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The European Union (EU) has introduced a range of policies to promote energy efficiency, including setting specific targets for energy-efficient renovations across the EU building stock. This study provides a comprehensive environmental and economic assessment of energy-efficient renovation scenarios in a large-scale multifamily building project that is district-heated, considering both the building and the broader urban energy system. A systematic framework was developed for this assessment and applied to a real case in Sweden, where emission factors from energy production are significantly lower than the EU average: 114 g CO2e/kWh for district heating and 37 g CO2e/kWh for electricity. The project involved the renovation of four similar district-heated multifamily buildings with comparable energy efficiency measures. The primary distinction between the measures lies in the type of HVAC system installed: (1) exhaust ventilation with air pressure control, (2) mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, (3) exhaust ventilation with an exhaust air heat pump, and (4) exhaust ventilation with an exhaust air heat pump combined with photovoltaic (PV) panels. The study’s findings show that the building with an exhaust air heat pump which operates intermittently with PV panels achieves the best environmental performance from both perspectives. A key challenge identified for future research is balancing the reduced electricity production from Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plants within the energy system.

The European Union (EU) has implemented several policies to enhance energy efficiency. Among these policies is the objective of achieving energy-efficient renovations in at least 3% of EU buildings annually. The primary aim of this study was to offer a precise environmental comparison among four similar district-heated multifamily buildings that have undergone identical energy efficiency measures. The key distinguishing factor among them lies in the HVAC systems installed. The chosen systems were as follows: (1) exhaust ventilation with air pressure control; (2) mechanical ventilation with heat recovery; (3) exhaust ventilation with an exhaust air heat pump; and (4) exhaust ventilation with an exhaust air heat pump with a Photovoltaic (PV) panel. This study involved a life cycle assessment that relied on actual material data from the housing company and energy consumption measurements. This study covered a period of 50 years for thorough analysis. A sensitivity analysis was also conducted to account for various future scenarios of energy production. The findings revealed that the building with an exhaust air heat pump exhibited the lowest greenhouse gas emissions and the shortest carbon payback period (GBPT), needing only around 7 years. In contrast, the building with exhaust ventilation without heat recovery showed the highest emissions and the longest carbon payback period (GBPT), requiring approximately 11 years. Notably, the results were significantly influenced by future scenarios of energy production, emphasizing the crucial role of emission factors in determining the environmental performance of distinct renovation scenarios.

Energy-efficient renovation of the existing building stock is essential for achieving the ambitious sustainability goals set by the European Commission for 2030. However, implementing sustainable renovation has proven challenging, as numerous studies have concluded. Multi-family buildings are a significant part of Sweden’s building stock and require renovations to meet energy efficiency standards. This study aims to provide an overview of sustainable renovation practices in Sweden’s multi-family buildings. A semi-open structured questionnaire was developed to examine the adoption of these practices, with data collected from 11 housing companies. The responses reveal that Swedish housing companies are well aware of the three key aspects of sustainability and actively consider them in their renovation projects. Notably, specific energy use and investment costs are the most commonly used methods for evaluating the environmental and economic aspects, respectively. However, there is a lack of a common method for assessing the social aspects of renovation projects. Additionally, this study highlights the need for standardized decision-making tools in multi-family building renovations.

Energy efficiency investments have become strategically important for the European Union. In particular, energy efficient renovation and investment in the existing building stock have become major challenges. Renovation of a building should involve a holistic and integrated design process, which considers all aspects of sustainability. The aim of this work is to suggest a mathematical model that weighs economic, social and ecological aspects into a measure that supports housing owners/decision makers to find the optimal renovation alternative from their perspective, taking factors such as budget, energy consumption, etc. into consideration. Multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) concerns structuring and solving multiple-criteria decision problems. MCDM has become popular in energy planning as it enables the decision maker to pay attention to all the criteria available and make the appropriate decision as per the priority of the criteria. In this study, the concept is introduced based on economic, social and ecological aspects assessed during a renovation project. A pedagogical example illustrates the suggested numerical system for comparing different renovation alternatives. The suggested method will facilitate decision-making processes in renovation projects and will allow decision makers to choose the best renovation alternatives that are in line with their business ideas and principles.

Electrospun drug‐loaded polymers are used to make formulations that slowly release medication. This study creates ciprofloxacin (Cip)‐loaded fiber mats by melt electrospinning using polycaprolactone (PCL) and PEG4000 for controlled release of Cip. The increase in Cip concentration and PEG4000 percentages increases the mat thickness resulting in uniform morphology. The tensile strength of the PCL mat is significantly improved by adding higher concentrations of Cip while PEG inclusion reduced the tensile strength significantly. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) curves of PCL and PEG 4000 either as free components of after melt electrospinning are identical and both components shows a single endothermic peak at 63 and 61 °C respectively. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirms the chemical stability of the raw materials, while X‐ray diffraction shows the conversion of PEG and Cip from crystalline to amorphous structure following melt electrospinning. Cip is released gradually over 72 h, and the release is increased in the presence of PEG with a maximum Cip release ≈25% after 72 h. The study provides new insights into the development of controlled release fiber mats loaded with antibacterial agents. This can help to develop formulations for wound dressings that improve the clinical outcomes.

Hypercoagulability and hypofibrinolysis are among the symptoms exhibited by diabetic patients. Our study aimed to address the polymorphic nature of Alu DNA fragment in the human tissue plasminogen activator gene within diabetes mellitus (DM) Jordanian patients. Genomic DNA was isolated from 76 DM patients and 60 non-diabetic Jordanian individuals, and the Alu fragment was amplified using PCR. The results showed that 80% of the non-diabetic Jordanian subjects were homozygotes for the deletion of the Alu fragment (Alu-/-), 16.7% were homozygotes for its insertion (Alu+/+), and 3.3% were heterozygotes (Alu+/-). Besides, 36.8% of the diabetic patients exhibited the Alu-/- or Alu+/- genotype, and 26.3% were Alu+/+. The Alu-/- genotype occurred less frequently in the diabetic individuals. The high frequency of the Alu-/- genotype constitutes a protective deletion with respect to DM within the normal subjects.

Background: Hypercoagulability and hypofibrinolysis are among the symptoms exhibited by diabetic patients. Our study aimed to address the polymorphic nature of Alu DNA fragment in the human tissue plasminogen activator gene within diabetes mellitus (DM) Jordanian patients. Methods: Genomic DNA was isolated from 76 DM patients and 60 non-diabetic Jordanian individuals, and the Alu fragment was amplified using PCR. Results: The results showed that 80% of the non-diabetic Jordanian subjects were homozygotes for the deletion of the Alu fragment (Alu-/-), 16.7% were homozygotes for its insertion (Alu+/+), and 3.3% were heterozygotes (Alu+/-). Besides, 36.8% of the diabetic patients exhibited the Alu-/- or Alu+/- genotype, and 26.3% were Alu+/+. The Alu-/- genotype occurred less frequently in the diabetic individuals. Conclusion: The high frequency of the Alu-/- genotype constitutes a protective deletion with respect to DM within the normal subjects.

The kinetics of oxidation of N , N -bis(salicylaldehyde-1,2-diaminoethane) cobalt(II) complex by N -bromosuccinimide (NBS) in aqueous acid and H 2 O–MeOH solvent mixtures were studied spectrophotometrically over the 20–40 °C range, 0.1–0.5 mol dm −3 ionic strength, 2.2–2.8 pH range and 0–40 wt% MeOH–H 2 O solvent mixtures for a range of NBS and complex concentrations. The rate shows first-order dependence on both [NBS] and [complex] and decreases with pH over the range studied. The protonated form of N -bromosuccinimide was identified as the main reactive species. An inner-sphere mechanism involving free radicals is proposed.