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Digital Contact Tracing (DCT) has been proved to be an effective tool to counteract the new SARS-CoV-2 or Covid-19. Despite this widespread effort to adopt the DCT, less attention has been paid to the organisation of the health logistics system that should support the tracing activities. Actually, the DCT poses a challenge to the logistics of the local health system in terms of number of daily tests to be collected and evaluated, especially when the spreading of the virus is soaring. In this paper we introduce a new optimisation problem called the Daily Swab Test Collection (DSTC) problem, that is the daily problem of collecting swab tests at home in such a way to guarantee a timely testing to people notified by the app to be in contact with a positive case. The problem is formulated as a variant of the team orienteering problem. The contributions of this paper are the following: (i) the new optimisation problem DSTC that complements and improves the DCT approach proposed by Ferretti et al. (Science https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abb6936, 2020), (ii) the DSCT formulation as a variant of the TOP and a literature review highlighting that this variant can have useful application in healthcare management, (iii) new realistic benchmark instances for the DSTC based on the city of Turin, (iv) two new efficient and effective hybrid algorithms capable to deal with realistic instances, (v) the managerial insights of our approach with a special regard on the fairness of the solutions. The main finding is that it possible to optimise the underlying logistics system in such a way to guarantee a timely testing to people recognised by the DCT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities play a pivotal role in achieving worldwide carbon neutrality due to their significant contribution to global energy consumption and carbon emissions. Therefore, planning effective strategies and guiding evidence-based policymaking at the city scale becomes even more crucial. Composite indices serve as a valuable tool for monitoring urban energy transition trends. This paper aims to present a novel approach, robust and flexible even under conditions of data scarcity, for tracking the energy transition trend of a city by means of a composite index (UETI). The Turin case study is introduced to test the applicability of the proposed approach. Additionally, to demonstrate the robustness of the composite index framework, the paper includes the findings of correlation and sensitivity analyses. This study reveals a significant improvement in Turin's environmental and energy domains, while the socio-economic domain shows more modest improvement. Furthermore, the study highlights the need to address the shortage of urban data to enhance the accuracy and reliability of metric-based frameworks and to extend the assessment to a larger sample of cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electrification of transport is expected to progressively replace significant shares of light duty mobility, especially in large cities. The European Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) aims to drive the adoption of electric mobility by establishing specific targets for charging point deployment. Innovative charging concepts may complement and accelerate the uptake of this fundamental part of the urban mobility transition. In this paper, one such innovative concept is described and its potential impact is assessed. The core idea involves integrating charging points into existing city tramway infrastructures. Turin's tramway network is taken as a representative case study. The proposed technical solution encompasses a charging hub powered by four isolated DC/DC converters of 50 kW, directly connected to the DC tramway distribution line. Three of these constitute the heart of a 150 kW charger, while the fourth acts as voltage regulator. This native DC installation greatly simplifies the architecture of the DC chargers. Using a conservative approach, it was estimated that a single recharging station could charge more than 60 vehicles daily. This highly scalable and replicable solution, with the potential for over 100 conversion substations across Italy, would enable the installation of numerous high-power chargers in urban settings. Furthermore, additional benefits could be realized through enhanced recovery of kinetic energy from trams, which is currently dissipated on-board. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a calendar of forthcoming congresses and conventions. The 13th International Congress on Sound and Vibration will be held on July 2-6, 2006 at Vienna University of Technology in Vienna, Austria. The 16th European Conference of Fracture will be held on July 3-7, 2006 in Alexandroupolis, Greece. The 8th Biennial ASME Conference on Engineering Systems Design and Analysis is scheduled on July 4-7, 2006 in Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy.

Public transport can play a central role in representing a viable and sustainable mobility solution, especially in urban areas. Average energy consumption and emissions per passenger are much lower than for private cars. At the same time, current buses often mostly rely on diesel, and there are different solutions that can contribute to public transport decarbonization. Biomethane is among the options to exploit local low-carbon resources to decrease the emissions of public transport in urban environments. This paper presents the analysis of a real case study considering real data on the fuel consumption and mileage of the existing bus fleet in the city of Turin, Italy, composed by diesel and natural gas buses. The aim of this study is to estimate the effect of different penetration levels of biomethane in substitution of the current fuels. The results show that the use of biomethane in urban buses could save to up to 71% of emissions compared to the current situation, and savings would increase to 75% when deploying biomethane and electric buses together. Average emissions per pkm could decrease from a current level of 85.5 gCO2/pkm to 21.3–63.4 gCO2/pkm depending on the penetration of biomethane and electric buses. The sensitivity analysis shows even higher savings when accounting for the future decrease of the electricity carbon intensity in Italy and for the additional benefits related to avoided emissions from manure