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Energy efficiency, sustainability of interventions and efficient management of the conservation process are three increasingly important features of the restoration and regeneration of urban historic fabrics. Several studies identify in the Heritage-BIM the most suitable instrument for the integration and management of knowledge produced during the conservation process, with ongoing experiments that, from the field of representation and geometric survey, have gone in the direction of a multidisciplinary approach. Numerical simulations are one of the most powerful tools for improving energy efficiency of the built heritage, not only for the understanding of complex phenomena and the analysis of the energy and environmental consequences of conservation interventions (also in terms of deterioration), but also because they allow innovative applications in the field of non-destructive analysis and in the reconstruction of the original passive behaviour of historic structures. An HBIM model already contains much of the information required for numerical analysis of historical structures, and interoperability can save time by reducing errors in manual steps but at the moment the process of integration between the two software environments is still complex and in an embryonic phase that requires a multidisciplinary approach and the involvement of numerous experts from different scientific fields. The article describes the methodology of integration between multidisciplinary analyses, HBIM modelling and simulation analysis adopted within the METRICS research project, where it was possible to test the limits and potentials of the currently available approaches, exploiting the digital medium of computational design to bridge the gap between BIM and simulation environments.

Introduction The momentum towards the green economy; strongly focused on innovation; highlights the urgent need to anticipate the new and emerging health and safety risks in green jobs with a view to ensuring adequate; safe and healthy working conditions. The present study has conducted a survey among relevant stakeholders; social partners; institutions and green companies to collect their perceptions of potential effects of green jobs on occupational health and safety; with particular regard to the renewable energy sector. Methods An online questionnaire posted on the "Research Activity" section of the INAIL website was used to conduct the survey. It involved a sample of 61 stakeholders including institutions (11); trade unions (11); employers associations (13); companies (11); research (15). Questionnaire results have been uploaded to a database in Microsoft Excel format and analysed using SPSS version 16.0 for Windows. Results Most of respondents claim that the green transition poses new risks that can be managed with current risk management procedures (38;2% of responses) or think that renewables entail the same types of risks as other forms of energy but new risk management procedures are required (27;3% of responses). As regards the occupational health and safety risks associated with the production of sustainable energy sources; this study shows that wind; photovoltaic and solar thermal energy (41;2%) entail low health and safety risks. Medium risks have been identified in geothermal (47;1%); hydro power (44;1%) and biomass (38;2%). Discussion This study provides an objective analysis of green experts' perception of emerging and poorly investigated issues concerning the potential implications of green technologies in the field of occupational health and safety. The poor perception of workers' health and safety protection brought to light by the survey is due to a delay of the Italian political; scientific and industrial world in the assessment of potential risks for workers' health and safety posed by the introduction of new green technologies.

The Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS, the National Institute of Health of Italy) and the Istituto dei Motori (IM) of the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR, National Research Council) have carried out this study, jointly funded by the two institutes together with the Ministry of Environment. The chemical and toxicological characteristics of emissions from two urban bus engines were studied: a diesel engine fueled with both diesel oil and biodiesel blend and an equivalent spark-ignition one fuelled with compressed natural gas, operating in steady-state conditions. Regulated and unregulated pollutants, such as carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and nitrated derivatives, carbonyl compounds and light aromatic hydrocarbons were quantified. Mutagenicity of the emissions was evaluated by the Salmonella typhimurium/mammalian microsome assay. The effect of the fuels under study on the size distribution of particulate matter was also evaluated. The impact of diesel-powered transport on urban air quality, and the potential benefits for human health deriving from the use of natural gas for public transport, are discussed.

Testing and performance evaluation of piezoelectric devices for energy harvesting from vibrations are tasks of great relevance for the development of these devices. Thus, the definition of a test methodology that satisfies these goals is a preliminary requirement of this research activity. Because of the electro-mechanical nature of these devices, the preparation of the experimental set-up involves a multidisciplinary approach which includes mechanical and electrical measurements. Therefore, in this technical report, the development of an experimental methodology for testing these systems is proposed with reference to a specific set-up so as to clarify some aspects, including the choice of suitable instrumentation for the purpose.