Sistema per l'estrazione e purificazione di sostanze antiossidanti naturali nelle acque di vegetazione delle olive

The olive oil extraction industry is responsible for the production of high quantities of vegetation waters, represented by the constitutive water of the olive fruit and by the water used during the process. This by-product represent an environmental problem in the olive’s cultivation areas because of its high content of organic matter, with high value of BOD5 and COD. For that reason the disposal of the vegetation water is very difficult and needs a previous depollution. The organic matter of vegetation water mainly consists of polysaccharides, sugars, proteins, organic acids, oil and polyphenols. This last compounds are the principal responsible for the pollution problems, due to their antimicrobial activity, but, at the same time they are well known for their antioxidant properties. The most concentrate phenolic compounds in waters and also in virgin olive oils are secoiridoids like oleuropein, demethyloleuropein and ligstroside derivatives (the dialdehydic form of elenolic acid linked to 3,4-DHPEA, or p-HPEA (3,4-DHPEA-EDA or p-HPEA-EDA) and an isomer of the oleuropein aglycon (3,4-DHPEA-EA). The management of the olive oil vegetation water has been extensively investigated and several different valorisation methods have been proposed, such as the direct use as fertilizer or the transformation by physico-chemical or biological treatments. During the last years researchers focused their interest on the recovery of the phenolic fraction from this waste looking for its exploitation as a natural antioxidant source. At the present only few contributes have been aimed to the utilization for a large scale phenols recovery and further investigations are required for the evaluation of feasibility and costs of the proposed processes. The present PhD thesis reports a preliminary description of a new industrial scale process for the recovery of the phenolic fraction from olive oil vegetation water treated with enzymes, by direct membrane filtration (microfiltration/ultrafiltration with a cut-off of 250 KDa, ultrafiltration with a cut-off of 7 KDa/10 KDa and nanofiltration/reverse osmosis), partial purification by the use of a purification system based on SPE analysis and by a liquid-liquid extraction system (LLE) with contemporary reduction of the pollution related problems. The phenolic fractions of all the samples obtained were qualitatively and quantitatively by HPLC analysis. The work efficiency in terms of flows and in terms of phenolic recovery gave good results. The final phenolic recovery is about 60% respect the initial content in the vegetation waters. The final concentrate has shown a high content of phenols that allow to hypothesize a possible use as zootechnic nutritional supplements. The purification of the final concentrate have garanteed an high purity level of the phenolic extract especially in SPE analysis by the use of XAD-16 (73% of the total phenolic content of the concentrate). This purity level could permit a future food industry employment such as food additive, or, thanks to the strong antioxidant activity, it would be also use in pharmaceutical or cosmetic industry. The vegetation water depollutant activity has brought good results, as a matter of fact the final reverse osmosis permeate has a low pollutant rate in terms of COD and BOD5 values (2% of the initial vegetation water), that could determinate a recycling use in the virgin olive oil mechanical extraction system producing a water saving and reducing thus the oil industry disposal costs .

Irrigazione e cambiamenti climatici

The aim of this PhD thesis, developed in the framework of the Italian Agroscenari research project, is to compare current irrigation volumes in two study area in Emilia-Romagna with the likely irrigation under climate change conditions. This comparison was carried out between the reference period 1961-1990, as defined by WMO, and the 2021-2050 period. For this period, multi-model climatic projections on the two study areas were available. So, the climatic projections were analyzed in term of their impact on irrigation demand and adaptation strategies for fruit and horticultural crops in the study area of Faenza, with a detailed analysis for kiwifruit vine, and for horticultural crops in Piacenza plan, focusing on the irrigation water needs of tomato. We produced downscaled climatic projections (based on A1B Ipcc emission scenario) for the two study areas. The climate change impacts for the period 2021-2050 on crop irrigation water needs and other agrometeorological index were assessed by means of the Criteria water balance model, in the two versions available, Criteria BdP (local) and Geo (spatial) with different levels of detail. We found in general for both the areas an irrigation demand increase of about +10% comparing the 2021-2050 period with the reference years 1961-1990, but no substantial differences with more recent years (1991-2008), mainly due to a projected increase in spring precipitation compensating the projected higher summer temperature and evapotranspiration. As a consequence, it is not forecasted a dramatic increase in the irrigation volumes with respect to the current volumes.

