Quantitative and qualitative characteristics of greenery in suburban residential districts of Metro Manila

This case study was conducted to better understand the present situation of urban greenery in Marikina City, in the suburbs of metropolitan Manila, a typical large Asian city. A vegetation survey was conducted in residential districts of Marikina City, and the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of trees were analyzed. Lot size had some influence on the quantity of greenery in residential lots. In smaller lots, however, quantity did not increase in proportion to lot size. It appears, then, that the land-use controls for individual lots did not function effectively. Quantitative differences of greenery were related to qualitative differences, depending on the year or period of development of the residential area. In the newly developed residential lots, the greenery is comprised mostly of ornamental trees. Under the present circumstances, there is no assurance of sustaining the desired quantity of greenery in smaller residential lots. From these results, we proposed that regulations on lot size/coverage and promotion of tree planting involving local residents are needed to sustain urban greenery in residential districts

Análise qualitativa da iluminação artificial e natural: estudo de caso das bibliotecas da UTFPR

The energy efficiency of buildings is an important issue to be discussed given the world energy scene. In Brazil, the rational use of energy is becoming increasingly evident in construction, especially in public buildings. A little less than three decades, PROCEL - National Program for Energy Conservation is looking for ways to combat the waste of energy in lighting area. The actions are to ratify the efficiency of light bulbs and building lighting systems. Lighting systems in buildings besides the artificial lighting, must have architectural features that allow use of natural light indoors. The study was conducted in fourteen libraries from UTFPR - Federal Technological University of Paraná. The environments studied were the collection and reading areas. In these environments, illuminance readings were held, provided by artificial lighting. Electronic models of buildings were created to simulate the entry of solar radiation inside the libraries. Data from the artificial lighting were evaluated by rqt-C - Technical Requirements for Energy Efficiency Level Quality for Commercial Buildings, and Public Services, and also by the Brazilian standard of interior lighting ISO / CIE 8995-1. The data of solar radiation were evaluated for the discomfort caused by glare inabilitator that users would be exposed. The results showed that the lighting systems have small deviations to be corrected and retrofit solutions have been proposed. The analyzes showed that the lighting systems of the studied libraries, the reconciliation between the average minimum luminance, energy efficiency and lighting comfort are relevant criteria forecast to be analyzed carefully during the library project, otherwise one of the factors mentioned will not be met.A eficiência energética das edificações é um assunto importante a ser discutido diante do cenário energético mundial. No Brasil, a utilização racional da energia está cada vez mais em evidência na construção civil, principalmente em prédios públicos. Há pouco menos de três décadas, o PROCEL – Programa Nacional de Conservação de Energia Elétrica está buscando meios para combater o desperdício de energia, na área de iluminação. As ações são de homologar a eficiência das lâmpadas elétricas e sistemas de iluminação de edificações. Os sistemas de iluminação em edificações além da iluminação artificial, devem possuir características arquitetônicas que permitam utilizar a luz natural em ambientes internos. O estudo foi realizado em quatorze bibliotecas da UTFPR – Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná. Os ambientes estudados foram as áreas de acervo e de leitura. Nestes ambientes foram realizadas leituras de iluminância proporcionados pela iluminação artificial. Maquetes eletrônicas das edificações foram criadas para simular a entrada da radiação solar no interior das bibliotecas. Os dados da iluminação artificial foram avaliados através do RQT-C – Requisitos Técnicos da Qualidade do Nível de Eficiência Energética para Edifícios Comerciais, de Serviços e Públicos, e também pela norma brasileira de iluminação de interiores NBR ISO/CIE 8995-1. Os dados da radiação solar foram avaliados quanto a desconforto provocado pelo ofuscamento inabilitador a que os usuários estariam expostos. Os resultados obtidos comprovaram que os sistemas de iluminação possuem pequenos desvios a serem corrigidos e soluções de retrofit foram propostas. As análises comprovaram que nos sistemas iluminação das bibliotecas estudadas, a conciliação entre a luminância média mínima, a eficiência energética e o conforto luminoso são critérios relevantes que previsão ser analisados com muita atenção durante o projeto da biblioteca, caso contrário um dos fatores citados não será atendidos

Optimization of capacitive coupled Low Gain Avalanche Diode (AC-LGAD) sensors for precise time and spatial resolution

