Post occupancy evaluation of thermal comfort and indoor air quality of office spaces in a tropical green campus building

Purpose: As suggested in many previous studies, good thermal comfort and indoor air quality (IAQ) played a significant role in ensuring human comfort, health and productivity in buildings. Hence, this study aims to evaluate the thermal comfort and IAQ conditions of open-plan office areas within a green-certified campus building through a post occupancy evaluation. Design/methodology/approach: Using the field measurement method, environmental dataloggers were positioned at three office areas during office hours to measure the levels of thermal comfort parameters, CO2 concentrations and the supply air rates. At the same time, questionnaires were distributed to the available office staff to obtain their perception of the indoor environment. The findings were then compared with the recommended environmental comfort ranges and used to calculate the thermal comfort indices. Findings: Results show that the physical parameters were generally within acceptable ranges of a local guideline. The neutral temperature based on the actual mean vote at these areas was 23.9°C, which is slightly lower than the predicted thermal neutrality of 25.2°C. From the surveyed findings, about 81% of the occupants found their thermal environment comfortable with high adaptation rates. A preference for cooler environments was found among the workers. Meanwhile, the air quality was perceived to be clean by a majority of the respondents, and the mean ventilation rate per person was identified to be sufficient. Research limitations/implications: This study focussed on the thermal environment and air quality at selected office spaces only. More work should be carried out in other regularly occupied workplaces and study areas of the green educational building to allow a more thorough analysis of the indoor air conditions. Practical implications: This paper highlights on the thermal comfort and air quality conditions of the air-conditioned office spaces in a green-certified campus building and is intended to assist the building services engineers in effective air conditioning control. The findings reported are useful for thermal comfort, IAQ and subsequently energy efficiency improvements in such building type where adjustments on the air temperature set-point can be considered according to the actual requirements. This study will be extended to other green campus spaces for a more exhaustive analysis of the indoor environment. Originality/value: There is limited information pertaining to the environmental comfort levels in offices of green campus in the tropics. This study is, therefore, one of the earliest attempts to directly explore the thermal comfort and IAQ conditions in such workplace using both on-site physical measurement and questionnaire survey

Controlled release of human growth hormone fused with a human hybrid Fc fragment through a nanoporous polymer membrane

Nanotechnology has been applied to the development of more effective and compatible drug delivery systems for therapeutic proteins. Human growth hormone (hGH) was fused with a hybrid Fc fragment containing partial Fc domains of human IgD and IgG(4) to produce a long-acting fusion protein. The fusion protein, hGH-hyFc, resulted in the increase of the hydrodynamic diameter (ca. 11 nm) compared with the diameter (ca. 5 nm) of the recombinant hGH. A diblock copolymer membrane with nanopores (average diameter of 14.3 nm) exhibited a constant release rate of hGH-hyFc. The hGH-hyFc protein released in a controlled manner for one month was found to trigger the phosphorylation of Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) in human B lymphocyte and to exhibit an almost identical circular dichroism spectrum to that of the original hGH-hyFc, suggesting that the released fusion protein should maintain the functional and structural integrity of hGH. Thus, the nanoporous release device could be a potential delivery system for the long-term controlled release of therapeutic proteins fused with the hybrid Fc fragment.X111313sciescopu

Vertical Field Effect Transistor based on Graphene-WS2 Heterostructures for flexible and transparent electronics

The celebrated electronic properties of graphene have opened way for materials just one-atom-thick to be used in the post-silicon electronic era. An important milestone was the creation of heterostructures based on graphene and other two-dimensional (2D) crystals, which can be assembled in 3D stacks with atomic layer precision. These layered structures have already led to a range of fascinating physical phenomena, and also have been used in demonstrating a prototype field effect tunnelling transistor - a candidate for post-CMOS technology. The range of possible materials which could be incorporated into such stacks is very large. Indeed, there are many other materials where layers are linked by weak van der Waals forces, which can be exfoliated and combined together to create novel highly-tailored heterostructures. Here we describe a new generation of field effect vertical tunnelling transistors where 2D tungsten disulphide serves as an atomically thin barrier between two layers of either mechanically exfoliated or CVD-grown graphene. Our devices have unprecedented current modulation exceeding one million at room temperature and can also operate on transparent and flexible substrates

Data Visualization on Global Trends on Cancer Incidence An Application of IBM Watson Analytics

Visual analytics is widely used to explore data patterns and trends. This work leverages cancer data collected by World Health Organization (WHO) across over a hundred of cancer registries worldwide. In this study, we present a visual analytics platform, IBM Watson Analytics, to explore the patterns of global cancer incidence. We included 26 cancers from different geographic regions. An interactive interface was applied to plot a choropleth map to show global cancer distribution, and line charts to demonstrate historical cancer trends over 29 years. Subgroup analyses were conducted for different age groups. With real-time interactive features, we can easily explore the data with a selection of any cancer type, gender, age group, or geographical region. This platform is running on the cloud, so it can handle data in huge volumes, and is assessable by any computer connected to the Internet

Control and Characterization of Individual Grains and Grain Boundaries in Graphene Grown by Chemical Vapor Deposition

The strong interest in graphene has motivated the scalable production of high quality graphene and graphene devices. Since large-scale graphene films synthesized to date are typically polycrystalline, it is important to characterize and control grain boundaries, generally believed to degrade graphene quality. Here we study single-crystal graphene grains synthesized by ambient CVD on polycrystalline Cu, and show how individual boundaries between coalescing grains affect graphene's electronic properties. The graphene grains show no definite epitaxial relationship with the Cu substrate, and can cross Cu grain boundaries. The edges of these grains are found to be predominantly parallel to zigzag directions. We show that grain boundaries give a significant Raman "D" peak, impede electrical transport, and induce prominent weak localization indicative of intervalley scattering in graphene. Finally, we demonstrate an approach using pre-patterned growth seeds to control graphene nucleation, opening a route towards scalable fabrication of single-crystal graphene devices without grain boundaries.Comment: New version with additional data. Accepted by Nature Material

