Thermal Assessment of Traditional, Partially Subterranean Dwellings in Coastal and Mountainous Regions in the Mediterranean Climate. The Case of Cyprus

Fully, or partially, subterranean dwellings have developed as a distinctive building type from the prehistoric to pre-industrial era in the Mediterranean region, often serving specific purposes. The energy benefits of such spaces are well documented mainly through the investigation of numerous examples found in vernacular architecture. Despite their environmental potentials, subterranean structures remain limited in contemporary design practices. The present paper reports on the findings of a systematic research that examines partially subterranean traditional dwellings in the coastal and mountainous regions of Cyprus, an island in the Eastern Mediterranean. The study focuses on the environmental assessment of these spaces, through the monitoring of air temperature and relative humidity, and on a brief demonstration of various passive strategies for indoor microclimate improvements. Although these structures are not very common in the vernacular architecture of the island, their scientific examination produces useful knowledge in terms of energy savings. This can inform contemporary design applications and form a basis for the drafting of environmental refurbishment guidelines, applicable for this particular building typology. The research indicates favourable temperatures and significant cooling effects in partially subterranean spaces during the hot summer period, especially in mountainous regions. Temperatures in such spaces during the cold winter period are found to exhibit higher values compared to the temperatures of above-ground spaces, although they remain below comfort limits. High indoor humidity is found to be a major problem, in both the summer and winter period, in the coastal regions of the island. It is highlighted that, although partially subterranean spaces have many environmental benefits, as earth offers thermal insulation and heat storage, generalizations should be avoided since a number of varying parameters, such as the local climate, geology, natural ventilation conditions and building materials used, influence considerably their environmental performance

Improved Text Emotion Prediction Using Combined Valence and Arousal Ordinal Classification

Emotion detection in textual data has received growing interest in recent years, as it is pivotal for developing empathetic human-computer interaction systems. This paper introduces a method for categorizing emotions from text, which acknowledges and differentiates between the diversified similarities and distinctions of various emotions. Initially, we establish a baseline by training a transformer-based model for standard emotion classification, achieving state-of-the-art performance. We argue that not all misclassifications are of the same importance, as there are perceptual similarities among emotional classes. We thus redefine the emotion labeling problem by shifting it from a traditional classification model to an ordinal classification one, where discrete emotions are arranged in a sequential order according to their valence levels. Finally, we propose a method that performs ordinal classification in the two-dimensional emotion space, considering both valence and arousal scales. The results show that our approach not only preserves high accuracy in emotion prediction but also significantly reduces the magnitude of errors in cases of misclassification

Safety of intravenous ferric carboxymaltose versus oral iron in patients with nondialysis-dependent CKD: an analysis of the 1-year FIND-CKD trial.

Background: The evidence base regarding the safety of intravenous (IV) iron therapy in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is incomplete and largely based on small studies of relatively short duration. Methods: FIND-CKD (ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT00994318) was a 1-year, open-label, multicenter, prospective study of patients with nondialysis-dependent CKD, anemia and iron deficiency randomized (1:1:2) to IV ferric carboxymaltose (FCM), targeting higher (400-600 µg/L) or lower (100-200 µg/L) ferritin, or oral iron. A post hoc analysis of adverse event rates per 100 patient-years was performed to assess the safety of FCM versus oral iron over an extended period. Results: The safety population included 616 patients. The incidence of one or more adverse events was 91.0, 100.0 and 105.0 per 100 patient-years in the high ferritin FCM, low ferritin FCM and oral iron groups, respectively. The incidence of adverse events with a suspected relation to study drug was 15.9, 17.8 and 36.7 per 100 patient-years in the three groups; for serious adverse events, the incidence was 28.2, 27.9 and 24.3 per 100 patient-years. The incidence of cardiac disorders and infections was similar between groups. At least one ferritin level ≥800 µg/L occurred in 26.6% of high ferritin FCM patients, with no associated increase in adverse events. No patient with ferritin ≥800 µg/L discontinued the study drug due to adverse events. Estimated glomerular filtration rate remained the stable in all groups. Conclusions: These results further support the conclusion that correction of iron deficiency anemia with IV FCM is safe in patients with nondialysis-dependent CKD

Search for new particles in events with energetic jets and large missing transverse momentum in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

A search is presented for new particles produced at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at root s = 13 TeV, using events with energetic jets and large missing transverse momentum. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 101 fb(-1), collected in 2017-2018 with the CMS detector. Machine learning techniques are used to define separate categories for events with narrow jets from initial-state radiation and events with large-radius jets consistent with a hadronic decay of a W or Z boson. A statistical combination is made with an earlier search based on a data sample of 36 fb(-1), collected in 2016. No significant excess of events is observed with respect to the standard model background expectation determined from control samples in data. The results are interpreted in terms of limits on the branching fraction of an invisible decay of the Higgs boson, as well as constraints on simplified models of dark matter, on first-generation scalar leptoquarks decaying to quarks and neutrinos, and on models with large extra dimensions. Several of the new limits, specifically for spin-1 dark matter mediators, pseudoscalar mediators, colored mediators, and leptoquarks, are the most restrictive to date.Peer reviewe

Combined searches for the production of supersymmetric top quark partners in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

