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We analyze the energy saving obtainable by coupling a commercially available M-cycle evaporative cooling system to a conventional refrigeration cycle, for the air conditioning of office buildings in North Italy. The analysis is performed through the dynamic simulation of a case study. The hourly energy needs for cooling, dehumidifying and air change, during July and August, of a real office building located in Milan are considered. The climate of Milan is humid in summer, so that the example refers to critical conditions for the application of this technology in Italy. Two systems with M-cycle evaporative cooling are analyzed and compared to a traditional system: M-cycle pre-cooling of the external air, coupled to a refrigeration cycle; M-cycle cooling of the recirculated air, coupled to a refrigeration cycle with heat recovery. The results show that the second application of the M-cycle offers the best performance: it yields a 37.6% reduction in energy extracted by the refrigeration cycle, a 76% reduction in heating energy, and a 38% reduction in the total use of electric energy, under the assumption of electric heating. The reduction in heating energy is due to avoiding reheating after dehumidification, without decrease in thermal comfort. • Combined M-cycle and refrigeration-cycle air conditioning systems are studied. • The energy saving potential for office buildings in North Italy is analyzed. • Commercially available M-cycle units and a real office building are considered. • A traditional plant and two plants with M-cycle are simulated for two summer months. • The best system yields 38% saving both in cooling energy and in electric energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnopharmacological relevance In the past Alpine populations were isolated from comforts of industrial and technological development present in large cities and, therefore, they were obliged to find in nature a source of sustenance and care. Traditional use of plant is a wealth of local knowledge that is likely to be lost. This work, carried out during 2012, aims to collect, analyze and process information on the species used for medicinal, veterinary, cosmetic, domestic, ritual and religious purposes by the inhabitants of Valfurva, in the Province of Sondrio (Italy). Furthermore it is a means for the preservation of local traditions regarding such uses and increases the ethnobotanical data from Northern Italy, till now poorly documented. Methods Our survey was conducted by semi-structered interviews. We interviewed 92 people, aged from 23 to 97 y.o., born or resident in Valfurva. All information collected and concerning their use of plants, were analyzed using ethnobotanical indices such as Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC), Relative Importance (RI) and Factor Informant Consensus (FIC). Results Our study stated that people living in Valfurva use 126 species belonging to 48 families. Findings revealed that the most cited species is Achillea moschata Wulfen, with values of RFC and RI equal to 1.00 and 1.12 respectively. Furthermore, 95 species were collected in the wild and 31 were cultivated. The most commonly used part plants were leaves, flowers, fruits, roots and complete aerial parts. The most frequent preparation methods were infusion, decoction and poultice. Among the recorded species, 91 of them are used for medicinal purposes, 72 for cooking, 19 for veterinary purposes, 10 for animal feed, 12 for cosmetic practices, 7 for religious or ritual purposes and 45 for domestic and various uses. The validity of the species use emerged in our survey is confirmed by scientific literature and research conducted on the same topics. Conclusions This study increases ethnobotanical data coming from Italian Alps, whose regions have been so far hardly investigated. Our study confirms the interest in species already mentioned in previous surveys and placings. It also provides evidences which could be usefully exploited by new investigations aimed at knowing the active metabolites found responsible for plants use in traditional medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Ethnopharmacological relevance: This work increases the ethnobotanical data from Northern Italy and, in particular, the Lombardy region, till now poorly documented, safeguarding the local folk knowledge, and provides information on new or scarcely reported properties of medicinal plants, whose traditional use needs to be validated experimentally. Aim of the study: The present study aimed to gather, analyse and evaluate the ethnobotanical information on the species used for medicinal and food purposes by the native people of Val San Giacomo. Materials and methods: The plant use was documented by speaking with more than 100 people, mainly over 60 years old, born and