91 research outputs found
Three years field trials to assess the effect of kaolin made particles and copper on olive-fruit fly (B.oleae Gmelin) infestations in Sicily
In most countries of Mediterranean Basin, Bactrocera oleae (Gmel), the olive fruit fly, is the key pest insect on olives. In Sicily this pest causes losses of fruits and a poor quality olive oil. Many researchers have recently carried out some field studies which were based on the use of kaolin and copper against the olive-fruit fly. In the last years these products have been effective several times in reducing olive fly infestation. Kaolin had, also, some important effect in reducing heat-stress in fruit crops and olive-trees.
The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of kaolin and copper treatment on olive infestations in Sicily and to evaluate chemical and sensory parameters of oils extracted. For this reason, within 2003-2005, the IX Servizio of Assessorato Regionale Agricoltura e Foreste, selected some olive groves where to carry out trials with kaolin and copper and to realize information and divulgation activities
Experimental Setups for Single Event Effect Studies
Experimental setups are being prepared to test and to qualify electronic devices regarding their tolerance to Single Event Effect (SEE). A multiple test setup and a new beam line developed especially for SEE studies at the São Paulo 8 UD Pelletron accelerator were prepared. This accelerator produces proton beams and heavy ion beams up to 107Ag. A Super conducting Linear accelerator, which is under construction, may fulfill all of the European Space Agency requirements to qualify electronic components for SEE
Formas plurais de governança: uma análise das transações de suprimento entre frigorÃficos e pecuaristas
sem informaçãoEste trabalho teve o objetivo de avaliar a existência de formas plurais na transação entre frigorÃficos e pecuaristas, observando os determinantes para a escolha das diferentes estruturas de governança. Para tanto, realizaram-se estudos de caso junto a tr524761782sem informaçãosem informaçãosem informaçã
The role of empirical research in the study of complex forms of governance in agroindustrial systems
Disease-specific and general health-related quality of life in newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients: The Pros-IT CNR study
Background: The National Research Council (CNR) prostate cancer monitoring project in Italy (Pros-IT CNR) is an observational, prospective, ongoing, multicentre study aiming to monitor a sample of Italian males diagnosed as new cases of prostate cancer. The present study aims to present data on the quality of life at time prostate cancer is diagnosed. Methods: One thousand seven hundred five patients were enrolled. Quality of life is evaluated at the time cancer was diagnosed and at subsequent assessments via the Italian version of the University of California Los Angeles-Prostate Cancer Index (UCLA-PCI) and the Short Form Health Survey (SF-12). Results: At diagnosis, lower scores on the physical component of the SF-12 were associated to older ages, obesity and the presence of 3+ moderate/severe comorbidities. Lower scores on the mental component were associated to younger ages, the presence of 3+ moderate/severe comorbidities and a T-score higher than one. Urinary and bowel functions according to UCLA-PCI were generally good. Almost 5% of the sample reported using at least one safety pad daily to control urinary loss; less than 3% reported moderate/severe problems attributable to bowel functions, and sexual function was a moderate/severe problem for 26.7%. Diabetes, 3+ moderate/severe comorbidities, T2 or T3-T4 categories and a Gleason score of eight or more were significantly associated with lower sexual function scores at diagnosis. Conclusions: Data collected by the Pros-IT CNR study have clarified the baseline status of newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients. A comprehensive assessment of quality of life will allow to objectively evaluate outcomes of different profile of care
Impact of gastrointestinal side effects on patients’ reported quality of life trajectories after radiotherapy for prostate cancer: Data from the prospective, observational pros-it CNR study
