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• The paper provides a revision of the existing protocols for videofluoroscopy and discussion on which one should be used in routine clinical practice and in research settings. • The interprofessional routine assessments of bulbar function, with a review of the recent clinical tools specifically developed for SMA and on the assessments performed by speech and language therapists/pathologists in the new SMA phenotypes is provided. • As the new therapies have changed the natural history particular attention should be paid to rehabilitation for bulbar dysfunction. Progressive bulbar involvement is frequent in spinal muscular atrophy, with prevalence and severity of deficits associated with type. The report provides an overview of the presentations made at the workshop grouped into 4 sessions: the first section was dedicated to videofluoroscopy with a revision of the existing protocols and discussion on which one should be used in routine clinical practice and in research settings. The second session was dedicated to interprofessional routine assessments of bulbar function, with a review of the recent clinical tools specifically developed for SMA. The third section was focused on the assessments performed by speech and language therapists/pathologists in the new SMA phenotypes. The last section focused on how the new therapies have changed the approach in rehabilitation for bulbar dysfunction. Finally, we present the consensus that was achieved on these aspects and possible action points from these. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large number of assemblages of animal remains have come to light in the modern city of Rome and have been studied over the past forty years, providing a large amount of information on animal consumption and exploitation from the Early Iron Age (9th c. BC) to the Late Middle Ages (13th c. AD). This long chronological period witnesses the succession of important historical events that have profoundly influenced all aspects, among them the urban landscape, the demography, but also the diet and all economic activities involving animals. Some papers devoted to the discussion of faunal data from single context or on particular topics and some overviews on animal consumption and management in ancient Rome have been already published, but a detailed analysis of biometric data has not yet completely carried out. Biometry is an important tool used in zooarchaeological studies that provides data on size variation in animal populations, contributing to our understanding of husbandry practices, focusing on breeding control and improvement in ancient time. This paper is devoted to the discussion of the results of the biometric analyses carried out with the LSI (Logarithm Size Index) method, in order to investigate on the variation of domestic animals in Rome from the Orientalizing/Archaic period to the Late Middle Ages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an energy sustainability perspective, the renewables penetration is expected to importantly increase over the next decade, requiring modifications in the current electric system in terms of flexibility and reliability. In this respect, storage systems will play a central role and the production of green hydrogen is seen as a promising solution for both short-term and seasonal storage. In this context, the aim of this paper is the development of a methodology for the optimal design of hybrid storage micro-grids based on renewables and hydrogen and the definition of an optimal management strategy in a perspective of hydrogen employment as seasonal storage. In detail, an optimization code – based on mathematical models for each component and on specifically developed optimization strategies for the management of the components interaction – will be presented and applied to a case study. The code optimizes the sizes of the integrated electrolyzer and fuel cell, based on an objective function that maximizes the storage efficiency. It has been applied to the S.A.P.I.E.N.T.E. micro-grid installed at the ENEA Research Centre near Rome (Italy) – composed of photovoltaic panels, batteries, heat pump and thermal storage systems – obtaining the optimal design of the hydrogen section to be integrated as seasonal storage strategy. Furthermore, a parametric analysis on the battery size has been performed. The application of the developed optimization routine resulted in the introduction of a 3.7 kW electrolyzer and 4 kW fuel cell coupled with 36 kWh of battery capacity, enabling a total hydrogen production of about 87.5 kg (corresponding to 1159 kWh of electricity produced during the thermal year). • Green hydrogen production as seasonal storage strategy within hybrid micro-grids. • Development of a model for the optimal components design and management. • Objective function to maximize storage efficiency and renewables self-consumption. • Application to a case study, optimizing electrolyzer, fuel cell and battery sizes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the mathematical derivation of the underlying probability distribution function for the normalized least-squares wavelet spectrogram is presented. The impact of empirical and statistical weights on the estimation of the spectral peaks and their significance are demonstrated from the statistical point of view both theoretically and practically. The simulation results show an improvement of approximately 0. 02 mm (RMSE) for annual signal estimation when statistical weights are considered in the least-squares wavelet analysis (LSWA). The weighted LSWA estimates the signals more accurately than the ordinary LSWA for different percentage amount of missing data. As a real-world application, Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) time series for a station in Rome, Italy are analyzed. The analyses of the GNSS time series provided by different agencies for the same station reveal statistically significant annual peaks, more significant in 2010 but less significant between 2018 and 2020, while the higher frequency components show different spectral patterns over time. A declining trend of approximately − 0. 42 mm/year since 2004 is estimated for the GNSS height time series, likely due to gradual land subsidence. The results not only highlight the advantages of LSWA but can also help to better understand the uncertainties involved in signal estimation. • The Least-Squares Wavelet Analysis (LSWA) of GNSS time series in Rome is presented. • The mathematical derivation of stochastic surfaces for spectrograms in LSWA is shown. • Considering statistical weights improved the accuracy of signal estimation. • Jumps and missing data affect signal estimation but can be greatly treated by LSWA. • Annual signals were more significant in 2010 but less between 2018 and 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• maximum value of the load connectible to an MV feeder is calculated • N-1 security criterion is fulfilled • Application to the whole distribution grid of Rome, Italy, is presented This paper proposes a methodology able to assess the maximum value of the load that can be connected to a medium voltage (MV) feeder in addition to the existing one without impairing the N -1 security criterion. A simplified approach is pursued, the original problem is split into several separate subproblems, and the maximum additional load is calculated solving multiple optimization problems. The proposed method is simple and practically applicable by distribution system operators (DSOs) that, after a request by a customer to connect a load, must know if an MV feeder is fit to host the additional demand or if a new infrastructure is needed. The application of the methodology to the whole MV distribution grid of Rome, in Italy, is presented; execution times show that the DSO can apply the model daily, to follow the load growth day by day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultural heritage all over the world is threatened by innumerable events of environmental and/or human origins. This paper proposed a sequential search for the construction of a risk index to help managers identify the assets of cultural heritage that need priority in conservation interventions. The basic idea behind this study is that a risk index is not the output of a mere calculation, but the result of decision-making. More specifically, the procedure provided in the present study allows managers to create a risk index by estimating its determinants in a real-world perspective where it is not perfect rationality of the optimization model, but rather bounded rationality of the satisfaction-based model that guides decision-making. A 17th century church in Rome that houses the Ecstasy of Saint Teresa sculpted by Bernini was used to show how the procedure can be applied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper focuses on the fuel transport optimization network for the Total Erg Oil Company to the distribution points sited in a zone near Rome, in Italy. The numerical method is based on a capacitated vehicle itinerary issue for time intervals, considering various heuristic procedures. The fixed and time-dependent travel times are considered. Compared to the standard operational costs, a multivariable objective function is developed that considers: (1) the risk associated with an incidental event involving a fuel tank; (2) that not all the roads are suitable for heavy vehicles transporting fuel products. These two additional terms permit to better quantify the costs for the operator, since it is assumed that roads with higher number of accidents or with not suitable infrastructure conditions have also higher probability of making the fuel tank experiences at least a delay during the day. Results show that a proper vehicle routes design on our multivariable objective function allows economizing about 40 km daily respect to a benchmark. The fuel company can also consider the itinerary design, modifying the weights used with the aim to comprise the additional variables with respect to the standard operational costs, thus assuring a higher safety route planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper explores the potential of the global urban gardening movement to mitigate spatial and environmental injustice conditions in the urban space. After a background discussion of the spatial and environmental injustice theory and an assessment of methodologies that have been adopted in relevant studies, we will highlight existing links with urban gardening initiatives in a specific case study, i.e. the city of Rome, Italy. The case study is introduced to investigate the spatial coincidence of urban gardening initiatives in this specific city (assumed as the dependent variable) and spatial and environmental injustice (S&EI) indicators. Several S&EI-related phenomena whose relevance has been demonstrated are mapped, and their goodness of fit in serving as explanatory variables for the spatial distribution of urban gardening agency is investigated. The analysis builds upon a quantitative approach and features a linear spatial regression