Factors Influencing Household Solar Adoption in Santiago, Chile

In Santiago, Chile, the market conditions are seemingly excellent for the household adoption of photovoltaic (PV) technology, yet the uptake is negligible. To explore this paradox, the authors conducted a Delphi study to solicit the knowledge of a panel of Chilean PV experts. These efforts yielded 26 factors—both motivations and barriers—impacting the diffusion of PV in Santiago. Of the 26, experts were in consensus on the relative importance of 21. The literature suggests that diffusion of PV technologies is influenced by complex technical, economic, and social factors. Similarly, the experts saw influence from financial, environmental, and energy supply (e.g., electrical reliability) factors. They saw emergent barriers to adoption as being financial, technical, institutional, and knowledge factors. They considered the most important factors influencing adoption to be financial motivations (e.g., subsidies) and financial barriers (e.g., high upfront costs); they considered the least important factors to be environmental motivations (e.g., environmental stewardship) and technical barriers (e.g., concerns with roof mounting). With this knowledge, the authors develop an adoption framework for household PV that describes the interaction among the identified motivations and barriers. This framework informs policy recommendations for Santiago, Chile, and contributes to the body of literature exploring the interconnected systems of factors that influence civil infrastructure in general and PV adoption in particular

Peak Ventilation Reference Standards from Exercise Testing: From the FRIEND Registry

Peak Ventilation Reference Standards from Exercise Testing: From the FRIEND Registry. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 50, No. 12, pp. 2603–2608, 2018. Purpose: Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPX) provides valuable clinical information, including peak ventilation (V˙ Epeak), which has been shown to have diagnostic and prognostic value in the assessment of patients with underlying pulmonary disease. This report provides reference standards for V˙ Epeak derived from CPX on treadmills in apparently healthy individuals. Methods: Nine laboratories in the United States experienced in CPX administration with established quality control procedures contributed to the Fitness Registry and the Importance of Exercise National Database from 2014 to 2017. Data from 5232 maximal exercise tests from men and women without cardiovascular or pulmonary disease were used to create percentiles ofV˙ Epeak for both men and women by decade between 20 and 79 yr. Additionally, prediction equations were developed for V˙ Epeak using descriptive information. Results: V˙ Epeak was found to be significantly different between men and women and across age groups (P G 0.05). The rate of decline in V˙ Epeak was 8.0% per decade for both men and women. A stepwise regression model of 70% of the sample revealed that sex, age, and height were significant predictors ofV˙ Epeak. The equation was cross-validated with data from the remaining 30% of the sample with a final equation developed from the full sample (r = 0.73). Additionally, a linear regression model revealed forced expiratory volume in 1 s significantly predicted V˙ Epeak (r = 0.73). Conclusions: Reference standards were developed for V˙ Epeak for the United States population. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing laboratories will be able to provide interpretation of V˙ Epeak from these age and sex-specific percentile reference values or alternatively can use these nonexercise prediction equations incorporating sex, age, and height or with a single predictor of forced expiratory volume in 1 s

Risk Attitudes and Global Infrastructure Technology Choices

Past research shows that Hofstede’s cultural dimension of uncertainty avoidance explains variance in nations’ technology choice for sanitation and electricity infrastructure construction. The uncertainty avoidance dimension describes the way that nations deal with ambiguity and uncertainty. This paper is part of a larger project that links that previous national scale research to the project level that is most relevant to the construction practice. As such, this paper reviews methods from the literature that measure individual risk attitudes, including issues of measurement and risk determinants. For example, this paper discusses paid real-stakes lotteries, general risk questions, and context specific risk questions. Respondent gender, age, and income are identified as determinants of risky behavior. The utility of these various measurement strategies is discussed with specific regard to future research intended to explain variance in the construction of distributed household renewable electricity infrastructure. Finally, a questionnaire design for future research is proposed

Cardiorespiratory Fitness Is Inversely Associated With Clustering of Metabolic Syndrome Risk Factors: The Ball State Adult Fitness Program Longitudinal Lifestyle Study

