Suchergebnisse

Achieving a more sustainable lifestyle is one of the most important challenges of the 21st century. Sustainable development, therefore, is one of the key objectives also for industrial nations such as Germany. Sustainable development is defined as the "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (WCED 1987, Chapter 2). This development, however, is not only based on environmental dimensions but also on economic and social dimensions. These are known as the three pillars of sustainability. According to the Global Sustainable Development Report (Messerli et al. 2019), there are four levers of transformation being most important to achieve sustainable development, one of which is science and technology. Information systems (IS) research investigates the application of information technology in organizational settings (Hevner et al. 2004). IS research considers itself as a socio-technical discipline (Briggs et al. 2010), which should investigate IS-related issues along a social-technical continuum (Sarker et al. 2019). In recent times, the field is discussing more intensively the application of IS for sustainability purposes (e.g., Melville 2010; Watson et al. 2010; Henkel and Kranz 2018). However, IS scholars claim for more work to be done regarding sustainable development (Seidel et al. 2017; Gholami et al. 2016; Parmiggiani and Monteiro 2018) and to develop knowledge along the social-technical continuum (Sarker et al. 2019). For this reason, the aim of this dissertation is to develop knowledge for IS to achieve sustainable development from different socio-technical perspectives. Therefore, this work applies pluralistic methodological approaches (qualitative methods, e.g., semi-structured interviews, and quantitative methods, e.g., data collection from a field study or online experiments). The theoretical contribution of this dissertation expands existing design knowledge in the field of IS for sustainability. Following Gregor and Hevner (2013), design knowledge can be grouped into two types: descriptive and prescriptive knowledge. On the one hand, descriptive knowledge contributes to the knowledge about natural phenomena and the sense-making relationships between phenomena (what). Descriptive knowledge provides the scientific base for the world we live in. On the other hand, prescriptive knowledge contributes to the knowledge about man-made artifacts to improve our world (how). Design theories are an abstract and coherent body of knowledge, which include both types of knowledge (Gregor and Hevner 2013). Overall, this work takes three different perspectives to develop both types of knowledge: the socio-technical perspective, the sociocentric perspective, and the technocentric perspective. First, to contribute to the socio-technical perspective, this thesis presents new approaches to analyze and improve individual driving behavior in individual road traffic. Personal traffic accounts for approximately 11% of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions globally (Andor et al. 2020). Environmental driving behavior, therein, has a significant impact on the fuel consumption of vehicles (Lárusdóttir and Ulfarsson 2014), and reductions of fuel consumption up to 30% are possible. One promising approach to improve individual driving behavior is the application of eco-feedback to the driver. Therefore, this thesis presents prescriptive knowledge in the form of design artifacts for mobile eco-driving feedback information systems (EDFIS), which results from justificatory knowledge, a prototypical instantiation of a mobile EDFIS, and its application within a field study. The results indicate that eco-feedback affects environmentally friendly driving behavior. However, eco-feedback seems not to address all aspects of eco-driving behavior. Nowadays, the Internet-of-Things (IoT) has reached cars, and ever more embedded sensors allow for rich data analysis of individual driving behavior. Therefore, this thesis presents a factor model describing IoT-measured individual driving behavior to handle the resulting amount of IoT-data and analyzes the effect of eco-feedback on individual driving behavior. Second, to contribute to the sociocentric perspective, this thesis presents design knowledge on how to design social media platforms in order to counteract so-called fake news. Such misleading information – which has always been a problem but has recently found nutritious ground in social media – poses a major threat. In recent times, fake news is spread to impact political decision-making and elections. However, fake news is not only a challenge for politics but also for ecologically and economically sustainable development. For instance, fake news is spread to influence financial markets in order to affect the financial value of stocks and options (Maasberg et al. 2018). Furthermore, fake news is a popular means to undermine climate change, which in reality requires significant changes in the individual and collective behavior of people (van der Linden et al. 2017). This thesis presents two new approaches to empower people individually to recognize and report misleading information to counteract the spread of fake news. Firstly, related articles are an appropriate tool to improve social media users' ability to recognize fake news as such. Especially, the application of controversial related articles shows the best results. Secondly, social norm messages are an appropriate tool to encourage social media users to report fake news. This allows social media providers to effectively identify and remove misleading and deceptive information from their platforms. To contribute to the third and last, technocentric perspective, this thesis presents a new approach to analyze and design lean, digitally supported value creation processes in companies and organizations. In the light of ever more connected entities and the diffusion of digital technologies, innovative information flows enable various potentials in value creation processes and allow minimizing waste. For instance, rich information availability allows production with fewer resources or the more accurate usage of perishable materials. The presented Value Stream Modeling and Notation (VSMN) constitutes a domain-specific modeling language, which supports designers of economically sustainable value creation processes in times of digitalization. For evaluation purposes, we present, among others, the results of the application of VSMN while designing lean material logistics processes in hospitals. The results also constitute prescriptive knowledge for material logistic processes in hospitals, which are more efficient due to the targeted use of digital technologies. To sum up, this dissertation presents design knowledge – including both types, descriptive and prescriptive knowledge – and contributes to the knowledge base about IS for sustainability (Gholami et al. 2016; Seidel et al. 2017; Parmiggiani and Monteiro 2018) and sustainable development (Messerli et al. 2019). In addition, the thesis develops design knowledge along the social-technical continuum (Sarker et al. 2019). Using methodological pluralistic (qualitative and quantitative) approaches allows an extension of the existing knowledge from different perspectives (Venkatesh et al. 2013). Overall, the results of this thesis contribute to overcoming one of the greatest challenges of mankind and the greatest challenge of the 21st century.

Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Entwicklung eines effizienten Modells zur Berechnung der Rußmorphologie für numerische Verbrennungssimulationen. Das Modell wurde in den Verbrennungscode THETA implementiert, anhand idealisierter Validierungstestfälle validiert und für Grobstruktursimulationen einer halbtechnischen Brennkammer verwendet. Ruß als unerwünschtes Verbrennungsnebenprodukt hat im Kontext der Feinstaubproblematik gegenwärtig eine hohe Bedeutung. Dass experimentelle Rußuntersuchungen bei technischen Verbrennungssystemen häufig nicht oder nur eingeschränkt anwendbar sind, erklärt die hohe Relevanz der Verbrennungssimulation zur Vorausberechnung von Rußemissionen. Infolge der partikelgrößenabhängigen Toxizität von Feinstaub (und Schadstoffnormen die diesen Sachverhalt entsprechend berücksichtigen) sind dazu Rußmodelle erforderlich, die die Rußgrößenverteilung (PSD) auflösen. Sektionalansätze, wie sie in dieser Arbeit behandelt werden, fallen in diese Kategorie. Eine zentrale Komponente des Verbrennungscodes THETA ist das Finite-Raten-Chemie Modell welches durch simultane Lösung der skalaren Bilanzgleichungen eine vollständige Kopplung von Ruß und dem thermo-chemischen Zustand der Gasphase gewährleistet. Ein Reaktionsmechanismus mit 43 Komponenten und 304 Reaktionen beschreibt die Pyrolyse und die Oxidation von kleinen Kohlenwasserstoffen wie Ethylen sowie die Bildung kleiner Aromaten (Benzol und Toluol). Polyzyklische aromatische Kohlenwasserstoffe (PAHs) werden durch einen in der vorliegenden Arbeit entwickelten Sektionalansatz mit drei Massenklassen beschrieben, der zwischen PAH-Radikalen und PAH-Molekülen unterscheidet und sich durch eine reversible PAH-Chemie auszeichnet. Simulationen laminarer Vormischflammen demonstrieren, dass diese Modellkomplexität erforderlich ist, um realistische PAH-Größenverteilungen und folglich korrekte Nukleationsraten zu erhalten. Für eine genaue Berechnung der Rußmorphologie ist letzteres von entscheidender Bedeutung, da eine zu starke Rußnukleation im Vergleich zu experimentellen Daten eine zu hohe Teilchendichte und einen zu kleinen mittleren Teilchendurchmesser bewirkt. Ferner beschreibt das PAH-Modell die Instabilität von PAHs bei hohen Temperaturen genau und ist dadurch für Verbrennungssysteme die mit vorgeheizter Luft betrieben werden anwendbar. Das Rußaerosol wird durch einen Sektionalansatz mit logarithmisch skalierten Massenklassen diskretisiert. Schwerpunkte dieser Arbeit waren diesbezüglich die Entwicklung eines neuartigen Verfahrens zur Beschreibung von fraktalen Rußaggregaten sowie die Implementierung temperaturabhängiger Korrekturfunktionen zur Skalierung der Rußoberflächenreaktivität. Beide Modellerweiterungen trugen dazu bei, dass die Transition von einer nicht rauchenden zu einer rauchenden Diffusionsflamme korrekt abgebildet werden konnte. Ferner zeigte sich, dass die Berücksichtigung von Rußaggregaten insbesondere bei stark rußender Verbrennung wichtig ist, da Modelle mit sphärischen Rußteilchen dort häufig zu große Primärpartikel und damit eine zu kleine Rußoberfläche bewirken. Neben einer genauen Vorhersage der Rußmorphologie erzielt das Modell eine sehr gute Übereinstimmung zu gemessenen Temperaturen sowie zu gemessenen OH-, Benzol- und C2H2-Massenbrüchen. Turbulente Verbrennung wird in dieser Arbeit mit Grobstruktursimulationen (LES, large eddy simulation) untersucht. Bei der LES erfolgt eine Trennung zwischen groben Strukturen, die durch das Rechengitter aufgelöst werden, und feinen Strukturen, die modelliert werden. Dabei stellt die Modellierung der nicht aufgelösten Turbulenz-Chemie-Interaktion eine der größten Herausforderungen der Verbrennungssimulation dar und erfolgt in der vorliegenden Arbeit durch angenommene Wahrscheinlichkeitsdichtefunktionen (APDF). Zur Beschreibung des intermittenten Charakters der Rußfeinstrukturdynamik wurde eine bimodale APDF implementiert. Die Validierung dieses LES-Verfahrens geschieht anhand einer abgehobenen, turbulenten, rußenden Strahlflamme. Im Vergleich zu RANS-Ergebnissen aus der Literatur ermöglicht die LES eine genauere Vorausberechnung der turbulenten Mischung. Es liegt eine gute Übereinstimmung zu gemessenen Geschwindigkeiten und Temperaturen vor und die Qualität der Rußvorhersage ist über dem Stand der Technik. Die Berücksichtigung von Rußaggregaten bewirkt eine gute Übereinstimmung zu gemessenen Teilchendurchmessern, was ein Indiz für eine korrekte Beschreibung der Rußmorphologie ist. Basierend auf den bisherigen Erkenntnissen wurde das validierte LES-Model zur Untersuchung einer Modellbrennkammer unter rußenden Betriebsbedingungen verwendet. Berechnete Geschwindigkeiten, Temperaturen sowie die Frequenz der dominanten hydrodynamischen Instabilität weisen eine gute Übereinstimmung zu den Messwerten auf. Der Rußvolumenbruch in der Primärzone sowie der Einfluss des Äquivalenzverhältnisses auf die Rußverteilung werden vergleichbar genau vorhergesagt, jedoch treten diesbezüglich weiter stromab deutliche Unterschiede zwischen LES und Experiment auf. Detailuntersuchungen untermauern die Plausibilität der LES-Ergebnisse unter diesen extrem anspruchsvollen Verbrennungsbedingungen, welche sich durch Äquivalenzverhältnisse nahe der Rußgrenze und eine hohe Disparität zwischen momentanen und mittleren Rußvolumenbrüchen auszeichnen. ; The present work is about an efficient sectional model for predictions of the soot morphology in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. The model has been implemented in the CFD combustion code THETA, validated against several idealized lab-scale experiments and applied to large eddy simulations (LES) of a semi-technical combustor. Resulting from the incomplete combustion of hydrocarbons, soot emissions are currently of high relevance in the context of particulate matter pollution. As experimental techniques are often not or only in a limited way applicable to technical combustion systems, soot CFD simulations are important to deepen the understanding of soot evolution under such conditions. Since the toxicity of particulates depends on the particle diameter (and since legislative regulations start to take this into account), it is beneficial for soot models to resolve the particle size distribution (PSD). Sectional approaches, which are the topic of the present work, belong to this class of models. Using a finite-rate chemistry model with a simultaneous solution of all species equations ensures a full coupling of soot and the thermo-chemical state of the gas phase. A reaction mechanism with 43 species and 304 reactions is used to describe the pyrolysis and oxidation of small hydrocarbons such as ethylene as well as the formation of small aromatic species like benzene or toluene. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are described by a newly developed sectional approach which distinguishes PAH radicals from PAH molecules and features a reversible PAH chemistry. Laminar premixed flame simulations demonstrate that such a model complexity is necessary to obtain realistic PAH size distributions and consequently correct nucleation rates. Comparing calculated and measured particle size distributions (PSDs) shows that the latter is particularly important for accurate predictions of the soot morphology as a too strong soot nucleation yields a too high particle number density at a too small mean particle diameter. The PAH model describes the instability of PAHs at high temperatures well which is an important feature for the simulation of technical combustion systems as they are often operated with preheated air. The soot aerosol is described by a sectional approach with logarithmically scaled mass classes. Regarding soot, the focus of the present work is the development of a novel approach to describe the evolution of fractal soot aggregates and the implementation of temperature dependent scaling functions for the soot surface reactivity. Both developments where necessary to correctly predict the transition from a non-smoking to a smoking diffusion flame. Furthermore, soot aggregates proved to be important in particular at heavily sooting conditions as models with purely spherical soot particles often predict too few particles resulting in an underprediction of the soot surface. Besides accurate predictions of the soot morphology, a very good agreement to measured temperatures as well as species mass fractions (OH, benzene, C2H2) is obtained. Turbulent combustion problems are investigated by large eddy simulations (LES). The idea of LES is to separate large turbulent structures which are resolved by the CFD grid from small structures which require modelling. In this context, the description of subgrid scale turbulence-chemistry interaction is one of the major challenges in combustion modelling. In the present work this is done by assumed probability density functions (APDF). A bimodal APDF has been implemented to approximate the intermittent nature of soot subfilter dynamics. The validation of this LES model has been achieved using a lifted, turbulent, sooting jet flame. Compared to RANS results from the literature, the prediction of turbulent mixing in the pre-flame region was improved. Velocities and temperatures agree well with experimental data and the quality of the soot prediction outperforms the state of the art. Taking fractal soot aggregates into account yields a good agreement to measured particle diameters, which indicates a correct description of the soot morphology. The validated LES model has then been applied to an aero engine model combustor at sooting operating conditions. Calculated velocities, temperatures and the frequency of the dominant hydrodynamic instability agree well with experimental data. The soot volume fraction in the primary combustion zone as well as the influence of the equivalence ratio on the soot distribution are accurately predicted. However, further downstream there are notable differences between LES and the experiment concerning the soot volume fraction. Further analysis supports the plausibility of the LES results and the combustion conditions were found to be very challenging as they feature equivalence ratios close to the sooting limit and a high disparity between instantaneous and time-averaged soot volume fractions.

