Environmental Impact Study of Projects Affecting the Quality of Marine Ecosystems

According to the EEC Directive 85/337, an Environmental Impact Assessment (E.I.A.) procedure must be implemented to evaluate the effect of major projects on the environment. Several environmental activities are required by the E.I.A. procedure during various phases of the life cycle of the project, including construction, start up, operation and decommissioning. The Environmental Impact Study (E.I.S.) is a basic component of the E.I.A. procedure delivered by the engineering Company to the competent Authority for approval. Besides providing information needed for E.I.A., the E.I.S. also represents a tool for supporting decision as it defines project criteria, identifies mitigation measures and monitoring design. Owing to the complexity of the interactions among biotic and abiotic components, the application of E.I.S. to the marine environment generally implies an interdisciplinary and integrated approach. Two typologies of E.I.S. recently developed are discussed and compared, concerning the construction of three submarine tunnels crossing the Strait of Messina and building of a Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) terminal for the liquid methane re-gasification at a coastal site of the Gulf of Trieste (Panzano Bay), North Adriatic Sea

Monitoring and measurement of computer network performance

Regardless of fast performance improvements in the field of network technologies and their pervasiveness, today’s computer-demanding and service-oriented applications require efficient management of networks. Besides monitoring collision, broadcast and errors, utilization measurement of a local commutated network was carried out by means of a software tool. Measurement was carried out at two different levels of artificially generated continuous workload and by varying workload caused by intensive use of network resources. In our experiments, the monitored network showed that it is resistant to collisions and errors, but also sensitive to workload dynamics characterized by utilization changes. These changes show certain regularity and periodicity and can be considered as a good behavior pattern of a network. The approach proposed enables prediction of accessibility of computer resources by their engagement in complex distributed computer environments.Bez obzira na brzo poboljšanje performansi mrežnih tehnologija i njihove prodornosti, današnji računalno zahtjevni i uslugama usmjereni primjenski programi, zahtijevaju učinkovito upravljanje mrežom. Uz nadzor srazova, prijenosa i pogrešaka, programskim alatom obavljeno je i mjerenje korisnosti. Mjerenje je provedeno na dvije različite razine umjetno generiranog opterećenja, te promjenjivog opterećenja izazvanog intenzivnom uporabom mrežnih resursa. U provedenim eksperimentima, nadzirana mreža pokazala je otpornost na srazove i pogreške, ali i osjetljivost na dinamičnost opterećenja, odnosno promjene korisnosti. Takve promjene pokazuju određenu pravilnost i periodnost, te se mogu smatrati dobrim uzorkom ponašanja mreže. Predloženi pristup omogućava predviđanje dostupnosti računalnih resursa pri njihovom uključivanju u složene raspodijeljene računalne okoline

Proizvodnja bioplina iz pivskog kvasca u anaerobnom sekvencijskom kotlastom reaktoru

Renewable energy sources are becoming increasingly important in the beverage and food industries. In the brewing industry, a significant percentage of the used raw materials finishes the process as secondary resource or waste. The research on the anaerobic digestion of brewer’s yeast has been scarce until recent years. One of the reasons for this is its use as a secondary resource in the food industry and as cattle feed. Additionally, market value of brewer’s yeast is higher than its energy value. Due to the increase of energy prices, brewer’s yeast has become of interest as energy substrate despite its difficult degradability in anaerobic conditions. The anaerobic co-digestion of brewer’s yeast and anaerobically treated brewery wastewater was studied using a pilot-scale anaerobic sequencing batch reactor (ASBR) seeded with granular biomass. The experiments showed very good and stable operation with an organic loading rate of up to 8.0 kg/(m3·day), and with a maximum achieved organic loading rate of 13.6 kg/(m3·day) in a single cycle. A specific biogas productivity of over 0.430 m3/kg of the total chemical oxygen demand (COD) inserted, and total COD removal efficiencies of over 90 % were achieved. This study suggests that the brewer’s yeast can be successfully digested in an ASBR without adverse effects on the biogas production from brewer’s yeast/wastewater mixtures of up to 8 % (by volume). By using the brewer’s yeast in the ASBR process, the biogas production from brewery wastewater could be increased by 50 %.Upotreba obnovljivih izvora energije u proizvodnji pića i prehrambenoj industriji postaje sve značajnija. U pivarskoj industriji znatan postotak neiskorištenih sirovina proizvodnog procesa postaje sekundarna sirovina ili se zbrinjava kao otpad. Do nedavno se mali broj istraživača bavio anaerobnom digestijom pivskog kvasca. Osnovni razlog tome je iskorištavanje pivskog kvasca kao sekundarne sirovine u prehrambenoj industriji te kao stočne hrane. Osim toga, tržišna vrijednost pivskog kvasca veća je od njegove energetske vrijednosti. S druge strane, zbog povećanja cijene energije, pivski kvasac postaje sve zanimljiviji energetski izvor, unatoč teškoj razgradljivosti u anaerobnim uvjetima. U radu je istražena anaerobna razgradnja pivskog kvasca i otpadnih voda pivarske industrije u poluindustrijskom anaerobnom sekvencijskom kotlastom reaktoru (ASBR reaktor) uz primjenu granulirane biomase. Provedeni pokusi bili su uspješni, a proces je bio stabilan pri stupnju organskog opterećenja do 8,0 kg/(m3·dan), dok je maksimalni stupanj organskog opterećenja u jednom ciklusu bio 13,6 kg/(m3·dan). Postignuta je specifična proizvodnja bioplina od 0,430 m3/kg i učinkovitost uklanjanja ukupnog organskog opterećenja od preko 90 %. Ovo istraživanje je pokazalo da se pivski kvasac može učinkovito anaerobno razgraditi u ASBR reaktoru ako je volumni udjel pivskog kvasca u smjesi s otpadnim vodama pivarske industrije manji od 8 %. Osim toga, anaerobnom razgradnjom pivskog kvasca u ASBR reaktoru može se povećati proizvodnja bioplina iz otpadnih voda pivarske industrije za 50 %

