Утицај вегетационих модуларних елемената за зидове омотача на енергетски биланс зграде

Cilj ovog istraživanja je optimizacija fasadnog omotača, arhitektonskog objekta, integracijom vegetacionih modularnih elemenata. U radu se istražuju potencijali vegetacionih zidova u smanjenja utroška energije potrebne za hlađenje objekta u letnjem periodu. Istraživanje je obuhvatilo analizu energetskih specifičnosti vegetacionih zidova i njihovu programsku integrakciju u urbanim gradskim ambijentima. Korišćenje elemenata vegetacionih zidova u arhitekturi otvorilo je nove projektantske mogućnosti i stvorilo izazove za projektante sa ciljem povećanja energetske efikasnosti objekata. U radu se vegetacioni zidovi tretiraju kao elementi zaštite arhitektonskih objekata od toplotnog pregrevanja. Analize su pokazale da vegetacija smanjuje kontaktnu temperaturu površina strukturalnih zidova objekta, dok isparavanje obezbeđuje pasivno hlađenje. Cilj istraživanja je da se ispitaju metode i tehnike, kojima se obezbeđuje široka primena vegetacionih zidova u arhitekturi postojećih i novih objekata kroz ispitivanja i pronalaženja preporuka za unapređenjem termičkih karakteristika fasadnih omotača objekta

Using straw-bales for energy saving

Savremeno društvo se suočava sa novim i drugačijim izazovima. Obnovljivih resursa je sve manje. Životna sredina je zagađena. Potrebe savremenog čoveka su sve veće i njihovo zadovoljenje zahteva sve više energije i materijalnih resursa. Proizvodnja materijala koji se koriste za izgradnju objekata zahteva prirodne resurse i veliku količinu energije. U eksploataciji objekata postoji potreba za grejanjem i hlađenjem, za šta je takođe neophodna energija. Moguće rešenje je upotreba prirodnih materijala koji su tradicionalno bili primenjivani vekovima, a koji su potisnuti razvojem industrije i širokom primenom betona i čelika. Slama, kao materijal, postoji više od 2000 godina i predstavlja nusproizvod pri uzgajanju pšenice, raži, pirinča. Proizvodnja slame ne zahteva primarnu energiju. Karakteristike balirane slame su takve da nije potrebna dodatna termička i zvučna izolacija. Primenom balirane slame moguće je materijalom, koji je gotovo besplatan, postići značajne uštede energije i pomoći u očuvanju životne sredine.Modern society is faced with new challenges. Renewable resources are disappearing. The environment is polluted. The production of materials for construction requires natural resources and a great amount of energy. In the exploitation of buildings a lot of energy is used for heating and cooling. Possible solution lies in the application of natural materials that were traditionally used for centuries and were suppressed by the industry’s development and the extended use of concrete and steel. Straw, as a material, exists for more than 2000 years. It is a by-product in the growing of wheat, rye, and rice. The production of straw doesn’t need primary energy. The characteristics of straw-bales are such that no additional thermal and sound insulation is needed. With the application of straw-bales, a material that is almost free, it is possible to achieve significant savings in energy and to help preserve the environment

Bench-to-bedside review: Neonatal sepsis - redox processes in pathogenesis

The present review is aimed at elucidating the neonatal 'sepsis redox cycle' - the cascade of inflammatory and redox events involved in the pathogenesis of sepsis in neonates. While adult and neonatal sepses share some common features, there are some substantial differences: higher mortality rates occur in adult sepsis and worse long-term effects are evident in neonatal sepsis survivors. Such epidemiological data may be explained by the lower ability of IL6 and IL8 to activate NF-kappa B-regulated transcription in neonatal sepsis in comparison to TNF-alpha, which is involved in the mechanisms of adult sepsis. The activation of NF-kappa B in neonatal sepsis is further promoted by hydrogen peroxide and results in mitochondrial dysfunction and energy failure as septic neonates experience decreased O-2 consumption as well as lower heat production and body temperature in comparison to healthy peers. In neonates, specific organs that are still under development are vulnerable to sepsis-provoked stress, which may lead to brain, lung, and heart injury, as well as vision and hearing impairments. In the light of the processes integrated here, it is clear that therapeutic approaches should also target specific steps in the neonatal 'sepsis redox cycle' in addition to the current therapeutic approach that is mainly focused on pathogen eradication

Sustainable urban development by means of green walls

The use of green walls (also commonly referred to as living walls or vertical gardens) is not a new concept in building envelopes. Integrating vegetation in architectural structures may be a sustainable approach to the construction of façades of the new and existing structures. Green walls belong to the highly innovative and the fastest developing concepts of green building technology. This fact is supported by the examples of structures originally built with green walls which greatly add to the total visual appeal of buildings and are an important factor in the improvement of their thermal characteris- tics. Green walls have their own aesthetic values which are in direct correlation with human interaction aimed at creating visual diversity within urban spaces. Artistic perception of green walls of the recent era has radically changed, along with the new technological possibilities, their further development and application in the designing effort to formulate shape and materialization as a spatial structure with the already known aspects of traditional modelling. Green walls appear in space as elements car- rying artistic application and sculptural creation in spatial architectural form of structures. Greening and preserving urban spaces have become important issues in considering conditions for designing architectural structures and redefining the relation between technology, energy and shaping, with the possibility of applying green walls in the architectural transformation process of the urban space. Green walls have raised new aesthetic issues, which are in direct correlation with technical solutions