Energy cost and parmesan cheese. An overview in the different energy fluxes needed to produce a parmesan wheel

Agriculture is responsible for up to 30% of the greenhouse gases emission, and cattle breeding is the main contributor making up almost 10% of the total. For this reason, this sector is a key player toward a complete decarbonization. To take the proper action to reduce climate impact of cattle breeding, it is necessary to know the energy requirements of the industry. This work focuses on the energy mapping of a parmesan cheese production, with reference to an agricultural company situated in Modena province with about six hundred animals. Knowing the electrical and thermal energy requirements to produce a wheel of cheese gives the possibility to the farmers to identify and reduce the energy wastage as well as starting the implementation of a strategy for fossil fuel substitution. In this study, a comprehensive monitoring campaign is presented together with the proposal of some possible improvements. The analysis showed that, considering the actual situation, about 64 kWh of electrical energy and 94 kWh of thermal energy are needed to produce a parmesan cheese wheel, while the fuel used to feed the agricultural machinery (e.g., tractors) accounts for around 174 kWh. In this context, the implementation of biogas and solar photovoltaic can greatly contribute to reduce the dependence on fossil fuels

Thermal Stabilization of Digesters of Biogas Plants by Means of Optimization of the Surface Radiative Properties of the Gasometer Domes

A new incentive scheme for power generation from biogas is favoring in Italy the construction of small plants. These ones, however, have poorer financial viability and biological stability than larger plants. In order to ensure adequate performance and a reasonable payback period it is therefore essential that every aspect of their operations is carefully designed. In this respect, summer overheating of anaerobic digesters due to solar gains must be prevented. A solution relies upon the implementation of a ‘cool’ gasometer dome with properly chosen solar reflectance, whose effectiveness was assessed through the use of a calculation code specifically built and validated by comparison with experimental data

Hand and ultrasonic instrumentation for orthograde root canal treatment of permanent teeth.

UNLABELLED: Root canal treatment is a frequently performed dental procedure and is carried out on teeth in which irreversible pulpitis has led to necrosis of the dental pulp. Removal of the necrotic tissue remnants and cleaning and shaping of the root canal are important phases of root canal treatment. Treatment options include the use of hand and rotary instruments and methods using ultrasonic or sonic equipment. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this systematic review of randomized controlled trials were to determine the relative clinical effectiveness of hand instrumentation versus ultrasonic instrumentation alone or in conjunction with hand instrumentation for orthograde root canal treatment of permanent teeth. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The search strategy retrieved 226 references from the Cochrane Oral Health Group Trials Register (7), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (12), MEDLINE (192), EMBASE (8) and LILACS (7). No language restriction was applied. The last electronic search was conducted on December 13th, 2007. Screening of eligible studies was conducted in duplicate and independently. RESULTS: Results were to be expressed as fixed-effect or random-effects models using mean differences for continuous outcomes and risk ratios for dichotomous outcomes with 95% confidence intervals. Heterogeneity was to be investigated including both clinical and methodological factors. No eligible randomized controlled trials were identified. CONCLUSIONS: This review illustrates the current lack of published or ongoing randomized controlled trials and the unavailability of high-level evidence based on clinically relevant outcomes referring to the effectiveness of ultrasonic instrumentation used alone or as an adjunct to hand instrumentation for orthograde root canal treatment. In the absence of reliable research-based evidence, clinicians should base their decisions on clinical experience, individual circumstances and in conjunction with patients' preferences where appropriate. Future randomized controlled trials might focus more closely on evaluating the effectiveness of combinations of these interventions with an emphasis on not only clinically relevant, but also patient-centered outcomes

Histopathological determinants of autofluorescence patterns in oral carcinoma

Biological tissues (including oral mucosa) can absorb and re-emit specific light wavelengths, detectable through spectrophotometric devices. Such a phenomenon is known as \u201cautofluorescence\u201d (AF). Several devices evaluating tissue AF have been developed and commercialized in the last two decades. Among these, the VELscope\uae system has been proposed as a visual diagnostic aid for potentially malignant disorders and malignant lesions of the oral mucosa. In the present pilot study, we investigated which are the main histopathological features possibly related to variations in AF patterns in a set of 20 oral squamous cell verrucous carcinoma. Among all the histological features investigated, only the mean width of keratin was significantly different between hypofluorescent and hyperfluorescent carcinomas. The results of the present study demonstrate that AF features of oral malignant lesions are significantly associated with the width of their keratin layer

Cutting edge: extracellular high mobility group box-1 protein is a proangiogenic cytokine.

The chromosomal high mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) protein acts as a proinflammatory cytokine when released in the extracellular environment by necrotic and inflammatory cells. In the present study, we show that HMGB1 exerts proangiogenic effects by inducing MAPK ERK1/2 activation, cell proliferation, and chemotaxis in endothelial cells of different origin. Accordingly, HMGB1 stimulates membrane ruffling and repair of a mechanically wounded endothelial cell monolayer and causes endothelial cell sprouting in a three-dimensional fibrin gel. In keeping with its in vitro properties, HMGB1 stimulates neovascularization when applied in vivo on the top of the chicken embryo chorioallantoic membrane whose blood vessels express the HMGB1 receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE). Accordingly, RAGE blockade by neutralizing Abs inhibits HMGB1-induced neovascularization in vivo and endothelial cell proliferation and membrane ruffling in vitro. Taken together, the data identify HMGB1/RAGE interaction as a potent proangiogenic stimulus

The usefulness of Moynihan questionnaire in the evaluation of knowledge on healthy diet of patients undergoing cardiology rehabilitation

BACKGROUND: The aim of study was to test the usefulness of Moynihan questionnaire in the evaluation of knowledge on healthy diet of patients undergoing cardiology rehabilitation. METHODS: We enrolled 51 patients (pts): 41 men and 10 women, mean age 67.97 +/-11.2 years. The case study included: 21 pts that underwent coronary bypass surgery, 16 pts replaced plastic tube, 14 pts had surgery for the other reasons. All pts underwent nutritional investigation by a dietitian. Anthropometric and biochemical parameters were detected and, by the end, the Moynihan questionnaire was administrated. Pts underwent nutritional coaching, and questionnaire and dietary assessment were rechecked after 3 months. RESULTS: At baseline, the mean Questionnaire score was 22.4 +/- 3.2 points, decreased to 20.6 +/-3.1 points after 3 months (p<0.05). A detailed analysis of the questions showed that the major informations gaps were related to consumption of fruits and vegetables, consumption of fat and salt. In addition pts have acquired more general knowledge about food composition. CONCLUSIONS: The Moynihan questionnaire is an useful instrument of evaluation of dietary knowledge even in selected patients population. In the present study involving patients after cardiac surgery the main difficulties were related to high age of pts, the low cultural level and, mainly, to the post-surgery stress. However, an increase of correct answers as well as an increased knowledge about food composition were detected after educational intervention performed by the dietitian