Toward green steel: Modeling and environmental economic analysis of iron direct reduction with different reducing gases

The objective of the paper is to simulate the whole steelmaking process cycle based on Direct Reduced Iron and Electric Arc Furnace technologies, by modeling for the first time the reduction furnace based on kinetic approach, to be used as a basis for the environmental and techno-economic plant analysis by adopting different reducing gases. In addition, the impact of carbon capture section is discussed. A complete profitability analysis has been conducted for the first time, adopting a Monte Carlo simulation approach. In detail, the use of syngas from methane reforming, syngas and hydrogen from gasification of municipal solid waste, and green hydrogen from water electrolysis are analyzed. The results show that the Direct Reduced Iron process with methane can reduce CO2 emissions by more than half compared to the blast furnace based-cycle, and with the adoption of carbon capture, greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced by an additional 40%. The use of carbon capture by amine scrubbing has a limited economic disadvantage compared to the scenario without it, becoming profitable once carbon tax is included in the analysis. However, it is with the use of green hydrogen from electrolyzer that greenhouse gas emissions can be cut down almost completely. To have an environmental benefit compared with the methane-based Direct Reduced Iron process, the green hydrogen plant must operate for at least 5136 h per year (64.2% of the plant's annual operating hours) on renewable energy. In addition, the use of syngas and separated hydrogen from municipal solid waste gasification is evaluated, demonstrating its possible use with no negative effects on the quality of produced steel. The results show that hydrogen use from waste gasification is more economic with respect to green hydrogen from electrolysis, but from the environmental viewpoint the latter results the best alternative. Comparing the use of hydrogen and syngas from waste gasification, it can be stated that the use of the former reducing gas results preferable, from both the economic and environmental viewpoint

Occurrence of nodular lymphocyte-predominant hodgkin lymphoma in hermansky-pudlak type 2 syndrome is associated to natural killer and natural killer T cell defects

Hermansky Pudlak type 2 syndrome (HPS2) is a rare autosomal recessive primary immune deficiency caused by mutations on b3A gene (AP3B1 gene). The defect results in the impairment of the adaptor protein 3 (AP-3) complex, responsible for protein sorting to secretory lysosomes leading to oculo-cutaneous albinism, bleeding disorders and immunodeficiency. We have studied peripheral blood and lymph node biopsies from two siblings affected by HPS2. Lymph node histology showed a nodular lymphocyte predominance type Hodgkin lymphoma (NLPHL) in both HPS2 siblings. By immunohistochemistry, CD8 T-cells from HPS2 NLPHL contained an increased amount of perforin (Prf) + suggesting a defect in the release of this granules-associated protein. By analyzing peripheral blood immune cells we found a significant reduction of circulating NKT cells and of CD56brightCD162 Natural Killer (NK) cells subset. Functionally, NK cells were defective in their cytotoxic activity against tumor cell lines including Hodgkin Lymphoma as well as in IFN-c production. This defect was associated with increased baseline level of CD107a and CD63 at the surface level of unstimulated and IL-2-activated NK cells. In summary, these results suggest that a combined and profound defect of innate and adaptive effector cells might explain the susceptibility to infections and lymphoma in these HPS2 patients.peer-reviewe

Manifesto ShaRP LAB

ShaRP LAB (dove ShaRP sta per Sharing Religious Places) è una rete transdi- sciplinare di studiosi interessati alle dinamiche spaziali dell’interazione re- ligiosa. Riunisce antropologi, architetti, geografi, sociologi, storici dell’arte e delle religioni. Ispirati da un approccio olistico, i membri di ShaRP LAB affrontano il tema della condivisione religiosa da angolazioni e approcci metodologici diversi: dallo sguardo emico alla cornice sociale, dal metodo storico-critico a quello delle scienze sociali e delle digital humanities

