Evaluation of an Internet Document Delivery Service

An Internet-based Document Delivery Service (DDS) has been developed within the framework of the CNR ( the Italian Research National Council) Project BiblioMIME, in order to take advantage of new Internet technologies and promote cooperation among CNR and Italian university libraries. Adopting such technologies changes the traditional organisation of DDS and may drastically reduce costs and delivery times. An information system managing DDS requests and monitoring the temporal evolution of the service has been implemented, running on the local-area network of a test-site library. It aims to track number and types of documents requested and received, user distribution, delivery times and types (surface mail, fax, Internet), to automate repetitive manual procedures and to deal with the various accounting methods used by other libraries. Transmission of documents is carried out by means of an e-mail/Web gateway system supporting document exchange via Internet, which assists receiving libraries in retrieving requested documents. This paper describes the architecture and main design features of the e-mail/Web gateway server (the BiblioMime server). This approach permits librarians to continue using e-mail service to send large documents, while resolving problems that users may encounter when downloading large size files with e-mail agents. The library operator sends the document as an attachment to the destination address; on fly the e-mail server extracts and saves the attachments in a web-server disk file and substitutes them with a new message part that includes an URL pointing to the saved document. The receiver can download these large objects by means of a user-friendly browser. We further discuss the data gathered during the triennium 1998-2000; this consists of about 5,000 DDS transactions per annum with 300 other Italian scientific and bio-medical libraries and commercial document suppliers. Use of the instruments described above allowed us to evaluate the performance of service “before” and “after” the use of Internet Document Delivery and to extract some critical data regarding DDS. Those include: a) libraries with which we have greater numbers of exchanges and their turnaround times; b) extraordinary reduction in costs and delivery times; c) the most frequently requested serial titles (allowing cost-effective decisions on new subscriptions); d) impact on DDS of library participation in consortia which allow user access to greater numbers of online serials

Il passaggio di competenze nell'esportazione dei beni librari: tutto è cambiato, perché nulla cambi?

The author – taking a cue from the entry into force of l.n. 125/15, which has (re)transferred to the State the competence regarding the protection of the old paper – addresses the regulatory coordination issues that have led to a situation of handicapped protection of cultural heritage for several months after the entry into force of l.n. 125/15. In the second part of the article, the authordescribes- with an operating cutting – the largest administrative critical for the protection of rare books, identifying practical solutions, and operationally could help the administration of the Italian cultural heritage to come out of an atavistic impasse

How to control the Indoor Environmental Quality through the use of the Do-It-Yourself approach and new pervasive technologies

Abstract The article describes the results of the "Open-source Smart lamp" aimed at designing and developing a smart appliance that integrates a wireless communication system for building automation, following the maker movement philosophy. The device is able to get an overview of the potential of a nearable device equipped with a variety of sensors to broadcast digital data for the management and control of the Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) of the built environment. The Smart Lamp installed in a real office in order to test the reliability of the device in the management of the lighting and air quality levels

Evaluation of an Internet Document Delivery Service

An Internet-based Document Delivery Service (DDS) has been developed within the framework of the CNR ( the Italian Research National Council) Project BiblioMIME, in order to take advantage of new Internet technologies and promote cooperation among CNR and Italian university libraries. Adopting such technologies changes the traditional organisation of DDS and may drastically reduce costs and delivery times. An information system managing DDS requests and monitoring the temporal evolution of the service has been implemented, running on the local-area network of a test-site library. It aims to track number and types of documents requested and received, user distribution, delivery times and types (surface mail, fax, Internet), to automate repetitive manual procedures and to deal with the various accounting methods used by other libraries. Transmission of documents is carried out by means of an e-mail/Web gateway system supporting document exchange via Internet, which assists receiving libraries in retrieving requested documents. This paper describes the architecture and main design features of the e-mail/Web gateway server (the BiblioMime server). This approach permits librarians to continue using e-mail service to send large documents, while resolving problems that users may encounter when downloading large size files with e-mail agents. The library operator sends the document as an attachment to the destination address; on fly the e-mail server extracts and saves the attachments in a web-server disk file and substitutes them with a new message part that includes an URL pointing to the saved document. The receiver can download these large objects by means of a user-friendly browser. We further discuss the data gathered during the triennium 1998-2000; this consists of about 5,000 DDS transactions per annum with 300 other Italian scientific and bio-medical libraries and commercial document suppliers. Use of the instruments described above allowed us to evaluate the performance of service “before” and “after” the use of Internet Document Delivery and to extract some critical data regarding DDS. Those include: a) libraries with which we have greater numbers of exchanges and their turnaround times; b) extraordinary reduction in costs and delivery times; c) the most frequently requested serial titles (allowing cost-effective decisions on new subscriptions); d) impact on DDS of library participation in consortia which allow user access to greater numbers of online serials

