bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Superposition and Amplitude Modulation Effects in Separated Flow
Authors: Zhang Boyuan , Niu Zhiqi , Luo Sheng
Published: October 2024

This article adopts direct numerical simulation method to study concave cavity flow with high Reynolds number, and explores the influence of outer region structure on inner region turbulence of concave cavity flow, as well as the mechanism of coherent structure in the near wall region of concave cavity flow. This article finds that the superposition and amplitude modulation effects of separated flow are weaker than those in smooth wall turbulence. At different positions within the concave cavity, the superposition effect in the reattachment zone is the strongest, while the superposition effect in the separation zone is the weakest, indicating that flow separation prevents large-scale structures from outer region penetrating into the near wall region. The amplitude modulation effect of the reattachment point is the strongest, which is related to the strong adverse pressure gradient of the reattachment point.
Study on the Influence of Sludge Biochemical Characteristics and Treatment Conditions on Rheological Properties
Authors: Liu Mingming , Zhuang Haifei , Guo Tao
Published: October 2024

In response to the differences in the organic matter, oil and other components of temporary sludge stored in different storage areas of Shanghai Lao-gang, which affect the long-distance transportation of sludge, a full range sampling was conducted on the temporary sludge. Based on the results of solid content measurement, the pH value, mineral oil, total nitrogen, organic matter content, total oil and other six selected sludge samples were subjected to biochemical testing, and one sludge sample was selected for drying and concentration treatment. At the same time, sludge rheological tests were conducted on the biochemical testing sludge samples and the concentrated sludge samples, and the impact of sludge biochemical characteristics and sludge concentration on sludge rheological characteristics was compared and analyzed, which provide reference for the construction process of temporary sludge transportation.
Study on Aerodynamic Characteristics and Stability of a Vehicle with Inverted Dihedral and Momentum Lift Augmentation
Authors: Ren Shaoxiong , Wan Zhao , Wang Xinguang , Liu Shenshen
Published: October 2024

Inspired by the wave-rider idea and momentum principle, the vehicle with inverted dihedral and momentum lift augmentation is a new aerodynamic configuration of high-speed gliding vehicle in the near-space, which has achieved a high lift-to-drag ratio and long-distance sliding. Numerical simulation of aerodynamic characteristics and stability of the aircraft are carried out in this paper. The lift-to-drag characteristics, longitudinal-directional stability and lateral-directional stability are evaluated based on the National Numerical Wind tunnel’s high-speed simulation software, named NNW-HyFLOW. An unstructured/hybrid grid is used in the calculation at the typical ballistic points of altitude of 10-75km and Mach number of 3-25. The results shows that the lift-to-drag ratio reaches a peak value of 4.11 at the altitude of 30km and attack angle of 8°. This value is decreased when the altitude raises. The usable lift-to-drag ratio is over 3 in the glide phase range from 30 to 50 kilometres. This vehicle shows better longitudinal-directional stability at large angles of attack than at small in the reentry phase and glide phase, which can be optimized by adjusting the center of mass or pitching rudder. It has a weak instability in the lateral direction at small angle of attack in the glide phase. Therefore, it is suggested to avoid to work at the high altitude with a small angle of attack. Or, the lateral-directional stability can be strengthened at this altitude by improving the V-tail.
Optimization Analysis of Water Supply Mode for Fire Protection System of Super High Rise Building
Authors: Fan Yakun , Hao Ailing , Yang Bingjie
Published: October 2024

In order to improve the applicability and reliability of the fire water supply capacity of super high-rise buildings, the fluid analysis software Flomaster was used for simulation. Through the existing pumps, valves, pipelines, pressure reducing valves and newly developed fire hydrants and other components, the fire water supply system of super high-rise buildings is modeled. The pressure distribution of the system pipe network under a given fire water supply mode is studied. The research shows that the simulation can analyze whether there is excessive pressure in the fire hydrant system under different flow conditions in the actual fire extinguishing process. This paper simulates the actual fire extinguishing process of the fire hydrant system through a specific engineering case. The pressure distribution and flow distribution under different flow conditions are obtained. The excessive pressure position of the fire pipe network system under the given fire pump model is obtained. It provides a method for guiding the selection of fire pump and the design of fire hydrant system pipe network. It has certain guiding significance for the subsequent optimization of the design scheme of the fire water supply network and the prediction of the performance of the R&D equipment.
Advancements in Characterizing Fiber Distribution in Fiber-Reinforced Concrete Using X-ray Computed Tomography
Authors: Li Minghua , Wu Jinan , Liu Xiao-Cun , Qi Mei-li
Published: October 2024

