Equilibrium desorption isotherms of water, ethanol, ethyl acetate, and toluene on a sodium smectite clay

Desorption isotherms for water, ethanol, ethyl acetate and toluene from a sodium smectite clay have been determined by both dynamic vapor sorption (DVS) measurements and Knudsen thermogravimetry (KTGA), at the exception of toluene that was measured only by the DVS method. The results obtained using these two methods were in satisfactory agreement, providing reliable insight into the desorption process, with certain lack of precision for ethyl acetate. The observed desorption behaviour suggests a liquid like phase at high volatile load, and a sorbed state in which molecules interact with the counter ions, at low volatile contents. However, the isotherms for water determined at various temperatures nearly superposed when plotted as a function of water activity, indicating the strength of the interactions in the clay-water system to remain of the same order of magnitude as that in bulk water, consistent with previous ab initio calculation

Thermodynamics of cell membranes driven by lipid-lipid interactions: a calorimetric study

The functionality of cells, vesicles and membrane proteins is strictly correlated to membrane lipid composition because of its influence on membrane thermodynamic stability [1]. In this frame, a stepwise study of vesicles with different morphology and lipid composition was performed through high-sensitivity differential scanning calorimetry at physiological pH aiming at dissecting the main contributions to the thermodynamic stability of cell membranes. The phospholipid bilayer of the pancreatic Insulin Secretory Granules (ISGs) was considered as reference system. The cross-study of single-component and binary systems with different phospholipid composition allowed to assess the roles played by curvature, phospholipid headgroups and tails on the thermotropic behaviour of cell membranes [2]. Consequently, a hierarchy of contribution to the overall thermodynamic stability of membranes was depicted as membrane curvature < phospholipid headgroup < phospholipid tail < phospholipid unsaturation. The following addition of different constituents allowed the achievement of a high-complexity model membrane that reflected the 80% of ISG’s phospholipids [3]. Furthermore, the effect of several Free Fatty Acids (FFAs), whose levels are recurrently altered in diabetic and/or obese subjects, on the thermodynamic stability of selected membranes was investigated [2,3]

Esta es mi tesis y yo la hago como quiero

En el siguiente trabajo de producción propongo crear una obra conceptual que sea una tesis de producción, es decir, mostrar el proceso de presentación, creación, corrección y exposición de una tesis como una gran obra conceptual. Esta comienza desde el envío del proyecto, pasando por la presentación de una sala de exposición a modo de instalación con las 6 hojas que son el trabajo de graduación, más los bocetos previos y falsos bocetos y finalizando con la corrección del jurado.Para acceder al material audiovisual que acompaña esta tesis, hacer clic en "Enlace externo".Facultad de Arte

Improving the Accessibility of Cultural Sites During Pandemic Through Microclimate Control. The Case of CapsulART Applied to the MANN Museum in Naples

The use of cultural sites has been profoundly altered by the recent pandemic events with relevant consequences on the cultural heritage industry. While before the CoVid-19 pandemic access to Cultural Sites used to involve a simplified form of control, in the transitional period between the pandemic and the post-pandemic, additional steps are required. The research aims to combine seemingly distant aspects: counteracting the spread of contagion and reorganising the admission processes to institutes of culture, such as museums. Based on the literature, it has been shown that the parameters determining air quality (temperature, relative humidity, concentration of pollutants, dust, CO2, etc.) influence the state of conservation of works of art, while their interaction with the spread of the epidemic has been slightly investigated. The research seeks to find innovative technological solutions to allow access and safe visits to the greatest possible number of users. A conscious design, therefore, must be put in place to allow everyone to enjoy works of art, exhibitions and shows. This is how the concept of universal design is declined here, introducing the concept of 'safe environment accessibility'. The first results of a research carried out on the microclimate and the air quality inside Tyrannicides Hall at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples (MANN) will be presented. A device called 'CapsulART' is designed to be placed at the entrance of a specific room, which acts as a filter and as a decompression chamber to lower the level of pollutants present on people's clothes and shoe soles. Through a reduction in temperature, parameters that may increase the ease of contagion (e.g. sweating) should be decreased

An ontology-based approach supporting holistic structural design with the consideration of safety, environmental impact and cost

