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The Transplant Centers belonging to Gruppo Italiano per il Trapianto di Midollo Osseo (GITMO) conducted a survey with the aim of evaluating the effect of SARS-CoV2 pandemic on the allogeneic transplant activity in Italy. The pandemic period from 1/3/2020 to 31/7/2020 was compared with the same period in 2019. Overall, in 2020 there was a 2.4% reduction in the number of allo-HCT cases compared to 2019. Interestingly, this deflection did not affect the acute leukemia cases (+5.7% in 2020). The use of peripheral blood-derived stem cells (+10.7%) and cryopreservation (97.4% of the centers) was highly adopted in 2020. Despite the sanitary emergency, almost all of the surveyed centers declared no impact of SARS-CoV2 pandemic on the transplant timing and outcomes, and the sanitary policy was positively evaluated by the majority of centers. The emergency measures ensured that only a minority of the allo-HCT patients had been infected by SARS-CoV2; however, a mortality of 42.1% among the allo-HCT patients hospitalized for COVID-19 was recorded. This survey gives us the information that the GITMO Group reacted positively to the pandemic. Thanks to the emergency strategies, the Italian allo-HCT activity continued safely, showing only a minor deflection and offering the same probability of cure to the transplanted patients.

In the framework of the EU-funded Project HERB (Holistic Energy-efficient Retrofitting of residential Buildings), the University of Bologna and the Municipality of Bologna are performing the energy retrofitting of a detached house with 6 apartments in Bologna. The annual saving of primary energy obtained by the retrofitting will be assessed through dynamic simulations of the building before and after retrofitting, performed through a model implemented in TRNSYS 17 and calibrated by comparison with monitoring results. In this paper, the calibration of the building model in its present state is described. The 3-D hourly simulation model of the building was obtained starting from 3-D drawings performed through Google SketchUp. Four thermal zones were considered for each small apartment (bedroom, bathroom, kitchen-living room, entrance) and five thermal zones for a larger apartment. The characteristics of the building enclosure were determined by accurate inspections and tests, which included infrared thermography, blower door tests and direct measurements of the transmittance of the external vertical wall. The building was monitored during the heating season 2013-2014. The use of natural gas for heating was determined by periodic readings of the gas meter placed in the distribution duct to the central boiler, hourly values of the internal air temperature and relative humidity in each room were recorded, while hourly weather data were taken from the Bologna Urbana Weather Station, close to the building. The internal heat gains were evaluated through measurements of the use of electricity and of natural gas in single apartments. A comparison between the measured values of the primary energy use for heating during 16 time intervals and those determined by dynamic simulation revealed that the simulation model widely fulfils the accuracy requirements stated by ASHRAE Guide 14 and yields the measured total energy use for heating during the season considered with an accuracy better than 0.4%.

Vengono presentati i risultati di due test di risposta termica recentemente eseguiti su due sonde geotermiche verticali, lunghe rispettivamente 100 e 120 m, poste in due località della pianura padana. Le sonde hanno sezioni trasversali uguali; ciascuna di esse è costituita da due tubi ad U in polietilene inseriti in un foro di diametro 156 mm, che viene poi sigillato con una malta di cemento (80%) e bentonite (20%). I risultati vengono elaborati con un metodo di simulazione numerica originale, sviluppato mediante il codice di calcolo agli elementi finiti COMSOL Multiphysics. Il problema viene schematizzato come bidimensionale. La sezione trasversale della sonda viene rappresentata nella sua geometria effettiva. La resistenza termica convettiva interna viene assimilata a una conducibilità termica ridotta delle pareti dei tubi. L’acqua viene schematizzata come un solido in cui avviene una generazione di calore uniforme. La capacità termica complessiva del sistema viene simulata mediante un valore efficace, variabile nel tempo, della densità dell’acqua contenuta nella sonda. Il metodo consente di riprodurre con elevata precisione l’evoluzione nel tempo della temperatura media dell’acqua entro la sonda, anche nella fase iniziale del riscaldamento, e di determinare valori sufficientemente precisi delle proprietà termiche del terreno e della malta sigillante.

The studies on late-onset non-infectious respiratory complications after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (allo-BMT) have been mainly focused on bronchiolitis obliterans to date. The aim of this work was to analyze the incidence, clinico-pathologic characteristics and outcome of the entire spectrum of entities falling into the group of delayed non-infectious lung disease (DLD).Retrospective chart review was carried out of 112 patients who underwent allo-BMT for hematologic malignancies between April 1995 and November 1998 at a single Institution. The categorization of the pulmonary disease was made by analyzing clinical data, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) and histology when possible.DLD occurred in 10 (10%) out of 97 recipients who survived at least 100 days following allo-BMT and was defined as bronchiolitis obliterans (BO; 4 cases), acute lung injury (ALI; 1 case) and subacute cellular interstitial pneumonia (SCIP; 5 cases). The BAL-profile was characterized by a marked increase of the neutrophil percentage in BO cases and of the lymphocyte (predominantly CD8+) percentage in parenchymal DLDs (SCIP, ALI). HRCT proved to be helpful to correctly identify BO cases, whereas histology was always needed to better define DLD presenting with an interstitial and/or alveolar pattern. The predominant airway involvement as well as the acute-onset of a respiratory illness with histological evidence of diffuse alveolar damage were associated with a worse prognosis because of a poor response to the immunosuppressive treatment.DLDs represent a group of entities heterogeneous in regard to variables such as onset and clinical behaviour (acute, subacute or chronic), predominant pattern of lung involvement (airway or parenchymal), response to treatment. Although immunopathologic mechanisms related to c-GVHD probably have a relevant pathogenic importance in this setting, the possible role of associated events (eg, drug toxicity and infections) at least in priming the lung damage need to be better clarified for its therapeutical implications.

