Search Results (404)

Dynamic and Adaptive solar systems demonstrate a greater potential to enhance the satisfaction of occupants, in terms of indoor environment quality and the energy efficiency of the buildings, than conventional shading solutions. This study has evaluated Dynamic and Adaptive Photovoltaic Shading Systems (DAPVSSs) through a comprehensive analysis of six shading designs in which their energy production and the comfort of occupants were considered. Energy generation, thermal comfort, daylight, and glare control have been assessed in this study, considering multiple orientations throughout the seasons, and a variety of tools, such as Rhino 6.0, Grasshopper, ClimateStudio 2.1, and Ladybug, have been exploited for these purposes. The results showed that the prototypes that were geometrically more complex, designs 5 and 6 in particular, had approximately 485 kWh higher energy production and energy savings for cooling and 48% better glare control than the other simplified configurations while maintaining the minimum daylight as the threshold (min DF: 2%) due to adaptive and control methodologies. Design 6 demonstrated optimal balanced performance for all the aforementioned criteria, achieving 587 kWh/year energy production while maintaining the daylight factor within the 2.1–2.9% optimal range and ensuring visual comfort compliance during 94% of occupied hours. This research has established a framework that can be used to make well-informed design decisions that could balance energy production, occupants’ wellbeing, and architectural integration, while advancing sustainable building envelope technologies. Full article

Effective building operation requires a careful balance between energy conservation and indoor environmental comfort. Although numerous methods have been developed to reduce energy consumption during the operational phase, their objectives and applications vary widely. However, the complexity of building energy management makes it challenging to identify the most suitable methods that simultaneously achieve both comfort and efficiency goals. Existing studies often lack a systematic framework that supports integrated decision-making under comfort constraints. This research aims to address this gap by proposing a decision-making tree for selecting energy conservation methods during building operation with an explicit consideration of indoor environmental comfort. A comprehensive literature review is conducted to identify four main energy-consuming components during building operation: the building envelope, HVAC systems, lighting systems, and plug loads and appliances. Three key comfort indicators—thermal comfort, lighting comfort, and air quality comfort—are defined, and energy conservation methods are categorized into three strategic groups: passive strategies, control optimization strategies, and behavioural intervention strategies. Each method is assessed using a defined set of evaluation criteria. Subsequently, a questionnaire survey is administered for the calibration of the decision tree, incorporating stakeholder preferences and expert judgement. The findings contribute to the advancement of understanding regarding the co-optimization of energy conservation and occupant comfort in building operations. Full article

Traditional Chinese villages, which have long supported villagers’ comfort level of daily activities, are increasingly affected by global climate change and rural reconstruction, prompting growing research interest in their outdoor microclimate design. This systematic review aims to synthesize and evaluate the outdoor microclimate spatial design mechanism studies in traditional Chinese villages noted for their uniqueness and complexity. Following the PRISMA method, this study was carried out on November 27, 2024, by retrieving studies from the Scopus and CNKI databases and applying predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria; 42 empirical studies were systematically reviewed. It identifies current research trends, summarizes concepts, frameworks, indicators, and methodologies with a focus on the design mechanisms considering scales, contexts, and user groups, and outlines directions for future research. The findings reveal a growing number of publications, with case studies predominantly concentrated on three concepts: physical microclimates, human comfort, and behavioral responses, characterized as distributed in south-east areas. Based on these concepts and their correlations, this study proposes a classification framework based on multiple scales, contexts, and user groups. Within this framework, the study found that relative humidity and PET (physiological equivalent temperature) emerge as the most commonly used indicators, while field measurements, simulations, surveys, and observations are identified as the primary methods. The review further reveals that unique outdoor spatial design characteristics shape physical microclimates, human comfort, and behavior indicators influenced by contexts and users from the macro to the micro scale. Future research should advance existing studies by enriching the current contextual framework and explore more microclimatic factors. This review offers a comprehensive overview and actionable insights for outdoor microclimate design, policymaking, and the promotion of climate adaptation and villagers’ public health in different traditional rural settings. Full article