Verden har gennem de senere ar oplevet en stigende eftersprgsel efter transport og mobilitet. Med den voksende persontransport og den deraf forstrkede klimapavirkning bliver det kollektive transportsystem et glimrende alternativ til den individuelle transport, idet det kollektive transportsystem kan tilbyde omkostningseektiv, klima- og miljvenlig transport samt at dette er eektivt i kampen mod trngsel. I 2009 vedtog det danske Folketing transportaftalen: "En grn transportaftale", hvori det sttes som mal, at den kollektive transport skal udbygges og eektiviseres saledes, at den forventede vkst i persontrakarbejdet ville kunne lftes af det kollektive transportsystem. I Danmark har det kollektive transportsystem en markedsandel pa 13% af transporten mellem arbejde og hjem og der blev i 2010 gennemfrt mere end 290 millioner togrejser i det danske jernbanenet. Det er endvidere tidligere blevet estimeret, at der hver dag spildes 65.000 timer af passagerer, der venter pa forbindelser i den kollektive transport. For at imdekomme den forventede vkst og for at kunne tilbyde passagererne en attraktiv service til en fornuftig pris skal den kollektive transport vre sa eektiv som mulig. Forskningen har gennem de seneste mange ar demonstreret, at matematiske optimeringsmetoder kan gre det kollektive transportsystem mere eektivt og dermed mere konkurrencedygtigt i forhold til andre transportformer. Planlgning af kollektiv transport bestar af en rkke forskellige optimeringsproblemer pa savel det strategiske, det taktiske og det operationelle planlgningsniveau. Problemstillinger som for eksempel linjeplanlgning, kreplansplanlgning og kretjsplanlgning lses traditionelt uafhngigt og sekventielt. Der ndes i dag adskillige modeller og eektive metoder til lsning af disse problemstillinger. Lses disse problemer uafhngigt og sekventielt vil det saledes ofte resultere i lsninger, der vil opleves som vrende suboptimale for passagererne i forhold til serviceniveau. Lsninger der giver passagererne en bedre service kan opnas ved at integrere srligt relevante planlgningsproblemer. Grundet strrelsen af virkelige planlgningsproblemer, er det dog i midlertidigt, som oftest, ikke muligt at lse det integrerede problem uden srligt udviklede metoder, der endvidere krver meget store beregningsmssige ressourcer. Malet med denne afhandling er at studere integrationen af kreplansplanlgningen med andre planlgningsproblemer sasom linjeplanlgning, rutevalg og planlgning af kretjernes opgaver (omlbsplanlgning). Vi udvikler en rkke avancerede planlgningsvrktjer, der kan nde integrerede lsninger til de komplekse planlgningsproblemer man mder inden for den kollektive trak. Vi undersger anvendelsen af disse integrerede modeller til at lse virkelige casestudier, og vurderer kvaliteten af de fundne integrerede lsninger sammenlignet med lsninger baseret pa ikke-integrerede modeller. Afhandlingen beskftiger sig med to specikke problemstillinger, der ses i den kollektive bustrak og en problemstilling fra den kollektive jernbanetrak. I problemstillingen fra den kollektive bustrak integrerer vi kreplaner med bade kretjsplanlgning og passagerernes rutevalg. Forholdet mellem afgangs- og ankomsttider og passagerernes rutevalg unders ges under hensyntagen til omkostningerne ved at udfre kreplanerne. I problemstillingen inden for jernbanetrakken undersger vi delvis integration af kreplansplanlgning og linjeplanlgning. Konkret studeres, hvordan kreplaner kan forbedres med hensyn til denerede mal for den service, der ydes til passagererne. Disse forbedringer opnas ved at tillade ndringer i frekvenserne for togafgangene og gennem ndringer i standsningsm nsteret for de stationer der er inkluderet i ruten. Vi formulerer problemerne ved hjlp af matematiske modeller, og vi foreslar heuristiske lsningsmetoder til dem alle. Lsningsmetoderne testes i virkelige casestudier for Storkbenhavnsomradet for problemstillingen fra den kollektive bustrak og for en delmngde af intercity-netvrket i Holland for problemstillingen fra den kollektive jernbanetrak. Vi viser, at kreplanerne, der er opnaet med de integrerede modeller, resulterer i at servicen til passagerne ges samtidig med, at driftsomkostningerne kan bibeholdes pa et undret niveau eller holdes inden for et givent budget. ; Recent years have seen a general increase in the demand for transport and mobility. As the transportation numbers rise, and with the increased eorts in reducing emissions on a global scale, public transport becomes an excellent alternative to private transport due to being cost efficient, environmentally friendly, and for its abilities to reduce congestion. In 2009, the Danish Parliament passed the transport policy agreement entitled \A green transport agreement", which states that the public transport system should be expanded and made more ecient so that the expected growth in person transport should be able to be captured by the public transport system. In Denmark, public transport holds a market share of 13% of all commuting, and in 2010 more than 290 million passengers used the railway network. Furthermore, in Copenhagen it was estimated that 65,000 hours are lost every day by passengers waiting for connecting services in public transport. In order to serve increased demand and provide an attractive service for the passengers at an affordable cost, public transport should be both time and cost efficient. Research has through a number of years clearly shown that operations research techniques can help make public transport systems more efficient and thereby increase its competitiveness compared to other transport modes.Public transport planning comprises a range of planning problems at the strategic, the tactical as well as the operational planning levels. Problems like line planning, timetabling, or vehicle scheduling are traditionally solved independently and sequentially. Today, several models and efficient solution methods for solving these exist. However, solving these problems independently will often result in suboptimal solutions for passengers with respect to the service level offered. Solutions with increased passenger service could be obtained by integrating different planning problems. However, due to the size of real world instances, solving the integrated problem is, usually, not possible without dedicated solution methods, which, in turn, requires huge computational efforts. The goal of this thesis is to study the integration of timetabling with other planning problems such as line planning, passenger routing, and vehicle scheduling. We propose a number of advanced planning tools, which are able to find integrated solutions to the complex planning problems seen within public transport. We investigate the application of integrated models to real life case studies and we assess the quality of integrated solutionsin comparison to non-integrated solutions. The thesis studies two problems in the bus transport domain and one problem in the rail transport domain. In the bus transport domain, we integrate timetabling with both vehicle scheduling and passenger routing. The relations between departure and arrival times and how passengers travel in the network are investigated, while taking into account the costs associated with operating the timetables. In the train domain, we investigate partial integration of timetabling and line planning. Specically, how timetables can be improved in terms of passenger service by allowing changes in train frequencies and changes in stops at stations included in the train journey. We formulate the problems using mathematical models, and we propose heuristic solution methods for all of them. The solution methods are tested in real life case studies of the Greater Copenhagen area for the bus transport problems, and of a subset of the intercity network in The Netherlands for the rail transport problem. We show that the timetables obtained with integrated models provide an increased passenger service while being able to keep operating costs at the same level or within a pre-dened budget.

