Verso una transizione ecologica della chiesa : nuovi spazi per nuovi obiettivi

[italiano]: La didattica nella realtà accademica è un’esperienza formativa che non si limita al trasferimento di conoscenze, ma, specialmente nella formazione dell’ingegnere edile o edile-architetto, si integra con la cosiddetta didattica laboratoriale, in cui ogni studente ha l’occasione di misurare le proprie attitudini alla progettazione. Questo lavoro, nel raccogliere progetti di complessi socio-parrocchiali, sviluppati dagli allievi della cattedra di Architettura Tecnica, iscritti al secondo anno del corso di laurea Ingegneria Edile-Architettura dell’Università di Napoli Federico II, nell’anno accademico 2021-2022, fornisce l’occasione di formulare riflessioni sulla didattica laboratoriale, in cui il progetto si pone come una vera e propria sfida lanciata dal docente, condivisa dai tutor e raccolta dagli allievi. Questo “momento formativo” è stata un’esperienza forte, pregnante e coinvolgente, fino a confluire in una mostra allestita presso la parrocchia di San Vitale Martire a Fuorigrotta ,nei giorni 28 e 29 maggio 2022, in occasione della Festa dell’Approdo di San Paolo. Alla gratificazione di tutti gli attori, si è aggiunta la possibilità di condividere con i cittadini dell’intera circoscrizione di Fuorigrotta, il lavoro accademico portandolo fuori dalle mura dell’Università. / [english]: In the academic world, teaching is an educational experience that is not limited to the transfer of knowledge alone, but integrates with laboratory activities, especially in the training of building engineer or building-architect. In this way, each student has the opportunity to measure their aptitudes for design. The projects of socio-parish complexes, developed in the academic year 2021-2022, by the students of the Technical Architecture course, enrolled in the second year of the Building Engineering degree course at the University of Naples Federico II, are reported in this book. This work provides the opportunity to formulate reflections on laboratory teaching, in which the project is presented as a challenge launched by the teacher, shared by the tutors and taken up by the students. This "formative moment" was a strong, meaningful and engaging experience, until it converged into an exhibition set up at the parish of San Vitale Martire in Fuorigrotta, on 28 and 29 May 2022, on the occasion of the Festa dell'Approdo di San Paul. To the gratification of all the authors, the possibility of the citizens of the entire district of Fuorigrotta was added, the academic work taking it outside the university environments

Seroprevalence of Bartonella henselae in patients awaiting heart transplant in Southern Italy

Background Bartonella henselae is the etiologic agent of cat-scratch disease. B. henselae infections are responsible for a widening spectrum of human diseases, although often symptomless, ranging from self-limited to life-threatening and show different courses and organ involvement due to the balance between host and pathogen. The role of the host immune response to B. henselae is critical in preventing progression to systemic disease. Indeed in immunocompromised patients, such as solid organ transplant patients, B. henselae results in severe disseminated disease and pathologic vasoproliferation. The purpose of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of B. henselae in patients awaiting heart transplant compared to healthy individuals enrolled in the Regional Reference Laboratory of Transplant Immunology of Second University of Naples. Methods Serum samples of 38 patients awaiting heart transplant in comparison to 50 healthy donors were examined using immunfluorescence assay. Results We found a B. henselae significant antibody positivity rate of 21% in patients awaiting heart transplant ( p = 0.002). There was a positive rate of 8% ( p > 0.05) for immunoglobulin (Ig)M and a significant value of 13% ( p = 0.02) for IgG, whereas controls were negative both for IgM and IgG antibodies against B. henselae . The differences in comorbidity between cases and controls were statistically different (1.41 ± 0.96 vs 0.42 ± 0.32; p = 0.001). Conclusions Although this study was conducted in a small number of patients, we suggest that the identification of these bacteria should be included as a routine screening analysis in pretransplant patients

Renal function impairment predicts mortality in patients with chronic heart failure treated with resynchronization therapy

