Application of Glass Beads in Building Exterior Wall Surface Materials

Glass beads are solid glass spheres. Because of their high strength, chemical stability, low thermal expansion, and good flowability, they are manufactured from colorless glass for many industrial purposes. In recent years, the urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon has become very serious in urban centers. Heat emitted from exterior walls of buildings accounts for a relatively large proportion of total anthropogenic waste heat. Retroreflective (RR) materials are researched worldwide for the potential in application to building exterior wall surface instead of normal diffuse highly reflective (DHR) materials to resist the UHI. Glass beads are the common main components of these RR materials. Glass beads have different refractive indices and diameters. The classification and reflection principles of glass beads, experimental analysis on the optical properties and thermal performance of glass bead RR materials are elaborated in detail in this chapter. In addition, if these glass bead RR materials are used in building facades, when the incident angle of the sun is very high, the facade will produce a large specular reflection to the road, which may cause adverse effects on pedestrians. Therefore, theoretical and technical aspects of preventing the specular reflection from glass bead RR materials should be studied and implemented

Introduction of ZEB Technology in Japan

It is necessary to reduce energy consumption in order to combat global warming and stabilize energy supply and demand. In particular, final energy consumption in the business sector (buildings such as office buildings and commercial facilities) accounted for about 16.1% of Japan\u27s total in FY2018 database, an increase from about 12.6% in FY1990 database. Therefore, there is a need for the spread of zero-energy building (ZEB), which can significantly reduce the energy consumption in buildings. Since people are active in the building, energy consumption cannot be completely reduced to zero; however, it can be closer to ZEB by reducing the energy used in the building and creating energy in the building as much as possible. This chapter introduces some technologies of energy saving and energy creation to realize ZEB in general buildings in Japan

Interrogation of Ultra-weak FBG Array using Double-pulse and Heterodyne Detection

A high performance interrogation method for ultra-weak FBG (UWFBG) using double-pulse and heterodyne detection method is proposed. The perturbation along the UWFBG array is located quickly through the use of double-pulsed optical input waveform. Then the perturbation of fiber is quantified precisely by demodulating the phase of differential signals from a heterodyne configuration. The efficiency of measuring the perturbation is improved by more than 20 times than that of using single probe pulse. In comparison with conventional Rayleigh scattering based approach, the proposed method is supreme in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), approximately 18 dB higher. The use of differential signaling method can effectively remove the influence from frequency drift of the laser source, making this proposed method capable of measuring low frequency vibration. In our experiment, perturbations with both sinusoidal and triangle waveform were generated to quantitatively evaluate the performance of the proposed method. The minimum detectable fiber length variation is 14.85 nm, and the sensing frequency can be as low as 0.2 Hz

Association of dementia with immunoglobulin G N-glycans in a Chinese Han population

Immunoglobulin G (IgG) functionality can drastically change from anti- to proinflammatory by alterations in the IgG N-glycan patterns. Our previous studies have demonstrated that IgG N-glycans associated with the risk factors of dementia, such as aging, dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and ischemic stroke. Therefore, the aim is to investigate whether the effects of IgG N-glycan profiles on dementia exists in a Chinese Han population. A case–control study, including 81 patients with dementia, 81 age- and gender-matched controls with normal cognitive functioning (NC) and 108 non-matched controls with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) was performed. Plasma IgG N-glycans were separated by ultra-performance liquid chromatography. Fourteen glycan peaks reflecting decreased of sialylation and core fucosylation, and increased bisecting N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) N-glycan structures were of statistically significant differences between dementia and NC groups after controlling for confounders (p \u3c 0.05; q \u3c 0.05). Similarly, the differences for these 14 initial glycans were statistically significant between AD and NC groups after adjusting for the effects of confounders (p \u3c 0.05; q \u3c 0.05). The area under the receiver operating curve (AUC) value of the model consisting of GP8, GP9, and GP14 was determined to distinguish dementia from NC group as 0.876 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.815–0.923] and distinguish AD from NC group as 0.887 (95% CI: 0.819–0.936). Patients with dementia were of an elevated proinflammatory activity via the significant changes of IgG glycome. Therefore, IgG N-glycans might contribute to be potential novel biomarkers for the neurodegenerative process risk assessment of dementia

