3,172 research outputs found
optimization tools for building energy model calibration
Abstract Different optimization tools have been developed to find the best trade-off between competitive goals. The optimization problem is typical of the design process, where different design solutions have to be compared to achieve one or more objectives, often in contrast with each other. A quite novel application of optimization is building energy model calibration. The use of well-calibrated energy simulation models is key for successful buildings' retrofit or operation management and the optimization techniques can improve the reliability of the results. The typical optimization method consists in the analysis of all the alternatives' performances, developing a full factorial plan and simulating all the possible options (brute-force approach). However, this process could take unsustainable long time. That is why some optimization tools, based on evolutionary algorithms have been developed to speed up the process. This study compares results obtained through the brute-force approach and the evolutionary optimization methods applied on the calibration of a large educational building model located in the province of Treviso, north of Italy. The total design space consists of about 72 000 EnergyPlus building models. Two optimization-based calibrations have been repeated using a genetic algorithm by means of jEPlus+EA on a local computer and through parametric simulations implemented by jEPlus on a cloud service. The quality of results from the evolutionary optimization tools as compared to a full parametric study applied on calibration have been discussed. Scenarios of applicability are drafted. On a practical level, the research is a contribution for the selection of methods and tools for the preparation of models that can lead to optimized retrofit interventions and rationalization of building management and operation
Physicians’ Preferences for Bone Metastases Drug Therapy in the United States
AbstractObjectiveSeveral characteristics of bone-targeted agents are considered when making treatment decisions. This study evaluated physicians’ therapy preferences for preventing skeletal-related events (SREs) in patients with bone metastases secondary to solid tumors.MethodsA Web-enabled, discrete-choice experiment online survey was conducted among physicians who treated patients with bone metastases and solid tumors in the United States. Respondents chose between pairs of hypothetical medications defined by combinations of six attributes at varying levels for two hypothetical patients. Preference weights for attribute levels were estimated using a random-parameters logit model.ResultsIn total, 200 physicians completed the survey. Their mean age was 52 years, 57% were in practice for more than 15 years, 37% were oncologists, and 65% treated 10 or fewer patients with bone metastases weekly. Out-of-pocket cost to patients was the most important attribute overall. Among clinical outcomes, time to first SRE and risk of renal impairment were the most important attributes. Statistically significant preferences were observed for all attribute levels for time to first SRE, risk of renal impairment, and mode of administration. Predicted choice probability analysis showed that physicians preferred a hypothetical medication with attributes similar to those of denosumab over one with attributes similar to those of zoledronic acid.ConclusionsPhysicians indicated that clinical attributes are important when considering bone-targeting therapy for bone metastases, but consistent with the current health care landscape, patient out-of-pocket cost was the most important. With health care costs being increasingly shifted to patients, physicians require accurate information about co-pays and assistance programs to avoid patients receiving less costly, yet potentially inferior, treatment
Conversion of chitin and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine into a N-containing furan derivative in ionic liquids
Direct conversion of chitin to 3-acetamido-5-acetylfuran (3A5AF) in a range of ionic liquids (ILs) has been
systematically investigated. 10 ILs with different cations and anions were tested as the solvent and 25
additives were screened. The results revealed that the presence of Cl in the IL is essential. In addition to
the solubility enhancement of chitin in Cl containing ILs, the Cl anion appeared to participate in the
chitin reaction cycle in IL solvents. 3A5AF can be obtained in some ILs, such as [BMIm]Cl, without any
additive. Significantly enhanced yields of 3A5AF were obtained in [BMIm]Cl using boric acid and
hydrochloric acid (HCl) as additives at 180 �C, a lower temperature than using organic solvents (215 �C).
Kinetic studies showed that the product formed very quickly within 10 min, with much higher initial rate
than using organic solvents. Recovered chitin was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier
transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and elemental analysis (EA). In an effort to improve the yield,
extraction and distillation were attempted for both chitin and chitin monomer, N-acetyl-D-glucosamine
(NAG). Further studies were performed on NAG to see if acidic ILs would lead to enhanced reactivity.
However, these were less effective
Bitter Taste Receptor Agonists Mitigate Features of Allergic Asthma in Mice.
