115 research outputs found
The impact of Clean Spark Spread expectations on storage hydropower generation
No full textStorage hydropower generation plays a crucial role in the electric power system and energy transition because it is the most widespread power generation with low greenhouse gas emissions and, moreover, it is relatively cheap to ramp up and down. As a result, it provides flexibility to the grid and helps mitigate the short-term production uncertainty that affects most green energy technologies. However, using water in reservoirs represents an opportunity cost, which is related to the evolution of plant production capacity and production profitability. As the latter is related to a wide range of types of variables, in order to incorporate it in a large-scale prediction model it is important to select the variables that impact most on storage hydropower generation. In this paper, we investigate the impact of the variables influencing the choices of price maker producers, and, in particular we study the impact of Clean Spark Spread expectations on storage hydroelectric generation. In this connection, using entropy and machine learning tools, we present a method for embedding this expectations in a model to predict storage hydropower generation, showing that, for some time horizon, expectations on CSS have a greater impact than expectations on power prices. It is shown that, if the right mix of power price and CSS expectations is considered, the prediction error of the model is drastically reduced. This implies that it is important to incorporate CSS expectations into the storage hydropower model
Il sito Musteriano di Riparo Mezzena presso Avesa (Verona, Italia). Aggiornamenti metodologici e nuovi dati paleoantropologici e paleocomportamentali
No full textScavi sistematici furono condotti a Riparo Mezzena nel 1957 da F. Zorzi e A. Pasa, durante i quali fu esplorata una sequenza stratigrafica di circa 1,5 - 1,7 m. Furono identifi cati almeno tre livelli antropici (dal basso verso l’alto strato III, II, I) ricchi in manufatti litici, resti di fauna e reperti umani. Nel 1977 Bartolomei (1980) eseguì una verifi ca stratigrafi ca sul testimone con l’obiettivo di riscontrare le considerazioni paleoambientali e le attribuzioni crono-culturali effettuate da Pasa e Zorzi. Sulla base della cronologia alpina, allora in uso, gli autori attribuirono lo strato II al Würm II, mentre lo strato III ad un periodo di poco precedente. L’attuale cronologia isotopica inserisce questo deposito all’interno del MIS 3. Nell’ambito del progetto di revisione dei “Fossili umani del veronese” è stato ripreso lo studio dei fossili del Riparo Mezzena rinvenuti nei livelli musteriani. Sono qui presentati i nuovi dati relativi all’analisi anatomica dei frammenti di parietale (dx e sn) di frontale e di occipitale e una mandibola. Sono riassunti anche i nuovi dati relativi all’esame paleogenetico del DNA mitocondriale ed in particolare sul genoma nucleare; è stato analizzato il gene mc1R che regola la pigmentazione nell’uomo e nei vertebrati in genere. Le analisi funzionali su queste varianti hanno mostrato che le funzionalità dell’espressione in questo gene erano ridotte e per tanto, chi le possedeva, aveva i capelli rossi e la pelle chiara. Finora inediti, vengono presentati i dati relativi alle analisi tecno-economiche dell’insieme litico dello strato III. Il contesto culturale da cui i reperti antropici provengono è rappresentato da industria litica riferibile ad un musteriano di tipo Ferrassie orientale, il quale caratterizza anche il complesso litico contenuto nel sopragiacente strato II dove si osserva però una forte riduzione della produzione Levallois. È qui presentata l’analisi tecnologica dell’insieme litico dello strato III.The excavation carried out at Riparo Mezzena during 1957 by F. Zorzi and A. Pasa (Museo di Storia Naturale di Verona) revealed a stratigraphic sequence of about 1,5-1,7 m – corresponding at least to 3 different anthropogenic layers – had been identifi ed (bottom-up: III, II, I) very rich in both artefacts, fauna and human remains. In 1977 Bartolomei (1980) verifi ed the stratigraphy by sampling the witness left in 1957 aiming at comparing the paleoenvironmental indications and the chrono-cultural assignements proposed by Pasa and Zorzi. According to alpine chronology of the time, the authors attributed layer II to the Würm II while layer III was thought to correspond to a slightly older period. Recent revision referred the whole deposit to MIS 3 according to isotopic chronology. The present work deals with the fi rst results of the “Human fossils from the Verona area” revision project devoted to Riparo Mezzena Mousterian layers. Herein will be presented the new data related to anatomical analyses - of the parietal (R and L), frontal and