Application Studies for the Implementation of the Sustainability Charter in the Metropolitan City of Genoa

Starting from Agenda 2030 and existing tools in the field of sustainability, this research defines the guidelines for a new Sustainability Charter created for a metropolitan-level city. These guidelines are then applied to the case study of the metropolitan city of Genoa. The paper reports, therefore, application studies for the implementation of the Sustainability Charter in the metropolitan city of Genoa. Funded by the Ministry of the Environment and the Protection of Territory and Sea, the Sustainability Charter of the Metropolitan City of Genoa, which we present here, is developed as part of \u201cAgenda 2030, the Sustainable Metropolitan Agenda of the Metropolitan City of Genoa: moving towards sustainable metropolitan spaces\u201d. This research has led to the implementation of a concrete product the entire citizenship can benefit from. The new proposed tool is oriented towards the application of sustainability in urban planning and management in order to reduce environmental impacts and promote a proper and better quality of life: a driving force for sustainable urban development. Sustainability as a tool to safeguard the cultural and environmental heritage and the economic system, which can represent a new opportunity for the development of competitiveness, innovation and employment

Metabolic syndrome, left ventricular hypertrophy and carotid atherosclerosis in hypertension: a gender-based study.

Background. The influence of gender on the association between metabolic syndrome (MS) and subclinical organ damage (OD) has been poorly investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the risk of developing left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and carotid atherosclerosis is different in men and women with MS. Methods. A total of 3752 untreated and treated hypertensive patients (mean age 53.3 ± 12.6, 52.7% men) were considered for this analysis. All patients underwent standard ultrasonographic investigations searching for LVH and carotid atherosclerosis. The MS was defined according to ATP III criteria. Results. LVH was more prevalent in women and men with the MS compared with their counterparts (58% vs 34% and 48% vs 33%, respectively, p < 0.001). This was also the case for carotid plaque prevalence (61% vs 42% and 57% vs 44%, p < 0.001). The prevalence of OD was not different between men and women with MS, after adjusting for confounders. In multivariate analysis, abdominal obesity was the most important MS component independently related to LVH in both genders, followed by blood pressure. As for carotid plaques, blood pressure, hyperglycemia and hypertriglyceridemia turned out to be independent correlates regardless of gender. Conclusions. Our data indicate that MS is associated with a higher risk of LVH and carotid atherosclerosis irrespective of gender; these findings do not support a gender influence in the association between MS and subclinical OD. © 2013 Scandinavian Foundation for Cardiovascular Research

A low platelet count is associated with treatment failure in preterm infants treated with ibuprofen for patent ductus arteriosus

Background: Recent studies have demonstrated that platelet count (PLTc) and function have an important role in promoting spontaneous closure of the PDA in animal models.Aimto evaluate whether response to ibuprofen in premature infants with PDA is influenced by PLTc. Methods: All infants with GA 64 28wks born in our unit between 1/1/2007 and 31/12/2009 were retrospectively studied. Exclusion criteria were: congenital malformations, death within 48 hrs and outborn. All infants had echocardiographic evaluation in 1st DoL. Patients with a hemodynamically significant PDA (HsPDA) were treated with a standard course of ibuprofen. GA, BW, antenatal steroids, gender, type of ventilatory support were analyzed along with PLTc before and after treatment. Associations with HsPDA and treatment response were assessed by univariate and multivariate analysis.Results: Data from 130 out of 162 newborns (GA 26.2w\ub11.5, BW 851.2\ub1293g) were analysed. 117 patients showed a PDA at first evaluation. 88 newborns were treated with ibuprofen for HsPDA; after treatment 60 patients had a closed ductus (responders) while 28 were non-responders. A lower PLTc was observed in infants with HsPDA but difference was not statistically significant. Among treated infants, non-responders had a lower GA, were more likely mechanically ventilated and had a PLT significantly lower than responders (111.000/ \u3bcl vs. 184.000/\u3bcl, p=0,001). In the multivariate analysis only invasive ventilation and low PLTc were independent factors for treatment failure. Conclusion: A low PLTc increases the risk of treatment failure of PDA. Further studies are needed to evaluate the prognostic and therapeutic implications of this observation

DOCUMENTING THE CONSERVATIVE EVOLUTION OF THE CITY WALLS THANKS TO THE INTEGRATION OF DIGITAL SYSTEMS OF VARIOUS TYPOLOGIES. THE CASE STUDY OF VALBONA GATE

The presented study describes how to document in a dynamic way a complex and full of historical information architecture with a flexible system. Thanks to the collaboration between various professional figures and the integration of various digital systems, it has been possible to create an open documentary model able to satisfy the need to manage complex information.Our case study is the Valbona gate, the main entrance of the city of Urbino. The project presents two different phases: a first study is characterised by the setting up of a Datawarehouse concerning state of conservation and restoration managed with a GIS system; the second part is focused on a new type of documentation, developed with an online software, CDR - Conservation Digital Report.Thanks to the capacity of organising all data into a single Geodatabase system, the information relating to the conservation status and to deterioration, restoration interventions carried out.The result is a geodatabase linked with conservative sheets expressly scheduled. In this way the documentation is completed by a system which allows a simple updating of information and its implementation, if necessary.</p

Assessing How Pre-requisite Skills Affect Learning of Advanced Concepts

Students often struggle with advanced computing courses, and comparatively few studies have looked into the reasons for this. It seems that learners do not master the most basic concepts, or forget them between courses. If so, remedial practice could improve learning, but instructors rightly will not use scarce time for this without strong evidence. Based on personal observation, program tracing seems to be an important pre-requisite skill, but there is yet little research that provides evidence for this observation. To investigate this, our group will create theory-based assessments on how tracing knowledge affects learning of advanced topics, such as data structures, algorithms, and concurrency. This working group will identify relevant concepts in advanced courses, then conceptually analyze their pre-requisites and where an imagined student with some tracing difficulties would encounter barriers. The group will use this theory to create instructor-usable assessments for advanced topics that also identify issues caused by poor pre-requisite knowledge. These assessments may then be used at the start and end of advanced courses to evaluate to what extent students\u2019 difficulties with the advanced course originate from poor pre-requisite knowledge