Environmental impact of a new concept of food service: A case study for the re-use of naval shipping containers

This study aims to evaluate the environmental sustainability of a new street food format for food service based on the re-use of naval shipping containers and to compare it with the conventional one (street food truck). The environmental impact analysis was performed using the Life Cycle Assessment methodology. The functional unit (FU) was identified in the food service, including three food preparations: a dish of pasta (100 g), one sandwich (150 g) and one portion of fries (200 g). Following a \u201cfrom cradle to gate\u201d approach, the factors studied are: (i) the customization of a shipping container in a street food format, (ii) the construction and use of the cooking appliance, (iii) the logistics, (iv) the cooking phase (including final packaging as food cup). The life cycle of ingredients for food preparations has been neglected due to the variability of the products. The results show that the two higher hotspots are electricity consumed by cooking appliance (35%) and oil used to fry (34%), attributable only to the fries preparation. The third hotspot is imputable to the customized structure, with an average percentage value equal to 15%. Considering the global warming impact category, the customization into a street food format release 1280 kg CO2eq, while the production of a new container or a new street food truck format implies the emission of 12,800 kg CO2eq and 20,900 kg CO2eq respectively. The impact of the customized container (re-used container) weight for 0.04 kg CO2eq/FU, this value increases 11.6 times for a new container street food format, and 17 times for a new street food truck format. Overall, quantifying the environmental damage, the results showed how the re-use of a naval shipping container can be a way to reduce the environmental impact of food preparation, avoiding dismissing or building activity of the structure reducing the impact of the structure of about 95% offering a more sustainable street food services

Risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome after 2010–2011 influenza vaccination

Influenza vaccination has been implicated in Guillain Barré Syndrome (GBS) although the evidence for this link is controversial. A case–control study was conducted between October 2010 and May 2011 in seven Italian Regions to explore the relation between influenza vaccination and GBS. The study included 176 GBS incident cases aged ≥18 years from 86 neurological centers. Controls were selected among patients admitted for acute conditions to the Emergency Department of the same hospital as cases. Each control was matched to a case by sex, age, Region and admission date. Two different analyses were conducted: a matched case–control analysis and a self-controlled case series analysis (SCCS). Case–control analysis included 140 cases matched to 308 controls. The adjusted matched odds ratio (OR) for GBS occurrence within 6 weeks after influenza vaccination was 3.8 (95 % CI: 1.3, 10.5). A much stronger association with gastrointestinal infections (OR = 23.8; 95 % CI 7.3, 77.6) and influenza-like illness or upper respiratory tract infections (OR = 11.5; 95 % CI 5.6, 23.5) was highlighted. The SCCS analysis included all 176 GBS cases. Influenza vaccination was associated with GBS, with a relative risk of 2.1 (95 % CI 1.1, 3.9). According to these results the attributable risk in adults ranges from two to five GBS cases per 1,000,000 vaccinations

Effects of lockdown on emergency room admissions for psychiatric evaluation: an observational study from the AUSL Romagna, Italy

Objectives: An observation of the admissions to the emergency room (ER) requiring psychiatric evaluation during the lockdown and investigation of the demographic and clinical variables. Methods: Retrospective longitudinal observational study of ER accesses for psychiatric evaluation was performed, comparing two periods (9 March–3 May 2020 vs. 9 March–3 May 2019). Data (number of admissions, key baseline demographic and clinical variables) were extracted from the ER databases of referral centres in a well-defined geographic area of North-Eastern Italy (Cesena, Ravenna, Forlì, and Rimini). Results: A 15% reduction of psychiatric referrals was observed, together with a 17% reduction in the total number of patients referring to the ER. This reduction was most evident in the first month of the lockdown period (almost 25% reduction of both referrals and patients). Female gender (OR: 1.52: 95%, CI: 1.12–2.06) and being a local resident (OR: 1.54: 95%CI: 1.02–2.34) were factors associated with the decrease. Conclusions: Lockdown changed dramatically health priorities in the local population, including people with mental health. We speculate that our observations do not only refer to the confinement due to the lockdown regime but also to fear of contagion and adoption of different coping strategies, especially in women.Key-points During lockdown 15% reduction of psychiatric visits and >17% reduction in the number of psychiatric patients referring to the ER was observed. in the first four weeks of the lockdown almost 25% reduction of both visits and patients was observed Female gender and being a local resident were factors associated with the decrease

Better Water Use Efficiency in Vineyard by Using Visible and Near Infrared Spectroscopy for Grapevine Water Status Monitoring

