A Preliminary LCA Analysis of Snowmaking in Fiemme Valley

Modern ski resorts have been using systems of technical snow for many years: initially they were used to compensate the limits of natural snow but today it is actually the natural snow that is used as an integration to artificial snow and not vice versa. This paper aims to identify and evaluate the environmental impacts associated to the production of artificial snow, comparing two very different winter seasons in terms of snowfalls. The results of LCA analysis shows that the production of artificial snow primarily implies impacts on natural land transformation and fossil depletion, and that more snowfalls cause more onerous skiing resorts management, due to high consumption of diesel fuel for piste machines used for snow grooming

Improvement of Cellulose Hydrolysis Process and Cost Savings

The hydrolysis process to obtain the so-called \u201creducing sugars\u201d represents the main step involved in the production of the second generation bioethanol. This product can be obtained directly from various types of green biomass, replacing the use of cereals cultivations, with obvious benefits to the environment and the economy of agricultural production. However, it is necessary to improve the hydrolysis process of the cellulose to achieve this goal. To this purpose, we applied a chemical process formerly used. The values of sugars yield were increased by about 40% with respect to the previous study. Further significant cost savings were accomplished, resulting from the recovery of the by-product, calcium sulfate, commercially known as gypsum

Ranula: Modified Micro-Marsupialization: Case Report and Review of Literature

Introduction: Ranula is a limited mucus retention on the floor of mouth. Due to the young age of patients, over the years, attempts were made to find minimally invasive and effective surgical techniques. To date, however, there is still no gold standard. The modified micro-marsupialization is an effective and minimally invasive technique, with minimal risk of relapse, although there are very few reports about it. Case report: A 12-year-old male presented to our ENT Clinic with a rounded swelling with regular and defined margins, measuring 4x3 cm, soft and painless, non-compressible and bluish. Clinical diagnosis of ranula was made and a modified micro-marsupialization was performed: eight interrupted sutures using silk 3-0 were placed perpendicularly to the major axis of the lesion, from one side of the lesion to the other, without reaching the underlying tissue. No sutures were lost during follow-up, no complications occurred. Complete healing was reached after removing sutures on the 30th postoperative day. At 6 months control no relapse was observed. Conclusion: Modified micro-marsupialization is strongly indicated and recommended, especially in pediatric patient, due to its low invasiveness and its very low relapse rate. The poor case history found in the literature is probably an indication of the lack of knowledge of modified micro-marsupialization which, in our opinion, could be considered the gold standard

The Evolution of Sustainable Mobility and Urban Space Planning: Exploring the factors contributing to the Regeneration of Car Parking in Living Spaces

Strategies and actions to promote sustainable mobility must be based on the characterization of the mobility supply and the promotion of decarbonization policies (e.g. the management of public spaces). The presence of parkings, especially in urban areas, has a significant impact on the occupancy of physical spaces. In this framework, referring to the last decades and the recent pandemic, the paper focuses on the evaluation of influencing factors that have contributed to the changes of planned and designed parking spaces in urban areas. Parklets can support post COVID-19 (Phase 3) pandemics by improving the quality of public space and social distancing close to shops and activities, benefiting from this micro-urban regeneration. Moreover, they can be considered as an extension of the pavement and their implementation can encourage the reduction of private traffic by promoting soft mobility (i.e. walking and cycling). The article defines and highlights the features for the identification and planning of spaces where parklets can be implemented, to improve sustainability and support the post-pandemic recovery

Fostering Sustainability @UniTs

Promoting sustainability through innovative culture and models is nowadays a top task for universities. Their commitment oriented by the 17 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) conveys the message that sustainability is not a "luxury" but an essential vehicle through which to pursue and guarantee everyone's rights, inclusion and future.Solving complex problems calls for collaboration among communities; aware of that, Italian universities set up the RUS - Italian University Network for Sustainable Development - which acts as a model to encourage collaboration between universities and cities, to spread social innovation at local level and to provide cultural awareness at national level. The University of Trieste (UniTs) joined the network in 2017. Consistent with its strategy for sustainability, UniTs has implemented measures on the macro-context (to raise public awareness and to support research) as well as on micro-context (to orientate behaviors and habits of its community). In particular, it focused on virtuous projects such as waste management, based both on the constant reduction of waste production and on the optimization of the use of materials and products (i.e. paper, glass, reagents), along with the setting of separate waste collection to reduce disposal and favor recycling. The paper will refer on the present framework and the implementation of new integrated projects, aimed at consolidating a community attentive and aware of sustainability

The Intention to Purchase Recycled Products: Towards an Integrative Theoretical Framework

The growing interest of the scientific literature regarding purchase behavior, circular economy and new business models has generated the need, as well as the opportunity, for a comprehensive review and categorization of the state of the existing research carried out so far. The present study aims at reconciling the wide but fragmented literature dealing with the purchase intention of recycled products. An integrative theoretical framework, able to combine several constructs, perspectives, and theories discussed to date on the topic, is proposed. Such framework represents a further step toward a comprehensive understanding of behavioral theories and constructs, which need to be understood to design effective business models for the circular economy. This effort could be highly valuable both for scholars interested in the topic—as the integrative framework could assist them in theorizing additional effects—and for firms’ managers—who can understand, more in depth, the drivers of the consumers’ purchasing process and act accordingly

Applicazione della metodologia LCA all\u2019intervento di modifica degli impianti semaforici nel Comune di Udine

