driftwood biomass in italy estimation and characterization

In Italy, the accumulation of driftwood along the shore is a significant issue, especially for the coastal municipalities of the Central and Northern regions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the distribution and availability of the coastal driftwood in Italy and its impacts, as well as analyzing its chemical–physical properties to evaluate possible employment in combustion applications. On the basis of a data gathering campaign for the period 2010–2014, about 60,000 tons of driftwood are reported to accumulate along the Italian shores every year. The two regions hardest-hit were Liguria and Veneto, with about 15,000 tons and 12,000 tons, respectively. Three sites were selected for driftwood sampling. The main issue deriving from chemical characterization was the high chlorine content (up to 2% on dry basis) and metal oxides in the ashes. Driftwood samples were then subjected to a natural washing cycle for 1 month; results revealed a significant drop in chlorine and metal oxides contents (up to 80%) and a low decrease of the lower heating value (about 20%). Furthermore, the percolated water was analyzed in terms of chemical oxygen demand (COD), showing values (up to 1100 mg O 2 /L) above the Italian limits for discharges into surface waters

Sustainable New Brick and Thermo-Acoustic Insulation Panel from Mineralization of Stranded Driftwood Residues

There is considerable interest recently in by-products for application in green buildings. These materials are widely used as building envelope insulators or blocks. In this study, an experimental study was conducted to test stranded driftwood residues as raw material for possible thermo-acoustic insulation panel and environmentally sustainable brick. The thermal and acoustic characteristics of such a natural by-product were examined. Part of samples were mineralized by means of cement-based additive to reinforce the material and enhance its durability as well as fire resistance. Several mixtures with different sizes of ground wood chips and different quantities of cement were investigated. The thermo-acoustic in-lab characterization was aimed at investigating the thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, volumetric specific heat, and acoustic transmission loss. All samples were tested before and after mineralization. Results from this study indicate that it is possible to use stranded driftwood residues as building materials with competitive thermo-acoustic properties. In fact, the thermal conductivity was shown to be always around 0.07 W/mK in the unbound samples, and around double that value for the mineralized samples, which present a much higher volumetric specific heat (1.6 MJ/m3K) and transmission loss capability. The lignin powder showed a sort of intermediate behavior between the unbound and the mineralized samples.The authors would like to thank Gabriele Franceschetti and CVR s.r.l. for assisting the mineralization procedure of the samples. Anna Laura Pisello’s acknowledgments are due to the “CIRIAF program for UNESCO” in the framework of the UNESCO Chair “Water Resources Management and Culture”, for supporting her research. The research was founded by the Italian Environmental Ministry with an agreement entitled “Recovery and energy valorization of stranded driftwood residues” in 2014–2016. The research team leading to these results has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 657466 (INPATH–TES) and No. 678407 (ZERO-PLUS)

Advantages and Requirements in Time Resolving Tracking for Astroparticle Experiments in Space

A large-area, solid-state detector with single-hit precision timing measurement will enable several breakthrough experimental advances for the direct measurement of particles in space. Silicon microstrip detectors are the most promising candidate technology to instrument the large areas of the next-generation astroparticle space borne detectors that could meet the limitations on power consumption required by operations in space. We overview the novel experimental opportunities that could be enabled by the introduction of the timing measurement, concurrent with the accurate spatial and charge measurement, in Silicon microstrip tracking detectors, and we discuss the technological solutions and their readiness to enable the operations of large-area Silicon microstrip timing detectors in space

Morphometric evaluation of the pedicles of the lumbar spine according to L5 lateral tilt classification

A classification of the lumbar spine according to the pedicle lateral tilt (PLT) of L5 pedicle was recently proposed [1]. In this work the sample was divided into three categories, the first or Wing Type (WT) includes people with a PLT >36° (41,8%), the second or V Type (VT) includes people with a PLT between 30° and 36° (48%) and the third or U Type (UT) includes people with a PL

Does Pelvic Incidence Influence the Morphology of the Sacroiliac Joint?

