1,721,066 research outputs found
NZEB analyses by means of dynamic simulation and experimental monitoring in mediterranean climate
No full textThe reduction of energy consumption in the building sector has promoted the spread of the NZEB (Nearly Zero Energy Building) model. A future target is represented by positive-energy buildings (PEB), which produce more energy than they consume. The study is centred on the examination of some peculiarities of NZEB through a case study and on the analysis of opportunities for further increase in energy performance, to trace the road that each designer should take, through an extensive evaluation of the potentials variations on the project that could lead to better results. The project assessments are developed through a dynamic simulation model and the data from the monitoring of the building’s performance are used to evaluate the actual energy saving conditions. The analyses demonstrate the importance of an accurate design of the envelope and technical building systems associated with a smart management of the control systems and the setting of the set points, for the optimal operation of the systems. Ambitious but feasible design choices and an accurate analysis of the possibility of increasing the energy performance of a NZEB can lead to reaching the PEB target and energy independence, enhancing the production of energy from renewable sources
Covid-19, chloroquine repurposing, and cardiac safety concern: Chirality might help
Full text linkThe desperate need to find drugs for COVID-19 has indicated repurposing strategies as our quickest way to obtain efficacious medicines. One of the options under investigation is the old antimalarial drug, chloroquine, and its analog, hydroxychloroquine. Developed as synthetic succedanea of cinchona alkaloids, these chiral antimalarials are currently in use as the racemate. Besides the ethical concern related to accelerated large-scale clinical trials of drugs with unproven efficacy, the known potential detrimental cardiac effects of these drugs should also be considered. In principle, the safety profile might be ameliorated by using chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine single enantiomers in place of the racemate
Repurposing therapeutic agents and herbal medicines to defeat viral nemesis
Full text linkThe world has witnessed numerous deadly viral influenzas pandemics with the most iconic being the Spanish flue a century ago that infected some 500 million people around the globe. In the last two decades, new human coronavirus infections such as SARs and MERs have also shown us the need to continue our research and strengthen both our prevention and therapeutic strategies. Ironically, the current 2019-nCoV causing COVID-19 demonstrated that our preparedness for emerging respiratory viral infections is far too inadequate. As with our ancestors a century ago, our best remedy for COVID-19 is constant hand washing and social distancing. Despite all these and reality, however, we have numerous antivirals, anti-inflammatory and organo-protective therapeutic agents of natural and synthetic origins. We also have antibiotics for secondary pneumonia infection of bacterial origin and other therapeutic agents with specific pharmacological targets. Repurposing what we already have appears to be our best option in the time of urgent need like the nemeses we face now by COVID-19. Against such background, this Commentary article was designed to stimulate research in this field by looking into targets and medicines (both traditional and modern) with implication to COVID-19
Comment on "in Situ Derivatization of (RS)-Mexiletine and Enantioseparation Using Micellar Liquid Chromatography: A Green Approach"
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Forecast models for suicide: Time-series analysis with data from Italy
No full textThe prediction of suicidal behavior is a complex task. To fine-tune targeted preventative interventions, predictive analytics (i.e. forecasting future risk of suicide) is more important than exploratory data analysis (pattern recognition, e.g. detection of seasonality in suicide time series). This study sets out to investigate the accuracy of forecasting models of suicide for men and women. A total of 101 499 male suicides and of 39 681 female suicides – occurred in Italy from 1969 to 2003 – were investigated. In order to apply the forecasting model and test its accuracy, the time series were split into a training set (1969 to 1996; 336 months) and a test set (1997 to 2003; 84 months). The main outcome was the accuracy of forecasting models on the monthly number of suicides. These measures of accuracy were used: mean absolute error; root mean squared error; mean absolute percentage error; mean absolute scaled error. In both male and female suicides a change in the trend pattern was observed, with an increase from 1969 onwards to reach a maximum around 1990 and decrease thereafter. The variances attributable to the seasonal and trend components were, respectively, 24% and 64% in male suicides, and 28% and 41% in female ones. Both annual and seasonal historical trends of monthly data contributed to forecast future trends of suicide with a margin of error around 10%. The finding is clearer in male than in female time series of suicide. The main conclusion of the study is that models taking seasonality into account seem to be able to derive information on deviation from the mean when this occurs as a zenith, but they fail to reproduce it when it occurs as a nadir. Preventative efforts should concentrate on the factors that influence the occurrence of increases above the main trend in both seasonal and cyclic patterns of suicides.</p
Archaeological investigations of the Bronze Age village of Bagnara di Romagna (RA)
No full textThis paper summarizes the results of researches carried out in the area next to the modern village of Bagnara di Romagna (RA), where several evidences related to a Bronze Age settlement have been collected. Recently test trenches and surface collections allowed to retrieve bronze and ceramics dating from the Middle Bronze Age (phase BM2) to the Recent Bronze Age (phase BR2). The analysis of landscape and the palaeoenvironmental reconstruction complete the outline of the region of Imola, Faenza and Lugo during the Bronze Age where are well known the ancient settlements of Solarolo, via Ordiere, Monte Castellaccio end S. Giuliano di Toscanella
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Robot Programming without Coding
No full textAn approach toward intuitive and easy robot programming, consists to transfer skills from humans to machines, through demonstration. A vast literature exists on learning from multiple demonstrations. This paper, on the other hand, tackles the problem of providing all needed information to execute a certain task by resorting to one single demonstration - hence, a problem closer to programming than to learning. We use wearable consumer devices - but no keyboard nor coding - as programming tools, to let the programmer tele-operate the robot, which in turn records the most salient features and affordances from the object, environment, robot, and human. To enable this goal we combine off-the-shelf soft-articulated robotic components with the framework of Dynamic Movement Primitives, which we contribute to extend to generalize human trajectories and impedance regulation skills. This framework enables to teach robot quickly and in a intuitive way without coding. Experimental tests have been performed on a dual-arm system composed by two 7-dofs collaborative robots equipped with anthropomorphic end-effectors. Experiments show the functionality of the framework and verify the effectiveness of the impedance extension
From nearly zero energy buildings (NZEB) to positive energy buildings (PEB): The next challenge - The most recent European trends with some notes on the energy analysis of a forerunner PEB example
No full textThe European energy policies introduced the Nearly Zero Energy Building (NZEB) objective (Directive, 2010/31/EU and 2018/844/UE) to stimulate the energy transition of the construction sector. EU programs, specifically “Horizon 2020”, promote the NZEB design and also its evolution, namely the Positive Energy Building (PEB) model. Based on the most recent developments, a critical review of the main actions of the European Union towards the development of the NZEB and PEB design models has been conducted. Some considerations on advanced materials and technologies (PCM, VIP, smart glass, integrated photovoltaic systems) have also been added. Finally, a case study is presented (single-family residential NZEB) to show how a careful and integrated design of the building envelope and systems not only allows to obtain an almost total coverage of the energy consumption by renewable sources, but also to generate an energy surplus that could be shared with urban grids (PEB potential)
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