The distribution of fibers within fiber-reinforced concrete significantly impacts its mechanical properties. X-ray computed tomography (CT) provides a distinctive and technically proficient method for examining fiber dispersion. This paper presents an exhaustive review of the methodologies used to characterize fiber distribution in concrete. It delves into the fundamental principles of X-ray CT and its application in studying fiber distribution, highlighting the current state of research. Additionally, the study explores the influence of fiber distribution and orientation on the failure mechanisms of concrete, offering insights that could guide future investigations in this domain. The paper concludes with a discussion on the potential of X-ray CT in evaluating fiber distribution and its implications for the mechanical properties of concrete, thereby setting the stage for further advancements in the field.
Research on Leaching Cesium from Medium and Low Pollucite Concentrates by the Sulfuric Acid Process
Authors: Chen Yong , Wen Jiankang , Chen Song
Published: October 2024

With the sharp decrease in high-grade pollucite resources, medium and low grade pollucite concentrate will become the main raw material for extracting cesium in the future. The main process conditions for leaching cesium from medium- and low grade pollucite concentrate by the sulfuric acid process were studied, and the effects of the ratio of leaching liquid to solid, leaching time, leaching temperature and of leaching liquid on the leaching rate of cesium were investigated. The results show that CsAl(SO4)2·3H2O is formed from 2Cs2O·2Al2O3·9SiO2·H2O after the medium and low grade pollucite concentrates are leached by sulfuric acid. The optimum conditions for the leaching process were as follows: the concentration of sulfuric acid was approximately 3.5 mol/L, L/S≈2, the leaching temperature was 120 °C, the heat preservation time was 2.0 h, and the leaching rate of cesium exceeded 93%. The leaching residue was washed and discarded, and the leaching solution was recycled three times and then concentrated to precipitate alum. The [Cs] in the mother liquor resulting from CsAl(SO4)2·3H2O crystallization ranged from 1 g/L to 1.28 g/L, and the [Al] ranged from 0.29 g/L to 0.33 g/L, which could be recycled for leaching.
Study on Oil Resistance of Polyurethane Protective Material
Authors: Sun Wei , Fan Jinjuan , Gong Qing , Zheng Linfeng
Published: October 2024

The polyurethane protective tape is a new type of protective material made by coating high performance pressure-sensitive adhesive on polyurethane elastomers, which is widely used in aviation. During its operational life, the polyurethane protective tape inevitably comes into contact with oil, and its oil resistance directly impacts its lifespan. This study focuses on the polyurethane protective tape and conducts immersion tests in No. 15 aviation hydraulic fluid, aircraft gear oil 4450 and RP3 aviation kerosene at room temperature. A comparative analysis was also conducted on the tensile strength, tear resistance, fracture morphology, chemical structure, and thermophysical properties before and after immersion. The research indicates that the tensile properties of polyurethane protective tapes remain essentially unchanged after immersion in RP3 aviation kerosene. After being immersed in No.15 aviation hydraulic fluid and aircraft gear oil 4450, the tensile strength of the polyurethane protective tape gradually decreases. Furthermore, compared to No.15 aviation hydraulic fluid, the rate of tensile strength reduction in polyurethane protective tape immersed in aircraft gear oil 4450 is more rapid. The resistance to tearing of polyurethane protective tapes diminishes gradually with prolonged immersion, with the rate of decline being greater for aircraft gear oil 4450 than for No.15 aviation hydraulic fluid, and even greater for RP3 aviation kerosene. The decrease in mechanical properties of polyurethane protective tapes after immersion in oil is attributed to the swelling effect of the oil, which reduces the intermolecular forces within the polyurethane material and leads to a decrease in physical cross-linking. This process is physical aging, with no evident chemical aging occurring.
Synthesis and Adsorption of Lead Ions by Chitosan–LDHs
Authors: Le Sha , Ye Yajuan , Wu Zhongxin , Yang Yunhua , Li Yangmei , Cai Lihua
Published: October 2024

With MgCl2 and AlCl3 as raw materials, nano Mg/Al LDHs were synthesized in situ during the process of chitosan gel formation, and then CS/LDHs composite multilayer hydrogels were prepared and characterized. After calcination at high temperature, they were used to adsorb Pb2+. The concentration of Pb2+ was measured using atomic absorption spectroscopy to investigate the adsorption performance of the composite material. The effects of pH value, initial concentration, and adsorption time on the adsorption efficiency were studied through single factor and orthogonal experiments. The results showed that the optimal process conditions for the adsorption of Pb2+ were pH=5, initial concentration of 2.5g/L, adsorption time of 30 minutes, removal rate of 70.65% at adsorption equilibrium, and adsorption capacity of 1150.32mg/g.
Validation of a Central-Difference Finite Volume Method for Analysing Wall Turbulent Heat Transfer Using Transport Equations for Turbulent Heat Fluxes
Authors: Suzuki Hiroki
Published: October 2024

