Exposure to Air Pollution in Transport Microenvironments

People spend approximately 90% of their day in confined spaces (at home, work, school or in transit). During these periods, exposure to high concentrations of atmospheric pollutants can pose serious health risks, particularly to the respiratory system. The objective of this paper is to define a framework of the existing literature on the assessment of air quality in various transport microenvironments. A total of 297 papers, published from 2002 to 2021, were analyzed with respect to the type of transport microenvironments, the pollutants monitored, the concentrations measured and the sampling methods adopted. The analysis emphasizes the increasing interest in this topic, particularly regarding the evaluation of exposure in moving cars and buses. It specifically focuses on the exposure of occupants to atmospheric particulate matter (PM) and total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs). Concentrations of these pollutants can reach several hundreds of µg/m3 in some cases, significantly exceeding the recommended levels. The findings presented in this paper serve as a valuable resource for urban planners and decision-makers in formulating effective urban policies

Foot dermatitis and productive traits in broiler chickens kept with different stocking densities, litter types and light regimen

The purpose of the research was to study the effects of high and low stocking density of broiler chickens, different types of litter and the adoption of short and long lighting regimen on broiler welfare through the evaluation of their productivity and incidence of foot pad dermatitis. 2,400 male Ross 508 were divided into 8 groups of four replicates each and reared in 32 pens according to a 3 factors experimental design of two levels each: low (LD) or high (HD) stocking density (11 and 14 birds/m2 for LD and HD respectively), chopped straw (CS) or wood shaving (WS) litters and short (SL) or long (LL) light regimens (16 h light and 8 h dark or 23 h light and 1 h dark respectively for SL and LL). Broiler growth rate and feed efficiency were positively influenced by a stocking density lower than 30 kg of live weight per m2. The adoption of a short light regimen reduced feed intake and improved feed conversion rate without modifying body live weight. Chickens reared on wood shaving litter showed a lower incidence of foot pad dermatitis

Foot dermatitis and productive traits in broiler chickens kept with different stocking densities, bitter types and light regimen

The purpose of the research was to study the effects of high and low stocking density of broilerchickens, different types of litter and the adoption of short and long lighting regimen on broiler welfarethrough the evaluation of their productivity and incidence of foot pad dermatitis. 2,400 male Ross 508 weredivided into 8 groups of four replicates each and reared in 32 pens according to a 3 factors experimental designof two levels each: low (LD) or high (HD) stocking density (11 and 14 birds/m2 for LD and HD respectively),chopped straw (CS) or wood shaving (WS) litters and short (SL) or long (LL) light regimens (16 h light and 8 hdark or 23 h light and 1 h dark respectively for SL and LL). Broiler growth rate and feed efficiency were positivelyinfluenced by a stocking density lower than 30 kg of live weight per m2. The adoption of a short light regimenreduced feed intake and improved feed conversion rate without modifying body live weight. Chickensreared on wood shaving litter showed a lower incidence of foot pad dermatitis

Order Picking Systems: A Queue Model for Dimensioning the Storage Capacity, the Crew of Pickers, and the AGV Fleet

Designing an order picking system can be very complex, as several interrelated control variables are involved. We address the sizing of the storage capacity of the picking bay, the crew of pickers, and the AGV fleet, which are the most important variables from a tactical viewpoint in a parts-to-pickers system. Although order picking is a widely explored topic in the literature, no analytical model that can simultaneously deal with these variables is currently available. To bridge this gap, we introduce a queue model for Markovian processes, which enables us to jointly optimise the aforementioned control variables. A discrete-event simulation is then used to validate our model, and we then test our proposal with real data under different operative scenarios, with the aim of assessing the usefulness of the proposal in real settings

Rain evaporation rate estimates from dual-wavelength lidar measurements and intercomparison against a model analytical solution

Rain evaporation, while significantly contributing to moisture and heat cloud budgets, is a still poorly understood process with few measurements presently available. Multiwavelength lidars, widely employed in aerosols and clouds studies, can also provide useful information on the microphysical characteristics of light precipitation, for example, drizzle and virga. In this paper, lidar measurements of the median volume raindrop diameter and rain evaporation rate profiles are compared with a model analytical solution. The intercomparison reveals good agreement between the model and observations, with a correlation between the profiles up to 65% and a root-mean-square error up to 22% with a 5% bias. Larger discrepancies are due to radiosonde soundings different air masses and model assumptions no more valid along the profile as nonsteady atmosphere and/or appearance of collision–coalescence processes. Nevertheless, this study shares valuable information to better characterize the rain evaporation processes