Optimizing water consumption and improving its quality are considered central issues for the future also in the wine industry which places a significant demand on the world\u2019s water resources. Grapevine growing regions are mostly characterised by water stress conditions due to high evaporative demand and low water availability. In addition to this, recently the global warming has determined an increasingly use of irrigation. Consequently, a high efficiency of water use is required both by scheduling properly the irrigation system and by measuring the use of water. Nowadays irrigation scheduling in vineyards is performed through the measurement of soil moisture status using time consuming systems that are not easy to apply in field, may be affected by cumulative errors, may not be representative because of soil heterogeneity, and these methods increase moreover the irrigation costs. The increasing water shortages are leading to develop new tools to better manage irrigation monitoring and scheduling for high water use efficiency. This results in a need of rapid water status monitoring systems in order to better manage crop and irrigation scheduling for a high water use efficiency. The objective was to predict the water status of grapevine in a rapid and non-destructive way using two portable optical devices (vis/NIR and NIR) for measurements directly on the leaves, in order to evaluate the feasibility of a compact-sized simplified handheld and low-cost optical device, based on a few wavelengths appropriately selected. The specific aims were (1) to obtain essential wavelength variables (EV) based on a variable selection method, correlating the vis/NIR and NIR spectra and the water status; (2) to choose a limited number of informative wavelengths; (3) to compare the prediction performance of the calibration models calibrated on the vis/NIR and NIR spectra and those obtained using only the selected wavelengths. As references, a Scholander pressure chamber was used to measure the water potential (\u3a8). Measurements were made during the night in pre-dawn conditions (pre-dawn leaf water potential, \u3a8plwp) (3.00 to 5.00 hours, solar time). The water potential (\u3a8) was measured immediately after spectral acquisitions. A variable selection methodology (partial least square regression coefficient analysis, PLS-RCA) was proposed to determine a reduction of variables set that are effective in the prediction of \u3a8 related to grapevine water status. Multiple linear regression (MLR) was applied to select the candidate wavelengths in order to validate the prediction ability, compared with the PLS models built using the full vis/NIR and NIR spectra. The overall prediction results of the MLR models were satisfactory. These individual fingerprint wavelengths and simply equations could be used for the design of a simplified LED technology based handheld device which would allow real-time assessment of \u3a8 directly in field. This envisaged device could be employed for the estimation of the three leaf water potentials (pre-dawn leaf water potential, \u3a8plwp; stem water potential, \u3a8swp; leaf water potential, \u3a8lwp), depending on the measurement timing across the day and the leaf sampling methodology. The simplified, low-cost, and easy-to-use device proposed allow to avoid specific chemometric analyses and trained personnel, in order to support or replace the tedious and time consuming conventional techniques in the water status assessment of the vineyard providing information useful for a better management of the irrigation scheduling

Studio di fattibilit\ue0 di un sistema ottico portatile semplificato per la valutazione del grado di maturaione di mirtilli

Le fasi di maturazione dei mirtilli fino alla raccolta vengono oggi seguite senza l\u2019aiuto di strumenti in grado di fornire dati oggettivi e anche il momento della raccolta viene deciso solamente sulla base dell\u2019analisi visiva dei frutti e dell\u2019esperienza del produttore. I produttori potrebbero quindi essere supportati nelle loro decisioni da strumenti semplici e portatili, utilizzabili direttamente in campo per la valutazione del grado di maturazione dei frutti. Pertanto \ue8 stata studiata la possibilit\ue0 di realizzare uno strumento ottico portatile ed economico, basato su tecnologia a LED e sulla misura e l\u2019elaborazione del valore di riflettanza diffusa in corrispondenza di un numero limitato di lunghezze d\u2019onda opportunamente selezionate. La selezione delle lunghezze d\u2019onda pi\uf9 significative per l\u2019individuazione dei frutti a maturazione commerciale adatti alla raccolta, \ue8 stata effettuata partendo da spettri Vis/NIR raccolti nell\u2019intervallo 445-970 nm di campioni della variet\ue0 Brigitta. Le bacche raccolte sono state suddivise in quattro classi di maturazione in funzione del colore. Gli spettri acquisiti sono stati sottoposti a un\u2019Analisi delle Componenti Principali (PCA, The Unscrambler\uae 9.6) che ha permesso di evidenziare in particolare due bande (attorno a 650 nm e a 740 nm) in corrispondenza delle quali risultano massimizzate le differenze tra gli spettri dei campioni completamente maturi e quelli delle altre classi. I valori di riflettanza registrati a queste lunghezze d\u2019onda sono stati utilizzati per creare dei rapporti normalizzati rispetto alla lunghezza d\u2019onda di 850 nm e sulla base di tali rapporti \ue8 stato elaborato un algoritmo semplificato per la classificazione dei frutti. La classificazione dei campioni in base all\u2019indice di maturazione elaborato ha mostrato un\u2019elevata capacit\ue0 di discriminare i frutti completamente maturi da quelli parzialmente o non maturi (93% di campioni correttamente classificati). I risultati di questo studio indicano pertanto la fattibilit\ue0 di uno strumento semplificato ed economico, basato sull\u2019impiego di sole tre lunghezze d\u2019onda, capace di valutare rapidamente e in condizioni di campo il grado di maturazione dei mirtilli

