Durability of Biomass Briquettes

The main resources for biomass agro-ecotechnologies are cereal straw residues, energy crops and emergent vegetation from wetlands. The herbaceous biomass is a material of low density (20 – 60kg/m3) therefore new mobile equipment and technologies for biomass comminution and densification have to be worked out. To guarantee the quality of biomass briquettes in the handling and usage process, sufficient durability of briquettes should be provided. National Standards of biomass briquettes should be worked out in accordance with the requirements of International Standards. Dependence of Ultimate shear stress on wheat stalk material particle size in biomass briquettes was investigated. It was stated that ultimate shear stress increases for particle size in briquettes less than 0.5mm. Peat additive improves the density and ultimate shear strength of briquettes, but peat in combustion process increases the ash content. Therefore it is not necessary to add peat more than 50% in briquetting composition. Durability of reed stalk briquettes ~1.7 times exceeds durability of wheat stalk briquettes. Maximal values of ultimate shear stress (1,5 MPa) and density (1,2 g/cm3) for pure peat (100%) briquettes was obtained

The consequences of shoulder pain intensity on quality of life and community participation in paraplegic wheelchair users

Background/Objectiv

The consequences of shoulder pain intensity on quality of life and community participation in paraplegic wheelchair users

Background/Objective: Shoulder overuse due weight-bearing loads – wheelchair propulsion and transfers – are supposed to cause shoulder pain in active wheelchair users. Consequently, shoulder pain has been found to have a high prevalence in the spinal cord-injured population. Severity of pain levels in individuals with spinal cord injury has been shown to impact quality of life. Aim of this study was to describe the consequences of shoulder pain intensity on quality of life, physical activity, and community activities in spinal cord-injured paraplegic wheelchair users. Materials and Methods: It was a qualitative, analytical one moment study where was involved persons after spinal cord injury below Th1 with lower paraplegia, who used manually operated wheelchairs for mobility at least 50% of the time. Main outcomes measure: SF-36textregistered Health Survey, Physical Activity Scale for Individuals With Physical Disabilities, Community Activities Checklist, Wheelchair User’s Shoulder Pain Index, Functional Independence Measure, Goniometry for shoulder joint. Results and analysis: 40 participants (9 female, 31 male) after spinal cord injury (SCI), mean age – 30,8 years, one to twenty years after spinal cord injury. 20 participants had pain in shoulder, 20 participants without pain in shoulder. The intensity of shoulder pain was not related to duration of SCI or the duration of shoulder pain. Shoulder pain intensity scores were inversely related to quality of life. There was a moderate, inverse relationship between shoulder pain intensity and physical activity. There was no relationship, however, between shoulder pain intensity and community activities. The level of community activity was positively related to quality of life. Conclusions: Persons with spinal cord injury who reported lower subjective quality of life and physical activity scores experienced significantly higher levels of shoulder pain. Shoulder pain intensity did not relate to their participation in community activities

SOLVENTI ORGANICI COME FATTORI DI RISCHIO PER LE MALATTIE AUTOIMMUNI: RIVALUTAZIONE A DIECI ANNI DI ANA E COMPLEMENTEMIA IN OPERATORI AFFERENTI AI LABORATORI DEL DIPARTIMENTO STEBICEF DELL\u2019UNIVERSIT\uc0 DEGLI STUDI DI PALERMO

solventi, ANA, complementemi

Economic modelling of the capture-transport-sink scenario of industrial CO2 emissions: The Estonian-Latvian cross-border case study

