Thermal Performance of an Electric-Driven Smart Window: Experiments in a Full-Scale Test Room and Simulation Model

This paper reports the results of experimental tests and numerical simulations aimed at evaluating the performance of an electric-driven smart window with respect to solar control in buildings. The experimental performances of the electric-driven smart window were evaluated using a south oriented full scale experimental facility designed and realized. The tests were carried out during the summer under real sky conditions upon varying the state of the electricdriven smart window (clear and milky). In the first part of the paper, the experimental results are discussed in terms of surface temperature of glazings as well as indoor air temperature in order to highlight the potential benefits on thermal comfort associated to the application of electric-driven smart windows. In the second part of this paper, the experimental data are compared to the numerical results generated through a simulation model of the electric-driven smart window in order to assess its reliability under different operating scenarios. Finally, the simulation model is used to quantify the potential cooling load reduction deriving from the integration of electric-driven smart windows in an office façade located in Naples (Italy)

Development of an Electric-Driven Smart Window Model for Visual Comfort Assessment

Smart windows, especially those electric-driven, represent one of the most advanced technologies for controlling solar radiation. For a correct use, it is necessary to understand their real behaviour through in-situ measurements on full-scale application as well as calibrating and validating visual simulation models capable of predicting their performances. In this paper, the preliminary results of current research activities aimed at developing simulation models of electric-driven full-scale glazing are presented. The research activities started with the assessment of the visible solar transmittance as a function of light incident angle through in-situ measurements; different models, with related values, of the visible solar transmittance were considered. For each simulation model, the corresponding transmittance value was set in the RADIANCE “trans” material model and the simulated illuminance values, for a defined acquisition point of a test-facility, were then compared with the experimental data. Finally, for each model, indoor luminance distributions were reported considering a typical office seating position. Preliminary results, based on the in-situ measurements approach, highlighted a sufficient accuracy for one of the models adopted; further analyses are needed in order to upgrade the simulation models available and assess the effective performances of these windows

Simulation models of an electric-driven smart window: energy and visual performances

 The ?in-situ? measurements acquired to characterize full-scale electric-driven glasses, able to dynamically switch from opaque to transparent state, were used to develop, calibrate and validate thermal and visual simulation models of these devices. The validated models were then used, in the simulation software TRNSYS, to assess the ability of these dynamic glasses to control the indoor conditions and reduce cooling load. The analysis was conducted for an office in a historical building, comparing the simulation results associated with the electric-driven glasses with those of the conventional double-glazing ones, from energy and visual points of view. Two different switching strategies were considered: i) Daylight strategy and ii) Thermal strategy. The use of electric-driven glasses allows from the thermal point of view to reduce about 12.5% of the cooling load, while from a visual point of view, to reach the highest values of Useful Daylight Illuminance, if controlled following the Daylight strategy.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Development of an Electric-Driven Smart Window Model for Visual Comfort Assessment

Smart windows, especially those electric-driven, represent one of the most advanced technologies for controlling solar radiation. For a correct use, it is necessary to understand their real behaviour through in-situ measurements on full-scale application as well as calibrating and validating visual simulation models capable of predicting their performances. In this paper, the preliminary results of current research activities aimed at developing simulation models of electric-driven full-scale glazing are presented. The research activities started with the assessment of the visible solar transmittance as a function of light incident angle through in-situ measurements; different models, with related values, of the visible solar transmittance were considered. For each simulation model, the corresponding transmittance value was set in the RADIANCE ?trans? material model and the simulated illuminance values, for a defined acquisition point of a test-facility, were then compared with the experimental data. Finally, for each model, indoor luminance distributions were reported considering a typical office seating position. Preliminary results, based on the in-situ measurements approach, highlighted a sufficient accuracy for one of the models adopted; further analyses are needed in order to upgrade the simulation models available and assess the effective performances of these windows.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The antidepressant fluoxetine acts on energy balance and leptin sensitivity via BDNF

Leptin and Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) pathways are critical players in body weight homeostasis. Noninvasive treatments like environmental stimulation are able to increase response to leptin and induce BDNF expression in the brain. Emerging evidences point to the antidepressant selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor Fluoxetine (FLX) as a drug with effects similar to environmental stimulation. FLX is known to impact on body weight, with mechanisms yet to be elucidated. We herein asked whether FLX affects energy balance, the leptin system and BDNF function. Adult lean male mice chronically treated with FLX showed reduced weight gain, higher energy expenditure, increased sensitivity to acute leptin, increased hypothalamic BDNF expression, associated to changes in white adipose tissue expression typical of "brownization". In the Ntrk2tm1Ddg/J model, carrying a mutation in the BDNF receptor Tyrosine kinase B (TrkB), these effects are partially or totally reversed. Wild type obese mice treated with FLX showed reduced weight gain, increased energy output, and differently from untreated obese mice, a preserved acute response to leptin in terms of activation of the intracellular leptin transducer STAT3. In conclusion, FLX impacts on energy balance and induces leptin sensitivity and an intact TrkB function is required for these effects to take place

