Showing papers by "University of Lleida published in 2020"
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308 citations
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TL;DR: This survey aims at providing a systematic and detailed overview of machine learning techniques for malware detection and in particular, deep learning techniques with special emphasis on deep learning approaches.
291 citations
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TL;DR: This technique could improve the efficiency of CEO in food products and a delivery system for novel applications such as active packaging.
276 citations
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University of Toronto1, University Health Network2, University of Nottingham3, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute4, University of Basel5, University of Lleida6, Conestoga College7, RMIT University8, University of Maryland, Baltimore9, Federal University of São Paulo10, University of Leeds11, Umeå University12, Bergen University College13, New York University14, La Trobe University15, Brown University16, Hong Kong Polytechnic University17, University of California, Davis18, University of Tokyo19, Fudan University20, University of Wisconsin-Madison21
TL;DR: Author(s): McGilton, Katherine S; Escrig-Pinol, Astrid; Gordon, Adam; Chu, Charlene H; Zuniga, Franziska; Sanchez, Montserrat Gea; Boscart, Veronique; Meyer, Julienne; Corazzini, Kirsten N; Jacinto, Alessandro Ferrari; Spilsbury, Karen; Backman, Annica; Scales, Kezia; Wu, Bei.
116 citations
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TL;DR: A look at some of the ways in which plants can and are being used in the fight against COVID-19, a novel coronavirus responsible for an ongoing human pandemic.
114 citations
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École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne1, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich2, Aarhus University3, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research4, University of Bergen5, Utrecht University6, Ghent University7, University of Sydney8, University of Minnesota9, Purdue University10, Wageningen University and Research Centre11, University of Lleida12, University of Udine13, National Research Council14, Forest Research Institute15, Fujian Normal University16, Lakehead University17, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic18, Concordia University19, Universiti Malaysia Sabah20, Polish Academy of Sciences21, University of Warsaw22, University of Bristol23, University of Copenhagen24, Seoul National University25, Estonian University of Life Sciences26, University of Tartu27, University of Zurich28, Université du Québec à Montréal29, Technische Universität München30, Central University of Jharkhand31, University of Göttingen32, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague33, Russian Academy of Sciences34, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro35, Polytechnic Institute of Viseu36, Beijing Forestry University37
TL;DR: Analysis of LSFs between 1959 and 2017 and the resistance strategies of Northern Hemisphere woody species to infer trees’ adaptations for minimizing frost damage to their leaves and to forecast forest vulnerability under the ongoing changes in frost frequencies reveals region-specific changes in the spring-frost risk that can inform decision-making in land management, forestry, agriculture, and insurance policy.
Abstract: Late-spring frosts (LSFs) affect the performance of plants and animals across the world’s temperate and boreal zones, but despite their ecological and economic impact on agriculture and forestry, the geographic distribution and evolutionary impact of these frost events are poorly understood. Here, we analyze LSFs between 1959 and 2017 and the resistance strategies of Northern Hemisphere woody species to infer trees’ adaptations for minimizing frost damage to their leaves and to forecast forest vulnerability under the ongoing changes in frost frequencies. Trait values on leaf-out and leaf-freezing resistance come from up to 1,500 temperate and boreal woody species cultivated in common gardens. We find that areas in which LSFs are common, such as eastern North America, harbor tree species with cautious (late-leafing) leaf-out strategies. Areas in which LSFs used to be unlikely, such as broad-leaved forests and shrublands in Europe and Asia, instead harbor opportunistic tree species (quickly reacting to warming air temperatures). LSFs in the latter regions are currently increasing, and given species’ innate resistance strategies, we estimate that ∼35% of the European and ∼26% of the Asian temperate forest area, but only ∼10% of the North American, will experience increasing late-frost damage in the future. Our findings reveal region-specific changes in the spring-frost risk that can inform decision-making in land management, forestry, agriculture, and insurance policy.
