Preliminary validation of an indirect method for discharge evaluation of Pertuso Spring (Central Italy)

This paper deals with the results of the first year of the Environmental Monitoring Plan, related to the catchment project of Pertuso Spring, which is going to be exploited to supply an important water network in the South part of Roma district. The study area is located in the Upper Valley of the Aniene River (Latium, Central Italy), in the outcrop of Triassic-Cenozoic carbonate rocks, and belong to an important karst aquifer. Pertuso Spring is the main outlet of this karst aquifer and is the one of the most important water resource in the southeast part of Latium Region, used for drinking, agriculture and hydroelectric supplies. Karst aquifer feeding Pertuso Spring is an open hydrogeological system aquifer characterized by complex interactions and exchanges between groundwater and surface water which influence the aquifer water budget. Thus, evaluation of groundwater discharge from this karst spring can be affected by difficulties in performing measurements because of the insufficient knowledge about water transfer processes in the hydrological cycle and geometry of drainage conduits. The aim of this paper is to assess the interactions between karst aquifer feeding Pertuso Spring and Aniene River based on stream discharge measurements and water geochemical tracer data in order to validate an indirect method for karst spring discharge evaluation. As a matter of fact, in this paper, there are presented the results of the application of Magnesium as a reliable tracer of karst spring discharge. This indirect method is based on the elaboration of surface water discharge measurements in relationship with Mg2+ concentration values, determined as for groundwater, coming from Pertuso Spring, as for surface water sample, collected upstream and downstream of Pertuso Spring, along Aniene River streamflow. The application of Magnesium as an environmental tracer provides a means to evaluate discharge of Pertuso Spring, as it came up to be a marker of the mixing of surface water and groundwater. On the other hand, the Magnesium ion concentration provides information for the identification of groundwater flow systems and the main hydrogeochemical processes affecting the composition of water within the karst aquifers

Affinity and selectivity of plant proteins for red wine components relevant to color and aroma traits

The effects of fining with various plant proteins were assessed on Aglianico red wine, using both the young wine and wine aged for twelve and twenty-four months, and including wine unfined or fined with gelatin as controls. Color traits and fining efficiency were considered, along with the content of various types of phenolics and of aroma-related compounds of either varietal or fermentative origin. All agents had comparable fining efficiency, although with distinct kinetics, and had similar effects on wine color. Individual plant proteins and enzymatic hydrolyzates differed in their ability to interact with some anthocyanins, with specific proanthocyanidins complexes, and with some aroma components of fermentative origin. Changes in varietal aroma components upon fining were very limited or absent. Effects of all the fining agents tested in this study on the anthocyanidin components were most noticeable in young red wine, and decreased markedly with increasing wine ageing

Hydraulic conductivity estimation using low-flow purging data elaboration in contaminated sites

Hydrogeological characterization is required when investigating contaminated sites, and hydraulic conductivity is an important parameter that needs to be estimated. Before groundwater sampling, well water level values are measured during low-flow purging to check the correct driving of the activity. However, these data are generally considered only as an indicator of an adequate well purging. In this paper, water levels and purging flow rates were considered to estimate hydraulic conductivity values in an alluvial aquifer, and the obtained results were compared with traditional hydraulic conductivity test results carried on in the same area. To test the applicability of this method, data coming from 59 wells located in the alluvial aquifer of Malagrotta waste disposal site, a large area of 160 ha near Rome, were analyzed and processed. Hydraulic conductivity values were estimated by applying the Dupuit's hypothesis for steady-state radial flow in an unconfined aquifer, as these are the hydraulic conditions in pumping wells for remediation purposes. This study aims to show that low-flow purging procedures in monitoring wells-carried out before sampling for groundwater characterization-represent an easy and inexpensive method for soil hydraulic conductivity estimation with good feasibility, if correctly carried on

Performance evaluation of 5G access technologies and SDN transport network on an NS3 simulator

In this article, we deal with the enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) service class, defined within the new 5G communication paradigm, to evaluate the impact of the transition from 4G to 5G access technology on the Radio Access Network and on the Transport Network. Simulation results are obtained with ns3 and performance analyses are focused on 6 GHz radio scenarios for the Radio Access Network, where an Non-Standalone 5G configuration has been assumed, and on SDN-based scenarios for the Transport Network. Inspired by the 5G Transformer model, we describe and simulate each single element of the three main functional plains of the proposed architecture to aim a preliminary evaluation of the end-to-end system performances

PEEK versus metal cages in posterior lumbar interbody fusion: a clinical and radiological comparative study

