Building communities: reducing energy use in tenanted commercial property

Reducing energy use in tenanted commercial property requires a greater understanding of ‘buildings as communities’. Tenanted commercial properties represent: (1) the divergent communities that share specific buildings; and (2) the organizational communities represented by multi-site landlord and tenant companies. In any particular tenanted space the opportunity for environmental change is mediated (hindered or enabled) through the lease. This discussion draws on theoretical and practical understandings of (1) the socio-legal relationships of landlords, tenants and their advisors; (2) the real performance of engineering building services strategies to improve energy efficiency; (3) how organizational cultures affect the ability of the sector to engage with energy-efficiency strategies; and (4) the financial and economic basis of the relationship between owners and occupiers. The transformational complexity stems from: (1) the variety of commercial building stock; (2) the number of stakeholders (solicitors, investors, developers, agents, owners, tenants and facilities managers); (3) the fragmentation within the communities of practice; and (4) leasehold structures and language. An agenda is proposed for truly interdisciplinary research that brings together both the physical and the social sciences of energy use in buildings so that technological solutions are made effective by an understanding of the way that buildings are used and communities behave.

Classification of cortical microcircuits based on micro-electrode-array data from slices of rat barrel cortex

The bewildering complexity of cortical microcircuits at the single cell level gives rise to surprisingly robust emergent activity patterns at the level of laminar and columnar local field potentials (LFPs) in response to targeted local stimuli. Here we report the results of our multivariate data-analytic approach based on simultaneous multi-site recordings using micro-electrode-array chips for investigation of the microcircuitary of rat somatosensory (barrel) cortex. We find high repeatability of stimulus-induced responses, and typical spatial distributions of LFP responses to stimuli in supragranular, granular, and infragranular layers, where the last form a particularly distinct class. Population spikes appear to travel with about 33 cm/s from granular to infragranular layers. Responses within barrel related columns have different profiles than those in neighbouring columns to the left or interchangeably to the right. Variations between slices occur, but can be minimized by strictly obeying controlled experimental protocols. Cluster analysis on normalized recordings indicates specific spatial distributions of time series reflecting the location of sources and sinks independent of the stimulus layer. Although the precise correspondences between single cell activity and LFPs are still far from clear, a sophisticated neuroinformatics approach in combination with multi-site LFP recordings in the standardized slice preparation is suitable for comparing normal conditions to genetically or pharmacologically altered situations based on real cortical microcircuitry.

A randomised controlled trial of positive memory training for the treatment of depression within schizophrenia

Abstract Background: Depression is highly prevalent within individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia, and is associated with an increased risk of suicide. There are no current evidence based treatments for low mood within this group. The specific targeting of co-morbid conditions within complex mental health problems lends itself to the development of short-term structured interventions which are relatively easy to disseminate within health services. A brief cognitive intervention based on a competitive memory theory of depression, is being evaluated in terms of its effectiveness in reducing depression within this group. Methods/Design: This is a single blind, intention-to-treat, multi-site, randomized controlled trial comparing Positive Memory Training plus Treatment as Usual with Treatment as Usual alone. Participants will be recruited from two NHS Trusts in Southern England. In order to be eligible, participants must have a DSM-V diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizo-affective disorder and exhibit at least a mild level of depression. Following baseline assessment eligible participants will be randomly allocated to either the Positive Memory Training plus Treatment as Usual group or the Treatment as Usual group. Outcome will be assessed at the end of treatment (3-months) and at 6-month and 9-month post randomization by assessors blind to group allocation. The primary outcome will be levels of depression and secondary outcomes will be severity of psychotic symptoms and cost-effectiveness. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted with all participants who are allocated to the treatment group so as to explore the acceptability of the intervention. Discussion: Cognitive behaviour therapy is recommended for individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia. However, the number of sessions and length of training required to deliver this intervention has caused a limit in availability. The current trial will evaluate a short-term structured protocol which targets a co-morbid condition often considered of primary importance by service users. If successful the intervention will be an important addition to current initiatives aimed at increasing access to psychological therapies for people diagnosed with severe mental health problems. Trial registration: Current Controlled Trials. ISRCTN99485756. Registered 13 March 2014.

