Models for the Evaluation of Productivity and Costs of Mechanized Felling on Poplar Short Rotation Coppice in Italy

The forest biomass, as a renewable energy source, can significantly contribute to the progressive replacement of fossil fuels in energy production, with a positive final balance in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. One of the different sources of woody biomass supply is represented by short rotation coppices (SRC) plantations, currently present in various European countries for a total of about fifty thousand hectares. In Italy, part of the SRC surface has been converted into other more profitable crops, both the low levels reached by the woodchips market price and the scarce availability of specific public incentives. In this study, the authors expose the results of the models for evaluating work time, productivity, and costs of the felling operation on SRC poplar plantations with 8- and 11-year-old trees. The aim is to evaluate the economic sustainability in the use of advanced mechanization on these plantations. The machine was a crawler excavator equipped with a shear head. In the 11-year-old plantation, the productivity estimation model returned a range of 1.09–18.93 Mg h−1 (average 5.56 ± 3.88 SD) when the weight variation of the trees was 20–491 kgw (average 100.41 ± 87.48 SD). In the 8-year-old poplar, the range was 1.02–11.60 Mg h−1 (average 3.80 ± 1.71 SD), for weight variation of 17–137 kgw (average 50.57 ± 18.82 SD). The consequent variation in unit cost was EUR 2.82–51.63 Mg−1 and EUR 4.05–49.65 Mg−1, corresponding to EUR 1252.17–3463.78 ha−1 and EUR 922.49–2545.11 ha−1 for 11- and 8-year-old trees, respectively

Study on the Effect of a New Rotor Designed for Chipping Short Rotation Woody Crops

The particle size distribution of wood chips, along with the moisture content, are some of the main parameters for defining the quality of most wood fuels. A new experimental rotor, powered by the self-propelled forage harvester Claas Jaguar was developed by the Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l\u27analisi dell\u27economia agraria (CRA), Agricultural Engineering Research Unit (CRA-ING). The rotor allowed for improved dimensional features of wood chips. The comminution achieved with the CRA–ING drum increased the percentage of 16–45 mm wood chips fraction from 63.69% to 73.29%, and progressively reduced the fraction of chips less than 16 mm from 35.20 to 25.35%. Consequently, the bulk density of the chips decreased by 8.57% in comparison with products obtained by standard devices. The dimensional increments achieved by the rotor and the percentage reduction of the smallest fractions represent two valuable elements affecting the behaviour of the wood chips during storage and handling

Inertia Estimation Through Covariance Matrix

This work presents a technique to estimate on-line the inertia of a power system based on ambient measurements. The proposed technique utilizes the covariance matrix of these measurements and solves an optimization problem that fits such measurements to the synchronous machine classical model. We show that the proposed technique is adequate to accurately estimate the actual inertia of synchronous machines and also the virtual inertia provided by the controllers of converter-interfaced generators that emulate the behavior of synchronous machines. We also show that the proposed approach is able to estimate the equivalent damping of the classical synchronous machine model. This feature is exploited to estimate the droop of grid-following converters, which has a similar effect of the swing equation equivalent damping. The technique is comprehensively tested on a modified version of the IEEE 39-bus system as well as on a dynamic 1479-bus model of the all-island Irish transmission system

Body mass index and age correlate with antioxidant supplementation effects on sperm quality: Post hoc analyses from a double-blind placebo-controlled trial

Spermatozoa are vulnerable to lack of energy and oxidative stress as a result of elevated levels of reactive oxygen species. Therefore, it is essential that appropriate nutrients are available during maturation. This randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial investigated the effect of 6-month supplementation with carnitines and other micronutrients on sperm quality in 104 subjects with oligo- and/or astheno- and/or teratozoospermia with or without varicocele. Semen analyses were done at the beginning and end of the treatment. In addition to main analyses, post hoc analyses for age and body mass index (BMI) were carried out. Results were interpreted by dividing the population into two age and BMI classes. In 94 patients who completed the study, all sperm parameters increased in supplemented patients compared to the placebo group. A significant (p = .0272) difference in supplementation efficacy was observed for total motility on patients with varicocele and BMI < 25. In the same group, also the progressive motility was significantly superior (p = .0159). For Responder analysis, total motility results were confirmed in both the cited group (p = .0066) and in the varicocele group with BMI < 25 and age < 35 (p = .0078). This study suggests that supplementation is more effective in subjects with varicocele younger than 35 years with BMI < 25

