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Titanium dioxide photocatalysts with high reduction potential and visible light response hold great promise in photochemical conversion. Here, we used a simple glycine doping method to synthesize novel N-TiO

In the EU, buildings account for about 40% of the final energy consumption. Space heating (SH) accounts for 65% of the energy demand in buildings. There is thus a large potential in energy savings, simply by focusing on the reduction of space heating demand. In the Netherlands, there are about 6 million residential buildings constructed before 2005 where thermal performance is far from optimal. All these buildings need to reduce their demand as the first step to meet nZEB requirements. For large scale energy retrofit of buildings, the main challenge is to classify each housing type by the severity of the demand reduction.A Dutch district in the city of Apeldoorn has been chosen to investigate the energy-saving potential and the robustness of different retrofit packages. Using a bottom-up approach, the energy-saving potential of the existing building types in the mentioned district was analysed by the parametric study of building energy performance simulations in IES VE. Subsequently, the uncertainty in building (energy) performance was assessed using a minimax regret method to compare the robustness of designs. For the covered building types and construction periods, the results suggest that after the upgrade to insulation level from current regulations, implementation of Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV) reduces the space heating demand by 50–65% while insulation upgrade to passive house standards on yields an average heat demand reduction of only 15%. In contrast, provided with sufficient ventilation, the results suggest that sufficient ventilation eliminates the demand for space cooling in passive building envelopes (excluding climate change effects). In this regard, detached housing is the most and semi-detached is the least prone to the overheated indoor environment. Relying on natural ventilation as the only source of cooling in the summer increases the risk of overheating. Furthermore, upgrading to the nZEB standard building envelope appears to be around 40–50% less economical (€/unit saved energy) than current requirements for building envelope. Lastly, the results show that packages with HRV are about twice as robust as packages without HRV thus highlighting its optimal cost.

Thermally stable fiber Bragg gratings for the mid-IR are demonstrated. While the grating strength and design wavelength typically change during post-annealing, we report here on grating structures which are resilient to temperatures of up to 200°C

This paper presents a modeling and simulation method that supports energy performance assessment and operation strategy investigation of borehole thermal energy storage in the Chifeng district heating (DH) system. A living laboratory in Chifeng, China that integrates a 0.5 million m3 borehole thermal energy storage system, an on-site solar thermal plant and excess heat from a copper plant is presented. The research adopts Modelica models from open source libraries to evaluate the system. The validity of the borehole thermal energy storage model is evaluated through an inter-model comparison study and an empirical validation test. We used the validated model to investigate three operation strategies. We conclude that the time-scheduled combined operation strategy is more beneficial for the studied system regarding CO2 emission reduction.

The precise authentication of death from mechanical asphyxia (DMA) has been a complex problem in forensic medicine. Besides the traditional methods that concern the superficial characterization of the body, researchers are now paying more attention to the biomarkers that may help the identification of DMA. It has been reported that the extremely hypoxic environment created by DMA can cause the specific expression of mitochondria-related protein, which may sever as the biomarkers of DMA authentication. Since endoplasmic reticulum stress (ER stress) has been found to be related to the dysfunction of mitochondria, it is promising to look for the biomarkers of DMA among ER stress-related proteins. In this article, animal and cell experiments were conducted to examine how ER-mitochondria interaction may be influenced in the hypoxic condition caused by DMA primarily. Human samples were then used to verify the possible biomarkers of DMA. We found that ER stress-related protein CHOP was significantly up-regulated within a short-term postmortem interval (PMI) in brain tissue of DMA samples, which may interact with a series of ER stress- and mitochondria-related protein, leading to the apoptosis of the cells. It was also verified in human samples that the expression level of CHOP can sever as a potential biomarker of DMA within a specific PMI.

Rationale: Patients receiving prolonged mechanical ventilation experience high morbidity and mortality, poor quality of life, and significant caregiving and financial burden. It is unclear what is ...

