On the Best Practice Implementation of Solar Thermal Obligations. The ProSTO EU Project and the Portuguese experience

Based on the work that it is running within the ProSTO EU project (http://www.solarordinances.eu/), this paper presents a tentative approach to the best way for a successful implementation of a solar thermal obligation (STO) in a community. The EU framework, and base line assessment – including success factors and performance indicators were presented by the ProSTO coordinator elsewhere [1]. The Portuguese case was presented elsewhere too [2]. Here, all the complete set of measures that must be taken to succeed, will be presented. The experience shows that it is necessary to get an integrated “policy package” in the way of “zero building emissions”, around the kernel key point of clear requirements, aiming energy savings, namely for energy demand limitation, and energy efficiency of thermal installations. A parent kernel key point of this “policy package” is quality: certification of thermal solar system and components – solar collectors, factory made systems, and custom built systems; planner, designer and installer certification; technical impositions in the regulations (supported by a very consistent manual of actual good practices for solar thermal applications, with a flexible method to follow new developments); guarantee impositions (maintenance contract). All relevant documents of these quality items must be integrated in the Building Use Manual for easy management. Another kernel key point, this with focus on overcoming barriers, is that of public awareness, aiming to create an understanding that the implementation of a STO is not another awful bureaucratic burden, throughout on-line information (lists of certified equipments, installers, technical description of the equipments, manual of good practices, scholar materials (class notes, computer codes, homework assignments, etc.), etc.), and the implementation of training courses for all stakeholders

On an integrated DSM package associated to a solar thermal obligation. The ProSTO EU project and the Portuguese experience

Based on the work that it is running within the ProSTO EU project (http://www.solarordinances.eu/), this paper presents a tentative approach to an integrated demand side measures (DSM) package that must be associated to a solar thermal obligation (STO) in a community. All the complete set of measures that must be taken to succeed will be presented. The experience shows that it is necessary to get an integrated “policy package” in the way of “zero building emissions”, around the kernel key point of clear requirements, aiming energy savings, namely for energy demand limitation, and energy efficiency of thermal installations. A parent kernel key point of this “policy package” is quality: certification of thermal solar system and components; planner, designer and installer certification; technical mandatory requirements in the regulations; mandatory guarantee (maintenance contract). All relevant documents of these quality items must be integrated in the Building Use Manual for easy management. Another kernel key point, this one with focus on overcoming barriers, is public awareness, throughout on-line information (lists of certified equipments, installers, technical description of the equipments, manual of good practices, scholar materials (class notes, computer codes, homework assignments, etc.), etc.), and the implementation of training courses for al

A certificação de qualidade em sistemas solares para aquecimento de água

Tendo em atenção a política nacional para o desenvolvimento do mercado da Energia Solar Térmica, motivada pela necessidade de uma maior utilização das Energias Endógenas (Resolução do Conselho de Ministros nº154/2001 de 27 de Setembro), descreve-se a situação actual na área dos Equipamentos Solares para Aquecimento de Água, no que diz respeito à Certificação de Produtos e à Certificação de Pessoas, como medidas necessárias para a Garantia de Qualidade nesta área

On the sustainable development of solar thermal obligations in buildings in the framework of the Portuguese case

This paper starts remembering the steps given in Portugal to prepare the introduction of a solar thermal obligation. Next, it presents a description of the present legislation related to the Solar Thermal Obligation (STO) and to other incentive measures for growth of the solar thermal market in Portugal. The main problems with implementation of the new regulation are analysed and systematized. Based on the acquired knowledge, further actions are presented to guarantee the success of Solar Thermal Obligation, namely proposals for updating the obligation in conformity with best practice for solar thermal installations and taking into account the new realities upcoming from the actual solar therma