resident in Val San Giacomo. Information was collected using semi-structured interviews and then analysed by indices such as Ethnophytonomic Index (EPI), Ethnobotanicity Index (EI), relative frequency of citation (RFC), use value (UV), relative importance (RI) and factor informant consensus (FIC). Results: Information on 66 plants belonging to 35 families (Asteraceae, Rosaceae and Lamiaceae, mainly) was gathered. The preference ranking placed Achillea moschata Wulfen at first place, both for the citation number and for RFC and UV. Arnica montana L., Thymus pulegioides L. and Artemisia genipi Stechm. were also in relevant use. Sixty species were wild and six were cultivated. Leaves, flowers, complete aerial parts and fruits were the plant parts most commonly used for remedy preparation (infusion, especially). The interviewees collected local flora for medicinal purposes, specifically. About 51.5% of the plant species were used to treat gastrointestinal tract of humans as digestive, depurative, appetiser, laxative, astringent and carminative remedies. About 56% of the plants were used in cookery, 24.2% in veterinary field, and 3% as cosmetics. The calculated indices demonstrated that in the studied area there is a small retention of plant knowledge. Only 6.2% of the autochthonous plants proved useful in folk tradition. Despite this, the uses of Sempervivum montanum L., Rhododendron ferrugineum L. and Panicum miliaceum L. were never documented by other ethnobotanical investigations conducted in the alpine area. Conclusions: This survey was an extension of the ethnobotanical investigations performed in the Italian Alps. A study like this, though performed in a small area with a reduced traditional knowledge, could be the basis for subsequent research on the species that are interesting from a phytochemical point of view and on the potential use of their active metabolites. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Covolo Fortificato di Trene site is located on the eastern slope of the Berici hills, Vicenza, in the middle of the great Po-venetian plain in Northern Italy, at a height of 360m.a.s.l. The cavity was the object of systematic excavations made by the University of Ferrara in 1956, which yielded a 1.14 m-thick deposit, subdivided into seven stratigraphic units. The lithic industry, associated with macromammals remains, bird bones and charcoal, ascribe the anthropic frequentation of the archeological layers to the early Epigravettian. This is confirmed by two dates obtained on bone (17.640±140 AMS 14C B.P. and 18.630±150 AMS 14C B.P.). This work presents a taxonomic revision and zooarchaeological analysis of already published faunal remains, whose spectrum shows a clear dominance of Ursus spelaeus over the other determined taxa. During human frequentation, the site was in a predominantly forest environment under cold-temperate climate conditions with wetland areas on the underlying plain, as shown by the presence of elk, deer, wild boar and fish vertebrae. The taphonomic analysis has shown anthropic traces on the remains of elk and cave-bear, which used the cave as den during wintering. The study focused on Ursidae remains, affected by butchering marks due to fur extraction, mostly from young individuals. Moreover, a limited comparison (Berici hills) with contemporary sites (Paina cave, Buso Doppio cave), associates cave-bear presence with shouldered points. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Lower Permian ichnofauna in the Collio Formation (Artinskian) in the Val Trompia (Brescian Prealps, North Italy) has been studied for a long time, but the studies have focused mainly on vertebrate prints. In this study, the invertebrate ichnofauna of the Collio Formation, and in the epiclastites of the Monte Luco Formation (Artinskian) cropping out in the Monte Luco area (Trentino Alto Adige region), is systematically analyzed for the first time. This ichnocoenosis consists of: Permichnium isp., Paleohelcura tridactyla, Diplichnites gouldi (Types A and B), Diplopodichnus biformis, Circulichnis montanus, Helminthopsis hieroglyphica, Gordia marina, Acripes cf. multiformis, Cruziana cf. problematica, Cochlichnus anguineus, Palaeophycus tubularis, Planolites isp. and ?Scoyenia isp. The ichnoassociation from the Collio Formation belongs to the Scoyenia ichnofacies, while that from the Mt. Luco Formation belongs to the Mermia ichnofacies. The latter, because of the lack of complete data, can be linked only to one of several submersion phases of the intravolcanic basin and is not referred to the complete continental Permian sequence in this zone. The composition of the ichnoassociation here analysed is similar to those of other European (especially France and Germany) and extra-European areas (especially North America and Argentina). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]