The aim of this study is to validate the finite volume method approach using the transport equations for turbulent heat fluxes in turbulent heat transfer at the wall surface. The finite volume method technique is a numerical analysis based on conservation laws of physical quantities in the flow field, with particular emphasis on the conservation of velocity fluctuation intensity in the flow field. The behaviour of turbulent heat flows is analysed in detail using this method and its validity is tested. In the study, heat transfer in channel turbulence is analysed under a constant heat flux heating condition. The individual terms of the temperature variance equation are analysed and the results are shown to be in agreement with a previous study. The residual is small, confirming the high accuracy of the results. The present study analyses the transport equation for the dissipation of the temperature variance. The transport equations for turbulent heat fluxes in the flow direction and in the vertical wall direction are analysed and show good agreement with those of the previous study. The results show that in the vertical wall direction, non-zero terms such as the pressure diffusion term appear to contribute and reduce the accuracy of the transport equations.
Analysis and Repair of Cracks in Welding Tee of Main Steam Pipelines in Thermal Power Units
Authors: Hou Jiaxu , Wang Qiang , Wang Zhiyong , Jiang Bao
Published: October 2024

During the maintenance process of a certain thermal power unit, multiple intermittent cracks were found in the Y-type welding tee weld of the main steam pipeline. This paper expounds the detection situation and treatment process of the welding tee weld, and analyzes the material, operating condition, structural characteristics and stress state of the test parts. The results show that the cracks are reheat crack, which is greatly related to the material. In addition, the structure of the welding tee is not reasonable, which increases the stress of the weld and accelerates the generation and expansion of the cracks. In this paper, the optimization suggestions are put forward for the welding repair and heat treatment process of the main steam pipeline, and the defects are successfully treated, which provides a reference for the detection and repair of the weld defects of similar and thick-wall pipe fittings.
Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Neural Network Based Cascade Predictive Control of Superheated Steam Temperature
Authors: Wang Maoxuan , Wu Hanming , Shao Yuankai , Meng Lingwei , Li Zhenguo , Wang Tianyou
Published: October 2024

The superheated steam temperature (SST) suffers from complex dynamic characteristics such as nonlinearity and large time delay. To deal with the negative effects, this paper proposes a cascade predictive control strategy (CPC-PI) based on interval type-2 fuzzy neural network (IT2FNN) to improve the performance of SST. First, this paper proposes the IT2FNN model for modeling the SST model. And then on the basis the local linearized IT2FNN model, the CPC-PI strategy is designed. In the following, fuzzy self-regulation of the weight factor in the CPCPI is carried out to further improve the dynamic response speed and stability of SST. Finally, the comparative simulations verify that the IT2FNN-based CPC-PI control strategy with self-regulated weight factor is superior to the PI-PI control strategy and the IT2FNN-based CPC-PI control strategy with fixed weight factor.
Urban green streets and water management safety hubs in public schools lots
Authors: Bosco Roberto , Giacobbe Savino , Anna Mozingo Louise , Valente Renata
Published: October 2024

Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) represents an effective approach to enhance urban resilience to climate change, contributing to runoff regulation and localized flood risk reduction. This study examines the potential for transforming open spaces in public schools into safety hubs for stormwater management in Mediterranean urban contexts, drawing on best practices from North America. Through a methodological analysis combining Research Through Design and an international literary scoping review, case studies of schools in the Metropolitan City of Naples are presented and compared with U.S. projects implementing GSI in school areas. The results highlight the importance of strategic coordination guidelines for local administrators, designers, and school principals, aimed at planning, designing, and managing highly performant green infrastructure networks. An integrated and shared metropolitan-level approach can maximize environmental benefits, transforming schools into community centers for urban resilience education and participatory management of risks related to extreme weather events.
Open spaces and emergent dwellings. Innovative solutions to sustainable renovation of student housing.
Authors: Bianco Anita
Published: October 2024

The paper aims to report the research results that deal with the theme of educational open spaces such as schoolyards or student housing, framing it in an environmental dimension capable of enhancing the existing identity and landscape quality elements, at the same time responding to climatic vulnerabilities, but also to new needs of users, with adequate performance responses. The proposed research is part of a scientific collaboration agreement developed aim of supporting it in the field of environmental issues and innovative technologies for student housing with Agenzia del Demanio at the end to write guidelines for spatial functional, technological and environmental aspects of its sustainable design of heritage to be converted into student housing. University student living is an evolving form of housing, subject to significant investment and design experimentation. In addition to the issue of housing, the open space related to student housing even in the face of emergent dwelling becomes a continuation of housing and therefore cannot be underestimated. The proposed methodology from best practice highlights a new demand framework useful for the development of the guidelines of which an excerpt concerning open space is proposed here.
Green buffer areas and green roofs: performance design to improve the urban water cycle
Authors: Giacomello Elena
Published: October 2024

