6 research outputs found
From NANOplastics to bioplastic toward environmental sustainability: a green algae-based approach
No full textUpcycling Microalgal Residues: Physicochemical Insights and Biocomposite Enhancement
No full textThe growing concern for environmental sustainability has led to an increased interest
in biodegradable materials derived from renewable resources. This study explores the
innovative use of residual biomass from the green photosynthetic microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, left over after polysaccharide extraction, as a natural filler in the development of the compostable protein-based material SP-Milk®. The microalgal biomass was characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and UV-Visible Spectroscopy to assess its chemical and structural composition. Subsequently, it was incorporated into a biodegradable protein matrix, and the resulting biocomposites were evaluated for mechanical and thermal properties. The results demonstrate that the incorporation of algal filler improves the mechanical strength and elasticity of the material while reducing its glass transition temperature, highlighting its potential for use in sustainable applications as a possible substitute for conventional plastics. The biocomposite materials developed, based on the protein-based material SP-Milk® and residual microalgal biomass, are environmentally friendly, contributing to the reduction in pollution and the risks associated with plastic accumulation. Thus, this study offers a simple, effective, and sustainable strategy for the valorization of microalgal biomass, enabling the production of biodegradable materials with enhanced mechanical performance, suitable for applications such as sustainable packaging within a circular economy framework
The elderly-centred design: a new target of sustainability for the renovation of existing residential buildings
No full textThe ageing population is an increasing demographic phenomenon with significant social, economic and environmental impacts; nevertheless, it is undervalued in policies and actions for sustainable development of a region. Considering that, on the one hand, the built environment and in particular residential buildings can contribute to an active ageing of people and improve quality of life of the elderly, and on the other hand that the retrofit of existing buildings is now recognised as essential for sustainability, renovating the existing residential building stocks with actions aimed at meeting the needs of the elderly becomes a means for sustainable development. Moreover, guaranteeing the use of domestic space safely and comfortably for the elderly creates an advantage to anybody, overcoming the more conventional approach to design for disability in favour of universal design. The author then considers that a design activity addressed to the elderly is nowadays a new, indispensable, sustainability goal in the construction field particularly when retrofitting existing residential buildings. This paper is divided in three main parts. Firstly, the reasons for the importance of addressing the renovation design of residential buildings to meet the needs of the ageing population are explained. Secondly, a first survey is reported on the requirements most frequently expressed by the elderly during the use of their dwelling/building and the results of this survey are analysed so to be preparatory to recognising an elderly-centred approach to renovation design of existing residential buildings. Thirdly, the methodology used is discussed and future developments of the work are prospected. This paper presents the first phase of a recently started research, with the aim of building a basis for comparison and discussion with other scholars in the field
I piccoli padiglioni universitari progettati da Enrico Mandolesi a Cagliari
No full textBetween 1962 and 1964, Enrico Mandolesi designed three small pavilions for the University of Cagliari: the Great Models Pavilion for the Institute of Construction 377 377 Antonello Sanna, Giuseppina Monni, Emanuela Quaquero I PICCOLI PADIGLIONI UNIVERSITARI PROGETTATI DA ENRICO MANDOLESI A CAGLIARI Science, the Pavilion for the Institute of Hydraulics and the Institute of Genetics. In all cases, the “pictorial” dimension, placing on the same level the warm tones of the clinker and the neutral one of the reinforced concrete, shows the author’s firm belief that all the materials have the same relevance. This is a lesson that Mandolesi learns from Mario Ridolfi, precursor of the Italian realism that abolishes the hierarchy between structural elements and finishes and declares that the creative idea of architecture lies in the precision of details. In the Great Models Pavilion for the Institute of Construction Science he chose to create a new volume connected to preexisting buildings with a small