Code for Sustainable Homes: opportunities or threats for offsite manufacturing and mass-customization?

This study intends to, firstly, discuss current status of zero carbon homes in the UK, and secondly, to investigate the feasibility of using offsite construction methods to deliver mass customised zero carbon homes. The study concludes that mass customised offsite housing could be an answer to overcome the current barriers to achieve zero carbon homes in the UK; however, more work is required to increase the confidence of stakeholders including clients, designers, and housebuilders in offsite manufacturing in order to increase the share of such methods in the construction industry

Local Semiconducting Transition in Armchair Carbon Nanotubes: The Effect of Periodic Bi-site Perturbation on Electronic and Transport Properties of Carbon Nanotubes

In carbon nanotubes, the most abundant defects, caused for example by irradiation or chemisorption treatments, are small perturbing clusters, i.e. bi-site defects, extending over both A and B sites. The relative positions of these perturbing clusters play a crucial role in determining the electronic properties of carbon nanotubes. Using bandstructure and electronic transport calculations, we find out that in the case of armchair metallic nanotubes a band gap opens up when the clusters fulfill a certain periodicity condition. This phenomenon might be used in future nanoelectronic devices in which certain regions of single metallic nanotubes could be turned to semiconducting ones. Although in this work we study specifically the effect of hydrogen adatom clusters, the phenomenon is general for different types of defects. Moreover, we study the influence of the length and randomness of the defected region on the electron transport through it.Comment: 5 Pages, 5 Figure

Comparative performance analysis of Vacuum Insulation Panels in thermal window shutters

Windows are a major area of heat loss in buildings and can lose up to 10 times more energy than other building elements. In a typical house, around 10% of heat is lost through the windows. Thermal shutters could considerably reduce heat losses through windows and improve the energy performance of buildings. Insulation plays a major role in overall performance of thermal shutters. Advance insulation material such as Vacuum Insulation Panel (VIP) can help in improving the performance of thermal window shutters. VIP with a thermal conductivity of 0.005-0.008 W/mK is a high thermal resistance and energy efficient alternative to conventional thermal insulation materials. In this paper, effect of VIP and conventional insulation has been investigated and compared for enhancing the thermal performance of window shutters using computer simulations. Results indicate significant reduction in heat loss through windows when VIP insulation was employed in internal thermal window shutters. Thermal bridging was found to be the significant factor that deteriorated the performance of the shutter. Reducing heat loss through the frame and surrounding walls could improve the VIP insulated shutter thermal performance by approximately nine times

3D mapping of young stars in the solar neighbourhood with Gaia DR2

We study the three dimensional arrangement of young stars in the solar neighbourhood using the second release of the Gaia mission (Gaia DR2) and we provide a new, original view of the spatial configuration of the star forming regions within 500 pc from the Sun. By smoothing the star distribution through a gaussian filter, we construct three dimensional density maps for early-type stars (upper-main sequence, UMS) and pre-main sequence (PMS) sources. The PMS and the UMS samples are selected through a combination of photometric and astrometric criteria. A side product of the analysis is a three dimensional, G-band extinction map, which we use to correct our colour-magnitude diagram for extinction and reddening. Both density maps show three prominent structures, Scorpius-Centaurus, Orion, and Vela. The PMS map shows a plethora of lower mass star forming regions, such as Taurus, Perseus, Cepheus, Cassiopeia, and Lacerta, which are less visible in the UMS map, due to the lack of large numbers of bright, early-type stars. We report the finding of a candidate new open cluster towards $l, b \sim 218.5^{\circ}, -2^{\circ}$, which could be related to the Orion star forming complex. We estimate ages for the PMS sample and we study the distribution of PMS stars as a function of their age. We find that younger stars cluster in dense, compact clumps, and are surrounded by older sources, whose distribution is instead more diffuse. The youngest groups that we find are mainly located in Scorpius-Centaurus, Orion, Vela, and Taurus. Cepheus, Cassiopeia, and Lacerta are instead more evolved and less numerous. Finally, we find that the three dimensional density maps show no evidence for the existence of the ring-like structure which is usually referred to as the Gould Belt.Comment: 17 pages, 17 figures, 6 appendixes; accepted for publication in A&A; image quality decreased to comply with the arXiv.org rules on file siz

