LCA evaluation and energy performance of a housing building in different technological scenarios

Reaching nearly Zero Energy Building (nZEB) standards through retrofit can be achieved by adopting controlled procedures and assessment tools. The main issue of operational energy consumption before and after refurbishment should be calculated with reliable predictive models to support investment payback time evaluations. For that purpose, dynamic simulation can reduce the performance gap between simulated and actual performance, however, multiple issues are involved. In the EU Directives, the nZEB framework addresses the operational consumption, which traditionally was the main portion in the building life cycle. However, where nZEB is concerned, the running energy is strongly reduced and embedded energy and disposal assume a higher contribution to the energy life cycle cost. It is worthy to note that LC-ZEBs (Life Cycle Zero Energy Buildings) have been conceptualized more than 10 years ago and the LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) approach is now integrated into the most advanced CVEs (Calculation Virtual Environments) to enable a broader evaluation of building energy during the lifespan. The paper presents LCA scenarios for a housing case study located in Italy and Norway where energy saving is regulated and suitable solutions are strongly connected to materials and energy supply contexts

Efficacy of cognitive rehabilitation in patients with mild cognitive impairment treated with cholinesterase inhibitors.

Individuals who have Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) may be in a transitional stage between aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD). The high rate of conversion from MCI to AD makes early treatment an important clinical issue. Recent evidence suggests that cognitive training intervention may reduce the rate of progression to AD

Efficacy of cognitive rehabilitation in patients with mild cognitive impairment treated with cholinesterase inhibitors

Individuals who have Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) may be in a transitional stage between aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD). The high rate of conversion from MCI to AD makes early treatment an important clinical issue. Recent evidence suggests that cognitive training intervention may reduce the rate of progression to AD

Fattori di crescita piastrinici e riparazione del tessuto pleurico. Studio in vitro ed in vivo

Le perdite aeree prolungate nel post-operatorio sono una delle cause maggiori di morbidit\ue0 dopo interventi di chirurgia polmonare. Differenti tecniche intraoperatorie e sigillanti chirurgici sono stati sviluppati per prevenire o ridurre la problematica, senza per\uf2 mostrare significativi miglioramenti. Il presente studio valuta l\u2019effetto dei fattori di crescita rilasciati da gel piastrinico proveniente da cordone ombelicale sulla riparazione del tessuto pleurico in seguito a danno parenchimal

Thoracoscopic versus conventional lobectomy : comparable short-term results associated to lower systemic impact

Videotoracoscopy has emerged as an alternative to the conventional technique in thoracic surgery. We compared the outcomes after VTS and coventional lobectomies, in terms of postoperative pain, systemic inflammation and pulmonary function.From October 2010 and May 2011, 57 patients underwent pulmonary lobectomy. Among them, 15 patients received VTS lobectomy and 42 received open lobectomy. 15 patients were selected from the \u201copen\u201d group and used as controls.Operative times differed between the two groups (VTS 238.5 vs open 191.6 min, p 0.01), but we found no difference when we compared chest tube stay (POD 6.0 \ub1 2.83 vs 5.1 \ub1 2.94, NS). Perceived postoperative pain (NRS scale) was the same (POD1 3.1 vs 2.7, POD2 2.2 vs 2.2, POD3 1.5 vs 1.3, NS) and the total amount of analgesics per patient, expressed as mg of morphine/Kg, was also not statistically different (4 vs 4.8, NS). Furthermore, no statistical difference was observed in postoperative WBC and CRP between the two groups, although we believe this to be mainly due to the small population size. The average CRP was 7.6 vs. 11.6 on POD3 and 5.07 vs. 8.15 on POD5, in the VTS group and open group respectively. We didn\u2019t have any major complications, but 4 patients who had undergone VTS lobectomy had a late pleural effusion requiring thoracentesis, despite the usual postoperative management. Moreover, a patient in the same group had postoperative pneumonia: we consider it to be related to an underlying HIV-related immunosuppression, rather than to the surgical technique itself. One patient in the \u201copen\u201d group experienced severe postoperative pain. One patient in each group had prolonged air-leaks and after that the \u201cfissureless\u201d technique was introduced when thoracoscopic lobectomies were performed.We believe VTS lobectomy to be a safe technique, associated to a lower systemic impact on the patient compared to the conventional technique

A pós-graduação na área de saúde do adulto e sua mobilização de recursos cognitivos El pos-grado en la área de salud del adulto y su movilización de los recursos cognitivos The adult health graduate area in nursing and its cognitive resource mobilization

O estudo apresenta uma análise da produção científica no período de 1994 a 2002 da área em questão, evidenciando as potencialidades do processo de desenvolvimento cognitivo de seus pesquisadores na área de Enfermagem. Identifica, ainda, os desafios que se apresentam no sentido de responder às interlocuções teóricas mais sintonizadas com a matriz geradora de distintas expressões de vida, de saúde e de doença dos adultos, foco dos investimentos de seus docentes.<br>En este estudio se presenta un análisis de la producción científica en el período de 1994 al 2002 del área en cuestión, evidenciando las potencialidades del proceso de desarrollo cognitivo de sus inves-tigadores en el área de Enfermería. Identifica, aún, los desafíos que se presentan en el sentido de responder a las interlocuciones teóricas que más sintonizan con la matriz generadora de distintas expresiones de vida, de salud y de enfermedad de los adultos, foco de inversión de sus docentes.<br>This study analyses the scientific production of the adult health between 1994 and 2002, showing the potentialities of the process of cognitive development in researchers in the Nursing area. It also identifies the challenges for answering the theoretical dialogues between the generative matrix of different life, health and illness expressions, which is the aim of its faculty