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Introduction: The cost of secondary prevention of coronary heart disease (CHD) is continuing to increase, with a substantial portion of this acceleration being driven by the expense of confirmatory diagnostic testing. Conceivably, newly developed precision epigenetic technologies could drive down these costs. However, at the current time, their impact on overall expense for CHD care is poorly understood. We hypothesized that the use of a newly developed, highly sensitive, and specific epigenetic test, PrecisionCHD, could decrease the costs of secondary prevention. Methods: To test this hypothesis, we constructed a budget impact analysis using a cost calculation model that examined the effects of substituting PrecisionCHD for conventional CHD diagnostic tests on the expenses of the initial evaluation and first year of care of stable CHD using a 1-year time horizon with no discounting. Results: The model projected that for a commercial insurer with one million members, full adoption of PrecisionCHD as the primary method of initial CHD assessment would save approximately $113.6 million dollars in the initial year. Conclusion: These analyses support the use of precision epigenetic methods as part of the initial diagnosis and care of stable CHD and can meaningfully reduce cost. Real-world pilots to test the reliability of these analyses are indicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Window views that provide visual connections to the outdoors have been shown to have multiple positive effects on occupants (Heschong [25]). Definition Design teams regularly analyze building performance, including energy and indoor environmental quality to support the building design, starting with conceptual design and continuing throughout the complete design process. In contrast, at later design stages, it is possible to consider more specific variables regarding facade materials, building program, and occupant characteristics using complex metrics such as spatial and temporal analyses. The first approach is binary (informing the design team "what to do, and what not to do"), while the second approach is a sensitivity issue to improve the building design, construction, retrofitting, maintenance, or operational change, and provide "better than just enough.". [Extracted from the article]

Verification and validation of computational fluid dynamic simulations are performed at model and full scales for the high-speed littoral combat ship (LCS) surface combatant, including the effects of hook, interceptors, and water-jet propulsion. Predictions of the body force thrust, sinkage, and trim use a speed controller for attaining self-propulsion. Two methods for water-jet performance are used: 1) evaluation of forces based on integration of the stress over the wetted area of the hull and water-jet duct, pump casing, and nozzle (integral method) and 2) ITTC (2005) water-jet test procedure (control volume method). The comparison errors at model (resistance, sinkage, and trim) and full (power and trim) scales are satisfactory using both Froude (Fr) scaled model- and full-scale trial data, including the effects of the interceptors and water jets (WJ) on resistance/power, sinkage, and trim. For the model-scale model without WJS, the negative bottom hydro-dynamic pressure near the water-jet inlets are observed without and with the hook simulations, and experiments with the hook. The negative bottom vertical force near the water-jet inlets forthe simulations without the hook supports Savitsky's (2014) assertion that semi-displacement monohulls do not exhibit hydrodynamic lift and disproves Giles' (1992) assertion to the contrary. The hook and interceptors do not affect the pressure distribution significantly near the water-jet inlets. Forthe full scale model, the WJs induce bow up trim for the simulations and interpolated (between conditions)- and Fr scaled model-scale experiments. The negative bottom pressure and vertical force near the water-jet inlet forthe simulations disprove Giles' (1992) assertion that the WJs provide additional hydrodynamic lift. This is further supported by the comparisons of the vertical force % thrust vs. inlet velocity ratio forthe LCS, with results shown in Bulten (2005) for a high-speed motor yacht. Bulten (2005) shows positive vertical force for inlet velocity ratios ≥ 1.25. However, LCS operates in the regime of an inlet velocity ≤ 1.2; thus, consistent with Bulten (2005), the vertical force is negative. The nonlinear effects between the interceptors and WJs are small such that a linear combination can provide a reasonable approximation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mortality assessments are conducted for both civil and commercial purposes. Recent advances in epigenetics have resulted in DNA methylation tools to assess risk and aid in this task. However, widely available array-based algorithms are not readily translatable into clinical tools and do not provide a good foundation for clinical recommendations. Further, recent work shows evidence of heritability and possible racial bias in these indices. Using a publicly available array data set, the Framingham Heart Study (FHS), we develop and test a five-locus mortality-risk algorithm using only previously validated methylation biomarkers that have been shown to