disposal. The results of the analysis demonstrate the potential contribution of biomethane in decarbonizing urban buses, and the findings presented for this case study can be of use for policy makers and researchers that deal with a similar situation in other cities and countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: This paper assesses the impact of estimation methods for general and education-specific trends in alcohol-attributable mortality (AAM), and develops an alternative method that can be used when the data available for study is limited. Methods: We calculated yearly adult (30+) age-standardised and age-specific AAM rates by sex for the general population and by educational level (low, middle, high) in Finland and Turin (Italy) from 1972 to 2017. Furthermore the slope index of inequality and relative inequality index were computed by country and sex. We compared trends, levels, age distributions, and educational inequalities in AAM according to three existing estimation methods: (1) Underlying COD (UCOD), (2) Multiple COD (MCOD) method, and (3) the population attributable fractions (PAF)-method. An alternative method is developed based on the pros and cons of these methods and the outcomes of the comparison. Results: The UCOD and MCOD approaches revealed mainly increasing trends in AAM compared to the declining trends according to the PAF approach. These differences are more pronounced when examining AAM trends by educational groups, particularly for Finnish men. Until age 65, age patterns are similar for all methods, and levels nearly identical for MCOD and PAF in Finland. Our novel method assumes a similar trend and age pattern as observed in UCOD, but adjusts its level upwards so that it matches the level of the PAF approach for ages 30–64. Our new method yields levels in-between UCOD and PAF for Turin (Italy), and resembles the MCOD rates in Finland for females. Relative inequalities deviate for the PAF-method (lower levels) compared to other methods, whereas absolute inequalities are generally lower for UCOD than all three methods that combine wholly and partly AAM. Conclusions: The choice of method to estimate AAM affects not only levels, but also general and education-specific trends and inequalities. Our newly developed method constitutes a better alternative for multiple-country studies by educational level than the currently used UCOD-method when the data available for study is limited to underlying causes of death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the results obtained from an archaeometric study of a bronze Nuragic small boat model (Sardinia, Italy) dating from the Early Iron Age (presumably 9th–7th centuries BC). The artifact comes from an unknown location in Sardinia and is one of the objects that came to the Museum of Turin in the 19th century. This model is of particular interest as it is a unique Nuragic boat model containing a human figure among its decorations. The artifact is kept in the collection of the Royal Museum of Turin (Italy) and is a typical example of Sardinian manufacture from the Early Iron Age. This study was carried out using a combination of non-invasive techniques with energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (ED-XRF) integrated with Monte Carlo (MC) simulations and Raman spectroscopy, which allowed the characterization of the alloy of the artifact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent times, pollution has emerged as a significant global concern, with European regulations stipulating limits on PM 2.5 particle levels. Addressing this challenge necessitates innovative approaches. Smart low-cost sensors suffer from imprecision, and can not replace legal stations in terms of accuracy, however, their potential to amplify the capillarity of air quality evaluation on the territory is not under discussion. In this paper, we propose an AI system to correct PM 2.5 levels in low-cost sensor data. Our research focuses on data from Turin, Italy, emphasizing the impact of humidity on low-cost sensor accuracy. In this study, different Neural Network architectures that vary the number of neurons per layer, consecutive records and batch sizes were used and compared to gain a deeper understanding of the network's performance under various conditions. The AirMLP7-1500 model, with an impressive R-squared score of 0.932, stands out for its ability to correct PM 2.5 measurements. While our approach is tailored to the city of Turin, it offers a systematic methodology for the definition of those models and holds the promise to significantly improve the accuracy of air quality data collected from low-cost sensors, increasing the awareness of citizens and municipalities about this critical environmental information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digitalization techniques, such as photogrammetry (PG), are attracting the interest of experts in the cultural heritage field, as they enable the creation of three-dimensional virtual replicas of historical artifacts with 2D digital images. Indeed, PG allows for acquiring data regarding the overall appearance of an artifact, its geometry, and its texture. Furthermore, among several image-based techniques exploited for the conservation of works of art, multispectral imaging (MSI) finds great application in the study of the materials of historical items, taking advantage of the different responses of materials when exposed to specific wavelengths. Despite their great usefulness, PG and MSI are often used as separate tools. Integrating radiometric and geometrical data can notably expand the information carried by a 3D model. Therefore, this paper presents a novel research methodology that enables the acquisition of multispectral 3D models, combining the outcomes of PG and MSI (Visible (VIS), Ultraviolet-induced Visible Luminescence (UVL), Ultraviolet-Reflected (UVR), and Ultraviolet-Reflected False Color (UVR-FC) imaging) in a single coordinate system, using an affordable tunable set-up and open-source software. The approach has been employed for the study of two wooden artifacts from the Museo Egizio di Torino to investigate the materials present on the surface and provide information that could support the design of suitable conservation treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main potential benefits of rainwater harvesting, namely water saving and storm water management, are easily evaluable at a