Analysis of chromosomal structural variations in patients with recurrent spontaneous abortion using optical genome mapping

Background and aims: Certain chromosomal structural variations (SVs) in biological parents can lead to recurrent spontaneous abortions (RSAs). Unequal crossing over during meiosis can result in the unbalanced rearrangement of gamete chromosomes such as duplication or deletion. Unfortunately, routine techniques such as karyotyping, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA), and copy number variation sequencing (CNV-seq) cannot detect all types of SVs. In this study, we show that optical genome mapping (OGM) quickly and accurately detects SVs for RSA patients with a high resolution and provides more information about the breakpoint regions at gene level.Methods: Seven couples who had suffered RSA with unbalanced chromosomal rearrangements of aborted embryos were recruited, and ultra-high molecular weight (UHMW) DNA was isolated from their peripheral blood. The consensus genome map was created by de novo assembly on the Bionano Solve data analysis software. SVs and breakpoints were identified via alignments of the reference genome GRCh38/hg38. The exact breakpoint sequences were verified using either Oxford Nanopore sequencing or Sanger sequencing.Results: Various SVs in the recruited couples were successfully detected by OGM. Also, additional complex chromosomal rearrangement (CCRs) and four cryptic balanced reciprocal translocations (BRTs) were revealed, further refining the underlying genetic causes of RSA. Two of the disrupted genes identified in this study, FOXK2 [46,XY,t(7; 17)(q31.3; q25)] and PLXDC2 [46,XX,t(10; 16)(p12.31; q23.1)], had been previously shown to be associated with male fertility and embryo transit.Conclusion: OGM accurately detects chromosomal SVs, especially cryptic BRTs and CCRs. It is a useful complement to routine human genetic diagnostics, such as karyotyping, and detects cryptic BRTs and CCRs more accurately than routine genetic diagnostics

Diversified Cover Crops and No-Till Enhanced Soil Total Nitrogen and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Diversity: A Case Study from the Karst Area of Southwest China

The deteriorating soil health under continuous monoculture is commonly found across various cropping systems. This study evaluated the effects of different tillage practices (conventional tillage and no till) and species mixtures (legumes and grasses) on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) community properties, soil nutrients, and enzyme activity in a 3-year experiment. Compared with traditional tillage, the number of AMF species under no-till conditions was increased, with the Glomus group being dominant. Under different tillage conditions, TN (total N) and AN (available N) contents under no till were significantly higher than those under conventional tillage, while no significant differences among other nutrients were found. The activities of soil acid phosphatase (S-ACP), soil dehydrogenase (S-DHA), and soil sucrose (S-SC) under conventional tillage were significantly higher than those under no till, and the cover crop mixtures also had an exclusive advantage in yield. Soil organic matter (SOM) indicated a significant negative correlation with glomalin-related soil protein (GRSP). The increase in diversity associated with the AMF species community was strongly correlated with the increase in three enzyme activities, and AN was negatively correlated with all species. Tillage did not significantly change soil chemistry, except for AN, and the high concentration of AN led to a decrease in AMF species. The results of this study showed that no till was an effective measure for enriching soil micro-organism population. Additionally, soil AMF diversity was improved by cover crop mixtures, and microbial diversity was higher than that under monoculture cover crops. Different AMF groups responded differently to tillage and cover crop mixtures. Across all mixtures, the combination of hairy vetch (Vicia villosa R.) and ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) performed the best

Charge-Compensated Compound Defects in Ga-containing Thermoelectric Skutterudites