Modeling Adsorption Processes of Poly-p-phenylenevinylene Precursor and Sodium Acid Dodecylbenzenesulfonate onto Layer-by-Layer Films Using a Langmuir-type Metastable Equilibrium Model

The adsorption kinetics curves of poly(xylylidene tetrahydrothiophenium chloride) (PTHT), a poly-p-phenylenevinylene (PPV) precursor, and the sodium salt of dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid (DBS), onto (PTHT/DBS)(n) layer-by-layer (LBL) films were characterized by means of UV-vis spectroscopy. The amount of PTHT/DBS and PTHT adsorbed on each layer was shown to be practically independent of adsorption time. A Langmuir-type metastable equilibrium model was used to adjust the adsorption isotherms data and to estimate adsorption/desorption coefficients ratios, k = k(ads)/k(des), values of 2 x 10(5) and 4 x 10(6) for PTHT and PTHT/DBS layers, respectively. The desorption coefficient has been estimated, using literature values for poly(o-methoxyaniline) desorption coefficient, as was found to be in the range of 10(-9) to 10(-6) s(-1), indicating that quasi equilibrium is rapidly attained.

Interaction among agents that plan

The development of practical agent languages has progressed significantly over recent years, but this has largely been independent of distinct developments in aspects of multiagent cooperation and planning. For example, while the popular AgentSpeak(L) has had various extensions and improvements proposed, it still essentially a single-agent language. In response, in this paper, we describe a simple, yet effective, technique for multiagent planning that enables an agent to take advantage of cooperating agents in a society. In particular, we build on a technique that enables new plans to be added to a plan library through the invocation of an external planning component, and extend it to include the construction of plans involving the chaining of subplans of others. Our mechanism makes use of plan patterns that insulate the planning process from the resulting distributed aspects of plan execution through local proxy plans that encode information about the preconditions and effects of the external plans provided by agents willing to cooperate. In this way, we allow an agent to discover new ways of achieving its goals through local planning and the delegation of tasks for execution by others, allowing it to overcome individual limitations.

Nickel adsorption by soils in relation to pH, organic matter, and iron oxides

There is little information on nickel adsorption by Brazilian soils. The objective of this experiment was to determine the effect of pH, organic matter, and iron oxides on nickel adsorption by three soils: a clayey Anionic Rhodic Acrudox, a sandy clay loam Anionic Xanthic Acrudox, and a clayey Rhodic Hapludalf. Soil samples were collected from the 0-0.2 in layer and treated to eliminate organic matter and iron oxides. The nickel adsorption was evaluated in the original samples and in those treated to remove organic matter and to remove both, organic matter and iron oxides, using 2 g soil + 20 mL of 0.01 mol L-1 CaCl2 solution containing 5 mg L-1 Ni, pH varying from 3.5 to 7.5. The nickel adsorption decreased with the elimination of organic matter. For the samples without organic matter and iron oxides, adsorption decreased only in the Anionic Rhodic Acrudox. The pH was the main factor involved in nickel adsorption variation, and for soil samples without organic matter and iron oxides, the maximum adsorption occurred at higher pH values.

Disintegration of magnetic tablets in human stomach evaluated by alternate current Biosusceptometry

Oral administration is the most convenient route for drug therapy. The knowledge of the gastrointestinal transit and specific site for drug delivery is a prerequisite for development of dosage forms. The aim of this work was to demonstrate that is possible to monitor the disintegration process of film-coated magnetic tablets by multi-sensor alternate current Biosusceptometry (ACB) in vivo and in vitro. This method is based on the recording of signals produced by the magnetic tablet using a seven sensors array and signal-processing techniques. The disintegration was confirmed by signals analysis in healthy human volunteers' measurements and in vitro experiments. Results showed that ACB is efficient to characterize the disintegration of dosage forms in the stomach, being a research tool for the development of new pharmaceutical dosage forms. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Chromosome 22q a frequent site of allele loss in head and neck carcinoma

