Low Energy Demonstration Accelerator mitigation action plan annual report for 1998

This Mitigation Action Plan Annual Report (MAPAR) has been prepared by the US Department of Energy (DOE) as part of implementing the Low Energy Demonstration Accelerator Facility (LEDA) Mitigation Action Plan (MAP). This MAPAR primarily provides a status on specific LEDA facility construction- and operations-related mitigation actions that have been implemented during 1998. The mitigation actions are implemented in order to comply with regulatory requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by fulfilling DOE`s commitments under the LEDA MAP. This report contains the following three main sections: Introduction; LEDA MAP scope, schedule and status; and Summary and Recommendations. The Introduction section provides a background regarding the origin and purpose of the LEDA MAP. The LEDA MAP scope, schedule, and status section provides a more detailed description of each mitigation action commitment and the current status of each associated action plan. Finally, the Summary and Recommendations section provides DOE`s recommendation regarding future implementation based on the status of each commitment action plan

Cleaning up the stack: Evaluating a clean cooking fuel stacking intervention in urban Kenya

There are a growing number of market-based providers of clean cooking solutions in sub-Saharan Africa that rely on use customer fuel sales to subsidise upfront cost of equipment. These business models can widen access to clean cooking but are undermined by the continued use of polluting fuels, known as “fuel stacking”, which limits provider revenues whilst perpetuating the negative impacts of cooking with traditional fuels. This study aimed to design and test a fuel stacking intervention with commercial pay-as-you-go LPG customers in Kisumu, Kenya. It consisted of three main phases: developing and testing a survey tool for diagnosing drivers of stacking (n = 99); using an intervention design framework (the Behaviour Change Wheel) to design an intervention consisting of the bundled provision of a pressure cooker, chapati pan and training; and testing the intervention in a small (n = 19) pre-post study. There was high uptake of the intervention, with the pans being used by all participants on roughly two-fifths of days. Target foods were cooked more frequently on LPG in the intervention phase, resulting in a significant increase in PAYG LPG use and an insignificant decrease in charcoal use. A third of participants stopped cooking with charcoal altogether, but some residual charcoal usage continued amongst the remainder. The results show that targeted stacking interventions can simultaneously promote sustained use of clean fuels and dis-adoption of polluting ones, resulting in commercial gains for clean cooking fuel providers. This could address the wicked problem of fuel stacking and accelerate progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 7

Mense e personale addetto alle cucine: valutazione dei rischi occupazionali

The aim of the study is to evaluate the occupational risks among food service workers and cooks. During the occupational risks assessment the following risk factors must be evaluated: musculoskeletal disorders, chemical risk (cleaning kitchen work surface, dishes, utensils ecc.) biological risk (contact with foods or biological agents) cancerogenic risk (by baking smoke inhalation), and psycho-social stress. In this study the preventive measures and protective equipment to prevent health hazards for these workers have been evaluated (i.e. aspiration hood, adapted ventilation, chosen of less harmful methods of baking, ecc.). In particular the performance of rigid behavioural norms and hygienic procedures is very important for cooks and food service workers to reduce the risk of occupational infections

Lost learnings: Breaking the silence of failure in the energy and development sector

It is often said that in order to succeed, one most fail and yet, all too often, we fail to talk about failure. This is particularly true in energy and development (E&D), a sector that faces complex challenges leading to relatively high chances of project failure. This paper explores failure in E&D, specifically how it is discussed, its impact and mechanisms encourage discussion of failure. This was achieved through a review of academic literature, workshops and informal interviews, and is the first study to holistically examine the important topic of failure in E&D. The results show that failure is complex and linked to multiple factors. There is an important distinction to be made between “productive failures”, where new learnings are assimilated and shared, and “unproductive failures”, where this does not happen. Although failed projects consume scarce resources, reduce the productivity of the sector and increase the perceived risk of future projects, we argue that failure is a necessary part of experimentation and risk taking that generates new knowledge and important learnings. Changes to the nature of funding in the sector, compulsory project or research registration, open-source reporting on productive failure and networks that provide safe spaces for peer-to-peer learning could improve openness about failure. These mechanisms could increase the likelihood of future project success and accelerate progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 7

VEGETATION LANDSCAPE MANAGEMENT OF “NATURAL RESERVE OF CHIARONE”, MASSACIUCCOLI LAKE BASIN (TUSCANY, IT)

The Massaciuccoli Lake is located in NW of Tuscany (Italy) (43°50’N 10°19’E) and it is integral part of the Regional Park of San Rossore, Migliarino and Massaciuccoli. This endorheic lake and the surrounding marshlands, with over 2,000 hectares of surface, form the largest retrodunal wetland of Tuscany. Over the last century this ecological system has undergone profound changes both because of land drainage, both because of the industrial and agricultural development of the surrounding areas that have heavily polluted lake, whose waters are still affected by serious eutrophication and ecological degradation. In order to preserve the great natural value of the lake in 1979, with the birth of the regional protected area, was established in the marshy area around the village of Massaciuccoli, the "Natural Reserve of Chiarone"(100 ha). Since 1985 the association LIPU (Italian League for Bird Protection) has obtained the management of the reserve, and its activity is directed to purposes of environmental education, environmental restoration, monitoring and conservation of specific habitats. This report shows the results of several years of investigation on the main vegetational types and their diachronic tranformations, the presence and distribution of endemic/rare/protected species, the changes on the structure of floating islands of peats and the main actions of conservation and management of these wetlands. The vegetation landscape is mainly formed by a mosaic of Phragmitetum australis Gams 1927, Cladietum marisci (Allorge 1922) Zobrist 1935, Typhetum angustifoliae Pignatti 1953, Myriophyllo-Nupharetum Koch 1926, and a large spread of microwoods of hygrophilous phanerophytes as Alnus glutinosa, Frangula alnus, Salix sp.pl. A particular aspect of this lake environment are the "aggallati", floating islands of peat incurred by intertwining rhizomes of straws. Above these peatlands often develop communities of Sphagnum sp.pl, Osmunda regalis L. and Thelypteris palustris Schott (Fig.1). The monitoring of these environments has highlighted the importance of ongoing management, in relation to the maintenance of certain habitats, through periodic cuttings, such as Sphagnum bogs, the control of exotic fauna such as Myocastor coypus, particularly damaging for Cladietum meadows and the special maintenance of the islands, whose structural peculiarity has lately been severely damaged catastrophic weather event

