CO2-Balance for Buildings and Transportation in Hashtgerd New Town and Tehran Region

Zugleich gedruckt veröffentlicht im Universitätsverlag der TU Berlin unter der ISBN 978-3-7983-2583-8.Aufgrund des hohen Energieverbrauches in der Teheran-Region sind die CO2-Emissionen ebenfalls sehr hoch. Wohn- und Bürogebäude machten 2008 einen Anteil an der CO2-Emission von 41% und Transport bis zu 25% aus. In dieser Veröffentlichung werden die Ergebnisse der verschiedenen Planungsfelder betreffend der Entwicklung von CO2-Emissionen in der New Town Hashtgerd und der Teheran-Karaj-Region im Iran dargestellt. Die Abschätzungen sind auf die Emissionen von Wohn-, Mischnutzung-, Bürogebäuden und Verkehr beschränkt. Die Auswirkung der Planungsansätze im Projekt auf die CO2-Reduktion werde abgeschätzt und die Handlungsempfehlungen gegeben. Die CO2-Emissionen von Gebäuden und von Verkehr werden basierend auf ihren Energieverbrauch mithilfe einer Energiesimulation und von CO2-Emission-Faktoren für verschiedene Energieträger berechnet. Zuerst sind die spezifischen CO2-Emissionen für das Projekt der New Town Hashtgerd bestimmt worden. Dann wurden diese für die ganze ehemalige Teheran-Provinz extrapoliert. Die CO2-Emissionen pro Kopf und Jahr wurden in zwei Forecast-Szenarios für das Jahr 2027 geschätzt und verglichen. Diese beruhen auf den Ergebnissen der Konzepte zu den Wohn- und Bürogebäuden sowie für die Verkehrsplanung in der New Town. Das erste Szenario „BAU 2027“ zeigt die CO2-Emissionen im Jahre 2027, wenn die Entwicklung im Iran den aktuellen Trends folgt. Das zweite Szenario „Planungsszenario 2027“ prognostiziert die CO2-Emissionen für 2027, wenn zwei Prozent aller Neubauten entsprechend den Standards von New Towns errichtet werden und das vorgeschlagene Verkehrskonzept umgesetzt wird. Der Vergleich dieser beiden Szenarios zeigt die erreichbare Reduzierung von den CO2-Emissionen für 2027 bei Umsetzung der Young Cities-Forschungsergebnisse. Alle betrachteten Bereiche zeigen bedeutende Potenziale von möglichen Emissionseinsparungen, welche im Young Cities-Projekt entwickelt worden sind. Die Umsetzung der entwickelten Ansätze führen im Vergleich zu herkömmlichen Planungs-, Bau- und Verhaltensansätze zu deutlichen Energie- und Emissionseinsparungen. Hingewiesen werden muss, dass die dargestellten Ergebnisse auf Simulationsalgorithmen basieren, die wirkliche Zusammenhänge soweit wie möglich modellieren. Die Schätzungen basieren auf verschiedene Annahmen, sodass Abweichungen nicht ausgeschlossen werden können. Für eine Gesamt-CO2-Bilanz müssen noch andere energieintensive Bereiche betrachtet werden wie Industrie, Landwirtschaft und Energieerzeugung. Nichtsdestotrotz unterstreichen die Ergebnisse dieser Veröffentlichung die Wirksamkeit der entwickelten Ansätze und zeigen mögliche nachhaltige Entwicklungspfade in der Teheran-Karaj-Region auf.Due to the very high energy consumption in the Tehran region, CO2 emissions are also very high, with the residential and commercial buildings making up the largest share of 41 % by 2008 and for transportation up to 25 %. This publication tries to estimate the results of different planning fields in New Town Hashtgerd and Teheran-Karaj region in Iran regarding the development of CO2 emissions. Concerning this goal the expressiveness of the paper is limited to emissions caused by mixed-use-buildings, office-buildings and transportation. In order to evaluate the project’s impact in terms of CO2 reduction, the emission savings through the implementation of Young Cities’ project findings and recommendations are estimated. The CO2 emissions of buildings and transportation are calculated based on their energy consumption, based on energy simulation, and the CO2 emission factors for different energy carriers. First the specific CO2 emissions are balanced for the project area of Hashtgerd New Town and then they are extrapolated for the whole former Tehran province. The CO2 emissions per capita and year are estimated and compared using two forecast scenarios for the year 2027 based on the preliminary results of the residential and office building as well as transport planning within the Young Cities project. The first scenario “business as usual 2027” visualizes the CO2 emissions in 2027, with the development following the current trends in Iran. The second scenario “planning scenario 2027” forecasts the CO2 emissions for 2027 assuming that two per cent of all new buildings are built according to the results of the Young Cities project and the suggested transportation system is implemented. The comparison of these two scenarios indicates the possible reduction of CO2 emissions for 2027 achieved through the implementation of the Young Cities’ research findings. All areas monitored show significant potentials of possible emission savings which have been developed in the Young Cities project. It therefore appears that the implementation of the developed measures could lead to eminent energy and emission savings in comparison with conventional planning, construction and behaviour approaches. Anyway it needs to be born that the results provided in this paper is based on simulation algorithms trying to represent real conditions as far as possible. As long as those estimations are based on various assumptions meanderings can therefore not be excluded. To fulfil the requirements of an overall CO2 balance in Hashtgerd additional energy intensive fields like industry, agriculture and power plant need to consider as well. Nonetheless the results of this paper underline the effectiveness of the developed approaches and emphasise ways of future development in the Tehran-Karaj region