Full author list: Lendl, M., Csizmadia, S., Deline, A., Fossati, L., Kitzmann, D., Heng, K., Hoyer, S., Salmon, S., Benz, W., Broeg, C., Ehrenreich, D., Fortier, A., Queloz, D., Bonfanti, A., Brandeker, A., Collier Cameron, A., Delrez, L.a,g,l, Garcia Muñoz, A.m, Hooton, M.J.f, Maxted, P.F.L.i, Morris, B.M., Van Grootel, V., Wilson, T.G., Alibert, Y., Alonso, R., Asquier, J., Bandy, T.f, Bárczy, T.q, Barrado, D.r, Barros, S.C.C.s,t, Baumjohann, W.b, Beck, M., Beck, T., Bekkelien, A., Bergomi, M., Billot, N., Biondi, F., Bonfils, X., Bourrier, V., Busch, M.-D., Cabrera, J., Cessa, V., Charnoz, S., Chazelas, B., Corral Van Damme, C., Davies, M.B., Deleuil, M., Demangeon, O.D.S., Demory, B.-O., Erikson, A., Farinato, J., Fridlund, M., Futyan, D., Gandolfi, D., Gillon, M.l, Guterman, P., Hasiba, J., Hernandez, E., Isaak, K., Kiss, L., Kuntzer, T., Lecavelier Des Etangs, A., Lüftinger, T., Laskar, J., Lovis, C., Magrin, D., Malvasio, L., Marafatto, L., Michaelis, H., Munari, M., Nascimbeni, V., Olofsson, G., Ottacher, H., Ottensamer, R., Pagano, I., Pallé, E., Peter, G., Piazza, D., Piotto, G., Pollacco, D., Ratti, F., Rauer, H., Ragazzoni, R., Rando, N., Ribas, I., Rieder, M., Rohlfs, R., Safa, F., Santos, N.C., Scandariato, G., Ségransan, D., Simon, A.E., Singh, V., Smith, A.M.S., Sordet, M., Sousa, S.G., Steller, M., Szabó, G.M., Thomas, N., Tschentscher, M., Udry, S., Viotto, V., Walter, I., Walton, N.A., Wildi, F., Wolter, D. ; The CHEOPS space mission dedicated to exoplanet follow-up was launched in December 2019, equipped with the capacity to perform photometric measurements at the 20 ppm level. As CHEOPS carries out its observations in a broad optical passband, it can provide insights into the reflected light from exoplanets and constrain the short-wavelength thermal emission for the hottest of planets by observing occultations and phase curves. Here, we report the first CHEOPS observation of an occultation, namely, that of the hot Jupiter WASP-189 b, a MP ≈ 2MJ planet orbiting an A-type star. We detected the occultation of WASP-189 b at high significance in individual measurements and derived an occultation depth of dF = 87.9 ± 4.3 ppm based on four occultations. We compared these measurements to model predictions and we find that they are consistent with an unreflective atmosphere heated to a temperature of 3435 ± 27 K, when assuming inefficient heat redistribution. Furthermore, we present two transits of WASP-189 b observed by CHEOPS. These transits have an asymmetric shape that we attribute to gravity darkening of the host star caused by its high rotation rate. We used these measurements to refine the planetary parameters, finding a ~25% deeper transit compared to the discovery paper and updating the radius of WASP-189 b to 1.619 ± 0.021RJ. We further measured the projected orbital obliquity to be λ = 86.4-4.4+2.9°, a value that is in good agreement with a previous measurement from spectroscopic observations, and derived a true obliquity of ψ = 85.4 ± 4.3°. Finally, we provide reference values for the photometric precision attained by the CHEOPS satellite: for the V = 6.6 mag star, and using a 1-h binning, we obtain a residual RMS between 10 and 17 ppm on the individual light curves, and 5.7 ppm when combining the four visits. ; with important contributions to the payload and the ground segment from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The Swiss participation to CHEOPS has been supported by the Swiss Space Office (SSO) in the framework of the Prodex Programme and the Activités Nationales Complémentaires (ANC), the Universities of Bern and Geneva as well as well as of the NCCR PlanetS and the Swiss National Science Foundation. M.L.E. acknowledges support from the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) under project 859724 "GRAPPA". Sz. Cs. thanks DFG Research Unit 2440: 'Matter Under Planetary Interior Conditions: High Pressure, Planetary, and Plasma Physics' for support. Sz. Cs. acknowledges support by DFG grants RA 714/14-1 within the DFG Schwerpunkt SPP 1992: "Exploring the Diversity of Extrasolar Planets". A.D.E. and D.E.H. acknowledge support from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (project FOUR ACES; grant agreement no. 724427). M.J.H. acknowledges the support of the Swiss National Fund under grant 200020_172746. The Spanish scientific participation in CHEOPS has been supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and the European Regional Development Fund through grants ESP2016-80435-C2-1-R, ESP2016-80435-C2-2-R, ESP2017-87676-C5-1-R, PGC2018-098153-B-C31, PGC2018-098153-B-C33, and MDM-2017-0737 Unidad de Excelencia María de Maeztu–Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), as well as by the Generalitat de Catalunya/CERCA programme. The MOC activities have been supported by the ESA contract No. 4000124370. This work was supported by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia through national funds and by FEDER through COMPETE2020 – Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização by these grants: UID/FIS/04434/2019; UIDB/04434/2020; UIDP/04434/2020; PTDC/FIS-AST/32113/2017 & POCI-01-0145-FEDER-032113; PTDC/FIS-AST/28953/2017 & POCI-01-0145-FEDER-028953; PTDC/FIS-AST/28987/2017 & POCI-01-0145-FEDER-028987. S.C.C.B. and S.G.S. acknowledge support from FCT through FCT contracts nr. IF/01312/2014/CP1215/CT0004, IF/00028/2014/CP1215/CT0002. O.D.S.D. is supported in the form of work contract (DL 57/2016/CP1364/CT0004) funded by national funds through Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT). The Belgian participation to CHEOPS has been supported by the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO) in the framework of the PRODEX Program, and by the University of Liege through an ARC grant for Concerted Research Actions financed by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. M.G. is F.R.S.-FNRS Senior Research Associate. S.S. has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 833925, project STAREX). Gy.S. acknowledges funding from the Hungarian National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NKFIH) grant GINOP-2.3.2-15-2016-00003 and K-119517. For Italy, CHEOPS activities have been supported by the Italian Space Agency, under the programs: ASI-INAF n. 2013-016-R.0 and ASI-INAF n. 2019-29-HH.0. The team at LAM acknowledges CNES funding for the development of the CHEOPS DRP, including grants 124378 for O.D. and 837319 for S.H. X.B., S.C., D.G., M.F. and J.L. acknowledge their role as an ESA-appointed CHEOPS science team members.

The production of building materials is a significant contributor to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions with conventional kiln brick production being one of the most energy intensive processes. In addition, phosphorus is a resource that is required by all living organisms and is a key ingredient in many fertilisers. The demand for building materials and global natural phosphate rock (phosphorous) are increasing and decreasing respectively as urbanization increases. Naturally occurring phosphorous is expected to experience a peak in the near future after which it will be completely depleted. Urine has been identified as a potential source of phosphorous for fertiliser production as well as urea for microbial induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) applications. MICP is a natural process that has the ability to produce bio-building material. Urine accounts for a small percentage of the total volume of domestic wastewater but contains a large percentage of the nutrients wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) seek to remove before they adversely affect receiving water bodies. The unprecedented rate of climate change and the associated pressures, coupled with the increased awareness around the depletion of natural resources, presents a significant challenge for which innovative and sustainable solutions are required. The reason for engaging in this project was to investigate if the urea present in human urine could be used in the natural MICP for the production of bio-bricks while at the same time recovering phosphorus from urine. Firstly, a thorough review of literature was conducted to assess current innovations pertaining to the dissertation topic. The process of bio-brick production by MICP requires a urea rich solution which could be recovered from urine. However, the urea present in urine naturally degrades and this process needs to be delayed if urine is to be used as a urea source for MICP. This was achieved by "stabilising" the urine with calcium hydroxide. Sporosarcina pasteurii (S. pasteurii) was the bacteria strain used to help drive the MICP process. The bacteria degraded the urea present in the urine to form carbonate ions which then combined with the calcium ions present in the urine solution to produce calcium carbonate. This calcium carbonate was then used as a bio-cement to glue loose sand particles together in the shape of a brick. The cementation media was made by adding calcium chloride and nutrient broth to the stabilised urine, and lowering its pH to 11.2. The purpose of adding calcium chloride was to improve the efficiency of the process since the stabilised urine did not have enough calcium ions. Ordinary sand mixed with Greywacke aggregate and inoculated with S. pasteurii bacteria was used as the media for the MICP process. Bio-brick moulds were filled with the sand mixture and sealed. The cementation media was pumped through the bio-brick mould to fill its' pore volume. The media was retained in the moulds for a defined retention time ranging from 1-8 hours. At the end of every retention time, new cementation media was pumped through the bio-brick to fill it's pore volume again. iv To establish an optimal starting influent calcium concentration the influent calcium concentration changed between experiments. Additionally, in subsequent experiments, the calcium concentration was raised in a stepwise manner during an experiment to establish the maximum amount the influent calcium concentration could be raised to before the microbial community experienced adverse effects. Additionally, experiments explored the effects a range of retention times had on the bio-brick system in order to establish an optimal retention time. Another experiment was set up to investigate the relationship between the number of treatments and the resultant compressive strength. The findings from the above-mentioned experiments further guided subsequent experiments which singled out and tested certain factors thought to be affecting the bio-brick system. The factors tested include after treatment washing, ionic strength, pH and calcium concentration of the influent cementation media. Possible alternative nutrient medias (ANMs) were also investigated for a cheaper alternative to the laboratory grade growth media used to grow the bacteria. Lastly, an integrated system that produced both fertilisers and bio-bricks was developed. Its basic economics of raw material inputs and outputs were used to assess the financial implications of the proposed system, and the social and policy barriers likely to affect the implementation of an integrated urine treatment system were examined. Urine treated with calcium hydroxide offers a urea-rich solution that can be used for MICP processes. This resulted in the worlds' first bio-brick "grown" from human urine. The starting influent calcium concentration reached a maximum of 0.09 M before adverse effects to the microbial community were experienced. Furthermore, in terms of a stepwise increase during the treatment cycle, the influent calcium concentration could be raised to 0.12 M without any adverse bacteria effects. The minimum retention time the bio-brick system could withstand was 2 hours which allowed the treatment cycle to be completed in a shorter time. The highest compressive strength obtained was equal to 2.7 MPa. To produce this strength about 31.2 L of stabilised urine was used. The relationship between the number of treatments and the compressive strength showed that an increase in the number of treatments increased the compressive strength. Both the pH and ionic strength of the urine were identified to have an inhibiting effect on the ureolytic activity and MICP process. Additionally, using an influent cementation media with an optimal pH for urea hydrolysis, improved the bacteria's ability to operate at higher ionic strengths. However, when the stabilised urine was stored, urea hydrolysis occurred earlier likely because of external contamination by naturally occurring bacteria in the lab. LML (Lactose mother liquor) was identified as alternative growth media for S. pasteurii growth which could reduce raw material costs considerably. The bio-brick production process was found to be more cost-effective if it was incorporated into the integrated urine treatment process system. The integrated system included fertiliser production by recovering calcium phosphate fertilisers and ammonium sulphate fertilisers before and after the bio-brick production respectively. Producing 1000 bio-bricks a day would require 23% of Cape Towns' population daily urine production and would incur a profit of ZAR 7330 per day between the raw material cost and the revenue from sales. For implementation in a South African context, certain policy barriers need to be overcome. Potential paths for implementation are reclassifying the urine for its use in an industrial process and obtaining an operating permit or seeking an exemption for a permit through the ECA (Environment Conservation Act). Research suggests that products from the integrated system are likely to be socially v accepted and that a combined appeal to people's environmental sensitivities and targeted marketing messages would enhance people's acceptance. Finally, recommendations for further paths to take to build on the research established in this dissertation were made. It is recommended that additional characteristics of the bio-bricks should be tested, recycled material should be used as media for bio-bricks, the bacteria strain should be modified and methods for reducing the ionic strength of urine should be investigated. Additionally, it is recommended that consumers' willingness to use urine-based products should be further studied, the legislative options for implementing bio-brick and fertiliser production should be investigated and a more detailed and expansive economic analysis should be performed.

