The Methodology for Designing Residential Buildings with a Positive Energy Balance—Case Study

The article presents the results of the application of an original methodology for designing residential buildings with a positive energy balance in accordance with the principles of sustainable development. The methodology was verified using a computational example involving the selection of a compromise solution for a single-family residential building with a positive energy balance located in Warsaw, Poland. Three different models of decision-makers’ preferences were created, taking into account selected decision sub-criteria. Three technical solutions were identified, permissible according to the principles and guidelines for designing buildings with a positive energy balance. As a result of the performed calculations, the final order of the analyzed variants was obtained, from the most preferred to the least accepted solution. Variant 2 is definitely the most advantageous solution, being the best in a group of 20 to 26 evaluation sub-criteria—depending on the adopted model of the decision-maker’s preferences. Its ranking index Ri ranged from 0.773 to 0.764, while for the other variants it was much lower and varied from 0.258 to 0.268 for variant 1, and from 0.208 to 0.226 for variant 3. The methodology used for the case study proved to be applicable. The developed methodology facilitates the process of designing residential buildings with a positive energy balance, which is an extremely complex process.

A Scoping Review of Life Design Intervention Research: Implications for Counselling and Psychotherapy Practice

The recently developed paradigm in career counselling known as life design has caused a proliferation of new interventions. A scoping study was performed to provide an overview of empirical support for the effectiveness of these interventions. Twelve articles that evaluate the efficacy of eight interventions were found. Interventions included individual and group forms of the Career Construction Interview and My Career Story. Others were group-based life design interventions, the Career Construction Genogram, an online-based life design intervention, and a classroom intervention designed for elementary children. Career adaptability was the most commonly evaluated outcome and participants were most commonly from Italy, with no study using North American participants. Experimental or quasi-experimental research designs were most frequently used, while several articles reported on case studies. The authors recommend that future research balance case studies and experimental designs and that further research should validate findings with Canadian populations. This article notes the synergistic potential of engaging with social constructionist approaches in the broader field of counselling and psychotherapy for developing new interventions.

Ten Marathons in Ten Days: Effects on Biochemical Parameters and Redox Balance – Case Report

Production of free radicals and oxidative damage during physical activity is a topic that is intensively studied and paid a lot of attention, first of all in professional sports. Marathon is categorized as extremely demanding sports discipline, as it induces high energy consumption and also requires special mental self-control. We presented cases of two athletes of different age, who have been on dissimilar level of sports readiness, and also had various approach to physical activity and exercise. During 10 days they ran out 10 marathons, partly on a flat terrain, and partly on hilly, which produced different level of effort in conquering the terrain. Also, both athletes had complex supplementation scheme in order to prevent electrolyte imbalance and excessive production of free radicals. Blood samples were taken in the morning and immediately after the end of the marathon. Measured oxidative stress biomarkers changed without a noticeable pattern, but these changes did not vary greatly among themselves. Catalase activity in both marathon runners was higher after marathon almost after every race for 10 days. On the other hand, amount of reduced glutathione was lower after marathon in both athletes in the same manner. Based on the obtained results we can conclude that adequate supplementation could have crucial role in prevention of oxidative damage.

Bipartite Consensus for Multiagent Systems via Event-Based Control

This paper studies bipartite consensus for first-order multiagent systems. To improve resource utilization, event-based protocols are considered for bipartite consensus. A new type of control gain is designed in the proposed protocols. By appropriate selection of control gains, the convergence rate of the closed-loop system can be adjusted. Firstly, for structural balance case, necessary and sufficient conditions are given on communication relations and consensus gains to achieve bipartite consensus. Secondly, for structural unbalance case, necessary and sufficient conditions are proposed to ensure the stabilizing of the system. It can be found that the system will not show Zeno behavior. Numerical simulations are used to demonstrate the theoretical results.

Sacral pedicle subtraction osteotomy for an extreme case of positive sagittal balance: case report

The importance of sagittal spinal balance and lumbopelvic parameters is now well understood. The popularization of various osteotomies, including Smith-Peterson, Ponte, and pedicle subtraction osteotomies (PSOs), as well as vertebral column resections, have greatly enhanced the spine surgeon’s ability to recognize and effectively treat sagittal imbalance. Yet rare circumstances remain, most notably in distal kyphotic deformities and patients with extremely elevated pelvic incidences, where these techniques remain inadequate. In this article, the authors describe a patient with severe sagittal imbalance despite multiple prior anterior and posterior reconstructive surgeries in which a sacral PSO was performed with good results. A description of this technique as well as a brief review of the literature is provided.

Article 13(2) TEU: Institutional Balance, Sincere Co-Operation, and Non-Domination During Lawmaking?

This Article assesses the extent to which Article 13(2) TEU supports a republican reading of the EU's institutional structure. This question has arisen in light of the move towards more intergovernmental forms of economic governance following the Eurozone Crisis. Dawson and de Witte and Bellamy have critiqued this mutation through theory-driven readings the institutional balance clause of Article 13(2) TEU, arguing that it establishes a norm of non-domination between EU institutions that has been undermined by increased intergovernmentalism. This Article considers whether the institutional balance case law supports their reading. It finds that institutional balance's dominant role is not normative: It protects pre-existing institutional competences. It does carry a normative side when used as a general principle of EU law to support arguments about increasing the European Parliament's legislative contributions, but this is not an independent head of claim. A better legal support for the presence of a non-domination in Article 13(2) lies within its second clause, the principle of sincere cooperation. Ultimately, the case law around both clauses of Article 13(2) TEU means that the provision is best understood as having a tripartite structure providing a constitutional basis for non-domination during lawmaking.