Industrial CO2 emissions and opportunities for CO2 geological storage in the Baltic Region were studied within the EU GeoCapacity project supported by the European Union Framework Programme 6. Estonia produces the largest amounts of CO2 emissions in the region, due to the combustion of Estonian oil shale for energy production. Owing to the shallow sedimentary basin containing mainly potable groundwater, the geological conditions are unfavourable for CO2 storage in Estonia. Therefore the main Estonian power company Eesti Energia is searching for CO2 storage options in the neighbouring regions. The most favourable geological conditions for CO2 storage in the Baltic Region are found in Latvia in the Middle Cambrian reservoir, sealed by Ordovician clayey carbonate rocks. The total CO2 storage capacity of 16 largest structural traps exceeds 400 million tonnes (Mt). Two power plants close to the city of Narva, with annual CO2 emissions of 8.0 and 2.7 Mt were chosen for the economic modelling of the capture-transport-sink scenario using the GeoCapacity Decision Support System (DSS) based on the GeoCapacity GIS database. Two anticlinal structures of Latvia, Luku-Duku and South Kandava with the area of 50-70 km 2 were selected for the CO2 storage. The depth of the top of the Cambrian reservoir is 1020-1050 m, the thickness 28-45 m; permeability of sandstone is more than 300 mD, and the trap storage efficiency factor 40%. The conservative storage capacity of these structures 40 and 44 Mt of CO2 respectively will be enough for 8 years. The estimated pipeline length required for CO2 transportation is about 800 km. The oxyfuel capture technology is applied in this scenario. With a conservative storage capacity for 8 years of emissions, avoidance costs are rated at € 37.4 per tonne of CO2. The total cost of the project estimated by the Decision Support System using the GeoCapacity GIS is about € 2.8 billion for 30 years of payment period. © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd

Spheno-orbital meningiomas: Surgical approaches and outcome according to the intraorbital tumor extent.

Objective This study proposes a topographical classification of spheno-orbital meningiomas. Its aim is to define wheter the different intraorbital localizations require different surgical approaches and have different recurrences rates and outcome. Methods Sixty patients with spheno-orbital meningiomas operated upon between 1983 and 2003 were reviewed. According to the intraorbital tumor extent, four types were identified: I: lateral or superolateral (15 cases); II: medial and inferomedial (8 cases); III: orbital apex (25 cases); IV: diffuse (12 cases). Three surgical approaches were used: lateral orbitotomy (15 cases with lateral or superolateral tumors), supraorbital-pterional approach (42 cases, including all 8 inferomedial, all 25 of the orbital apex, and 9 among 12 diffuse tumors), and fronto-temporal-orbitozygomatic approach (only 3 cases with diffuse meningiomas and large extent of the tumor in the infratemporal fossa and cavernous sinus). Results The tumor removal was complete (Simpson grades I and II) in 40 cases, and incomplete in 20 (33.3%). There were two postoperative deaths (3.3 %). A sufficient clinical follow-up was obtained in 52 cases. The clinical outcome was excellent in 26 patients (50%), good in 16 (30.8%), moderate in 6 (11.5 %), and poor in 4 (7.7 %). Twenty-two among 52 patients (42.3 %) had tumor recurrence; however, 44 (84.6 %) had tumor control after surgery alone through two or more operations. The recurrence rate was correlated with the Simpson grade of resection and the intraorbital tumor location. Significantly higher rate of recurrences were recorded in the orbital apex type (50 %) and diffuse forms (60 %), than in the inferomedial (28.5 %) and superolateral forms (23 %). Conclusions Spheno-orbital meningiomas may be classified according to the location and extent of the intraorbital tumor component. The different localizations may require different surgical approaches, with different chances of complete removal. The location and extent of the intraorbital tumor component result in different recurrence rates, lower for superolateral and inferomedial forms than for orbital apex and diffuse forms

Efficacy of Robotic-Assisted Gait Training in chronic stroke patients: Preliminary results of an Italian bi-centre study

The gait recovery is a realist goal in the rehabilitation of almost Stroke patients. Over the last years, the introduction of robotic technologies in gait rehabilitation of stroke patients has had a greatest interest. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate efficacy of Robotic Gait Training (RGT) in Chronic Stroke Patients. METHODS: Fourteen chronic stroke patients were divided into two groups. Six patients received RGT, eight patients received traditional gait rehabilitation. Patients were assessed with clinical scales, as well as with gait analysis, at the beginning and at the end of the treatment. RESULTS: Significant changes in some clinical scales for both the groups were detected. In the robotic group, patients showed higher percentage changes in the MRC scale (p = 0.020), in the 6MWT (p = 0.043) and in the Ashworth scale (hip: p = 0.008; knee: p = 0.043; ankle: p = 0.043) when compared with the traditional group. With respect to the gait analysis, we did not found any difference neither in the within- group analysis, nor in the between- group analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Both rehabilitation treatments do not change the compensatory strategies in chronic patients but the RGT offers to the patients a more intensive and controlled gait training increasing the gait endurance and decreasing spasticity in the lower limb