Search

Despite the attention paid to components downsizing and down weighting, as well as to combustion control and exhaust gases after-treatment, friction reduction remains a promising area of intervention when it comes to the reduction of the environmental impact of internal combustion engines. The larger gain must be sought at cold starts, when the viscosity of the lubricant oil is higher and does not allow proper friction reduction. Moreover, during the first phases of engine operation, the metallic masses are not yet warm and do not contribute to the thermal stabilization of the lubricant. Further consequences of unfavourable thermal conditions are increased specific fuel consumption and pollutant emissions. Proper thermal management could effectively speed up the reaching of the design operating temperature of the oil and positively affect both homologation and on-road operation. The abundance of waste thermal energy during normal operation supports the option of on-board thermal storage for faster oil heating: water, heated by exhaust gases or residual thermal energy from previous use or by a combination of the two, can be stored inside a thermally insulated tank and serve as heating fluid in a dedicated water/oil heat exchanger. The paper presents a model based evaluation of this opportunity. The model has been validated thanks to an experimental activity carried out on an IVECO 3.0 L light-duty diesel engine, during a transient cycle (i.e., homologation one) reproduced on a dynamometric test bench. Different configurations in terms of hot storage volume, hot storage initial temperature, and the flow rate of the hot water during operation have been studied, producing optimized values for the hot water and storage unit design.

Cities have a fundamental role in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The European Community has already addressed a specific planning under the actions referred as SEAPs (Sustainable Environmental Action Plans) and SECAPs (Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans). In fact, Municipalities are the smallest entities with a political responsibility in terms of Energy and Environmental Planning, and they must participate, as commitment, to the European Directives on Energy and fight to Climate change. They, finally, are often the most unsustainable environments due to the aggregation of many activities, energy and CO2 related. In this paper, for a typical small/medium-size Italian city (Avezzano), an evolution of the SEAP and the SECAP has been supposed and elaborated within the Covenant of Mayors. The synergy between the energy consumption of a city and the capability of a territory to mitigate CO2 and to finalize renewable energy to electricity production appears to be the right answer to the even more stringent commitments imposed by the gas crisis at worldwide level which is pushing to a new switch-on of coal fired power plants. Starting from the data and the list of actions elaborated to fulfil the SECAP, two scenarios have been evaluated to create a zero CO2 emission city. A model with multiple inputs has been elaborated with the main aim of reducing GHG emissions or compensating them, trying to sustain the effort to keep limited to 1,5 °C the maximum Planet’s temperature increase. Increasing the renewable energy production for all the energy final needs, exploitation of unused area finalized to carbon sequestration, energy efficiency and specific actions on the transportation sectors give all together a formidable contribution to reach this goal and to give to energy and environmental planning the right role it deserves.

Waste Heat Recovery (WHR) from exhaust gases of Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) is one of the most significant opportunities to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the transportation sector. This is particularly useful because the category, at European defined a fine for any gram of CO2 which exceed the specified limits, redefining in this way the value of a low-carbon technology. In ICE applications, the main critical aspect is the intrinsic time-varying nature of the upper thermal source, which forces the ORC-based units to work frequently in off-design condition. This requires the recourse of reliable control systems and a careful choice of the design specifications of components. A key role is played by the expander which it must ensure to deal with highly variable flow rates and inlet thermodynamic conditions with the eventuality to receive two-phases flow when the high temperature thermal source is not enough to guarantee a full vaporization. Hence, to address all these issues, positive displacement machines are generally preferred to the dynamic types (radial or axial turbines). Scroll expanders among the other types appear to be the most suitable candidates, thanks their reliability, compactness, high efficiency and ease of starting. In this paper a scroll expander has been tested inside a test rig which allows to evaluate the performance of a 1.5 kW mechanical ORC-based power unit fed by the exhaust gases of a 3L turbocharged diesel internal combustion engine represented by an Iveco F1C. As working fluid, R245fa was selected. The results are presented for different steady working condition observing a maximum plant efficiency and power respectively equal to 4% and 500 W. Also transient analysis were performed observing that the ORC unit presents a relatively low start up time (370 s) thanks to the capability of scroll machine to work with two phase working fluid.

Error de fol. en la última h., Enc. Holandesa, Sign.: A-D4, E2

El tractat mencionat al subtitol es G.B. Caccialupi's Tractatus de modo studendi in utroque iure per decem documenta, cum nominibus omnium scribentium in iure, tam canonistarum quam legistarum, usque ad haec tempora Segon impresor tret del colofó Data al colofó: 1596 Signatures: A-3F8 Texto a dos col.

