How to Assess the Carbon Footprint of a Large University? The Case Study of University of Bologna’s Multicampus Organization

University campuses represent a heterogeneous ecosystem as to social, economic, energetic, and personal travel planning with a huge impact on hosting cities and territories. Sustainable policies are thus fundamental to reduce this impact and to adopt ecological behaviors. The measures for any University Sustainability Plan should be evaluated in terms of GHG emissions, as well as the overall impact of the university itself. Carbon footprint (CF) calculation is a relevant Decision Support tool that allows university organizations to measure and communicate the environmental effects of their activities. The aim of this paper is to present a carbon footprint methodology specifically designed to calculate the carbon footprint of large universities. The methodology was applied to calculate the CF of the University of Bologna by following international standards—i.e., the GHG protocol, the ISO 14064, and the ISO/TR 14069 guide—to understand the environmental impact caused by greenhouse gas emissions from direct and indirect university activities. The study was conducted upon the data available in 2020 and then was compared to the 2018 data, with the aim to recognize if the effect of the pandemic could have altered the results. In 2020, the University of Bologna emitted 16,467 tCO2e which became 15,753 tCO2e considering the offset and avoided emission provided by the internal production of energy from renewable sources. Comparison between 2020 and 2018 shows how, in 2018, most of the emissions came from transportation, representing 74% of the total emissions, while in 2020 almost 50% of total emissions derived by IT procurements. The case application demonstrates the way with which the methodology may be applied to assess environmental impact for complex university campuses

Environmental Impact of Meals: How Big Is the Carbon Footprint in the School Canteens?

The inhabitants of the world are expected to grow by two billion in the next two decades; as population increases, food demand rises too, leading to more intensive resource exploitation and greater negative externalities related to food production. In this paper the environmental impact of meals provided in school canteens are analysed through the Life Cycle Assessment methodology, in order to evaluate the GHGs emissions released by food production. Meals, and not just individual foods, have been considered so as to include in the analysis the nutritional aspects on which meals are based. Results shows that meat, fish and dairy products are the most impacting in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, with values that shift from 31.7 and 24.1 kg CO2 eq for butter and veal, to 2.37 kg CO2 eq for the octopus, while vegetables, legumes, fruit and cereals are less carbon intensive (average of 3.71 kg CO2 eq for the considered vegetables). When the environmental impact is related to the food energy, the best option are first courses because they combine a low carbon footprint with a high energy content. The results of the work can be used both by the consumer, who can base the meal choice on environmental impact information, and by food services, who can adjust menus to achieve a more sustainable production

Vulnerabilidade social e comunicação verbal e não-verbal na primeira infância: Revisão sistemática

El objetivo de la siguiente revisión sistemática fue indagar sobre la contribución diferencial del entorno socioeconómico en la capacidad de comunicación verbal y no verbal en los primeros tres años de vida. Se revisaron artículos de investigación empírica de los últimos 30 años en infantes con desarrollo típico. Se encontraron, en general, menores niveles respecto del desarrollo del habla y la comunicación expresiva y productiva en infantes de contextos vulnerables. Sin embargo, los resultados fueron inconsistentes respecto a la comunicación no verbal. Se concluye que se deben realizar más estudios con medidas directas comportamentales en comunicación no verbal para poder paliar las inconsistencias en los resultados actuales sobre la temática.The objective of this systematic literature review was to inquire about the differential contribution of socioeconomic environment to the capacity for verbal and non-verbal communication in the first three years of life. Empirical research articles from the last 30 years in normally developing infants were reviewed. In general, lower levels were identified among infants from vulnerable contexts in terms of speech development f and expressive and productive communication . However, the results were inconsistent in the area of non-verbal communication. It is concluded that more studies should be carried out with direct behavioral measures in relation to non-verbal communication in order to alleviate existing inconsistencies for the current results in this field.O objetivo da revisão sistemática a seguir foi indagar sobre a contribuição diferencial do meio socioeconômico na capacidade de comunicação verbal e não verbal nos primeiros três anos de vida. Artigos de pesquisa empírica dos últimos 30 anos em bebês com desenvolvimento típico foram revisados. Em geral, foram encontrados níveis mais baixos em relação ao desenvolvimento da fala e da comunicação expressiva e produtiva em bebês de contextos vulneráveis. No entanto, os resultados foram inconsistentes com relação à comunicação não verbal. Conclui-se que mais estudos devem ser realizados com medidas comportamentais diretas na comunicação não verbal, a fim de amenizar as inconsistências nos resultados atuais sobre o assunto.Fil: Gago Galvagno, Lucas Gustavo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicología. Instituto de Investigaciones; Argentina. Universidad Abierta Interamericana. Facultad de Psicología; ArgentinaFil: Passarini, Luciana A.. Universidad de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Elgier, Angel Manuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Abierta Interamericana. Facultad de Psicología; Argentin