With good reason, Vatican II encourages the Eastern ecclesial realities to preserve and, if necessary, to rediscover their own traditions (also, even if not only, for ecumenical reasons). There are, however, certain aspects of the heritage of the Eastern Churches that require urgent revision in a spirit of consistency with the teachings of the Council. This is undoubtedly the case with regard to the anti-Jewish elements so specific to the entire Christian tradition (more or less generalised insults and judgments; substitutionary and appropriative perspectives; a purely instrumental use of the Jewish scriptures) and, in the absence of full reception of the Council, still reflected in the public prayers of the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church, to the detriment of that spirit of respect, fraternity, and dialogue theoretically embraced throughout the Catholic world today. In the light of Nostra aetate §4 and the subsequent developments that flowed from it, I shall try in this contribution to outline some possible criteria for reforming the offices of Holy Week, aiming to show that—at least in this particular case—it is not enough merely to refer to the OE, let alone to use it to justify a comfortable tendency towards inertia. Apart from the fact that it is this very Decree that speaks of a possible and necessary organic progress, we cannot ignore the more general spirit of renewal of the Council and its other documents (the NA, the SC, the DV, the GS). The challenge would be to engender a creative fidelity, which—while preserving the best of tradition—surpasses certain of its contingent elements. Full article

Gobi solar greenhouses (GSGs) enhance energy, food, and financial security in Gobi Desert regions through passive solar utilization. Thermal mass walls are critical for plant thermal comfort in GSGs but can lead to resource waste if poorly designed. This study pioneers the integration of payback period constrains into thermal mass wall optimization, establishing a new performance–cost trade-off approach for GSG wall design, balancing thermal performance and economic feasibility. We quantified energy-conserving benefits against wall-construction costs to derive the optimal inner-layer thicknesses under <25% GSG lifespan payback criteria. Three GSG thermal mass walls in China’s Hexi Corridor were optimized. For the concrete-layered, stone-layered, and pebble-soil walls, the optimum inner-layer thicknesses were 0.47, 0.65, and 1.24 m, respectively, with extra costs of 620.75, 767.60, and 194.56 RMB yuan; annual energy-conserving benefits of 82.77, 102.35, and 51.88 RMB yuan·yr⁻¹; and payback periods of 7.5, 7.5, and 3.75 years. A dynamic thermal load analysis confirmed that GSGs with optimized walls required no heating during a sunny winter solstice night. Cooling loads of 33.15–35.27 kW further indicated the potential to maintain thermal comfort under colder weather conditions. This approach improves plant thermal comfort cost-effectively, advancing sustainable Gobi agriculture. Full article

This comprehensive review maps the fast-evolving landscape in which artificial intelligence (AI) and deep-learning (DL) techniques converge with the Internet of Things (IoT) to manage energy, comfort, and sustainability across smart environments. A PRISMA-guided search of four databases retrieved 1358 records; after applying inclusion criteria, 143 peer-reviewed studies published between January 2019 and April 2025 were analyzed. This review shows that AI-driven controllers—especially deep-reinforcement-learning agents—deliver median energy savings of 18–35% for HVAC and other major loads, consistently outperforming rule-based and model-predictive baselines. The evidence further reveals a rapid diversification of methods: graph-neural-network models now capture spatial interdependencies in dense sensor grids, federated-learning pilots address data-privacy constraints, and early integrations of large language models hint at natural-language analytics and control interfaces for heterogeneous IoT devices. Yet large-scale deployment remains hindered by fragmented and proprietary datasets, unresolved privacy and cybersecurity risks associated with continuous IoT telemetry, the growing carbon and compute footprints of ever-larger models, and poor interoperability among legacy equipment and modern edge nodes. The authors of researches therefore converges on several priorities: open, high-fidelity benchmarks that marry multivariate IoT sensor data with standardized metadata and occupant feedback; energy-aware, edge-optimized architectures that lower latency and power draw; privacy-centric learning frameworks that satisfy tightening regulations; hybrid physics-informed and explainable models that shorten commissioning time; and digital-twin platforms enriched by language-model reasoning to translate raw telemetry into actionable insights for facility managers and end users. Addressing these gaps will be pivotal to transforming isolated pilots into ubiquitous, trustworthy, and human-centered IoT ecosystems capable of delivering measurable gains in efficiency, resilience, and occupant wellbeing at scale. Full article

