Smart solutions for low-income buildings rehabilitation: international researches and experiences

[EN] Smart City concept briefly refers to a sustainable city where innovative Smart strategies will be adopted to an efficient management of resources flows and social interoperability. Aligned with the most relevant European research experiences, the paper describes the relations between an on-going research from the PDTA Dept., centered on a knowledge platform tool for energy-efficient interactive buildings design, and the contribution of the ELIH-MED project on the use of industrialized solutions and smart devices during the rehabilitation process in Mediterranean low-income housings. A pilot project in the Spanish climate context reveals the important role of Smart Monitoring Devices to encourage energy savings and tackle recognized needs through a participative process where stakeholders and beneficiaries are actively involved.[IT] Il termine Smart City può essere sinteticamente associato al concetto di città sostenibile dove strategie innovative intelligenti favoriscono la gestione efficiente del flusso di risorse e l' interoperabilità sociale. Con riferimento alle più significative esperienze di ricerca europee, il contributo approfondisce i legami tra una ricerca, attualmente in corso presso il Dipartimento PDTA, rivolta allo sviluppo di una piattaforma per la progettazione di edifici interattivi ed energeticamente efficienti, e il progetto ELIH-MED incentrato sull'uso di soluzioni industrializzate e dispositivi Smart nell¿ambito di interventi di riqualificazione di edifici sociali nel bacino del Mediterraneo. Un progetto pilota situato nel contesto climatico spagnolo mostra l'impatto derivante dall¿uso di soluzioni Smart nel favorire il risparmio energetico e rispondere alle esigenze degli utenti attraverso un processo partecipativo che coinvolge attivamente stakeholder e beneficiari.The ELIH-Med project represents a significant pilot experience that has allowed to identify and demonstrate, through pilot-scale actions, the feasibil-ity of efficient and innovative solutions and innovative financial mechanisms, backed by ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) funds.Arbizzani. E.; Civiero, P.; Ortega Madrigal, L.; Serrano Lanzarote, AB. (2015). Soluzioni Smart per la riqualificazione degli edifici residenziali sociali: ricerche ed esperienze internazionali. Techne: journal of technology for architecture and environment. 10:222-231. https://doi.org/10.13128/Techne-17519S2222311

Immune evasion activities of accessory proteins Vpu, Nef and Vif are conserved in acute and chronic HIV-1 infection

Heterosexual HIV-1 transmission has been identified as a genetic bottleneck and a single transmitted/founder (T/F) variant with reduced sensitivity to type I interferon initiates productive infection in most cases. We hypothesized that particularly active accessory protein(s) may confer T/F viruses with a selective advantage in establishing HIV infection. Thus, we tested vpu, vif and nef alleles from six T/F and six chronic (CC) viruses in assays for 9 immune evasion activities involving the counteraction of interferon-stimulated genes and modulation of ligands known to activate innate immune cells. All functions were highly conserved with no significant differences between T/F and CC viruses, suggesting that these accessory protein functions are important throughout the course of infection

Protective Antiviral Immunity Conferred by a Nonintegrative Lentiviral Vector-Based Vaccine

Lentiviral vectors are under intense scrutiny as unique candidate viral vector vaccines against tumor and aggressive pathogens because of their ability to initiate potent and durable specific immune responses. Strategies that alleviate safety concerns will facilitate the clinical developments involving lentiviral vectors. In this respect, the development of integration deficient lentiviral vectors circumvents the safety concerns relative to insertional mutagenesis and might pave the way for clinical applications in which gene transfer is targeted to non-dividing cells. We thus evaluated the potential use of nonintegrative lentiviral vectors as vaccination tools since the main targeted cell in vaccination procedures is the non-dividing dendritic cell (DC). In this study, we demonstrated that a single administration of nonintegrative vectors encoding a secreted form of the envelope of a virulent strain of West Nile Virus (WNV) induces a robust B cell response. Remarkably, nonintegrative lentiviral vectors fully protected mice from a challenge with a lethal dose of WNV and a single immunization was sufficient to induce early and long-lasting protective immunity. Thus, nonintegrative lentiviral vectors might represent a safe and efficacious vaccination platform for the development of prophylactic vaccines against infectious agents

Gene therapy for monogenic liver diseases: clinical successes, current challenges and future prospects

