Rapporto sull'efficienza energetica 2013

Rapporto tecnico sulla gestione energetica nelle grandi strutture del CNR e sui possibili interventi per la riduzione dei consumi (258 pagine, con contributi di 25 autori). Pubblicazione del progetto “Efficienza energetica”, promosso dal Direttore Generale del CNR con lettera prot. CNR n. 0075888 del 7/12/2012

HCV genotypes are differently prone to the development of resistance to linear and macrocyclic protease inhibitors

Because of the extreme genetic variability of hepatitis C virus (HCV), we analyzed whether specific HCV-genotypes are differently prone to develop resistance to linear and macrocyclic protease-inhibitors (PIs)

What is the role of the placebo effect for pain relief in neurorehabilitation? Clinical implications from the Italian consensus conference on pain in neurorehabilitation

Background: It is increasingly acknowledged that the outcomes of medical treatments are influenced by the context of the clinical encounter through the mechanisms of the placebo effect. The phenomenon of placebo analgesia might be exploited to maximize the efficacy of neurorehabilitation treatments. Since its intensity varies across neurological disorders, the Italian Consensus Conference on Pain in Neurorehabilitation (ICCP) summarized the studies on this field to provide guidance on its use. Methods: A review of the existing reviews and meta-analyses was performed to assess the magnitude of the placebo effect in disorders that may undergo neurorehabilitation treatment. The search was performed on Pubmed using placebo, pain, and the names of neurological disorders as keywords. Methodological quality was assessed using a pre-existing checklist. Data about the magnitude of the placebo effect were extracted from the included reviews and were commented in a narrative form. Results: 11 articles were included in this review. Placebo treatments showed weak effects in central neuropathic pain (pain reduction from 0.44 to 0.66 on a 0-10 scale) and moderate effects in postherpetic neuralgia (1.16), in diabetic peripheral neuropathy (1.45), and in pain associated to HIV (1.82). Moderate effects were also found on pain due to fibromyalgia and migraine; only weak short-term effects were found in complex regional pain syndrome. Confounding variables might have influenced these results. Clinical implications: These estimates should be interpreted with caution, but underscore that the placebo effect can be exploited in neurorehabilitation programs. It is not necessary to conceal its use from the patient. Knowledge of placebo mechanisms can be used to shape the doctor-patient relationship, to reduce the use of analgesic drugs and to train the patient to become an active agent of the therapy

What is the role of the placebo effect for pain relief in neurorehabilitation? Clinical implications from the Italian Consensus Conference on Pain in Neurorehabilitation

Background: It is increasingly acknowledged that the outcomes of medical treatments are influenced by the context of the clinical encounter through the mechanisms of the placebo effect. The phenomenon of placebo analgesia might be exploited to maximize the efficacy of neurorehabilitation treatments. Since its intensity varies across neurological disorders, the Italian Consensus Conference on Pain in Neurorehabilitation (ICCP) summarized the studies on this field to provide guidance on its use. Methods: A review of the existing reviews and meta-analyses was performed to assess the magnitude of the placebo effect in disorders that may undergo neurorehabilitation treatment. The search was performed on Pubmed using placebo, pain, and the names of neurological disorders as keywords. Methodological quality was assessed using a pre-existing checklist. Data about the magnitude of the placebo effect were extracted from the included reviews and were commented in a narrative form. Results: 11 articles were included in this review. Placebo treatments showed weak effects in central neuropathic pain (pain reduction from 0.44 to 0.66 on a 0-10 scale) and moderate effects in postherpetic neuralgia (1.16), in diabetic peripheral neuropathy (1.45), and in pain associated to HIV (1.82). Moderate effects were also found on pain due to fibromyalgia and migraine; only weak short-term effects were found in complex regional pain syndrome. Confounding variables might have influenced these results. Clinical implications: These estimates should be interpreted with caution, but underscore that the placebo effect can be exploited in neurorehabilitation programs. It is not necessary to conceal its use from the patient. Knowledge of placebo mechanisms can be used to shape the doctor-patient relationship, to reduce the use of analgesic drugs and to train the patient to become an active agent of the therapy

Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) as innovative technology for the remediation of contaminated sites

