The Energy Performance Certification: A tool for smarter cities?

One of the existing tools that could help creating smart cities is the Energy Performance Certification (EPC) of residential buildings, by introducing energy efficiency as a comparative criterion for real-estate purchase choices, influencing real-estate market value, stimulating energy saving investments, moving the housing market towards greater energy efficiency and creating comprehensive databases which are fundamental for shaping smart strategies on urban, regional and national levels. The impact on potential buyers or tenants is crucial in order to reach these goals but EPC’s results, in their actual form, do not help raise people awareness: often distant from reality, overestimating consumption, they usually result is a general misunderstanding and misuse of the document. This study aims at verifying that the actual calculation method used in certification could approach real building consumption, by using additional data on occupant behaviour and household characteristics. It first presents the concepts behind smart cities, then an overview of the uncertainties that weight on the Belgian certification calculation method parameters. It also presents variations that could be applied to the EPC calculation method in order to add behavioural parameters… inspired from case studies of buildings.Etude du facteur humain dans l’évaluation des performances énergétiques des stratégies de rénovation résidentiell

Social transmission of Pavlovian fear: fear-conditioning by-proxy in related female rats

Pairing a previously neutral conditioned stimulus (CS; e.g., a tone) to an aversive unconditioned stimulus (US; e.g., a foot-shock) leads to associative learning such that the tone alone will elicit a conditioned response (e.g., freezing). Individuals can also acquire fear from a social context, such as through observing the fear expression of a conspecific. In the current study, we examined the influence of kinship/familiarity on social transmission of fear in female rats. Rats were housed in triads with either sisters or non-related females. One rat from each cage was fear conditioned to a tone CS+ shock US. On day two, the conditioned rat was returned to the chamber accompanied by one of her cage mates. Both rats were allowed to behave freely, while the tone was played in the absence of the foot-shock. The previously untrained rat is referred to as the fear-conditioned by-proxy (FCbP) animal, as she would freeze based on observations of her cage-mate’s response rather than due to direct personal experience with the foot-shock. The third rat served as a cage-mate control. The third day, long-term memory tests to the CS were performed. Consistent with our previous application of this paradigm in male rats (Bruchey et al. in Behav Brain Res 214(1):80–84, 2010), our results revealed that social interactions between the fear conditioned and FCbP rats on day two contribute to freezing displayed by the FCbP rats on day three. In this experiment, prosocial behavior occurring at the termination of the cue on day two was significantly greater between sisters than their non-sister counterparts, and this behavior resulted in increased freezing on day three. Our results suggest that familiarity and/or kinship influences the social transmission of fear in female rats

Extinction and Retrieval + Extinction of Conditioned Fear Differentially Activate Medial Prefrontal Cortex and Amygdala in Rats

Pairing a previously neutral conditioned stimulus (CS; e.g., a tone) to an aversive unconditioned stimulus (US; e.g., a footshock) leads to associative learning such that the tone alone comes to elicit a conditioned response (e.g., freezing). We have previously shown that an extinction session that occurs within the reconsolidation window (termed retrieval+extinction) attenuates fear responding and prevents the return of fear in Pavlovian fear conditioning (Monfils et al., 2009). To date, the mechanisms that explain the different behavioral outcomes between standard extinction and retrieval+extinction remain poorly understood. Here we sought to examine the differential temporal engagement of specific neural systems by these 2 approaches using Arc catFISH (cellular compartment analysis of temporal activity using fluorescence in situ hybridization). Our results demonstrate that extinction and retrieval+extinction lead to differential patterns of expression, suggesting that they engage different networks. These findings provide insight into the neural mechanisms that allow extinction during reconsolidation to prevent the return of fear in rats

Duurzaam doenderzoek in de zeeuwse delta : ecosysteemdiensten in de praktijk : deelresultaat 1 : analyse van landschappen resulterend in een overzicht van ecosysteemdiensten in de provincie Zeeland