Over the last decade, pioneering liver-directed gene therapy trials for haemophilia B have achieved sustained clinical improvement after a single systemic injection of adeno-associated virus (AAV) derived vectors encoding the human factor IX cDNA. These trials demonstrate the potential of AAV technology to provide long-lasting clinical benefit in the treatment of monogenic liver disorders. Indeed, with more than ten ongoing or planned clinical trials for haemophilia A and B and dozens of trials planned for other inherited genetic/metabolic liver diseases, clinical translation is expanding rapidly. Gene therapy is likely to become an option for routine care of a subset of severe inherited genetic/metabolic liver diseases in the relatively near term. In this review, we aim to summarise the milestones in the development of gene therapy, present the different vector tools and their clinical applications for liver-directed gene therapy. AAV-derived vectors are emerging as the leading candidates for clinical translation of gene delivery to the liver. Therefore, we focus on clinical applications of AAV vectors in providing the most recent update on clinical outcomes of completed and ongoing gene therapy trials and comment on the current challenges that the field is facing for large-scale clinical translation. There is clearly an urgent need for more efficient therapies in many severe monogenic liver disorders, which will require careful risk-benefit analysis for each indication, especially in paediatrics

HIV-1 capsid-cyclophilin interactions determine nuclear import pathway, integration targeting and replication efficiency.

Lentiviruses such as HIV-1 traverse nuclear pore complexes (NPC) and infect terminally differentiated non-dividing cells, but how they do this is unclear. The cytoplasmic NPC protein Nup358/RanBP2 was identified as an HIV-1 co-factor in previous studies. Here we report that HIV-1 capsid (CA) binds directly to the cyclophilin domain of Nup358/RanBP2. Fusion of the Nup358/RanBP2 cyclophilin (Cyp) domain to the tripartite motif of TRIM5 created a novel inhibitor of HIV-1 replication, consistent with an interaction in vivo. In contrast to CypA binding to HIV-1 CA, Nup358 binding is insensitive to inhibition with cyclosporine, allowing contributions from CypA and Nup358 to be distinguished. Inhibition of CypA reduced dependence on Nup358 and the nuclear basket protein Nup153, suggesting that CypA regulates the choice of the nuclear import machinery that is engaged by the virus. HIV-1 cyclophilin-binding mutants CA G89V and P90A favored integration in genomic regions with a higher density of transcription units and associated features than wild type virus. Integration preference of wild type virus in the presence of cyclosporine was similarly altered to regions of higher transcription density. In contrast, HIV-1 CA alterations in another patch on the capsid surface that render the virus less sensitive to Nup358 or TRN-SR2 depletion (CA N74D, N57A) resulted in integration in genomic regions sparse in transcription units. Both groups of CA mutants are impaired in replication in HeLa cells and human monocyte derived macrophages. Our findings link HIV-1 engagement of cyclophilins with both integration targeting and replication efficiency and provide insight into the conservation of viral cyclophilin recruitment

Digital Energy Simulation Of Buildings Protected By Municipal Heritage Policies In The Framework Of Energy Renovation Projects

[EN] The energy simulation is a key tool when designing renovation actions on buildings. In the framework of the InterregMed SHERPA project, bound to trigger and manage energy renovations in public buildings, the digital analysis of an educational building affected by the municipal heritage protection has been carried out. The building is the CIPFP Blasco Ibáñez, catalogued as a monument of local interest in Valencia (Spain) city planning, where the heritage value of its facades (main and interior), roof and internal spatial structure is identified. The methodology used consists in performing an energy audit of the building in order to be able to customize a digital energy model. By means of an hourly dynamic energy simulation tool, the current status of the building and its systems can be determined, and energy renovation actions can be outlined. The use of digital analysis tools is of utmost interest in buildings declared as municipal heritage sites since enables the study to be performed in a non-intrusive manner. Several points of energy improvement are identified. There are some actions that can be performed without affecting parameters protected by the heritage status, and some others which need to be modified in order to be compliant with it. Furthermore, the digital analysis through energy simulation tools also allows to perform detailed calculations about the energy, environmental and economic savings associated with the measures. The assessment has proved the need to promote research and testing of new solutions and technologies to improve the energy efficiency of heritage buildings.The authors of this paper want to acknowledge the consortium of the SHERPA project, as well as the Interreg Med Programme.Serrano Lanzarote, AB.; Carnero Melero, P.; Valero Escribano, V.; Ramírez Pareja, L. (2020). Digital Energy Simulation Of Buildings Protected By Municipal Heritage Policies In The Framework Of Energy Renovation Projects. International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences (Online). XLIV-M-1:421-426. https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLIV-M-1-2020-421-2020421426XLIV-M-

“HEPARJOC-ACTÚA”: Herramienta educativa creada a través de un proceso de investigación-acción participativa con colectivos inmigrantes vulnerables para mejorar la accesibilidad al diagnóstico de la hepatitis b

