A study of settlement in landfills due to biodegradation

Finding new space for landfills is difficult due to land availability, stringent environmental regulations, and public sentiment. So other means of waste disposal, such as hauling it to a distant landfill, or incinerating it, will have to be resorted to. These methods may be unpopular with the public involved. By studying settlement due to biodegradation, ways to increase settlement can be found, allowing for additional waste disposal capacity in operating, and closed landfills. Existing theoretical models are based on rheological concepts, not on biodegradation. So, they do not realistically model settlement. In this study, a model to determine the rate, and magnitude of settlement due to biodegradation was formulated. The results of the model were then compared to those of existing theoretical models, and no correlation could be made. However, the settlement predicted by the proposed model did compare favorably with Sowers model which is based on field data. To verify the proposed model, an experiment was set up to measure settlement and gas generation in a waste sample

L'Europa tra crisi e rilancio: il vertice dell'Aja del 1969

reserved1mixedM.E. GuasconiGuasconi, M. E

Formative assessment practices for improving students' texts comprehension abilities. An experiment in a lower secondary school

I dati delle indagini sugli apprendimenti degli studenti in Italia rivelano l’esistenza di fragilità nell’acquisizione di competenze essenziali e di differenze tra i risultati conseguiti. Per innovare la didattica al fine di adeguarla ai bisogni degli studenti, gli esperti di Docimologia caldeggiano l’uso di pratiche di valutazione formativa, o formative assessment (FA). In ambito internazionale diversi studi hanno mostrato l'efficacia di tali prassi, mentre in Italia non esistono ricerche sperimentali finalizzate a studiarne l’impatto sugli apprendimenti. Il progetto è entrato all’interno di quest’ambito di studi per controllare l’efficacia di un insieme di pratiche di FA sull'incremento delle abilità di comprensione dei testi degli studenti. Lo scopo è stato perseguito realizzando una sperimentazione in una scuola secondaria di primo grado che ha coinvolto gli studenti di due classi prime, i quali sono stati suddivisi a metà attraverso tecniche di randomizzazione per formare i due gruppi, sperimentale e di controllo. Dopo aver effettuato una rilevazione iniziale delle abilità di comprensione dei testi degli studenti (pre-test), è stato realizzato con quelli del gruppo sperimentale un intervento composto da 15 incontri di FA della durata di due ore ciascuno. Alla fine, sono state effettuate due rilevazioni finali (post-test) utilizzando sia la stessa prova utilizzata come pre-test sia una prova parallela. È stata calcolata la differenza post-test-pre-test per ogni gruppo ed è stato verificato quanto avesse influito la partecipazione all’intervento sperimentale su tale differenza tramite test non parametrici. I risultati hanno mostrato un incremento di abilità lievemente maggiore nel gruppo sperimentale, se confrontato con quello del gruppo di controllo, anche se questa differenza tra i due gruppi non è statisticamente significativa. Sebbene le analisi non abbiano consentito di rifiutare l’ipotesi nulla, la rilevanza di tale progetto risiede nel tentativo di aprire il dibattito sull’efficacia di prassi di FA sugli apprendimenti degli studenti in Italia.Formative assessment is an expression that covers several practices. Whereas this variety has led to the development of studies with different methodological characteristics in the international context, in Italy, there is a lack of experimental research to control the effectiveness of a unitary set of formative assessment strategies and practices. This experiment, therefore, explores the effects of implementing formative assessment practices in the classroom on students' text comprehension abilities. A two-group experimental plan had been realized, and it involved students from two first classes of a lower secondary school located in Emilia Romagna. They were randomly assigned to the treatment or control groups. After administering an initial task on text comprehension abilities, the researcher developed 15 formative assessment activities, each two hours long, with students of the treatment group; at the end, students' texts comprehension abilities were measured again by administering two instruments: the same comprehension test used in the pre-test phase, and a parallel task that catches the same skills, but that contained different texts and questions. Post-test- pre-test difference between the two groups was verified. Given the small number of cases, non-parametric tests were run (Mann Whitney U) that have not revealed statistically significant differences between the two groups. Still, a trend has shown a slightly higher increase in the achievements of the treatment group compared to the one of the control group. Although results can't allow the researcher to reject the null hypothesis, the value of the project lies in its intention to open the debate on the efficacy of formative assessment practices in the classroom for improving students' achievements in Italy