Early stage decision-making for structural design critically influences the overall cost and environmental performance of buildings and infrastructure. However, the current approach often fails to consider the multi-perspectives of structural design, such as safety, environmental issues and cost in a comprehensive way. This paper presents a holistic approach based on knowledge processing (ontology) to facilitate a smarter decision-making process for early design stage by informing designers of the environmental impact and cost along with safety considerations. The approach can give a reasoning based quantitative understanding of how the design alternatives using different concrete materials can affect the ultimate overall performance. Embodied CO2 and cost are both considered along with safety criteria as indicative multi-perspectives to demonstrate the novelty of the approach. A case study of a concrete structural frame is used to explain how the proposed method can be used by structural designers when taking multi performance criteria into account. The major contribution of the paper lies on the creation of a holistic knowledge base which links through different knowledge across sectors to enable the structural engineer to come up with much more comprehensive decisions instead of individual single objective targeted delivery

Local health rules and building regulations: a survey on local hygiene and building regulations in Italian municipalities

AbstractIntroduction: WHO highlighted the need to strengthen the relationship between health and built environment; in particular, environmental factors and inadequate housing conditions are the most harmful risk factors for NCDs. Local Health Rules (LHRs) and Building Codes (BCs) are useful tools to provide safety and hygiene in building construction. The paper presents a survey on the adoption and updating of LHRs and BCs in Italian municipalities. Methodology: The survey analyses the state-of-the-art of LHRs, BCs and Municipal Development Plans (MDPs) on a sample of 553 cities, with different demographic and geographic characteristics from each other. Results: the survey highlights the serious shortage of updated LHRs, especially in small and medium municipalities. Instead, BCs and MDPs are much more current and updated, but only 30% of them are previously validated by Local Health Authorities. Conclusion: According to the analysis, it is necessary to introduce ever more performance guidelines, instead of prescriptive rules. The Government is taking steps to give rise to a National Building Code guidelines and this initiative could also be expanded to invest LHRs’ issues

TRACKING OF THE HAND “PRESSURE POINT” ON THE GRIP OF A RECURVE BOW: A WEARABLE SOLUTION

The purpose of this study was to design and prototype a non-invasive wearable solution suitable for measuring speeds, accelerations and orientation of the hand-grip as well as the pressures between the hand and the grip of a recurve bow. Therefore, a device has been created that properly blends two technologies: an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) and a Force-Sensitive-Resistor (FSR) membrane. A preliminary evaluation of the device performance was conducted in collaboration with the Olympic athlete Mauro Nespoli. The obtained results demonstrate the potential of the proposed system, as well as highlight a number of interesting information from a biomechanical point of view, closely related to the shooting technique

Grapevine stilbenoids as natural food preservatives : calorimetric and spectroscopic insights into the interaction with model cell membranes

Food contamination with pathogenic microorganisms, such as Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella enterica, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus, is a common health concern. Natural products, which have been the main source of antimicrobials for centuries, may represent a turning point in alleviating the antibiotic crisis, and plant polyphenolic compounds are considered a promising source for new antibacterial agents. Resveratrol and resveratrol-derived monomers and oligomers (stilbenoids) have been shown to exert a variegated pattern of efficacy as antimicrobials depending on both the polyphenols' structure and the nature of the microorganisms, and the bacterial cell membrane seems to be one of their primary targets. In this scenario and based on the thermodynamic information reported in the literature about cell membranes, this study aimed at the investigation of the direct interaction of selected stilbenoids with a simple but informative model cell membrane. Three complete stilbenoid "monomer/dimer/dehydro-dimer" sets were chosen according to different geometries and substitution patterns. Micro-DSC was performed on 2 : 3 DPPC : DSPC small unilamellar vesicles with incorporated polyphenols at physiological pH and the results were integrated using complementary NMR data. The study highlighted the molecular determinants and mechanisms involved in the stilbenoid-membrane interaction, and the results were well correlated with the microbiological evidence previously assessed

Digital microclimate simulation models to support innovative management and preventive conservation processes in cultural sites

Among the least investigated aspects in historical architecture, one is the microclimatic behaviour linked to the preventive conservation of cultural heritage. This aspect should be studied intensively since it is closely related to any deterioration phenomenon of materials and can have a crucial role in updating management systems of cultural sites. Today the sensors that monitor environmental parameters can transfer data in real time into a continuous monitoring logic (cloud platforms) and this, in addition to the development of software capable of modelling the thermo-hygrometric behaviour of buildings, opens up new lines of research. The authors believe that it represents one of the most promising areas of investigation and capable of offering greater results in terms of preventive and planned measures. This contribution collects an experience recently conducted, financed by the Ministry of University and Research, in one of the most prestigious Italian museums, the National Archaeological Museum of Naples (MANN). The monitoring and modelling methodologies are illustrated, as well as the objectives of the intervention, with a view to a fruition that holds the psycho-physical well-being of staff and visitors and the conservation of heritage as close as possible. The results are closely linked to the pandemic experience, with the secondary objective of risk prevention for people and cultural heritage