"Safety health impacts of particulate matter from excavation work sites"

Gli studi epidemiologici hanno evidenziato una relazione lineare tra il particolato aerodisperso e gli effetti sulla salute dell'uomo. E' dunque interessante comprendere quale sia realmente il rischio a cui va incontro la popolazione esposta ad importanti sorgenti quali i cantieri di scavo in area urbana, per la costruzione di edifici ed infrastrutture finalizzate alla riqualificazione urbana. La metodologia di valutazione del rischio sanitario, definita dall'OMS nelle linee guida sulla qualità dell'aria per l'Europa, è stata applicata per valutare i possibili effetti sanitari da esposizioni al PM10 per le concentrazioni medie giornaliere ≥ di 50 µg/m3 e ≥ di 100 µg/m3 per tre giorni consecutivi e per aumenti di 10 µg/m3. La presenza del cantiere rileva, indipendentemente dal superamento dei valori limite stabiliti dalla legge, un aumento del rischio sulla salute. Non risulta peraltro individuato un valore di concentrazione di PM10, attribuibile ad una sorgente aggiuntiva (quale in cantiere) sotto il quale sicuramente non ci sia danno. Lo scopo della presente ricerca è dunque quello di stimolare il dibattito e le decisioni delle autorità pubbliche, al fine di approfondire e gestire le problematiche relative al particolato aerodispers

New dispatching paradigm in power systems including EV charging stations and dispersed generation: A real test case

Electric Vehicles (EVs) are becoming one of the main answers to the decarbonization of the transport sector and Renewable Energy Sources (RES) to the decarbonization of the electricity production sector. Nevertheless, their impact on the electric grids cannot be neglected. New paradigms for the management of the grids where they are connected, which are typically distribution grids in Medium Voltage (MV) and Low Voltage (LV), are necessary. A reform of dispatching rules, including the management of distribution grids and the resources there connected, is in progress in Europe. In this paper, a new paradigm linked to the design of reform is proposed and then tested, in reference to a real distribution grid, operated by the main Italian Distribution System Operator (DSO), e-distribuzione. First, in reference to suitable future scenarios of spread of RES-based power plants and EVs charging stations (EVCS), using Power Flow (PF) models, a check of the operation of the distribution grid, in reference to the usual rules of management, is made. Second, a new dispatching model, involving DSO and the resources connected to its grids, is tested, using an Optimal Power Flow (OPF) algorithm. Results show that the new paradigm of dispatching can effectively be useful for preventing some operation problems of the distribution grids

EV charging stations and RES-based DG: A centralized approach for smart integration in active distribution grids

Renewable Energy Sources based (RES-based) Dispersed Generation (DG) and Electrical Vehicles (EVs) charging systems diffusion is in progress in many Countries around the word. They have huge effects on the distribution grids planning and operation, particularly on MV and LV distribution grids. Many studies on their impact on the power systems are ongoing, proposing different approaches of managing. The present work deals with a real application case of integration of EVs charging stations with ES-based DG. The final task of the integration is to be able to assure the maximum utilization of the distribution grid to which both are connected, without any upgrading action, and in accordance with Distribution System Operators (DSOs) needs. The application of the proposed approach is related to an existent distribution system, owned by edistribuzione, the leading DSO in Italy. Diverse types of EVs supplying stations, with diverse diffusion scenarios, have been assumed for the case study; various Optimal Power Flow (OPF) models, based on diverse objective functions, reflecting DSO necessities, have been applied and tried. The obtained results demonstrate that a centralized management approach by the DSO, could assure the respect of operation limits of the system in the actual asset, delaying or avoiding upgrading engagements and charges

Biomarkers for sepsis: an unfinished journey

none2noneClerico A;Plebani MClerico, A; Plebani, Mari

Forest yard's safety: a methodological approach for the analysis of occupational risk

In the realization of wood biomass thermal plants, environmental sustainability is best achieved through the small-scale plant's adoption. Their needs can be ensured by the surrounding forest resources. This involves, at equal output power, for the environmental and safety control systems a greater economic burden compared to large-scale systems based on massive financial investments. The aim of this study is to define a methodology analysis for the identification of safe and environmentally sustainable work's practices. The methodology will be applied initially to the forest yards, corresponding to the first phase of the forest - wood - energy cycle, i.e. the raw material procurement. The different steps of Hazard Identification, Risk Analysis and Risk Assessment have been applied to the occupational safety of a case study representative of an alpine valley's wooded area. In this analysis have been taken into account the standard operating conditions. The presence of functional anomalies was, instead, analysed by applying a Design FMECA to a forestry plant of timber's handling

Free serum cortisol during the postoperative acute phase response determined by equilibrium dialysis liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

In severely ill patients low concentrations of the corticosteroid binding globulin are typically found; the aim of this study was to quantify directly free bioactive cortisol concentrations in the sera of postoperative cardiosurgical patients. Serum samples of 12 consecutive patients undergoing aortocoronary bypass surgery taken preoperatively and on the postoperative days 1 to 4 were analyzed. Total serum cortisol was quantified using liquid chromatographytandem mass spectrometry with an online sample extraction system and trideuterated cortisol as the internal standard, and free serum cortisol was measured after overnight equilibrium dialysis. Whereas on the first postoperative day, the median total serum cortisol concentration was approximately twofold increased compared to preoperative samples (preoperatively, 245 nmol/l (interquartile range (IQR) 203293 nmol/l); first postoperative day, 512 nmol/l (IQR 410611 nmol/l)), median dialyzable free cortisol concentration was almost sevenfold increased (preoperatively, 14.2 nmol/l (IQR 10.920.7 nmol/l); first postoperative day, 98.3 nmol/l (IQR 81.3134 nmol/l)). On the fourth postoperative day, median free cortisol was still significantly increased compared to baseline sampling (p < 0.05), whereas median total cortisol was not. A median of 5.7% (IQR 5.47.0%) of total cortisol was found as free cortisol on the preoperative day, 21.2% (IQR 18.9 23.5%) on the first postoperative day and 10.5% (IQR 9.814.0%) on the fourth postoperative day. It is concluded that during the postoperative period the freeto bound ratio of cortisol is highly variable and that during the acute phase response direct quantification of free bioactive cortisol concentrations seems to be biologically more appropriate than the measurement of total cortisol concentrations