour les interventions programmées. L'évaluation du risque anesthésique a montré que 91,9% des patients étaient de la classe ASA I et II. La chirurgie la plus pratiquée était viscérale (46,7%) suivie de la chirurgie gynéco-obstétricale (29,2%). Les différents types d'anesthésie étaient les suivants: anesthésie générale (87,6%), locorégionale (11,8%) et combinée (0,6%). Conclusion: La pratique anesthésique dans la population d'étude était dominée par l'anesthésie générale. Les malades étaient au trois quart de sexe féminin et de la classe ASA I et II. Les résultats de cette étude indiquent la nécessité d'évaluer l'issue de cette pratique. La pratique anesthésique à Lubumbashi est tributaire du plateau technique, es compétences du personnel et de l'acceptabilité du type d'anesthésie par les patients

HMM based scenario generation for an investment optimisation problem

This is the post-print version of the article. The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2012 Springer-Verlag.The Geometric Brownian motion (GBM) is a standard method for modelling financial time series. An important criticism of this method is that the parameters of the GBM are assumed to be constants; due to this fact, important features of the time series, like extreme behaviour or volatility clustering cannot be captured. We propose an approach by which the parameters of the GBM are able to switch between regimes, more precisely they are governed by a hidden Markov chain. Thus, we model the financial time series via a hidden Markov model (HMM) with a GBM in each state. Using this approach, we generate scenarios for a financial portfolio optimisation problem in which the portfolio CVaR is minimised. Numerical results are presented.This study was funded by NET ACE at OptiRisk Systems

EDUKASI KEPADA GENERASI MILENIAL DI SMAN 1 KUPANG BARAT, NTT, TENTANG TOLERANSI BERAGAMA MULTI PERSPEKTIF

Indonesia adalah negara majemuk. Kemajemukan ini tentu ada bukan tanpa konflik. Beberapa hasil penelitian mencatat bahwa terjadi masalah-masalah intoleran yang terjadi di Indonesia. Masalah-masalah intoleran tentu menjadi konsumsi masyarakat termasuk genesari milenial dalam memaknai keragaman yang sebenarnya adalah anugrah Tuhan Yang Maha Esa yang patut dirawat. Berdasarkan hal ini topic yang diangkat dalam Pengabdian ini yakni Mengayuh Bersama Generasi Milenial dalam Biduk Toleransi Beragama dari berbagai perspektif. Tujuan kegiatan ini agar meningkatkan pengetahuan peserta tentang toleransi beragama, menciptakan dan membangun komuniakasi antar peserta yang beragam suku maupun agama, menemukan komitmen peserta lewat aksi sebagai agen toleransi beragama dalam lingkungan mereka berada. Metode yang digunakan adalah seminar tentang toleransi beragama dari perspektif Pancasila, Islam, Kristen, Psikologi Sosial dan sharing life dalam diskusi panel. Hasil kegiatan terjadi peningkatan pemahanan peserta tentang toleransi beragama dilihat dari jumlah rata-rata pretest 70 dan posttest 98. Angket evaluasi yang dilakukan untuk mengukur kepuasan mitra terhadap kegiatan ini didapati presentasi 87% sangat setuju dan 13% setuju akan kegiatan pengabdian kepada masyarakat yang telah dilakukan. Presentase 90% sangat setuju dan 10 % setuju untuk berpartisipasi jika diadakan lagi kegiatan serupa

DJ-1 is a redox sensitive adapter protein for high molecular weight complexes involved in regulation of catecholamine homeostasis

DJ-1 is an oxidation sensitive protein encoded by the PARK7 gene. Mutations in PARK7 are a rare cause of familial recessive Parkinson’s disease (PD), but growing evidence suggests involvement of DJ-1 in idiopathic PD. The key clinical features of PD, rigidity and bradykinesia, result from neurotransmitter imbalance, particularly the catecholamines dopamine (DA) and noradrenaline. We report in human brain and human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cell lines that DJ-1 predominantly forms high molecular weight (HMW) complexes that included RNA metabolism proteins hnRNPA1 and PABP1 and the glycolysis enzyme GAPDH. In cell culture models the oxidation status of DJ-1 determined the specific complex composition. RNA sequencing indicated that oxidative changes to DJ-1 were concomitant with changes in mRNA transcripts mainly involved in catecholamine metabolism. Importantly, loss of DJ-1 function upon knock down (KD) or expression of the PD associated form L166P resulted in the absence of HMW DJ-1 complexes. In the KD model, the absence of DJ-1 complexes was accompanied by impairment in catecholamine homeostasis, with significant increases in intracellular DA and noraderenaline levels. These changes in catecholamines could be rescued by re-expression of DJ-1. This catecholamine imbalance may contribute to the particular vulnerability of dopaminergic and noradrenergic neurons to neurodegeneration in PARK7-related PD. Notably, oxidised DJ-1 was significantly decreased in idiopathic PD brain, suggesting altered complex function may also play a role in the more common sporadic form of the disease

Baccharis trimera (Carqueja) Improves metabolic and redox status in an experimental model of type 1 diabetes.