building. The horizontal and vertical windows declare the non-structural nature of the envelope made of bricks. A cultured design approach that uses the paradigm of the Illinois Institute of Technology by Mies van de Rohe. The Institute of Genetics is a building composed of two small volumes articulated on two levels and hinged to an independent stairway with a square plan. In this case, on a formal level, the basic principle is the horizontality that Mandolesi pursues at every level of detail. The author applied a combined solution that includes solid brick walls and a steel structure that connects to the frames of the fixtures. Both cases represent an accurate narration of construction stories that uses the combination of different materials, classic elements and modern solutions, the rough surfaces of reinforced concrete and the smooth ones of brick strips
Agricultural Genetics and Plant Breeding in Early Twentieth-Century Italy
No full textThis thesis is about plant breeding in Early 20th-Century Italy. The stories of the two most prominent Italian plant-breeders of the time, Nazareno Strampelli and Francesco Todaro, are used to explore a fragment of the often-neglected history of Italian agricultural research. While Italy was not at the forefront of agricultural innovation, research programs aimed at varietal innovation did emerge in the country, along with an early diffusion of Mendelism. Using philosophical as well as historical analysis, plant breeding is analysed throughout this thesis as a process: a sequence of steps that lays on practical skills and theoretical assumptions, acting on various elements of production. Systematic plant-breeding programs in Italy started from small individual efforts, attracting more and more resources until they became a crucial part of the fascist regime's infamous agricultural policy. Hybrid varieties developed in the early 20th century survived World War II and are now ancestors of the varieties that are still cultivated today. Despite this relevance, the history of Italian wheat hybrids is today largely forgotten: this thesis is an effort to re-evaluate a part of it. The research did allow previously unknown or neglected facts to emerge, giving a new perspective on the infamous alliance between plant-breeding programs and the fascist regime. This thesis undertakes an analysis of Italian plant-breeding programs as processes. Those processes had a practical as well as a theoretical side, and involved various elements of production. Although a complete history of Italian plant breeding still remains to be written, the Italian case can now be considered along with the other case-studies that other scholars have developed in the history of plant breeding. The hope is that this historical and philosophical analysis will contribute to the on-going effort to understand the history of plants
Rubella susceptibility profile in pregnant women with HIV
No full textData on susceptibility, assessed through serological testing or personal history, were analyzed with respect to several demographic and HIV-related characteristics. Following exclusion of 93 women with rubella status reported as unknown, 1146 pregnancies with a live birth were analyzed.
Overall, between 2001 and 2009, 303 women (26.4%) were reported as susceptible. Among the 843 nonsusceptible women, 163 (19.3%) were reported as previously vaccinated, with a significant increase during the study period in the proportion of vaccinated women, from 3.4% in 2001 to 25.0% in 2009 (χ2 for trend: P < .001). During the same period, the proportion of susceptible women decreased significantly, from 26.9% in 2001 (36.2% in 2002) to 18.8% in 2009 (P = .002).
The general characteristics of susceptible and nonsusceptible women are reported in Table 1. Rubella susceptibility was not associated with any particular HIV-related or demographic characteristic, but appeared to be significantly associated with susceptibility to Toxoplasma infection (odds ratio [OR]: 3.10, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.24–4.29, P < .001) and with susceptibility to cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection (OR, 6.90; 95% CI, 5.06–9.14; P < .001), with a borderline-significance association (P = .063) with a negative history of sexually transmitted infections [STI] (OR, 1.49; 95% CI, .98–2.29).
View this table:
In this windowIn a new windowTable 1.
Characteristics Of Pregnant Women With and Without Rubella Susceptibility
Overall, among 1011 children with available information on birth defects, no cases of CRS were observed. The overall birth defect rate (3.4%; 95% CI, 2.3–4.5) was similar to other studies on HIV infection [4, 5]. Only 2 women (.19%) were positive for rubella IgM antibodies during pregnancy (at 16 and 30 wk of pregnancies, respectively). In both cases, children had no birth defects or functional abnormalities.
