1,150 research outputs found
The Circular Economy Challenge: Towards a Sustainable Development
Full text linkAs it is now known, we have only one earth available for our life and it is our duty to preserve it [...
Economic factors affecting obesity: an application in Italy
Full text linkThe World Health Organization has stated that obesity is spreading around the world like a “global epidemic”. In 2004 the percentage of obese people in the Italian population was 9%, but the trend s increasing in recent years. Focusing on this country, the purpose of the paper is to analyze the socio-economic variables affecting obesity by means of a survey conducted in a consumer sample. Our analysis is based on a survey conducted in Italy, and the sample was composed of 999 consumers. We used a binary logit model and the dependent variable is body mass index (BMI), expressed in a dichotomic way (seriously overweight and obese, value 1, and normal weight, value 0). The results show that the condition of the seriously overweight and obese increases with age, especially in people over 65 of age. Also gender is correlated with the pathology: being seriously overweight and obese is far more likely for men than for women. An inverse relation was shown between obesity and education, and between obesity and the level of food knowledge. The results highlight that disadvantaged social categories are more susceptible to the problem of overweight and obesity. A policy implication of the analysis, to limit the spread of obesity, could lie in programs aimed at improving health and food awareness and focused on these minority groups.economics of obesity, BMI and consumer, logit model, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Health Economics and Policy,
Innovative and sustainable strategies of urban mining
Full text linkLa gestione di un’enorme quantità di rifiuti da apparecchiature elettriche ed elettroniche (RAEE), rappresenta un problema rilevante per la nostra società, poichè rischi per l’ambiente e la salute umana, legati ad una scorretta gestione, sono combinati con la perdita di materiali valorizzabili. Questo lavoro ha per oggetto lo sviluppo di processi sostenibili per il recupero di metalli di valore dai RAEE: in particolare, è stata effettuata un’indagine in laboratorio mirata all’estrazione, da schermi a cristalli liquidi, di indio, un metallo recentemente classificato dalla Commissione Europea tra i “critical raw materials”. La sperimentazione ha permesso l’ottimizzazione di un processo con rese di recupero di indio superiori al 90%, basato su operazioni idrometallurgiche. E’ stato studiato inoltre il processo dal punto di vista della sua sostenibilità ambientale, confrontandone l’impatto con quello degli attuali sistemi di gestione degli schermi a cristalli liquidi . La valutazione ha evidenziato che il ciclo di gestione delle acque di processo e pre-trattamenti fisici del pannello finalizzati alla concentrazione del metallo, rappresentano dei fattori chiave per la sostenibilità ambientale del processo. Il lavoro è stato svolto nel contesto di un progetto finanziato dalla Commissione Europea nell’ambito del 7FP, denominato HydroWEEE. Tale progetto aveva per obiettivo la realizzazione di un impianto mobile, con caratteristiche flessibili per il recupero di metalli da diversi RAEE: indio da TV/monitor a cristalli liquidi, ittrio da lampade e tubi catodici, rame oro e argento da circuiti stampati, cobalto da batterie litio-ione. L’attività di ricerca è stata anche finalizzata a valutare la sostenibilità ambientale dei vari processi realizzati nell’impianto mobile, evidenziandone un generale vantaggio (tra il 20 e l’80%) rispetto alla produzione primaria dei metalli. La valutazione dei rischi per i lavoratori nell’impianto mobile conclude lo studio
Apocalisse e normalità. Epidemia e inconscio visuale
No full textIl saggio esamina con gli strumenti del cinema l'emergenza sanitaria, Covid-1
Author response
Full text linkDetecting pathogens and mounting immune responses upon infection is crucial for animal health. However, these responses come at a high metabolic price (McKean and Lazzaro, 2011, Kominsky et al., 2010), and avoiding pathogens before infection may be advantageous. The bacterial endotoxins lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are important immune system infection cues (Abbas et al., 2014), but it remains unknown whether animals possess sensory mechanisms to detect them prior to infection. Here we show that Drosophila melanogaster display strong aversive responses to LPS and that gustatory neurons expressing Gr66a bitter receptors mediate avoidance of LPS in feeding and egg laying assays. We found the expression of the chemosensory cation channel dTRPA1 in these cells to be necessary and sufficient for LPS avoidance. Furthermore, LPS stimulates Drosophila neurons in a TRPA1-dependent manner and activates exogenous dTRPA1 channels in human cells. Our findings demonstrate that flies detect bacterial endotoxins via a gustatory pathway through TRPA1 activation as conserved molecular mechanism.sponsorship: Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie Alessia Soldano Luis Franco Guangda Liu Natalia Mora Emre Yaksi Bassem A Hassanr Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0702.12 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0077.15 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0680.10 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0681.10 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0503.12 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0654.15 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0761.10N Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0596.12 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0565.07 