Photovoltaic potential on high consumption industrial buildings in equatorial areas.

Industrial and residential buildings account for 60% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, and more specifically, they consume 62% of the electricity in Cuenca, Ecuador. The sun provides equatorial Andean countries with a consistent and relatively stable energy source throughout the year. Industrial plants have suitable surface areas on which to install solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. Using a volumetric survey of a high-consumption industrial plant, a roof intervention is proposed to achieve maximum usage of crystalline silicon solar panels. Aspects of indoor ventilation and natural lighting are also considered. Through a BIM (Building Information Modelling) software model and simulations using SAM@, it is expected that 22% of the current high level of electricity consumption can be supplied, which is equivalent to the residential demand of 17,328 inhabitants, or 2% of the total consumption of the city. Although state fuel subsidy policies mean the proposal is not a profitable investment, this research demonstrates that it is an alternative that could be used to eliminate such policies, especially considering the fact that they are harmful both economically and environmentally.La industria y edificaciones producen el 60% de gases de efecto invernadero en el mundo y, en concreto, consumen el 62% de la electricidad en Cuenca, Ecuador. Las zonas ecuatoriales andinas poseen en el sol una fuente energética consistente y relativamente estable durante el año. Las plantas industriales muestran superficies aptas para desplegar recolección solar fotovoltaica. Mediante un levantamiento volumétrico de una planta industrial de alto consumo, se realiza una propuesta de intervención en techumbre, para procurar una máxima ocupación de placas PV de sílice cristalino, considerando además aspectos de ventilación interior e iluminación natural. A través del modelo en BIM (Building Information Modeling) y de simulaciones en SAM@, se prevé un abastecimiento de un 22 % del alto consumo eléctrico actual, volumen equivalente a la demanda residencial de 17.328 habitantes o el 2 % del consumo total de la ciudad. A pesar de que, por políticas estatales de subsidio a combustibles, esta no constituye una inversión rentable, se demuestra aquí que es una alternativa para la eliminación de los mismos, considerando su carácter nocivo, tanto desde perspectivas económicas como ambientales

Multiancestry analysis of the HLA locus in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases uncovers a shared adaptive immune response mediated by HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes

Across multiancestry groups, we analyzed Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) associations in over 176,000 individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) versus controls. We demonstrate that the two diseases share the same protective association at the HLA locus. HLA-specific fine-mapping showed that hierarchical protective effects of HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes best accounted for the association, strongest with HLA-DRB1*04:04 and HLA-DRB1*04:07, and intermediary with HLA-DRB1*04:01 and HLA-DRB1*04:03. The same signal was associated with decreased neurofibrillary tangles in postmortem brains and was associated with reduced tau levels in cerebrospinal fluid and to a lower extent with increased Aβ42. Protective HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes strongly bound the aggregation-prone tau PHF6 sequence, however only when acetylated at a lysine (K311), a common posttranslational modification central to tau aggregation. An HLA-DRB1*04-mediated adaptive immune response decreases PD and AD risks, potentially by acting against tau, offering the possibility of therapeutic avenues

Centrality evolution of the charged-particle pseudorapidity density over a broad pseudorapidity range in Pb-Pb collisions at root s(NN)=2.76TeV

Peer reviewe

Search for eccentric black hole coalescences during the third observing run of LIGO and Virgo

Despite the growing number of confident binary black hole coalescences observed through gravitational waves so far, the astrophysical origin of these binaries remains uncertain. Orbital eccentricity is one of the clearest tracers of binary formation channels. Identifying binary eccentricity, however, remains challenging due to the limited availability of gravitational waveforms that include effects of eccentricity. Here, we present observational results for a waveform-independent search sensitive to eccentric black hole coalescences, covering the third observing run (O3) of the LIGO and Virgo detectors. We identified no new high-significance candidates beyond those that were already identified with searches focusing on quasi-circular binaries. We determine the sensitivity of our search to high-mass (total mass M>70 M⊙) binaries covering eccentricities up to 0.3 at 15 Hz orbital frequency, and use this to compare model predictions to search results. Assuming all detections are indeed quasi-circular, for our fiducial population model, we place an upper limit for the merger rate density of high-mass binaries with eccentricities 0<e≤0.3 at 0.33 Gpc−3 yr−1 at 90\% confidence level

Potencial fotovoltaico en techumbre de edificios industriales de alta demanda energética, en zonas ecuatoriales.