2020 WSES guidelines for the detection and management of bile duct injury during cholecystectomy.

Bile duct injury (BDI) is a dangerous complication of cholecystectomy, with significant postoperative sequelae for the patient in terms of morbidity, mortality, and long-term quality of life. BDIs have an estimated incidence of 0.4-1.5%, but considering the number of cholecystectomies performed worldwide, mostly by laparoscopy, surgeons must be prepared to manage this surgical challenge. Most BDIs are recognized either during the procedure or in the immediate postoperative period. However, some BDIs may be discovered later during the postoperative period, and this may translate to delayed or inappropriate treatments. Providing a specific diagnosis and a precise description of the BDI will expedite the decision-making process and increase the chance of treatment success. Subsequently, the choice and timing of the appropriate reconstructive strategy have a critical role in long-term prognosis. Currently, a wide spectrum of multidisciplinary interventions with different degrees of invasiveness is indicated for BDI management. These World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES) guidelines have been produced following an exhaustive review of the current literature and an international expert panel discussion with the aim of providing evidence-based recommendations to facilitate and standardize the detection and management of BDIs during cholecystectomy. In particular, the 2020 WSES guidelines cover the following key aspects: (1) strategies to minimize the risk of BDI during cholecystectomy; (2) BDI rates in general surgery units and review of surgical practice; (3) how to classify, stage, and report BDI once detected; (4) how to manage an intraoperatively detected BDI; (5) indications for antibiotic treatment; (6) indications for clinical, biochemical, and imaging investigations for suspected BDI; and (7) how to manage a postoperatively detected BDI

Task assignment with dynamic token generation

The problem of assigning tasks to a group of agents acting in a dynamic environment is a fundamental issue for a MAS and is relevant to several real world applications. Several techniques have been studied to address this problem, however when the system needs to scale up with size, communication quickly becomes an important issue to address; moreover, in several applications tasks to be assigned are dynamically evolving and perceived by agents during mission execution. In this paper we present a distributed task assignment approach that ensure very low communication overhead and is able to manage dynamic task creation. The basic idea of our approach is to use tokens to represent tasks to be executed, each team member creates, executes and propagates tokens based on its current knowledge of the situation. We test and evaluate our approach by means of experiments using the RoboCup Rescue simulator.© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005

Experiments with the RoboCup Rescue Simulator in a post Earthquake Emergency Italian Scenario

In this paper we present the achievements of a research project, based on the RoboCup rescue simulator, carried out in Italy in collaboration with the Italian Fire Department. The overall goal is to devise tools to allow for monitoring and supporting decisions which are needed in a real-time rescue operation in a post earthquake scenario. As for the experiments, we have addressed the problem of task allocation by providing an experimental analysis of different strategies in different operative conditions. Moreover, we are currently extending the experimental analysis to feature-level information acquisition and integration. Finally, we discuss the limitation and potential for application of simulation based tools and the RoboCup Rescue Simulation, in particular, based on the experience gained through the collaboration with the Italian Fire Department

Integration within Fluid Dynamic Solvers of an Advanced Geometric Parameterization Based on Mesh Morphing

Numerical optimization procedures are one of the most powerful approaches with which to support design processes. Their implementation, nevertheless, involves several conceptual and practical complexities. One of the key points relates to the geometric parameterization technique to be adopted and its coupling with the numerical solver. This paper describes the setup of a procedure in which the shape parameterization, based on mesh morphing, is integrated into the analysis tool, accessing the grid nodes directly within the solver environment. Such a coupling offers several advantages in terms of robustness and computational time. Furthermore, the ability to morph the mesh “on the fly” during the computation, without heavy Input/Output operations, extends the solver’s capability to evaluate multidisciplinary phenomena. The procedure was preliminary tested on a simple typical shape optimization problem and then applied to a complex setup of an industrial case: the identification of the shape of a Volvo side-view mirror that minimizes the accumulation of water on the lens of a camera mounted beneath

Structural Health Monitoring and Dynamic Identification of the Historical Town-Hall of Borgo Val di Taro

A good structural knowledge of heritage buildings is a key factor for their conservation and for the planning of retrofit interventions, especially in high seismic risk areas, like Italy. Within this context, structural health monitoring techniques, like those based on ambient vibrations under operating conditions, represent powerful tools for evaluating the dynamic behavior of existing structures. The presented methodology is particularly interesting for historic and monumental buildings due to its non-invasiveness. This work illustrates the installation of a monitoring system in the historical masonry Town-Hall of Borgo Val di Taro, dating back to the fifteen century, for its ambient vibration modal identification. The so collected data are then used for the construction of a refined numerical model for the simulation of the dynamic response of the building, and for the updating of its parameters. A comparison between numerical and experimental results is finally provided