Overburden management in open pits: options and limits in large limestone quarries

This is the 'In press corrected proof' version. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordThe management of overburden is an important task in open pit exploitations. Site topography and morphology as well as geological and geotechnical properties of natural and remoulded materials are the most important factors affecting the disposal phase. Economic and environmental requirements must be followed in order to achieve the best reclamation results, keeping into account site constraints such as slope stability, hauling and dumping issues, and interactions with groundwater. This paper deals with the above mentioned issues, illustrating a rational approach applied on the case of a large limestone quarry where the thickness of the overburden is relevant and the spoil material has to be dumped in a flooded pit. The proposed multidisciplinary approach led to the selection of most suitable methods for excavation, transportation and disposal. The selection was based on a detailed laboratory and site characterisation that defined favorable and adverse factors to be considered during the preliminary study of a large quarrying project.Thanks are due to Mr G. Torchio for the graphics of the 3D simulation of overburden disposal from fixed discharge points. Special and extended thanks are due to the technical and support staff of CCB in Gaurain (Belgium) and Italcementi CGT in Bergamo (Italy), which supported part of this research by means of a research contract with Politecnico of Turin, DIATI (coordinator A. Godio

Evaluación de documentos en Iberoamérica

El proyecto EVALUACION DE DOCUMENTOS EN IBEROAMÉRICA se desarrolló durante cuatro años, con el aval del Consejo Internacional de Archivos y el apoyo de varias instituciones nacionales, universitarias, municipales e internacionales. El equipo de investigación estuvo formado por veinte profesionales, de ocho países: Argentina, Brasil, Colombia, Costa Rica, España, México, Perú y Uruguay. Su objetivo fue estudiar este tema desde distintos aspectos y con una perspectiva regional, a nivel iberoamericano. Se trabajó en cinco áreas temáticas, coordinadas: Terminología sobre evaluación documental, Homologación de programas de evaluación documental, Muestreo, Evaluación de documentos digitales y Enfoques, criterios, y métodos para evaluar documentos de archivos. La particularidad del trabajo fue la metodología empleada: se partió de la práctica para llegar a la teoría, para verificar si lo que se hace responde a una teoría determinada. Los resultados concretos son: Glosario trilingüe de 52 términos Programa de cátedra básico, con su correspondiente bibliografía y sus fundamentos Modelos de formularios: para valorar documentos y tres Registros: de transferencias /eliminaciones /desafectaciones. Listado de criterios para realizar el muestreo. Listado de Orientaciones para el desarrollo de políticas de evaluación de documentos digitales.Fil: Fenoglio, Norma C. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades. Escuela de Archivología; Argentina.Otras Humanidade

Role of the hyporheic zone in increasing the resilience of mountain streams facing intermittency

We investigated the impact of intermittence in previously-perennial Alpine stream reaches, targeting the role of the hyporheic zone in increasing the resilience of these aquatic systems. We selected a perennial and an intermittent site in a reach of the Po River (North-Western Italy). We installed piezometers reaching ??1 m (permanent and intermittent site), and ??3 m (intermittent site) and monitored three supraseasonal droughts over a period of three years. We classified the hyporheic fauna into three categories of increasing affinity to life in the hyporheic (stygoxene, stygophile, stygobite), and used communities composition, abundance, beta-diversity and functional groups: (1) to compare assemblages at the same depth but with different hydrological characteristics, as well as assemblages from two depths at the intermittent site, and (2) to assess how the connection with surface water and the direction of the vertical aquifer flow determined the faunistic assemblages. Different taxonomic groups responded differently to intermittence, the hyporheic zone acted as a refuge increasing the resilience of the system, but resilience decreased with increasing degree of affinity to hyporheic life. Disentangling the effects of intermittence on the different faunistic component in the hyporheic zone can help guiding effective protection and restoration measures of river systems with temporary reaches

Role of the hyporheic zone in increasing the resilience of mountain streams facing intermittency