Novel oral anticoagulats for the treatment of left ventricle thrombosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs) are not guideline-recommanded treatment for left ventricular thrombus. Purpose: the aim of this meta-analysis is to compare NOACs versus vitamin-K atagonsits (VKAs) efficacy in treating left ventricular thrombus (LVT). Methods: we systematically searched MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, Biomed Central, and Web of Science for trials comparing NOACs versus VKAs in the setting of LVT. Five studies, out of the 74 initially selected after first screening, were included in the meta-analysis. For the development of this meta-analysis, the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed. The shortlisted studies were retrieved as full articles and appraised independently by two unblinded reviewers. The Mantel-Haensel method with a random effect model was used for the pooled analysis. The primary outcome was the occurrence of stroke and systemic embolism. Secondary outcome was occurrence of left ventricular thrombosis resolution during treatment. Results: 707 patients were included in the analysis for the primary outcome. Of these, 230 were treated with NOACs and 477 with VKAs. The pooled OR for the primary outcome was 0.71 (95% CI 0.18-2.86, I2 67%), thus showing similar effect in term of ischaemic protection. A total of 698 patients, 228 on NOACs and 470 on VKAs were included in the analysis of the secondary outcome. The pooled OR for the secondary outcome pooled OR 0.97, 95% CI 0.56-1.68, I2 46%. Conclusions and Relevance: NOACs seem to have a similar efficacy profile compare to VKAs and so they should be considered as an alternative treatment for left ventricular thrombosis. Large prospective randomized clinical trials are needed to confirm this exploratory finding. Abstract Figure

Acetonitrile from Bioethanol Ammoxidation : Process Design from the Grass-Roots and Life Cycle Analysis

The growing interest for new routes to obtain acetonitrile led to the development of catalysts active toward the ammoxidation of various substrates. Among these, a C2 molecule such as ethanol represents a good choice in terms of atom economy and, being renewable, sets the basis for a long-term sustainable process. This paper describes a fully integrated, newly designed process for the production of acetonitrile from bioethanol, currently not present in the literature. The target is the production and purification of 10 kg/h of acetonitrile, unit of production used for calculations, obtained from ethanol, ammonia, and air as raw materials. All the byproducts, mainly ammonium bicarbonate and sodium cyanide, are considered marketable chemicals and represent an added value, instead of a disposal issue. Their optimized recovery is included in this flowsheet as a basis for the future economic assessment of the system. The process consumes CO2 without its direct emission. In principle, all the carbon atoms and 90% of the nitrogen atoms are turned into reaction products, and the main loss is gaseous N2. The process design has been performed by means of the Aspen PLUS process simulator, on the basis of literature data and other experimental results. In addition, for an evaluation of the potential benefits of the innovative biobased route, a life cycle analysis was carried out including all the stages involved in the bioacetonitrile production (from raw materials extraction up to the gate plant). The results were then compared with those achieved for the traditional fossil route (SOHIO process), showing a sensible decrease of the environmental burdens in terms of nonrenewable resources and damage to ecosystems (e.g., toxicity, climate change, etc.). Finally, a simplified sensitivity analysis was carried out by substituting the starting raw material for the production of bioethanol (corn) with other materials conventionally used worldwide, such as sugar cane and wood. The latter option seems to make the system more competitive in terms of carbon neutrality, thanks to the usage of the residual lignocellulosic fraction available on the market

Effects of the Topical Application of Hydroalcoholic Leaf Extract of Oncidium flexuosum Sims. (Orchidaceae) and Microcurrent on the Healing of Wounds Surgically Induced in Wistar Rats

This study evaluated the wound healing activity of hydroalcoholic leaf extract of Oncidium flexuosum Sims. (Orchidaceae), an important native plant of Brazil, combined or not with microcurrent stimulation. Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups of nine animals: control (C), topical application of the extract (OF), treated with a microcurrent (10 μA/2 min) (MC), and topical application of the extract plus microcurrent (OF + MC). Tissue samples were obtained 2, 6, and 10 days after injury and submitted to structural and morphometric analysis. The simultaneous application of OF + MC was found to be highly effective in terms of the parameters analyzed (P < .05), with positive effects on the area of newly formed tissue, number of fibroblasts, number of newly formed blood vessels, and epithelial thickness. Morphometric data confirmed the structural findings. The O. flexuosum leaf extract contains active compounds that speed the healing process, especially when applied simultaneously with microcurrent stimulation