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The need to measure body temperature contactless and quickly during the COVID-19 pandemic emergency has led to the widespread use of infrared thermometers, thermal imaging cameras and thermal scanners as an alternative to the traditional contact clinical thermometers. However, limits and issues of noncontact temperature measurement devices are not well known and technical–scientific literature itself sometimes provides conflicting reference values on the body and skin temperature of healthy subjects. To limit the risk of contagion, national authorities have set the obligation to measure body temperature of workers at the entrance to the workplace. In this paper, the authors analyze noncontact body temperature measurement issues from both clinical and metrological points of view with the aim to (i) improve body temperature measurements accuracy; (ii) estimate the uncertainty of body temperature measurement on the field; (iii) propose a screening decision rule for the prevention of the spread of COVID-19. The approach adopted in this paper takes into account both the traditional instrumental uncertainty sources and clinical–medical ones related to the subjectivity of the measurand. A proper screening protocol for body temperature measurement considering the role of uncertainty is essential to correctly choose the threshold temperature value and measurement method to access critical places during COVID-19 pandemic emergency.

Buildings are responsible for over 30% of global final energy consumption and nearly 40% of total CO2 emissions. Thus, rapid penetration of renewable energy technologies (RETs) in this sector is required. Integration of renewable energy sources (RESs) into residential buildings should not only guarantee an overall neutral energy balance over long term horizon (nZEB concept), but also provide a higher flexibility, a real-time monitoring and a real time interaction with end-users (smart-building concept). Thus, increasing interest is being given to the concepts of Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems (HRES) and Multi-Energy Buildings, in which several renewable and nonrenewable energy systems, the energy networks and the energy demand optimally interact with each other at various levels, exploring all possible interactions between systems and vectors (electricity, heat, cooling, fuels, transport) without them being treated separately. In this context, the present paper gives an overview of functional integration of HRES in Multi-Energy Buildings evidencing the numerous problems and potentialities related to the application of HRESs in the residential building sector. Building-integrated HRESs with at least two RESs (i.e., wind–solar, solar–geothermal and solar–biomass) are considered. The most applied HRES solutions in the residential sector are presented, and integration of HRES with thermal and electrical loads in residential buildings connected to external multiple energy grids is investigated. Attention is focused on the potentialities that functional integration can offer in terms of flexibility services to the energy grids. New holistic approaches to the management problems and more complex architectures for the optimal control are described.

Background Empagliflozin (EMPA), a selective inhibitor of the sodium glucose co-transporter 2, reduced the risk of hospitalization for heart failure and cardiovascular death in type 2 diabetic patients in the EMPA‐REG OUTCOME trial. Recent trials evidenced several cardio-renal benefits of EMPA in non-diabetic patients through the involvement of biochemical pathways that are still to be deeply analysed. We aimed to evaluate the effects of EMPA on myocardial strain of non-diabetic mice treated with doxorubicin (DOXO) through the analysis of NLRP3 inflammasome and MyD88-related pathways resulting in anti-apoptotic and anti-fibrotic effects. Methods Preliminary cellular studies were performed on mouse cardiomyocytes (HL-1 cell line) exposed to doxorubicin alone or combined to EMPA. The following analysis were performed: determination of cell viability (through a modified MTT assay), study of intracellular ROS production, lipid peroxidation (quantifying intracellular malondialdehyde and 4-hydroxynonenal), intracellular Ca 2+ homeostasis. Moreover, pro-inflammatory studies were also performed: expression of NLRP3 inflammasome, MyD88 myddosome and p65/NF-κB associated to secretion of cytokines involved in cardiotoxicity (Interleukins 1β, 8, 6). C57Bl/6 mice were untreated (Sham, n = 6) or treated for 10 days with doxorubicin (DOXO, n = 6), EMPA (EMPA, n = 6) or doxorubicin combined to EMPA (DOXO-EMPA, n = 6). DOXO was injected intraperitoneally. Ferroptosis and xanthine oxidase were studied before and after treatments. Cardiac function studies, including EF, FS and radial/longitudinal strain were analysed through transthoracic echocardiography (Vevo 2100). Cardiac fibrosis and apoptosis were histologically studied through Picrosirius red and TUNEL assay, respectively and quantified through pro-collagen-1α1, MMP-9 and Caspase-3 expression. Tissue NLRP3, MyD88 and cytokines were also quantified before and after treatments through ELISA methods. Results Cardiomyocytes exposed to doxorubicin increased the intracellular Ca 2+ content and expression of several pro-inflammatory markers associated to cell death; co-incubation with EMPA reduced significantly the magnitude of the effects. In preclinical study, EMPA increased EF and FS compared to DOXO groups (p < 0.05), prevented the reduction of radial and longitudinal strain after 10 days of treatment with doxorubicin (RS) 30.3% in EMPA-DOXO vs 15.7% in DOXO mice; LS − 17% in EMPA-DOXO vs – 11.7% in DOXO mice (p < 0.001 for both). Significant reductions in ferroptosis, xanthine oxidase expression, cardiac fibrosis and apoptosis in EMPA associated to DOXO were also seen. A reduced expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, NLRP3, MyD88 and NF-kB in heart, liver and kidneys was also seen in DOXO-EMPA group compared to DOXO (p < 0.001). Conclusion EMPA reduced ferroptosis, fibrosis, apoptosis and inflammation in doxorubicin-treated mice through the involvement of NLRP3 and MyD88-related pathways, resulting in significant improvements in cardiac functions. These findings provides the proof of concept for translational studies designed to reduce adverse cardiovascular outcomes in non-diabetic cancer patients treated with doxorubicin.

