Energy consumption baselining and benchmarking of green office buildings in Shanghai

In recent years, many green buildings were built across China, but the actual performance is not as good as expected. Therefore, it is necessary to improve their performance and establish an objective energy consumption baseline as well as the benchmarking approach for green office buildings in Shanghai. Firstly, we categorized the green office buildings in Shanghai into two type - small and large, according to their floor area. Then we defined the baseline of EUI (energy use intensity, kWh/sq.m.a) based on the survey and submetering data and developed the reference models for both small and large green office building. Secondly, we specified four EUI reference levels for each type after studying the energy saving potential of green office buildings in Shanghai. Thirdly, in order to make the benchmarking approach more objective, we proposed EUI correction method for office buildings considering three main influencing factors - schedule, occupant density and meteorological parameters. We established a typical building model library of office buildings in Shanghai. We adopted regression analysis to obtain the corrections for schedule and occupant density. As for meteorological parameters, by classifying the typical days and calculating their representative EUIs, we determined the correction method

Analysis of Land Surface Temperature Driving Factors and Spatial Heterogeneity Research Based on Geographically Weighted Regression Model

Acceleration of urbanization has brought about a series of problems, which include irreversible changes to urban surfaces and continuous increases in land surface temperatures (LSTs). In this context, analysis of the driving factors and spatial heterogeneity of urban LST is of considerable importance for mitigating urban heat island effects and promoting healthy and comfortable urban living environments. This study explored the relationship between the spatial characteristics and driving factors of the LST by using a geographically weighted regression (GWR) model to analyze multisource data from the Xigang District of Dalian City. The results showed that the urban heat island effect in Xigang District is significant, with LSTs generally above 28°C at the end of August, mostly concentrated in the range of 38–40°C. The highest LST values were detected in northern port and harbor areas; the lowest LST values occurred in mountainous forest areas. The global Moran’s I value was 0.994, which was indicative of a very high positive correlation, and local Moran’s I values formed H-H and L-L type clusters concentrated in the northern harbor area and southern mountainous area, respectively. Finally, the GWR model could reflect the spatial heterogeneity of the relationships between LST and its driving factors well. Among these, in terms of natural physical factors, digital elevation model, normalized difference vegetation index, and modified normalized difference water index data were found to be negatively correlated with LSTs in most cases; in the social dimension, the point-of-interest number and building-coverage ratio were generally positively correlated with LSTs

Inequality of carbon emissions between urban and rural residents in China and emission reduction strategies: evidence from Shandong Province

China is actively heeding the call and striving for a low-carbon and environmentally friendly development route as part of the general trend toward a global low-carbon economy. The rapid economic development of our nation has brought to light the issue of carbon emissions resulting from the consumption habits of residents. This paper delves into the topic by conducting a thorough analysis of the carbon emission of residents’ consumption using the input-output method. Based on the survey findings, the disparity in carbon emission between urban and rural communities in Shandong Province is evident not only in terms of total emissions but also in different categories and regions. Urban residents generate a total carbon emission of approximately 70.2921 million tons, which is three times higher than that of rural residents at 23.7846 million tons. The carbon emission of both urban and rural residents is primarily attributed to their embodied carbon emission. In examining the composition of the implied carbon emission of residents’ consumption in Shandong Province, urban residents’ carbon emission is concentrated in three areas, namely, food, culture, education, entertainment, transportation, and communication, accounting for 21.45%, 20.88%, and 15.10%, respectively. Conversely, rural residents’ carbon emission is concentrated in four areas, including clothing, food, culture, education, entertainment, transportation, and communication, accounting for 29.01%, 17.45%, 15.43%, and 13.36%, respectively. Finally, according to the characteristics of the consumption carbon emission of urban and rural residents in Shandong Province, we give corresponding emission reduction strategies

Inspiring women of today : a strategic public communications campaign to raise the awareness for the Singapore Business & Professional Women's Association (SBPWA) (Appendix I to P).

(This FYP consists of 3 sections) Pulse Communications is a team of four final year female students from the School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University, with a special interest in women’s issues. Pulse embarked on a strategic public communications campaign “Inspiring Women of Today” to assist Singapore Business & Professional Women’s Association (SBPWA) in raising its profile and awareness in Singapore.Bachelor of Communication Studie

Inspiring women of today : a strategic public communications campaign to raise the awareness for the Singapore Business & Professional Women's Association (SBPWA) (Appendix A to H).

(This FYP consists of 3 sections) Pulse Communications is a team of four final year female students from the School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University, with a special interest in women’s issues. Pulse embarked on a strategic public communications campaign “Inspiring Women of Today” to assist Singapore Business & Professional Women’s Association (SBPWA) in raising its profile and awareness in Singapore.Bachelor of Communication Studie

Inspiring women of today : a strategic public communications campaign to raise the awareness for the Singapore Business & Professional Women's Association (SBPWA).