In our cohort, which collects, based on HIV seroprevalence data [6], no less than 40% of deliveries in HIV-infected women in Italy, about 20% of HIV-infected pregnant women appear to be currently susceptible to rubella infection. This proportion is high compared with other studies on rubella seroprevalence in Italy [7] and suggests higher susceptibility rate and lower frequency of vaccination among women with HIV. It is unknown to what extent concerns about using a live attenuated vaccine in women with HIV may be responsible for the low frequency of vaccination observed. However, in our sample, only a limited proportion of women had low CD4 count or clinically relevant immunosuppression that may have prevented vaccination. The significant reduction in the rate of susceptibility during the last decade, coupled with the concurrent significant increase in the proportion of vaccinated women, is encouraging and suggests that a further decline in rubella susceptibility can be obtained in this population using appropriate vaccination strategies. Our data also suggest that susceptibility to rubella is associated to susceptibility to other infections that may be responsible for congenital syndromes or newborn infections (Toxoplasma, CMV, or sexually transmitted infection), and as such reinforce the need for an appropriate preconception counseling and care in this particular population.
Next SectionAcknowledgments
The Italian Group on Surveillance on Antiretroviral Treatment in Pregnancy
Project coordinators: M. Floridia, M. Ravizza, E. Tamburrini.
Investigators: M. Ravizza, E. Tamburrini, F. Mori, P. Ortolani, E.R. dalle Nogare, G. Sterrantino, M. Meli, S. Polemi, J. Nocentini, M. Baldini, G. Montorzi, M. Mazzetti, B. Borchi, F. Vichi, E. Pinter, E. Anzalone, R. Marocco, C. Mastroianni, V.S. Mercurio, A. Carocci, E. Grilli, A. Maccabruni, B. Mariani, A. Moretti, G. Natalini, G. Guaraldi, K. Luzi, G. Nardini, C. Stentarelli, A. Degli Antoni, A. Molinari, P. Rogasi, M.P. Crisalli, A. Donisi, M. Piepoli, V. Cerri, A. Viganò, V. Giacomet, V. Fabiano, S. Stucchi, C. Cerini, G. Placido, M. D'Alessandro, A. Vivarelli, P. Castelli, F. Savalli, V. Portelli, F. Sabbatini, D. Francisci, S. Alberico, G. Maso, M. Tropea, A. Meloni, D. Gariel, C. Cuboni, F. Ortu, P. Piano, A. Citernesi, I. Vicini, E. Periti, A. Spinillo, M. Roccio, A. Vimercati, E. Bassi, B. Guerra, F. Cervi, E. Tridapalli, G. Brighi, M. Stella, G. Faldella, C. Puccetti, M. Sansone, P. Martinelli, A. Agangi, C. Tibaldi, L. Trentini, S. Marini, G. Masuelli, I. Cetin, A. Crepaldi, M.L. Muggiasca, E. Ferrazzi, C. Giaquinto, M. Fiscon, R. Rinaldi, E. Rubino, A. Bucceri, R. Matrone, G. Scaravelli, G. Anzidei, C. Fundarò, O. Genovese, C. Cafforio, C. Pinnetti, G. Liuzzi, V. Tozzi, P. Massetti, M. Anceschi, A.M. Casadei, F. Montella, A.F. Cavaliere, V. Finelli, C. Riva, L. Lazier, M. Cellini, S. Garetto, G. Castelli Gattinara, A.M. Marconi, S. Foina, S. Dalzero, M. Moneta, F. Di Lorenzo, C. Polizzi, A. Mattei, M.F. Pirillo, R. Amici, C.M. Galluzzo, S. Donnini, S. Baroncelli, M. Floridia.
Pharmacokinetics: M. Regazzi, P. Villani, M. Cusato.
Advisory Board: A. Cerioli, M. De Martino, P. Mastroiacovo, M. Moroni, F. Parazzini, E. Tamburrini, S. Vella.
SIGO-HIV Group National Coordinators: P. Martinelli, M. Ravizza.
We thank all the women who participated in the study, Cosimo Polizzi and Alessandra Mattei for technical support to the project, and Maria Cristina Rota and Pierpaolo Mastroiacovo for their help in discussing the manuscript and the data.
Financial support. This work was supported by the Italian National Program on Research on AIDS (public grants 39C/A, 31D55, and 31D56); and the Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA; public research grants). No funding was received for this work from any of the following organizations: National Institutes of Health (NIH); Wellcome Trust; and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).
Potential conflicts of interest. All authors: no conflicts.
© The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: [email protected].
Previous Section References
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Clin Infect Dis. (2011) 52 (7): 960-962.
doi: 10.1093/cid/cir040
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