113 citations
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TL;DR: Overall, the results present a disease classifier based on microbiota and bacterial metabolites to discriminate HT individuals from NT controls in a first disease grade prior to drug treatment.
Abstract: Hypertension is an independent and preventable risk factor for the development of cardiovascular diseases, however, little is known about the impact of gut microbiota composition in its development. We carried out comprehensive gut microbiota analysis and targeted metabolomics in a cross-sectional study of 29 non-treated hypertensive (HT) and 32 normotensive (NT) subjects. We determined fecal microbiota composition by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and bacterial functions by metagenomic analysis. The microbial metabolites analysed were short chain fatty acids (SCFA) both in plasma and feces, and trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) in plasma. The overall bacterial composition and diversity of bacterial community in the two groups were not significantly different. However, Ruminococcaceae NK4A214, Ruminococcaceae_UCG-010, Christensenellaceae_R-7, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Roseburia hominis were found to be significantly enriched in NT group, whereas, Bacteroides coprocola, Bacteroides plebeius and genera of Lachnospiraceae were increased in HT patients. We found a positive correlation between the HT-associated species and systolic and diastolic blood pressure after adjusted for measured confounders. SCFA showed antagonistic results in plasma and feces, detecting in HT subjects significant higher levels in feces and lower levels in plasma, which could indicate a less efficient SCFA absorption. Overall, our results present a disease classifier based on microbiota and bacterial metabolites to discriminate HT individuals from NT controls in a first disease grade prior to drug treatment.
102 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the impact of lockdown on the environmental pollutants and climate indicators gained considerable attention in the literature, and the effect of these pollutants on the pandemic spread was also studied.
Abstract: The World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as a pandemic on March 11, 2020. Due to the global threat, many countries impose immediate lockdown. The impact of lockdown on the environmental pollutants and climate indicators gained considerable attention in the literature. This study aims to describe the variations in the environmental pollutants (CO, NO2, SO2, PM2.5 and PM10) with and without the lockdown period in the majorly hit states and provinces of the USA and China, respectively. Data during the first quarter year of 2019 and 2020 (lockdown period) was used in this study. Moreover, the effect of these pollutants on the pandemic spread was also studied. The results illustrated that the overall concentrations of CO, NO2 and PM2.5 were decreased by 19.28%, 36.7% and 1.10%, respectively, while PM10 and SO2 were increased by 27.81% and 3.81% respectively in five selected states of the USA during the lockdown period. However, in the case of chosen provinces of China, overall, the concentrations of all selected pollutants, i.e., CO, NO2, SO2, PM2.5 and PM10, were reduced by 26.53%, 38.98%, 18.36%, 17.78% and 37.85%, respectively. The COVID-19 reported cases and deaths were significantly correlated with NO2, PM2.5 and PM10 in both China and the USA. The findings of this study concluded that the limited anthropogenic activities in the lockdown situation due to this novel pandemic disease result in a significant improvement of air quality by reducing the concentrations of environmental pollutants. As the trend goes on, the reduction of most pollutant concentrations is expected as long as partial or complete lockdown goes on.Graphical abstract.
96 citations
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TL;DR: It is reported that fungal diversity can be conserved in managed forests if low impact logging operations are performed, stand structural complexity and late-successional forest characteristics are enhanced, deadwood amount and diversity is promoted, and landscape heterogeneity and connectivity is improved or maintained.
90 citations
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TL;DR: NHE3 is implicate as a determinant of the natriuretic effect of empagliflozin, which increased luminal α-ketoglutarate, which may serve to stimulate compensatory distal NaCl reabsorption, while co-generated and excreted ammonium balances urine losses of this "potential bicarbonate".