As a consequence of human activities, particularly agricultural activities, lake systems are subject tosignificant nutrient inputs. This phenomenon, called eutrophication, leads to a proliferation of cyanobacteria. This proliferation is an ecological issue, since it causes an imbalance in the lake ecosystem, but also a health issue, since some of the most common species of cyanobacteria can produce toxins. Finally, eutrophication is also an economic issue, since the lakes concerned cannot be exploited. Understanding the phenomena governing the mechanisms linked to eutrophication is therefore essential, on the one hand to anticipate the consequences, and on the other hand to set up policies for the management of eutrophic lake systems. In this thesis, we analyse these phenomena via dynamic models. The study of eutrophication then requires the mathematical study of these models. As an introduction, we present the different criteria studied to evaluate the general state of alake environment. We also present the various existing models. This analysis allows us to select a modeling approach which consists in aggregating the existing variables and phenomena through abstract mathematical laws. The interest of such models is that they considerably reduce the dimension of the studied system and thus require a reduced number of data to be calibrated. Moreover, such models can be analysed with an analytical study of their mathematical properties.Our study consists of three main axes. The first presents the analysis of toxic and non-toxic cyanobacterial populations. Indeed, the toxicity of cyanobacterial blooms is the main health issue oflake eutrophication. However, there are currently no tools to anticipate this toxicity. Although some of the most common species may produce such toxins, not all individuals of the same species are capable of doing so: it depends on the genetic properties of each individual. Thus, two sub-populations within a species must be considered: one toxic, able to produce such toxins, and one non-toxic. The study of the dynamics of toxic populations is therefore essential to anticipate the toxicity of cyanobacterial proliferation. However, analysis of real cases shows that the proliferationsof toxic and non-toxic populations do not occur at the same time, which implies that their dynamics are governed by different laws. In order to describe the dynamics of these toxic and non-toxic subpopulations, we focus on the impact of temperature on their dynamics, which is assumed as one of the parameters governing the toxicity of cyanobacterial blooms. Analysing a model that uses competition between toxic and non-toxic populations and links their dynamics to temperature, we show that seasonal variations in temperature provide an explanation for the observed temporal distribution of toxic and non-toxic populations. We validate these theoretical results through the implementation of an experiment in a controlled environment, and through the analysis of real cases.This first analysis thus provides us with elements of understanding of the phenomena governing the toxicity of cynanobacterial proliferation. The second part of this thesis focuses on strategies for the mitigation of eutrophication in lakes. We no longer focuse on the toxicity of cyanobacterial blooms, but on the dynamics of nutrients, particularly phosphorus. The first way to reduce this phosphorus concentration is to change agricultural policies upstream of the lakes. In addition to these phosphorus emission reductions, some lakes have retention structures. These structures are between the lake and its watershed, and their role is to retain some of the incoming nutrients. Currently, thesestructures are evaluated on their retention capacity alone, and their effects on downstream lake dynamics are not analyzed. This is the subject of this second chapter of the thesis. (.) ; Du fait des activités humaines, en particulier agricoles, les systèmes lacustres sont soumis à d'importants entrants de nutriments. Ce phénomène, appelé eutrophisation, conduit à une prolifération de cyanobactéries. Cette prolifération est un enjeu écologique, puisque l'écosystème sevoit alors déséquilibré, mais également sanitaire, puisque certaines espèces de cyanobactéries parmiles plus répandues sont capables de produire des toxines. Enfin, l'eutrophisation est également un enjeu économique, puisque l'exploitation des lacs concernés est impossible. Comprendre les phénomènes régissant les mécanismes liés à l'eutrophisation est alors indispensable, d'une part pour en anticiper les conséquences, et d'autre part pour mettre en place des politiques de gestion des systèmes lacustres eutrophes. Dans cette thèse, nous analysons ces phénomènes via les modèles dynamiques. L'étude de l'eutrophisation passe par l'étude mathématique de ces modèles. En introduction, nous présentons les différents critères étudiés permettant d'évaluer l'état générale d'un milieu lacustre. Nous présentons également les différents modèles existants. Cette analyse nous conduit à sélectionner une approche de modélisation qui consiste à agréger les variables et phénomènes existants à travers des lois mathématiques abstraites. L'intérêt de tels modèles est qu'ils réduisent considérablement la dimension du système étudié et nécessitent donc d'un nombre réduit de données pour être calibrés. De plus, de tels modèles sont abordables à une étude analytique de leurs propriétés mathématiques.Notre étude se compose en trois principaux axes. Le premier présente l'analyse des populations toxiques et non toxiques cyanobactériennes. En effet, la toxicité des proliférations cyanobactériennes est le principal enjeu sanitaire de l'eutrophisation des lacs. Or il n'existe pas actuellement d'outils permettant d'anticiper cette toxicité. En effet, si certaines espèces parmi les plus répandues sont bien capables de produire de telles toxines, tous les individus au sein d'une même espèce n'en sont pas capables: cela dépend du patrimoine génétique de chaque individu. Ainsi, deux sous-populations au sein d'une même espèce doivent être considérées: l'une toxique, capable de produire ces toxines, et l'une non toxique. L'étude de la dynamique des populations toxiques est donc indispensable pour anticiper la toxicité des proliférations cyanobactériennes. Or l'analyse de cas réels montre que les épisodes de prolifération des populations toxiques et non toxiques ne se produisent pas aux mêmes moments, ce qui implique que leurs dynamiques sont régies par des lois différentes. Afin de décrire la dynamique de ces sous populations toxiques et non toxiques, nous nous concentrons sur l'impact de la température, dont il est admis qu'il s'agit de l'un des paramètres régissant la toxicité des proliférations cyanobactériennes. A travers un modèle mettant en oeuvre les phénomènes de compétition entre les populations toxiques et non toxiques, et liant leurs dynamiques à la température, nous montrons que les variations saisonnières de température fournissent une explication à la répartition temporelle constatée des populations toxiques et non toxiques. Nous validons ces résultats théoriques via la mise en place d'une expérience en milieu contrôlé, et via l'analyse de cas réels.Cette première analyse nous fournit donc des éléments de compréhension des phénomènes régissantla toxicité des proliférations cynanobactériennes. La seconde partie de cette thèse s'intéresse aux stratégies d'endiguement de l'eutrophisation des lacs. Il ne s'agit plus de se focaliser sur la seule toxicité des proliférations cyanobactériennes, mais de s'intéresser à la dynamique des nutriments, en particulier du phosphore. (.)

Water is used extensively throughout textile processing operations. Almost all dyes, specialty chemicals, and finishing chemicals are applied to textile substrates from water baths. In addition, most fabric preparation steps, including desizing, scouring, bleaching, and mercerizing, use aqueous systems. The amount of water used varies widely in the industry, depending on specific processes operated at the mill, equipment used, and prevailing management philosophy concerning water use. Textile operations vary greatly in water consumption. Wool and felted fabrics processes are more water intensive than other processing subcategories such as wovens, knits, stock, and carpet. Water use can vary widely between similar operations as well. For example, knitting mills average 45 litres of water per 0.5kg of production, yet water use ranges from a low of 11 litres to a high of 205 litres. The UK textile industry is currently facing significant challenges, associated mainly with environmental legislation and overseas competition. Environment-related issues of current importance include the rising costs of effluent treatment/disposal as water companies respond to EC Directives to reduce the pollution levels of sewage works outfalls, more stringent legislation relating to effluent quality, e.g. toxicity, colour (some water companies have already introduced colour charges, and this trend could increase), rising water supply costs as water companies invest in improved distribution systems to reduce leakage, new treatment plants to improve water quality and new water supplies to meet increased demand.Historically, water supply and effluent disposal costs have been an insignificant component of total operating costs, and managers have, rightly, focused on other priorities. This situation is now changing. Water is becoming a scarce resource in relation to demand, and water supply and effluent disposal costs have risen and will continue to rise. Environmental protection is now a reality. In addition to these environmental concerns, the textile industry is having to respond to rapidly changing market requirements, as dictated by fashion, seasonality and customer expectations.TCoE commissioned the MLSE Technology to be developed for Textile Applications to reduce the consumption of water and also reduce the energy required for the preparation of the textile product for further finishing processes.Prototype system based at Textile Centre of Excellence (Huddersfield)MLSE (Multiplexed Laser Surface Enhancement) technology is an example of technology transfer between industries which has facilitated a leading edge development in the processing and performance of Textiles.Both Plasma and UV systems are currently used for cleaning and ablation of polymeric materials. MLSE enhances these processes at a higher level. The Laser intensifies the effective power of the plasma as well as acting on the substrate in its own right.The process has demonstrated the cleaning of a woven fabric that had not been aqueous or solvent scoured. Thus at the base level, cleaning of substrates is achieved. Increasing the treatment intensifies the ablation of the surface of the fibres, thus preparing them for secondary processing, e.g. dyeing. The controlled ablation of the surface of the fibres increases greatly the hydrophilicity of the textile substrate. The purchase of MLSE will be a considerable investment and may involve a licencing scheme. However, costs have been shown to be recouped within one year due to reduction in energy costs and water/water treatment costs. The MLSE Technology is designed to be used by any Textile Company regardless of modus operandi. The Patent Holder for the MLSE technology is MTiX.MLSE impacts on Water Consumption and Energy SavingBy using a technology designed to reduce the energy required to process textile fabrics as well as reduce the requirement for water to carry out future textile processes, MLSE reduces textile process times and also massively reduces the impact of the textile process on the environment. The latest incarnation of the technology processes the textile fabric at a speed of up to 60m per minute and has a much smaller footprint than a traditional aqueous scouring system. The technology requires the textile to be 100% dry therefore water savings are immediate for the cleaning cycle, and the subsequent surface enhancement of the textile substrate lends itself to reduced water and chemical dye use for the dyeing industry for example. The energy saving has been calculated at greater than 99% and subsequent effluent and water consumption at a reduction of greater than 75%, with an environmental CO2 reduction in excess of 90%.As the political and industrial movement is towards greater eco-friendly manufacturing and processing, legal requirements will also need to be developed to protect the eco-structure and the environment. MLSE is proven at production level and could have a big impact on the future of textile production if the take up of the system is successfully achieved by the dyeing, finishing and coatings industry.Production systemFrom a concept machine installed and developed at the TcoE, there are now 2 operational machine in use in industry in our region and lessons learned from the concept machine have been fully addressed with the 2 industrial units.As this is new technology, the correct conditions of the plasma/laser had to be worked out, gaseous recipes had to be developed and correct modulation of the plasma reaction chamber had to be closely monitored and set.Different substrates need different levels of treatment and the user must ensure the substrate is as described as we found several instances of a substrate supposing to be cotton but was in fact polyester so control and correct identification of inward goods is crucial.The durability of using MLSE could be analysed by the take up of the technology. There is worldwide interest in the MLSE process and many large corporate organisations are working with/wishing to engage with the technology. The MLSE technology is regarded as 'disruptive' and will change the way textile companies have always processed their fabrics.Improvement in the understanding of the technology will guide policy makers to give greater support. The technology could be developed for even greater success in other applications with support from scientists, post graduates etc. by finance opportunities to support the technology.It is expected that MLSE may help to:Create Industry wide standard and raise eco awarenessEU wide definition for standards, energy and water consumption per applicationContributes to lower CO2 emissions into the environmentThe technology can be utilised in any region within Europe for the processing of textilesExisting and new companies will need to invest in the new technologies. There will need to be a regular and reliable supplier of industrial gases e.g. argon, CO2, Oxygen, Nitrogen. Training will need to be provided for operation of the system.Long and short terms context impacts on GP feasibility and transferability in terms of economic, political, social and cultural environment, involvement of special competencies and skillsThe economic impact will be one of investment. Political/Social/Cultural may well need some form of research network to collaborate ideas, as well as some form of support mechanism for funding initiatives for investments. Regarding skills and competencies, there will be a need for training in operating and technical training for understanding.ContactGraham Downhill (MTiX): gpd@mti-x.com

