A review on buildings energy consumption information

The rapidly growing world energy use has already raised concerns over supply difficulties, exhaustion of energy resources and heavy environmental impacts (ozone layer depletion, global warming, climate change, etc.). The global contribution from buildings towards energy consumption, both residential and commercial, has steadily increased reaching figures between 20% and 40% in developed countries, and has exceeded the other major sectors: industrial and transportation. Growth in population, increasing demand for building services and comfort levels, together with the rise in time spent inside buildings, assure the upward trend in energy demand will continue in the future. For this reason, energy efficiency in buildings is today a prime objective for energy policy at regional, national and international levels. Among building services, the growth in HVAC systems energy use is particularly significant (50% of building consumption and 20% of total consumption in the USA). This paper analyses available information concerning energy consumption in buildings, and particularly related to HVAC systems. Many questions arise: Is the necessary information available? Which are the main building types? What end uses should be considered in the breakdown? Comparisons between different countries are presented specially for commercial buildings. The case of offices is analysed in deeper detail

Decision system based on neural networks to optimize the energy efficiency of a petrochemical plant

The energy efficiency of industrial plants is an important issue in any type of business but particularly in the chemical industry. Not only is it important in order to reduce costs, but also it is necessary even more as a means of reducing the amount of fuel that gets wasted, thereby improving productivity, ensuring better product quality, and generally increasing profits. This article describes a decision system developed for optimizing the energy efficiency of a petrochemical plant. The system has been developed after a data mining process of the parameters registered in the past. The designed system carries out an optimization process of the energy efficiency of the plant based on a combined algorithm that uses the following for obtaining a solution: On the one hand, the energy efficiency of the operation points occurred in the past and, on the other hand, a module of two neural networks to obtain new interpolated operation points. Besides, the work includes a previous discriminant analysis of the variables of the plant in order to select the parameters most important in the plant and to study the behavior of the energy efficiency index. This study also helped ensure an optimal training of the neural networks. The robustness of the system as well as its satisfactory results in the testing process (an average rise in the energy efficiency of around 7%, reaching, in some cases, up to 45%) have encouraged a consulting company (ALIATIS) to implement and to integrate the decision system as a pilot software in an SCADA

Experimental adjustment of the turbulent Schmidt number to model the evaporation rate of swimming pools in CFD programmes

This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).Water evaporation rate is among the most significant parameters to design and select air con- ditioning systems in buildings with indoor swimming pools. Experimental correlations are today widely used to estimate water evaporation rate, although discrepancies of up to 80% among existing correlations have been shown. An alternative to these empirical methods is the calcu- lation of evaporation rate through computer fluid dynamics techniques. One of the most signif- icant parameters to solve the mass transfer at the air-water interface in these models is the value of the turbulent Schmidt number. Although this value depends on air and water conditions (i.e., temperatures, velocities, and vapour pressure, among others), commercial computer fluid dy- namics programmes set a fixed value by default. This study presents a new value through an experimental adjustment. A total of 40 experimental tests have been performed in a wind tunnel under typical conditions in indoor swimming pools. Afterwards, the adjustment was validated with data from 145 experimental tests reported in the scientific literature. The mean relative error in the evaporation rate using the turbulent Schmidt number was 7%, as against 25% using the value by default. The maximum error was reduced from 35% to 15% in forced convection regime

Desarrollo de la herramienta docente CuadernoDeProblemas. Aplicación a las ciencias y técnicas del frío.

CuadernoDeProblemas (http://cuadernodeproblemas.es) es una herramienta gratuita y online diseñada para resolver los problemas usuales en las materias vinculadas a la ingeniería. La nueva versión 3 incluye características muy adecuadas para su aplicación en las ciencias y técnicas del frío. La apariencia de la herramienta ha sido rediseñada para simular el desarrollo de los problemas en una “hoja de papel”. La aplicación es capaz de obtener las propiedades termofísicas de los fluidos (refrigerantes, sicrometría, etc.). Se han incluido los componentes Tabla y Gráfica, que permiten resolver varias veces el mismo problema modificando de forma paramétrica alguno de los datos del problema. La herramienta está siendo implantada en el marco del departamento de ingeniería energética de la Universidad de Sevilla, donde es utilizada ya en 8 asignaturas, con más de 400 usuarios registrados y más de 3000 problemas creados en la base de datos

