scholarly journals The Function of Paraventricular Thalamic Circuitry in Adaptive Control of Feeding Behavior

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gorica D. Petrovich
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Behavior ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Hippocampal Formation ◽  
Energy State ◽  
Energy Resources ◽  
Behavioral Choice ◽  
Cortical Areas ◽  
Prefrontal Cortical ◽  
Set Up

The paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) is a complex area that is uniquely embedded across the core feeding, reward, arousal, and stress circuits. The PVT role in the control of feeding behavior is discussed here within a framework of adaptive behavioral guidance based on the body’s energy state and competing drives. The survival of an organism depends on bodily energy resources and promotion of feeding over other behaviors is adaptive except when in danger or sated. The PVT is structurally set up to respond to homeostatic and hedonic needs to feed, and to integrate those signals with physiological and environmental stress, as well as anticipatory needs and other cognitive inputs. It can regulate both food foraging (seeking) and consumption and may balance their expression. The PVT is proposed to accomplish these functions through a network of connections with the brainstem, hypothalamic, striatal, and cortical areas. The connectivity of the PVT further indicates that it could broadcast the information about energy use/gain and behavioral choice to impact cognitive processes—learning, memory, and decision-making—through connections with the medial and lateral prefrontal cortical areas, the hippocampal formation, and the amygdala. The PVT is structurally complex and recent evidence for specific PVT pathways in different aspects of feeding behavior will be discussed.

scholarly journals Expansion of renewable energy resources and energyconscious behaviour at the University of Szeged

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 ◽  
pp. 03006 ◽  
Author(s):  
László Gyarmati
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Energy Resources ◽  
Solar Panels ◽  
Renewable Energy Resources ◽  
Investment Planning ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Natural Energy ◽  
Technological Developments ◽  
The University

At the University of Szeged, as the greenest University of Hungary, the sustainability project is built on two pillars. One of them is based on events and communication campaigns held regularly for the University citizens to prompt environmental-conscious behaviour, whereas the other is built on technological developments and on the extensive use of renewable energy resources. Thus the development of built environment and social responsibility both support the adequacy to sustainability requirements. The spreading of the effective solutions to making more and more buildings of the University energy efficient, numerous investments using renewable energy are also responsible for the decrease of the natural energy use of the institution contrary to the fact that the number of the buildings of the University of Szeged is continually increasing. It can be stated that the University of Szeged is committed to using renewable energy which is taken into consideration of each investment planning. The following examples confirm it: using geothermal cascade system for heating and cooling of five university bulidings, solar panels on 24 builidings and a unique technology of using the heat of wastewater to cool and heat one of the main bulidings of the university, namely the Study and Information Centre.

scholarly journals FIRST STEPS TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED CITYGML-BASED 3D MODEL OF VIENNA

2016 ◽  
Vol III-4 ◽  
pp. 139-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Agugiaro
Keyword(s):  
Energy Use ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
3D City Model ◽  
First Results ◽  
Sustainable Energy Systems ◽  
City Model ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The City ◽  
City Models

This paper presents and discusses the results regarding the initial steps (selection, analysis, preparation and eventual integration of a number of datasets) for the creation of an integrated, semantic, three-dimensional, and CityGML-based virtual model of the city of Vienna. CityGML is an international standard conceived specifically as information and data model for semantic city models at urban and territorial scale. It is being adopted by more and more cities all over the world. <br><br> The work described in this paper is embedded within the European Marie-Curie ITN project “Ci-nergy, Smart cities with sustainable energy systems”, which aims, among the rest, at developing urban decision making and operational optimisation software tools to minimise non-renewable energy use in cities. Given the scope and scale of the project, it is therefore vital to set up a common, unique and spatio-semantically coherent urban model to be used as information hub for all applications being developed. This paper reports about the experiences done so far, it describes the test area and the available data sources, it shows and exemplifies the data integration issues, the strategies developed to solve them in order to obtain the integrated 3D city model. The first results as well as some comments about their quality and limitations are presented, together with the discussion regarding the next steps and some planned improvements.

scholarly journals The endocannabinoid system in modulating fear, anxiety, and stress

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 229-239
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Disorders ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Endocannabinoid System ◽  
Brain Structures ◽  
Therapeutic Implications ◽  
Cortical Areas ◽  
Prefrontal Cortical ◽  
Pathophysiological Role