building scale when well-known behavioral models are used. However, the evaluation is often more complex at an urban scale, due to a lack of building characteristics and demographic data. In the present paper, we propose a method, which is based on the representative building concept that can be used to quantify the potential benefits of rainwater harvesting at different scales, that is, from the building scale to the district and city scales. Particular attention has been paid to the sizing of the system so that it can be used for different rainwater collection purposes. The method has been applied to the city of Turin (Italy) considering different scenarios: 1) domestic use (e.g., toilet flushing and the washing machine), where buildings are independent of each other, and 2) two public uses (the irrigation of public green areas and street washing), for which we have hypothesized that the rainwater collection takes place at a district scale. The non-potable water saving for domestic use varies across the city from 29% to 62%, according to the characteristics of the buildings, while the reduction of the flow peak conveyed to the sewerage system, during extreme storms, is quite constant (in the 57–67% range). Irrigation and street washing require a lower amount of water, thus about 80% of water can be saved, but the retention efficiency is low, and a slight reduction in the flow peaks can be expected. The aim of the methodology presented in this work is to provide a suitable decision-making tool for policy makers and urban planners to evaluate the capability and efficiency of rainwater harvesting systems for buildings, districts, and cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents and discusses the method adopted by Compagnia di San Paolo, one of the largest European philanthropic institutions, to monitor the advancement, despite the COVID-19 situation, in providing specific input to the decision-making process for dedicated projects. An innovative approach based on the use of daily open data was adopted to monitor the metropolitan area with a multidimensional perspective. Several open data indicators related to the economy, society, culture, environment, and climate were identified and incorporated into the decision support system dashboard. Indicators are presented and discussed to highlight how open data could be integrated into the foundation's strategic approach and potentially replicated on a large scale by local institutions. Moreover, starting from the lessons learned from this experience, the paper analyzes the opportunities and critical issues surrounding the use of open data, not only to improve the quality of life during the COVID-19 epidemic but also for the effective regulation of society, the participation of citizens, and their well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When industrial relics, such as obsolete buildings, sites, and infrastructures, enter into a process of adaptive reuse, they become transformation engines capable of shaping the urban fabric. They provide tangible and intangible links to our past and have the potential to play a significant role in today's cities' futures. One unresolved issue is the quantification of the externalities of these transformation processes. If undertaken correctly, adaptive reuse can contribute to the development of social and cultural capital, environmental sustainability, urban regeneration, and, most importantly, economic benefits to the surrounding community. In this sense, understanding the value of heritage is particularly important in light of the new European urban environmental policy movement based on the circular economy, which aims to change the way Member States consume and produce materials and energy. After a review of the externalities generated by the adaptive reuse of disused industrial heritage, the paper will concentrate on the estimation of economic benefits given by a transformation process that affected Turin's Aurora district (Northern Italy) during the last years. The hedonic pricing method (HPM) was used to investigate the effects of the construction of new headquarters and the redevelopment of an old power plant converted into a museum and conference center. This study used econometric models to identify a significant increase in market prices within 800 m of the site and calculated a EUR 16,650,445 capitalized benefit from the transformation on the surrounding residential building stock. The study thus contributed to the awareness that reused heritage not only improves the lives of residents, but it also has a positive impact on the real estate market, in terms of transactions, as well as market values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A resilient, diversified, and efficient energy system, comprising multiple energy carriers and high-efficiency infrastructure, is the way to decarbonise the European economy in line with the Paris Agreement, the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the various recovery plans after the COVID-19 pandemic period. To achieve these goals, a key role is played by the private construction sector, which can reduce economic and environmental impacts and accelerate the green transition. Nevertheless, while traditionally decision-making problems in large urban transformations were supported by economic assessment based on Life Cycle Thinking and Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) approaches, these are now obsolete. Indeed, the sustainable neighbourhood paradigm requires the assessment of different aspects, considering both economic and extra-economic criteria, as well as different points of view, involving all stakeholders. In this context, the paper proposes a multi-stage assessment procedure that first investigates the energy performance, through a dynamic simulation model, and then the socio-economic performance of regeneration operations at the neighbourhood scale, through a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA). The model based on the proposed Preference Ranking Organisation Method for Enrichment Evaluations II (PROMETHEE II) aims to support local decision makers (DMs) in choosing which retrofit operations to implement and finance. The methodology was applied to a real-world case study in Turin (Italy), where various sustainable measures were ranked using multiple criteria to determine the best transformation scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Nuragic