Abstract: Inhibitors of proximal tubular Na+-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) are natriuretic, and they lower blood pressure. There are reports that the activities of SGLT2 and Na+-H+ exchanger 3 (NHE3) are coordinated. If so, then part of the natriuretic response to an SGLT2 inhibitor is mediated by suppressing NHE3. To examine this further, we compared the effects of an SGLT2 inhibitor, empagliflozin, on urine composition and systolic blood pressure (SBP) in nondiabetic mice with tubule-specific NHE3 knockdown (NHE3-ko) and wild-type (WT) littermates. A single dose of empagliflozin, titrated to cause minimal glucosuria, increased urinary excretion of Na+ and bicarbonate and raised urine pH in WT mice but not in NHE3-ko mice. Chronic empagliflozin treatment tended to lower SBP despite higher renal renin mRNA expression and lowered the ratio of SBP to renin mRNA, indicating volume loss. This effect of empagliflozin depended on tubular NHE3. In diabetic Akita mice, chronic empagliflozin enhanced phosphorylation of NHE3 (S552/S605), changes previously linked to lesser NHE3-mediated reabsorption. Chronic empagliflozin also increased expression of genes involved with renal gluconeogenesis, bicarbonate regeneration, and ammonium formation. While this could reflect compensatory responses to acidification of proximal tubular cells resulting from reduced NHE3 activity, these effects were at least in part independent of tubular NHE3 and potentially indicated metabolic adaptations to urinary glucose loss. Moreover, empagliflozin increased luminal α-ketoglutarate, which may serve to stimulate compensatory distal NaCl reabsorption, while cogenerated and excreted ammonium balances urine losses of this "potential bicarbonate." The data implicate NHE3 as a determinant of the natriuretic effect of empagliflozin.
83 citations
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University of Barcelona1, University of Alicante2, Rovira i Virgili University3, Basque Government4, Spanish National Research Council5, Johns Hopkins University6, University of Lleida7, University of Santiago de Compostela8, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria9, Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche10, University of Valencia11, University of Toronto12, University of Oxford13, National University of Singapore14, University of London15
TL;DR: A comprehensive evaluation of the health and social care systems is now needed to prepare the country for further waves of COVID-19 or future pandemics, identifying weaknesses and strengths, and lessons learnt.
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TL;DR: Germany’s successful response to COVID-19 is attributed to environmental legislation and the medical care system, which oversaw significant overhaul after the SARS and MERS outbreaks, and implicates that other industrial economies, especially European economies, that are still facing CO VID-19 outbreak can follow the German model for pandemic response.
Abstract: The impact of environmental pollutants and climate indicators on the outbreak of COVID-19 has gained considerable attention in the recent literature. However, specific investigation of industrial economies like Germany is not available. This provides us motivation to examine the association between environmental pollutants, climate indicators and the COVID-19 cases, recoveries, and deaths in Germany using daily data from February 24, 2020, to July 02, 2020. The correlation analysis and wavelet transform coherence (WTC) approach are the analytical tools, which are used to explore the association between variables included in the study. Our findings indicate that PM2.5, O3, and NO2 have a significant relationship with the outbreak of COVID-19. In addition, temperature is the only significant climate indicator which has significant correlation with the spread of COVID-19. Finally, PM10, humidity, and environmental quality index have a significant relationship only with the active cases from COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings conclude that Germany's successful response to COVID-19 is attributed to environmental legislation and the medical care system, which oversaw significant overhaul after the SARS and MERS outbreaks. The current study implicates that other industrial economies, especially European economies, that are still facing COVID-19 outbreak can follow the German model for pandemic response.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the most common polymeric interlayers, outline its characterization techniques, and give a general overview about the recyclability of the interlayer materials, including PVB, ionomers, EVA and TPU.
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Region Zealand1, Free University of Berlin2, University of Lleida3, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven4, Virginia Commonwealth University5, University of Antwerp6, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University7, University of Brasília8, University of Lisbon9, Charles University in Prague10, Paris West University Nanterre La Défense11, Université catholique de Louvain12, University of Otago13, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul14, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw15, University of Pittsburgh16, University of Kassel17
TL;DR: The modified PID5BF+ may be employed internationally by clinicians and researchers for brief and reliable assessment of the 6 combined DSM-5 and ICD-11 domains, including 18 primary subfacets, as well as meaningful associations with familiar interview-rated PD types.
