POSTURAL CONTROL IN CHILDREN BORN AT TERM ACCORDING TO THE ALBERTA INFANT MOTOR SCALE: COMPARISON BETWEEN SEXES

Introduction: acquisitions and changes in the motor and cognitive development of boys and girls are related not only to existing biological differences between both sexes, but also to socio-economic, cultural and family factors. Objective: to investigate the differences between sexes in the acquisition of anti-gravitational postures. Methods: the participants in this study were 638 children born at term (324 males and 314 females), from 0 to 18 months, coming from Infant Education Schools in the south of Brazil. The Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) was used to evaluate motor performance. Results: most of the evaluated children showed normal motor performance for their age (69.7%), with nonlinear development and plateaus in postural acquisition from 15 months. There were not significant differences (p>0.05) in motor performance between boys and girls from 0 to 18 months. Conclusion: motor development was similar between the sexes in the first months of life. However, throughout childhood, sociocultural differences and parents’ practices seem to influence differently the process of motor acquisition and development of skills, since children are exposed to experiences in conformity with sex expectations

Analysis of the existing barriers for the market development of power to hydrogen (P2H) in Italy

New technological solutions are required to control the impact of the increasing presence of renewable energy sources connected to the electric grid that are characterized by unpredictable production (i.e., wind and solar energy). Energy storage is becoming essential to stabilize the grid when a mismatch between production and demand occurs. Among the available solutions, Power to Hydrogen (P2H) is one of the most attractive options. However, despite the potential, many barriers currently hinder P2H market development. The literature reports general barriers and strategies to overcome them, but a specific analysis is fundamental to identifying how these barriers concretely arise in national and regional frameworks, since tailored solutions are needed to foster the development of P2H local market. The paper aims to identify and to analyze the existing barriers for P2H market uptake in Italy. The paper shows how several technical, regulatory and economic issues are still unsolved, resulting in a source of uncertainty for P2H investment. The paper also suggests possible approaches and solutions to address the Italian barriers and to support politics and decision-makers in the definition and implementation of the national hydrogen strategy

Techno-economic assessment of the innovative ejectors plant technology for sediment management in harbours

Purpose: The paper aims to show the monitoring results of an innovative technology, the ejectors plant, tested in the MARINAPLAN PLUS LIFE project framework for sustainable sediment management in harbours. Materials and methods: A monitoring plan has been designed to evaluate the technical, economic and environmental impact of the ejectors plant demonstrator for 15 months, located in Cervia (Italy). In particular, the demonstrator’s effectiveness and efficiency have been assessed to determine the yearly operation and maintenance costs. Results and discussion: The techno-economic analysis shows promising results in terms of efficacy and efficiency of the ejectors plant. The ejectors plant guaranteed navigability for the whole period of operation with a yearly cost reduction compared with traditional dredging. Conclusions: The innovative technology promoted by the MARINAPLAN PLUS LIFE project is a promising solution to manage sedimentation in harbours through a cost-effective and a low environmental impact technology. The monitoring actions validated the technology fully and demonstrated its efficacy and sustainability, highlighting the further improvements needed

Low temperature district heating: An expert opinion survey

Among the available solutions for building heating and cooling, district heating (DH) and district cooling (DC) systems are considered some of the best options since they can ensure a better control of pollutant emissions and greater efficiency than individual systems. Nevertheless, improvements are needed to increase their sustainability and reliability. The so-called \u201clow temperature district heating\u201d (LTDH) concept has been introduced in recent years in an attempt i) to reduce the distribution heat losses through a temperature decrease in the DH network, ii) to favor the integration with renewable energy sources, and iii) to create the conditions required for the development of future smart energy systems. However, many concerns have been raised about its implementation in both existing and new systems. For this reason, this paper aims to identify the stakeholders\u2019 ranking of the barriers against LTDH system development and implementation over the next few years. Aiming to this, a questionnaire was designed, including an analysis of current gaps and strengths, and then submitted to more than 50 Italian and international experts in the field of DH. An in-depth analysis of the received answers was performed, focusing in particular on the Italian experts\u2019 answers. Comments and suggestions on how to promote the transition to the new LTDH approach are reported