model. Surprisingly, findings suggest that social-economic variables generally have greater influence on spatial injustice than environmental variables. In fact, from a theoretical perspective, our results challenge the current interpretation of urban gardening as a mere means to address environmental, food or nature-related issues in cities. Instead, they support the increasingly popular interpretation of urban gardening as a political gesture. Our results provide policy-makers with useful observations about key variables related to spatial injustice in the city and contrasting initiatives, notably urban gardening projects. The paper concludes with a critical assessment of the results and the limiting and supporting factors of the featured theoretical and methodological framework. Highlights • narrow the ensemble of relevant issues related to S&EI; • Show that – conversely from part of the literature – social-economic factors are more relevant than environmental ones; • Explore the degree to which UG can be regarded as a potential grassroot mitigation option for S&EI conditions through the presentation of the case study of Rome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Paleolithic period in central Italy is currently undergoing an extensive revision due to a significant chronological re-examination of many archaeological sites. Recently, several lower Palaeolithic sites 20 km NW of Rome previously dated within MIS 9 (335–300 ka) (i.e. La Polledrara di Cecanibbio, Torre in Pietra, Castel di Guido, Malagrotta and four sites along Via Aurelia) have been geochronologically reassessed between 412 and 325 ka. These sites, in which abundant fauna, artifacts and hominin remains have been found, are remarkably well preserved. A combination of geological factors and the peculiar geodynamic conditions of this region, where tectonics, volcanism and glacio-eustatic forcing worked in concert, allowed for the exceptional conservation of the remains In this paper we provide a review of these sites and analyze their depositional contexts, showing that rapid filling of the fluvial incisions during glacial terminations, combined with sudden emplacement of volcanic deposits, caused the sealing of the archaeological materials accumulated at the bottom of the paleo-valleys. The aim of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of these sites as well as to provide the archaeological implications of their new chronology and depositional contexts. Results allow to reconsider the hominin presence in central Italy and highlight the importance to integrate archaeological investigations with modern geological studies, combining sedimentological, geochronological, geomorphological and chronostratigraphical methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The continuous improvement of the energy and sustainability performances of buildings is stimulated by mandatory rules, economic incentives and voluntary sustainability pathway of which energy efficiency is one of the most important components. The tools to evaluate the energy, sustainability, automation and energy metering performances of buildings, to check the status and lead the investments, are often complex, slow, expensive and related to the specific Countries, making difficult the job for the facility management departments of national or international organizations in EU. The present paper wants to give a contribute to existing literature by providing a new energy, sustainability, automation and energy metering label system to quickly, simply and economically evaluate the performances of office buildings in Europe. This tool has been tested on a case study, a research center of the European Space Agency (ESA-ESRIN) in Rome, Italy. The results of the test show that the tool has been successfully applied on the buildings of the research center using the data provided by the facility management department of ESA-ESRIN and the energy audit of the center. The labels can correctly represent the state of the buildings in a more cost-effective way if compared to the national energy certification and to international sustainability protocols. This study provides the facility management departments of public and private companies in EU - especially if they manage buildings in different EU nations - a reliable tool to quicky evaluate the energy, sustainability, automation and energy metering performances of their buildings. [Display omitted] • Energy and sustainability performances of buildings are evaluated through protocols. • Facility managers need quick tools: the proposed labeling tool for offices can help. • It labels energy, sustainability, automation and energy metering performances. • This tool considers Trans-national European Union differences (primary energy, CO 2). • The first application has been on the European Space Agency Italian research center. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electric micromobility systems such as e-bikes and e-scooters represent sustainable mobility options especially for specific classes of travelled distances. Moreover, the coverage and accessibility of transit services can be expanded through the implementation and promotion of these systems. Therefore, transport engineering is dealing with the development of new tools to support the forecast of the potential demand both for door-to-door trips and its integration with transit. With respect to these incoming research challenges, the paper proposes a methodology to investigate private mobility through floating car data (FCD) to identify the potential demand that can be shifted from cars to electric micromobility (e-micromobility) systems while also exploring the opportunity to increase transit usage. The benefits of such methodology have been evaluated on a real large test case, i.e. Rome (Italy), through an FCD dataset of about 240,000 monitored vehicles. The developed methodology is parametric and, thus, it can be easily transferred to other city contexts taking into consideration the compatibility of the local network infrastructures and the micromobility solutions. In Rome, it was estimated that the potential demand for e-micromobility can reach a maximum value of about 20% of weekday-trips, while about 10% of the morning peak trips could potentially be interested in a multimodal trip (i.e. mass transit services and e-micromobility for the access/egress). Results can be adopted by local authorities, transport companies and electric mobility providers to optimize infrastructural measures or the location of shared e-scooters and e-bikes to increase potential e-micromobility demand, as well as to increase the number of multimodal mobility options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban informality characterises contemporary socio-spatial transformations and increasingly appears as a way of producing, organising, and managing the future city. The pervasiveness of the spontaneous dimension of urban life, with its various expressions, encourages the experimentation of new forms and alternative uses of spaces, spreads social practices, and suggests different city-making approaches, thus inspiring innovative urban development paths. Based on these assumptions, this paper focuses on social innovation as a process and strategy that valorises the social and cultural aspects of the community and promotes innovations in spatial planning. It investigates how the creative and often informal actions put in place by spontaneous groups and associations foster social cohesion. A comparative analysis of two case studies in Marseille and Rome offers a multidimensional approach to social innovation that includes collective action and local stakeholders empowerment, aiming at changing the world for the better. The results call for a critical reflection on the transformative power of innovation as a mechanism for social change. At the crossroads of spontaneous or rationally organised movements, one wonders to what extent innovation, by promoting creative and systemic solutions, can contribute to the design of the future city on a human scale. • This paper investigates how the creative and informal actions contribute to social innovation. • It analyses the development of socio-spatial innovation in collaborative and creative user-led experiences. • A comparative analysis of two case studies, in Marseille and in Rome, offers a multidimensional approach to social innovation. • It analyses if these practices succeed in creating enabling spaces as connections between institutions and bottom up practices. • It demonstrates how these bottom up practices create enabling spaces as a link with institutions for collaborative planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes research activities of monitoring, modeling, and planning of people mobility in Rome during the Covid-19 epidemic period from March to June 2020. The results of data collection for different transport modes (walking, bicycle, car, and transit) are presented and analyzed. A specific focus is provided for the subway mass transit, where 1 m interpersonal distancing is required to prevent the risks for Covid-19 contagion together with the use of masks and gloves. A transport system model has been calibrated on the data collected during the lockdown period –when people's behavior significantly changed because of smart-working adoption and contagion fear– and was applied to predict future mobility scenarios under different assumptions on economic activities restarting. Based on the estimations of passenger loading, a timing policy that differentiates the opening hours of the shops depending on their commercial category was implemented, and an additional bus transit service was introduced to avoid incompatible loads of the subway lines with the required interpersonal distancing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the micromobility and the usage of shared electric kick scooters (e-kscooters) have been constantly growing, especially for systematic and recreational trips in large urban areas. Micromobility might be seen as a well-suited last-mile solution by providing a flexible travel service connection with public transport and MaaS (Mobility as a Service), in general. However, there is a need for implementing adequate regulations regarding safety aspects and shared e-kscooter parking locations, but also for meeting the user requirements. The choice of optimal shared e-kscooter parking locations could help decision-makers to regulate unmanaged dock-less shared e-kscooter parking spots that could generate issues for other road users. To this end, in this paper, a novel multi-objective Micromobility Maximal Coverage Parking Location model (M-MCPL) is developed. The model has been solved by applying an elitist Genetic Algorithm that returns the optimal shared e-kscooter parking locations based on the following objective functions: i) the maximization of the population coverage; ii) the maximization of multimodal accessibility coverage (i.e., bus, railway, and metro modes); iii) the maximization of the attraction coverage considering the most relevant points of interest for each corresponding zone