1,432 research outputs found
Urban building energy modelling for retrofit analysis under uncertainty
Urban building energy modelling (UBEM) is a growing research field that seeks to expand conventional building energy modelling to the realm of neighbourhoods, cities or even entire building stocks. The aim is to establish frameworks for analysing combined urban e˙ects rather than those of individual buildings, which city governments, utilities and other energy policy stakeholders can use to assess the current environmental impact of our buildings, and, maybe more importantly, the future e˙ects that energy renovation programmes and energy supply infrastructure changes might have. However, the task of creating reliable models of new or existing urban areas is diÿcult, as it requires an enormous amount of detailed input data – data which is rarely available. A solution to this problem is the introduction of archetype modelling, which is used to break down the building stock into a manageable subset of semantic building archetypes, for which, it is possible to characterize their parameters. It is the focus of this thesis to explore and develop new methods for stochastic archetype characterization that can enable archetype-based UBEM to be used for accurate urban-scale time series analysis.The thesis is divided into three parts. The first part acts as an introduction to case study data of the residential building stock of detached single-family houses (SFHs) in Aarhus, Denmark, which is used throughout the thesis for demonstration purposes.The second part concerns the development of methods for archetype modelling. Bayesian methods for archetype parameter calibration are presented that incorporates the variability of the underlying cluster of buildings, and correlation between parameters, to enable informed predictions of unseen buildings from the archetype under uncertainty. The capabilities of archetype-based UBEM are further widened through the introduction of dynamic building energy modelling that allows for time series analysis.The third part of the thesis is devoted to demonstrating the usefulness of the proposed archetype formulation as a building block for urban-scale applications. An exhaustive test scheme is employed to validate the predictive performance of the framework before establishing a city-scale UBEM of approx. 23,000 SFHs in Aarhus. It is used to forecast citywide heating energy use from 2017 up until 2050 under uncertainty of energy renovations and climate change.Overall, the proposed archetype-based UBEM framework promises very useful for fast, flexible and reliable urban-scale time series analysis, including forecasting the effects of energy renovation or city densification, to establish an informed basis for energy policy decision-making
Irlen Syndrome: Why the Cool Coloured Shades?
In a world of inclusive education and assistive technologies, it is more important than ever to ensure every member of the class is given the opportunity of a sound education. This may present a challenge when almost every classroom includes students with additional and specific needs. MISViS (Meares-Irlen Syndrome Visual Stress) is one example of a learning disability that will require additional accommodations, but can be readily managed once a teacher is familiar with the individual’s needs
Single particle algorithms to reveal cellular nanodomain organization
Formation, maintenance and physiology of high-density protein-enriched
organized nanodomains, first observed in electron microscopy images, remains
challenging to investigate due to their small sizes. However, these regions
regulate molecular trafficking, assembly and sorting required for higher cell
functions, such as communication or plastic changes. Over the past ten years,
super-resolution single-particle trajectories (SPTs) have been used to sample
these sub-cellular environments at a nanometer resolution for both membrane and
soluble proteins. We present here data analysis developments and algorithms
that convert high-throughput molecular trajectories into maps of molecular
density, diffusion and local drift organization. These approaches transform
intrinsic trajectory properties into statistics of the underlying cellular
organization. The automatic identification of large numbers of high-density
regions allows quantifying their boundary location and organization, their
stability over time and their ability to transiently retain molecules. To
conclude recent automated algorithms can now be used to extract biophysical
parameters of sub-cellular nanodomains over a large amount of trajectories.Comment: 6 fig
Improving Privacy Settings for Facebook by Using Interpersonal Distance as Criterion
The possibility to define custom privacy settings in Facebook has been improved over the last years. Still,numerous users do not know how to change those settings or do not use the settings because they are cumbersome to use. Within this paper a new method for defining the privacy settings in online social networks is presented that uses the social distance between users as setting criterion. This approach was tested as a paper prototype in a first user study with 10 participants. Results show that the number of errors was significantly decreased and that the subjective evaluation of the interface was promising
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A New Approach to Harness Probiotics Against Common Bacterial Skin Pathogens: Towards Living Antimicrobials
In this study, the potential of certain lactic acid bacteria—classified as probiotics and known to be antimicrobially active against pathogens or food-poisoning microorganisms—was evaluated with respect to their activity against bacterial skin pathogens. The aim of the study was to develop a plaster/bandage for the application of inhibitory substances produced by these probiotics when applied to diseased skin. For this purpose, two Streptococcus salivarius strains and one Lactobacillus plantarum were tested for production of antimicrobials (bacteriocin-like substances) active against Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens using established methods. A newly designed membrane test ensured that the probiotics produce antimicrobials diffusible through membranes. Target organisms used were Cutibacterium acnes, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Moreover, the L. plantarum 8P-A3 strain was tested against additional bacteria involved in skin disorders. The Lactobacillales used were active against all potential skin pathogens tested. These probiotics could be enclosed between polymer membranes—one tight, the other permeable for their products, preserved by vacuum drying, and reactivated after at least three months storage. Importantly, the reactivated pads containing the probiotics demonstrated antibacterial activity on agar plates against all pathogens tested. This suggests that the probiotic containing pads may be topically applied for the treatment of skin disorders without the need for a regular antibiotic treatment or as an adjunctive therapy
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