Ecotoxicological effects of atmospheric particulate produced by braking systems on aquatic and edaphic organisms.

Vehicles generate particulate matter (PM) in significant amounts as their brake systems wear. These particles can influence air quality and their transport/deposition may affect the edaphic and aquatic ecosystems. As part of the LOWBRASYS H2020 project, new more eco-friendly brake disc and pad formulations were developed. PMs generated from traditional (FM1-BD1) and innovative (FM4-BD2, FMB-BD7) brake systems in bench tests were studied. The PMs' physical/chemical characteristics were preliminarily investigated. To study the possible environmental impact of the nano-micro particulate, we used a battery of ecotoxicological tests. We employed the microalga Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata, the crustacean Daphnia magna and the bacteria Vibrio fischeri as aquatic bioindicators, while for the edaphic ecosystem we used the seeds of Lepidium sativum and Sorghum saccharatum, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, the earthworm Eisenia andrei and the ameba Dictyostelium discoideum. The results showed a higher sensitivity of the freshwater organisms exposed to the soluble PM fraction, with respect to the edaphic ones. FM4-BD2 brake formulation was slightly more toxic for algae (200 mg/L) than FM1-BD1 (500 mg/L). The new system FMB-BD7 particulate was not harmful for crustacean survival, and resulted weakly toxic for algal reproduction only at 500 mg/L. The particulate material per se was found to affect the algal reproduction. No toxic effects were found on nematodes, earthworms and seeds up to 1000 mg/L. However, in D. discoideum the reproduction rate was significantly reduced starting from 100 mg/L; and the lysosomal membrane stability showed a relevant alteration also at minimal concentration (0.1 mg/L). The results demonstrated a minimal risk for biodiversity of the particulates from the different brake systems and highlighted a more eco-friendly performance the new brake-pad FMB-BD7. However, the occurrence of sublethal effects should be considered as a possible contribution of the particle toxicity to the biological effects of the environmental pollution. Keywords: Brake discs and pads, Particulate matter, Bioassays, Sublethal effects, Environmental ris

Propuestas y acciones para producción social del hábitat, en el marco de la conformación de consultorios barriales de arquitectura

Este trabajo se enmarca en la conformación de los Consultorios Barriales de Arquitectura en el año 2011 por la organización Arqcom La Plata. El objetivo de los Consultorios es construir un espacio de trabajo interdisciplinario, orientado a dar respuestas a las problemáticas habitacionales de la población, a partir de dos ejes de trabajo. Por un lado, brindando asesoramiento técnico en todo lo referente a la construcción, ampliación y reparación de viviendas; y por el otro acompañando la organización de los vecinos en ámbitos democráticos, para generar procesos de trabajo colectivos y coordinados con ámbitos estatales. En este artículo se analizan y discuten los avances producidos en relación a las propuestas y acciones en el marco de los Talleres Barriales de Arquitectura realizados por Arqcom en distintos barrios de la ciudad de La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina. A partir de la inundación sufrida durante el 2 de abril de 2013 en esta ciudad, se intensificaron en estos barrios problemas existentes respecto a las condiciones habitacionales y ambientales, y se aceleraron procesos de comunicación y organización de los vecinos en torno a resolver las necesidades más concretas de la mayoría de ellos. Los resultados obtenidos hasta el momento corroboran la participación activa de los actores intervinientes en los ámbitos de toma de decisiones colectivas; y por otro lado reafirma la necesidad de apertura de un campo de inserción profesional que se aleja de la dinámica institucional clásica.This paper refers to the work efforts at the Architecture Neighborhood Consulting Workshops in 2011 by the Arqcom La Plata. The objective of the Consulting Workshops was to build a space for interdisciplinary work, aimed to provide answers to the housing problems of the population in two work areas. On the one hand, providing advice on technical issues referring to the construction, expansion and repairing of houses; and the other hand, encouraging the neighbors’ democratic participation in order to generate collective work processes that are coordinated with Governmental areas. This paper analyzes and discusses the progress made in relation to the proposals and actions in the context of Neighborhood Architecture Workshops conducted by Arqcom La Plata in different neighborhoods of La Plata (Buenos Aires, Argentina). Since the flooding during the April 2, 2013 that affected this city, the existing problems regarding housing and environmental conditions have intensified in these neighborhoods so the processes of neighbors’ communication and organization have met around more specific needs. The results obtained so far support the active participation of the actors involved in the field of collective decision making; and secondly reaffirms the need to open a field of employability that departs from the classical institutional dynamics.Eje 3: Derecho a la ciudad: mutaciones, recomposiciones, adaptaciones, reformulaciones.Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanism

Propuestas y acciones para producción social del hábitat, en el marco de la conformación de consultorios barriales de arquitectura