civilization (Sardinia, Italy, XVIII–VIII B.C) developed a flourishing bronze metallurgy with strong connections with other civilizations from the Mediterranean basin. Within the large bronze production, there are some peculiar representations of human figures, known in the archaeological environment of Sardinia as bronzetti, depicting warriors, priests, and offerers. In this paper, an interesting couple of Nuragic statuettes representing offerers, one from the Pigorini Museum in Rome and another from the Musei Reali in Turin, were analyzed. They have been investigated with X-ray fluorescence integrated with Monte Carlo simulations (XRF-MC). The combined methodology provides more accurate results, ranging from the structural characterization to the identification of the corrosion layers to the estimation of the composition of the alloy of the artifact. One of the most striking results regards the heads of the offerers: both heads are covered with a thick iron-based layer, even though the whole artifacts are made of a copper alloy. To understand the reason behind this peculiar corrosion patina, several hypotheses have been considered, including the possibility that these iron mineralizations are the consequence of an ancient superficial treatment, intending to confer a chromatic effect on the figurine's head. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Religions and religiosities are among the various social life spheres being affected by medical and political measures imposed during the health emergency. Involving a wide range of daily life dimensions and intertwining with fundamental aspects of individual and social existence, restrictions hit religions and religiosities in all those spaces where they find expression in our contemporary era. Pandemic restraints induced changes in the use of different public spaces: from school to home, from workplaces to places of worship, from prisons to squares, from hospitals to cemeteries. This also concerned the way religiosity could be performed, lived and shared in everyday life, for communities, families and individuals. In particular, during the pandemic, the role of religious environments became, once again, a place of material as well as spiritual support for migrants. And in this perspective, young people, i.e., second generations, played a prominent role, regaining prestige and recognition from adults. In fact, from being perceived as "far from religion and on the road to secularization", as one interviewee said, young people have been able to show how it is possible to reinterpret religion in emigration, without abandoning religious values. This paper discusses the results of preliminary research on the topic conducted in the first phase of the pandemic in Turin, a city that, for its history of immigration and consolidated presence of Muslim, Catholic and Orthodox communities, is an emblematic case of the Italian multicultural context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Giuseppe Gradenigo was born in Venice in 1859, and he was a member of the noble Venetian family of the Gradenigo. After graduation in medicine in Padua, he went to Vienna where he deepened his studies in otology and embryology. He obtained, in 1888, the "libera docenza" in otology in Padua, and in 1889, he began to direct the section of otolaryngology of the polyclinic of Turin. After a brilliant career in 1917, he took over the chair of otolaryngology at the University of Naples. Gradenigo was a pioneer in otolaryngology and audiology and a reference figure in the clinical and scientific fields. In this paper, the most important aspects about his works and his biography will be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DC urban light railway systems are used for public transportation in many towns worldwide. In these systems, short-circuit currents are often similar, both in steady-state magnitude and in rate-of-rise, to normal operation currents. In order to properly set the protection relays, to obtain short-circuit discrimination and to avoid nuisance trippings, it is important to analyze short circuit and normal operation current patterns. It is also important to highlight that normal operation current patterns are not only those related to rolling stock acceleration, but also to zone commutation. This paper presents the results of several measurement campaigns, performed for this purpose, on the tram network of Turin, Italy. The measurements results are then used to propose optimized settings for the installed overcurrent protections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents preliminary results about Turin’s air quality before, during and after the realization of the infrastructure projects for the Turin 2006 XX Winter Olympic Games. We compared the 3-year in-operam (work in progress) period (i.e. 2003–2005, when all infrastructures needed for the organization were built) with the periods before (ante-operam) and after (post-operam): 2000–2002 and 2006–2008, respectively. In particular, we analyzed the concentrations of the primary pollutants (nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and fine particulate matter, PM10) in Turin and Milan. In this way, we could use the measurements from Milan as a control dataset for comparison with the atmospheric pollution conditions in Turin. We found that infrastructural work for the Olympic Games in Turin affected NO2 and PM10 atmospheric concentrations, determining a peak in the average values during the in-operam period (probably due to caterpillar tractor emissions and excavation). This pattern did not emerge from the Milan data, where a decreasing trend can be seen between the ante-operam and the post-operam periods. On the other hand, a negative effect on CO levels was not observed: the decreasing trend, more evident in Turin compared to Milan, can be linked to the expansion during the same period of limited traffic areas created to facilitate the infrastructural work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A resilient city includes multiple energy carriers, high-efficiency infrastructure, lower resource demand to decarbonize and sustain the urban system in accordance with the Paris Agreement, the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the various recovery plans following the COVID-19 pandemic period. To achieve these goals, a key role is played by all urban sectors, which can reduce