Machine learning for estimation of building energy consumption and performance:a review

Ever growing population and progressive municipal business demands for constructing new buildings are known as the foremost contributor to greenhouse gasses. Therefore, improvement of energy eciency of the building sector has become an essential target to reduce the amount of gas emission as well as fossil fuel consumption. One most eective approach to reducing CO2 emission and energy consumption with regards to new buildings is to consider energy eciency at a very early design stage. On the other hand, ecient energy management and smart refurbishments can enhance energy performance of the existing stock. All these solutions entail accurate energy prediction for optimal decision making. In recent years, articial intelligence (AI) in general and machine learning (ML) techniques in specic terms have been proposed for forecasting of building energy consumption and performance. This paperprovides a substantial review on the four main ML approaches including articial neural network, support vector machine, Gaussian-based regressions and clustering, which have commonly been applied in forecasting and improving building energy performance

From the Sum of Near-Zero Energy Buildings to the Whole of a Near-Zero Energy Housing Settlement: The Role of Communal Spaces in Performance-Driven Design

Almost a century ago Modernism challenged the structure of the city and reshaped its physical space in order to, amongst other things, accommodate new transportation infrastructure and road networks proclaiming the,nowadays much-debated ‘scientificated’ pursuit of efficiency for the city. This transformation has had a great impact on the way humans still design, move in, occupy and experience the city. Today major cities in Europe, such as Paris and London, are considering banning vehicles from their historic centers. In parallel, significant effort is currently underway internationally by designers, architects, and engineers to integrate innovative technologies and sophisticated solutions for energy production, management, and storage, as well as for efficient energy consumption, into the architecture of buildings. In general, this effort seeks for new technologies and design methods (e.g., DesignBuilder with EnergyPlus simulation engine; Rhicoceros3D with Grasshopper plugin and Ecotect, Radiance and EnergyPlus tools) that would enable a holistic approach to the spatial design of Near-Zero Energy buildings, so that their ecological benefits are an added value to the architectural design and a building’s visual, and material, impact on its surrounding space. The paper inquires how the integration of such technological infrastructure and performance-orientated interfaces changes yet again the structure and form of cities, and to what extent it safeguards social rights and enables equal access to common resources. Drawing from preliminary results and initial considerations of ongoing research that involve the construction of four innovative NZE settlements across Europe, in the context of the EU-funded ZERO-PLUS project, this paper discusses the integration of novel infrastructure in communal spaces of these settlements. In doing so, it contributes to the debate about smart communities and their role in the sustainable management of housing developments and settlements that are designed and developed with the concept of smart territories

Miocardiopatia da Stress

Descrizione delle caratteristiche cliniche dalla miocardiopatia da stress in generale e della sindrome cosiddetta Tako-Tsubo in particolar

I marcatori di danno coronarico. Dalla diagnosi alla prognosi

Cardiovascular disease is a major public health problem, Rapid and accurate diagnosis in the emergency department is essential for timely initiation oftreatment, thus any means for improving the speed and accuracy of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) diagnosis can contribute to better clinical and economi c outcomes. Measurement of circulating level of troponin has proven to be a sensitive and specific test for cardiac damage detection but they do not discriminate between ischemic and not ischemic etiologies of'rnyocardial injury. Combining troponin with other cardiac biomarkers may offer complimentary information on the underlying pathobiology and prognosis in an individual patient, may increase the analytic sensitivity for myocardial damage and offer insights into the timing and mechanism of myocardial injury. Several prospective epidemiological studies have documented an association between inflammatory markers and cardiovascular disease and their role in primary and secondary prevention and as predictor of mortality. OBJECTIVE: We sought to report a selected but representative evidence on some new biological markers of cardiac damage, ineluding inflammatory cytokines in patients with cardiovascular disease. DATA SOURCES: We searched in Medline from January 1998 to March 2005 for all studies focusing on the diagnostic and prognostic value of new markers of cardiac damage in patients with ACS and heart failure. CONCLUSION: The use ofnecrotic markers to risk stratify patients with chest pain has become an established practice in the clinical setting while the role of other inflammatory biomarkers, despite being still undefined, seems promising under both pathophysiologic and prognostic perspective

Microparticles as a Strategy for Low-Molecular-Weight Heparin Delivery

The aims of this work were preparation and physical-chemical characterization of a microparticulate release system for delivery of enoxaparin sodium (ENX), a low-molecular-weight heparin, as a potential vehicle for optimization of deep venous thrombosis therapy. Microparticles (MPs) containing ENX were prepared from polylactide-co-glycolic acid [PLGA; (50: 50)] by a double emulsification/solvent evaporation method. The preparation parameters, such as proportion ENX/PLGA, surfactant concentration, type, time, and speed of stirring, were evaluated. The encapsulation efficiency and yield process were determined and optimized, and the in vitro release profile was analysed at 35 days. The MPs showed a spherical shape with smooth and regular surfaces. The size distribution showed a unimodal profile with an average size of 2.0 +/- 0.9 mu m. The low encapsulation efficiency (< 30%), characteristic of hydrophilic macromolecules was improved, reaching 50.2% with a procedure yield of 71.3%. The in vitro profile of ENX release from the MPs was evaluated and showed pseudo-zero-order kinetics. This indicated that diffusion was the main drug release mechanism. (C) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 100:1783-1792, 2011Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo-FAPESPCoordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior-CAPES, Brazi

First experience with gemtuzumab ozogamicin plus cytarabine as continuous infusion for elderly acute myeloid leukaemia patients.

[ARTICOLO

Mechanical vs. electrical dyssynchrony for CRTselection in patients with HF

Background: Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is a new approach to treat of refractory heart failure (HF). Electrical dyssynchrony (ED) is used for selection of candidates to CRT. However, mechanical dyssynchrony (MD) may be more appropriate as it evaluates contraction. Aim: To evaluate the relationship between ED and MD in patients potentially candidates to CRT. Methods: One hundred five patients with HF (mean age 65± 20 years, NYHA class III-IV, sinus rhythm, LVEF <35%, optimized medical therapy and complete or incomplete BBB) were studied. The patients were classified in 3 groups based on QRS duration: A= 150 ms. Three indexes of interventricular MD were measured: Qa-Qp by conventional Doppler and QT-QM and QT-QMonset by tissue Doppler imaging. Results: (1) MD was observed in all the 3 groups, with a 40% prevalence in A. (2) This was true for non-ischemic and ischemic HF etiologies. (3) QRS duration correlated weakly with MD indexes. (4) The type of electrical conduction disturbance (LBBB, RBBB) did not to influence the prevalence of MD. (5) MD had a similar prevalence in patients with left hemiblock and incomplete BBB (about 40% in both cases). Conclusions: MD is present in HF patients with narrow or intermediate QRS width. Selection of candidates to CRT should be based on MD, since the ECG underestimates prevalence of dyssynchrony

Dose increase of imatinib mesylate may overcome acquired resistance in bcr/abl-positive acute lymphoid leukaemia

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Enantiomeric Resolution of Drugs and Metabolites in Polysaccharide- and Protein-Based Chiral Stationary Phases

Several chiral stationary phases based on polysaccharide derivatives and proteins were evaluated for the resolution of some chiral drugs and their metabolites. The polysaccharide-based stationary phases CHIRALCEL OD-H, CHIRALCEL OB-H, CHIRALCEL OJ, CHIRALPAK AD and CHIRALPAK AS were evaluated under normal phase conditions, using hexane:2-propanol or hexane:ethanol as mobile phase. Diethylamine and trifluoracetic acid were also added to improve peak shape. The CHIRALCEL OJ-R, CHIRALCEL OD-R and CHIRALCEL OD-H columns were evaluated under reversed-phase conditions, using acetonitrile:H2O or acetonitrile:NaClO4 solution. The protein- based stationary phases, CHIRAL AGP and ULTRON ES-OVM columns were used with mobile phases consisting of a buffer solution supplemented with an organic modifier. Among the polysaccharide-based stationary phases, CHIRALPAK AD provided better resolution for almost all drugs and metabolites studied. The ULTRON ES-OVM column was particularly suitable for the resolution of the four enantiomers of thioridazine-2-sulfoxide