Lighting of Pedestrian Crosswalks in Tartu Karlova District

Magistritöö Energiakasutuse õppekavalTänavavalgustusel on väga tähtis roll linnakeskkonnas. Selleks, et autojuhid näeksid jalakäijaid ülekäigurajal, on vaja ülekäigurajad piisavalt hästi valgustada. Uurimuse eesmärgiks on hinnata Karlova linnaosa ülekäiguradade ja -kohtade vastavust standarditele ning kehtivatele normidele. Töö ülesanneteks on kirjanduslik ülevaade, mõõtmiste tegemine, tulemuste saamine, andmete töötlemine ja järelduste tegemine. Uurimuses võrreldakse omavahel Karlova 94 ülekäigurada, 2 ülekäigukohta ja 11 jalgratta ülekäigukohta. Ülekäiguradade valgustuse spektrite, värviedastusindeksi ja värvsustemperatuuri tulemuste leidmiseks kasutatakse heledusmõõturit MSC15 ning teekatte heleduse mõõtmiseks heledusmõõturit LS-150. Tulemuste töötlemiseks on kasutatud tarkvara Microsoft Excel. Karlova ülekäiguradasid valgustavad enamasti LED-lambid ja jalgratta ülekäike HPS-valgustid, seda kinnitavad ka normaliseeritud spektrid. Keskmise värvsustemperatuuri väärtuseks on 3552 K ja keskmise värviesituse üldindeksi väärtuseks 54. Keskmiseks ülekäiguradade teepinna heleduse väärtuseks saadi 2 cd∙m-2. Tulemustest järeldub, et Karlova ülekäiguradade valgustuse olukord on hea. Teadaolevalt pole varasemalt sarnaseid valgustehnilisi mõõtmisi Karlova linnaosas tehtud ja kahjuks pole võimalik uurimuses saadud tulemusi varasemate andmetega võrrelda. Tulevikus on võimalik teha vastavad lisamõõtmised.Street lighting has a very important role in the urban environment and it is very necessary. The aim of the study is to assess the compliance of the pedestrian crossings in the Karlova district with the standards. The tasks of the work were a literature review, measurements, obtaining results, data processing and drawing conclusions. The study compares Karlova's 94 pedestrian crossings, 2 crossings and 11 bicycle crossings. The luminance meter MSC15 is used to find the results of the illumination spectra, colour rendering index and colour temperature of the crossings. The luminance meter LS-150 is used to measure the brightness of the road surface. Microsoft Excel software has been used to process the results. Karlova pedestrian crossings are mostly illuminated by LED lamps and bicycle crossings by HPS lamps, which is also confirmed by normalized spectra. The median colour temperature is 3552 K and the colour rendering index is 54. The average luminance of the road surface of the crossings is 2 cd∙m-2 . The results show that the lighting situation of Karlova pedestrian crossings is good. No previous similar lighting measurements have been made in the Karlova district before, and unfortunately it is not possible to compare the results obtained in the study with previous data. It is possible to make additional measurements in the future