in large urban areas. The proposed M-MCPL model has been applied to the case of Rome (Italy) and results suggest priorities for the shared e-kscooter parking locations design. Furthermore, the proposed model is flexible and can be considered as a decision support tool for decision-makers when planning dedicated services in different large urban areas. For that purpose, we conducted the sensitivity analysis by focusing on the single-objective model in which decision-makers might be interested in providing only high accessibility to transport services or maximizing potential demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The opportunistic network is a type of ad hoc network that relies on the chance encounters between nodes to transmit messages. It also uses store-and-carry-forward techniques for data transfer between nodes. Developing effective message forwarding strategies based on opportunistic network characteristics and node behavior poses a significant challenge. In this paper, we delve into the mobility and social characteristics of nodes using historical encounter information. Furthermore, we calculate the migration degree and community relations to build the Meta Meeting Mountain, which representing node encounter characteristics. Moreover, we introduce the concept of Forwarding Degree to measure the nodes' ability to deliver messages, enhancing the predictability of message delivery. Furthermore, a new forwarding strategy is proposed, which is equipped with Meta Meeting Mountain and Forwarding degree to improve the delivery rate. Our experimental scenarios include Infocom06, Rome taxi, and Helsinki. Therefore, the impact of buffer size and TTL is discussed in detail regarding the different opportunistic routing algorithms. Finally, extensive experimental results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms UBPR, MaxProp, PRoPHET, Spray And Wait and RAPAR in terms of delivery rate in the above scenarios by 127.905%, 93.7525%, 138.6888%, 175.3663%, and 281.4625%, respectively, while keeping the hopcount value less than 5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Experimental dynamic testing of real reinforced concreted railways girder bridges. • Multilevel modeling approach for finite element description of the bridge responses. • Analysis of the mechanical interaction between adjacent simple supported spans. • Model updating based on measured data for calibration of the mechanical parameters. This paper presents the results of an extensive experimental campaign conducted on high-speed railway girder bridges along the Rome-Florence railway line. The campaign includes material characterization and in-situ dynamic tests, incorporating vibration signals from both ambient-induced activities and train passages. The study focuses on the modeling and simulation procedures necessary for analyzing existing railway girder bridges, considering the dynamic interaction between adjacent simple supported spans. The degree of coupling caused by railroad equipment can lead to interaction phenomena, such as vibrations corresponding to mode shapes encompassing multiple spans, observed along the bridge. A multilevel modeling strategy is proposed, starting with a single span to identify the most accurate and computationally efficient approaches (frame-based, shell-based, or mixed). Subsequently, full-scale and reduced-order models of the entire structures are developed, considering the connections between rails, superstructure, and piers, to study the interaction between adjacent spans. Three case studies are presented to demonstrate the general validity of the proposed approaches, comparing the numerical results with experimental outcomes obtained from the in-situ tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the research pathway related to the drafting of a strategic Agri-Food Plan of Rome. The paper highlights the theoretical background and investigates the strategic vision and actions, as well as the role played by the Covid-19 Pandemic by changing priorities. The merging between two strands of study is identified: urban food strategies and sustainability in the debate on post Covid-19 food planning studies and the analysis of local agri-food systems for economic development. This work shows that in the case of urban and metropolitan areas around the Mediterranean, agriculture, the cultural dimension of food, logistics, research and innovation, and tourism marketing can be included within a single planning and policy tool. In the case of Rome, the place-based approach allowed us to consider the specificities of social and spatial contexts with interactions of market drivers with public institutions. This approach may constitute a promising path of research for the future of sustainable planning, particularly in Mediterranean cities. The results have interesting policy implications that should be more explicitly considered in addressing urban agendas, and in particular, the role of food to promote local development by integrating economic, social, and environmental and spatial values at a regional scale. • The sustainability of urban food system is a relevant issue in post Covid-19 Recovery • The agri-food systems of Southern Europe are more specialized and regionalized than those of Northern Europe • Food and agriculture shaping spatial, socioeconomic and environmental dynamics is crucial in Mediterranean cities • The case of Rome suggests that spatial planning and local development in Mediterranean cities play a crucial role in the urban agenda for the ecological transition [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A decade ago, the Syracuse Charter was promoted to suggest guidelines for the conservation, fruition, and management of the ancient theatrical architecture built during the Greek and Roman periods. Among other aspects, this charter outlined the role of the acoustics in the restoration of ancient theatres. However, it is often common to modify the acoustics of historical theaters according to the needs of modern performances. This paper focuses on the little theater of Pompeii, in the South of Italy, also known as “theatrum tectum” or “Odeon”. Pompeii, which became a Roman colony after being a Samnite city, underwent significant social and economic changes, including the construction of several performing spaces. The city was destroyed by the Vesuvius eructation in 79 A.D. This paper first describes the genesis of the “theatrum tectum” of Pompeii which had a truss wood roof. The results of acoustic measurements in the current state of the theater are used to create a virtual model of the building. Then, using archeological studies about the original architectural design of this theater, this paper presents a virtual reconstruction of the original acoustics during the Roman period. The aim of the present study is to compare the different acoustical characteristics that the “theatrum tectum” of Pompeii has had in its over 2000 year history and to discuss the most adequate performances in the actual theater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper defines the roles of biomethane for a double-green transition, through the integration of an effective management of renewable energy and municipal waste. The authors perform an assessment of the potential transition of the municipality of Rome to a more sustainable transport system, based on the economic feasibility of production of biomethane as analysed with the Discounted Cash Flow methodology. The potential reduction of emissions is quantified considering biomethane, to be used as vehicle fuel instead of natural gas. The provision of subsidies is found to be an essential condition to support the development of the biomethane sector. The subsidies must be coordinated with other policies such as the construction and operation of new fuelling stations and the increase of vehicles fuelled by biomethane. Several economic indicators are used to support investors by defining the conditions in which the profitability and economic opportunities are quantified. The transformation of bio-wastes into clean energy, closes the loop and helps societies to make progress toward becoming circular economies, which can contribute to decarbonizing the transport sector. Results of these analyses are applicable in other municipalities, which are currently under-utilizing their organic wastes and by-products. Image 1 • Biomethane supports the development of CE models. • Biomethane can contribute to a double green transition.. • A total NPV varies from 4.6 million € to 63.3 million €. • Do Nothing cost varies from 365 thousand € to 2872 thousand €. • The decrease of GHG emissions ranges from 43 to 51 thousand ton CO2eq/year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have analyzed the relationship between service quality, satisfaction and behavioral intentions or loyalty in the field of public transport. Yet despite growing interest, there is a lack of consensus regarding a number of aspects, e.g.: the difference between service quality and satisfaction, between behavioral intentions and loyalty, or the mediating effect of satisfaction between service quality and behavioral intentions. The main objective of this article is to shed light on the type of mediator effect exerted by satisfaction between service quality and behavioral intentions or loyalty in the area of urban and metropolitan public transport. To this end, structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to compare two competitive models, one in which satisfaction plays a partial mediating role (i.e. service quality presents direct and indirect effects on behavioral intentions or loyalty), and another where satisfaction exerts a complete or full mediator effect (i.e., service quality presents only indirect effects). The comparison is based on data from a single (translated) survey of public transport users in five European cities: Madrid, Rome, Berlin, Lisbon and London. The results support the superiority of the full mediator model over the partial mediator one in the urban and metropolitan public transport sector. The use of five independent samples made it possible replicate results and generalize conclusions, as well as identify other methodological and practical aspects. From a methodological standpoint, this paper confirmed the need to consider service quality and satisfaction as different factors and to compare alternative models with different samples when applying SEM to the public transport field. From a practical standpoint, the results suggest that service quality, associated with specific attributes of service, exerts a total effect on behavioral intentions or loyalty, superior to the effect of satisfaction, a finding that has important implications for transport operators. Finally, this study confirms that in large cities, the intermodality of public transport is one of the attributes that contributes most to the appraisal of its service quality, together with frequency, punctuality and speed. • Service quality (SQ) and satisfaction (SA) are different constructs and should be measured separately. • Behavioral intentions (BI) and loyalty (LO) are different constructs. • However, BI and LO use indicators reflecting the intention to reutilize the service and to recommended it. • SA exerts a complete mediator role between SQ and BI in urban and metropolitan public transport services. • In Madrid, Rome, Berlin, Lisbon and London, SQ exerts an overall positive effect on BI, superior to the effect of SA. • In large cities, intermodality is among the most important attributes contributing to SQ. • Other important attributes contributing to SQ in large cities are frequency, punctuality and speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Quantitative assessment of the heat waves in different city zones. • Quantification of the heat waves impact on building energy performance. • Influence of heat waves on the indoor operative temperature. • Impact of the synergic effect of heat waves and urban heat island. Global and local climate change increases the occurrence and the magnitude of extreme phenomena, as urban heat island and heat waves. These phenomena seriously affect the quality of life in several aspects: society, health, environment; they also heavily affect the building sector, increasing the energy use for cooling and deteriorating the indoor thermal environment. This paper utilizes data from a continuous urban microclimatic monitoring over three years to quantify the impact of heat waves on the thermal quality of two reference residential buildings in the city of Rome, Italy. The synergic effect of heat waves with the urban heat island is also analysed. The observation period includes summers of 2015, 2016 and 2017. The buildings' response is analysed through numerical thermal analyses in transient regime, taking into account several variants: thermal insulation, mechanical cooling system and thermal free-floating conditions, with different night ventilation strategies. Results show that daily average temperature and urban heat island intensity increase by up to 4.3 °C and 1.5 °C respectively during the heat waves with respect to the rest of the summer. The building cooling energy use rises up 87% during heat wave periods, while average operative temperature in free-running buildings increments by up to 3.5 °C. Results also show the impressive combined impact of heat wave and heat island: triplication of cooling energy use in the worst case and increase of the average operative temperature above 5 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate the role consideration of the alternatives plays in mode choice models. On the Rome-Milan corridor, in Italy, where seven alternative modes of transport are available, we administered a stated choice (SC) experiment. Responses to supplementary questions on consideration of the different modes of transport and the presence of thresholds for the travel time attribute indicate travellers are less likely to consider the slower modes. Two model specifications, in which consideration for the slower alternatives is measured using both sets of supplementary questions, are proposed and contrasted against a model which assumes all alternatives are considered. Our results suggests that some of the unobserved preference heterogeneity could potentially be due to consideration effects. Accounting for consideration of alternatives also has direct impacts on choice probabilities, parameter estimates and willingness-to-pay measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A low voltage network expansion planning incorporating load shifting is presented. • The procedure also considers a topologically meshed cluster of LV networks. • Application to two existing LV clusters with a significant load growth is presented. This paper proposes a low voltage (LV) electric distribution network expansion planning (EDNEP) incorporating the possibility for the Distribution System Operator to deploy demand response programs based on load shifting in addition to traditional network reinforcement measures. The proposed EDNEP also considers a topologically meshed cluster of LV networks, so that the expansion may result in the cluster reconfiguration. The EDNEP has been applied to two existing LV clusters operated by Areti S.p.A. and located in Rome, Italy, considering scenarios with a significant load growth due to electrification of end-use consumptions. Results show that load shifting is used in case network constraint violations are small and infrequent, whereas in more critical cases traditional network reinforcements are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities play a critical role in developing adaptable strategies to address the challenges posed by climate change. However, the inherent complexity of urban environments and their uncertain future conditions necessitate exploring innovative approaches and tools to assist the current planning practices. This paper presents a workflow rooted in model-based scenario planning for long-term adaptation planning given uncertain futures. To demonstrate the workflow's effectiveness, a pertinent case study was conducted in a flood-prone area of Rome. The study employed a land-use change model to examine potential urban growth patterns, considering the uncertain implementation of new poles of attraction. This interdisciplinary study constitutes an initial stride toward implementing uncertainty within urban planning frameworks. Future prospects encompass the integration of multiple models for cross-scale analysis, embracing further critical environmental and social aspects. This research contributes to advancing urban resilience strategies. It enhances the understanding of adapting to an uncertain future in the face of climate change, as urban areas must embrace comprehensive planning to ensure flexible adaptation when faced with climate-driven uncertainties in long-term planning. In conclusion, the study underscores that embracing uncertainty is a challenge and a pivotal opportunity to shape resilient and adaptable urban futures. • It is proposed an operative framework to evaluate the effect of uncertainties when planning for future conditions. • A relevant case study is used to assess the general effectiveness of the proposed framework. • It combines computational methods and scenario narratives to evaluate long-term options in uncertain conditions. • Exploratory scenarios are used to assess the influence of future developments' uncertainties and build scenario narratives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Capitoline she wolf is a Bronze statue located at the "Capitoline Museums" in Rome, Italy. The extraordinary cultural and symbolic importance of the statue is mainly related to the myth of the Capitoline she wolf and to the legendary origin of the city of Rome. Though traditionally considered an Etruscan bronze, recently a much more recent age was suggested on the base of consideration related to the used casting technique. In this paper we present the results of an AMS radiocarbon dating campaign carried out on the organic residues found in the casting cores recovered from the inner part of the statue. The obtained results firmly anchor the statue to the XI-XII centuries CE, in the Middle Ages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We developed an integrated approach to evaluate life cycle GHG emissions of AVs in urban area. • We simulated the impact of a full AV penetration scenario on a real road network. • AVs show a higher life cycle impact due to batteries replacement (+35%) • Reduction of CF emissions (−60%) at the mobility system level in AV-regime. This paper presents the results of a Carbon Footprint (CF) study of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) and their environmental impact on the transportation network. By assuming that fully AVs are battery electric vehicles (BEVs) with connectivity, light detection and ranging sensors, this study measures the environmental impact at the urban mobility level. The AV complete life cycle impact was firstly evaluated. Next, by comparing the current situation with a future hypothetical scenario (100% AVs penetration), the positive environmental effect of the adoption of AVs on a real road network (city of Rome) is shown. For this scope, a traffic simulation-based approach was used to investigate the effects of AVs on the network congestion. The results show that the full AVs penetration scenario leads to an improvement in the network performances in terms of travel time and average speed. The Total Time Spent (TTS) decreases (−35% for intra-urban roads and −21% for highways), and the average network speed increases (48% for intra-urban road and 37% for highways). Moreover, the final amount of Vehicle Kilometer Traveled (VKT) shows an 8% increase on longer extra-urban routes, due to the higher capacity impact of AVs on highways, with a consequent load reduction for intra-urban shortcutting routes. In terms of life cycle impacts, AVs are characterized by the highest Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions related to construction, maintenance and end-of-life processes (on average 35% compared to internal combustion engine vehicles, 22% compared to hybrid electric vehicles and 5% compared to battery electric vehicles). Nevertheless, a 100% AVs penetration scenario generates a reduction of the environmental impact at the mobility system level of about 60%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Congestion pricing is classified as a transportation demand management measure adopted to reduce impacts modern cities are suffering in terms of traffic congestion, road accidents and air and noise pollution. Such a measure allows linking road transport externalities directly to travelers producing them. The definition of proper tolling schemes enables this measure to act on demand short-term choices, forcing travellers to shift towards low impact road itineries (route diversion) and sustainable transport systems (modal diversion). This paper presents key findings in the design of pricing policies to a specific real size and complex case (city of Rome, Italy) addressing overall transport performances (on the multimodal network) and impacts (affecting the entire community), in a demand elastic context. Main contribution derives from equity matters dealt with in the impact assessment of pricing policies, so filling a gap not extensively studied in this field. Specifically, different tolling schemes have been defined from a quantitative (toll level) and spatial (city zones where pricing is implemented) viewpoint in order to guarantee equity aspects in the application of the measure: affected road users are limited to those travelling in city zones where the mass public transport network (metro and rail) is available; besides, the toll amount is related to the level of accessibility to public transport (whether only in origin/destination of the trip or in both). Results, evaluated adopting a simulation-based approach, are consistent with those obtained in other real world cases, and highlight that the adoption of a proper pricing policy in the city of Rome guarantees a demand diversion towards sustainable transport modes up to 25% for those zones directly