A New Geographic Information System (GIS) Tool for Hydrogen Value Chain Planning Optimization: Application to Italian Highways

Optimizing the hydrogen value chain is essential to ensure hydrogen market uptake in replacing traditional fossil fuel energy and to achieve energy system decarbonization in the next years. The design of new plants and infrastructures will be the first step. However, wrong decisions would result in temporal, economic losses and, in the worst case, failures. Because huge investments are expected, decision makers have to be assisted for its success. Because no tools are available for the optimum design and geographical location of power to gas (P2G) and power to hydrogen (P2H) plants, the geographic information system (GIS) and mathematical optimization approaches were combined into a new tool developed by CNR-ITAE and the University of Bologna in the SuperP2G project, aiming to support the interested stakeholders in the investigation and selection of the optimum size, location, and operations of P2H and P2G industrial plants while minimizing the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH). In the present study, the tool has been applied to hydrogen mobility, specifically to investigate the conversion of the existing refuelling stations on Italian highways to hydrogen refuelling stations (HRSs). Middle-term (2030) and long-term (2050) scenarios were investigated. In 2030, a potential demand of between 7000 and 10,000 tons/year was estimated in Italy, increasing to between 32,600 and 72,500 tons/year in 2050. The optimum P2H plant configuration to supply the HRS was calculated in different scenarios. Despite the optimization, even if the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) reduces from 7.0-7.5 euro/kg in 2030 to 5.6-6.2 euro/kg in 2050, the results demonstrate that the replacement of the traditional fuels, i.e., gasoline, diesel, and liquefied petroleum gases (LPGs), will be disadvantaged without incentives or any other economic supporting schemes

Analysis of motor development of infants from zero to 18 months of age: representativeness of the motors items of the alberta infant motor scale by age and posture

OBJECTIVE: evaluate the motor development of infants from 0 to 18 months and the representativeness of the motors items in the child assessment proposed by Alberta Infant Motor Scale. METHOD: transversal and observational study, causal comparative, where in participated 561 infants, evaluated with the AIMS, aging from 0 to 18 months, coming from Kinder gardens, Children Education schools, Health Basic Units of Rio Grande do Sul. RESULTS: The motor development of 63, 5% were considered with a normal for their age and 36,5% presented delays or delay´s risk, is that, the infants aging from 3 to 12 months were the ones with the worst development. It was found inferiority in the motor behaviors regarding the prono and standing postures and a bigger AIMS sensibility analysing motor behaviors in the first life year, considering that it is hard to notice children development from 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: observed progressive sequence of appearance of motor abilities in the evaluated postures, although some children were considered with an inferior motor development according to what was expected by their age. The scale has a inbalance, a discontinuity in intensity of difficulty´s levels, at diferents ages. It is suggested that the age-factor, postural control and evaluation instrument influenced in the motor development of the infants.OBJETIVO: avaliar o desenvolvimento motor de bebês de 0 a 18 meses de idade e a representatividade dos critérios motores na avaliação infantil propostos na Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS). MÉTODO: estudo transversal e observacional, no qual participaram 561 crianças avaliadas com a AIMS, com idade entre 0 e 18 meses, provenientes de Creches, Escolas de Educação Infantil, Unidades Básicas de Saúde e Entidades da Região Sul-Rio-Grandense. RESULTADOS: o desenvolvimento motor de 63,5% foi considerado normal para idade e 36,5% apresentaram atrasos ou suspeita de risco, sendo que os bebês com idade entre 3 e 12 meses foram os que demonstraram pior desempenho. Foi observado uma inferioridade nos comportamentos motores referentes as posturas prono e em pé e uma maior sensibilidade da AIMS na análise dos comportamentos motores no 1º ano de vida, sendo poucos os ítens para diferenciar crianças com desenvolvimento a partir de 12 meses. CONCLUSÕES: observou-se sequência progressiva do aparecimento de habilidades motoras nas posturas avaliadas, embora algumas crianças com desenvolvimento motor inferior ao esperado para idade. A escala apresenta um desequilíbrio, ou seja, uma descontinuidade na intensidade dos níveis de dificuldade, nas diferentes idades. Sugere-se que os fatores idade, controle postural e instrumento de avaliação influenciaram no desenvolvimento motor das crianças

