Erik Franco – Pagina 16 – Progress in Research

Sinergy: the metal-polysulfide flow cell battery

Posted on 03/03/202206/08/2024 by Erik Franco

Sinergy is a patent developed by the Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering.

It consists of a metal-polysulfide flow cell battery that uses inexpensive, abundant and non-toxic materials.

These characteristics are crucial for application of the technology for storing stationary-type energy that can support the intermittent production of renewable energy. Another advantage is the possibility of making use of sulphur-rich waste, creating a virtuous circle of circular economy.

The inventors are Luca Magagnin, Gabriele Panzeri, Eugenio Gilbertini, Alessandra Accogli, Matteo Salerno, Luca Bertoli.

Sinergy won the Intellectual Property Award (IPA) in the “alternative energy” sector, as announced at the Italian Pavilion of Expo Dubai. It is the competition for Italian technological patents resulting from public research organised by the Ministry of Economic Development in collaboration with Netval (Network for Research Valorisation).

A total of 217 innovative patents developed by Universities, Research Centres and Scientific Hospitalisation and Treatment Institutions were considered for the competition; and 35 of these were selected for the final stage in Dubai.

At the end of the process, the award-winning projects were those able to propose innovations with the greatest economic and social impact in 7 technological areas of reference for the global ecological and digital transition: agritech and agrifood, cybersecurity, green tech, life science, future mobility, aerospace, and alternative energy.

3D printing to reveal molecular causes of neurological disorders

Posted on 02/03/202206/08/2024 by Erik Franco

Creating an accurate model of the human cerebral cortex by using state-of-the-art 3D printing techniques to reveal the molecular causes of the onset and development of neurological disorders, including Pitt-Hopkins syndrome.

This is the aim of project “Elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying Pitt-Hopkins syndrome through the generation of 3D printed vascularized cortical organoids” recently funded by Fondazione CARIPLO with €250,000 under the call for proposals “Biomedical research conducted by young researchers 2021”.

The topic is of considerable medical importance because, given the structural complexity of this area of the brain, it is impossible to reproduce and study it in the laboratory. Indeed, the cause of these diseases is often unknown to date, thus preventing the development of effective treatments.

Through the proposed analysis, we expect to accurately identify the molecular and cellular pathological mechanisms underlying Pitt-Hopkins syndrome. The results should also be relevant for other neurological disorders, and contribute to define new therapeutic strategies and identify diagnostic markers.
Mattia Sponchioni, researcher at the Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta” and project leader

The project will, particularly, reproduce the human cerebral cortex by creating vascularised cortical organoids. The reproduction of the complex system of blood vessels, which are essential for the supply of oxygen and nutrients, is of the utmost importance as it will enable the model to make predictions over a much longer timeframe than studies conducted to date.

This ambitious project will witness a strong synergy between Politecnico di Milano and Humanitas University for interdisciplinary work involving the development of new 3D printing technologies and an accurate molecular biological analysis.

How can we support healthcare workers to avoid burnout?

Posted on 22/02/202206/08/2024 by Erik Franco

By placing enormous pressure on healthcare workers, the COVID-19 pandemic has put doctors, nurses and hospital staff at the risk of developing psychological problems (burnout, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder).

The Politecnico di Milano, in collaboration with the psychologists at the Università degli Studi di Milano and the Istituti Clinici Maugeri, has carried out in-dept analysis of the answers given in a questionnaire handed out to Italian healthcare workers during the first wave of the pandemic (April-May 2020).

The data gathered, regarding socio-demographics, lifestyle, working conditions, COVID-19-related health conditions and psychological indicators, were subsequently analysed using innovative data science methods that enabled different risk profiles to be associated with the various subgroups into which the sample was divided.

Published in the prestigious Journal of Biomedical Informatics, this study forms a basis for the implementation of self-diagnosis apps specifically for healthcare workers subjected to high-risk conditions that allow personalised psychological measures to be taken during pandemic situations.

Enrico Caiani and Emanuele Tauro, Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering at Politecnico di Milano, are two of the authors of this article.

Researcher Cristina Chirizzi wins the brainy 2021 call

Posted on 21/02/202206/08/2024 by Erik Franco

Cristina Chirizzi, a postdoc researcher at the Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta” at the Politecnico di Milano, has won a scholarship worth €30,000 awarded by Brainy, an association that supports research into brain diseases and neuroscience and which last November published a call for young researchers to finance research projects focused on investigating the reasons leading to the onset of brain tumours in order to be able to fight and treat them in the best possible way.

