La costruzione sana. Criteri di sostenibilità tra tradizione e innovazione

Il taglio e la chiave di lettura di questo studio sono individuabili, nell'ottica bivalente tra passato e futuro, nel tema della salubrità e dell’igiene in edilizia che, esplicitato attraverso gli approfondimenti di ogni singolo capitolo, partendo dal terreno comune della “cultura della sostenibilità”, viene trattato attraverso gli aspetti tipologici, materico-costruttivi, tecnologici e normativi storici e quelli più attuali in uno stretto rapporto e confronto, seppure in alcuni casi nella assoluta autonomia e distanza derivante dal tempo, dal contesto e dalle mutate esigenze

La costruzione in ferro e vetro nelle chiusure. Lucernari, serre e pensiline nella Palermo di fine ‘800

Nel corso del XIX secolo l’interesse nei confronti di temi quali il soleggiamento degli edifici, la qualità dell’illuminazione naturale degli ambienti, l’igiene visiva e l’aerazione dei locali interni è testimoniato dalla diffusione di numerose pubblicazioni specialistiche. Si riteneva infatti che la luce solare contribuisse alla salubrità delle città e degli ambienti confinati attraverso l’azione battericida che essa esplicava sui microrganismi, contribuendo all’eliminazione dell’umidità dalle murature ed al riscaldamento degli ambienti. L’irraggiamento solare poteva inoltre contribuire ad innescare flussi d’aria grazie alla differenza di temperatura tra le varie parti dell’edificio, oltre che a migliorare le condizioni di igiene visiva. Il tema del soleggiamento e dell’illuminazione naturale trova così un riferimento diretto nei precetti igienico-salubri, nel “disegno” di città immaginato in quel secolo dagli urbanisti e nella qualità dell’illuminazione naturale degli ambienti, in particolare attraverso un interessante, e per quei tempi talvolta “utopico”, uso delle chiusure in ferro e vetro, materiali innovativi capaci di dar forma ad architetture salubri. Se a scala urbana lo studio della morfologia degli isolati e dei singoli edifici consentiva di realizzare le migliori condizioni di soleggiamento, a scala edilizia lo studio del modo in cui la luce penetrava e si distribuiva all’interno degli ambienti condusse all’esame da parte degli igienisti delle problematiche legate all’igiene visiva, in particolare nelle aule scolastiche, e all’approfondimento da parte degli ingegneri e degli architetti delle condizioni ottimali di illuminazione naturale degli ambienti confinati. La diffusione del vetro e delle grandi chiusure vetrate contribuì non solo alle definizione di un nuovo linguaggio architettonico, ma anche alla creazione dell’archetipo di un’“architettura salubre” divulgata grazie anche alle più importanti realizzazioni legate alle Esposizioni ottocentesche ed agli interventi di risanamento urbano. Negli ultimi anni, la maggiore attenzione nei confronti della qualità ambientale degli edifici e il manifestarsi di un crescente interesse nei confronti dei sistemi di refrigerazione che consentono il minimo ricorso all’impiantistica – anche in un’ottica di risparmio energetico - hanno riproposto ai progettisti l’opportunità dell’uso della luce e della ventilazione naturale quale risposta all’istanza di sostenibilità nella progettazione. In un recente passato, la possibilità di ricorrere a soluzioni impiantistiche complesse ed oggi non più sostenibili dal punto di vista energetico, aveva infatti distratto l’attenzione dei progettisti da soluzioni che prevedevano la valorizzazione e l’uso di queste risorse; tale circostanza è confermata dalfatto che nei manuali tecnici della seconda metà del XX secolo si riscontra una progressiva riduzione della trattazione riservata a tali argomenti, a vantaggio di sistemi tecnologicamente più avanzati. Nel tempo si è così assistito all’abbandono di tecniche costruttive ed accorgimenti progettuali fortemente caratterizzanti le architetture realizzate tra Ottocento e Novecento, non solo risguardo all’aspetto impiantistico, ma anche a quello compositivo e distributivo. In quest’ottica un approccio criticamente contemporaneo agli studi degli ingegneri igienisti sull’illuminazione e sulla ventilazione naturale, in rapporto ai sistemi costruttivi ed alle soluzioni tecnologiche, ma anche agli stessi materiali da costruzione, potrebbe fornire validi spunti per un recupero compatibile dell’esistente e per una progettazione sostenibile del nuovo

