Search results for " Emissions"
showing 10 items of 260 documents
Universal newborn hearing screening in the Italian Region of Sicily in 2018
2021
We have clarified the role of Universal Neonatal Hearing Screening (UNHS) for both early diagnosis and rapid treatment in order to improve the prognosis of the deaf child and reduce patient management costs. Although in Sicily UNHS has been progressively implemented, there is scarce data in the literature on this matter. Therefore, the main objective was to collect in the year 2018 the following data: number of newborns screened for hearing loss, number of infants "referred" to transiently evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE), number of infants with pathologic auditory brainstem response (ABR) and number of infants affected by permanent hearing loss.UNHS monitoring was conducted through the…
Effect of explosive shallow hydrothermal vents on δ13C and growth performance in the seagrass Posidonia oceanica
2010
1. Explosive volcanic submarine activity is expected to affect seagrass communities due to sudden and dramatic changes in the physical and chemical features of sea water and sediments, with possibly large ecosystem effects. However, seagrass response to the harsh environmental conditions that arise due to explosive volcanism is as yet unexplored as it is not easy to predict when and where an eruption will occur. Here, we investigate the uptake of hydrothermal carbon within the seagrass Posidonia oceanica by the analysis of d13C and growth rates in tissue laid down before and after an exceptional and massive hydrothermal gas release in the Aeolian Islands (Italy, Mediterranean Sea). 2. Hydro…
High diversity of methanotrophic bacteria in geothermal soils affected by high methane fluxes
2014
Volcanic and geothermal systems emit endogenous gases by widespread degassing from soils, including CH4, a greenhouse gas 25 times as potent as CO2. Recently, it has been demonstrated that volcanic/geothermal soils act as source, but also as biological filter for methane release to the atmosphere. For long time, volcanic/geothermal soils has been considered inhospitable for methanotrophic microorganisms, but new extremophile methanotrophs belonging to Verrucomicrobia were identified in three different areas (Pozzuoli, Italy; Hell’s Gate, New Zealand; Kamchatka, Russia), explaining anomalous behaviours in methane leakages of several geothermal/volcanic sites. Our aim was to increase the know…
Estimation of Air Pollutant Emissions in “Turbo” and in Conventional Roundabouts
2013
The road pollutant emissions, above all in urban context, are correlated to many infrastructural parameters and to traffic intensity and typology. The research work on road junction geometry, carried out in European research centres, has recently allowed to design new road intersection types which are of undoubted interest, especially in terms of traffic functionality and safety, like the turbo roundabouts (in which right-turn manoeuvres do not conflict with the circulating flow). The main objective of this paper is to propose a model for the estimation the performances and the pollutant emissions into turbo roundabouts. A comparative analysis between conventional roundabout and turbo round…
A simplified method for the indirect evaluation of the “embodied pollution” of natural stones (marble) working chain to be applied for achieving the …
2022
The constant push toward higher energy and environmental quality buildings makes the acquisition of excellence marks for products and materials, of which the building envelope is constituted, increasingly urgent. The recent European (EU) Commission Decision 2021/476 is applicable to marble used in construction. It sets out criteria that companies producing marble have to accomplish to obtain the EU Ecolabel brand. Unfortunately, some criteria such as, for example, those that refer to the application of the Environmental Management System, ISO 14001 and EMAS certifications, or those that concern the ISO 14067 as well as the Product Environment Footprint procedure, are difficult to apply for …
ECO-PROFILES OF INNOVATIVE ENERGY SYSTEMS FOR DOMESTIC AND RESIDENTIAL APPLICATIONS
2015
The exponential growth of distributed generation systems (mainly from solar energy through the use of photovoltaic) and the new release on energy markets of new generation technologies, with smaller dimension, are pushing towards rethinking energy systems. "Smart buildings" with the capacity to produce, store and manage flow of information's and energy will become the milestone of the future distribution networks (smart buildings to smart grid). The goal of this study is to evaluate the ecoprofile of 1 kWh of electricity, selected as a functional unit, generated by microcogenerator fuel cells as SOFC. The analysis was performed using the Life Cycle Assessment methodology, which allows to co…
Towards the implementation of circular economy in the water softening industry: A technical, economic and environmental analysis
2020
Abstract To reduce the environmental impact of the industrial sectors, circular strategies should be implemented to purify the effluents and recover raw materials. In this context, a novel integrated methodological approach is proposed to identify the most suitable strategy to improve the sustainability of the water softening industry via the treatment and recycling of the produced wastewater. Different concentration technologies and energy supply systems are compared to find economically feasible and environmentally friendly treatment systems. The investigated chains present the same pre-treatment step (nanofiltration and crystallization) and different concentration technologies: Multi-Eff…
Life Cycle Energy Consumption and Air Emissions Comparison of Alternative and Conventional Bus Fleets in Vietnam
2022
The study (a) assesses the life cycle energy consumption and air emissions impacts of battery electric buses (e-buses) and conventional buses operated in Vietnam, and (b) compares them with those of hydrogen buses. The results indicate that e-buses and hydrogen buses are preferred options compared to conventional buses in terms of energy consumption, GHG emissions and other air quality impacts over their whole life cycle. Life cycle energy consumption of diesel buses is triple that of e-buses, and is significantly higher than that of hydrogen buses. Replacing conventional buses with e-buses can reduce energy consumption by 50%. For GHG emissions and air quality impacts, the adoption of elec…
BIOCHARS IN SOILS: TOWARDS THE REQUIRED LEVEL OF SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING
2017
The special issue on Biochar as an Option for Sustainable Resource Management Key priorities in biochar research for future guidance of sustainable policy development have been identified by expert assessment within the COST Action TD1107. The current level of scientific understanding (LOSU) regarding the consequences of biochar application to soil were explored. Five broad thematic areas of biochar research were addressed: soil biodiversity and ecotoxicology, soil organic matter and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, soil physical properties, nutrient cycles and crop production, and soil remediation. The highest future research priorities regarding biochar’s effects in soils were: functional …
Soil gas prospection of He,222Rn and CO2: Vulcano Porto area, Aeolian Islands, Italy
1997
Abstract In March 1994, soil gases were sampled in the area of Vulcano Porto, on the island of Vulcano, using a grid of about 200 points/km 2 . Analysed gases were CO 2 , He and 222 Rn and, over a smaller area, H 2 S. Some of the samples were also analysed for the isotope composition of CO 2 C. Three anomalous CO 2 degassing areas were identified: Grotta dei Palizzi, the area near the Telephone Exchange, and the area near the beach fumaroles. The behaviour of He and 222 Rn is different in these 3 areas. The concentration of He is much lower than that of atmospheric He (down to −3950 ppb) in the isthmus, and only in the area near Grotta dei Palizzi does it have values significantly higher th…