7,887 research outputs found
Life cycle carbon emissions and comparative evaluation of selected open source UK embodied carbon counting tools
Life cycle carbon emissions (LCO2), made up of operational and embodied carbon, have become a major metric of building environmental performance and energy efficiency. Whilst there are now standard methods for operational carbon assessment due to its significance in LCO2, there is still less emphasis on embodied carbon counting. However, the relative contribution of embodied carbon is on the rise as buildings become increasingly energy efficient. Following the rule that only something which is measurable is manageable, it is essential that we are able to accurately count embodied carbon. This study therefore reviews the concept of LCO2 in buildings and further investigates the open source UK tools for embodied carbon counting. A comparative evaluation case study, which validates an earlier review, showed that there is no logic and consistency in the carbon figures produced by embodied carbon counting tools. This is mainly due to different system boundaries, varying underlying assumptions and methodological differences in calculation. The findings suggest that an industry-agreed data structure and common methodology is needed for embodied carbon counting. Generally, the study provides insights into the use and capabilities of the identified open source UK embodied carbon counting tools, and is relevant to the on-going debate about carbon regulation
Markov and Neural Network Models for Prediction of Structural Deterioration of Stormwater Pipe Assets
Storm-water pipe networks in Australia are designed to convey water from rainfall and surface runoff. They do not transport sewerage. Their structural deterioration is progressive with aging and will eventually cause pipe collapse with consequences of service interruption. Predicting structural condition of pipes provides vital information for asset management to prevent unexpected failures and to extend service life. This study focused on predicting the structural condition of storm-water pipes with two objectives. The first objective is the prediction of structural condition changes of the whole network of storm-water pipes by a Markov model at different times during their service life. This information can be used for planning annual budget and estimating the useful life of pipe assets. The second objective is the prediction of structural condition of any particular pipe by a neural network model. This knowledge is valuable in identifying pipes that are in poor condition for repair actions. A case study with closed circuit television inspection snapshot data was used to demonstrate the applicability of these two models
Disaster Resilience Education and Research Roadmap for Europe 2030 : ANDROID Report
A disaster resilience education and research roadmap for Europe 2030 has been launched. This roadmap represents an important output of the ANDROID disaster resilience network, bringing together existing literature in the field, as well as the results of various analysis and study projects undertaken by project partners.The roadmap sets out five key challenges and opportunities in moving from 2015 to 2030 and aimed at addressing the challenges of the recently announced Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. This roadmap was developed as part of the ANDROID Disaster Resilience Network, led by Professor Richard Haigh of the Global Disaster Resilience Centre (www.hud.ac.uk/gdrc ) at the School of Art, Design and Architecture at the University of Huddersfield, UK. The ANDROID consortium of applied, human, social and natural scientists, supported by international organisations and a stakeholder board, worked together to map the field in disaster resilience education, pool their results and findings, develop interdisciplinary explanations, develop capacity, move forward innovative education agendas, discuss methods, and inform policy development. Further information on ANDROID Disaster Resilience network is available at: http://www.disaster-resilience.netAn ANDROID Disaster Resilience Network ReportANDROI
Obstacles Faced by Women in Food Crop Cultivation in the Urbanized Areas of Kandy District, Sri Lanka
Women contribute significantly to urban agriculture. Generally, they participate in pre-planting activities as well as post-harvest activities rather than the cultivation activities. However, it is noted that many women engage in gardening without the aid of men. Regardless of their roles, women, farmers face numerous challenges that prevent them from being as productive as they may be in urban environments. This study investigated the problems faced by women farmers in urban areas with a focus on Kandy, Sri Lanka. According to the matrix ranking, lack of sufficient land was cited as the critical issue that is 48.5% of the respondents, while 9 (13.6%) and 3 (4.5%) respondents placed it as the second and third biggest problem, respectively. Appropriate suggestions were also made, such as agricultural extension programs particularly for women farmers, and including women in agricultural decision-making.
© 2022 The Authors. Published by Department of Estate Management and Valuation, University of Sri Jayewardenepura.
