ACTIVE HOUSE PROTOCOL APPLICATION IN MEDITERRANEAN CLIMATE An energy-efficient kindergarten in Coppito

The E.U. aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. This article aims to fill the gap in the selection of solutions to improve living conditions in territorial assets (SDG n.11) to achieve the expected energy performance (SDG n.7) and disseminate the adoption of new approaches and measures for sustainable design (SDG n.13). These objectives were met through the application of a reverse engineering process to the Ape Tau kindergarten in L'Aquila, Coppito area, after the 2009 earthquake. The building's design solutions were investigated according to quantitative levels suggested by the holistic approach of the Active House protocol, which provides the methodology to verify the building's performance according to comfort, energy and environmental criteria. The results highlight the high performance of the building constructed with multilayer dry technology and the method's effectiveness based on process-oriented analysis to user, environment and territory. The article proposes an innovative paradigm for building requalification replicable in numerous contexts and different climatic conditions

ACTIVE HOUSE PROTOCOL APPLICATION IN MEDITERRANEAN CLIMATE : an energy-efficient kindergarden in Coppito

La U.E. intende raggiungere la neutralità climatica entro il 2050. Questo articolo mira a colmare il divario nella scelta di soluzioni migliorative delle condizioni di vita negli assetti territoriali (SDG n.11) per il raggiungimento delle prestazioni energetiche attese (SDG n.7) e diffondere l’adozione di nuovi approcci e misure per la progettazione sostenibile (SDG n.13). Tali obiettivi sono stati conseguiti mediante l’applicazione di un processo di reverse engineering all’asilo Ape Tau, L’Aquila, località Coppito, dopo il sisma del 2009. Le soluzioni progettuali impiegate nell’edificio sono state analizzate secondo livelli quantitativi suggeriti dall’approccio olistico del protocollo Active House, che fornisce la metodologia per verificare le prestazioni dell’edificio secondo criteri di comfort, energia e ambiente. I risultati evidenziano elevate prestazioni dell’edificio costruito con tecnologia stratificata a secco e l’efficacia del metodo basato su analisi process- oriented a utente, ambiente e territorio. L’articolo propone un paradigma innovativo per la riqualificazione degli edifici, replicabile in numerosi contesti e differenti condizioni climaticheThe E.U. aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. This article aims to fill the gap in the selection of solutions to improve living conditions in territorial assets (SDG n.11) to achieve the expected energy performance (SDG n.7) and disseminate the adoption of new approaches and measures for sustainable design (SDG n.13). These objectives were met through the application of a reverse engineering process to the Ape Tau kindergarten in L'Aquila, Coppito area, after the 2009 earthquake. The building's design solutions were investigated according to quantitative levels suggested by the holistic approach of the Active House protocol, which provides the methodology to verify the building's performance according to comfort, energy and environmental criteria. The results highlight the high performance of the building constructed with multilayer dry technology and the method's effectiveness based on process-oriented analysis to user, environment and territory. The article proposes an innovative paradigm for building requalification replicable in numerous contexts and different climatic conditions

Activité alimentaire et utilisation de l’espace dans une population naturalisée de Myiopsitta monachus dans une zone urbaine méditerranéenne