From food waste to eco-friendly functionalized polymer composites: Investigation of orange peels as active filler

: The development of eco-friendly polymer composites with multifunctional properties aligns with the goals of the circular economy agenda, which aims to minimize waste and promote the sustainable use of resources by closing the loop of product life cycles. Eco-friendly polymer composites play a crucial role in achieving these objectives. The present work focuses on the preparation of fully biobased blends obtained by melt mixing a bio-polyester, poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) (PBSA), with orange peels up to 20 wt%, to yield active polymer composites. Orange peels, employed here as natural filler, are largely available from food wastes, they are rich in phenolic compounds and possess antioxidant activity as shown by the experimental tests carried out. The thermal stability of the formulated composites is almost unchanged by the filler addition, showing only a slight decrease of the crystallization temperatures and crystalline fraction within the composites. The mechanical properties of the compounds evidence an increase in the elastic modulus together with a decrease in the tensile strength, while the elongation at break remains almost constant. The incorporation of the natural filler enabled the integration of antioxidant and antibacterial properties, which were absent in the original pristine polymer

Midwives autonomy in discharge women after physiological childbirth

BACKGROUND: International literature identifies the midwife as the professional figure deals with women and newborns in the context of childbirth; it is however found to be still difficult to ensure this continuity of care. In Italy both the national laws and the indications of Emilia Romagna region promote this practice, ensuring the midwives management of the low risk women immediately after childbirth. The aim of the study is to investigate and describe the midwives autonomy as regards the post-partum discharge. METHODS: The computerised medical records were consulted to identify the mothers after childbirth who can be discharged independently by the obstetrician following the guidelines of the Emilia-Romagna region. RESULT S: A retrospective analysis of 1371 medical records related to the period January-June 2017 showed that 41% of discharges were managed handled by the midwives, while the remaining 59% by obstetricians. Fifty-seven percent of the women followed by the family counselling service were discharged by the obstetricians and 43% independently by the midwives. Considering the women followed by a private physician 62% were discharged by the obstetricians and 38% by the midwives. CONCLUSIONS: The study shows that, in a short time from the beginning of the project, the results as regards midwives autonomy were excellent. Indeed the midwives discharges does not differed significantly from the medical ones, and care continuity between the hospital and territory is strengthened. Further studies must include questionnaires concerning satisfaction of the mother not administered in this sample of women

The mixed longitudinal–transverse nature of collective modes in water

We report high-resolution, high-statistics inelastic x-ray scattering measurements of the dynamic structure factor of water as a function of momentum and energy transfer in various thermodynamic conditions, including high-pressure liquid near the melting point, supercooled liquid and polycrystalline ice. For momentum transfer values below 8 nm−1, two collective excitations associated with longitudinal and transverse acoustic modes were observed. Above 8 nm−1, another excitation was detected in the liquid. Comparison with polycrystalline data and molecular dynamics simulations suggests that this mode is related to longitudinal–transverse mixing of mode symmetry

Hydrogen blending effect on fiscal and metrological instrumentation: A review

A green hydrogen (H2) economy requires a sustainable, efficient, safe, and widespread infrastructure for transporting and distributing H2 from production to consumption sites. Transporting a hydrogen/natural gas (H2NG) mixture, including pure H2, through the existing European natural gas (NG) infrastructure is considered a cost-effective solution, particularly in the transitional phase. Several reasons justify the H2NG blending option. The NG infrastructure can be efficiently repurposed to transport H2, by blending H2 with NG, to operate as H2 daily storage, matching production and demand and to enable large-scale seasonal H2 storage. Although many benefits exist, the potential of existing NG grids for transporting and distributing green H2 may face limitations due to technical, economic, or normative concerns. This paper focuses on the state of the art of the European NG transmission and distribution metrology normative framework and identifies the gaps to be filled in case of H2NG flowing into the existing grids. The paper was revised to provide a comprehensive analysis of the practical implications resulting from the H2NG blend option