Chapter LaCoast Atlas: a consistent database to support sustainable coastal zone management

The paper illustrates the LaCoast Project (LAnd cover changes in COASTal zones), a harmonised and consistent geo-referenced database that constitute a base tool for integrated spatial analysis of policies. It is meant to support sustainable management of the coastal areas trough the collection of information about their state and the impact of anthropic activities on them. The aim of the project ad its tools is assisting the development of tailored European policies for coastal zone management to be used both at regional and national leve

Dettagli per l'involucro del terminal verde / Envelope's Details for the Green Airport Terminal

Envelope's Details for the Green Airport Terminal is a contribution to airport design at working plan level, although its contents may be generalized and applied to the definition of performances as well as to the design solutions for the building's envelope itself. The airport is considered a critical and complex system in the matter of sustainability. The vision of life-cycle typical of air terminal design processes may be transferred to the technical choices pertaining its envelope. The volume discusses these issues in a practical and user oriented way, analyzing Performance Based Design documentation; Performance sheets samples; Bid documentation; Building Technology items; Bill of Quantities rules and samples; Technical Solutions by international drawing standards. Details catalogue and updated references lists are include

Poggio al vento la prima casa solare in Toscana - Windy hill the early solar house in Tuscany

The book reconstructs the story of a small but interesting project by the architect Pier Luigi Spadolini and, in unpublished documents, proposes a new reading by the technology that reveals some surprising connections. The research design is conducted and driven by a path that crosses the history of a major industrial company in the Tuscany territory now multinational. In this context this precursor project brings to a strong focus on the environment and that after 25 years could be defined as an early solar energy retrofit project

Tecnologie di progetto per il terminal aeroportuale

Tecnologie di progetto per il terminal aeroportuale is the first scientific and educational textbook that applies research results to the sector of airport design. It brings together validated specialist methods to achieve the objectives of airport projects. The innovative aspect of this work relates to the fact that it clearly expounds the arguments, facilitating an understanding of the complex design issues facing this specific ambit. The results of research conducted with the support of funds from Florence University have been transformed into an updated handbook on the new design concepts and methods for the development of passenger terminals. The methods, the sector standards and the most scientifically advanced development tools are systematically presented through simple language and effective communication. The book is completed by technical factsheets for the design of the spatial units of the passenger terminals and by a review of recent international creations. These features of the publication make it suitable both for architects in the airport sector and as an aid to those professionals who wish to transfer the efficient methods illustrated to other design ambits

Cognitive behavioural systems

This book constitutes refereed proceedings of the COST 2102 International Training School on Cognitive Behavioural Systems held in Dresden, Germany, in February 2011. The 39 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from various submissions. The volume presents new and original research results in the field of human-machine interaction inspired by cognitive behavioural human-human interaction features. The themes covered are on cognitive and computational social information processing, emotional and social believable Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) systems, behavioural and contextual analysis of interaction, embodiment, perception, linguistics, semantics and sentiment analysis in dialogues and interactions, algorithmic and computational issues for the automatic recognition and synthesis of emotional states

Serious gaming for digital growth. Reducing waste through the Lean mindset

The Italian context’s push towards BIM should be considered an opportunity to implement a digital transition towards the use of IT tools, through a culturally innovative approach to construction provided by Lean thinking and its gamification. The Lean approach leverages proven strategies to increase the quality of the production process. However, its application is still difficult: hence the need to convey effective proposals that use the structure of games to present actual ‘simulations’ of the production process. This paper aims to highlight how the gamified application of Lean processes constitutes a transformative formula enabling digitalisation, to achieve sustainability goals in the AECO Industry through original training approaches

Abnormal sensorimotor cortex and thalamo-cortical networks in familial adult myoclonic epilepsy type 2: pathophysiology and diagnostic implications

: Familial adult myoclonic epilepsy type 2 is a hereditary condition characterized by cortical tremor, myoclonus and epilepsy. It belongs to the spectrum of cortical myoclonus and the sensorimotor cortex hyperexcitability represents an important pathogenic mechanism underlying this condition. Besides pericentral cortical structures, the impairment of subcortical networks seems also to play a pathogenetic role, mainly via the thalamo-cortical pathway. However, the mechanisms underlying cortical-subcortical circuits dysfunction, as well as their impact on clinical manifestations, are still unknown. Therefore, the main aims of our study were to systematically study with an extensive electrophysiological battery, the cortical sensorimotor, as well as thalamo-cortical networks in genetically confirmed familial adult myoclonic epilepsy patients and to establish reliable neurophysiological biomarkers for the diagnosis. In 26 familial myoclonic epilepsy subjects, harbouring the intronic ATTTC repeat expansion in the StAR-related lipid transfer domain-containing 7 gene, 17 juvenile myoclonic epilepsy patients and 22 healthy controls, we evaluated the facilitatory and inhibitory circuits within the primary motor cortex using single and paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation paradigms. We also probed the excitability of the somatosensory, as well as the thalamo-somatosensory cortex connection by using ad hoc somatosensory evoked potential protocols. The sensitivity and specificity of transcranial magnetic stimulation and somatosensory evoked potential metrics were derived from receiver operating curve analysis. Familial adult myoclonic epilepsy patients displayed increased facilitation and decreased inhibition within the sensorimotor cortex compared with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy patients (all P  0.05). Patients with a longer disease duration had more severe myoclonus (r = 0.467, P = 0.02) associated with a lower frequency (r = -0.607, P = 0.001) and higher power of tremor (r = 0.479, P = 0.02). Finally, familial adult myoclonic epilepsy was reliably diagnosed using transcranial magnetic stimulation, demonstrating its superiority as a diagnostic factor compared to somatosensory evoked potential measures. In conclusion, deficits of sensorimotor cortical and thalamo-cortical circuits are involved in the pathophysiology of familial adult myoclonic epilepsy even if these alterations are not associated with clinical severity. Transcranial magnetic stimulation-based measurements display an overall higher accuracy than somatosensory evoked potential parameters to reliably distinguish familial adult myoclonic epilepsy from juvenile myoclonic epilepsy and healthy controls

Statistical moments of power spectrum: a fast tool for the classification of seismic events recorded on volcanoes

Abstract. Spectral analysis has been applied to almost thousand seismic events recorded at Vesuvius volcano (Naples, southern Italy) in 2018 with the aim to test a new tool for a fast event classification. We computed two spectral parameters, central frequency and shape factor, from the spectral moments of order 0, 1, and 2, for each event at seven seismic stations taking the mean among the three components of ground motion. The analyzed events consist of volcano-tectonic earthquakes, low frequency events and unclassified events (landslides, rockfall, thunders, quarry blasts, etc.). Most of them are of low magnitude, and/or low maximum signal amplitude, therefore the signal to noise ratio is very different between the low noise summit stations and the higher noise stations installed at low elevation around the volcano. The results of our analysis show that volcano-tectonic earthquakes and low frequency events are easily distinguishable through the spectral moments values, particularly at seismic stations closer to the epicenter. On the contrary, unclassified events show the spectral parameters values distributed in a broad range which overlap both the volcano-tectonic earthquakes and the low frequency events. Since the computation of spectral parameters is extremely easy and fast for a detected event, it may become an effective tool for event classification in observatory practice

Effect of carbocisteine in prevention of exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (CAPRI study): an observational study

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a chronic and progressive lung disease characterized by irreversible airflow obstruction, airway inflammation , oxidative stress and, often, mucus hypersecretion. The aim of thisstudy is to determine if carbocisteine, a mucolytic and antioxidant agent, administered daily for 12 months, can reduce exacerbation frequency in COPD patients