Background. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) correlates with inactivated tumor suppressor genes. LOH at chromosome arm 22q has been found in a variety of human neoplasms, suggesting that this region contains a tumor suppressor gene(s) other than NF2 important to tumorigenesis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of LOH on chromosome 22q11.2-13 and determine whether there was a relationship between loss in this genomic region and tumor histologic parameters, anatomic site, and survival in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC).Methods. Fifty matched blood and HNSCC tumor samples taken at the time of surgical treatment were evaluated for LOH by use of four microsatellite markers mapping to 22q11.2-q13. Clinical information was available for all patients. The frequency and distribution of LOH was correlated with clinical (age, sex, use of tobacco and alcohol, site of primary tumor, clinical stage, adjuvant therapy and overall survival) and histologic parameters (histopathologic stage, tumor differentiation).Results. LOH at 22q was found in 19 of 50 (38%) informative tumors. The respective incidence of allelic loss for the patients was as follows: 28% at D22S421, 10% at D22S277, 8% at D22S44S, and 4% at D22S280. No statistical differences were apparent with a mean follow-up of 30 months. Laryngeal tumors showed a higher incidence of LOH compared with oral tumors.Conclusions. These results suggest that the D22S277 locus may be closely linked to a tumor suppressor gene (TSG) and involved in upper aerodigestive tract carcinogenesis. In particular, laryngeal tumors may harbor another putative TSG on 22q11.2-q12.3 that may play a role in aggressive stage III/IV disease. (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Nest site selection and flying capacity of neotropical wasp Angiopolybia pallens (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in the Atlantic Rain Forest, Bahia State, Brazil

In order to evaluate the flying capacity and nest site selection of Angiopolybia pallens (Lepeletier, 1836), we made 17 incursions (136 hours of sample efforts) in Atlantic Rain Forest environments in Bahia state. Our data show this wasp prefers to nest on wide leaves of bushes and short trees (nests between 0.30 and 3m from the ground) placed in half-shady environments (clearings and shadowed cultivations). The logistic regression model using Quasi-Newton method provided a good description of the flying capacity observed in A. pallens (x 2 = 91.52; p≪0.001). According to the logistic regression model, the A. pallens flight autonomy is low, flying for short distances and with an effective radius of action of about 24m measured from their nests, which means a foraging area of nearly 1,800 m 2.

Concentration of Cu(II) and Cd(II) from natural river water by Adsorption on a Modified Silica Surface

A high surface area silica gel (737 ± m2 g-1) was synthesized modified through a two-step reaction with a 4-amino-2-mercaptopyrimidine ligand and applied to Cu(II) and Cd(II) adsorption from an aqueous medium. The modified material was characterized by FTIR, which showed that attachment of the molecule occurred via thiol groups at 2547 and 2600 cm-1, and by elemental analysis that indicated the presence of 0.0102 mmol of ligand. The data from adsorption experiments were adjusted to a modified Langmuir equation and the maximum adsorption capacity was 6.6 and 3.8 μmol g-1 for Cu(II) and Cd(II), respectively. After adjusting several parameters, the material was applied in the preconcentration of natural river water using a continuous flow system before and after sample mineralization, and the results showed a 10-fold enrichment factor. The proposed method was validated through preconcentration and analysis of certified standard reference material (1643e), whose results were in agreement with the values provided by the manufacturer.

