The financial sustainability of passive house construction in Ireland.

In Ireland the average energy cost for a household in 2006 was estimated to be €1,767, an increase of 4% on 2005 figures. With the state o f the current economic climate, home owners are beginning to realise the potential of energy efficient construction methods. The Passive House Standard offers a cost efficient and sustainable construction solution compared to the Traditional Irish construction methods. This report focuses on the Cost comparison between Passive House construction and traditional construction methods. The report also focuses on barriers that are slowing market penetration of the Passive House standard in the Irish Market. It also identifies potential energy savings that passive house occupants would benefit from. The report also highlights professional opinions on the future development o f the Passive House Standard in Ireland. The conclusions of this report are that the Passive House Standard is a more financially suitable construction solution compared to that o f a traditional dwelling complying with the Irish Building Regulations. The report also concludes that the Passive House Standard won’t be introduced as an Irish Building Regulation in the future but that it will have a big impact on future building regulations. The hypothesis o f this report is supported by data obtained from a literature review, qualitative data analysis and a case study. The report recommends that in order for the Passive House Standard to penetrate further into the Irish construction market, various barriers must be rectified. Local manufactures must start producing suitable components that suit the Passive House specification. The Building Energy Rating system must be altered in order for the Passive House to achieve its potential BER rating.

The use of forensic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon signatures and Compound Ratio Analysis Techniques (CORAT) for the source characterisation of petrogenic/pyrogenic environmental releases.

This study utilised recent developments in forensic aromatic hydrocarbon fingerprint analysis to characterise and identify specific biogenic, pyrogenic and petrogenic contamination. The fingerprinting and data interpretation techniques discussed include the recognition of: The distribution patterns of hydrocarbons (alkylated naphthalene, phenanthrene, dibenzothiophene, fluorene, chrysene and phenol isomers), • Analysis of “source-specific marker” compounds (individual saturated hydrocarbons, including n-alkanes (n-C5 through 0-C40) • Selected benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene isomers (BTEX), • The recalcitrant isoprenoids; pristane and phytane and • The determination of diagnostic ratios of specific petroleum / non-petroleum constituents, and the application of various statistical and numerical analysis tools. An unknown sample from the Irish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for origin characterisation was subjected to analysis by gas chromatography utilising both flame ionisation and mass spectral detection techniques in comparison to known reference materials. The percentage of the individual Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAIIs) and biomarker concentrations in the unknown sample were normalised to the sum of the analytes and the results were compared with the corresponding results with a range of reference materials. In addition, to the determination of conventional diagnostic PAH and biomarker ratios, a number of “source-specific markers” isomeric PAHs within the same alkylation levels were determined, and their relative abundance ratios were computed in order to definitively identify and differentiate the various sources. Statistical logarithmic star plots were generated from both sets of data to give a pictorial representation of the comparison between the unknown sample and reference products. The study successfully characterised the unknown sample as being contaminated with a “coal tar” and clearly demonstrates the future role of compound ratio analysis (CORAT) in the identification of possible source contaminants.

An analysis of the use of photogrammetric sorting to audit construction and demolition waste production on site

This study analyses the area of construction and demolition waste (C & D W) auditing. The production of C&DW has grown year after year since the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) first published a report in 1996 which provided data for C&D W quantities for 1995 (EPA, 1996a). The most recent report produced by the EPA is based on data for 2005 (EPA, 2006). This report estimated that the quantity of C&DW produced for that period to be 14 931 486 tonnes. However, this is a ‘data update’ report containing an update on certain waste statistics so any total provided would not be a true reflection of the waste produced for that period. This illustrates that a more construction site-specific form of data is required. The Department of Building and Civil Engineering in the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology have carried out two recent research projects (Grimes, 2005; Kelly, 2006) in this area, which have produced waste production indicators based on site-specific data. This involved the design and testing of an original auditing tool based on visual characterisation and the application of conversion factors. One of the main recommendations of these studies was to compare this visual characterisation approach with a photogrammetric sorting methodology. This study investigates the application of photogrammetric sorting on a residential construction site in the Galway region. A visual characterisation study is also carried out on the same project to compare the two methodologies and assess the practical application in a construction site environment. Data collected from the waste management contractor on site was also used to provide further evaluation. From this, a set of waste production indicators for new residential construction was produced: □ 50.8 kg/m2 for new residential construction using data provided by the visual characterisation method and the Landfill Levy conversion factors. □ 43 kg/m2 for new residential construction using data provided by the photogrammetric sorting method and the Landfill Levy conversion factors. □ 23.8 kg/m2 for new residential construction using data provided by Waste Management Contractor (WMC). The acquisition of the data from the waste management contractor was a key element for testing of the information produced by the visual characterisation and photogrammetric sorting methods. The actual weight provided by the waste management contractor shows a significant difference between the quantities provided.

