Productivos y perturbados: la extrusión de un valle incierto

Reactivar paisajes La Plana de Utiel y la Hoya de Buñol-Chiva. Ámbito 1: Parque Eólico Sierra de la Cabrera: El paisaje productivo como oportunida

Adiposity, metabolites, and colorectal cancer risk: Mendelian randomization study

Background: Higher adiposity increases the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC), but whether this relationship varies by anatomical sub-site or by sex is unclear. Further, the metabolic alterations mediating the effects of adiposity on CRC are not fully understood. Methods: We examined sex- and site-specific associations of adiposity with CRC risk and whether adiposity-associated metabolites explain the associations of adiposity with CRC. Genetic variants from genome-wide association studies of body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR, unadjusted for BMI; N = 806,810), and 123 metabolites from targeted nuclear magnetic resonance metabolomics (N = 24,925), were used as instruments. Sex-combined and sex-specific Mendelian randomization (MR) was conducted for BMI and WHR with CRC risk (58,221 cases and 67,694 controls in the Genetics and Epidemiology of Colorectal Cancer Consortium, Colorectal Cancer Transdisciplinary Study, and Colon Cancer Family Registry). Sex-combined MR was conducted for BMI and WHR with metabolites, for metabolites with CRC, and for BMI and WHR with CRC adjusted for metabolite classes in multivariable models. Results: In sex-specific MR analyses, higher BMI (per 4.2 kg/m2) was associated with 1.23 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.08, 1.38) times higher CRC odds among men (inverse-variance-weighted (IVW) model); among women, higher BMI (per 5.2 kg/m2) was associated with 1.09 (95% CI = 0.97, 1.22) times higher CRC odds. WHR (per 0.07 higher) was more strongly associated with CRC risk among women (IVW OR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.08, 1.43) than men (IVW OR = 1.05, 95% CI = 0.81, 1.36). BMI or WHR was associated with 104/123 metabolites at false discovery rate-corrected P ≤ 0.05; several metabolites were associated with CRC, but not in directions that were consistent with the mediation of positive adiposity-CRC relations. In multivariable MR analyses, associations of BMI and WHR with CRC were not attenuated following adjustment for representative metabolite classes, e.g., the univariable IVW OR for BMI with CRC was 1.12 (95% CI = 1.00, 1.26), and this became 1.11 (95% CI = 0.99, 1.26) when adjusting for cholesterol in low-density lipoprotein particles. Conclusions: Our results suggest that higher BMI more greatly raises CRC risk among men, whereas higher WHR more greatly raises CRC risk among women. Adiposity was associated with numerous metabolic alterations, but none of these explained associations between adiposity and CRC. More detailed metabolomic measures are likely needed to clarify the mechanistic pathways

Integrated design strategies for renovation projects with building-integrated

As tomorrow’s cities are already largely built, and as many of their buildings have a low energy performance level, urban renewal processes are essential for the sustainable development of European cities. In this context, Building-Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) systems, using innovative PV products as new construction material for façades and roofs, can potentially provide a crucial response for achieving long-term carbon targets. This paper presents an integrated architectural design process for addressing renovation projects. Presented through a comparison of two case studies on archetypal residential buildings from the 1900s and 1970s in Neuchâtel (Switzerland), this approach includes the design of different renovation scenarios integrating passive, active and BIPV strategies. An optimization of the potential BIPV (or active) surfaces based on the annual irradiation threshold is conducted to maximize self-consumption (SC) and self-sufficiency (SS). The scenarios, before and after this optimization-based refinement, are evaluated in terms of Life-Cycle Assessment and Cost. Results demonstrate the importance of the optimization to ensure the cost-effectiveness of the strategy and increase the independence from energy suppliers. The main outcome provides, to architects and engineers, advanced BIPV renovation strategies along with results from a multi-criteria evaluation that are crucial for reaching carbon neutralityPostprint (published version

Architectural design scenarios with building-integrated photovoltaic solutions in renovation processes: case study in Neuchâtel (Switzerland)

In view of the importance of urban renewal processes, building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems can potentially provide a crucial response to the energy turnaround challenges. Functioning both as envelope material and electricity generator, they can simultaneously reduce the use of fossil fuels and greenhouse gases emissions while providing savings in materials and electricity costs. However, despite continuous technological and economic progress, the assets of BIPV remain undervalued in the current practice. Various obstacles (technology choice, small volumes, lack of information and good examples) tend to increase the costs and reduce the project acceptance. To overcome these barriers, an interdisciplinary research project developed an approach based on four main phases: 1) selection of archetypal residential buildings, 2) detailed analysis of the buildings, 3) development of renewal design scenarios and 4) multi-criteria assessment of each scenario. Focusing on the architectural-scale, this paper presents design strategies with BIPV solutions of a representative case study realized in Neuchâtel (Switzerland). A multi-criteria assessment of the proposed design scenarios allows comparing the different strategies. It highlights the influence of the design decisions on the final performances, helping us to move towards an optimization of the BIPV surfaces in order to maximize self-consumption regarding the building consumption profile.Postprint (published version

Influence of design-decisions on the energy performance of renovation projects with building-integrated photovoltaics: results for a 1968 residential archetype in Neuchâtel (Switzerland)

