Improvement of urban water metabolism at the district level for a Mediterranean compact city

Cities are under constant and increasing pressure because of global changes, fast urbanization and growing resources demand. Those threats force urban systems to find development opportunities and solutions to minimize the demand and to shift from linear to circular economy, in which recycling and reusing are key activities [1]. Urban Metabolism (UM) analysis has become an important tool for the study of urban ecosystems. The problems of large metabolic throughput, low metabolic efficiency and disordered metabolic processes are a major cause of unhealthy urban systems. Nowadays, the most critical urban resource flow is water, followed by energy and materials: water is vital for our survival and the largest component in terms of sheer mass [2]. Furthermore, climate change increases geohydrological risks (landslides, floods and sinkholes), especially in Italy, causing damages and threats to the population, requiring a better management of the water cycle. However, due to the complexity of contemporary urban phenomena, it is difficult to understand what happens within those urban systems and to answer to these current pressures. Applying the UM at the city level presents some limitations due to the lack of data and the generalizations required at this scale. The traditional approach considers the city as a â\u80\u9cblack boxâ\u80\u9d, quantifying in-flows and out-flows. Indeed, resources availability depends strongly on local context characteristics that enable the reduction of input water flows, maximizing the reuse of wastewaters and closing water loops. Along with the new challenges of sustainable design, it is possible to define different scenarios and roadmaps for compact cities, developing decision support systems that follows the principles of urban metabolism at the local scale. This research presents a project to evaluate the local water potential in a portion of the compact city of Rome in order to improve the local metabolism through a more efficient use of the resource. The innovative methodology will enable sustainable actions through the identification and assessment of a set of green projects to suggest pathways that enhance the modification of water metabolic flows

Sustainability of compact cities: the SOS_UrbanLab activity

Urban development is facing new challenges to allow the evolution of the environment, in accordance to sustainability principles. In this context, decision makers have to answer to three main issues: how to intervene on the existing compact cities? How to combine and develop interventions on different scales? How to move from requalification to regeneration? The SOS_UrbanLab (Engineering Laboratory for Construction and Environmental Sustainability) researches, starting from a multi-scale analysis, propose a set of eco-friendly solutions to support the potential and capability of territories, integrating their benefits to reach a full sustainable approach

GC-C-IRMS on single fatty acids and EA-IRMS on bulk lipid to study the fractionation processes in bovine organism and to detect differences in four matrices of Simmental cows fed on C3 and C4 diets

Fatty acids (FAs), carboxylic acids with a long aliphatic chain, detectable in both adipose tissue and muscle of animals, strongly contribute to different aspects of meat quality and are central to the nutritional value of this product [1]. Focusing of bovine meat, we must consider that the FAs may derive either from the animal diet only, as is the case with essential linoleic and linolenic acid, or from de novo endogenous synthesis, or both [2]. As for the biosynthetic pathway the FAs follow in cow organism, dietary FAs undergo substantial transformations into the digestive tract before depositing into the tissues. First, the hydrolyzation of complex lipids deriving from the diet, carried out by bacteria and protozoa in the rumen, produces long chain fatty acids (LCFAs) and other organic compounds [3]. Then, the free FAs released during hydrolysis are converted to saturated ones, primarily stearic and secondarily palmitic acid through biohydrogenation [3]. On exiting the rumen, the FAs flow into the duodenum, where the absorption takes place. Furthermore, the FAs reach the liver carried by the blood, whose flow, together with the FAs concentration, influences their supply to this organ [5]. In this work, two groups of multiparous cull cows fed according to two different dietary regimes (based on products deriving from plants characterized by either C3 or C4 photosynthetic cycle) were considered. The different paths C3 and C4 plants follow for CO2 fixations result in discriminating carbon isotopic ratios (δ13C). Therefore, the ability to distinguish between animals directly comes from the isotopic differences in the feeding regimes. Different cow compartments (rumen, duodenum, liver and meat) led to the diet-based discrimination of the animals. The presented results were obtained by analysing the δ13C of both the bulk lipidic extract through EA-IRMS and six FAs through GC-IRMS in each compartment. Furthermore, it is worth considering that several chemical reactions resulting in isotopic fractionation take place in the bovine organism. On this basis, the compound-specific analysis of the fatty acids in the different compartments of all cows gave the opportunity to compare the fractionation processes taking place in the bovine organism and to highlight differences depending on the dietary regime of the cows, whether C3- or C4- base

Positive end expiratory pressure in acute hypoxemic respiratory failure due to community acquired pneumonia: Do we need a personalized approach?