Este trabajo se enmarca en la conformación de los Consultorios Barriales de Arquitectura en el año 2011 por la organización Arqcom La Plata. El objetivo de los Consultorios es construir un espacio de trabajo interdisciplinario, orientado a dar respuestas a las problemáticas habitacionales de la población, a partir de dos ejes de trabajo. Por un lado, brindando asesoramiento técnico en todo lo referente a la construcción, ampliación y reparación de viviendas; y por el otro acompañando la organización de los vecinos en ámbitos democráticos, para generar procesos de trabajo colectivos y coordinados con ámbitos estatales. En este artículo se analizan y discuten los avances producidos en relación a las propuestas y acciones en el marco de los Talleres Barriales de Arquitectura realizados por Arqcom en distintos barrios de la ciudad de La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina. A partir de la inundación sufrida durante el 2 de abril de 2013 en esta ciudad, se intensificaron en estos barrios problemas existentes respecto a las condiciones habitacionales y ambientales, y se aceleraron procesos de comunicación y organización de los vecinos en torno a resolver las necesidades más concretas de la mayoría de ellos. Los resultados obtenidos hasta el momento corroboran la participación activa de los actores intervinientes en los ámbitos de toma de decisiones colectivas; y por otro lado reafirma la necesidad de apertura de un campo de inserción profesional que se aleja de la dinámica institucional clásica.This paper refers to the work efforts at the Architecture Neighborhood Consulting Workshops in 2011 by the Arqcom La Plata. The objective of the Consulting Workshops was to build a space for interdisciplinary work, aimed to provide answers to the housing problems of the population in two work areas. On the one hand, providing advice on technical issues referring to the construction, expansion and repairing of houses; and the other hand, encouraging the neighbors’ democratic participation in order to generate collective work processes that are coordinated with Governmental areas. This paper analyzes and discusses the progress made in relation to the proposals and actions in the context of Neighborhood Architecture Workshops conducted by Arqcom La Plata in different neighborhoods of La Plata (Buenos Aires, Argentina). Since the flooding during the April 2, 2013 that affected this city, the existing problems regarding housing and environmental conditions have intensified in these neighborhoods so the processes of neighbors’ communication and organization have met around more specific needs. The results obtained so far support the active participation of the actors involved in the field of collective decision making; and secondly reaffirms the need to open a field of employability that departs from the classical institutional dynamics.Eje 3: Derecho a la ciudad: mutaciones, recomposiciones, adaptaciones, reformulaciones.Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanism

Propuestas y acciones para producción social del hábitat, en el marco de la conformación de consultorios barriales de arquitectura

Este trabajo se enmarca en la conformación de los Consultorios Barriales de Arquitectura en el año 2011 por la organización Arqcom La Plata. El objetivo de los Consultorios es construir un espacio de trabajo interdisciplinario, orientado a dar respuestas a las problemáticas habitacionales de la población, a partir de dos ejes de trabajo. Por un lado, brindando asesoramiento técnico en todo lo referente a la construcción, ampliación y reparación de viviendas; y por el otro acompañando la organización de los vecinos en ámbitos democráticos, para generar procesos de trabajo colectivos y coordinados con ámbitos estatales. En este artículo se analizan y discuten los avances producidos en relación a las propuestas y acciones en el marco de los Talleres Barriales de Arquitectura realizados por Arqcom en distintos barrios de la ciudad de La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina. A partir de la inundación sufrida durante el 2 de abril de 2013 en esta ciudad, se intensificaron en estos barrios problemas existentes respecto a las condiciones habitacionales y ambientales, y se aceleraron procesos de comunicación y organización de los vecinos en torno a resolver las necesidades más concretas de la mayoría de ellos. Los resultados obtenidos hasta el momento corroboran la participación activa de los actores intervinientes en los ámbitos de toma de decisiones colectivas; y por otro lado reafirma la necesidad de apertura de un campo de inserción profesional que se aleja de la dinámica institucional clásica.This paper refers to the work efforts at the Architecture Neighborhood Consulting Workshops in 2011 by the Arqcom La Plata. The objective of the Consulting Workshops was to build a space for interdisciplinary work, aimed to provide answers to the housing problems of the population in two work areas. On the one hand, providing advice on technical issues referring to the construction, expansion and repairing of houses; and the other hand, encouraging the neighbors’ democratic participation in order to generate collective work processes that are coordinated with Governmental areas. This paper analyzes and discusses the progress made in relation to the proposals and actions in the context of Neighborhood Architecture Workshops conducted by Arqcom La Plata in different neighborhoods of La Plata (Buenos Aires, Argentina). Since the flooding during the April 2, 2013 that affected this city, the existing problems regarding housing and environmental conditions have intensified in these neighborhoods so the processes of neighbors’ communication and organization have met around more specific needs. The results obtained so far support the active participation of the actors involved in the field of collective decision making; and secondly reaffirms the need to open a field of employability that departs from the classical institutional dynamics.Eje 3: Derecho a la ciudad: mutaciones, recomposiciones, adaptaciones, reformulaciones.Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanism

Laboreo vertical del suelo y tráfico de la maquinaria: efecto sobre las propiedades físicas y la reconsolidación posterior a la labor