Pelvic Incidence is defined as the angle between the perpendicular line to the upper plate of S1 at its midpoint and the line between this point and the center of bicoxofemoral line, it describes the position of femural heads in relation to sacrum. Recently some authors described a direct correlation between high values of PI and large AP pelvic axis (horizontal pelvis) and a wide pelvic ring [1]. Also the acetabular orientation is influenced by PI ; high values of PI means a more vertical acetabulum. Having regard to the relationship between PI and the main structures involved in the load transfer, to date no studies that correlate the morphology of the Sacroiliac Joint (SiJ) and PI were performed. The aim of this study is to evaluate the different morphology of the auricular surface of the sacrum comparing two groups of healthy young people with low (40°) PI. We retrospectively analysed 51 consecutive young (between 20 and 35 y.o.) people. After the evaluation of PI the sample was divided into two groups: 31 people belong to the group A (PI 40°). The following morphological parameters of the SiJ were analysed: length of long axis (LLA), length of short axis (LSA), length of oblique axis (LOA), ratio between long and short axis (RLSA), angle between axis (ABA) and surface; global shape of the joint was evaluated; two new parameters were introduced, SiJ Tilt (SiJT), defined as the angle between the vertical line and the long axis of the SiJ and SiJ Slope (SiJS), defined as the angle between the horizontal line and the short axis of the SiJ. We found a strong statistically significant correlations (p-value 0.05) between PI and RLSA, shape, ABA, SiJT and SiJS; a weaker correlations (p-value 0.10) between PI and LLA, LSA were observed; no statistically significant correlation between PI and LOA and surface were observed. The results underline that there is a strong correlation between pelvic morphology and SiJ anatomy. Further studies, about the different pattern of forces distribution among SiJ, will need to be performed to have a better knowledge that could help to understand the biomechanics and pathophysiology of normal and pathological SiJ

Search for heavy neutral lepton production in K+ decays

A search for heavy neutral lepton production in K + decays using a data sample collected with a minimum bias trigger by the NA62 experiment at CERN in 2015 is reported. Upper limits at the 10−7 to 10−6 level are established on the elements of the extended neutrino mixing matrix |Ue4| 2 and |Uμ4| 2 for heavy neutral lepton mass in the ranges 170–448 MeV/c2 and 250–373 MeV/c2, respectively. This improves on the previous limits from HNL production searches over the whole mass range considered for |Ue4|2 and above 300 MeV/c2 for |Uμ4|2

The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE): Technical Overview

The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) will expand the information space for study of cosmic sources, by adding linear polarization to the properties (time, energy, and position) observed in x-ray astronomy. Selected in 2017 January as a NASA Astrophysics Small Explorer (SMEX) mission, IXPE will be launched into an equatorial orbit in 2021. The IXPE mission will provide scientifically meaningful measurements of the x-ray polarization of a few dozen sources in the 2-8 keV band, including polarization maps of several x-ray-bright extended sources and phase-resolved polarimetry of many bright pulsating x-ray sources

Measurement of the very rare K+→π+ννˉK^+ \to \pi^+ \nu \bar\nu decay

The decay K+→π+νν¯ , with a very precisely predicted branching ratio of less than 10−10 , is among the best processes to reveal indirect effects of new physics. The NA62 experiment at CERN SPS is designed to study the K+→π+νν¯ decay and to measure its branching ratio using a decay-in-flight technique. NA62 took data in 2016, 2017 and 2018, reaching the sensitivity of the Standard Model for the K+→π+νν¯ decay by the analysis of the 2016 and 2017 data, and providing the most precise measurement of the branching ratio to date by the analysis of the 2018 data. This measurement is also used to set limits on BR(K+→π+X ), where X is a scalar or pseudo-scalar particle. The final result of the BR(K+→π+νν¯ ) measurement and its interpretation in terms of the K+→π+X decay from the analysis of the full 2016-2018 data set is presented, and future plans and prospects are reviewed