Background. Acute respiratory failure (ARF) is a life-threatening complication in patients with community acquired pneumonia (CAP). The use of non-invasive ventilation is controversial. With this prospective, observational study we aimed to describe a protocol to assess whether a patient with moderate-to-severe hypoxemic ARF secondary to CAP benefits, in clinical and laboratoristic terms, from the application of a positive end expiratory pressure (PEEP) + oxygen vs oxygen alone. Methods. Patients who benefit from PEEP application (PEEP-responders) were defined as those with partial pressure of arterial oxygen to the fraction of inspired oxygen (PaO2/FiO2) increase > 20% and/or reduction of respiratory distress during PEEP + oxygen therapy compared to oxygen therapy alone. Clinical characteristics and outcomes were compared between PEEP-responders and PEEP-non responders. Results. Out of 41 patients, 27 (66%) benefit from PEEP application (PEEPresponders), the best response was obtained with a PEEP of 10 cmH2O in 13 patients, 7.5 cmH2O in eight and 5 cmH2O in six. PEEP-responders were less likely to present comorbidities compared to PEEP-non responders. No differences between groups were found in regards to endotracheal intubation criteria fullfillment, intensive care unit admission and in-hospital mortality, while PEEP-responders had a shorter length of hospital stay. Discussion. The application of a protocol to evaluate PEEP responsiveness might be useful in patients with moderate-to-severe hypoxemic ARF due to CAP in order to personalize and maximize the effectiveness of therapy, and prevent the inappropriate PEEP use. PEEP responsiveness does not seem to be associated with better outcomes, with the exception of a shorter length of hospital stay

Noninvasive ventilation weaning in acute hypercapnic respiratory failure due to COPD exacerbation : A real-life observational study

The most recent British Thoracic Society/Intensive Care Society (BTS/ICS) guidelines on the use of noninvasive ventilation (NIV) in acute hypercapnic respiratory failure (AHRF) suggest to maximize NIV use in the first 24 hours and to perform a slow tapering. However, a limited number of studies evaluated the phase of NIV weaning. The aim of this study is to describe the NIV weaning protocol used in AHRF due to acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AE-COPD), patients' characteristics, clinical course, and outcomes in a real-life intermediate respiratory care unit (IRCU) setting. We performed a retrospective study on adult patients hospitalized at the IRCU of San Gerardo Hospital, Monza, Italy, from January 2015 to April 2017 with a diagnosis of AHRF due to COPD exacerbation. The NIV weaning protocol used in our institution consists of the interruption of one of the three daily NIV sessions at the time, starting from the morning session and finishing with the night session. The 51 patients who started weaning were divided into three groups: 20 (39%) patients (median age 80 yrs, 65% males) who completed the protocol and were discharged home without NIV (Completed Group), 20 (39%) did not complete it because they were adapted to domiciliary ventilation (Chronic NIV Group), and 11 (22%) interrupted weaning ex abrupto mainly due to NIV intolerance (Failed Group). Completed Group patients were older, had a higher burden of comorbidities, but a lower severity of COPD compared to Chronic NIV Group. Failed Group patients experienced higher frequency of delirium after NIV discontinuation. None of the patients who completed weaning had AHRF relapse during hospitalization. While other NIV weaning methods have been previously described, our study is the first to describe a protocol that implies the interruption of a ventilation session at the time. The application of a weaning protocol may prevent AHRF relapse in the early stages of NIV interruption and in elderly frail patients

Use of a high sensitive nanofluidic array for the detection of rare copies of BCR-ABL1 transcript in patients with Philadelphia-positiveacute lymphoblastic leukemia in complete responseIlaria

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Prevalence and Prognostic Role of IDH Mutations in Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Results of the GIMEMA AML1516 Protocol

IDH1/2 mutations are common in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and represent a therapeutic target. The GIMEMA AML1516 observational protocol was designed to study the prevalence of IDH1/2 mutations and associations with clinico-biological parameters in a cohort of Italian AML patients. We analyzed a cohort of 284 AML consecutive patients at diagnosis, 139 females and 145 males, of a median age of 65 years (range: 19–86). Of these, 38 (14%) harbored IDH1 and 51 (18%) IDH2 mutations. IDH1/2 mutations were significantly associated with WHO PS >2 (p < 0.001) and non-complex karyotype (p = 0.021) when compared to IDH1/2-WT. Furthermore, patients with IDH1 mutations were more frequently NPM1-mutated (p = 0.007) and had a higher platelet count (p = 0.036). At relapse, IDH1/2 mutations were detected in 6 (25%) patients. As per the outcome, 60.5% of IDH1/2-mutated patients achieved complete remission; overall survival and event-free survival at 2 years were 44.5% and 36.1%, respectively: these rates were similar to IDH1/2-WT. In IDH1/2-mutated patients, high WBC proved to be an independent prognostic factor for survival. In conclusion, the GIMEMA AML1516 confirms that IDH1/2 mutations are frequently detected at diagnosis and underlines the importance of recognizing IDH1/2-mutated cases up-front to offer the most appropriate therapeutic strategy, given the availability of IDH1/2 inhibitors

Competence Centre ICDI per Open Science, FAIR, ed EOSC - Mission, Strategia e piano d'azione

This document presents the mission and strategy of the Italian Competence Centre on Open Science, FAIR, and EOSC. The Competence Centre is an initiative born within the Italian Computing and Data Infrastructure (ICDI), a forum created by representatives of major Italian Research Infrastructures and e-Infrastructures, with the aim of promoting sinergies at the national level, and optimising the Italian participation to European and global challenges in this field, including the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), the European Data Infrastructure (EDI) and HPC. This working paper depicts the mission and objectives of the ICDI Competence Centre, a network of experts with various skills and competences that are supporting the national stakeholders on topics related to Open Science, FAIR principles application and participation to the EOSC. The different actors and roles are described in the document as well as the activities and services offered, and the added value each stakeholder can find the in Competence Centre. The tools and services provided, in particular the concept for the portal, though which the Centre will connect to the national landscape and users, are also presented