occipital bones fragments as well as the jaw, compared to the contemporaneous European Neandertals and the techno-economical study of the lithic assemblage from layer III. The lithic assemblage is referred to the cultural context of La Ferrassie Charentian Mousterian, which characterized even the upper layer II assemblage. The latter, though, is characterized by a strong reduction in the Levallois production. A devoted discussion to the technology of the layer III will be given. The data relating to palaeogenetic analyses is presented too: the Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has been retrieved for the fi rst time from a Neandertal specimen of Italian origin (NRM). The results show that the genetic diversity of the Neandertals has been largely underestimated. They suggest that Neandertal population was extensively subdivided geographically, and that its genetic diversity changed markedly over time. The melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) which regulates pigmentation in humans and other vertebrates had been amplifi ed and sequenced a fragment of the MC1R gene (mc1r). The impaired activity of this variant could have caused neandertals to have red hair and/or pale skin. The data from Mezzena suggest that inactive MC1R variants evolved independently in both modern humans and Neandertals
Tuscan Women, Italian Women Work, Identity and Citizenship 1861-1926
No full textThis is an introductory essay to the catalogue of the exhibition 'Lessico Femminile. le donne tra impegno e talento 1861-1926', Florence, Galleria degli Uffizi, Galleria d'arte Moderna, Sala del Fiorino, 7 March- 26 May 2019, for which the author was scientific consultant. The essay analyses, through primary sources and historiographical debate, the role of Tuscan and Italian women in the process of national unification. Their political commitment and their role in the world of work, especially in the field of creative activities, as well as in mutual and popular associations. The essay was also published in an Italian language volume
Meteorological factors, air pollutants, and emergency department visits for otitis media: a time series study
No full textP>Otitis media (OM) is a very common disease in children, which results in a significant economic burden to the healthcare system for hospital-based outpatient departments, emergency departments (EDs), unscheduled medical examinations, and antibiotic prescriptions. The aim of this retrospective observational study is to investigate the association between climate variables, air pollutants, and OM visits observed in the 2007-2010 period at the ED of Cuneo, Italy. Measures of meteorological parameters (temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind) and outdoor air pollutants (particulate matter, ozone, nitrous dioxide) were analyzed at two statistical stages and in several specific steps (crude and adjusted models) according to Poisson's regression. Response variables included daily examinations for age groups 0-3, 0-6, and 0-18. Control variables included upper respiratory infections (URI), flu (FLU), and several calendar factors. A statistical procedure was implemented to capture any delayed effects. Results show a moderate association for temperature (T), age 0-3, and 0-6 with P < 0.05, as well as nitrous dioxide (NO2) with P < 0.005 at age 0-18. Results of subsequent models point out to URI as an important control variable. No statistical association was observed for other pollutants and meteorological variables. The dose-response models (DLNM-final stage) implemented separately on a daily and hourly basis point out to an association between temperature (daily model) and RR 1.44 at age 0-3, CI 1.11-1.88 (lag time 0-1 days) and RR 1.43, CI 1.05-1.94 (lag time 0-3 days). The hourly model confirms a specific dose-response effect for T with RR 1.20, CI 1.04-1.38 (lag time range from 0 to 11 to 0-15 h) and for NO2 with RR 1.03, CI 1.01-1.05 (lag time range from 0 to 8 to 0-15 h). These results support the hypothesis that the clinical context of URI may be an important risk factor in the onset of OM diagnosed at ED level. The study highlights the relevance of URI as a control variable to be included in the statistical analysis in association with meteorological factors and air pollutants. The study also points out to a moderate association of OM with low temperatures and NO2, with specific risk factors for this variable early in life. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings, particularly with respect to air pollutants in larger urban environments
High concentrations of prostate-specific antigen in urine of women receiving oral contraceptives
No full textProstate-specific antigen synthesis and secretion by human placenta: a physiological kallikrein source during pregnancy.