Background: Low back pain and sciatica represent a common disabling condition with a significant impact on the social, working and economic lives of patients. Transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) is a surgical procedure used in degenerative spine conditions. Several types of cages were used in the TLIF procedure. Purpose: To determine whether there is a difference in terms of symptomatology improvement, return to daily activities and fusion rate between metal cages and polyetheretherketone (PEEK) cages. Methods: We have retrospectively reviewed 40 patients who have undergone TLIF from October 2015 to May 2016. All patients were clinically evaluated with questionnaires and were assessed with CT scan and standing X-ray films of the full-length spine. Results: We found no significant functional differences in the two groups. At 1-year follow-up, osteolysis was present in 50% of cases of the PEEK cages and in 10% cases of the metal cages. The degree of fusion at 1 year was evaluated as complete in 40% cases of the metal cages and 15% cases of the PEEK cages. Conclusions: We have found a better fusion rate and prevalence of fusion in the group treated with metal cages, reflecting the well-known osteoinductive properties of titanium and tantalum

Caratteristiche sismostratigrafiche di strutture sedimentarie diagnostiche dicorrenti di fondo nell\u2019off-shore del Golfo di Taranto.

L\u2019analisi integrata di dati multibeam e sismici ad altissima risoluzione (Chirp Sub-Bottom), acquisiti in un settore del Golfo di Taranto (Mare Ionio), ha permesso di identificare e classificare strutture sedimentarie diagnostiche di correnti di fondo (conturiti), formatesi nel tardo Quaternario. La classificazione proposta \ue8 basata sia su criteri sismo-stratigrafici che sulla comparazione con strutture analoge documentate da precedenti autori nei bacini oceanici [Faugeres et al., 1999 con rif.]. Nell\u2019area in esame sono stati identificati quattro settori (Alto dell\u2019Amendolara, Bacino di Corigliano, Bacino dell\u2019Amendolara ed Alto di Rossano-Cariati) caratterizzati da morfologia, pendenza e profondit\ue0 differente. Le strutture conturitiche sono state riconosciute prevalentemente nei settori NW e SE dell\u2019alto dell\u2019Amendolara, ad una profondit\ue0 compresa tra 130 m e 400 m e le geometrie interne ed esterne mostrano caratteristiche deposizionali ed erosive. Sono state classificate come sheeted drift le strutture sviluppate subparallelamente al profilo batimetrico, infill drift ed elongated drift le strutture caratterizzate da fosse ben sviluppate ed elementi erosivi quali fosse ed abraded surface. Sono stati osservati inoltre osservati sediment waves nel settore SW dell\u2019alto strutturale. Dall\u2019analisi integrata dei nuovi dati con quelli disponibili in letteratura \ue8 possibile ipotizzare che i fattori che hanno maggiormente influenzato tipologia, distribuzione areale e batimetrica dei depositi conturitici e degli elementi erosivi sono: a) morfologia del fondo marino; b) caratteristiche dei sedimenti (es. tessitura); c) variazione della velocit\ue0 della \u201cLevantine Intermediate Water come conseguenza delle d) variazioni eustatiche. Sono stati inoltre applicati in cascata i modelli bidimensionali CMS- Wave [Lin et al, 2006] per la propagazione dello spettro d\u2019onda, e CMS- Flow [Buttolph et al, 2006] per la circolazione interna, prendendo in considerazione i dati meteo marini forniti dall\u2019ECMWF nel punto di coordinate 39,5\ub0N, 17\ub0E, in modo da valutare le condizioni idrodinamiche in prossimit\ue0 del paraggio in esame. L\u2019integrazione dei dati indicati geologici/geofisici e dei risultati del codice di calcolo numerico ha permesso di ipotizzare un modello di circolazione della corrente \u201cLevantine Intermediate Water\u201d e valutare l\u2019influenza delle morfostrutture sulla circolazione delle acque profonde durante l\u2019ultima fase di abbassamento e stazionamento basso del livello del mare. Bibliografia Buttolph, A.,D., Reed, C.W., Kraus N., Wamsley, T.V., Ono, N., Larson, M.,Camenen, B., Hanson, H. Zundel, A.K., (2006). Two-Dimensional Depth-Averaged Circulation Model CMS-M2D: Version 3.0, Report 2, Sediment Transport and Morphology Change. ERDC/CHL TR-06-9 Vicksburg, MS: U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center. Lin, L., H. Mase, F. Yamada, and Z. Demirbilek. (2006). Wave-action balance equation diffraction (WABED) model: Tests of wave diffraction and reflection at inlets. Coastal and Hydraulics Engineering Technical Note ERDC/CHL CHETN-III-73. Vicksburg, MS: U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center. Faug\ue8res, J.C., Stow, D.A.V., Imbert, P., Viana, A.R. (1999). Seismic feature diagnostic of contourite drifts. Marine Geology 162, pp. 1-38