Improving operation of a complex headworks system for municipal use and hydropower production by mathematical programming

The paper presents a Mixed Integer Non Linear Programming (MINLP) model of the water resources system supplying Genoa, in northern Italy. The system presently features five reservoirs, three main river intakes, and two well fields. The hydrological regime is typically Mediterranean; water availability is however relatively abundant, so that drought issues are limited, especially now that water demand from the supply sources has decreased due to reduced population, deindustrialization and to improvement in the operation and maintenance of the water distribution network. In this context, it is worthwhile considering the possibility to relax an over-conservative management of resources, justified by the experience of previous drought events, and to explore the viability of exploiting resources from reservoirs for hydropower production. The MINLP model expresses cost minimization over a 40 year time period on a monthly basis, subject to physical constraints. Costs include scarcity costs (the economic value of possible water deficits) and extraction costs from wells, minus hydropower production. The model has been written in GAMS and solved through the SBB (Simple Branch and Bound) solver. Results show that the system is able to meet demand over the 40 year hydrologic scenario with negligible water deficits and that hydropower production may be enhanced compared to present by increasing releases from reservoirs, which ultimately implies accepting keeping reservoirs emptier than presently done

Spatial distribution of rainfall trends in Sicily (1921–2000)

The feared global climate change could have important effects on various environmental variables including rainfall in many countries around the world. Changes in precipitation regime directly affect water resources management, agriculture, hydrology and ecosystems. For this reason it is important to investigate the changes in the spatial and temporal rainfall pattern in order to improve water management strategies. In this study a non-parametric statistical method (Mann–Kendall rank correlation method) is employed in order to verify the existenceof trend in annual, seasonal and monthly rainfall and the distribution of the rainfall during the year. This test is applied to about 250 rain gauge stations in Sicily (Italy) after a series of procedures finalized to the estimation of missing records and to the verification of data consistency. In order to understand the regional pattern of precipitation in Sicily, the detected trends are spatially interpolated using spatial analysis techniques in a GIS environment. The results show the existence of a generalized negative trend for the entire region

Climate adaptive urban measures in Mediterranean areas: Thermal effectiveness of an advanced multilayer green roof installed in Palermo (Italy)

Several nature based and climate adaptive solutions have been proposed to improve cities resilience to the effects of global warming and restore natural processes in strongly anthropized areas. Green roofs are among the most efficient nature based solutions to address recurrent urban challenges, such as pluvial floods and urban heat islands. Various benefits offered by green roofs are rather known, such as their capacity to enhance buildings thermal insulation; green roofs also favor urban biodiversity, improving buildings aesthetic value and human well being. Multilayer green roofs (MGRs) are green roofs with an additional layer that increases their water storage capacity. Deep analyses on MGRs are still lacking due to their recent development, and the few works in literature are prevalently focused on their stormwater retention primary function. This work explores the thermal function of an experimental MGR prototype installed in Palermo (Italy), comparing its response to local climate with that of an unaltered portion of the rooftop through the analysis of surface temperature time series collected over a two years monitoring period. Performances are evaluated thought various daily thermal indices, also analyzing the role of the water stored into the system. Results contribute to raise awareness about the benefits arising from the use of MGRs in semi-arid Mediterranean urban areas, confirming, as main thermal advantage, their cooling effect, with mean daily surface temperature reduced by 8.4% outdoor and 5.8% indoor; performances increases with water storage and are particularly evident during the hot and dry summers that typically characterize such regions

