Sensitivity analysis for room thermal response

The sensitivity theory is a suitable approach for assessing the room thermal response. It results in the 'sensitivity coefficients' (SCs) which, as derived here, evaluate the variation of the thermal load due to a fluctuation in a given design parameter around its nominal value. In this paper the general method is presented and a number of SCs are derived to evaluate the sensitivity of the building energy demand to the window surface area, to the overall transmittance and mass thermal capacity of a given wall, and to other structural data

I profili innovativi dell’introduzione legislativa dei principi di collaborazione e buona fede

Il presente contributo intende offrire una panoramica generale del principio di buona fede e di affidamento nei rapporti autoritativi con la pubblica amministrazione, alla luce del nuovo art. 1, comma 2-bis, l. 241/1990, secondo cui “i rapporti tra il cittadino e la pubblica amministrazione sono improntati ai princìpi della collaborazione e della buona fede”. Si cercherà poi di dimostrare la portata innovativa di questa nuova enunciazione legislativa, muovendo dal raffronto con il principio di buona fede e correttezza di tradizione civilistica

La cessione delle aree verdi a tutela dell’interesse generale

Con la sentenza in commento (s.v. Corte dei Conti, Sezione giurisdizionale regionale per l’Umbria, 30 novembre 2022, n. 104), i magistrati contabili hanno deciso di accogliere parzialmente l’azione di responsabilità erariale proposta contro due dirigenti del Comune di Gubbio, in ragione delle gravi carenze rilevate nella procedura urbanistica di lottizzazione che li aveva coinvolti nella qualità di responsabili del settore

Assessment of thermal discomfortin non-uniformly heated enclosures: Two indices in the time-space domain

In this paper two indices are proposed to assess the thermal discomfort in not-uniformly heated enclosures in the time-space domain. The discussion of some meaningful cases reveals that living spaces are subject to significant non-uniform radiant heat fields, resulting in thermal discomfort. In order to quantify such effects, the concept of 'uniform equivalent temperature' is invoked. This allows two indices i+ and i− to be developed for assessing the thermal discomfort in intensity and duration. Such indices have a clear physical meaning and therefore may provide substantial help in detecting causes and/or locations of thermal unpleasantness. On this basis a necessary but not sufficient condition for thermal comfort is stated in the form: i+ = i− = 0, to be sought everywhere within the room. Further examples illustrate the value of the procedure in thermal comfort conscious design

Assessment of Marine Litter in the Coralligenous Habitat of a Marine Protected Area along the Ionian Coast of Sicily (Central Mediterranean)

In the Mediterranean Sea, the coralligenous is an extremely important habitat for its biodiversity and role in carbon sequestration. However, coralligenous biocenosis is sensitive to many anthropogenic impacts, among which one of the major threats is the marine litter. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the marine litter present in the coralligenous habitat of the Marine Protected Area (MPA) Isole Ciclopi (Sicily, Italy). Through the analysis of frames obtained by Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) videos, data on the type of marine litter, grade of organisms' coverage, litter-organism interactions, and seabed coverage of items were gained. Through ROV surveys, a low number of marine litter items was observed and most of them were fishing gears. On the found items there was a high degree of organisms' coverage, which suggests that probably the marine litter was abandoned or lost since a long time. Overall, it was observed that in recent years the fishing activity in the MPA has not affected the coralligenous habitat. The present study represents a baseline for future monitoring programmes, which will be useful to develop protection measures and sustainable fishing, in order to preserve the coralligenous habitat of the MPA

Comparative genomic hybridization on microarray (a-CGH) in constitutional and acquired mosaicism may detect as low as 8% abnormal cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The results of cytogenetic investigations on unbalanced chromosome anomalies, both constitutional and acquired, were largely improved by comparative genomic hybridization on microarray (a-CGH), but in mosaicism the ability of a-CGH to reliably detect imbalances is not yet well established. This problem of sensitivity is even more relevant in acquired mosaicism in neoplastic diseases, where cells carrying acquired imbalances coexist with normal cells, in particular when the proportion of abnormal cells may be low.</p> <p>We constructed a synthetic mosaicism by mixing the DNA of three patients carrying altogether seven chromosome imbalances with normal sex-matched DNA. Dilutions were prepared mimicking 5%, 6%, 7%, 8%, 10% and 15% levels of mosaicism. Oligomer-based a-CGH (244 K whole-genome system) was applied on the patients' DNA and customized slides designed around the regions of imbalance were used for the synthetic mosaics.</p> <p>Results and conclusions</p> <p>The a-CGH on the synthetic mosaics proved to be able to detect as low as 8% abnormal cells in the tissue examined. Although in our experiment some regions of imbalances escaped to be revealed at this level, and were detected only at 10-15% level, it should be remarked that these ones were the smallest analyzed, and that the imbalances recurrent as clonal anomalies in cancer and leukaemia are similar in size to those revealed at 8% level.</p