Een ruimtelijke inventarisatie van ecosysteemdiensten waaruit blijkt wie de potentiële gebruikers zijn van ecosysteemdiensten (zoals: voedselproductie, energieproductie, drinkwaterproductie; waterberging, koolstofvastlegging, klimaatbeheersing, plaagwering; recreatie en leefbaarheid

Duurzaam doenderzoek in de zeeuwse delta : ecosysteemdiensten in de praktijk : deelresultaat 2 : ecosysteemdienstenbenuttingskaart

Een ruimtelijke inventarisatie van ecosysteemdiensten waaruit blijkt wie de potentiële gebruikers zijn van ecosysteemdiensten (zoals: voedselproductie, energieproductie, drinkwaterproductie; waterberging, koolstofvastlegging, klimaatbeheersing, plaagwering; recreatie en leefbaarheid

Reconsolidation-Extinction Interactions in Fear Memory Attenuation: The Role of Inter-Trial Interval Variability

Fear extinction typically results in the formation of a new inhibitory memory that suppresses the original conditioned response. Evidence also suggests that extinction training during a retrieval-induced labile period results in integration of the extinction memory into the original fear memory, rendering the fear memory less susceptible to reinstatement. Here we investigated the parameters by which the retrieval-extinction paradigm was most effective in memory updating. Specifically, we manipulated the intertrial intervals (ITIs) between conditional stimulus (CS) presentations during extinction, examining how having interval lengths with different degrees of variability affected the strength of memory updating. We showed that randomizing the ITI of CS presentations during extinction led to less return of fear via reinstatement than extinction with a fixed ITI. Subjects who received variable ITIs during extinction also showed higher freezing during the ITI, indicating that the randomization of CS presentations led to a higher general reactivity during extinction, which may be one potential mechanism for memory updating

Study of the Structure-Property Relationships That Determine the Effects of Latexes and Starch Containing Latex Emulsions on the Performance of the Barrier Coatings (Sub-coat) for Paper

The history of carbonless paper dates back to the 1940s. Before this, a carbon copy sheet was needed between sheets of paper to be able to produce one or more copies simultaneously during writing. The pressure from a pen or typewriter would help deposit the ink of the carbon paper onto the blank sheet of paper under the original written sheet to create a “carbon copy.” This method did however, have its disadvantages. Not only did it produce a limited number of copies, but it was also a messy process. So came the creative process of using microencapsulated dyes to make carbonless paper (Burrell, 2003, pp. 451-456). In this process, microencapsulated dyes are coated onto the back of the original sheet so when pressure is applied to the top sheet, it causes the microcapsules to rupture and form an image on the receiver sheet below. Under this capsule coating is a barrier coat or sub-coat, which is applied to the back of the original written sheet. The coating limits the encapsulated dye from absorbing into the original written sheet and increases the dye transferring onto the copy receiver sheet. In the barrier coating, latexes are used. Different chemical properties within the latex will make the barrier coatings perform differently (Mumford, 2007). The goal of this research study was to test the structure-property relationships that determine the effects of commercial latexes and starch containing latex emulsions (SCEs) on the performance properties of the barrier coating (sub-coat) for paper. The testing of these property changes was performed on the thin film coating of varying pounds per ream on base stock 34lb Domtar paper. Six different latexes with mildly different chemical properties were tested. The rheological techniques used to evaluate the coating slurries include: water retention, viscosity, and pH testing. The performance measurement tests done on the basestock coated samples include: Oil resistance and absorption which were measured through K&N and Croda (Manders Red Drawdown) ink tests and also Sheffield porosity. In conclusion, Typewriter Intensity and Frictional Smudge testing was done to verify the performance results of the barrier coated and CB capsule coated sheets. Through the performance and verification tests, some general conclusions were determined. These include: an increase in coat weight showed an increase in transfer efficiency and a smaller particle size latex created a better film and more sealed base stock sheet. This was shown not only in the porosity values, but also in the ink absorption results. It was also determined that the acrylonitrile containing latexes performed better due to the creation of a softer more flow-able latex. It was determined that DMF 5501, a commercial latex from Styron containing styrene butadiene copolymer with a low level of carboxylic acid groups, a high level of acrylonitrile groups, Tg 15 ̊C, and a particle size of 135nm, had the best performance when targeting the lowest coat weight, at 2lbs per ream. The smaller particle size and presence of both carboxylic acid and acrylonitrile groups proved to aid in this performance. An increase in binder efficiency was shown through testing, it is believed that both of the chemical groups present helped by binding the CB capsule coating to a greater extent to the base stock sheet. The smaller particle size aided in this binding by creating a better flowing more pliable latex which created an evenly formed barrier coat film. The porosity values results determined that DMF 5501 formed a better film, creating a more sealed sheet, hence a showing lower porosity value. The K&N and Croda Ink intensity values also showed that DMF 5501 performed best by showing highest ink intensity values on each base stock sheet. The performance verification tests determined that at only 2 lbs per ream of applied coating, DMF 5501 performed within the required standards set by Appleton Paper Inc., and if chosen, this latex could be used within the current carbonless paper product

