Sun temple of Nyuserre in Abu Ghurab: Report of the 2017 season

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Sun temple of Nyuserre in Abu Ghurab: Report of the 2017 season

The article presents the results of the 2017 archaeological season in the sun temple of Nyuserre in Abu Ghurab. The works especially focused on three areas, namely the central obelisk, the alabaster altar, and the accumulation of limestone blocks in the south-western corner of the temple. Besides the documentation of these archaeological remains, an in-depth architectural analysis of the above-mentioned structures has been carried out, in particular as regards the obelisk area. In fact, as already noticed in other contributions, the 3D reconstruction of this part of the temple provided by Borchardt is not convincing for a number of reasons. A new reconstruction of the latter part of the temple has therefore been proposed, based on several archaeological, architectural and historical elements. This reconstruction involves not only the architecture of the obelisk but also the original aspect of the altar area, which is strictly connected to the obelisk as regards the cult practice and the overall temple symbolism. Another objective of the mission was to lay the foundations to a new phase of investigation of the area outside the temple, in particular of the area to the south-east of the sun temple of Nyuserre where the analysis of data coming from satellite remote sensing and historical cartography seems to indicate the possible existence of archaeological remains so far unexplored. Starting from this year, the mission has also become a joint ItalianCzech expedition within the framework of a wider research project (The Rise and Development of the Solar Cult and Architecture in Third Millennium BC Egypt – GAČR project no. 17-10799S), launched in January 2017 at the Czech Institute of Egyptology, Charles (https://cegu.ff.cuni.cz/en/ research/grants/the-rise-of-solar-cult/)

The rapid spread of SARS-COV-2 Omicron variant in Italy reflected early through wastewater surveillance

The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant emerged in South Africa in November 2021, and has later been identified worldwide, raising serious concerns. A real-time RT-PCR assay was designed for the rapid screening of the Omicron variant, targeting characteristic mutations of the spike gene. The assay was used to test 737 sewage samples collected throughout Italy (19/21 Regions) between 11 November and 25 December 2021, with the aim of assessing the spread of the Omicron variant in the country. Positive samples were also tested with a real-time RT-PCR developed by the European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), and through nested RT-PCR followed by Sanger sequencing. Overall, 115 samples tested positive for Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant. The first occurrence was detected on 7 December, in Veneto, North Italy. Later on, the variant spread extremely fast in three weeks, with prevalence of positive wastewater samples rising from 1.0% (1/104 samples) in the week 5–11 December, to 17.5% (25/143 samples) in the week 12–18, to 65.9% (89/135 samples) in the week 19–25, in line with the increase in cases of infection with the Omicron variant observed during December in Italy. Similarly, the number of Regions/Autonomous Provinces in which the variant was detected increased fromone in the first week, to 11 in the second, and to 17 in the last one. The presence of the Omicron variant was confirmed by the JRC real-time RT-PCR in 79.1% (91/115) of the positive samples, and by Sanger sequencing in 66% (64/97) of PCR amplicons

The rapid spread of SARS-COV-2 Omicron variant in Italy reflected early through wastewater surveillance

The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant emerged in South Africa in November 2021, and has later been identified worldwide, raising serious concerns. A real-time RT-PCR assay was designed for the rapid screening of the Omicron variant, targeting characteristic mutations of the spike gene. The assay was used to test 737 sewage samples collected throughout Italy (19/21 Regions) between 11 November and 25 December 2021, with the aim of assessing the spread of the Omicron variant in the country. Positive samples were also tested with a real-time RT-PCR developed by the European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), and through nested RT-PCR followed by Sanger sequencing. Overall, 115 samples tested positive for Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant. The first occurrence was detected on 7 December, in Veneto, North Italy. Later on, the variant spread extremely fast in three weeks, with prevalence of positive wastewater samples rising from 1.0% (1/104 samples) in the week 5-11 December, to 17.5% (25/143 samples) in the week 12-18, to 65.9% (89/135 samples) in the week 19-25, in line with the increase in cases of infection with the Omicron variant observed during December in Italy. Similarly, the number of Regions/Autonomous Provinces in which the variant was detected increased from one in the first week, to 11 in the second, and to 17 in the last one. The presence of the Omicron variant was confirmed by the JRC real-time RT-PCR in 79.1% (91/115) of the positive samples, and by Sanger sequencing in 66% (64/97) of PCR amplicons. In conclusion, we designed an RT-qPCR assay capable to detect the Omicron variant, which can be successfully used for the purpose of wastewater-based epidemiology. We also described the history of the introduction and diffusion of the Omicron variant in the Italian population and territory, confirming the effectiveness of sewage monitoring as a powerful surveillance tool