Asthma is characterized by airway inflammation, mucus secretion, remodeling and hyperresponsiveness (AHR). Recent research has established the bronchodilatory effect of bitter taste receptor (TAS2R) agonists in various models. Comprehensive pre-clinical studies aimed at establishing effectiveness of TAS2R agonists in disease models are lacking. Here we aimed to determine the effect of TAS2R agonists on features of asthma. Further, we elucidated a mechanism by which TAS2R agonists mitigate features of asthma. Asthma was induced in mice using intranasal house dust mite or aerosol ova-albumin challenge, and chloroquine or quinine were tested in both prophylactic and treatment models. Allergen challenge resulted in airway inflammation as evidenced by increased immune cells infiltration and release of cytokines and chemokines in the lungs, which were significantly attenuated in TAS2R agonists treated mice. TAS2R agonists attenuated features of airway remodeling including smooth muscle mass, extracellular matrix deposition and pro-fibrotic signaling, and also prevented mucus accumulation and development of AHR in mice. Mechanistic studies using human neutrophils demonstrated that inhibition of immune cell chemotaxis is a key mechanism by which TAS2R agonists blocked allergic airway inflammation and exerted anti-asthma effects. Our comprehensive studies establish the effectiveness of TAS2R agonists in mitigating multiple features of allergic asthma
DoDo Learning: DOmain-DemOgraphic Transfer in Language Models for Detecting Abuse Targeted at Public Figures
Public figures receive a disproportionate amount of abuse on social media,
impacting their active participation in public life. Automated systems can
identify abuse at scale but labelling training data is expensive, complex and
potentially harmful. So, it is desirable that systems are efficient and
generalisable, handling both shared and specific aspects of online abuse. We
explore the dynamics of cross-group text classification in order to understand
how well classifiers trained on one domain or demographic can transfer to
others, with a view to building more generalisable abuse classifiers. We
fine-tune language models to classify tweets targeted at public figures across
DOmains (sport and politics) and DemOgraphics (women and men) using our novel
DODO dataset, containing 28,000 labelled entries, split equally across four
domain-demographic pairs. We find that (i) small amounts of diverse data are
hugely beneficial to generalisation and model adaptation; (ii) models transfer
more easily across demographics but models trained on cross-domain data are
more generalisable; (iii) some groups contribute more to generalisability than
others; and (iv) dataset similarity is a signal of transferability.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, 4 table
Supersymmetric Electroweak Corrections to Charged Higgs Boson Production in Association with a Top Quark at Hadron Colliders
We calculate the and supersymmetric electroweak corrections to the cross section
for the charged Higgs boson production in association with a top quark at the
Tevatron and the LHC. These corrections arise from the quantum effects which
are induced by potentially large Yukawa couplings from the Higgs sector and the
chargino-top(bottom)-sbottom(stop) couplings,
neutralino-top(bottom)-stop(sbottom) couplings and charged Higgs-stop-sbottom
couplings. They can decrease or increase the cross section depending on
but are not very sensitive to the mass of the charged Higgs boson
for high . At low the corrections decrease the total
cross sections significantly, which exceed -12% for below
at both the Tevatron and the LHC, but for the
corrections can become very small at the LHC. For high
these corrections can decrease or increase the total cross sections, and the
magnitude of the corrections are at most a few percent at both the Tevatron and
the LHC.Comment: 28 pages including 4 eps figure
Molecular spectroscopy for ground-state transfer of ultracold RbCs molecules
We perform one- and two-photon high resolution spectroscopy on ultracold
samples of RbCs Feshbach molecules with the aim to identify a suitable route
for efficient ground-state transfer in the quantum-gas regime to produce
quantum gases of dipolar RbCs ground-state molecules. One-photon loss
spectroscopy allows us to probe deeply bound rovibrational levels of the mixed
excited (A1{\Sigma}+ - b3{\Pi}0) 0+ molecular states. Two-photon dark state
spectroscopy connects the initial Feshbach state to the rovibronic ground
state. We determine the binding energy of the lowest rovibrational level
|v"=0,J"=0> of the X1{\Sigma}+ ground state to be DX 0 = 3811.5755(16) 1/cm, a
300-fold improvement in accuracy with respect to previous data. We are now in
the position to perform stimulated two-photon Raman transfer to the rovibronic
ground state.Comment: Submitted to PCCP themed issue: Physics and Chemistry of Cold
Molecule
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