We studied a naturalized population of monk parakeet breeding in an urban park in Rome, by collecting data on the diurnal and feeding activity, space use (e.g, roosting preferences, flight height) and behavioural traits (e.g., cluster size). Consideration on the potential ecological impact of the species is also made. The diurnal activity of parakeets did not differ between morning and afternoon. Most individuals were observed in flight 6-10 m from the ground, and when at roost, parakeets preferred perch es higher than 5 m. The clusters sighted on ground were significantly larger in size than those observed on roosts, while cluster size was not linked to flight height. For this species, the observed roost preference indicates that the availability of perches on high trees seems to be an important factor for habitat selection: standing on trees may increase the chances to identify trophic resources, reduce the risk of predation when at rest, and prevent overheating from high summer temperatures during the day. Regarding to feeding habits, at our study site the monk parakeet fed on different plant species both on the trees and at the ground level (e.g., Fabaceae, Ulmaceae, Poaceae, Rosaceae), showing a clear preference towards some plant species, irrespective to their abundance, and with Scolymus hispanicus (Asteraceae) as the most exploited species by farNous avons étudié une population naturalisée de la perruche Myiopsitta monachus dans un parc urbain de Rome en recueillant des données sur les activités diurnes et de recherche de nourriture, de même que l'utilisation de l'espace (e.g. préférences pour les reposoirs, hauteur de vol) et les traits comportementaux (e.g. taille des regroupements). L'impact écologique potentiel de l'espèce a également été pris en considération. L'activité diurne des perruches ne montre aucune différence entre le matin et l'après-midi. La plupart des individus volent 6-10 m au-dessus du sol et, aux reposoirs ils préfèrent des perchoirs situés à plus de 5 m de hauteur. Les groupes étaient significativement plus grands au sol que dans les reposoirs tandis que leur taille n'était pas liée à la hauteur de vol. Les préférences observées quant aux reposoirs indiquent que la disponibilité de perchoirs dans de hauts arbres est, pour cette espèce, un facteur important du choix de l'habitat: une remise dans les arbres peut accroître les chances d'identifier des sources de nourriture, réduire les risques de prédation au repos et protéger des fortes chaleurs quand les températures diurnes estivales sont très élevées. En matière d'habitudes alimentaires, dans notre site d'étude, cette perruche se nourrissait de diverses espèces végétales tant sur les arbres qu'au sol (e.g. Fabacées, Ulmacées, Poacées, Rosacées), montrant une nette préférence pour quelques espèces quelle que soit leur abondance, Scolymus hispanicus (Astéracées) étant de loin la plus exploitée

Grapevine field experiments reveal the contribution of genotype, the influence of environment and the effect of their interaction (GxE) on berry transcriptome

Changes in the performance of genotypes in different environments are defined as genotype x environment (GxE) interactions. In grapevine (Vitis vinifera), complex interactions between different genotypes and climate, soil, and farming practices yield unique berry qualities. However, the molecular basis of this phenomenon remains unclear. To dissect the basis of grapevine GxE interactions, we characterized berry transcriptome plasticity, genome methylation landscape, and within-genotype allelic diversity in two genotypes, cultivated in three different environments, over two vintages. We identified, through a novel data-mining pipeline, genes with expression profiles that were unaffected by genotype or environment, genotype-dependent but unaffected by the environment, environmentally-dependent regardless of genotype, and GxE-related. The GxE-related genes showed different degrees of within-cultivar allelic diversity in the two genotypes and were enriched for stress responses, signal transduction and secondary metabolism categories. Our study unraveled the mutual relationships between genotypic and environmental variables during GxE interaction in a woody perennial species, providing a reference model to explore how cultivated fruit crops respond to diverse environments. Also, the pivotal role of vineyard location in determining the performance of different varieties, by enhancing berry quality traits, was unraveled

Rationale and design of an independent randomised controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of aripiprazole or haloperidol in combination with clozapine for treatment-resistant schizophrenia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>One third to two thirds of people with schizophrenia have persistent psychotic symptoms despite clozapine treatment. Under real-world circumstances, the need to provide effective therapeutic interventions to patients who do not have an optimal response to clozapine has been cited as the most common reason for simultaneously prescribing a second antipsychotic drug in combination treatment strategies. In a clinical area where the pressing need of providing therapeutic answers has progressively increased the occurrence of antipsychotic polypharmacy, despite the lack of robust evidence of its efficacy, we sought to implement a pre-planned protocol where two alternative therapeutic answers are systematically provided and evaluated within the context of a pragmatic, multicentre, independent randomised study.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>The principal clinical question to be answered by the present project is the relative efficacy and tolerability of combination treatment with clozapine plus aripiprazole compared with combination treatment with clozapine plus haloperidol in patients with an incomplete response to treatment with clozapine over an appropriate period of time. This project is a prospective, multicentre, randomized, parallel-group, superiority trial that follow patients over a period of 12 months. Withdrawal from allocated treatment within 3 months is the primary outcome.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The implementation of the protocol presented here shows that it is possible to create a network of community psychiatric services that accept the idea of using their everyday clinical practice to produce randomised knowledge. The employed pragmatic attitude allowed to randomly allocate more than 100 individuals, which means that this study is the largest antipsychotic combination trial conducted so far in Western countries. We expect that the current project, by generating evidence on whether it is clinically useful to combine clozapine with aripiprazole rather than with haloperidol, provides physicians with a solid evidence base to be directly applied in the routine care of patients with schizophrenia.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p><b>Clincaltrials.gov Identifier</b>: NCT00395915</p

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements