Seismic Response of a Platform-Frame System with Steel Columns

Timber platform-frame shear walls are characterized by high ductility and diffuse energy dissipation but limited in-plane shear resistance. A novel lightweight constructive system composed of steel columns braced with oriented strand board (OSB) panels was conceived and tested. Preliminary laboratory tests were performed to study the OSB-to-column connections with self-drilling screws. Then, the seismic response of a shear wall was determined performing a quasi-static cyclic-loading test of a full-scale specimen. Results presented in this work in terms of force-displacement capacity show that this system confers to shear walls high in-plane strength and stiffness with good ductility and dissipative capacity. Therefore, the incorporation of steel columns within OSB bracing panels results in a strong and stiff platform-frame system with high potential for low- and medium-rise buildings in seismic-prone areas

How Can We Frame Energy Communities’ Organisational Models? Insights from the Research ‘Community Energy Map’ in the Italian Context

According to the early transposition of the EU directives by the Italian government, this paper presents some of the outcomes of the qualitative-led applied research titled Community Energy Map, aimed at identifying the main operational models and organisational frameworks put in place for the development of renewable energy communities (RECs). In this respect, the article discusses a threefold subdivision of organisational models to implement RECs: public lead, pluralist, and community energy builders’ model. Furthermore, the paper illustrates in detail three of the nine case studies dedicated to recently launched RECs, conducted through qualitative fieldworks, to investigate the social and local implications generated by these community-led initiatives. The article stresses the relevance of both the local scale and community-led initiatives in the pathway towards a fair and just energy transition, by discussing how RECs define new organisational models of distributed energy systems

Oliveira, Francisco Roque de (Coord.: 2012), Leitores de mapas: dois séculos de história da cartografia em Portugal

La edición de este libro, coordinado por Francisco Roque de Oliveira, forma parte de los trabajos del IV Simposio Iberoamericano de Historia de la Cartografía, llevado a cabo en la capital portuguesa del 11 al 14 de septiembre de 2012. Cada dos años, un grupo de especialistas se reúne para conocer experiencias particulares, actualizar las perspectivas de trabajo e intercambiar algunos materiales por parte de los organizadores. Esta organización, de acuerdo con cada grupo responsable de la sed..

A male patient with acromegaly and breast cancer: treating acromegaly to control tumor progression

BACKGROUND: Acromegaly is a rare disease associated with an increased risk of developing cancer. CASE PRESENTATION: We report the case of a 72-year-old man who was diagnosed with acromegaly (IGF-1 770 ng/ml) and breast cancer. Four years before he suffered from a colon-rectal cancer. Pituitary surgery and octreotide-LAR treatment failed to control acromegaly. Normalization of IGF-1 (97 ng/ml) was obtained with pegvisomant therapy. Four years after breast cancer surgery, 2 pulmonary metastases were detected at chest CT. The patient was started on anastrozole, but, contrary to medical advice, he stopped pegvisomant treatment (IGF-I 453 ng/ml). Four months later, chest CT revealed an increase in size of the metastatic lesion of the left lung. The patient was shifted from anastrozole to tamoxifen and was restarted on pegvisomant, with normalization of serum IGF-1 levels (90 ng/ml). Four months later, a reduction in size of the metastatic lesion of the left lung was detected by CT. Subsequent CT scans throughout a 24-month follow-up showed a further reduction in size and then a stabilization of the metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report of a male patient with acromegaly and breast cancer. The clinical course of breast cancer was closely related to the metabolic control of acromegaly. The rapid progression of metastatic lesion was temporally related to stopping pegvisomant treatment and paralleled a rise in serum IGF-1 levels. Normalization of IGF-1 after re-starting pegvisomant impressively reduced the progression of metastatic breast lesions. Control of acromegaly is mandatory in acromegalic patients with cancer

Food Styles and the Dynamics of the Mediterranean Adequacy Index

Medical longitudinal surveys demonstrated that the Mediterranean diet is inversely connected with mortality due to Coronary Heart Disease (CHD). To evaluate this phenomenon, the Mediterranean Adequacy Index (MAI) was launched in 2004, calculated as the ratio of the energy derived from Mediterranean-style foods to the energy from foods that do not characterize Mediterranean eating. According to one of the most cited research works, carried out on 16 samples from seven countries worldwide, in two Italian cohorts (Crevalcore and Montegiorgio) mortality from CHD was reduced by 26% in 20 years and by 21% in 40 years of follow- up with an index growth of 1 logarithmic unit (Fidanza et al., 2004). Fifteen years after that publication, this study aims to assess, in the six countries surveyed (Finland, USA, Netherlands, Italy, Greece, Japan and Croatia and Serbia, the former Yugoslavia), the MAI index dynamics extended universally, using the Food balance sheets data provided by FAO for the period 1961-2011. The objectives of this study are the following: a) determine the MAI trend over the past 50 years in order to check continuity or non-continuity of the Mediterranean nutritional style in the above countries; b) identify, using the latest data, the clusters of different countries which have similar eating habits and determine the convergence or divergence with respect to one prevailing style.; c) bring together, through the dual problem solution, the products that make up the predominant diet in the 28 EU member countrie

Numerical Evaluation of Alford Forces Acting on an Axial Expander for Supercritical CO2 Application

Nowadays, supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO2) cycles are of great interest in the scientific research especially considering the energy transition that is occurring. The S-CO2 high density and relatively low viscosity make it an interesting fluid for power generation. For large heat sources, large flowrates of fluid can be obtained. Therefore, the development of axial flow expanders can allow large power generations. In the presence of rotor eccentricities, the aerodynamic loading of free-standing blades is not constant tangentially and will promote the lateral vibration of the rotor. The dynamic phenomenon that arises is known as Thomas-Alford force. The Thomas-Alford force determines an increase of the vibration level of the machine and a higher risk of instabilities. In this paper, a preliminary investigation of a S-CO2 axial expander stage is performed. Different correlations proposed in the literature are adopted to estimate the magnitude of the Thomas-Alford force. A mono-dimensional code and a simplified computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model are adopted to obtain the parameters of the stage considered. In this preliminary investigation, only free-standing blades are considered. The results obtained show a good agreement between 1D and CFD inputs required by the different correlation used. Despite this, the cross coupled stiffness calculated are widely dependent on the correlation used; then, this study can be considered as the starting point for more detailed investigations validating the correlations behavior in this environment through an unsteady CFD and/or a proper test campaign