The building sector is known to have a significant environmental impact, considering that it is the largest contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions of around 36% and is also responsible for about 40% of global energy consumption. Of this, about 50% takes place during the building operational phase, while around 10–20% is consumed in materials manufacturing, transport and building construction, maintenance, and demolition. Increasing the necessity of reducing the environmental impact of buildings has led to enhancing not only the thermal performances of building materials, but also the environmental sustainability of their production chains and waste prevention. As a consequence, novel thermo-insulating building materials or products have been developed by using both locally produced natural and waste/recycled materials that are able to provide good thermal performances while also having a lower environmental impact. In this context, the aim of this work is to provide a detailed analysis for the thermal characterization of recycled materials for building insulation. To this end, the thermal behavior of different materials representing industrial residual or wastes collected or recycled using Sardinian zero-km locally available raw materials was investigated, namely: (1) plasters with recycled materials; (2) plasters with natural fibers; and (3) building insulation materials with natural fibers. Results indicate that the investigated materials were able to improve not only the energy performances but also the environmental comfort in both new and in existing buildings. In particular, plasters and mortars with recycled materials and with natural fibers showed, respectively, values of thermal conductivity (at 20 °C) lower than 0.475 and 0.272 W/(m⋅K), while that of building materials with natural fibers was always lower than 0.162 W/(m⋅K) with lower values for compounds with recycled materials (0.107 W/(m⋅K)). Further developments are underway to analyze the mechanical properties of these materials.

Development of technologies, materials, support systems, and coatings has made the integration of solar thermal systems into the building envelope increasingly possible. Solar thermal collectors can either be directly integrated, substituting conventional roof or façade covering materials, or constitute independent devices added to a roof or façade structure. Aimed at estimating the real effectiveness of building-integrated solar systems for domestic heat water (DHW) production or for heating integration, when horizontal or inclined pitches on buildings are not applicable, the authors analyze a case study with different scenarios, taking into account the issues connected to a highly urbanized context in the Mediterranean climate. A GIS model was used for estimating the energy balance, while the real producibility of the simulated systems was calculated by a dynamic hourly simulation model, realized according to ISO 52016. The savings in terms of primary energy needs obtained by installing solar thermal systems on the facade are presented, and the differences between the cases in which the system is used for DHW production only and for space heating too are distinguished and discussed. The evaluated potential is quantified in the absence of roof collectors, despite their high potential in the Mediterranean region, in order to better appreciate the effects induced by integrated facade systems.

Most of the school buildings in Italy are high energy-demanding buildings with no ad-hoc ventilation systems (i.e., naturally-ventilated buildings). Therefore, reducing the heat losses of schools represent the main aspect to be dealt with. Nonetheless, the indoor air quality of the building should be simultaneously considered. Indeed, to date, energy consumptions and air quality are considered as incompatible aspects especially in naturally-ventilated buildings. The aim of the present paper is to evaluate the effect of different ventilation and airing strategies on both indoor air quality and energy consumptions in high energy-demanding naturally-ventilated classrooms. To this purpose, an Italian test-classroom, characterized in terms of air permeability and thermophysical parameters of the envelope, was investigated by means of experimental analyses and simulations through CO2 mass balance equation during the heating season. The air quality was assessed in terms of indoor CO2 concentrations whereas the energy consumptions were evaluated through the asset rating approach. Results clearly report that not adequate indoor CO2 concentrations are measured in the classroom for free-running ventilation scenarios even in low densely populated conditions (2.2 m2 person−1), whereas scheduled airing procedures can reduce the indoor CO2 levels at the cost of higher energy need for ventilation. In particular, when airing periods leading to the air exchange rate required by standards are adopted, the CO2 concentration can decrease to values lower than 1000 ppm, but the ventilation losses increase up to 36% of the overall energy need for space heating of the classroom. On the contrary, when the same air exchange rate is applied through mechanical ventilation systems equipped with heat recovery units, the ventilation energy loss contribution decreases to 5% and the overall energy saving results higher than 30%. Such energy-saving was found even higher for occupancy scenarios characterized by more densely populated conditions of the classroom typically occurring in Italian classrooms.

