Electromagnetic waves around dilatonic stars and naked singularities

We study the propagation of classical electromagnetic waves on the simplest four-dimensional spherically symmetric metric with a dilaton background field. Solutions to the relevant equations are obtained perturbatively in a parameter which measures the strength of the dilaton field (hence parameterizes the departure from Schwarzschild geometry). The loss of energy from outgoing modes is estimated as a back-scattering process against the dilaton background, which would affect the luminosity of stars with a dilaton field. The radiation emitted by a freely falling point-like source on such a background is also studied by analytical and numerical methods.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figur

Exploration of the Bayesian Network framework for modelling window control behaviour

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd Extended literature reviews confirm that the accurate evaluation of energy-related occupant behaviour is a key factor for bridging the gap between predicted and actual energy performance of buildings. One of the key energy-related human behaviours is window control behaviour that has been modelled by different probabilistic modelling approaches. In recent years, Bayesian Networks (BNs) have become a popular representation based on graphical models for modelling stochastic processes with consideration of uncertainty in various fields, from computational biology to complex engineering problems. This study investigates the potential applicability of BNs to capture underlying complicated relationships between various influencing factors and energy-related behavioural actions of occupants in buildings: in particular, window opening/closing behaviour of occupants in residential buildings is investigated. This study addresses five key research questions related to modelling window control behaviour: (A) variable selection for identifying key drivers impacting window control behaviour, (B) correlations between key variables for structuring a statistical model, (C) target definition for finding the most suitable target variable, (D) BN model with capabilities to treat mixed data, and (E) validation of a stochastic BN model. A case study on the basis of measured data in one residential apartment located in Copenhagen, Denmark provides key findings associated with the five research questions through the modelling process of developing the BN model

Light switch behaviour: occupant behaviour stochastic models in office buildings

It is common knowledge that occupants’ behaviour on building control systems plays a significant role to achieve comfortable indoor environmental conditions. Moreover, different research studies have shown how occupants’ behaviour also has a huge influence on energy consumption. Consequently, since the building sector still consumes nearly half of the total amount of energy used in Europe and because occupants’ comfort should be one of the major aim of a building construction, this influential factor should be further investigated. Reliable information concerning occupants’ behaviours in a building could help to better evaluate building energy performances and design robustness, as well as, it could help supporting the development of occupants’ education to energy awareness. Concerning occupant behaviour related to indoor lighting systems, many studies have been made regarding occupants’ feelings and performances to certain visual stimuli due to different light systems. Nevertheless, occupants’ interactions with lighting control systems needs further investigation also because few models to predict switching operations have been implemented in energy simulation programmes. This study proposes probabilistic models to describe occupants’ switching on-off control over lighting. They have been developed using a multivariate logistic regression based on measurements of indoor climate parameters, outdoor environmental conditions and artificial lights “switch on/off” actions. Measurements were made over eleven months for three different office rooms. Two predictive light-switch behaviour models were inferred in relation to the number of actions carried out by the users (active or passive). The models are presented and critically discussed in this paper. The study extends the information on environmental parameters influencing occupants’ manual control of the lighting system in offices and energy consumption

Artificial reefs: from ecological processes to fishing enhancement tools

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Peyronie’s disease may negatively impact the sexual experience of a couple and female sexual function: A single center study

Background: Peyonie’s disease (PD) mostly affects males in the fifth decade of life, with a prevalence in the general population ranging between 0.5% and 20.3%. The pathology of PD is characterized by fibrosis of the tunic albuginea of the cavernous bodies of the penis, with the presence of pain in the erection and penile deformity. This is associated with decreased sexual function for both participants. The objective of the study was to investigate the influence of PD pathology on both male patients’ and their female partners’ sexual spheres, and analyze changes in sexual function and perception following penile correction surgery. Methods: Prospective study, we included male patients with PD and their female partner sexually active. Patients underwent corporoplasty with multiple plications. The male and female sexuality was evaluated before surgery and three months after male treatment by the Female sexual Function Index (FSFI); International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF); Visual Analogical Scale (VAS). Results: From January 2018 to November 2019 we included 35 couple. The female subjects before partner’s surgery presented dyspareunia, loss of sexual desire, inability to achieve orgasm, and sexual dissatisfaction. At three months after surgical treatment there was an improvement of sexual function in both male patients and female partners (desire P<0.0001, arousal P<0.0001, lubrification P<0.0001, orgasm P<0.0001, satisfaction P<0.0001, pain P<0.0001). As regarding male patients the pain decreased significantly (VAS score from 6 to 2.5), while there was no statistically significant improvement in erectile function (P=0.05). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that a viable approach to treatment of PD patients that involves their partners could lead to better functional and psychological results

