Insulation materials are the key tool in designing and constructing a energy thrifty buildings. This is demonstrated by the increasing thicknesses used in buildings, which also reflects in the ...growing sales of the branch. The European market of insulation materials is characterised by the domination of two groups of products inorganic fibrous materials and organic foamy materials. They all feature similar performance in terms of insulating capabilities, but otherwise present significant differences. These are discussed in detail in the following paper. Despite the fact that the thermal properties of the materials has not improved significantly of the last decade, a series of other features, like reaction to fire and moisture or mechanical properties have improved, sometimes even at the cost of insulation abilities. Furthermore, environmental and public health aspects play an increasing role, both in the search for ‘optimum’ materials for given applications, and in the aims set by the industry for future developments. These aims, examined within the legislative and market framework, are discussed in this paper, both as criteria for evaluating state of the art materials and as goals for future research developments.
Abstract The depressive state has been characterised as one of elevated inflammation, which holds promise for better understanding treatment-resistance in affective disorders as well as for future ...developments in treatment stratification. Aiming to investigate alterations in the inflammatory profiles of individuals with depression as putative biomarkers for clinical response, we conducted meta-analyses examining data from 35 studies that investigated inflammation before and after treatment in depressed patients together with a measure of clinical response. There were sufficient data to analyse IL-6, TNFα and CRP. Levels of IL-6 decreased with antidepressant treatment regardless of outcome, whereas persistently elevated TNFα was associated with prospectively determined treatment resistance. Treatment non-responders tended to have higher baseline inflammation, using a composite measure of inflammatory markers. Our findings suggest that elevated levels of inflammation are contributory to treatment resistance. Combining inflammatory biomarkers might prove a useful tool to improve diagnosis and detection of treatment refractoriness, and targeting persistent inflammation in treatment-resistant depression may offer a potential target for the development of novel intervention strategies.
Abstract
The CROCv1 front-end (FE) chip was designed by the RD53 collaboration for the CMS Phase-2 Inner Tracker Upgrade. It is designed to cope with the extreme radiation and hit rates of the HL-LHC ...and it is based on the 65 nm CMOS technology and a novel analog FE design featuring linear charge to Time-over-Threshold conversion. In this contribution, the characterization measurements of the analog part of the chip are presented with a special focus on the linear analog FE, including Total Ionizing Dose radiation damage studies.
The purpose of this paper is to examine the building's environmental performance through the insulation's material selection. Contemporary insulation materials achieve thermal conductivity values of ...less than 0.04
W/mK, whilst a plethora of materials, which fulfil specific requirements like mechanical and physical features according to the object specific specifications, can be found in the market. Still, the latter is dominated by inorganic fibrous materials and organic foamy ones, which were the subject of this study. The two materials’ production process was registered and evaluated based on environmental criteria with Life Cycle Analysis’ implementation, which was supported by the GEMIS model. The results obtained were used to set operating performance indicators and environmental condition indicators based on the ISO 14031 standard and accomplish the Environmental Performance Evaluation for the two materials. Moreover, insulation materials’ life cycle correlation to building's life cycle examined and expressed with energy consumption indicators.
Determining the actual solar potential for applications in the complex urban environment is a difficult task, particularly when there is a lack in background information, such as the texture and ...structure of the urban landscape, as this was until very recently the case in Greece. In this paper a simplified yet effective methodological approach for the evaluation of solar architecturally suitable areas of flat roof surfaces on typical multi-storey, multifamily buildings is presented. It is based on a statistical calculation model for solar potential that has been validated, by analysing actual measurements carried out in the city of Thessaloniki in Northern Greece. The model can be either used by private engineers or it can be alternatively incorporated in geoinformatics decision-making tools, such as GIS, to aid planners, regulators and developers to determine the solar potential. Finally, it is of great interest to notice that the PV potential of the multifamily buildings considered in the validation, proved to be rather poor. The solar utilization roof factor in the majority of the examined building cases was approximated only between 25 and 50%.
•A review of passive cooling techniques for photovoltaics (PVs) was provided.•An analysis and comparison of passive cooling techniques for PVs was obtained.•The economic viability of the examined ...passive cooling techniques for PVs was investigated.•A 30kW PV system case study was analyzed with respect to LCOE.•General environmental aspects were addressed (LCA analysis).
This paper deals with the analysis of passive based cooling techniques for photovoltaic panels (PVs). A comprehensive review and evaluation of the research activities and in general studies related to the development of passive cooling techniques for PVs was obtained. A major contribution to the herein reported research study is the provision of a general economic analysis for the passive cooling options as there is a gap in present research studies related to the economic aspect of the proposed cooling techniques (the same issue was also noticed for environmental aspects). Based on the comprehensive literature review, it was found that most of the examined passive cooling options are ones with an assumed application of PCM, then air based, liquid based (water, nanofluids, etc.) and finally radiative based. A 30kW PV plant case study was considered in order to estimate the LCOE for each considered passive cooling technique, i.e. to examine the economic aspect (where general performance data were used with respect to the obtained analysis of the passive cooling techniques). Furthermore, LCA was also carried out in order to check the environmental aspects of the considered passive cooling techniques for PVs. Finally, according to the gained results and existing technical solutions, the currently most viable passive cooling option, both from a technical and economic point of view, is the air based cooling option with Al-fins mounted on the backside surface of the PV panel. The PCM based passive cooling technique for PVs could only be an option in future terms if a significant PCM material price drop were to occur. Therefore, the future development of passive cooling techniques could be focused on the research of hybrid cooling options. The hybrid passive cooling option assumes a mix of passive cooling techniques. Finally, the advantage of each cooling technique could be efficiently utilized in that manner.
