Effect of Atrium Compare to Courtyard on Energy Demand and Daylight in Row Housed in Toronto

Row houses in cold climates with increased shared wall for energy efficiency, suffer from darker interior spaces. Addition of courtyards can solve this problem to some extent, but courtyards are responsible for higher energy consumption during winter. This study investigates an alternative option, i.e. converting courtyard into atrium during winter for assessing its energy and daylight performance in row houses in Toronto. Results are determined by using Design Builder software. Research shows, during winter atrium options in row houses can reduce energy consumption compared to courtyard, but at the same time daylit floor area above target illuminance is also reduced. However, bigger courtyard having large window to wall ratio, clear glazing for courtyard windows and low e coated glazing for skylight can create a balance between increased energy consumption and decreased daylighting inside the house to maximize the benefits from converting courtyard into atrium during winter in Toronto row houses.

Effect of Atrium Compare to Courtyard on Energy Demand and Daylight in Row Housed in Toronto

Row houses in cold climates with increased shared wall for energy efficiency, suffer from darker interior spaces. Addition of courtyards can solve this problem to some extent, but courtyards are responsible for higher energy consumption during winter. This study investigates an alternative option, i.e. converting courtyard into atrium during winter for assessing its energy and daylight performance in row houses in Toronto. Results are determined by using Design Builder software. Research shows, during winter atrium options in row houses can reduce energy consumption compared to courtyard, but at the same time daylit floor area above target illuminance is also reduced. However, bigger courtyard having large window to wall ratio, clear glazing for courtyard windows and low e coated glazing for skylight can create a balance between increased energy consumption and decreased daylighting inside the house to maximize the benefits from converting courtyard into atrium during winter in Toronto row houses.

Genome-wide discovery of G-quadruplexes in barley

G-quadruplexes (G4s) are four-stranded nucleic acid structures with closely spaced guanine bases forming square planar G-quartets. Aberrant formation of G4 structures has been associated with genomic instability. However, most plant species are lacking comprehensive studies of G4 motifs. In this study, genome-wide identification of G4 motifs in barley was performed, followed by a comparison of genomic distribution and molecular functions to other monocot species, such as wheat, maize, and rice. Similar to the reports on human and some plants like wheat, G4 motifs peaked around the 5′ untranslated region (5′ UTR), the first coding domain sequence, and the first intron start sites on antisense strands. Our comparative analyses in human, Arabidopsis, maize, rice, and sorghum demonstrated that the peak points could be erroneously merged into a single peak when large window sizes are used. We also showed that the G4 distributions around genic regions are relatively similar in the species studied, except in the case of Arabidopsis. G4 containing genes in monocots showed conserved molecular functions for transcription initiation and hydrolase activity. Additionally, we provided examples of imperfect G4 motifs.

An Improved Adaptive Weighted Mean Filtering Approach for Metallographic Image Processing

Background As noise brings great error in the analysis of metallographic images, an adaptive weighted mean filtering method proposed to overcome the shortcomings of the standard mean filtering method. Methods The method used to detect the pulse noise points in the image, and then the modified mean method used to filter out the detected noise points. Patents on metallographic image processing have discussed for the development of the proposed methodology. Results It is shown that filter window can be filtered in comparison with the conventional 3×3, 5×5 and 7×7 filt window to reduce noise detection and reduce the complexity of the weight calculation. Conclusion It can be concluded that this method can better protect the details of the image, has better filtering effect than the standard mean filtering, and its processing speed is faster than the median filtering of the large window, which has profound significance for the edge detection and processing of the metallographic image.

Influence of windowing and metal artefact reduction algorithms on the volumetric dimensions of five different high-density materials: a cone-beam CT study