Environmental Impact Study of Projects Affecting the Quality of Marine Ecosystems

According to the EEC Directive 85/337, an Environmental Impact Assessment (E.I.A.) procedure must be implemented to evaluate the effect of major projects on the environment. Several environmental activities are required by the E.I.A. procedure during various phases of the life cycle of the project, including construction, start up, operation and decommissioning. The Environmental Impact Study (E.I.S.) is a basic component of the E.I.A. procedure delivered by the engineering Company to the competent Authority for approval. Besides providing information needed for E.I.A., the E.I.S. also represents a tool for supporting decision as it defines project criteria, identifies mitigation measures and monitoring design. Owing to the complexity of the interactions among biotic and abiotic components, the application of E.I.S. to the marine environment generally implies an interdisciplinary and integrated approach. Two typologies of E.I.S. recently developed are discussed and compared, concerning the construction of three submarine tunnels crossing the Strait of Messina and building of a Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) terminal for the liquid methane re-gasification at a coastal site of the Gulf of Trieste (Panzano Bay), North Adriatic Sea

Rapid, progressive neuropathic arthropathy of the hip in a patient co-infected with human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis C virus and tertiary syphilis: case report

BACKGROUND: Syphilis is a chronic infection that is classified into three stages. In its tertiary stage, syphilis spreads to the brain, heart and other organs; the lesions may involve the skin, mucous membranes and bones. Neuropathic arthropathy associated with tertiary syphilis has rarely been described in Europe and its association with HIV-HCV co-infection has not been reported so far.This article reports the case of a man with tertiary syphilis presenting with rapidly evolving neuropathic arthropathy of the hip and extensive bone destruction. CASE PRESENTATION: On initial presentation, the patient complained of progressively worsening left-sided coxalgia without localized or generalized inflammation. The patient reported to have no history of previous infections, trauma or cancer. Plain x-ray films of the left coxofemoral joint showed marked degeneration with necrosis of the proximal epiphysis of femur and morphological alterations of the acetabulum without protrusion. Primary coxarthrosis was diagnosed and hip arthroplasty was offered, but the patient declined treatment. Three months later, the patient presented a marked deterioration of his general condition. He disclosed that he was seropositive for HCV and HIV, as confirmed by serology. Syphilis serology testing was also positive. A Girdlestone's procedure was performed and samples were collected for routine cultures for bacteria and acid fast bacilli, all resulting negative.Although histological findings were inconclusive, confirmed positive serology for syphilis associated with progressive arthropathy was strongly suggestive of tertiary syphilis, probably exacerbated by HIV-HCV co-infection. The patient partially recovered the ability to walk. CONCLUSIONS: Due to the resurgence of syphilis, this disease should be considered as a possible cause of neuropathic arthropathy when other infectious causes have been ruled out, particularly in patients with HIV and/or HCV co-infection

Mesenchymal Stromal Cell derived Extracellular Vesicles reduce Hypoxia-Ischaemia Induced Perinatal Brain Injury

Background: Neonatal hypoxic ischemic (HI) insult is a leading cause of disability and death in newborns, with therapeutic hypothermia being the only currently available clinical intervention. Thus there is a great need for adjunct and novel treatments for enhanced or alternative post-HI neuroprotection. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) have recently been shown to exhibit regenerative effects in various injury models. Here we present findings showing neuroprotective effects of MSC-derived EVs in the Rice-Vannucci model of severe HI-induced neonatal brain insult. Method: MSC-derived EVs were applied intranasally immediately post HI-insult and behavioural outcomes were observed 48 h following MSC-EV treatment, as assessed by negative geotaxis. Brains were thereafter excised and assessed for changes in glial responses, cell death and neuronal loss as markers of damage at 48 h post HI-insult. Results: Brains of the MSC-EV treated group showed a significant decrease in microglial activation, cell death and percentage tissue volume loss in multiple brain regions, compared to the control-treated groups. Furthermore, negative geotaxis test showed improved behavioural outcomes at 48 h following MSC-EV treatment. Conclusion: Our findings highlight the clinical potential of using MSC-derived EVs following neonatal hypoxia-ischaemia