The project presented by Dr Chirizzi, in collaboration with the Carlo Besta Neurological Institute, is focused on developing technical advances for the visualisation of tumour margins during neurosurgery for the removal of one of the most aggressive forms of malignant brain tumour, glioblastoma. An alternative to the fluorescent biomarkers currently used in the intraoperative setting was therefore proposed, with the aim of increasing their specificity for tumour tissues.

The winner was presented with her award by the association on 21 February 2022 at the Politecnico.

Dr Chirizzi studied Molecular Biotechnology in Turin, where she obtained her Laurea Magistrale (equivalent to Master of Science) in 2013. She took her Ph.D. at the San Raffaele Hospital, where she studied and analysed the development of methods based on magnetic resonance for the visualization of immune cell activity during neuroinflammation processes. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Politecnico di Milano, where she has focused her research on the development of biomaterials and nanosystems for biological applications.

A revolution in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer

Posted on 16/02/202206/08/2024 by Erik Franco

CHARM is a project aiming to develop a medical device based on high-speed, low-cost Raman digital imaging technology and artificial intelligence to transform cancer diagnosis and treatment.

The technology will analyse the molecular composition of patient tissue samples to distinguish cancerous from healthy cells without the need for chemical staining.

CHARM’s Raman imaging technology uses graphene-based ultra-fast fibre lasers to generate digital images of patient tissue for automatic analysis by artificial intelligence to support diagnosis. Because the images are digital, they can be viewed remotely, allowing histopathologists to work more efficiently and to support regions and countries short of qualified staff. The technology also potentially opens the way for personalised treatments for cancer.

The partners involved are Cambridge Raman Imaging Ltd. (CRI), a polimi spin-off, the University of Cambridge, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Politecnico Di Milano, the Jena University Hospital (Germany) and the firms INsociety (Italy) and Inspiralia (Spain). The project coordinator is Dr Matteo Negro, CRI’s Chief Technology Officer.

CHARM is one of the 42 projects selected for a €3.3 million funding from 292 submitted in the first ever EIC (European Innovation Council) Transition Challenges, intended to support moving technologies from laboratories into the real world. The EIC is Europe’s flagship innovation programme to identify, develop and scale up breakthrough technologies and game changing innovations. In the case of CHARM, it aims to develop medical devices to the preclinical validation phase.

Politecnico di Milano, who pioneered the high-speed Raman imaging technology, will be responsible for the development of the microscope and the detection system.

I am excited to contribute to the translation of the results of our scientific studies into a commercial product which promises to significantly improve cancer diagnosis and therapy and have an important societal impact. To foster a close link between fundamental research and technological innovation is one of our main missions as academics and lies at the core of the EIC.
Prof. Giulio Cerullo, head of the ultrafast spectroscopy laboratory at Politecnico di Milano

Agreement with a2a

Posted on 09/02/202206/08/2024 by Erik Franco

The A2A Life Company Group and Politecnico di Milano have started up collaboration for the development of innovation, research and training initiatives in the Energy & Utility sector, to support Italy’s ecological transition. The recently signed partnership model is based on two agreements with a total value of 8 million euros and a duration of 5 years.

In particular, the agreement provides for the establishment of a Joint Research Centre to implement multidisciplinary experimental projects on specific issues such as sustainable mobility, the development of renewable energy and hydrogen, battery recycling, the study of new technologies for waste treatment and the recovery of materials and energy, for a total of 5 million.

At the same time, the partnership will give rise to a Joint Research and Innovation Centre inside the Innovation District, which Politecnico di Milano is developing at the former Bovisa gasometer park and in which A2A will take part with a total investment of 3 million euros. The Joint Centre will be entirely dedicated to innovation in the following thematic macro-areas: “Technologies for the environment and energy” and “Technologies for sustainable mobility”, also touching on the themes of energy transition and the circular economy.

The JRC – Joint Research Center has proven to be one of the most valid tools for strengthening the understanding between universities and business.

The agreement was signed by the Rector of the Politecnico, Ferruccio Resta, and by Renato Mazzoncini, CEO of A2A, in the presence of the President of A2A, Marco Patuano, the Mayor of Milan Giuseppe Sala and the President of Regione Lombardia, Attilio Fontana.