Background: The use of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) and implantable cardioverter- defibrillator (ICD) for advanced heart failure (HF) is increasing. Renal dysfunction is a common condition in HF which is associated with a worse survival. The study aims at identifying in patients with advanced HF treated with CRT the effect of baseline glomerular filtration rate (GFR), GFR improvement and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) change, after 6-months of CRT implant, on survival. Methods: The study population consisted of 375 advanced HF patients who received a CRT between 1999 and 2009, of these 277 received also an ICD implant. Clinical characteristics (New York Heart Association [NYHA] functional class, ischemic vs. non-ischemic etiology, atrial fibrillation, diabetes, hypertension, LVEF, QRS duration and GFR were recorded. The use of common used drugs was evaluated. Cox proportional hazards analysis was calculated in order to evaluate variables associated to mortality. Results: During a median follow-up of 43.0 months, 93 (24.8%) patients died. Patients deceased during the study had at baseline higher NYHA class and lower LVEF and GFR. In Cox regression analysis, GFR predicts long-term mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 0.983; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.969–0.998; p = 0.023) independently from the effect of others covariates. In addition, a positive GFR improvement 6 months after CRT implant is significantly associated with a lower hazard of mortality (for each 10 mL/min of GFR improvement HR 0.86; 95% CI 0.75–0.99; p = 0.038). Conclusions: GFR is a significant predictor of mortality in advanced HF patients who received CRT. A GFR improvement 6 months after CRT implant is significantly associated with a lower hazard of mortality.

Long-term treatment with sulfhydryl angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition reduces carotid intima-media thickening and improves the nitric oxide/oxidative stress pathways in newly diagnosed patients with mild to moderate primary hypertension.

Aim. Sulfhydryl angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors exert antiatherosclerotic effects in preclinical models and antioxidant effects in patients. However, whether ACE inhibitors have any clinically significant antiatherogenic effects remains still debated. Objectives. In mildly hypertensive patients, we evaluated the effect of the sulfhydryl ACE inhibitor zofenopril in comparison with the carboxylic ACE inhibitor enalapril on carotid atherosclerosis (intima-media thickness [IMT] and vascular lumen diameter) and systemic oxidative stress (nitrite/nitrate, asymmetrical dimethyl-L-arginine, and isoprostanes). Material and methods. In 2001, we started a small prospective randomized clinical trial on 48 newly diagnosed mildly hypertensive patients with no additional risk factors for atherosclerosis (eg, hyperlipidemia, smoke habit, familiar history of atherosclerosisrelated diseases or diabetes). Patients were randomly assigned either to the enalapril (20 mg/d, n = 24) or the zofenopril group (30 mg/d, n = 24); the planned duration of the trial was 5 years. Carotid IMT and vascular lumen diameter were determined by ultrasonography for all patients at baseline and at 1, 3, and 5 years. Furthermore, nitrite/nitrate, asymmetrical dimethyl-L-arginine, and isoprostane levels were measured. Results. In our conditions, IMT of the right and left common carotid arteries was similar at baseline in both groups (P = NS). Intima-media thickness measurements until 5 years revealed a significant reduction in the zofenopril group but not in the enalapril group (P b .05 vs enalapril-treated group). This effect was coupled with a favorable nitric oxide/oxidative stress profile in the zofenopril group. Conclusion. Long-term treatment with the sulfhydryl ACE inhibitor zofenopril besides its blood pressure–lowering effects may slow the progression of IMT of the carotid artery in newly diagnosed mildly hypertensive patients. (Am Heart J 2008;156:1154.e1-1154.e8.

VERSO UNA TRANSIZIONE ECOLOGICA DELLA CHIESA. Nuovi spazi per nuovi obiettvi

In the academic world, teaching is an educational experience that is not limited to the transfer of knowledge alone, but integrates with laboratory activities, especially in the training of building engineer or building-architect. In this way, each student has the opportunity to measure their aptitudes for design. The projects of socio-parish complexes, developed in the academic year 2021-2022, by the students of the Technical Architecture course, enrolled in the second year of the Building Engineering degree course at the University of Naples Federico II, are reported in this book. This work provides the opportunity to formulate reflections on laboratory teaching, in which the project is presented as a challenge launched by the teacher, shared by the tutors and taken up by the students. This "formative moment" was a strong, meaningful and engaging experience, until it converged into an exhibition set up at the parish of San Vitale Martire in Fuorigrotta, on 28 and 29 May 2022, on the occasion of the Festa dell'Approdo di San Paul. To the gratification of all the authors, the possibility of the citizens of the entire district of Fuorigrotta was added, the academic work taking it outside the university environments