THE CHALLENGES OF SUSTAINABLE HISTORICAL CENTERS: THE CASE OF ROSETTE, EGYPT

Historical centers of many Egyptian cities managed to survive as living cities in spite of physical decline and economic depression. Their fabric carries out the spiritual and cultural messages that communicate with their present citizens. The heritage of these historic city centers are not only Material character, but much more. Generally, the conservation of historic centers is fundamentally different from conservation of single monument. While a single monument can be kept on a chosen state of evolution, the historic centers cannot be preserved in particular state \u201cwith exception of the small areas conserved for tourist purposes\u201d. The historic centers, as living cities must meet the varying needs of citizens with sustainable transformations. The challenge is not how to preserve, but how to create dynamic living spaces and places that produce rich in cultural traditions that lead organically from the past to the future. The research will study and analyze the historical center of \u201cRosetta\u201d, which is one of the intermediate cities in northern Egypt that has a particular architectural heritage and many urban problems. The city of Rosetta (Rashid in Arabic) is located on the west bank of the Rosetta branch of the Nile, approximately 65km east of Alexandria on the Mediterranean coast. Today it is best known for the Rosetta stone, which was discovered in the Qayitbay castle in 1799. The city history passed over many periods of increase and decrease in its importance due to economical and political reasons. Its architectural heritage reveals the influence of various ages, but the most unique are merchant houses and mosques from the ottoman period. The city also has a particular suburban landscape of agricultural land and palm groves that are of great importance. Although Rosetta is no longer a leading commercial center, its citizens are employed in various typical activities, which are mainly agriculture, stocking and processing rice from the Delta, fishing and building ships and yachts. The main problem that faces the historic buildings of Rosetta is moisture from the soil, caused by an excess of underground salt water. The historic merchant houses have been the subject of many restoration projects over the past 20 years, but many of them have regularly been re-damaged by water and humidity and are currently under re-restoration. Unfortunately, some have even collapsed or were demolished. However, there are a number of activities that may take place in the historic buildings no longer used, maintaining the characteristics, such as crafts centers, libraries and cultural places that serve the local communities. Rosetta's historic center future must include renovation and modernization of basic infrastructure and development of traditional production sectors, based on the exploitation of this natural and cultural heritage to promote tourism locally and internationally. Physical restoration of the buildings is not enough to keep the historic center of the city alive, but a project for rehabilitation based on sustainability should be initiated. Not only to preserve and restore the outer shell, but inside the shell should insert some activities, social and economic dynamics that can make best use of resources and potential. The revitalization of Rosetta provides a mix of cultural, social, economic, technical and institutional that needs coordinated investments by the government. Must involve residents, landowners and all those have interest to ensure the careful maintenance and replacement of the elements of the built environment. This does not only depend on the availability of funding but also the specific technical and social skills that make up the traditional know-how. Unfortunately, many historical cities, especially the intermediate cities in Egypt suffer from lack of funds and local expertise. But the main problem is the lack of cooperation between the authorities who make the decisions

Fluorescent Light energy. treating rosacea subtypes 1,2 and 3

Kleresca® biophotonic platform utilizing fluorescent light energy effectively decreased the inflammatory and erythematous reaction common in rosacea subtypes 1, 2, and 3. Kleresca® may be considered as a single treatment for rosacea, targeting multiple features, or combined with invasive methods for an enhanced normalizing and healing profile of the skin

Regional flow duration curves for ungauged sites in Sicily

Flow duration curves are simple and powerful tools to deal with many hydrological and environmental problems related to water quality assessment, water-use assessment and water allocation. Unfortunately the scarcity of streamflow data enables the use of these instruments only for gauged basins. A regional model is developed here for estimating flow duration curves at ungauged basins in Sicily, Italy. Due to the complex ephemeral behavior of the examined region, this study distinguishes dry periods, when flows are zero, from wet periods using a three parameters power law to describe the frequency distribution of flows. A large dataset of streamflows has been analyzed and the parameters of flow duration curves have been derived for about fifty basins. Regional regression equations have been developed to derive flow duration curves starting from morphological basin characteristics

Fractional Q-Switched 1064 nm laser for treatment of atrophic scars in asian skin

Background and Objectives: Asian patients with Fitzpatrick skin type III–IV are a less studied subtype of patients in the medical literature. Q-Switched, 1064 nm neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd: YAG) laser with a fractionated beam profile (QSF) is a new modality that was reported to be effective in the treatment of scars. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of QSF Nd: YAG laser in treating scars in Asian patients. Materials and Methods: A total of 29 Subjects were treated with 1064 nm QSF laser. Each patients had three treatments with a fractionated microlens array handpiece every 8 weeks). Efficacy of treatment was evaluated using the Goodman and Baron’s quantitative grading scale before and 3 months after the last treatment. Results: All 29 patients treated had significant improvement of acne scars according to Goodman and Baron’s Quantitative Global Acne Scarring Grading System. No side effect has been observed except some minor erythematous reactions in three patients. Conclusions: Our results confirm that the 1064 nm QSF Nd: YAG laser is a safe and effective technique for treating scars in Asians

