Some remarks on PM2.5

Since 1970, the General Physics Department of «Università degli Studi di Torino» has carried out a project research, on inorganic solid particulate matter. The special issue of Annals of Geophysics, published for Professor Giorgio Fiocco?s 70th birthday, gives us the possibility to make some important remarks on this topic, focusing on PM2.5. This has been possible using all the old and new experimental data of the measures made by the authors of this paper since 1970

ecovillages and friendly city a new alliance for a better green future

Urban agriculture is thus nowadays a core theme in the debate about urban sustainability, as considered a strategy toward urban requalification as it carries widely recognized environmental, social and economical benefits. Therefore it is considered a viable strategy in order to trigger a new green productive infrastructure, while activating a network of social, commercial and recreational activities, in addition to environmental benefits due to urban greening and sustainable resources' management. Obviously it couldn't be able to provide for an entire city food needs, just like the present economical model wouldn't be replaced, but it might become the core element of a new approach oriented to sustainability and relationships between food and city

Physical constraints on global social-ecological energy system

Energy is the main driver of human Social-Ecological System (SES) dynamics. Collective energy properties of human SES can be described applying the principles of statistical mechanics: (i) energy consumption repartition; (ii) efficiency; (iii) performance, as efficient power, in relation to the least-action principle. International Energy Agency data are analyzed through the lens of such principles. Declining physical efficiency and growth of power losses emerge from our analysis. Losses mainly depend on intermediate system outputs and non-energy final output. Energy performance at Country level also depends on efficient power consumption. Better and worse performing Countries are identified accordingly. Five policy-relevant areas are identified in relation to the physical principles introduced in this paper: Improve efficiency; Decouple economic growth from environmental degradation; Focus on high value added and labor-intensive sectors; Rationalize inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption; Upgrade the technological capabilities. Coherently with our findings, policies should support the following actions: (1) redefine sectoral energy distribution shares; (2) Improve Country-level performance, if needed; (3) Reduce intermediate outputs and non-energy final output; (4) Reduce resources supply to improve eco-efficiency together with system performance

Effect of pretreatment with immune serum on murine sarcoma virus (Moloney) tumour induction and growth.

Regressor serum from MSV-M-infected mice markedly reduced MSV-M oncogenesis when administered i.p. (0-1 ml/mouse) as much as 30 days before i.m. MSV-M infection in adult BALB/c mice. The regressor serum activity appeared to be directly dependent on the amount of IgG, as shown by: (1) inactivity of sera which have low virus-neutralizing antibody content; (2) high effectiveness only of the IgG serum fraction; (3) inactivity of regressor serum incubated with anti-mouse gamma-globulin serum. The regressor serum activity was specific and could not be ascribed to interferon or interferon-inducing factors, antigen-antibody complexes or free antigen. The activity was not suppressed by sublethal irradiation (380 rad) of recipient mice. These results suggest that the activity of regressor serum administered before MSV-M infection is mediated through sensitization of host cells which are not radiosensitive

Wooden music instrument vibro-acoustic fingerprint: the case of a contemporary violin

Violins are complex wooden musical instruments, whose quality is mainly evaluated on the basis of their aesthetics, as well as depending on the historical relevance of their makers. However their acoustic quality remains a key evaluation parameter for performers and listeners. The instrument perceived quality, in turn, depends, on one side, on the player, the environmental conditions and on the listeners’ psychoacoustic factors. On the other side, the quality of a violin depends on its materials, constructive and setup parameters, that impact on the vibro-acoustical characteristics of the instrument. This work investigates a procedure for the vibro-acoustic characterization of a violin, here called vibro-acoustic fingerprint, as an example of vibro-acoustical characterization of a wooden music instrument. The procedure was applied, as a case study, to an Italian contemporary violin, built in the year 2011 by the violin-maker Enzo Cena on a Guarneri del Gesù model

Performances and potential of a productive urban green infrastructure

Negli ultimi anni si sta diffondendo anche nelle grandi città Europee, un fenomeno complesso che coinvolge la disciplina dell’architettura: l’agricoltura urbana, ovvero la pratica della coltivazione, di prodotti orticoli “nella città, per la città”. La produzione agricola, trasportata in un contesto urbano, diviene ad oggi una strategia concreta per la riqualificazione delle città grazie a: l’innesco di una rete di attività sociali, ricreative e commerciali, la possibilità di rifunzionalizzazione di spazi privati e pubblici (soprattutto quelli inutilizzati), di creazione di verde condiviso, la possibilità di integrazione con l’ambiente costruito, la valorizzazione di stili di vita sostenibili, l’occasione di educazione e collante sociale, il potenziamento e nuove possibilità all’infrastruttura verde (produttiva). Questo fenomeno necessita dunque di essere studiato per comprenderne e definirne le potenzialità, poiché l’architetto è chiamato a concepire spazi per rispondere a nuove esigenze ed a progettare soluzioni innovative alle diverse scale. Sulla base di tale consapevolezza è stata condotta una ricerca sul tema della riqualificazione della città in chiave sostenibile e sulle nuove tecnologie da mettere in atto finalizzata ad analizzare ed individuare le possibilità dell’agricoltura urbana come strategia innovativa per il potenziamento delle reti verdi nella città, definendo lo spettro di possibilità che questa offre al progettista, e di rimando alla pubblica amministrazione, per una nuova interpretazione della funzione sia dello spazio aperto che del patrimonio costruito

Implementation of Nature-Based Solutions for Hydro-Meteorological Risk Reduction in Small Mediterranean Catchments: The Case of Portofino Natural Regional Park, Italy

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are usually defined as complementary or alternative solutions to \u201cgrey infrastructures\u201d (traditionally made with cement) aimed at conserving and regenerating the functionality of natural and semi-natural ecosystems. The research to date shows a considerable potential of NBS to address the current challenges related to climate change and geo-hydrological risks. Despite significant interest in NBS by researchers and practitioners, knowledge concerning their practical implementation, monitoring, and evaluation is still lacking. This is particularly true for large-scale NBS. The present paper discusses how such solutions can be implemented in the context of hydro-meteorological risk reduction in small Mediterranean catchments with a strong tourist vocation. The work presented here is situated within the RECONECT Project (Regenerating ECOsystems with Nature-based solutions for hydro-meteorological risk rEduCTion), which aims to contribute to a European reference framework on NBS by demonstrating, upscaling, and replicating large-scale NBS in rural and natural areas. The Italian case study of RECONECT is the Portofino Natural Regional Park, which represents a unique natural landscape element with high ecologic, social, and economic (touristic) value, which is threatened by a range of geo-hydrological hazards, such as flash floods, hyper-concentrated floods, shallow landslides, rockfalls, and storm surges. This paper also presents details of NBS interventions in two pilot catchments (San Fruttuoso and Paraggi) visited by thousands of tourists throughout the year. It addresses some of the key aspects related to monitoring meteorological and hydrological processes, as well as remote sensing activities (i.e., LiDAR surveys), which are necessary for the identification of critical-instability areas along waterways and the reconstruction of dry stone walls. Lastly, a discussion of relevant mitigation and adaptation strategies that are potentially replicable at national and international levels is also provide