Sustainability assessment of energy saving measures: A multi-criteria approach for residential buildings retrofitting—A case study of the Spanish housing stock

The building sector is well known to be one of the key energy consumers worldwide. The renovation of existing buildings provides excellent opportunities for an effective reduction of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions but it is essential to identify the optimal strategies. In this paper a multi-criteria methodology is proposed for the comparative analysis of retrofitting solutions. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Cost (LCC) are combined by expressing environmental impacts in monetary values. A Pareto optimization is used to select the preferred strategies. The methodology is exemplified by a case study: the renovation of a representative housing block from the 1960s located in Madrid. Eight scenarios have been proposed, from the Business as Usual scenario (BAU), through Spanish Building Regulation requirements (for new buildings) up to the Passive House standard. Results show how current renovation strategies that are being applied in Madrid are far from being optimal solutions. The required additional investment, which is needed to obtain an overall performance improvement of the envelope compared with the common practice to date, is relatively low (8%) considering the obtained life cycle environmental and financial savings (43% and 45%, respectively).

Measures of residue density in protein structures

A hierarchy of residue density assessments and packing properties in protein structures are contrasted, including a regular density, a variety of charge densities, a hydrophobic density, a polar density, and an aromatic density. These densities are investigated by alternative distance measures and also at the interface of multiunit structures. Amino acids are divided into nine structural categories according to three secondary structure states and three solvent accessibility levels. To take account of amino acid abundance differences across protein structures, we normalize the observed density by the expected density defining a density index. Solvent accessibility levels exert the predominant influence in determinations of the regular residue density. Explicitly, the regular density values vary approximately linearly with respect to solvent accessibility levels, the linearity parameters depending on the amino acid. The charge index reveals pronounced inequalities between lysine and arginine in their interactions with acidic residues. The aromatic density calculations in all structural categories parallel the regular density calculations, indicating that the aromatic residues are distributed as a random sample of all residues. Moreover, aromatic residues are found to be over-represented in the neighborhood of all amino acids. This result might be attributed to nucleation sites and protein stability being substantially associated with aromatic residues.

Evaluation of selected recurrence measures in discriminating pre-ictal and inter-ictal periods from epileptic EEG data

7 pages, 4 figures Acknowledgement We are grateful to M. Riedl and G. Ansmann for fruitful discussions and critical comments on earlier versions of the manuscript. This work was supported by the Volkswagen Foundation (Grant Nos. 88461, 88462, 88463, 85390, 85391 and 85392).

Sources of selection bias in evaluating social programs: An interpretation of conventional measures and evidence on the effectiveness of matching as a program evaluation method

This paper decomposes the conventional measure of selection bias in observational studies into three components. The first two components are due to differences in the distributions of characteristics between participant and nonparticipant (comparison) group members: the first arises from differences in the supports, and the second from differences in densities over the region of common support. The third component arises from selection bias precisely defined. Using data from a recent social experiment, we find that the component due to selection bias, precisely defined, is smaller than the first two components. However, selection bias still represents a substantial fraction of the experimental impact estimate. The empirical performance of matching methods of program evaluation is also examined. We find that matching based on the propensity score eliminates some but not all of the measured selection bias, with the remaining bias still a substantial fraction of the estimated impact. We find that the support of the distribution of propensity scores for the comparison group is typically only a small portion of the support for the participant group. For values outside the common support, it is impossible to reliably estimate the effect of program participation using matching methods. If the impact of participation depends on the propensity score, as we find in our data, the failure of the common support condition severely limits matching compared with random assignment as an evaluation estimator.

House dust mite control measures in the management of asthma: meta-analysis

Objective To determine whether patients with asthma who are sensitive to mites benefit from measures designed to reduce their exposure to house dust mite antigen in the home.

The impact of model detail on power grid resilience measures

Peer reviewed

Assessment of corrective measures for alleviating slope instabilities in carbonatic Flysch formations: Alicante (SE of Spain) case study

As is well known, in order to select remediation measures to correct or prevent slope instabilities, it is essential to identify and characterize the instability mechanisms. This task is especially complex for heterogeneous rock masses such as Flysch formations. This paper addresses the assessment of corrective measures used in carbonate Flysch formations by classifying and grouping field data reported in an available database in order to associate this data with various instability mechanisms and stratigraphic column types as well as with the corrective measures taken to stabilise them. For this purpose, 194 slopes have been geomechanically characterized, mainly by considering the observed instability mechanisms. The corrective measures that were applied have been evaluated for their suitability and performance, and, if applicable, the causes of their malfunction have been also studied. As a result, some guidelines based on the observed behaviour and the suitability of the correction measure as a function of instability type are proposed for similar slopes.

Benthic community recovery from brine impact after the implementation of mitigation measures

In many regions, seawater desalination is a growing industry that has its impact on benthic communities. This study analyses the effect on benthic communities of a mitigation measure applied to a brine discharge, using polychaete assemblages as indicator. An eight-year study was conducted at San Pedro del Pinatar (SE Spain) establishing a grid of 12 sites at a depth range of 29–38 m during autumn. Brine discharge started in 2006 and produced a significant decrease in abundance, richness and diversity of polychaete families at the location closest to the discharge, where salinity reached 49. In 2010, a diffuser was deployed at the end of the pipeline in order to increase the mixing, to reduce the impact on benthic communities. After implementation of this mitigation measure, the salinity measured close to discharge was less than 38.5 and a significant recovery in polychaete richness and diversity was detected, to levels similar to those before the discharge. A less evident recovery in abundance was also observed, probably due to different recovery rates of polychaete families. Some families like Paraonidae and Magelonidae were more tolerant to this impact. Others like Syllidae and Capitellidae recovered quickly, although still affected by the discharge, while some families such as Sabellidae and Cirratulidae appeared to recover more slowly.

New Measures Envisaged by Spanish Legislation in Support of the Internationalization of Companies

Medidas tributarias para fomentar la internacionalización de las empresas.

Radon gas. Environmental concentration measures and remediation actions in exposed buildings

The main contribution to the radiological impact from natural radiation received by general population is due to the emission of radon (222Rn). The objective of this project is the study of radon gas as a radioactive element in our buildings (existing and future constructions) to avoid its influence in interior rooms. The proposed methodology reflects different aspects of natural radioactivity in buildings, their sources, their control criteria and regulatory framework; aspects related to the presence of radon in our constructions, entryways, measurement methodology for indoor environmental concentration are studied; other protection solutions and remediation measures in both existing buildings and new construction projects are analyzed. In conclusion, the paper presents previous evaluation tools, the analysis of existing concentration and the choice of the most appropriate mitigation / remediation measures depending on each case, through the establishment of different architectural proposals to plan actions against radon where necessary.

Measures of hall and chapel, [ca. 1800]

This note, likely in the hand of President Willard, directs Mr. [Josiah] Moore and Mr. [John] Walton measure the length, width, and height of the chapel, hall, and library in Harvard Hall. Includes each room's measurements.

L’usage des mesures restrictives autonomes de l’Union européenne: deux poids deux mesures ou des mesures de poids? = The use of autonomous restrictive measures in the European Union: double standards or weight measures? EU Diplomacy Paper 09/2012, October 2012

No abstract.