Search

Diurnal flight activity in otherwise strictly nocturnal bats has typically been linked to random disturbance from day roosts, an urgent need to balance food shortage caused by adverse weather during nighttime, or the absence of diurnal predators. However, migration may be another reason why bats fly during daylight, at least in some areas. Using community-science data collection, we obtained more than 500 records of over 15,000 bats displaying diurnal flight activity, suggesting that it is relatively common in Central Europe. The vast majority of sightings were of common noctules (Nyctalus noctula), with most records concentrated in spring and autumn. The seasonal dynamics of diurnal flights exactly coincided with migratory periods, and directional movements in autumn—when diurnal activity was most frequent and included highest numbers of observed bats—suggest that the behavior may ultimately be linked to migration ecology. The highest frequency of diurnal flights in autumn coincided with highest body mass in the studied territory, thereby refuting the hypothesis of early roost emergence due to poor body condition or decreased predation risk related to increased maneuverability. A shift from strictly nocturnal to partly diurnal activity may balance increased energetic demands imposed by migration, which is temporally synchronized with periods of cold nights when prey density is limited. Common noctule diurnal activity during the migratory period may be beneficial as they can acquire energy by foraging on daily abundant prey while saving nighttime for long endurance flights—alternatively, they may forage on the way to their migratory destination, thereby saving time. Predation risk from diurnal predators may be significantly decreased by choosing high flight altitudes, as observed particularly during autumn. We suggest that observations on the geographic distribution of diurnally flying noctules may help identify migration corridors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widespread use of electric lighting has revolutionised society but brought unintended consequences, notably light pollution, impacting ecosystems and human circadian rhythms. Concerns about anthropogenic light at night (ALAN) have prompted innovative solutions, such as spectral tuning of light sources. In Europe, a recent focus involves the enforcement of red light in outdoor settings to minimise ALAN's impact, particularly on bats. This mini review synthesises literature to provide an overview of the advantages and disadvantages of the use of red light outdoors. There is a need for further examination of the potential ecological consequences of red light, considering challenges in lighting design functionality and broader impacts on diverse species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The low-temperature algal biotechnology starts to develop in the Polar Regions, and especially in the Arctic. Light is crucial environmental factor in algal mass cultivation, therefore knowledge of the light environment and its modeling is crucial for design of the photobioreactors. The light conditions in three different environments were compared: natural diel light cycle during the polar summer (June-August) in Svalbard and in winter/spring (January - March) in the Central Europe outdoor and in the greenhouse photobioreactor, and in greenhouse photobioreactor equipped by additional night LED illumination in central Europe in winter/spring. In Svalbard, the monthly mean diel PAR values ranger from 126 to 395 µmol m-2 s-1, and the monthly diel sums of the PAR ranged from 2.38 to 7.47 MJ m-2 d-1. In the Central Europe in natural diel light cycle, the monthly mean diel PAR values and monthly diel sums of the PAR were generally lower, 57 - 248 µmol m-2 s-1 and 1.08 and 4.69 MJ m-2 d-1 in outdoor and 26 - 107 µmol m-2 s-1 and 0.50 - 2.03 69 MJ m-2 d-1 in the sun-illuminated photobioreactor. When additional night LED illumination, lasting from 12 to 14.7 hrs and from 12 to 15.3 hrs in 2021 and 2022, respectively, was provided, the monthly mean diel PAR values and monthly diel sums of the PAR increased to 479 - 598 µmol m-2 s-1 and 9.06 - 11.31 MJ m-2 d-1, respectively. Since the Svalbard maxima of diel sum of PAR are comparable to the values found in the night LED illuminated greenhouse photobioreactor, the night LED illumination in winter/spring in Central Europe should be proposed for model cultivations in the Polar Region in summer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Daylight control systems using mirror optics Daylighting is an interdisciplinary field between building physics and lighting technology and implements improved protection against overheating by means of novel mirror optics developed, while at the same time providing daylight, thus enabling total energy savings of glazed buildings of up to 30 %. As part of the Green Deal, the EU Commission is initiating a directive on the energy performance of buildings (EPBD), which is part of a comprehensive legislative package with the ambitious goal of defining