Remanufacturing design is a green design model that considers remanufacturability during the design process to improve the reuse of components. However, traditional remanufacturing design scheme decision making focuses on the remanufacturability indicator and does not fully consider the carbon emissions of the remanufacturing process, which will take away the energy-saving and emission reduction benefits of remanufacturing. In addition, remanufacturing design schemes rarely consider the human ergonomics of the product, which leads to uncomfortable handling of the product by the customer. To reduce the remanufacturing carbon emission and improve customer comfort, it is necessary to select a reasonable design scheme to satisfy the carbon emission reduction and ergonomics demand; therefore, this paper proposes an integrated multi-criteria decision-making method for remanufacturing design that considers the carbon emission and human ergonomics. Firstly, an evaluation system of remanufacturing design schemes is constructed to consider the remanufacturability, cost, carbon emission, and human ergonomics of the product, and the evaluation indicators are quantified by the normalization method and the Kansei engineering (KE) method; meanwhile, the hierarchical analysis method (AHP) and entropy weight method (EW) are used for the calculation of the subjective and objective weights. Then, a multi-attribute decision-making method based on the combination of an assignment approximation of ideal solution ranking (TOPSIS) and gray correlation analysis (GRA) is proposed to complete the design scheme selection. Finally, the feasibility of the scheme is verified by taking a household coffee machine as an example. This method has been implemented as an application using Visual Studio 2022 and Microsoft SQL Server 2022. The research results indicate that this decision-making method can quickly and accurately generate reasonable remanufacturing design schemes. Full article

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a prevalent and heterogeneous sleep disorder associated with significant health and societal burdens. While continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) remains the gold standard treatment, its limitations in adherence and patient tolerance have highlighted the need for alternative therapies. Positional therapy (PT), which targets apneas that occur predominantly in the supine position, has emerged as a promising option for individuals with positional OSA (POSA). This narrative review synthesizes the current literature on PT, examining its clinical indications, typologies, comparative efficacy with CPAP, oral appliances, and hypoglossal nerve stimulation, as well as data on adherence and barriers to long-term use. Traditional methods such as the tennis ball technique have largely been replaced by modern vibrotactile devices, which demonstrate improved comfort, adherence, and comparable short-term outcomes in selected POSA subjects. While PT remains inferior to CPAP in reducing overall AHI and oxygen desaturation, it performs favorably in terms of mean disease alleviation (MDA) and sleep continuity. Importantly, treatment effectiveness is influenced by both anatomical and non-anatomical traits, underscoring the need for accurate phenotyping and individualized care. PT should be considered within a broader patient-centered model that incorporates preferences, lifestyle, and motivational factors. Further research is needed to validate long-term efficacy, optimize selection criteria, and integrate PT into personalized OSA management strategies. Full article

The building sector remains one of the largest contributors to global energy consumption and CO₂ emissions, yet selecting optimal retrofit strategies is often hindered by inconsistent evaluation practices and limited integration of environmental and social impacts. This review addresses that gap by systematically analyzing how various assessment methods are applied to building retrofits, particularly from a financial and environmental perspective. A structured literature review was conducted across four major scientific databases using predefined keywords, filters, and inclusion/exclusion criteria, resulting in a final sample of 50 studies (green colored citations of this paper). The review focuses on the application of Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA), Cost–Benefit Analysis (CBA), and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), as well as additional indicators that quantify energy and sustainability performance. Results show that LCCA is the most frequently used method, applied in over 60% of the studies, often in combination with LCA (particularly for long time horizons). CBA appears in fewer than 25% of cases. More than 50% of studies are based in Europe, and over 60% of case studies involve residential buildings. EnergyPlus and DesignBuilder were the most common simulation tools, used in 28% and 16% of the cases, respectively. Risk and uncertainty were typically addressed through Monte Carlo simulations (22%) and sensitivity analysis. Comfort and social impact indicators were underrepresented, with thermal comfort included in only 12% of studies and no formal use of tools like Social-LCA or SROI. The findings highlight the growing sophistication of retrofit assessments post-2020, but also reveal gaps such as geographic imbalance (absence of African case studies), inconsistent treatment of discount rates, and limited integration of social indicators. The study concludes that future research should develop standardized, multidimensional evaluation frameworks that incorporate social equity, stakeholder values, and long-term resilience alongside cost and carbon metrics. Full article