Family incidence of endometriosis in first-, second-, and third-degree relatives: case-control study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Initial publications examining the hereditary aspects of endometriosis appeared in the early seventies and demonstrated an up to seven-fold risk for endometriosis in first-degree relatives of endometriosis patients. The aim was to evaluate the influence of hereditary aspects on the endometriosis risk in our patient collective.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In a retrospective cohort study we evaluated the incidence of endometriosis among first-, second-, and third-degree relatives of endometriosis patients and compare it with its incidence among first-, second-, and third-degree relatives of patients without endometriosis.</p> <p>Result(s)</p> <p>Eighty patients in whom endometriosis had been confirmed laparoscopically and histologically by biopsy and 60 patients in whom no endometriosis had been found during laparoscopy were given a questionnaire about the presence of symptoms associated with endometriosis and its family incidence. Patients of both the endometriosis and the control group were 37.7 ± 6.2 and 45.9 ± 12.0 years of age at the time of the interview, respectively (p < 0.05). Information about the presence of endometriosis was more readily available for relatives of those in the endometriosis group than for those in the control group (325/749 [43.4%] vs. 239/425 [56.2%], p < 0.05). In 5/136 (3.7%) and 8/134 (6.0%) first-degree relatives of endometriosis patients and the control group, respectively, information about the presence of endometriosis was not available (p = 0.554). Endometriosis was found in 8/136 (5.9%) first-degree relatives of patients and in 4/134 (3.0%) first-degree relatives of controls in the real-case analysis (p = 0.248). When comparing endometriosis characteristics between endometriosis patients with and without a history of familial endometriosis, no significant differences were found.</p> <p>Conclusion(s)</p> <p>There is a trend toward an increased familial incidence of endometriosis. In contrast to the literature, we found a less dramatic increase in familial risk for the development of endometriosis.</p

Association of Human FOS Promoter Variants with the Occurrence of Knee-Osteoarthritis in a Case Control Association Study

Our aim was to analyse (i) the presence of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the JUN and FOS core promoters in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), knee-osteoarthritis (OA), and normal controls (NC); (ii) their functional influence on JUN/FOS transcription levels; and (iii) their associations with the occurrence of RA or knee-OA. JUN and FOS promoter SNPs were identified in an initial screening population using the Non-Isotopic RNase Cleavage Assay (NIRCA); their functional influence was analysed using reporter gene assays. Genotyping was done in RA (n = 298), knee-OA (n = 277), and NC (n = 484) samples. For replication, significant associations were validated in a Finnish cohort (OA: n = 72, NC: n = 548). Initially, two SNPs were detected in the JUN promoter and two additional SNPs in the FOS promoter in perfect linkage disequilibrium (LD). JUN promoter SNP rs4647009 caused significant downregulation of reporter gene expression, whereas reporter gene expression was significantly upregulated in the presence of the FOS promoter SNPs. The homozygous genotype of FOS promoter SNPs showed an association with the susceptibility for knee-OA (odds ratio (OR) 2.12, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2-3.7, p = 0.0086). This association was successfully replicated in the Finnish Health 2000 study cohort (allelic OR 1.72, 95% CI 1.2-2.5, p = 0.006). FOS Promoter variants may represent relevant susceptibility markers for knee-OA.Peer reviewe

