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This paper provides a review of the literature that applies the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology to the assessment of the environmental performance of the life cycle of construction and demolition waste (CDW) management systems. This article is focused on generating a general mapping of the literature and on identifying the best practices in compliance with LCA framework and proposing directions for future LCA studies in this field. The temporal evolution of the research in this field and the aim of the studies have grown in parallel with the legal framework related to waste and energy efficiency of buildings. Most studies have been published in Europe, followed by USA. Asia and Australia, being at an incipient application stage to the rest of the world. Topics related to "LCA of buildings, including their EoL" and "LCA of general CDW management strategies" are the most frequently analysed, followed by "LCA of EoL of construction elements" and "LCA of natural material vs recycled material". Regarding the strategies, recycling off-site and incineration, both combined with landfill for the rejected fractions, are the most commonly applied. Re-use or recycling on-site is the strategy least applied. The key aspect when LCA is applied to evaluate CDW management systems is the need to normalise which processes to include in the system boundary and the functional unit, the use of inventory data adapted to the context of the case study and the definition of a common set of appropriate impact assessment categories. Also, it is important to obtain results disaggregated by unit processes. This will allow the comparison between case studies.

IntroductionBoth mean power output (MPO) and the distribution of the available energy over the race, that is, pacing strategy, are critical factors in performance. The purpose of this study was to determine the relative importance of both pacing strategy and MPO to performance.MethodsSix well-trained, regionally competitive cyclists performed four 1500-m ergometer time trials (∼2 min). For each subject, the fastest (Fast) and slowest (Slow) time trials were compared and the relative importance of differences in power output and pacing strategy were determined with an energy flow model.ResultsThe difference in final time between Fast and Slow was 4.0 (2.5) s. Fast was performed with a higher MPO (437.8 (32.3) W vs 411.3 (39.0) W), a higher aerobic peak power (295.3 (36.8) vs 287.5 (34.7) W) and a higher anaerobic peak power (828.8 (145.4) W vs 649.5 (112.2) W) combined with a relatively higher, but not statistically different anaerobic rate constant (0.051 (0.016) vs 0.041 (0.009) W). The changes in MPO (63% anaerobic, 37% aerobic) largely explained the differences in final times. Athletes chose a different pacing strategy that was close to optimal for their physiological condition in both Fast and Slow.ConclusionDifferences in intraindividual performance were mainly caused by differences in MPO. Athletes seemed to be able to effectively adjust their pacing profile based on their “status of the day”.Keywordsmodelling performance, energy expenditure, aerobic, anaerobic, sports.

Silica-tin dioxide thin films doped with Er3+ ions were fabricated and investigated. Different parameters such as heat-treatment temperatures, molar concentrations of SnO2 as well as Er3+ ions concentration were changed in order to obtain the best properties of presented thin films. Using several techniques, thin films were characterized and proved to be crack-free, water-free and smooth after a heat-treatment at 1200 °C. Aiming to application in optics, the transparency of thin films was also evidenced by transmission spectra. Based on the photoluminescence measurements, the mechanism of energy transfer from SnO2 nanocrystals to Er3+ ions was examined and discussed.

Storage capacity is a key aspect when validating potential CO2 sequestration sites. Most CO2 storage projects, for obvious reasons, target conventional aquifers (e.g., saline aquifers, depleted hydrocarbon fields) with good reservoir properties and ample subsurface data. However, non-geological factors, such as proximity to the CO2 source, may require storing CO2 in geologically “less-than-ideal” sites. We here present a first-order CO2 storage resource estimate of such an unconventional storage unit, a naturally fractured, compartmentalized and underpressured siliciclastic aquifer located at 670–1,000 m below Longyearbyen, Arctic Norway. Water injection tests confirm the injectivity of the reservoir. Capacity calculations, based on the US DOE guidelines for CO2 storage resource estimation, were implemented in a stochastic volumetric workflow. All available data were used to specify input parameters and their probability distributions. The areal extent of the compartmentalized reservoir is poorly constrained, encouraging a scenario-based approach. Other high-impact parameters influencing storage resource estimates include CO2 saturation, CO2 density and the storage efficiency factor. The hydrodynamic effects of storing CO2 in a compartmentalized aquifer are accounted for by calculating probable storage efficiency factors (0.04–0.79 %) in a fully closed system. The results are ultimately linked to the chosen scenario, with two orders of magnitude difference between scenarios. The fracture network contributes with up to 2 % to the final volumes. The derived workflow validates CO2 storage sites based on initial feasibility assessments, and may be applied to aid decision making at other unconventional CO2 storage sites with significant data uncertainty.