5openInternationalItalian coauthor/editorWe investigated the impact of intermittence in previously-perennial Alpine stream reaches, targeting the role of the hyporheic zone in increasing the resilience of these aquatic systems. We selected a perennial and an intermittent site in a reach of the Po River (North-Western Italy). We installed piezometers reaching −1 m (permanent and intermittent site), and −3 m (intermittent site) and monitored three supraseasonal droughts over a period of three years. We classified the hyporheic fauna into three categories of increasing affinity to life in the hyporheic (stygoxene, stygophile, stygobite), and used communities composition, abundance, beta-diversity and functional groups: (1) to compare assemblages at the same depth but with different hydrological characteristics, as well as assemblages from two depths at the intermittent site, and (2) to assess how the connection with surface water and the direction of the vertical aquifer flow determined the faunistic assemblages. Different taxonomic groups responded differently to intermittence, the hyporheic zone acted as a refuge increasing the resilience of the system, but resilience decreased with increasing degree of affinity to hyporheic life. Disentangling the effects of intermittence on the different faunistic component in the hyporheic zone can help guiding effective protection and restoration measures of river systems with temporary reaches.openBruno, M.C.; Doretto, A.; Boano, F.; Ridolfi, L.; Fenoglio, S.Bruno, M.C.; Doretto, A.; Boano, F.; Ridolfi, L.; Fenoglio, S

Role of the hyporheic zone in increasing the resilience of mountain streams facing intermittency

We investigated the impact of intermittence in previously-perennial Alpine stream reaches, targeting the role of the hyporheic zone in increasing the resilience of these aquatic systems. We selected a perennial and an intermittent site in a reach of the Po River (North-Western Italy). We installed piezometers reaching -1 m (permanent and intermittent site), and -3 m (intermittent site) and monitored three supraseasonal droughts over a period of three years. We classified the hyporheic fauna into three categories of increasing affinity to life in the hyporheic (stygoxene, stygophile, stygobite), and used communities composition, abundance, beta-diversity and functional groups: (1) to compare assemblages at the same depth but with different hydrological characteristics, as well as assemblages from two depths at the intermittent site, and (2) to assess how the connection with surface water and the direction of the vertical aquifer flow determined the faunistic assemblages. Different taxonomic groups responded differently to intermittence, the hyporheic zone acted as a refuge increasing the resilience of the system, but resilience decreased with increasing degree of affinity to hyporheic life. Disentangling the effects of intermittence on the different faunistic component in the hyporheic zone can help guiding effective protection and restoration measures of river systems with temporary reaches

Habitat Preferences of Italian Freshwater Fish: A Systematic Review of Data Availability for Applications of the MesoHABSIM Model

The MesoHABitat SImulation Model (MesoHABSIM) is the preferred method to calculate spatio-temporal variation in the fish habitat availability in Italian rivers. With the aim of improving the applicability of the MesoHABSIM approach in the Italian territory, we carried out a systematic review of physical habitat preferences for 31 freshwater fish species and three freshwater lampreys, representing 75% of the total indigenous freshwater fish community of Italy. Information related to suitable ranges of depth, flow velocity, biotic/abiotic substrates, covers/shelters was collected and summarized for two critical life stages (adult and juvenile) and two bioperiods (rearing/growth and spawning). Overall, 250 publications were reviewed, classified as 206 peer-reviewed papers, 20 books, 7 PhD thesis, and 17 grey literature sources. Our analysis revealed substantial deficits of information about habitat requirements for more than 30% of Italian freshwater fish species. This information is particularly scarce for the most threatened endemic species, especially for their most critical bioperiod (i.e., spawning). With the aim of preserving freshwater fish biodiversity as required in the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 (European Commission, 2020), accurate information on physical habitat requirements for spawning is crucial. As an example application of MesoHABSIM, the collected habitat preference information was used to define and apply mesohabitat suitability criteria for one fish species (Telestes muticellus) in a regulated river reach of Argentina Creek (Province of Imperia, Italy). This analysis demonstrates the potential for applying information from the current review to other fish species

Fly fishing no-kill zones: a possible way to conjugate conservation issues, sustainable sport enhancement and local development in Alpine areas?