Solar Energy Applications for Small Dwelling

Bakalaureusetöö Tehnika ja tehnoloogia õppekavalAntud töös on uuritavaks objektiks Pärnumaal Suurejõe külas asuv 94-aastane hoone, kus soovitakse kasutata päikeseenergiat. Hoone ja selle asukoha suhtes kaalutakse mitmeid päikeseenergial toimivaid lahendusi ja tulemuste põhjal leitakse kõige sobivam lahendus. Aastane elektrienergia tarbimine oli 2766 kW h. Uuritavateks päikesejaama lahendusteks on päikesepaneelide ja -kollektorite paigaldamine hoone katusele, juurdeehitise katusele või hoone lähedal olevale maa-alale. Tulemuste välja töötamiseks on kasutatud elektrienergia tarbimist kuude lõikes ja päikesepaiste tingimusi hoone asukohast tingituna ajavahemikul märts 2016 kuni veebruar 2017. Kiirgusvoo andmed on võetud Tartu Ülikooli füüsikainstituudi ilmajaama arhiivist. Päikesepaneelide tootlikkuse arvutamiseks on kasutatud PVGIS programmi ja kollektorite efektiivsuse leidmiseks päikese kiirgusvoo väärtusi. Kõige paremaks PV-lahenduseks oleks juurdeehitise katusele 3,2 kW paigaldatav päikeseelektrijaam, mis toodaks aastas elektrienergiat 2380 kW h. Elanike tarbevee soojendamisvajadusi rahuldaks 2,955 m2 (neeldumispinnaga 1,87 m2 ) vaakumkollektor hoone katusel, mis soojendaks aastas 13 993 liitrit vett. Antud hoone puhul pole varasemaid sellelaadseid uurimustöid tehtud ja seetõttu pole võimalik võrrelda saadud tulemusi eelnevatega. Kuna hoones viibitakse perioodiliselt ja hetkel käivad maja renoveerimistööd, siis kindlasti saaks tulevikus teha järgmised uuringud ja mõõtmised, kui ehitustööd on lõppenud ja kui hoonet kasutatakse aastaringseks elamiseks. Antud töös uuriti elektri tarbimist kuude lõikes, aga tulevikus saaks teha mõõtmisi ka tundide järgi, kus oleks tarbimine täpsemalt analüüsida.Present research has written of one 94 year old dwelling. The house is in Suurejõe village, Pärnu country. The dwelling has not be used the whole year, but usually people live there in the period April to October. In the house live partly two older persons and now it is in the renovating process. The research has written because the popularity of solar energy and the desire to use it. In the analysis will find different ways to use PV-panels and solar thermal collectors. The main goal is to use less electrical energy from the grid and produce energy from the solar energy. The annual electricity consumption from the grid is 2766 kW h. The solar radiation data has taken from the Institute of Physics of the University of Tartu. Where is a weather station and the information of solar radiation includes the period March 2016 to February 2017. The productivity of solar panels has calculated with PVGIS data. This thesis is comparing three different PV-panels in four possible solutions. The best solution is to install 3,2 kW panels to the roof of annexe, which will produce 2380 kW h energy per year. There is a comparison between two different solar thermal collectors. Estimated annual water consumption is almost 40 tons of water. Better solution is to use vacuum tubes solar collector on the roof of the dwelling. The collector of 1,87 m2 absorption surface will heat 14 tons of water per year. There is not any previous results and because of this it is not possible to compare the results. In the future might do new measurements when people live in the dwelling permanently

Tau and Caspase 3 as Targets for Neuroprotection

The peptide drug candidate NAP (davunetide) has demonstrated protective effects in various in vivo and in vitro models of neurodegeneration. NAP was shown to reduce tau hyperphosphorylation as well as to prevent caspase-3 activation and cytochrome-3 release from mitochondria, both characteristic of apoptotic cell death. Recent studies suggest that caspases may play a role in tau pathology. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of NAP on tau hyperphosphorylation and caspase activity in the same biological system. Our experimental setup used primary neuronal cultures subjected to oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD), with and without NAP or caspase inhibitor. Cell viability was assessed by measuring mitochondrial activity (MTS assay), and immunoblots were used for analyzing protein level. It was shown that apoptosis was responsible for all cell death occurring following ischemia, and NAP treatment showed a concentration-dependent protection from cell death. Ischemia caused an increase in the levels of active caspase-3 and hyperphosphorylated tau, both of which were prevented by either NAP or caspase-inhibitor treatment. Our data suggest that, in this model system, caspase activation may be an upstream event to tau hyperphosphorylation, although additional studies will be required to fully elucidate the cascade of events