Il problema della contaminazione dei terreni e delle acque di falda da composti organici biorecalcitranti sta diventando sempre più preoccupante agli occhi della comunità scientifica e dell’opinione pubblica. L’aumento del numero di siti contaminati da tali sostanze sta spingendo alla graduale sostituzione delle tradizionali operazioni di smaltimento in discarica con tecnologie che consentano la bonifica attraverso la riduzione del carico inquinante fino al raggiungimento di concentrazioni residue non pericolose per la salute umana. Tra i possibili processi alternativi, i processi avanzati di ossidazione chimica (AOP) possono costituire una potenziale soluzione a molti casi di contaminazione da composti organici. Se opportunamente progettati, tali sistemi possono condurre alla completa mineralizzazione degli inquinanti o, eventualmente, alla loro trasformazione in molecole più facilmente biodegradabili. Il loro principio operativo è basato sull’ idea di generare un pool di specie ossidanti altamente reattive. I diversi AOP si differenziano solo nel modo in cui tale pool di sostanze viene generato. Una volta prodotte, tali specie sono in grado di reagire efficacemente con i principali inquinanti di interesse ambientale. Inoltre, alcuni AOP sono in grado di trattare efficacemente anche composti adsorbiti sulla superficie del suolo, in quanto le specie radicaliche ne favoriscono il desorbimento rendendole disponibili all’ossidazione in fase acquosa. Le caratteristiche degli AOP li rendono perfettamente idonei come tecnologia di bonifica in-situ. In questa configurazione, si prevede l’iniezione nel sottosuolo della soluzione ossidante senza la necessità di rimuovere il terreno e di estrarre le acque di falda. Il presente studio è stato sviluppato con l’intento di perseguire un duplice obiettivo: da un lato approfondire le conoscenze di base sui meccanismi di azione degli AOP, al fine di sviluppare criteri di progettazione innovativi; dall’altro valutare l’applicabilità di diversi processi AOP a situazioni rappresentative dei siti contaminati tipicamente riscontrati in Italia. Il primo obiettivo è stato perseguito mediante uno studio di base finalizzato ad identificare la relazione tra condizioni operative del processo e formazione di specie radicaliche e non, nei sistemi di ossidazione basati sul reattivo di Fenton, sul processo a persolfato attivato e sul processo di ossidazione basato sugli acidi perossi-organici (perossiacidi). Il secondo obiettivo è stato invece perseguito sviluppando un approccio progettuale incentrato sulla redazione di studi di fattibilità. Tale approccio ha consentito di arrivare, nel caso del processo Fenton, fino alla realizzazione di un intervento di ossidazione chimica in-situ (ISCO) in scala pilota per la bonifica di un sito contaminato da MtBE, mentre nel caso del sistema a persolfato attivato e dei perossiacidi si è limitato alla fase di studio di fattibilità in scala di laboratorio. La progettazione delle diverse fasi sperimentali é stata, ove possibile, effettuata utilizzando il metodo Rotatable Central Composite (RCC), mentre i risultati ottenuti sono stati interpolati mediante opportuni strumenti statistici, come il Metodo delle Superfici di Risposta (RSM) al fine di individuare le relazioni quantitative tra le prestazioni dei processi investigati e le condizioni operative impiegate. La presente tesi è stata scritta dedicando ad ogni tecnologia presa in esame una prima parte bibliografica, nella quale la tecnologia viene introdotta e ne vengono messe in evidenza le caratteristiche, seguita da una seconda parte in Appendice, dove i risultati sperimentali ottenuti vengono mostrati e discussi attraverso una selezione delle pubblicazioni prodotte durante il triennio di svolgimento del dottorato di ricerca, compreso tra il 2004 ed il 2007, e sottomesse a riviste specializzate del settore o presentate nell’ambito di convegni internazionali.The contamination of soil and groundwater by means of bio-recalcitrant organic compounds, is becoming a matter of concern for scientific community and public opinion. The increase of the number of contaminated sites, is forcing to gradually switch from traditional dump disposal, towards innovative technologies which are capable of reaching the remediation goals, thus reducing the pollutant load to concentrations which are considered harmless for human health. Among the innovative ones, Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) could represent a potential solution to be applied for remediating contamination by bio-recalcitrant organic compounds. Their operative principle is based upon the idea of generating a pool of highly-oxidative species. The AOPs differ only by the way in which this pool is generated. Once formed, these species are capable to effectively react with most of common pollutants such as hydrocarbons, chlorinated solvents, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and polychlorobiphenyls until their complete oxidation to carbon dioxide and water, or at worst their transformation to more bio-degradable products. Moreover, some AOPs are able to effectively tackle sorbed compounds, since oxidative radicals can desorb these compounds from the soil surface, thus allowing their oxidation in aqueous phase. Besides, it is worth pointing out that the AOPs characteristics make them suitable to be applied as in-situ remediation technologies. In this configuration, the oxidant is injected directly into the subsurface without the need of soil excavation or groundwater extraction. The present study has been developed with the intention of achieving a two-fold objective: on the one hand, to better understand the fundamental mechanisms of AOPs, in order to develop innovative criteria for their design; on the other hand, to assess the feasibility of different AOPs to those situations which are somehow representative of the Italian contaminated sites. The first objective was pursued by developing a fundamental study aimed to identify the relationship between the process operating conditions and the formation of radical and non-radical species for Fenton’s process, activated persulfate and peroxy-acid oxidation processes. The second objective was instead pursued by developing, based on the experimental results of the fundamental study, a design approach based on the execution of feasibility studies. In case of Fenton’s process, a pilot-scale In-Situ Chemical Oxidation (ISCO) treatment for the remediation of an MtBE-contaminated site was developed, whereas in the case of activated persulfate and peroxy-acid oxidation technologies a lab-scale feasibility test was carried out. The design of the different experimental phases was performed, as much as possible, by applying the Rotatable Central Composite method (RCC), whereas the relationships between process performance and applied operating conditions was found by handling and interpolating the experimental results by proper statistical tools based on the Response Surface Method (RSM). In this Ph.D. thesis, each tested AOP is first discussed in a bibliographic part, where the process is introduced and its main features are explained, based on the available and updated literature. The main findings obtained in this part and the innovation introduced with respect to the state of the art is also described in this section of the Ph.D. thesis. The details of these results are shown in the second section of the thesis, which consists of four Appendices, where a selection of papers submitted either to international conferences and peer-reviewed journals during my Ph.D. research are included

Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) as innovative technology for the remediation of contaminated sites

Il problema della contaminazione dei terreni e delle acque di falda da composti organici biorecalcitranti sta diventando sempre più preoccupante agli occhi della comunità scientifica e dell’opinione pubblica. L’aumento del numero di siti contaminati da tali sostanze sta spingendo alla graduale sostituzione delle tradizionali operazioni di smaltimento in discarica con tecnologie che consentano la bonifica attraverso la riduzione del carico inquinante fino al raggiungimento di concentrazioni residue non pericolose per la salute umana. Tra i possibili processi alternativi, i processi avanzati di ossidazione chimica (AOP) possono costituire una potenziale soluzione a molti casi di contaminazione da composti organici. Se opportunamente progettati, tali sistemi possono condurre alla completa mineralizzazione degli inquinanti o, eventualmente, alla loro trasformazione in molecole più facilmente biodegradabili. Il loro principio operativo è basato sull’ idea di generare un pool di specie ossidanti altamente reattive. I diversi AOP si differenziano solo nel modo in cui tale pool di sostanze viene generato. Una volta prodotte, tali specie sono in grado di reagire efficacemente con i principali inquinanti di interesse ambientale. Inoltre, alcuni AOP sono in grado di trattare efficacemente anche composti adsorbiti sulla superficie del suolo, in quanto le specie radicaliche ne favoriscono il desorbimento rendendole disponibili all’ossidazione in fase acquosa. Le caratteristiche degli AOP li rendono perfettamente idonei come tecnologia di bonifica in-situ. In questa configurazione, si prevede l’iniezione nel sottosuolo della soluzione ossidante senza la necessità di rimuovere il terreno e di estrarre le acque di falda. Il presente studio è stato sviluppato con l’intento di perseguire un duplice obiettivo: da un lato approfondire le conoscenze di base sui meccanismi di azione degli AOP, al fine di sviluppare criteri di progettazione innovativi; dall’altro valutare l’applicabilità di diversi processi AOP a situazioni rappresentative dei siti contaminati tipicamente riscontrati in Italia. Il primo obiettivo è stato perseguito mediante uno studio di base finalizzato ad identificare la relazione tra condizioni operative del processo e formazione di specie radicaliche e non, nei sistemi di ossidazione basati sul reattivo di Fenton, sul processo a persolfato attivato e sul processo di ossidazione basato sugli acidi perossi-organici (perossiacidi). Il secondo obiettivo è stato invece perseguito sviluppando un approccio progettuale incentrato sulla redazione di studi di fattibilità. Tale approccio ha consentito di arrivare, nel caso del processo Fenton, fino alla realizzazione di un intervento di ossidazione chimica in-situ (ISCO) in scala pilota per la bonifica di un sito contaminato da MtBE, mentre nel caso del sistema a persolfato attivato e dei perossiacidi si è limitato alla fase di studio di fattibilità in scala di laboratorio. La progettazione delle diverse fasi sperimentali é stata, ove possibile, effettuata utilizzando il metodo Rotatable Central Composite (RCC), mentre i risultati ottenuti sono stati interpolati mediante opportuni strumenti statistici, come il Metodo delle Superfici di Risposta (RSM) al fine di individuare le relazioni quantitative tra le prestazioni dei processi investigati e le condizioni operative impiegate. La presente tesi è stata scritta dedicando ad ogni tecnologia presa in esame una prima parte bibliografica, nella quale la tecnologia viene introdotta e ne vengono messe in evidenza le caratteristiche, seguita da una seconda parte in Appendice, dove i risultati sperimentali ottenuti vengono mostrati e discussi attraverso una selezione delle pubblicazioni prodotte durante il triennio di