Ausbreitung von Nitroaromaten über das Sickerwasser der ehemaligen Espagit AG in Hallschlag

Die in den Jahren 1915-1923 erfolgte Produktion von Sprengstoffen und Vernichtung von Munition am Rüstungsaltstandort Hallschlag (Eifel) führte zu einer Nitroaromatenbelastung des Bodens, die bis heute nachgewiesen werden kann. Im Rahmen vorliegender Studie wurde das Sickerwasser außerhalb des Schadensherdes über einen Zeitraum von rund zwei Jahren mit Saugkerzensystemen beprobt und auf Nitroaromaten untersucht. Weiterhin wurde die klimatische Wasserbilanz für den Standort berechnet und Pegeldaten einer im Rahmen der Standortsicherung errichteten Sickerwassersammelleitung ausgewertet. Mit Hilfe dieses Datenmaterials konnte die mittlere Nitroaromatenkonzentration im Sickerwasser innerhalb und außerhalb des Schadensherdes ermittelt und die im hydrologischen Jahr 2004 ausgetragene Nitroaromatenmenge abgeschätzt werden.

Validation of the CFD code NEPTUNE for a full scale simulator for decay heat removal systems with in-pool heat exchangers

In the present work, a multi physics simulation of an innovative safety system for light water nuclear reactor is performed, with the aim to increase the reliability of its main decay heat removal system. The system studied, denoted by the acronym PERSEO (in Pool Energy Removal System for Emergency Operation) is able to remove the decay power from the primary side of the light water nuclear reactor through a heat suppression pool. The experimental facility, located at SIET laboratories (PIACENZA), is an evolution of the Thermal Valve concept where the triggering valve is installed liquid side, on a line connecting two pools at the bottom. During the normal operation, the valve is closed, while in emergency conditions it opens, the heat exchanger is flooded with consequent heat transfer from the primary side to the pool side. In order to verify the correct system behavior during long term accidental transient, two main experimental PERSEO tests are analyzed. For this purpose, a coupling between the mono dimensional system code CATHARE, which reproduces the system scale behavior, with a three-dimensional CFD code NEPTUNE CFD, allowing a full investigation of the pools and the injector, is implemented. The coupling between the two codes is realized through the boundary conditions. In a first analysis, the facility is simulated by the system code CATHARE V2.5 to validate the results with the experimental data. The comparison of the numerical results obtained shows a different void distribution during the boiling conditions inside the heat suppression pool for the two cases of single nodalization and three volume nodalization scheme of the pool. Finaly, to improve the investigation capability of the void distribution inside the pool and the temperature stratification phenomena below the injector, a two and three dimensional CFD models with a simplified geometry of the system are adopted.

Per un'archeologia del lavoro in eta' protobizantina. Organizzazione e committenza del cantiere edilizio attraverso i marchi dei marmorari

La ricerca riguarda lo studio del cantiere edilizio protobizantino, con particolare riferimento al ciclo della lavorazione del marmo. Quest’ultimo viene analizzato sotto il profilo amministrativo, tecnico, sociale ed artigianale. L’elemento guida della ricerca sono i marchi dei marmorari, sigle apposte da funzionari e maestranze durante il processo produttivo. Dapprima, fonti letterarie ed epigrafiche, tra cui le sigle di cava e officina su marmo, vengono esaminate per ricostruire il sistema alto-imperiale di amministrazione delle cave e di gestione dei flussi marmorei, nonché l’iter tecnico-artigianale adottato per la produzione dei manufatti. Il confronto con i dati disponibili per la tarda antichità, con particolare riferimento alle cave di Proconneso, evidenzia una sostanziale continuità della prassi burocratico-amministrativa, mentre alcuni cambiamenti si riscontrano nell’ambito produttivo-artigianale. Il funzionamento degli atelier marmorari viene approfondito attraverso lo studio dei marchi dei marmorari. Si tratta di caratteri greci singoli, multipli o monogrammi. Una ricognizione sistematica delle sigle dalla pars Orientalis dell’impero, reperite in bibliografia o da ricognizioni autoptiche, ha portato alla raccolta di circa 2360 attestazioni. Per esse si propone una classificazione tipologica tra sigle di cava, stoccaggio, officina. Tra le sigle di cava si annoverano sigle di controllo, destinazione/committenza, assemblaggio/posizionamento. Una particolare attenzione è riservata alle sigle di officina, riferibili ad un nome proprio di persona, ovvero al πρωτομαΐστωρ, il capo-bottega che supervisionava il lavoro dei propri artigiani e fungeva da garante del prodotto consegnato alla committenza. Attraverso lo studio comparato delle sigle reperite a Costantinopoli e in altri contesti si mette in luce la prassi operativa adottata dagli atelier nei processi di manifattura, affrontando anche il problema delle maestranze itineranti. Infine, sono analizzate fonti scritte di varia natura per poter collocare il fenomeno del marmo in un contesto socio-economico più ampio, con particolare riferimento alle figure professionali ed artigianali coinvolte nei cantieri e al problema della committenza.