Architecture in iron in the city of XIX century : roof structures of theatres and covered markets in Palermo

In post-unification Palermo, components manufactured abroad were usually used for complementary iron structures (greenhouses and skylights, projecting roofs, staircases...), whereas, for more demanding works, more weight was given to the contribution of producers with experience gained in the field of metal construction. Analysis is here carried out on the works of greatest importance, from the roofs of the two major theatres to the roofing of food market structures; the finest technicians were employed and a critical debate was triggered in the city with regard to formal, static and building aspects

INVESTIGATION OF THE UNDERGROUND BUILDING HERITAGE AND THE MECHANISM OF WATER FLOWING IN QANĀTS IN PALERMO THROUGH INNOVATIVE SURVEYING TECHNIQUES

The valorisation, protection and preservation policies for the underground building heritage are often difficult to implement due to an inadequate knowledge of hypogeal constructions. The complex and widespread underground structures of the vast “Cavo” Heritage (“horizontal wells”, “shelf wells” or “well tunnels”), so called qanāts, hidden underground and built over the centuries in Palermo, representing an evocative testimony to the history of water culture in the ancient city. Through the historical and constructive analyses and the implementation and development of measurement and 3D representation and visualization, first actions have been carried out. The paper will present the first results of the restoration project and the path of re-introduction in the fruition network of the qanāt “Gesuitico alto”, developed also in the field of “iHeritage. Mediterranean Platform for UNESCO Cultural Heritage” project, financed by ENI CBC MED Programme 2014-2020. The paper presents an experimentation of a procedural workflow of data acquisition, analysis and subsequent 3D virtual navigation of hypogeal environments. The methodology used is the SLAM with a last generation WMLS. The platform of virtual reality visualization, within UnReal Engine, allows the user to immerse and navigate in the anthropic environment by engaging it with a set of infographics that highlight the virtual visit

The façades along the Cassaro in Palermo: historical-building characterization, degradation, restoration norms for interventions

The good-will to operate in the old town privileging the history and the maintenance of historic buildings, is manifest in this study on the Vittorio Emanuele monumental street, the foundation axis of Palermo, and it’s architectural degraded and disfigured fronts. The search concerning sixty civil buildings is based initially on a cognitive process that includes historical analysis, geometric and dimensional survey, investigation on constituent materials and decay systems, in relation to environmental or anthropic causes. The study includes a design proposal that, according to the individuality of cases, it would represent an intervention code about some recurrent critical aspects on which it’s possible to intervene only applying codified procedures. The proposed designs show so an application to concrete cases, not abdicating to involve physical and economic urban environment: the re-qualification of building materials and architectural language would respect the historical image without depressing the market demands

Analysis of Renovation Works in Cappuccinelli Social Housing District in Trapani

The refurbishment of public residential districts represents a current and complex problem. The Cappuccinelli Social Housing (SH) district in Trapani, designed in the late 1950s by Michele Valori and built during the 1960s, is emblematic of the architectural quality and technological innovation of the time it was designed, but at the same time represents the physical and social decay that occurred just after its construction. The neighborhood was examined through a combination of inspections and documentary research. The inspections were conducted for the entire district in order to identify the recurrent external degradation of building components and the related causes, both physical and anthropogenic. This paper investigates the physical–mechanical degradation and problems connected to previous renovation work in this district. Furthermore, technological design solutions are discussed for deep renovation and energy efficiency improvement of one of the terraced buildings of the Cappuccinelli SH district

Development of a questionnaire on nutritional knowledge for the obese hospitalized patient: the NUTRIKOB questionnaire

IntroductionDifferent approaches, involving different areas and figures, are useful for the rehabilitation of obese subjects through a multidisciplinary hospital path. A focal point of rehabilitation is represented by education on healthy eating by increasing the dietary knowledge patients. Few tools investigating food knowledge are available in Italy: therefore, the need has emerged to develop easy-to-use tools for clinical practice that allow to detect food knowledge to set up a more targeted food re-education. The following work aimed at building and validating a questionnaire capable of investigating the dietary knowledge of the population affected by obesity.MethodsA pool of experts carried out a review of the literature, gathering all the information necessary to select and construct the best set of questions and the format of the final project of the questionnaire. During statistical analysis the validity, reproducibility and stability of the questionnaire were investigate in a sample of 450 subjects with obesity.ResultsEarly analysis disclosed that 5 questions of the original questionnaire had no discriminating power. The successive validation phases were successful, confirming good content validity, stability and reproducibility over time.DiscussionThe questionnaire has all the characteristics to be considered a valid tool for investigating dietary knowledge in the obese population. The psychometric tests confirmed a good internal consistency of the structure, a validity of the content, a good reproducibility and stability over time