Regulatory modules controlling maize inflorescence architecture

Genetic control of branching is a primary determinant of yield, regulating seed number and harvesting ability, yet little is known about the molecular networks that shape grain-bearing inflorescences of cereal crops. Here, we used the maize (Zea mays) inflorescence to investigate gene networks that modulate determinacy, specifically the decision to allow branch growth. We characterized developmental transitions by associating spatiotemporal expression profiles with morphological changes resulting from genetic perturbations that disrupt steps in a pathway controlling branching. Developmental dynamics of genes targeted in vivo by the transcription factor RAMOSA1, a key regulator of determinacy, revealed potential mechanisms for repressing branches in distinct stem cell populations, including interactions with KNOTTED1, a master regulator of stem cell maintenance. Our results uncover discrete developmental modules that function in determining grass-specific morphology and provide a basis for targeted crop improvement and translation to other cereal crops with comparable inflorescence architectures

GABAC Receptors in the Lateral Amygdala: A Possible Novel Target for the Treatment of Fear and Anxiety Disorders?

Activation of GABAARs in the lateral nucleus of the amygdala (LA), a key site of plasticity underlying fear learning, impairs fear learning. The role of GABACRs in the LA and other brain areas is poorly understood. GABACRs could be an important novel target for pharmacological treatments of anxiety-related disorders since, unlike GABAARs, GABACRs do not desensitize. To detect functional GABACRs in the LA we performed whole cell patch clamp recordings in vitro. We found that GABAARs and GABABRs blockade lead to a reduction of evoked inhibition and an increase increment of excitation, but activation of GABACRs caused elevations of evoked excitation, while blocking GABACRs reduced evoked excitation. Based on this evidence we tested whether GABACRs in LA contribute to fear learning in vivo. It is established that activation of GABAARs leads to blockage of fear learning. Application of GABAC drugs had a very different effect; fear learning was enhanced by activating and attenuated by blocking GABACRs in the LA. Our results suggest that GABAC and GABAARs play opposing roles in modulation of associative plasticity in LA neurons of rats. This novel role of GABACRs furthers our understanding of GABA receptors in fear memory acquisition and storage and suggests a possible novel target for the treatment of fear and anxiety disorders

Systematic assessment of training-induced changes in corticospinal output to hand using frameless stereotaxic transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Measuring changes in the characteristics of corticospinal output has become a critical part of assessing the impact of motor experience on cortical organization in both the intact and injured human brain. In this protocol we describe a method for systematically assessing training-induced changes in corticospinal output that integrates volumetric anatomical MRI with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). A TMS coil is sited to a target grid superimposed onto a 3D MRI of cortex using a stereotaxic neuronavigation system. Subjects are then required to exercise the first dorsal interosseus (FDI) muscle on two different tasks for a total of 30 min. The protocol allows for reliably and repeatedly detecting changes in corticospinal output to FDI muscle in response to brief periods of motor training