Outcome‐based ventilation: A framework for assessing performance,health, and energy impacts to inform office building ventilation decisions

This article presents an outcome‐based ventilation (OBV) framework, which combines competing ventilation impacts into a monetized loss function ($/occ/h) used to inform ventilation rate decisions. The OBV framework, developed for U.S. offices, considers six outcomes of increasing ventilation: profitable outcomes realized from improvements in occupant work performance and sick leave absenteeism; health outcomes from occupant exposure to outdoor fine particles and ozone; and energy outcomes from electricity and natural gas usage. We used the literature to set low, medium, and high reference values for OBV loss function parameters, and evaluated the framework and outcome‐based ventilation rates using a simulated U.S. office stock dataset and a case study in New York City. With parameters for all outcomes set at medium values derived from literature‐based central estimates, higher ventilation rates’ profitable benefits dominated negative health and energy impacts, and the OBV framework suggested ventilation should be ≥45 L/s/occ, much higher than the baseline ~8.5 L/s/occ rate prescribed by ASHRAE 62.1. Only when combining very low parameter estimates for profitable impacts with very high ones for health and energy impacts were all outcomes on the same order. Even then, however, outcome‐based ventilation rates were often twice the baseline rate or more.     

Bifidobacterium bifidum YIT 10347 fermented milk exerts beneficial effects on gastrointestinal discomfort and symptoms in healthy adults: A double-blind,randomized, placebo-controlled study

In a preliminary open-label trial by our group, Bifidobacterium bifidum YIT 10347 (YIT10347) relieved gastric symptoms in patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders. Hence, in this study, we investigated the effects of YIT10347 on gastrointestinal symptoms in healthy adults. In this prospective double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial (UMIN000024654), 100 healthy Japanese adults were randomly assigned to a YIT10347 group or placebo group and consumed 100 mL of YIT10347-fermented milk or placebo fermented milk, respectively, every day for 4 wk. Gastrointestinal symptoms were evaluated by using the modified Frequency Scale for Symptoms of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (m-FSSG) and Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale (GSRS) as primary endpoints. Mental symptoms, quality of life, salivary stress markers, and gastric emptying were evaluated as secondary endpoints. Effectiveness and safety were analyzed in a per-protocol set (YIT10347 group, n = 39; placebo group, n = 40) and full analysis set (YIT10347 group, n = 50; placebo group, n = 50), respectively. In the m-FSSG evaluation, the YIT10347 group had a significantly higher relief rate of postprandial discomfort and greater changes in postprandial epigastric pain score from baseline than the placebo group. In the GSRS evaluation, the YIT10347 group had significantly higher relief rates of overall gastrointestinal symptoms, upper gastrointestinal symptoms, flatus, and diarrhea than the placebo group. We detected no significant differences in scores or relief rates of mental symptoms and quality of life, a salivary stress marker, or gastric emptying between the 2 groups. No severe adverse events associated with test beverage consumption were observed in either group. These findings suggest that daily consumption of YIT10347-fermented milk exerts beneficial effects on gastrointestinal discomfort and symptoms such as postprandial discomfort and epigastric pain in healthy adults.     

The structural variability of quarters and residential areas in the historical texture of the city of Yazd based on Islamic rules and jurisprudence: a case study of Golchinan quarter

According to many researchers and scholars, religious beliefs can be considered as the most influential factor in forming Muslim urban spaces and their architectural elements. In fact, historical cities reflect the culture and beliefs of their residences. Among all historical places in Iranian cities, the historical texture of the city of Yazd, especially the quarters since the age of Qajar dynasty, are well preserved. The present study aims at identifying the Islamic principles and values influencing the formation of architectural spaces and the extent of their applications in one of the historical quarters known as Golchinan. The results of the conformation of the theoretical findings with the data acquired from field studies revealed that almost 90% of the urban and architectural spaces (e.g. residential areas, mosques, bazaars, and pathways) in Yazd are directly influenced by Islamic principles. In other words, there is a strong conformity between the accepted Islamic values of the society and what actually was applied to urban constructions during Qajar dynasty.     