Heavy doping changes an intrinsic semiconductor into a metallic conductor by the introduction of impurity states. However, Ga impurities in thermoelectric skutterudite CoSb_3 with lattice voids provides an example to the contrary. Because of dual-site occupancy of the single Ga impurity charge-compensated compound defects are formed. By combining first-principle calculations and experiments, we show that Ga atoms occupy both the void and Sb sites in CoSb_3 and couple with each other. The donated electrons from the void-filling Ga (GaVF) saturate the dangling bonds from the Sb-substitutional Ga (Ga_(Sb)). The stabilization of Ga impurity as a compound defect extends the region of skutterudite phase stability toward Ga_(0.15)Co_4Sb_(11.95) whereas the solid–solution region in other directions of the ternary phase diagram is much smaller. A proposed ternary phase diagram for Ga-Co-Sb is given. This compensated defect complex leads to a nearly intrinsic semiconductor with heavy Ga doping in CoSb_3 and a much reduced lattice thermal conductivity (κ_L) which can also be attributed to the effective scattering of both the low- and high-frequency lattice phonons by the dual-site occupant Ga impurities. Such a system maintains a low carrier concentration and therefore high thermopower, and the thermoelectric figure of merit quickly increases to 0.7 at a Ga doping content as low as 0.1 per Co_4Sb_(12) and low carrier concentrations on the order of 10^(19) cm^(−3)

Impact of Insulation Type and Thickness on the Dynamic Thermal Characteristics of an External Wall Structure

The dynamic thermal characteristics of external wall structures are directly related to indoor thermal comfort and energy savings in buildings; they are also complicated and worth investigating. Thermal insulation in external wall structures has become a popular topic of investigation in the domain of building energy efficiency. This study aims to find the impact of insulation type and thickness on the dynamic thermal characteristics of external wall structures using a homogeneous multi-layer building external wall structure and three types of insulation materials that are widely used in Japan. The impact of insulation type and thickness on seven thermal characteristics of external walls, including thermal transmittance, decrement factor or amplitude attenuation, time lag, thermal admittance, time lead for thermal admittance, surface factor, and thermal capacity, was evaluated by numerical methods in this study. It was shown that insulation type and thickness would have a significant effect on thermal transmittance, decrement factor and time lag, but yield no significant change in thermal admittance, time lead for thermal admittance, surface factor, and the thermal capacity of external wall structures

Possible Perception Bias in the Thermal Evaluation of Evaporation Cooling with a Misting Fan

Mist evaporation cooling (MEC) is increasingly used as a low-energy means to improve thermal comfort in hot environments. However, the thermal sensation votes (TSV) often overshoot values of Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) models. Evaluations of MEC may be affected by an expectation that mist feels cool or the “good subject” effect. Here, subjects are exposed to a misting fan and an identical fan without mist and asked which fan feels cooler. Unknown to the subjects, the misting fan has almost no cooling effect (about 0.4 K reduction in air temperature) and a hidden heater increased the temperature of the misting fan air flow, making it up to 1.6 K warmer than the fan without mist. Supplemental experiments told the subjects about the heater. Surveys of over 300 subjects when varying this misted air temperature showed a bias above random chance that people vote that a misting fan airflow was cooler, even when it was the same temperature or slightly warmer than the non-misting fan. It is possible that the expectation of cooling or good subject effect influences evaluations of mist. This effect should be considered in thermal comfort evaluations of mist cooling and in the deployment of MEC systems

Highly Reflective Roofing Sheets Installed on a School Building to Mitigate the Urban Heat Island Effect in Osaka

Currently, strategies to mitigate urban heat island (UHI) effects and reduce building energy consumption are implemented worldwide. In Japan, as an effective means of mitigating UHI effects and saving energy of buildings, highly reflective (HR) roofs have increasingly been used. In this study, in order to evaluate the effect of HR roofs on building energy conservation, we investigated the solar reflectivity of a subject school roof in Osaka, Japan, in which HR roofing sheets were installed on the roof from 2010. Additionally, monthly and annual thermal loads, including the cooling load and heating load of the top floor of the school, were calculated using the thermal load calculation software New HASP/ACLD-β. Comparing the calculated thermal loads of the school after HR roofing sheet installation to before, the annual thermal load decreased about 25 MJ/m2/year, and the cooling load decreased about 112 MJ/m2/year. However, the heating load increased about 87 MJ/m2/year in winter. To minimize the annual thermal load, thermal insulation of the roof was also considered to be used together with HR roofing sheets. Thermal load calculations showed that the combination of HR roofing sheets and thermal insulation can be effective in further reducing the annual thermal load