•Provided review of active cooling techniques for photovoltaics (PVs).•Main performance parameters detected and summarized.•Analysis of general economic viability for specific active cooling ...techniques.•Environmental evaluation and impact analysis (Life Cycle Assessment Methodology).
This paper deals with active cooling techniques for photovoltaic panels (PVs) where a detailed review was obtained as well as analysis by examining the findings of existing literature. Based on the obtained review, an elaboration of the main performance parameters was obtained for each specific considered coolant (air, water or nanofluids). It was found that the less investigated cooling techniques are the ones related to CPV (Concentrated Photovoltaic) systems and only a few studies exist with nanofluids as the considered coolant. The majority of tested active cooling options are based on water as the coolant and for PV/T (Photovoltaic/Thermal) configurations. The economic and environmental aspects of the active cooling techniques were not analysed in the majority of research studies thus there is an obvious gap in the existing literature. Therefore, the main outcomes of the herein obtained research are reflected through summarized analysis of all important aspects related to active cooling options for PV applications (performance, economic and environmental). According to the obtained results, the highest increase in PV panel performance is achieved by water base cooling techniques and they range from about 10% to 20% on average. To analyse economic and environmental aspects, a 30 kW PV system was studied as a case study. Regarding the economic aspect, the LCOE (Levelized Cost of Electricity) for the considered case study of a 30 kW PV system ranged from 0.096 €/kW h to 0.159 €/kW h. For the given circumstances, it was found that the considered active based cooling options were not economically viable (it is crucial to ensure optimization for the specific liquid (water) based active cooling technique followed by “smart regulation” in order to provide a more reasonable LCOE). However, with the proper optimization of active cooling techniques, it is more than reasonable to expect an additional LCOE reduction as it could significantly reduce the operating cost. The environmental analysis (LCA) showed that out of all the herein evaluated cooling techniques, the air based cooling techniques are the most harmful to the environment which is primarily due to more intense global warming and environmental acidification effect. Other environmental impacts are approximately of the same magnitude for the specific analysed active cooling options.
Childhood adverse experiences are known to induce persistent changes in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis reactivity to stress. However, the mechanisms by which these experiences shape ...the neuroendocrine response to stress remain unclear. Method We tested whether bullying victimization influenced serotonin transporter gene (SERT) DNA methylation using a discordant monozygotic (MZ) twin design. A subsample of 28 MZ twin pairs discordant for bullying victimization, with data on cortisol and DNA methylation, were identified in the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, a nationally representative 1994-1995 cohort of families with twins.
Bullied twins had higher SERT DNA methylation at the age of 10 years compared with their non-bullied MZ co-twins. This group difference cannot be attributed to the children's genetic makeup or their shared familial environments because of the study design. Bullied twins also showed increasing methylation levels between the age of 5 years, prior to bullying victimization, and the age of 10 years whereas no such increase was detected in non-bullied twins across time. Moreover, children with higher SERT methylation levels had blunted cortisol responses to stress.
Our study extends findings drawn from animal models, supports the hypothesis that early-life stress modifies DNA methylation at a specific cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) site in the SERT promoter and HPA functioning and suggests that these two systems may be functionally associated.
Abstract Despite the evidence of an association between depression and increased inflammatory markers, still little is known in relation to the most severe cases of the disorder i.e., those who fail ...to respond to antidepressants. We have assessed the cytokine profile and cortisol levels in 21 healthy controls (HC) and 19 medicated patients with depression with treatment-resistance (TRD) moderately ill. As an initial exploratory analysis, we have also related cytokine profile to the patient’s clinical treatment outcome after an inpatient admission. Cytokine profile was measured in the serum by the Cytokine Array I kit (Randox® ). Plasma cortisol was carried out using a commercially available for the IMMULITE® system. When compared to healthy controls, depressed patients had higher levels of cortisol, IL-6, IL-10, but lower levels of IL-4 and VEGF. Our exploratory analysis showed subjects who did not go on to respond to the inpatient admission treatment package had lower levels of MCP-1, and a trend toward lower levels of VEGF. Taking together, these data suggest that lack of clinical therapeutic benefit of antidepressants is associated with overall activation of the inflammatory system.
Abstract
The European Social Charter has recently received increased attention due to the evolution of its monitoring mechanism and the need to address a multitude of contemporary challenges to ...socio-economic rights. Although the treaty’s preamble has played a crucial role in the interpretation of substantive provisions and in shaping state obligations, little attention has been paid to the way in which the preamble has defined the fundamental lines of the ‘jurisprudence’ of the Charter’s monitoring body. The European Committee of Social Rights has deduced from the Charter’s preamble several important general principles for the protection of socio-economic rights, on which it grounds its interpretation. This article analyses these principles and evaluates their effects in the relevant practice. The findings suggest that the Charter’s preamble serves different purposes and performs multiple functions in international law, thus challenging the common assumption that human rights treaty preambles are empty phrases of a merely ceremonial nature.
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