Abstract: Introduction The DSM-5 Alternative Model of Personality Disorders (AMPD) and the ICD-11 classification of personality disorders (PD) are largely commensurate and, when combined, they delineate 6 trait domains: negative affectivity, detachment, antagonism/dissociality, disinhibition, anankastia, and psychoticism. Objective The present study evaluated the international validity of a brief 36-item patient-report measure that portrays all 6 domains simultaneously including 18 primary subfacets. Methods We developed and employed a modified version of the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 - Brief Form Plus (PID5BF+). A total of 16,327 individuals were included, 2,347 of whom were patients. The expected 6-factor structure of facets was initially investigated in samples from Denmark (n = 584), Germany (n = 1,271), and the USA (n = 605) and subsequently replicated in both patient- and community samples from Italy, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Poland, Czech Republic, the USA, and Brazil. Associations with interview-rated DSM-5 PD categories were also investigated. Results Findings generally supported the empirical soundness and international robustness of the 6 domains including meaningful associations with familiar interview-rated PD types. Conclusions The modified PID5BF+ may be employed internationally by clinicians and researchers for brief and reliable assessment of the 6 combined DSM-5 and ICD-11 domains, including 18 primary subfacets. This 6-domain framework may inform a future nosology for DSM-5.1 that is more reasonably aligned with the authoritative ICD-11 codes than the current DSM-5 AMPD model. The 36-item modified PID5BF+ scoring key is provided in online supplementary Appendix A see www.karger.com/doi/10.1159/000507589 (for all online suppl. material).
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King Abdulaziz Medical City1, Houston Methodist Hospital2, University of Toronto3, University of Pavia4, King Fahad Specialist Hospital5, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria6, University of South Carolina7, University Hospitals of Cleveland8, University of Calgary9, Hospital Kuala Lumpur10, National Guard Health Affairs11, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences12, Charles University in Prague13, Geneva College14, Mexican Social Security Institute15, University of Pisa16, University of Pennsylvania17, Montreal Heart Institute18, Medanta19, Bundang Jesaeng Hospital20, Jichi Medical University21, Oregon Health & Science University22, University of Southern Denmark23, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital24, Yale University25, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai26, University of Belgrade27, University of Lleida28, University of Turin29, University of Melbourne30, Outcomes Research Consortium31, Hospital Universitario La Paz32, University of the Witwatersrand33, University of Cambridge34, Peking Union Medical College Hospital35, Fourth Military Medical University36
TL;DR: In this paper, an expert panel from 27 countries and 6 continents with considerable experience of direct application of PoCUS on COVID-19 patients presents evidence-based consensus using GRADE methodology for the quality of evidence and an expedited, modified-Delphi process for the strength of expert consensus.
Abstract: COVID-19 has caused great devastation in the past year. Multi-organ point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS) including lung ultrasound (LUS) and focused cardiac ultrasound (FoCUS) as a clinical adjunct has played a significant role in triaging, diagnosis and medical management of COVID-19 patients. The expert panel from 27 countries and 6 continents with considerable experience of direct application of PoCUS on COVID-19 patients presents evidence-based consensus using GRADE methodology for the quality of evidence and an expedited, modified-Delphi process for the strength of expert consensus. The use of ultrasound is suggested in many clinical situations related to respiratory, cardiovascular and thromboembolic aspects of COVID-19, comparing well with other imaging modalities. The limitations due to insufficient data are highlighted as opportunities for future research.
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TL;DR: In this article, a coupled dynamic simulation and optimization analysis is performed to explore the optimum melting temperature of PCM integrated in the external building envelope to minimize cooling loads in different Italian climate zones.
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TL;DR: This work presents a conceptual framework linking tropical deforestation and the current pandemic, and highlights the emerging threats to nature and society resulting from this complex reciprocal interplay and possible policy interventions that could minimize these threats.
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TL;DR: In this paper, a model is proposed for analysing these websites based on the content analysis method, and structured according to the following dimensions: Information, Communication, E-Commerce and Additional Functions.