A combination of searches for top squark pair production using proton-proton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV at the CERN LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb(-1) collected by the CMS experiment, is presented. Signatures with at least 2 jets and large missing transverse momentum are categorized into events with 0, 1, or 2 leptons. New results for regions of parameter space where the kinematical properties of top squark pair production and top quark pair production are very similar are presented. Depending on themodel, the combined result excludes a top squarkmass up to 1325 GeV for amassless neutralino, and a neutralinomass up to 700 GeV for a top squarkmass of 1150 GeV. Top squarks with masses from 145 to 295 GeV, for neutralino masses from 0 to 100 GeV, with a mass difference between the top squark and the neutralino in a window of 30 GeV around the mass of the top quark, are excluded for the first time with CMS data. The results of theses searches are also interpreted in an alternative signal model of dark matter production via a spin-0 mediator in association with a top quark pair. Upper limits are set on the cross section for mediator particle masses of up to 420 GeV

Probing effective field theory operators in the associated production of top quarks with a Z boson in multilepton final states at root s=13 TeV

Peer reviewe

Observation of tW production in the single-lepton channel in pp collisions at root s=13 TeV

A measurement of the cross section of the associated production of a single top quark and a W boson in final states with a muon or electron and jets in proton-proton collisions at root s = 13 TeV is presented. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 36 fb(-1) collected with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC in 2016. A boosted decision tree is used to separate the tW signal from the dominant t (t) over bar background, whilst the subleading W+jets and multijet backgrounds are constrained using data-based estimates. This result is the first observation of the tW process in final states containing a muon or electron and jets, with a significance exceeding 5 standard deviations. The cross section is determined to be 89 +/- 4 (stat) +/- 12 (syst) pb, consistent with the standard model.Peer reviewe

Measurement of the top quark forward-backward production asymmetry and the anomalous chromoelectric and chromomagnetic moments in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV

Abstract The parton-level top quark (t) forward-backward asymmetry and the anomalous chromoelectric (d̂ t) and chromomagnetic (μ̂ t) moments have been measured using LHC pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected in the CMS detector in a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb−1. The linearized variable AFB(1) is used to approximate the asymmetry. Candidate t t ¯ events decaying to a muon or electron and jets in final states with low and high Lorentz boosts are selected and reconstructed using a fit of the kinematic distributions of the decay products to those expected for t t ¯ final states. The values found for the parameters are AFB(1)=0.048−0.087+0.095(stat)−0.029+0.020(syst),μ̂t=−0.024−0.009+0.013(stat)−0.011+0.016(syst), and a limit is placed on the magnitude of | d̂ t| < 0.03 at 95% confidence level. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Measurement of the top quark mass using events with a single reconstructed top quark in pp collisions at root s=13 TeV

Abstract:A measurement of the top quark mass is performed using a data sample en-riched with single top quark events produced in thetchannel. The study is based on proton-proton collision data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb−1, recorded at√s= 13TeV by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2016. Candidate events are selectedby requiring an isolated high-momentum lepton (muon or electron) and exactly two jets,of which one is identified as originating from a bottom quark. Multivariate discriminantsare designed to separate the signal from the background. Optimized thresholds are placedon the discriminant outputs to obtain an event sample with high signal purity. The topquark mass is found to be172.13+0.76−0.77GeV, where the uncertainty includes both the sta-tistical and systematic components, reaching sub-GeV precision for the first time in thisevent topology. The masses of the top quark and antiquark are also determined separatelyusing the lepton charge in the final state, from which the mass ratio and difference aredetermined to be0.9952+0.0079−0.0104and0.83+1.79−1.35GeV, respectively. The results are consistentwithCPTinvariance

HERSUS Project and Digital sharing platform [1st prize, 31. International Urban Planners' Exhibition]

ХЕРСУС (Јачање свести о наслеђу и одрживости грађене средине у високошколском образовању у домену архитектонског и урбанистичког пројектовања) је Еразмус+ стратешко партнерство за високо образовање које окупља пет универзитета из Србије, Италије, Кипра, Грчке и Шпаније који заједно раде на дизајну и развоју курсева уз дисеминацију знања кроз семинаре, радионице и заједнички изграђену платформу дељења. ХЕРСУС платформа дељења је дигитална платформа за истраживаче и студенте замишљена као образовно средство и архива ресурса о темама одрживости и свести о наслеђу у архитектури и урбанизму. Платформа је дизајнирана и развијена као извор референци и инспирације када се ради о истраживањима у областима које пројекат ХЕРСУС има за циљ да истражи. У платформи се стварају везе између наизглед удаљених тема, показујући основне наративе, везе и преклапања која спајају садржаје на различитим просторним и друштвеним нивоима.HERSUS (Enhancing of Heritage Awareness and SustainaЬility of Built Environment in Architectural and Urban Design Higher Education) is Erasmus + Strategic Partnerships for higher education which brings together five Universities from SerЬia, ltaly, Cyprus, Greece, and Spain working together оп the design and development of the courses while disseminating knowledge through international training courses, workshops, and а jointly built Sharing Platform. The HERSUS Sharing Platform is а digital platform for researchers and students conceived as ап educational tool and archive of resources around the topics of sustainaЬility and heritage awareness in architecture and urban design. The platform has been designed and developed as а source of reference and inspiration to refer to when doi ng research in the fields that the HERSUS project aims to investigate. ln the platform, links аге created between apparently distant subjects, showing underlying narratives, connections and overlappings that bring contents together оп different levels.ПРВА НАГРАДА 31. Међународног Салона Урбанизма у категорији Дигиталне технике, дизајн и продукција у урбанизму и архитектури / 1st prize at the 31st International Urban Planners Exhibition in category Digital techniques, design and production in architecture and urbanis