Effect of the operating conditions on the anaerobic digestion of wheatgrass for chemicals and energy production

Open Access via the Springer Compact Agreement Acknowledgments The authors wish to acknowledge Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland (Research Incentive Grant 70307), CAPES (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel) for the financial support (Process 011944/2013-07), Mrs Elizabeth Hendrie and Ms Gabriela Paupitz for the technical collaboration and Mr Andrew Rennie (Gask Farm, Turriff, Aberdeenshire, UK) for kindly providing the inoculum used in the experiments.Peer reviewedPostprintPublisher PD

Atmospheric Thermodynamic Profiling through the Use of a Micro-Pulse Raman Lidar System: Introducing the Compact Raman Lidar MARCO

It was for a long time believed that lidar systems based on the use of high-repetition micro-pulse lasers could be effectively used to only stimulate atmospheric elastic backscatter echoes, and thus were only exploited in elastic backscatter lidar systems. Their application to stimulate rotational and roto-vibrational Raman echoes, and consequently, their exploitation in atmospheric thermodynamic profiling, was considered not feasible based on the technical specifications possessed by these laser sources until a few years ago. However, recent technological advances in the design and development of micro-pulse lasers, presently achieving high UV average powers (1–5 W) and small divergences (0.3–0.5 mrad), in combination with the use of large aperture telescopes (0.3–0.4 m diameter primary mirrors), allow one to presently develop micro-pulse laser-based Raman lidars capable of measuring the vertical profiles of atmospheric thermodynamic parameters, namely water vapor and temperature, both in the daytime and night-time. This paper is aimed at demonstrating the feasibility of these measurements and at illustrating and discussing the high achievable performance level, with a specific focus on water vapor profile measurements. The technical solutions identified in the design of the lidar system and their technological implementation within the experimental setup of the lidar prototype are also carefully illustrated and discussed

Costs of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Italy: The SIRIO study (Social Impact of Respiratory Integrated Outcomes)

SummaryChronic respiratory diseases affect a large number of subjects in Italy and are characterized by high socio-health costs. The aim of the Social Impact of Respiratory Integrated Outcomes (SIRIO) study was to measure the health resources consumption and costs generated in 1 year by a population of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in a real-life setting. This bottom-up, observational, prospective, multicentric study was based on the collection of demographic, clinical, diagnostic, therapeutic and outcome data from COPD patients who reported spontaneously to pneumological centers participating in the study, the corresponding economic outcomes being assessed at baseline and after a 1-year survey. A total of 748 COPD patients were enrolled, of whom 561 [408m, mean age 70.3 years (SD 9.2)] were defined as eligible by the Steering Committee. At the baseline visit, the severity of COPD (graded according to GOLD 2001 guidelines) was 24.2% mild COPD, 53.7% moderate and 16.8% severe. In the 12 months prior to enrollment, 63.8% visited a general practitioner (GP); 76.8% also consulted a national health service (NHS) specialist; 22.3% utilized Emergency Care and 33% were admitted to hospital, with a total of 5703 work days lost. At the end of the 1-year survey, the severity of COPD changed as follows: 27.5% mild COPD, 47.4% moderate and 19.4% severe. Requirement of health services dropped significantly: 57.4% visited the GP; 58.3% consulted an NHS specialist; 12.5% used Emergency Care and 18.4% were hospitalized. Compared to baseline, the mean total cost per patient decreased by 21.7% (p<0.002). In conclusion, a significant reduction in the use of health resources and thus of COPD-related costs (both direct and indirect costs) was observed during the study, likely due to a more appropriate care and management of COPD patients

Measuring knowledge, attitudes and behavior of nurses in medication management. Cross-cultural comparisons in Italy and Malta

Medication errors are one of the most common causes of negative events affecting patient safety all over the world.&nbsp; Scientific literature divides the factors that contribute to the occurrence of harmful events into factors related to the characteristics of the healthcare workers and factors related to the organization of the drug management process. The aim of the study was to examine the knowledge, attitudes and behaviours related to medication errors among Italian and Maltese nurses

Determining biokinetic coefficients for the upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor treating sugarcane wastewater in hot climate conditions

Acknowledgements The managing director of Imam Khomeini (pbuh) Agro-Industry in Shushtar and the laboratory expert of Agro-Industry Treatment Plant are highly appreciated for their cooperation in conducting this study.Peer reviewedPostprin

Distribution of Salmonella enterica isolates from human cases in Italy, 1980 to 2011

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