Фракционный СО2-лазер: новая терапевтическая системадля фотобиомодуляции ремоделирования кожи и продукциицитокинов при репарации

Eighteen female patients with the signs of photoageing underwent skin rejuvenation using a fractional CO2 laser (SmartXide DOT, DEKA M.E.L.A., Florence, Italy) with varying energy density (2.07, 2.77 and 4.15 J/cm2). Clinical efficacy of the said laser irradiation parameters was assessed in all of the subjects, and the skin cytokine profile was studied by using the immunohistochemistry technique based on skin tissue samples taken prior to the treatment, right after the treatment and in 3 and 30 days. There were significant improvements in the wrinkle and skin texture condition, and hyperpigmentation was reduced as a result of the treatment, which proves the efficacy of using the fractional CO2 laser for the skin photorejuvenation. The technique ensures good clinical results and is distinguished by a short rehabilitation period and excellent safety profile. In the course of the immunohistochemistry, a relation between the skin cytokine production, reepithelization and laser irradiation density was established.Восемнадцати женщинам добровольцам, имевшим признаки фотостарения, проведено омоложение кожи фракционным СО2-лазером (SmartXide DOT, DEKA M.E.L.A., Флоренция, Италия) с использованием различных показателей плотности энергии (2,07, 2,77 и 4,15 Дж/см2). У всех испытуемых оценена клиническая эффективность применения указанных параметров лазерного излучения, а также иммуногистохимическим методом изучен цитокиновый профиль кожи в биоптатах, взятых до лечения, сразу после лечения и спустя 3 и 30 дней. В результате лечения значительно улучшилось состояние морщин и текстуры кожи, уменьшилась гиперпигментация, что свидетельствует о высокой эффективности применения фракционного СО2-лазера для фотоомоложения кожи. Метод позволяет получить хорошие клинические результаты, характеризуется коротким реабилитационным периодом и отличным профилем безопасности. При иммуногистохимическом исследовании выявлена связь продукции цитокинов в коже с фазой реэпителизации и плотностью энергии лазерного облучения

Q-switched 1064/532 nm laser with nanosecond pulse in tattoo treatment. a double-center retrospective study

Tattoo removal is a well-established procedure in dermatology. Lasers represent the gold standard in the management of this condition nowadays. In this study, we report our experience on the use of a Q-switched nanosecond source. A total of 52 patients were consecutively enrolled in performing tattoo removal at Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro and Tor Vergata University of Rome. Black and blue tattoos were treated with a 1064 nm laser, with a pulse duration of 6 ns and a fluence up to 10 J/cm2, while colored tattoos were treated with sessions of 532 nm laser, with a pulse duration of 6 ns and a fluence up to 5 J/cm2. Up to nine treatments with a minimum interval of 8 weeks between each session were performed. A six-month follow-up visit assessed patient satisfaction (Visual Analogue Scale). Overall clinical result was assessed with a clinical evaluation by two blinded dermatologists using a 5-point scale, comparing pictures before treatment and at follow up. A total of 52 patients were included and analyzed: 30 females (57.7%) and 22 males (42.3%). Mean age was 43.7 ± 12.7 years. According to Fitzpatrick’s skin classification, 16 individuals (30.8%) were type II, 15 (28.8%) were type III, and 21 (40.4%) were type IV. Most of the treated tattoos were carried out by professionals. The mean number of sessions required to obtain a result was 4.6 ± 2.5, and the final tattoo removal rate was 60% or higher, with 51.9% of the patients reporting highest satisfaction scores Q-Switched 1064/532 nm laser may be considered today as the gold-standard treatment for tattoo removal. Our results confirm literature findings of the safety and effectiveness of these devices