The role of structured reporting and structured operation planning in functional endoscopic sinus surgery

Computed tomography (CT) scans represent the gold standard in the planning of functional endoscopic sinus surgeries (FESS). Yet, radiologists and otolaryngologists have different perspectives on these scans. In general, residents often struggle with aspects involved in both reporting and operation planning. The aim of this study was to compare the completeness of structured reports (SR) of preoperative CT images and structured operation planning (SOP) to conventional reports (CR) and conventional operation planning (COP) to potentially improve future treatment decisions on an individual level. In total, 30 preoperative CT scans obtained for surgical planning of patients scheduled for FESS were evaluated using SR and CR by radiology residents. Subsequently, otolaryngology residents performed a COP using free texts and a SOP using a specific template. All radiology reports and operation plannings were evaluated by two experienced FESS surgeons regarding their completeness for surgical planning. User satisfaction of otolaryngology residents was assessed by using visual analogue scales. Overall radiology report completeness was significantly higher using SRs regarding surgically important structures compared to CRs (84.4 vs. 22.0%, p<0.001). SOPs produced significantly higher completeness ratings (97% vs. 39.4%, p<0.001) regarding pathologies and anatomical variances. Moreover, time efficiency was not significantly impaired by implementation of SR (148 s vs. 160 s, p = 0.61) and user satisfaction was significantly higher for SOP (VAS 8.1 vs. 4.1, p<0.001). Implementation of SR and SOP results in a significantly increased completeness of radiology reports and operation planning for FESS. Consequently, the combination of both facilitates surgical planning and may decrease potential risks during FESS

Lower frequency routine surveillance endomyocardial biopsies after heart transplantation

In heart transplantation (HTx) patients, routine surveillance endomyocardial biopsies (rsEMB) are recommended for the detection of early cardiac allograft rejection. However, there is no consensus on the optimal frequency of rsEMB. Frequent rsEMB have shown a low diagnostic yield in the new era of potent immunosuppressive regimen. Efficacy and safety of lower frequency rsEMB have not been investigated so far. In this retrospective, single centre, observational study we evaluated 282 patients transplanted between 2004 and 2014. 218 of these patients were investigated by rsEMB and symptom-triggered EMB (stEMB). We evaluated EMB results, complications, risk factors for rejection, survival 1 and 5 years as well as incidence of cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) 3 years after HTx. A mean of 7.1 +/- 2.5 rsEMB were conducted per patient within the first year after HTx identifying 7 patients with asymptomatic and 9 patients with symptomatic acute rejection requiring glucocorticoide pulse therapy. Despite this relatively low frequency of rsEMB, only 6 unscheduled stEMB were required in the first year after HTx leading to 2 additional treatments. In 6 deaths among all 282 patients (2.1%), acute rejection could not be ruled out as a potential underlying cause. Overall survival at 1 year was 78.7% and 5-year survival was 74%. Incidence of CAV was 17% at 3-year follow-up. Morbidity and mortality of lower frequency rsEMB are comparable with data from the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) registry. Consensus is needed on the optimal frequency of EMB

The tree that hides the forest : cryptic diversity and phylogenetic relationships in the Palaearctic vector Obsoletus/Scoticus Complex (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) at the European level