The endocannabinoid system is widely expressed in the limbic system, prefrontal cortical areas, and brain structures regulating neuroendocrine stress responses, which explains the key role of this system in the control of emotions. In this review, we update recent advances on the function of the endocannabinoid system in determining the value of fear-evoking stimuli and promoting appropriate behavioral responses for stress resilience. We also review the alterations in the activity of the endocannabinoid system during fear, stress, and anxiety, and the pathophysiological role of each component of this system in the control of these protective emotional responses that also trigger pathological emotional disorders. In spite of all the evidence, we have not yet taken advantage of the therapeutic implications of this important role of the endocannabinoid system, and possible future strategies to improve the treatment of these emotional disorders are discussed.

scholarly journals Renewable energy resources in the EU (Policy scenario)

2013 ◽  
pp. 143-146
Author(s):  
Orsolya Nagy
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
European Union ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Biomass Energy ◽  
Energy Resources ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Renewable Energy Resources ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Eu

The use of renewable energies has a long past, even though its share of the total energy use is rather low in European terms. However, the tendencies are definitely favourable which is further strengthened by the dedication of the European Union to sustainable development and combat against climate change. The European Union is on the right track in achieving its goal which is to be able to cover 20% its energy need from renewable energy resources by 2020. The increased use of wind, solar, water, tidal, geothermal and biomass energy will reduce the energy import dependence of the European Union and it will stimulate innovation.

Harmonized web-based information systems for shallow geothermal energy use in Austria

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cornelia Steiner ◽  
Gregor Goetzl ◽  
Martin Fuchsluger ◽  
Alexander Rehbogen
Keyword(s):  
Geothermal Energy ◽  
Role Model ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Green Energy ◽  
Energy Resources ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
Information Platform ◽  
Groundwater Availability ◽  
Shallow Geothermal Energy ◽  
Cover Ratio

<p>Neither regional development, construction projects nor infrastructure development – structural planning does not fully consider energy supply in Austria (yet). The project “Spatial Energy Planning for Heat Transition” is part of the research initiative “Green Energy Lab”, which has a project life-time from June 2018 to May 2021. It aims to provide a sound basis for the integration of heat in private and public planning processes and for the implementation of the energy infrastructure of the future together with energy providers.</p><p>Three Austrian states (Vienna, Styria and Salzburg), their capital cities and pilot-municipalities of all scales work together to provide all information necessary for the implementation of spatial heat-planning – as role model for Austria and other European countries. The GIS-based web-tool “heat-atlas” will provide this harmonized data and serve an information platform for project developers as well as for regional planning, fostering a sustainable use of all available sustainable energy resources and infrastructures to their full extent. The system of the information platform is arbitrarily scalable and is aimed to be expanded to other interested regions of Austria on demand.</p><p>One part of this “heat-atlas” is about shallow geothermal energy and covers vertical closed loop and open loop systems. The Geological Survey of Austria developed new methods to estimate capacity and energy resources as well as to show possible limitations of shallow geothermal energy use on property level. The resource calculations combine location-specific parameters such as thermal conductivity, underground temperature and groundwater availability with system-specific parameters such as mode of operation, operational hours, geometry and threshold values demanded by official regulations.</p><p>The method provides not only information about the maximum amount of energy available on the property, but also about the cover ratio of the demand. So called level-1 maps show the resources for standardized well-doublets and borehole heat exchangers independently of the property. The calculations for level-2 maps consider site-specific properties such as heating and cooling demand, operational hours and size of the property. This enables the estimation of the overall energy resources and the cover ratio of the property.</p><p>The results are shown as maps and as location specific query, which gives a concise summary of all relevant information for one location in form of an automatically generated report. More information about the project is available at http://www.waermeplanung.at/.</p>

scholarly journals Numerical study of various geometries of breakwaters for the installation of floating wind turbines

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyvan Esmaeelpour ◽  
Rouzbeh Shafaghat ◽  
Rezvan Alamian ◽  
Rasoul Bayani
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Energy Resources ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Offshore Wind Turbine ◽  
Renewable Energy Resources ◽  
Time Step ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Right

The everyday growing populations all over the world and the necessity of increase in consumption of fossil energies have made the human to discover new energy resources, which are clean, cheap and renewable. Wind energy is one of the renewable energy resources. Considerable wind speed has made settling of wind turbines at sea beneficial and appealing. For this purpose, choosing the appropriate plates to set up wind turbines on the surface of sea is necessary. Regarding the installation condition, by choosing suitable geometry for floating breakwaters, offshore wind turbine can be mounted on them. Suitable geometry of breakwater for multifunctional usage could be selected with analyzing and comparing pressure, force and moment produced by incoming waves. In this article, we implement boundary element method to solve governing differential equations by assuming potential flow. On the other hand, for promoting free surface in each time step, we employed Euler-Lagrangian method. Finally, to find the appropriate geometry for installing the wind turbine on the breakwater, moment and wave profile next to the right and left side of breakwater body are calculated. Among simulated geometries, breakwater with trapezoid geometry which its larger base is placed in the water has more sustainability and it is the most suitable geometry for wind turbine installation.