Industrial and residential buildings account for 60% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, and more specifically, they consume 62% of the electricity in Cuenca, Ecuador. The sun provides equatorial Andean countries with a consistent and relatively stable energy source throughout the year. Industrial plants have suitable surface areas on which to install solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. Using a volumetric survey of a high-consumption industrial plant, a roof intervention is proposed to achieve maximum usage of crystalline silicon solar panels. Aspects of indoor ventilation and natural lighting are also considered. Through a BIM (Building Information Modelling) software model and simulations using SAM@, it is expected that 22% of the current high level of electricity consumption can be supplied, which is equivalent to the residential demand of 17,328 inhabitants, or 2% of the total consumption of the city. Although state fuel subsidy policies mean the proposal is not a profitable investment, this research demonstrates that it is an alternative that could be used to eliminate such policies, especially considering the fact that they are harmful both economically and environmentally.La industria y edificaciones producen el 60% de gases de efecto invernadero en el mundo y, en concreto, consumen el 62% de la electricidad en Cuenca, Ecuador. Las zonas ecuatoriales andinas poseen en el sol una fuente energética consistente y relativamente estable durante el año. Las plantas industriales muestran superficies aptas para desplegar recolección solar fotovoltaica. Mediante un levantamiento volumétrico de una planta industrial de alto consumo, se realiza una propuesta de intervención en techumbre, para procurar una máxima ocupación de placas PV de sílice cristalino, considerando además aspectos de ventilación interior e iluminación natural. A través del modelo en BIM (Building Information Modeling) y de simulaciones en SAM@, se prevé un abastecimiento de un 22 % del alto consumo eléctrico actual, volumen equivalente a la demanda residencial de 17.328 habitantes o el 2 % del consumo total de la ciudad. A pesar de que, por políticas estatales de subsidio a combustibles, esta no constituye una inversión rentable, se demuestra aquí que es una alternativa para la eliminación de los mismos, considerando su carácter nocivo, tanto desde perspectivas económicas como ambientales

Effects of pre-operative isolation on postoperative pulmonary complications after elective surgery: an international prospective cohort study an international prospective cohort study

We aimed to determine the impact of pre-operative isolation on postoperative pulmonary complications after elective surgery during the global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. We performed an international prospective cohort study including patients undergoing elective surgery in October 2020. Isolation was defined as the period before surgery during which patients did not leave their house or receive visitors from outside their household. The primary outcome was postoperative pulmonary complications, adjusted in multivariable models for measured confounders. Pre-defined sub-group analyses were performed for the primary outcome. A total of 96,454 patients from 114 countries were included and overall, 26,948 (27.9%) patients isolated before surgery. Postoperative pulmonary complications were recorded in 1947 (2.0%) patients of which 227 (11.7%) were associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Patients who isolated pre-operatively were older, had more respiratory comorbidities and were more commonly from areas of high SARS-CoV-2 incidence and high-income countries. Although the overall rates of postoperative pulmonary complications were similar in those that isolated and those that did not (2.1% vs 2.0%, respectively), isolation was associated with higher rates of postoperative pulmonary complications after adjustment (adjusted OR 1.20, 95%CI 1.05–1.36, p = 0.005). Sensitivity analyses revealed no further differences when patients were categorised by: pre-operative testing; use of COVID-19-free pathways; or community SARS-CoV-2 prevalence. The rate of postoperative pulmonary complications increased with periods of isolation longer than 3 days, with an OR (95%CI) at 4–7 days or ≥ 8 days of 1.25 (1.04–1.48), p = 0.015 and 1.31 (1.11–1.55), p = 0.001, respectively. Isolation before elective surgery might be associated with a small but clinically important increased risk of postoperative pulmonary complications. Longer periods of isolation showed no reduction in the risk of postoperative pulmonary complications. These findings have significant implications for global provision of elective surgical care. We aimed to determine the impact of pre-operative isolation on postoperative pulmonary complications after elective surgery during the global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. We performed an international prospective cohort study including patients undergoing elective surgery in October 2020. Isolation was defined as the period before surgery during which patients did not leave their house or receive visitors from outside their household. The primary outcome was postoperative pulmonary complications, adjusted in multivariable models for measured confounders. Pre-defined sub-group analyses were performed for the primary outcome. A total of 96,454 patients from 114 countries were included and overall, 26,948 (27.9%) patients isolated before surgery. Postoperative pulmonary complications were recorded in 1947 (2.0%) patients of which 227 (11.7%) were associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Patients who isolated pre-operatively were older, had more respiratory comorbidities and were more commonly from areas of high SARS-CoV-2 incidence and high-income countries. Although the overall rates of postoperative pulmonary complications were similar in those that isolated and those that did not (2.1% vs 2.0%, respectively), isolation was associated with higher rates of postoperative pulmonary complications after adjustment (adjusted OR 1.20, 95%CI 1.05–1.36, p = 0.005). Sensitivity analyses revealed no further differences when patients were categorised by: pre-operative testing; use of COVID-19-free pathways; or community SARS-CoV-2 prevalence. The rate of postoperative pulmonary complications increased with periods of isolation longer than 3 days, with an OR (95%CI) at 4–7 days or ≥ 8 days of 1.25 (1.04–1.48), p = 0.015 and 1.31 (1.11–1.55), p = 0.001, respectively. Isolation before elective surgery might be associated with a small but clinically important increased risk of postoperative pulmonary complications. Longer periods of isolation showed no reduction in the risk of postoperative pulmonary complications. These findings have significant implications for global provision of elective surgical care

Reasons to be cheerful? Reflections on GPs' responses to depression

60°N was +2.0°C, relative to the 1981–2010 average value (Fig. 5.1). This marks a new high for the record. The average annual surface air temperature (SAT) anomaly for 2016 for land stations north of starting in 1900, and is a significant increase over the previous highest value of +1.2°C, which was observed in 2007, 2011, and 2015. Average global annual temperatures also showed record values in 2015 and 2016. Currently, the Arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of lower latitudes