Il presidente del consiglio dei ministri nell'ordinamento vigente e nelle prospettive di riforma

“Il Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri nell'ordinamento vigente e nelle proposte di riforma”. La tesi si propone di ricostruire i caratteri propri della figura giuridica del Presidente del Consiglio nell’ordinamento vigente, sino alla analisi delle più recenti proposte di riforma costituzionale in tema. La dimensione analitico-sistematica proposta è stata sviluppata in riferimento alle concrete dinamiche economiche, politiche ed istituzionali, in relazione alle quali si è inteso verificare il tipo di rapporto tra esigenze di stabilizzazione del ciclo economico ed esigenze di stabilizzazione degli esecutivi, dando il dovuto rilievo al processo di integrazione della Unione Europea, come “motore” delle istanze di riforma del sistema economico ed istituzionale. Nel primo capitolo, si sono esplicitate le chiavi metodologiche secondo le quali si è inteso sviluppare il percorso di ricerca. Nel secondo capitolo si è operata una ricostruzione del quadro ordinamentale a base statutaria, come termine iniziale per poter cogliere al meglio la configurazione del ruolo poi assunta nell’ordinamento repubblicano; ciò come premessa necessaria ad una corretta ricostruzione diacronica, di tutti gli elementi rilevanti per poter comprendere la portata delle proposte attuali. Nel terzo capitolo, si è cercato di ricostruire il ruolo del presidente del consiglio, collocandolo nel quadro della dinamica attuazione/inattuazione dell’ordinamento repubblicano e alla luce dei caratteri del sistema politico, in modo da poter coniugare i tratti evolutivi imposti all’inquadramento della figura dalle dinamiche del sistema politico; così da poter conseguentemente cogliere gli elementi genetici di un dibattito politico istituzionale, che genera proposte di riforma organica, mediante l’analisi degli atti delle commissioni Parlamentari per le riforme. Nel quarto capitolo, a partire dalla apertura di una fase di c.d. “transizione”, si ricostruiscono le proposte specificamente finalizzate al riassetto del Presidente del Consiglio prodotte dalle commissioni parlamentari per le riforme, segnando le tappe di un percorso ancora aperto e dall’esito incerto.