Radiation Protection System Installation for the Accelerator Production of Tritium/Low Energy Demonstration Accelerator Project (Apt/Leda)

The APT/LEDA personnel radiation protection system installation was accomplished using a flexible, modular proven system which satisfied regulatory orders, project design criteria, operational modes, and facility requirements. The goal of providing exclusion and safe access of personnel to areas where prompt radiation in the LEDA facility is produced was achieved with the installation of a DOE-approved Personnel Access Control System (PACS). To satisfy the facility configuration design, the PACS, a major component of the overall radiation safety system, conveniently provided five independent areas of personnel access control. Because of its flexibility and adaptability the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) designed Radiation Security System (RSS) was efficiently configured to provide the desired operational modes and satisfy the APT/LEDA project design criteria. The Backbone Beam Enable (BBE) system based on the LANSCE RSS provided the accelerator beam control functions with redundant, hardwired, tamper-resistant hardware. The installation was accomplished using modular components

Potential Nutrigenomic Approaches to Reduce the High Incidence of Obesity in Qatar

Obesity prevalence has been growing exponentially over the last few decades, with a high impact in high-income countries, like Qatar. Several approaches are attempting to understand the causes of this phenomenon however more important is what to do to reverse the trends. Obesity is widely studied, mostly in Europe and the Unites States, and a number of studies have demonstrate the role of specific gene patterns, transcriptome and proteome pathways, and gut microbiome strains. The Omics sciences have a great potential to investigate the determinants of non-communicable diseases, such as obesity. Nutritional genomics sciences apply all the Omics approaches to address nutrition-related diseases, investigating the interaction between genes and diet. To date, few data are available from nutrigenomic studies conducted in Middle East and particularly in Qatar to help the design of targeted interventions. The high incidence of obesity and the peculiar genetic make-up of the Qatari population provide opportunities for exploring nutrigenomic approaches to help addressing the problem

Cadmium and hypertension in exposed workers: A meta-analysis

Abstrac

Synergies and trade-offs between sanitation and the sustainable development goals

To better leverage opportunities arising out of sustainable and inclusive management of sanitation services there is a need for robust and comprehensive evidence of the wide-ranging benefits that sanitation can deliver. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a comprehensive framework for sustainable development broken down into 169 interconnected Targets which are articulated under 17 Goals. Based on a methodology developed at University College London (UCL), this study identifies linkages between sanitation and the 169 Targets corroborated by published evidence. We show that there are synergies between sanitation and all 17 Goals and 130 (77%) of the Targets, and trade-offs for 28 (17%) of the Targets. We identified 83 Targets (49%) that call for action in the sanitation sector. The results demonstrate the far-reaching benefits that can be unlocked from investment in sanitation, which extend beyond health and spread across sectors. The evidence base for the 17 Goals establishes links that can inform cross-sectoral action, collaborations and investment across governance levels for integrated sanitation solutions. The research provides different stakeholders with a framework that can be applied to context-specific cases and projects. We propose a range of recommendations to policy makers, practitioners and researchers who seek to take this study further to help achieve the SDGs

The collagenic architecture of human dura mater: Laboratory investigation

Object. Human dura mater is the most external meningeal sheet surrounding the CNS. It provides an efficient protection to intracranial structures and represents the most important site for CSF turnover. Its intrinsic architecture is made up of fibrous tissue including collagenic and elastic fibers that guarantee the maintenance of its biophysical features. The recent technical advances in the repair of dural defects have allowed for the creation of many synthetic and biological grafts. However, no detailed studies on the 3D microscopic disposition of collagenic fibers in dura mater are available. The authors report on the collagenic 3D architecture of normal dura mater highlighting the orientation, disposition in 3 dimensions, and shape of the collagen fibers with respect to the observed layer. Methods. Thirty-two dura mater specimens were collected during cranial decompressive surgical procedures, fixed in 2.5% Karnovsky solution, and digested in 1 N NaOH solution. After a routine procedure, the specimens were observed using a scanning electron microscope. Results. The authors distinguished the following 5 layers in the fibrous dura mater of varying thicknesses, orientation, and structures: bone surface, external median, vascular, internal median, and arachnoid layers. Conclusions. The description of the ultrastructural 3D organization of the different layers of dura mater will give us more information for the creation of synthetic grafts that are as similar as possible to normal dura mater. This description will be also related to the study of the neoplastic invasion