svolgimento del dottorato di ricerca, compreso tra il 2004 ed il 2007, e sottomesse a riviste specializzate del settore o presentate nell’ambito di convegni internazionali.The contamination of soil and groundwater by means of bio-recalcitrant organic compounds, is becoming a matter of concern for scientific community and public opinion. The increase of the number of contaminated sites, is forcing to gradually switch from traditional dump disposal, towards innovative technologies which are capable of reaching the remediation goals, thus reducing the pollutant load to concentrations which are considered harmless for human health. Among the innovative ones, Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) could represent a potential solution to be applied for remediating contamination by bio-recalcitrant organic compounds. Their operative principle is based upon the idea of generating a pool of highly-oxidative species. The AOPs differ only by the way in which this pool is generated. Once formed, these species are capable to effectively react with most of common pollutants such as hydrocarbons, chlorinated solvents, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and polychlorobiphenyls until their complete oxidation to carbon dioxide and water, or at worst their transformation to more bio-degradable products. Moreover, some AOPs are able to effectively tackle sorbed compounds, since oxidative radicals can desorb these compounds from the soil surface, thus allowing their oxidation in aqueous phase. Besides, it is worth pointing out that the AOPs characteristics make them suitable to be applied as in-situ remediation technologies. In this configuration, the oxidant is injected directly into the subsurface without the need of soil excavation or groundwater extraction. The present study has been developed with the intention of achieving a two-fold objective: on the one hand, to better understand the fundamental mechanisms of AOPs, in order to develop innovative criteria for their design; on the other hand, to assess the feasibility of different AOPs to those situations which are somehow representative of the Italian contaminated sites. The first objective was pursued by developing a fundamental study aimed to identify the relationship between the process operating conditions and the formation of radical and non-radical species for Fenton’s process, activated persulfate and peroxy-acid oxidation processes. The second objective was instead pursued by developing, based on the experimental results of the fundamental study, a design approach based on the execution of feasibility studies. In case of Fenton’s process, a pilot-scale In-Situ Chemical Oxidation (ISCO) treatment for the remediation of an MtBE-contaminated site was developed, whereas in the case of activated persulfate and peroxy-acid oxidation technologies a lab-scale feasibility test was carried out. The design of the different experimental phases was performed, as much as possible, by applying the Rotatable Central Composite method (RCC), whereas the relationships between process performance and applied operating conditions was found by handling and interpolating the experimental results by proper statistical tools based on the Response Surface Method (RSM). In this Ph.D. thesis, each tested AOP is first discussed in a bibliographic part, where the process is introduced and its main features are explained, based on the available and updated literature. The main findings obtained in this part and the innovation introduced with respect to the state of the art is also described in this section of the Ph.D. thesis. The details of these results are shown in the second section of the thesis, which consists of four Appendices, where a selection of papers submitted either to international conferences and peer-reviewed journals during my Ph.D. research are included