While in all Europe the land use does not decrease – contrary to EU soil strategy that would actualize the zero net land use by 2050 – cities are plagued by problems such as air pollution, urban heat island effect and uncontrolled run-off following intense rain events, which degrade the environment threatening the health and the safety of inhabitants. The impermeable materials and are responsible for the worsening of the urban water cycle and, at the same time, for the increase in summer air temperatures: both those effects can be mitigated by nature-based and draining solutions. The paper explains the hydrological phenomena of the urban impervious surfaces, highlighting the typical functional defects, providing then a list of various green technologies suitable to overcome the common issues of city centers like high density / reduced spaces, irreversible impervious surfaces, undersized drainage, presence of sub-structures / sub-systems, conservation of architectural heritage. The technical green solutions on the ground (bio-retention systems, rain gardens, trees, pervious pavements…) and on the roofs, specifically designed, behave 1) as a buffer for the stormwater and superficial run-off, being able to collect water, 2) as providers of side effects that can affect water quality, biodiversity, amenity in cities. Experimental results from a rain simulation are presented in order to argue potentials and limitations of these solutions, often narrated as salvific, or, on the contrary, underestimated in their technological specificities.
Use of Vertical Greenery Systems for the domestic scale treatment of greywaters for fit-for-purpose reuse. Applicability and future prospects.
Authors: Todesco Ruggero
Published: October 2024

Only less than 1% of the Earth’s water is fit for human activities. Domestic consumption accounts for roughly 20% of all uses of water, adding pressure to the increasing water scarcity stress. Water intakes of residential buildings for all everyday uses are constituted by a high-quality resource, which is either costly to produce or conspicuous in amounts to withdraw from natural sources. The present proposal aims to test the feasibility of the application of decentralized greywater treatment strategies, based on the use of vertical greenery systems integrated into residential buildings to assess both the optimal scale of application in residential settlements and a comparative analysis on reclaimed water resource savings. The aim is to promote the circular use of water resources by allowing for fit-for-purpose employment, thus reducing the overall intake due to the residential sector. The methodology hereby proposed has been developed using as a case study the most widespread residential typologies in the Southern Italian context, such as single detachment, row houses, low and medium-rise apartment buildings. The result is the proposition for each residential typology of a retrofitting strategy that employs the integration of a green infrastructure inside the residential spaces. Until now, the Mediterranean context has been characterized by limited use of strategies directed towards the efficient employment of water resources, since the mild climatic conditions have always provided for an adequate amount of freshwater. Therefore, limited studies have been carried out on the application of those strategies in Mediterranean landscapes. However, the rapid shift in precipitation patterns due to climate change has defined the need to quickly embrace new strategies, systems, and technical solutions for improving water use efficiency and promoting reuse.
Briefing for Circularity. Translating EU policies into operational guidelines for the building project
Authors: Atta Nazly , Paganin Giancarlo , Talamo Cinzia
Published: October 2024

The current EU interest in Circular Economy offers novel opportunities to move towards more sustainable production and consumption practices. Literature confirms that building stakeholders are expressing a growing demand of common references and tools to support the integration of circular principles in building processes. The paper introduces a methodological approach meant as an information support tool to translate EU circularity policies into guidelines for building design and management. Indeed, the challenge is to translate circularity objectives and targets into specific requirements expressed from one stakeholder to another, up to the last operator involved in the supply chain. The requests along the different levels of the supply chain must be consistent with each other and with the initial circularity objectives expressed at the origin by the client. Hence, starting by outlining the complexity of the fragmented building supply-chain, the paper identifies the proper level of detail for expressing circularity requirements and, therefore, for communicating mutually consistent circularity objectives at the different levels of the supply chain. Supporting the integration of circularity requirements within Project Briefs (design phase) and Invitations to Tender (management phase), the proposed tool lays the foundations for the experimentation of circular building practices and for the systemic evaluation of compliance with EU circularity objectives.
Stirring digital innovation in wood waste upcycling: system dynamics as a circular design decision-making methodology
Authors: Paragliola Federica , Galluccio Giuliano , Russo Ermolli Sergio , Perriccioli Massimo , Rigillo Marina , Giannino Francesco
Published: October 2024

The urgency to reduce climate-changing emissions and natural resources exploitation is pushing architecture and industrial design to explore viable options to innovate current practices on material use. In forest-based industries, in particular, wood upcycling is emerging as a pivotal investigation field, with a specific research agenda aimed at reducing the impacts generated by the rising demand of timber products and the actual incineration and landfilling rates. Indeed, the development of new technological solutions needs to account for energy and material flows, as well as for the environmental impacts and social and economic dynamics. Such a new complexity pushes towards a design approach that links digital technologies to circularity goals for a more comprehensive understanding of the forest-based resource management and the evalutation of alternative scenarios.

In this paper, we propose System Dynamics (SD) as a methodology to provide a qualitative and quantitative framework to promote digital circular innovation in the wood industry.

SD is a dynamic, multi-scale, multi-dimension and site-specific decision-making support tool wich helps designers, researchers and industrial stakeholders to understand and simulate the dynamic behavior and performances of complex systems within specific time and space parameters. The proposed SD for wood waste upcycling allows to model “stock and flow” scenarios, to simulate and compare the consequences of technological options on the system and to target their development in time - and space-based projections. This study outlines the first advances for the SD application to the Italian wood industry, and examines the consequences of the application of different circular strategies on a “business-as-usual” scenario.
Circular Economy: The 4Rs reduce-reuse-recycle-recover
Authors: Hom Kevin
Published: October 2024

This article summarizes the lecture presented at the Net Built 2024 conference. The lecture addresses the unsustainability of the current linear economy, characterized by the “take, make, dispose” model, in light of environmental challenges. The inefficiencies of this system lead to increased energy consumption, elevated CO2 emissions, and the exacerbation of climate change. It examines the current state of design and construction with respect to climate change and sustainable resource management. Additionally, the lecture introduces a methodology that integrates technologies and design philosophies capable of driving significant positive change. By advocating for a transformative approach to the expected lifetime of buildings and components, this presentation explores new paradigms grounded in the principles of the circular economy. To illustrate these strategies and their outcomes, the author provides a series of case studies. The presentation delves into open methods and strategies for managing building systems, focusing on lifecycle impact, durability, serviceability, and obsolescence.
Exploring the relationship of building area and GHGe: a mitigation strategy?
Authors: Tozan Buket , Hoxha Endrit , Ole Olsen Christoffer , Grau Sørensen Christian , Birgisdóttir Harpa
Published: October 2024

Greenhouse gas emissions (GHGe) from new constructions must be reduced to address the climate change crisis. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is widely applied to document the environmental impacts of buildings, often reporting results by dividing the total emissions over the measured building area, such as the gross floor area. The appropriateness of this approach has been debated in the building LCA research community and the construction industry, with concerns about the potential consequence of designing larger buildings to reduce emissions over the buildings’ life cycle and if this entails easier compliance with limit values in regulations. With a large collection of 291 case studies divided into four weight categories, potential correlations between constructing larger areas and GHGe are explored by fitting linear models. The results show that theoretically, GHGe reported per area can be decreased due to increased building area. However, this requires significant increases in area, which realistically results in increased costs, resource use, and related environmental impacts, which is not feasible. Therefore, the findings do not support the notion that interpreting LCA results per square meter encourages the enlargement of buildings to reduce emissions over their life cycle. It should be noted that the study’s conclusions are drawn from the end results of individual LCAs. The potential decrease in GHGe by enlarging the building area during the design process is not possible to derive without involving stakeholders. Thus, this study underlines the need for future research to achieve a nuanced relationship between building size, design choices, and environmental impacts.
The risk of shifting environmental burdens in biobased construction - Life cycle assessment of a residential renovated building case study in Belgium
Authors: Brahma Shalini , Van de moortel Els , Wurm Jan , Allacker Karen
Published: October 2024

The construction industry is a major contributor to environmental degradation, resource depletion, and energy consumption. As global concerns about sustainability and environmental impact continue to rise, it becomes imperative to reassess the materials used in building construction. This research paper presents a comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) using the Belgian TOTEM tool according to EN15804+A2 for evaluating material choices in building construction with a focus on the renovation of residential buildings in Belgium. The study aims to provide a holistic understanding of the environmental implications associated with biobased construction materials enabling informed decision-making for sustainable building practices. To achieve this, we conducted an analysis of the life cycle environmental performance of biobased materials used in external walls of a renovation case study project and compared it to common built-up scenarios of conventional construction materials applied in the same case study. The research results show that using biobased materials for renovation can significantly reduce embodied GHG emissions but can lead to burden shifting such as resulting in an increased impact on land use, particulate matter emissions, depletion of abiotic resources and eco-toxicity. The study not only underscores the importance of comprehensive cradle-to-grave life cycle thinking but also provides valuable insights for stakeholders in the construction industry.
Insulation materials for building : dealing with climate change along with other challenges yet to come
Authors: Gourovitch Marceau , Laratte Bertrand , Costes Jean-Philippe
Published: October 2024