(This FYP consists of 3 sections) Pulse Communications is a team of four final year female students from the School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University, with a special interest in women’s issues. Pulse embarked on a strategic public communications campaign “Inspiring Women of Today” to assist Singapore Business & Professional Women’s Association (SBPWA) in raising its profile and awareness in Singapore.Bachelor of Communication Studie

Study on Improving the Modulatory Effect of Rhythmic Oscillations by Transcranial Magneto-Acoustic Stimulation

In hippocampus, synaptic plasticity and rhythmic oscillations reflect the cytological basis and the intermediate level of cognition, respectively. Transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) has demonstrated the ability to elicit changes in neural response. However, the modulatory effect of TUS on synaptic plasticity and rhythmic oscillations was insufficient in the present studies, which may be attributed to the fact that TUS acts mainly through mechanical forces. To enhance the modulatory effect on synaptic plasticity and rhythmic oscillations, transcranial magneto-acoustic stimulation (TMAS) which induced a coupled electric field together with TUS’s ultrasound field was applied. The modulatory effect of TMAS and TUS with a pulse repetition frequency of 100 Hz were compared. TMAS/TUS were performed on C57 mice for 7 days at two different ultrasound intensities (3 W/cm2 and 5 W/cm $^{{2}}\text {)}$ . Behavioral tests, long-term potential (LTP) and local field potentials in vivo were performed to evaluate TUS/TMAS modulatory effect on cognition, synaptic plasticity and rhythmic oscillations. Protein expression based on western blotting were used to investigate the under- lying mechanisms of these beneficial effects. At 5 W/cm2, TMAS-induced LTP were 113.4% compared to the sham group and 110.5% compared to TUS. Moreover, the relative power of high gamma oscillations (50-100Hz) in the TMAS group ( $1.060\pm 0.155$ %) was markedly higher than that in the TUS group ( $0.560\pm 0.114$ %) and sham group ( $0.570\pm 0.088$ %). TMAS significantly enhanced the synchronization of theta and gamma oscillations as well as theta-gamma cross-frequency coupling. Whereas, TUS did not show relative enhancements. TMAS provides enhanced effect for modulating the synaptic plasticity and rhythmic oscillations in hippocampus

Chloride flux growth of crystalline strontium niobates and nitridation to perovskite SrNbO2N

Highly crystalline (110) layered perovskite Sr2Nb2O7, (111) layered perovskite Sr5Nb4O15 and complex perovskite Sr4Nb2O9 were prepared by NaCl-KCl flux growth method from SrCO3 and Nb2O5. This flux synthesis achieves single strontium niobate phase in contrast to mixed niobates from the solid state reaction with the same heating parameters. A little excess of Sr source was found to be required for the synthesis of Sr5Nb4O15 and Sr4Nb2O9 at elevated temperature due to slight evaporation. The three strontium niobates were converted to perovskite SrNbO2N via thermal ammonolysis under NH3 flow at 900 degrees C. Post-wash treatment was performed to remove the byproduct SrO. This makes additional nanopores in SrNbO2N in the cases of Sr5Nb4O15 and Sr4Nb2O9, and results in increasing surface areas of SrNbO2N with Sr:Nb ratios in the precursors (from 9.9 to 19.8 and 35.5 m(2)/g). On the other hand, the UV Vis diffusion reflectance spectra reveal decreasing light absorption by defects in SrNbO2N in this order. This suggests fewer low-valent Nb defects in SrNbO2N prepared from precursor with higher Sr:Nb ratio. SrNbO2N prepared from Sr4Nb2O9 would be advantageous for applications that require high surface area and low defect density of the material

Experimental and Numerical Investigations of the Vibration and Acoustic Properties of Corrugated Sandwich Composite Panels

To explore the lightweight structures with excellent vibration and acoustic properties, corrugated composite panels with different fiber reinforcements, i.e., carbon and glass fibers, were designed and fabricated using a modified vacuum-assisted resin infusion (VARI) process. The vibration and sound transmission loss (STL) of the corrugated composite panels were investigated via mode and sound insulation tests, respectively. Meanwhile, finite element models were proposed for the verification and in-depth parametric studies. For the vibration properties of the corrugated composite panels, the results indicated that the resin layer on the panel surface, despite the extremely low thickness, showed a significant effect on the low-order bend modes of the entire structure. In addition, the difference in the mode frequency between the panels consisting of different fiber types became more and more apparent with the increase of the frequency levels. For the sound insulation property of the panel, the initial frequency of the panel’s resonant sound transmission can be conveniently increased by increasing the layer thickness of surface resin, and the fraction of fiber reinforcements is the most predominant factor for the sound insulation property, which was significantly improved by increasing the thickness of the fiber cloth. This work can provide fundamental support for the comprehensive design of vibration and acoustics of the composite sandwiched panel