399 research outputs found
Assessing environmental and market implications of steel decarbonisation strategies: a hybrid input-output model for the European union
No full textAs a key material for manufacturing clean energy technologies, steel is crucial for energy transition, but its production causes 2.6 Gton of CO2 emissions at global level each year. In 2020 the European Union (EU) set a net-zero emissions target by 2050, fostering innovation in the steel industry to reduce its environmental impact. However, a scenario-oriented and technologically comprehensive analysis assessing prospected environmental and market implications of steel decarbonisation strategies remains a gap, which is addressed in this paper. The analysis adopts a hybrid input-output-based life-cycle assessment model built in the MARIO framework, extending the Exiobase database to represent the supply chains of the most promising low-carbon steelmaking technologies in the EU, such as hydrogen- or charcoal-injected blast furnaces and natural gas- and hydrogen-based direct reduction routes. The penetration of these technologies is explored by formulating scenarios resembling European climate targets. The results show a reduction in the carbon footprint of steel across all scenarios, ranging up to -26% in 2030 and to -60% in 2050. However, the extent of footprint reduction is highly dependent on the share of clean electricity in the European supply mix, highlighting the relevance of holistic decarbonisation strategies. Economic implications affect steel prices, which rise up to 25% in 2030 and 56% in 2050, opening discussions on the need for suitable policies such as CBAM to avoid protectionism and encourage international technological progress
Catholic Comments Podcast.
No full textAuthor Tim Rinaldi discusses his mission work in Honduras and how it changed his life and perspective
Luoghi di confino, linee di confine. Per un'ontologia anarchica dell'umano
No full textAnalisi del documentario "Isola nuda" di Debora Inguglia, che indaga la memoria del confino degli omosessuali nell'isola di Ustica sotto il fascismo. La pratica del confino diviene un esempio delle fratture interne al concetto di umanità prodotte dalla storia occidentale, di cui anche la filosofia politica moderna è stata complice
Superamento degli ostacoli anatomici in chirurgia implantare, English.
No full text"Superamento degli ostacoli anatomici in chirurgia implantare by Rinaldi M, Mottloa A."--Title page verso.dental bookfair2016Includes bibliographical references and index.xiv, 552 pages
Experimental tests about the cooling/freezing of the molten salts in the receiver tubes of a solar power plant with parabolic trough
No full textIn 2003 ENEA realized the PCS experimental Facility at Casaccia Research Centre (Rome, Italy), in order to test in real operating conditions the components of a parabolic trough solar plant, and to evaluate the technical feasibility of using the solar molten salts mixture (60% NaNO3, 40% KNO3, melting point 220÷240°C) in such a type of plant. ENEA also had the need to assess the behaviour of the solar receiver tubes during abnormal operating situations (wrong operation, pump block, power failure, etc.), when a block of the circulation of the molten salts may occur and cause the cooling or, worse, the freezing of the salts mixture inside the pipes. Some experimental tests have been performed, aimed to examine what happens in such a cases. In fact, without quick maneuvers to restart the circulation of the molten salts or to readily empty the receiver tubes, the molten salts contained in them may cool down to temperatures near/below the solidification. In this report are shown the results of the experimental tests carried out on the receiver tubes of the PCS Facility by cooling the process fluid down to temperatures near or below its freezing point. The tests show that the solidification of the salts does not damage the components of the plant but it is manageable and reversible, provided you apply the correct procedures. © 2017 Author(s)
Ius soli: qualche precisazione di metodo in materia di diritti di cittadinanza e diritti della cittadinanza
No full textThe Author analyses, among many possible meanings of citizenship, two types which had a part in the process of modern State building: citizenship is sometimes a relationship between the individual and the sovereign, sometimes consciousness of a collective membership. Both meanings have a link with the sovereignty and the process of modern State building. After the “great Neutralisation” of the Nineteenth Century, some reflections are developed about the relationship between citizenship and sovereignty in the Twentieth Century. Finally, the Author emphasizes the necessity of a statute that sets the requirements needed to become a citizen in order to pacify the conflicts of multicultural societies
The Italian Supreme Court Joint Sections set forth the interpretative underpinnings of the "Gelli-Bianco" law: varying degrees of guilt aimed at limiting medical liability, article 2236 C.C. makes a comeback