scholarly journals Cytoarchitectonic and chemoarchitectonic characterization of the prefrontal cortical areas in the mouse

2010 ◽  
Vol 214 (4) ◽  
pp. 339-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. J. J. M. Van De Werd ◽  
G. Rajkowska ◽  
P. Evers ◽  
Harry B. M. Uylings
Keyword(s):  
Cortical Areas ◽  
Prefrontal Cortical

Arcuate Na+,K+-ATPase senses systemic energy states and regulates feeding behavior through glucose-inhibited neurons

2015 ◽  
Vol 309 (4) ◽  
pp. E320-E333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hideharu Kurita ◽  
Kai Y. Xu ◽  
Yuko Maejima ◽  
Masanori Nakata ◽  
Katsuya Dezaki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Behavior ◽  
Energy State ◽  
Glucose Lowering ◽  
First Order ◽  
Obesity And Diabetes ◽  
Metabolic States ◽  
Pump Activity ◽  
Single Arc ◽  
Energy States ◽  
Agouti Related Protein

Feeding is regulated by perception in the hypothalamus, particularly the first-order arcuate nucleus (ARC) neurons, of the body's energy state. However, the cellular device for converting energy states to the activity of critical neurons in ARC is less defined. We here show that Na+,K+-ATPase (NKA) in ARC senses energy states to regulate feeding. Fasting-induced systemic ghrelin rise and glucose lowering reduced ATP-hydrolyzing activity of NKA and its substrate ATP level, respectively, preferentially in ARC. Lowering glucose concentration (LG), which mimics fasting, decreased intracellular NAD(P)H and increased Na+ concentration in single ARC neurons that subsequently exhibited [Ca2+]i responses to LG, showing that they were glucose-inhibited (GI) neurons. Third ventricular injection of the NKA inhibitor ouabain induced c-Fos expression in agouti-related protein (AgRP) neurons in ARC and evoked neuropeptide Y (NPY)-dependent feeding. When injected focally into ARC, ouabain stimulated feeding and mRNA expressions for NPY and AgRP. Ouabain increased [Ca2+]i in single NPY/AgRP neurons with greater amplitude than in proopiomelanocortin neurons in ARC. Conversely, the specific NKA activator SSA412 suppressed fasting-induced feeding and LG-induced [Ca2+]i increases in ARC GI neurons. NPY/AgRP neurons highly expressed NKAα3, whose knockdown impaired feeding behavior. These results demonstrate that fasting, via ghrelin rise and LG, suppresses NKA enzyme/pump activity in ARC and thereby promotes the activation of GI neurons and NPY/AgRP-dependent feeding. This study identifies ARC NKA as a hypothalamic sensor and converter of metabolic states to key neuronal activity and feeding behaviour, providing a new target to treat hyperphagic obesity and diabetes.

A modeling approach for low-temperature SOFC-based micro-combined heat and power systems

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (04) ◽  
pp. 1950001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fida Hussain ◽  
M. Ashfaq Ahmad ◽  
Saeed Badshah ◽  
Rizwan Raza ◽  
M. Ajmal Khan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Power Systems ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Economic Assessment ◽  
Combined Heat And Power ◽  
Hydrogen Gas ◽  
Energy Resources ◽  
Efficient System ◽  
Operating Strategies ◽  
End Use ◽  
Chp System

The world’s challenge is to determine a more efficient, economical and environmental-friendly energy source to compete and replace the ongoing conventional energy resources. Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) provide a highly efficient system to use divergent energy resources and have proved to provide the cleanest energy, least energy use, and lowest emissions. A techno-economic study is required to investigate the model design for SOFC-based micro-combined heat and power (m-CHP) systems for applications in terms of educational and commercial buildings. This work models and explores the optimized application of hydrogen gas-fueled SOFC-based m-CHP systems in educational buildings. Two educational departments’ loads are presented and model of SOFC-based m-CHP system against the different electric power demands is performed, in order to provide a techno-economic assessment of the technology. For successful development of the technology, results are related to system rightsizing, operating strategies, thermal to electric ratios, and match between end-use, with an aim towards classifying the overall feasibility and essential application requirements.

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