Novel solar absorber surfaces with organic pigments

This paper presents results of application of natural and synthetic organic pigments in selective solar absorber coatings. Some of these photo excite pigments were tested like solar radiation absorber pigments in paint coatings and others as a form to increase the absorption of solar radiation in titanium oxide monolayer selective coatings produced by reactive magnetron sputtering. Morphologic aspects and optical properties are discussed as a function of deposition parameters and of formulation parameters. The main goal is to prepare solar absorber surfaces as a tandem of TiOx thin films, organic pigment using a conductive substrate or of paint with organic and/or inorganic pigments and conductive substrate, all reaching great photo thermal conversion efficiency, high durability and low costs to the ending product and stability at medium range temperatures (120-150ºC). The best optical properties for titanium oxide sputtered films were 88% for solar absorption, with 7% of emissivity for deposition parameters of: pulsed frequency 200kHz, reverse time of 0.4μs, discharge current of 0.7A, argon flow rate of 50ml/min and oxygen flow rate changing from 0 to 2.5ml/min. The results obtained with paints were not satisfactory. The best couple values for solar absorption and emissivity were respectively 94%, and 74

Influence of dietary supplementation with an amino acid mixture on inflammatory markers, immune status and serum proteome in LPS-Challenged Weaned Piglets

Research Areas: Agriculture ; Veterinary Sciences ; ZoologyIn order to investigate the effect of a dietary amino acid mixture supplementation in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-challenged weaned piglets, twenty-seven 28-day-old (8.2 ± 1.0 kg) newly weaned piglets were randomly allocated to one of three experimental treatments for five weeks. Diet 1: a CTRL treatment. Diet 2: an LPS treatment, where piglets were intraperitoneally administered LPS (25 μg/kg) on day 7. Diet 3: an LPS+MIX treatment, where piglets were intraperitoneally administered LPS on day 7 and fed a diet supplemented with a mixture of 0.3% of arginine, branched-chain amino acids (leucine, valine, and isoleucine), and cystine (MIX). Blood samples were drawn on day 10 and day 35, and serum was analysed for selected chemical parameters and proteomics. The LPS and LPS+MIX groups exhibited an increase in haptoglobin concentrations on day 10. The LPS group showed an increased cortisol concentration, while this concentration was reduced in the LPS+MIX group compared to the control group. Similarly, the LPS+MIX group showed a decreased haptoglobin concentration on day 35 compared to the two other groups. Immunoglobulin concentrations were affected by treatments. Indeed, on day 10, the concentrations of IgG and IgM were decreased by the LPS challenge, as illustrated by the lower concentrations of these two immunoglobulins in the LPS group compared to the control group. In addition, the supplementation with the amino acid mixture in the LPS+MIX further decreased IgG and increased IgM concentrations compared to the LPS group. Although a proteomics approach did not reveal important alterations in the protein profile in response to treatments, LPS-challenged piglets had an increase in proteins linked to the immune response, when compared to piglets supplemented with the amino acid mixture. Overall, data indicate that LPS-challenged piglets supplemented with this amino acid mixture are more protected against the detrimental effects of LPS.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BackgroundDisorders affecting the nervous system are diverse and include neurodevelopmental disorders, late-life neurodegeneration, and newly emergent conditions, such as cognitive impairment following COVID-19. Previous publications from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study estimated the burden of 15 neurological conditions in 2015 and 2016, but these analyses did not include neurodevelopmental disorders, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11, or a subset of cases of congenital, neonatal, and infectious conditions that cause neurological damage. Here, we estimate nervous system health loss caused by 37 unique conditions and their associated risk factors globally, regionally, and nationally from 1990 to 2021.MethodsWe estimated mortality, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs), by age and sex in 204 countries and territories, from 1990 to 2021. We included morbidity and deaths due to neurological conditions, for which health loss is directly due to damage to the CNS or peripheral nervous system. We also isolated neurological health loss from conditions for which nervous system morbidity is a consequence, but not the primary feature, including a subset of congenital conditions (ie, chromosomal anomalies and congenital birth defects), neonatal conditions (ie, jaundice, preterm birth, and sepsis), infectious diseases (ie, COVID-19, cystic echinococcosis, malaria, syphilis, and Zika virus disease), and diabetic neuropathy. By conducting a sequela-level analysis of the health outcomes for these conditions, only cases where nervous system damage occurred were included, and YLDs were recalculated to isolate the non-fatal burden directly attributable to nervous system health loss. A comorbidity correction was used to calculate total prevalence of all conditions that affect the nervous system combined.FindingsGlobally, the 37 conditions affecting the nervous system were collectively ranked as the leading group cause of DALYs in 2021 (443 million, 95% UI 378–521), affecting 3·40 billion (3·20–3·62) individuals (43·1%, 40·5–45·9 of the global population); global DALY counts attributed to these conditions increased by 18·2% (8·7–26·7) between 1990 and 2021. Age-standardised rates of deaths per 100 000 people attributed to these conditions decreased from 1990 to 2021 by 33·6% (27·6–38·8), and age-standardised rates of DALYs attributed to these conditions decreased by 27·0% (21·5–32·4). Age-standardised prevalence was almost stable, with a change of 1·5% (0·7–2·4). The ten conditions with the highest age-standardised DALYs in 2021 were stroke, neonatal encephalopathy, migraine, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, diabetic neuropathy, meningitis, epilepsy, neurological complications due to preterm birth, autism spectrum disorder, and nervous system cancer.InterpretationAs the leading cause of overall disease burden in the world, with increasing global DALY counts, effective prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation strategies for disorders affecting the nervous system are needed

