In an aim to probe the structure-function relationship of prostacyclin synthase (PGIS), resonance Raman (RR) spectroscopy and molecular dynamic (MD) simulation approaches have been exploited to characterize the heme conformation and heme-protein matrix interactions for human PGIS (hPGIS) and zebrafish PGIS (zPGIS) in the presence and absence of ligands. The high-frequency RR (1300-1700 cm(-1)) indicates that the heme group is in the ferric, six-coordinate, low-spin state for both resting and ligand-bound hPGIS/zPGIS. The low-frequency RR (300-500 cm(-1)) and MD simulation reveal a salient difference in propionate-protein matrix interactions between hPGIS and zPGIS, as evident by a predominant propionate bending vibration at 386 cm(-1) in resting hPGIS, but two vibrations near 370 and 387 cm(-1) in resting zPGIS. Upon binding of a substrate analogue (U46619, U51605, or U44069), both hPGIS and zPGIS induce a distinctive perturbation of the propionate-protein matrix interactions, resulting in similar Raman shifts to ~381 cm(-1). On the contrary, the bending vibration remains unchanged upon binding of inhibitor/ligand (minoxidil, clotrimazole, or miconazole), indicating that these inhibitors/ligands do not interfere with the propionate-protein matrix interactions. These results, together with subtle changes in vinyl bending modes, demonstrate drastically different RR shifts with heme conformational changes in both hPGIS and zPGIS upon different ligand bindings, suggesting that PGIS exhibits a ligand-specific heme conformational change to accommodate the substrate binding. This substrate-induced modulation of the heme conformation may confer high product fidelity upon PGIS catalysis.

Our objective in this study was to determine the survival rate of patients with invasive breast cancer and identify the prognostic factors related to all-cause mortality during a 10-year follow-up. Analysis was performed on the medical records of 2002 patients newly diagnosed with breast cancer at a medical center in southern Taiwan between 2006 and 2017. The Kaplan–Meier method and Cox regression analysis were used to estimate survival and the independence of prognostic factors associated with all-cause mortality. Among the 2002 patients, 257 expired during the 10-year follow-up period. The overall survival rates were as follows: 3 years (91.1%), 5 years (85.6%), and 10 years (77.9%). The median survival time was 120.41 months (95% confidence interval: 118.48–122.33 months). Older age, pathologic tumor status, regional lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, grade/differentiation, treatment modalities, and hormone therapy were significantly related to all-cause mortality. This study identified several clinical factors related to all-cause mortality as well as its relationship to distant metastasis and poor differentiation. Early diagnosis and treatment aimed at preventing recurrence are the keys to survival.

Compensating area, which refers to off-site land being used if the energy demand cannot be met due to the urban arrangement of buildings, is required in a carbon-free city because the energy demand, including thermal energy (heating, cooling and hot water), power (ventilation and artificial light) in buildings and transport, need to be covered by the renewables gained on site or in the surrounding area outside of the town. This paper aims to develop a method to explore the urban density that could deliver an energy saving, land saving, and human-scaled urban situation. Various scenarios of urban densities in the cities in different climate zones were created to emphasize the comparison and the relative difference in the required compensating area. It is found that, although transportation energy consumption can be reduced by increasing number of storeys, the rate of decrease slows down as the number of storeys increases. Also, building energy consumption increases with the number of storeys because the artificial light will reach saturation (100% of hours of use) with the increased number of storey. In terms of the comparison between climate zones, the optimal scenario would be 4 to 6 storeys in cold or moderate climates. And the optimal choice would be 6 to 8 storeys in the hot and humid climates. With regard to the consideration of human scale, not only do these optimal ranges of the number of storeys provide good daylight access, but they also fall into the range of human scale.

A net approach to Zero-Energy-Building (Net ZEB) requires all energy demand to be met by on-site generation of renewable energy. An off-site ZEB with compensating measure (off-site ZEB_CM) allows off-site land to be used if the energy demand cannot be met due to the urban arrangement of buildings. A method is developed for evaluating the potential and risk of Net ZEB and off-site ZEB_CM in densified urban situations by examining their land-use requirement on-or off-site. Four cities with different climates are modelled: Singapore, Cairo, Beijing and Hamburg. The preliminary results indicate that (1) the rate of change in CM per unit of area of use is not a constant number and varies with numbers of storeys, urban density and climate zone; (2) to save land for the compensating measure, a small number of storeys should be used; (3) to save land in general, high plot ratio should be used. Within a high-density situation, a small number of storeys should be used. This research contributes to the discussion about urban sprawl and compact city by investigating the relationship between urban fabric and energy harvesting. It may encourage the land-use policy makers to include land-use requirement of renewable energy harvesting. Keywords: zero energy building, compensating areas, urban density, energy demand, land-use planning, low-carbon society INTRODUCTIONThe main interest of this paper is to examine the relationship between urban fabric and landuse requirements for achieving enough renewable energy to cover urban energy demand. Even though it is known that there is the discrepancy between demand and supply by the renewables, this problem is often overlooked. The importance of this problem has been further emphasized by recent studies reporting that energy sprawl, which is defined by the development of new land area required for energy production, is now one of the largest driver of land use change for the foreseeable future with increasing proportion of renewable energy harvesting. For example, Trainor et al. [1], quantify projected energy sprawl in the United States through 2040. Their results show that when land-use requirements of compensating measures (CM) are included, more than 800,000 km2 of the additional land area will be affected by energy development. Not only is this number higher than projections for future land use change from residential development or agriculture, but also that the pace of development is more than double the historic rate of urban and residential development. "The possibility of widespread energy sprawl further increases the need for energy conservation, appropriate siting, sustainable production practices, and compensatory mitigation offsets" [2]. The need for reducing energy sprawl, therefore, further enhances the importance of research that investigate the density, the geometrical and morphological characteristics of buildings that minimize the energy consumption.In order to bring primary energy consumption and CO2 emission to zero, one significant contribution is the optim...

This paper investigates the relationship between the concepts of a livable neighborhood and human perception. A literature review was carried out in order to collect and summarize the positive and negative effects urban structure, such as color, materials, and rhythm, might have on the users. A positive human perception can be achieved through an adapted design of neighborhoods in order to contribute to their livability. In addition, slowing down the movement and improving the pedestrian's perception through urban planning methods may lower the stress level, increase the use of public space, and even help the neighborhood economy. The proposal was developed entirely as an academic project part of the Resource Efficiency in Architecture and Planning master program (HafenCity University) towards a livable neighborhood project in Hamm-Nord, Hamburg, Germany. Interviews and surveys with the inhabitants were carried out to explore the effects of how urban design can affect the human perception and change their experience. Therefore, this study proposes that the speed of pedestrian movement can be slowed down by improving pedestrian connections, increasing interaction between different users and visual stimulation as urban interventions to increase the quality of life and affect their perception by applying ideas derivative from the livable neighborhood concept.