169,750 research outputs found
IL RICICLAGGIO DELLE BATTERIE AL PIOMBO IN ITALIA:ASPETTI ECONOMICI, AMBIENTALI ED ENERGETICI
No full textLe batterie al Piombo-Acido sono universalmente diffuse. Come tutti beni durevoli, anche le batterie non si sottraggono alla dura legge del deperimento delle prestazioni ed alla conseguente perdita totale di efficacia; in quel caso diventano rifiuti pericolosi e se non vengono smaltite correttamente possono procurare molti danni all'ambiente ed alle persone. In questo lavoro viene valutata la convenienza economica e l'impatto ambientale del processo di riciclaggio
Recovery and use of olive stones: Commodity, environmental and economic assessment
No full textAt the present time biomass (together with sunlight) is the most equally distributed and easily exploited
energy resource. Of the various types of biomass, that deriving from agricultural by-products is proving
to be of growing interest thanks to the ease with which it can be accessed and processed, its energy
concentration and the ‘‘ethical’’ acceptability of this fuel (that does not derive from specifically grown
crops but from the by-products of the agricultural industries). In addition, a number of potential
environmental problems may be resolved.
In particular, during the production of olive oil it is possible to recover olive pits as a by-product for
energy production for use as fuel in domestic boilers or in large industrial plants for cogeneration.
This study evaluates the commodity, environmental and economic aspects linked to different
techniques for the pit recovery from olive pulp and olive pomace. The economic and environmental
viability of these new ‘‘best practices’’ has been demonstrated both at the level of production (increased
income for olive extraction plants) and at the level of environmental sustainability (use of renewable
fuels)
Carbon Footprint as an Instrument for Enhancing Food Quality: Overview of the Wine, Olive Oil and Cereals Sectors
No full textThe quantification of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions represents a critical issue for the future development of agro-food produces.
Consumer’s behavior could play an important role in the requiring of the environmental performance as an essential element for food
quality. Nowadays, the Carbon Footprint (CFP) is a tool worldwide used by agro-food industries to communicating environmental
information. This paper aims to investigate the role that CFP could have in consumer’s choices in three significant agro-food sectors
in the Mediterranean area: wine, olive oil and cereals. A critical review about the use of CFP was carried out along the supply chain
of these three sector, in order to identify opportunities for enhancing food quality and environmental sustainability and highlighting
how the environmental information could influence the consumer’s preferences.
The analysis of the state of the art shows a great variability of the results about GHG emissions referred to agricultural and industrial
processes. In many cases, the main environmental criticisms are linked to the agricultural phase, but also the other phases of the
supply chain could contribute to rise up the CFP. However, despite the wide use of CFP by companies as communication tool to help
consumer’s choices in agro-food product, some improvement are needed in order to provide clearer and more understandable
information
SMALTIMENTO E RECUPERO DEI RIFIUTI DI APPARECCHIATURE ELETTRICHE ED ELETTRONICHE: UN MODELLO TERRITORIALE
No full textUN MODELLO TERRITORIALE PER LO SMALTIMENTO E RECUPERO DEI RAEE
No full textIl concetto di RAEE (Rifiuti di Apparecchi Elettrici ed Elettronici) è stato introdotto in ambito comunitario dalla Direttiva 2002/96/CE la quale “reca misure miranti in via prioritaria a prevenire la produzione di rifiuti di apparecchiature elettriche ed elettroniche
ed inoltre al loro reimpiego, riciclaggio e ad altre forme di recupero in modo da ridurre il volume di rifiuti da smaltire”. Il Decreto Legislativo 25 Luglio 2005 recepisce le due direttive europee 2002/95/CE e 2002/96/CE. Rientrano nel campo di applicazione di tale decreto tutte le apparecchiature elettriche ed
elettroniche comprese nell’Allegato IA:
– Grandi elettrodomestici,
– Piccoli elettrodomestici,
– Apparecchiature informatiche e per telecomunicazioni,
– Apparecchiature di consumo,
– Apparecchiature di illuminazione,
– Strumenti elettrici ed elettronici,
– Giocattoli e apparecchiature per lo sport e per il
tempo libero,
– Dispositivi medici,
– Strumenti di monitoraggio e di controllo,
– Distributori automatici.
Ogni categoria racchiude un elenco di esempi di prodotti che devono essere presi in considerazione.