Background: The World Health Organization estimates that 257 million people suffer from chronic infection by the hepatitis B (HB) virus. It is common for diagnosis to be delayed or never given at all. In Spain, immigrants that come from endemic areas present a prevalence of infection of around 8%. In the year 2015, this study was begun with the aiml of improving accessibility to hepatitis B diagnoses in immigrant communities. Methods: A descriptive qualitative study was carried out, based on participatory action research (IAP). It was divided into two cycles: in the first cycle, after forming a motor group (GIAP), a participatory community assessment (DCP) was performed with the population, through a descriptiveinterpretative qualitative study (ECDI) with 3 focal groups (n=17). A narrative analysis was then performed of thematic content. In the second cycle, two collaborative workshops (coworking) were held to create an educational tool (HEPARJOC) and to co-create an action plan (PDA). As a pilot test, the PDA was put into practice through eight workshops (n=56). A knowledge questionnaire was used to compare the median number of correct responses before and after the workshop, using the t of Student for paired data. Results: A GIAP was formed with 8 members of different sectors and community spaces. In the DCP it was observed that there was a lack of knowledge about different aspects of hepatitis B. Visual, interactive materials were proposed as educational tools, and “HEPARJOC” was created as the final product. In the pilot test of the PDA, the median of correct responses to the knowledge questionnaire about HB was 7.7 (DE=3) before the workshop, and 10.6 (DE=0.2) afterward. The improvement of the median was 2.9 points (IC 95% 2.2- 3.6), which is statistically significant (p<0.001). 30 people sought screening (53.6% of participants), and 23 of those people were screened (41% of participants). Conclusions: “HEPARJOC-ACTUA” is a strategy that could contribute to transforming knowledge and improving accessibility to hepatitis B diagnosis in immigrant communities. Key words: Infectious diseases, hepatitis B, community health, community health agents, health education, participatory action research, immigration.Introducción: La Organización Mundial de la Salud estima que 257 millones de personas padecen infección crónica por el virus de la hepatitis B (HB). Es habitual que el diagnóstico se retrase o que nunca se llegue a realizar. En España, los inmigrantes procedentes de áreas endémicas presentan prevalencias en torno al 8%. En el año 2015, se inició este estudio con el objetivo de mejorar la accesibilidad al diagnóstico de la hepatitis B en colectivos inmigrantes. Métodos: Se realizó un estudio cualitativo descriptivo, basado en la investigación acción participativa (IAP). Se dividió en dos ciclos: en el primer ciclo, después de configurar un grupo motor (GIAP), se realizó un diagnóstico comunitario participativo (DCP) con la población, a través de un estudio cualitativo descriptivo-interpretativo (ECDI) con 3 grupos focales (n=17). Se llevó a cabo un análisis narrativo de contenido temático. En el segundo ciclo, se realizaron 2 talleres de trabajo colaborativo (coworking) para crear una herramienta educativa (HEPAJOC) y coconstruir un plan de acción (PDA). Como prueba piloto se llevó a cabo este PDA a través 8 talleres (n=56). Se utilizó un cuestionario de conocimientos para comparar la media de respuestas correctas pre y post taller utilizando el t de Student para datos apareados. Resultados: Se configuró un GIAP con 8 miembros de diferentes sectores y espacios comunitarios. En el DCP se observó que existía un desconocimiento en diferentes aspectos sobre la hepatitis B. Se propusieron, como herramientas educativas, materiales visuales e interactivos, elaborando como producto final el “HEPARJOC”. En la prueba piloto del PDA, la media de las respuestas correctas al cuestionario de conocimientos sobre la HB fue de 7,7 (DE=3) previamente, y de 10,6 (DE=0,2) posteriormente. La mejoría de la media fue de 2,9 puntos (IC 95% 2,2-3,6), siendo estadísticamente significativa (p<0,001). Solicitaron el cribado 30 personas (53,6%), siendo cribadas 23 (41%). Conclusiones: “HEPARJOC-ACTUA” es una estrategia que puede contribuir a transformar conocimientos y a mejorar la accesibilidad al diagnóstico de la hepatitis B en colectivos inmigrantes

Associative learning and cognition: homage to professor N. J. Mackintosh. In Memoriam (1935-2015)

Editors: J. B. Trobalon & V. D. ChamizoThe present volume is a homage to Professor N. J. Mackintosh (1935-2015), an outstanding academic and a dear friend and colleague to many of the participants, as a final tribute after being awarded the Gold Medal by the University of Barcelona (November 2015). Although the topics of the chapters in this book have been freely chosen by the authors (Geoffrey Hall, Anthony Dickinson, John M. Pearce, Ian McLaren, Paula J. Durlach, Irina Baetu to mention a few), as well as the type of contribution (either an empirical paper, a review, or an application), they concentrate on issues that are crucial to the understanding of the basic principles of attention and associative learning (both Pavlovian and instrumental), in humans and also in other animals. In other words, to unravel the nature of conditioning, with a special emphasis on perceptual learning. The final chapter, by Gabriel Ruiz, addresses the importance of the contribution by Professor Mackintosh to the renaissance of animal psychology in Spain, where the Spanish Society for Comparative Psychology (SEPC in Spanish) played a relevant role