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is the primary disease model of multiple sclerosis (MS), one of the most diffused neurological diseases characterized by fatigue, muscle weakness, vision loss, anxiety and depression. EAE can be induced through injection of myelin peptides to susceptible mouse or rat strains. In particular, EAE elicited by the autoimmune reaction against myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) presents the common features of human MS: inflammation, demyelination and axonal loss. Optic neuritis affects visual pathways in both MS and in several EAE models. Neurophysiological evaluation through visual evoked potential (VEP) recording is useful to check visual pathway dysfunctions and to test the efficacy of innovative treatments against optic neuritis. For this purpose, we investigate the extent of VEP abnormalities in the dark agouti (DA) rat immunized with MOG, which develops a relapsing–remitting disease course. Together with the detection of motor signs, we acquired VEPs during both early and late stages of EAE, taking advantage of a non-invasive recording procedure that allows long follow-up studies. The validation of VEP outcomes was determined by comparison with ON histopathology, aimed at revealing inflammation, demyelination and nerve fiber loss. Our results indicate that the first VEP latency delay in MOG-EAE DA rats appeared before motor deficits and were mainly related to an inflammatory state. Subsequent VEP delays, detected during relapsing EAE phases, were associated with a combination of inflammation, demyelination and axonal loss. Moreover, DA rats with atypical EAE clinical course tested at extremely late time points, manifested abnormal VEPs although motor signs were mild. Overall, our data demonstrated that non-invasive VEPs are a powerful tool to detect visual involvement at different stages of EAE, prompting their validation as biomarkers to test novel treatments against MS optic neuritis.

The valorization of residual biomass plays today a decisive role in the concept of &ldquo, circular economy&rdquo, according to which each waste material must be reused to its maximum extent. The collection and energy valorization at the local level of biomass from forest management practices and wildfire prevention cutting can be settled in protected areas to contribute to local decarbonization, by removing power generation from fossil fuels. Despite the evident advantages of bioenergy systems, several problems still hinder their diffusion, such as the need to assure their reliability by extending the operating range with materials of different origin. The Italian project &ldquo, INNOVARE&mdash, Innovative plants for distributed poly-generation by residual biomass&rdquo, funded by the Italian Ministry of Economic Development (MISE), has the main scope of improving micro-cogeneration technologies fueled by biomass. A micro-combined heat and power (mCHP) unit was chosen as a case study to discuss pros and cons of biomass-powered cogeneration within a national park, especially due to its flexibility of use. The availability of local biomasses (woodchips, olive milling residuals) was established by studying the agro-industrial production and by identifying forest areas to be properly managed through an approach using a satellite location system based on the microwave technology. A detailed synergic numerical and experimental characterization of the selected cogeneration system was performed in order to identify its main inefficiencies. Improvements of its operation were optimized by acting on the engine control strategy and by also adding a post-treatment system on the engine exhaust gas line. Overall, the electrical output was increased by up to 6% using the correct spark timing, and pollutant emissions were reduced well below the limits allowed by legislation by working with a lean mixture and by adopting an oxidizing catalyst. Finally, the global efficiency of the system increased from 45.8% to 63.2%. The right blending of different biomasses led to an important improvement of the reliability of the entire plant despite using an agrifood residual, such as olive pomace. It was demonstrated that the use of this biomass is feasible if its maximum mass percentage in a wood matrix mixture does not exceed 25%. The project was concluded with a real operation demonstration within a national park in Southern Italy by replacing a diesel genset with the analyzed and improved biomass-powered plant and by proving a decisive improvement of air quality in the real environment during exercise.

This paper investigates swelling-induced shaping in bilayer thin plates. Sphere-like and nearly developable shapes are realized and the ability to control a specific shaping, shifting from one shape to another, under anisotropic swelling is investigated. It is shown that reinforcing fibers can be crucial in controlling shaping under swelling and dramatically affect the characteristics of the final shapes.

This paper investigates swelling-induced eversion and flattening in curved bilayer gel beams. An explicit formula is produced to evaluate the change in curvature induced by large swelling deformations. The validity is tested against a fully coupled nonlinear three–dimensional stress-diffusion model. Limit situations for nearly-homogeneous and slightly curved beams are discussed.

