Experimental Infiltration Tests on Existing Permeable Pavement Surfaces

This study describes a field investigation that compares water infiltration rates of eight permeable parking lots located in Rimini City, Italy. In the experiment a single ring infiltrometer test was used to analyze the influence of the surface type, filling material, location in the parking stall, pavement age, and antecedent dry weather days on the infiltration capacity of the pavements. The results show that the permeability values are mostly affected by the position of the ring in the parking lot, filling material, and surface type rather than by the antecedent dry weather time and pavement age. The surface infiltration rate of the eight pavements ranges between a minimum of 123mm/h (site 6, permeable interlocking concrete paver, 2005) and a maximum of 20 137mm/h (site 4, concrete grid paver, 2005), exceeding the 97.2mm/h minimum design infiltration rate required by selected European authorities. The results also show that compaction decreases the infiltration rate. Therefore, the study could be useful in setting the standard test procedure to evaluate the performance of permeable pavements over time in the Mediterranean climate

A long-term hydrological modelling of an extensive green roof by means of SWMM

Green roofs provide multiple environmental and social benefits, among which the opportunity to control storm water runoff as they limit the rate of runoff after urbanization to the rate that would have occurred before urban development. The hydrological behaviour of a green roof is site specific, thus the local environmental parameters, the characteristics of the vegetation and the physical properties of its layers have to be considered in the evaluation of its performance. Furthermore, the hydrological performance of a green roof is influenced by the size of the plot (full-scale vs small scale), by the definition of “event”, and by the number of events included in the research. From this broader context this paper first provides a review of the scientific literature, with a focus on the hydrological behaviour of experimental full-scale installations and on hydrological modelling of green roof performance. Second, the study presents the results of a monitoring activity of a full-scale extensive green roof in Bologna (Italy). Continuous weather data and runoff were collected between January and December 2014, resulting in 69 storm events suitable for the study. Experimental data show that single event rainfall attenuation ranged from 6.4% to 100% with an annual average value of 51.9% which is consistent with other author's findings. Last, the study uses the field data to calibrate and validate a numerical model realized with the commercial software SWMM 5.1. The model was used to simulate the long-term hydrologic response, over one year, of the same full-scale extensive green roof and to compare it to an adjacent impervious roof of the same size. Modelling results confirm the role of green roofs in restoring the natural water regime by reducing the annual runoff volume. The comparison of the results between the experimental green roof monitoring and the SWMM simulation proved that the suggested model has good capabilities in simulating the hydrograph of stormwater runoff from green roofs along the year, as demonstrated by the quite high values of NSE and the low value of RSR in both the calibration and validation phase. Furthermore, the low difference (< 9%) in total retention between the 69 measured and simulated events confirms the suitability of the model for long term simulations. The proposed modelling approach demonstrates that SWMM can be used for assessing the performance of LID systems (Low Impact Development), and consequently for supporting local authorities or designers in the evaluation of the hydrological efficiency of green roofs

Water consumptions in public schools

Water consumption per user in non-residential buildings is still a very complicated issue for engineers and designers in the process of analyzing water demand and water management. It is easier to design for residential units than for public buildings, as you never know exactly how many users will access the building daily, you can just estimate the number. Our goal is not to set certain and fixed numbers, as they probably will never exist, but to analyze the data we gathered through time and to try to get to an approximation of water usage in public schools connected to building occupants. This research integrates quantitative data of water consumption through water metering and historical data about users in buildings. Six hundred buildings have been monitored over a period of 5 years (2005 e 2010).We focused on consumptions for 3 types of schools: Nurseries (0-3 years old children), Kindergartens (3-6 years) and Elementary Schools (6-11 years). Finally we studied how they are linked to building occupants on a daily consumption rate. The results are that the rational basic demand for water is estimated as 48 liters per pre-school student per day and 18 liters per elementary school student per day. Moreover younger children use more water on a daily basis than elementary school students, as they need more services, such as laundries and kitchens, whereas older students consume water mainly in restrooms

Developmental perspectives on Europe

The crisis of 2008–2009 has ended, stockmarkets skyrocketed in 2012–2013, while growth of the real sector remained sluggish in Europe. This article attempts to explain the latter puzzle. Analyzing long term factors, the costs of short-termism in crisis management become obvious. The limitations of EU as a growth engine are highlighted

Farmaceuti i COVID-19 u Srbiji: promocija vakcinacije u javnim apotekama u Republici Srbiji