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar KU Leuven GOA/14/011 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Luis Franco Alejandro Lopez-Requena Guangda Liu Natalia Mora Emre Yaksi Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar European Commission IUAP P7/13 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Luis Franco Alejandro Lopez-Requena Guangda Liu Natalia Mora Emre Yaksi Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekensr KU Leuven OT/12/091 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Luis Franco Alejandro Lopez-Requena Guangda Liu Natalia Mora Emre Yaksi Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar KU Leuven PF-TRPLe Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Luis Franco Alejandro Lopez-Requena Guangda Liu Natalia Mora Emre Yaksi Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talavera (Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|G.0702.12, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|G.0077.15, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|G.0680.10, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|G.0681.10, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|G.0503.12, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|G.0654.15, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|G.0761.10N, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|G.0596.12, KU Leuven|GOA/14/011, KU Leuven|OT/12/091, European Commission|IUAP P7/13, KU Leuven PF-TRPLe)status: Publishe
Marine materials as innovative metal sorbents suitable for applications in wastewater treatments
Full text linkThe growing interest for urban mining strategies has pushed the research towards innovative strategies for metal recovery from electronic waste. Nevertheless, the treatment of the resulting metal-rich wastewater is still an issue. In this context, the present paper shows a method to use the capacity of Ulva algae to adsorb metals for the treatment of a synthetic solutions which simulates that resulting from a printed circuit board recycling process. The experiments considered a copper-zinc-iron system, showing a copper adsorption capacity of biomaterial up to 65 mg/g, at pH 5, favoured by iron presence. The process needs a short time (around 15 min) and it is suitable to be performed in a fixed-bed column able to treat more than 30 L of copper-contaminated wastewater, decreasing the energetic costs for mixing (compared to the typical slurry-reactor configuration) with an almost completed metal removal. The sustainability of the process is further improved by the selection of a macroalga which often accumulates on beaches (becoming a waste to remove) complying with the circular economy pillars
Recovery of precious metals from printed circuit boards by cyanogenic bacteria: Optimization of cyanide production by statistical analysis
No full textThe present work was focused on mobilizing Ag from the waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs) of discarded computers by bioleaching. In this contest, bioleaching promoted by bacteria may be regarded as a potential alternative to conventional cyanidation and chemical leaching. The capacity of a cyanogenic bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), for cyanide production and Ag mobilization from electronic waste was assessed. Also, in order to maximize cyanide production, the influence of the initial pH and glycine concentration was studied and optimized via central composite design of a response surface methodology (CCD-RSM). In the optimal conditions (pH 8 and 1 g/L of glycine) P. aeruginosa produced around 10 mg/L cyanide. Therefore, the bioleaching experiments were performed under the synergistic effect of glycine and cyanide through a two-step process. In the first step the bacteria were grown in the optimized conditions and in the second step, after the maximum cyanide production was reached, WPCBs were added to the growth medium and the pH was set to 9. The optimization resulted in 90% Ag mobilization. In addition, the Au bioleaching was investigated and observed with an efficiency around 20%. Considering the current availability of WPCBs on the market, the results are very promising for the development of recycling processes in the spirit of circular economy
Sustainable recovery of Cu, Fe and Zn from end-of-life printed circuit boards
No full textThe circularity represents the key strategy of the modern economy, where the waste becomes a raw material, ready to be reprocessed for a second life. In this context, the main aim of the present work was the development of a sustainable process for the recovery of Cu and Zn from end-of-life printed circuit boards (PCBs). The exploitation of this hazardous waste produces a double effect the recovery of metals, suitable for the current metal market, and the avoided disposal of scraps produced worldwide. The process allowed to exceed the limits of several approaches reported in the literature, mainly due to the highest consumptions (both energy and raw materials) and the loss of Zn content. The best identified conditions, suitable for the treatment of both chemical and bio- leach liquor included: the Fe precipitation with sodium hydroxide, followed by the Cu cementation with Zn (Zn/Cu molar ratio of 1.1) and a final Zn precipitation with oxalic acid (0.A./Zn molar ratio of 1.5). The metals showed recovery efficiencies higher than 95% and purifies up to 95%. An efficient recirculation system contributes to the sustainability growth, as confirmed by the carbon footprint assessment, towards the implementation of a zero waste treatment. Future perspective should include the further exploitation of the residue, rich in precious metals
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