Radiotherapy (RT) represents an important therapeutic option for the treatment of localized prostate cancer. The aim of the current study is to examine trajectories in patients’ reported quality of life (QoL) aspects related to bowel function and bother, considering data from the PROState cancer monitoring in ITaly from the National Research Council (Pros-IT CNR) study, analyzed with growth mixture models. Data for patients who underwent RT, either associated or not associated with androgen deprivation therapy, were considered. QoL outcomes were assessed over a 2-year period from the diagnosis, using the Italian version of the University of California Los Angeles-Prostate Cancer Index (Italian-UCLA-PCI). Three trajectories were identified for the bowel function; having three or more comorbidities and the use of 3D-CRT technique for RT were associated with the worst trajectory (OR = 3.80, 95% CI 2.04–7.08; OR = 2.17, 95% CI 1.22–3.87, respectively). Two trajectories were identified for the bowel bother scores; diabetes and the non-Image guided RT method were associated with being in the worst bowel bother trajectory group (OR = 1.69, 95% CI 1.06–2.67; OR = 2.57, 95% CI 1.70–3.86, respectively). The findings from this study suggest that the absence of comorbidities and the use of intensity modulated RT techniques with image guidance are related with a better tolerance to RT in terms of bowel side effects
Formas plurais no setor de distribuição de combustÃvel automotivo brasileiro: avaliação do perfil e estabilidade das governanças plurais no Estado de São Paulo
Experimental study and qualitative and quantitative modelling of sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS)
Dottorato di Ricerca in Ingegneria Idraulica per l'ambiente ed il Territorio Ciclo XXVI a.a.2012-2013Climate changes have become always more frequent, increasing the interest of
researchers in finding the causes and, above all, the structural or non-structural solutions
to solve the problem. Economic development together with rapid population growth
constantly increase the demand of goods and services. As the same as drought, also
precipitation became more intense and frequent, even with more ever short duration.
These events for their heavy impact are called ‘extreme rainfall events’. The actual
management of urban waters is unsustainable thus, foregoing reasons lead to an
imperative need to develop new urban ecosystems, requiring a rethink of traditional
development techniques. Traditional urban drainage systems are designed to rapidly
collect and convey overland flows to the treatment plants, without taking into account
of their qualitative characteristics. In order to reach the aim of the qualitative and
quantitative control of stormwater in urban areas, a possible way is the widespread
implementation in urban areas of ‘blue-green infrastructure’ that provide an holistic and
integrated approach to the problem. They are one step beyond other ‘classic’ sustainable
urban drainage measures such as LID (Low Impact Development), SUDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems) or BMPs (Best Management Practices), allowing to
emphasize their beneficial effects. Use of BGC as a part of sustainable drainage system
concept is a winning approach, that allow managing and treatment of stormwater runoff
within urban areas, using practices made of green and blue components. Generally
green components are represented by any kind of existing vegetation (floral plants,
grass, hedges) while the blue one by lakes, ponds, rivers and canals (natural or
artificial). Together, these infrastructures allow to create a network between them at
regional scale. The real behaviour of these structures is not yet properly modelled. Most
of the software currently used in urban hydrology (SWMM by EPA, Music by eWater
CRC, etc…) model in a reasonable way the hydraulic behaviour of infiltration practices
(such as bioretention cells, infiltration trenches, vegetated filter strips, porous pavement)
using a simple mass balance approach. Generation, inflow and transport of pollutants
are, instead, determined by the land use assigned to each subcatchments, namely
through buildup and washoff laws describing accumulation and washout by either a
mass per unit of subcatchment area or per unit of curb length. This approach completely lack of quality algorithms within LID models that take into account of their quality performances as, for instance, reduction of efficiency due to the clogging effect. The
clogging phenomenon, described as the decrease in infiltration rate of the soil due to the
reduction in soil porosity and hydraulic conductivity, occurs for the majority within
infiltration practices such as bioretention cells, infiltration trenches, vegetated swales
and permeable pavers. Precisely these latter practices are one of the easiest to
implement into urban environment, being aimed to reduce impervious areas and work as
‘link’ within BGCs networks. From these premises the research in the following thesis
is developed, whose main objective is to study the implementation of 'blue and green'
elements in urban areas and their effect on pollutant loads reduction. Initially, a study of
common errors retrieved within a DTM (Digital Terrain Model) has been faced because,
if not corrected, they will affect the overland flow network generation and the
subsequent hydraulic modelling. DEMs (Digital Elevation Models) can include both
terrain elevation data, which commands flow direction of floodwater, and land cover information, which dictates resistance to floodwater distribution. Very often DTMs
