This article presents a field test of how deep renovation affects indoor climate quality. The studied apartment building was built in 1968 and is located in Finland, within the Nordic climate zone. ...The deep renovation included façade repair with extra insulation, new windows with trickle vents, new balcony glass and doors, and the installation of an exhaust air heat pump into the existing mechanical exhaust air ventilation. The indoor climate conditions and building envelope tightness were measured before and after the renovation. As a result of these energy renovation measures, the building envelope tightness improved by nearly 40% and the uncontrolled supply of air (draughts) decreased by approximately 24%. The overall energy consumption of the building decreased by 45%. Above all, the long testing period gives credibility to the study. The field test brought up the challenge of supplying an adequate amount of fresh air. This article highlights the fact that windows are part of a mechanical ventilation system if fresh air is not controlled by being led through inlet ducts. The supply air flow and volume must be ensured by correctly dimensioned valves, and therefore we stress the importance of the technical cooperation of technical designers.
•In Finland, the heating and ventilation systems play a more critical role.•Finland has more stringent energy code requirements than U.S.•The actual average energy use intensity in the U.S. retrofit ...case buildings is 1.7 times higher than that in Finland.•Four technical and regulatory factors appear to contribute to the difference in energy use intensity.
Due to the high heating demand, energy savings in residential buildings in cold climates has played an important role in reducing carbon emissions. This study aims to investigate differences between the United States and Finland regarding characteristics and energy retrofit practices of current multifamily buildings (MFBs). The study focuses on net zero energy or nearly zero energy performance in cold and very cold climatic conditions. First an overview is presented of the status of multifamily housing stocks in the two countries, followed by an explanation of energy use patterns of residential buildings in both countries. Then, building codes related to energy efficiency in Finland and the United States are examined as well as major differences between the codes. Lastly, to further understand the different strategies and techniques used in energy retrofit projects, a dataset of 57 MFBs from both countries, both net zero energy buildings (ZEB) and nearly zero energy buildings (nZEB), were collected and analyzed. The preliminary results indicate three differences: (1) For the existing national MFB stock, the United States has a higher average energy use (EUI), at 266 kWh/m2 per year (cold and very cold regions), compared to that of Finland, at 235 kWh/m2 per year, (2) Finland has more stringent energy code requirements that contribute to lower energy use in studied case projects with a mean EUI of 80 kWh/m2 per year compared to 148 kWh/m2 per year in the U.S. sample,(3) In the Finnish studied cases, the heating and ventilation systems play a more critical role in explaining the building energy use differences in the sample, while in the U.S. cases, building envelope thermal properties explained the energy use intensity variations in the sample. Overall, the comparison of the Finnish and American cases showed that good technical practices from Finland can be learned to reduce the heating demand in cold and very cold climate regions of the United States.
This article presents the field test of the developed demand response system installed in the central heating systems of existing apartment buildings. The buildings are occupied by students and ...located in Tampere, Finland, which is within the northern climate zone. The studied buildings are connected to the local district heating network. The presented demand response system takes into account weather forecasts, indoor temperatures and decreases in space heating temperatures when demand for domestic hot water is the highest. The owner of the buildings benefits from peak demand control and can save in fixed fees. If enough buildings would have this kind of demand response control system, there would be a decreased need for utility companies to use peak power plants that typically use fossil fuels for heat production. In this field test, the peak load decrease was 14%–15% on average. During the test, the heating period of February and March, the normalized energy consumption of eight buildings was reduced by 11%, which represents a 9% annual cut in energy, costs and greenhouse gas emissions. Demand Response (DR) heating aims to help in reaching the objectives of the National Energy and Climate Strategy for 2030.
Modified live canine distemper virus (CDV) vaccines are widely used and considered both safe and effective. Although there are occasional literature reports of suspected vaccine-induced disease, ...there are none where the vaccine strain has been identified in affected tissues. Here we describe two such cases in different litters. In litter A, five of ten puppies presented with fever, anorexia, vomiting, and diarrhea a few days post-vaccination. Four puppies died or were euthanized, and autopsy revealed atypical necrosis of the lymphoid tissue. In litter B, two of five puppies developed typical neurological signs some months post-vaccination and autopsy revealed encephalitis. In all cases, affected organs tested positive for CDV on immunohistochemistry, and CDV RNA extracted from the lesions confirmed the presence of vaccine strain. Since multiple puppies from each litter were affected, it cannot be excluded without further studies that some undiagnosed inherited immunodeficiency disorder may have been involved.
Acylcarnitines (ACs) play a major role in fatty acid metabolism and are potential markers of metabolic dysfunction with higher blood concentrations reported in obese and diabetic individuals. Diet, ...and in particular red and processed meat intake, has been shown to influence AC concentrations but data on the effect of meat consumption on AC concentrations is limited.
To investigate the effect of red and processed meat intake on AC concentrations in plasma and urine using a randomized controlled trial with replication in an observational cohort.
In the randomized crossover trial, 12 volunteers successively consumed 2 different diets containing either pork or tofu for 3 d each. A panel of 44 ACs including several oxidized ACs was analyzed by LC-MS in plasma and urine samples collected after the 3-d period. ACs that were associated with pork intake were then measured in urine (n = 474) and serum samples (n = 451) from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and nutrition (EPIC) study and tested for associations with habitual red and processed meat intake derived from dietary questionnaires.