Secondo la normativa, produttori e venditori hanno l’obbligo di ritiro dell’usato a fronte dell’acquisto di un nuovo apparecchio dello stesso tipo. Inoltre, tutti i prodotti messi sul mercato dopo l’entrata in vigore del decreto dovranno riportare in modo chiaro
e indelebile indicazioni sul produttore e il simbolo della raccolta differenziata dei RAEE e, ancora, entro un anno i produttori dovranno allestire sistemi di raccolta separata dei RAEE, o demandandoli a terzi oppure consorziandosi tra loro o ancora convenzionandosi con i Comuni. I centri presso i quali verranno radunati i rifiuti devono garantire l’integrità degli stessi per la messa in sicurezza dei RAEE storici e ottimizzare il reimpiego e il riciclo dei materiali e dei componenti. A tale scopo, i produttori dovranno anche informare i centri di raccolta e riciclo circa i
componenti e i materiali che compongono l’apparecchio.
Questi obblighi riguardano anche i produttori che utilizzano per la vendita i mezzi di comunicazione a distanza: anche loro dovranno adeguarsi ai vincoli del decreto e contribuire a finanziare i centri
di raccolta separata e di riciclo. Il provvedimento stabilisce anche le sanzioni e per gli inadempienti e prevede la costituzione di due comitati: uno per la vigilanza e il controllo e uno d’indirizzo presso il ministero dell’Ambiente.
Analizzando nello specifico la situazione presente nella provincia di Pescara, almeno per il momento, non ci sono aziende che si occupano del trattamento dei RAEE, mentre sono presenti circa
14 imprese che effettuano la raccolta e il trasporto, regolarmente iscritte nell’Albo Gestori di Rifiuti, le quali conferiscono le apparecchiature ormai dimesse negli stabilimenti collocati nella regione o in alcuni casi nelle Marche dove è presente una Piattaforma di riciclaggio di beni durevoli.
L’ultima proroga al recepimento delle Direttive Comunitarie
è avvenuta il 28 giugno 2007, il Consiglio dei Ministri ha fissato il nuovo termine per il 31 dicembre 2007. È auspicabile che la problematica venga affrontata, in prossimità di tale scadenza in termini più completi includendo questioni ad oggi scarsamente
affrontate come: trattamento di rifiuti storici e ... finanziamento alla ricerca in questo campo
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe 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
Mitomycin C in highly myopic eyes - Author reply
No full textOphthalmology. 2005 Feb;112(2):208-18; discussion 219.
Mitomycin C modulation of corneal wound healing after photorefractive keratectomy in highly myopic eyes.
Gambato C, Ghirlando A, Moretto E, Busato F, Midena E.
SourceRefractive Surgery Service and Antimetabolite Therapy Research Unit, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
Abstract
PURPOSE: To evaluate the role of topical mitomycin C in corneal wound healing (CWH) after photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) in highly myopic eyes.
DESIGN: Prospective, double-masked, randomized clinical trial.
PARTICIPANTS: Seventy-two eyes of 36 patients affected by high (>7 diopters) myopia.
METHODS: In each patient, one eye was randomly assigned to PRK with intraoperative topical 0.02% mitomycin C application, and the fellow eye was treated with a placebo. Postoperatively, mitomycin C-treated eyes received artificial tears (3 times daily, tapered in 3 months), whereas the fellow eye was treated with fluorometholone sodium 2% and artificial tears (3 times daily, tapered in 3 months).
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), contrast sensitivity, manifest refraction, and biomicroscopy. Contrast sensitivity was determined using the Pelli-Robson chart. Corneal confocal microscopy documented CWH.
RESULTS: Mean follow-up was 18 months (range, 12-36). No side effects or toxic effects were documented. At 12-month follow-up examination, UCVAs (logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution) were 0.4+/-0.48 and 0.5+/-0.53 (P = .03) in mitomycin C-treated eyes and corticosteroid-treated eyes, respectively. At 1 year, corneal haze developed in 20% of corticosteroid-treated eyes, versus 0% of mitomycin C-treated eyes. At 12, 24, and 36 months, corneal confocal microscopy showed activated keratocytes and extracellular matrix significantly more evident in untreated eyes (Ps = 0.004, 0.024, and 0.046, respectively).
CONCLUSION: Topical intraoperative application of 0.02% mitomycin C can reduce haze formation in highly myopic eyes undergoing PRK.
Comment in
Ophthalmology. 2006 Feb;113(2):357; author reply 357-8
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
No full textWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
State of the Art of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in the Wine Industry
No full textThis paper critically reviews the studies published at a national and international level on the LCA of wine. The major aim is the investigation of specific LCA methodological approaches in order to evaluate the need of product guidelines and other research efforts in the wine industry.JRC.DDG.H.5 - Rural, water and ecosystem resource
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