Si bien existe abundante evidencia que indica que la siembra directa es el sistema más sustentable para la conservación del recurso suelo, la información sobre la reología de suelos no labrados es escasa. A pesar de la menor intensidad de tráfico requerida para producir bajo este sistema, es necesario conocer el estado del suelo con que la técnica comienza y su evolución según pasa el tiempo. El test de descompactado fue en dos subregiones diferentes: A) subregión pampeana norte, alrededores de Luján, y B) subregión pampeana este, (oeste de la provincia de Buenos Aires y este de la Provincia de La Pampa) sobre suelos con quince años de siembra directa. Los objetivos del proyecto son: a) Realizar aportes cognitivos, que admitan una transferencia tecnológica para el mejoramiento del manejo del tractor agrícola, su contrapesado, rodados, la formación de conjuntos con los aperos, con la finalidad de que eviten, o minimicen, respuestas negativas de los cultivos agrícolas conducidos bajo el sistema de siembra directa, al tráfico vehicular, contribuyendo a un marco general de sustentabilidad productiva b) Buscar una solución de compromiso entre eficiencia tractiva y la utilización de equipos descompactadores para eliminar el sobrecompactación producido en suelos bajo siembra directa c) Evaluar los efectos de diferentes tratamientos de labranza vertical sobre la resistencia mecánica del suelo

Thermal design of structures and the changing climate

The report presents the work of the Joint Research Centre’s scientific network on adaptation of structural design to climate change focusing on the thermal design of buildings and infrastructure considering the changing climate. It presents scientific and technical background intended to stimulate debate and serve as a basis for further work to study the implications of climate change on the thermal design of structures. The report first outlines recent EU policies in support of sustainability and climate resilience of infrastructure and buildings. It highlights how the construction sector is encouraged to adopt more sustainable and circular economy practices, extend the lifetime of buildings and strive for better performance of buildings and infrastructure throughout their life cycle. It further emphasises the ongoing action plan to adapt the European standards to a changing climate. Following, the report explains the concept of the definition of thermal actions for the design of buildings and infrastructure using the European standards for structural design, i.e. the Eurocodes. It is showed that the adaptation of structural design to the implications of climate change is strongly linked with the assessment of changing characteristics of climatic actions (including thermal ones) in terms of the Eurocodes concept for the variable climatic actions. Variations in temperature that would directly affect the design values for thermal actions in the European standards are studied in depth for the case study of Italy. It is concluded that an increase in the maximum and minimum temperature used for structural design is expected all over Italy. It is discussed that structures, as bridges for example, are expected to be influenced by stresses from extreme temperatures and thus, should be designed for temperature amplitudes justified from climate projections for the actual region. However, the current European maps for thermal design are based on climatic data which, with some exceptions, are mostly 10 to 15 years old and ignore the potential effects of climate change. Thus, new European maps for the thermal design of structures should be developed using data that project more realistically the future climate. To this end, the authors present a methodology for developing thermal maps for structural design taking into account the influence of the changing climate and present an implementation of the methodology using the example of Italy.JRC.E.4-Safety and Security of Building

MicroRNA miR-34 Inhibits Human Pancreatic Cancer Tumor-Initiating Cells

Our results demonstrate that miR-34 may restore, at least in part, the tumor suppressing function of the p53 in p53-deficient human pancreatic cancer cells. Our data support the view that miR-34 may be involved in pancreatic cancer stem cell self-renewal, potentially via the direct modulation of downstream targets Bcl-2 and Notch, implying that miR-34 may play an important role in pancreatic cancer stem cell self-renewal and/or cell fate determination. Restoration of miR-34 may hold significant promise as a novel molecular therapy for human pancreatic cancer with loss of p53-miR34, potentially via inhibiting pancreatic cancer stem cells

Fatality rate and predictors of mortality in an Italian cohort of hospitalized COVID-19 patients

Clinical features and natural history of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) differ widely among different countries and during different phases of the pandemia. Here, we aimed to evaluate the case fatality rate (CFR) and to identify predictors of mortality in a cohort of COVID-19 patients admitted to three hospitals of Northern Italy between March 1 and April 28, 2020. All these patients had a confirmed diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection by molecular methods. During the study period 504/1697 patients died; thus, overall CFR was 29.7%. We looked for predictors of mortality in a subgroup of 486 patients (239 males, 59%; median age 71 years) for whom sufficient clinical data were available at data cut-off. Among the demographic and clinical variables considered, age, a diagnosis of cancer, obesity and current smoking independently predicted mortality. When laboratory data were added to the model in a further subgroup of patients, age, the diagnosis of cancer, and the baseline PaO2/FiO2 ratio were identified as independent predictors of mortality. In conclusion, the CFR of hospitalized patients in Northern Italy during the ascending phase of the COVID-19 pandemic approached 30%. The identification of mortality predictors might contribute to better stratification of individual patient risk