TOMMASO GROSSI E LA NOVELLA ROMANTICA NELLA MILANO DI PRIMO OTTOCENTO. «LA FUGGITIVA» E «ILDEGONDA». EDIZIONE CRITICA E COMMENTO

The thesis aims to provide an exhaustive study of Tommaso Grossi’s literary background, as well as to identify the linguistic and stylistic peculiarities of his poetry. Acclaimed as one of the most famous authors of the Italian Romantic Age, Grossi (1790-1853) was the first to introduce the vogue of sentimental narratives in historical settings in Italy. This study is the first to provide a critical and commented edition of Grossi’s novelle highlighting the main features of his language and style as well as his literary models. The research stresses the pivotal role of Grossi within early nineteenth-century Italian literature. This is achieved through the philological study and the commentary of the two works that established and made popular the genre of the Romantic novella in Italy: La Fuggitiva (translated from Milanese dialect into Italian by the poet himself in 1816) and Ildegonda (1820). The commentary of Grossi’s novelle shows a deep tension between the innovative content, which fully aligns itself with the Romantic tendencies of the time, and conventional form, which substantially adheres to the Italian poetic tradition. Therefore, his novelle can be regarded as hybrid literary products, which on the one hand fully situate themselves within the Italian narrative poetry tradition, and on the other are significantly influenced by coeval European literature. The commentary also sheds new light on Grossi’s literary sources, identifying Torquato Tasso’s Gerusalemme Liberata as the main model of La Fuggitiva, whereas Ildegonda was mainly inspired by Ludovico Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso. Finally, an in-depth investigation of the gloomy imagery employed by the poet reveals the previously undetected influence of Melchiorre Cesarotti’s Ossian and Vincenzo Monti’s Bassvilliana

Rethinking Adaptive Building Skins from a Life Cycle Assessment perspective

Adaptive building technologies have opened up a growing field of research aimed at ensuring indoor comfort while reducing energy consumption in buildings. By focusing on flexibility over short timeframes, these new technologies are, however, rarely designed for sustainability over their entire lifecycle. This paper aims to address an information gap between the research field of architectural Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and the state of the art of adaptive façades, by presenting an analysis of the main aspects in traditional and adaptive façades that are relevant to understanding whether parallels can be drawn between available LCA databases. The literature is reviewed following an inductive method based on a qualitative data collection aimed at answering a list of research questions, and a deductive method starting from the descriptions of adaptive building envelopes. The findings highlight four main points: i) where and how adaptivity is integrated, ii) the design targets that are able to reduce the environmental impact, iii) the importance of a qualitative as well as a quantitative LCA of the technology, and iv) lists a number of knowledge gaps currently limiting the diffusion of LCA as a design and verification tool in Adaptive Building Skins

Designing IAQ-Resilient Post-Pandemic Buildings

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant changes to human life and habits. There is an increasing urgency to promote occupants’ health and well-being in the built environment where they spend most of their lives, putting indoor air quality (IAQ) in the spotlight. This study fits into this context, aiming to provide useful information about the design, construction, and operation of an IAQ-resilient building in the post-pandemic era for it to ensure a good trade-off between energy- and health-related objectives. The PRISMA guidelines were adopted to conducting a systematic review obtaining 58 studies that offered relevant results on two main research areas: (i) the concept of resilience, focusing on its definition in relation to the built environment and to pandemic-related disruptions; and (ii) the building design strategies that are able to increase buildings’ resilience, focusing on the preventive measures involving engineering control. In addition, the metrics and the decision-making tools able to make IAQ-resilient buildings attractive to the investors, focusing on the cost-benefit analysis (CBA) technique, were discussed. The research supported the transition of the building sector to a human-centered approach that is able to include IAQ resilience among the main priorities of future buildings to guarantee the occupants’ health and well-being

The Polyvalent heat pumps technology in retrofit of existing HVAC systems

In terms of existing buildings’ retrofit, historical and non-residential buildings clearly represent two challenging categories. In historical buildings, due to architectural constraints, acting on the technical side is often the only way to reduce consumptions, while non-residential buildings usually require simultaneous production of hot and chilled water. In these cases, Polyvalent heat pumps represent an interesting solution, able to guarantee significant reductions of primary energy consumptions. In detail, a Reference Building for an historical office was simulated in three Mediterranean cities, using EnergyPlus software and some evaluation tools specifically set to emulate the energy performances of the examined HVAC technologies