The JRC – Joint Research Center has proven to be one of the most valid tools for strengthening the understanding between universities and business. For activating an ever closer synergy on topics of common interest and to meet the challenges that the NRRP poses to Italy: from energy transition, to sustainable mobility, and renewable energy. These are some of the objectives of the agreement which sees Politecnico di Milano working alongside A2A. One of the companies most actively encouraging this path of shared growth. Ready to support joint research from an open supply chain perspective. This agreement in fact represents a shared desire to create a real ecosystem of innovation that goes beyond applied research projects to the development of a flagship project on which the Politecnico will focus in the coming years.
Ferruccio Resta, rector of the Politecnico di Milano

JRP healthcare infrastructures up for the design of hospitals 4.0

Posted on 08/02/202206/08/2024 by Erik Franco

What will the hospital of the future look like?

The Joint Research Platform Healthcare Infrastructures has been set up to answer this question, a platform of excellence for innovation led by Politecnico di Milano – Department of Architecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering (Design & Health Lab) and Fondazione Politecnico di Milano. It is aimed at companies and institutions in the healthcare sector for the development and testing of innovative research and infrastructure projects.

Mario Cucinella Architects, Philips, Politecnica Ingegneria e Architettura, Eredi Rossini Domenico, Siemens SpA, and Tecnicaer Engineering are the companies that have joined the platform and will work in synergy with the Politecnico, in particular to develop a sustainable model of “user-centred” healthcare, capable of going beyond the exclusively hospital-centric perspective.

User-centred hospitals have been shown to improve patient and healthcare operator satisfaction, increase productivity, lower management costs, help reduce the risk of falls by 30%, care-related infections by 35%, staff turnover due to burnout by 30%, adverse events by 15%, and average length of stay by 10%.

The new Hospital 4.0 will be designed by developing, validating and testing design models for the different functional areas of the hospital (Surgery and Critical Patient, Diagnostics, Emergency, Outpatients, Inpatients, General, Logistic and Technical Services) or strategic characteristics (flexibility, resilience to maxi emergencies, sustainability).

The ambition of the JRP Healthcare Infrastructures is to define the new paradigms for the Hospital of the Future. It ‘s the first example in Italy for which the world of research, business and institutions activate a joint working table that aims to address the social, epidemiological and technological challenges related to innovative and sustainable healthcare infrastructures. The JRP is a new multidisciplinary initiative by Politecnico di Milano that will generate multiple frontier actions with important spin-offs for the world of healthcare.
Stefano Capolongo, Professor of Hospital Design at Politecnico di Milano and Scientific Coordinator for this initiative.

The JRP is a new multidisciplinary initiative by Politecnico di Milano that will generate multiple frontier actions with important spin-offs for the world of healthcare

On a national level, current guidelines all focus on investing in healthcare by creating people-centred systems. With JRP Healthcare Infrasctractures we promote a new vision of Hospital 4.0 and best practices in healthcare. As a foundation, we know that, in order to create valuable services for citizens, it is essential to understand the needs of society through dialogue with all stakeholders and to connect the industry sector with that of academia and the institutions. With this project we bring together major players in the healthcare sector, academia and the institutions in order to share the direction of development in healthcare infrastructures
Andrea Sianesi, President of Fondazione Politecnico di Milano.

Sustainable dam planning: the importance of the filling phase

Posted on 07/02/202206/08/2024 by Erik Franco

Decades of sustainable dam planning efforts have focused on containing dam impacts in regime conditions, when the dam is fully filled and operational, overlooking potential disputes raised by the filling phase.

A study carried out within the DAFNE project and published in Nature Communications argues that filling timing and operations can catalyze most of the conflicts associated with a dam’s lifetime, which can be mitigated by adaptive solutions that respond to medium-to-long term hydroclimatic fluctuations.

The retrospective analysis of the contested recent filling of Gibe III in the Omo-Turkana basin (Ethiopia-Kenya) provides quantitative evidence of the benefits generated by adaptive filling strategies, attaining levels of hydro-power production comparable with the historical ones while curtailing the negative impacts to downstream users.

The results published in the study can inform a more sustainable filling of the new megadam currently under construction downstream of Gibe III or the upcoming filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile, and are generalizable to the almost 500 planned dams worldwide in regions influenced by climate feedbacks, thus representing a significant scope to reduce the societal and environmental impacts of a large number of new hydropower reservoirs.