Today, allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) can be offered to patients up to age 70 to 72 years and represents one of the most effective curative treatments for many hematologic malignancies. The primary objective of the study was to collect data from the allo-SCTs performed in Italy between 2000 and 2017 in patients aged ≥60 years to evaluate the changes in safety and efficacy outcomes, as well as their distribution and characteristics over time. The Italian Group for Bone Marrow Transplantation, Hematopoietic Stem Cells and Cell Therapy (GITMO) AlloEld study (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT04469985) is a retrospective analysis of allo-SCTs performed at 30 Italian transplantation centers in older patients (age ≥60 years) between 2000 and 2017 (n = 1996). For the purpose of this analysis, patients were grouped into 3 time periods: time A, 2000 to 2005 (n = 256; 12%); time B, 2006 to 2011 (n = 584; 29%); and time C, 2012 to 2017 (n = 1156; 59%). After a median follow-up of 5.6 years, the 5-year nonrelapse mortality (NRM) remained stable (time A, 32.8%; time B, 36.2%; and time C, 35.0%; P = .5), overall survival improved (time A, 28.4%; time B, 31.8%; and time C, 37.3%; P = .012), and the cumulative incidence of relapse was reduced (time A, 45.3%; time B, 38.2%; time C, 30.0%; P < .0001). The 2-year incidence of extensive chronic graft-versus-host disease was reduced significantly (time A, 17.2%; time B, 15.8%; time C, 12.2%; P = .004). Considering times A and B together (2000 to 2011), the 2-year NRM was positively correlated with the Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Comorbidity Index (HCT-CI) score; NRM was 25.2% in patients with an HCT-CI score of 0, 33.9% in those with a score of 1 or 2, and 36.1% in those with a score of 3 (P < .001). However, after 2012, the HCT-CI score was not significantly predictive of NRM. This study shows that the transplantation procedure in elderly patients became more effective over time. Relapse incidence remains the major problem, and strategies to prevent it are currently under investigation (eg, post-transplantation maintenance). The selection of patients aged ≥60 could be improved by combining HCT-CI and frailty assessment to better predict NRM.

The characterization of thermal insulation properties of construction materials represents a fundamental step on the building insulation assessment. In recent years innovative materials have been introduced in the market to fulfill the continuously growing requirements of energy saving and sustainability, and their performance is not so reliable and mature as it happens for traditional insulators. The work presents a Round Robin Test realised among six European laboratories hosting hot plates devices to measure the thermal conductivity of four different materials: aerogel, vacuum insulation panels, polystyrene and birch wood fibre insulation boards. After the definition of the common measurement protocol, the tests campaign was executed and the results were checked with a consistency analysis. Data showed that the hot plate apparatuses result suitable for the measurement of the tested innovative materials, both in terms of absolute values retrieved and repeatability. The reproducibility is satisfactory as well, except for vacuum insulation panels, the most insulating samples, which present values of standard deviations quite high, at least in relative terms, so showing that the thermal properties of high performance materials must be assessed with particular care.

Human dendritic cells (DC) comprise 2 subsets-plasmacytoid CD123+ and myeloid CD11c+ DC-that may have distinct roles in the regulation of immunity after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. In this study, we analyzed the kinetics of CD123+ DC and CD11c+ DC reconstitution in 31 patients who underwent transplantation with allogeneic granulocyte colony-stimulating factor-mobilized peripheral blood (PB) stem cells from HLA-identical sibling donors after myeloablative conditioning. Lineage marker-negative HLA-DR+ CD11c+ CD11c+ DC and lineage marker-negative HLA-DR+ CD123+ CD123+ DC, as well as monocytes and lymphoid subsets, were enumerated in donor grafts and in the PB of patients at various time points after transplantation. Reconstitution of both CD11c+ DC and CD123+ DC to normal levels occurred within 6 to 12 months and was not affected by the diagnosis, preparatory regimen, or graft composition. However, PB CD11c+ DC and CD123+ DC counts were significantly reduced in patients with acute GVHD grade II to IV (at 1 and 3 months) and grade I (at 1 month). Patients with chronic GVHD instead showed reduced CD123+ DC counts only 6 months after transplantation. Moreover, treatment with steroids (>0.1 mg/kg) was significantly associated with reduced PB CD11c+ DC and CD123+ DC counts at all time points after transplantation. In multivariate analysis, only acute GVHD affected DC reconstitution early after transplantation. These results will prompt new studies addressing whether DC reconstitution correlates with immunity against infectious agents or with graft-versus-tumor reactions after PB stem cell allotransplantation. © 2004 American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation

L’utilizzo di massetti galleggianti posati su materiale resiliente per la riduzione del rumore da calpestio dei solai è diventata una tecnica costruttiva che consente di ottenere prestazioni acustiche dei solai rispondenti ai requisiti di legge. Il comportamento del sistema costituito dal pavimento “galleggiante” posato su un materiale resiliente risulta molto vicino a quello del sistema teorico massa-molla. Tuttavia le prestazioni riscontrabili in opera spesso differiscono in modo considerevole da quelle prevedibili con stime teoriche a causa dei diversi materiali utilizzati e delle effettive condizioni di posa in opera. Nella presente relazione vengono presentati i risultati ottenuti da indagini di cantiere su alcuni prodotti anticalpestio posati su solai in laterocemento.