Predicting the Impact of Climate Change on Thermal Comfort in A Building Category: The Case of Linear-type Social Housing Stock in Southern Spain

The Climate Change scenario projected by the IPCC for the year 2050 predicts noticeable increases in temperature. In severe summer climates, such as the Mediterranean area, this would have very negative e ects on thermal comfort in the existing housing stock, given the current high percentage of dwellings which are obsolete in energy terms and house a population at serious risk of energy poverty. The main aim of this paper is to generate a predictive model in order to assess the impact of this future climate scenario on thermal comfort conditions in an entire building category. To do so, calibrated models representing linear-type social multi-family buildings, dating from the post-war period and located in southern Spain, will be simulated extensively using transient energy analyses performed by EnergyPlus. In addition, a sensitivity analysis will be performed to identify the most influential parameters on thermal discomfort. The main results predict a generalized deterioration in indoor thermal comfort conditions due to global warming, increasing the average percentage of discomfort hours during the summer by more than 35%. This characterization of the future thermal behaviour of the residential stock in southern Spain could be a trustworthy tool for decision-making in energy retrofitting projects which are so badly needed. To do so, further work is required on some limitations of this model so that di erent user profiles and typologies can be represented in detail and an economic assessment can be included

Ghrelin induces proliferation in human aortic endothelial cells via ERK1/2 and PI3K/Akt activation

The direct ghrelin (Ghr) involvement in cardiovascular (CV) system homeostasis has been suggested by the expression of its receptor in CV tissues and by evidence that ghrelin mediates CV activities in animals and in humans. Moreover, low Ghr plasma levels have been reported in pathological conditions characterized by high cardiovascular risk. In the present study, we investigated Ghr effect on proliferation of human aortic endothelial cell (HAEC) and involved transduction pathways. Our results indicate that ghrelin elicited proliferation in a dose-dependent manner (EC(50) about of 5 nmol/L) in cultured HAEC, and that this effect was inhibited by the receptor antagonist (D-Lys3)-GHRP-6. Western blot experiments documented an activation of external receptor activated kinases (ERK1/2) and Akt in a dose-dependent fashion, as well as involvement of the cAMP pathway in ERK1/2 phosphorylation. Experiments conducted with appropriate pharmacological inhibitors to investigate Ghr-induced HAEC proliferation confirmed the involvement of ERK1/2 and 13P/Akt pathways, as well as the role of AMP cyclase/PKA pathway in ERK1/2 phosphorylation. Our results indicate that Ghr promotes HAEC proliferation, and thus may be a protective factor against vascular damage. The low ghrelin serum levels reported in insulin-resistant states may not be able to effectively counteract endothelial cell injury. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Preventable hospitalization and access to primary health care in an area of Southern Italy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Ambulatory care-sensitive conditions (ACSC), such as hypertension, diabetes, chronic heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma, are conditions that can be managed with timely and effective outpatient care reducing the need of hospitalization. Avoidable hospitalizations for ACSC have been used to assess access, quality and performance of the primary care delivery system. The aims of this study were to quantify the proportion of avoidable hospital admissions for ACSCs, to identify the related patient's socio-demographic profile and health conditions, to assess the relationship between the primary care access characteristics and preventable hospitalizations, and the usefulness of avoidable hospitalizations for ACSCs to monitor the effectiveness of primary health care.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A random sample of 520 medical records of patients admitted to medical wards (Cardiology, Internal Medicine, Pneumology, Geriatrics) of a non-teaching acute care 717-bed hospital located in Catanzaro (Italy) were reviewed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 31.5% of the hospitalizations in the sample were judged to be preventable. Of these, 40% were for congestive heart failure, 23.2% for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 13.5% for angina without procedure, 8.4% for hypertension, and 7.1% for bacterial pneumonia. Preventable hospitalizations were significantly associated to age and sex since they were higher in older patients and in males. The proportion of patients who had a preventable hospitalization significantly increased with regard to the number of hospital admissions in the previous year and to the number of patients for each primary care physician (PCP), with lower number of PCP accesses and PCP medical visits in the previous year, with less satisfaction about PCP health services, and, finally, with worse self-reported health status and shorter length of hospital stay.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The findings from this study add to the evidence and the urgency of developing and implementing effective interventions to improve delivery of health care at the community level and provided support to the usefulness of avoidable hospitalizations for ACSCs to monitor this process.</p