In France, numerous regulations have been enacted to tackle climate change. The initial ones focused on the use phase of buildings, while the last regulation considered both the construction and use phases. Meanwhile, issues such as energy supply and resource scarcity are becoming increasingly important, but no current regulations address these challenges. To go further than climate change, five impact categories are studied: global warming potential, abiotic depletion potential – fossil fuels, consumption of primary non-renewable energy, transport distances, and abiotic depletion potential – elements. These categories are used to rank 11 insulation materials: polyurethane, expanded polystyrene, extruded polystyrene, rock wool, glass wool, hemp concrete, hemp wool, cellulose wadding, straw, semi-rigid wood fiber, and rigid wood fiber. For this purpose, we analyzed 664 Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) from the French EPD database, using a functional unit of 1 m² of insulation with an R-value of 5 m²•K/W. It appears that bio-based materials generally performed better than conventional ones across all five impact categories. However, the ranking based on the five indicators provided a nuanced view of the ranking solely based on the global warming potential and did not significantly alter the overall ranking.
Toward sustainable urban health: defining hospital outdoor spaces for community well-being
Authors: Bertelli Matteo , Cristiana Palazzo Angela , Gibertoni Chiara , Rainaldi Francesco , Gaspari Jacopo
Published: October 2024

The challenges that Bologna is facing belonging to the 100-carbon neutral city list are largely related to the quality of its urban fabric. The site hosting the IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero - Universitaria di Bologna Policlinico di Sant’Orsola represents one of the largest green areas of the city. The renovation plan the hospital has launched represents an opportunity to contribute to the city’s sustainability goals and to enhance the value of the hospital’s outdoor spaces for users. The hospital experiences over 20, 000 accesses per day, with a significant proportion of these being for work or medical visits; the informal use of outdoor spaces often leads to tensions among users with diverse needs, discouraging access and depriving individuals of potential benefits that could be derived from spending time outdoors. Reflecting the management’s commitment towards two of the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Good Health and Well-being (SDG 3) and Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11), the hospital created a design team with the cooperation of the University of Bologna to research the technical and functional requirements for adapting outdoor spaces to meet the needs of users. The research is based on a human-centred design approach while the methods are grounded in Service Design practices.
Integration of cognitive dynamics in the project to address the challenges of climate change.
Authors: Mastrolonardo Luciana , Candeloro Giulia
Published: October 2024

This study addresses the pressing need for methodological innovation in response to climate change, with a particular focus on integrating cognitive dynamics with environmental design. The study is grounded in the theories of Extended Mind and Embodied Cognition, and proposes a novel approach that transcends traditional views. This approach uses innovation diagrams to analyse and integrate the physical and social environment as active elements of the cognitive process. The systemic approach is designed to develop practical tools and frameworks for the design of resilient and sustainable urban spaces that enhance human-environment interactions. The project not only seeks to provide new methodological insights but also fosters a holistic view that incorporates ecological sustainability in architectural and urban planning, thereby better addressing global environmental challenges.
An Infrastructure’s emissions assessment tool: AMICO - Account Method of Infrastructures embodied CarbOn
Authors: Quaglio Benedetta , Gallina Federica , Giordano Roberto
Published: October 2024

In 2013, the UK Infrastructure Carbon Review report highlighted how the infrastructure sector contributed to the national total emissions and, therefore, had a key role in contributing to the national reduction, adopting targeted strategies to reduce them. The main objective of AMICO’s research project: “Account Method of Infrastructures embodied CarbOn”, is the development of a tool for the analysis and parametric evaluation of carbon emissions (Embodied Carbon, EC) and energy resource requirements (Embodied Energy, EE) related to the design and construction of infrastructures (railway tunnels, bridges, highways …) AMICO tool is designed to be used for tendering, contract start-up and construction of infrastructure by Webuild Group (Italian Joint Stock Company) as part of a research project funded by MIMIT - Ministry of Business and Made in Italy, with the scientific support of the Politecnico di Torino (Department of Architecture and Design).

AMICO aims to assess potential impacts in terms of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and potential primary energy resource needs over the infrastructure life cycle and at different design process stages, allowing designers and constructors to evaluate decarbonisation in their choices. AMICO is currently organised into two calculation models:

1. An Excel spreadsheet file, divided into worksheets containing algorithms for accounting of EC and EE, organised into two usage models: Basic, which will be used for tenders and the early design stage, and Advanced, which will be used in the detailed design or construction stage.

2. A code for the BIM environment that accounts for impacts (EE and EC) related to infrastructure systems (as defined by UNICLASS) combined and concurrently with design in the BIM environment (this section is not the focus of this paper).