environmental impacts and accelerate the green transition at larger scale. Intervening on a district scale obviously requires the evaluation of different aspects, taking into account both economic and non-economic criteria, as well as different points of view, involving all stakeholders. This paper proposes a multi-step evaluation procedure that extends the European manual-based Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) to include the extra-economic benefits and the stakeholders' opinion in the evaluation, according to the COmpoSIte Model for Assessment (COSIMA) method. This is the first application of COSIMA in the urban design sectors (i.e. buildings, water, public lighting, transportation and waste management) where different sustainable measures for a real case study located in Turin (Italy) were compared to define the most suitable transformation scenario according to multiple criteria. The results have shown how invasive scenarios allow achieving the greatest benefits, despite the huge initial costs of realization. • Decarbonizing the urban system is a priority nowadays. • Considering an urban regeneration process all urban sectors is necessary. • COSIMA proposes a standardized approach to evaluate projects at the district level. • The multi-step approach evaluates energy, environmental, social performances. • Sectors considered are residential buildings, water, transport, waste management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the problem of power penetration of photovoltaic (PV) systems in urban networks. After a qualitative problem description, two different environments for PV systems have been analyzed: rural and urban networks. Concerning the rural network, a single line has been simulated in order to evaluate the relation between the number of PV systems installed along the line and the maximum PV power installable. In the second part of this paper, possible problems due to power penetration have been examined concerning a clustered PV system that will be installed in the city of Torino (Italy) within the ambit of the EU project called POLYCITY. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper was presented to introduce Changing the Change, an international conference on the role and potential of design research in the transition towards sustainability, held in Turin, Italy, 10–12 July 2008. At the end of the paper is an Appendix which presents the first draft of a ‘Design Research Agenda for Sustainability’, which was co-generated by participants during the conference. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The presence of bloodstains certifies that a wounded human body has been enveloped in the Shroud of Turin and that most parts of this corpse came in direct contact with the cloth during the burial procedure. On the contrary, the ventral body image, by correlation between image intensity and cloth-body distance, shows codified information regarding the distance from which the cloth was versus the body at the time of the image formation. At first sight, this last statement seems to be impossible for a human corpse. Therefore, the coexistence of the bloodstains and the body imprints on both sides of the Shroud could be seen as unnatural, especially when we consider that a deterministic process as the UV radiation or the action of an electrostatic field (corona discharge), as well as manmade chemical and thermal treatment. These processes do not explain all the known characteristics of the body images (ventral and dorsal) because they do not distinguish the fibrils that must be yellowed from the ones that must retain the background colour. In this paper we prove that a natural stochastic process can offer a rational and scientific explanation that can account for all the known properties of these bloodstains and body images. However, another possible explanation that must be taken into account is a natural process involving the production of oxygen that yields a latent image. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the beginning of 2013, we have a team of scientists at the Astronomical Observatory of Belgrade, focusing on observations and research of blazars. At the same time, we established a cooperation with the Astronomical Observatory of Torino (Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino), center for the Whole Earth Blazar Telescope (WEBT) international collaboration. In this paper, we describe the WEBT project, present our equipment as well as some preliminary results. We also point to some issues that we have encountered during the one year experience and found important from the observational point of view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This practical paper presents a required reflection on paradigm shift toward an aware water management in urban context for the provision of renewable energy and for the enhancement of pre-industrial heritage. It investigates the transition toward systemic and ecological approach to face the complexity of urban environment and infrastructures for energy supply. The study investigates the sustainable energy framework in Piedmont Region and in the Municipality of Turin. Especially, it analyses opportunities provided by urban rivers and streams for installing mini-hydro power plants using historical unused infrastructures. The real case study presents the conversion of an historical check dam of Regio Parco canal in a mini-hydro power plant in the city of Turin (Piedmont Region, Italy), and it investigates the "land use-water-energy nexus" from an ecological perspective. The paper considers the 12 principles of infrastructure ecology in the urban water management to provide innovative solutions for blue-urban infrastructures that increase sustainability in cities. According to the urban ecological infrastructure , the project of mini-hydro power plant presents multi-functional features and this method can be replied in other similar contexts. Concerning technical solutions adopted for the mini-hydro power plant, it examines the potential of the green/blue infrastructure approach to integrate the flood risk management and the production of renewable energy. It analyses opportunities provided by low impact development to preserve freshwater ecosystems and to maintain biodiversity using inflatable dam, Kaplan turbine and fish ladder. The "Regio Parco" mini-hydro power plant is designed to provide energy for almost 600 