Progeo (Czechia)

Utilization of the rock massif by tunnels or utility corridors as a heat source or heat storage leads to energy savings. This work presents an evaluation of a heat exchanger enhancement with a thermally conductive matter (TCM) in tunnel lining. The heat exchanger with TCM is meant to be placed between the primary and secondary lining. The evaluation is based on a finite element simulations. Also the influence of the heat exchanger tube spacing was investigated. The extractable heat from the rock massif ranges from 10 to 90 W per meter. The heat exchanger conductivity enhancement resulted into 4 to 30 % benefit.

Chronic kidney diseases (CKD) has now emerged as a public health priority, and there is an increasing demand by patients and health care organisations that the quality of care delivered by renal units to CKD patients be systematically monitored and evaluated. The Italian Society of Nephrology (SIN) has started an initiative aimed at promoting a quality certification process specifically focused on CKD. To this end, SIN started a collaboration with an independent Italian company which is a partner of Joint Commission International (JCI), a nonprofit international organisation dedicated to the promotion of quality improvement and safety of health services. As a result of this collaboration, a document describing a voluntary certification process developed based on JCI criteria was produced by SIN. This document comprises 2 parts. Herein (Part I) we deal with standards for clinical care delivery and performance measurements related to CKD care. Programme management and clinical information management will be presented in a separate manuscript (Part II).