Bioprospecting Fluorescent Plant Growth Regulators from Arabidopsis to Vegetable Crops

The phytohormone auxin is involved in almost every process of a plant’s life, from germination to plant development. Nowadays, auxin research connects synthetic chemistry, plant biology and computational chemistry in order to develop innovative and safe compounds to be used in sustainable agricultural practice. In this framework, we developed new fluorescent compounds, ethanolammonium p-aminobenzoate (HEA-pABA) and p-nitrobenzoate (HEA-pNBA), and investigated their auxin-like behavior on two main commercial vegetables cultivated in Europe, cucumber (Cucumis sativus) and tomato (Solanumlycopersicum), in comparison to the model plant Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Moreover, the binding modes and affinities of two organic salts in relation to the natural auxin indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) into TIR1 auxin receptor were investigated by computational approaches (homology modeling and molecular docking). Both experimental and theoretical results highlight HEA-pABA as a fluorescent compound with auxin-like activity both in Arabidopsis and the commercial cucumber and tomato. Therefore, alkanolammonium benzoates have a great potential as promising sustainable plant growth stimulators to be efficiently used in vegetable crops

Autophagy Impairment in Muscle Induces Neuromuscular Junction Degeneration and Precocious Aging

The cellular basis of age-related tissue deterioration remains largely obscure. The ability to activate compensatory mechanisms in response to environmental stress is an important factor for survival and maintenance of cellular functions. Autophagy is activated both under short and prolonged stress and is required to clear the cell of dysfunctional organelles and altered proteins. We report that specific autophagy inhibition in muscle has a major impact on neuromuscular synaptic function and, consequently, on muscle strength, ultimately affecting the lifespan of animals. Inhibition of autophagy also exacerbates aging phenotypes in muscle, such as mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and profound weakness. Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress directly affect acto-myosin interaction and force generation but show a limited effect on stability of neuromuscular synapses. These results demonstrate that age-related deterioration of synaptic structure and function is exacerbated by defective autophagy

Ultrafast force-clamp spectroscopy of single molecules reveals load dependence of myosin working stroke

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ELM: the status of the 2010 eukaryotic linear motif resource

Linear motifs are short segments of multidomain proteins that provide regulatory functions independently of protein tertiary structure. Much of intracellular signalling passes through protein modifications at linear motifs. Many thousands of linear motif instances, most notably phosphorylation sites, have now been reported. Although clearly very abundant, linear motifs are difficult to predict de novo in protein sequences due to the difficulty of obtaining robust statistical assessments. The ELM resource at http://elm.eu.org/ provides an expanding knowledge base, currently covering 146 known motifs, with annotation that includes >1300 experimentally reported instances. ELM is also an exploratory tool for suggesting new candidates of known linear motifs in proteins of interest. Information about protein domains, protein structure and native disorder, cellular and taxonomic contexts is used to reduce or deprecate false positive matches. Results are graphically displayed in a ‘Bar Code’ format, which also displays known instances from homologous proteins through a novel ‘Instance Mapper’ protocol based on PHI-BLAST. ELM server output provides links to the ELM annotation as well as to a number of remote resources. Using the links, researchers can explore the motifs, proteins, complex structures and associated literature to evaluate whether candidate motifs might be worth experimental investigation

Associations between depressive symptoms and disease progression in older patients with chronic kidney disease: results of the EQUAL study

Background Depressive symptoms are associated with adverse clinical outcomes in patients with end-stage kidney disease; however, few small studies have examined this association in patients with earlier phases of chronic kidney disease (CKD). We studied associations between baseline depressive symptoms and clinical outcomes in older patients with advanced CKD and examined whether these associations differed depending on sex. Methods CKD patients (>= 65 years; estimated glomerular filtration rate <= 20 mL/min/1.73 m(2)) were included from a European multicentre prospective cohort between 2012 and 2019. Depressive symptoms were measured by the five-item Mental Health Inventory (cut-off <= 70; 0-100 scale). Cox proportional hazard analysis was used to study associations between depressive symptoms and time to dialysis initiation, all-cause mortality and these outcomes combined. A joint model was used to study the association between depressive symptoms and kidney function over time. Analyses were adjusted for potential baseline confounders. Results Overall kidney function decline in 1326 patients was -0.12 mL/min/1.73 m(2)/month. A total of 515 patients showed depressive symptoms. No significant association was found between depressive symptoms and kidney function over time (P = 0.08). Unlike women, men with depressive symptoms had an increased mortality rate compared with those without symptoms [adjusted hazard ratio 1.41 (95% confidence interval 1.03-1.93)]. Depressive symptoms were not significantly associated with a higher hazard of dialysis initiation, or with the combined outcome (i.e. dialysis initiation and all-cause mortality). Conclusions There was no significant association between depressive symptoms at baseline and decline in kidney function over time in older patients with advanced CKD. Depressive symptoms at baseline were associated with a higher mortality rate in men