involved by the pricing implementation; promising benefits have been observed even in a wider area, entire Province of Rome, not directly affected by the measure, in terms of reduction both of road users (up to 6%) and congestion costs (about 2%). • Two central zones of Rome (Italy) have been considered for possible congestion pricing implementation. • Different tolling levels and schemes for congestion pricing have been simulated. • Traffic and environmental effects of congestion pricing have been investigated. • The effects of the policy have been analysed in terms of modal shift. • A multi variable objective function is defined for the evaluation of the pricing scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Management of on-street parking is a long-standing issue, impacting on livability of urban environments, and against which there is not a common solving approach. According to an extensive literature review, the price elasticity of parking demand widely ranges from −0.14 to −1.02. Besides, the existing gap between the theoretical background and parking practices implemented by cities does not allow framing local experiences into a systemic view. The above confirms the multifaceted and complex nature of such topic. This paper summarizes the findings of a study aimed at investigating whether and to what extent specific parkers' behaviors can affect the success of a parking pricing strategy. Starting from the analysis of possible attitudes of parking users (systematic and occasional) in four high-attractive potential districts of the city of Rome, the key variables affecting their decision making process were identified. According to a framing of desired parkers' behaviors as well as possible side effects deriving from unwanted habits, the statistical relationship between the key variables and such users' attitudes was also examined. The effectiveness of selected parking pricing schemes was finally assessed, also drawing up a sort of parking user's taxonomy. In doing so, it is intended to provide a further contribution fueling the debate of on-street parking management and a support for local Authorities coping with pricing issues. • Management of on-street parking is a long-standing issue, impacting on livability of urban spaces. • There is not a single "recipe" allowing policy makers to select the "right parking price for the right place". • "Virtuous" attitudes identify any proactive habit contributing to integrate parking supply in the larger mobility system. • "Vicious" habits contribute to increase stakeholders' disutility, also producing a sort of environmental "entropy". • A parking pricing policy is mostly perceived as a way to "ask for money", thus its effectiveness is not always proved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We develop and test a DEA model embedding eWOM among the outputs. • Including eWOM leads to differences in the mean and ranking of hotel efficiency. • Hotels improving in the efficiency ranking are less than those decreasing. • eWOM as an output of DEA models generates differentiated impacts across hotel classes. • e-WOM could inform Strategic Performance Measurement Systems. This paper develops and tests an innovative DEA model in the hospitality sector, by originally embedding online customer ratings among the outputs of the model. Based on a sample of 268 independent hotels located in Rome (Italy), we test a eWOM-informed DEA model and find that the introduction of online ratings among the outputs of the model significantly affects the assessment of hotels' efficiency regardless of hotel category. The efficiency rankings generated by the DEA models embedding eWOM are radically different compared to those resulting from DEA models exclusively based on financial variables. The number of hotels improving their position in the efficiency rankings is lower than the number of hotels decreasing in the ranking. However, the average efficiency variation is positive and higher for 2- and 3- stars hotels than for 4- and 5- stars hotels. Implications for researchers in hospitality and tourism, managers and practitioners are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of heat pump technology in the tertiary sector can lead to a reduction in greenhouse emissions and enhanced exploitation of renewable energy sources, including solar energy. The present paper investigates the potentiality of an energy system equipped with photovoltaic thermal (PV) hybrid solar collectors, a storage tanks for the heat source and a heat pump for the space heating of a small office located in three different European cities. The behaviour of the heat pump according to the heat taken from the photovoltaic panels and stored in the tank has been analysed. An energy analysis was performed according to the efficiency of the heat pump and then the thermodynamic parameters of the system were evaluated. The analytical model of each subsystem of the thermal plant was developed in Matlab where hourly simulation during the period of heating season were performed. Therefore, a comparison between the results obtained for Rome, Milan and Cracow provided the heating energy demand covering rate for each of the cities in different subsystem efficiency conditions. When thermal and electrical efficiency of PVT are set respectively to 0.6 and 0.15 and the efficiency of storage unit heat exchanger is considered equal to 0.9 the heating demand covered for Rome is 70%, for Milan is 62%, while for Cracow is 47%. Those values show a good potential for supporting heat-pump based PV-T heating systems. • A novel combined PV-T heat pump system for supporting building heating is proposed. • A mathematical model of the system is developed. • The system performance is studied for three different locations: Cracow, Milan and Rome. • The system heating efficiency is the highest in Rome, while the lowest in Cracow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal syndrome consisting of different bowel pattern subtypes: diarrhea predominant (IBS-D), constipation predominant (IBS-C), and alternating (IBS-A). This paper aimed to identify whether (a) psychological factors implicated in the cognitive behavioral model of IBS were differentially associated with bowel pattern subtypes, (b) whether there were differences in symptom severity and work and social adjustment across the IBS-subtypes. Analysis was conducted on baseline data of 557 individuals with refractory IBS recruited into the Assessing Cognitive Therapy in Irritable Bowel (ACTIB) randomized controlled trial. Correlations assessed the associations between psychological factors, stool patterns, symptom severity, and work and social adjustment. Hierarchical regressions identified whether cognitive and behavioral factors were significantly associated with frequency of loose/watery stools, hard/lumpy stools and symptom severity while controlling for affective (anxiety and depression) and demographic factors (age, gender, symptom duration). One-way ANOVAs were conducted to assess differences across Rome III classified subtypes (IBS-A, D and C) in cognitive, behavioral, affective, symptom severity, and adjustment measures. Psychological factors were significantly associated with symptom severity and work and social adjustment. Increased avoidance behavior and unhelpful gastrointestinal (GI) cognitions were significantly associated with higher frequency of loose/watery stools. Increased control behaviors were associated with higher frequency of hard/lumpy stools. Cognitive and behavioral differences were significant across the Rome III classified IBS subtypes. There were no differences in anxiety, depression, overall symptom severity, or work and social adjustment. The results are discussed in terms of their utility in tailoring cognitive behavioral treatments to IBS subtypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Class A FEM predictions of twin tunnel mechanised excavation in Rome are presented. • The main processes occurring during excavation with an EPB shield are modelled. • No assumptions about volume loss and shape of settlement trough are used. • The predictions agree very well with field data from similar cases. Abstract Contract T3 of Line C of Rome underground, currently under construction, crosses the archaeological area of the historical centre, with significant interferences with the existing monumental built environment. A fully instrumented green field control section was established at the beginning of this contract, in representative ground conditions. This paper presents a thorough Class A prediction of the passage of the tunnels through the control section, obtained using a recently developed advanced numerical procedure. The ground was modelled with a non-linear constitutive law, calibrated with all the available data from the geotechnical investigation. The main physical processes occurring around the shield, including cutter-head overcut, shield tapering and tail void grouting were modelled in detail. The numerical results agree qualitatively with the findings from well documented case histories and results from physical models. The installed instrumentation will provide an opportunity to test the ability of the adopted procedure to reproduce quantitatively the measured performance, once the tunnels will cross the control sections and the field data will become available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The study deals with tunnelling-induced settlements and effects on a masonry building. • The developed 3D model simulates the main features of mechanized excavation. • Class A numerical predictions, measured and recalculated settlements are compared. • The influence of the soil stiffness and of the constitutive model is investigated. • The results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed numerical approach. Abstract This paper deals with the effects induced by the mechanized excavation of Rome metro line C in the area of an old masonry building, the Carducci school. Class A settlements predictions are obtained performing full 3D soil-tunnel-structure interaction numerical analyses, using a simple elastic perfectly plastic soil constitutive model. The developed model realistically simulates the main excavation and construction features influencing the induced settlements, such as tunnel advancement, front pressure, TBM-EPB design (shield's weight, overcut and conicity), tail void grouting and grout hardening over time. The measured settlements are reported and compared with the results of numerical analyses performed before (class A prediction) and after tunnelling; the latter carried out to implement in the model the front pressure and TBM conicity actual values, both higher than assumed in the design. Since before the excavation the foundations were reinforced with micropiles, and these were not modelled, the comparison between monitoring data and numerical predictions is limited to the settlements outside the building. Monitoring data are also compared with further analyses conducted using small-strain soil stiffness and using a constitutive model able to reproduce the non-linearity of soil behavior (Hardening Soil). The different predictions of the two models are investigated analyzing the vertical strains distributions and the stress paths around the tunnel. Finally, a reasonable interpretation for the remaining differences between numerical results and field data is proposed and used to back-analyze the settlements, obtaining a satisfactory agreement. The results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed 3D numerical approach, associated with relatively simple soil constitutive models, as a tool to predict tunnelling-induced settlements both in the design and the construction phase, independently of the geotechnical context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • An efficient, parametric reduced-order model is proposed for large-scale dynamical systems. • The problem of crossing between dominant and residual modes is resolved by a new algorithm for the intermediate model. • The substructural mode selection criterion was employed, maintaining online capability of the PROM. • A high-dimensional parametric input space is efficiently handled by the proposed method. Abstract This paper presents a parametric reduced-order model (PROM) combined with component mode synthesis considering the interpolation and selection of substructural modes. For the interpolation-based PROM, mode crossing occurs depending on the change of parameter values. This problem is resolved by applying a congruence transformation to each mode. However, if there is a mode crossing between dominant and residual modes due to the mode selection following the frequency cut-off method, the interpolation of dominant substructural modes generates erroneous results, since there are missing modes at some operating points. In this study, we propose (i) to introduce an intermediate model in the offline stage of the ROM construction to decrease the interpolation error, and (ii) to select proper substructural modes by applying a mode selection criterion for the enhancement of the ROM accuracy, which is realized under the framework of dynamic substructuring. Since the intermediate model is used in the offline stage, there is little loss of efficiency in the online stage. Consequently, the characteristics of interpolation-based PROM is maintained, realizing a near real-time adaptation of the ROM. Various numerical examples, including dynamic response optimization with a high-dimensional parametric input space, are investigated to evaluate the performance of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Development of an energy consumption model for Electric Freight Vehicles. • Real-world data collection during pickup/delivery operations of EFVs in Rome. • Calibration and validation of the energy consumption of EFVs using real-world data. • Impact evaluation of the instantaneous weight on-board on the energy consumption. • Flexible and reliable modeling of the energy consumption for an EFV fleet. Abstract Electric Freight Vehicles (EFVs) are a promising and increasingly popular alternative to conventional trucks in urban pickup/delivery operations. A key concerned research topic is to develop trip-based Tank-to-Wheel (TTW) analyses/models for EFVs energy consumption: notably, there are just a few studies in this area. Leveraging an earlier research on passenger electric vehicles, this paper aims at filling this gap by proposing a microscopic backward highly-resolved power-based EFVs energy consumption model (EFVs-ECM). The model is estimated and validated against real-world data, collected on a fleet of five EFVs in the city centre of Rome, for a total of 144 observed trips between subsequent pickup/delivery stops. Different model specifications are tested and contrasted, with promising results, in line with previous findings on electric passenger vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The relationship between grassroots urban gardening initiatives and policy-making is inherently ambivalent. • Community gardening is an example of collaborative governance and, at the same time, a form of sociopolitical antagonism. • Attempts to regulate community gardens often result in a problematic balance between promotion and control. • Attempts from policy-makers to co-opt and regulate community gardening can produce ambivalent and contradictory effects. • The complicated relation between communities' self-organization and public policies poses challenges to grassroots transitions. Abstract The aim of the paper is to show the inherent ambivalence of the relationship between policy-making and grassroots urban gardening initiatives. The voluntarism, variety and multiple meanings of community gardening, it is argued, is hardly compatible with the regulatory anxiety and isomorphic pressures that most policy schemes imply. The regulation of community gardening, in this frame, is very often caught in a delicate balance of promotion and control, co-optation and "policing" and risks to exacerbate already existing distinctions between collaborative and confrontational initiatives. We believe that addressing this ambivalence is crucial to a proper understanding of the socio-political meaning of community gardening, and of the problematic relationship between communities' self-organization, sustainable transitions, and urban governance in an age of austerity and neoliberalism. The topic is addressed with reference to the city of Rome, Italy, in light of a recently approved regulation for community gardening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Estimate the traffic demand integrating information provided by traditional and new technologies. Explore the inherent properties of extended coverage information. • Deal with splitting ratios of demand flows among paths identified by coupled Bluetooth sections. • Derivate the analytical solving procedure. • Increase of the intercepted path flows or spatial coverage leads to more accurate estimates. • Assess the effectiveness of the proposed method on a study network in Rome, Italy. Recent advances in technology have made available numerous new monitoring systems that collect updated traffic measurements both in fixed locations and over specific corridors or paths. Such recent technological developments point to challenging and promising opportunities for Origin-Destination (OD) traffic demand estimation and forecast. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to study how to exploit available information detected by new monitoring devices in the estimation of traffic demand. Starting from the formulation proposed by Spiess (1987, 1990), in this paper a new method to estimate the traffic demand by means of Bluetooth data is proposed. It explores inherent properties of this information in an off-line (and static) context, where mathematical formulation of the estimation problem can be derived. The effectiveness of the proposed method has been investigated in an extensive plan of experiments carried out both on test networks and on a study network consisting in a part of the city of Rome, Italy, obtaining promising results in both applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper describes a new station for full-scale measurement of wave overtopping at the Rome yacht harbour rubble mound breakwater in Ostia (Italy) and the results of the successful first measurement campaign carried out during the winter season 2003–2004. The equipment and the research activities were supported by the EU project CLASH, focusing on scale effects for wave overtopping at coastal structures. The site is characterized by a very small tidal range, a long shallow foreshore and depth-limited breaking waves which interact with a shallow sloping porous rock structure. Overtopping water is collected by a steel tank installed on the crown slab behind the parapet wall. The measurement of water level variation inside the tank by means of two pressure transducers allows the calculation of individual overtopping volumes. Incident waves, sea levels and wind are also measured. During seven independent storms, more than 400 individual overtopping events were recorded and about 86 h of valid data are available. This extensive dataset is presented, discussed and then used for comparison with two commonly used overtopping prediction formulae based on small-scale model tests showing their tendency to underestimate the prototype results. A strong correlation between the hourly mean overtopping discharge and corresponding maximum volume is also presented. The paper generally confirms the validity of the approach used in Troch et al. (2004) [Troch, P., Geeraets, J., Van de Walle, B., De Rouck, J., Van Damme, L., Allsop, W., Franco, L., 2004. Full-scale wave overtopping measurements on the Zeebrugge rubble mound breakwater. Coastal Engineering 51, 609–628] for field measurement of wave overtopping. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper the results of a wide investigation on a geothermal-integrated air HVAC system are reported: in the first part, the energy performances of an Earth to Air Heat eXchanger (EAHX) operating in Pomezia (a locality of the area of Rome, Italy) are carried out through a comprehensive numerical two-dimensional model based on the finite element method and the system is forced under real time-changing weather conditions over 1 year. The model is able to reproduce the time- and space- dependent thermo-fluid-dynamic behavior of the EAHX system, the humid air flux and the surrounding soil, as well as to account for the mass of condensed water in the tubes. In the second part of the investigation, the EAHX is coupled to an air handling unit of a company building for office use and tested while operating both in cooling and heating mode. The hourly results, in terms of power savings and energy consumption were reported for representative days of all the months belonging to the cooling or the heating working seasons, monthly and seasonal assessment. The convenience in terms of seasonal energy savings is +40.8% in cooling mode and +44.1% in heating mode. Then, the economic impact in terms of payback time and net present value was investigated through a cost analysis to examine the return of the economic investment under two possible soil morphologies and different prices of electrical energy in Italy. The simple payback with the real price of energy in Italy (0.50 €/kWh) is 3.3 years for the tufa-soil and 5.8 years for soft rock-soil; the economic return in terms of net present value is around 500 k€ for both the morphologies (560 k€ for the tufa; 446 k€ for the soft rock), per effect of the energy saving and, consequently, for a reduced expense of electrical energy. Therefore, in all the considered cases the installation of EAHX systems in support of traditional systems would generate both energy and economic advantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Review of the most commonly used distance measures in machine learning • Analysis of their main properties, applications and key aspects to consider • The similarity analysis shows a high degree of correlation between all the measures • Evaluation of classification and clustering performance, noise tolerance and