Effects of Orientations, Aspect Ratios, Pavement Materials and Vegetation Elements on Thermal Stress inside Typical Urban Canyons

The analysis of local climate conditions to test artificial urban boundaries and related climate hazards through modelling tools should become a common practice to inform public authorities about the benefits of planning alternatives. Different finishing materials and sheltering objects within urban canyons (UCs) can be tested, predicted and compared through quantitative and qualitative understanding of the relationships between the microclimatic environment and subjective thermal assessment. This process can work as support planning instrument in the early design phases as has been done in this study that aims to analyze the thermal stress within typical UCs of Bilbao (Spain) in summertime through the evaluation of Physiologically Equivalent Temperature using ENVI-met. The UCs are characterized by different orientations, height-to-width aspect ratios, pavement materials, trees’ dimensions and planting pattern. Firstly, the current situation was analyzed; secondly, the effects of asphalt and red brick stones as streets’ pavement materials were compared; thirdly, the benefits of vegetation elements were tested. The analysis demonstrated that orientation and aspect ratio strongly affect the magnitude and duration of the thermal peaks at pedestrian level; while the vegetation elements improve the thermal comfort up to two thermophysiological assessment classes. The outcomes of this study, were transferred and visualized into green planning recommendations for new and consolidated urban areas in Bilbao.The work leading to these results has received funding from COST Action TU0902, the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme under Grant Agreement No. 308497, Project RAMSES—Reconciling Adaptation, Mitigation and Sustainable Development for Cities (2012–2017) and Diputación Foral de Bizkaia Exp. 6-12-TK-2010-0027, Project SICURB-ITS- Desarrollo de Sistemas para el análisis de la Contaminación atmosférica en zonas URBanas integrados en ITS (2010–2011)

District Geometry Simulation: A Study for the Optimization of Solar Façades in Urban Canopy Layers

open4This paper shows the results of a research aimed at assessing the amount of energy that can be produced by solar envelopes (facades and roofs) in urban contexts.A preliminary set of simulations was carried out, through dynamic yearly analyses on a sample building, to identify the main parameters influencing the availability of solar radiation and to optimize the building's shape. The general target is to maximise solar radiation available on the external building envelope, in order to exploit it through building integrated solar systems.Furthermore, the effect of reflected solar radiation has been analysed by simulating different finishing materials (green façades, glazed façades, concrete façades and aluminium façades) on the neighbouring buildings.G. Lobaccaro; F. Fiorito; G. Masera; T. PoliLobaccaro, Gabriele; F., Fiorito; Masera, Gabriele; Poli, Tizian

Solar potential in extreme climate conditions: comparative analysis of two district case studies in Norway and Reunion Island

International audienceThis work aims to investigate the application and replicability of parametric solar design to both existing and future development urban areas in two extreme climate conditions: Øvre Rotvoll in Norway (subarctic climate) and Ravine Blanche in Reunion Island (tropical humid climate). The interplay between urban morphology and its potential for passive and active solar energy strategies has been investigated. The methodology combines the parametric modelling software Rhinoceros-Grasshopper, with two Radiance-based solar simulation tools to optimise the solar potential of a district. The application of a new workflow is studied over the computation of various design scenarios in an existing urban environment at both the district and the building scale. The results show differences and similarities between climate-specific interventions that can be used as supportive instruments for the ongoing local planning processes. The study demonstrates how parametric optimisation allows maximising the solar potential of urban areas at different latitudes despite climatic and urban densification constraints

Relation between daylight availability and electric lighting in a single-family house

Daylight availability is an important aspect that can potentially improve both the quality and the energy performance of buildings. However, it is not always straightforward easy to assure that an increase in the daylight availability leads to a reduction of electric energy use for artificial lighting. In this study, experimental measurements and numerical simulations were conducted to analyse the relation between the uses of artificial light and the daylighting availability for different groups of users who lived for one month each in a Zero Emission Building single-family house located in Trondheim, Norway. The use of electric lighting and the outdoor environment conditions (irradiance and illuminance on the horizontal plan) were recorded through advanced daylighting simulations, carried out with DIVA-for-Rhino, the daylighting availability during the periods of occupancy was then reconstructed, using as input data the outdoor environmental variable recorded during the experimental analysis. The results show that the coefficient of correlation between daylight availability and the artificial light is in general low and the use of artificial lighting seems to be largely independent from the availability of natural light

Multi‐Stage Validation of a Solar Irradiance Model Chain: An Application at High Latitudes