Adsorption of heavy metal ions and epoxidation catalysis using a new polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane

The objective of this research was the preparation of a silsesquioxane functionalized with eight chloropropyl chains (T8-PrCl) and of a new derivative functionalized with a pendant linear chain (2-amino-1,3,4-thiadiazole - ATD; T8-Pr-ATD). The two nanostructured materials were characterized by 13C and 29Si NMR, FTIR and elemental analysis. The new nanostructured material, octakis[3-(2-amino-1,3,4-thiadiazole)propyl] octasilsesquioxane (T8-Pr-ATD), was tested as a ligand for transition-metal ions with a special attention to adsorption isotherms. The adsorption was performed using a batchwise process and the organofunctionalized surface showed the ability to adsorb the metal ions Cu (II), Co (II), and Ni (II) from water and ethanol. The adsorption isotherms were fitted by Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin and Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R) model. The kinetics of adsorption of metals were performed using three models such as pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order and Elovich. The Langmuir and Elovich models were the most appropriate to describe the adsorption and kinetic data, respectively. Furthermore, the T8-Pr-ATD was successfully applied to the analysis of environmental samples (river and sea water). Subsequently, a new nanomaterial was prepared by functionalization of the T8-Pr-ATD with a Mo (II) organometallic complex (T8-Pr-ATD-Mo). Only a few works in the literature have reported this type of substitution, and none dealt with ATD and Mo (II) complexes. The new Mo-silsesquioxane organometallic nanomaterial was tested as precursor in the epoxidation of cyclooctene and styrene. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

Synthesis and characterization of 3-[(thiourea)-propyl]-functionalized silica gel and its application in adsorption and catalysis

The objective of this research was the preparation of a silica gel functionalized successively with 3-chloropropyltrimethoxysilane (SG-PrCl) and thiourea (SG-Pr-THIO), and its application in adsorption and catalysis. The materials were characterized by 13C and 29Si NMR, FTIR, scanning electron micrographs (SEM), analysis of nitrogen and elemental analysis. Aiming at its application in adsorption, the [3-(thiourea)-propyl] silica gel (SG-Pr-THIO) was tested as an adsorbent for transition-metal ions using a batchwise process. The organofunctionalized surface showed the ability to adsorb the metal ions Cd(ii), Cu(ii), Ni(ii), Pb(ii) and Co(ii) from water, ethanol and acetone. The adsorption isotherms were fitted by Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin and Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R) models. The kinetics of adsorption of metals were performed using three models such as pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order and Elovich. The Langmuir and pseudo-first order models were the most appropriate to describe the adsorption and kinetic data, respectively. With the purpose of application in catalysis, the SG-Pr-THIO was reacted with a Mo(ii) organometallic complex, forming the new material SG-Pr-THIO-Mo. Only a few works in the literature have reported this type of reaction, and none dealt with thiourea and Mo(ii) complexes. The new Mo-silica gel organometallic material was tested as catalyst in the epoxidation of cyclooctene and styrene. © 2013 The Royal Society of Chemistry and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.

Macauba palm (acrocomia aculeata) cake from biodiesel processing: an efficient and low cost substrate for the adsorption of dyes

The potential of natural and heat-treated Macauba palm cake as adsorbent for the removal of Methylene Blue (MB) and Congo Red (CR) from solution has been investigated. Equilibrium adsorption was attained in <7 h and the process was favored at pH 5.0 for MB and pH 6.5 for CR with an adsorbent (g):adsorbate (mL) ratio of 1:200 and an initial concentration of adsorbate of 25 mg L−1. The maximum adsorption capacities of the natural and heat-treated materials were, respectively, 25.80 and 32.30 mg g−1 for MB, and 32.00 and 20.30 mg g−1 for CR. The isotherm model proposed by Sips represented most adequately the adsorption of MB and CR. The adsorptions of the dyes were best described in terms of a pseudo second-order reaction. Thermodynamic parameters such as ΔHo, ΔSo and ΔGo were calculated. The adsorption process was found to be endothermic and spontaneous. Macauba palm cake is adequate for the removal of waste dye from industrial effluents by virtue of its abundance, low cost and efficiency of adsorption.

Kin-bias, breeding site selection and female fitness in a cannibalistic Neotropical frog

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Characterization of corn (Zea mays) leaf powder and Its adsorption properties regarding Cu(II) and Cd(II) from aqueous samples

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)