CRITERI PER LA CONSERVAZIONE DELLE COPERTURE LIGNEE TRADIZIONALI DELLA SICILIA OCCIDENTALE: RECUPERO DI PRATICHE COSTRUTTIVE E MATERIALI TRADIZIONALI LOCALI

The paper presents the result of a researched that aimed to identifying typical wooden span roof systems in the ancient architecture of western Sicily. For this study, seventy construction built with various building techniques have been selected for their peculiarities. The research has paid particular attention to the components and the functional parts of the covering which have also been compared with the information acquired from written historical hand book. This comparison it was aimed at the individuation of the best way to build this covering structures and the possible precautionary measures aimed at preserving the wooden structures from the development of decay phenomena. The work has been developed trough historical investigations, from which have information about the building component were realized to verify trough modern theories and laboratory tests. It’s allows to evaluation the performances given from the wooden elements both under the original conditions that different stadiums of decay

ROCCIA E VETRO PER UNA COPERTURA TRASPARENTE

La memoria presenta uno studio condotto sulla possibilità di coprire uno spazio residuo tra il convento dei Mercedari di Modica in Sicilia e il costone roccioso adiacente. La nuova destinazione dell'edificio a Museo prevede la realizzazione di un percorso museale esterno coperto. Ciò ha fornito l’occasione per mettere alla prova le più audaci prestazioni del vetro strutturale per la realizzazione di una copertura a sbalzo. Il recente sviluppo di architetture che usano sempre più il vetro ha incentivato ricerche ed applicazioni di nuove tecnologie che hanno permesso di raggiungere elevatissimi livelli prestazionali, sia per quanto riguarda gli aspetti statici che di comfort e trasparenza: oggi è possibile combinare diversi processi di lavorazione del vetro, garantendo condizioni di sicurezza strutturale e regolando anche le proprietà di trasmissione delle radiazioni luminose. La particolare occasione di coprire il passaggio dei visitatori dagli agenti atmosferici e al contempo di lasciare integro il rapporto visivo tra la roccia viva e il profilo della facciata ha orientato la scelta progettuale su una copertura che fosse quanto meno invasiva possibile. Le lastre di vetro sono ammorsate al costone roccioso attraverso piastre in acciaio incastrate nella roccia, da questa si distaccano fino ai bordi costruiti della copertura del museo apparendo incastrate direttamente nella roccia senza elementi di supporto. The space back of the Mercedari Convent and the rock cliff, adapted to museum path, will be covered with a glass structure that gives the impression to directly come straight from the rock. The solution proposed favors both the shape of the rock and the different altimetrically trend of the building. The structure realized with stiffen and laminated glass, reaches a maximum overhang of 4.50 meters and it is made with big tile U-shaped with different dimensions

GLASS IN THE BUILDING CONSTRUCTION:BEYOND THE TRASPARENCY

In the last decades, the evolution of the methodology of the glass manufacturing processes has created the opportunity to craft external frames that include integrated multifunctional elements which enable the user to fully control different functions. The evolution of glass - from being a basic see-through material to becoming a system with high-tech potentiality - has given the designer the opportunity to satisfy different needs. These can be fulfilled without altering the structure of the material and without affecting its relation with the frame it is built for. The aim of the research was the analysis, classification and verification of the performance of the translucent products currently available in the marketplace and of the ones still at an experimental stage. As well as allowing their main function - the transmission of natural light and vision. These products are designed to control energy flows in order to manage the level of illumination and thermal insulation. The use of dedicated filtering methodologies, decreases and/or modifies the effect of the solar energy. Firstly, the performance and cost of the different translucent products were compared in order to set the standard. Afterwards, new avenues were investigated in order to elucidate some issues affecting the products currently on the market, including the cost/benefit ratio which is currently not advantageous

Daylight-Transfer Systems: Physiological And Energetic Advantages

Daylight-transfer systems are devices designed to operate according to the law of reflection: they collect and transfer it to rooms lacking in light. On the whole, possible applications can deal with rooms which do not communicate directly with the outside. For instance, it can be the case of both basements and large-sized buildings like those devoted to the service industry. In recent years, the considerable attention devoted to sustainable development has prompted planners to reconsider the use of daylighting in architecture. Current research, partly examined in this article, aims at producing a range of systematised products and techniques according to some specific characteristics in order to highlight the advantages of these systems in terms of energy conservation as for essential artificial lighting and, consequently, to contribute towards decreasing the use of non-renewable sources of energy and related problems about sustainability

