Sharing Innovation. The Acceptability of Off-site Industrialized Systems for Housing

From the sixties, innovation and industrialization have been a returning mantra for the construction sector at every new building cycle passage after an economic crisis, as a tool of overcoming difficulties. This positivism has always been disregarded, especially for housing and for Italy. To avoid this dynamic recur-rence even in the current ecological transition passage, research must provide, in parallel with innovative products and techniques, innovative cultural approaches so that extraordinary products and techniques can be accepted by the market, demon-strating how the synergy between them leads to a high added value for sustainable quality of living. Most of the actors (from designers to builders and maintainers) agree that innovative systems, especially industrialized off-site, are more sustainable, espe-cially today when sustainability and resilience are the core of the construction sector; despite this, these systems are struggling to spread. This contribution focuses on acceptability and decision-making processes that lead to innovative choices, iden-tifying the innovation of the functional, social and economic management of the buildings as the “missing ring” for housing. This acceptability has certainly increased today because of new form of “atypical” living, such as senior/student and temporary housing and co-living, which contribute to intensifying the demand of “industrial-ized”, flexible, affordable and reliable houses. Technological innovation, in fact, actives only if technical innovation is combined with strategies and new approaches in organization, marketing and after-sales services focused on sharing and partici-pation. Through an example of a realized off-site transformable residential building and case studies of new form of management, this contribution proposes innovation perspectives capable of overcoming design and decision-making obstacles to the spread of off-site systems, also identifying in the institutional sustainability one of the cores of this subject

Nanoparticles-cell association predicted by protein corona fingerprints

In a physiological environment (e.g., blood and interstitial fluids) nanoparticles (NPs) will bind proteins shaping a "protein corona" layer. The long-lived protein layer tightly bound to the NP surface is referred to as the hard corona (HC) and encodes information that controls NP bioactivity (e.g. cellular association, cellular signaling pathways, biodistribution, and toxicity). Decrypting this complex code has become a priority to predict the NP biological outcomes. Here, we use a library of 16 lipid NPs of varying size (Ø ≈ 100-250 nm) and surface chemistry (unmodified and PEGylated) to investigate the relationships between NP physicochemical properties (nanoparticle size, aggregation state and surface charge), protein corona fingerprints (PCFs), and NP-cell association. We found out that none of the NPs' physicochemical properties alone was exclusively able to account for association with human cervical cancer cell line (HeLa). For the entire library of NPs, a total of 436 distinct serum proteins were detected. We developed a predictive-validation modeling that provides a means of assessing the relative significance of the identified corona proteins. Interestingly, a minor fraction of the HC, which consists of only 8 PCFs were identified as main promoters of NP association with HeLa cells. Remarkably, identified PCFs have several receptors with high level of expression on the plasma membrane of HeLa cells

Nanoparticles-cell association predicted by protein corona fingerprints

In a physiological environment (e.g., blood and interstitial fluids) nanoparticles (NPs) will bind proteins shaping a "protein corona" layer. The long-lived protein layer tightly bound to the NP surface is referred to as the hard corona (HC) and encodes information that controls NP bioactivity (e.g. cellular association, cellular signaling pathways, biodistribution, and toxicity). Decrypting this complex code has become a priority to predict the NP biological outcomes. Here, we use a library of 16 lipid NPs of varying size (Ø ≈ 100-250 nm) and surface chemistry (unmodified and PEGylated) to investigate the relationships between NP physicochemical properties (nanoparticle size, aggregation state and surface charge), protein corona fingerprints (PCFs), and NP-cell association. We found out that none of the NPs' physicochemical properties alone was exclusively able to account for association with human cervical cancer cell line (HeLa). For the entire library of NPs, a total of 436 distinct serum proteins were detected. We developed a predictive-validation modeling that provides a means of assessing the relative significance of the identified corona proteins. Interestingly, a minor fraction of the HC, which consists of only 8 PCFs were identified as main promoters of NP association with HeLa cells. Remarkably, identified PCFs have several receptors with high level of expression on the plasma membrane of HeLa cells

The star formation rate cookbook at 1 < z < 3: Extinction-corrected relations for UV & [OII]{\lambda}3727 luminosities

