The Concept of Practice in the People Capability Maturity Model

This paper is based on the application of the People Capability Maturity Model (CMM) to the Foundation Bruno Kessler (FBK), a research centre located in Trento (Italy). People CMM is a framework to study the level of maturity of an organization in order to improve workforce\u27s development and to help management to define people\u27s capabilities in the organization.The project is an ongoing project. What we are presenting here is our critical approach to data collection.In particular, our aims is to understand how FBK can modify its practices in order to achieve an higher level of maturity in the management of human resources, that is according to the model: a managed level where the first step toward improving the capability of the workforce is to get managers to take workforce activities as high-priority responsibilities of their job.In this position paper, we will discuss the implication deriving from the notion of practice assumed by the model with respect to a different notion of practice, which is intended to complement it

Efficiency evaluation of food waste materials for the removal of metals and metalloids from complex multi-element solutions

Recent studies have shown the potential of food waste materials as low cost adsorbents for the removal of heavy metals and toxic elements from wastewater. However, the adsorption experiments have been performed in heterogeneous conditions, consequently it is difficult to compare the efficiency of the individual adsorbents. In this study, the adsorption capacities of 12 food waste materials were evaluated by comparing the adsorbents' efficiency for the removal of 23 elements from complex multi-element solutions, maintaining homogeneous experimental conditions. The examined materials resulted to be extremely efficient for the adsorption of many elements from synthetic multi-element solutions as well as from a heavy metal wastewater. The 12 adsorbent surfaces were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and showed different types and amounts of functional groups, which demonstrated to act as adsorption active sites for various elements. By multivariate statistical computations of the obtained data, the 12 food waste materials were grouped in five clusters characterized by different elements' removal efficiency which resulted to be in correlation with the specific adsorbents' chemical structures. Banana peel, watermelon peel and grape waste resulted the least selective and the most efficient food waste materials for the removal of most of the elements

La certificazione del sistema di gestione per la qualità:Analisi costi-benefici di un'azienda nel territorio campano

Il lavoro della mia tesi suddiviso in 5 capitoli si è posto diversi obiettivi in particolare: nel capitolo 1 ho cercato di dare un’idea dell’attuale significato della qualità andando però a ritroso nel tempo per poi arrivare alla definizione che oggi è più usata e conosciuta dalla collettività; nel capitolo 2 è stato pensato di fornire una panoramica del processo di sviluppo e diffusione della certificazione a livello italiano e non solo, prestando maggiore attenzione alla ISO 9001:2000; nel capitolo 3 ho descritto in modo dettagliato la norma ISO 9001:2000 analizzando pertanto gli 8 capitolo che la costituiscono; nel capitolo 4 si sono elencati i vari costi per implementare la norma all’interno di un’azienda, riportando poi formule che sono già in uso e che ci consentono di misurare, nel modo più scientifico e preciso possibile, il differenziale di performance (se esiste) ottenuto dalla impresa (oggetto del caso studio) dall’anno in cui non aveva la certificazione all’anno in cui il bilancio si avvale del certificato ISO 9001. Il capitolo 5 è dedicato alla descrizione dell’azienda, oggetto del mio studio e sulla quale, ho effettuato i vari calcoli che mi hanno permesso di avere un quadro della reale influenza che una certificazione esercita su un’azienda. Per quanto riguarda i primi punti ci troviamo di fronte ad un’analisi descrittiva, più complesso è risultato l’approccio nell’ultima fase. In logica economica infatti, il processo di certificazione va visto, all’interno delle imprese, come un investimento caratterizzato da costi iniziali che deve necessariamente, nel complesso generare valore per le imprese che lo intraprendono

Vascular Tissue Engineering: Recent Advances in Small Diameter Blood Vessel Regeneration

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of mortality around the globe. The development of a functional and appropriate substitute for small diameter blood vessel replacement is still a challenge to overcome the main drawbacks of autografts and the inadequate performances of synthetic prostheses made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET, Dacron) and expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE, Goretex). Therefore, vascular tissue engineering has become a promising approach for small diameter blood vessel regeneration as demonstrated by the increasing interest dedicated to this field. This review is focused on the most relevant and recent studies concerning vascular tissue engineering for small diameter blood vessel applications. Specifically, the present work reviews research on the development of tissue-engineered vascular grafts made of decellularized matrices and natural and/or biodegradable synthetic polymers and their realization without scaffold

Energy consumption in anaerobic and aerobic based wastewater treatment plants in Italy