Las restricciones en cuanto a emisiones de CO2 a la atmósfera promovidas por la Unión Europea han obligado a reducir el peso de los vehículos y con ello, de los componentes que los integran. Esto ha originado una transición de materiales, de la fundición de hierro a las aleaciones de aluminio, debido a su menor densidad. Sin embargo, las aleaciones de aluminio presentan unas propiedades mecánicas inferiores, y por tanto, dificultades en cuanto a cumplir con los requerimientos exigibles a las piezas, principalmente en aquellas zonas sometidas a mayores esfuerzos. Por lo tanto, la presente tesis se centra en la mejora del comportamiento en servicio de componentes de aluminio fabricados por fundición en baja presión y sometidos a cargas severas, como pueden ser las llantas o los portamanguetas. En primer lugar, se han desarrollado aleaciones de aluminio alternativas a la A356 (Al-Si-Mg), que es la más empleada en la actualidad, con el objetivo de mejorar sus propiedades mecánicas. Para ello se ha optado por dos vías: añadir Cu a la composición de la aleación A356, dando lugar a aleaciones Al-Si-Cu-Mg en las que es necesario aunar una buena resistencia y elongación con una buena resistencia frente a corrosión, y adaptar la composición de la familia 7xxx (Al-Zn-Mg) de forja para poder ser utilizada en procesos de fundición. En ambos casos, el estudio se ha centrado tanto en el diseño de la composición como en el del tratamiento térmico óptimo a aplicar. Como resultado se han obtenido dos aleaciones, una de cada familia, que, tratadas térmicamente, alcanzan hasta 357 MPa de límite elástico, 398 MPa de resistencia máxima y 11,1 % de elongación, lo que supone una mejora de 90, 53 y 120 %, respectivamente, las propiedades a tracción de la aleación A356. Asimismo, por su situación en el vehículo, estos componentes están sometidos a cargas severas en el tiempo, lo que puede causar la rotura por fatiga. El comportamiento a fatiga de un componente depende de diversos factores tales como la calidad superficial, concentradores de tensiones, tensiones residuales,… además, en componentes fundidos, los defectos introducidos durante el proceso son determinantes en el mismo. De entre ellos, la porosidad es la que presenta una mayor repercusión. Los modelos específicos desarrollados hasta la fecha no contemplan adecuadamente la influencia de este factor en la vida a fatiga, lo que da lugar a errores en la predicción. Como alternativa, en la presente tesis se presenta un modelo de predicción de vida a fatiga específico para aleaciones de aluminio de fundición que tiene en cuenta el efecto de la porosidad en las etapas de iniciación y propagación y con el que se consiguen predicciones con errores logarítmicos menores del 2 %. ; The restrictions on CO2 emissions into the atmosphere promoted by the European Union have obliged manufacturers to reduce the weight of their vehicles and, in turn, their individual components. This has led to a transition of materials, from cast iron to aluminium alloys, thanks to their lower density. However, aluminium alloys present inferior mechanical properties, and difficulties, therefore, in terms of complying with the requirements required of the parts, especially in those areas subjected to greater stresses. Hence, the present thesis is centred on the improvement of behaviour in service of components manufactured in low-pressure die-casting and subjected to strict loads, as could be the case with wheel rings and knuckle arms. Firstly, aluminium alloy alternatives to A356 (Al-Si-Mg), the most used currently, have been developed with the objective of increasing its mechanical properties. To this end, two routes were chosen: adding Cu to the A356 composition resulting in Al-Si-Cu-Mg alloys, in which it is necessary to combine high strength and elongation with good resistance to corrosion; and adapting 7xxx wrought alloys compositions series to be used in foundry processes. In both cases, the study was focused on the design of the composition and the optimum heat treatment to be applied. As a result, two alloys were obtained, one from each family which, once heat treated, reach up to 357 MPa of yield strength, 398 MPa of UTS and 11.1% of elongation, representing an improvement of 90, 53 y 120% respectively in the tensile properties of the A356 alloy. Additionally, due to their position in the vehicle, these components are subjected to high stresses over time, which can cause fatigue failure. The fatigue behaviour of a part depends on different factors, such as surface quality, stress concentrators, residual stresses. Furthermore, in casting components, defects introduced during this process are determining. Among these, porosity is the one that has a greater impact. The specific models developed thus far do not consider sufficiently the influence of this factor on fatigue life, with the result that they may provide errors in the estimation. As an alternative, in the present thesis, a new prediction model for fatigue life estimation in casting aluminium alloys is presented. It considers the effect of porosity in both initiation and propagation stages, giving predictions with logarithmic errors no greater than 2%. ; Azken urteetan Europar Batasunak CO2 isurketekiko ezartzen joan den muga gero eta errestriktiboek ibilgailuen pisua murriztera bultzatu dute, eta ondorioz, iblgailuak osatzen dituzten konponenteen pisua. Hori dela eta, konponente estrukturaletan erabilitako materialeen eraldaketa bat suposatu du galdaratutako burnizko konponentetatik aluminiozkoetara, azken honek duen dentsitate baxua medio. Ala ere, alumino aleazioek propietate mekaniko mugatuagoek dituzte eta, ondorioz, aluminozko konponenteek zailtasunak izan ditzakete konponente estrukturalei eskatzen zaien karga eta bizitza betekizunei aurre egiteko. Muga honi aurre egite aldera, tesi honek presio baxuko aluminio galdaraketa bidez garatutako konponenteen zerbitzu portaera hobetzeko ekarpenak egitea du helburu. Lehenik eta behin, gaur egun gehien erabilia den A356 (Al-Si-Mg) aluminio aleazioaren alternatiba diren bi aleazio berri garatu dira. Hortarako bi garapen bide nagusi landu dira: A356 aleazioei Cu gehitzea (Al-Si-Cu-Mg) beste elementu aleanteak doituz erresitentzia, elongazio eta korrosiorako portaera orekatzeko, eta forjako 7xxx (Al-Zn-Mg) familiaren egokitzapena galdaratua izan ahal izateko. Bi garapenetan, aleazioaren diseinuaz gain aplikatutako tratamendu termikoaren optimizazioa landu da. Garapenaren fruitu, 357 MPa-aerteko muga elastikoa, 398 MPa-arte erresistentzia máximo eta ,1-eko elongazioak lortu dira, non , eta 0eko hobekuntza suposatzen duen ezaugarri bakoitzean erreferentziazko A356 aleazioarekiko galdarekta prozesu bera erabiliaz. Bestalde, konponent estrukutralek karga ziklikoak jasan behar izaten dituzte beraien erabileran zear, eta ondorioz neke arazoak izan ditzakete. Konponente batek nekera duen konportamendua faktore askok mugatu dezakete: gainazal kalitateak, tetsio konzentradoreak, ondar tentsioak,… are gehiago, galdaraketa bidezko konponenteetan, fabrikazio prozesuan sortutako defektuek berebiziko pisua dute. Defeketu ezberdinen artean porositatea da garrantzia gehien dueña. Aldiz, gaur egunerarte garatutako neke modeloek ez dute behar bezela kontutan hartzen parámetro honek konponentearen bizitzan duen eragina, eta ondorioz bizitza estimazioetan errore handiak egiten dira. Hori dela eta, tesi hontan galdaraketako aluminio aleazioentzako bizitza estimatzeko modelo espezifikoa garatu da porositateak pitzaduren sorrera eta garapenean duen eragina kontutan harturik. Aztertutako kasuetan modeloak %2 azpiko errore logaritmikoak erakutsi ditu.

Màster universitari en Estudis Avançats en Arquitectura: Gestió i Valoració Urbana i Arquitectònica ; In recent decades, the world has seen a growing global call for a more environmentally and economically sustainable future. The recognition that energy demand is directly associated with greenhouse gas emissions has highlighted energy efficiency, especially when related to the construction sector. Improving energy efficiency in the residential real estate market can play a key role in greenhouse gas reductions. The studies analyzed indicate that Governments around the world are aware of the importance of applying incentive instrument policies towards energy efficiency in buildings. To achieve the goals established by the major international agreements, the construction and building sector need strategies that make viable the extensive use of energy efficiency. But how can anachronistic constructions in terms of energy demand be brought into line with current and future standards? In order to respond to this demand, new emergent models of financing are arising, such as green mortgages. Energy efficient mortgages can be the turning point towards a more sustainable economy. It forms the union of three stakeholders: homeowners and occupiers, political actors, and financial and business entities. The growth in supply of this financing product coupled with incentive instruments towards energy-efficient housing can represent a convergence point for the sustainability, profitability and savings needs of home users/owners. The hypothesis that energy efficiency influences the preferences of household decisionmakers is not recent, studies examine the impact of energy efficiency on home value, delinquencies and also, barriers faced by homeowners regarding energy efficiency. But little has been said about the relationship of energy-efficient home financing and homeowners. This study concentrates on adding to the limited literature regarding the financing of projects with high levels of energy efficiency, more specifically determining the impact of emerging energy efficiency financing instruments on the housing market, more precisely, green mortgages and knowing the stated preferences of household decision-makers regarding energy efficiency and its financing through a method of conjoint based analysis in the Catalan residential market. Empirical evidence suggests that under equal housing conditions, energy ratings have a significant influence at the time of purchase. Furthermore, this research is novel because it indicates that the type of mortgage and the indexes of public subsidy also positively affect at the time of purchase of this energy-efficient dwelling, although to a lesser degree. More specifically, the financial conditions of the individual himself are the main motivator for choosing emerging models of financing energy-efficient housing, as well as the type of EE housing. The cases presented here make it clear that the necessary shift towards a more sustainable future requires the participation of diverse players, not only market forces but also the participation of public administration and society as a whole. The promotion and creation of support tools that enable citizens to renovate and/or buy more energyefficient homes must be a broad, stable and long-lasting policy, as is the case with green mortgages. No policy is capable of overcoming environmental challenges alone, it is necessary a set of coordinated actions. ; El mundo pasa en las últimas décadas por un llamamiento global creciente hacia un futuro más sostenible ambiental y económicamente. La constatación de que la demanda energética está directamente asociada a las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero han puesto en destaque la eficiencia energética, especialmente cuando relacionadas al sector de la construcción. La mejora de la eficiencia energética en el mercado inmobiliario residencial puede tener un papel clave en las reducciones de gases de efecto invernadero. Los estudios analizados sugieren que gobiernos alrededor del mundo están conscientes de la importancia de aplicar políticas de instrumentos de incentivo hacia la eficiencia energética en las edificaciones. Para alcanzar las metas instauradas por los grandes acuerdos internacionales, el sector constructivo y edificatorio necesitan de estrategias que hagan viables el uso extensivo de la eficiencia energética. Pero ¿Cómo readecuar construcciones anacrónicas en términos de demanda de energía a los estándares actuales y futuros? Para responder a esta demanda surgen nuevos modelos emergentes de financiación, caso de las hipotecas verdes. Las hipotecas energéticamente eficientes pueden ser el punto de inflexión hacia una economía más sostenible. Conforma la unión de los tres actores interesados: propietarios y ocupantes de las viviendas, actores políticos y entidades financieras y empresariales. El crecimiento de oferta de este producto de financiación sumado a instrumentos de incentivo hacia viviendas energéticamente eficientes puede representar un punto de convergencia para las necesidades de sostenibilidad, rentabilidad y ahorro de los usuarios/propietarios de viviendas. La hipótesis de que la eficiencia energética influye en las preferencias de los tomadores de decisión del hogar no es reciente, estudios examinan el impacto de la eficiencia energética en el valor de la vivienda, la morosidad y también, barreras enfrentadas por los propietarios respecto de la eficiència energética. Pero poco se habla sobre la relación de la financiación de viviendas energéticamente eficientes y los propietarios. Este estudio busca sumar a la limitada literatura respecto a la financiación de proyectos con altos niveles de eficiencia energética. Más concretamente determinar el impacto de instrumentos de financiación emergentes de la eficiencia energética en el mercado de la vivienda. Más específicamente, las hipotecas verdes y conocer las preferencias declaradas de los tomadores de decisión del hogar con respecto a eficiencia energética y su financiación a través deun método de análisis conjunto basado en la elección en el mercado residencial catalán. Las evidencias empíricas sugieren que a igualdad de condiciones de la vivienda, las clasificaciones energéticas ejercen una importante influencia en el momento de la compra. Asimismo, la presente investigación es novedosa al indicar que el tipo de hipoteca y los índices de subvención pública también influyen positivamente en el momento de la compra de esta vivienda energéticamente eficiente, aunque en menor grado. Más concretamente, son las condiciones financieras del propio individuo el principal motivador para elegir modelos emergentes de financiación de viviendas energéticamente eficientes, así como el tipo de vivienda EE. Los casos aquí presentados dejan claro que el cambio necesario hacia un futuro más sostenible exige la participación de diversos actores, no apenas las fuerzas de mercado sino también la participación de la administración pública y de la sociedad como un todo. La promoción y creación de herramientas de soporte que permitan a los ciudadanos renovar y/o comprar viviendas más eficientes energéticamente debe ser una política amplia, estable y duradera, como es el caso de las hipotecas verdes. Ninguna política es capaz de superar los retos ambientales sola, para tanto es necesario un conjunto de acciones coordinadas.

