What Is Our Point of View on “Energy Independence and Research for Economic and Environmental Sustainability”?

The scope of this contribution is to stimulate critical debate on what are the implication of “energy independence” and “energy research” on the sustainable development of society. We point out how energy independence is strongly related to the penetration of renewable energy sources; and how the country's energy independence is not expected to be achieved in a short-medium period. Moreover, the trends of low found to the research on energy topics are not consistent with the pursuit of sustainable development of society. With these observations, we want to contribute to the debate on what policies that will have an impact on the sustainable development of society, suggesting to focus on the point of view of those actors that will play the main role in the next future

Adult GH deficiency - the value of IGF-I estimation

In patients with growth hormone (GH) deficiency (GHD) the diagnostic value of IGF-I levels has been recently revisited. A normal IGF-I value does not exclude GHD, because its secretion is complex and depends by several factors other than GH, such as age, nutritional status, obesity, as well as catabolic illness. Due to the complexity and costs of GH stimulation tests, several authors have analyzed the predictive and diagnostic value of the concentration of plasma IGF-I in patients suspected for GHD. The evaluation of IGF-I is also determinant to individualized dose-titration strategies, able to avoid the common adult side effects of substitutive therapy with recombinant GH. Current recommendations in clinical practice for GH replacement therapy, in GHD adults, agree on GH dosing regimens to be individualized independently of body weight using IGF-I levels as a biomarker of the treatment. For these reasons, in a clinical setting, appropriate normative values in different age groups in a large healthy population must be established in single laboratories, while, considering the relatively small sex difference, a different reference range for sex seems not necessary. This review discusses the more recent debated issues in the literature on the role of IGF-I, as well as other IGF system components, in the management of adult patients with GHD

Urban Sustainability: a holistic approach for energy planning and operational dimensions

Strategic energy planning in cities is an emerging research field that is key to shift toward smarter and more sustainable communities. Increased awareness of environmental risks and human engagement can promote the communities toward natural and social flourishing, regarding domains namely ecology, economics, politics, and culture. Therefore, cities energy planning must bring together all the sustainable requirements toward integrated solutions and it needs new methodologies with a multi-perspective and holistic approach regarding the subjects, objects, and spatiotemporal domain of the communities. While macro-scale energy planning methodologies are well consolidated, the small-scale application still faces technical challenges such as the dynamic of an energy system with increasing penetration of distributed RES and the interaction of different functional layers (technology, policy, environment and communication layers) as well as multiple and diverse stakeholders. There is also the need for long‐term cross‐sectoral analysis and a fine disaggregation of the energy demand on a spatio-temporal domain. In this regard, it is important to develop a method to analyze the technology penetration, in order to understand the adoption mechanisms and develop policy strategies to act on accordingly. To address the above-mentioned issues, there is the necessity of combining different modeling frameworks and ICT solutions. The aim is to integrate temporal and spatial aspects, capturing the interactions between energy technologies and the physical infrastructure that distributes energy from producers to consumers while keeping into account constraints and feedback from regulators, economic drivers, and social behavior. This will require a bi‐directional amalgamation of planning and operational perspectives, working toward the interoperability of models. In addition, Agent‐Based Modeling (ABM) approach should be addressed because it is a suitable modeling technique in order to study real-world Complex Adaptive System (CAS), such as the urban communities. Specifically, ABM can feature concepts like heterogeneity, complexity, autonomy, explicit space and local interactions. The final goal is better understanding and prediction of: i) how consumers use energy, ii) how individuals react to information about the costs and benefits of energy choices and iii) how energy policies affect the behavior of the individual and, consequently, of the whole society

Supporting decarbonization strategies of local energy systems by de-risking investments in renewables: a case study on Pantelleria island

Nowadays, energy policymakers are asked to develop strategies to ensure an affordable clean energy supply while minimizing investment risks. Also, the rise of several community engagement schemes, and the uptake of user-scale technologies introduce uncertainties that may result in a disruptive factor for energy systems evolution. Energy planning and data-driven decision tools are required to support policymakers in delivering reliable long-term energy roadmaps that address future uncertainties. This paper introduces a novel scenario analysis approach for local energy planning that supports policymakers and investors in prioritizing new renewable power plant investments, addressing the risks deriving from citizens’ choices. Specifically, we perform a combined analysis on the adoption trends of distributed photovoltaic systems and electric vehicles, that are expected to heavily influence the evolution of energy systems. To this end, we develop an energy model for Pantelleria island and investigate its transition from an oil-based energy supply to a renewable one up to 2050. We explore different optimal energy systems introducing photovoltaic, onshore wind, floating offshore wind, wave energy, biomass power plants, and electrochemical storage in the island energy mix. The analyzed scenarios disclose the recommended investments in each renewable technology, considering their learning curves and the unpredictability of user-scale technology adoption. We find that the diffusion of distributed photovoltaic systems plays a major role for the achievement of high decarbonization targets and cost-effective energy supply. Consolidated renewable technologies are always cornerstones in future energy mix, while the needed capacity from novel technologies largely varies between scenarios. Also, a high diffusion of electric vehicles requires very large installed renewable energy capacity and leads to an increase of overall costs. Consequently, we stress the need for prioritizing the realization of renewable power plants, starting with the most resilient to future uncertainties, as well as promoting specific incentive measures for citizens’ commitment at a local scale