The renovation of existing buildings is one of the priorities of western countries and needs to be promoted to increase the current low renovation rate, estimated to be of 0.6% per year in the European and Swiss contexts. In parallel, the implementation of building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) elements during the renovation process can provide a crucial response to achieve the 2050 targets in terms of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy savings. In this context, architects, designers and engineers have a key role in achieving these objectives, mainly because they are responsible for the design decisions during the development of the projects, especially during the early-design phase when the most influential decisions are taken. Through a real-case study built in 1968, this research shows how certain design-decisions in renovation processes can affect or compromise the final performance of the building from a global life-cycle and multi-criteria approach. Life-Cycle Analysis (LCA) and Cost (LCC) results show the importance of not losing the opportunity to go beyond current practices when a building needs to be renovated and highlight the necessity to take into consideration BIPV strategies to guarantee both economic and environmental targets.Postprint (published version

Active surfaces selection method for building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) in renovation projects based on self-consumption and self-sufficiency

In light of the Paris Agreement's objectives and the related European and Swiss goals of decarbonising the built environment, the importance, relevance, and potential benefits of integrating Building-Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) within building renovation processes are acknowledged. Functioning both as envelope material and on-site electricity generator, BIPV can simultaneously reduce the use of fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions. Motivated by the current barriers and misconceptions that withhold a widespread integration of BIPV, particularly regarding financial implications and solar exposure levels that are believed to be unfavourable, this paper aims at bringing new knowledge and a rigorous and adaptable method to inform decision-making and promote the use of BIPV in urban renewal processes. Focusing on the architectural design, we here present a methodology to select active (BIPV) surfaces during the retrofitting process based on a trade-off between the self-consumption (SC) and self-sufficiency (SS) of a building. The approach consists in iteratively identifying surfaces that achieve a varying annual irradiation value (threshold). It also includes the evaluation of the effect of electricity storage systems. The methodology and the results of its application are presented through the comparison of two case studies in Neuchâtel (Switzerland). The outcomes of this new approach for addressing building renovation projects in the urban context can help architects, designers and engineers to better size the installation and the repartition of active surfaces in the renovated thermal envelope. Results show that it is important to take into account a larger range of irradiation levels to choose the active surfaces, especially in high-rise buildings with a greater proportion of façade than roof. In such cases, the irradiation threshold can vary between 600 and 800 kWh/m2•year depending on the strategy adopted in terms of Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning (HVAC) system improvement or storage system implementation. Such findings demonstrate the need for context-specific methods towards a proper evaluation and better valorisation of BIPV potential.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Towards integrated design strategies for implementing BIPV systems into urban renewal processes: first case study in Neuchâtel (Switzerland)

In view of the importance of urban renewal processes, building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems can potentially provide a crucial response to the challenges of the energy turnaround. Functioning both as envelope material and electricity generator, they can simultaneously reduce the use of fossil fuels and greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions while providing savings in materials and electricity costs. These are precisely the objectives of most European energy directives, from zero- to positive-energy buildings. In Switzerland for instance, one way to achieve the objectives of the “Energy strategy 2050” is to install PV systems to cover 1/3 of the annual electricity demand. However, despite continuous technological and economic progress, the significant assets of BIPV remain broadly undervalued in the current practice. Various obstacles (technology choice, small volumes, lack of information and good examples, etc.) tend to increase the costs and reduce the acceptance of BIPV solutions. The present paper is an integral part of an interdisciplinary research project. Focusing on the architectural design issues, it presents the first results of a representative case study carried out in the city of Neuchâtel (Switzerland). The approach involves four main phases (Fig.1): (i) archetypes identification, (ii) building detailed analysis, (iii) development of architectural renewal design scenarios, and (iv) multi-criteria assessment of each scenario (energy consumption, electricity production, cost-effectiveness, and Life-Cycle Analysis). The application of the proposed approach on a case study allows us to initiate the first step towards a holistic and reliable multi-criteria comparison methodology for BIPV-adapted solutions in urban renewal design processes in the Swiss context.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Software timing analysis for complex hardware with survivability and risk analysis

The increasing automation of safety-critical real-time systems, such as those in cars and planes, leads, to more complex and performance-demanding on-board software and the subsequent adoption of multicores and accelerators. This causes software's execution time dispersion to increase due to variable-latency resources such as caches, NoCs, advanced memory controllers and the like. Statistical analysis has been proposed to model the Worst-Case Execution Time (WCET) of software running such complex systems by providing reliable probabilistic WCET (pWCET) estimates. However, statistical models used so far, which are based on risk analysis, are overly pessimistic by construction. In this paper we prove that statistical survivability and risk analyses are equivalent in terms of tail analysis and, building upon survivability analysis theory, we show that Weibull tail models can be used to estimate pWCET distributions reliably and tightly. In particular, our methodology proves the correctness-by-construction of the approach, and our evaluation provides evidence about the tightness of the pWCET estimates obtained, which allow decreasing them reliably by 40% for a railway case study w.r.t. state-of-the-art exponential tails.This work is a collaboration between Argonne National Laboratory and the Barcelona Supercomputing Center within the Joint Laboratory for Extreme-Scale Computing. This research is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research, under contract number DE-AC02- 06CH11357, program manager Laura Biven, and by the Spanish Government (SEV2015-0493), by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (contract TIN2015-65316-P), by Generalitat de Catalunya (contract 2014-SGR-1051).Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft