Consumption of wood biomass in Italy: a strategic role based on a weak knowledge

Given the growing role of wood biomass as a strategic resource in the European and national renewable energy policies, the paper provides two new estimations of the internal consumption and supply levels, aiming at discussing the real role of this resource in the national energy mix and the implications of this market in terms of forest policies. The first estimation focuses on household consumption and expenditure based on the ISTAT \u201cSurvey on consumption by families\u201d, and the second analyzes how the wood biomass supply is structured and organized; this second estimation has been carried out with an expert panel consultation based on a Delphi-based approach. These two estimations are then compared and discussed with reference to the data and information provided by official sources and other publically-available studies and surveys conducted in recent years. The results provide evidence that wood biomass is the first source of renewable energy in Italy and that official data only partially quantify the consumption levels in the residential sector and domestic supply rates. The paper highlights the need for a new approach in data collection on this fast-growing market; these data are essential for a more effective implementation of the renewable energy policy and other relevant forest-related policies such as those on climate and wood mobilization

Consumption in action. Mapping consumerism in international academic literature

The consumer-citizen and more generally, the emergence of active forms of citizenship mediated by consumption point to a change in the relations of production, consumption and distribution. These forms of citizenship come to encompass opposite poles of consumption such as hedonism and social responsibility. When consumption choices are associated with the social and environmental issues connected to manufacturing and distribution processes, the space claimed by the active consumer comes to represents a form of social identity recognition. This \u2018political\u2019 sphere, made up of individual and/or collective claims mediated by consumer society comes in the wake of a long period of market de-politicization. On the basis of these assumptions, this article surveys and evaluates the topics related to critical consumption that are most discussed in the social sciences. Such forms of socially oriented consumption \u2013 enacted in the form of individual or collective consumer choices \u2013 represent a new form of political participation and are understood as practices of active-citizenship promotion. The findings of this article are based on data gathered from 478 peer-reviewed articles published between 2004 and 2013. The articles were selected from Scopus on the basis of their broad connection to critical consumerism and forms of socially oriented consumerism. A software-based content analysis run through T-Lab software was used to generate an analytical model of the main research axis of the most recent international literature on these arguments. The heterogeneous body of scholarly literature on socially oriented consumption reflects the rich diversity of perspectives adopted to understand the political and ethical role of consumers in contemporary societies

I piani settoriali a scala urbana

Il contributo propone un focus su alcuni strumenti di settore che affrontano specifiche tematiche alla scala urbana, con particolare riferimento agli strumenti per la tutela della qualità ambientale e per il governo della mobilità. Si evidenziano, in entrambi i casi, le significative interrelazioni tra problematiche ambientali e scelte relative all’evoluzione/trasformazione dei contesti urbani e al governo della mobilità e la conseguente necessità di una più stretta integrazione tra strumenti generali e settoriali, difficilmente conseguibile attraverso il solo coordinamento a posteriori tra strumenti elaborati separatamente e sulla base di approcci settoriali

Analisi desk della filiera pesca in Germania

Indice: Struttura e caratteristiche dell'industria della pesca. Consumi e mercato. Outlook. La distribuzione

Analisi delle prestazioni energetiche e strutturali di un edificio per appartamenti a Greve in Chianti (FI)

Nella presente Tesi è stato affrontato il tema dell’analisi delle prestazioni energetiche e strutturali di un edificio di cui era noto il progetto architettonico. Si tratta di un edificio per 8 appartamenti, la cui realizzazione rientra nel progetto “20.000 abitazioni in affitto”, promosso dall’Amm.ne Comunale di Greve in Chianti (FI). E’ stato affrontato in particolare il tema del contenimento dei consumi energetici per il raffrescamento estivo, dopo aver analizzato e rielaborato, alla luce delle più recenti normative (D.Lgs 192/2005 e 311/06), gli studi effettuati nell’ambito di una precedente Tesi di Laurea sullo stesso edificio per quanto riguarda il riscaldamento invernale. Sono stati poi successivamente studiati i problemi relativi alla sicurezza dell’edificio nei confronti delle azioni sismiche, tramite l’analisi e il progetto della struttura portante del fabbricato, secondo l’OPCM n. 3274 del 20 Marzo 2003 e il D.M. 9/01/96 . In Italia la richiesta di un sempre maggiore livello di comfort nelle abitazioni durante la stagione estiva ha determinato, negli ultimi anni, un sensibile aumento nelle vendite di impianti di condizionamento e sistemi split. Come conseguenza di ciò sono notevolmente aumentati i consumi elettrici: nell’estate 2001 il picco di potenza estivo ha eguagliato il picco di potenza invernale; il 20 Luglio 2007, la potenza di picco assorbita dalla rete ha raggiunto i 56.520 MW, record storico assoluto dei consumi elettrici, superiore di 1000 MW al picco di potenza registrato il 27 Giugno 2006. E’ stata effettuata l’analisi dell’involucro dell’edificio in esame, verificando i parametri previsti dalle normative vigenti e studiando nello specifico il suo comportamento estivo. In particolare è stato affrontato lo studio della determinazione della temperatura interna dell’aria dell’edificio in assenza di impianto di condizionamento, secondo le recenti norme UNI EN ISO 13791:2005 e 13792:2005. I risultati ottenuti da tale analisi hanno mostrato che in un edificio con un comportamento termico invernale virtuoso, i parametri che più influiscono sul raggiungimento di condizioni confortevoli estive, che possono ridurre gli interventi dell’impianto di climatizzazione, riguardano sia la progettazione dell’involucro (di competenza dei progettisti) sia le modalità di utilizzo dell’edificio (di competenza dell’utenza).Un involucro ben progettato può far ridurre fino a circa 4°C la temperatura interna estiva, mentre il suo corretto utilizzo da parte dei fruitori (per quanto riguarda l’oscuramento delle aperture e le modalità di ventilazione) fino a circa 14°C. Da qui la necessità di affiancare alle prescrizioni progettuali degli edifici una sorta di ‘manuale di corretto utilizzo’ rivolto agli utenti, per poter ottimizzare la risposta termica dell’edificio stesso, minimizzando i consumi in ogni periodo dell’anno. E’ stata poi effettuata la progettazione della struttura portante del fabbricato, in cemento armato, e lo studio della sua risposta sismica , condotto secondo l’OPCM n. 3274 del 20 Marzo 2003 e il D.M. 9/01/96 . La struttura è stata dimensionata in classe di duttilità “B” (scelta necessaria per la presenza di travi a spessore) e il metodo di calcolo utilizzato è stato l’analisi modale associata allo spettro di risposta di progetto, valutato in relazione alla zona sismica considerata, alle caratteristiche del sito ed adottando un fattore di struttura q =3,2. L’analisi delle sollecitazioni, il dimensionamento e la progettazione degli elementi strutturali e la loro verifica secondo il Metodo agli Stati Limite, hanno portato ad un ipotesi di progetto strutturale in grado di assicurare la sicurezza dell’edificio nei confronti delle azioni sismiche, come definite dalle Normative di riferimento

Pasta consumption and connected dietary habits: Associations with glucose control, adiposity measures, and cardiovascular risk factors in people with type 2 diabetes—TOSCA.IT study

