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Investigating the potential impact of future climate change on UK supermarket building performance
Get PDFThe large-scale shifts in weather patterns and an unprecedented change in climate have given rise to the interest in how climate change will affect the carbon emissions of supermarkets. This study investigates the implications of future climatic conditions on the operation of supermarkets in the UK. The investigation was conducted by performing a series of energy modelling simulations on a LIDL supermarket model in London, based on the UK Climate Projections (UKCP09) future weather years provided by the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE). Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations were used to perform the experiment, and the baseline model was validated against the actual data. This investigation ascertains and quantifies the annual energy consumption, carbon emissions, and cooling and heating demand of the supermarket under different climatic projections, which further validate the scientific theory of annual temperature rise as a result of long-term climatic variation. The maximum percentage increase for the annual energy consumption for current and future weather data sets observed was 7.01 and 6.45 for the 2050s medium emissions scenario, (90th) percentile and high emissions scenario, (90th) percentile, respectively, and 11.05, 14.07, and 17.68 for the 2080s low emissions scenario, (90th) percentile, medium (90th) percentile and high emissions scenario (90th) percentile, respectively. A similar inclining trend in the case of annual CO2 emissions was observed where the peak increase percentage was 6.80 and 6.24 for the 2050s medium emissions scenario, (90th) percentile and high (90th) percentile, respectively and 10.84, 13.84, and 17.45 for the 2080s low emissions scenario, (90th) percentile, medium emissions scenario (90th) percentile and high emissions scenario (90th) percentile, respectively. The study also analyses the future heating and cooling demands of the three warmest months and three coldest months of the year, respectively, to determine future variance in their relative values
The patient with acute endocrine problems
Get PDFThis chapter aims to identify key roles and functions of the endocrine system to appreciate how altered physiology can result in a disruption of homeostasis and lead to a medical emergency. The chapter discusses the more commonly experienced endocrine disorders and uses case studies to explore the nurse’s role in recognising and responding appropriately to patients with acute endocrine problems. The major organs of the endocrine system are identified along with their role in maintaining homeostasis. The use of assessment, and therapeutic interventions used to maximise the health status of patients with endocrine disorders are described as along with the responsibilities of the nurse in assessing, monitoring and managing patients with acute endocrine disorders
Determinants of healthy aging in internally displaced communities in Nigeria
Get PDFThe main objective of this research article, is to assess the effect of socio-economic and environmental determinants on the healthy aging status amongst internally displaced migrants and non-migrants nestled within the environmentally stressed regions of Northeastern Nigeria. Methodologically the study utilized secondary data from the Nigerian IDP Survey 2018 (Location-Northeastern States; n-1293 adults aged ≥50; male n-63.1%, female n-36.9%) using a multi-stage stratified random sample. Varied statistical techniques such as cross-tabulation and binary logistic regression were used to analyze the dataset. The study results show a high mean prevalence of old-age disability within the study area, irrespective of migration status in Northeastern Nigeria. Secondly, socio-economic and environmental determinants were robust predictors of later-life health outcomes. In addition, the regression revealed that concomitant factors such as age, gender and sanitation have a negative effect on older adult wellness and well-being. Meanwhile, the migration status of internally displaced persons (IDPs), although in most cases forced, significantly improves the odds of aging healthily. Conclusively, the quality of life of the older adults, irrespective of migration status, is poorly impacted by diminishing familial supports, social exclusion, non-existent social security program and non-existence of healthcare infrastructure. Based on the study results, we recommend that the proposed Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Sahelian “Green belt” afforestation project targeted, especially to areas around the Chad basin be fully implemented, as this project will help mediate the perennial conflicts between the herdsmen and farming communities. Furthermore, there is an urgent need to formulate an integration between migration and geriatrics which would be comprehensive, and evidence-driven. Study recommend that budgetary allocation for health should have a flooring capped at 20% of the national budget
A routine activity approach to understand cybergrooming victimization among adolescents from six countries
Get PDFLittle attention has been given to empirically-tested theoretical frameworks of adolescents’ risk for cybergrooming victimization. To this end, we have applied the Routine Activity Theory to investigate whether exposure to motivated offenders (PC/laptop ownership and Internet access in the own bedroom), capable guardianship (parental mediation strategies of Internet use), and target suitability (adolescents’ online disclosure of private information) predict cybergrooming victimization among adolescents. Using data from a cross-sectional survey of 5,938 adolescents from Germany, India, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, and the U.S. ranging in age from 12 to 18 (M=14.77, SD=1.60), we have found that PC/laptop ownership and Internet access in the own bedroom, parental mediation, and online disclosure are directly associated with cybergrooming victimization. While instructive parental mediation is negatively related with online disclosure and cybergrooming victimization, restrictive mediation is positively related to both. In addition, online disclosure partially mediated the relationship between parental mediation and cybergrooming victimization. The analyses confirm the usefulness of applying the Routine Activity Theory to cybergrooming. Moreover, the present study highlights the need for prevention programs with lessons on age-appropriate ICT use and access, to educate parents on using instructive strategies of Internet mediation, and inform adolescents to avoid disclosing too much private information online. The Routine Activity Theory might function as a theoretical framework for these programs
Fast food shutdown: from disorganisation to action in the service sector
No full textThis article discusses the Fast Food Shutdown, a strike on 4 October 2018 that involved Wetherspoon, McDonald’s, TGI Fridays and UberEats workers in the United Kingdom. It compares the different strategies of the Bakers Food and Allied Workers’ Union at Wetherspoon and Industrial Workers of the World at UberEats. The two case studies, drawing on the authors’ ongoing ethnographic research, provide important examples of successful precarious worker organising. In particular, the argument focuses on the role of action in organising, as well as the relationship between the rank-and-file and the union. While these could point the way to the recomposition of the workers movement – both in greenfield sectors and within existing unions – there remain important questions about how these experiences can be generalised
An optimisation-based iterative approach for speckle tracking echocardiography
Get PDFSpeckle tracking is the most prominent technique used to estimate the regional movement of the heart based on echocardiograms. In this study, we propose an optimised-based block matching algorithm to perform speckle tracking iteratively. The proposed technique was evaluated using a publicly available synthetic echocardiographic dataset with known ground-truth from several major vendors and for healthy/ischaemic cases. The results were compared with the results from the classic (standard) two-dimensional block matching. The proposed method presented an average displacement error of 0.57 pixels, while classic block matching provided an average error of 1.15 pixels. When estimating the segmental/regional longitudinal strain in healthy cases, the proposed method, with an average of 0.32 ± 0.53, outperformed the classic counterpart, with an average of 3.43 ± 2.84. A similar superior performance was observed in ischaemic cases. This method does not require any additional ad hoc filtering process. Therefore, it can potentially help to reduce the variability in the strain measurements caused by various post-processing techniques applied by different implementations of the speckle tracking