Contextualized property market models vs. Generalized mass appraisals: An innovative approach

The present research takes into account the current and widespread need for rational valuation methodologies, able to correctly interpret the available market data. An innovative automated valuation model has been simultaneously implemented to three Italian study samples, each one constituted by two-hundred residential units sold in the years 2016-2017. The ability to generate a "unique" functional form for the three different territorial contexts considered, in which the relationships between the influencing factors and the selling prices are specified by different multiplicative coefficients that appropriately represent the market phenomena of each case study analyzed, is the main contribution of the proposed methodology. The method can provide support for private operators in the assessment of the territorial investment conveniences and for the public entities in the decisional phases regarding future tax and urban planning policies

EXPERIMENTS DURING FLOW BOILING OF A R22 DROP-IN: R422D ADIABATIC PRESSURE GRADIENTS

R22, the HCFC most widely used in refrigeration and air-conditioning systems in the last years, is phasing-out. R422D, a zero ozone-depleting mixture of R125, R134a and R600a (65.1%/31.5%/3.4% by weight, respectively), has been recently proposed as a drop-in substitute. For energy consumption calculations and temperature control, it is of primary importance to estimate operating conditions after substitution. To determine pressure drop in the evaporator and piping line to the compressor, in this paper the experimental adiabatic pressure gradients during flow boiling of R422D are reported for a circular smooth horizontal tube (3.00 mm inner radius) in a range of operating conditions of interest for dry-expansion evaporators. The data are used to establish the best predictive method for calculations and its accuracy: the Moreno-Quibèn and Thome method provided the best predictions for the whole database and also for the segregated data in the annular flow regime. Finally, the experimental data have been compared with the adiabatic pressure gradients of both R22 and its much used alternative R407C available in the literature

Carbon Dioxide Heat Transfer Coefficients And Pressure Drops During Flow Boiling: Assessment Of Predictive Methods

Among the alternatives to the HCFCs and HFCs, carbon dioxide emerged as one of the most promising environmentally friendly refrigerants. In past years many works were carried out about CO2 flow boiling and very different two-phase flow characteristics from conventional fluids were found. In order to assess the best predictive methods for the evaluation of CO2 heat transfer coefficients and pressure gradients in macro-channels, in the current article a literature survey of works and a collection of the results of statistical comparisons available in literature are furnished. In addition the experimental data from University of Naples are used to run a deeper analysis. Both a statistical and a direct comparison against some of the most quoted predictive methods are carried out. Methods implemented both for low–medium pressure refrigerants and specifically developed for R744 are used in the comparison. Some general indications about the choice of the predictive methods dependently on the operating conditions are given

Seismic vulnerability assessment on a territorial scale based on a Bayesian approach

Italian historical centres are mostly characterized by aggregate buildings. As defined by the Italian codes (Norme Tecniche per le Costruzioni 2008 and Circolare n. 617), the analysis of the most representative local mechanisms of collapse must be performed in order to assess their vulnerability. In this article, the out-of-plane local mechanisms of collapse analysis is implemented by applying a new method of analysis based on a probabilistic approach. Usually information which are necessary for the implementation of the local mechanisms analyses are affected by uncertainty or are missing, therefore in lots of cases it is only possible to hypothesize them on the basis of the other buildings information collected during the on-site survey. In this context, the implementation of a Bayesian approach allows to deduce buildings lacking information (i.e. wall thickness and interstorey height) starting from certain collected data (i.e. facades height). The historical centre of Timisoara (Romania) is selected as the case study for the implementation of this new method of analysis, given the extension of the on-site survey already carried out in the area (information about more than 200 structural units have been collected) and the seismic vulnerability assessment on an urban scale already performed by applying a traditional method. Results obtained by adopting the two approaches are then compared and a validation and a calibration of the new one is carried out

The application of a Bayesian approach to assess the seismic vulnerability of historical centers

The seismic vulnerability of historical centers at a territorial scale cannot be assessed performing detailed analysis which are usually adopted at the single building scale. In fact, a traditional complete survey would be extremely time-consuming and not sustainable for this purpose. The approach described in this paper is based on the idea that it is possible to infer quantities which cannot be directly detected from buildings outside inspection starting from parameters that can be measured. In order to achieve this purpose, a Bayesian approach is applied, updating initial hypotheses when new data become available. In this context, the procedure herein proposed aims at applying a probabilistic approach instead of a deterministic one to define facades inter-storey height starting from buildings height knowledge. In order to validate the method, for out of plane local mechanisms of collapse (walls overturning), horizontal loads multiplier \uf0610 values are calculated and compared to results obtained by using data collected on-site

Norpa Signalling and the Seasonal Circadian Locomotor Phenotype in Drosophila

open access articleIn this paper, we review the role of the norpA-encoded phospholipase C in light and thermal entrainment of the circadian clock in Drosophila melanogaster. We extend our discussion to the role of norpA in the thermo-sensitive splicing of the per 3′ UTR, which has significant implications for seasonal adaptations of circadian behaviour. We use the norpA mutant-generated enhancement of per splicing and the corresponding advance that it produces in the morning (M) and evening (E) locomotor component to dissect out the neurons that are contributing to this norpA phenotype using GAL4/UAS. We initially confirmed, by immunocytochemistry and in situ hybridisation in adult brains, that norpA expression is mostly concentrated in the eyes, but we were unable to unequivocally reveal norpA expression in the canonical clock cells using these methods. In larval brains, we did see some evidence for co-expression of NORPA with PDF in clock neurons. Nevertheless, downregulation of norpA in clock neurons did generate behavioural advances in adults, with the eyes playing a significant role in the norpA seasonal phenotype at high temperatures, whereas the more dorsally located CRYPTOCHROME-positive clock neurons are the likely candidates for generating the norpA behavioural effects in the cold. We further show that knockdown of the related plc21C encoded phospholipase in clock neurons does not alter per splicing nor generate any of the behavioural advances seen with norpA. Our results with downregulating norpA and plc21C implicate the rhodopsins Rh2/Rh3/Rh4 in the eyes as mediating per 3′ UTR splicing at higher temperatures and indicate that the CRY-positive LNds, also known as ‘evening’ cells are likely mediating the low-temperature seasonal effects on behaviour via altering per 3′UTR splicing