Seasonal thermal energy storage (STES) technology is a proven solution to resolve the seasonal discrepancy between heating energy generation from renewables and building heating demands. This research focuses on the performance assessment of district heating (DH) systems powered by low-grade energy sources with large-scale, high temperature underground STES technology. A pilot DH system, located in Chifeng, China that integrates a 0.5 million m3 borehole thermal energy storage system, an on-site solar thermal plant and excess heat from a copper plant is presented. The research in this paper adopts a model-based approach using Modelica to analyze the energy performance of the STES for two district heating system configurations. Several performance indicators such as the extraction heat, the injection heat and the storage coefficient are selected to assess the STES system performance. Results show that a lower STES discharge temperature leads to a better energy performance. A sensitivity analysis of the site properties illustrates that the thermal conductivity of soil is the most influential parameter on the STES system performance. The long-term performance of the STES is also discussed and a shorter stabilization time between one and two years could be achieved by discharging the STES at a lower temperature. This research is part of the seasonal storage for solar and industrial waste heat utilization for urban district heating project funded by the Joint Scientific Thematic Research Programme (JSTP)–Smart Energy in Smart Cities. We gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). We would also like to thank our research partners from Tsinghua University working on the project of the International S&T Cooperation Programof China (ISTCP) (project No. 2015DFG62410). Without their efforts, we would not have been able to obtain the technical data to conduct the case study.

We report the first wavelength stabilized all-fibre ultrafast mid-infrared laser using MXene as a novel saturable absorber. This all-integrated pulsed laser is a promising tool for a broad range of applications in the mid-infrared regime.

We report on the feasibility of MXene and platinum diselenide (PtSe2) as novel saturable absorbers for the development of wavelength stabilized passively mode-locked mid-infrared fibre laser systems. After evaluating the performance of individual absorbers in a test cavity, we demonstrate a linear all-fibre laser cavity that utilizes a high reflective chirped fibre Bragg grating for wavelength selective feedback. The observed mode-locked pulse train from this Er3+:ZBLAN fibre laser has a 37 MHz repetition rate with an average power of 603 mW and a spectral width of 721 pm. Our results show that MXene and PtSe2 are promising nonlinear materials for all-integrated ultrafast fibre laser cavities for the important mid-infrared spectral region.

In this paper, a new research of seasonal thermal storage is introduced. This study aims to maximize the utilization of renewable energy source and industrial waste heat (IWH) for urban district heating systems in both heating and non-heating seasons through the use of large-scale seasonal thermal storage. Based on this research, a demonstration project of a central solar-IWH heating system with 500,000 m3 borehole thermal energy storage (BTES) is implemented in Chifeng, China. The detailed design, control strategies and optimization methods of the project is presented and discussed in this paper. The study showed that a smooth system operation with stable energy output and supplying temperature of seasonal storage could be achieved by adopting the developed control strategy.

The outdoor thermal environment correlates with occupant behaviors in open spaces. The appropriate range of thermal environment that is conducive to outdoor activities, however, remains inadequately defined. Existing studies fail to characterize the behavioral responses to thermal environments in important dimensions including activity types, age or gender. We conducted field studies on six open spaces in Wuhan, China, a city with humid subtropical climate and ideal for this research. Data based on field observations, questionnaires, and measurement were collected under a variety of weather conditions over 4 years. We renovated a playground by adding shading shelters and vegetation cover to reduce summertime heat stress. On-site thermal environment were assessed using the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI). Findings are as following: the outdoor thermal environment is a strong predictor of mean attendance over a period of time, but not spontaneous occupancy at a specific time or space; the Optimum Thermal Environment (OTE), defined as the range in which an open space is well-attended (attendance above 90% of peak value), is more consistent than the self-reported Thermal Acceptable Range (TAR) in this study. Behavioral responses to thermal environment differ by gender, age, and types of activities. The experiment confirmed the causality between outdoor thermal environment and activities: the renovated playground attracted 80% more occupants in summer; people stayed longer, reported less heat stress, and interacted with each other more often. Results remained significant after controlling for weather, air quality, daily and weekly routines. Findings had implications for the design of open spaces.