In urine samples from the intervention study, pork intake was positively associated with concentrations of 18 short- and medium-chain ACs. Eleven of these were also positively associated with habitual red and processed meat intake in the EPIC cross-sectional study. In blood, C18:0 was positively associated with red meat intake in both the intervention study (q = 0.004, Student’s t-test) and the cross-sectional study (q = 0.033, linear regression).
AC concentrations in urine and blood were associated with red meat intake in both a highly controlled intervention study and in subjects of a cross-sectional study. Our data on the role of meat intake on this important pathway of fatty acid and energy metabolism may help understanding the role of red meat consumption in the etiology of some chronic diseases. This trial was registered at Clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03354130.
Purpose
To investigate the role of adiposity in the associations between ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption and head and neck cancer (HNC) and oesophageal adenocarcinoma (OAC) in the European ...Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort.
Methods
Our study included 450,111 EPIC participants. We used Cox regressions to investigate the associations between the consumption of UPFs and HNC and OAC risk. A mediation analysis was performed to assess the role of body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) in these associations. In sensitivity analyses, we investigated accidental death as a negative control outcome.
Results
During a mean follow-up of 14.13 ± 3.98 years, 910 and 215 participants developed HNC and OAC, respectively. A 10% g/d higher consumption of UPFs was associated with an increased risk of HNC (hazard ratio HR = 1.23, 95% confidence interval CI 1.14–1.34) and OAC (HR = 1.24, 95% CI 1.05–1.47). WHR mediated 5% (95% CI 3–10%) of the association between the consumption of UPFs and HNC risk, while BMI and WHR, respectively, mediated 13% (95% CI 6–53%) and 15% (95% CI 8–72%) of the association between the consumption of UPFs and OAC risk. UPF consumption was positively associated with accidental death in the negative control analysis.
Conclusions
We reaffirmed that higher UPF consumption is associated with greater risk of HNC and OAC in EPIC. The proportion mediated via adiposity was small. Further research is required to investigate other mechanisms that may be at play (if there is indeed any causal effect of UPF consumption on these cancers).
High molecular-weight, cationic and water-soluble cellulose-based polyelectrolytes were synthesized and their performance in water purification was tested. Dissolving pulp samples were acylated with ...chlorobetainyl chloride in dimethylacetamide/lithium chloride to obtain betaine esters of cellulose (cellulose betainates). A series of application tests was carried out with samples of different degree of substitution to examine the performance of these cellulose derivatives as flocculants. Commercial synthetic polyacrylamide and polyamine flocculants were used as reference materials to obtain a realistic picture about the performance of cellulose betainates. According to the fixing test, one of the derivatives exhibited a performance equal to, or better than the reference flocculant. In addition, the cellulose betainates exhibited excellent floc strength in the flocculation testing. In the capillary suction test, the performance of the derivatives was also relatively good. In all, this research demonstrated that the cationic cellulose betainate can be successfully used in flocculation and other water purification applications. The current approach for wastewater treatment with bio-based polymers offers a sustainable and biodegradable alternative to conventional synthetic polymers.
It remains unclear how different translocator protein (TSPO) ligands reflect the spatial extent of astrocyte or microglial activation in various neuroinflammatory conditions. Here, we use a ...reproducible lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced model of acute central nervous system inflammation to compare the binding performance of a new TSPO ligand 18F-GE-180 with 11C-(R)-PK11195. Using immunohistochemistry, we also explore the ability of the TSPO ligands to detect activated microglial cells and astrocytes. Lewis rats (n = 30) were microinjected with LPS (1 or 10 ...g) or saline (1 ...L) into the left striatum. The animals were imaged in vivo at 16 h after the injection using PET radiotracers 18F-GE-180 or 11C-(R)-PK11195 (n = 3 in each group) and were killed afterward for autoradiography of the brain. Immunohistochemical assessment of OX-42 and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) was performed to identify activated microglial cells and reactive astrocytes. In vivo PET imaging revealed an increase in the ipsilateral TSPO binding, compared with binding in the contralateral hemisphere, after the microinjection of 10 ...g of LPS. No increase was observed with vehicle. By autoradiography, the TSPO radiotracer binding potential in the injected hemisphere was increased after striatal injection of 1 or 10 ...g of LPS. However, the significant increase was observed only when using 18F-GE-180. The area of CD11b-expressing microglial cells extended beyond that of enhanced GFAP staining and mapped more closely to the extent of 18F-GE-180 binding than to 11C-(R)-PK11195 binding. The signal from either PET ligand was significantly increased in regions of increased GFAP immunoreactivity and OX-42 colocalization, meaning that the presence of both activated microglia and astrocytes in a given area leads to increased binding of the TSPO radiotracers. 18F-GE-180 is able to reveal sites of activated microglia in both gray and white matter. However, the signal is increased by the presence of activated astrocytes. Therefore, 18F-GE-180 is a promising new fluorinated longer-half-life tracer that reveals the presence of activated microglia in a manner that is superior to 11C-(R)-PK11195 due to the higher binding potential observed for this ligand. (ProQuest: ... denotes formulae/symbols omitted.)
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