Keywords: Women farmers, Urban agriculture, Participation 
Exploring the interplay between Buddhism and career development : a study of highly skilled women workers in Sri Lanka
This article adopts a socio cultural lens to examine the role of Buddhism in highly skilled women workersâ careers in Sri Lanka. While Buddhism enabled womenâs career development by giving them strength to cope with difficult situations in work, it also seemed to restrict their agency and constrain their career advancement. Based on our findings, we argue that being perceived as a good Buddhist woman worked as a powerful form of career capital for the respondents in our sample, who used their faith to combat gender disadvantage in their work settings
Optimizing CIGB-300 intralesional delivery in locally advanced cervical cancer
Background:We conducted a phase 1 trial in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer by injecting 0.5 ml of the CK2-antagonist CIGB-300 in two different sites on tumours to assess tumour uptake, safety, pharmacodynamic activity and identify the recommended dose.Methods:Fourteen patients were treated with intralesional injections containing 35 or 70 mg of CIGB-300 in three alternate cycles of three consecutive days each before standard chemoradiotherapy. Tumour uptake was determined using 99 Tc-radiolabelled peptide. In situ B23/nucleophosmin was determined by immunohistochemistry.Results:Maximum tumour uptake for CIGB-300 70-mg dose was significantly higher than the one observed for 35 mg: 16.1±8.9 vs 31.3±12.9 mg (P=0.01). Both, AUC 24h and biological half-life were also significantly higher using 70 mg of CIGB-300 (P<0.001). Unincorporated CIGB-300 diffused rapidly to blood and was mainly distributed towards kidneys, and marginally in liver, lungs, heart and spleen. There was no DLT and moderate allergic-like reactions were the most common systemic side effect with strong correlation between unincorporated CIGB-300 and histamine levels in blood. CIGB-300, 70 mg, downregulated B23/nucleophosmin (P=0.03) in tumour specimens.Conclusion:Intralesional injections of 70 mg CIGB-300 in two sites (0.5 ml per injection) and this treatment plan are recommended to be evaluated in phase 2 studies.Fil: Sarduy, M. R.. Medical-surgical Research Center; CubaFil: GarcĂa, I.. Centro de IngenierĂa GenĂ©tica y BiotecnologĂa; CubaFil: Coca, M. A.. Clinical Investigation Center; CubaFil: Perera, A.. Clinical Investigation Center; CubaFil: Torres, L. A.. Clinical Investigation Center; CubaFil: Valenzuela, C. M.. Centro de IngenierĂa GenĂ©tica y BiotecnologĂa; CubaFil: BaladrĂłn, I.. Centro de IngenierĂa GenĂ©tica y BiotecnologĂa; CubaFil: Solares, M.. Hospital Materno RamĂłn GonzĂĄlez Coro; CubaFil: Reyes, V.. Center For Genetic Engineering And Biotechnology Havana; CubaFil: HernĂĄndez, I.. Isotope Center; CubaFil: Perera, Y.. Centro de IngenierĂa GenĂ©tica y BiotecnologĂa; CubaFil: MartĂnez, Y. M.. Medical-surgical Research Center; CubaFil: Molina, L.. Medical-surgical Research Center; CubaFil: GonzĂĄlez, Y. M.. Medical-surgical Research Center; CubaFil: AncĂzar, J. A.. Centro de IngenierĂa GenĂ©tica y BiotecnologĂa; CubaFil: Prats, A.. Clinical Investigation Center; CubaFil: GonzĂĄlez, L.. Centro de IngenierĂa GenĂ©tica y BiotecnologĂa; CubaFil: CasacĂł, C. A.. Clinical Investigation Center; CubaFil: Acevedo, B. E.. Centro de IngenierĂa GenĂ©tica y BiotecnologĂa; CubaFil: LĂłpez Saura, P. A.. Centro de IngenierĂa GenĂ©tica y BiotecnologĂa; CubaFil: Alonso, Daniel Fernando. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes; ArgentinaFil: GĂłmez, R.. Elea Laboratories; ArgentinaFil: Perea RodrĂguez, S. E.. Center For Genetic Engineering And Biotechnology Havana; Cuba. Centro de IngenierĂa GenĂ©tica y BiotecnologĂa; Cub
Dynamic criticality in glass-forming liquids
We propose that the dynamics of supercooled liquids and the formation of
glasses can be understood from the existence of a zero temperature dynamical
critical point. To support our proposal, we derive from simple physical
assumptions a dynamic field theory for supercooled liquids, which we study
using the renormalization group (RG). Its long time behaviour is dominated by a
zero temperature critical point, which for dimensions d > 2 belongs to the
directed percolation universality class. Molecular dynamics simulations confirm
the existence of dynamic scaling behaviour consistent with the RG predictions.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Applying seamful design in location-based mobile museum applications
The application of mobile computing is currently altering patterns of our behavior to a greater degree than perhaps any other invention. In combination with the introduction of power-efficient wireless communication technologies, such as Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), designers are today increasingly empowered to shape the way we interact with our physical surroundings and thus build entirely new experiences. However, our evaluations of BLE and its abilities to facilitate mobile location-based experiences in public environments revealed a number of potential problems. Most notably, the position and orientation of the user in combination with various environmental factors, such as crowds of people traversing the space, were found to cause major fluctuations of the received BLE signal strength. These issues are rendering a seamless functioning of any location-based application practically impossible. Instead of achieving seamlessness by eliminating these technical issues, we thus choose to advocate the use of a seamful approach, that is, to reveal and exploit these problems and turn them into a part of the actual experience. In order to demonstrate the viability of this approach, we designed, implemented, and evaluated the
Ghost Detector
âan educational location-based museum game for children. By presenting a qualitative evaluation of this game and by motivating our design decisions, this article provides insight into some of the challenges and possible solutions connected to the process of developing location-based BLE-enabled experiences for public cultural spaces.
This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the Association for Computing Machinery via https://doi.org/10.1145/296272
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