scholarly journals The Role of Climate Control in Monogastric Animal Farming: The Effects on Animal Welfare, Air Emissions, Productivity, Health, and Energy Use

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (20) ◽  
pp. 9549
Author(s):  
Andrea Costantino ◽  
Enrico Fabrizio ◽  
Salvador Calvet
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Air Emissions ◽  
Indoor Climate ◽  
Climate Control ◽  
Mutual Relations

In the last decades, an engineering process has deeply transformed livestock houses by introducing fine-tuned climate control systems to guarantee adequate indoor climate conditions needed to express the maximum genetic potential of animals and to increase their productivity. Climate control, hence, has strong relation with productivity but also with other livestock production domains, outlining a web of mutual relations between them. The objective of this work is to understand the actual role of climate control in intensive livestock houses by unpicking this web of mutual relations through a literature review. The results show that climate control plays a key role in intensive livestock houses since it has strong relations with animal welfare, air emissions, productivity, health, and energy use. These relations make it essential to adopt an integrated approach for the assessment of the effectiveness of any proposed improvement in the different domains of livestock production. This is especially true considering aspects such as the expected increase of livestock production in developing countries and global warming. For this purpose, integrated climate control models of livestock houses are needed, representing a challenging opportunity for performing investigations in this research field.

Twelve Years of Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings in Sweden

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 41-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Claesson ◽  
Tor Broström
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Historic Buildings ◽  
Indoor Climate ◽  
Climate Control ◽  
Energy Agency ◽  
Long Term Effect ◽  
Research Challenge ◽  
Technical Solutions

Abstract The Swedish National Research programme for Energy Efficiency in historic buildings was initiated in 2006 by the Swedish Energy Agency. This article gives an overview of the programme: objectives, projects and the general results of the programme. The research programme aims to develop knowledge, methods and technical solutions that contribute to energy efficiency in historically valuable buildings without destroying or damaging the historical value of the buildings, including decoration, furnishings, interiors or equipment. The programme is not limited to listed and monumental buildings but covers a wider range of historic buildings that account for a large part of the energy use in the building sector. For one and two-family houses, around 25 % of the energy use is associated with buildings built before 1945. The same number for multifamily houses is around 15 %. The programme is currently in its third consecutive four-year-stage. Previous four-year-stages were completed in 2010 and 2014. Over time, the scope of the programme and the projects have developed from mainly dealing with indoor climate control in monumental buildings towards addressing more general issues in the much larger stock of non-listed buildings. Technical research, based on quantitative analysis, dominate throughout all three stages, however most projects have had interdisciplinary components. The results from the programme have been presented in 31 journal papers, 67 conference papers, five books and five PhD theses. The projects have also contributed to CEN standards and resulted in a number of Bachelors and Master’s theses. An equally important long-term effect of the programme is that the number of Swedish researchers in the field have increased from practically none in 2007 to 18 senior researchers and twelve PhD students from ten universities in 2014. The research programme on Energy Efficiency in historic buildings is unique in an international context. Hopefully it can serve as an example for other countries on how to address an important interdisciplinary research challenge.

scholarly journals Energy and the Evolution of Farming Systems: The Potential of Mixed Farming in the Moist Savannah of Sub-Saharan Africa

1996 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Jabbar
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Population Pressure ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Mixed Farming ◽  
Sub Saharan

The moist savannah zone in sub-Saharan Africa is regarded as a high potential area for crop and livestock production. Currently, human labour is the principal source of power for crop production and the level of commercial energy use is very low. Agropastoralism and pastoralism are the principal methods of livestock production. Crop-livestock mixed farming, in which manure and animal power are important energy sources in the production process, is only now emerging. The integration of crops and livestock and the implications for agricultural energy sources are related to population pressure and labour intensity, the intensification of crop production with and without livestock, the role of traction in general and in specific niches, the contribution of livestock to the development process in terms of food or other inputs, and the role of public policy and intervention in development.

scholarly journals SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION: THEMATIC EVOLUTION FROM 1999 TO 20191

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
ANGELICA C. M. ARAÚJO ◽  
VERÔNICA M. OLIVEIRA ◽  
SUZANNE E. N. CORREIA
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Sustainable Consumption ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
Environmental Aspects ◽  
Dynamic Approach ◽  
Clustering Techniques ◽  
Social Nature

ABSTRACT Purpose: Analyze the thematic evolution of the research field on sustainable consumption from 1999 to 2019. Originality/value: The study advances the understanding of the development of the research field on sustainable consumption, analyzing the main publications and topics covered. Design/methodology/approach: Systematic literature review through a bibliometric study with analysis based on citations supported by the CitNetExplorer software, using core publication and clustering techniques. Two hundred sixty-four articles were analyzed. Findings: The most recent publications converge on the need to change the current patterns and levels of consumption and to engage dif- ferent stakeholders in participatory and co-creation processes. Also, the existence of five research clusters was identified, namely: 1. eco-efficiency with a focus on greening the market; 2. consumer behavior with an emphasis on encouraging the purchase of green products; 3. social nature of consumption that inserts the sociological perspective; 4. dynamic approach for considering the interdisciplinarity of the field; and 5. the role of education for sustainable consumption. The various themes found reveal contributions from different areas of knowledge and the importance of developing research that integrates the dynamics of the challenges to achieve sustainable consumption. We emphasize the need for an integrated approach due to the inherent complexity of the theme that involves economic, technological, political, social, psychological, and environmental aspects for governance in favor of sustainable consumption.

