1,720,975 research outputs found
Study of aerosols air pollution assessments in indoor and outdoor environments based on measuring and modelling approaches
Full text linkL'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmen
Cone-calorimeter tests of rice dusts explosiveness [Prove al cono-calorimetro di esplosività delle polveri di riso]
No full textThe aim of this work is the characterization by means of cone-calorimeter tests of rice dust explosiveness, determining the ignition temperature of a 5 mm thick layer, T5 mm, in order to define the critical temperature range for industrial processes management where such materials are involved, granting at the same time plant safety and efficiency. The variability in material behavior, along seasons and/or production process phases, requires an expeditious evaluation of explosiveness conditions, especially regarding the minimum ignition energy and temperature. For dust layers explosiveness, the minimum ignition temperature was obtained by cone-calorimeter samples lab tests and through the correlation with the heat release rate (HRR), a parameter measured by the test equipment in accordance with the international technical standards. To achieve such a result, a test campaign on dust created by rice bran were then compared with existing experimental literature dat
Analytical method for environmental data representativeness of a territory
No full textThe description of the environmental conditions of an area is often done by using modeling programs. Its validation requires a significant number of background values, representative of the real state. These data are also necessary for the proper management of environmental issues in relation to different causes of present pollution. The sampling of these values, moreover, requires the execution of measurements characterized by a burden of cost and time. For this reason the possibility to take in advantage the existing background's environmental data, collected from studies conducted in the past, is a great resource base for the qualification and land management. However, historical data are characterized by heterogeneity in format and content and are liable to risk of obsolescence due to changes over time in the context. This research proposes a methodology of processing the historical documentation (when present) in order to obtain homogeneous data, comparable with one another and representative of the current conditions of the territory. These results, jointly with the analysis of the environmental context, are also aimed to the design of additional measures necessary for the completion of the scoreboard. The method was applied to the noise and airborne particulates risk factor
Annoyance and disturbance hazard factors related to work and life environments: a review
No full textThe insurgence or persistence of critical scenarios of damage and nuisance on populations is verified at local scale for the direct interaction among hazard factors from productive activities and receptors such as residential areas. This can be even worsened where local criticalities are overlapped to the diffuse pollution originated by the whole group of sources coexisting on a territory. The interference of the various emissions factors with communication, rest and performance can lead to physiological and psychological disorders, fatigue, anxiety and stress at the exposed. Furthermore, from the existing definitions, emerge that a hazard factor can impact not exclusively on the state of health of the individual, but also on the quality and usability of environments and territories. Often, even without exceeding the normative limits, an altered perception and a limitation or impediment in the use of a territory, compared to what expected in a period before the occurrence of the disturbing event, can be observed. A systemic approach for the assessment and management of disturbance and annoyance arising from the exposure to different hazard factors in work and life environments, still lacks. Aim of this paper is to analyze the disturbance and annoyance phenomenon related to noise, vibrations, airborne particulate, odors and their synergic effects, and to review the existing literature. The review indicates that annoyance can be observed even when the limit values are respected; the deep knowledge of plants and the specific skills developed in OS&H field can play a central role in the prevention of disturbance and annoyance effects. The analysis here carried out for noise, vibrations, airborne particulate and odors annoyances can be generalizable to other pollution factors as an applicable qualitative methodology
Assessment of Indoor Mass and Numerical Concentrations of airborne particulate matter in a University Fluid Dynamics Laboratory
Full text linkIndoor Air Quality (IAQ) is a related to human health and well-being since people spend most of their working and free time in interior spaces. As stated by the World Health Organization (WHO), once complying with normative Occupational Safety and Health (OS&H) limits, more elevated standards of air quality both in productive and non-industrial workplaces should be guaranteed. In this case study – framed in a wider research by the authors – the main results of the assessment of airborne particulate matter (PM10, PM4, PM2.5, PM1) in an indoor university working environment are presented. The activities have been developed in a fluid-dynamics laboratory with a wind tunnel and its premises by means of both traditional samplers and real-time optical technologies. The results confirm the accordance with OS&H requirements. Daily trends and peaks related to laboratory activities and cleaning emissions have been assessed. This outcome highlights once again the strength of integrated approaches between multi-parameter analysers and reference samplers to assess short-time patterns in pollutants concentrations and normative mean conditions
Application of risk analysis to improve environmental sustainability of forest yards in wood-energy chain
No full textThermal plants using wood biomass have been strongly supported in recent years by the European Union. The design solution deemed more sustainable for the environment involves the construction of small plants, whose needs can be guaranteed by timber coming from the surrounding territory. Often this solution can not be deemed as the most compatible with the requirement of safety. For small size wood-energy chain the implementation of the best available technology regarding occupational and environmental safety implies an higher economic charge compared to large systems based on major capital investments. Purpose of this study is the application of a methodology designed for the analysis of risk in order to identify and to assess the impacts on the environment. This analysis will be applied to forest yards, corresponding to the first phase of the forest - wood - energy chain, i.e. the raw material procurement. Based on the feedback received, adjustments to the methodology will be identified to permit an easier application both to occupational risk analysis and to environmental impact assessment. It will therefore be possible to optimize the identification of the procedures to implement. A future goal is the application of the method to the entire supply chain, from timber's procurement to the plant's realization and implementation. After identifying the criteria to determine the most suitable operating procedures (according to the characteristics of the examined wooded lot), the individual work phases have been divided into sub-phases and elementary processes. For each elementary processing the main sources of risk have been identified. They were divided into employed equipment, materials (raw and complementary materials, waste and products), work environment and organization. Keeping this division for each source of risk the related hazard's factors, the possible impacts on the surrounding environment deriving from them and the procedures to minimize them have been identified and verified on real case
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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