Tetti verdi: Analisi sperimentale e Modellazione numerica

I tetti verdi rappresentano, sempre più frequentemente, una tecnologia idonea alla mitigazione alle problematiche connesse all’ urbanizzazione, tuttavia la conoscenza delle prestazioni dei GR estensivi in clima sub-Mediterraneo è ancora limitata. La presente ricerca è supportata da 15 mesi di analisi sperimentali su due GR situati presso la Scuola di Ingegneria di Bologna. Inizialmente vengono comparate, tra loro e rispetto a una superficie di riferimento (RR), le prestazioni idrologiche ed energetiche dei due GR, caratterizzati da vegetazione a Sedum (SR) e a erbe native perenni (NR). Entrambi riducono i volumi defluiti e le temperature superficiali. Il NR si dimostra migliore del SR sia in campo idrologico che termico, la fisiologia della vegetazione del NR determina l'apertura diurna degli stomi e conseguentemente una maggiore evapotraspirazione (ET). Successivamente si sono studiate la variazioni giornaliere di umidità nel substrato del SR riscontrando che la loro ampiezza è influenzata dalla temperatura, dall’umidità iniziale e dalla fase vegetativa. Queste sono state simulate mediante un modello idrologico basato sull'equazione di bilancio idrico e su due modelli convenzionali per la stima della ET potenziale combinati con una funzione di estrazione dell’ umidità dal suolo. Sono stati proposti dei coefficienti di correzione, ottenuti per calibrazione, per considerare le differenze tra la coltura di riferimento e le colture nei GR durante le fasi di crescita. Infine, con l’ausilio di un modello implementato in SWMM 5.1. 007 utilizzando il modulo Low Impact Development (LID) durante simulazioni in continuo (12 mesi) si sono valutate le prestazioni in termini di ritenzione dei plot SR e RR. Il modello, calibrato e validato, mostra di essere in grado di riprodurre in modo soddisfacente i volumi defluiti dai due plot. Il modello, a seguito di una dettagliata calibrazione, potrebbe supportare Ingegneri e Amministrazioni nella valutazioni dei vantaggi derivanti dall'utilizzo dei GR.

Loss of astrocyte polarization upon transient focal brain ischemia as a possible mechanism to counteract early edema formation

Brain edema is the main cause of death from brain infarction. The polarized expression of the water channel protein aquaporin-4 (AQP4) on astroglial endfeet surrounding brain microvessels suggests a role in brain water balance. Loss of astrocyte foot process anchoring to the basement membrane (BM) accompanied by the loss of polarized localization of AQP4 to astrocytic endfeet has been shown to be associated with vasogenic/extracellular edema in neuroinflammation. Here, we asked if loss of astrocyte polarity is also observed in cytotoxic/intracellular edema following focal brain ischemia after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO). Upon mild focal brain ischemia, we observed diminished immunostaining for the BM components laminin α4, laminin α2, and the proteoglycan agrin, in the core of the lesion, but not in BMs in the surrounding penumbra. Staining for the astrocyte endfoot anchorage protein β-dystroglycan (DG) was dramatically reduced in both the lesion core and the penumbra, and AQP4 and Kir4.1 showed a loss of polarized localization to astrocytic endfeet. Interestingly, we observed that mice deficient for agrin expression in the brain lack polarized localization of β-DG and AQP4 at astrocytic endfeet and do not develop early cytotoxic/intracellular edema following tMCAO. Taken together, these data indicate that the binding of DG to agrin embedded in the subjacent BM promotes polarized localization of AQP4 to astrocyte endfeet. Reduced DG protein levels and redistribution of AQP4 as observed upon tMCAO might therefore counteract early edema formation and reflect a beneficial mechanism operating in the brain to minimize damage upon ischemia.

SPRING DISCHARGE MONITORING IN LOW-RESOURCE SETTINGS: A CASE STUDY OF CONCEPCIÓN CHIQUIRICHAPA, GUATEMALA

Water springs are the principal source of water for many localities in Central America, including the municipality of Concepción Chiquirichapa in the Western Highlands of Guatemala. Long-term monitoring records are critical for informed water management as well as resource forecasting, though data are scarce and monitoring in low-resource settings presents special challenges. Spring discharge was monitored monthly in six municipal springs during the author’s Peace Corps assignment, from May 2011 to March 2012, and water level height was monitored in two spring boxes over the same time period using automated water-level loggers. The intention of this approach was to circumvent the need for frequent and time-intensive manual measurement by identifying a fixed relationship between discharge and water level. No such relationship was identified, but the water level record reveals that spring yield increased for four months following Tropical Depression 12E in October 2011. This suggests that the relationship between extreme precipitation events and long-term water spring yields in Concepción should be examined further. These limited discharge data also indicate that aquifer baseflow recession and catchment water balance could be successfully characterized if a long-term discharge record were established. This study also presents technical and social considerations for selecting a methodology for spring discharge measurement and highlights the importance of local interest in conducting successful community-based research in intercultural low-resource settings.