Assessing the Risks of Dampness and Mould Growth in Renovated Properties

A large portion of the UK housing stock was built before the introduction of the 1989’s building regulations in which insulated cavity walls became mandatory. It is estimated that 65% of the UK housing stock have uninsulated walls and 49% have single glazed leaky windows making them inefficient in terms of energy performance. There have been great efforts during the recent years to improve the quality and energy performance of such buildings through retrofitting/refurbishment not only to improve the living standards of their occupants but also to achieve UK’s carbon emission targets for 2050. Refurbishing such buildings to improve their quality/energy performance may, at the same time, increase the risk of poor indoor air quality (IAQ), condensation, dampness, and mould growth in these buildings. Many refurbished housing stock in the UK are facing similar problems. Damp and mould issues affect between 30-50% of new or refurbished buildings. There is therefore a need for appropriate design strategies not only to improve the quality and thermal performances of such buildings but also to reduce the aforementioned risks through better design, construction detailing, methods, and management processes. This paper reports on the first phase of a joint university/industry Knowledge Transfer project to address the above issues in renovated student accommodations in North West England. Temperature, relative humidity, CO2, and meter readings are measured and recorded in three case study buildings. Results revealed a direct relationship between energy consumption, IAQ, and occupants’ behaviours in the buildings. CO2, Temperature, and RH levels were more acceptable in one of the case study buildings; however, its energy consumption was 7 times higher when compared with a similar building

Psychometric assessment of beck scale for suicidal ideation (BSSI) in general population in Tehran

Background: Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation (BSSI) is a widely used instrument to assess suicidality. However, there is only limited information about the psychometric characteristics of BSSI in the Persian language. In this study, we investigated the validity, reliability and factor structure of the BSSI in the general population of Tehran. Methods: Initially, 900 questionnaire packages were distributed to the general population of Tehran (response rate: 59 percent), using cluster random sampling method. The questionnaire package consisted of a demographic questionnaire, the Persian translation of the BSSI, Symptom checklist-90- Revised (SCL-90-R), Beck Hopelessness Inventory (BHI) and Philips Social Support Appraisal Scale. Internal consistency and correlations of the BSSI scores with other constructs were investigated. Factor analysis was done using principal component method. Results: The Cronbach's alpha coefficients of the screening part and the whole scale were satisfactory (>0.8). The scores of both the screening part and the total scale in individuals who experienced suicidal attempt were higher than others. Both the screening part and the total scale had a positive correlation with depression and Global Severity Index in SCL-90-R, and a negative correlation with social support. The scores of the screening part had a positive correlation with anxiety, psychoticism, hostility and hopelessness as well. The screening part consisted of a single factor which explains 60 of the total variance. Conclusion: The Persian translation of the BSSI has desirable psychometric properties in research setting. However, the clinical usage of the scale remains to be explored, and the factor structure of the whole questionnaire should be assessed in a clinical sample

Analysis of greenhouse gas mitigation performance in UK urban areas

As the threat of irreversible climate change has increased over time, the UK has continued to set increasingly ambitious policies to reduce its carbon emission. An assessment of mitigation progress to date at the local authority level clarifies the factors that have affected greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on the path to carbon neutrality. This research uses regression analyses between local authorities’ GHG emission redcutions and selected explanatory variables (including population density, household income, and manufacturing employment) identified from the literature to explore mitigation performance over time, focusing on GHG emissions changes between 2005 and 2016. Substantial and relatively consistent GHG emissions reductions were achieved in this time frame, with average total reductions across UK local authorities of 31.2%. Population density was moderately-to-strongly correlated with the success of transportation GHG emissions mitigation, though this sector has seen the smallest percentage declines over this period. Local authorities with densities below 25 inhabitants per hectare were generally among the poorest performers in transportation GHG mitigation. This underscores the need to support remote working and electrification of personal transportation in areas where public/active transportation options are not viable alternatives. Furthermore, consideration of population density in conjunction with domestic and urban planning will allow for future emissions reductions to occur across the UK. Fundamentally, GHG emissions reductions to date are largely driven by historic factors (density), shifting economic structures (deindustrialisation), and centralised initiatives (decarbonisation of electricity generation)

Evaluation of congenital hypothyroidism screening program in urban and rural health centers in Chaharamahal and Bakhtiari

زمینه و هدف: تشخیص و درمان زودرس کم کاری تیروئید در پیشگیری از عقب ماندگی ذهنی ضروری است. این مطالعه به منظور ارزیابی برنامه غربالگری کم کاری تیروئید نوزادی در استان چهارمحال وبختیاری انجام شده است. روش بررسی: مطالعه حاضر از نوع توصیفی- مقطعی در سال 1388 بر روی 100 نوزاد متولد شده انجام شد. داده ها با کمک چک لیست محقق ساخته مبتنی بر دستورالعمل کشوری در خصوص غربالگری تیروئید جمع آوری و در نرم افزارSPSS تحلیل شد. یافته ها: 23 کارکنان از علایم کم کاری تیروئیدی مادرزادی آگاهی خوب و 73 آگاهی متوسط داشتند و تقریباً 79 فعالیت های نمونه گیری در مراکز خیلی خوب انجام می شد. نتیجه گیری: با توجه به یافته های حاصل در 80 مراکز وضعیت خیلی خوب بود. آموزش و نظارت مستمر بر کارکنان ، ارسال دستورالعمل و کتابچه به مراکزی که در این زمینه دچار کمبود هستند، توصیه می گردد