A biomimetic approach for climate reactive building envelopes inspired by plants adaptive strategies

Due to climate change, traditional building envelope solutions cannot longer ensure optimal regulation of variable external environmental flows. This requires the use of energy-intensive technical solutions. To reduce the environmental impact of the building sector and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals proposed in the 2030 Agenda, a change in the building’s design methods is requires. In recent years, attention to climate-responsive solutions for the building envelope has increased. Nature provides a database of adaptive and responsive solutions that can be mimicked by the biomimetic discipline and translated into building envelope technologies using innovative materials and techniques. This paper aims to investigate and emulate the adaptive and responsive strategies of plants in desert and mediterranean climates, to propose bio-inspired solutions for climate-reactive building envelopes. To survive survive in different ecosystems, plants respond to biotic and abiotic factors through morphological, physiological, and behavioural mechanisms activated by their integumental tissues. Buildings, like plants, are also located in a specific climatic-territorial context and interact with the external environment through the building envelope which acts as a filter. In this study, the field of plants is investigated using the bio-Adaptive Model, a biomimetic and problem- based approach that allows moving from nature to technology and proposing different solutions for the building envelope that vary according to the climatic context and are able to respond to specific climatic challenges. As a result of this study, four responsive functions inspired by the adaptation strategies of Mediterranean and desert plants are proposed. Furthermore, this approach can help architects and engineers to design biomimetic and adaptive building envelope inspired by nature

Il ruolo degli ospedali monumentali nelle strategie di adattamento al cambiamento climatico

The reduced drainage capacity of the soils, common to various European realities, is also evident in Mediterranean urbanized contexts, such as the city of Naples, where the central areas suffer from scarce permeable green surfaces. The focus of this work is on the large monumental hospitals in the center which, due to their size, go beyond the building scale to take the form of large urban blocks. The particular conformation of these factories, organized around large courtyards and cloisters, and their size allow large-scale actions aimed at increasing permeable surfaces with consequences on surface temperatures. These interventions to adapt to climate change are part of a broader objective of reopening the internal spaces of monumental hospitals to city flows and compensating for the shortcomings of green public spaces. After a careful selection of some case studies present in the Neapolitan territory, the methodological approach starts from the evaluation of the building consistency, the incidence of the covered and uncovered surfaces and the relative permeability, using tools such as the Impact Reduction index. Building assessed before and after the intervention proposals

Bio-inspired architecture between memory and innovation

Architecture has always been inspired by nature to define bio-inspired structures and solutions capable of emulating the form or functioning of natural organisms. When one imitates the form alone, it is a matter of biomorphism, when instead one imitates the function, it is a matter of biomimetics, a rapidly growing discipline in the field of architecture in recent years. Often morphological emulation is aimed not only at copying the shape but at imitating the functioning of the natural organism to ensure structural performance. This paper provides an overview of the bioinspired solutions implemented up to the 20th century and an overview of the latest solutions, which highlight the evolution of technology, materials, and design and construction tools. In particular, the examples analyzed in this paper, show how the inspiration from nature has deep roots, especially in the last century and how much today it offers the possibility to plan and construct light architectures with a methodological approach more and more pushed to imitate function and behavior

A critical review of biomimetic building envelopes: Towards a bio-adaptive model from nature to architecture

The building envelope has an important role in regulating the energy exchanges between the internal and external environment. In recent years, various studies on technological solutions for responsive and intelligent envelopes have been carried out. The purpose of this paper is to investigate climate-adaptive building envelopes and related biomimetic solutions, providing a critical review of the state of the art. Various examples of the adaptive envelopes are analysed and compared with examples of biomimetic envelopes. This paper demonstrates the potential of the broad database of nature to provide solutions that can be implemented in architecture to achieve design solutions that are sustainable, energy efficient, and able to adapt to environmental changes. After an initial critical review of nature's adaptation strategies, a methodological approach has been proposed: the bio-adaptive model (bio-AM). Starting from the definition of the context and the relative abiotic factors, the bio-AM identifies the essential phases to transfer the functions of plants to building technologies, using adaptive materials capable of self-activation in response to environmental factors, thus potentially emulating the adaptation of plants in technological solutions for the future of sustainable buildings