The increase in data center facilities has led to higher energy consumption and a larger carbon footprint, prompting improvements in thermal environments for energy efficiency and server lifespan. Existing literature studies often overlook categorizing equipment for power usage effectiveness (PUE), addressing power efficiency measurement limitations and employee thermal comfort. These issues are addressed through an investigation of the PUE metric, a comparative analysis of various data center types and their respective cooling conditions, an evaluation of PUE in relation to established thermal standards and an assessment of employee thermal comfort based on defined criteria. Thirty-nine papers and ten websites were reviewed. The results indicated an average information technology (IT) power usage of 44.8% and a PUE of 2.23, which reflects average efficiency, while passive cooling was found to be more applicable to larger-scale data centers, such as Hyperscale or Colocation facilities. Additionally, indoor air temperatures averaged 16.5 °C with 19% relative humidity, remaining within the allowable range defined by ASHRAE standards, although employee thermal comfort remains an underexplored area in existing data center research. These findings highlight the necessity for clearer standards on power metrics, comprehensive thermal guidelines and the exploration of alternative methods for power metrics and cooling solutions. Full article

The development of wearable robotic exoskeletons has seen rapid progress in recent years, driven by the growing need for technologies that support motor rehabilitation, assist individuals with physical impairments, and enhance human capabilities in both clinical and everyday contexts. Within this field, elbow exoskeletons have emerged as a key focus due to the joint’s essential role in upper limb functionality and its frequent impairment following neurological injuries such as stroke. With increasing research activity, there is a strong interest in evaluating these systems not only from a technical perspective but also in terms of user comfort, adaptability, and clinical relevance. This review investigates recent advancements in elbow exoskeleton technology, evaluating their effectiveness and identifying key design challenges and limitations. Devices are categorized based on three main criteria: mechanical structure (rigid, soft, or hybrid), actuation method, and sensing technologies. Additionally, the review classifies systems by their supported range of motion, flexion–extension, supination–pronation, or both. Through a systematic analysis of these features, the paper highlights current design trends, common trade-offs, and research gaps, aiming to guide the development of more practical, effective, and accessible elbow exoskeletons. Full article

Background: Patient satisfaction is a critical outcome in the rehabilitation of edentulous patients. While conventional fabrication methods are widely used, digital workflows are emerging as viable alternatives. However, direct comparative evidence from the patient’s perspective remains limited. Objective: To compare patient satisfaction between conventional complete dentures (C-CD) and digital complete dentures (D-CD) in maxillary edentulous patients, including changes in perceptions over time and final prosthesis preference. Methods: A prospective, randomized crossover clinical trial was conducted in 2023–2024 involving 40 completely maxillary edentulous patients meeting specific inclusion criteria. Participants were randomly allocated into two sequence groups: Group 1 (n = 20) received C-CD first, and Group 2 (n = 20) received D-CD first, each for 6 months (T1), followed by crossover to the alternate denture for another 6 months (T2). Patient satisfaction was measured using a 10-item questionnaire at 6 and 12 months. Statistical analysis: Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used for within-subject comparisons of denture types, and Mann–Whitney U tests for between-group comparisons, with significance set at p ≤ 0.05. Results: Using the paired crossover analysis, D-CD showed significantly better comfort than C-CD (p < 0.05). D-CD scored significantly higher than C-CD in most satisfaction domains, including comfort, retention, speech, esthetics, and need for adjustments (p ≤ 0.05). Median scores for retention, speech, esthetics, and other domains were slightly higher with D-CD but did not reach statistical significance (p > 0.05). Additionally, the D-CD required fewer post-insertion adjustment visits than the C-CD (p < 0.05). By the end of the trial, 28 patients (70%) preferred the digital denture as their final prosthesis, whereas 12 patients (30%) preferred the conventional denture. Conclusions: Incorporating digital technology in the fabrication of complete dentures significantly enhances patient satisfaction compared to conventional methods. This study highlights the clinical relevance of modern dental prosthesis technology and supports the wider integration of digital workflows. Within the limitations of this pilot study, digitally fabricated complete dentures provided overall patient satisfaction comparable to conventional dentures, with the D-CD offering a notable improvement in comfort. The majority of patients ultimately favored the digital denture, supporting the clinical viability of CAD/CAM workflows. Full article

