Improving small power energy estimations for energy audits in offices

Approximately 40% of global energy use can be attributed to buildings; in commercial buildings around 20% of the total energy used comes from small power loads. In the UK,this percentage is expected to reach up to 50% in highly efficient offices in the next 20 years. This trend makes small power loads in commercial buildings one of the fastest growing load categories. Quantitative energy audits for the analysis of the energy performance of buildings are conventionally divided into two approaches, calculation, based on algorithms and equations, and measurement,which performs some level of direct monitoring. The sequantitative energy audit approaches are common tools for evaluating the potential for reducing energy demand in buildings. Small power load estimations in office buildings present challenges for both approaches due to the large number of such loads and their heterogeneous nature, and results in significant uncertainty in these estimations. This thesis investigates the sources of uncertainty of the small power energy estimations for the different audit approaches, and proposes and tests a number of methods and techniques to overcome these weaknesses in the auditing process. For the calculation approach, insufficient input parameter specifications have been identified as the main source of uncertainty, which is associated with variability in the model output. A sensitivity analysis method has been developed to identify the inputs that most contribute to such output variability and that require additional effort to strengthen their accuracy in order to minimize the likely error in calculated small power energy consumption. These influential parameters have been found to depend not only on the information sources available, but also on the calculation method used and the type of load estimated. Regarding the measurement approach, its uncertainty is related to the number of meters used, which increases the quality of the information, but also the complexity of the hardware installation. An extrapolation method for providing the relationship between the number of appliances monitored and the accuracy obtained in the final energy estimations has been proposed. Results showed a logarithmic relationship between the number of desks monitored in a case study office and the relative standard uncertainty percentage obtained in the energy estimations for the aggregated load of the PCs. The method informs about the level of metering infrastructure required in accordance with the level of uncertainty that can be accepted for the small power energy estimations. Non-Intrusive Appliance Load Monitoring (NIALM) methods, as a solution for small power individual load estimation in office buildings, have also been explored through a practical study. The disaggregation capabilities for the different electrical signatures, and their dependence on appliance type and number have been investigated. Although the overall accuracy in the disaggregation process was found to be significantly smaller for offices than for domestic scenarios, some signature combinations, such as the Root Meter Square Increments and the Steady Harmonic Increment, were found to achieve up to 90% of accuracy in the disaggregation process. The outcomes from this study contribute to the extension of the use of existing NIALM methods from domestic to office buildings in the field of small power disaggregation

Tricuspid Insufficiency after Laser Lead Extraction

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/99088/1/pace12160.pd

Association of acculturation with cardiac structure and function among Hispanics/Latinos: a cross-sectional analysis of the echocardiographic study of Latinos.

OBJECTIVE:Hispanics/Latinos, the largest immigrant population in the USA, undergo the process of acculturation and have a large burden of heart failure risk. Few studies have examined the association of acculturation on cardiac structure and function. DESIGN:Cross-sectional. SETTING:The Echocardiographic Study of Latinos. PARTICIPANTS:1818 Hispanic adult participants with baseline echocardiographic assessment and acculturation measured by the Short Acculturation Scale, nativity, age at immigration, length of US residence, generational status and language. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES:Echocardiographic assessment of left atrial volume index (LAVI), left ventricular mass index (LVMI), early diastolic transmitral inflow and mitral annular velocities. RESULTS:The study population was predominantly Spanish-speaking and foreign-born with mean residence in the US of 22.7 years, mean age of 56.4 years; 50% had hypertension, 28% had diabetes and 44% had a body mass index &gt;30 kg/m2. Multivariable analyses demonstrated higher LAVI with increasing years of US residence. Foreign-born and first-generation participants had higher E/e' but lower LAVI and e' velocities compared with the second generation. Higher acculturation and income &gt;20K were associated with higher LVMI, LAVI and E/e' but lower e' velocities. Preferential Spanish-speakers with an income <20K had a higher E/e'. CONCLUSIONS:Acculturation was associated with abnormal cardiac structure and function, with some effect modification by socioeconomic status

