Identification of technological and installation-related parameters for a multi-criteria approach to building retrofit

Building retrofit is a main concern to reach EU de-carbonisation goals of 2050. Façade retrofit plays a pivotal role in the reduction of energy consumption in buildings: several strategies are in fact available, both in terms of on-site systems and prefabricated elements. The research question arising regards therefore how to choose the best-suiting residential retrofit strategy between different technological systems. In this sense, a current lack of diffusion of Decision Support Systems between can be underlined, as decisions mainly derive from previous experiences. An optimizing strategy that could express the goals of the many actors involved in the building process is required. In order to consider the impact of different criteria on the choice, multi-criteria methodologies could be effective. Existing similar methods mostly focus uniquely on energy performance, or follow the categories of environment, economy and society. What is currently lacking in available tools regards production-linked and technological aspects, related to e.g. façade morphology, and building site features. The aim of this paper is to identify relevant parameters related to installation and economy aspects, for a multi-criteria approach to be used in the choice of the most suitable building retrofit strategy. The methodological approach is therefore provided, and the choice of parameters, carried out by means of interview with actors of the building process, is explained. The criteria selection and the subsequent criteria weighting phase is to be carried out by means of interviews and surveys to the actors involved in the building process. The application on case-studies will offer the opportunity to assess the effectiveness of the method

Characterization of key triacylglycerol biosynthesis processes in rhodococci.

Oleaginous microorganisms have considerable potential for biofuel and commodity chemical production. Under nitrogen-limitation, Rhodococcus jostii RHA1 grown on benzoate, an analog of lignin depolymerization products, accumulated triacylglycerols (TAGs) to 55% of its dry weight during transition to stationary phase, with the predominant fatty acids being C16:0 and C17:0. Transcriptomic analyses of RHA1 grown under conditions of N-limitation and N-excess revealed 1,826 dysregulated genes. Genes whose transcripts were more abundant under N-limitation included those involved in ammonium assimilation, benzoate catabolism, fatty acid biosynthesis and the methylmalonyl-CoA pathway. Of the 16 atf genes potentially encoding diacylglycerol O-acyltransferases, atf8 transcripts were the most abundant during N-limitation (~50-fold more abundant than during N-excess). Consistent with Atf8 being a physiological determinant of TAG accumulation, a Δatf8 mutant accumulated 70% less TAG than wild-type RHA1 while atf8 overexpression increased TAG accumulation 20%. Genes encoding type-2 phosphatidic acid phosphatases were not significantly expressed. By contrast, three genes potentially encoding phosphatases of the haloacid dehalogenase superfamily and that cluster with, or are fused with other Kennedy pathway genes were dysregulated. Overall, these findings advance our understanding of TAG metabolism in mycolic acid-containing bacteria and provide a framework to engineer strains for increased TAG production

Retrofit de la construcción mediante paneles prefabricados: una reseña del estado del arte = Building Retrofit through prefabricated panels: an overview on the state of the art

The main aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the use of prefabricated panels in external building retrofitting. Building retrofit represents a pivotal point in terms of energy efficiency, connected to the great amount of existing buildings, both public and private, all around Europe. The need of intervention is underlined by different European Directives, as well as by Horizon 2020 roadmap. Many research works and projects are focusing on the theme of prefabrication in retrofit, stressing the importance of this strategy. The review of the state of the art shows several approaches in terms of prefabricated panels: a critical classification of these projects distinguish between systems based on large and small panels, systems for extensions based on structural panels, and partially prefabricated systems. The classification is useful as it can help in understanding further development of prefabricated panels, underlining the advantages and disadvantages of the systems. The main challenges are linked to design, fabrication, transport and installation. An overview of those issues is also provided, stressing the main innovation fields to be further investigated, and the possible future developments of prefabrication in building retrofit

TSH-Suppressive Therapy: A Thorny Issue

Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH)-suppressive therapy with levothyroxine is a cornerstone of thyroid carcinoma follow-up therapy, but the achievement of therapeutic goals must be balanced against L-T4 side effects. We describe the case of a 64-year-old cardiopathic patient with papillary thyroid carcinoma and autoimmune thyroiditis, whose cardiac condition worsened during TSH-suppressive therapy. TSH concentrations also fluctuated widely because of changing intestinal absorption due to coeliac disease

Ph-positive CML in blastic phase with monosomy 7 in a Down syndrome patient. Monitoring by interphase cytogenetics and demonstration of maternal allelic loss

We report a case of Ph-positive chronic myelocytic leukemia in blastic phase in an 11-year-old boy with Down syndrome. Monosomy 7 was the only additional chromosomal anomaly in the blastic clone. Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis on interphase nuclei with a centromeric probe specific to chromosome 7 proved to be efficient in disease monitoring; and showed, together with the results of chromosome analysis on metaphases, that B- lymphocytes at the origin of an EBV-established line were not part of the leukemic clone. The study of DNA polymorphisms showed that the origin of the constitutional trisomy 21 was a maternal anaphase I nondisjunction, that the chromosome 7 lost in the blastic marrow clone was the maternal one, and led us to postulate that the mother's chromosomes are prone to impairment of normal disjunction. The study of allelic losses of chromosome 7 loci proved to be a further possibility for disease monitoring