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TL;DR: HYDRA is presented, a novel framework to address the task of malware detection and classification by combining various types of features to discover the relationships between distinct modalities and achieves comparable results to gradient boosting methods in the literature and higher yield in comparison with deep learning approaches.
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TL;DR: This review highlights the different anthropogenic GHG emission sources, the response of microbial communities to climate change, climate forcing potential, and mitigation strategies through different agricultural management approaches and microbial communities.
Abstract: Carbon dioxide (CO2) is mainly universal greenhouse gas associated with climate change. However, beyond CO2, some other greenhouse gases (GHGs) like methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), being two notable gases, contribute to global warming. Since 1900, the concentrations of CO2 and non-CO2 GHG emissions have been elevating, and due to the effects of the previous industrial revolution which is responsible for climate forcing. Globally, emissions of CO2, CH4, and N2O from agricultural sectors are increasing as around 1% annually. Moreover, deforestation also contributes 12–17% of total global GHGs. Perhaps, the average temperature is likely to increase globally, at least 2 °C by 2100—by mid-century. These circumstances are responsible for climate forcing, which is the source of various human health diseases and environmental risks. From agricultural soils, rhizospheric microbial communities have a significant role in the emissions of greenhouse gases. Every year, microbial communities release approximately 1.5–3 billion tons of carbon into the atmospheric environment. Microbial nitrification, denitrification, and respiration are the essential processes that affect the nitrogen cycle in the terrestrial environment. In the twenty-first century, climate change is the major threat faced by human beings. Climate change adversely influences human health to cause numerous diseases due to their direct association with climate change. This review highlights the different anthropogenic GHG emission sources, the response of microbial communities to climate change, climate forcing potential, and mitigation strategies through different agricultural management approaches and microbial communities.
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Szent István University1, University of Bologna2, University of Lleida3, University of Seville4, University of Göttingen5, University of Zagreb6, University of California, Riverside7, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University8, University of Brawijaya9, International Rice Research Institute10, Centre national de la recherche scientifique11, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources12, Bogor Agricultural University13
TL;DR: Opportunities to advance applied research, IPM technology validation, and grower education to halt or drastically reduce the authors' over-reliance on systemic insecticides globally are identified.
Abstract: We present a synthetic review and expert consultation that assesses the actual risks posed by arthropod pests in four major crops, identifies targets for integrated pest management (IPM) in terms of cultivated land needing pest control and gauges the implementation “readiness” of non-chemical alternatives. Our assessment focuses on the world’s primary target pests for neonicotinoid-based management: western corn rootworm (WCR, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera) in maize; wireworms (Agriotes spp.) in maize and winter wheat; bird cherry-oat aphid (Rhopalosiphum padi) in winter wheat; brown planthopper (BPH, Nilaparvata lugens) in rice; cotton aphid (Aphis gossypii) and silver-leaf whitefly (SLW, Bemisia tabaci) in cotton. First, we queried scientific literature databases and consulted experts from different countries in Europe, North America, and Asia about available IPM tools for each crop-pest system. Next, using an online survey, we quantitatively assessed the economic relevance of target pests by compiling country-level records of crop damage, yield impacts, extent of insecticide usage, and “readiness” status of various pest management alternatives (i.e., research, plot-scale validation, grower-uptake). Biological control received considerable scientific attention, while agronomic strategies (e.g., crop rotation), insurance schemes, decision support systems (DSS), and innovative pesticide application modes were listed as key alternatives. Our study identifies opportunities to advance applied research, IPM technology validation, and grower education to halt or drastically reduce our over-reliance on systemic insecticides globally.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors assessed the future provision of ecosystem services by Mediterranean pine forests under a set of management and climate change scenarios, built by combining different regional policies and climate changes assumptions.
