Carbon Dioxide Emissions of the City Center of Firenze, Italy: Measurement, Evaluation, and Source Partitioning

AbstractAn eddy covariance station was installed in the city center of Firenze, Italy, to measure carbon fluxes at half-hourly intervals over a mostly homogeneous urban area. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emission observations made over an initial period of 3.5 months were compared with indirect estimates of CO2 emissions based on inventory data sources of vehicle circulation and natural gas consumption for domestic heating and cooking. Such a comparison provided proper evaluation of the measurements. Using seasonal dynamics of observed fluxes, the overall CO2 source of the city center was partitioned into its major components (i.e., road traffic and domestic heating). Results were directly compared with CO2 source estimates based on inventory sources

Performance of the first reverse electrodialysis pilot plant for power production from saline waters and concentrated brines

This work reports experimental data collected for the first time on a full-scale RED pilot plant operated with natural streams in a real environment. The plant - located in the South of Italy - represents the final accomplishment of the REAPower project (www.reapower.eu). A RED unit equipped with almost 50m2 of IEMs (125 cell pairs, 44x44cm2) was tested, using both artificial and natural feed solutions, these latter corresponding to brackish water (≈0.03M NaClequivalent) and saturated brine (4-5M NaClequivalent). A power output up to around 40W (i.e. 1.6W/m2 of cell pair) was reached using natural solutions, while an increase of 60% was observed when testing the system with artificial NaCl solutions, reaching up to ≈65W (2.7W/m2 of cell pair). The unit performance was monitored over a period of five months under, and no significant performance losses were observed due to scaling, fouling or ageing phenomena. Such results are of paramount importance to assess the potential of the technology, towards the successful development on the industrial scale. A scale-up of the pilot plant is planned through the installation of two additional RED modules, with an expected power output in the order of 1 kW

Frequency of malignant neoplasms in 257 chronic leg ulcers

none7noBACKGROUND: Chronic leg ulcers are one of the most common medical conditions and are a substantial source of morbidity. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the prevalence of skin cancer mimicking leg ulcers. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This observational study included all patients with a clinical diagnosis of chronic leg ulcers (CLU) admitted to the Wound Care Unit, Division of Dermatology, University of Bologna, between March 2008 and February 2011. Patients' general health was assessed, and skin biopsy and vascular Doppler of the lower limbs were performed. RESULTS: Two hundred fifty-seven patients ages 45 to 98 with CLU were included. Skin biopsies were performed in all patients. Pathologic results showed that 10 patients had ulcerative lesions of neoplastic origin. Surgical excision was performed in all patients with neoplasms. After at least 1 year of follow-up, no recurrences were observed. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Our findings highlight the important role of systematic biopsies in diagnosing ulcerated tumors of the lower legs and indicate a high prevalence of large ulcerated basal cell carcinomas.Background Chronic leg ulcers are one of the most common medical conditions and are a substantial source of morbidity. Objectives To investigate the prevalence of skin cancer mimicking leg ulcers. Patients and Methods This observational study included all patients with a clinical diagnosis of chronic leg ulcers (CLU) admitted to the Wound Care Unit, Division of Dermatology, University of Bologna, between March 2008 and February 2011. Patients' general health was assessed, and skin biopsy and vascular Doppler of the lower limbs were performed. Results Two hundred fifty-seven patients ages 45 to 98 with CLU were included. Skin biopsies were performed in all patients. Pathologic results showed that 10 patients had ulcerative lesions of neoplastic origin. Surgical excision was performed in all patients with neoplasms. After at least 1 year of follow-up, no recurrences were observed. Discussion and Conclusion Our findings highlight the important role of systematic biopsies in diagnosing ulcerated tumors of the lower legs and indicate a high prevalence of large ulcerated basal cell carcinomas. © 2013 by the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, Inc. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.openMisciali C;Dika E;Fanti PA;Vaccari S;Baraldi C;Sgubbi P;Patrizi AMisciali C;Dika E;Fanti PA;Vaccari S;Baraldi C;Sgubbi P;Patrizi

critical relative indentation depth in carbon based thin films

Abstract The thin film hardness estimation by nanoindentation is influenced by substrate beyond a critical relative indentation depth (CRID). In this study we developed a methodology to identify the CRID in amorphous carbon film. Three types of amorphous carbon film deposited on silicon have been studied. The nanoindentation tests were carried out applying a 0.1–10 mN load range on a Berkovich diamond tip, leading to penetration depth-to-film thickness ratios of 8–100%. The work regained during unloading ( W e ) and the work performed during loading ( W t ) was estimated for each indentation. The trend of unload-to-load ratio ( W e / W t ) data as a function of depth has been studied. W e / W t depth profiles showed a sigmoid trend and the data were fitted by means of a Hill sigmoid equation. Using Hill sigmoid fit and a simple analytical method it is possible to estimate CRID of carbon based films

Fate of soil organic carbon and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in a vineyard soil treated with biochar