We use a spectroscopic sample of 286 star-forming galaxies (SFGs) at 1<z<3 from the GMASS survey to study different star formation rate (SFR) estimators. Infrared (IR) data are used to derive empirical calibrations to correct ultraviolet (UV) and [OII]{\lambda}3727 luminosities for dust extinction and dust-corrected estimates of SFR. In the selection procedure we fully exploit the available spectroscopic information. On the basis of three continuum indices, we are able to identify and exclude from the sample galaxies in which old stellar populations might bring a non-negligible contribution to IR luminosity (LIR) and continuum reddening. Using Spitzer-MIPS and Herschel-PACS data we derive LIR for two-thirds of our sample. The LIR/LUV ratio is used as a probe of effective attenuation (AIRX) to search for correlations with continuum and spectroscopic features. The relation between AIRX and UV continuum slope ({\beta}) was tested for our sample and found to be broadly consistent with the literature results at the same redshift, though with a larger dispersion with respect to UV-selected samples. We find a correlation between the rest-frame equivalent width (EW) of the [OII]{\lambda}3727 line and {\beta}, which is the main result of this work. We therefore propose the [OII]{\lambda}3727 line EW as a dust attenuation probe and calibrate it through AIRX, though the assumption of a reddening curve is still needed to derive the actual attenuation towards the [OII]{\lambda}3727 line. We tested the issue of differential attenuation towards stellar continuum and nebular emission: our results are in line with the traditional prescription of extra attenuation towards nebular lines. A set of relations is provided that allows the recovery of the total unattenuated SFR from UV and [OII]{\lambda}3727 luminosities. (Abridged)Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A; 20 pages, 19 figures, 5 table

Dynamic relationship between landscape and new energy system categories

Landscape is an ethics-oriented human action. Even energy systems have an active role in structuring landscape. They must establish with landscape a positive and proactive role and be able to guide it towards a conscious and structured goal. To do this, energy systems should be first identified through a functional and perceptual classification, whose steps include: structuring of the information system; identification of principles and of objective and requirement classes for interpretative classification; benchmarks for the perceptive classification of the energy systems in use; classification method; results. This process attempts to define which cases can be positive for landscape and are recognized by stakeholders as such. This, however, without using ordinary analysis and management systems. These techniques often seem to originate from the assumption that landscape is just an unchanging good to be preserved and that any human action involving it, especially with regards to energy systems, should produce the least possible impact. The starting point intends to be different, as different are also the concept of landscape and the idea of energy systems. The identified interpretive categories, related to the use of the energy system, mean to be proactive and meta-planning, as well as to provide guidelines for defining a project’s contours and possible, positive role within landscape and lived space

On the nature of the ISO-selected sources in the ELAIS S2 region

We have studied the optical, near-IR and radio properties of a complete sample of 43 sources detected at 15-micron in one of the deeper ELAIS repeatedly observed region. The extragalactic objects in this sample have 15-micron flux densities in the range 0.4-10 mJy, where the source counts start diverging from no evolution models. About 90% of the sources (39 out of 43) have optical counterparts brighter than I=21 mag. Eight of these 39 sources have been identified with stars on the basis of imaging data, while for another 22 sources we have obtained optical spectroscopy, reaching a high identification percentage (30/43, ~70%). All but one of the 28 sources with flux density > 0.7 mJy are identified. Most of the extragalactic objects are normal spiral or starburst galaxies at moderate redshift (z_med~0.2); four objects are Active Galactic Nuclei. We have used the 15-micron, H_alpha and 1.4-GHz luminosities as indicators of star-formation rate and we have compared the results obtained in these three bands. While 1.4-GHz and 15-micron estimates are in good agreement, showing that our galaxies are forming stars at a median rate of ~40 Mo/yr, the raw H_alpha-based estimates are a factor ~5-10 lower and need a mean correction of ~2 mag to be brought on the same scale as the other two indicators. A correction of ~2 mag is consistent with what suggested by the Balmer decrements H_alpha/H_beta and by the optical colours. Moreover, it is intermediate between the correction found locally for normal spirals and the correction needed for high-luminosity 15-micron objects, suggesting that the average extinction suffered by galaxies increases with infrared luminosity.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures (3 in JPEG format), MNRAS, accepte

The spatiotemporal organization of cerebellar network activity resolved by two-photon imaging of multiple single neurons

In order to investigate the spatiotemporal organization of neuronal activity in local microcircuits, techniques allowing the simultaneous recording from multiple single neurons are required. To this end, we implemented an advanced spatial-light modulator two-photon microscope (SLM-2PM). A critical issue for cerebellar theory is the organization of granular layer activity in the cerebellum, which has been predicted by single-cell recordings and computational models. With SLM-2PM, calcium signals could be recorded from different network elements in acute cerebellar slices including granule cells (GrCs), Purkinje cells (PCs) and molecular layer interneurons. By combining WCRs with SLM-2PM, the spike/calcium relationship in GrCs and PCs could be extrapolated toward the detection of single spikes. The SLM-2PM technique made it possible to monitor activity of over tens to hundreds neurons simultaneously. GrC activity depended on the number of spikes in the input mossy fiber bursts. PC and molecular layer interneuron activity paralleled that in the underlying GrC population revealing the spread of activity through the cerebellar cortical network. Moreover, circuit activity was increased by the GABA-A receptor blocker, gabazine, and reduced by the AMPA and NMDA receptor blockers, NBQX and APV. The SLM-2PM analysis of spatiotemporal patterns lent experimental support to the time-window and center-surround organizing principles of the granular layer