Dynamic simulation driven design and management of production facilities in agricultural/food industry

An industrial plant in the agro-food sector can be considered a complex system as it is composed of numerous types of machines and it is characterized by a strong variation (seasonality) in the agricultural production. Whenever the dynamic behavior of the plants during operation is considered, system and design complexities increase. Reliable operation of food processing farms is primarily dependent on perfect balance between variable supply and product storage at each given time. To date, the classical modus operandi of food processing management systems is carried out under stationary and average conditions. Moreover, most of the systems installed for agricultural and food industries are sized using average production data. This often results in a mismatch between the actual operation and the expected operation. Consequently, the system is not optimized for the needs of a specific company. Also, the system is not flexible to the evolution that the production process could possibly have in the future. Promising techniques useful to solve the above-described problems could possibly be borrowed from demand side management (DSM) in smart grid systems. Such techniques allow customers to make dynamically informed decisions regarding their energy demand and help the energy providers in reducing the peak load demand and reshape the load profile. DSM is successfully used to improve the energy management system and we conjecture that DSM could be suitably adapted to food processing management. In this paper we describe how DSM could be exploited in the intelligent management of production facilities serving agricultural and food industry. The main objective is, indeed, to present how methods for modelling and implementing the dynamic simulation used for the optimization of the energy management in smart grid systems can be applied to a fruit and vegetables processing plant through a suitable adaptation

Determinants associated with obesity and physical activity in the public and private schools of the city of palermo

Introduction: Obesity is a medical condition associated with premature death and it is a risk factor for many chronic diseases. In this context, performing a regular physical activity promotes a healthy lifestyle, with significant health benefits. The aim of the study was to investigate behaviors that increase the risk of obesity and the determinants that encourage physical activity among adolescents. Materials and methods: The HBSC (Health Behavior in School-aged Children) questionnaire was administered to students in Palermo's private and public schools. For the sampling of public schools the protocol of the HBSC Surveillance System was followed; for the private ones it was opportunistic. Results: Private school students are more likely to exercise more than 3 days per week (OR 1.58) and are more likely to exercise more than 2 times a week (OR 2.08). Obese students in private schools in Palermo are more likely to perform physical activity for less than 3 days a week (OR 3.52) and a higher risk of not having breakfast (OR 10.11) and a snack between main meals (OR 3.82) every day. For all the schools examined, it emerged that obese subjects are more likely not to consume fruit (OR 3.13), to stay more than 6 hours a day in front of PCs and video games (OR 3.24) and more than 2 hours a day in front of TV (OR 3.79). Male students are more likely to perform physical activity for more than 3 days per week (OR 1.48) and intense physical activity at least 2 times per week (OR 1.76) Conclusions: It is necessary to intervene early with training on school and family in order to promote correct and responsible food choices and increase the level of physical activity among students. Therefore prevention interventions must be an integral part of coherent strategies based on tests of agreed effectiveness in order to minimize the risk linked to the development of diseases

On the dynamical conditions concomitant with the bottom anoxia in the Northern Adriatic Sea: A numerical case study for the 1977 event

The aim of the present investigation is to explain the dramatic phenomenon of anoxia/hypoxia waters observed in the Northern Adriatic Sea during August 1977 by using the data collected in the DINAS 2 oceanographic campaign and modelling them by means of a three-dimensional numerical model for the Whole basin. The model has been forced with ECMWF surface reanalysis data—wind stress, heat fluxes and river discharges. The main result lies in the high temporal and spatial correlation between the observed anoxia areas and the centres of anticyclonic circulation produced by the model. Further investigations seem to be necessary for a better matching between observed and simulated thermohaline fields

Do GOLD stages of COPD severity really correspond to differences in health status?

The purpose of this study was to assess whether different stages of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) severity defined according to the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) criteria correlate with meaningful differences in health status. A total of 381 COPD patients, aged 73+/-6 yrs, were classified in the five GOLD stages. Disease-specific (St George Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ)) and generic indexes of health status were measured in all patients. Multivariate analysis of covariance or Kruskal Wallis tests were used to compare health status indexes across the spectrum of GOLD stages of COPD severity. GOLD stages of COPD severity significantly differed in SGRQ components and Barthel's index, but not in the indexes assessing cognitive and affective status and quality of sleep. The largest variation in health status was observed at the transition from stage IIa to stage IIb, while there were no other significant differences between consecutive stages. Both female sex and comorbidity were associated with a greater impact of COPD on the health status. In conclusion, the upper limit of stage IIb (forced expiratory volume in one second of 49%) marks a threshold for dramatic worsening of health status. Progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease severity from stage 0 to stage IIa does not correspond to any meaningful difference in health status

A phase II study of sequential chemotherapy with docetaxel after the weekly PELF regimen in advanced gastric cancer. A report from the Italian group for the study of digestive tract cancer