Introduzione

[Abstract non disponibile

Strategies implemented by informal caregivers to facilitate self-care in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): a scoping review protocol

Background and aim: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a disease characterized by persistent respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation. COPD is a significant social and economic burden, and hospital admissions contribute to increased costs. Informal caregivers play a crucial role in supporting COPD patients in their self-care efforts. Therefore, understanding informal caregiver interventions to improve self-care may be helpful in reducing hospitalizations. This is the protocol for a scoping review that aims to map the literature on informal caregiver interventions to facilitate self-care in COPD patients. Research question: What are the strategies implemented by informal caregivers to facilitate self-care for patients with COPD? Methods: The review will adhere to the methodology outlined by the JBI. A comprehensive search strategy will be executed in PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane, and PsycINFO. Additionally, grey literature and relevant unpublished documents will be searched to minimize publication bias. Studies describing strategies/actions implemented by informal caregivers to promote self-care in COPD patients from all countries will be included. We will exclude abstracts, editorials, articles on paid caregivers and social and healthcare workers. Two independent reviewers will screen titles, abstracts, and full-text articles based on inclusion criteria. Key data from the selected studies will be extracted using a predefined data extraction table. The results will be aggregated into themes and described qualitatively, figures and graphs may also be presented. The results will be presented according to the PRISMA-ScR. Review registration: Open Science Framework https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/4TWRM

A Plackett-Burman Design to Optimize Wood Chipper Settings

The wood-chipping process is affected by several factors, notably chipper settings and wood characteristics. It is often difficult to test all of these factors in a full factorial experimental plan, due to the large number of trials required. On the other hand, a screening design of the experiment makes it possible to manage a large number of variables in a small number of trials. Hence, this approach is used to test six factors, in order to optimize the productivity and chip quality of a drum wood-chipper. These factors are: feeding speed, screen size, PTO-speed, wood species, wood moisture content, and wood diameter. Productivity was significantly affected by screen size, while chip quality was related to feeding speed, screen size, PTO-speed, and wood species. The results suggest that the optimal configuration can be achieved by adjusting feeding speed, the PTO-speed, and the wood species, as these settings maximize chip quality. Screen size requires further analysis, as larger sizes increase productivity but reduce quality, while the opposite is true for smaller sizes. Thus, the optimal screen size requires a consideration of costs and benefits that may change according to the retail price of premium and regular wood chips, and production costs

Validation of the Italian version of Behavioral Pain Scale in sedated, intubated, and mechanically ventilated pediatric patients

Background and aim: Pain assessment in pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) is a demanding challenge. The COMFORT-B scale is recognized as the gold standard in such patients. However, the use of this instrument in PICU setting is disputed. The Behavioral Pain Scale (BPS), instead, is considered to be the gold standard for pain assessment in deeply sedated, mechanically ventilated adult patients. The BPS has been validated in Italian, requires a short observation time compared to the COMFORT-B and does not increase workloads. A first evaluation of BPS was made in PICU with good results regarding face validity and content validity, however suggesting further studies given the small sample on which it was tested. The aim of this study was the validation of the BPS in sedated, intubated, and mechanically ventilated pediatric patients. Methods: A descriptive, comparative design was used. A convenience sample of 84 non-verbal, sedated and mechanically ventilated critical care pediatric patients was included. Patient pain was assessed concurrently with three observational scales (BPS, COMFORT-B, NRS) before, during and after routine procedures that are considered painful and non-painful. Results: Internal consistency was α = .86. Correlations between BPS and the other instruments were high, demonstrating a good concurrent validity of the BPS. T test and assessment of ROC curves demonstrated a good discriminant validity of the BPS. Conclusions: The BPS proved to be valid and reliable for the assessment of pain also in the use with pediatric patients