zero‐emission buildings and thus driving forward the reduction of CO2 emissions in Europe. Daylight guiding technology, which enables solar gains in winter, prevents overheating in summer and enables daylight autonomy all year round, can play a very important role in the implementation of these ambitious goals. In this essay a new daylight guiding technology will be presented, with which a total solar energy transmittance gtot of 0.05 can be realised even in open and transparent slat positions with daylight input by means of internal blinds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The family Nyctibiidae (potoos) comprises seven extant species currently included in the genera Nyctibius and Phyllaemulor , endemic to the Neotropical region, and the extinct genus Paraprefica from the Eocene of Europe. The living species are secretive nocturnal birds, characterized by spend most of the daylight time in a freezing, upright posture, resembling the top of a stump or a dead leaf. Here we present the first phylogenetic analysis of the family based on morphological characters, inferred from 37 cranial and post-cranial characters of all but one representatives of Nyctibiidae, including the extinct genus Paraprefica. TNT analysis resulted in a single most parsimonious tree with a length of 47 steps, and the ingroup topology was (Paraprefica (Phyllaemulor bracteatus (Nyctibius leucopterus (Nyctibius griseus , Nyctibius jamaicensis (Nyctibius aethereus , Nyctibius grandis))))). These results partially corroborate previous phylogenetic hypotheses based on molecular data, mainly concerning the position of P. bracteatus , but the relationships among Nyctibius species remain controversial. The osteology of this family is remarkably distinct from close related groups, especially regarding the cranial and mandibular structures, mainly due to their noteworthy habits and large eyes and mouth. The distinction between Paraprefica and Phyllaemulor + Nyctibius , allied to the geographical and temporal disjunction of these two groups, seems to be enough for their separation at the subfamily level. A notable osteological variation exists also among the Nyctibius species, albeit included in a single genus, following the high levels of genetic divergence presented in the literature, suggesting that the currently accepted systematics of the family must be reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents selected results from the first stage of DAYKE (Daylight Knowledge in Europe), a 3-phase project that investigates the knowledge on daylighting in buildings among architecture students and practitioners across Europe. Subjective judgements from 561 students from 8 architecture universities in the EU, collected through two surveys in 2018. The key findings are: (i) the spatial distribution of comfort and mood in the classrooms varied depending on sky conditions and distance from windows; (ii) the average daylight factor DFm showed a good agreement with subjective judgements on the amount of daylight in a space; (iii) experts and non-experts provided similar judgements on the perception of a daylit environment; (iv) a general lack of knowledge about daylighting metrics, regulations, assessment tools and software was highlighted. Furthermore a difficulty in implementing daylighting into the design practice is also identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is the most common cause of vertigo in clinical practice, factors influencing the pathophysiology remain not fully understood., Objective: Here we aim to investigate possible seasonal influences on the occurrence of BPPV in Vienna, a city located in a Central European country with pronounced seasonal fluctuations., Methods: We retrospectively investigated data from 503 patients presenting with BPPV to the outpatient clinics of the Medical University of Vienna between 2007 and 2012. Analyses included age, gender, type of BPPV, seasonal assignment, as well as daylight hours and the temperature in Vienna at symptom onset., Results: Out of 503 patients (159 male, 344 female, ratio 1:2.2; mean age 60 ± 15.80 years), most patients presented with posterior (89.7%) and left-sided (43.1%) BPPV. There was a significant seasonal difference (χ 2 p = 0.036) with the majority of symptoms occurring in winter seasons (n = 142), followed by springtime (n = 139). Symptom onset did not correlate with the average temperature (p = 0.24) but on the other hand very well with daylight hours (p < 0.05), which ranged from 8.4 h per day in December, to an average of 15.6 h in July., Conclusion: Our results show a seasonal accumulation of BPPV during winter and springtime, which is in line with previous studies from other climatic zones, suggesting an association of this seasonality with varying vitamin D levels., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Over the last decades, the European hare (Lepus europaeus) has become the subject of many interdisciplinary studies due to the sharp Europe-wide population decline. In European hares, the first stage of life until