Monitoring the aeration efficiency and carbon footprint of a medium-sized WWTP: experimental results on oxidation tank and aerobic digester

The efficiency of aeration systems should be monitored to guarantee suitable biological processes. Among the available tools for evaluating the aeration efficiency, the off-gas method is one of the most useful. Increasing interest towards reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from biological processes has resulted in researchers using this method to quantify N2O and CO2 concentrations in the off-gas. Experimental measurements of direct GHG emissions from aerobic digesters (AeDs) are not available in literature yet. In this study, the floating hood technique was used for the first time to monitor AeDs. The floating hood technique was used to evaluate oxygen transfer rates in an activated sludge (AS) tank of a medium-sized municipal wastewater treatment plant located in Italy. Very low values of oxygen transfer efficiency were found, confirming that small-to-medium-sized plants are often scarcely monitored and wrongly managed. Average CO2 and N2O emissions from the AS tank were 0.14 kgCO2/kgbCOD and 0.007 kgCO2,eq/kgbCOD, respectively. For an AeD, 3 × 10−10 kgCO2/kgbCOD direct CO2 emissions were measured, while CO2,eq emissions from N2O were 4 × 10−9 kgCO2,eq/kgbCOD. The results for the AS tank and the AeD were used to estimate the net carbon and energy footprint of the entire plant

SWEATERS Design Report

Scope of this document is to provide the instrument concept report and the rationale of the chosen architecture for the prototype of the Space WEATher Ena Radiation Sensors, namely SWEATERS

SWEATERS Progress Report #2

This document reports the summary of the activities performed in the framework of the SWEATERS project by INAF and INFN teams in the instrument development. The activities reported in this document are those performed in the period November 30th 2020 – December 1st 2021

SWEATERS Design Report

Scope of this document is to provide the instrument concept report and the rationale of the chosen architecture for the prototype of the Space WEATher Ena Radiation Sensors, namely SWEATERS

Clinical guidelines for perioperative hemodynamic management of non cardiac surgical adult patients.

Perioperative hemodynamic management, through monitoring and intervention on physiological parameters to improve Cardiac Output and Oxygen Delivery (Goal-directed therapy, GDT), may improve outcome. However, an Italian survey has revealed that hemodynamic protocols are applied by only 29,1% of anesthesiologists. Aim of this paper is to provide clinical guidelines for a rationale use of perioperative hemodynamic management in non cardiac surgical adult patients, oriented for Italy and updated with most recent studies. Guidelines were elaborated according to NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) and GRADE system (Grading of Recommendations of Assessment Development and Evaluations). Key questions were formulated according to PICO system (Population, Intervention, Comparators, Outcome). Guidelines and systematic reviews were identified on main research databases and strategy was updated to June 2018. There is not enough good quality evidence to support the adoption of a GDT protocol in order to reduce mortality, although it may be useful in high risk patients. Perioperative GDT protocol to guide fluid therapy is recommended to reduce morbidity. Continuous monitoring of arterial pressure may help to identify short periods of hemodynamic instability and hypotension. Fluid strategy should aim to a near zero balance in normovolemic patients at the beginning of surgery, and a slight positive fluid balance may be allowed to protect renal function. Drugs such as inotropes, vasocostrictors, and vasodilatator should be used only when fluids alone are not sufficient to optimize hemodynamics. Perioperative GDT protocols are associated with a reduction in costs, although no economic study has been performed in Italy