Abstract: Mediterranean forests play a key role in providing services and goods to society, and are currently threatened by global change. We assessed the future provision of ecosystem services by Mediterranean pine forests under a set of management and climate change scenarios, built by combining different regional policies and climate change assumptions. We used the process-based model SORTIE-ND to simulate forest dynamics under each scenario. We coupled the outputs of SORTIE-ND with empirical and process-based models to estimate changes in harvested timber, carbon storage, mushroom yield, water provision, soil erosion mitigation and habitat for biodiversity by 2100, and assessed the trade-offs and synergies between services. Our results suggest that future provision of ecosystem services by Mediterranean forests will be more strongly determined by management policies than by climate. However, no management policy maximized the provision of all services. The continuation of the business-as-usual management would benefit some services to the detriment of water provision, but leads to higher vulnerability to extreme drought-events or wildfires. Managing for reducing forest vulnerability will balance the provision of services while reducing the risk of damage to forest functioning. We also found multiple spatial synergies between ecosystem services provision, likely driven by differences in site productivity.
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Technische Universität München1, Center for International Forestry Research2, University of Valladolid3, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences4, Warsaw University of Life Sciences5, Vytautas Magnus University6, University of Lleida7, University of Lorraine8, University of Göttingen9, Forest Research Institute10, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna11, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad12, Université catholique de Louvain13, University of Copenhagen14, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague15, University of Grenoble16
TL;DR: It is hypothesised that the observed positive mixing effects under drought mainly result from water- and/or light-related species interactions that improve resource availability and uptake according to temporal and spatial variations in environmental conditions.
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TL;DR: This study identifies optimal MAE and UAE parameters to assist the extraction of peach waste bioactive compounds and provides a preliminary estimation of the potential economic and environmental impact on an industrial scale of these technologies.
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TL;DR: In this paper, a synthesis-analysis using published data to provide a global perspective of nitrogen utilization efficiency (NUtE) trends in wheat by benchmarking against yield limited by NupMAT, and assessing factors contributing to the variation in NUtE.
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TL;DR: Several methodologies for the measurement and verification of energy savings, and for the prediction and recommendation of energy retrofitting strategies, are analysed in detail, providing a thorough and detailed overview of the different methods.
Abstract: Increasing the energy efficiency of the built environment has become a priority worldwide and especially in Europe. Because of the relatively low turnover rate of the existing built environment, energy efficiency retrofitting appears to be a fundamental step in reducing its energy consumption. Last experiences have shown that there is a vast energy efficiency potential lying in the building stock, and it is mainly untapped. One of the reasons is a lack of robust methodologies able to evaluate the effect of applied energy efficiency measures and inform about the expected impact of potential retrofitting strategies. Nowadays, dynamic measured data coming from automated metering infrastructure provides valuable information to evaluate the effect of energy conservation strategies. For this reason, energy performance modeling and assessment methods based on this data are starting to play a major role. In this paper, several methodologies for the measurement and verification of energy savings, and for the prediction and recommendation of energy retrofitting strategies, are analysed in detail. Practitioners looking at different options for these two processes, will find in this review a thorough and detailed overview of the different methods that can be used. Guidance is also provided to determine which method could work best depending on the specific case under analysis. The reviewed approaches include statistical learning models, machine learning models, Bayesian methods, deterministic approaches, and hybrid techniques that combine deterministic and data-driven modeling. Existing research gaps are identified and prospects for future investigation are presented within the main conclusions of this research work.
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TL;DR: HSI is also proposed as a powerful grain sorting instrument due to high accuracies obtained in classification of single kernels according to Fusarium and DON infection, and an overview of the HSI applications for on-line and massive cereal sorting in grain industry is presented.
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TL;DR: The protein isolate extracted by UUAAIP had greater solubility, water-holding and oil-binding capacities but lower emulsifying and foaming properties than those extracted by HCE and AIPE.
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TL;DR: The lipid moieties identified in this study are involved in biological pathways of metabolic risk and can be explored for prognostic and therapeutic utility.
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TL;DR: The findings suggest that PCPs are a promising source of antioxidants and may have potential applications in functional food industries.