Muscovy and the Tatars

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 403-431
Author(s):  
Bulat R. Rakhimzianov
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
The Political ◽  
East European ◽  
Central Eurasia ◽  
History Of ◽  
Mutual Relations ◽  
Forest Line ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract This article explores relations between Muscovy and the so-called Later Golden Horde successor states that existed during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries on the territory of Desht-i Qipchaq (the Qipchaq Steppe, a part of the East European steppe bounded roughly by the Oskol and Tobol rivers, the steppe-forest line, and the Caspian and Aral Seas). As a part of, and later a successor to, the Juchid ulus (also known as the Golden Horde), Muscovy adopted a number of its political and social institutions. The most crucial events in the almost six-century-long history of relations between Muscovy and the Tatars (13–18th centuries) were the Mongol invasion of the Northern, Eastern and parts of the Southern Rus’ principalities between 1237 and 1241, and the Muscovite annexation of the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates between 1552 and 1556. According to the model proposed here, the Tatars began as the dominant partner in these mutual relations; however, from the beginning of the seventeenth century this role was gradually inverted. Indicators of a change in the relationship between the Muscovite grand principality and the Golden Horde can be found in the diplomatic contacts between Muscovy and the Tatar khanates. The main goal of the article is to reveal the changing position of Muscovy within the system of the Later Golden Horde successor states. An additional goal is to revisit the role of the Tatar khanates in the political history of Central Eurasia in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

scholarly journals A Study on the Integration of Resilience and Smart City Concepts in Urban Systems

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Anastasia Tzioutziou ◽  
Yiannis Xenidis
Keyword(s):  
Smart City ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Urban Systems ◽  
City Management ◽  
Urban Resilience ◽  
Continuous Growth ◽  
Management And Development ◽  
The Many ◽  
Development And Management

The continuous growth of cities brings out various concerns for improved development and management of the multifaceted urban systems, including those of resilience and smartness. Despite the many significant efforts in the research field, both notions remain changeable, thus retaining the lack of commonly accepted conceptual and terminological frameworks. The paper’s research goals are to designate the current direct and indirect links in the conceptualizations and research trends of the resilience and smart city frameworks and to prove the potential of the conceptual convergence between them in the context of urban systems. The application of a semi-systematic literature review, including bibliometric evidence and followed by content analysis, has led to the observation that as the resilience discourse opens up to embrace other dimensions, including technology, the smart city research turns its interest to the perspective of urban protection. Therefore, both concepts share the goal for urban sustainability realized through specific capacities and processes and operationalized with the deployment of technology. The paper’s findings suggest that the conceptual and operational foundations of these two concepts could support the emergence of an integrated framework. Such a prospect acknowledges the instrumental role of the smart city approach in the pursuit of urban resilience and unfolds a new model for sustainable city management and development.

Role of CEUS in Vascular Pathology

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vito Cantisani ◽  
Nicola Di Leo ◽  
Emanuele David ◽  
Dirk-André Clevert
Keyword(s):  
Research Field ◽  
Arterial System ◽  
Qualitative Assessment ◽  
Vascular Pathology ◽  
New Horizons ◽  
Contrast Enhanced ◽  
Inflammatory Infiltrates ◽  
Time Evaluation

AbstractIn recent years, the implementation of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in clinical practice has opened new horizons in the arterial pathologies research field, since this technique is able to supply new sets of data that can be crucial in patient management. The main applications of CEUS in the arterial system are the detection, characterization, and follow-up of carotid plaques and endoleaks after EVAR. Other situations in which CEUS was demonstrated to be a useful tool are large vessel vasculitis, dissections, and untreated aneurysms. In carotid atherosclerosis CEUS is not only able to acquire quantitative data about stenosis but also to perform a qualitative assessment of the plaque. The most important plaque features that CEUS is able to depict are ulceration, neovascularization, and the presence of inflammatory infiltrates. All of these factors contribute to plaque vulnerability. Thus, CEUS is crucial in order to allow better risk stratification and management of patients. In follow-up after EVAR, CEUS shows sensitivity and specificity values similar to CTA while ensuring several advantages, such as lower cost and the absence of ionizing radiation and nephrotoxic agents. Moreover, CEUS is able to offer real-time evaluation of endoleaks and thus is a useful tool in cases that are ambiguous on CTA. Most limitations are patient-related and are the same as in all other ultrasound techniques, such as high BMI and meteorism.

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