The effect of biochar addition on the levels of black carbon (BC) and polcyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in a vineyard soil in central Italy was investigated within a two year period. Hydropyrolysis (HyPy) was used to determine the contents of BC (BCHyPy) in the amended and control soils while the hydrocarbon composition of the semi-labile (non-BCHyPy) fraction released by HyPy was determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, together with the solvent-extractable PAHs. The concentrations of these three polycyclic aromatic carbon reservoirs, changed and impacted differently on the soil organic carbon over the period of the trial. The addition of biochar (33 ton dry biochar ha-1) gave rise to a sharp increase in soil organic carbon which could be accounted for by an increase of BCHyPy. Over time, the concentration of BCHyPy decreased significantly from 36 to 23 mg g-1, and as a carbon percentage from 79% to 61%. No clear time trends were observed for the non-BCHyPy PAHs varying from 39 to 34 µg g-1 in treated soils, not significantly different from control soils. However, the concentrations of extractable PAHs increased markedly in the amended soils, and decreased with time from 153 to 78 ng g-1 remaining always higher than those in untreated soil. The extent of the BCHyPy loss was more compatible with physical rather than chemical processes

JRC Data Policy

The work on the JRC Data Policy followed the task identified in the JRC Management Plan 2014 to develop a dedicated data policy to complement the JRC Policy on Open Access to Scientific Publications and Supporting Guidance, and to promote open access to research data in the context of Horizon 2020. Important policy commitments and the relevant regulatory basis within the European Union and the European Commission include: the Commission Decision on the reuse of Commission documents, Commission communication on better access to scientific information, Commission communication on a reinforced European research area partnership for excellence and growth, Commission recommendation on access to and preservation of scientific information, and the EU implementation of the G8 Open Data Charter.JRC.H.6-Digital Earth and Reference Dat

MIGHTEE-HI: HI galaxy properties in the large scale structure environment at z ∼ 0.37 from a stacking experiment

We present the first measurement of HI mass of star-forming galaxies in different large scale structure environments from a blind survey at z ∼ 0.37. In particular, we carry out a spectral line stacking analysis considering 2875 spectra of colour-selected star-forming galaxies undetected in HI at 0.23 < z < 0.49 in the COSMOS field, extracted from the MIGHTEE-HI Early Science datacubes, acquired with the MeerKAT radio telescope. We stack galaxies belonging to different subsamples depending on three different definitions of large scale structure environment: local galaxy overdensity, position inside the host dark matter halo (central, satellite, or isolated), and cosmic web type (field, filament, or knot). We first stack the full star-forming galaxy sample and find a robust HI detection yielding an average galaxy HI mass of MHI = (8.12 ± 0.75) × 109 M⊙ at ∼11.8σ. Next, we investigate the different subsamples finding a negligible difference in MHI as a function of the galaxy overdensity. We report an HI excess compared to the full sample in satellite galaxies (MHI = (11.31 ± 1.22) × 109, at ∼10.2σ) and in filaments (MHI = (11.62 ± 0.90) × 109. Conversely, we report non-detections for the central and knot galaxies subsamples, which appear to be HI-deficient. We find the same qualitative results also when stacking in units of HI fraction (fHI). We conclude that the HI amount in star-forming galaxies at the studied redshifts correlates with the large scale structure environment

Association between air pollution and ventricular arrhythmias in high-risk patients (ARIA study): a multicentre longitudinal study

Summary Background Although the effects of air pollution on mortality have been clearly shown in many epidemiological and observational studies, the pro-arrhythmic effects remain unknown. We aimed to assess the short-term effects of air pollution on ventricular arrhythmias in a population of high-risk patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) or cardiac resynchronisation therapy defibrillators (ICD-CRT). Methods In this prospective multicentre study, we assessed 281 patients (median age 71 years) across nine centres in the Veneto region of Italy. Episodes of ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation that were recorded by the diagnostic device were considered in this analysis. Concentrations of particulate matter of less than 10 μm (PM 10 ) and less than 2·5 μm (PM 2·5 ) in aerodynamic diameter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, and ozone were obtained daily from monitoring stations, and the 24 h median value was considered. Each patient was associated with exposure data from the monitoring station that was closest to their residence. Patients were followed up for 1 year and then scheduled to have a closing visit, within 1 more year. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01723761. Findings Participants were enrolled from April 1, 2011, to Sept 30, 2012, and follow-ups (completed on April 5, 2014) ranged from 637 to 1177 days (median 652 days). The incidence of episodes of ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation correlated significantly with PM 2·5 (p 10 . An analysis of ventricular fibrillation episodes alone showed a significant increase in risk of higher PM 2·5 (p=0·002) and PM 10 values (p=0·0057). None of the gaseous pollutants were significantly linked to the occurrence of ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation. In a subgroup analysis of patients with or without a previous myocardial infarction, only the first showed a significant association between particulate matter and episodes of ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation. Interpretation Particulate matter has acute pro-arrhythmic effects in a population of high-risk patients, which increase on exposure to fine particles and in patients who have experienced a previous myocardial infarction. The time sequence of the arrhythmic events suggests there is an underlying neurally mediated mechanism. From a clinical point of view, the results of our study should encourage physicians to also consider environmental risk when addressing the prevention of arrhythmic events, particularly in patients with coronary heart disease, advising them to avoid exposure to high levels of fine particulate matter. Funding There was no funding source for this study