Focus on the Performances of the Most Advanced Italian Thermoelectric Power Plants

The key indicators, in the Annex IV of Regulation (EC) 1221/2009 (“EMAS III”), should permit an assessment of the environmental impact of an organization, through the quantification of resources and the evaluation of significant environmental aspects.  The aim of this research is to carry out a brief survey on the suitable use and reporting of the performance indicators in the EMAS Environmental Statements of a very representative sample of Italian CCGT (Combined Cycle Gas Turbine) power plants and then on the state and evolution of few core energy and environmental indicators in order to investigate their benchmarking performances. Our findings are that the total consumption of fossil fuels and the overall emissions have greatly decreased in relation to the less operating time of the CCGT power stations, but, in relation to the electricity produced, the consumption of natural gas and the emissions of greenhouse gases have drastically increased. Keywords: CCGT power stations, EMAS Environmental Statement, performances. JEL Classifications: L940, Q310, Q41 DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.790

Mealworms for Food: A Water Footprint Perspective

In this paper, we have explored the possibility of substituting traditional meat products with an alternative source of protein (insects) in order to reduce human pressure on water. Insects, in fact, could represent a good alternative source of quality proteins and nutrients and they are already a very popular component of the diet of one third of the world's population in approximately 80% of countries. In the study, we have taken into account only two species of edible insects (Tenebrio molitor and Zophobas morio mealworms), because they are already commercially produced even in Western countries, and for this reason it is possible to find specific data in literature about their diets. We have used the water footprint (WF) as a reliable indicator to calculate the volume of water required for production and to compare different products. The final aim of the work is, in fact, to evaluate the WF of the production of edible insects with a focus on water consumption associated with protein content, in order to make a comparison with other animal protein sources. We have demonstrated that, from a freshwater resource perspective, it is more efficient to obtain protein through mealworms rather than other traditional farmed animals

Investigating the antiparasitic potential of the marine sesquiterpene avarone, its reduced form avarol, and the novel semisynthetic thiazinoquinone analogue thiazoavarone

The chemical analysis of the sponge Dysidea avara afforded the known sesquiterpene quinone avarone, along with its reduced form avarol. To further explore the role of the thiazinoquinone scaffold as an antiplasmodial, antileishmanial and antischistosomal agent, we converted the quinone avarone into the thiazinoquinone derivative thiazoavarone. The semisynthetic compound, as well as the natural metabolites avarone and avarol, were pharmacologically investigated in order to assess their antiparasitic properties against sexual and asexual stages of Plasmodium falciparum, larval and adult developmental stages of Schistosomamansoni (eggs included), and also against promastigotes and amastigotes of Leishmania infantum and Leishmania tropica. Furthermore, in depth computational studies including density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed. A toxic semiquinone radical species which can be produced starting both from quinone- and hydroquinone-based compounds could mediate the anti-parasitic effects of the tested compounds

MS Dereplication for Rapid Discovery of Structurally New or Novel Natural Products

In order to accelerate the isolation and characterisation of structurally new or novel natural products, it is crucial to develop efficient strategies that prioritise samples with greatest promise early in the workflow so that resources can be utilised in a more efficient and cost-effective manner. Two complementary approaches have been developed: One is based on targeted identification of known compounds held in a database based on high resolution MS and predicted LC retention time data [1]. The second is an MS metrics-based approach where the software algorithm calculates metrics for sample novelty, complexity, and diversity after interrogating databases of known compounds, and contaminants. These metrics are then used to prioritise samples for isolation and structure elucidation work [2]. Both dereplication approaches have been validated using natural product extracts resulting in the isolation and characterization of new or novel natural products

Intranasal “painless” Human Nerve Growth Factors Slows Amyloid Neurodegeneration and Prevents Memory Deficits in App X PS1 Mice

Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) is being considered as a therapeutic candidate for Alzheimer's disease (AD) treatment but the clinical application is hindered by its potent pro-nociceptive activity. Thus, to reduce systemic exposure that would induce pain, in recent clinical studies NGF was administered through an invasive intracerebral gene-therapy approach. Our group demonstrated the feasibility of a non-invasive intranasal delivery of NGF in a mouse model of neurodegeneration. NGF therapeutic window could be further increased if its nociceptive effects could be avoided altogether. In this study we exploit forms of NGF, mutated at residue R100, inspired by the human genetic disease HSAN V (Hereditary Sensory Autonomic Neuropathy Type V), which would allow increasing the dose of NGF without triggering pain. We show that “painless” hNGF displays full neurotrophic and anti-amyloidogenic activities in neuronal cultures, and a reduced nociceptive activity in vivo. When administered intranasally to APPxPS1 mice ( n = 8), hNGFP61S/R100E prevents the progress of neurodegeneration and of behavioral deficits. These results demonstrate the in vivo neuroprotective and anti-amyloidogenic properties of hNGFR100 mutants and provide a rational basis for the development of “painless” hNGF variants as a new generation of therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases

Are the World-Leading Primary Silver Mines Exhausting?

Silver is one of the rarest metals in nature and certainly among the most used ones, not only as precious good for financial investments but also for many industrial critical applications. Because it would be very difficult to analyze the situation regarding the future global availability of silver as a commodity in general, due to the necessity of a large amount of data which are hardly available, we have focused only on the mining production of primary silver. In particular, the study regards the activities of a sample consisting of twelve of the world top fifteen leading primary silver mines, which represent the 54% of the worldwide primary silver production and 16% of the global silver mining production. We have investigated the related exploitation state and trends of these twelve sites by elaborating their last ten-years statistics on silver production, ore grades, resources and reserves. The findings of this study, in short, are that the cumulative average silver ore grades, both in extracted mineral, resources and reserves, of the above selected mines, have decreased and also that the new mining fields (Dukat, San Bartolomé, Pirquitas, Saucito) have lower silver content indexes than the older ones

The chip manufacturing industry: Environmental impacts and eco-efficiency analysis

Semiconductor manufacturing has followed the fate of a large part of industrial production: many companies, around the world, have maintained higher functions (design and engineering) and outsourced other production stages to third-party manufacturers, located mostly in Asia. Some chip companies have thus become "fabless" firms, commissioning the "fabrication" of their product to wafer "foundries" or "fabs". For the first time, in this paper, by calculating and subsequently analyzing various key environmental performance indicators (KEPIs) from the data of the fabs Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reports, the environmental impacts and the eco-efficiency of the world's leading semiconductor foundries are analyzed and assessed. The aim is to highlight the relations between company size, technological capacity and environmental impact. A preliminary homogenization was necessary to process the company original data and indicators, often related to different units of production, and to obtain raw data in absolute value. Subsequently, adopting a single common manufacturing index (MI), it was possible to obtain and use new comparable performance indicators and KEPIs. The consequent comparative assessment allowed to give a reliable overall picture of the current resource consumption and pollution of this highly strategic sector, highlighting its next heavy environmental challenges. The result, in fact, is that, differently to what happens in many other sectors, in the semiconductor industry, larger company size (higher revenue), higher value added per wafer produced (higher revenue/MI), and higher technological capacity (higher R&D expenses and smaller technology node) are not always related to lower quantities (per unit of production) of water, energy, waste, wastewater and GHG emissions. It is hoped that, for the future, foundry firms, especially those with the most advanced technologies, will invest much more to optimize their resource use and to further reduce GHGs emissions and waste generation