Among the authors of the article there are Marta Zaniolo, PhD, Professor Andrea Castelletti and Professor Matteo Giuliani, from the Departement of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering of the Politecnico di Milano.

Zaniolo, M., Giuliani, M., Sinclair, S. et al.
When timing matters—misdesigned dam filling impacts hydropower sustainability.
Nat Commun 12, 3056 (2021).

The study is available online

New model of agriculture and competition for water resources

Posted on 02/02/202206/08/2024 by Erik Franco

The ongoing agrarian transformation towards large-scale commercial agriculture often pursues the goal of increasing agricultural production through the expansion of irrigation. A study by Politecnico di Milano, published in Nature Communications, investigates how transnational Large Scale Land Acquisitions (LSLA), which play a major role in this process, can influence competition for water resources at the local scale.

Conducted in collaboration with the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Notre Dame, the Colorado State University, the University of Delaware and the Vrije Univeristeit in Amsterdam, the study combines hydrological and crop modelling, agricultural statistics and geo-referenced information on individual transnational LSLAs to assess the emergence of water scarcity associated with them.

The study found that competition for water has been exacerbated, to the detriment of local communities, for 105 of the 160 LSLAs considered (67% of the land acquired). On the one hand, the land of interest to investors is precisely that with preferential access to surface water and groundwater resources, and on the other hand, it was found that these agricultural investments have often been the premise for the planting of water-intensive crops and the expansion of irrigated crops.

Combining the growing demand for water with limited water resources is a key challenge for sustainable development,

comments Maria Cristina Rulli, Professor of Hydrology at Politecnico di Milano.

The use of water resources for agricultural production in large-scale land acquisitions can generate hydrological and social consequences for local users. To date, there have been only a few timid attempts to regulate, mainly on a voluntary basis, large-scale agricultural land acquisitions in the Global South and, unfortunately, recent progress in understanding the water dimension of these acquisitions has not yet been translated into a water governance perspective that takes into account any hydrological constraints, the need for water to ensure rural livelihoods, and environmental law.

Satellites and artificial intelligence to study fine dust

Posted on 31/01/202206/08/2024 by Erik Franco

Climate and extensive anthropisation of the area make the Po Valley one of Europe’s most polluted regions, despite emissions being actually comparable to those of other industrialised districts. Particulate matter, or fine dust, heads the list of the most critical polluting agents.

Long-term exposure to high concentrations of particulate matter increases the incidence of both cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Industries, traffic and domestic heating are some of the leading sources of fine dust emissions. However, even intensive livestock breeding and agricultural activities can contribute to the dissemination of this harmful pollutant. To date, few studies have been conducted on the topic.

The D-DUST project (Data-driven moDelling of particUlate with Satellite Technology aid) aims to bridge this gap by providing important data to investigate the impact of emissions from agricultural and livestock activities on our health. D-DUST, funded by Fondazione Cariplo’s ‘Data Science for Science and Society’ call for proposals, counts on Politecnico di Milano, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (DICA) as lead partner, in partnership with Fondazione Politecnico di Milano, the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering (DEIB) and Università degli Studi dell’Insubria (DiSAT) as scientific partners.

Maria Antonia Brovelli, our Geographical Information Systems professor who is coordinating the project, explained that

the D-DUST project will test new analytical and predictive procedures for the generation and diffusion mechanisms of particulate matter from the agricultural sector. These procedures are solely based on the vast wealth of environmental data and observations now available as open data, with particular focus on the potential contribution of new satellite missions designed to monitor air quality.

The study will also make use of the Sentinel satellite platforms of the European Copernicus programme, including the Sentinel 5P satellite, which provides open data measurements of the main atmospheric pollutants on a global scale, together with the study of spatial predictive models based on machine learning techniques. Models will be developed taking into account data from the fixed ground-based monitoring stations of the ARPA Lombardy network, and data from the detection and chemical characterisation campaigns of particulate matter combined with data on the incidence of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Professor Brovelli further emphasises that

the research aims to increase local knowledge of particulate matter even in areas not covered by ground-based measurement stations, in order to provide estimates and forecasts that could be replicated and used to monitor and analyse population exposure to this pollutant.

In parallel to the research described above, educational activities will be organised, mainly involving students from agricultural senior high schools through awareness-building workshops and direct participation in monitoring campaigns. The project will also involve non-profit organisations and foundations actively participating in research, education and dissemination projects on environmental issues.