Abstract The aim of this study is to carry out an experimental investigation on electricity consumption in wastewater treatment plants in Italy based on aerobic and anaerobic digestion wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). The data refer to plants managed by two major water resources management companies in Italy, Hera and Acquedotto Pugliese (AQP). The survey makes use of statistical tools for data analysis of 202 urban wastewater treatment plants. In order to extend the reliability of the survey, electricity consumption data were analysed through three specific energy demand indicators: kWh/m3, kWh/PE•year, kWh/kgCODremoved referred to each plant. The results show that anaerobic systems are advantageous in terms of electricity consumption per m3 as they achieve more than 50% saving with values ranging from 1.02 kWh/m3 for aerobic plants, instead of 0.43 kWh/m3 for the anaerobic ones. Differences have been found in terms of anaerobic digestion efficiency between the data concerning the plants in northern Italy – Hera Company with an average of 0.33 kWh/m3- and those in Apulia – AQP company with an average of 0.53 kWh/m3. Aerobic systems showed more energy consumption also for HERA-managed WWTP. If anaerobic digestion were implemented on all the AQP WWTP, energy savings should be of approximately 16% and approximately 42% if related to HERA anaerobic-based WWTP average performance

Evaluation of an oral transmucosal administration of dexmedetomidine-butorphanol and dexmedetomidine-methadone in dogs.

Oral transmucosal (OTM) delivery is a simple and painless method for sedative administration in veterinary medicine and allows a rapid absorption without a first-pass metabolism by the liver (Porters et al. 2014.). OTM is particularly useful in aggressive animals (Santos et al. 2010). The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of the OTM route in dogs for sedative administration in comparison with intramuscular (IM) injection. 24 mix-bread dogs undergoing soft tissue surgery or diagnostic procedures were randomly divided in 4 groups (n = 6): two groups received OTM administration of dexmedetomidine (10 µg/kg-1) together with butorphanol (0.2 mg/kg-1, BTF-OTM group) or methadone (0.2mg/kg-1, MTD-OTM group); two groups received intramuscular (IM) administration of dexmedetomidine (5 µg/kg-1) together with butorphanol (0.2 m/kg-1, BTF-IM group) or methadone (0.2 mg/kg-1, MTD-IM). Heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), sedation score (Gruney et al. 2009) and side effects were recorded 10 (T10), 20 (T20) and 30 (T30) minutes after premedication. Induction was performed at T30 with titrate-to-effect propofol administration and the dosage required was recorded. At each time point BTF-IM group showed a statistically lower HR compared to BTF-OTM; RR was statistically lower at T10 in MTD-OTM group (21.33 ± 8.64 pm) compared to BTF-OTM (46.16 ± 17.98); Dogs in group MTD-IM reached a higher sedation scores at each time point compared to MTD-OTM. The induction dose of propofol appears comparable among groups. Marked vasoconstriction was observed after OTM administration, as probably related to α2-agonists use. Emesis and sialorrhea occurred in two subjects of MTD-OTM group while only one dog presented sialorrhea in BTF-OTM group. In conclusion, OTM administration appears effective and easy to perform; it takes a longer time to achieve a good sedation score, probably related to a gradual absorption of drugs that also leads to a more gradual hemodynamic effects.

Interaction of Radiopharmaceuticals with Somatostatin Receptor 2 Revealed by Molecular Dynamics Simulations

The development of drugs targeting somatostatin receptor 2 (SSTR2), generally overexpressed in neuroendocrine tumors, is focus of intense research. A few molecules in conjugation with radionuclides are in clinical use for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. These radiopharmaceuticals are composed of a somatostatin analogue biovector conjugated to a chelator moiety bearing the radionuclide. To date, despite valuable efforts, a detailed molecular-level description of the interaction of radiopharmaceuticals in complex with SSTR2 has not yet been accomplished. Therefore, in this work, we carefully analyzed the key dynamical features and detailed molecular interactions of SSTR2 in complex with six radiopharmaceutical compounds selected among the few already in use (64Cu/68Ga-DOTATATE, 68Ga-DOTATOC, 64Cu-SARTATE) and some in clinical development (68Ga-DOTANOC, 64Cu-TETATATE). Through molecular dynamics simulations and exploiting recently available structures of SSTR2, we explored the influence of the different portions of the compounds (peptide, radionuclide, and chelator) in the interaction with the receptor. We identified the most stable binding modes and found distinct interaction patterns characterizing the six compounds. We thus unveiled detailed molecular interactions crucial for the recognition of this class of radiopharmaceuticals. The microscopically well-founded analysis presented in this study provides guidelines for the design of new potent ligands targeting SSTR2