households improving the environmental value and the usability of the area. The paper discusses the adoption of an ecological approach to design multiple functions blue infrastructure that can be implemented on other networks improving the urban landscape. Image 1 • Urban water management is a systemic and complex issue. • Ecological perspective to blue infrastructures preserves freshwater ecosystems. • The mini-hydro power plant reduces the flood risk in the study area. • It produces 1,9 GWh/year that ensures the energy provision for 600 households. • Urban ecological infrastructure approach moves toward the sustainability increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A structural assessment study on “Palazzo del Lavoro” in Turin, a masterpiece by Pier Luigi Nervi, was carried out within a National Research Project dedicated to the analysis of modern heritage architecture in Italy. Based on the original design documentation collected through records, a complete finite element model of the building was generated. The study included detailed models of the main structural members, represented by monumental reinforced concrete columns, a mushroom-type steel roof and reinforced concrete ribbed gallery slabs, and the main non-structural systems, constituted by continuous gallery-to-roof glazed façades. The results of the linear and non-linear analyses developed by these models, aimed at fully understanding the original design concept of the various members, as well as at evaluating their current static and seismic safety conditions, are reported in this paper. The non-linear computations include a buckling analysis of the slender steel beams constituting the roof, and an “integral” seismic pushover analysis of the monumental columns. The results of the analyses highlight safe conditions and good performance objectives in general, but for some important exceptions. Indeed, the roof beams failed to pass the verifications on global and local panel flexural–torsional buckling, and some cantilever beams of the gallery floors showed poor shear resistance. Retrofit hypotheses are also formulated for these elements, so as to help the entire structure to comply with the requirements of the new Italian Technical Standards. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Vehicular traffic plays an important role in atmospheric pollution and can be used as one of the key predictors in air-quality forecasting models. The models that can account for the role of traffic are especially valuable in urban areas, where high pollutant concentrations are often observed during particular times of day (rush hour) and year (winter). In this paper, we develop a generalized additive models approach to analyze the behavior of concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and particulate matter (PM10), collected at the environmental monitoring stations distributed throughout the city of Turin, Italy, from December 2003 to April 2005. We describe nonlinear relationships between predictors and pollutants, that are adjusted for unobserved time-varying confounders. We examine several functional forms for the traffic variable and find that a simple form can often provide adequate modeling power. Our analysis shows that there is a saturation effect of traffic on NO2 , while such saturation is less evident in models linking traffic to PM10 behavior, having adjusted for meteorological covariates. Moreover, we consider the proposed models separately by seasons and highlight similarities and differences in the predictors' partial effects. Finally, we show how forecasting can help in evaluating traffic regulation policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The ever increasing quantity of construction and demolition waste (C&DW) in Italy is presently challenging public administrators, which strive to ensure that collection and recycling are sustainably managed and need to understand whether and to what extent recycled aggregates can complement natural aggregates in a sustainable supply mix (SSM) for the construction industry. The paper presents a research aimed at analysing energy and environmental implications of the C&DW recycling chain in the administrative territory of Provincia di Torino in Northern Italy, with 2.25 million inhabitants and yearly generation of 1.8 million tons of C&DW. A combined Geographical Information System (GIS) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) model was developed using site-specific data and paying particular attention to land use, transportation and avoided landfill: crucial issues for sustainable planning and management. A GIS was used to handle data and information about 89 recycling plants, including technological features, output and physical–mechanical characteristics of recycled aggregate. The LCA methodology was used to identify and quantify energy and environmental loads, under different assumptions relevant to delivery distances, quality of recycled aggregates, local availability of natural aggregates and geographical coverage of market demand. The C&DW recycling chain was proved to be eco-efficient, as avoided impacts were found to be higher than the induced impacts for 13 out of 14 environmental indicators. It was also estimated that the transportation distance of recycled aggregate should increase 2–3 times before the induced impacts outweigh the avoided impacts. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Grading programming assignments of courses on distributed programming can greatly benefit from extensive testing, especially if quality aspects such as portability, robustness, security, and performance have to be evaluated. This paper presents a framework that was developed at the Turin Polytechnic, Turin, Italy, to enable seamless and fast implementation of Web portals for automated management of student programming assignments. By using a computational grid facility to schedule testing jobs on different hosts, the framework offers high flexibility and scalability, thus enabling computationally intensive tests and some kinds of distributed tests, such as portability tests and field tests, which otherwise would be difficult to automate. The grid can be made of ordinary and even nondedicated or dismissed PCs, which, according to the authors' experience, is enough to offer students online extensive testing services. The framework was successfully used in two courses on distributed