Capacitive-coupled Low-Gain Avalanche Diode (AC-LGAD) sensors are being developed for high-energy particle physics experiments as a detector which provides fast time information with fine spatial resolution. This paper describes optimizations of AC-LGAD sensor fabrication parameters, such as doping concentrations of the gain and electrode layers as well as the AC insulator capacitance, to realize $\mathcal{O}$(10)~\um{} spacial resolution, small charge cross talk to the neighboring electrodes, detection efficiency higher than 99\% at a 10$^{-4}$ fake rate and time resolution of about 30~ps. The radiation tolerance of the sensor is presented. In addition, further application to a device capable of visible and infra-red light detection is discussed.Comment: 11 pages, 25 figures, Submitted to Nuclear Instruments & Methods in physics research A (NIMA

Quantitative Evaluation of Liver Function with Use of Gadoxetate Disodium-enhanced MR Imaging

Purpose: To determine whether liver function correlating with indocyanine green (ICG) clearance could be estimated quantitatively from gadoxetate disodium-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) images. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was approved by the institutional review board, and the requirement for informed consent was waived. Twenty-three consecutive patients who underwent an ICG clearance test and gadoxetate disodium-enhanced MR imaging with the same parameters as were used for a preoperative examination were chosen. The hepatocellular uptake index (HUI) from liver volume (V(L)) and mean signal intensity of the liver on contrastenhanced T1-weighted images with fat suppression (L(20)) and mean signal intensity of the spleen on contrastenhanced T1-weighted images with fat suppression (S(20)) on 3D gradient-echo T1-weighted images with fat suppression obtained at 20 minutes after gadoxetate disodium (0.025 mmol per kilogram of body weight) administration was determined with the following equation: V(L)[(L(20)/S(20)) 2 1]. The correlation of the plasma disappearance rate of ICG (ICG-PDR) and various factors derived from MR imaging, including HUI, iron and fat deposition in the liver and spleen, and spleen volume (V(S)), were evaluated with stepwise multiple regression analysis. The difference between the ratio of the remnant HUI to the HUI of the total liver (rHUI/HUI) and ratio of the liver remnant V(L) to the total V(L)(rV(L)/V(L)) was evaluated in four patients who had segmental heterogeneity of liver function. Results: HUI and V(S) were the factors significantly correlated with ICG-PDR (R = 0.87). The mean value and its 95% confidence interval were 0.18 and 0.01 to 0.34, respectively, for the following calculation: (rHUI/HUI) 2 (rV(L)/V(L)). Conclusion: The liver function correlating with ICG-PDR can be estimated quantitatively from the signal intensities and the volumes of the liver and spleen on gadoxetate disodium-enhanced MR images, which may improve the estimation of segmental liver function. (C) RSNA, 2011ArticleRADIOLOGY. 260(3):727-733 (2011)journal articl

LXR agonist increases apoE secretion from HepG2 spheroid, together with an increased production of VLDL and apoE-rich large HDL

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The physiological regulation of hepatic apoE gene has not been clarified, although the expression of apoE in adipocytes and macrophages has been known to be regulated by LXR.</p> <p>Methods and Results</p> <p>We investigated the effect of TO901317, a LXR agonist, on hepatic apoE production utilizing HepG2 cells cultured in spheroid form, known to be more differentiated than HepG2 cells in monolayer culture. Spheroid HepG2 cells were prepared in alginate-beads. The secretions of albumin, apoE and apoA-I from spheroid HepG2 cells were significantly increased compared to those from monolayer HepG2 cells, and these increases were accompanied by increased mRNA levels of apoE and apoA-I. Several nuclear receptors including LXRα also became abundant in nuclear fractions in spheroid HepG2 cells. Treatment with TO901317 significantly increased apoE protein secretion from spheroid HepG2 cells, which was also associated with the increased expression of apoE mRNA. Separation of the media with FPLC revealed that the production of apoE-rich large HDL particles were enhanced even at low concentration of TO901317, and at higher concentration of TO901317, production of VLDL particles increased as well.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>LXR activation enhanced the expression of hepatic apoE, together with the alteration of lipoprotein particles produced from the differentiated hepatocyte-derived cells. HepG2 spheroids might serve as a good model of well-differentiated human hepatocytes for future investigations of hepatic lipid metabolism.</p