Impact of occupant behaviour on the energy-saving potential of retrofit measures for a public building in the UK

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Intelligent Buildings International on 06 Feb 2016, available online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17508975.2016.1139538© 2016 Taylor & Francis In building refurbishment projects, dynamic building simulation is popularly used to predict the energy-saving potential of various refurbishment scenarios. However, in this process, it is not clear whether occupant behaviour should be carefully modelled due to the lack of evidence about its impact on the prediction results. To answer this question, this study selected a UK public building and used dynamic building simulation to predict the energy-saving potential of common refurbishment measures, under various occupant behavioural conditions. The results revealed that for the case study building occupants’ heating behaviour has a significant impact on the predicted energy-saving potential of all evaluated refurbishment measures: when changing from passive heating users to active heating users, the energy-saving potential was nearly doubled. Although occupants’ window opening behaviour was not shown to be as important as heating behaviour for the refurbishment of the case study building, it has a specific influence on the refurbishment measure of increasing window layers: when windows are opened longer, the effectiveness of increasing window layers on promoting the building energy efficiency is decreased. According to the findings from this study, occupant behaviour should be considered as an important aspect in building refurbishment projects

Loco-regional adjuvant radiation therapy in breast cancer patients with positive axillary lymph-nodes at diagnosis (CN2) undergoing preoperative chemotherapy and with complete pathological lymph-nodes response. Development of GRADE (Grades of recommendation, assessment, Development and Evaluation) recommendation by the Italian Association of radiation therapy and Clinical Oncology (AIRO)

Objective: To perform a meta-analysis to determine the effect of loco-regional radiation therapy (RT) compared to no loco-regional RT for operated patients in clinical stage cN2 breast cancer at diagnosis and ypN0 after preoperative chemotherapy (PST). Material and Methods: Eligible studies were identified through a systematic search of the medical literature performed independently by two researchers using a validated search strategy. An electronic search of Medline via PubMed and Embase (Breast cancer AND preoperative chemotherapy AND radiation therapy) was conducted with no language or publication status restrictions. The effect of loco-regional RT on overall (OS), disease free (DFS), loco-regional recurrence-free (LRRFS) survival and local recurrence was evaluated. An electronic search of Medline via PubMed and Embase (Toxicity AND radiation therapy breast cancer AND preoperative therapy; toxicity AND breast surgery AND preoperative chemotherapy) was conducted for outcomes of harm: major acute and late skin toxicity, lymphedema and cardiac events. Results: Of 333 studies identified, 4 retrospective studies reporting on a total of 1107 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Six and 3 reported data of acute and late skin toxicity, while 2 studies provided information on cardiac events. Pooled results showed no difference in terms of hazard ratio for loco-regional RT versus no loco-regional RT [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.82, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.63\u20131.68]. Loco-regional RT was associated with an OS benefit in the subgroup analysis: IIIB-C (loco-regional RT 79.3% vs no loco-regional RT 71.2%, p = 0.027) and T3-T4 (loco-regional RT 82.6% vs no loco-regional RT 76.6%, p = 0.025). No difference was shown in terms of 5-year DFS (loco-regional RT 91.2% vs no loco-regional RT 83%, p = 0.441) and LRRFS (loco-regional RT 98.1% vs no loco-regional RT 92.3%, p = 0.148). There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of acute and late skin toxicities, lymphedema and cardiac events. Conclusions: Because of the limitations due to the small number of studies and heterogeneity in the analysis, the present study does not allow to draw any definitive conclusion, highlighting the need for well-controlled trials to determine the effect of loco-regional RT in patients with cN2 having a pathological complete response in the axillary nodes after preoperative chemotherapy