Archaeobotany in urban sites: the case of Mutina

The present paper aims to show the importance of analyzing plant macroremains from urban excavations. organic materials preserved below the historical city in waterlogged conditions are a fundamental resource, and the study of seeds and fruits gives a good contribution to historical and archaeological research. archaeobotany in urban contexts provides important results when the examined material comes from several excavations that \u201cphotograph\u201d the territory over quite a long period. an overview of archaeobotanical analyses carried out on material from archaeological sites of Modena (Emilia-Romagna), from the 2nd century BC to the 6th century ad, made by the laboratory of palynology and palaeobotany of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, is presented. The floristic list of seed/fruit analyses result is reported and interesting subject matters are tackled concerning both cultivated/cultivable plants (fruits and nuts, vegetables/aromatics/spices/medicinal plants, fibre and oil plants, cereals and pulses, flowers and other ornamental plants) and wild plants of no obvious use, together with wetland plants which are rare and endangered species in Emilia-Romagna today

La simulazione ad eventi discreti per l’ottimizzazione dei processi industriali

La simulazione è sempre stata largamente utilizzata in differenti aree di applicazione come potente strumento per la risoluzione di problemi complessi. Grazie a questa tecnica è possibile analizzare un sistema senza entrare direttamente in contatto con lo stesso studiandone relazioni e intersezioni interne senza ricorrere a metodi teorico-statistici particolarmente articolati. In letteratura è possibile individuare molteplici pubblicazioni relative ad essa e la sua applicazione continuerà probabilmente a crescere e ad evolversi nel futuro. La simulazione ad eventi discreti è una delle tecniche più diffuse utilizzata per analizzare e capire le dinamiche di un sistema produttivo. In ambito gestionale questo strumento è molto utile in quanto permette di riprodurre un sistema e di sviluppare differenti configurazioni alternative prima che le stesse vengano implementate nella realtà. Alla luce di queste considerazioni, con la presente tesi di dottorato si è cercato di contribuire alla letteratura scientifica relativa alla simulazione ad eventi discreti. In particolare, sono stati analizzati differenti sistemi produttivi o intere supply chain utilizzando modelli di simulazione. Questo strumento ha permesso di studiare sistemi caratterizzati da specifiche logiche interne con lo scopo di ottimizzare gli stessi. In particolare, sono stati presentati 7 lavori differenti sviluppati nel corso del Dottorato di ricerca che possono essere suddivisi in quattro macro aree generali: (1) gestione delle scorte; (2) analisi delle performance di un sistema produttivo; (3) supply chain management e (4) reingegnerizzazione di processi industriali. In generale, considerando le quattro macro-aree analizzate, si è cercato di contribuire alla letteratura già presente in materia individuando una serie di conclusioni generali. Inoltre, sono state definite delle linee guida che possono essere adottate nella pratica e possono offrire interessanti spunti a manager aziendali. Concludendo, le attività svolte hanno dimostrato come la simulazione ad eventi discreti si sia rivelato uno strumento valido per l’analisi e l’ottimizzazione di un sistema industriale

The milk collection problem with time constraint: An optimization study integrating simulation

Transport management and vehicle routing problems play a strong role on a company's efficiency and competitiveness. In the food sector, the complexity of the problem grows because of strict constraints. This paper addresses the dairy transportation problem and in particular tries to optimize the milk collection process of a real company. A two-step approach has been proposed to test the current system and solve the routing problem. First, starting from the “As is” collection tours, a travel salesman problem has been modelled. Later, the Nearest Neighbor algorithm has been implemented in order to find a global optimal solution. Finally, a stochastic simulation model integrates the solutions of the previous step in order to test the feasibility of the outcomes, primarily in terms of their capability to meet the time constraints of the tours. Results show that the greedy approach allows less vehicles to be involved, with a good potential on annual cost saving. On the other hand, the simulation outcomes highlight a borderline case, which is not always in line with the time constraints of the problem

The impact of Additive Manufacturing on Supply Chain design: a simulation study

Additive Manufacturing is a production technology, which completely differs from the traditional subtractive approach. Because its different nature, its application could cause strong changes in supply chains and it could affect the relationship between the supply chain players. This paper proposes a quantitative evaluation of the Additive Manufacturing effects on the supply chain performance, considering different system configurations. A simulation model has been implemented in order to reproduce the behavior of the players and compare different scenarios. Both additive and traditional technologies have been modelled in order to compare their efficiency. Moreover, different supply chain configurations have been tested to assess the additive production feasibility combined with different supply chain structures. Results confirm that Additive Manufacturing provides good improvements in supply chain performances offering significant benefits in the decentralized solution

Respons Pertumbuhan Bibit Kelapa Sawit dengan Pemberian Campuran Pupuk Kandang Kambing Dan Arang Sekam Pada Tanah Bekas Tambang Batubara

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pertumbuhan bibit kelapa sawit yang diberi perlakuan berbagai dosis campuran pupuk kandang kambing dan arang sekam pada tanah bekas tambang batubara dan mengetahui dosis campuran pupuk kandang kambing dan arang sekam yang terbaik terhadap pertumbuhan bibit kelapa sawit pada tanah bekas tambang batubara. Penelitian dilaksanakan di Teaching and Research Farm Fakultas Pertanian Universitas Jambi dan dilaksanakan pada bulan Februari 2017 hingga bulan Mei 2017. Rancangan penelitian yang digunakan pada penelitian ini adalah Rancangan Acak Lengkap (RAL) dengan satu faktor, yang terdiri dari 5 perlakuan dan diulang sebanyak 5 kali. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan pemberian campuran pupuk kandang kambing dan arang sekam pada media tanah bekas tambang batubara memberikan  pengaruh nyata pada variabel pengamatan pertambahan tinggi, pertambahan jumlah daun, dan luas daun total bibit kelapa sawit umur 12 MST. Secara umum, pemberian dosis pupuk kandang kambing 350 g + 150 g arang sekam/polybag memberikan pertumbuhan yang baik terhadap bibit kelapa sawit yang ditanah pada media tanah bekas tambang batubara