Evaluating how the sources of uncertainty in solar modelling (e.g., input parameters, developed model chain) can influence the results’ accuracy is one of the main challenges when applied at high latitudes. In this study, a multi-stage validation workflow is implemented around five main stages: data acquisition, data quality check, solar radiation modelling, photovoltaic energy modelling, and experimental validation. Different data sources such as satellite observations, numerical reanalysis, and on-site ground measurements are considered as inputs, while the outcomes from each step of the model chain (e.g., decomposition modelling, transposition modelling, photovoltaic energy modelling) are compared against observations recorded from the solar radiation network at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU-Solarnet) in Trondheim (Norway). In the first and second validation stages, the decomposition and transposition models with measured input parameters show the best accuracy indicators, but they do not fulfill the validation criteria. Conversely, in the third validation stage, the photovoltaic energy models with on-site ground measurements as inputs are experimentally validated. In conclusion, at high latitudes, the most accurate results are obtained when monitored solar irradiation data are used instead of satellite observations and numerical reanalysis. Furthermore, the shortest model chain is preferred, with equal data sources.publishedVersio

The Edges of Meaning. Schizophrenia between Semiotics, Psychopathology and Cognitive Sciences

La schizofrenia rappresenta uno dei più grandi enigmi per l’impresa conoscitiva umana: non si conosce la sua eziologia, né le sue basi biologiche e cerebrali. Non è neanche chiaro cosa accada nell’esperienza di chi ne soffre, che sembra vivere in un mondo altro. La scarsa conoscenza dell’esperienza schizofrenica e la distanza tra questa e il senso comune hanno portato molti studiosi a inquadrare questo disturbo come illogico, irrazionale, insensato. Il presente lavoro tenta di confutare tale impostazione, mostrando come il mondo di senso dello schizofrenico si altera, non si disgrega; si trasforma, non si annulla. Il campo di studi all’interno del quale si colloca la ricerca è la semiotica, disciplina che studia i sistemi e i processi di significazione e i modi attraverso cui l’essere umano dà senso al mondo. L’intera indagine è inserita in un quadro interdisciplinare in costante dialogo con la psicopatologia fenomenologica e le scienze cognitive contemporanee, e si sviluppa a partire da numerosi testi autobiografici di pazienti schizofrenici, report psichiatrici, articoli di giornale, film e romanzi sul tema. L’ipotesi su cui si muove il lavoro è che sia possibile comprendere la schizofrenia come un problema costitutivamente semiotico, il cui nucleo è da rintracciarsi in una radicale metamorfosi delle modalità di produrre e interpretare il significato. La scommessa sottesa è che la semiotica possa contribuire in modo sostanziale alla comprensione delle modalità attraverso cui la nostra cultura concettualizza la schizofrenia e dei modi in cui gli schizofrenici danno senso al mondo. Il lavoro indaga, quindi, i legami tra schizofrenia e cultura, la storia del concetto nosografico, e le alterazioni dei processi di significazione nei casi di eloquio disorganizzato, nei racconti autobiografici e nei deliri, cercando anche di fornire strumenti utili alla pratica clinica.Schizophrenia represents one of the greatest enigmas for human knowledge: its aetiology is unknown, as its biological and neurological basis. It is even unclear what happens in the sufferers' experience, who seem to live in another world. The lack of knowledge of the schizophrenic experience and the distance between this experience and common sense have led many scholars to define this disorder as illogical, irrational, and senseless. On the contrary, the present work shows how the schizophrenic world of meaning alters, does not disintegrate; it changes, does not dissolve. The investigation is situated in an interdisciplinary framework where Semiotics, the discipline that accounts for systems and processes of signification, dialogues with phenomenological psychopathology and contemporary cognitive sciences. The inquiry is developed by taking into account several autobiographical texts of schizophrenic patients, psychiatric reports, newspaper articles, movies and novels on this subject. The leading hypothesis is that it is possible to understand schizophrenia as a constitutively semiotic problem, represented by a radical metamorphosis of meaning production and interpretation. So the bet we made is that Semiotics can contribute to understanding how our culture conceptualises schizophrenia, and the ways in which people with schizophrenia make sense of the world. Therefore, the thesis investigates the links between schizophrenia and culture, the history of the nosographic concept, and the alterations of the signification processes in disorganised speech, autobiographical narratives, and delusions, providing valuable tools for clinical practice

A Methodological Approach to Assess the Climatic Potential of Natural Ventilation Through Façades