Transcribed-ultra conserved region expression profiling from low-input total RNA

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Ultra Conserved Regions (UCRs) are a class of 481 noncoding sequences located in both intra- and inter-genic regions of the genome. The recent findings that they are significantly altered in adult chronic lymphocytic leukemias, carcinomas, and pediatric neuroblastomas lead to the hypothesis that UCRs may play a role in tumorigenesis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We present a novel application of Ribo-SPIA™ isothermal linear amplification of minute RNA quantities for quantifying Transcribed-UCR (T-UCR) expression by quantitative PCR. Direct comparison of non-amplified with amplified cDNA in two neuroblastoma cell lines showed that the amplification approach increases sensitivity and repeatability in T-UCR quantification. It is noteworthy that the Ribo-SPIA™ step allowed us to analyze all 481 T-UCRs by using 150 ng of RNA, while introducing a minimal bias and preserving the magnitude of relative expression. Only the less abundant T-UCRs have high intra-assay variability, consistently with the Poisson distribution statistics and stochastic effects on PCR repeatability.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We demonstrated that the quantification procedure shown here is an accurate and reliable technique for genome-wide non coding gene (i.e., UCRs) profiling using small amounts of RNA. This issue is particularly important because studies of transcription regulation are increasingly conducted in small homogeneous samples, such as laser capture microdissected or sorted cell populations.</p

Nucleocytoplasmic Shuttling of Endocytic Proteins

Many cellular processes rely on the ordered assembly of macromolecular structures. Here, we uncover an unexpected link between two such processes, endocytosis and transcription. Many endocytic proteins, including eps15, epsin1, the clathrin assembly lymphoid myeloid leukemia (CALM), and α-adaptin, accumulate in the nucleus when nuclear export is inhibited. Endocytosis and nucleocytoplasmic shuttling of endocytic proteins are apparently independent processes, since inhibition of endocytosis did not appreciably alter nuclear translocation of endocytic proteins, and blockade of nuclear export did not change the initial rate of endocytosis. In the nucleus, eps15 and CALM acted as positive modulators of transcription in a GAL4-based transactivation assay, thus raising the intriguing possibility that some endocytic proteins play a direct or indirect role in transcriptional regulation

Transcribed-ultra conserved region expression is associated with outcome in high-risk neuroblastoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Neuroblastoma is the most common, pediatric, extra-cranial, malignant solid tumor. Despite multimodal therapeutic protocols, outcome for children with a high-risk clinical phenotype remains poor, with long-term survival still less than 40%. Hereby, we evaluated the potential of non-coding RNA expression to predict outcome in high-risk, stage 4 neuroblastoma.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We analyzed expression of 481 Ultra Conserved Regions (UCRs) by reverse transcription-quantitative real-time PCR and of 723 microRNAs by microarrays in 34 high-risk, stage 4 neuroblastoma patients.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>First, the comparison of 8 short- versus 12 long-term survivors showed that 54 UCRs were significantly (<it>P </it>< 0.0491) over-expressed in the former group. For 48 Ultra Conserved Region (UCRs) the expression levels above the cut-off values defined by ROC curves were strongly associated with good-outcome (OS: 0.0001 <<it>P </it>< 0.0185, EFS: 0.0001 <<it>P </it>< 0.0491). Then we tested the Transcribed-UCR (T-UCR) threshold risk-prediction model on an independent cohort of 14 patients. The expression profile of 28 T-UCRs was significantly associated to prognosis and at least 15 up-regulated T-UCRs are needed to discriminate (<it>P </it>< 0.0001) short- from long-survivors at the highest sensitivity and specificity (94.12%). We also identified a signature of 13 microRNAs differently expressed between long- and short-surviving patients. The comparative analysis of the two classes of non-coding RNAs disclosed that 9 T-UCRs display their expression level that are inversely correlated with expression of 5 complementary microRNAs of the signature, indicating a negative regulation of T-UCRs by direct interaction with microRNAs. Moreover, 4 microRNAs down-regulated in tumors of long-survivors target 3 genes implicated in neuronal differentiation, that are known to be over-expressed in low-risk tumors.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our pilot study suggests that a deregulation of the microRNA/T-UCR network may play an important role in the pathogenesis of neuroblastoma. After further validation on a larger independent set of samples, such findings may be applied as the first T-UCR prognostic signature for high-risk neuroblastoma patients.</p

