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• The lifetime of PV power plants does not reach the expected 20–25 years. • Data monitoring from 85 PV power plants in central Europe is used. • The real lifetime of PV power plants is about half the planned time. After 10 years of operation the frequency of serious failures rises sharply. • The examples of delamination, the formation of a conductive channel between the electrode and the grounded frame of the PV panels are demonstrated, the number of damaged inverters is analysed. • To calculate the economic efficiency of investments in PV power plants, the methods: payback period (PP), net present value (NPV), and internal rate of return (IRR) were used. The maintenance and analyzing failures of PV systems and plants are becoming more and more important issues. Our data from the long-term operation of 85 photovoltaic power plants in central Europe show that their actual lifetime is about half that of the originally planned lifetime. After about 10 years, serious failures of 1st tier (bankable) PV panels occur at an increasing rate. This article presents selected typical data and describes the most serious failures. Furthermore, economic calculations of returns on investment are carried out in relation to the price of electricity, which is currently changing at a rapid pace. It shows that the PV panel lifetime reduction from 20 to 30 years, declared at commercial leaflets, to real lifetime about 10–12 years can reduce PV power plant profit substantially, but the investment is still worth it. The reason is that after 10–12 years ser vice/maintenance expenses to replace damaged PV panels and inverters are growing very quickly. The new information could be helpful for owners of PV power plants to get a more realistic estimation of profits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When discussing the safety of research subjects, including their exploitation and vulnerability as well as failures in clinical research, recent commentators have focused mostly on countries with low or middle-income economies. High-income countries are seen as relatively safe and well-regulated. This article presents irregularities in clinical trials in an EU member state, Poland, which were revealed by the Supreme Audit Office of Poland (the NIK). Despite adopting many European Union regulations, including European Commission directives concerning Good Clinical Practice, these irregularities occurred. Causes as well as potential solutions to make clinical trials more ethical and safer are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The present paper describes the benefits of using a common failure assessment template when carrying out failure assessments of buildings. A common failure template is proposed. This template is targeted for failures which occur in timber buildings. This template has been tested by various experts in Europe and positive feedback has been received so far. However, it is foreseen that further developments on this procedure will probably need to be done. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article discusses the reasons for the collapse of suspension bridges during 1800's in Europe. It is mentioned that out of four, two collapses occurred due to excessive vibrations caused by marching of troops and the other two collapses took place because of sudden movement of large crowd from one end to another. Also, factors like poor quality of iron and inefficient design added to the failure of the bridges. The use of truss-parapets to harden decks help in prevention of accidents.

An urban residential building from the second half of the 19th century and the start of the 20th century, the so-called tenement house, is a significant representative of the architecture of the developing urban fabric in Central Europe. The vertical and horizontal load-bearing structures of these houses currently tend to show characteristic, repeated defects and failures. Their knowledge may, in many cases, facilitate and speed up the design of the historic building's restoration without compromising its heritage value in this process. The article presents the summary of the most frequently occurring defects and failures of these buildings. The summary, however, is not an absolute one, and, in the case of major damage to the building, it still applies that, first of all, a detailed analysis of the causes and consequences of defects and failures must be made as a basic prerequisite for the reliability and long-term durability of the building's restoration and rehabilitation. An integral part of the rehabilitation of buildings must be the elimination of the causes of the appearance of their failures and remediation of all defects impairing their structural safety, health safety and energy efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]