weaning and the subsequent dispersal have been sparsely studied, in particular, habitat selection, movements and survival rate, as juveniles´ precocial lifestyle is dominated by concealment, motionlessness and inconspicuousness. In this study, free-living juvenile European hares (leverets) were detected systematically by thermography (n = 394), radio-tagged or marked (n = 122) from birth until the fifth week of life to research their habitat usage and pre-dispersal movements. The day-resting places and night locations, as well as the distance moved by leverets with aging, were evaluated by generalized linear mixed effect models. In addition, the habitat preference was assessed by a conservative use-availability analysis. Up to the fifth week of life, 30.5% of all leverets used cultivated areas in the daytime. In contrast, the remaining 69.4% animals inhabitated linear or small planar structures in the daytime, with the edges of field tracks, hedges and some ruderal structures clearly being preferred. At nighttime, 93% of all juveniles, which occupied linear structures in the daytime, used the adjoining fields up to 20 m away from the next linear structure. Nocturnal distances of more than 60 m to the next edge rarely occurred before the end of the pre-weaning phase. The time of day and age have a significant influence on the distance moved by juvenile hares. With increasing age, leverets moved less during the day and roamed further at night. The results are largely consistent with the behavioral patterns found in the few previous studies on pre-weaning European hares and show the importance of hiding places for leverets in early life stages. This study should contribute to a better understanding of behavior in juvenile life-history stages of European hares that may help to identify vulnerable phases in their lifecycle. In addition, the findings can refine existing population models and improve conservation efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural ventilation has the potential to significantly improve indoor comfort conditions and provide good indoor air quality by increasing both the indoor air velocity and the rate of air changes inside the building. However, the performance of this technique strongly depends on various parameters, such as climate, urban form and building characteristics (geometrical and thermal). With the aim of showing how natural ventilation can be successfully applied to existing office buildings in many different urban climates, an extensive parametric study has been carried out that takes into account the factors most likely to be relevant. Firstly, a characterization of different climates and the cities representative of them has been developed. Then, representative office buildings for each city have been modelled both in their base configurations and when natural ventilation is employed, in representative urban configurations. This task has been accomplished by coupling three different simulation tools in an integrated approach. CFD, thermal and daylighting simulations allowed exploration of which are the most relevant parameters that affect thermal comfort and have some implications on visual comfort as well. The large number of models simulated (almost 13 thousand) also provided the team with the opportunity to develop a new methodology for finding the best performing thermal models, based on Givoni’s thermal comfort theory rather than monthly or annual energy needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Orientation particularities for daylighting in the South East Europe were analysed. [•] The daylighting parameters and survey results were compared and classified. [•] Daylighting quality criteria and standards were re-examined for relevance. [•] Measurement and simulation results showed to be fully consistent with the survey. [•] Overexposure to daylight in the student room found not be entirely unsuitable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper presents a universal model of luminous efficacy for direct solar radiation on a horizontal surface. The model is applicable to all sky conditions and is based on data obtained from satellites and available via web servers. Solar radiation data from 10 locations in Europe and North Africa has been used to obtain four functions for luminous efficacy (K) against the sole independent variable solar altitude (α). Additionally cloud amount (C) was been used to obtain four other functions. All were used to accurately estimate illuminance for the 10 originating locations; for four locations based on satellite data; and for a further four based on measured data. A statistical assessment showed that three models performed best, namely, K against 1/α, K against sin α, and K against C/α. Comparison between results from the proposed models, and those produced using three previously published models, indicate that the former produce more accurate estimates of luminous efficacy. The satellite based approach makes daylight data available in locations remote from current measurement sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this work the outdoor daylight conditions in Pamplona (South Europe) during the summer period have been studied. The selected sky type (from fifteen standards) at a given moment is the one exhibiting the lowest RMSD when comparing the theoretical and experimental luminance distributions in the sky hemisphere. Two year data of luminance distribution registered every 10min in 145 positions of the sky hemisphere have been used for selecting the sky type. The most frequent sky type in Pamplona is V.5 (cloudless polluted with a broad solar corona), with an occurrence of 29.5%. This result coincides with the one observed in a previous study in Athens. Six types of sky (V.5, IV.4, III.4, III.3, V.4 y II.2) out of the fifteen standards become practically the 80% of all the studied ones. Regarding a possible use in daylight climate studies, the frequency of occurrence of the fifteen types of sky for fourteen solar elevation intervals has been included. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Daylight is usually mentioned immediately after reduced energy use in conversations about sustainable building design, yet in North America, daylight remains the most-asked-for/least-delivered aspect of the caregiver work environment. In Europe, essentially the same care practices continue to be accommodated in daylit building configurations. Recognizing that the daylighting credits in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for new construction (NC) are more difficult for largo healthcare projects to achieve during the design process, and that two daylighting credits are probably not enough of an incentive to change North American healthcare design practice, the Green Guide for Health Care (GGHC) has both simplified the process of calculating daylight achievement levels and increased the number of daylighting credits available from two to five. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pedestrian is the least protected road user. A large number of accidents involving pedestrians occur at pedestrian crossings. Bad lighting or a complete lack of it is one of the causes of accidents in these places. Currently, there are no uniform requirements in Europe for the lighting of pedestrian crossings. Each country is trying to create its system of requirements and assessment of lighting of pedestrian crossings. Measurement procedures and required lighting parameter values often vary significantly across countries. This paper discusses the results of measurements carried out at selected pedestrian crossings using two different measurement grids. The lighting quality at the tested crossings has been assessed based on the lighting requirements in force in two EU countries. In addition, we present the results for the illuminance contrast of a measurement board, representing the silhouette of a pedestrian on a crossing, with the background. Based on the determined contrast, we attempted to verify the lighting conditions using an evaluation system described in the literature, which employs fuzzy logic algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews the 2020 European Society for Photodynamic Therapy (Euro-PDT) Annual Congress. Cutting edge studies included assessment of immunohistochemical variables influencing response of basal cell carcinomas and Bowen's disease to PDT with p53, the only biomarker associated with good response in both conditions. A further study indicated that analysis of molecular markers, such as PIK3R1, could help select patients with actinic keratoses who demonstrate the best response to daylight PDT. Novel delivery protocols include artificial daylight, and laser-assisted and textile PDT. The meeting learnt of novel indications including antimicrobial PDT, as well as methods to optimise daylight PDT, including combination therapy for actinic keratoses. Adverse events were reviewed and options for painless and efficient PDT assessed, including the effect of reduced drug-light interval. A smartphone application was also evaluated which may be used to assist clinicians and patients in effective dosing and timing of daylight PDT via computational algorithms using data from earth observation satellites, to send light and ultraviolet dose information directly to patients' smart phones.

Daylight photodynamic therapy (dPDT) uses sunlight as a light source to treat superficial skin cancer. Using sunlight as a therapeutic device has been present for centuries, forming the basis of photodynamic therapy in the 20th century. Compared to conventional PDT, dPDT can be a less painful, more convenient and an effective alternative. The first clinical uses of dPDT on skin cancers began in Copenhagen in 2008. Currently, aminolevulinic acid-mediated dPDT has been approved to treat actinic keratosis patients in Europe. In this review article, we introduce the history and mechanism of dPDT and focus on the pros and cons of dPDT in treating superficial skin cancers. The future applications of dPDT on other skin diseases are expected to expand as conventional PDT evolves.