ISOLAMENTO TERMICO: DAL RICICLO ALL’INNOVAZIONE

Il mondo dell’edilizia è sempre più esigente in ambito di sostenibilità dell’involucro edilizio. Le prestazioni di isolamento termico devono rispondere ai valori qualitativi e quantitativi, sempre più restrittivi, imposti dalla normativi a scala europea e nazionale. I filoni di ricerca che si sono conseguentemente sviluppati, spaziano dalle tematiche dell’impiego di materiali rinnovabili, al riuso e riciclo di materiali di scarto della produzione industriale fino alla sperimentazione di soluzioni innovative che prevedono sistemi di tipo sottovuoto. La memoria presenta i risultati ottenuti su sistemi di isolamento termico che riciclano il materiale di scarto della potatura dell’Opunthia Ficus Indica (fichi d’india) provenienti da piantagioni molto diffuse e rigogliose in Sicilia. In particolare questo materiale, difficile da smaltire, è stato trattato per ottenere un materiale isolante (Brevetto n. 1402131), in forma di pannello o in grani sfusi, che hanno dimostrato concorrenziali valori di coibenza termica (0.071­0.057 W/mK). Inoltre si presentano anche gli ulteriori sviluppi ottenuti tramite simulazioni informatiche che hanno consentito di verificare e ottimizzare la trasmissione del calore attraverso le diverse condizioni che caratterizzano l’involucro edilizio nei suoi diversi elementi, specie per quanto riguarda l'abbattimento dei ponti termici.The industry construction is increasingly demanding in the area of building envelope sustainability. The thermal insulation must satisfy the qualitative and quantitative values, increasingly restrictive regulations imposed by a European and National level. The lines of research that have consequently developed, ranging from employment issues of renewable materials, reuse and recycling of waste materials in industrial production until the testing of innovative solutions that provide a vacuum-type systems. The paper presents the results of thermal insulation systems that recycle the waste material of pruning of Opunthia Ficus Indica (prickly pears) from widespread plantations and flourishing in Sicily. In particular this material, difficult to dispose of, has been treated to obtain an insulating material (Patent n. 1402131), in the form of panel or in bulk grains, which have demonstrated competitive thermal insulation values (0.071-0.057 W/mK). Moreover we also present the further developments obtained by computer simulations that have allowed to optimize the transmission of heat through the different conditions elements that characterize the building envelope, in particular as regard the reduction of thermal bridges

Criteria to Develop the Historical Centre of Malta, Open Air Museum

The paper shows the results achieved during a research developed during the Community Program called INTERREG IIIA ITALIA-MALTA (2004-2006) - METIC – Mediterranean Trading and Innovation Centre. The research has been organized around the theme of a new kind of tourism were the tourists wont to become part of the daily life of the places they visit, and want their journey to be an occasion of knowledge of new place, new culture but, in particular, of the common life of the local people. Malta and its Historical centre have a tourist vocation, this aspect is very important to put in action new development strategies to recover a Mediterranean landscape destined to a slow decay. Malta is one of the strategic island of the Mediterranean Basin: the characteristics of the historical centres of Malta called Cottonera have induced us to develop a recovery methodology called “Open Air Museum” for the existing urban structure. Therefore the Cottonera area needs the exploitations of its symbolic connotative characteristics that are essentially: - the close contact with the sea; - the wide and articulated presence of integrated fortifications in the urban structure; - the persistence of a good minor house building structure; - the morphological places; - the presence of historical buildings; - an interwoven and diversified whole of urban environments with vernacular characteristic; - the presence of a native culture conditioned by the influence of different domination ands so representative of the southern Mediterranean. This elements are a presupposition to develop the planning of “open air” museum that doesn't constitute only a net between points and buildings important only for their history but a space continuous of stimulating occasions that can be valorized in two directions: 1) for the tourist, involving the visitor for permanence time longer than the time employed for the visit of a specific interest point. Recent developments in tourism seek to integrate the social life of the place, in order to better understand the local culture and tradition. 2) Rebalancing the urban quality of the people that live there, through services development bringing improvements in social, cultural and economic growth of the local community. The search has been developed according to the followings points: - Definition of the concept of “open air” museum as methodology to recover the building patrimony; - Analysis of similar urban recovery examples; - Synthesis of the historical stories that characterized the urban system of the Cottonera and have determined the actual condition of the area; - Individualization of guide lines for a “open air museum”; - Individualization of possible economic development. At the end, this planning could stimulate a process of conservation and maintenance of the historical and cultural patrimony and bring over a new economic development

I sistemi ibridi nella progettazione dell’edilizia sostenibile

La memoria si inserisce nel volume dedicato alla commemorazione del prof. Benedetto Colajanni e, in particolare, prende spunto da uno degli ultimi eventi in cui il prof. Colajanni è intervenuto in occasione delle giornate organizzate dall'associazione Ar.Tec. per il 2° Convegno dal titolo: Intervenire sul patrimonio edilizio: cultura e tecnica, che si è svolto a Torino dal 9 all'11 novembre 2006. Durante il dibattito relativo alla sessione “Acquisizione di conoscenza e criteri di scelta progettuale” il prof. Colajanni ha affrontato il tema della sostenibilità: un argomento delicato di grande rilevanza per il ruolo strategico che assume oggi nella società, dando, come di solito gli era congeniale, la sua particolare interpretazione e fornendo nuovi interessanti spunti di riflessione. Questa coincidenza di eventi ha dato l'opportunità di elogiarne la memoria partendo dai passaggi salienti del suo giudizio critico in modo da illustrare gli aspetti strategici e al contempo contraddittori di questa problematica oggi attualissima