A review on buildings energy information: Trends, end-uses, fuels and drivers

Buildings are a major contributor to climate change, accounting for one third of global energy consumption and one quarter of CO2 emissions. However, comprehensive information is lacking for the development, evaluation and monitoring of mitigation policies. This paper discusses the remaining challenges in terms of reliability and consistency of the available data. A review of energy use in buildings is presented to analyse its evolution by building types, energy services and fuel sources. Residential buildings are the most consuming, although tertiary expansion requires further analysis to develop sound specific indicators. Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems concentrate 38% of buildings consumption, calling for strengthened standards and incentives for retrofitting. Electrification is rapidly increasing, representing a potential tool for climate change mitigation, if renewable power was promoted. However, energy use in buildings will only curb if global cooperation enables developing nations to break the link between economic growth, urbanisation and consumption. To this aim, efficiency gains both in construction and equipment, decarbonisation of the energy mix and a global awareness on energy conservation are all neededComisión Europea Horizonte 2020 76857

Nitrate and nitrite contents in Cuban beer

Szerzők a havannai „Guido Perez” sörgyárban 1980 és 1981-ben gyártott 1288 minta nitrit és nitrát tartalmát vizsgálták. Eredményeik szerint az átlagos nitrát tartalom minden vizsgált fajtában kisebb mint az ivóvízre megengedett 45 mg/1. A kommersz (10° B) és az egyéb típusú Special (12° В), Super (15° В), valamint а Super-Extra (18° В) sörök nitrát tartalma szignifikánsan különbözött egymástól, de nem volt különbség az utóbbi három fajta között. Nitritet a sörmintákban kimutatni nem tudtak. Az eredmények szerint e kubai sörök fogyasztása nem jelent egészségkárosító veszélyt

Albiglutide and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (Harmony Outcomes): a double-blind, randomised placebo-controlled trial

Background: Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists differ in chemical structure, duration of action, and in their effects on clinical outcomes. The cardiovascular effects of once-weekly albiglutide in type 2 diabetes are unknown. We aimed to determine the safety and efficacy of albiglutide in preventing cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke. Methods: We did a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial in 610 sites across 28 countries. We randomly assigned patients aged 40 years and older with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (at a 1:1 ratio) to groups that either received a subcutaneous injection of albiglutide (30–50 mg, based on glycaemic response and tolerability) or of a matched volume of placebo once a week, in addition to their standard care. Investigators used an interactive voice or web response system to obtain treatment assignment, and patients and all study investigators were masked to their treatment allocation. We hypothesised that albiglutide would be non-inferior to placebo for the primary outcome of the first occurrence of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke, which was assessed in the intention-to-treat population. If non-inferiority was confirmed by an upper limit of the 95% CI for a hazard ratio of less than 1·30, closed testing for superiority was prespecified. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02465515. Findings: Patients were screened between July 1, 2015, and Nov 24, 2016. 10 793 patients were screened and 9463 participants were enrolled and randomly assigned to groups: 4731 patients were assigned to receive albiglutide and 4732 patients to receive placebo. On Nov 8, 2017, it was determined that 611 primary endpoints and a median follow-up of at least 1·5 years had accrued, and participants returned for a final visit and discontinuation from study treatment; the last patient visit was on March 12, 2018. These 9463 patients, the intention-to-treat population, were evaluated for a median duration of 1·6 years and were assessed for the primary outcome. The primary composite outcome occurred in 338 (7%) of 4731 patients at an incidence rate of 4·6 events per 100 person-years in the albiglutide group and in 428 (9%) of 4732 patients at an incidence rate of 5·9 events per 100 person-years in the placebo group (hazard ratio 0·78, 95% CI 0·68–0·90), which indicated that albiglutide was superior to placebo (p<0·0001 for non-inferiority; p=0·0006 for superiority). The incidence of acute pancreatitis (ten patients in the albiglutide group and seven patients in the placebo group), pancreatic cancer (six patients in the albiglutide group and five patients in the placebo group), medullary thyroid carcinoma (zero patients in both groups), and other serious adverse events did not differ between the two groups. There were three (<1%) deaths in the placebo group that were assessed by investigators, who were masked to study drug assignment, to be treatment-related and two (<1%) deaths in the albiglutide group. Interpretation: In patients with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, albiglutide was superior to placebo with respect to major adverse cardiovascular events. Evidence-based glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists should therefore be considered as part of a comprehensive strategy to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes. Funding: GlaxoSmithKline

Minimal information for studies of extracellular vesicles 2018 (MISEV2018):a position statement of the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles and update of the MISEV2014 guidelines