VALUTAZIONE ENERGETICO-FINANZIARIA DI UNA COMUNITA’ ENERGETICA CONDOMINIALE IN ITALIA

The urbanization process is expected to increase in the next year, so, in a foreseeable future, metropolitan cities will be the center of human activities. The building sector, which is among the most polluting sectors in the urban environment, will be at the center of future discussion. In this framework, the present paper focuses on the most diffused building typology in urban areas, the multi-family house, and mostly on its suitability in being transformed into an energy community. This configuration is particularly interesting because it allows to exploit the energy from renewables, sharing energy fluxes between members, and it directly involves consumers in their own energy choices. After the exposition of some legislative constrains, the paper analyses the financial benefits coming from the self-consumption of a community photovoltaic plant, running energy and financial evaluations, considering several scenarios of incentive measures and network charges applications. Results show that being part of the energy community will lead to an economic saving of 40% on the electricity bill with respect to the reference case

Metabolic and cardiovascular risk in patients with a history of differentiated thyroid carcinoma: A case-controlled cohort study

Hyperthyroidism seems to increase metabolic and cardiovascular risk, while the effects of sub-clinical hyperthyroidism are controversial. We evaluated metabolic and cardiovascular parameters in differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) patients with suppressed thyrotropin (TSH) due to levo-thyroxine (L-T4) therapy. We studied DTC patients and, as a control group, patients with a history of surgery for non-malignant thyroid pathology. Significantly higher insulin and lower HDL-cholesterol levels were recorded in DTC subjects. In both groups, insulin levels were significantly related with body mass index (BMI) but not with age or L-T4 dosage. In DTC patients, a significant negative correlation was seen between HDL-cholesterol and BMI or L-T4 dosage. In both groups, intima-media thickness (IMT) correlated positively with age, BMI, glucose levels and systolic blood pressure. In DTC patients, increased IMT was significantly correlated with glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), cholesterol and triglycerides. In DTC patients, C-reactive protein correlated positively with insulin, insulin resistance, triglycerides and systolic blood pressure, and negatively with HDL-cholesterol. In both DTC and control subjects, fibrinogen correlated positively with age, BMI, increased IMT, HbA1c and systolic blood pressure. In DTC subjects, plasma fibrinogen concentrations correlated positively with insulin resistance, cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol, and negatively with TSH levels. Our data confirm that the favorable evolution of DTC can be impaired by a high incidence of abnormal metabolic and cardiovascular data that are, at least in part, related to L-T4 therapy. These findings underline the need for adequate L-T4 titration

Efficacy and safety of high-dose long-acting repeatable octreotide as monotherapy or in combination with pegvisomant or cabergoline in patients with acromegaly not adequately controlled by conventional regimens: results of an open-label, multicentre study

Introduction: Long-acting repeatable (LAR) octreotide i.m. is a potent, synthetic somatostatin analogue (SSA) that requires less frequent dosing and offers quality of life (QoL) benefits in acromegaly patients compared to its shorter-acting predecessor. This study investigated the efficacy and safety of high-dose Sandostatin® LAR® as monotherapy or in combination with pegvisomant or cabergoline in acromegalic patients with pituitary adenomas following previous failure of conventional SSA treatment. Material and methods: After three months of high-dose Sandostatin® LAR® monotherapy (40 mg), patients who achieved biochemical control (n = 7) continued to receive the same treatment for an additional four months, whereas uncontrolled patients were randomised to receive high-dose Sandostatin® LAR® in combination with pegvisomant (n = 31) or cabergoline (n = 32). Outcomes included biochemical response at eight months, QoL, and safety. Results: After three months, 3 of 68 (4.4%) evaluable patients achieved a biochemical control (BC) as assessed by levels of growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-1. At eight months, 4 of 67 (6.0%) patients achieved BC, including one receiving monotherapy and three receiving Sandostatin® LAR® plus cabergoline. Partial response rate, improvements in acromegaly signs and symptoms, and changes in QoL were similar for all three groups. All treatments were well tolerated with a slight excess of adverse events in the combination arms. There were no deaths or serious adverse events leading to treatment discontinuation. Conclusion: These data demonstrate that high-dose Sandostatin® LAR® as monotherapy or in combination with pegvisomant or cabergoline is a feasible salvage option in patients with pituitary adenomas not adequately controlled on conventional SSA regimens