runtime • Canberra distance shows the best overall performance and the highest tolerance to noise Many machine learning and data mining tasks are based on distance measures, so a large amount of literature addresses this aspect somehow. Due to the broad scope of the topic, this paper aims to provide an overview of the use of these measures in the most common machine learning problems, pointing out those aspects to consider to choose the most appropriate measure for a particular task. For this purpose, the most recent works addressing the subject were reviewed and seven of the most commonly used measures were analyzed, investigating in detail their main properties and applications. Different experiments were carried out to study their relationships and compare their performance. The degradation of the results in the presence of noise was also considered, as well as the execution time required by each measure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stone monuments in outdoor environments are subjected to biodeterioration due to the growth on their surfaces of biofilms responsible of aesthetic, physical and chemical damages. In recent years, the encapsulation of antimicrobial agents into inert matrices has aroused considerable interest thanks to the drastic reduction of the biocide amount needed to counteract the growth of biopatinas. In this study, two biocidal hydrogels containing thyme essential oil (thyme EO) or sodium dichloroisocyanurate (NaDCC), previously tested in the laboratory, were applied on three selected areas of the Depero's mosaic located in the EUR district of Rome (Italy). A simple method to prepare the biocidal hydrogels directly in situ and their easy application on large and vertical surfaces were developed. Before and after the treatment, photographic, colorimetric, and microscopic analyses were performed to highlight the hydrogels' biocidal effectiveness in removing all colonizers. Only one treatment was enough to completely remove the microbial patina constituted of various prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms. This paper is dedicated to the memory of Laura Bruno, who passed away during the peer-reviewed. [Display omitted] • Biocidal hydrogels were used to remove biopatinas on Depero's mosaic. • Thyme essential oil and sodium dichloroisocyanurate were used as biocides. • A simple preparation and application protocol of the biocidal hydrogel was developed. • The hydrogel effectiveness was evaluated on different areas of the mosaic. • The efficacy of the hydrogels was evaluated by optical microscopy and colorimetry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The ultimate condition of complex continuous masonry structures is addressed. • An energy-based methodology is developed to estimate the ultimate condition. • The methodology works also when strength degradation rules cannot be utilized. • The methodology is tested on a real historic masonry bell tower in Rome. • Results prove that the methodology is general, effective, and easy to use. Performance-based assessment procedures for existing structures based on pushover-like nonlinear static analyses require the definition of progressive damage states on the pushover curve, which may be associated with proper limit states for safety verification purposes. In Codes, the "ultimate condition" of the structure, i.e. a damaged state in which the structure is conventionally supposed to be no longer able to carry vertical and horizontal loads, is typically identified when the base shear shows a decay higher than a given threshold (usually 15–20%). In the case of masonry structures, this issue is not always straightforward depending on the complexity of the structure and the failure mode activated. The challenge especially arises in case of monumental buildings, such as complex continuous structures (e.g. towers) and buildings composed of many macro-elements (e.g. churches), dominated by flexural failure modes (e.g. overturning mechanisms). Indeed, in these cases, pushover curves may not show a significant softening for large horizontal displacements (e.g. masonry crushing is not activated). Accordingly, the application of the aforementioned approach results impossible. In this paper, an energy-based methodology to estimate the ultimate condition of masonry structures is introduced. Although the procedure is potentially applicable to any typology of masonry structure, it is tentatively applied here to continuous tower-like structures. A preliminary calibration phase to set the energy ratio thresholds is addressed by considering various simplified benchmarks subjected to several load scenarios. To this aim, the model is subdivided into several portions, and the ratio between the dissipated energy and the total energy is tracked in each portion of the structure along with the pushover analysis. The ultimate condition of the structure is then found as soon as such ratio reaches a pre-defined threshold in a portion, calibrated in such a way to highlight where in the structure the damage is mainly localized. The methodology is then tested on a real case study application, i.e., the bell tower of the San Francesco da Paola church in Rome, modelled through a suitable nonlinear continuum modelling approach. Results prove that the methodology is general, effective, and easy to use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a novel gas-liquid compressed air energy storage prototype, installed in the laboratory of DIAEE Department of Sapienza University of Rome, is studied. Similar to the Compressed-Air Energy Storage (CAES), the Gas-Liquid Energy Storage (GLES) technology is based on gas compression/expansion, where the liquid-piston compression and expansion are utilized. This paper reports on the experimental performance of the first GLES prototype and presents the results from a validated mathematical model. The results show that the proposed system has a high energy efficiency (indicated) over 90%, and then to achieve high values of round trip efficiency (RTE), it is important to improve and optimize the efficiency of the auxiliaries (Motor/Pump and Turbine/Generator). Two different Test, with two different speed of charging phase were done. From the results of the experimental measurements done with the prototype built in the laboratory of the DIAEE Department of Sapienza University of Rome, it can be seen that for slow compression the RTE of the system is around 72%, instead for the fast compression phase, the RTE is around 70%. A mathematical model was implemented and tested with the experimental measurements. From results it can be seen a good agreement between the experimental and numerical analysis, with a maximum error in the Test B (slow compression) equal to 2.5% and 1% respectively for charging and discharging phase. From the parametric analysis it can be seen that only the volume of the tank and the pressure ratio are needed to predict the round trip efficiency of the system. • A novel prototype of an energy storage system (CEAS) where the air is compressed by liquid is presented. • Energy storage (compression) achieved via liquid piston with hydraulic pump. • Energy recovery (expansion) achieved passing liquid through hydraulic turbine. • A validated mathematical model of the system is presented. • Experimental and simulated system performance are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subterranean heritage includes both natural and built sites with a strong cultural and historical fingerprint, some of each being enriched with painted surfaces. These semi-confined environments shelter specific and fragile biodiversity. This paper is focused on the case of a Roman painting (2nd-3rd century AD) located in an underground archaeological site in Marino Laziale, near Rome, which was opened to the public for the first time in 2021. The painted Mithraic scene is in a good state of conservation. The methodological approach included on site and laboratory investigations aimed to screen the main biological components associated to this hypogeum monument. The observed biodiversity included heterotrophic and chemolithotrophic microorganisms, and a mesofauna composed of eutroglophile and subtroglophile species, characteristic for many subterranean environments. The ecological mechanisms and the conservation state of the work of art were analyzed for planning the best fruition practices. The aesthetic change, the possible mechanical damages induced by various organisms, and the presence of significant amounts of organic matter, represent the main risks for painting conservation. These aspects, beside the new possible risks associated with the presence of visitors, are under a constant and ongoing conservation surveillance program. • The Mithraeum of Marino fesco is one of the best-preserved scenes come down to our day. • Its microclimate and biological diversity is similar to that of caves. • Chemolithotrophs, heterotrophs and troglophiles are the main biocenosis components. • The site should be valorized by keeping its ecological equilibrium. • Its continuous monitoring supports decision policies for a sustainable fruition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The relative capabilities knowledge-based, machine learning-based, and mechanistic surrogate models are compared to estimate the life-cycle seismic loss of concrete frame buildings based on their geometry and design parameters. • Two scenarios of incomplete (early design) and complete (design development) design information are considered to evaluate the impact of design data availability on surrogate models' prediction. • A sequential framework is proposed to implement surrogate models with lower fidelity in earlier stages of design exploration, where each prior model guide parametrization of the posterior model. • Data-driven models are a versatile tool to demarcate seismic loss under incomplete design data. Mechanistic surrogate models can better extract the relationship between design parameters and seismic loss as the scale of analysis shrinks. A performance-based early design must assess the life cycle performance of a sizable design space at low computational cost and limited data. This paper evaluates the relative capabilities of three surrogate modeling approaches to estimate seismic loss under complete and incomplete design information scenarios. Three surrogate models of knowledge-based (i.e., from prior published assessments), data-driven (i.e., support vector machine trained on a simulation-based building inventory), and physics-based (i.e., equivalent single-degree-of-freedom systems) are systematically used to estimate bounds on direct seismic loss for four hypothetical concrete office construction projects in Charleston, South Carolina. Subsequently, a framework is presented that implements these surrogate models as a sequence to explore design alternatives consistent with divergence-convergence cycles of early design exploration. The results show that all different surrogate models provide reasonable accuracy for the complete design information case, whereas data-driven models provided higher accuracy than the other