No full textProstate-specific antigen (PSA), a kallikrein-like serine protease until recently thought to be prostate specific, has been demonstrated in various nonprostatic tissues and body fluids. PSA has been also found in human endometrium and amniotic fluids, even if the significance of this novel expression is unclear. In this study, we have demonstrated by multiple techniques that human placental tissue, obtained at delivery from normal full-term pregnancies, synthesizes and secretes PSA. RT-PCR showed the presence of PSA messenger ribonucleic acid; biochemical, chromatographic, and immunological studies revealed the expression of both free and complexed PSA forms; immunoelectron microscopy indicated the syncytiotrophoblast as the site of PSA synthesis and secretion. Moreover, in vitro experiments demonstrated that PSA production and secretion are up-regulated by 17β-estradiol, a pregnancy-related steroid hormone. These results suggest that human placenta is a source of the PSA present in am..
Adenylate cyclase and cyclic AMP-phosphodiesterase activities of fetal membranes: effect of insulin
No full textBasal activity and response to insulin of adenylate cyclase and cyclic AMP-phosphodiesterase were measured in the fetal membranes before and after labor. Basal activity of adenylate cyclase showed only slight variations after delivery when compared to that observed before labor. Enzyme activity was significantly although weakly decreased by insulin both in the amnion and in chorion before labor, while after delivery a weaker non-significant inhibition was observed. Basal activity of cyclic AMP-phosphodiesterase was lower after delivery with respect to that observed before labor. Insulin inhibited enzyme activity in all conditions. Cyclic AMP levels in intact tissue were not substantially modified by insulin
Short-term air pollution exposure is a risk factor for acute coronary syndromes in an urban area with low annual pollution rates : results from a retrospective observational study (2011—2015).
No full textBackground: Epidemiological data suggest that air pollutants are risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Recent studies have questioned the adequacy of current legal pollutant limits, because concentrations lower than those recommended still affect cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.
Aim: To investigate the association between short-term exposure to air pollutants and the daily diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) at the emergency department (ED) of S. Croce Hospital (Cuneo, Italy), between 2011 and 2015.
Methods: We evaluated the effect of particulate matter (PM2.5-10), nitrogen dioxide and ozone as primary exposure, together with temperature and relative humidity as climatological control variables, on ED admissions for ACS (response variables). We studied residents aged ≥35 years, classified into three age groups (35-64, 65-74 and ≥75 years). Environmental data were analysed according to Poisson's regression, and conventional cardiovascular risk factors (CRFs; hypertension, diabetes, coronary artery disease, smoking and dyslipidaemia) were included as control variables.
Results: ED admissions for ACS were 1625/391,689, with 298 in 2011 (0.183%), 305 in 2012 (0.188%), 347 in 2013 (0.214%), 341 in 2014 (0.21%) and 334 in 2015 (0.206%), with a general growth rate of 2.08% (from 2011 to 2015). The CRFs examined were confirmed to be highly associated with occurrence of ACS. Our study identified PM2.5 and temperature in all age groups to be additional risk factors, with PM2.5 exposure (P<0.01) being a particular risk for those aged ≥75 years. Dose-response models confirmed only PM2.5 as the main environmental risk factor in elderly patients (relative risk 1.06, 95% confidence interval 1.02-1.11; lag time 0-3 days). We also found a consistent relative risk for temperature in all age groups.
Conclusion: This study confirms the importance of PM2.5 as a risk factor for ACS, mostly in elderly patients, even in a city with low annual pollution rates
Cortical bone topography and cross-sectional geometric properties of Paglicci 12 e Paglicci 25 Gravettian human femora
No full textNew Evidence of Vegetable diet in the Gravettia of Grotta Paglicci (Rignano Garganico, Puglia, Southern Italy)
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