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

On an integrated DSM package associated to a solar thermal obligation. The ProSTO EU project and the Portuguese experience

Based on the work that it is running within the ProSTO EU project (http://www.solarordinances.eu/), this paper presents a tentative approach to an integrated demand side measures (DSM) package that must be associated to a solar thermal obligation (STO) in a community. All the complete set of measures that must be taken to succeed will be presented. The experience shows that it is necessary to get an integrated “policy package” in the way of “zero building emissions”, around the kernel key point of clear requirements, aiming energy savings, namely for energy demand limitation, and energy efficiency of thermal installations. A parent kernel key point of this “policy package” is quality: certification of thermal solar system and components; planner, designer and installer certification; technical mandatory requirements in the regulations; mandatory guarantee (maintenance contract). All relevant documents of these quality items must be integrated in the Building Use Manual for easy management. Another kernel key point, this one with focus on overcoming barriers, is public awareness, throughout on-line information (lists of certified equipments, installers, technical description of the equipments, manual of good practices, scholar materials (class notes, computer codes, homework assignments, etc.), etc.), and the implementation of training courses for al

On the Best Practice Implementation of Solar Thermal Obligations. The ProSTO EU Project and the Portuguese experience

Based on the work that it is running within the ProSTO EU project (http://www.solarordinances.eu/), this paper presents a tentative approach to the best way for a successful implementation of a solar thermal obligation (STO) in a community. The EU framework, and base line assessment – including success factors and performance indicators were presented by the ProSTO coordinator elsewhere [1]. The Portuguese case was presented elsewhere too [2]. Here, all the complete set of measures that must be taken to succeed, will be presented. The experience shows that it is necessary to get an integrated “policy package” in the way of “zero building emissions”, around the kernel key point of clear requirements, aiming energy savings, namely for energy demand limitation, and energy efficiency of thermal installations. A parent kernel key point of this “policy package” is quality: certification of thermal solar system and components – solar collectors, factory made systems, and custom built systems; planner, designer and installer certification; technical impositions in the regulations (supported by a very consistent manual of actual good practices for solar thermal applications, with a flexible method to follow new developments); guarantee impositions (maintenance contract). All relevant documents of these quality items must be integrated in the Building Use Manual for easy management. Another kernel key point, this with focus on overcoming barriers, is that of public awareness, aiming to create an understanding that the implementation of a STO is not another awful bureaucratic burden, throughout on-line information (lists of certified equipments, installers, technical description of the equipments, manual of good practices, scholar materials (class notes, computer codes, homework assignments, etc.), etc.), and the implementation of training courses for all stakeholders