models. For incomplete design information, the data-driven models demarcated the performance space and estimated the same median loss values as detailed loss analysis. In contrast, physics-based surrogate models were more accurate in capturing the relationship between loss and design parameters for smaller sets of design alternatives. Nevertheless, all different surrogate modeling techniques were inadequate to capture loss variability between different designs of the same geometry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Divertor Tokamak Test (DTT) is a new experimental facility whose construction is starting in Frascati, Rome, Italy; its main goals are improving the understanding of plasma-wall interactions and supporting the development of ITER and DEMO. DTT will be equipped with a Neutral Beam Injector (NBI) based on negative deuterium ions, designed to inject 10 MW of power to the tokamak. A fundamental system for the good operations of the DTT NBI will be its Gas injection and Vacuum System (GVS). Indeed, the efficiency of the entire NBI strongly depends on the good performance of its GVS. The GVS for DTT NBI will be composed of two systems working in parallel: a grounded section connected to the main vacuum vessel, and a high voltage part connected to the ion source vessel and working at −510 kV voltage. The grounded part will feature a fore vacuum system (given by screw and roots pumps) plus a high vacuum system based on turbo-molecular pumps located on the side walls of the vessel and Non-Evaporable Getter (NEG) pumps located inside the vessel on the upper and lower surfaces. On the other hand, the high voltage part will feature a fore vacuum system (given by two compact screw pumps mounted on the external surface for the ion source vessel) plus a high vacuum system based on turbo-molecular pumps also located on the sidewalls of the ion source vessel. A dedicated deuterium gas injection will feed the process gas to the ion source and the neutralizer. This paper gives a description of the conceptual design of the GVS for DTT NBI, and of the procedure followed to optimize this system considering the operational requirements and the other constraints of the DTT NBI. • A conceptual design for a Gas injection and Vacuum System (GVS) has been developed for DTT NBI. • The current solution features two parts, one at ground potential and one at high voltage. • The design has been optimized in terms of the most relevant aspects. • With the design solution here presented, the main requirements of the vacuum pumping system are satisfied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Four Gerber half-joints specimens have been cast and tested up to failure. Two of them were artificially corroded. • The corrosion morphology and location are analysed in detailed. • The corrosion influence on the ultimate load and on the failure modes is underlined. • The suitability of the application of Strut and Tie models to existing corroded saddles is discussed. The assessment of the Gerber half-joints (or saddles), widespread in the infrastructure heritage of different countries, is nowadays a topical problem since they are often affected by chloride corrosion phenomena due to their positioning under the deck joint. In this paper, the influence of steel rebar corrosion on the experimental response of Gerber half-joints is experimentally analysed and discussed. In particular, four elements were cast in Laboratory of University of Rome "Tor Vergata" two of which subjected to accelerated corrosion, and then tested up to failure. The specimens were designed with typical strut and tie models, with the aim of achieving different failure modes governed by the concrete crush or by the tensile rebar breaking. Particular care was devoted to the corrosion process, in order to simulate decay scenarios typical of these structures. The experimental outcomes, expressed in terms of load–displacement curves, crack patterns and failure mechanisms show that also medium-slight degree of pitting corrosion can cause great reductions in capacity and ductility of the saddles, modifying, in addition, their failure mechanism. Finally, from the experimental outcomes, the sensitivity of these peculiar structures, not only to the corrosion amount, but also to its spatial distribution among the different steel rebars, and its morphology (pitting or uniform corrosion) is clearly underlined. As a consequence, the necessity to accurately and properly account for the corrosion phenomenon in the structural assessment is remarked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Available manually scaled f o F 2 observations over 50 years on Juliusruh, 33 years on Slough, and 37 years on Rome stations were used to check the association between quiet-time f o F 2 disturbances (Q-disturbances) and following on isolated magnetic storms. Of course, such cases exist, however Pearson's contingency coefficient, Chi-square and Odds ratio tests applied to check a measure of association gave the absence of relationship even at the 95% confidence level. The lack of association makes it impossible to use F 2 -layer disturbances as precursors for magnetic storms. The observed cases of apparent relationship between two events should be considered as random and physically unconditioned. The published cases indicating the relationship between two events can be explained in the framework of regular F 2 -layer variations not related by any means to the following on magnetic storms. The Earth's upper atmosphere, including the ionosphere, is under total solar control – direct or indirect. F 2 -layer disturbances occurring during magnetically disturbed periods are due to these magnetic disturbances and they are not discussed in the paper. However there are quiet-time F 2 -layer disturbances (Q-disturbances) occurring under low and very low level of geomagnetic activity. The relationship of such Q-disturbances with following on isolated magnetic storms is analyzed in the paper. All available manually scaled hourly f o F 2 observations on Juliusruh (50 years), on Rome (37 years), and Slough (33 years) have been analyzed to estimate a measure of association between two binary variables: F 2 -layer Q-disturbances and isolated magnetic storms. Pearson's contingency coefficient, Chi-square and Odds ratio tests applied to check a measure of association gave the absence of relationship even at the 95% confidence level. This is an expected result as from physical point of view such relationship has no physical explanation. The lack of association makes it impossible to use f o F 2 -layer disturbances as precursors for magnetic storms – the idea being discussed in the literature. The observed cases of apparent relationship between two events should be considered as random and physically unconditioned. The published cases indicating the relationship between two events can be explained in the framework of regular F 2 -layer variations not related by any means to the following on magnetic storms. • Pearson contingency coefficients are <0.2 i.e. magnetic storms and preceding Q-disturbances are not related to each other • Two events manifest different distributions on season and UT confirming the absence any relationship between them. • Published cases of apparent relationship between two events can be explained by regular F 2 -layer variations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper extends the results of the "fuzzy" OEN mixture model to estimate the probability densities, autocorrelations and spectra of the individual wind mechanisms within the mixed climates of Rome: Fiumicino and Ciampino, and discusses the implications for synthesising long-term simulation of the surface wind vector and for the assessment of extreme mean wind speeds. The paper confirms, from observations, that the strong diurnal effects observed at these locations are confined to a low range of wind speeds and do not significantly affect the extreme wind speeds for annual, or longer, epochs. A procedure is proposed to simulate exceptionally long timeseries of the mean wind vector from the OEN mixture model to examine convergence of the upper tail of the extreme wind speed distribution to the presumed asymptote. Every observation is assigned a fuzzy probability of belonging to each ellipse mechanism of the OEN model and sorted into nominally diurnal (sea-land breeze, transient coastal jet or nocturnal downslope wind) and nominally non-diurnal (pressure-driven geostrophic wind) sets. All the 200 largest independent daily-maximum 10-min mean wind speeds belong to the non-diurnal set. Diurnal variations have no significant effect on the distribution of annual maximum mean wind speeds. Key: All – All daily maxima. Hard D , Hard ND – Daily maxima of uncorrected Diurnal and Non-diurnal sets. Serial D , Serial ND – Independent maxima separated by at least 4 days of serially-corrected Diurnal and Non-diurnal sets.The paper presents the groundwork necessary to define a procedure to generate very long synthetic timeseries of wind speed and direction that correctly reproduce seasonal-diurnal variations. Image 1 • The fuzzy model extends to estimate the PDFs, ACFs and PSDFs of the OEN model components. • Diurnal variation is confined to low wind speeds and does not contribute to the annual maxima. • The OEN random perturbation PDFs can be represented by a hyperbolic probability distribution. • The OEN random perturbation PSDFs can be represented by a bandwidth-limited pink noise model. • The Harris (2014) simulation method is adapted to generate seasonal/diurnal timeseries of each OEN component. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The DYNAMAP project (Dynamic Acoustic Mapping – Development of low cost sensors networks for real time noise mapping) is a LIFE project aiming at developing a dynamic noise mapping system able to detect and represent in real time the acoustic impact due to road infrastructures. Scope of the project is the European Directive 2002/49/EC relating to the assessment and management of environmental noise (END). The main project idea is focused on the research of a technical solution able to ease and reduce the cost of noise mapping, through an automatic monitoring system, based on customized low-cost sensors and a software tool implemented on a general purpose GIS platform, performing the update of noise maps in real time (dynamic noise maps). The feasibility of this approach will be proved implementing the system in two pilot areas with different territorial and environmental characteristics: an agglomeration and a major road. The first pilot area will be located in Milan, in a significant portion of the town, while the second one will be situated along the motorway A90 surrounding the city of Rome. The two pilot areas show peculiar needs and characteristics, such as the presence of multiple noise sources, roads junctions, traffic and weather conditions, that require a different system’s implementation approach. In this paper the main issues related to the design of the system configuration in the pilot area of Rome are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]