The flexibility of thermal energy systems can support the energy system as a whole in integrating a large share of fluctuating renewable energy sources. The current paper investigates the flexible operation potential of a small district with buildings connected to a district heating network. In the study, the thermal mass of the buildings was utilized as heat storage and the investigation was performed for the heating season. The load shifting scenarios used were created based on the available information on heat load and dynamic heat production cost in the Greater Copenhagen district heating system. The results of the study indicate that the applied strategy of load shifting is highly effective. The achieved load shifting in all schedule-based scenarios was between 41% and 51%. The applied scenarios resulted in an increased peak demand and energy use. However, the increased energy use occurs mostly during the low-load periods, when the heat production prices are lower. It was also shown, that the increased peak can be partially mitigated by using the appropriate control strategies.

Background One international and three local organizations developed the Santa Ana Women's Health Partnership (SAWHP) to address cervical cancer in Santa Ana Huista, Huehuetenango, Guatemala. This paper describes the structure, outcomes, and lessons learned from our community partnership and program. Methods The community partnership developed a singlevisit approach (SVA) program that guided medically underserved women through screening and treatment of cervical cancer. Lessons learned The program promoted acceptability of SVA among rural women by engaging local female leaders and improving access to screening services. The program's approach focused on maximizing access and generated interest beyond the coverage area. Distrust among the community partners and weak financial management contributed to the program's cessation after 4 years. Conclusions The SAWHP design may guide future implementation of cervical cancer screening programs to reach medically underserved women. Open, ongoing dialogue among leaders in each partner institution is paramount to success.

SummaryBackground Breastfeeding is a modifiable factor that may influence development of inflammatory bowel diseases. However, literature on this has been inconsistent and not accounted for heterogeneity in populations and exposure. Aim To conduct a meta-analysis to examine the association between breastfeeding in infancy and risk of Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Methods A systematic search of Medline/PubMed and Embase was performed for full text, English-language literature through November 2016. Studies were included if they described breastfeeding in infancy in patients with CD or UC, and healthy controls. Data were pooled using a random effects model for analysis. Results A total of 35 studies were included in the final analysis, comprising 7536 individuals with CD, 7353 with UC and 330 222 controls. Ever being breastfed was associated with a lower risk of CD (OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.59-0.85) and UC (OR 0.78, 95% CI 0.67-0.91). While this inverse association was observed in all ethnicity groups, the magnitude of protection was significantly greater among Asians (OR 0.31, 95% CI 0.20-0.48) compared to Caucasians (OR 0.78, 95% CI 0.66-0.93; P = .0001) in CD. Breastfeeding duration showed a dose-dependent association, with strongest decrease in risk when breastfed for at least 12 months for CD (OR 0.20, 95% CI 0.08-0.50) and UC (OR 0.21, 95% CI 0.10-0.43) as compared to 3 or 6 months. Conclusion Breastfeeding in infancy protects against the development of CD and ulcerative colitis.

District heating systems play an important role in supporting energy transition by using and storing energy delivered by renewable and other low-grade energy sources such as industrial waste heat. However, this low-grade heat is not always able to satisfy the heating demand, including space heating and domestic hot water (DHW). This mismatch is even more evident when looking at it seasonally. A proven solution to resolve this discrepancy is to implement seasonal thermal energy storage (STES) technology. This research focuses on the performance assessment of district heating (DH) systems powered by low-grade energy sources with large-scale, STES technology. A pilot DH system, located in Chifeng, China that integrates a 0.5 million m3 borehole thermal energy storage system, an on-site solar thermal plant and excess heat from a copper plant nearby to avoid additional fossil fuel-based heating supply is presented. It is, to date, the world largest (in volume) underground seasonal thermal energy storage. The research in this paper proposes a modeling and simulation method to analyze the energy performance of the STES for two district heating system configurations. Several performance indicators are selected to assess the STES system performance. Results show that a lower STES discharge temperature leads to a better energy performance. A sensitivity analysis of the site properties illustrates that the soil thermal conductivity is the most sensitive parameter among the chosen performance indicators. The long-term performance of the STES is also discussed in this paper to explore the time needed to reach a stable operation condition under different scenarios.

