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Carbon Nanotubes as an Effective Opportunity for Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment
No full textAbstract: Despite the current progresses of modern medicine, the resistance of malignant tumors to present medical treatments points to the necessity of developing new therapeutic approaches. In recent years, numerous studies have focused their attention on the promising use of nanomaterials, like iron oxide nanowires, zinc oxide or mesoporous silica nanoparticles, for cancer and metastasis treatment with the advantage of operating directly at the bio-molecular scale. Among them, carbon nanotubes emerged as valid candidates not only for drug delivery, but also as a valuable tool in cancer imaging and physical ablation. Nevertheless, deep investigations about carbon nanotubes' potential bio-compatibility and cytotoxicity limits should be also critically addressed. In the present review, after introducing carbon nanotubes and their promising advantages and drawbacks for fighting cancer, we want to focus on the numerous and different ways in which they can assist to reach this goal. Specifically, we report on how they can be used not only for drug delivery purposes, but also as a powerful ally to develop effective contrast agents for tumors' medical or photodynamic imaging, to perform direct physical ablation of metastasis, as well as gene therapy
Energy performance certificates in the Turin real estate market
No full textThe purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) on the Italian real estate market, focusing on old buildings. The contribution of EPC labels to house prices and to market liquidity was measured, in order to analyse different aspects of the selling process. A traditional hedonic model was employed to explain the variables of listing price, transaction price, time on the market and bargaining outcome. In addition to EPC labels, the building construction period and the main features of apartments were included in the model. A sample of 879 transactions of old properties in Turin in 2011-2014 was considered. A first hedonic model let us suppose that low EPC labels (E, F and G) were priced in the market, although EPC labels explained only 6-8% of price variation. A second full hedonic model, which included apartment characteristics, revealed that EPC labels had no impact on prices. In Italy EPC has been mandatory for house transactions since 2009, so there are few studies on the effect of EPC on the Italian real estate market, at least to our knowledge. Furthermore, unusually for the Italian context, in this paper also transaction prices were analysed, in addition to the more frequently used listing prices
Scalable modulation technology and the tradeoff of reach, spectral efficiency, and complexity
No full textConcurrent Efficient Evaluation of Small-Change Parameters and Green's Functions for TCAD Device Noise and Variability Analysis
No full textWe present here an efficient numerical approach for the concurrent evaluation of the small-change deterministic device parameters and of the relevant Green's functions exploited in the simulation of device small-signal (SS), small-signal large-signal (SSLS conversion matrix), stationary and cyclostationary noise, and variability properties of semiconductor devices through the solution of physics-based models based on a partial-differential equation description of charged carrier transport. The proposed technique guarantees a significant advantage in computation time with respect to the currently implemented solutions. The accuracy is the same as for the standard technique
Paradigmi e pratiche del restauro in Nuova Zelanda, appunti da una ricerca in corso
No full textThis paper "Restoration practices and paradigms in New Zealand: notes from current research" examines a ‘geography of restoration' derived from a research project currently underway that analyses New Zealand's preservation instruments and restoration practices, particularly as regards nineteenth- and twentieth-century architectural heritage viewed from the point of view of the cultural landscape. The study originated through a partnership with the Auckland University School of Architecture and Planning and the Auckland-based practice Salmond Reed Architects. The way town councils manage heritage protection and conservation parameters on a territorial level and Heritage New Zealand's role as the leading cultural advisor are both direct descendants of British culture, whilst the roles of ICOMOS New Zealand and DOCOMOMO New Zealand are more internationally oriented. The ICOMOS New Zealand Charter for the Conservation of Places of Cultural Heritage Value (established in 1993 and revised in 2010) merges approaches and concepts of European origin with the theme of New Zealand's own tangible and intangible cultural heritage, to which the country has assigned primary significance within the scope of national identity. At an architectural level, besides well-understood assets that date back to colonial and post-colonial times, the heritage community is now discussing the preservation, maintenance and active use and reuse of ‘New Zealand's Modern Architecture', with its unique vulnerabilities and risks. This paper presents a reflection of up-to-date interpretational settings and scenarios, which are very different from those that characterise European culture, with which however there are several points of contact. These similarities include the important role of international charters in New Zealand-based conservation, which have been applied to recent methods of investigation for restoration projects, and the direct, tangible knowledge of diagnostics, which has in certain cases developed from Western principles and standards. Il saggio è inserito nella sezione 1C "Questioni teoriche: storia e geografia del restauro", a cura di Donatella Fiorani, dell'opera "RICerca/REStauro", coordinamento di Donatella Fiorani, composta da 11 sezioni
Effect of processing conditions on the thermal and electrical conductivity of poly (butylene terephthalate) nanocomposites prepared via ring-opening polymerization
No full textImage Segmentation Applied to the Study of Micrographs of Cellular Solids
No full textThe paper is proposing a method of image segmentation applied to the study of the micrographs of cellular solids. The segmentation is based on a thresholding which creates a binary (black and white) image of the micrograph. The binary image is divided in super-pixels which correspond to the microcells of the material. From the areas of the super-pixels it is easy to evaluate the distribution of the size of the cells and correlate this distribution to the properties of the material
A customized modelling approach for multi-functional buildings - Application to an Italian Reference Hotel
No full textIn the forthcoming European low-carbon energy system, the building stock plays a major role in the demand sector. Therefore, in order to develop robust scenario analysis towards the success of the lowcarbon goals, a trustful characterization of the building stock is required. Reference Buildings are often the base of these building stock models, but, at present, an uneven level of development between residential and non-residential Reference Buildings is detected. The present paper contributes to fill this knowledge gap by proposing a method to model Reference multi-functional Buildings. Multi-functional buildings represent an important share of the non-residential buildings stock, by embracing all buildings hosting different activities under the same roof. In order to trustfully depict their energy performances, the EU definition of Reference Buildings have to be updated. To this purpose, this study proposes a rationale to describe and model these buildings, based on the distinction between their typical and extra energy uses. In order to test the proposed methodology, it was applied to the definition a Reference Hotel in Italy, with the additional aim to provide support material to the national energy and tourism policies
High scale 3D modelling and orthophoto of curved masonries for a multipurpose representation, analysis and assessment
No full textIt is important nowadays to underline some relevant topics concerning the effective contribution of 3D high detailed products derived from innovation and integration of Geomatics technologies, allowing a remarkable development in descriptive metric capabilities, supporting and improving the material recording, representation, analysis and characterization about alteration of the constructive systems. Considering the relevance of the complex interdisciplinary research of these issues that move around the Cultural Heritage safeguard and due to its extreme vulnerability, these models must give a response to different problems. Primarily they has to provide complete models on which to pursue accurate morpho-dimensional documentation, and to base structural assessment, decay investigations, and consequently to underpin restoration practices and support operational workflow in CH assets monitoring. Some peculiarities of new methods for semi-automatic processing algorithms are thus evidenced, advantaging their proficiency to behave as tools for a more sustainable approach in the general process of preservation and protection. Specifically about the ancient masonries documentation, the chance of using digital products derived from very high scale models, as the detailed orthoimages projection and surfaces development offers many opportunities. Here, a late-medieval stratified dovecote tower in Verolengo (TO) with a particular trunk-conical shape had been analysed in order to reconstruct an identity and a historical and architectural framework, de facto not recognized yet. A 3D reconstruction by dense matching techniques will be presented, in the complex context that are the vertical high buildings, presenting one of the highest level of vulnerability. The importance of the 3D model availability, closely connected to dense radiometric information, has been particularly expressed in two main direction for the diagnosis both of volumetric structure assessment and the material characterization of the mixed masonries walls
