Effect of Leaf Area Index on Green Facade Thermal Performance in Buildings

Green facades applied on a building's envelope allow achieving the building's passive thermal control and energy consumption reduction. These are complex systems and many site- and plant-specific parameters influence their energy behavior. The leaf area index (LAI) is a relevant plant characteristic to consider. Solar shading and latent heat loss of plant evapotranspiration are the two main cooling mechanisms. The aim of this study was to assess the cooling effect provided by an evergreen south oriented green facade in summer in a Mediterranean area and to investigate what happens when LAI changes. Experimental data were used to calculate the cooling effect provided by the facade. Simulations with different LAI values were performed to determine the related cooling effect. The canopy solar transmissivity decreased by 54% for every LAI unit increase. LAI significantly influenced the green facade cooling performance. As LAI increased, solar shading and latent heat increased; this was relevant until an upper limit value of 6. An exponential equation to calculate the mean extinction coefficient (k(m)), and a polynomial relationship, with very good agreement, were proposed to calculate shading and latent heat as function of LAI. The findings of this research can effectively contribute to fill still existing gaps on green facades' energy performance and to the energy simulation of buildings equipped with them

Exploiting Genetic and Genomic Resources to Enhance Heat-Tolerance in Tomatoes

High temperature is one of the most detrimental abiotic stresses in tomatoes. Many studies highlighted that even small increases in temperature can alter the plant reproductive system, causing a significant reduction in tomato yield. The aim of this study was to exploit the phenotypic and genomic variations of a tomato landrace collection grown at high temperatures. Fifteen genotypes were selected as the best performing in two experimental fields. The selection was based on six yield-related traits, including flower earliness, number of flowers per inflorescence, fruit set, number of fruit per plant, fruit weight and yield per plant. In order to identify markers targeting traits that could be highly influenced by adverse climate conditions, such as flowering and fruit setting, an association mapping approach was undertaken exploiting a tomato high-throughput genomic array. The phenotypic variability observed allowed us to identify a total of 15 common markers associated with the studied traits. In particular, the most relevant associations co-localized with genes involved in the floral structure development, such as the style2.1 gene, or with genes directly involved in the response to abiotic stresses. These promising candidate genes will be functionally validated and transferred to a cultivated tomato to improve its performance under high temperatures

Amyloid precursor protein and Presenilin1 interact with the adaptor GRB2 and modulate ERK 1,2 signaling.

The amyloid precursor protein (APP) and the presenilins 1 and 2 are genetically linked to the development of familial Alzheimer disease. APP is a single-pass transmembrane protein and precursor of fibrillar and toxic amyloid-beta peptides, which are considered responsible for Alzheimer disease neurodegeneration. Presenilins are multipass membrane proteins, involved in the enzymatic cleavage of APP and other signaling receptors and transducers. The role of APP and presenilins in Alzheimer disease development seems to be related to the formation of amyloid-beta peptides; however, their physiological function, reciprocal interaction, and molecular mechanisms leading to neurodegeneration are unclear. APP and presenilins are also involved in multiple interactions with intracellular proteins, the significance of which is under investigation. Among the different APP-interacting proteins, we focused our interest on the GRB2 adaptor protein, which connects cell surface receptors to intracellular signaling pathways. In this study we provide evidence by co-immunoprecipitation experiments, confocal and electron microscopy, and by fluorescence resonance energy transfer experiments that both APP and presenilin1 interact with GRB2 in vesicular structures at the centrosome of the cell. The final target for these interactions is ERK1,2, which is activated in mitotic centrosomes in a PS1- and APP-dependent manner. These data suggest that both APP and presenilin1 can be part of a common signaling pathway that regulates ERK1,2 and the cell cycle

Unexpected ovarian activity in premenopausal breast cancer survivors treated with exemestane and GnRH analogues

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Evaluation of the Synovial Effects of Biological and Targeted Synthetic DMARDs in Patients with Psoriatic Arthritis: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis

