Retrofit Proposals for Energy Efficiency and Thermal Comfort in Historic Public Buildings: The Case of the Engineering Faculty’s Seat of Sapienza University

The building sector greatly contributes to energy consumption and Greenhouse Gas emissions, relating to the whole building life cycle. Boasting a huge building heritage of historical and architectural value, Europe faces challenging retrofit perspectives, as the potential for high energy efficiency has to be exploited while preserving the buildings' original characteristics. The present work aims to feature the influence of a passive strategy on a heritage building in a mild climate. As historical its facade cannot be modified, its large glazing areas involve multiple issues, such as an increase in the heating (QH) and cooling (QC) energy demands and the risk of thermal discomfort. Thus, window replacement was proposed for retrofitting. A dynamic simulation model in TRNSYS was validated with experimental data collected by the continuous monitoring of walls of different thicknesses and orientations. Solutions from replacement with Double Glazing Units (DGUs) with improved thermal insulation, to internal shading activation were applied. All configurations were compared in terms of QH, QC, thermal performance of the building and user comfort (Fanger). Low-e DGU enabled the saving of up to 14% of the annual energy demand, and shading also offered good results in summer, reducing QC by 19%. In summer, DGU involved a maximum PPD reduction of 10 units

Nucleon decay and atmospheric neutrinos in the Mont Blanc experiment

In the NUSEX experiment, during 2.8 years of operation, 31 fully contained events have been collected; 3 among them are nucleon decay candidates, while the others have been attributed to upsilon interactions. Limits on nucleon lifetime and determinations of upsilon interaction rates are presented

Subjects with temporomandibular joint disc displacement and body posture assessment via rasterstereography: a pilot case-control study

Objective: The possible relationship between temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) and body posture is still controversial. Rasterstereography has been introduced as a radiation-free, reliable and non-invasive method to analyze three-dimensional spinal posture. The aim of this case-control study is to evaluate, through rasterstereography, body posture parameters in a group of patients with reducible unilateral dislocation of the articular disc, compared to healthy volunteers. Patients and methods: Rasterstereographic recordings obtained were compared between the two groups with a paired t-student test. Furthermore, the relationship between Rasterstereographic recordings and clinical data in the TMD group were analyzed by means of multiple regression analysis. Results: Only lateral deviation was statistically significant different between the two groups (rms VPDM Control group 40% > TMD group, p=0.02; 43% control group VPDM max > TMD group, p<0.02). In the TMD group, a significant relationship (p<0.05) was found out between lateral and rotational deviations of the column and muscular pain, therefore suggesting a possible overactivity of the masticatory muscles, especially of lateral pterygoids' bilaterally and the left masseter. Conclusions: Patients with reducible unilateral disc displacement showed limited postural alterations compared to healthy volunteers, only lateral deviations (VPDM rms and VPDM-max) were statistically significant (Π<0.05) between the two groups

Agro-environmental aspects of conservation agriculture compared to conventional systems : A 3-year experience on 20 farms in the Po valley (Northern Italy)

An evaluation of the effect of the conservation agriculture (CA) on agro-environmental aspects is needed at the farm scale in intensive production systems, which are likely prone to reduce soil fertility. Here, as part of the HelpSoil LIFE+ Project and involving 20 farms in the Po valley (Northern Italy), we have estimated the soil organic carbon (SOC) content, SOC stock, crop yield, biological fertility, soil biodiversity, and economic efficiency under different agricultural systems (CA and conventional, CvtA) at the beginning (March 2014) and end (October 2016) of the experimental period. CA was mostly represented by no-till practice (NT) coupled with the cultivation of winter cover crops. Minimum tillage (MT) was considered as CA or CvtA practice according to the farm design. The CA practices have been implemented on the monitored farms at different times (Long-term = before 2006, Medium-term = between 2006 and 2013, Short-term = after 2013). A direct comparison between CA and CvtA of soil-related variables, yields, and costs was performed on 14 out of the 20 farms; data were statistically treated with a linear mixed model. Overall, CA resulted in significantly higher SOC content, SOC stock, biological fertility, QBS-ar, and earthworms for the Medium-term group. Considering the effect of tillage practices observed on the 20 farms, SOC content was the highest in NT for the Long-term group. The biological fertility index was higher in NT and MT compared to CvtA within the Long-term and Medium-term groups in 2016. QBS-ar was the higher in MT and NT than CvtA for the Long-term and Medium-Term groups. The number of earthworms was the highest under NT for the Long-term group. Maize, winter wheat, and soybeans yields were generally 1 t ha 121 higher in CvtA than in CA, but this did not reach statistical significance. The cost for herbicides was 18% more expensive in NT, whereas the fuel consumption and total costs for weeding operations did not differ between NT and CvtA. The overall outcome of the analysis was that CA is a viable solution for intensive farms in the monitored area, but further skills need still to be acquired in to enhance its economic feasibility

Missense PDSS1 mutations in CoenzymeQ10 synthesis cause optic atrophy and sensorineural deafness

CoenzymeQ10 is one of the main cellular antioxidants and an essential lipid involved in numerous cell reactions, such as energy production and apoptosis modulation. A large number of enzymes are involved in CoQ10 biosynthesis. Mutations in the genes encoding for these enzymes cause a CoQ10 deficiency, characterized by neurological and systemic symptoms. Here we describe two young sisters with sensorineural deafness followed by optic atrophy, due to a novel homozygous pathogenic variant in PDSS1. The visual system seems to be mainly involved when the first steps of CoQ10 synthesis are impaired (PDSS1, PDSS2, and COQ2 deficiency)

Biological and chemical characterization of new isolated halophilic microorganisms from saltern ponds of Trapani, Sicily