originate from a variety of ground observations supplemented by various remote
sensing techniques (aerial and satellite measurements, total stations, dGPS, aerial
LiDAR, terrestrial laser scanning) thus, containing systematic or random errors to
individuate and eliminate. A study were carried out to evaluate how DTM resolutions
and presence of building affect overland flow network delineation in the Liguori
Channel basin, situated in Cosenza (Italy). To achieve this aim, three different DEMs of
the study area, generated from different sources, were used: two contour-based DTMs
with contour interval respectively of 30 m (DTM 30) and 20 m (DTM 20), and one
LiDAR-based DEM, with horizontal resolution of 1 m (LIDAR DTM). Moreover, for a
more in depth analysis, LIDAR DTMb (with buildings) cell size has been down sampled
from 1 to 5 meters coarse resolution, in order to evaluate also, how cell size affect
ponds delineation. Individuation of likely flood areas (ponds) has been carried out using
Arc Hydro Tools developed at Centre for Research in Water Resources at University of
Texas at Austin. Research highlighted how the correction of DEM generated from
LiDAR data and other sources overlapping the buildings (i.e. retrieved from cadas maps) help to diminish the total accumulated water volume into surface ponds, real or
spurious, and also that their number does not depend by the raster cell size, but from the
accuracy of the source data. Afterwards, a first attempt of best management practices
implementation has been carried out within the Liguori Channel situated in Cosenza, Italy. The overland flow network of a highly urbanized sub area has been enhanced
through the addition of a certain percentage of green roof and porous pavements. A
series of simulations were carried out, using in input the historical annual rainfall series
(between 2008 and 2011) and considering a first scenario without LIDs (reference case)
and a second scenario with the new practices implemented. Moreover, the same
simulation were repeated in continuous, namely considering a single time series
composed by 4 years of precipitations (2008-2011) and taking into account, in addition
to the two previous cases, of a third scenario where LIDs may deal with clogging
phenomenon. In order to perform the EPA SWMM modelling, a ‘residential’ land use
has been defined, characterised by build-up and wash off laws for the considered
pollutant (Total Suspended Solids – TSS). As regards the green roof and porous
pavement simulation parameters, currently these values has been gathered from
literature. Within SWMM, the clogging phenomenon is taken into account through a
parameter called ‘clogging factor’ that considers the possible decay of LID performance
due to the fine material carried by infiltration waters. The empirical formulation is
affected by some parameters such as the number of years it takes to fully clog the system (Yclog), the annual rainfall amount over the site (Pa), the pavement's capture
ratio CR (area that contributes runoff to the pavement divided by area of the pavement
itself), the system's void ratio (VR), the Impervious Surface Fraction (ISF) and the
pavement layer thickness (T). The yearly simulation performed show how the
percentage reduction of volumes into the network is around 35% on average each year,
the mass of Total Suspended Solids is around 30% on average while the relative
concentration undergoes an increment around 15%. The latter result can be explained
looking at the SWMM runoff quality algorithm. In fact, currently SWMM takes into
account of the reduction of pollutants only in terms of reduction of overland flow, due
to the lacking of quality algorithms for LIDs simulation. Consequently, the presence of
BMPs increases the amount of stormwater that infiltrates, decreasing runoff, therefore
the mass of pollutants reaching the sewer outlet. The lower is the volumes of water
reaching the sewer, keeping constant the total mass of pollutant over the catchment, the
higher is the average outlet concentrations. The results of the continuous simulation are,
also, very interesting. While during the annual simulations the trend of volumes for the
scenario ‘LIDs with clogging’ ranges always between the other two cases, without and with LIDs, when the continuous simulation is considered, the volumes of the clogged LID are even higher than the volumes occurring without any BMP implemented. The
efficiency tends to decrease during time, from 50% when simulation starts to almost 0%
at the end of the second year, continuing then to swing around zero per cent for the
remaining part of the simulation. In this case, in fact, during the first two simulated
years the trend is similar to what it has been found during the annual simulation, while
starting from the third year (January 2010), volumes generated for the case ‘LIDs with
clogging’ are equal or even higher than those ones generated when no LIDs are used.