Feasibility of a simplified handheld optical system for blue-berries ripeness field evalutation

During last years, small fruits farming and marketing have increased widely in Italy in response to consumer\u2019s interest in bioactive and health protecting compounds fruits rich. At present, the ripening stage and harvest time is normally estimated by a visual analysis based on grower\u2019s experience. Farm growers could be supported in their decisions by simple and portable devices, used to directly assess the berries ripeness in the field and accordingly to plan the best harvest time. The aim of this work was to study the feasibility of a simplified handheld and inexpensive optical device, based on measurements and processing of diffuse reflectance at a few wavelengths appropriately selected. This study is focused on selecting the most significant wavelengths able to identify in the field the blueberries ready to be harvested. To this aim Vis/NIR spectra in the range 445-970 nm were acquired for Vaccinium corymbosum (\u2018Brigitta\u2019 cultivar) during two different growing seasons (2005 and 2006), harvested in Valtellina area (Lombardy, Italy). Spectra measurements were taken in the field on individual berries along their equator region. Fruits samplings were performed weekly, and picked fruits were divided in four ripeness classes according to external colour. The PCA of 634 fruits spectra highlighted two principal spectral bands (around 680 nm and 740 nm) in which differences among fully (class IV) and not completely ripe (classes IIII)samples spectra are maximized. Reflectance values at these wavelengths were used to obtain spectral ratios normalised to 850 nm reflectance. Based on these relations, a simple fruits classification algorithm was proposed. Berries ripeness grading based on the proposed index showed a high ability in discriminating fully ripe fruits from partially ripe fruits and unripe fruits. More then the 93% of samples were correctly classified in validation phase. The results of this study demonstrate the feasibility of a simplified and low-cost handheld device, based on the use of only three wavelengths, able to quickly estimate blueberry ripeness in the field, with special reference to the last and most sensitive stages of ripening process

Ottimizzazione delle gestione dei magazzini frigoriferi della filiera mele attraverso sistemi innovativi

Il presente lavoro ha tentato di ampliare il campo di applicazione delle tecniche di analisi non distruttive, ormai in fase applicativa nella filiera della mela, non solo alla valutazione qualitativa del frutto ai fini commerciali, ma anche ai parametri volti alla definizione delle migliori condizioni di conservazione. Lo scopo dello studio \ue8 stato quello di valutare l\u2019applicabilit\ue0 della spettroscopia Vis/NIR per il monitoraggio e la gestione delle partite di mele durante i mesi di conservazione in cella frigorifera. Un sistema Vis/NIR da banco (600-1200 nm) \ue8 stato utilizzato per classificare mele provenienti da due diverse cultivar, Golden Delicious and Stark Red Delicious prodotte in Valtellina (SO), sulla base del loro contenuto in solidi solubili (\ub0Brix) e della durezza. E\u2019 stato analizzato l\u2019andamento durante la shelf-life in conservazione delle classi create originariamente e valutata l\u2019accuratezza delle stime Vis/NIR. I risultati sono stati molto buoni in quanto \ue8 stata evidenziata la possibilit\ue0 di selezionare e classificare le mele alla raccolta in modo non distruttivo in base al contenuto zuccherino e alla durezza, in base quindi a parametri interni di qualit\ue0 e non soltanto rifacendosi a caratteristiche di aspetto o pezzatura. Questo approccio risulta importante per gestire al meglio la sequenza di apertura delle celle di conservazione durante la stagione invernale, con l\u2019obiettivo di immettere sul mercato in ogni momento dell\u2019anno il miglior prodotto possibil

Application of visible/near infrared spectroscopy to assess the grape infection at the winery

The aim of this work was to investigate the applicability of vis/NIR spectroscopy for rapid grape infection assessment in a view of a grape classification directly at the check point station entering the winery. The experimentation was conducted on white and red wine varieties, using grape bunches naturally infected with Botrytis cinerea, powdery mildew and sour rot, the major grape diseases. The research applied a compact vis/NIR device (400-1600 nm) for analysis of flows and/or non-homogeneous product. The system is capable to perform measurements in reflection at a variable distance between sensor and sample of 80-600 mm. Spectral measurements were carried out on healthy and diseased bunches for a total of 2559 spectral acquisitions; Qualitative (spectral analysis and Principal Component Analysis, PCA) and quantitative (Partial Least Squares \u2013 Discriminant Analysis, PLS-DA) analyses were applied on grape and must spectra in order to test the performance of vis/NIR device to classify healthy and infected samples. The results obtained from PLS-DA models, in validation, gave a positive predictive value (PPV) of classification between 89.8% and 94.0% for grape. The results demonstrated that optical devices are capable to provide useful information for a better management of the vinification process