The 1945-1949 droughts in Switzerland

This paper studies the representation of a drought period that affected Central Europe from 1945 to 1949 in the “Twentieth Century Reanalysis” (20CR). We analysed temperature and precipitation fields in 20CR and compared them to other data products. From the monthly precipitation rate at a 20CR grid point in the Swiss Plateau, the Standardised Precipitation Index over six months (SPI6) was calculated and compared with the corresponding index calculated from station data. For additional analyses, 20CR soil moisture, run off, and evaporation data were used. 20CR well reproduces the temperature and precipitation anomalies over Central Europe during this period, although during 1947, the precipitation anomaly is shifted to the east as compared to observations. With respect to the SPI6 index, the agreement between 20CR and station data is good except again for 1947 (conversely, drought was overestimated in 20CR for 1945 and 1949). Low SPI values in 20CR are accompanied by negative soil moisture anomalies and a negative water balance. Thus, apart from the shift in the spatial drought pattern in 1947, the drought is depicted in a realistic way in 20CR.

Microcirculation in hypertensive patients

Regardless of the mechanisms that initiate the increase in blood pressure, functional and structural changes in the systemic vasculature are the final result of long-standing hypertension. These changes can occur in the macro- but also in the microvasculature. The supply of the tissues with oxygen, nutrients, and metabolites occurs almost exclusively in the microcirculation (which comprises resistance arterioles, capillaries and venules), and an adequate perfusion via the microcirculatory network is essential for the integrity of tissue and organ function. This review focuses on results from clinical studies in hypertensive patients, which have been performed in close cooperation with different clinical groups over the last three decades. Intravital microscopy was used to study skin microcirculation, microcatheters for the analysis of skeletal muscle microcirculation, the slit lamp for conjunctival microcirculation and the laser scanning ophthalmoscope for the measurement of the retinal capillary network. The first changes of the normal microcirculation can be found in about 93% of patients with essential hypertension, long before organ dysfunctions become clinically manifest. The earliest disorders were found in skin capillaries and thereafter in the retina and the skeletal muscle. In general, the disorders in the different areas were clearly correlated. While capillary rarefaction occurred mainly in the retina and the conjunctiva bulbi, in skin capillaries morphological changes were rare. A significant decrease of capillary erythrocyte velocities under resting conditions together with a marked damping of the postischemic hyperemia was found, both correlating with the duration of hypertension or WHO stage or the fundus hypertonicus stage. Also the mean oxygen tension in the skeletal muscle was correlated with the state of the disease. These data show that the microcirculatory disorders in hypertension are systemic and are hallmarks of the long-term complications of hypertension. There is now a large body of evidence that microvascular changes occur very early and may be important in their pathogenesis and progression.

Environment and climate of the last 51,000 years – new insights from the Potrok Aike maar lake Sediment Archive Drilling prOject (PASADO)

In this introductory paper we summarize the history and achievements of the Potrok Aike maar lake Sediment Archive Drilling prOject (PASADO), an interdisciplinary project embedded in the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP). The stringent multiproxy approach adopted in this research combined with radiocarbon and luminescence dating provided the opportunity to synthesize a large body of hydrologically relevant data from Laguna Potrok Aike (southern Patagonia, Argentina). At this site, lake level was high from 51 ka until the early Holocene when the Southern Hemisphere Westerlies (SHW) were located further to the north. At 9.3 ka cal. BP the SHW moved southward and over the latitude of the study area (52 degrees S) causing a pronounced negative water balance with a lake level decrease of more than 50 m. Two millennia later, the SHW diminished in intensity and lake level rose to a subsequent maximum during the Little Ice Age. Since the 20th century, a strengthening of the SHW increased the evaporative stress resulting in a more negative water balance. A comparison of our data with other hydrological fluctuations at a regional scale in south-eastern Patagonia, provides new insights and also calls for better chronologies and high-resolution records of climate variability.

Hypernatremia in critically ill patients

Hypernatremia is common in intensive care units. It has detrimental effects on various physiologic functions and was shown to be an independent risk factor for increased mortality in critically ill patients. Mechanisms of hypernatremia include sodium gain and/or loss of free water and can be discriminated by clinical assessment and urine electrolyte analysis. Because many critically ill patients have impaired levels of consciousness, their water balance can no longer be regulated by thirst and water uptake but is managed by the physician. Therefore, the intensivists should be very careful to provide the adequate sodium and water balance for them. Hypernatremia is treated by the administration of free water and/or diuretics, which promote renal excretion of sodium. The rate of correction is critical and must be adjusted to the rapidity of the development of hypernatremia.