Large neighborhood search for the bike request scheduling problem

This paper introduces an efficient algorithm for the bike request scheduling problem (BRSP). The BRSP is built around the concept of request, defined as the pickup or dropoff of a number of identical items (bikes) at a specific station, within a certain time window, and with a certain priority. The aim of the BRSP is to sequence requests on (and hence determine the routes of) a set of vehicles, in such a way that the sum of the priorities of the executed requests is maximized, all time windows are respected, and the capacity of the vehicles is not exceeded. The generation of the set of requests is explicitly not a part of the problem definition of the BRSP. The primary application of the BRSP, from which it derives its name, is to determine the routes of a set of repositioning vehicles in a bike sharing system, although other applications exist. The algorithm introduced in this paper is based on a set of related greedy randomized adaptive search procedure followed by variable neighborhood descent (GRASP + VND) operators embedded in a large neighborhood search (LNS) framework. Since this paper presents the first heuristic for the BRSP, a computational comparison to existing approaches is not possible. We therefore compare the solutions found by our LNS heuristic to those found by an exact solver (Gurobi). These experiments confirm that the proposed algorithm scales to realistic dimensions and is able to find near‐optimal solutions in seconds.     

Creative clusters in the regeneration of Valletta and the cultural politics of Strait Street

The paper aims to unfold the narrative of development in a creative cluster project for the regeneration of Strait Street in Valletta, Malta. This is approached by first examining the distinctive, historically contentious background of the neighbourhood and, thereafter, unpacking the development narrative of policy documents and the discursive and material constructs about the creative city approach to regeneration strategies in the city. Using a ‘system-wide’ analytical framework, this material is then scrutinized to gain an understanding of the specificities involved and, finally, discuss the crucial features of the key dimensions elucidating the potential strengths and weaknesses of the case     

Systematic literature review on city logistics: overview,classification and analysis

City logistics is one of the significant branches of supply chain management, dealing with the logistics and transportation activities in urban areas. This research area has recently appropriated an exponential growth of publications. This paper presents a bibliometric analysis along with a systematic literature review to organise the results of surveying more than 370 papers and research works published since 2010. We identify the top contributing research topics. The most common keywords used in the city logistics literature are referred to in order to propose six research categories identifying the main innovative research perspectives.     

某工业园区大气PM_(2.5)中重金属污染特征

为了解玉溪市某工业园区大气PM_(2.5)中重金属污染特征,于2017年3月至2018年3月在玉溪市某工业园区采集PM_(2.5)样品共70个。利用微波消解,ICP-MS方法检测Cr、As、Cd、Pb四种重金属的质量浓度并分析其污染特征。结果表明,玉溪市某工业园区大气PM_(2.5)日均质量浓度在10μg·m~(-3)～75μg·m~(-3),而PM_(2.5)中四种重金属的浓度范围在0.003～0.377μg·m~(-3),并且浓度由高到低依次为PbAsCr Cd,其中As超过国家质量指标限值。因此,应对玉溪市废气排放采取一定控制措施。     

海绵城市建设PPP项目委托代理契约分析

针对海绵城市PPP(Public-Private Partnership)项目建设、运营管理问题,为了降低由于项目参与的各方掌握信息、地位的不对称而产生的道德风险、维护各参与方的合法权益,基于一定的前提假设,构建海绵城市建设PPP项目契约模型,利用优化理论分别从代理企业和政府方两个主体的效用对模型的各个参数相关关系进行了分析,并利用数值模拟讨论了监控机制各参数对政府方监控意愿的影响。最后,结合常德市海绵城市PPP项目建设的案例,分别分析在当前考核机制下项目在建设、运营期可能存在的问题,并提出了相应的对策以解决这些问题。结果表明:代理企业的监控和激励措施具有互补性,海绵工程项目风险来源广泛,企业为规避风险会偏好零风险的固定收益,设定监控机制能激励企业更加努力的工作。     

地表水与地下水耦合模型开发与验证!

鉴于研究地表水与地下水的相互作用及其分布规律可为"海绵城市"建设提供依据,对地表水与地下水的耦合模型进行了开发,在浅水模型的基础上增加地下水模块,并在连续性方程中添加源汇项,实现地表水与地下水垂向上的耦合,同时选用Green-Ampt模型计算地表水的下渗量。通过算例分析,将模型计算结果与数值试验及预期值进行对比,验证了模型的可行性。     

2014—2016年北京市市售食用植物油质量调查分析

对2014—2016年北京市市售食用植物油质量进行调查，分析食用植物油质量安全问题和存在的质量隐患，提出了我国食用植物油质量安全保障对策和建议。即加强生产过程控制及质量管理技术、提高和完善食用植物油标准体系、加强食用植物油质量安全监管力度和宣传普及教育。