Background: Pasta is a refined carbohydrate with a low glycemic index. Whether pasta shares the metabolic advantages of other low glycemic index foods has not really been investigated. The aim of this study is to document, in people with type-2 diabetes, the consumption of pasta, the connected dietary habits, and the association with glucose control, measures of adiposity, and major cardiovascular risk factors. Methods: We studied 2562 participants. The dietary habits were assessed with the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) questionnaire. Sex-specific quartiles of pasta consumption were created in order to explore the study aims. Results: A higher pasta consumption was associated with a lower intake of proteins, total and saturated fat, cholesterol, added sugar, and fiber. Glucose control, body mass index, prevalence of obesity, and visceral obesity were not significantly different across the quartiles of pasta intake. No relation was found with LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, but there was an inverse relation with HDL-cholesterol. Systolic blood pressure increased with pasta consumption; but this relation was not confirmed after correction for confounders. Conclusions: In people with type-2 diabetes, the consumption of pasta, within the limits recommended for total carbohydrates intake, is not associated with worsening of glucose control, measures of adiposity, and major cardiovascular risk factors

Current exposure of Italian women of reproductive age to PFOS and PFOA: a human biomonitoring study

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) concentrations were determined in serum samples collected in 2011-2012 from 549 nulliparous Italian women of reproductive age who resided in six different Italian Regions. Assessment of exposure to perfluorinated compounds was part of a large human biomonitoring study (Project Life Plus "Womenbiopop") that aimed at examining the exposure of women of reproductive age to priority organic pollutants. The median concentrations of PFOS and PFOA were 2.43, and 1.55ngg-1, respectively. Significant differences in the concentrations of both compounds were observed among the six Regions. Women from central Italy had the highest levels of both compounds, followed by women from northern Italy, and southern Italy. No differences in the PFOS concentrations were found between women from urban/industrial areas and women from rural areas, whereas the levels of PFOA were significantly higher in women residing in urban/industrial areas than in women residing in rural areas. Taken together, the observed concentrations confirm that the overall exposure of the Italian population is among the lowest observed in industrialized countries. A downward temporal trend in exposure was observed for both compounds when comparing the results from the present study with those assessed in a study conducted in 2008

Design and Evaluation of the SoftSCREEN Capsule for Colonoscopy

Colonoscopy is considered the golden standard for cancer screening of the lower gastrointestinal (GI) tract, with screening programs all over the world considering lowering the recommended screening age. Nonetheless, conventional colonoscopy can cause discomfort to patients due to the forces occurring between colonoscopes and the walls of the colon. Robotic solutions have been proposed to reduce discomfort, and improve accessibility and image quality. Aiming at addressing the limitations of traditional and robotic colonoscopy, in this paper, we present the SoftSCREEN System, a novel Soft Shapeshifting Capsule Robot for Endoscopy based on Eversion Navigation. A plurality of tracks surrounds the body of the system. These tracks are driven by a single motor paired with a worm gear and evert from the internal rigid chassis, enabling fullbody track-based navigation. Two inflatable toroidal chambers enclosing this rigid chassis and passing through the tracks, cause them to displace when inflated. This displacement can be used to regulate the contact with the surrounding wall, thus enabling traction control and adjustment of the overall system diameter to match the local lumen size. The design of the first tethered prototype at 2:1 scale of the SoftSCREEN system is presented in this work. The experimental results show efficient navigation capabilities for different lumen diameters and curvatures, paving the way for a novel robot capable of robust navigation and reliable control of the imaging, with potential for applications beyond colonoscopy, including gastroscopy and capsule endoscopy.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure

Multi-Monostatic Interferometric Radar with Radar Link for Bridge Monitoring

In recent years, interferometric radars have been extensively used as sensors for static and dynamic monitoring of bridges. Generally speaking, a radar can only detect the displacement component along its view direction. As the movement of a real bridge or a large structure can be rather complex, this limitation can be a significant drawback in engineering practice. In order toovercome this limitation, in this article, a multi-monostatic interferometric radar with radio link is proposed. This radar is able to detect a second component of displacement using a transponder. The transponder is connected to the radar through a radio link. The radio link allows the installation of the transponder far away from the radar, and even in the opposite direction. The equipment is based on a MIMO radar, two transceivers for the radio link, and a transponder. The transceivers and the transponder are essentially two antennas and an amplifier system. The equipment is experimentally tested in controlled scenarios and in the case study of Indiano Bridge, Florence, Italy