Halophilic microorganisms inhabiting hypersaline environments such as salt lakes, Dead Sea, or salt evaporation ponds, have acquired specific cell adaptation to grow within stressful conditions. In this study, we isolated heterotrophic and autotrophic microorganisms from several saltern ponds located at the Natural Reserve “Saline di Trapani e Paceco”, Sicily, Italy. The aim of the study was to investigate the biotechnological potential of new microbial strains from saltern ponds, by capturing their biological and chemical diversity. After the isolation and identification of the sampled strains, their growth capacity was determined under low and high salinity conditions. The metabolomic profiles of heterotrophs and pigments production of photosynthetic organisms were analyzed. In parallel, antiproliferative tests on human cell lines were conducted with total extracts coming from the microorganism cultures, together with repair activity assessment of non-cytotoxic extracts. Some of the isolated strains were found to synthetize known bioactive molecules and to exert bioactivity on human cells. In particular, the high salinity increases cell repair activity, probably due to an higher production of antioxidants pigments (e.g. lutein and fucoxanthin) from photosynthetic microorganisms; same culture condition augment also concentration of molecules with interesting bioactivities, such as ectoine, betaine, trigonelline, amino acids and oxiglutathione from heterotrophic microorganisms. In conclusion, this work represents the first study on the isolation of halophilic microorganisms populating the ‘Trapani-Paceco’ saltern and shows how an interdisciplinary investigation based on marine microbiology, cell biology, and modern metabolomics can disclose their biotechnological potential

The relevance of mitochondrial DNA variants fluctuation during reprogramming and neuronal differentiation of human iPSCs

The generation of inducible pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) is a revolutionary technique allowing production of pluripotent patient-specific cell lines used for disease modeling, drug screening, and cell therapy. Integrity of nuclear DNA (nDNA) is mandatory to allow iPSCs utilization, while quality control of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is rarely included in the iPSCs validation process. In this study, we performed mtDNA deep sequencing during the transition from parental fibroblasts to reprogrammed iPSC and to differentiated neuronal precursor cells (NPCs) obtained from controls and patients affected by mitochondrial disorders. At each step, mtDNA variants, including those potentially pathogenic, fluctuate between emerging and disappearing, and some having functional implications. We strongly recommend including mtDNA analysis as an unavoidable assay to obtain fully certified usable iPSCs and NPCs

Large calorimetric devices for double beta decay and dark matter

Abstract The use of cryogenic thermal particle detectors permits the realization of detectors of various compositions, various sizes and very good energy resolution. In particular these characteristics are very promising for the realization of double beta decay and dark matter search experiments. Our group is mainly interested in the study of double beta decay of 130Te and 116Cd. For tellurium we have realized various detectors using TeO2 crystals, the final one with a mass of 334 g. For cadmium a CdWO4 crystal of 58 g has been used in various tests. The double beta decay measurement has been performed in the Gran Sasso Underground Laboratory. Measurements on the 334 g TeO2 crystal have been performed for 3000 h. Detector resolution is around 10 keV FWHM and the internal contamination of 238U and 232Th in the crystal is of the order of 10−13 g/g. A lower limit on the half-life of neutrinoless double beta decay for 130Te of 8.2 × 1021 yr (90% CL) is measured. The test measurements of CdWO4 reach an energy resolution of about 5 keV FWHM with a very high efficiency to gamma ray detection. A limit on the neutrinoless channel of 7 × 1019 yr (90% CL) is evaluated in 340 h. In this test an end point energy of 318.8 ± 1.4 ± 5 keV and a half-life of (9.3 ± 0.5 ± 1) × 1015 yr for the beta decay of 113Cd are also measured. The last part of the paper is dedicated to a brief discussion of our proposal for the solar neutrino flux measurement and for the search of dark matter using cryogenic detectors

Cryogenic thermal detectors as a powerful way to analyse internal activities

Abstract The Milano group is using an array of four crystals of TeO 2 , 334 g each, to search for neutrinoless double beta decay of 130 Te [A. Alessandrello et al., Phys. Lett. B 335 (1994) 519; Proc. 4th Int. Workshop on Theoretical and Phenomenological Aspects of Underground Physics — TAUP 95, to be published in Nucl. Phys. B (Proc. Suppl)]. The detectors are operating in a dilution refrigerator installed in the Underground National Laboratory of Gran Sasso specially built with low activity materials. Due to the low external background and the good energy resolution it is possible to obtain precise measurements of some internal contaminations of the detector itself. An analysis of a contamination of 210 Po and of the decay of 123 Te is presented

Virtual inspection based on 3D survey supporting risks detachment analysis in Pietraforte stone built heritage

The paper presents the first results of a multidisciplinary research project launched to support the conservation and restoration of the stone façades of the Pitti Palace in Florence with innovative techniques from the fields of geomatics and diagnostic analysis. Monitoring campaigns are periodically conducted on the façades of the palace to identify stone elements in critical conditions; such surveys primarily require close and careful observation of the façade, for which a crane basket is required. The paper proposes first attempt to compare results obtained through a traditional workflow with those coming from a deeper use of the high-resolution 3D model to conduct a virtual inspection and to map elements of vulnerability on a GIS. On a test area, the analysis of the factors considered relevant to the risk of detachment was carried out on the digital model and compared with what the experts observed on-site by carrying out Non-Destructive diagnostic tests. Traditionally conducted monitoring and diagnostic surveys are assumed to validate the proposed method, which, following a simple data analysis, remotely identifies all blocks detected as vulnerable by the in-situ inspection, potentially drastically reducing fieldwork. It is therefore proposed as a preliminary screening useful to better address further analysis