Multi-Messenger Astronomy with Extremely Large Telescopes

The field of time-domain astrophysics has entered the era of Multi-messenger Astronomy (MMA). One key science goal for the next decade (and beyond) will be to characterize gravitational wave (GW) and neutrino sources using the next generation of Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs). These studies will have a broad impact across astrophysics, informing our knowledge of the production and enrichment history of the heaviest chemical elements, constrain the dense matter equation of state, provide independent constraints on cosmology, increase our understanding of particle acceleration in shocks and jets, and study the lives of black holes in the universe. Future GW detectors will greatly improve their sensitivity during the coming decade, as will near-infrared telescopes capable of independently finding kilonovae from neutron star mergers. However, the electromagnetic counterparts to high-frequency (LIGO/Virgo band) GW sources will be distant and faint and thus demand ELT capabilities for characterization. ELTs will be important and necessary contributors to an advanced and complete multi-messenger network.Comment: White paper submitted to the Astro2020 Decadal Surve

American Thyroid Association Guide to Investigating Thyroid Hormone Economy and Action in Rodent and Cell Models

Background: An in-depth understanding of the fundamental principles that regulate thyroid hormone homeostasis is critical for the development of new diagnostic and treatment ap-proaches for patients with thyroid disease. Summary: Important clinical practices in use today for the treatment of patients with hypothy-roidism, hyperthyroidism, or thyroid cancer, are the result of laboratory discoveries made by scientists investigating the most basic aspects of thyroid structure and molecular biology. In this document, a panel of experts commissioned by the American Thyroid Association makes a se-ries of recommendations related to the study of thyroid hormone economy and action. These recommendations are intended to promote standardization of study design, which should in turn increase the comparability and reproducibility of experimental findings. Conclusions: It is expected that adherence to these recommendations by investigators in the field will facilitate progress towards a better understanding of the thyroid gland and thyroid hormone dependent processes

Dissecting the susceptibility/resistance mechanism of Vitis vinifera for the future control of downy mildew

23CO.NA.VI. 2020 – 8° Convegno Nazionale di Viticoltura, Udine, Italy, July 5-7, 2021openInternationalBothThe Eurasian grapevine (Vitis vinifera), a species cultivated worldwide for high-quality wine production, is extremely susceptible to the agent of downy mildew, Plasmopara viticola. Nevertheless, germplasm from Georgia (Southern Caucasus, the first grapevine domestication centre), characterized by a high genetic variability, showed resistance traits to P. viticola. The cultivar Mgaloblishvili exhibited the most promising phenotype in terms of resistance against P. viticola. Its defence response results in: i) low disease intensity; ii) low sporulation; iii) damaged mycelium; iv) production of antimicrobial compounds such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), whose effectiveness on the pathogen was evaluated by leafdisc assays. At the transcriptomic level, its resistance mechanism is determined by the differential expression of both resistance and susceptible genes. The resistance genes are related to: i) pathogen recognition through PAMP, DAMP and effector receptors; ii) ethylene signalling pathway; iii) synthesis of antimicrobial compounds (VOCs) and fungal wall degrading enzymes; iv) development of structural barriers (cell wall reinforcement). The first putative susceptible gene was the transcription factor VviLBDIf7 gene, whose validation was carried out by dsRNA (double-stranded RNA) assay. In this work, these unique results on plant-pathogen interaction are reviewed with the aim of developing new strategies to control the disease.openRicciardi, Valentina; Marcianò, Demetrio; Sargolzaei, Maryam; Marrone Fassolo, Elena; Fracassetti, Daniela; Brilli, Matteo; Moser, Mirko; Vahid, Shariati J.; Tavakole, Elahe; Maddalena, Giuliana; Passera, Alessandro; Casati, Paola; Pindo, Massimo; Cestaro, Alessandro; Costa, Alex; Bonza, Maria Cristina; Maghradze, David; Tirelli, Antonio; Failla, Osvaldo; Bianco, Piero Attilio; Quaglino, Fabio; Toffolatti, Silvia Laura; De Lorenzis, GabriellaRicciardi, V.; Marcianò, D.; Sargolzaei, M.; Marrone Fassolo, E.; Fracassetti, D.; Brilli, M.; Moser, M.; Vahid, S.J.; Tavakole, E.; Maddalena, G.; Passera, A.; Casati, P.; Pindo, M.; Cestaro, A.; Costa, A.; Bonza, M.C.; Maghradze, D.; Tirelli, A.; Failla, O.; Bianco, P.A.; Quaglino, F.; Toffolatti, S.L.; De Lorenzis, G

The Genome of the Zoonotic Malaria Parasite Plasmodium simium Reveals Adaptions to Host-switching

Oral Session