Causes of Death on Antiretroviral Therapy: A Post-Mortem Study from South Africa

Background: Mortality in the first months of antiretroviral therapy (ART) is a significant clinical problem in sub-Saharan Africa. To date, no post-mortem study has investigated the causes of mortality in these patients. Methods: HIV-positive adults who died as in-patients at a Johannesburg academic hospital underwent chart-review and ultrasound-guided needle autopsy for histological and microbiological examination of lung, liver, spleen, kidney, bone marrow, lymph node, skin and cerebrospinal fluid. A clinico-pathologic committee considered all available data and adjudicated immediate and contributing causes of death. Results: Thirty-nine adults were enrolled: 14 pre-ART, 15 early-ART (7–90 days), and 10 late-ART (>90 days). Needle sampling yielded adequate specimen in 100% of kidney, skin, heart and cerebrospinal fluid samples, 97% of livers and lungs, 92% of bone marrows, 87% of spleens and 68% of lymph nodes. Mycobacterial infections were implicated in 69% of deaths (26 of 27 of these due to M. tuberculosis), bacterial infections in 33%, fungal infections in 21%, neoplasm in 26%, and non-infectious organ failure in 26%. Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) was implicated in 73% of early-ART deaths. Post-mortem investigations revealed previously undiagnosed causes of death in 49% of cases. Multiple pathologies were common with 62% of subjects with mycobacterial infection also having at least one other infectious or neoplastic cause of death. Conclusions: Needle biopsy was efficient and yielded excellent pathology. The large majority of deaths in all three groups were caused by M. tuberculosis suggesting an urgent need for improved diagnosis and expedited treatment prior to and throughout the course of antiretroviral therapy. Complex, unrecognized co-morbidities pose an additional challenge

External Lipid PI3P Mediates Entry of Eukaryotic Pathogen Effectors into Plant and Animal Host Cells

Coverage of RAD sequences. (PDF 224 kb

Impulsiveness, postprandial blood glucose and glucoregulation affect measures of behavioral flexibility

Behavioral flexibility (BF) performance is influenced by both psychological and physiological factors. Recent evidence suggests that impulsivity and blood glucose can affect executive function, of which BF is a subdomain. Here, we hypothesized that impulsivity, fasting blood glucose (FBG), glucose changes (i.e. glucoregulation) from postprandial blood glucose (PBG) following the intake of a 15g glucose beverage could account for variability in BF performance. The Stroop Color-Word Test and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) were used as measures of BF, and the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11) to quantify participants’ impulsivity. In Study 1, neither impulsivity nor FBG could predict performance on the Stroop or the WCST. In Study 2, we tested whether blood glucose levels following the intake of a sugary drink, and absolute changes in glucose levels following the intake of the glucose beverage could better predict BF. Results showed that impulsivity and the difference in blood glucose between time 1 (postprandial) and time 2, but not blood glucose levels at time 2 per se could account for variation in performance on the WCST but not on the Stroop task. More specifically, lower impulsivity scores on the BIS-11, and smaller differences in blood glucose levels from time 1 to time 2 predicted a decrease in the number of total and perseverative errors on the WCST. Our results show that measures of impulsivity and glucoregulation can be used to predict BF. Importantly our data extend the work on glucose and cognition to a clinically relevant domain of cognition

Access to safe abortion: building choices for women living with HIV and AIDS

In many areas of the world where HIV prevalence is high, rates of unintended pregnancy and unsafe abortion have also been shown to be high. Of all pregnancies worldwide in 2008, 41% were reported as unintended or unplanned, and approximately 50% of these ended in abortion. Of the estimated 21.6 million unsafe abortions occurring worldwide in 2008 (around one in 10 pregnancies), approximately 21.2 million occurred in developing countries, often due to restrictive abortion laws and leading to an estimated 47,000 maternal deaths and untold numbers of women who will suffer long-term health consequences. Despite this context, little research has focused on decisions about and experiences of women living with HIV with regard to terminating a pregnancy, although this should form part of comprehensive promotion of sexual and reproductive health rights