Tris{N-[(anthracen-9-yl)methyl­ene­amino]thio­ureato}cobalt(III) tetra­hydrate

In the title complex, [Co(C16H12N3S)3]·4H2O, the central CoIII atom is in a distorted octa­hedral coordination environment. There are three N-[(anthracen-9-yl)­methyl­ene­amino]­thio­ureate ligands coordinated to the CoIII atom via three imine N and three thio­amide S atoms. The Co—S and Co—N bond distances are in expected ranges [2.2194 (8)—2.2545 (8) and 1.926 (2)—1.985 (2)Å, respectively]. The endocyclic S—Co—N bond angles in the five-membered chelate rings range from 82.91 (7) to 85.33 (7)°. The structure contains four water mol­ecules which are disordered over 12 sites and link the complex mol­ecules into a three-dimensional network through N—H⋯O, O—H⋯O, O—H⋯N, and O—H⋯S hydrogen bonds

Integrating the STOP-BANG Score and Clinical Data to Predict Cardiovascular Events After Infarction A Machine Learning Study

BACKGROUND: OSA conveys worse clinical outcomes in patients with coronary artery disease. The STOP-BANG score is a simple tool that evaluates the risk of OSA and can be added to the large number of clinical variables and scores that are obtained during the management of patients with myocardial infarction (MI). Currently, machine learning (ML) is able to select and integrate numerous variables to optimize prediction tasks. RESEARCH QUESTION: Can the integration of STOP-BANG score with clinical data and scores through ML better identify patients who experienced an in-hospital cardiovascular event after acute MI? STUDY DESIGN AND METHOD: This is a prospective observational cohort study of 124 patients with acute MI of whom the STOP-BANG score classified 34 as low (27.4%), 30 as intermediate (24.2%), and 60 as high (48.4%) OSA-risk patients who were followed during hospitalization. ML implemented feature selection and integration across 47 variables (including STOP-BANG score, Killip class, GRACE score, and left ventricular ejection fraction) to identify those patients who experienced an in-hospital cardiovascular event (ie, death, ventricular arrhythmias, atrial fibrillation, recurrent angina, reinfarction, stroke, worsening heart failure, or cardiogenic shock) after definitive MI treatment. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to compare ML performance against STOP-BANG score, Killip class, GRACE score, and left ventricular ejection fraction, independently. RESULTS: There were an increasing proportion of cardiovascular events across the low, intermediate, and high OSA risk groups (P = .005). ML selected 7 accessible variables (ie, Killip class, leukocytes, GRACE score, c reactive protein, oxygen saturation, STOP-BANG score, and N-terminal prohormone of B-type natriuretic peptide); their integration outperformed all comparators (area under the curve, 0.83 [95% CI, 0.74-0.90]; P <.01). INTERPRETATION: The integration of the STOP-BANG score into clinical evaluation (considering Killip class, GRACE score, and simple laboratory values) of subjects who were admitted for an acute MI because of ML can significantly optimize the identification of patients who will experience an in-hospital cardiovascular event

Race Place and Capital Workshop

This workshop will look at a series of questions that have in common a theoretical concern with Race, Place, and Capital. Participants will address issues of empire, development, transnationalism, and policing.Mershon Center for International Security StudiesDepartment of Political ScienceCriminal Justice Research CenterCenter for Interdisciplinary Law and Policy Studie

Family Environment and the Metabolic Syndrome: Results from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) Sociocultural Ancillary Study (SCAS)

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Very limited work has evaluated associations of sociocultural processes with prevalence of the MetS

Effectiveness and Safety of the Switch from Remicade® to CT-P13 in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: To evaluate the clinical outcomes in patients with IBD after switching from Remicade® to CT-P13 in comparison with patients who maintain Remicade®. METHODS: Patients under Remicade® who were in clinical remission with standard dosage at study entry were included. The ''switch cohort'' [SC] comprised patients who made the switch from Remicade® to CT-P13, and the ''non-switch'' cohort [NC] patients remained under Remicade®. RESULTS: A total of 476 patients were included: 199 [42%] in the SC and 277 [58%] in the NC. The median follow-up was 18 months in the SC and 23 months in the NC [p < 0.01]. Twenty-four out of 277 patients relapsed in the NC; the incidence of relapse was 5% per patient-year. The cumulative incidence of relapse was 2% at 6 months and 10% at 24 months in this group. Thirty-eight out of 199 patients relapsed in the SC; the incidence rate of relapse was 14% per patient-year. The cumulative incidence of relapse was 5% at 6 months and 28% at 24 months. In the multivariate analysis, the switch to CT-P13 was associated with a higher risk of relapse (HR = 3.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2-6). Thirteen percent of patients had adverse events in the NC, compared with 6% in the SC [p < 0.05]. CONCLUSIONS: Switching from Remicade® to CT-P13 might be associated with a higher risk of clinical relapse, although this fact was not supported in our study by an increase in objective markers of inflammation. The nocebo effect might have influenced this result. Switching from Remicade® to CT-P13 was safe