Correction: Volume: 13 Issue: 1 Article Number: 483 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-020-04349-yBackgroundCulicoides obsoletus is an abundant and widely distributed Holarctic biting midge species, involved in the transmission of bluetongue virus (BTV) and Schmallenberg virus (SBV) to wild and domestic ruminants. Females of this vector species are often reported jointly with two morphologically very close species, C. scoticus and C. montanus, forming the Obsoletus/Scoticus Complex. Recently, cryptic diversity within C. obsoletus was reported in geographically distant sites. Clear delineation of species and characterization of genetic variability is mandatory to revise their taxonomic status and assess the vector role of each taxonomic entity. Our objectives were to characterize and map the cryptic diversity within the Obsoletus/Scoticus Complex.MethodsPortion of the cox1 mitochondrial gene of 3763 individuals belonging to the Obsoletus/Scoticus Complex was sequenced. Populations from 20 countries along a Palaearctic Mediterranean transect covering Scandinavia to Canary islands (North to South) and Canary islands to Turkey (West to East) were included. Genetic diversity based on cox1 barcoding was supported by 16S rDNA mitochondrial gene sequences and a gene coding for ribosomal 28S rDNA. Species delimitation using a multi-marker methodology was used to revise the current taxonomic scheme of the Obsoletus/Scoticus Complex.ResultsOur analysis showed the existence of three phylogenetic clades (C. obsoletus clade O2, C. obsoletus clade dark and one not yet named and identified) within C. obsoletus. These analyses also revealed two intra-specific clades within C. scoticus and raised questions about the taxonomic status of C. montanus.ConclusionsTo our knowledge, our study provides the first genetic characterization of the Obsoletus/Scoticus Complex on a large geographical scale and allows a revision of the current taxonomic classification for an important group of vector species of livestock viruses in the Palaearctic region.Peer reviewe

Maternal characteristics associated with the dietary intake of nitrates, nitrites, and nitrosamines in women of child-bearing age: a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Multiple <it>N</it>-nitroso compounds have been observed in animal studies to be both mutagenic and teratogenic. Human exposure to <it>N</it>-nitroso compounds and their precursors, nitrates and nitrites, can occur through exogenous sources, such as diet, drinking water, occupation, or environmental exposures, and through endogenous exposures resulting from the formation of <it>N</it>-nitroso compounds in the body. Very little information is available on intake of nitrates, nitrites, and nitrosamines and factors related to increased consumption of these compounds.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using survey and dietary intake information from control women (with deliveries of live births without major congenital malformations during 1997-2004) who participated in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS), we examined the relation between various maternal characteristics and intake of nitrates, nitrites, and nitrosamines from dietary sources. Estimated intake of these compounds was obtained from the Willet Food Frequency Questionnaire as adapted for the NBDPS. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the consumption of these compounds by self-reported race/ethnicity and other maternal characteristics.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Median intake per day for nitrates, nitrites, total nitrites (nitrites + 5% nitrates), and nitrosamines was estimated at 40.48 mg, 1.53 mg, 3.69 mg, and 0.472 μg respectively. With the lowest quartile of intake as the referent category and controlling for daily caloric intake, factors predicting intake of these compounds included maternal race/ethnicity, education, body mass index, household income, area of residence, folate intake, and percent of daily calories from dietary fat. Non-Hispanic White participants were less likely to consume nitrates, nitrites, and total nitrites per day, but more likely to consume dietary nitrosamines than other participants that participated in the NBDPS. Primary food sources of these compounds also varied by maternal race/ethnicity.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Results of this study indicate that intake of nitrates, nitrites, and nitrosamines vary considerably by race/ethnicity, education, body mass index, and other characteristics. Further research is needed regarding how consumption of foods high in nitrosamines and <it>N</it>-nitroso precursors might relate to risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes and chronic diseases.</p

Expression Atlas: gene and protein expression across multiple studies and organisms

Expression Atlas (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/gxa) is an added value database that provides information about gene and protein expression in different species and contexts, such as tissue, developmental stage, disease or cell type. The available public and controlled access data sets from different sources are curated and re-analysed using standardized, open source pipelines and made available for queries, download and visualization. As of August 2017, Expression Atlas holds data from 3,126 studies across 33 different species, including 731 from plants. Data from large-scale RNA sequencing studies including Blueprint, PCAWG, ENCODE, GTEx and HipSci can be visualized next to each other. In Expression Atlas, users can query genes or gene-sets of interest and explore their expression across or within species, tissues, developmental stages in a constitutive or differential context, representing the effects of diseases, conditions or experimental interventions. All processed data matrices are available for direct download in tab-delimited format or as R-data. In addition to the web interface, data sets can now be searched and downloaded through the Expression Atlas R package. Novel features and visualizations include the on-the-fly analysis of gene set overlaps and the option to view gene co-expression in experiments investigating constitutive gene expression across tissues or other conditions