In advanced gastric cancer, we investigated feasibility and activity of sequential chemotherapy with docetaxel after an intensive weekly regimen consisting of cisplatin, epidoxorubicin, fluorouracil, leucovorin (PELF) plus filgrastim. Chemotherapy-naive patients with relapsed or metastatic gastric cancer received 8 weekly administrations of chemotherapy with cisplatin 40 mg/m2, fluorouracil 500 mg/m2,epi-doxorubicin 35 mg/m2, 6S-steroisomer of leucovorin 250 mg/m2and glutathione 1.5 g/m2. On the other days filgrastim 5 μg kg–1was administered by subcutanous injection. Subsequently, patients with partial response or stable disease received 3 cycles of docetaxel 100 mg/m2every 3 weeks. 40 patients have been enrolled and they are evaluable for response and toxicity. After the PELF regimen, 3 patients achieved complete response, 13 patients showed partial response, 21 patients had stable disease and 3 patients progressed (40% response rate; 95% CI 25% to 55%). After docetaxel, 9 out 34 patients improved the outcome (26.5%); 7 patients with stable disease achieved partial response and 2 patients with partial response achieved complete response. The overall response rate in the 40 patients was 57.5% (95% CI, 42.5% to 72.5%). The PELF regimen did not cause any grade IV toxicity, the most frequent grade III acute side-effects were thrombocytopenia and vomiting which occurred in the 10% of 320 PELF cycles. Docetaxel caused grade III–IV neutropenia and thrombocytopenia in the 10% and the 19% of cycles respectively. Fatigue was a frequent side-effect during both PELF and docetaxel chemotherapy. The sequential application of docetaxel after PELF chemotherapy gained major objective responses with manageable toxicity. This strategy is worth of further investigation in the setting of palliative or neoadjuvant chemotherapy. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign http://www.bjcancer.co

Studying the heterogeneity of European higher education institutions

The heterogeneity of the Higher Education (HE) Institutions is one of the main critical issues in the assessment of their performance. This paper adopts a multi-level and multi-dimensional perspective, combining national (macro) and institution (micro) level data, and measuring both research and teaching activity, using performance indicators derived from the European Tertiary Education Register, CWTS Leiden Ranking, and PATSTAT patent database. Clustering and efficiency analysis are combined to characterize the heterogeneity of national HE systems in European countries, and reveal the potential of using micro level data to characterize national level performance. Large differences are observed between the European countries, partially due to the fact that they are in different phases of their scientific (and economic) development and of the re-structuring of their HE systems. Evidence is found that universities specializing either in teaching or in research tend to have a higher efficiency than those institutions balancing research and teaching. Tradeoffs are observed between undergraduate and post-graduate activities, and a “Matthew cumulative effect” seems in place on the European institutions analysed: high quality research is able to attract external funds that stimulate innovative and patenting activities that in turn are self-reinforcing to the scientific activities. The results reveal once more the limits and dangers of one-dimensional approaches to the performance of HEIs

Comparing marine geology and coastal geomorphology vertical tectonic data, a case study between Acquedolci and Patti (Messina).

The study of new data on vertical movements show a complex geologic response in a restricted sector of coastal area between Acquedolci and Patti (north-eastern Sicily). Different surveys allowed to the recognition of morphological, biological and archaeological markers of paleo-sea level. The analysis of these markers and the absolute datings performed, allowed to reconstruct the history of vertical deformation of this sector but only the comparison among coastal geomorphological data and marine geological data of platform-scarp continental system associates, allowed to find the necessary keys words to explain the geologic complexity of this sector

Observationally based analysis of land–atmosphere coupling

Abstract. The temporal variance of soil moisture, vegetation and evapotranspiration over land has been recognized to be strongly connected to the temporal variance of precipitation. However, the feedbacks and couplings between these variables are still not well understood and quantified. Furthermore, soil moisture and vegetation processes are associated with a memory and therefore they may have important implications for predictability. In this study we apply a generalized linear method, specifically designed to assess the reciprocal forcing between connected fields, to the latest available observational data sets of global precipitation, evapotranspiration, vegetation and soil moisture content. For the first time a long global observational data set is used to investigate the spatial and temporal land variability and to characterize the relationships and feedbacks between land and precipitation. The variables considered show a significant coupling among each other. The analysis of the response of precipitation to soil moisture evidences a robust coupling between these two variables. In particular, the first two modes of variability in the precipitation forced by soil moisture appear to have a strong link with volcanic eruptions and El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycles, respectively, and these links are modulated by the effects of evapotranspiration and vegetation. It is suggested that vegetation state and soil moisture provide a biophysical memory of ENSO and major volcanic eruptions, revealed through delayed feedbacks on rainfall patterns. The third mode of variability reveals a trend very similar to the trend of the inter-hemispheric contrast in sea surface temperature (SST) and appears to be connected to greening/browning trends of vegetation over the last three decades