No full textThe article’s author has sought to summarize the regulatory and legal evolution of accidental criminal liability of doctors starting from earliest positions up until the enactment of the Gelli-Bianco law. An in-depth analysis is laid out based on the Italian Supreme Court Joint Sections ruling n. 8770/2018 (so-called Mariotti decision). The author has also elaborated upon the notion of varying degrees of guilt, which was taken out of the law’s wording, to be later reintroduced as a concept by judicial interpretation. It is worth noting that Article 3 of the Balduzzi decree, article 590 sexies of the Italian Criminal Code and the reference to article 2236 of the Civil Code reflect an awareness on the part of legislators that medical liability needs to be limited. Clearly, the approach based on lawfulness alone, which protects from liability physicians that have adhered to guidelines, has been dismissed, superseded by the notion of minor fault. Nonetheless, the new legislation, in the author’s estimation, constitutes a standard particularly ill-suited to modern medical practice, which has a high degree of complexity. The author concludes that it might be worth considering a more balanced alternative: getting back to the notion of fault, considering minor fault relevant, rather than major fault
La corte costituzionale legittima le misure di contenimento del covid-19, ma la motivazione soddisfa solo in parte
No full textL’Autrice si sofferma sull'assimilabilità dei d.P.C.m. attuativi delle misure di contenimento e gestione dell’emergenza sanitaria da COVID-19 agli atti necessitati d’urgenza ed evidenzia il carattere solo in parte soddisfacente degli argomenti impiegati dalla Corte costituzionale per il rigetto delle questioni di legittimità costituzionale sollevate avverso i decreti-legge disciplinanti tali misure.The Author dwells on the comparability of the d.P.C.m. taken to implement the containment measures and to manage the COVID-19 health emergency to the urgent and needed acts. The Author also highlights the only partially satisfactory nature of the arguments set out in the judgment that rejected the issues of constitutionality raised against the decree-laws adopted in order to regulate such measures
BIOLUMINESCENT BACTERIA AND BIOREMEDIATION
No full textThe increasing sensibility of both public and private institutions to the problem of contamination of industrial area, vacant sites, abusive tips has risen a new interest about decontamination of polluted sites. The choice of the best strategies of regeneration of an area must consider the characteristics of the site and the costs as regards to hazard/benefits, in particular, the costs of bioremediation and management of the area. One of the most promising and cheap strategies for hydrocarbons recovery is the acceleration of the natural process of biodegradation of these compounds in situ. Hydrocarbons can be degraded by various micro-organisms as bacteria and mushrooms.
Bioluminescent bacteria (BLB) emit light when they find themselves in an optimal environment. If noxious substances are present, the luminescence decrease. Thus, the presence of toxic substances can be evaluated [1-2]. The bioluminescent bacteria toxicity test is simple and, compared to other bioassays, it is less time consuming, with a sensitivity within the same order of magnitude and allows to obtain results in a direct way.
The BLB test was applied to samples of soil collected near a refinery at different depth levels and distances from the industrial plan. The microbial population of the soil was studied. The samples were then treated with different species of bacteria degrading hydrocarbons, both autochthonous (already present in the soil) or commercial, or with mixture of them.
The bioluminescent bacteria were exposed to the samples for 12-20 hour. The acute and chronic biotoxicity was determined, following light emission for 60 minutes or for some hours (10-15), respectively. The acute toxicity is generally due to powerful or available toxicants, as heavy metal ions, while compounds with a slow penetration mechanism to enter bacterial cells or acting on bacteria reproduction are usually responsible for chronic biotoxicity.
All the untreated samples proved to inhibit the luminescence as shown in Figure 1, where the perceptual inhibition at 60 minutes is reported (black values in figure). After the treatment with bacteria degrading hydrocarbons, only the samples collected at the deepest levels still inhibited the light emission (for example S2 720), while superficial specimens no longer inhibited the luminescence (for example S1C1).
Figure 1: Inhibition (%) of the light emission of different soil samples before and after the treatment with hydrocarbons degrading bacteria.
The BLB assay proved to be sensible at toxic substances and suitable to be applied to the control of bioremediation of contaminated area after treatment by bacteria degrading hydrocarbons. The use of a microplate assay allowed the simultaneous, rapid and at low cost analysis of numerous samples.
The assay also allowed to optimise the mix of bacteria degrading hydrocarbons, starting from the species directly developed in real conditions in polluted grounds, selecting and improving them.
References
[1] Girotti S., Ferri E.N., Bolelli L., Sermasi G., Fini F. Applications of Bioluminescence in Analytical Chemistry. In: Chemiluminescence in Analytical Chemistry Garcìa-Campaña A.M.& Baeyens W.R.G. Eds., Marcel Dekker Inc., New York, 2001, 247-84.
[2] Girotti S., Bolelli L., Roda A., Gentilomi G., Musiani M., Improved detection of toxic chemicals using bioluminescent bacteria”. Analytica Chimica Acta, 2002, 471, 113-120
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