Energy planning for metropolitan context: potential and perspectives of sustainable energy action plans (seaps) of three italian big cities

Energy retrofitting of existing building stock and new expansion of urban settlements entail a new relationship between consumption and production sites. Especially, new production facilities linked to the renewables boom are not taken into account by the urban governance. Energy planning instruments could be the viable tool to manage the new energy transition focusing on territorial resources. The Sustainable Energy Action Plan is the most common and widespread due to its voluntary nature. The study analysed the SEAPs of three big Italian Cities to assess an integrated framework for planning renewables at the metropolitan scale

Energy use in Urban Transport sector within the Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAPs) of three Italian Big Cities

Promising Renewable Energy solutions could be installed in cities, but they require specific morphological conditions as well as architectural integration. Transport sector is still neglected from a strong policy initiative. A first attempt along with a defined framework to attract economic resources as well as interested stakeholders is the Covenant of Mayors (CoM). Within this agreement, the Municipality has to design a plan, the so-called Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP). The plan must contain a clear outline of the strategy and relative actions to be taken by the local authority to reach its commitments in 2020, in terms of sustainability goals set by EU 20-20-20. The aim of this paper is to discuss and evaluate the differences of fuel usage and transport sector interaction in Italian urban scenarios, taking into account geographical and morphological constraints, and to compare the forecasts for 2020 and 2030scenarios, in accordance with European and National laws in force

Inhibition of cellular protein secretion by norwalk virus nonstructural protein p22 requires a mimic of an endoplasmic reticulum export signal.

Protein trafficking between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and Golgi apparatus is central to cellular homeostasis. ER export signals are utilized by a subset of proteins to rapidly exit the ER by direct uptake into COPII vesicles for transport to the Golgi. Norwalk virus nonstructural protein p22 contains a YXΦESDG motif that mimics a di-acidic ER export signal in both sequence and function. However, unlike normal ER export signals, the ER export signal mimic of p22 is necessary for apparent inhibition of normal COPII vesicle trafficking, which leads to Golgi disassembly and antagonism of Golgi-dependent cellular protein secretion. This is the first reported function for p22. Disassembly of the Golgi apparatus was also observed in cells replicating Norwalk virus, which may contribute to pathogenesis by interfering with cellular processes that are dependent on an intact secretory pathway. These results indicate that the ER export signal mimic is critical to the antagonistic function of p22, shown herein to be a novel antagonist of ER/Golgi trafficking. This unique and well-conserved human norovirus motif is therefore an appealing target for antiviral drug development

Real-time detection and continuous monitoring of ER stress in vitro and in vivo by ES-TRAP: evidence for systemic, transient ER stress during endotoxemia

Activity of secreted alkaline phosphatase (SEAP) produced by transfected cells is rapidly down-regulated by endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress independent of transcriptional regulation. This phenomenon was observed in a wide range of cell types triggered by various ER stress inducers. The magnitude of the decrease in SEAP was proportional to the extent of ER stress and inversely correlated with the induction of endogenous ER stress markers grp78 and grp94. In contrast to SEAP, activity of secreted luciferase was less susceptible to ER stress. The decrease in SEAP activity by ER stress was caused by abnormal post-translational modification, accelerated degradation and reduced secretion of SEAP protein. In transgenic mice constitutively producing SEAP, systemic induction of ER stress led to reduction in serum SEAP. In these mice, administration with lipopolysaccharide caused rapid, transient decrease in serum SEAP activity, and it was correlated with up-regulation of grp78 in several organs including the spleen, lung, kidney, liver and heart. These results elucidated for the first time a possible involvement of transient, systemic ER stress in endotoxemia and provided evidence for usefulness of ER stress responsive alkaline phosphatase for real-time monitoring of ER stress in vitro and in vivo

Understanding the dynamics of Toll-like Receptor 5 response to flagellin and its regulation by estradiol

© 2017 The Author(s). Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are major players of the innate immune system. Once activated, they trigger a signalling cascade that leads to NF-ΰ B translocation from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. Single cell analysis shows that NF-ΰ B signalling dynamics are a critical determinant of transcriptional regulation. Moreover, the outcome of innate immune response is also affected by the cross-talk between TLRs and estrogen signalling. Here, we characterized the dynamics of TLR5 signalling, responsible for the recognition of flagellated bacteria, and those changes induced by estradiol in its signalling at the single cell level. TLR5 activation in MCF7 cells induced a single and sustained NF-k B translocation into the nucleus that resulted in high NF-k B transcription activity. The overall magnitude of NF-k B transcription activity was not influenced by the duration of the stimulus. No significant changes are observed in the dynamics of NF-k B translocation to the nucleus when MCF7 cells are incubated with estradiol. However, estradiol significantly decreased NF-k B transcriptional activity while increasing TLR5-mediated AP-1 transcription. The effect of estradiol on transcriptional activity was dependent on the estrogen receptor activated. This fine tuning seems to occur mainly in the nucleus at the transcription level rather than affecting the translocation of the NF-k B transcription factor

Solar energy technologies in sustainable energy action plans of italian big cities

Cities, accounting for more than 3/4 of global final energy consumption, are equipping themselves with governance tools to improve energy efficiency. In Europe, urban energy policy has adopted, only recently and voluntarily, the Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAP), following the European Strategy 20-20-20. Italy, country most sensitive among European ones, accounts for 53% of SEAPs signatories. In order to evaluate how urban energy system in Italy can match sustainability European goals, it is necessary to analyse the technological options promoted by the energy policies for the urban environment. The paper presents the state-of-art of Urban Energy Planning in Italy, focusing on the implementation of Solar Energy technologies, and their role in new urban energy strategy instruments, i.e. SEAP, to promote renewables deployment. Carbon emission avoidance interventions planned by Italian big cities were analysed, highlighting the chosen Solar Energy technology. The aim of this paper is to discuss and evaluate the differences of solar energy harvesting in Italian urban scenarios, taking into account geographical and morphological constraints, and to compare the forecasts for 2020 and 2030scenarios, in accordance with European and National laws in force

A red/far-red light-responsive bi-stable toggle switch to control gene expression in mammalian cells

Growth and differentiation of multicellular systems is orchestrated by spatially restricted gene expression programs in specialized subpopulations. The targeted manipulation of such processes by synthetic tools with high-spatiotemporal resolution could, therefore, enable a deepened understanding of developmental processes and open new opportunities in tissue engineering. Here, we describe the first red/far-red light-triggered gene switch for mammalian cells for achieving gene expression control in time and space. We show that the system can reversibly be toggled between stable on- and off-states using short light pulses at 660 or 740 nm. Red light-induced gene expression was shown to correlate with the applied photon number and was compatible with different mammalian cell lines, including human primary cells. The light-induced expression kinetics were quantitatively analyzed by a mathematical model. We apply the system for the spatially controlled engineering of angiogenesis in chicken embryos. The system's performance combined with cell- and tissue-compatible regulating red light will enable unprecedented spatiotemporally controlled molecular interventions in mammalian cells, tissues and organisms

Nitric oxide modulates expression of extracellular matrix genes linked to fibrosis in kidney mesangial cells

Mesangial cells are thought to be important mediators of glomerular inflammation and fibrosis. Studies have established a direct role for nitric oxide (NO) in the regulation of gene expression in mesangial cells. Representational difference analysis was used to investigate changes in gene expression elicited by the treatment of S-nitroso-L-glutathione in rat mesangial cells. Seven upregulated and 11 downregulated genes were identified. Four out of 11 downregulated genes (connective tissue growth factor, thrombospondin-1, collagen type I all and collagen type I alpha 2) are known to be linked to inflammation and fibrosis. Results were verified across species in mesangial cells treated with a series of NO donors using Northern blot analysis, quantitative real-time PCR and protein analysis methods. Induction of endogenous NO production by cytokine stimulation also triggered regulation of the genes. One example gene, connective tissue growth factor, was studied at the promoter level. Promoter-reporter gene studies in mesangial cells demonstrated that NO acts at the transcriptional level to suppress gene expression. Our results reveal a complex role of NO in regulating gene expression in mesangial cells and suggest an antifibrotic potential for NO

Energy Transition and Urban Planning for Local Development. A Critical Review of the Evolution of Integrated Spatial and Energy Planning

The aim of the article is to analyse the evolution of spatial and energy planning integration, seen as a mean to foster local development, from the birth of the theme to the current prospects of shared sustainability and Decentralised Energy System (DES) solutions. The paper is a review of the evolution of the spatial and energy planning integration, exploring weaknesses and future opportunities. After an initial period of intense theoretical elaboration, the relationship between energy and city physical-functional organization and planning is still far from finding an implementation. The article explains this lack of integration through the analyses of significant steps in the last 50 years with the aim to outline current obstacles in achieving a more comprehensive vision of energy and spatial planning. The experiences selected highlight critical aspects concerning the trend towards the divergence of energy planning from systemic urban and spatial planning, also due to the low consideration of energy as a factor for local development. From the processes of decentralization and energy localism, some perspectives emerge which converge on the eco-energy district as a projection of the local energy community and which seem to enhance a more systemic and strategic dimension of planning

Type three secretion system-mediated escape of Burkholderia pseudomallei into the host cytosol is critical for the activation of NFκB.

BackgroundBurkholderia pseudomallei is the causative agent of melioidosis, a potentially fatal disease endemic in Southeast Asia and Northern Australia. This Gram-negative pathogen possesses numerous virulence factors including three "injection type" type three secretion systems (T3SSs). B. pseudomallei has been shown to activate NFκB in HEK293T cells in a Toll-like receptor and MyD88 independent manner that requires T3SS gene cluster 3 (T3SS3 or T3SSBsa). However, the mechanism of how T3SS3 contributes to NFκB activation is unknown.ResultsKnown T3SS3 effectors are not responsible for NFκB activation. Furthermore, T3SS3-null mutants are able to activate NFκB almost to the same extent as wildtype bacteria at late time points of infection, corresponding to delayed escape into the cytosol. NFκB activation also occurs when bacteria are delivered directly into the cytosol by photothermal nanoblade injection.ConclusionsT3SS3 does not directly activate NFκB but facilitates bacterial escape into the cytosol where the host is able to sense the presence of the pathogen through cytosolic sensors leading to NFκB activation