The planning of an eco-city/community involves multiple factors, including building energy consumption, carbon emission, initial cost, as well as local natural, geographical and socio-economic conditions. To assist policymakers and planners to make the optimum decisions, especially in the early planning stage of an eco-city/community, this paper developed a quick and convenient multi-objective prediction and optimization tool. Building energy consumption, carbon emission and initial cost were considered as three sub-objectives. The optimization parameters include those for building envelope (i.e. heat transfer coefficient, window shading coefficient, unit cost) and those for air-conditioning system (i.e. coefficient of performance) for each type of buildings. The building energy consumption was calculated based on the BIN method. The carbon emission was determined with the energy consumption and carbon emission factor of each energy type. The initial incremental cost was calculated with the material and product price. Priority consideration of the three sub-objectives was achieved by weight factor method during the optimization process. The weight factors could be determined empirically by policymakers, investors, or planners. The optimization results can be referred by decision makers. Finally, an eco-community in Chongqing, China was taken for a case study, and parameter sensitive analysis was conducted.

Hot Summer and Cold Winter (HSCW) region plays an important role in China's building energy conservation task due to its high consumption in recent years for both climate and social reasons. National and local building energy standards according to which the buildings are built and operated can affect the building energy consumption to a great extent. This study investigated the energy saving potential in Hot Summer and Cold Winter Zone under different level of energy efficiency standards (China local, China national, and UK standard). Chongqing was taken as an example, and the commercial energy simulation tool eQuest was applied to analyze the building end-use energy. With the existing situation as a baseline, the building energy saving for residential section could achieve 31.5% if the Chinese national standard were satisfied, and the value would further increase to 45.0% and 53.4% when the Chongqing local and UK standard were met. For public buildings, the corresponding energy saving potentials were 62.8%, 67.4% and 75.9%. Parameter sensitivity analysis was conducted. The analysis was able to provide suggestions on energy saving implementation priorities for residential and public buildings. Indications to improve building energy standards and their implementation were also discussed.

I remember following the ethnographer down a long and narrow alley that led towards a neighborhood concealed right behind the town center. The loud traffic on the main streets gradually faded away, and I started to see lodges stretching out in rows. In front of almost every door sat a woman, young or middle-aged, fanning herself in the heat as she waited. Some were nicely dressed up, some wore heavy make-up; some, however, looked just like most women out on the street. If a man passed by, these women would stand up, warmly wave to him, and ask him to stay. We made a turn, and I saw more lodges and more women; we made another turn, and I saw even more. This was how I started my summer internship in Beach City, 1 a small urban town in southern China. In the following 12 weeks, I repeatedly returned to these lodges; with each turn of that long and narrow alley I unveiled slightly more of an entirely different world, and each visit added to my discoveries about the women's lives here. It was the biggest site of the low-tier sex industry in the town, where more than 100 female sex workers (FSW) worked as freelancers in rented lodges.

Prior studies have noted that modelling and simulation approaches provide useful assistance in designing new generation district heating systems to deal with the increasing complexity of technologies. The available models and tools cover wide varieties in terms of technologies, model complexities, etc. In order to identify the applicability of different modelling methods for certain cases, the present study compared an energy planning tool with a dynamic simulation method for a district heating system using waste heat from a copper plant with thermal storage. The results showed the two methods predicted similar usage of heating energy from sources and demand for the case with short-term thermal storage, especially in cold months. However, large discrepancies were observed when including long-term thermal storage.