Transport infrastructures safety: a case study about public policy-making

People see and evaluate risks in a very different way, this is probably the most changeable variable that we must take into account developing some public policy on risk. People's judgements depend on both their personal experiences and from the context in which they are, thus, these conditions make impossible to evaluate them a priori. In this paper we present a French real case on transport infrastructure and risk management, namely the safety of their users. The aim of this paper is to provide, on the one side, an example of public policy management in which people safety and economic constraints are involved. And on the other side, open a discussion about risk reduction and the policies achieving it

Discontinuously supervised aerobic training vs. physical activity promotion in the self-management of type 2 diabetes in older Italian patients: design and methods of the 'TRIPL-A' randomized controlled trial

Physical activity (PA) has health benefits for people with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Indeed, regular PA is considered an important part of any T2D management plan, yet most patients adopt a sedentary lifestyle. Exercise referral schemes (ERS) have the potential to effectively promote physical activity among T2D patients, and their effectiveness may be enhanced when they are supported by computer-based technologies. The 'TRIPL-A' study (i.e., a TRIal to promote PhysicaL Activity among patients in the young-old age affected by T2D) aims to assess if realizing an innovative ERS, based on a strong partnership among general practitioners, specialist physicians, exercise specialists, and patients, and supported by a web-based application (WBA), can effectively lead sedentary older T2D patients to adopt an active lifestyle

effectiveness of aquatic therapy in post-surgery rehabilitation of the rotator cuff

Introduction: rotator cuff injuries very often require surgical repair and subsequent rehabilitation. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of a traditional and an aquatic post-surgery rehabilitation program of the rotator cuff in 20 adult (60±5y) patients. Methods:patients were randomly assigned to a traditional (TR; n=10) and to an aquatic (WR; n=10) rehabilitation group. Both programs started 15 days after the surgery, lasted 3 months (3 times-a-week), and consisted in passive mobilization followed by strengthening exercises. The only WR group underwent to an adjunctive aquatic mobilization program. Before (pre-intervention) and after (post-intervention) the programs, patients underwent the following assessments: shoulder range of motion (ROM), in both flexion and extra rotation positions; pain perception (visual analogue scale); simple shoulder test. Results: pre vs. post-intervention results were compared in each group by means of a dependent-samples t-Test on each variables. An independent-samples t-Test was used to analyze pre-intervention differences between TR and WR groups; since no significant differences were found, the same test was used to analyze post-intervention differences. Pre- vs post-intervention results showed significant improvements in all variables in both groups (p 0,005) Discussion: although the water-based program did not result more effective than the traditional program at the end of the three months, the aquatic rehabilitation seemed to improve shoulder ROM faster than the traditional one and to be better tolerated by the patients. It’s authors’ opinion that both evidences may increase the adherence to the program during the rest of the rehabilitation programUniversidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Physiological responses to pedaling on a water stationary bike at different immersion heights

Only a few studies[1-4] have investigated oxygen consumption (V’O2) and heart rate (HR) responses to pedaling on a stationary bike in water (WSB), while literature is still lacking on the effects elicited by variations in immersion depth. 14 subjects (8 M, 6 F, age 30±6y, weight 67±14kg, BMI 22.8±2.3kg/m2, fat mass 21,4±3%) performed 2 testing sessions and 2 exercise sessions: i) dry-land incremental exercise test (cycle-ergometer) to age-predicted maximum HR (HR); ii) underwater (hip-height) incremental exercise test (on a WSB) to exhaustion; iii/iv) two 2-stage (18-minutes each) underwater pedaling exercises on a WSB (Aqquatix S.r.l., Italy) at 2 different immersion heights (armpit/hip). Breath-by-breath V’O2 and beat-by-beat HR were recorded continuously throughout dry-land sessions. The intensities of the exercise sessions were 45%-55% (stage#1) and 70%-80% (stage#2) of the underwater V’O2 peak (a metronome was set at the V’O2 peak pedaling rate). A repeated-measures (2 exercise intensities) 2-way (armpit/hip heights) ANOVA was performed on each variable and the Bonferroni test was used for post-hoc comparisons. Compared to the hip-height condition, pedaling immersed at the armpit level elicited significantly lower V’O2 and HR (significant solely at high-intensity for HR) responses, either exercising at high (25.5±4.6 vs. 29.1±4.8 mL∙kg-1∙min-1; 127±14 vs. 140±19 beats∙min-1) or low (17.9±3.6 vs. 20.1±3.6 mL∙kg-1∙min-1; 105±16 vs. 110±15 beats∙min-1) intensity. While peak V’O2 didn’t differ significantly between dry-land and underwater tests (36.2±5.4 vs. 38.8±5.8 mL∙kg-1∙min-1), mean HRs at both intensities and both water heights were significantly lower when expressed as percentage of the HR resulting from the underwater test to exhaustion, rather than applying the 220-age prediction equation.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Implementing circular economy: evaluation of implications related to an innovative waste to resource management scenario