The aims of this systematic literature review (SLR) were to identify the effects of approved biological and targeted synthetic disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (b/tsDMARDs) on synovial membrane of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients, and to determine the existence of histological/molecular biomarkers of response to therapy. A search was conducted on MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane Library (PROSPERO:CRD42022304986) to retrieve data on longitudinal change of biomarkers in paired synovial biopsies and in vitro studies. A meta-analysis was conducted by adopting the standardized mean difference (SMD) as a measure of the effect. Twenty-two studies were included (19 longitudinal, 3 in vitro). In longitudinal studies, TNF inhibitors were the most used drugs, while, for in vitro studies, JAK inhibitors or adalimumab/secukinumab were assessed. The main technique used was immunohistochemistry (longitudinal studies). The meta-analysis showed a significant reduction in both CD3+ lymphocytes (SMD -0.85 [95% CI -1.23; -0.47]) and CD68+ macrophages (sublining, sl) (SMD -0.74 [-1.16; -0.32]) in synovial biopsies from patients treated for 4-12 weeks with bDMARDs. Reduction in CD3+ mostly correlated with clinical response. Despite heterogeneity among the biomarkers evaluated, the reduction in CD3+/CD68+sl cells during the first 3 months of treatment with TNF inhibitors represents the most consistent variation reported in the literature

Propuesta de cadena de valor en la gesti?n integrada de residuos sector Oil y Gas

La industria de oil&gas se encuentra en una etapa importante con exigencias hacia un desarrollo sustentable y sostenible en orden a las nuevas tendencias del mundo, para la implementaci?n de propuestas innovadoras en relaci?n a su entorno y el impacto generado en su cadena productiva. Investigar la cadena de valor representa oportunidades para el an?lisis y presentaci?n de casos de estudio que promueven a la investigaci?n en temas de relevancia a sus estrategias de negocio y ciclos productivos. La investigaci?n aplicada analiza la problem?tica de la log?stica inversa y la relaci?n con la gesti?n de residuos, plan de abandono y de comisionado. Utilizando el an?lisis cualitativo y cuantitativo de la informaci?n recolectada de diversas fuentes, se responde a la hip?tesis del estudio, desarrollando una soluci?n basada en estrategias por ?reas de impacto como el planeamiento, operaciones, finanzas, medio ambiente y responsabilidad social; realizando un an?lisis de evaluaci?n econ?mica que permite visualizar resultados en indicadores como el VAN y TIR, la sensibilidad de las variables como el precio, cantidad de producci?n y costos operativos, que afectan las proyecciones en el escenario actual como el an?lisis econ?mico, logrando demostrar beneficios tangibles y no tangibles que pueden ser implementados como propuesta de valor

Progetto Vulcano 155. Determinazione dei punti di impatto per le avarie maggiormente critiche del Vulcano 155 Dim_1379_04

Nel presente documento viene condotta un’analisi per individuare le conseguenze delle possibili avarie funzionali del proiettile Vulcano 155 nella versione Dim_1379_04. Vengono illustrati i risultati di alcune campagne di simulazioni numeriche realizzate per valutare, nelle peggiori condizioni immaginabili di avaria, la possibile area di impatto al suolo del proiettile al fine di garantire la sicurezza del poligono di tiro

Progetto Vulcano 127. Determinazione dei punti di impatto per le avarie maggiormente critiche del dimostratore Dim_1374_03 (ROLLCTRL)

Nel presente documento viene condotta un’analisi per individuare le conseguenze delle possibili avarie funzionali della terza versione del dimostratore del proiettile Vulcano 127, denominato Dim_1374_03 (ROLLCTRL). Vengono inoltre illustrati i risultati di alcune campagne di simulazioni numeriche realizzate per valutare, nelle peggiori condizioni immaginabili di avaria, la possibile area di impatto al suolo del proiettile al fine di garantire la sicurezza del poligono di tiro

Innovative sustainable strategies in agro-food systems and in buildings for energy efficiency

EU identified the energy efficiency policy as the major strategy for ensuring both the sustainability of the use of energy resources and to develop the transition towards a low-carbon and decentralized energy system in Europe. This paper presents a brief analysis on available innovative technologies to reduce the dependency of agriculture and agro-food sector from fossil energy, and comply with the international commitment to reduce greenhouse emissions and to combat climate change. A general overview is provided on the energy consumption in agriculture and agro-food sector, with particular focus on the Italian sector is taken into consideration. It is discussed the role of solid biomass in place of fossil resources and the application of solar cooling technology as new technologies for acclimatization in greenhouse agriculture. Moreover, the application of living vegetated horizontal and vertical layers on buildings is evaluated as innovative and natural technology for improving the sustainability of towns and reducing the energy consumption for air conditioning in summer and CO2 emissions in towns