programming, located at different sites, partially overlapped in time, and attended by a total of 60 students. However, the framework should be scalable enough to work with increasing numbers of students and courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews some of the results and the speculations presented at the Torino CD38 Meeting in June, 2006 and focused on CD38 and CD157 seen as a family of molecules acting as surface receptors of immune cells. This partisan view was adopted in the attempt to combine the enzymatic functions with what the immunologists consider key functions in different cell models. At the moment, it is unclear whether the two functions are correlated, indifferent, or independent. Here we present conclusions inferred exclusively on human cell models, namely T and B lymphocytes, dendritic cells, and granulocytes. As an extra analytical tool, we try to follow in the history of life when the enzymatic and receptorial functions were generated, mixing ontogeny, membrane localization, and cell anchorage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

District Heating (DH) technology is considered to be a sustainable and quasi-renewable way of producing and distributing hot water along the city to heat buildings. However, the main obstacle to wider adoption of DH technology is represented by the thermal request peak in the morning hours of winter days, especially in Mediterranean countries. In this paper, this peak-shaving problem is tackled by combining three different approaches. A thermodynamic model is used to monitor the buildings' thermal response to energy profile modifications. An agent-based model is adopted in order to represent the end-users and their adaptability to variations of temperatures in buildings. Finally, a Reinforcement Learning algorithm is used to optimally mediate between two needs: on the one hand, a set of anticipations and delays is applied to the energy profiles in order to reduce the thermal request peak. On the other hand, the algorithm learns by trial and error the individual agents' sensitivity to thermal comfort, avoiding drastic modifications for the most sensitive users. The experiments carried out in the DH network in Torino (north-west of Italy) demonstrate that the proposed approach, compared with a literature solution chosen as a baseline, allows to achieve better results in terms of overall performances and speed of convergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase in built surfaces constitutes the main reason for the formation of the Urban Heat Island (UHI), that is a metropolitan area significantly warmer than its surrounding rural areas. The urban heat islands and other urban-induced climate feedbacks may amplify heat stress and urban flooding under climate change and therefore to predict them correctly has become essential. Currently in the COSMO model, cities are represented by natural land surfaces with an increased surface roughness length and a reduced vegetation cover, but this approach is unable to correctly reproduce the UHI effect. By increasing the model resolution, a representation of the main physical processes that characterize the urban local meteorology should be addressed, in order to better forecast temperature, moisture and precipitation in urban environments. Within the COSMO Consortium a bulk parameterization scheme (TERRA_URB or TU) has been developed. It parametrizes the effects of buildings, streets and other man-made impervious surfaces on energy, moist and momentum exchanges between the surface and atmosphere, and additionally accounts for the anthropogenic heat flux as a heat source from the surface to the atmosphere. TU implements an impervious water-storage parameterization, and the Semi-empirical Urban canopy parametrization (SURY) that translates 3D urban canopy into bulk parameters. This paper presents evaluation results of the TU scheme in high-resolution simulations with a recent COSMO model version for selected European cities, namely Turin, Naples and Moscow. The key conclusion of the work is that the TU scheme in the COSMO model reasonably reproduces UHI effect and improves air temperature forecasts for all the investigated urban areas, despite each city has very different morphological characteristics. Our results highlight potential benefits of a new turbulence scheme and the representation of skin-layer temperature (for vegetation) in the model performance. Our model framework provides perspectives for enhancing urban climate modelling, although further investigations in improving model parametrizations, calibration and the use of more realistic urban canopy parameters are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy resources and energy-efficient technologies, as well as building retrofitting, are only some of the possible strategies that can achieve more sustainable cities and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Subsidies and incentives are often provided by governments to increase the number of people adopting these sustainable energy efficiency actions. However, actual sales of green products are currently not as high as would be desired. The present paper applies a hybrid agent-based model (ABM) integrated with a Geographic Information System (GIS) to simulate a complex socio-economic-architectural adaptive system to study the temporal diffusion and the willingness of inhabitants to adopt photovoltaic (PV) systems. The San Salvario neighborhood in Turin (Italy) is used as an exemplary case study for testing consumer behavior associated with this technology, integrating social network theories, opinion formation dynamics and an adaptation of the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Data/characteristics for both buildings and people are explicitly spatialized with the level of detail at the block scale. Particular attention is given to the comparison of the policy mix for supporting decision-makers and policymakers in the definition of the most efficient strategies for achieving a long-term vision of sustainable development. Both variables and outcomes accuracy of the model are validated with historical real-world data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The effects of fouling in district heating substations are analyzed. • A methodology for the fouling detection in large networks is proposed. • Data gathered by smart meters installed in the system substations are used. • The