The Effect of Substrate Pre-treatment on Hydroxy-apatite Coated Titanium Alloy by High-velocity Oxy-fuel Process

In order to fully meet bio-compatibility requirement of titanium alloy as implant material, coating with hydroxyapatite (HA) is normally applied. The present research concerns on the effect of substrate pre-treatment on the coating of HA on titanium alloy by high-velocity oxy fuel process (HVOF). Before the coating, all samples were pre-treated by thermo-mechanical treatment in order to obtain fine grain structure. Three type of substrate pre-treatment is then applied on different substrates, including, sand-blasting, sand-blasting+etching, and sand-blasting+etching+CNT intermediate layer. After coating, post-annealing treatment was applied on each sample and characterization was performed on the sample after the treatment. It was obtained that the sand-blasted sample has relatively rougher surface (SEM observation), lower degree of crystallinity (XRD characterization) and higher residual strain (XRD data calculation by Mud Master software) as compared with other samples. From FTIR characterization it can be obtained that all samples show no differences in orbital function

Economic and Environmental Sustainability for Aircrafts Service Life

Aircrafts are responsible for a significant environmental impact mainly due to the air pollution caused by their motors. The use of composite materials for their production is a way to significantly reduce the weight of the structures and to maximise the ratio between the payload weight and the gasoline consumption. Moreover, the design phase has to consider the cost of different operations performed during the aircraft service life. During the entire life cycle, one of the main costs is the maintenance one. In the current literature, there is a lack of knowledge of methods for maintenance cost estimation in the aircraft industry; moreover, very few environmental assessment methods have been developed. Thus, the aim of this paper is to define a new method to support the aircraft design process; both the environmental and the economic dimensions have been included with the purpose of assessing the aircraft sustainability during its service life. A green index has been identified mixing the maintenance cost and an environmental parameter with the aim of identifying the greenest solution. A final practical application shows the feasibility and the simple application of the proposed approach

Calcite moonmilk of microbial origin in the Etruscan Tomba degli Scudi in Tarquinia, Italy

A white deposit covering the walls in the Stanza degli Scudi of the Tomba degli Scudi, Tarquinia, Italy, has been investigated. In this chamber, which is still preserved from any kind of intervention such as cleaning and sanitization, ancient Etruscans painted shields to celebrate the military power of the Velcha family. Scanning electron microscopy analysis has revealed the presence of characteristic nanostructures corresponding to a calcite secondary mineral deposit called moonmilk. Analysis of the microbial community identified Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria and Actinobacteria as the most common phyla in strong association with the moonmilk needle fibre calcite and nanofibers of calcium carbonate. Employing classical microbiological analysis, we isolated from moonmilk a Streptomyces strain able to deposit gypsum and calcium carbonate on plates, supporting the hypothesis of an essential contribution of microorganisms to the formation of moonmilk

Performance of the pediatric index of mortality 2 (PIM-2) in cardiac and mixed intensive care units in a tertiary children's referral hospital in Italy

Background: Mortality rate of patients admitted to Intensive Care Units is a widely adopted outcome indicator. Because of large case-mix variability, comparisons of mortality rates must be adjusted for the severity of patient illness at admission. The Pediatric Index of Mortality 2 (PIM-2) has been widely adopted as a tool for adjusting mortality rate by patients' case mix. The objective of this study was to assess the performance of PIM-2 in children admitted to intensive care units after cardiac surgery, other surgery, or for other reasons. Methods: This was a prospective cohort study, conducted in a 607 inpatient-bed tertiary-care pediatric hospital in Italy, with three pediatric intensive care Units (PICUs) and one cardiac Unit (CICU). In 2009-11, all consecutive admissions to PICUs/CICU of children aged 0-16 years were included in the study. Discrimination and calibration measures were computed to assess PIM-2 performance. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association of patients' main reason for intensive care admission (cardiac-surgical, other-surgical, medical), age, Unit and year with observed mortality, adjusting for PIM-2 score. Results: PIM-2 data collection was completed for 91.2% of total PICUs/CICU patient admissions (2912), and for 94.8% of patients who died in PICUs/CICU (129). Overall observed mortality was 4.4% (95% CI, 3.7-5.2), compared to 6.4% (95% CI, 5.5-7.3) expected mortality. Standardised mortality ratio was 0.7 (95% CI: 0.6-0.8). PIM-2 discrimination was fair (area under the curve, 0.79; 95% CI: 0.75-0.83). Calibration was less satisfactory, mainly because of the over two-fold overprediction of deaths in the highest risk group (114.7 vs 53; p < 0.001), and particularly in cardiac-surgical patients. Multivariable logistic analysis showed that risk of death was significantly reduced in cardiac-surgical patients and in those aged 1 month to 12 years, independently from PIM-2. Conclusions: The children age distribution and the proportion of cardiac-surgical patients should be taken into account when interpreting SMRs estimated using the PIM-2 prediction model in different Units. A new calibration study of PIM-2 score might be needed, and more appropriate cardiac-focused risk-adjustment models should be developed. The role of age on risk of death needs to be further explored