Body mass index and age correlate with antioxidant supplementation effects on sperm quality: Post hoc analyses from a double-blind placebo-controlled trial

Spermatozoa are vulnerable to lack of energy and oxidative stress as a result of elevated levels of reactive oxygen species. Therefore, it is essential that appropriate nutrients are available during maturation. This randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial investigated the effect of 6-month supplementation with carnitines and other micronutrients on sperm quality in 104 subjects with oligo- and/or astheno- and/or teratozoospermia with or without varicocele. Semen analyses were done at the beginning and end of the treatment. In addition to main analyses, post hoc analyses for age and body mass index (BMI) were carried out. Results were interpreted by dividing the population into two age and BMI classes. In 94 patients who completed the study, all sperm parameters increased in supplemented patients compared to the placebo group. A significant (p = .0272) difference in supplementation efficacy was observed for total motility on patients with varicocele and BMI < 25. In the same group, also the progressive motility was significantly superior (p = .0159). For Responder analysis, total motility results were confirmed in both the cited group (p = .0066) and in the varicocele group with BMI < 25 and age < 35 (p = .0078). This study suggests that supplementation is more effective in subjects with varicocele younger than 35 years with BMI < 25

Drug-resistant tuberculosis in Naples, 2008-2013

Background. Drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) is an important threat in industrialized countries, but low information is known from Southern Italy. Here, we present the results of a retrospective study on TB cases diagnosed in 2008-2013 in Naples, the biggest city in the South of Italy. Methods. Six hundred ninety Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains were isolated at the Ospedali dei Colli of Naples, and resistance to first-line and second-line drugs was determined. Results. Multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB increased from 2008 to 2013, with most strains being isolated from migrants arriving from 41 countries. Overall MDR-TB rate was 4.5%: Italian-born persons, 2.2%; Romania, 7.5%; Former Soviet Union countries (Ukraine, Russia, Armenia, Georgia), 22.4%; all other foreign countries, 2.0%. Resistance of MDR strains to second-line drugs was high against kanamycin, ofloxacin, capreomycin. Conclusions. MDR-TB increased in 2008-13 and was mostly observed in migrants, indicating the need to intensify diagnosis and treatment of these populations in Naples

Prospective assessment of two-gene urinary test with multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging of the prostate for men undergoing primary prostate biopsy

Purpose To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of SelectMDx and its association with multiparametric magnetic resonance (mpMRI) in predicting prostate cancer (PCa) and clinically significant PCa (csPCa) on prostate biopsies among men scheduled for initial prostate biopsy. Methods In this single-center prospective study, 52 men scheduled for initial prostate biopsy, based on elevated total PSA level (> 3 ng/ml) or abnormal digital rectal examination, were consecutively included. All subjects underwent SelectMDx, PSA determination and mpMRI. Results SelectMDx score was positive in 94.1 and 100% of PCa and csPCa, respectively, and in only 8.6% of negative cases at biopsy. The probability for a csPCa at the SelectMDx score was significantly (p = 0.002) higher in csPCa (median value 52.0%) than in all PCa (median value 30.0%). SelectMDx showed slightly lower sensitivity (94.1 versus 100.0%) but higher specificity (91.4%) than total PSA (17.1%), and the same sensitivity but higher specificity than mpMRI (80.0%) in predicting PCa at biopsy. The association of SelectMDx plus mpMRI rather than PSA density (PSAD) plus mpMRI showed higher specificity (both 91.4%) compared to the association of PSA plus mpMRI (85.7%). In terms of csPCa predictive value, SelectMDx showed higher specificity (73.3%) than PSA (13.3%) and mpMRI (64.4%); as for the association of SelectMDx plus mpMRI (75.6%) versus PSA plus mpMRI (68.9%), the association of PSAD plus mpMRI showed the highest specificity (80.0%). Conclusion Our results of SelectMDx can be confirmed as significant but their impact on clinical practice together with a cost-effectiveness evaluation should be investigated in a larger prospective multicenter analysis