Durability of technologies in the keeping of ZEB's performances

Abstract Durability is an important aspect that has not to be neglected in ZEB design. The requirements for buildings energy needs reduction and increase of renewable energy sources stimulated designers to integrate technologies in an efficient way. This ambitious goal must meet the capacity of the technical solutions to guarantee their performances over the years. The durability of materials and technologies is a topic that warrants further analyses in order to assess the proper efficiencies and the expected lifetime of a ZEB. Typically the energy balance of a ZEB is calculated by considering the annual energy flows or rarely the whole life cycle. The most used approaches consider constant performance of materials and technical elements over the lifespan. However, the performance loss of a single element can cause an imbalance in the behavior of a ZEB, for which persists a thin balance between inlet and outlet flows. The paper provides a critical point of view on this issue paying attention on the following technical solutions implemented in a case study for which the current scientific literature provides analysis on the degradation during their lifetime: glazing systems, VIPs, PV panels and GSHPs

Estimation of building energy performance for local energy policy at urban scale

Abstract Cities play a key role in sustainability policies aimed at reducing environmental impacts and increasing energy efficiency in the building sector. At urban level, the analysis models are split in bottom-up and top-down types as a function of the methodological approach of input data processing, aggregated in the first case and disaggregated in the second one. The present paper describes the methodological approach adopted for the implementation of a bottom-up model able to estimate the energy performance of buildings and to define an energy diagnosis process at urban scale. Starting from the information provided by tools available at the Public Authorities and at the most relevant statistical studies on the national energy market, the model provides an estimation of the energy consumption and performance of buildings. The model is applied to a real district of Bologna and the derived spatial database allows the energy performances of buildings to be mapped

Silibinin modulates lipid homeostasis and inhibits nuclear factor kappa B activation in experimental nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is associated with increased liver-related mortality. Disturbances in hepatic lipid homeostasis trigger oxidative stress and inflammation (ie, lipotoxicity), leading to the progression of NASH. This study aimed at identifying whether silibinin may influence the molecular events of lipotoxicity in a mouse model of NASH. Eight-week-old db/db mice were fed a methionine-choline deficient (MCD) diet for 4 weeks and treated daily with silibinin (20 mg/kg intraperitoneally) or vehicle. Liver expression and enzyme activity of stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 and acyl-CoA oxidase, and expression of liver fatty acid-binding protein were assessed. Hepatic levels of reactive oxygen species, thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS), 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and nuclear factor kappa B (NFkB) activities were also determined. Silibinin administration decreased serum alanine aminotransferase and improved liver steatosis, hepatocyte ballooning, and lobular inflammation in db/db mice fed an MCD diet. Gene expression and activity of stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 were reduced in db/db mice fed an MCD diet compared with lean controls and were increased by silibinin; moreover, silibinin treatment induced the expression and activity of acyl-CoA oxidase and the expression of liver fatty acid-binding protein. Vehicle-treated animals displayed increased hepatic levels of reactive oxygen species and TBARS, 3-NT staining, and iNOS expression; silibinin treatment markedly decreased reactive oxygen species and TBARS and restored 3-NT and iNOS to the levels of control mice. db/db mice fed an MCD diet consistently had increased NFkB p65 and p50 binding activity; silibinin administration significantly decreased the activity of both subunits. Silibinin treatment counteracts the progression of liver injury by modulating lipid homeostasis and suppressing oxidative stress-mediated lipotoxicity and NFkB activation in experimental NASH

Traumatic Isolated Intramural Duodenal Hematoma Causing Intestinal Obstruction

A 21-year-old man was admitted 36 hours after a blunt abdominal trauma occurred during a sporting competition. He complained of colic epigastric abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. He was hemodynamically stable; blood counts and metabolic panel were normal. Abdominal CT showed an intestinal obstruction caused by an 8 × 6 × 11 cm hematoma on the right lateral duodenal wall without signs of active bleedin

A Simplified Thermal Model to Control the Energy Fluxes and to Improve the Performance of Buildings

Abstract The article describes an accurate and suitable simplified tool aimed at evaluating, controlling and managing heat energy fluxes in buildings. The focus is the development of a Resistance-Capacitance (RC) thermal model able to represent the envelope thermal inertia on an hourly time basis. The single RC module simulates the thermal response of a single opaque or transparent element of the envelope. Each module consists of 3 Resistances and 2 Capacitances and is connected to the other modules by thermal nodes and coupled to an air internal temperature node in order to obtain a realistic exemplification of the specific boundary conditions and gains distribution in the conditioned space. The differential balance equations in each node have been solved with an explicit numerical method using Modelica simulation tool. A monitoring campaign was carried out on an outdoor test cell in order to observe the real thermal dynamic behaviour and the real hourly energy needs. The results of the model have been compared with the experimental collected data. The results are presented in terms of temperatures and heating power hourly profiles and cumulative daily energy needs. Finally the Bland-Altmann plot has been used to verify the accuracy and the shortcomings of the proposed thermal model

Application of IoT and Machine Learning techniques for the assessment of thermal comfort perception.

Abstract Thermal comfort is traditionally assessed by using the PMV index defined according to the EN ISO 7730:2005 where the user passively interacts with the surrounding environment considering a physic-based model built on a steady-state thermal energy balance equation. The thermal comfort satisfaction is a holistic concept comprising behavioral, physiological and psychological aspects. This article describes a workflow for the assessment of the thermal conditions of users through the analysis of their specific psychophysical conditions overcoming the limitation of the physic-based model in order to investigate and consider other possible relations between the subjective and objective variables