1,888 research outputs found
Assessment of a urban sustainability and life quality index for elderly
The research here presented originates from some of the ongoing challenges of our society: the demographic changes and the high share of population living in urban areas. The aim of the research is the definition of an index of sustainability and quality of life for elderly at suburban scale, not only able to outline aspects related to the local territorial context but also to represent the neighbourhood level. This would provide significant added value to existing indicators that represent the quality of life for much larger areas as cities, regions and nations. Indeed, it is universally recognised that the quality of life varies quite considerably depending on whether you live in different neighbourhoods or urban areas. The index proposed with the research is elaborated on the base of objective and subjective indicators integrated with the judgment of experts, in order to give an accurate and truthful weight to each indicator. Moreover, it has been elaborated for microscale analysis, dividing urban areas into cells, in order to highlight more in detail the real needs of each specific zone. As a result, the elaborated index would be an available tool to be provided to the local public administration to facilitate and optimise the urban planning and management, prioritizing interventions on the base of the sustainability principles and subjective needs of the population, in particular of elderly
Driving the transition to a circular economic model: A systematic review on drivers and critical success factors in circular economy
The circular economy (CE) is arising as a novel economic system that is restorative by design. In light of its capability to boost sustainable economic development and to cope with environmental challenges, it has recently attracted increasing attention from academics, practitioners, policymakers, and intergovernmental organizations. Despite the wide speculation on this issue, the scientific literature lacks a wide-ranging, systematic, and updated identification and classification of the main drivers and Critical Success Factors of CE initiatives, which appears increasingly necessary to facilitate future scientific work, practical implementations, and policy guidelines. With this aim, this paper develops a systematic literature review by starting with over 400 manuscripts. A final set of 55 selected papers was selected for singling out and classifying drivers and Critical Success Factors in the CE context. The results may provide clear indications for further research, may help business organizations in evaluating CE initiatives, and may guide policy makers in developing and refining CE normative frameworks
The "Safari" technique to perform difficult subintimal infragenicular vessels
The purpose of this study was to describe the efficacy of
planned combined subintimal arterial flossing with antegrade–
retrograde intervention (SAFARI) to obtain the precise
recanalization of the patent portion of a distal runoff
vessel in critical limb ischemia (CLI) patients presenting
long occlusions involving the popliteal trifurcation. Four
patients at risk of limb loss due to long occlusions involving
the leg vessel tree and not suitable for a surgical bypass
were treated by the subintimal antegrade and retrograde
(posterior tibial or anterior tibial artery) approach. The
patent portion of the runoff vessel was previously assessed
by magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) and directly
punctured under Doppler ultrasound (US) guidance. A
subintimal channel rendezvous was performed to allow
snaring of the guidewires. Subsequently, a balloon dilatation
was performed without stent deployment. All patients were
successfully recanalized and had complete healing of the
limb lesions. At the 12-month follow-up all patients showed
clinical improvement with no major complications related to
the procedure. This combined antegrade and retrograde
subintimal approach is currently an excellent endovascular
option in patients with long occlusions extending onto the
leg vessels trifurcation and at risk of limb loss.
Key words: Critical limb ischemia—Subintimal technique—
Popliteal branches—Retrograde acces
Wound healing dynamics, morbidity, and complications of palatal soft-tissue harvesting
Palatal-tissue harvesting is a routinely performed procedure in periodontal and peri-implant plastic surgery. Over the years, several surgical approaches have been attempted with the aim of obtaining autogenous soft-tissue grafts while minimizing patient morbidity, which is considered the most common drawback of palatal harvesting. At the same time, treatment errors during the procedure may increase not only postoperative discomfort or pain but also the risk of developing other complications, such as injury to the greater palatine artery, prolonged bleeding, wound/flap sloughing, necrosis, infection, and inadequate graft size or quality. This chapter described treatment errors and complications of palatal harvesting techniques, together with approaches for reducing patient morbidity and accelerating donor site wound healing. The role of biologic agents, photobiomodulation therapy, local and systemic factors, and genes implicated in palatal wound healing are also discussed
The TNG Near Infrared Camera Spectrometer
NICS (acronym for Near Infrared Camera Spectrometer) is the near-infrared
cooled camera-spectrometer that has been developed by the Arcetri Infrared
Group at the Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory, in collaboration with the
CAISMI-CNR for the TNG (the Italian National Telescope Galileo at La Palma,
Canary Islands, Spain).
As NICS is in its scientific commissioning phase, we report its observing
capabilities in the near-infrared bands at the TNG, along with the measured
performance and the limiting magnitudes. We also describe some technical
details of the project, such as cryogenics, mechanics, and the system which
executes data acquisition and control, along with the related software.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, compiled with A&A macros. A&A in pres
Effects of nuclear deformation and neutron transfer in capture process, and origin of fusion hindrance at deep sub-barrier energies
The roles of nuclear deformation and neutron transfer in sub-barrier capture
process are studied within the quantum diffusion approach. The change of the
deformations of colliding nuclei with neutron exchange can crucially influence
the sub-barrier fusion. The comparison of the calculated capture cross section
and the measured fusion cross section in various reactions at extreme sub-
barrier energies gives us information about the fusion and quasifission.Comment: 11 pages, 19 figures, submitted to Phys.Rev.
Design and construction of new central and forward muon counters for CDF II
New scintillation counters have been designed and constructed for the CDF
upgrade in order to complete the muon coverage of the central CDF detector, and
to extend this coverage to larger pseudorapidity. A novel light collection
technique using wavelength shifting fibers, together with high quality
polystyrene-based scintillator resulted in compact counters with good and
stable light collection efficiency over lengths extending up to 320 cm. Their
design and construction is described and results of their initial performance
are reported.Comment: 20 pages, 15 figure
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