Background/Objectives: Population aging and the rise in chronic diseases challenge healthcare systems to adopt person-centered approaches, especially in palliative care (PC), where symptom management remains limited. Physiotherapy plays a key role in alleviating discomfort but faces inconsistent integration in Portugal due to lack of recognition. Variations in intervention methods hinder uniform care delivery, limiting timely patient access to comfort-focused treatments and knowledge. This study aims to deepen the understanding of physiotherapy’s role in Portuguese PC to improve its integration into teams and enhance patient access to comfort care. Methods: This study used a descriptive qualitative approach with online focus groups (FG), guided by Krueger and Casey’s methodology and adhering to the COREQ checklist. A non-probabilistic convenience sample of physiotherapists working in palliative care across mainland Portugal and the islands was selected based on inclusion criteria. Three FGs were planned with up to ten participants each. However, due to availability and attendance issues, only 15 physiotherapists participated: 5 in FG1 (in-hospital PC units), 6 in FG2 (inpatient units), and 4 in FG3, the minimum appropriate number from community-based units. Results: Physiotherapy plays a crucial yet underrecognized role in PC, emphasizing the need for its full integration into care teams rather than reliance on late, on-call referrals. Techniques such as positioning, mobilization, pain and dyspnea relief, adapted exercises, massage, music therapy, and emotional support are employed. Conventional physiotherapy tools are used and personalized according to the patient’s context, duration, setting, dosage, and individual needs. Conclusions: Physiotherapy should be recognized as a fundamental part of PC, contributing not only to the prolongation of life but also to ensuring comfort and dignity for patients and their families. To achieve this, its role within multidisciplinary teams must be strengthened and supported by regulations that guarantee access and the formal integration of physiotherapists. However, a significant gap remains in patients’ regular access to comfort-focused interventions at the appropriate time, perhaps due to the considerable variation in physiotherapy practices depending on the patient and care setting, which presents a challenge for knowledge development both in Portugal and globally. Full article

This study investigates the integration of resilience attributes—flexibility, environmental comfort, and ecological adequacy—into social housing projects developed between 2013 and 2023 in architectural competitions in Brazil and Portugal. The research aims to evaluate the presence and quality of these attributes in awarded proposals and to assess the alignment between design solutions and the Terms of Reference (TRs) of the competitions, identifying regulatory gaps and providing recommendations to enhance future guidelines. Methodologically, the study applies a multi-criteria matrix, adapted to different climatic and socio-cultural contexts, to conduct a qualitative and quantitative analysis of 120 projects. The results show average to good performance in categories such as Environmental Comfort and Typologies, but significant weaknesses in Water and Waste Management, Energy Efficiency, and the use of Low-Impact Materials. The findings highlight the need for TRs to incorporate more specific resilience guidelines, including strategies for water reuse, energy efficiency, and adaptive capacity. The main contribution of this research is to provide a detailed diagnostic and propose evidence-based recommendations to improve architectural competitions for social housing, fostering more resilient and sustainable solutions aligned with contemporary challenges. The originality lies in the systematic analysis of how resilience concepts can be operationalized from the early design stages. Full article

Indoor environmental quality profoundly impacts student learning outcomes and teacher effectiveness, particularly in primary education, where children spend most of their developmental years. The study compares the New Zealand Ministry of Education’s Designing Quality Learning Spaces (DQLS) version 2.0 for primary school classrooms with international standards set by OECD countries to develop IAQ and thermal comfort best practices in New Zealand across six climate zones. The research evaluates indoor air quality (IAQ) and thermal comfort factors affecting students’ and teachers’ health and performance. Using Ladybug and Honeybee plugin tools in Grasshopper with Energy Plus, integrated into Rhino 7 software, the study employed advanced building optimisation methods, using multi-criteria optimisation and parametric modelling. This approach enabled a comprehensive analysis of building envelope parameters for historical classroom designs, the Avalon block (constructed between 1955 and 2000). Optimise window-to-wall ratios, ceiling heights, window placement, insulation values (R-values), clothing insulation (Clo), and window opening schedules. Our findings demonstrate that strategic modifications to the building envelope can significantly improve occupant comfort and energy performance. Specifically, increasing ceiling height by 0.8 m, raising windows by 0.3 m vertically, and reducing the window-to-wall ratio to 25% created optimal conditions across multiple performance criteria. These targeted adjustments improved adaptive thermal comfort, ventilation, carbon dioxide, and energy efficiency while maintaining local and international standards. The implications of the findings extend beyond the studied classrooms, offering evidence-based strategies for overall design and building performance guidelines in educational facilities. This research demonstrates the efficacy of applying computational design optimisation during early design phases, providing policymakers and architects with practical solutions that could inform future revisions of New Zealand’s school design standards and align them more closely with international best practices for educational environments. Full article