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder that causes severe complications due to the increased oxidative stress induced by disease. Many plants are popularly used in the treatment of diabetes, e.g., Baccharis trimera (carqueja). The aim of this study was to explore the potential application of the B. trimera hydroethanolic extract in preventing redox stress induced by diabetes and its hypoglycemic properties. Experiments were conducted with 48 female rats, divided into 6 groups, named C (control), C600 (control + extract 600 mg/kg), C1200 (control + extract 1200 mg/kg), D (diabetic), D600 (diabetic + 600 mg/kg), and D1200 (diabetic + 1200 mg/kg). Type 1 diabetes was induced with alloxan, and the animals presented hyperglycemia and reduction in insulin and body weight. After seven days of experimentation, the nontreated diabetic group showed changes in biochemical parameters (urea, triacylglycerol, alanine aminotransferase, and aspartate aminotransferase) and increased carbonyl protein levels. Regarding the antioxidant enzymes, an increase in superoxide dismutase activity was observed but in comparison a decrease in catalase and glutathione peroxidase activity was noted which suggests that diabetic rats suffered redox stress. In addition, the mRNA of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase enzymes were altered. Treatment of diabetic rats with B. trimera extract resulted in an improved glycemic profile and liver function, decreased oxidative damage, and altered the expression of mRNA of the antioxidants enzymes. These results together suggest that B. trimera hydroethanolic extract has a protective effect against diabetes

Familial hypercholesterolaemia in children and adolescents from 48 countries: a cross-sectional study

Background Approximately 450 000 children are born with familial hypercholesterolaemia worldwide every year, yet only 2·1% of adults with familial hypercholesterolaemia were diagnosed before age 18 years via current diagnostic approaches, which are derived from observations in adults. We aimed to characterise children and adolescents with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia (HeFH) and understand current approaches to the identification and management of familial hypercholesterolaemia to inform future public health strategies. Methods For this cross-sectional study, we assessed children and adolescents younger than 18 years with a clinical or genetic diagnosis of HeFH at the time of entry into the Familial Hypercholesterolaemia Studies Collaboration (FHSC) registry between Oct 1, 2015, and Jan 31, 2021. Data in the registry were collected from 55 regional or national registries in 48 countries. Diagnoses relying on self-reported history of familial hypercholesterolaemia and suspected secondary hypercholesterolaemia were excluded from the registry; people with untreated LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) of at least 13·0 mmol/L were excluded from this study. Data were assessed overall and by WHO region, World Bank country income status, age, diagnostic criteria, and index-case status. The main outcome of this study was to assess current identification and management of children and adolescents with familial hypercholesterolaemia. Findings Of 63 093 individuals in the FHSC registry, 11 848 (18·8%) were children or adolescents younger than 18 years with HeFH and were included in this study; 5756 (50·2%) of 11 476 included individuals were female and 5720 (49·8%) were male. Sex data were missing for 372 (3·1%) of 11 848 individuals. Median age at registry entry was 9·6 years (IQR 5·8–13·2). 10 099 (89·9%) of 11 235 included individuals had a final genetically confirmed diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolaemia and 1136 (10·1%) had a clinical diagnosis. Genetically confirmed diagnosis data or clinical diagnosis data were missing for 613 (5·2%) of 11 848 individuals. Genetic diagnosis was more common in children and adolescents from high-income countries (9427 [92·4%] of 10 202) than in children and adolescents from non-high-income countries (199 [48·0%] of 415). 3414 (31·6%) of 10 804 children or adolescents were index cases. Familial-hypercholesterolaemia-related physical signs, cardiovascular risk factors, and cardiovascular disease were uncommon, but were more common in non-high-income countries. 7557 (72·4%) of 10 428 included children or adolescents were not taking lipid-lowering medication (LLM) and had a median LDL-C of 5·00 mmol/L (IQR 4·05–6·08). Compared with genetic diagnosis, the use of unadapted clinical criteria intended for use in adults and reliant on more extreme phenotypes could result in 50–75% of children and adolescents with familial hypercholesterolaemia not being identified. Interpretation Clinical characteristics observed in adults with familial hypercholesterolaemia are uncommon in children and adolescents with familial hypercholesterolaemia, hence detection in this age group relies on measurement of LDL-C and genetic confirmation. Where genetic testing is unavailable, increased availability and use of LDL-C measurements in the first few years of life could help reduce the current gap between prevalence and detection, enabling increased use of combination LLM to reach recommended LDL-C targets early in life. Funding Pfizer, Amgen, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Sanofi–Aventis, Daiichi Sankyo, and Regeneron