In recent years the Municipality of Udine changed the technology of traffic lights in the administered area, no longer equipped with traditional incandescent optics but with Light Emitting Diodes (LED), in order to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions during the operation phase. The paper aims at applying the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, to evaluate whether the transition to the new technology has actually allowed the reduction of environmental impacts, resulting from all life cycle stages for both devices, in different environmental categories. In most cases the obtained results show a better environmental compatibility of LED

Quality and Safety in Commercial Baby Foods

Nutrient-rich baby foods are required with particularly high standards of quality and safety expressed through product specifications or attributes. These foods are generally subjected to thermal processes that could involve a reduction of essential elements, as well as in the formation of potentially harmful molecules. This paper aimed at detecting the presence, in some baby foods, of compounds derived from Maillard reactions, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and total Maillard Reaction Products (MRPs), as well as at evaluating the hypothetical levels of HMF daily intake by infants and children fed with the tested products. Baby food samples included milk powders, lyophilized meat-based foods, powdered creams based on cereals, homogenized jarred foods based on processed cheese, fish, vegetables, and meat. As far as the healthiness of the tested foods is concerned, significant quantities of total MRPs were found. The lyophilized meat-based foods samples showed the highest levels of total MRPs. At 380 nm, all the samples exceeded the total MRPs concentration of 1000 mg/100g. The analysis revealed the presence of HMF in all the samples under study. However, none of the samples exceeded the threshold concentration of 20 mg/Kg. The highest values were recorded for the category of lyophilized meat-based foods and for a sample of homogenized veal-based food. The results for the hypothetical daily levels of HMF intake by babies showed that, for the age group over 12 months, a value of 3.6 mg was reached. The largest percentage contribution was imputable to the homogenized jarred foods based on proteins and vegetables

Spray-congealed Solid Lipid Microparticles as a new tool for the controlled release of Bisphosphonates from a Calcium Phosphate Bone cement

The aim of this work was to develop an innovative drug delivery system potentially useful for the local delivery of Bisphosphonates to bone tissue. We propose the use of Solid Lipid Microparticles (MPs), up to now mainly used for oral and topical drug delivery, as carrier for bisphosphonates due to the favourable biocompatibility and lower toxicity of the lipids compared with many polymers. The delivery platform consisted of a biomimetic \u3b1-tricalcium phosphate-gelatin cement (CPC) enriched with alendronate loaded MPs (MPs-AL) produced by the spray congealing technology. Alendronate direct addition to cement composition is limited since Alendronate is able to sequester calcium from calcium phosphates, thus preventing the setting of the cements. At variance, this approach permitted to load a relatively high amount of the drug on the CPC and allowed the controlled release of the highly water soluble alendronate. A Design of Experiment (DoE) was employed for the screening of the effects of the formulation variables related to the presence of unloaded microparticle (MPs) on the cement most important mechanical properties. Then, MPs loaded with 10 % w/w of alendronate were produced using five different carriers (Stearic Acid, Stearilic Alcohol, Cutina HR, Tristearin and Precirol ATO5). All MPs-AL exhibited a spherical shape, encapsulation efficiency higher than 90% and prevalent particle size ranging from 100-150 micron. Solid state characterization (DSC, HSM and X-ray powder diffraction) demonstrated that encapsulation of alendronate into MPs did not alter its crystal structure. MPs-AL addition to the cement provoked a modest lengthening of the setting times and of the hardening reaction leading to the complete transformation of \u3b1-tricalcium phosphate into calcium-deficient hydroxyapatite, without significantly affect the cement mechanical properties. Moreover, the results of in vitro AL release study performed on cements enriched with MPs-AL showed that the system allows a controlled release of the drug over time

Dually Cross-Linked Core-Shell Structure Nanohydrogel with Redox–Responsive Degradability for Intracellular Delivery

A redox-responsive nanocarrier is a promising strategy for the intracellular drug release because it protects the payload, prevents its undesirable leakage during extracellular transport, and favors site-specific drug delivery. In this study, we developed a novel redox responsive core-shell structure nanohydrogel prepared by a water in oil nanoemulsion method using two biocompatible synthetic polymers: vinyl sulfonated poly(N-(2-hydroxypropyl) methacrylamide mono/dilactate)-polyethylene glycol-poly(N-(2-hydroxypropyl) methacrylamide mono/dilactate) triblock copolymer, and thiolated hyaluronic acid. The influence on the nanohydrogel particle size and distribution of formulation parameters was investigated by a three-level full factorial design to optimize the preparation conditions. The surface and core-shell morphology of the nanohydrogel were observed by scanning electron microscope, transmission electronmicroscopy, and further confirmed by Fourier transforminfrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy from the standpoint of chemical composition. The redox-responsive biodegradability of the nanohydrogel in reducing environments was determined using glutathione as reducing agent. A nanohydrogel with particle size around 250 nm and polydispersity index around 0.1 is characterized by a thermosensitive shell which jellifies at body temperature and crosslinks at the interface of a redox-responsive hyaluronic acid core via theMichael addition reaction. The nanohydrogel showed good encapsulation efficiency for model macromolecules of different molecular weight (93% for cytochrome C, 47% for horseradish peroxidase, and 90% for bovine serum albumin), capacity to retain the peroxidase-like enzymatic activity (around 90%) of cytochrome C and horseradish peroxidase, and specific redox-responsive release behavior. Additionally, the nanohydrogel exhibited excellent cytocompatibility and internalization efficiency into macrophages. Therefore, the developed core-shell structure nanohydrogel can be considered a promising tool for the potential intracellular delivery of different pharmaceutical applications, including for cancer therapy