Tritium measurements in water on Mt. Etna by liquid scintillation counting

Tritium exists rather uniformly in the environment as a result of both natural production by cosmic-ray interaction with the upper layers of the atmosphere and residual fallout from nuclear-weapons tests carried out from 1952 till 1980. Naturally occurring tritium mainly reaches the Earth’s surface in the form of precipitation, becoming part of the hydrological cycle. Nowadays, the possibility of measuring the low level of tritium radioactivity gives a chance to use tritium as a natural tracer in water systems. This paper presents results from a first survey carried out in the north-west flank of Mt. Etna and in the southern side of Nebrodi, in order to validate a procedure developed for the determination of tritium activity concentrations in water samples by liquid scintillation counting. The investigated areas show low tritium concentrations, much below the Italian limit of 100 Bq/ for drinking water and even comparable with the minimum detectable activity value. The effective dose due to tritium consumption is also calculated

Catholic Renewal Movements and Dialogue

The birth and growth of renewal movements in the Catholic Church over the last 75 years is linked with Vatican II. In the same period, comparable movements have also sprouted in the Abrahamic and Eastern religious traditions. In addition to fostering renewed commitment within their respective communities, the emergence of such movements has also led to dynamic interreligious dialogue, fostering collaboration on global issues like peace, disarmament and ecology

Spiritual Friendship and Interreligious Dialogue: The Experience of Chiara Lubich and Nikkyo Niwano

This study introduces the spiritual friendship between Chiara Lubich and Rev. Nikkyō Niwano, founders and longtime presidents, respectively, of the Focolare Movement and of the Risshō Kōsei-kai. The two movements, though founded in completely different geographical, social, and religious contexts, are part of a larger phenomenon that characterized the second half of the twentieth century. The article attempts to evaluate the role that the two spiritual leaders and their followers had, and still have, in interfaith dialogue between Catholics and Mahāyāna Buddhists and on a wider scale between the faithful of different religions. Lubich and Niwano had, in fact, a prophetic role in this context

Is there an association between leukoaraiosis volume and diabetes?

Objectives: The relation between white matter loss (WML) and diabetes is still debated. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between typical WML— and diabetesrelated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in a cohort of patients scheduled for carotid endarterectomy (CEA). Materials and methods: Ninety-three consecutive patients (mean age 71 ± 9 years; male 71) were included in a single-centre retrospective study. All the patients underwent MRI as baseline evaluation prior to CEA. A neuroradiologist blinded to the presence of risk factors calculated WML volume and number of lesions on FLAIR images using a semi-automated segmentation technique. Receiver operating characteristics analysis was performed to search for any association between WML volume and the number of WML lesions. The Mann—Whitney tests were used to determine significant WML differences between diabetic and non-diabetic patients. Logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the potential association of other variables. Results: The prevalence of diabetes was 20.4% (n = 19). WML volume and number of WML lesions were significantly associated with diabetes (P = 0.001). A statistically significant difference in WML volume was found between diabetic and non-diabetic patients (P < 0.0001). Only diabetes, among all the investigated variables (WML volume, CAD status, age, smoking status, gender, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes) was significantly associated with WML (P = 0.0001)

Missionary Societies in the Evangelical Churches: Origins and Characteristics

The present study attempts to describe one of the most interesting phenomena in the history of missions: the birth and development of the Missionary Societies, which arose between the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century. The beginning was linked to the humble story of a simple shoemaker, turned Baptist pastor and a missionary in India but it soon developed within all main Churches of the Reformation. Characteristic of the phenomenon was the spontaneity of giving life to societies aiming at preaching the Gospel overseas. It was a novelty in the Reformation world as the missionary venture had found a difficult ground to develop in the first two centuries after Luther and Calvin. These societies were capable in reasonably short time to develop their own pastoral guide-lines and policy and their members in the overseas missions committed themselves to social issues and educational projects as part of the evangelising project. The article examines these elements and other aspects trying to highlight also unavoidable limitation encountered in the process.Artykuł opisuje jedno z najciekawszych zjawisk w dziejach misji – powstanie i rozwój stowarzyszeń misyjnych, na przełomie XVIII i XIX w. Początek tej historii był skromny i wiązał się z doświadczeniem prostego szewca, który został pastorem baptystycznym i misjonarzem w Indiach. Jednak wkrótce jego doświadczenie zostało przejęte przez wszystkie Kościoły wywodzące się z reformacji. Cechą charakterystyczną tego procesu była spontaniczność w tworzeniu stowarzyszeń, których celem było głoszenie Ewangelii w krajach zamorskich. Dla świata protestanckiego była to nowość, gdyż w pierwszym i drugim wieku po dokonaniach Lutra i Kalwina jego zaangażowanie misyjne było niewielkie. W relatywnie krótkim czasie stowarzyszenia zdołały wytworzyć własne dyrektywy duszpasterskie, a ich członkowie na misjach zaangażowali się także w projekty społeczne i edukacyjne, ściśle związane z działalnością misyjną. W artykule ukazano także pewne ograniczenia, które były związane z działalnością stowarzyszeń misyjnych

Direct quantitative measurement of compositional enrichment and variations in InyGa1−yAs quantum dots

Assessment of the composition of quantum dots on the nanoscale is crucial for a deeper understanding of both the growth mechanisms and the properties of these materials. In this letter, we discuss a direct method to obtain a quantitative evaluation of the In variation across nanometer-sized InGaAs quantum dots embedded in a GaAs matrix, by means of electron energy-loss spectroscopy in a scanning transmission electron microscope

CFD Analysis of a Tubular Heat Exchanger for the Conditioning of Olive Paste

The use of a heat exchanger for the conditioning of the olive paste could enhance the olive oil extraction process. Particularly, paste pre-heating could reduce the malaxation time and, most of all, improve the temperature control during this process (e.g., 27 ◦C). In this study, a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of a tubular heat exchanger was carried out to better understand the influence of the inlet conditions of the olive paste on thermal and hydrodynamic behavior within it. CFD analysis was performed with SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation (ver.2016). The heat exchanger consists of a tube-in-tube module, in which the inner tube was fed with the olive paste, while the jacket was filled of hot water. The main aim was that to predict the heat transfer and pressure drop in paste side of the exchanger. Multiple analyses by varying the mass flow rate and inlet temperature of the paste were carried out, and temperature and pressure drop were estimated. The numerical model has proved very useful in identifying the main factors affecting the optimization of the heat exchanger in order to improve the extraction process of the olive paste