Power to gas (PtG) is an emerging technology that allows to overcome the issues due to the increasingly widespread use of intermittent renewable energy sources (IRES). Via water electrolysis, power surplus on the electric grid is converted into hydrogen or into synthetic natural gas (SNG) that can be directly injected in the natural gas network for long-term energy storage. The core units of the Power to synthetic natural gas (PtSNG) plant are the electrolyzer and the methanation reactors where the renewable electrolytic hydrogen is converted to synthetic natural gas by adding carbon dioxide. A technical issue of the PtSNG plant is the different dynamics of the electrolysis unit and the methanation unit. The use of a hydrogen storage system can help to decouple these two subsystems and to manage the methanation unit for assuring long operation time and reducing the number of shutdowns. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the energy storage potential and the technical feasibility of the PtSNG concept to store intermittent renewable sources. Therefore, different plant sizes (1, 3, and 6 MW) have been defined and investigated by varying the ratio between the renewable electric energy sent to the plant and the total electric energy generated by the renewable energy source (RES) facility based on a 12 MW wind farm. The analysis has been carried out by developing a thermochemical and electrochemical model and a dynamic model. The first allows to predict the plant performance in steady state. The second allows to forecast the annual performance and the operation time of the plant by implementing the control strategy of the storage unit. The annual overall efficiencies are in the range of 42–44% low heating value (LHV basis). The plant load factor, i.e., the ratio between the annual chemical energy of the produced SNG and the plant capacity, results equal to 60.0%, 46.5%, and 35.4% for 1, 3, and 6 MW PtSNG sizes, respectively.

This review investigates and analyzes the state of the art on scientific evidence related to educational interventions to improve air quality indoors and outdoors through a mapping review. The review followed proposed guidelines for mapping reviews in environmental sciences and the steps described in the Template for a Mapping Study Protocol. The search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cinahl, and Google Scholar with no language restrictions, and was completed in January 2025. Three filters were applied: search, selection with inclusion and exclusion criteria (PECOS strategy), and data extraction. Two independent reviewers assessed article eligibility, and disagreements were resolved by a third researcher. Twenty-four studies that met the eligibility criteria were included. Five research questions were answered. Studies published between 1977 and 2024 were included, totaling 7289 participants aged 12 to 85. The geographic distribution was concentrated in China (five studies) and the United States (four studies), followed by South Korea, India, Australia, and other countries, with fewer publications. The methodological predominance was experimental studies; observational studies were also analyzed, although less frequently. The period with the greatest increase in the number of publications was between 2020 and 2024. The educational methods most commonly used in the studies were lectures and the delivery of information leaflets. Particulate matter with diameters of 2.5 μm and 10 μm (PM2.5 and PM10) were the most widely investigated pollutants in the studies. From our analyses, it was observed that the educational interventions to improve air quality, adopted in the selected studies, resulted in the acquisition of knowledge about the environmental effects and the importance of individual actions. The changes in behavior included the adoption of more sustainable practices and an improvement in air quality in the environment, with a significant reduction in pollutant emissions. We conclude that interventions through environmental education demonstrate great potential to improve air quality. Based on the mapped evidence, governments and global policymakers can use this information to develop new strategies or improve existing ones to reduce air pollution in affected environments and regions.

The Energy Efficiency Directive (EED, Directive 2012/27/EU) has made mandatory the installation of individual metering systems in the case of buildings with centralized heating/cooling and hot water sources (multi-apartment and multi-purpose buildings), provided it is economically and technically feasible. Individual metering of heating/cooling systems is mainly based on thermal energy meters (TEM), which are widely used for direct metering in heating applications. On the other hand, direct metering of energy consumption in cooling systems still represents a challenge, given the different types of cooling units and the lack of regulations from the technical and legal points of view. In this context, this paper briefly overviews the available centralized cooling systems and the possible solutions for metering and sub-metering, which depend on the specific application. Vapour Compression Refrigeration (VCR) systems are spreading worldwide for air conditioning applications. Particular attention has been paid to the direct metering of cooling energy and specifically to refrigerant flow rate measurement, which represents a critical issue because of the small-diameter pipes and the different thermodynamic properties of the fluid used. Thus, an experimental campaign has been developed and carried out in order to compare a clamp-on ultrasonic flowmeter with a more accurate Coriolis one in a direct expansion (DE) system. The experimental tests have been performed at two different temperature conditions, showing a relative error in the mass flow rate measurements within ±10%.

This study examines the short-term impact of an “eco-feedback” strategy, based on an awareness-raising information campaign and an experimental campaign, on indoor environmental quality (IEQ) parameters and sleep quality in Italian bedrooms. Forty-one participants from Cassino, Italy, monitored the IEQ in their bedroom environments during the winter and spring seasons and assessed their sleep quality using the Groningen Sleep Quality Scale before and after receiving awareness-raising information. The experimental analysis revealed that, even if the IEQ and self-reported sleep quality before receiving the information were not representative of good sleep conditions (e.g., 94% of the volunteers slept in bedrooms with a median indoor CO2 concentration >800 ppm, the equivalent continuous sound pressure level was always >30 dB, and the self-reported sleep quality conditions were characteristic of disrupted sleep or intermediate sleep disturbance), the subjects were not able to obtain significant changes in IEQ parameters after the information campaign and that, consequently, no noticeable changes in sleep quality were obtained as well. The limited effectiveness of the eco-feedback strategy adopted in this study can be attributed to the fact that the proposed approach only led to behavioral changes characterized by a limited effect on the indoor environmental quality. This was mostly due to the period under investigation: as an example, the low nighttime outdoor temperatures did not allow for an improvement in the building ventilation during the night.