O transporte marítimo é um elo vital do comércio mundial graças à sua capacidade, confiabilidade e relação custo-eficácia no transporte de grande quantidade de bens; nenhum outro modo de transporte consegue alcançar tais economias de escala. Mas este argumento subestima os custos reais. A frota marítima internacional, excluindo barcos de pesca e navios militares, produziu em 2012 cerca de 796 milhões de toneladas (Mt) de dióxido de carbono (CO2) e 816 Mt de dióxido de carbono equivalente (CO2e) de gases de efeito de estufa (GEE) combinando dióxido de carbono (CO2), metano (CH4) e óxido nitroso (N2O) correspondendo a cerca de 3,1% das emissões globais (IMO-International Maritime Organization, 2015; Rahman e Mashud, 2015) e é um dos setores de mais rápido crescimento em termos de emissões de GEE (Gilbert, Bows e Starkey, 2010; Bows-Larkin, 2014) previstas aumentar entre 102% a 193% em relação aos níveis de 2000 até 2050 (Bows-Larkin, 2014), crescendo a uma taxa mais elevada do que a taxa média de todos os outros sectores, com excepção da aviação. Como as emissões marítimas são produzidas, em grande parte, em mar aberto e por navios registados em países de bandeira de conveniência, foram excluídas dos compromissos nacionais no âmbito do Protocolo de Quioto de 1997, que cedeu o controlo à IMO o organismo da ONU responsável pelo sector1. De acordo com o Maritime Knowledge Centre da IMO, a frota mercante mundial de navios com pelo menos 100 gross tonnage (tonelagem bruta) era composta por 93.161 navios no final do ano de 2016. Espera-se que um número crescente de navios mercantes entre em operação nas próximas décadas, nomeadamente navios porta-contentores de grande capacidade, navios metaneiros e outros adstritos a actividades diversificadas como produção, armazenamento e descarga de gás natural e de petróleo (em inglês Floating Production Storage and Offloading - FPSOs). Os combustíveis marítimos tradicionais também produzem emissões de óxido de enxofre (SOx), óxidos de azoto (NOx) e micropartículas e o impacto sobre o ambiente dos poluentes primários e secundários resultantes da combustão do fuelóleo pesado (HFO) tem contribui para a acidificação, eutrofização e formação de ozono (O3) fotoquímico (Bengtsson, 2011). Um efeito particularmente pernicioso na saúde das populações expostas é a mortalidade prematura relacionada com micropartículas inaláveis associadas com o aumento do cancro de pulmão e problemas cardiorrespiratórios (Corbett et al., 2007) e, embora os efeitos nocivos mais graves sejam particularmente sentidos nas zonas costeiras e em áreas próximas das atividades portuárias, estes efeitos também ocorrem no interior dos países devido às condições predominantes dos ventos (Corbett, Fischbeck and Pandis, 1999) incluindo efeitos transfronteiriços (Nore, 2011). Em Portugal e de acordo com o World Resources Institute, as emissões de CO2 com origem nos combustíveis marítimos cresceram 24,5%, entre 2003 e 2012, em linha com o crescimento mundial (de 26,8%) no mesmo período de dez anos (World Resources Institute, 2015). Nesta tese, para efeitos de monetarização das emissões produzidas pela frota mercante nacional serão utilizados os dados do Inventário Nacional de Emissões, dados de 2014, os quais revelam que, embora o contributo do sector para o registo nacional seja mínimo – devido nomeadamente à exiguidade da frota – o potencial de danos causados não é de todo despiciente. Técnicas para aumentar a eficiência energética e tecnologias de mitigação dos efeitos nocivos - scrubbers, (depuradores) e dispositivos catalíticos - têm sido desenvolvidas e implementadas -, no entanto, embora o seu contributo para a descarbonização do sector deva ser levado em conta, estas tecnologias não correspondem à alteração pretendida do paradigma energético e podem constituir um incentivo ao business-as-usual. Por outro lado, o recurso a combustíveis com menor conteúdo de enxofre como o diesel marítimo é contraproducente uma vez que as emissões dos motores a diesel foram recentemente classificadas como cancerígenas pelo Centro Internacional de Investigação do Cancro (Oeder et al, 2015). O que isto significa é que embora o diesel corresponda ao exigido futuramente pelo Regulamento Tier III emitido pela IMO, na realidade não respeita suficientemente as preocupações com a saúde humana. De qualquer modo as refinarias não teriam provavelmente capacidade suficiente de fornecer todo o diesel necessário para abastecer a frota mundial. Por outro lado, as medidas de redução de poluentes emitidas pela IMO poderão ver seus efeitos reduzidos pelo crescimento esperado da atividade marítima nas próximas décadas e são destinadas a ser adoptadas lentamente ao longo de um largo período de tempo e mostram um progresso muito lento no contexto de evitar um aumento de temperatura superior a 2ºC acima dos níveis pré-industriais (Gilbert, 2013; Bows-Larkin, 2014), daí a necessidade urgente de investir em novas tecnologias e em novos tipos de combustíveis. ; The objective of this Ph.D. thesis is to provide important inputs for the decarbonisation of marine transport and climate change mitigation policies concerning liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a substitute fuel. Real-world results show efficiency gains from LNG compared with traditional fossil fuels burned on-board vessel's engines even when equipped with mitigation technologies. Yet, this is a necessary but not a sufficient condition to LNG be elected as a substitute fuel. For a fuel switch of such order of magnitude to occur within a major end-use sector, other requirements are to be fulfilled: the government intervention in the public interest, and, to justify such policy intervention, the degree of social acceptability. This is accomplished by developing a social cost-benefit analysis (SCBA) performed at a regional basis after the assessment of the trade-off between the provision level of the good and Portuguese nationals' disposable income had been examined. SCBA attaches money prices - a metric of everything that everyone can recognise - to as many costs and benefits as possible in order to uniformly weigh the policy objectives. As a result, these prices reflect the value a society ascribe to the paradigm change enabling the decision maker to form an opinion about the net social welfare effects. Empirically, emissions from the Portuguese merchant fleet weighted by their contribution for the National Inventory were used to quantify and monetise externalities compared with benefits from LNG as a substitute marine fuel. Benefits from the policy implementation are those related with the reduction of negative externalities. Costs are those determined from the price nationals are hypothetically willing-to-pay for. Conclusions show that benefits are largely superior to the costs, so action must be taken instead of a doing nothing scenario. Apart from the social ex-ante evaluation, this thesis also imprints the first step for developing furthermore complete studies in this aspect and it can help fill policy makers' knowledge gap to what concerns to strategic energy options vis-à-vis sustainability stakeholders engagement. Although it addresses Portuguese particularities, this methodology should be applied elsewhere.

With the advent of the Industrial Revolution and its worldwide occurrence, the increased use of fossil fuels in the building sector have raised which caused energy crisis and global warming as a result of carbon dioxide emissions. The stated issues have led the authorities to develop a creative approach to confronting the crisis through energy efficiency policies. However, optimizing energy consumption should not result in losing thermal comfort in buildings. Therefore, these two approaches must be considered in the same direction and from the early stage of the building design. One of the main causes of excessive use of energy in buildings of severe climates (i.e., for heating and cooling purposes) is heat conduction through building external walls. Therefore selecting the optimal walls, with the approaches of energy efficiency and thermal comfort can be a great step in this direction particularly in regions with the severe climatic condition. However, the process of walls selection itself is another issue that requires comprehensive research on the subject, influential factors, evaluation criterion as well as the decision-making process. Accordingly, the present study, oriented to develop a comparative model selecting optimal opaque wall constructions in hot and humid climates based on four main evaluation criterion namely energy saving (by means of dynamic thermal simulation), thermal comfort (by means of Fanger's PMV model), moisture control (by means of steady-state Glaser analysis) as well as the cost efficiency (by means of amortization time calculation). The reason why "hot and humid climate" was chosen was that the thermal behavior of the walls in such climates faces unpredictable factors due to the climate characteristics, such as moisture condensation and heat behavior in different periods of the year. Both research methods of qualitative and quantitative were employed in this study including literature survey, field survey, computer-based simulation, temperature monitoring, thermal and cost analysis as well as a simple multi-attribute rating technique (SMART) for the final assessment and the decision making process. To indicate the application of the developed multi-factor optimization model, a case study methodology was employed by means of a two-bedroom flat in Kish Island, Iran which is characterized by a "hot and humid climate". The number of 10 wall cases were selected in accordance with the most commonly used wall constructions in the context (walls 1-5 and 10) besides suitable ones suggested by the literature review after a process of localization (in accordance with the context building code; walls 6-9). Based on the results wall 6 obtained the highest performance for energy saving and thermal comfort hours followed by walls 7, 8, 10 and 9 respectively. On the contrary, wall 3 obtained the worst result for energy saving and thermal comfort hours, followed by walls 1, 2, 5 and 4. In addition to energy saving and thermal comfort, based on Glaser analysis, condensation was occurred for walls 6 and 7, which employed insulation internally and externally respectively. However, since the results for the condensation rate is below the limit, the walls are not at the risk for condensation at all. Further, the results for cost efficiency indicated that the entire wall cases amortized their initial cost less than the limit of 10 years while wall 3 considered to be the wall with the longest amortization time period of 9.1 years. On the contrary, wall 10 considered being the wall with the shortest amortization time period of 4.8 years. As a result for the final assessment and overall grading of the SMART in terms of energy saving, thermal comfort and cost efficiency for the entire simulated wall constructions, wall 6 obtained the highest overall grade; this is the opposite for wall 3, obtaining the lowest grade among the entire simulated cases. Paying attention to the results, it can be deducted that the walls that suggested by the literature review and as a result of localization process (employing thermal insulation) showed more energy saving and thermal comfort potential at all. It also should be highlighted that since the developed model is inherently comparative in which multiple evaluation factors are considered, the result is obtained generally, on aggregate. Based on the findings and in accordance with the walls total grades through the SMART, the most efficient walls were the ones formed during the localization process (i.e., walls 6-9) in addition to a 40-cm adobe wall (i.e., wall 10) as the representative case for traditional walls used in ancient architecture of Kish Island. As a consequence, the results of the case study revealed that the application of the developed model has the potential to save cost and energy, improve the thermal quality of the indoor environment as well as predicting the risk of condensation in buildings' walls of hot and humid climates. Keywords: Multi-Factor Optimization Model, Energy saving, Thermal Comfort, Moisture Control, Cost Efficiency, Localization ; ÖZ: Endüstri Devrimi'nin gelişi ve dünya çapında yaygınlaşması ile birlikte, karbon dioksit emisyonlarının bir sonucu olarak enerji krizine ve küresel ısınmaya neden olan inşaat sektöründe fosil yakıtların kullanımının azaltılması gündeme gelmiştir. Dolayısıyla, bunun sonucunda enerji koruma politikaları geliştirmesine yol açılmıştır. Bununla birlikte, enerji tüketimini optimize etmek binalarda ısıl konforun gözardı edilmesi anlamını taşımaz. Bu nedenle, bu iki yaklaşım, bina enerji kullanımı stratejilerinin tasarımında eşit ve aynı yönde düşünülmelidir. Binalarda enerji tüketiminin ana nedenlerinden biri, dış duvarlar (yani opak kısım) yoluyla ısı transferidir. İster içten dışa, ister tersi olsun, bu değişim, bina sakinleri için ısıl rahatsızlığa neden olur ve ısıtma ve soğutma mekanik cihazlarının kullanılması ihtiyacını ortaya çıkarır. Bu nedenle, uygun duvarların seçimi, enerji verimliliği ve ısıl konfor yaklaşımı parametreleri dikkate alınarak yapılmalıdır. Ancak, uygun duvar uygulamasının nasıl belirleneceği, kapsamlı bir seçim ve karar verme yöntemi gerektiren bir diğer konudur. Buna göre, bu çalışma, sıcak iklimlerde opak duvar konstrüksiyonlarını karşılaştırmalı olarak seçmek için bir yöntem geliştirmeye yöneliktir. Sıcak iklimin seçilmesinin sebebi, iklim özelliklerinden dolayı bu iklimlerde duvarların ısıl davranışlarının tahmin edilemeyen faktörlerle karşı karşıya kalması, kapsamlı bir araştırma için daha uygun olan birkaç yaklaşımı tanımlamaktır. Çok faktörlü optimizasyon yönteminin geliştirilmesi, literatür taramasının öne sürdüğü uygun duvarların yanı sıra, yerel kullanım alanı bulmuş yaygın uvar türleri arasında yapılacak seçimin, enerji verimliliği, ısıl konfor ve ekonomik analizleri de içeren çok faktörlü optimizasyon yöntemini geliştirilerek değerlendirilmesi hedeflenmiştir. Önerilen model yapılan saha çalışması ile test edilmiştir. Saha çalışmasında literatür taraması ile önerilen iç duvarlar, yerel kullanım alanı bulmuş duvar seçenekleri ile mukayese edilerek sonuca ulaşılmıştır. Açıkçası, önerilen yöntemin, sıcak ve nemli bir iklimde opak duvarları seçmek için kapsamlı bir yöntem olduğu söylenemez, ancak bu yöntemin, olası seçenekleri kullanarak, daha iyi bir seçim tekniğine yol açabileceği söylenebilir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Enerji verimliliği, İsıl Konfor, Optimizasyon Yöntemi, Duvar Yapımı, Sıcak ve Nemli İklim ; Doctor of Philosophy in Architecture. Thesis (Ph.D.)--Eastern Mediterranean University, Faculty of Architecture, Dept. of Architecture, 2019. Supervisor: Assist. Prof. Dr. Polat Hançer.