The promotion of sustainable tourism and outdoor sports can represent an important way to couple environmental conservation strategies and economic enhancement in marginal and Alpine areas. In this context catch and release fly fishing zones can represent an interesting tool, although no data is available on the effectiveness of these practices on Alpine salmonid population dynamics. Salmonids are the main group of fish in alpine rivers and they are the only actively targeted by anglers. Aim of this work is filling this gap, with a pilot study on two no-kill zones (Po and Pellice rivers, NW Italy). We conducted a temporal and spatial comparison between free-fishing and catch and release management river sections, with a detailed analysis on the Po River site. Our results support the hypothesis that catch and release management allows a numerical increase in wild trout populations. In particular, we detected a massive and rapid increase in younger individuals, possibly linked to a stop on the removal of large-sized reproducers. Protecting trout by the implementation of this practice can at the same time allow the increase of sustainable economic development and sport in marginal areas

Exosome determinants of physiological aging and age-related neurodegenerative diseases

Aging is consistently reported as the most important independent risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases. As life expectancy has significantly increased during the last decades, neurodegenerative diseases became one of the most critical public health problem in our society. The most investigated neurodegenerative diseases during aging are Alzheimer disease (AD), Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) and Parkinson disease (PD). The search for biomarkers has been focused so far on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood. Recently, exosomes emerged as novel biological source with increasing interest for age-related neurodegenerative disease biomarkers. Exosomes are tiny Extracellular vesicles (EVs; 30\u2013100 nm in size) released by all cell types which originate from the endosomal compartment. They constitute important vesicles for the release and transfer of multiple (signaling, toxic, and regulatory) molecules among cells. Initially considered with merely waste disposal function, instead exosomes have been recently recognized as fundamental mediators of intercellular communication. They can move from the site of release by diffusion and be retrieved in several body fluids, where they may dynamically reflect pathological changes of cells present in inaccessible sites such as the brain. Multiple evidence has implicated exosomes in age-associated neurodegenerative processes, which lead to cognitive impairment in later life. Critically, consolidated evidence indicates that pathological protein aggregates, including A\u3b2, tau, and \u3b1-synuclein are released from brain cells in association with exosomes. Importantly, exosomes act as vehicles between cells not only of proteins but also of nucleic acids [DNA, mRNA transcripts, miRNA, and non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs)] thus potentially influencing gene expression in target cells. In this framework, exosomes could contribute to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underneath neurodegenerative diseases and could represent a promising source of biomarkers. Despite the involvement of exosomes in age-associated neurodegeneration, the study of exosomes and their genetic cargo in physiological aging and in neurodegenerative diseases is still in its infancy. Here, we review, the current knowledge on protein and ncRNAs cargo of exosomes in normal aging and in age-related neurodegenerative diseases

Dual Effect of Methylprednsolone Pulses on Apoptosis of Peripheral Leukocytes in Patients with Renal Diseases

It is well known that change in apoptosis may modulate the natural story of illness, and that many drugs may act through modulation of apoptosis, but the role of steroids in acting through apoptosis in different settings, including renal diseases, has still to be elucidated. We studied the in vivo effects of steroids by oral assumption (10 to 25 mg/deltacortene) or by intravenous pulses (300 to 1000 mg/dose) on apoptosis and cellular subsets of peripheral lymphocytes, by evaluating DNA-fragmentation and lymphocyte subsets in 79 subjects: 22 controls and 57 patients with various renal diseases (25 Lupus-GN, 19 membranous-GN (MGN), 6 rapidly progressive-GN (RPGN), 2 acute interstitial nephritis (AIN), 5 on chronic dialysis. Baseline apoptosis was present in 1/22 (4.5%) of controls, 3/25 (12%) SLE, 2/6 (33.3%) RPGN and 10/19 (52.6%) MGN. A significant decrease in CD3+CD8+ cell count and a significant increase of the CD3+CD4/CD3+CD8+ ratio were found in apoptosis-positive subjects. DNA fragmentation did not change after oral steroids, paralleling a 22 to 32% decrease in total lymphocytes. Following intravenous methylprednisolone pulses, a deeper drop of all lymphocyte subsets was observed, while DNA fragmentation turned from present to absent in 2 MGN, but not in 2 RPGN, and from absent to present in 1 ARF and 1 SLE, independently of the dosage. We demonstrated that the presence of apoptosis in renal diseases is associated with decreased CD3+CD8+ cell count. Furthermore, steroid intravenous pulses, besides inducing a profound decrease in lymphocyte subsets, do exert a dual effect on baseline leukocyte apoptosis, eventually leading to a reversal of baseline patterns, either turning from negative to positive or from positive to negative. Oral steroid therapy did not influence baseline apoptosis