Composition and construction of embedded software families

Feature modeling, embebbed software, software product lines, tool support

Approximations of the Fisher information for the construction of efficient experimental designs in nonlinear mixed effects models

Magdeburg, Univ., Fak. für Mathematik, Diss., 2012

Enhancing the performance of spread spectrum techniques in different applications

Spread spectrum, Automotive Radar, Indoor Positioning Systems, Ultrasonic and Microwave Imaging, super resolution technique and wavelet transform

Analysis of complex microwave structures using suitable computational electromagnetic techniques

Complex Microwave Structures Wake Field Computatation PETRA III Generalized Multipole Technique Antenna Antennen Wakefelder Berechnung

Wireless communication techniques for indoor positioning and tracking applications

Magdeburg, Univ., Fak. für Elektrotechnik und Informationstechnik, Diss., 2010

Carlos Chagas Discoveries as a Drop Back to Scientific Construction of Chronic Chagas Heart Disease

Abstract The scientific construction of chronic Chagas heart disease (CCHD) started in 1910 when Carlos Chagas highlighted the presence of cardiac arrhythmia during physical examination of patients with chronic Chagas disease, and described a case of heart failure associated with myocardial inflammation and nests of parasites at autopsy. He described sudden cardiac death associated with arrhythmias in 1911, and its association with complete AV block detected by Jacquet's polygraph as Chagas reported in 1912. Chagas showed the presence of myocardial fibrosis underlying the clinical picture of CCHD in 1916, he presented a full characterization of the clinical aspects of CCHD in 1922. In 1928, Chagas detected fibrosis of the conductive system, and pointed out the presence of marked cardiomegaly at the chest X-Ray associated with minimal symptomatology. The use of serological reaction to diagnose CCHD was put into clinical practice in 1936, after Chagas' death, which along with the 12-lead ECG, revealed the epidemiological importance of CCHD in 1945. In 1953, the long period between initial infection and appearance of CCHD was established, whereas the annual incidence of CCHD from patients with the indeterminate form of the disease was established in 1956. The use of heart catheterization in 1965, exercise stress testing in 1973, Holter monitoring in 1975, Electrophysiologic testing in 1973, echocardiography in 1975, endomyocardial biopsy in 1981, and Magnetic Resonance Imaging in 1995, added to the fundamental clinical aspects of CCHD as described by Carlos Chagas.

Disposable, micro-fluidic biosensor array for online analysis of adherent cells activity combining quartz crystal resonators and impedance measurement techniques

Magdeburg, Univ., Fak. für Elektrotechnik und Informationstechnik, Diss., 2011

New solutions for an old challenge : chances and limitations of optical, non-invasive acquisition and digital processing techniques for the age estimation of latent fingerprints

Magdeburg, Univ., Fak. für Informatik, Diss., 2014

Wireless indoor positioning based on TDOA and DOA estimation techniques using IEEE 802.11 standards

Magdeburg, Univ., Fak. für Elektrotechnik und Informationstechnik, Diss., 2015

Multi-echo radial FLASH techniques for real-time MRI

Magdeburg, Univ., Fak. für Naturwiss., Diss., 2015

Male-female interaction during breeding and non-breeding seasons in Akodon azarae (Rodentia, Muridae)

Dyad encounters between male and female adults of Akodon azarae (Fischer, 1829) were analyzed by means of observational techniques in a natural closure during the breeding and non-breeding seasons. The animals were held in observation during 21 days, with daily 15-minute recordings of interindividual separation distance, relative displacements, characteristics of the male-female interaction, copulation, and construction and exclusive or shared use of nests by each pair. The couples, which bred successfully, showed, on average, the longest separation distance between male and female allowed by the closure. During the first two weeks of gestation the females exhibited more displacements than their respective mates did. The male-pregnant female encounters were significantly more aggressive than those recorded between pairs which did not breed successfully. During the non-breeding season a shorter average distance between individuals and a frequent use of nests shared by the pair were recorded. The results obtained are discussed within the framework of the social system of A. azarae.

Gonad development in females of fiddler crab Uca rapax (Crustacea, Brachyura, Ocypodidae) using macro and microscopic techniques

The morphology of the ovaries in Uca rapax (Smith, 1870) was described based on macroscopic and microscopic analysis. Females were collected in Itamambuca mangrove, Ubatuba, state of São Paulo, Brazil. In the laboratory, 18 females had their ovaries removed and prepared for histology. Each gonad developmental stage was previously determined based on external and macroscopic morphology and afterwards each stage was microscopically described. The ovaries of U. rapax showed a pronounced macroscopic differentiation in size and coloration with the maturation of the gonad, with six ovarian developmental stages: immature, rudimentary, developing, developed, advanced and spent. During the vitellogenesis, the amount of oocytes in secondary stage increases in the ovary, resulting in a change in coloration of the gonad. Oogonias, primary oocytes, secondary oocytes and follicular cells were histologically described and measured. In female’s ovaries of U. rapax the modifications observed in the oocytes during the process of gonad maturation are similar to descriptions of gonads of other females of brachyuran crustaceans. The similarities are specially found in the morphological changes in the reproductive cells, and also in the presence and arrange of follicle cells during the process of ovary maturation. When external morphological characteristics of the gonads were compared to histological descriptions, it was possible to observe modifications that characterize the process in different developmental stages throughout the ovarian cycle and, consequently, the macroscopic classification of gonad stages agree with the modifications of the reproductive cells.