Objective: The focus of this study was the association between the metabolic syndrome (MetSyn) and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) defined as maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max). Although previous research has shown a relationship between MetSyn and CRF, most studies are based on less objective measures of CRF and different cardiometabolic risk factor thresholds from earlier guidelines

The Association Between the Long-Term Change in Directly Measured Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Mortality Risk

Introduction: There is a strong inverse association between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and mortality outcomes. This relationship has predominantly been assessed cross-sectionally, however low CRF is a modifiable risk factor, thus assessing this association using a single baseline measure may be sub-optimal. Purpose: To examine the association of the long-term change in CRF, measured using cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPX) with all-cause and disease-specific mortality. Methods: Participants included 833 apparently healthy men and women (42.9±10.8 years) who underwent two maximal CPXs, the second CPX being ≥ 1 year following the baseline assessment. Participants were followed for 17.7 ± 11.8 years for allcause, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and cancer mortality. Cox-proportional hazard models were performed to determine the association between the change in CRF, computed as visit 1 (V1) peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak (ml·kg-1·min-1)) – visit 2 (V2) VO2peak, and mortality outcomes. Results: During follow-up, 172 participants died. Overall, the change in CPX-derived CRF was inversely related to all-cause, CVD, and cancer mortality (p\u3c0.05). Each 1 ml·kg-1·min-1 increase was associated with a 10.8, 14.7, and 15.9% reductions in allcause, CVD, and cancer mortality, respectively. The inverse relationship between CRF and all-cause mortality remained significant (p\u3c0.05) when men and women were examined independently, after adjusting for years since first CPX, baseline VO2peak, and age. Conclusion: Long-term changes in CRF were inversely related to mortality outcomes, and mortality was better predicted by CRF measured at subsequent examination than baseline CRF. These findings support the recent American Heart Association scientific statement advocating CRF as a clinical vital sign that should be assessed routinely in clinical practice, as well as support regular participation in physical activity to maintain adequate CRF levels across the lifespan

Clinical Perspectives on Incorporating Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Clinical Practice

Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) has been documented as a strong, independent predictor of non-communicable disease and mortality in both clinical and apparently healthy populations. This well-established relationship has impelled organizations, including the American Heart Association, to release scientific statements highlighting the importance of accurate quantification of CRF. Current knowledge of the relationship between CRF and mortality is predominantly based on estimated CRF obtained from varying indirect methods. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPX), the gold standard method of CRF measurement, provides a more accurate and reliable quantification of CRF compared to estimated methods. This review provides support for the diagnostic and prognostic use of CRF based on the current literature and makes a case for the use of CPX when available, as well as the need for standardization of normative values defining CRF levels to increase the efficacy of the risk assessment. Further, clinical applications of CPX-derived CRF are discussed, providing clinicians with recommendations on how to use and interpret this measure in practice to guide clinical decisions and improve patient outcomes

Masses, Oxygen and Carbon abundances in CHEPS dwarf stars

Reproduced with permission from Astronomy & Astrophysics. © 2019 ESOContext. We report the results from the determination of stellar masses, carbon, and oxygen abundances in the atmospheres of 107 stars from the Calan-Hertfordshire Extrasolar Planet Search (CHEPS) programme. Our stars are drawn from a population with a significantly super-solar metallicity. At least 10 of these stars are known to host orbiting planets. Aims. In this work, we set out to understand the behaviour of carbon and oxygen abundance in stars with different spectral classes, metallicities, and V sin i within the metal-rich stellar population. Methods. Masses of these stars were determined using data from Gaia DR2. Oxygen and carbon abundances were determined by fitting the absorption lines. We determined oxygen abundances with fits to the 6300.304 Å O I line, and we used 3 lines of the C I atom and 12 lines of the C 2 molecule for the determination of carbon abundances. Results. We determine masses and abundances of 107 CHEPS stars. There is no evidence that the [C/O] ratio depends on V sin i or the mass of the star within our constrained range of masses, i.e. 0.82 5 km s -1) are massive stars.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio