Search results for " life cycle"
showing 10 items of 158 documents
Assessing the carbon footprint across the supply chain: Cow milk vs soy drink
2022
Abstract Since livestock product consumption could have a significant effect on tackling climate change, in the few last years, there has been an increasing consumer demand for non-dairy alternatives. Despite plant-based beverages being considered crucial to foster the transition towards sustainable diet models, no studies have yet compared the level of emissions of plant-based beverages with animal-based ones. The present study aims at computing the carbon footprint of cow milk and that of soy drink and evaluating the carbon footprint results in the light of the substitutability of cow's milk with soy drink, analyzing the potential environmental, economic and nutritional trade-offs between…
Analisi di inventario di un sistema di valorizzazione energetica di biomasse residuali di origine forestale in un’ottica di ciclo di vita
2021
Il presente lavoro descrive i risultati dell’analisi di inventario di un impianto integrato “gassificatore – cogeneratore” impiegato per la valorizzazione energetica di biomasse residuali di origine forestale, in un’ottica di ciclo di vita. Il sistema gassificatore – cogeneratore è un prototipo realizzato presso il laboratorio di Bioenergia e Biocombustibili dell’Università di Bolzano. L’impianto è costituito da un gassificatore down-draft e un cogeneratore con motore diesel dual – fuel e una potenza elettrica di 3 kW. L’analisi di inventario è stata sviluppata in accordo agli standard della serie ISO 14040. L’unità funzionale (UF) è 1 kWh di energia elettrica immessa in rete. I confini del…
The use of Genetic Algorithms to solve the allocation problems in the Life Cycle Assessment
2011
The paper applies a GA (Genetic Algorithms) to a multi-output productive process of essential oils, natural and concen-trated juices from oranges and lemonsThe results obtained for the case study taken into consideration showed that the application of GA allows to respect the energ y and mass balances for the examined system .
Environmental Sustainability Approaches and Positive Energy Districts: A Literature Review
2021
During the last decade, increasing attention has been paid to the emerging concept of Positive Energy Districts (PED) with the aim of pushing the transition to clean energy, but further research efforts are needed to identify design approaches optimized from the point of view of sustainable development. In this context, this literature review is placed, with a specific focus on environmental sustainability within innovative and eco-sustainable districts. The findings show that some sustainability aspects such as sustainable food, urban heat islands mitigation and co-impacts, e.g., green gentrification, are not adequately assessed, while fragmented thinking limits the potential of circularit…
A Life Cycle Environmental Impact Comparison between Traditional, Hybrid, and Electric Vehicles in the European Context
2021
Global warming (GW) and urban pollution focused a great interest on hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) as cleaner alternatives to traditional internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs). The environmental impact related to the use of both ICEV and HEV mainly depends on the fossil fuel used by the thermal engines, while, in the case of the BEV, depends on the energy sources employed to produce electricity. Moreover, the production phase of each vehicle may also have a relevant environmental impact, due to the manufacturing processes and the materials employed. Starting from these considerations, the authors carried out a fair comparison of the environmental …
GDF15: an emerging modulator of immunity and a strategy in COVID-19 in association with iron metabolism
2021
International audience; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused a pandemic of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). SARS-CoV-2 encodes the structural proteins spike (S), envelope (E), membrane (M), and nucleocapsid (N). The receptor-binding domain on the surface subunit S1 is responsible for attachment of the virus to angiotensin (Ang)-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), which is highly expressed in host cells. The cytokine storm observed in patients with COVID-19 contributes to the endothelial vascular dysfunction, which can lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome, multiorgan failure, alteration in iron homeostasi…
Evaluating the Environmental Performance of Green Roofs by a Life Cycle Approach: an Application of the LCA Method on a Case Study in Italy
2011
AMCAS: Advanced Methods for the Co-Design of Complex Adaptive Systems
2006
Abstract This work proposes a new approximation to design and program Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS), these systems comprise neural network, intelligent agents, genetic algorithms, support vector machines and artificial intelligence systems in general. Due to the complexity of such systems, it is necessary to build a design environment able to ease the design work, allowing reusability and easy migration to hardware and/or software. Ptolemy II is used as the base system to simulate and evaluate the designs with different Models of Computation so that an optimum decision about the hardware or software implementation platform can be taken.
Age and productivity as determinants of firm survival over the industry life cycle
2017
AbstractThis paper contributes to fill the gap between the literature on the determinants of firm survival and the empirical works on the industry life cycle (ILC). Using a representative sample of Spanish firms with 10 or more employees over the period 1993–2009, the role played by firm age and productivity in firm survival is empirically analysed across three stages of the life cycle of forty-seven 3-digit manufacturing sectors. In the ‘early’ stage of the ILC, firm age is negatively correlated with hazard rates while firm productivity is not. Firm productivity is associated with lower hazard in the ‘mature’ stage of the ILC, when competition is primarily efficiency-driven, while firm age…
The evolution of transmission mode
2017
This article reviews research on the evolutionary mechanisms leading to different transmission modes. Such modes are often under genetic control of the host or the pathogen, and often in conflict with each other via trade-offs. Transmission modes may vary among pathogen strains and among host populations. Evolutionary changes in transmission mode have been inferred through experimental and phylogenetic studies, including changes in transmission associated with host shifts and with evolution of the unusually complex life cycles of many parasites. Understanding the forces that determine the evolution of particular transmission modes presents a fascinating medley of problems for which there is…