Melting of metasomatized peridotite at 4–6 GPa and up to 1200 °C: an experimental approach

The phase assemblages and compositions in a K-bearing lherzolite + H2O system are determined between 4 and 6 GPa and 850–1200 °C, and the melting reactions occurring at subarc depth in subduction zones are constrained. Experiments were performed on a rocking multi-anvil apparatus. The experiments had around 16 wt% water content, and hydrous melt or aqueous fluid was segregated and trapped in a diamond aggregate layer. The compositions of the aqueous fluid and hydrous melt phases were measured using the cryogenic LA-ICP-MS technique. The residual lherzolite consists of olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, and garnet, while diamond (C) is assumed to be inert. Hydrous and alkali-rich minerals were absent from the run products due to preferred dissolution of K2O (and Na2O) to the aqueous fluid/hydrous melt phases. The role of phlogopite in melting relations is, thus, controlled by the water content in the system: at the water content of around 16 wt% used here, phlogopite is unstable and thus does not participate in melting reactions. The water-saturated solidus, i.e., the first appearance of hydrous melt in the K–lherzolite composition, is located between 900 and 1000 °C at 4 GPa and between 1000 and 1100 °C at 5 and 6 GPa. Compositional jumps between hydrous melt and aqueous fluid at the solidus include a significant increase in the total dissolved solids load. All melts/fluids are peralkaline and calcium-rich. The melting reactions at the solidus are peritectic, as olivine, clinopyroxene, garnet, and H2O are consumed to generate hydrous melt plus orthopyroxene. Our fluid/melt compositional data demonstrate that the water-saturated hybrid peridotite solidus lies above 1000 °C at depths greater than 150 km and that the second critical endpoint is not reached at 6 GPa for a K2O–Na2O–CaO–FeO–MgO–Al2O3–SiO2–H2O–Cr2O3(–TiO2) peridotite composition.

Isotope signature of the Younger Dryas and two minor oscillations at Gerzensee (Switzerland): palaeoclimatic and palaeolimnologic interpretation based on bulk and biogenic carbonates

Oxygen- and carbon-isotope ratios in the carbonate of benthic ostracodes (Pseudocandona marchica) and molluscs (Pisidium ssp.) were measured across the transitions bordering the Younger Dryas chronozone in littoral lacustrine cores from Gerzensee (Switzerland). The specific biogenic carbonate records confirm the major shifts already visible in the continuous bulk-carbonate oxygen-isotope record (δ18OCc). If corrected for their vital offsets, oxygen-isotope ratios of Pisidium and juvenile P. marchica, both formed in summer, are almost identical to δ18OCc. This bulk carbonate is mainly composed of encrustations of benthic macrophythes (Chara ssp.), also mainly produced during summer. Adult P. marchica, which calcify in winter, show consistently higher δ18O, larger shifts across both transitions, and short positive excursions compared with the summer forms, especially during early Preboreal. Despite such complexity, the δ18O of adult P. marchica probably reflects more accurately the variations of the δ18O of former lake water because, during winter, calcification temperatures are less variable and the water column isotopically uniform. The difference between normalised δ18O of calcite precipitated in winter to that formed in summer can be used to estimate the minimum difference between summer and winter water temperatures. In general, the results indicate warmer summers during the late Allerød and early Preboreal compared with the Younger Dryas. Altogether, the isotopic composition of lake water (δ18OL) and of the dissolved inorganic carbonate (δ13CDIC) reconstructed from adult Pseudocandona marchica, as well as the seasonal water temperature contrasts, indicate that the major shifts in the δ18O of local precipitation at Gerzensee were augmented by changes of the lake's water balance, with relatively higher evaporative loss occurring during the Allerød compared with the Younger Dryas. It is possible that during the early Preboreal the lake might even have been hydrologically closed for a short period. We speculate that such hydrologic changes reflect a combination of varying evapotranspiration and a rearrangement of groundwater recharge during those climatic shifts.