HVAC solutions for energy retrofitted hotel in Mediterranean area

To meet the European targets for achieving high-performing buildings, the refurbishment of the existing building stock and, in particular, of historical buildings represents a great challenge. The research aims at identifying the most energy-effective HVAC configuration for retrofitting historical hotels in Mediterranean area, where the objective is to minimize the consumptions for both space heating and cooling. A Reference Building for an historical hotel was simulated in five Mediterranean cities and different HVAC solutions were assessed, using EnergyPlus software coupled with tools specifically set to emulate the energy behaviour of certain HVAC technologies, aiming to highlight the most efficient alternative

Development of European Power Grid and Its Compatibility with Global Energy Interconnection

The Global Energy Interconnection (GEI) vision is to enhance the deployment of renewable energy generation on a global scale by building intercontinental power transmission corridors, thereby promoting global decarbonization. Under the premise of a unified electrical market, this paper discusses the compatibility of current development plans of European power grid, proposed by European Network of Transmission System Operators (ENTSO-E), with the long-term GEI scenarios in 2030 and 2050. To fully consider the environmental, social, and political elements in the network expansion, a novel methodological approach is proposed, which combines the techno-economic models with socio-economic decision-making support tools, as the multi-criteria analysis. By this method, the paper computes the optimal power flows in the European network model in the GEI scenarios of 2030 and 2050. The study shows that, at the high load level projected in the GEI scenario, a widely distributed congestion between the Scandinavia area and the European continent would appear, limiting the dispatch of transmission corridors from the Arctic area. The results demonstrate that the planning of GEI will require close coordination and management between transmission system operators (TSO) and institutions in various regions

Toward NZEB by optimizing HVAC system configuration in different climates

Finding the most appropriate matching between envelope features and HVAC system configurations in function of different climates results fundamental for minimizing buildings’ energy consumptions. The research aims at presenting the most energy-performing HVAC system configurations for high-performing buildings. Different configurations were modeled for new non-residential Reference Buildings in seven European cities, using dynamic simulation software EnergyPlus and some evaluation tools specifically set to emulate the energy performance of some specific HVAC technologies. Finally, the results obtained were compared in order to outline some conclusions, useful as guidelines for optimizing the choice of HVAC systems in function of climate conditions

Hypofractionated simultaneous integrated boost (IMRT-SIB) with pelvic nodal irradiation and concurrent androgen deprivation therapy for high-risk prostate cancer: results of a prospective phase II trial

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Infected pancreatic necrosis: outcomes and clinical predictors of mortality. A post hoc analysis of the MANCTRA-1 international study

: The identification of high-risk patients in the early stages of infected pancreatic necrosis (IPN) is critical, because it could help the clinicians to adopt more effective management strategies. We conducted a post hoc analysis of the MANCTRA-1 international study to assess the association between clinical risk factors and mortality among adult patients with IPN. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify prognostic factors of mortality. We identified 247 consecutive patients with IPN hospitalised between January 2019 and December 2020. History of uncontrolled arterial hypertension (p = 0.032; 95% CI 1.135-15.882; aOR 4.245), qSOFA (p = 0.005; 95% CI 1.359-5.879; aOR 2.828), renal failure (p = 0.022; 95% CI 1.138-5.442; aOR 2.489), and haemodynamic failure (p = 0.018; 95% CI 1.184-5.978; aOR 2.661), were identified as independent predictors of mortality in IPN patients. Cholangitis (p = 0.003; 95% CI 1.598-9.930; aOR 3.983), abdominal compartment syndrome (p = 0.032; 95% CI 1.090-6.967; aOR 2.735), and gastrointestinal/intra-abdominal bleeding (p = 0.009; 95% CI 1.286-5.712; aOR 2.710) were independently associated with the risk of mortality. Upfront open surgical necrosectomy was strongly associated with the risk of mortality (p < 0.001; 95% CI 1.912-7.442; aOR 3.772), whereas endoscopic drainage of pancreatic necrosis (p = 0.018; 95% CI 0.138-0.834; aOR 0.339) and enteral nutrition (p = 0.003; 95% CI 0.143-0.716; aOR 0.320) were found as protective factors. Organ failure, acute cholangitis, and upfront open surgical necrosectomy were the most significant predictors of mortality. Our study confirmed that, even in a subgroup of particularly ill patients such as those with IPN, upfront open surgery should be avoided as much as possible. Study protocol registered in ClinicalTrials.Gov (I.D. Number NCT04747990)