An innovation aspect is sharing a database of environmental data about materials and processes (transportation, construction, demolition) directly related to the Bill of Quantity without using Life Cycle Assessment software. The database will be integrated into the Datalake to speed up and optimise infrastructure design and construction work. You can set the database to the location of the work. Through data digitisation, AMICO is designed to be as automated, easy to fill in, and intuitive as possible.
The mitigation potential of environmental compensations: a challenge for the carbon neutrality transition
Authors: Mussinelli Elena , Tartaglia Andrea , Castaldo Giovanni , Riva Raffaella , Cerati Davide , Sereni Annamaria
Published: October 2024

Carbon neutrality targets introduced at European level set new challenges for the built environment’s transformation. By considering the entire lifecycle of buildings, the integration of nature-based solutions (NBS) into design is increasingly necessary, but sometimes not sufficient to balance CO2 emissions, opening up the need for compensations. Environmental systems are also subject to new anthropogenic pressures arising from urbanisation processes and the effects of climate change. In the face of an increasingly widespread compensatory model based on the carbon credits market, the paper intends to demonstrate the structural, mitigating and regenerative role of environmental compensations, when adequately planned and applied in a site-specific way, in the contexts directly and indirectly affected by interventions. The paper presents an ongoing research activity in which environmental compensations has been quantified and evaluated in their mitigation potential. The added value of the study is the provision of a methodological framework for the quantification of environmental compensations and for the measurement of the contribution of NBS to the achievement of carbon neutrality and their optimal localisation for the improvement of environmental quality.
EU building stock characterization for whole life cycle assessment: Data challenges and key insights
Authors: Pristerà Giulia , Ramon Delphine , Röck Martin , Dalla Valle Anna , Giorgi Serena , Verhaeghe Robine , Lavagna Monica , Allacker Karen
Published: October 2024

The building sector plays an important role in achieving the climate objectives of the EU Green Deal. While prioritizing measures to reduce operational energy and GHG emissions has proven beneficial, it has shifted burdens by increasing embodied emissions. Quantifying and regulating emissions throughout the entire building life cycle is therefore crucial. An ongoing DG GROW project is investigating strategies to reduce life cycle GHG emissions within the EU. Various steps are being carried out to achieve the research goals: identification of data needs and sources, baseline analysis of the existing whole life carbon emissions of the EU building stock, modelling of future scenarios. This paper elaborates on the building stock characterization, demonstrating innovation through its level of granularity. Firstly, key data sources are chosen to provide the desired granularity. Secondly, archetypes are defined based on the data sources. Thirdly, attributes are chosen to describe the building stock in terms of geometry, building element composition, energy use, etc. The paper concludes by discussing challenges related to collecting attribute information and managing data gaps. The insights derived offer valuable recommendations for establishing a future data repository dedicated to environmental LCA of the EU building stock.
Productivity forecasting of the solar still with phase change material using LSTM and GRU neural networks
Authors: Kateshia Jyotin , Lakhera Vikas J
Published: October 2024

Solar desalination is one of the renewable energy techniques by which freshwater can be obtained economically. Solar desalination experiments are time and resource-consuming methods; hence there is a need for a robust system to identify the serviceability of the solar still in a specific region. The objective of the present study is to develop a forecasting model using artificial neural networks to predict freshwater productivity. Specifically, the study aims to compare the accuracy of Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) and Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) neural networks in forecasting the productivity of Conventional Solar Stills (CSS) and Solar Stills with Phase Change Material (SSPCM). Additionally, the research seeks to analyze the impact of advanced materials, such as phase change materials (PCM) and pin fins, on solar still productivity; determine which neural network model provides more accurate and reliable forecasts for different solar still designs; and contribute to the optimization of solar still implementations by developing predictive models applicable to diverse geographical regions. The current investigation involved analysing the experimental outcomes of a solar still that employed phase change material (PCM) and pin fins. Palmitic acid was implemented as the energy storage material and was placed beneath the absorber plate. The neural network model was trained and validated using time-series solar still experimental data. Different statistical measures were utilised to evaluate the accuracy of Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) and Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU). The results indicate that the freshwater productivity forecasted by LSTM exhibited greater accuracy than GRU. Specifically, the coefficient of determination values for LSTM were 0.96 and 0.98 for the CSS and SSPCM, respectively, which were higher than the corresponding values for GRU.
Cluster-efficient pangenome graph construction with nf-core/pangenome
Authors: Heumos Simon , Heuer Michael L , Hanssen Friederike , Heumos Lukas , Guarracino Andrea , Heringer Peter , Ehmele Philipp , Prins Pjotr , Garrison Erik , Nahnsen Sven
Published: October 2024

Motivation

Pangenome graphs offer a comprehensive way of capturing genomic variability across multiple genomes. However, current construction methods often introduce biases, excluding complex sequences or relying on references. The PanGenome Graph Builder (PGGB) addresses these issues. To date, though, there is no state-of-the-art pipeline allowing for easy deployment, efficient and dynamic use of available resources, and scalable usage at the same time.