be free of racial bias, and that provide specific assessments of smoking, alcohol consumption, diabetes and heart disease. We show that a model using age, sex and methylation measurements at these five loci outperforms the 513 probe Levine index and approximates the predictive power of the 1030 probe GrimAge index. We then show each of the five loci in our algorithm can be assessed using a more powerful, reference-free digital PCR approach, further demonstrating that it is readily clinically translatable. Finally, we show the loci do not reflect ethnically specific variation. We conclude that this algorithm is a simple, yet powerful tool for assessing mortality risk. We further suggest that the output from this or similarly derived algorithms using either array or digital PCR can be used to provide powerful feedback to patients, guide recommendations for additional medical assessments, and help monitor the effect of public health prevention interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building energy modeling software generally comes with capable airflow network solvers for natural ventilation evaluation in multi-zone building energy models. These approaches rely on arrays of pressure coefficients representing different wind directions derived from simple box-shaped buildings without contextual obstructions. For urban or obstructed sites, or more complex building shapes, however, further evaluation is needed to avoid geometric oversimplification. In this study, we present an automated and easy-to-use simulation workflow for OpenFOAM-based exterior airflow simulations to generate arrays of pressure coefficients for arbitrary building shapes and contextual situations. The workflow is compared to other methods commonly used to obtain pressure coefficients for natural ventilation analysis. Finally, we assess for which climate zones and building types modelers should rely on more accurate CFD-based pressure coefficients and where it may be justifiable to rely on easier and readily available analytical approaches to determine pressure coefficients. Results suggest that existing workflows lead to significant error in predicted comfort hours for climates in the Global South and modelers should consider CFD-based facade pressure coeficients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given climate change and rapid global development, buildings must meet increasingly stringent environmental performance goals. Although numerous building simulation software assess energy performance, few inform the early stages of design when critical decisions impacting energy use and carbon footprint are made. Underrepresented early design simulation software could potentially significantly improve the environmental performance of buildings. This paper presents the SEED Framework for multi-objective early design decision-making that utilizes EnergyPlus-based building energy, structural finite element analysis, and Radiance-based daylighting simulations. When furnished with basic inputs, the SEED Framework generates numerous design options ranked by energy use, embodied carbon, construction cost, and daylighting metrics. A case study of a hypothetical mid-sized office building modelled in the Boston, Washington D.C., and Phoenix, USA climates demonstrates how the framework can guide decisions throughout pre- and schematic design phases. This framework aims to assist architects in designing high performance buildings within project and budgetary constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper juxtaposes existing public policies and different planning paradigms with evidence from the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City (NYC). Zip code tabulation area (ZCTA) data for NYC are used to address four main questions: (1) How do urban density and crowding affect infection rates? (2) How does the commuting environment relate to pandemic resilience? (3) How does the allocation of points of interest within a city impact the infection rate? (4) How do evident inequalities in a city influence vulnerability during a pandemic? The presented evidence is used to demonstrate that compact, well-mixed, and decentralized cities can increase pandemic resilience due to advantageous features such as short commute times and well-distributed points of interest. At the architectural level, more resilient apartment building typologies need to be developed to mitigate the ramifications of overcrowding. This analysis also reveals significant spatial disparities and how they disproportionally affect the pandemic risk of the vulnerable communities. These findings warrant a broader discussion on how urban design and planning can mitigate inequalities and transform cities into a resilient, inclusive, and sustainable urban environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For urban CFD simulations, it is considered a best practice to use a box-shaped simulation domain. Box-shaped domains, however, show drawbacks for airflow from several wind directions as remeshing and additional preprocessing steps become necessary. We introduce a routine to create a cylindrical mesh that expedites the simulation of arbitrary wind directions using OpenFOAM. Results computed with the cylindrical domain are validated against wind tunnel data. We report that the cylindrical method yields comparable results in terms of accuracy and convergence behaviour. Further, run time comparisons in a real-world scenario are conducted to discuss its advantages and limitations. Based on the findings, we recommend using the cylindrical approach if at least eight wind directions are analyzed for which we report 18% run time savings. The cylindrical domain along with automated best practice boundary conditions has been implemented in Eddy3D – a plugin for Rhinoceros. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar access requirements constitute a significant aspect for the performance of buildings and for the image of cities. The solar envelope is a method used during the schematic design phase to determine the maximum volume that buildings cannot exceed to guarantee good access to direct sunlight in streets and on neighboring facades. However, two major shortcomings exist that prohibit the use of existing solar envelope techniques in practice: They don't include the neighboring buildings in the overshadowing calculation, and they utilize a fixed start-and-end time inputs for the selection of specific hours of direct solar access. Different direct solar access ordinances exist that require that new buildings do not obstruct direct sun light in existing dwellings: (1) during specific hours, (2) for a quantity of hours, (3) as a fraction of the actual solar access. For the second and third type of ordinances no existing solar envelope methodologies exist. The research presented in this paper develops a computational method that increases the efficacy of the generated solar envelopes including the context in the calculations and provides the possibility to select the quantity and quality of sun light hours, and thus allows the modeler to generate solar envelopes optimized for different objectives. The method aims to help architects and planners to design environmental conscious buildings and urban environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing urban density leads to a conflict between space-use efficiency and daylight access. Cities have traditionally relied on zoning guidelines that consist of section-based geometric evaluation techniques and/or hours of access to direct sunlight. However, it is now possible to quantify the performance of detailed design proposals before construction. Annual climate-based daylighting performance metrics for urban environments can be computed accurately, in high spatial resolution and in a timely manner. Given that massing design decisions at the urban planning level may make or break the long-term daylighting potential of a whole neighbourhood, the adoption of these tools by zoning boards, developers and urban planners seems particularly relevant. A simulation-based daylighting analysis procedure reveals the capabilities for both formulating more nuanced prescriptive zoning rules as well as for use by design teams. The procedure is used to evaluate the daylighting performance of 50 block typologies in New York City (NYC). The analysis demonstrates that certain urban massing approaches (e.g.pencil towers on a contextual base) outperform conventional massing strategies. A second case study application of an actual city block shows that innovative urban massings can improve access to daylight for the massing itself as well as for neighbouring buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a general algorithm to automatically convert arbitrary building massing models into multi-zone building energy models (BEM). The algorithm follows current guidelines for thermal zone discretization of BEMs when actual interior space boundaries are yet undefined. Envisioned applications are for rapid model generation during schematic building design as well as for urban massing studies. We present an argument that current recommendations for separating core from perimeter zones effectively follow a straight-skeleton subdivision. Following a step-by-step explanation of the procedure, a number of example building shapes of varying complexity are shown to demonstrate the algorithm's robustness and suitability for automated multi-zone BEM generation. Going forward, it is recommended that the algorithm is adopted by software developers to ensure more consistent thermal model production within the building simulation community. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Being able to read thermal simulation results and to adapt one's design accordingly has become an essential skill for graduating and practicing architects. This article proposes and evaluates an innovative way of how this skill can be taught via a 90-min in-class exercise or ‘game’ based on DesignBuilder/EnergyPlus. The game was tested in a class of 47 architecture students who competed to generate the lowest energy use intensity (EUI) for an office building in Boston. Design upgrades were associated with a cost premium and the overall upgrade budget was capped. The EUIs of the 10 final submissions were 22–31% below the base variant. While student essays revealed a clear preference for game-based learning vis-a-vis conventional teaching methods, the authors further propose that the game nourishes the emergence of an energy modelling ‘culture’ within schools of architecture that may lead to enhanced communication between architects and energy modellers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]