We evaluated the dynamics of innate and adaptive immunity in patients treated with combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) during primary human immunodeficiency virus infection (PHI), enrolled in a prospective randomized trial (MAIN, EUDRACT 2008-007004-29). After 48 weeks of cART, we documented a reduction in activated B cells and CD8 + T cells. Natural killer cell and dendritic cell frequencies were measured and a decrease in CD16 + CD56 dim with a reciprocal rise in CD56 high natural killer cells and an increase in myeloid and plasmacytoid dendritic cells were recorded. In conclusion, 48 weeks of cART during PHI showed significant benefits for both innate and adaptive immunity.

Introduction Understanding the mechanisms by which some individuals are able to naturally control HIV-1 infection is an important goal of AIDS research. We here describe the case of an HIV-1+ woman, CASE1, who has spontaneously controlled her viremia for the last 14 of her 20 years of infection. Methods CASE1 has been clinically monitored since 1993. Detailed immunological, virological and histological analyses were performed on samples obtained between 2009 and 2011. Results As for other Elite Controllers, CASE1 is characterized by low to undetectable levels of plasma HIV-1 RNA, peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) associated HIV-1 DNA and reduced in vitro susceptibility of target cells to HIV-1 infection. Furthermore, a slow rate of virus evolution was demonstrated in spite the lack of assumption of any antiretroviral agent. CASE1 failed to transmit HIV-1 to either her sexual male partner or to her child born by vaginal delivery. Normal values and ratios of T and B cells were observed, along with normal histology of the intestinal mucosa. Attempts to isolate HIV-1 from her PBMC and gut-derived cells were unsuccessful, despite expression of normal cell surface levels of CD4, CCRC5 and CXCR4. CASE1 did not produce detectable anti-HIV neutralizing antibodies in her serum or genital mucosal fluid although she displayed potent T cell responses against HIV-1 Gag and Nef. CASE1 also possessed multiple genetic polymorphisms, including HLA alleles (B*14, B*57, C*06 and C*08.02) and HLA-C single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs, rs9264942 C/C and rs67384697 del/del), that have been previously individually associated with spontaneous control of plasma viremia, maintenance of high CD4+ T cell counts and delayed disease progression. Conclusions CASE1 has controlled her HIV-1 viremia below the limit of detection in the absence of antiretroviral therapy for more than 14 years and has not shown any sign of immunologic deterioration or disease progression. Co-expression of multiple protective HLA alleles, HLA-C SNPs and strong T cell responses against HIV-1 proteins are the most likely explanation of this very benign case of spontaneous control of HIV-1 disease progression. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12967-014-0335-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Non-conventional strategies with nucleoside/nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitor-sparing regimens in antiretroviral naive human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) -infected patients have been explored in clinical trials. A prospective, open-label, randomized (1:1), multicentre, proof-of-concept trial (VEMAN study, EUDRACT number 2008-006287-11) was conducted assigning HIV-infected naive patients to once-daily maraviroc plus lopinavir/ritonavir (MVC group) or to tenofovir/emtricitabine plus lopinavir/ritonavir (TDF/FTC group). Clinical and laboratory data were collected at baseline, and after 4, 12, 24, 36 and 48 weeks with the objective to evaluate the 48-week virological and immunological efficacy. HIV-1 DNA load and CD4(+) T-cell subsets were analysed on frozen peripheral blood mononuclear cells collected at baseline, 4 and 48 weeks to explore the trend in HIV reservoirs. Fifty patients were randomized and included in the analysis. During follow up, HIV-1 RNA decreased similarly in both groups and, at week 48, all patients in the MVC group and 22/24 (96%) in the TDF/FTC group had < 50 copies/ml of HIV-1 RNA. CD4(+) trend during follow up was higher in maraviroc-treated patients (MVC group: 286 (183-343) versus TDF/FTC group: 199 (125-285); Mann-Whitney U-test: p 0.033). A significant 48-week increase of CCR5(+) CD4(+) T cells and CD4(+) effector memory cells was observed among maraviroc-treated patients (Wilcoxon signed rank test: p 0.016 and p 0.007, respectively). No significant variations were found in naive and central memory CD4(+) T cells. Among naive patients with an R5 virus, treatment with maraviroc and lopinavir/ritonavir was shown to provide a virological response compared to a triple therapy and a greater immunological benefit.