Long-term prognosis of symptomatic isolated middle cerebral artery disease in Korean stroke patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study aimed to investigate the long-term mortality and recurrence rate of stroke in first-time stroke patients with symptomatic isolated middle cerebral artery disease (MCAD) under medical management.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We identified 141 first ever stroke patients (mean age, 64.4 ± 12.5 years; 53% male) with symptomatic isolated MCAD. MCAD was defined as significant stenosis of more than 50% or occlusion of the MCA as revealed by MR angiography. The median follow-up was 27.7 months. We determined a cumulative rate of stroke recurrence and mortality by Kaplan-Meier survival analyses and sought predictors using the Cox proportional hazard model.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The cumulative composite outcome rate (stroke recurrence or any-cause death) was 14%, 19%, 22%, and 28% at years 1, 2, 3, and 5, respectively. The annual recurrence rate of stroke was 4.1%. The presence of diabetes mellitus was the only significant independent predictor of stroke recurrence or any cause of death in multivariate analyses of Cox proportional hazard model adjusted for any plausible potential confounding factors.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We estimated the long-term prognosis of stroke patients with isolated symptomatic MCAD under current medical management in Korea. Diabetes mellitus was found to be a significant predictor for stroke recurrence and mortality.</p

Graphene Photonics and Optoelectronics

The richness of optical and electronic properties of graphene attracts enormous interest. Graphene has high mobility and optical transparency, in addition to flexibility, robustness and environmental stability. So far, the main focus has been on fundamental physics and electronic devices. However, we believe its true potential to be in photonics and optoelectronics, where the combination of its unique optical and electronic properties can be fully exploited, even in the absence of a bandgap, and the linear dispersion of the Dirac electrons enables ultra-wide-band tunability. The rise of graphene in photonics and optoelectronics is shown by several recent results, ranging from solar cells and light emitting devices, to touch screens, photodetectors and ultrafast lasers. Here we review the state of the art in this emerging field.Comment: Review Nature Photonics, in pres

Age and Diet Affect Gene Expression Profiles in Canine Liver Tissue

BACKGROUND: The liver plays a central role in nutrient and xenobiotic metabolism, but its functionality declines with age. Senior dogs suffer from many of the chronic hepatic diseases as elderly humans, with age-related alterations in liver function influenced by diet. However, a large-scale molecular analysis of the liver tissue as affected by age and diet has not been reported in dogs. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Liver tissue samples were collected from six senior (12-year old) and six young adult (1-year old) female beagles fed an animal protein-based diet (APB) or a plant protein-based diet (PPB) for 12 months. Total RNA in the liver tissue was extracted and hybridized to Affymetrix GeneChip® Canine Genome Arrays. Using a 2.0-fold cutoff and false discovery rate <0.10, our results indicated that expression of 234 genes was altered by age, while 137 genes were differentially expressed by diet. Based on functional classification, genes affected by age and/or diet were involved in cellular development, nutrient metabolism, and signal transduction. In general, gene expression suggested that senior dogs had an increased risk of the progression of liver disease and dysfunction, as observed in aged humans and rodents. In particular for aged liver, genes related to inflammation, oxidative stress, and glycolysis were up-regulated, whereas genes related to regeneration, xenobiotic metabolism, and cholesterol trafficking were down-regulated. Diet-associated changes in gene expression were more common in young adult dogs (33 genes) as compared to senior dogs (3 genes). CONCLUSION: Our results provide molecular insight pertaining to the aged canine liver and its predisposition to disease and abnormalities. Therefore, our data may aid in future research pertaining to age-associated alterations in hepatic function or identification of potential targets for nutritional management as a means to decrease incidence of age-dependent liver dysfunction

Studies of a co-chaperone of the androgen receptor, FKBP52, as candidate for hypospadias

BACKGROUND: Hypospadias is a common inborn error of the male urethral development, for which the aetiology is still elusive. Polymorphic variants in genes involved in the masculinisation of male genitalia, such as the androgen receptor, have been associated with some cases of hypospadias. Co-regulators of the androgen receptor start being acknowledged as possible candidates for hormone-resistance instances, which could account for hypospadias. One such molecule, the protein FKBP52, coded by the FKBP4 gene, has an important physiological role in up-regulating androgen receptor activity, an essential step in the development of the male external genitalia. The presence of hypospadias in mice lacking fkbp52 encouraged us to study the sequence and the expression of FKBP4 in boys with isolated hypospadias. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The expression of FKBP52 in the genital skin of boys with hypospadias and in healthy controls was tested by immunohistochemistry. Mutation screening in the FKBF4 gene was performed in ninety-one boys with non syndromic hypospadias. Additionally, two polymorphisms were typed in a larger cohort. RESULTS: Immunohistochemistry shows epithelial expression of FKBP52 in the epidermis of the penile skin. No apparent difference in the FKBP52 expression was detected in healthy controls, mild or severe hypospadias patients. No sequence variants in the FKBP4 gene have implicated in hypospadias in our study. CONCLUSION: FKBP52 is likely to play a role in growth and development of the male genitalia, since it is expressed in the genital skin of prepubertal boys; however alterations in the sequence and in the expression of the FKBP4 gene are not a common cause of non-syndromic hypospadias