Capítulos en libros Dynamic Voltage Restorers (DVRs) are a costeffective solution to protect sensitive loads against voltage sags in medium- and high-power applications because the power required to compensate sags is only a fraction of the load rated power. Also, the energy storage requirements of DVRs can be greatly reduced by using minimum-power compensation of voltage sags. However, this compensation strategy can disturb sensitive loads and tends to saturate the injection transformer unless a slow phase rotation technique is used when a voltage sag is detected. The sag detection needs to be robust, but also fast to provide accurate results so that the DVR can work under all possible situations. This paper proposes and studies in detail a sag-detection algorithm for a DVR that, when designed and implemented carefully, provides excellent performance when the grid voltage contains harmonics and the grid frequency varies. All the algorithms proposed in this paper are tested on a 5 kVA prototype of a DVR. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Research and development of cost-effective, high-performance thermal insulation materials for the construction sector has to be focused on their final application. In particular, solutions for refurbishing historic buildings, which represent 40% of the European building stock, have to offer a good compromise between environmental quality, energy efficiency and conservation aspects. In this paper, the experimental assessment of an insulation material based on aerogel technology, recently developed in the European project EFFESUS, is presented with regard to the material's thermal performance, compatibility with historic fabric and reversibility. The overall results obtained in laboratory testing on a real-size mock-up and in a real-world case application indicate that the new material is a promising solution for retrofitting historic buildings, thanks to its thermal properties, easy application, reversibility and material compatibility.

To review new putative mechanisms involved in the pathophysiology of a disturbed energy balance in cancer cachexia, which can lead to novel targets for clinical cachexia management. In the context of rapid developments in tumour treatment with potential systemic consequences, this article reviews recent data on energy requirements. Furthermore, we focus on new insights in brown adipose tissue (BAT) activity and reward processing in the brain in relation to the cachexia process.Nearly no new data have been published on energy requirements of cancer patients in the light of comprehensive new therapies in oncology. New developments, such as the introduction of staging with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET-computed tomography scanning, led to the observation that BAT activation may contribute to impaired energy balance in cancer cachexia. Animal and human data to date provide an indication that BAT activation indeed occurs, but its quantitative impact on the degree of cachexia is controversial. The peripheral and central nervous system is known to influence satiation, with a possible role for impaired food reward processing in the brain. To date, there are limited confirmatory data, but this is an interesting new area to explore for better understanding and treating cancer-induced anorexia.The multimodal approach to counteract cancer cachexia should expand its targets to BAT and food reward processing in the brain.

Feedbacks between land carbon pools and climate provide one of the largest sources of uncertainty in our predictions of global climate. Estimates of the sensitivity of the terrestrial carbon budget to climate anomalies in the tropics and the identification of the mechanisms responsible for feedback effects remain uncertain. The Amazon basin stores a vast amount of carbon, and has experienced increasingly higher temperatures and more frequent floods and droughts over the past two decades. Here we report seasonal and annual carbon balances across the Amazon basin, based on carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide measurements for the anomalously dry and wet years 2010 and 2011, respectively. We find that the Amazon basin lost 0.48 ± 0.18 petagrams of carbon per year (Pg C yr(-1)) during the dry year but was carbon neutral (0.06 ± 0.1 Pg C yr(-1)) during the wet year. Taking into account carbon losses from fire by using carbon monoxide measurements, we derived the basin net biome exchange (that is, the carbon flux between the non-burned forest and the atmosphere) revealing that during the dry year, vegetation was carbon neutral. During the wet year, vegetation was a net carbon sink of 0.25 ± 0.14 Pg C yr(-1), which is roughly consistent with the mean long-term intact-forest biomass sink of 0.39 ± 0.10 Pg C yr(-1) previously estimated from forest censuses. Observations from Amazonian forest plots suggest the suppression of photosynthesis during drought as the primary cause for the 2010 sink neutralization. Overall, our results suggest that moisture has an important role in determining the Amazonian carbon balance. If the recent trend of increasing precipitation extremes persists, the Amazon may become an increasing carbon source as a result of both emissions from fires and the suppression of net biome exchange by drought.