Indicators for urban quality evaluation at district scale and relationships with health and wellness perception

The paper is related with a research that was aimed to better define urban quality and sustainability at a district scale (4000-10000 inhabitants), specifically referred to European towns and settlements. An innovative set of indicators (72) has been developed, starting from and taking into consideration also existing literature, both in terms of indicators and sets of indicators (OECD, UN, Agenda 21, and existing European databases as CRISP), four “thematic” areas have been defined dealing with architectural quality, accessibility, environment and services. Within each of these areas some macroindicators and micro-indicators have been defined. The aim is to translate something that is usually considered subjective into something “objective” and finally defined with a number (0-100). Microindicators and macro-indicators are weighted thanks to a mathematical method based on symmetrical matrixes, so that there is a correct balance between different areas. Indicators are both qualitative and quantitative, so they are not just referred to urban planning procedures. The research has been already successfully applied to some Italian districts in towns as Lodi, Genova and Milano. The set of indicators was needed also to work within a multi disciplinary team that has already included engineers, architects, planners as well as doctors and physicians. As a matter of fact the results in terms of urban quality have been compared with medical results concerning health and wellness perception (using SF-36 international recognized questionnaires) by users (inhabitants), finding (non linear) relationships between urban quality and well being perception by inhabitants. The results of this research can be used to: better define design strategies (by designers) accordingly to users wellness, or evaluate ex-post the results of design activities (by municipalities or public authorities)

Corporate blogging in Spanish companies. Design and application of a quality index (ICB)

Blogs have strengthened its position as an online communication tool to increase the dialogue between organizations and their publics, and this thanks to their interactive capacity and easy use. Although blogs didn’t enjoy the popularity and swift penetration of social networks, Spanish companies are gradually incorporating this channel to their Public Relations plans. Thus, it becomes increasingly interesting to develop a quantitative index allowing determining the degree of compliance to excellence criteria. This paper aims to identify the main factors in order to value the quality of a corporate blog, describes the design of the evaluation index and, later, applies this index to study the corporate blogs of the main Spanish companies in order to unveil how they are exploiting its many advantages

Treatment of industrial wastewater with two-stage constructed wetlands planted with typha latifolia and phragmites australis

Industrial wastewater treatment comprises several processes to fulfill the discharge permits or to enable the reuse of wastewater. For tannery wastewater, constructed wetlands (CWs) may be an interesting treatment option. Two-stage series of horizontal subsurface flow CWs with Phragmites australis (UP series) and Typha latifolia (UT series) provided high removal of organics from tannery wastewater, up to 88% of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) (from an inlet of 420 to 1000 mg L-1) and 92% of chemical oxygen demand (COD) (from an inlet of 808 to 2449 mg L-1), and of other contaminants, such as nitrogen, operating at hydraulic retention times of 2, 5 and 7 days. No significant (P < 0.05) differences in performance were found between both the series. Overall mass removals of up to 1294 kg COD ha-1 d-1 and 529 kg BOD5 h-1 d-1 were achieved for a loading ranging from 242 to 1925 kg COD ha-1 d-1 and from 126 to 900 kg BOD5 ha-1 d-1. Plants were resilient to the conditions imposed, however P. australis exceeded T. latifolia in terms of propagation.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Constructed wetland systems vegetated with different plants applied to the treatment of tannery wastewater

Wastewaters from leather processing are very complex and lead to water pollution if discharged untreated, especially due to its high organic loading. In this study the survival of different plant species in subsurface horizontal flow constructed wetlands receiving tannery wastewater was investigated. Five pilot units were vegetated with Canna indica, Typha latifolia, Phragmites australis, Stenotaphrum secundatum and Iris pseudacorus, and a sixth unit was left as an unvegetated control. The treatment performance of the systems under two different hydraulic loading rates, 3 and 6 cmd1, was assessed. COD was reduced by 41–73% for an inlet organic loading varying between 332 and 1602 kg ha1 d1 and BOD5 was reduced by 41–58% for an inlet organic loading varying between 218 and 780 kg ha 1 d1. Nutrient removal occurred to lower extents. Phragmites australis and Typha latifolia were the only plants that were able to establish successfully. Despite the high removal of organic content from the influent wastewater, during 17 months of operation, no significant differences in performance were observed between units

Treatment of tannery wastewater in a constructed wetlands operating in series with different plant species

The treatment of tannery wastewater has been a very important issue for pollution control in leather producing countries due to its high pollutant content. Biological processes offer a natural way of treating wastewaters, when compared to more aggressive types of treatment. Constructed wetlands can be an alternative to more conventional biological treatment systems. The species Phragmites australis, Typha spp, Scirpus spp. and Phalaris arundinacea are some of the plants frequently used in subsurface flow constructed wetlands. The present study aimed at assessing the performance of constructed wetland systems operating in series for the treatment of wastewater derived from a tannery plant. Pilot units were operated with horizontal subsurface flow and planted with Typha latifolia and Phragmites australis in an expanded clay matrix. They were subject to two different hydraulic loadings: 180mm/d and 60 mm/d. For an hydraulic loading of 180 mm/d, maximum removal efficiencies of 2100 KgCOD/had (48%) were achieved for unit 1 and 1500 KgCOD/had (33%) for unit 2. For an hydraulic loading of 60 mm/d, maximum removal efficiencies of 360 KgCOD/had (66%) were achieved for unit 1 and of 250 KgCOD/had (60%) for unit 2. No significant differences in performance were found between units with different plant species

A procedure for optimal calibration for a QCM electronic nose. Relation with specifications for pear quality.

The “Rome Tor Vergata” electronic nose has eight Quartz Microbalance Sensors. When a mass is absorbed or placed onto the quartz crystal surface, the oscillation frequency changes in proportion to the amount of mass. Despite previous studies, no QCM calibration statement has been made in relation to the sensitivity needed in the sensors for pear quality assessment. A calibration procedure has been designed and precision, sensitivity, specificity and reproducibility, on a QCM based electronic nose, evaluated. Using data of emission for pear, determinated by GC, it has been evaluated the extracted metrology features in relation to the specifications of the sensing device needed for quality assessment in pears

Prioritized crop wild relatives in Spain: status on the National Inventory of Plant Genetic Resources for Agriculture and Food

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Changes in the bacterial community structure in two-stage constructed wetlands with different plants for industrial wastewater treatment

This study focused on the diversity of bacterial communities from two series of two-stage constructed wetlands (CWs) treating tannery wastewater, under different hydraulic conditions. Series were separately planted with Typha latifolia and Phragmites australis in expanded clay aggregates and operated for 31 months. The effect of plant species, hydraulic loading and unit stage on bacterial communities was addressed through bacterial enumeration and denaturating gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). Diverse and distinct bacterial communities were found in each system unit, which was related in part to the type of plant and stage position (first or second unit in the series). Numerical analysis of DGGE profiles showed high diversity in each unit with an even distribution of species. No clear relation was established between the sample collection time, hydraulic loading applied and the bacterial diversity. Isolates retrieved from plant roots and substrates of CWs were affiliated with c-Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, a-Proteobacteria, Sphingobacteria, Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes. Both series were effective in removing organic matter from the inlet wastewater, however, based on batch degradation experiments it seems that biodegradation was limited by the recalcitrant properties of the wastewaterinfo:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio