1,721,852 research outputs found
Impact evaluation of green–grey infrastructure interaction on built-space integrity: an emerging perspective to urban ecosystem service
Full text linkThis paper evaluates the role of urban green infrastructure (GI) in maintaining integrity of built-space. The latter is considered as a lateral ecosystem function, worth including in future assessments of integrated ecosystem services. The basic tenet is that integrated green–grey infrastructures (GGIs) would have three influences on built-spaces: (i) reduced wind withering from flow deviation; (ii) reduced material corrosion/degeneration from pollution removal; and (iii) act as a biophysical buffer in altering the micro-climate. A case study is presented, combining the features of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in micro-environmental modelling with the emerging science on interactions of GGIs. The coupled seasonal dynamics of the above three effects are assessed for two building materials (limestone and steel) using the following three scenarios: (i) business as usual (BAU), (ii) summer (REGEN-S), and (iii) winter (REGEN-W).
Apparently, integrated ecosystem service from green–grey interaction, as scoped in this paper, has strong seasonal dependence. Compared to BAU our results suggest that REGEN-S leads to slight increment in limestone recession (< 10%), mainly from exacerbation in ozone damage, while large reduction in steel recession (up to 37%) is observed. The selection of vegetation species, especially their bVOC emission potential and seasonal foliage profile, appears to play a vital role in determining the impact GI has on the integrity of the neighbouring built-up environment
Development and Formulation of Novel Antimicrobial Peptides (AMPs) for Activity Against Staphylococcus Aureus
Full text linkThe first part of the project involves the development of new antimicrobial peptide (antibiotics). This will initially involve generating a peptide array by surveying the literature and using software programs such as quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR). The effectiveness of the peptide array against Staphylococcus aureus was tested at the Langara microbiology labs. The peptides (2-3 peptides) with the best activity will be further studied
Indoor air quality and energy management through real–time sensing in commercial buildings
Full text linkRapid growth in the global population requires expansion of building stock, which in turn calls for increased energy demand. This demand varies in time and also between different buildings, yet, conventional methods are only able to provide mean energy levels per zone and are unable to capture this inhomogeneity, which is important to conserve energy. An additional challenge is that some of the attempts to conserve energy, through for example lowering of ventilation rates, have been shown to exacerbate another problem, which is unacceptable indoor air quality (IAQ). The rise of sensing technology over the past decade has shown potential to address both these issues simultaneously by providing high–resolution tempo–spatial data to systematically analyse the energy demand and its consumption as well as the impacts of measures taken to control energy consumption on IAQ. However, challenges remain in the development of affordable services for data analysis, deployment of large–scale real–time sensing network and responding through Building Energy Management Systems. This article presents the fundamental drivers behind the rise of sensing technology for the management of energy and IAQ in urban built environments, highlights major challenges for their large–scale deployment and identifies the research gaps that should be closed by future investigations
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Children’s well-being at schools: Impact of climatic conditions and air pollution
Full text linkHuman civilization is currently facing two particular challenges: population growth with a strong trend towards urbanization and climate change. The latter is now no longer seriously questioned. The primary concern is to limit anthropogenic climate change and to adapt our societies to its effects. Schools are a key part of the structure of our societies. If future gen-erations are to take control of the manifold global problems, we have to offer our children the best possible infrastructure for their education: not only in terms of the didactic concepts, but also with regard to the climatic conditions in the school environment. Between the ages of 6 and 19, children spend up to eight hours a day in classrooms. The conditions are, however, often inacceptable and regardless of the geographic situation, all the current studies all report similar problems: classrooms being too small for the high number of school children, poor ventilation concepts, considerable outdoor air pollution and strong sources of indoor air pollution.\ud
There have been discussions about a beneficial and healthy air quality in classrooms for many years now and in recent years extensive studies have been carried out worldwide. The problems have been clearly outlined on a scientific level and there are prudent and feasible concepts to improve the situation. The growing number of publications also highlights the importance of this subject. High carbon dioxide concentrations in classrooms, which indicate poor ventilation conditions, and the increasing particle matter in urban outdoor air have, in particular, been identified as primary causes of poor indoor air quality in schools. Despite this, the conditions in most schools continue to be in need of improvement. There are many reasons for this. In some cases, the local administrative bodies do not have the budgets re-quired to address such concerns, in other cases regulations and laws stand in contradiction to the demands for better indoor air quality, and sometimes the problems are simply ignored.\ud
This review summarizes the current results and knowledge gained from the scientific litera-ture on air quality in classrooms. Possible scenarios for the future are discussed and guideline values proposed which can serve to help authorities, government organizations and commissions improve the situation on a global level
Assessing the Impact of Climate Modes on Extreme Arctic Sea Ice Using Reanalysis Data
No full textArctic Sea ice variability arises from both anthropogenic forcing and natural climate modes such as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and Arctic Oscillation (AO). While these modes are known to influence sea ice concentration (SIC) and thickness (SIT), their impacts on seasonal extremes remain less understood. In this study, the extreme SIC and SIT are investigated using ERA5 and CMEMS reanalysis products, applying a non-stationary generalised extreme value (GEV) framework with climate indices as covariates. Results indicate that winter and spring sea-ice variability is most pronounced in the Barents and Greenland Seas, where strong Atlantic inflows and dynamic atmospheric conditions make the marginal ice zone highly sensitive to even minor perturbations. Conversely, in the central and peripheral Arctic, variability maximises in summer and autumn, when melt processes, ice-albedo feedback and delayed freeze-up intensify interannual fluctuations. ENSO exerts notable seasonal effects: El Niño events enhance extreme SIC in the Laptev Sea but reduce it in the East Siberian Sea during summer, while SIT extremes increase in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) and decline in the East Siberian Sea across all seasons. NAO-related anomalies include stronger SIC and SIT extremes in the Beaufort Sea and CAA and reductions in the Chukchi Sea during autumn. AO effects include increased SIC in the Chukchi Sea during summer and autumn, but decreases in the Beaufort and CAA in summer; SIT extremes rise in the CAA during spring but fall in the Beaufort Sea in summer. Composite analysis further reveals that out-of-phase NAO-AO states intensify autumn sea ice extremes, whereas in-phase conditions exert weaker influences. These results emphasise the distinct and seasonally varying roles of climate modes in shaping Arctic Sea ice extremes, offering insights into future Arctic climate variability
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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