potential of the methodology is proved by experimental tests. • The methodology is implemented in a tool for maintenance activity support. Diagnosis of anomalies in heat exchangers of district heating substations is an essential point to assure high comfort level in buildings, as well as to exploit energy sources efficiently. The aim of this paper is to propose a methodology for automatically detecting fouling in the heat exchangers located in the substations of a district heating system. The methodology is tailored for large district heating networks, where a large number of buildings should be examined with reasonable availability of data. Fouling is analysed using only the data collected by the meters installed in the substations: the mass flow rate on the primary side and the temperatures on both sides of the heat exchanger. Evaluation is difficult due to the rawness of the data gathered and the variable operating conditions, which are adjusted on the basis of the external temperatures and set-points. The software created to implement the proposed methodology receives rough data as the input and it is able to manage data gap and lack of data. Furthermore, it provides a graphical output, which can be used for assisting the operators who manage the network and plan the cleaning schedules. The software has been tested considering space heating substations in six distribution networks of the Turin district heating system, for a total amount of 325 heat exchangers. A regular application of the approach and the cleaning of the heat exchangers presenting fouling is expected to lead to an average annual decrease of about 1.6% of the primary energy consumption in the entire network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Identification of solution sets to reduce construction costs in nearly zero energy houses. • 15% maximum reduction of energy related construction cost in Continental Italy. • 26% maximum reduction of energy related construction cost in Mediterranean Italy. • Net present values up to 163 €/m2 after 50 years building lifetime. Concerning Nearly Zero Energy Buildings, it is important to guarantee energy efficiency, thermal comfort and indoor environmental quality, while keeping construction and operational costs low. In this framework, this paper explores the efficacy of applying different scenarios, for reducing construction costs of new nearly zero energy multi-family houses in a life cycle perspective. Conversely to the standard cost-optimal approach, a real Italian case study building was chosen. Alternative and unconventional combinations of solutions for envelope and technical systems were adopted. Calculations were performed in two Italian cities (Rome and Turin). Three types of analysis were developed thermal comfort, energy performance and financial calculation. Results of the thermal analysis show that the installation of active cooling to prevent summer overheating can be avoided by applying low-cost passive strategies. All the proposed low-cost scenarios (4 alternative scenarios in Rome and 5 in Turin) reached the highest grade of energy performance, with a reduction of the non-renewable primary energy consumption up to 46% compared to the base case in Rome and 18% in Turin. From the economic perspective, all the scenarios in the two climate zones allow both reductions in the construction costs, up to 26% in Rome and 15% in Turin, and a Net Present Value after 50 years up to 163 €/m2 in Rome and 158 €/m2 in Turin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A borehole thermal energy storage living lab was built nearby Torino (Northern Italy). The aim of this living lab is to test the ability of the alluvial deposits of the north-western Po Plain to store the thermal energy collected by solar panels. Monitoring the temperature distribution induced in the underground and the effectiveness of the heat storage in this climatic context is not an easy task. For this purpose, different temperature evolution strategies are compared in this paper: Local temperature measurements, numerical simulations and geophysical surveys. These different approaches were compared during a single day of operation of the living lab. The results of this comparison allowed to underline the effectiveness of time-lapse 3D electric resistivity tomography as a non-invasive and cost-effective qualitative heat monitoring tool. This was obtained even in a test site with unfavorable thermo-hydrogeological conditions and high-level anthropic noise. Moreover, the present study demonstrated that, if properly calibrated with local temperature values, time-lapse 3D electric resistivity tomography also provides a quantitative estimation of the underground temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the findings of a secondary analysis of qualitative research conducted in Turin (Northern Italy) in 2012–2013 on autonomy and responsibility in the relationships between children and parents. A total of 46 parents and 48 children aged 9–13 were interviewed. The secondary analysis focuses on a specific section of the in-depth interview dealing with daily activity contracts. The aim is to investigate children's participation in everyday life through children's and parents' narratives about daily activity contracts. Thematic analysis of this section of the interviews shows that children make room for acquiring such relational and dialogue skills as self-confidence and speaking up, which are recognized to be essential for any level and type of participation. Moreover, children's and parents' discourses on daily activity contracts provide an opportunity to "cultivate" participation and autonomy through a sort of alliance between parents and children in decision-making. The question is whether these dialogic attitudes and negotiation abilities are a resource not restricted to the family sphere but which extends to other areas of participation that go beyond the realm of private, protected, and reversible choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information about the 17th conference of the International Association of Feminist Economics (IAFFE) in Torino, Italy is presented. Topics include women's involvement in the labour market, elder care concerns and child care. The conference feature Dr. Jennifer Baxter, who addressed the theme with her paper "Parents Who Don't Use Childcare: Who Provides the Care in Working Couple Families with Infants?"