Due to the rapid development of super insulated and airtight buildings, the energy requirement for mechanical ventilation is becoming more and more dominant in today’s highly efficient buildings. In this scenario, natural ventilation has the potential to reduce energy use for buildings while maintaining ventilation rates that are consistent with acceptable indoor air quality. The increase in air temperature and frequency of extreme weather events (e.g. heavy rains, heat and cold waves) due to climate change will alter future outdoor boundary conditions and consequently the potential for natural ventilation in buildings. Therefore, to respond to the fluctuations in outdoor boundary conditions, the building envelope should become more and more dynamically responsive. In that sense, the façade plays an important role by regulating indoor comfort based on outdoor environmental conditions. This paper presents a methodological approach to investigate the potential of natural ventilation through the façade in office buildings in present and future climate conditions. It reviews technologies and strategies that maximise the use of natural ventilation in office buildings located in six selected different European climates. Numerical analyses were conducted, considering outdoor air temperature and humidity. Integrated façades with hybrid systems and strategies is one of the key solutions for increasing the potential of natural ventilation. The results showed that a hybrid solution with low-pressure drop heat recovery had the greatest potential to maximise the possibilities of low energy façade integrated ventilation

Tissue specific induction of p62/sqstm1 by farnesoid X receptor

Background: Farnesoid X Receptor (FXR) is a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily and is a ligand-activated transcription factor essential for maintaining liver and intestinal homeostasis. FXR is protective against carcinogenesis and inflammation in liver and intestine as demonstrated by the development of inflammation and tumors in the liver and intestine of FXR knock-out mice. However, mechanisms for the protective effects of FXR are not completely understood. This study reports a novel role of FXR in regulating expression of Sqstm1, which encodes for p62 protein. p62 plays an important role in maintaining cellular homeostasis through selective autophagy and activating signal transduction pathways, such as NF-κB to support cell survival and caspase-8 to initiate apoptosis. FXR regulation of Sqstm1 may serve as a protective mechanism. Methods and Results: This study showed that FXR bound to the Sqstm1 gene in both mouse livers and ileums as determined by chromatin immunoprecipitation. In addition, FXR activation enhanced transcriptional activation of Sqstm1 in vitro. However, wild-type mice treated with GW4064, a synthetic FXR ligand, showed that FXR activation induced mRNA and protein expression of Sqstm1/p62 in ileum, but not in liver. Interestingly, FXR-transgenic mice showed induced mRNA expression of Sqstm1 in both liver and ileum compared to wild-type mice. Conclusions: Our current study has identified a novel role of FXR in regulating the expression of p62, a key factor in protein degradation and cell signaling. Regulation of p62 by FXR indicates tissue-specific and gene-dosage effects. Furthermore, FXR-mediated induction of p62 may implicate a protective mechanism of FXR. © 2012 Williams et al

The Influence of Icephobic Nanomaterial Coatings on Solar Cell Panels at High Latitudes

Solar energy’s penetration at high latitudes has been boosted during recent years, but snow deposits during the winter still limit its exploitation. Therefore, various solutions for snow removal, such as icephobic coatings, increasing panels’ tilt angle, and using wind flows, are being attempted to reduce snow and ice accumulation. The novelty of this study is that it presents insights into the snow-related issues of photovoltaic plants in Norway and proposes a preliminary approach to modelling these issues’ influences at high latitudes using a co-simulation approach. The workflow is based on a combination of PVsyst and Marion’s algorithm, and moves from the assessment of snow deposits on photovoltaic panels and the consequent reduction of plane of array (POA) irradiance (snow losses) to evaluating the influence of icephobic nanomaterials on snow losses. Solar analyses are performed on a photovoltaic plant located in Trondheim, Norway, and then reiterated considering the climate of the Norwegian cities of Bergen and Oslo. The snow losses between November and April, when the snow depth is greater than zero, are 32.75 kWh/m2 in Oslo, 25.05 kWh/m2 in Trondheim, and 5.85 kWh/m2 in Bergen. The application of icephobic coatings currently available on the market will reduce such snow losses to 12.05 kWh/m2 (65% efficiency) in Oslo, 10.00 kWh/m2 (60% efficiency) in Trondheim, and 3.35 kWh/m2 (45% efficiency) in Bergen. In conclusion, the application of icephobic coatings should be more greatly boosted in a continental climate (Oslo and Trondheim) than in an oceanic climate (Bergen) to maximize photovoltaic power output.publishedVersio