The last decade has seen a sharp increase in the number of scientific publications describing physiological and pathological functions of extracellular vesicles (EVs), a collective term covering various subtypes of cell-released, membranous structures, called exosomes, microvesicles, microparticles, ectosomes, oncosomes, apoptotic bodies, and many other names. However, specific issues arise when working with these entities, whose size and amount often make them difficult to obtain as relatively pure preparations, and to characterize properly. The International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) proposed Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles (“MISEV”) guidelines for the field in 2014. We now update these “MISEV2014” guidelines based on evolution of the collective knowledge in the last four years. An important point to consider is that ascribing a specific function to EVs in general, or to subtypes of EVs, requires reporting of specific information beyond mere description of function in a crude, potentially contaminated, and heterogeneous preparation. For example, claims that exosomes are endowed with exquisite and specific activities remain difficult to support experimentally, given our still limited knowledge of their specific molecular machineries of biogenesis and release, as compared with other biophysically similar EVs. The MISEV2018 guidelines include tables and outlines of suggested protocols and steps to follow to document specific EV-associated functional activities. Finally, a checklist is provided with summaries of key points

A review on buildings energy consumption information,”

Abstract The rapidly growing world energy use has already raised concerns over supply difficulties, exhaustion of energy resources and heavy environmental impacts (ozone layer depletion, global warming, climate change, etc.). The global contribution from buildings towards energy consumption, both residential and commercial, has steadily increased reaching figures between 20% and 40% in developed countries, and has exceeded the other major sectors: industrial and transportation. Growth in population, increasing demand for building services and comfort levels, together with the rise in time spent inside buildings, assure the upward trend in energy demand will continue in the future. For this reason, energy efficiency in buildings is today a prime objective for energy policy at regional, national and international levels. Among building services, the growth in HVAC systems energy use is particularly significant (50% of building consumption and 20% of total consumption in the USA). This paper analyses available information concerning energy consumption in buildings, and particularly related to HVAC systems. World energy use The rapidly growing world energy use has already raised concerns over supply difficulties, exhaustion of energy resources and heavy environmental impacts (ozone layer depletion, global warming, climate change, etc.). The International Energy Agency has gathered frightening data on energy consumption trends. During the last two decades primary energy has grown by 49% and CO 2 emissions by 43%, with an average annual increase of 2% and 1.8% respectively Current predictions show that this growing trend will continue. Energy use by nations with emerging economies (Southeast Asia, Middle East, South America and Africa) will grow at an average annual rate of 3.2% and will exceed by 2020 that for the developed countries (North America, Western Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand) at an average growing rate of 1.1% Interesting consequences can be obtained from the analysis of the trend of main world energy indicators [1] between 1973 and 2004 These figures confirm the relationship linking energy consumption with economic development and population www.elsevier.com/locate/enbuild Energy and Buildings 40 (2008) 394-39

Reflexiones sobre tres aspectos fundamentales en la formación de profesores noveles: evaluación, actividades complementarias y aprendizaje basado en problemas

Un gran número de los profesores que inician su carrera profesional en la Universidad carecen de experiencia docente previa por lo que su formación requiere apoyo y asesoramiento por parte de profesores con experiencia. Por iniciativa del ICE de la Universidad de Sevilla, en los últimos años se han desarrollado programas de formación que fomentan la creación de "Equipos", en los que profesores con experiencia y profesores principiantes analizan y critican sus funciones docentes. En el presente trabajo se resumen las actividades realizadas y los temas tratados por el Equipo del Grupo de Termotecnia de la E.S. de Ingenieros de Sevilla. El trabajo se ha centrado fundamentalmente en tres aspectos que se consideran de gran interés: evaluación, actividades complementarias y aprendizaje basado en problemas (APB). Los dos primeros son temas clásicos en las Ciencias de la Educación, pero quizá no hayan sido suficientemente tratados en el ámbito de las Enseñanzas Técnicas Universitarias . El APB es un tema relativamente nuevo, de escasa aplicación en nuestras universidades, pero a la vez de gran interés pues favorece la integración de la Teoría y la práctica, el trabajo en equipo, y el auto-aprendizaje, que son algunos de los retos a los que se enfrenta el nuevo Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior.Most of Iecturers starting out their career at University have no previous teaching experience and so, they require help and advice corning from expert teachers. In the last few years, the ICE (Institute of Educational Sciences) of the University of Seville took the initiative to develop training programs promoting the creation of "Teams" in which expert and novel teachers analyze and criticize together their teaching duties. This paper summarizes the work of the Group of Termotecnia Team and details their activities under this program. The project focuses on three basic and interesting subjects: Evaluation, complementary activities and Problem Based Learning (PBL). The first two are classical Educational Science matters but not widely covered in Technical Schools. PBL is a relatively new topic, not very used and known in our Universities, but at the same time of great interest, since encourages practice and theory integration, teamwork, and self-learning, which are sorne of future challenges for the new European Space of Higher Education