Transcranial color-coded duplex sonography for evaluation of midline-shift after chronic-subdural hematoma evacuation (TEMASE): A prospective study

Abstract OBJECTIVE: The incidence of chronic Subdural hematoma (cSDH) is increasing and its rate of recurrence varies from 5 to 33%. A postoperative brain midline-shift (MLS) on computed tomography (CT) equal or larger than 5mm is a risk factor for recurrence. Transcranial color-coded duplex sonography (TCCDS) is a noninvasive bedside reproducible technique useful to detect MLS. The aim of our study was to compare in patients affected by cSDH, the values of MLS obtained pre- and post-operatively by TCCDS and brain CT. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 32 patients affected by cSDH entered the study between July 2016 and January 2017. MLS values obtained by TCCDS and brain CT were compared using Bland-Altman plot and linear regression analysis. Using the same techniques we also explored if the agreement between the two imaging modes was comparable in pre- and post-operative data pairs. RESULTS: 64 data pairs of MLS values obtained by TCCDS and CT were analysed. Bland-Altman diagrams did not show any systematic bias of the data and linear regression indicated a significant correlation between the two measures both before and after hematoma evacuation. CONCLUSION: In patients affected by cSDH, MLS values obtained before and after surgery by TCCDS are comparable to those obtained by CT; TCCDS might be considered an alternative to CT scan in the management of patients after cSDH evacuation. We suggest that close clinical bedside examination and TCCDS might be appropriate for the post-operative management of cSDH, reserving CT scan only to patients with overt clinical deterioration and/or increasing MLS

Direct fascia lata reconstruction to reduce donor site morbidity in endoscopic endonasal extended surgery: a pilot study

Objective: Fascia lata is a validated source of autologous grafts, adopted by many surgical figures throughout different types of reconstructive procedures. Postoperative pain and muscle prolapse are frequent complications after harvesting fascia lata; donor site morbidity causes delayed mobilization and increased lenght of hospital stay. In our department fascia lata is used as autologous graft in reconstruction of skull base after extended endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery (EETS) and the thigh defect is usually repaired with allograft to restore tissue continuity and avoid muscle prolapse. Our aim was to evaluate the post-operative pain and muscle prolapse in a group of patients who underwent EETS with fascia lata reconstruction with allograft. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed clinical data of 11 patients who underwent harvesting and reconstruction of fascia lata during EETS, collected in our department of Neurosurgery between January 2012 and September 2015. "Pain on rest" and "pain on walking" data were collected daily according to the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) system, during hospital stay until sutures removal and 1 month after surgery. Furthermore, the degree of muscle prolapse was analyzed at the time of sutures removal and 1 month following surgery. Results: 11 patients were studied between January 2012 and September 2015: 4 men and 7 women (1:1.75). Mean age 53.6±11.1years. During the post-operative stay, "pain on rest" and "pain on walking" values of all patients did not exceed grade 4 of NRS. While removing sutures, "pain on rest" resulted grade 1 of NRS in 27.3% (3/11) patients, while "pain on walking" was grade 1 of NRS in 18.2% (2/11) and grade 2 in 9.1% (1/11). After a month of surgery "pain on rest" reduced to NRS grade 1 in 9.1% (1/11), while patients NRS results for "pain on walking" were the same as the previous evaluation. Mean duration of hospital stay was 5.7±2.28 days. 10 patients were discharged home, only 1 patient was transferred to a rehabilitation ward. No visible nor palpable muscle prolapse was found in our group of patients during the entire assessment. Conclusion: Findings show how fascia lata reconstruction with allograft reduced post-operative discomfort and muscle prolapse in our serie; it also permitted their early mobilization and discharge. These are promising results. However further studies are needed to see this technique approved