Uso de tecnología solar en actividades agropecuarias de la Región Huetar Norte de Costa Rica (Parte I y II)

Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, 2021Este manual se pretende mostrar los resultados de la aplicación de esta energía en sistemas de producción agropecuaria en la Región Huetar Norte de Costa Rica. Para ello se ha montado varios sistemas térmicos y uno fotovoltaico y se ha determinado su volumen de producción a través de un sistema computarizado de registro de datos. La primera parte del manual “Uso de tecnología solar en actividades agropecuarias de la Región Huetar Norte de Costa Rica. Manual Técnico” fue el resultado de los primeros proyectos de investigación y extensión desarrollados entre 2014 y 2017 por Grupo de Investigación en Sistemas Térmicos Solares para la Agricultura del Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Naturales para el Desarrollo del Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Naturales para el Desarrollo (Campus Tecnológico Local San Carlos, Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica), cuyos integrantes comenzaron a trabajar en la aplicación de la tecnología térmica solar en otras actividades agrícolas (secado, escaldado, entre otros) a partir de 2017. Esta segunda parte está compuesta por un compendio de artículos publicados en diferentes medios científicos, técnicos, divulgativos y memorias de eventos científicos y, también incluye algunos otros resultados producto del registro, la evaluación de los datos del funcionamiento de estos equipos y los planos de cada uno de los sistemas (Cuadro 1). El proyecto que dio inicio a la aplicación de sistemas solares en unidades de producción agrícola, especialmente en ganadería, se denominó “Implementación de tecnologías solares en actividades económicas agropecuarias en la zona Huetar Norte de Costa Rica. Programa local piloto”, el cual estuvo inscrito en el Programa de Regionalización Universitaria (PUR-CONARE) y que inició en 2014 en el Campus Tecnológico Local San Carlos (ITCR) y contó con un financiamiento de 10 millones de colones aportados por el ITCR. Ese proyecto, así como la experiencia generada por los investigadores, abrió la puerta para la ejecución de otros proyectos relacionados (cuadro 2) que lograron atraer más de 200 millones de colones de fondos externos (MAG- FITTACORI, INDER, Fundación CRUSA) para la utilización de energía solar en las actividades de pequeños y medianos productores agropecuarios y agroindustriales, comunidades, así como a cooperativas y asociaciones de productores legalmente constituidos principalmente en la región Huetar Norte de Costa Rica (Cuadro 3). Estos proyectos han permitido mejorar la calidad de los procesos de producción, tanto agrícola como agroindustrial, en los procesos de esterilización, pasteurización, secado y escaldado, el uso de sistemas limpios de producción y la mejora de las condiciones ambientales, por la reducción de la huella de carbono y de la emisión de gases de efecto de invernadero gracias a la transferencia de esta tecnología avanzadas a los procesos de producción rural del país, por lo que los productores de otras zonas del país (Dota, Zarcero, Pérez Zeledón y zona Sur, entre otras) reclamen la aplicación de estos sistemas. Esta vinculación academia-sector productivo-gobierno (instituciones públicas) han permitido la participación tanto de estudiantes costarricenses como de diferentes países, entre ellos España y México y, por medio de una propuesta robusta, solucionar problemas concretos de la práctica productiva de las pequeñas y medianas empresas o asociaciones, lo que constituye clave del éxito de estos proyectos. El grupo de investigación fue galardonado con el premio “National Energy Globe”, de la Fundación Energy Globe (Austria) en 2018 y 2019 por los proyectos “Sistemas solares térmicos para operaciones agrícolas” (Thermal solar systems for farming operations) y “Utilización de energía solar en el proceso de secado de productos agrícolas” (Use of solar energy in the drying process of agricultural products), respectivamente, con los cuales representaron al ITCR. Esperamos que el mismo sea de utilidad para técnicos, ingenieros, productores, empresas, y el sector público