Uvod i cilj. Pandemija COVID-19 potvrdila je važnost uloge farmaceuta u očuvanju i unap- ređenju javnog zdravlja. Cilj rada je da prikaže aktivnosti farmaceutskih udruženja u Republici Srbiji u promociji vakcinacije. Metode. Savez farmaceutskih udruženja Srbije (SFUS), Udruženje farmaceuta Beograd, Udruženje farmaceuta Vojvodine, Udruženje farmaceuta Zapadne Srbije 1836, Udruženje far- maceuta Nišavsko-pirotskog regiona, Savez privatnih apotekara Srbije i Inicijativa za farma- ciju organizovali su Webinar posvećen ulozi farmaceuta u imunizaciji. Navedena udruženja inicirala su izradu informativne brošure „Covid-19 vakcine u Srbiji”. Brošuru je izradila Katedra za mikrobiologiju i imunologiju Farmaceutskog fakulteta Univerziteta u Beogradu (FFUB) u saradnji sa Agencijom za lekove i medicinska sredstva Srbije. Dizajn brošure uradila je Nacio- nalna Asocijacija Studenata Farmacije – Srbija. Štampanje brošure omogućilo je Ministarstvo zdravlja Republike Srbije u okviru projekta „Hitan odgovor Republike Srbije na COVID-19“. Rezultati. Webinaru održanom 13.02.2021. prisustvovalo je 594 farmaceuta. Brošura je sadržala najznačajnije podatke o COVID-19 vakcinama u Srbiji, ali i odgovore na neka najče- šće postavljana pitanja od strane građana. Napisana je na osnovu najrelevantnijih dostupnih naučnih podataka, a sadržaj je ažuriran tri puta. Brošura je štampana u 150000 besplatnih primeraka i distribuirana u javne apoteke. Apoteke su bile mesto dalje distribucije brošura za- interesovanim pacijentima. Brošura je takođe bila dostupna u e-formatu na sajtu FFUB, SFUS, i na sajtovima brojnih ustanova javnog zdravlja Srbije., a izazvala je i veliko interesovanje u medijima i na društvenim mrežama. Zaključak. Organizacijom webinara, učešćem u izradi i distribuciji brošure o vakcinama, farmaceuti su aktivno učestvovali u informisanju stanovništva, promociji vakcinacije i tako potvrdili značaj farmaceutske zdravstvene zaštite u uslovima pandemije

Molecular mechanisms of cell death: recommendations of the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death 2018.

Over the past decade, the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death (NCCD) has formulated guidelines for the definition and interpretation of cell death from morphological, biochemical, and functional perspectives. Since the field continues to expand and novel mechanisms that orchestrate multiple cell death pathways are unveiled, we propose an updated classification of cell death subroutines focusing on mechanistic and essential (as opposed to correlative and dispensable) aspects of the process. As we provide molecularly oriented definitions of terms including intrinsic apoptosis, extrinsic apoptosis, mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT)-driven necrosis, necroptosis, ferroptosis, pyroptosis, parthanatos, entotic cell death, NETotic cell death, lysosome-dependent cell death, autophagy-dependent cell death, immunogenic cell death, cellular senescence, and mitotic catastrophe, we discuss the utility of neologisms that refer to highly specialized instances of these processes. The mission of the NCCD is to provide a widely accepted nomenclature on cell death in support of the continued development of the field

Transcriptional profile of breast muscle in heat stressed layers is similar to that of broiler chickens at control temperature

Abstract Background In recent years, the commercial importance of changes in muscle function of broiler chickens and of the corresponding effects on meat quality has increased. Furthermore, broilers are more sensitive to heat stress during transport and at high ambient temperatures than smaller egg-laying chickens. We hypothesised that heat stress would amplify muscle damage and expression of genes that are involved in such changes and, thus, lead to the identification of pathways and networks associated with broiler muscle and meat quality traits. Broiler and layer chickens were exposed to control or high ambient temperatures to characterise differences in gene expression between the two genotypes and the two environments. Results Whole-genome expression studies in breast muscles of broiler and layer chickens were conducted before and after heat stress; 2213 differentially-expressed genes were detected based on a significant (P < 0.05) genotype × treatment interaction. This gene set was analysed with the BioLayout Express3D and Ingenuity Pathway Analysis software and relevant biological pathways and networks were identified. Genes involved in functions related to inflammatory reactions, cell death, oxidative stress and tissue damage were upregulated in control broilers compared with control and heat-stressed layers. Expression of these genes was further increased in heat-stressed broilers. Conclusions Differences in gene expression between broiler and layer chickens under control and heat stress conditions suggest that damage of breast muscles in broilers at normal ambient temperatures is similar to that in heat-stressed layers and is amplified when broilers are exposed to heat stress. The patterns of gene expression of the two genotypes under heat stress were almost the polar opposite of each other, which is consistent with the conclusion that broiler chickens were not able to cope with heat stress by dissipating their body heat. The differentially expressed gene networks and pathways were consistent with the pathological changes that are observed in the breast muscle of heat-stressed broilers

VARIATIONS AND TREND IN WATER DISTRIBUTION NETWORKS BREAKS

Reduction of losses and an efficient management of water distribution systems need also an understanding of the phenomena that cause pipe breaks. The latter aspect is extremely complex to predict because it depends on many factors as the physical properties of the pipes, the working conditions and the environmental aspects. This paper has attempted to highlight how weather conditions are an important factor in the pipes breaks. This was done through the study of data of breakings, which derive from eleven years of measurements in an Italian water distribution system. The data analysis given the possibility to highlight how the link between the breakings and the environmental conditions is very strong especially for some materials, such as the polyethylene, where the correlation between the temperature and the number of breakages is mostly significant. This aspect was also investigated using a neural network model which showed a good ability to reconstruct the development of the breakings

Hydrological performance of Sedum species compared to perennial herbaceous species on a full-scale green roof in Italy

Although the ability of green roofs as stormwater source control technologies has been the topic of many recent studies, most conclude that a better understanding of full-scale hydrological performance and of the impact of different plant cover types is still needed. Based on these considerations, this research presents the results of 15 months of monitoring activity in Bologna (Italy) studying the hydrological performance of two adjacent full-scale extensive green roof plots with a different plant cover composition. One of the plots (SR) was planted with Sedum species (CAM) and the other (NR) with native herbaceous perennial species (C3). Continuous rainfall, runoff and weather data were collected and used to compare the effect of changing plant cover type on the green roof retention rate. Over the 15 months of this study, NR presented a 59% retention rate (111 valid events) whereas SR had a 52% retention rate (91 valid events). For 24 common events, with retention lower than 100%, the average difference between the NR and SR plot retention was 10%, confirming the higher water storage capacity, and therefore the higher retention rate, of the NR plot