Conclusion: The main objective of the present text is to present a synthetic analysis of selected issues concerned with the electricity market in Poland. Within the analysis of the changes in the period of 2008-2015 emphasis was laid on the trends in electricity generation and demand, while taking into account their relationship with the fluctuating level of the gross domestic product. Besides, the main processes taking place in the exchange trading in electricity were pointed to. Next, the demand for electricity up to 2030 was presented, whereby greater attention was drawn to the relationship between the increase in electricity consumption and the level of the gross domestic product and the value of sold production of industry. Another presented forecast was concerned with electricity prices; it included the main determinants of relevance for the drop or rise in prices in the future. The forecast was supplemented with a presentation of the results obtained with the aid of selected methods for analysing the dynamics of economic phenomena. Given the need to elaborate the research problem, the text features research questions related to the following conclusions: (1) Is it possible to point out any special characteristics of the structure and workings of the electricity market in Poland? The Polish energy market is closely connected with two carriers, that is black coal and lignite coal – the total installed capacity on the National Power Grids for commercial energy generation based on black and lignite coal is 71%. The structure of renewable energy sources is dominated by biomass burning. Poland's peculiar energy structure determines specific problems for economy. First and foremost, one should point to: (1) the costs of the transformation of the high-emission sector of electricity generation, (2) the costs of the transformation of the old coal-based technology, (3) the costs of the introduction of renewable energy sources. In the future, the aforesaid costs will affect electricity prices, which in turn will give rise to a decline of the competitiveness of the Polish economy. Furthermore, given the median wages of household consumers, a substantial increase in the costs of living is to be expected. A crucial factor that might prevent the rise in electricity prices is market liberalization and consolidation of transmission infrastructure, including cross-border infrastructure, but such changes might also have a negative effect on the Polish energy sector. (2) Is it possible to point out a characteristic trend in the changes in demand for electricity in Poland? All the presented forecasts of demand for electricity predict a rise up to 2030. The consequence will be a need to develop the installed capacity in the commercial energy industry and in the renewable energy industry. Also, the rise in consumption will necessitate a development of transmission and distribution infrastructure as well as larger outlays on their renovation, since currently around 16% of the transmission infrastructure is more than 30 years old, and 24% of it is more than 40 years old. Forecasts of the increase in the demand for electricity are connected with the forecasts of Poland's economic development. This connection can also be seen in the case of the analysis of the 2008-2015 data, which have been presented in the text. It must be pointed out that the demand for electricity will continue rising, and its dynamics will depend on the country's economic situation. (3) Is it possible to point out a characteristic trend in the changes in electricity prices in Poland? It should be assumed that electricity prices in Poland will continue rising, which is borne out by both the qualitative and quantitative analysis. The arguments for the rise in electricity prices have already been made in some parts of the conclusion – in general they can be related to the costs of the transformation of the Polish energy sector. The issue concerned with possible action that might be undertaken to avoid that trend is now debatable. As regards the conclusions drawn from own research into the application of selected methods for analysing the dynamics of economic phenomena, it must be stressed that electricity prices in Poland for medium-sized household consumers will rise by 59% by 2030, whereas electricity prices for industrial consumers will drop by 11% by 2030. The increase in electricity prices will be conditional upon the determinants mentioned in the conclusion; furthermore, there is another factor that will considerably affect the pricing trends, that is both the technical and legal scope of the construction of the homogeneous energy market in the European Union It is also worth mentioning that in connection with the conducted analysis it is to be assumed that considerable disproportions in electricity prices will continue in the European Union in 2030 as well. For household consumers in Poland the projected price is to be 0.22 euro/kWh, whereas the average price for the whole of the European Union is to be 0.4 euro/kWh, and for Germany – 0.65 euro/kWh. For medium-sized industrial consumers in Poland, the projected price is to be 0.073 euro/kWh, whereas the average price for the whole of the European Union is to be 0.094 euro/kWh, and for Germany – 0.059 euro/kWh. The text presents only a selection of issues concerned with: (1) the operation of the electricity market in Poland, (2) forecasts of the demand for electricity, and (3) forecasts of electricity prices. Hence, it must be emphasised that there is a need for further research, which would explore particular topic groups, and address other determinants affecting the presented forecasts of phenomena and/or employ more advanced forecasting methods. ; The subject of analysis in the present paper is a description of the workings of the electricity market in Poland. The years 2008-2015 came under closer scrutiny, whereby emphasis was laid on the trends in electricity generation and demand, while taking into account the country's economic development. Besides, the text mentions forecasts of the demand for electricity in 2030, as well as forecasts of electricity prices. As regards the forecast of electricity prices, both the qualitative and quantitative forecasts have been presented. In the latter case, the results of author's own forecast have been presented; these were obtained with the aid of the selected applied methods for the analysis of economic phenomena dynamics (the exponential model and the linear trend model). Given the necessity to elaborate the research problem, the text addresses the following research questions: (1) Is it possible to point out any special characteristics of the structure and workings of the electricity market in Poland?, (2) Is it possible to point out a characteristic trend in the changes in demand for electricity in Poland?, (3) Is it possible to point out a characteristic trend in the changes in electricity prices in Poland? ; 1 ; 141 ; 165 ; Środkowoeuropejskie Studia Polityczne

Актуальность. Химикаты двойного назначения и их потенциальное воздействие являются постоянным объектом наблюдения со стороны многих международных организаций, однако данная информация до сих пор не нашла должного отражения в учебных программах подготовки военных токсикологов. Цель. Подтверждение актуальности расширения спектра знаний по токсикологии химикатов двойного назначения и разработки цикла тематического усовершенствования по этому вопросу. Материалы и методы. Проанализированы материалы Организации по запрещению химического оружия, Австралийской группы, Организации по безопасности и сотрудничеству в Европе по вопросам международного регулирования химического и токсичного оружия. Результаты. Автором обобщены ключевые компоненты системы международного наблюдения за химическими веществами — компонентами химического оружия, дана характеристика химикатов двойного назначения. Представленные списки химикатов подразделяются в зависимости от степени потенциального риска и масштаба коммерческого применения. Подчеркивается, что в учебных программах последипломной подготовки военных врачей преимущественно уделяется внимание изучению оружия массового поражения на основе методологии, разработанной еще во времена Второй мировой войны. Учитывая вышеизложенное, существует необходимость пересмотра учебных программ последипломной подготовки военных врачей с целью создания возможности приобретения слушателями знаний по токсикологии химикатов двойного назначения и современных международных норм их наблюдения и регулирования. Выводы. В современных условиях существует необходимость совершенствования учебных программ последипломной подготовки военных врачей в аспекте изучения токсикологии химикатов двойного назначения и международных норм их контроля. ; Актуальність. Хімікати подвійного призначення та їх потенційний вплив є постійним об'єктом спостереження з боку багатьох міжнародних організацій, однак дана інформація досі не знайшла належного відображення у навчальних програмах підготовки військових токсикологів. Мета. Підтвердження актуальності розширення спектра знань з токсикології хімікатів подвійного призначення та розробки циклу тематичного удосконалення з цього питання. Матеріали та методи. Проаналізовано матеріали Організації із заборони хімічної зброї, Австралійської групи, Організації з безпеки та співробітництва в Європі з питань міжнародного регулювання хімічної та токсичної зброї. Результати. Автором узагальнено ключові компоненти системи міжнародного нагляду за хімічними речовинами, що можуть бути застосовані як компоненти хімічної зброї, надано характеристику хімікатів подвійного призначення. Наведено списки хімікатів, що підрозділяються залежно від ступеня потенційного ризику та масштабу комерційного застосування. Підкреслено, що в навчальних програмах післядипломної підготовки військових лікарів переважно приділяється увага вивченню зброї масового ураження на основі методології, розробленої ще за часів Другої світової війни. З огляду на вищезазначене існує потреба перегляду навчальних програм післядипломної підготовки військових лікарів з метою створення можливості здобуття слухачами знань із токсикології хімікатів подвійного призначення та сучасних міжнародних норм їх спостереження та регуляції. Висновки. В сучасних умовах існує потреба удосконалення навчальних програм післядипломної підготовки військових лікарів в аспекті вивчення токсикології хімікатів подвійного призначення та міжнародних норм їх контролю. ; Background. Recently, international regulators, in particular the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the Australian Group, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), are increa­singly focusing on dual-use chemicals, which are widely used in industry in many countries of the world, but under certain conditions, can be used as chemical weapons. Information on dual-use chemicals is open-access, constantly updated, but not adequately reflected in the postgraduate training curricula of military doctors. The purpose of the study is to confirm the rele­vance of expanding the range of knowledge on the toxicology of dual-use chemicals and to develop the thematic improvement cycle for military doctors of various specialties as a component of the gene­ral program of post-graduate training of doctors, conducted by the Department of Military Toxicology, Radiolo­gy and Medical Protection of the Ukrainian Military Medical Academy. Materials and methods. Materials of the bulletins of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the Australian Group press releases, materials of the international conferences of the OSCE over the past 10 years on the international regulation of chemical and toxin weapons been analyzed. The components of the global chemical oversight system that can be used as components of chemical weapons been generalized. Results. Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction signed on behalf of Ukraine on January 13, 1993 in Paris, Ukraine, was ratified by Law No. 187-XIV of October 16, 1998.Today, The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons acts as an international legal framework for clarifying the provisions of the Convention. In addition, the organization carries out inspections of military-industrial facilities to ensure compliance with the requirements of the Convention by the participating countries. The Convention not only prescribes the destruction and prohibition of chemical weapons and related objects, but also sets limits on the international trade in toxic chemicals and precursors that can be used for military purposes. According to the Analytical review of the state of technogenic and natural safety in Ukraine for 2016, there are high risks in emergencies in Ukraine related to accidents with emission or hazardous release of hazardous chemicals. Potential risks are related to the operation of 711 facilities, in which more than 285 thousand tons of hazardous chemicals are stored or used in the production activity, including more than 3 thousand tons of chlorine, 183 thousand tons of ammonia and about 99 thousand tons of hazardous chemicals. Among the objects that store or use chemicals in their activities, the most potentially dangerous are: the production of explosives and the disposal of unsuitable ammunition; large-scale production of inorganic substances (mineral fertilizers, chlorine, ammonia, acids); oil and gas refineries; production of organic synthesis products; production using chlorine and ammonia; Warehouses and bases with reserves of pesticides for agriculture; main ammonia and ethylene pipelines. The foregoing makes Ukraine the subject of special attention from the international organizations dealing with issues of chemical safety and control over chemical wea­pons.It should be noted that the post-graduate trainings of military doctors focus on studying of weapons of mass destruction, in particular chemical weapons. The presentation of the educational material is based on the methodology developed during the Second World War. Traditional educational material reveals only certain aspects of chemical weapons of previous decades. At the same time, it would be advisable to reflect on contemporary aspects of chemical safety in the programs of postgraduate training of military toxicologists, in particular potential threats involving dual-use chemicals and international mechanisms for their research and regulation. Conclusions. Observing dual-use chemicals is an important aspect of the international chemical safety and security. Taking into account the scale of chemical production in Ukraine, where dual-use substances are used, and the nature of existing chemical threats, dual-use monitoring is a matter of increasing relevance. In view of the above, there is a need to revise certain sections of the training programs of post-graduate training of military toxicologists in order to acquire theoretical knowledge of dual-use chemicals and international standards for their control.