Circular Economy (CE) has the potential to enhance eco-performance and contribute to sustainable development by recovering and valorizing waste and residues. However, a comprehensive methodology to measure CE transition and progress is lacking. This study investigates the implications of CE implementation in the industry, focusing on Spent Bleaching Earth (SBE) residue valorization in brick manufacturing. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Circular Indicators, and Economic Advantage compare a CE-oriented strategy with a business-as-usual approach for SBE management. Results suggest that while the environmental benefits of the CE approach may not be immediately clear, it offers significant economic benefits, with annual savings in the thousands of euros. Resource scarcity is also positively influenced, with a 20% reduction in total waste generated. The research Degree Thesis suggests that integrating SBE repurposing in the ceramic industry offers a viable avenue for advancing CE within industrial contexts, providing insights into potential methodologies for implementation

circular urban metabolism framework

In our cities, the production and consumption of resources are achieved at an unsustainable rate. Combined with an increasing global population and accelerating urbanization, the absence of a new approach will almost certainly have dramatic environmental consequences. Potential solutions are emerging: the concepts of circular economy (CE) and urban metabolism (UM), which contrast the current and traditional linear extract-produce-use-dispose model of the modern economic and urban systems, offer a new approach. In this Primer, we present the principles of CE and UM as well as their origins and definitions, strengths and weaknesses, similarities, and limits. We introduce how these concepts can be used for designing a new urban framework called circular urban metabolism (CUM), which encourages urban planners and decision makers to study, design, and manage sustainable cities. CUM has the potential to unite research fields to promote collaboration across disciplines that operate on the planning, design, and management of cities and their complexities

Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture as a Tool for Food Security and Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation: The Case of Mestre

Urban and peri-urban areas are subject to major societal challenges, like food security, climate change, biodiversity, resource efficiency, land management, social cohesion, and economic growth. In that context, Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture (UPA), thanks to its multifunctionality, could have a high value in providing social, economic, and environmental co-benefits. UPA is an emerging field of research and production that aims to improve food security and climate change impact reduction, improving urban resilience and sustainability. In this paper, a replicable GIS-based approach was used to localize and quantify available areas for agriculture, including both flat rooftop and ground-level areas in the mainland of the city of Venice (Italy). Then, possible horticultural yield production was estimated considering common UPA yield value and average Italian consumption. Climate change mitigation, like CO2 reduction and sequestration, and climate change adaptation, like Urban Flooding and Urban Heat Island reduction, due to the new UPA areas’ development were estimated. Despite the urban density, the identified areas have the potential to produce enough vegetables for the residents and improve climate change mitigation and adaptation, if transformed into agricultural areas. Finally, the paper concludes with a reflection on the co-benefits of UPA multifunctionality, and with some policy suggestion

Optimal Schauder estimates for kinetic Kolmogorov equations with time measurable coefficients

We prove global Schauder estimates for kinetic Kolmogorov equations with coefficients that are H\"older continuous in the spatial variables but only measurable in time. Compared to other available results in the literature, our estimates are optimal in the sense that the inherent H\"older spaces are the strongest possible under the given assumptions: in particular, under a parabolic H\"ormander condition, we introduce H\"older norms defined in terms of the intrinsic geometry that the operator induces on the space-time variables. The technique is based on the existence and the regularity estimates of the fundamental solution of the equation. These results are essential for studying backward Kolmogorov equations associated with kinetic-type diffusions, e.g. stochastic Langevin equation

Optimal regularity for degenerate Kolmogorov equations in non-divergence form with rough-in-time coefficients

We consider a class of degenerate equations in non-divergence form satisfying a parabolic Hörmander condition, with coefficients that are measurable in time and Hölder continuous in the space variables. By utilizing a generalized notion of strong solution, we establish the existence of a fundamental solution and its optimal Hölder regularity, as well as Gaussian estimates. These results are key to study the backward Kolmogorov equations associated to a class of Langevin diffusions

ENLO-SED: an innovative method for large-scale Strain Energy Density (SED) estimation in welded joints using structural stresses derived from Element Nodal LOads (ENLO)

Welded joints have always been critical elements of industrial mechanical structures, often being the source of failures related to the presence of fatigue loads. Although the academic world has presented advanced methodologies for the assessment of local fatigue, such as the Strain Energy Density (SED) approach, which offers high accuracy, their high computational requirements hinder their adoption by the industrial world. This paper introduces a new hybrid methodology, called ENLO-SED, which integrates the SED approach by calculating the Strain Energy Density using the element Nodal load approach (ENLO), with the aim of maintaining high accuracy while significantly reducing the computational effort.  The proposed method is validated on a complex case study, representative of a real industrial case, demonstrating a prediction error within 8% compared to the application of the classic SED method. Furthermore, the innovative ENLO-SED approach reduces the meshing and solution times by 15 and 5 times, respectively. These results confirm the robustness, efficiency, and scalability of the method, making it suitable for large-scale industrial applications