Results

To overcome these limitations, we present nf-core/pangenome, a reference-unbiased approach implemented in Nextflow following nf-core’s best practices. Leveraging biocontainers ensures portability and seamless deployment in High-Performance Computing (HPC) environments. Unlike PGGB, nf-core/pangenome distributes alignments across cluster nodes, enabling scalability. Demonstrating its efficiency, we constructed pangenome graphs for 1000 human chromosome 19 haplotypes and 2146 Escherichia coli sequences, achieving a two to threefold speedup compared to PGGB without increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

Availability and implementation

nf-core/pangenome is released under the MIT open-source license, available on GitHub and Zenodo, with documentation accessible at https://nf-co.re/pangenome/docs/usage.
Cleavage-Stage Embryo Segmentation Using SAM-Based Dual Branch Pipeline: Development and Evaluation with the CleavageEmbryo Dataset
Authors: Zhang Chensheng , Shi Xintong , Yin Xinyue , Sun Jiayi , Zhao Jianhui , Zhang Yi
Published: October 2024

Motivation

Embryo selection is one of the critical factors in determining the success of pregnancy in in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures. Using artificial intelligence to aid in embryo selection could effectively address the current time-consuming, expensive, subjectively influenced process of embryo assessment by trained embryologists. However, current deep learning-based methods often focus on blastocyst segmentation, grading, or predicting cell development via time-lapse videos, often overlooking morphokinetic parameters or lacking interpretability. Given the significance of both morphokinetic and morphological evaluation in predicting the implantation potential of cleavage-stage embryos, as emphasized by previous research, there is a necessity for an automated method to segment cleavage-stage embryos to improve this process.

Results

In this article, we introduce the SAM-based Dual Branch Segmentation Pipeline for automated segmentation of blastomeres in cleavage-stage embryos. Leveraging the powerful segmentation capability of SAM, the instance branch conducts instance segmentation of blastomeres, while the semantic branch performs semantic segmentation of fragments. Due to the lack of publicly available datasets, we construct the CleavageEmbryo dataset, the first dataset of human cleavage-stage embryos with pixel-level annotations containing fragment information. We train and test a series of state-of-the-art segmentation algorithms on CleavageEmbryo. Our experiments demonstrate that our method outperforms existing algorithms in terms of objective metrics (mAP 0.748 on blastomeres, Dice 0.694 on fragments) and visual quality, enabling more accurate segmentation of cleavage-stage embryos.

Availability and Implementation

The code and sample data in this study can be found at: Https://github.com/12austincc/Cleavage-StageEmbryoSegmentation.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
THI1 Gene Evolutionary Trends: A Comprehensive Plant-Focused Assessment via Data Mining and Large-Scale Analysis
Authors: Dias Henrique Moura , de Toledo Naiara Almeida , Mural Ravi V , Schnable James C , Van Sluys Marie-Anne
Published: October 2024

Molecular evolution analysis typically involves identifying selection pressure and reconstructing evolutionary trends. This process usually requires access to specific data related to a target gene or gene family within a particular group of organisms. While recent advancements in high-throughput sequencing techniques have resulted in the rapid accumulation of extensive genomics and transcriptomics data and the creation of new databases in public repositories, extracting valuable insights from such vast data sets remains a significant challenge for researchers. Here, we elucidated the evolutionary history of THI1, a gene responsible for encoding thiamine thiazole synthase. The thiazole ring is a precursor for vitamin B1 and a crucial cofactor in primary metabolic pathways. A thorough search of complete genomes available within public repositories reveals 702 THI1 homologs of Archaea and Eukarya. Throughout its diversification, the plant lineage has preserved the THI1 gene by incorporating the N-terminus and targeting the chloroplasts. Likewise, evolutionary pressures and lifestyle appear to be associated with retention of TPP riboswitch sites and consequent dual posttranscriptional regulation of the de novo biosynthesis pathway in basal groups. Multicopy retention of THI1 is not a typical plant pattern, even after successive genome duplications. Examining cis-regulatory sites in plants uncovers two shared motifs across all plant lineages. A data mining of 484 transcriptome data sets supports the THI1 homolog expression under a light/dark cycle response and a tissue-specific pattern. Finally, the work presented brings a new look at public repositories as an opportunity to explore evolutionary trends to THI1.