In this era of startling developments in the medical field there remains a serious worry about the hazardous potential of various by products which if not properly addressed can lead to consequences of immense public concern. Hospitals and other health care facilities generate waste products which are evidently hazardous to all those exposed to its potentially harmful effects. Need for effective legislation ensuring its safe disposal is supposed to be an integral part of any country's health related policy. This issue is of special importance in developing countries like Pakistan which in spite of framing various regulations for safeguarding public health, seem to overlook its actual implementation. The result unfortunately is the price wehave to pay not only in terms of rampant spread of crippling infections but a significant spending of health budget on combating epidemics which could easily have been avoided through effective waste disposal measures in the first place. Waste classified under the heading 'bio-hazardous' includes any infectious or potentially infectious material which can be injurious or harmful to humans and other living organisms. Amongst the many potential sources are the hospitals or other health delivery centres which are ironically supposed to be the centres of infection control and treatment. Whilst working in these setups, health care workers such as doctors, nurses, paramedical staff and sanitation workers are actually the ones most exposed and vulnerable to these challenges. Biomedical waste may broadly be classified into Infectious and toxic waste. Infectious waste includes sharps, blood, body fluids and tissues etcwhile substances such as radioactive material and by-products of certain drugs qualify as toxic waste. Furthermore health institutions also have to cater for general municipal waste such as carton boxes, paper and plastics. The World Health Organisation has its own general classification of hospital waste divided into almost eight categories of which almost 15% (10% infectious and 5% toxic) is estimated to be of a hazardous nature while the remaining 85% is general non hazardous content.1A recent study from Faisalabad, Pakistan has estimated hospital waste generation around 1 to 1.5 kg / bed /day for public sector hospitals in the region,2while figures quoted from neighbouring India are approximately 0.5 to 2 KG / hospital bed /day.3 Elsewhere in the world variable daily hospital waste production has been observed ranging from as low as 0.14 to 0.49 kg /day in Korea4 and 0.26 to 0.89 kg/day in Greece5to as high as 2.1 to 3.83 kg/day in Turkey6 and 0.84 to 5.8 kg/day in Tanzania.7Ill effects of improper management of hospital waste can manifest as nosocomial infections or occupational hazards such as needle stick injuries. Pathogens or spores can be borne either through the oro-faecal or respiratory routes in addition to direct inoculation through contact with infected needles or sharps. Environmental pollution can result from improper burning of toxic material leading to emission of dioxins, particulate matter or furans into the air. The habitat can also be affected by illegal dumping and landfills or washing up of medical waste released into the sea or river. Potential organisms implicated in diseases secondary to mismanagement of hospital waste disposal include salmonella, cholera, shigella, helminths, strep pneumonia, measles, tuberculosis, herpesvirus, anthrax, meningitis, HIV, hepatitis and candida etc. These infections can cause a considerable strain on the overall health and finances of the community or individuals affected. The basic principal of Public health management i.e 'prevention is better than cure' cannot be more stressed in this scenario as compared to any other health challenge. Health facilities must have a clear policy on hazardous waste management. To ensure a safe environment hospitals need to adopt and implement international and local systems of waste disposal. Hospital waste management plan entails policy and procedures addressing waste generation, accumulation, handling, transportation, storage, treatment and disposal. Waste needs to be collected in marked containers usually colour coded and leak proof. Segregation at source is of vital importance. The standard practice in many countries is the Basic Three Bin System ie to segregate the waste into RED bags/ boxes for sharps, YELLOW bags for biological waste and BLUE or BLACK ones for general/ municipal waste. All hospital staff needs to be trained in the concept of putting the right waste in relevant containers/ bags. They need to know that more than anything else this practice is vital for their own safety. The message can be reinforced through appropriate labelling on the bins and having posters with simple delineations to avoid mixing of different waste types. Sharps essentially should be kept in rigid, leak and puncture-resistant containers which are tightly lidded and labelled. Regular training sessions for nurses and cleaning staff can be organised as they are the personnel who are more likely to deal with waste disposition at the level of their respective departments. Next of course is transportation of waste products to the storage or disposal. Sanitary staff and janitors must be aware of the basic concepts of waste handling and should wear protective clothing, masks and gloves etc, besides ensuring regular practice of disinfection and sterilization techniques.8Special trolleys or vehicles exclusively designed and reserved for biomedical waste and operated by trained individuals should be used for transportation to the dumping or treatment site. Biomedical waste treatment whether on site or off site is a specialised entity involving use of chemicals and equipment intended for curtailing the hazardous potential of the material at hand. Thermal treatment via incinerators, not only results in combustion of organic substances but the final product in the form of non-toxicash is only 10 to 15% of the original solid mass of waste material fed to the machine. Dedicated autoclaves and microwaves can also be used for the purpose of disinfection. Chemicals such as bleach, sodium hydroxides, chlorine dioxide and sodiumhypochlorite are also effective disinfectants having specialised indications. Countries around the world have their own regulations for waste management. United Kingdom practices strict observance of Environmental protection act 1990, Waste managementlicensing regulations 1994 and Hazardous waste regulations 2005 making it one of thesafest countries in terms of hazardous waste disposal. Similar regulations specific for each state have been adopted in United States following passage of the Medical Waste tracking act 1988. In Pakistan, every hospital must comply with the Waste Management Rules 2005 (Environment Protection Act 1997), though actual compliance is far from satisfactory. It is high time that the government and responsible community organisations shape up to seriously tackle the issue of bio hazardous waste management through enforcement of effective policies and standard operating procedures for safeguarding the health and lives of the public in general and health workers in particular.

Most forests in Baden-Württemberg and Germany are managed, among other objectives, for the production of timber. In Germany and the EU there is a strong political direction towards a more bio-based economy to decrease the reliance on fossil fuels and to reduce the emissions caused by using fossil fuels and energy-intensive materials. Accordingly, policies and strategies have been developed to promote the use of bio-based materials. Currently, most biomass used for the bioeconomy is being harvested from forests. The increasing demand could lead to intensified harvesting of woody biomass from existing forests. This has raised concerns about possible impacts on biodiversity of forests. The influence of forest harvesting on biodiversity is difficult to assess in a comprehensive way and is typically only done in experiments or case studies. Hence there is no information for the total forest area of any given region, because we do not have a consistent monitoring of forest biodiversity. Instead of measuring different elements of biodiversity directly, it is possible to use the structural diversity of forests, which indicates the diversity of habitats, as a surrogate. This approach was used in this study to develop a tool that could be used to address future impacts and to identify thresholds of harvesting intensity that cause little or no harm on forest structural diversity. On basis of the second National Forest Inventory of Germany for the state of Baden-Württemberg (NFI2002), this project developed an index (FSI: Forest Structure Index) to assess the level of structural diversity. To include as many aspects of structural diversity in forests as possible, this index was calculated using eleven variables that were derived from this set of forest inventory data and cover important aspects of structural diversity. The many variables sampled in the NFI of Germany allow an assessment of different structural aspects, which are required to quantify structural diversity. The result was an assessment of the presence / absence or expression of structural elements and thereby structural diversity across many sites. The FSI was also calculated for NFI2012 and changes over a period of ten years (2002 – 2012) were analysed for different types of forests. The results show that NFI data of Germany and other countries with similar types of inventories can be used to calculate an index to describe structural diversity of forests; most of the important aspects of structural diversity can be derived from NFI data and were included in the FSI. Some aspects such as information on the litter-layer or microhabitats, however, remain excluded. The results show an increase in structural diversity for most of the analysed types of forests for the period 2002 – 2012, only young stand development phases showed a decrease of structural diversity (chapter 2). While there are always some taxonomic groups (TGs) that are related to particular structural attributes, we don't know whether the whole range of different taxonomic groups in forests is actually related to the suite of structural attributes. To assess how well the FSI captured the variation in occurrence of forest-dwelling species I calibrated the index of structural diversity against comprehensive data on forest biodiversity. These data were available from the German Biodiversity Exploratories, where many different taxonomic groups (like birds, bats, vascular plants, bryophytes, lichen, fungi and different groups of insects) were measured on the same forest plots. For some of the tested taxonomic groups (e.g. the group of birds and deadwood fungi), the overall FSI-score can be used to successfully describe the presence / absence of species or the diversity of TGs across different types of forest stands. In addition, knowledge about important structural elements for individual tested TGs can be gained by analysing the correlation with single variables of the index. Subsequently taxon-specific indices could be developed on this basis. Some TGs were related to the structural diversity index only in single regions or in particular types of forest stands. Variation within a third class of TGs (e.g. orthoptera and hymenoptera) was not explained by the performance of the FSI. Here, either other structural elements may be important for the habitat of these taxonomic groups, or they may be more dependent on the abiotic environment or management related aspects (chapter 3). In a third step, harvesting intensities for the period 2002 - 2012 were calculated on the basis of NFI data and combined with changes of the developed index at the plot-level. For this purpose, the influence of increasing harvesting intensities in different types of forests were analysed and recommendations for suitable harvesting intensities, regarding the maintenance of structural diversity, were made. This calculation was based on 10%-classes for harvesting intensities. This was necessary because the NFI of Germany uses the angle-count sampling method for many tree-related variables and hence plot information is not representative for the forest stands in which it was sampled. The influence of harvesting intensity on changes in the structural diversity index between inventory periods was therefore aggregated to form larger classes such as forest types or different stand development phases to produce more reliable and plausible results. These results show that some types of forests are influenced more negatively by increasing harvesting intensities than others. For all forest types analysed, except young stand development phases, a slight increase in structural diversity as expressed by the developed diversity index, was found for the period 2002 – 2012. Harvesting removals in this period were less than the biomass increment, indicating that future harvesting could theoretically be intensified without a loss in structural diversity, especially in conifer-dominated stands (mainly middle-aged spruce-dominated stands). Broadleaf-dominated forest stands show less potential for increasing harvesting intensity before a loss in structural diversity will be observed (chapter 4). With this structural diversity index, originally developed for the large-scale forest inventory data of Baden-Württemberg, an assessment of structural diversity can be performed. Changes over 10-year periods can be analysed and recommendations for suitable harvesting intensities at the level of forest types can be developed. Results of our study show the potential for using structural variables of forests, derived from large-scale inventory data of Germany, to describe species diversity of some tested taxonomic groups like birds or deadwood fungi. As a next step, the potential for predicting the presence or diversity of single taxonomic groups by structural elements and their expressions on inventory plots could be examined, such as where data on species is missing, and to extrapolate this information to a larger scale. So far, a tool to assess the level of structural diversity across many sites has been missing. The FSI developed in this study can be used to support decision making processes or societal debates on the use of forests. In general, harvesting activities do not necessarily influence the level of structural diversity negatively. In some types of forests, low harvesting intensities can even have slightly positive effects on structural diversity and thereby also on species diversity. These results indicate the possible increase in harvesting intensity in some types of forest stands and the amount of additional harvested woody biomass from existing forests could be used to support a growing bioeconomy sector in Baden-Württemberg or Germany.