Objective: To assess the influence of windowing and metal artefact reduction (MAR) algorithms on the volumetric dimensions of high-density materials using two CBCT systems. Methods: Four cylinders of amalgam, cobalt-chromium, gutta-percha, titanium and zirconium, were manufactured and their physical volumes (PV) were measured. A polymethyl methacrylate phantom containing the cylinders was submitted to CBCT acquisitions with Picasso Trio and OP300 units with their MAR enabled and disabled. The tomographic volume (TV) of all the cylinders was obtained by semi-automatic segmentation using two windowing adjustments: W1—large window width and upper window level; W2—narrow window width and low window level. Volumetric distortion was expressed as the difference between TV and PV. Statistics comprised intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and analysis of variance (ANOVA) for repeated measures with Tukey post hoc test (α = 5%). Results: The ICC values ​​indicated excellent reproducibility of TV. Gutta-percha and titanium resulted in the smallest volumetric distortion. Using W1 provided less volumetric distortion for almost all experimental conditions (p < 0.05). Activating MAR algorithm of Picasso Trio underestimated gutta-percha and titanium TV (p < 0.05) and was inefficient in significantly reducing the volumetric distortion of the other materials (p > 0.05). Disabling MAR algorithm of OP300 resulted in smaller volumetric distortion for almost all experimental conditions (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The TV of gutta-percha and titanium were closer to the PV. In general, the MAR algorithms of both systems were inefficient in significantly reducing the volumetric distortion of high-density materials. We encourage the use of large window width and upper window level to evaluate high-density materials.

La Rinascita. L’opera di Bruno Morassutti a San Martino di Castrozza nell’alveo del suo tempo

"The twin houses of San Martino di Castrozza constitute the beginning of an activity that led Bruno Morassutti to engage with the Alpine theme throughout his activity: at the beginning there were the two small, twin houses (1954-1957), then he moved on to a large family holiday home (1957-1958), both with Angelo Mangiarotti, and then he experimented with the “Fontanelle” in the 1960s. The traditional stylistic features in the houses of San Martino find a balance, a grace and an elegance that, over sixty years later, do not cease to convince. The restoration of San Martino is measured in a balanced relationship between empty and full, in continuity with the elements that characterize the alpine architecture and the wise use of the materials offered by the territory: wood and stone. The two buildings, identical but individually distinct, thanks to two simple movements of flanking and staggering, are characterized by a solid stone masonry that draws two L-shaped walls. The masonry, strongly anchored to the ground, is counterbalanced towards the valley by a large window in wood and glass that spreads over two levels and guarantees lighting and direct views of the surrounding landscape from the living area. The link with the rural architecture of the area is well summarized, in addition to the materials, by the typologically relevant elements including the traditional symmetrical pitched roof with the structural warp in fir trunks. The roof, detached from the perimeter walls, is supported by wooden columns and partitions, a refined compositional choice that generates an unusual glass surface."

Study on an improved-adaptive-weighted mean filtering method for metallographic image processing

Background: Because the noise will bring great error to the analysis of metallographic images an adaptive weighted mean filtering method is proposed to overcome the shortcomings of the standard mean filtering method. Methods: The method is to detect the pulse noise points in the image, and then use the modified mean method to filter out the noise points that are detected. Patents on metallographic image processing have been also discussed for the development of the proposed methodology. Results: It is shown that that filter window can be filtered in comparison with the conventional 3x3, 5x5 and 7x 7 filt window to reduce the noise detection and reduce the complexity of the weight calculation. Conclusion: At the same time, it can better protect the details of the image, has better filtering effect than the standard mean filtering, and its processing speed is faster than the median filtering of the large window, which has profound significance for the edge detection and processing of the metallographic image.

Description of Penia mantillerii sp. nov. (Coleoptera: Elateridae: Dimini), with a key to Penia species from Vietnam and nearby areas

Penia Laporte, 1838 is the most species-rich genus in the click-beetle tribe Dimini. Penia is distributed in the Himalayas, East and South East Asia. In this paper, we describe P. mantillerii sp. nov. from northern Vietnam. This species is easily recognizable due to its elongate body and large window-like elytral punctures. The most morphologically similar species to P. mantillerii sp. nov. are P. costipennis Fleutiaux, 1936 and P. sucinea Schimmel, 2001, which also occur in northern Vietnam. Male pregenital segments and genitalia are figured for the first time for P. sucinea. An identification key to the Penia species from Vietnam and surroundings is provided.

Extending the UoA Nuclear Physics Laboratory capabilities with low-γ and α spectrometers

In this project the steps taken toward the characterization, calibration and testing of two spectroscopy stations are presented. The first one is suitable for alpha spectroscopy, consisting of a large-window silicon surface barrier detector (SSB), a goniometric arm and a movable multiple source-holder inside a dark vacuum chamber. The second station contains two small-size, thin-window NaI(Tl) scintillators, and it is suitable for low-γ ray spectroscopy.