Long-term outcome of low-activity radioiodine administration preceded by adjuvant recombinant human TSH pretreatment in elderly subjects with multinodular goiter

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Large multinodular goiter (MNG) in elderly people is a common finding which can require intervention. The long-term effect of radioiodine therapy on thyroid volume (TV) and function after recombinant human (rh) TSH pre-treatment was evaluated.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>After baseline evaluation, 40 subjects over 60 years old with a large MNG were treated with ¹³¹I up to the activity of 600 MBq. Nineteen patients were pretreated with rhTSH (0.1 mg on 2 consecutive days; group 1) while 21 subjects underwent treatment without rhTSH pretreatment (group 2). TV was monitored every 6–12 months by ultrasonography. The median follow-up period was 36 months.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>At the baseline, the groups matched in terms of TV, 24-h radioiodine uptake (RAIU), urinary iodine and neck complaints. The number of subjects pretreated with anti-thyroid drugs was significantly (P = 0.01) greater in group 2 than in group 1; TSH was more suppressed (P = 0.003) and f-T3 was more elevated (P = 0.005) in group 2 than in group 1 patients. RhTSH increased 24-h RAIU in group 1 up to the baseline level observed in group 2. The ¹³¹I activity administered was similar in both groups. Adverse events were slight and similar in both groups. A permanent post-radioiodine toxic condition was reported only in 2 patients in group 2. After radioiodine therapy, hypothyroidism was observed in significantly more group 1 patients than group 2 patients (P = 0.002). While TV was reduced in both groups, the percentage TV reduction recorded at the last examination was significantly higher (P = 0.03) in group 1 than in group 2. MNG-related complaints were significantly reduced in both group 1 (P = 0.0001 vs baseline) and group 2 (P = 0.001) patients.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Low radioiodine activities after pretreatment with low-dosage rhTSH are able to reduce TV and improve MNG-related symptoms in elderly subjects.</p

Analysis of Rooftop Photovoltaics Diffusion in Energy Community Buildings by a Novel GIS- and Agent-Based Modeling Co-Simulation Platform

The present work introduces an empirically ground agent-based modeling (ABM) framework to assess the spatial and temporal diffusion of rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems on existing buildings of a city district. The overall ABM framework takes into account social, technical, environmental, and economic aspects to evaluate the diffusion of PV technology in the urban context. A city district that includes 18 720 households distributed over 1 290 building blocks and a surface area of 2.47 km2 is used to test the proposed ABM framework. Results show how the underlying regulatory framework (i.e., the rules of the internal electricity market) influences the pattern and intensity of adoption, thus realizing different shares of the available potential. Policies that support the establishment of `prosumers' within Condominiums (i.e., energy community buildings), and not in single-family houses only, is key to yield high diffusion rates. The installed capacity increases by 80% by switching from the one-to-one configuration to the one-to-many paradigm, i.e., from 5.90 MW of rooftop PV installed on single-family households and/or single PV owners to 10.64 MW in energy community buildings. Moreover, the possibility to spread the auto-generated solar electricity over the load profile of the entire population of Condominium results in self-consumption rates greater than 50% and self-sufficiency ratios above 20% for the majority of the simulated buildings

Second international spectroradiometer intercomparison: results and impact on PV device calibration

This paper describes the results of an intercomparison of spectroradiometers for measuring global normal incidence and direct normal incidence spectral irradiance in the visible and in the near infrared, together with an assessment of the impact these results may have on the calibration of the short circuit current (I-sc) of triple-junction photovoltaic devices and on the relevant spectral mismatch calculation. The intercomparison was conducted by six European scientific laboratories and a Japanese industrial partner. Seven spectroradiometer systems, for a total of 13 different instruments/channels using two different technologies and made by four different manufacturers were involved. This group of systems represents a good cross section of the instrumentation for solar spectrum measurements available to date. The instruments were calibrated by each partner prior to the intercomparison following their usual procedure and traceability route in order to verify the entire measurement and traceability chain. The difference in measured spectral irradiance showed to have an impact on the calibration of a set of Iso-Type cells varying from +/- 2% to +/- 14% for middle and bottom cell, respectively