Qualitative analysis of the usefulness of perceptualisation techniques in communicating building simulation outputs

This paper complements a previous publication in the Building Simulation Conference series by identifying where perceptualization techniques can improve data presentation and assist with the interpretation of the underlying performance message. The paper describes hypotheses that were tested in practice via a performance display prototype. Intended future work is summarised

Thermal improvement of existing dwellings

This report describes the outcome from a study to determine the impact of energy efficiency measures applied to the Scottish housing stock. Assuming conventional property type classifications, the present performance of the housing stock is quantified using available survey data. Building simulation techniques were then employed to generate a Web-based, decision-support tool for use by policy makers to estimate the impact of deploying energy efficiency measures in different combinations over time. The process of tool formulation is described and an example is given of tool use to identify best-value retrofitting options while taking factors such as future climate change and improved standard of living into account

Continuous Transition Between Weak and Strong Thermalization using Rigorous Bounds on Equilibration of Isolated Systems

We analyze strong and weak thermalization regimes from a perspective of rigorous mathematical upper bounds on the equilibration of isolated quantum systems. We show that weak equilibration can be understood to be due to the small effective dimension of the initial state. Furthermore, analyzing the scaling of an upper bound on the fluctuations, we show that the observable fluctuations decay exponentially with the system size for both weak and strong thermalization indicating no sharp transitions between these two regimes

Immediate one-step lime precipitation and atmospheric carbonation as pretreatment for low biodegradable and high nitrogen wastewaters: A case study of explosives industry

The treatment of some industrial wastewaters is complex, since they usually contain complex non-biodegradable organic compounds or toxic compounds which are not easily treatable. These compounds are not removed by biological treatment in wastewater treatment plants and they may affect the removal of ammonium, nitrate, organic nitrogen by these treatment systems. Therefore, this research proposes a new and innovative low-cost and easy-to-apply pre-treatment to treat low biodegradable and high nitrogen wastewaters, using explosive wastewaters as case study. The pre-treatment is composed by immediate one-step lime precipitation (IOSLM) and atmospheric CO2 carbonation (AC) processes. The novelty of the proposed pre-treatment is based firstly on the use of one reactant (hydrated lime) at high concentrations, added in one step, that produces immediately an abundant and insoluble precipitate able to sweep the organic matter and other contaminants from wastewater in a short time and ensure conditions (pH and Ca2+) for the AC process. Secondly, the AC process uses the sludge produced in IOSLM to keep pH high for longer, allowing ammonia removal while simultaneously the pH is reduced by spontaneous reactions with atmospheric CO2. IOSLM results showed 92.1 %, 98.2 % and 100 % of organic matter, oils and fats, and organic nitrogen removals, respectively, for the optimal hydrated lime dose (7.76 g L−1). In AC process 61 % of ammonium nitrogen was removed and pH reduced to 8.1 in 10 days

Equilibration of Isolated Systems: investigating the role of coarse-graining on the initial state magnetization

Many theoretical and experimental results show that even isolated quantum systems evolving unitarily may equilibrate, since the evolution of some observables may be around an equilibrium value with negligible fluctuations most of the time. There are rigorous theorems giving the conditions for such equilibration to happen. In particular, initial states prepared with a lack of resolution in the energy will equilibrate. We investigate how equilibration may be affected by a lack of resolution, or coarse-graining, in the magnetization of the initial state. In particular, for a chaotic spin chain and using exact diagonalization, we show that an initial state with a coarse, not well-defined magnetization in the z direction show a greater tendency to equilibrate when compared with an initial state with well-defined magnetization. And this tendency will depend on the degree of coarse-graining. We also analyze the time for the system to reach equilibrium, showing good agreement with theoretical estimates and with some evidence that less resolution leads to faster equilibration. Our study highlights the crucial role of initial state preparation in the equilibration dynamics of quantum systems and provides new insights into the fundamental nature of equilibration in closed systems

Optimising mRNA vaccines manufacturing by using Machine learning approaches

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Maximizing mRNA vaccine production with Bayesian optimization

Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines are a new alternative to conventional vaccines with a prominent role in infectious disease control. These vaccines are produced in in vitro transcription (IVT) reactions, catalyzed by RNA polymerase in cascade reactions. To ensure an efficient and cost-effective manufacturing process, essential for a large-scale production and effective vaccine supply chain, the IVT reaction needs to be optimized. IVT is a complex reaction that contains a large number of variables that can affect its outcome. Traditional optimization methods rely on classic Design of Experiments methods, which are time-consuming and can present human bias or based on simplified assumptions. In this contribution, we propose the use of Machine Learning approaches to perform a data-driven optimization of an mRNA IVT reaction. A Bayesian optimization method and model interpretability techniques were used to automate experiment design, providing a feedback loop. IVT reaction conditions were found under 60 optimization runs that produced 12 g · L−1 in solely 2 h. The results obtained outperform published industry standards and data reported in literature in terms of both achievable reaction yield and reduction of production time. Furthermore, this shows the potential of Bayesian optimization as a cost-effective optimization tool within (bio)chemical applications

Point cloud quality evaluation: Towards a definition for test conditions

Recently stakeholders in the area of multimedia representation and transmission have been looking at plenoptic technologies to improve immersive experience. Among these technologies, point clouds denote a volumetric information representation format with important applications in the entertainment, automotive and geographical mapping industries. There is some consensus that state-of-the-art solutions for efficient storage and communication of point clouds are far from satisfactory. This paper describes a study on point cloud quality evaluation, conducted in the context of JPEG Pleno to help define the test conditions of future compression proposals. A heterogeneous set of static point clouds in terms of number of points, geometric structure and represented scenarios were selected and compressed using octree-pruning and a projection-based method, with three different levels of degradation. The models were comprised of both geometrical and color information and were displayed using point sizes large enough to ensure observation of watertight surfaces. The stimuli under assessment were presented to the observers on 2D displays as animations, after defining suitable camera paths to enable visualization of the models in their entirety and realistic consumption. The experiments were carried out in three different laboratories and the subjective scores were used in a series of correlation studies to benchmark objective quality metrics and assess inter-laboratory consistency

Anaerobic co-digestion of cheese whey and the screened liquid fraction of dairy manure in a single continuously stirred tank reactor process: Limits in co-substrate ratios and organic loading rate

Mesophilic anaerobic co-digestion of cheese whey and the screened liquid fraction of dairy manure was investigated with the aim of determining the treatment limits in terms of the cheese whey fraction in feed and the organic loading rate. The results of a continuous stirred tank reactor that was operated with a hydraulic retention time of 15.6 days showed that the co-digestion process was possible with a cheese whey fraction as high as 85% in the feed. The efficiency of the process was similar within the range of the 15–85% cheese whey fraction. To study the effect of the increasing loading rate, the HRT was progressively shortened with the 65% cheese whey fraction in the feed. The reactor efficiency dropped as the HRT decreased but enabled a stable operation over 8.7 days of HRT. At these operating conditions, a volumetric methane production rate of 1.37 m3 CH4 m−3 d−1 was achieved

High-load anaerobic co-digestion of cheese whey and liquid fraction of dairy manure in a one-stage UASB process: limits in co-substrates ratio and organic loading rate

Cheese whey is considered an important pollutant in dairy wastewaters and an environmental problem to solve. This study aimed to develop a treatment process that combines the advantages of co-digesting cheese whey with manure and the short hydraulic retention time of a high-load anaerobic treatment system by using liquid fractions of dairy manure as a co-substrate. The proposed co-digestion process consists of a one-stage UASB reactor with an external settler and effluent recycling for alkalinity supplementation. Under a constant hydraulic retention time of 2.2 days and increasing proportion of cheese whey in the feed, the system demonstrated stable operation up to a 75% cheese whey fraction in the feed, with an applied organic loading rate of 19.4 kg COD m−3 d−1, obtaining a 94.7% COD removal and a volumetric methane production rate of 6.4 m3 CH4 m−3 d−1. Critical biomass washout was experienced when the cheese whey fraction in the feed was 85%. Operation at a constant 60% cheese whey fraction in the feed mixture enabled stable operation under an organic loading rate of 28.7 kg COD m−3 d−1 and 1.3 days HRT, with 95.1% COD removal and a volumetric methane production rate of 9.5 m3 CH4 m−3 d−1. This new high-load co-digestion method proposed is a promising solution for areas where cheese factories and intensive livestock farming are responsible for environmental pollution caused by unsuitable cheese whey and manure management practices