Photophysics of poly(p-phenylene vinylene) films

We report on time resolved photoluminescence (PLRT) measurements in poly(p-phenylene vinylene) (PPV) films irradiated by laser in the presence of air. We observe a PL intensity enhancement and a biexponential decay dynamics of PL signal for all irradiated films. These results can be understood in terms of a chain shortening process due to carbonyl incorporation and formation of an energy profile that extends and migrates into the film and enables efficient spectral diffusion of excited carriers to a non-degraded PPV segments by Förster energy transfer

Chromosome anomalies in bone marrow as primarycause of aplastic or hypoplastic conditions andperipheral cytopenia: disorders due to secondaryimpairment of RUNX1 and MPL genes

Background Chromosome changes in the bone marrow (BM) of patients with persistent cytopenia are often considered diagnostic for a myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Comprehensive cytogenetic evaluations may give evidence of the real pathogenetic role of these changes in cases with cytopenia without morphological signs of MDS. Results Chromosome anomalies were found in the BM of three patients, without any morphological evidence of MDS: 1) an acquired complex rearrangement of chromosome 21 in a boy with severe aplastic anaemia (SAA); the rearrangement caused the loss of exons 2-8 of the RUNX1 gene with subsequent hypoexpression. 2) a constitutional complex rearrangement of chromosome 21 in a girl with congenital thrombocytopenia; the rearrangement led to RUNX1 disruption and hypoexpression. 3) an acquired paracentric inversion of chromosome 1, in which two regions at the breakpoints were shown to be lost, in a boy with aplastic anaemia; the MPL gene, localized in chromosome 1 short arms was not mutated neither disrupted, but its expression was severely reduced: we postulate that the aplastic anaemia was due to position effects acting both in cis and in trans, and causing Congenital Amegakaryocytic Thrombocytopenia (CAMT). Conclusions A clonal anomaly in BM does not imply per se a diagnosis of MDS: a subgroup of BM hypoplastic disorders is directly due to chromosome structural anomalies with effects on specific genes, as was the case of RUNX1 and MPL in the patients here reported with diagnosis of SAA, thrombocytopenia, and CAMT. The anomaly may be either acquired or constitutional, and it may act by deletion/disruption of the gene, or by position effects. Full cytogenetic investigations, including a-CGH, should always be part of the diagnostic evaluation of patients with BM aplasia/hypoplasia and peripheral cytopenias

Experimental and numerical investigation of magneto-plasma optical properties toward measurements of opacity relevant for compact binary objects

Electromagnetic transients known as kilonovae (KN), are among the photonic messengers released in the post-merger phase of compact binary objects, for example, binary neutron stars, and they have been recently observed as the electromagnetic counterpart of related gravitational-wave (GW) events. Detection of the KN signal plays a fundamental role in the multi-messenger astronomy entering in a sophisticated GW-detecting network. The KN light curve also delivers precious information on the composition and dynamics of the neutron-rich post-merger plasma ejecta (relying on r-process nucleosynthesis yields). In this sense, studying KN becomes of great relevance for nuclear astrophysics. Because of the highly heterogeneous composition, plasma opacity has a great impact both on radiative transport and spectroscopic observation of KN. Theoretical models attempting in encoding the opacity of this system often fail, due to the complexity of blending plethora of both light- and heavy-r nuclei transition lines, requesting for more complete atomic database. Trapped magneto-plasmas conceived in PANDORA could answer to these requests, allowing experimental in-laboratory measurements of optical properties and opacities, at plasma electron densities and temperatures resembling early-stage plasma ejecta’s conditions, contributing to shed light on r-process metallic species abundance at the blue-KN diffusion time. A numerical study has been recently performed, supporting the choice of first physics cases to be investigated and the design of the experimental setup. In this article, we report on the feasibility of metallic plasmas on the basis of the results from the systematic numerical survey on optical spectra computed under non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) for several light-r nuclei. Results show the great impact of the NLTE regime of laboratory magneto-plasmas on the gray opacity contribution contrasted with those under the astrophysical LTE assumption. A first experimental attempt of reproducing ejecta plasma conditions has been performed on the operative Flexible Plasma Trap (FPT) at the INFN-LNS and here presented, together with first plasma characterization of density and temperature, via non-invasive optical emission spectroscopy (OES). The measured plasma parameters have supported numerical simulations to explore optical properties of NLTE gaseous and metallic plasmas, in view of the near-future plasma opacity measurements through spectroscopic techniques. The novel work so far performed on these under-dense and low-temperature magneto-plasmas, opens the route for the first-time to future in-laboratory plasma opacity measurements of metallic plasma species relevant for KN light curve studies