The Physics of Galaxy Formation and Evolution

Until recently the great majority of naturalists believed that species were immutable productions, and had been separately created. This view has been ably maintained by many authors. Some few naturalists, on the other hand, have believed that species undergo modification, and that the existing forms of life are the descendants by true generation of preexisting forms

HCV Genotypes Are Differently Prone to the Development of Resistance to Linear and Macrocyclic Protease Inhibitors

<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Because of the extreme genetic variability of hepatitis C virus (HCV), we analyzed whether specific HCV-genotypes are differently prone to develop resistance to linear and macrocyclic protease-inhibitors (PIs).</p> <h3>Methods</h3><p>The study includes 1568 NS3-protease sequences, isolated from PI-naive patients infected with HCV-genotypes 1a (N = 621), 1b (N = 474), 2 (N = 72), 3 (N = 268), 4 (N = 54) 5 (N = 6), and 6 (N = 73). Genetic-barrier was calculated as the sum of nucleotide-transitions (score = 1) and/or nucleotide-transversions (score = 2.5) required for drug-resistance-mutations emergence. Forty-three mutations associated with PIs-resistance were analyzed (36A/M/L/G-41R-43S/V-54A/S/V-55A-Q80K/R/L/H/G-109K-138T-155K/Q/T/I/M/S/G/L-156T/V/G/S-158I-168A/H/T/V/E/I/G/N/Y-170A/T-175L). Structural analyses on NS3-protease and on putative RNA-models have been also performed.</p> <h3>Results</h3><p>Overall, NS3-protease was moderately conserved, with 85/181 (47.0%) amino-acids showing <1% variability. The catalytic-triad (H57-D81-S139) and 6/13 resistance-associated positions (Q41-F43-R109-R155-A156-V158) were fully conserved (variability <u><</u>1%). Structural-analysis highlighted that most of the NS3-residues involved in drug-stabilization were highly conserved, while 7 PI-resistance residues, together with selected residues located in proximity of the PI-binding pocket, were highly variable among HCV-genotypes. Four resistance-mutations (80K/G-36L-175L) were found as natural polymorphisms in selected genotypes (80K present in 41.6% HCV-1a, 100% of HCV-5 and 20.6% HCV-6; 80G present in 94.4% HCV-2; 36L present in 100% HCV-3-5 and >94% HCV-2-4; 175L present in 100% HCV-1a-3-5 and >97% HCV-2-4). Furthermore, HCV-3 specifically showed non-conservative polymorphisms (R123T-D168Q) at two drug-interacting positions. Regardless of HCV-genotype, 13 PIs resistance-mutations were associated with low genetic-barrier, requiring only 1 nucleotide-substitution (41R-43S/V-54A-55A-80R-156V/T: score = 1; 54S-138T-156S/G-168E/H: score = 2.5). By contrast, by using HCV-1b as reference genotype, nucleotide-heterogeneity led to a lower genetic-barrier for the development of some drug-resistance-mutations in HCV-1a (36M-155G/I/K/M/S/T-170T), HCV-2 (36M-80K-155G/I/K/S/T-170T), HCV-3 (155G/I/K/M/S/T-170T), HCV-4-6 (155I/S/L), and HCV-5 (80G-155G/I/K/M/S/T).</p> <h3>Conclusions</h3><p>The high degree of HCV genetic variability makes HCV-genotypes, and even subtypes, differently prone to the development of PIs resistance-mutations. Overall, this can account for different responsiveness of HCV-genotypes to PIs, with important clinical implications in tailoring individualized and appropriate regimens.</p> </div