Although EPA SWMM results are interesting and indicative of LID operation, they are
not very accurate, especially concerning the qualitative simulation of the stormwater
management practices. For this reason, later, the research has been focused on
improving the qualitative simulation algorithms, with particular attention to porous
pavements. Data collected into an experimental laboratory rig of three different and
widely used permeable pavement types has been analysed. The investigated systems
were: monolithic porous asphalt (PA), modular Hydrapave (HP), and monolithic
Permapave (PP). The rig, made of three vertical compartments in which the three
porous pavers stratigraphies has been rebuilt, has been subjected to a semi-synthetic hyetograph, made of five different rain intensities (wetting regime) plus several drying
periods. From the frequency curve typical of Brisbane (AU), in correspondence of
different percentile ranges four flow rates has been chosen (A, B, C, D). In addition, a 1
in 5 year storm of 5 min duration was selected; this represents the typical design storm
where the porous pavers are likely to be developed. The accelerated laboratory test
allowed to simulate 26 years of operation under Melbourne climate. About the water
quality monitoring, an intense sampling regime has been conducted in which samples
were collected from inflow and outflow and analysed for Total Suspended Solids (TSS),
Total Phosphorus (TP) and Total Nitrogen (TN). Afterwards, a correlation analysis has
been performed in order to individuate the key variables affecting the porous pavement
functioning. According to these results, the key variables identified to affect the
pollutant concentration values were: the cumulative flow every 6, 12 and 24 hours
before the sampling time, the cumulative inflow volume in each time step and the cumulative trapped mass. Initially, it has been tried to analyse the phenomenon through
the ‘k-C* model’, that is a conceptual model used to simulate the pollutant behaviour
through the system, based on a first-order kinetic decay equation. Notwithstanding the
wide popularity and tested applicability on various other treatment practices such as sand filters, wetlands, ponds, infiltration systems and vegetated swales, the model did
not show satisfying results when applied to porous pavements, especially about heavy
metal and total nitrogen modelling. The predictive power of the model has been
assessed through the calculation of the Nash–Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient,
widely adopted in the Anglo-Saxon world to evaluate behaviour and performance of the
hydrologic models. Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient is an indicator of the model’s ability to
predict about the 1:1 line between observed and simulated data. NSE ranges between
−∞ and 1.0 (1 inclusive), with NSE = 1 being the optimal value. Values between 0.0
and 1.0 are generally viewed as acceptable levels of performance, whereas values < 0.0
indicates that the mean observed value is a better predictor than the simulated value,
which indicates unacceptable performance. Considering this, the concentration data
collected has been processed, also taking into account of the correlation analysis
previously carried out, which allowed to estimate the concentrations of the main
pollutants such as TSS (Total Suspended Solids), TP (Total Phosphorous) and TN (Total Nitrogen) to the output section of the porous pavements. The reliability of the
new proposed formulas has been demonstrated both by high values of the Nash-
Sutcliffe coefficients, always positive, and also by very low errors (between 10% and
25%) among modelled and measured concentrationsUniversità degli Studi della Calabri
Fuel-driven macromolecular coacervation in complex coacervate core micelles
Fuel-driven macromolecular coacervation is an entry into the transient formation of highly charged, responsive material phases. In this work, we used a chemical reaction network (CRN) to drive the coacervation of macromolecular species readily produced using radical polymerisation methods. The CRN enables transient quaternization of tertiary amine substrates, driven by the conversion of electron deficient allyl acetates and thiol or amine nucleophiles. By incorporating tertiary amine functionality into block copolymers, we demonstrate chemical triggered complex coacervate core micelle (C3M) assembly and disassembly. In contrast to most dynamic coacervate systems, this CRN operates at constant physiological pH without the need for complex biomolecules. By varying the allyl acetate fuel, deactivating nucleophile and reagent ratios, we achieved both sequential signal-induced C3M (dis)assembly, as well as transient non-equilibrium (dis)assembly. We expect that timed and signal-responsive control over coacervate phase formation at physiological pH will find application in nucleic acid delivery, nano reactors and protocell research.ChemE/Advanced Soft Matte
Metastasi del pancreas da carcinoma della mammella: descrizione di un caso clinico" G. Italiano di Oncologia Anno XXII-N 2 Aprile Giugno 2002 73, 77
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