Smart home devices and B2C e-commerce: a way to reduce failed deliveries

Purpose - Failed deliveries (i.e., deliveries not accomplished due to the absence of customers) represent a critical issue in B2C e-commerce last-mile deliveries, implying high costs for e-commerce players and negatively affecting customer satisfaction. A promising option to reduce them would be scheduling deliveries based on the probability to find customers at home. This work proposes a solution based on presence data (gathered through Internet of Things devices) to organise the delivery tours, which aims to both minimise the travelled distance and maximise the probability to find customers at home. Design/methodology/approach - The adopted methodology is a multi-method approach, based on interviews with practitioners. A model is developed and applied to Milan (Italy), to compare the performance of the proposed innovative solution with traditional home deliveries (both in terms of cost and delivery success rate). Findings - The proposed solution implies a significant reduction of missed deliveries if compared to the traditional operating mode. Accordingly, even if allocating the customers to time windows based on their availability profiles entails an increase in the total travel time, the average delivery cost per parcel decreases. Originality/value - On the academic side, this work proposes and evaluates an innovative last-mile delivery solution that exploits new AI-based technological trends. On the managerial side, it proposes an efficient and effective novel option for scheduling last-mile deliveries based on the use of smart home devices, which has a significant impact in reducing costs and increasing the service level

Italy’s Industry 4.0 Plan: An Analysis from a Labour Law Perspective

PURPOSE. Examining the major challenges posed by Industry 4.0 to workers and employers (e.g. the crisis of subordination, the new roles of skills, the risk of technological unemployment, new decentralized and participatory forms of collective bargaining), this paper sets out to identify actions and perspectives to manage current changes, focusing on workers rather than on those technologies that will be used to work in the years to come. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH. Industry 4.0 will be examined adopting a labour law perspective. In the authors’ opinion, labour law is not only tasked with providing protection and favouring production, but it has other important functions in historical and political terms. FINDINGS. Labour law is not doomed to be set aside following the demise of Fordism, but it will innovate over time to enable and balance the new productive model underlying Industry 4.0. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS. The research contributes to the debate on the new functions of labour law in the Industry 4.0 era. ORIGINALITY/VALUE. The originality of the paper lies in its approach, which considers labour law in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. PAPER TYPE. Issues paper

Constitutional trisomy 8 as first mutation in multistep carcinogenesis: clinical, cytogenetic, and molecular data on three cases.

Three patients, with constitutional trisomy 8 mosaicism (CT8M), who developed a malignancy are reported. The diagnoses were refractory anaemia, acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, and idiopathic myelofibrosis. In the child with acute leukaemia, the CT8M was diagnosed at birth due to severe dysmorphisms and malformations; the other two patients showed a milder phenotype, and the CT8M was diagnosed only after the finding of trisomy 8 in neoplastic cells. The review of eight similar, previously reported cases and the clinical, cytogenetic, and molecular studies performed in our patients led us to make the following observations: (1) CT8M predisposes to neoplasms, preferentially to myelo- or lymphoproliferative diseases; (2) a gene dosage effect for glutathione reductase in red blood cells was seen in two of our patients; (3) the wide phenotypic variation of CT8M was confirmed: trisomy 8 in neoplastic cells of phenotypically near-normal cases may be misinterpreted as acquired; and (4) molecular studies suggested a postzygotic origin of the trisomy in our three cases, with the supernumerary chromosome being of paternal origin in one case and of maternal origin in the other two. We postulate that the trisomy 8 in neoplasms may often occur by mitotic nondisjunction in an early embryonic multipotent cell and that what is usually interpreted as an acquired trisomy 8 may in fact be CT8M. The constitutional trisomy 8 would act as a pathogenetically important first mutation in multistep carcinogenesis. Whenever trisomy 8 is found in malignancies, the patient should be reevaluated clinically to exclude CT8M, and CT8M patients should be monitored for the possible development of malignancies

Logistics challenges of e-grocery last-mile delivery: a literature review

In recent years, e-commerce has been growing globally and online markets have undergone a radical transformation during Covid-19 Pandemic. In this context, Food and Grocery sector has expanded exponentially thus leading to a development of last-mile logistics which is the least efficient supply chain activity in terms of economic and environmental impact. At the moment, B2C e-commerce players face multiple challenges due to logistics complexities and efficiency. On the other side, demand complexities rise from Service Level expectations, and consumers’ willingness to pay for logistics services. Food and Grocery e-commerce has three main configurations: the enogastronomic e-commerce, the on-demand food delivery and the e-grocery. Among these, the third one has reported the highest growth during and after the Pandemic. However, beside complexities of e-commerce logistics, the online purchase of grocery products raises new challenges due to product peculiarities, logistics requirements and complexity of orders. The aim of this work is therefore to investigate which are the main problems associated with last-mile delivery for e-grocery and which are the appropriate variables to describe them. In order to achieve this objective, a Systematic Literature Review has been performed to identify key issues addressed by scholars and existing typologies of last- mile delivery problems in this sector. The contribution of this research is threefold: firstly, it analyses the state of the art of last-mile challenges for e- grocery from an academic perspective and proposes a classification. Secondly, the identification of logistics variables associated with identified problems highlights potential threats for E-grocery players. Therefore, this work supports managers to identify challenges in a structured way before planning appropriate countermeasures for the specific context. Thirdly, it identifies opportunities for future research directions