Extracellular High Mobility Group Box 1 Plays a Role in the Effect of Bone Marrow Mononuclear Cell Transplantation for Heart Failure

Transplantation of unfractionated bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMCs) repairs and/or regenerates the damaged myocardium allegedly due to secretion from surviving BMCs (paracrine effect). However, donor cell survival after transplantation is known to be markedly poor. This discrepancy led us to hypothesize that dead donor BMCs might also contribute to the therapeutic benefits from BMC transplantation. High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is a nuclear protein that stabilizes nucleosomes, and also acts as a multi-functional cytokine when released from damaged cells. We thus studied the role of extracellular HMGB1 in the effect of BMC transplantation for heart failure. Four weeks after coronary artery ligation in female rats, syngeneic male BMCs (or PBS only as control) were intramyocardially injected with/without anti-HMGB1 antibody or control IgG. One hour after injection, ELISA showed that circulating extracellular HMGB1 levels were elevated after BMC transplantation compared to the PBS injection. Quantitative donor cell survival assessed by PCR for male-specific sry gene at days 3 and 28 was similarly poor. Echocardiography and catheterization showed enhanced cardiac function after BMC transplantation compared to PBS injection at day 28, while this effect was abolished by antibody-neutralization of HMGB1. BMC transplantation reduced post-infarction fibrosis, improved neovascularization, and increased proliferation, while all these effects in repairing the failing myocardium were eliminated by HMGB1-inhibition. Furthermore, BMC transplantation drove the macrophage polarization towards alternatively-activated, anti-inflammatory M2 macrophages in the heart at day 3, while this was abolished by HMGB1-inhibition. Quantitative RT-PCR showed that BMC transplantation upregulated expression of an anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 in the heart at day 3 compared to PBS injection. In contrast, neutralizing HMGB1 by antibody-treatment suppressed this anti-inflammatory expression. These data suggest that extracellular HMGB1 contributes to the effect of BMC transplantation to recover the damaged myocardium by favorably modulating innate immunity in heart failure

How future surgery will benefit from SARS-COV-2-related measures: a SPIGC survey conveying the perspective of Italian surgeons

COVID-19 negatively affected surgical activity, but the potential benefits resulting from adopted measures remain unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the change in surgical activity and potential benefit from COVID-19 measures in perspective of Italian surgeons on behalf of SPIGC. A nationwide online survey on surgical practice before, during, and after COVID-19 pandemic was conducted in March-April 2022 (NCT:05323851). Effects of COVID-19 hospital-related measures on surgical patients' management and personal professional development across surgical specialties were explored. Data on demographics, pre-operative/peri-operative/post-operative management, and professional development were collected. Outcomes were matched with the corresponding volume. Four hundred and seventy-three respondents were included in final analysis across 14 surgical specialties. Since SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, application of telematic consultations (4.1% vs. 21.6%; p < 0.0001) and diagnostic evaluations (16.4% vs. 42.2%; p < 0.0001) increased. Elective surgical activities significantly reduced and surgeons opted more frequently for conservative management with a possible indication for elective (26.3% vs. 35.7%; p < 0.0001) or urgent (20.4% vs. 38.5%; p < 0.0001) surgery. All new COVID-related measures are perceived to be maintained in the future. Surgeons' personal education online increased from 12.6% (pre-COVID) to 86.6% (post-COVID; p < 0.0001). Online educational activities are considered a beneficial effect from COVID pandemic (56.4%). COVID-19 had a great impact on surgical specialties, with significant reduction of operation volume. However, some forced changes turned out to be benefits. Isolation measures pushed the use of telemedicine and telemetric devices for outpatient practice and favored communication for educational purposes and surgeon-patient/family communication. From the Italian surgeons' perspective, COVID-related measures will continue to influence future surgical clinical practice

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries