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The aim of this work is the energy efficiency assessment of a power plant located in Renon (Bolzano, Italy) integrated with a district heating system using a multistage modeling approach. The study investigates the energy performance of a 1 MWel ORC generator connected to a district heating network. A wood chip boiler, fed by wood waste and forest residues, provides thermal energy to an Organic Rankine Cycle with regenerative section. The electricity produced is delivered to the electric grid and the heat recovered in the condenser is delivered to domestic users by means of a district heating network. A monitoring activity has been carried out to evaluate the energetic performance in different operating conditions; the system involves both the power plant and the distribution network. Furthermore, a thermodynamic model that simulates the system operation has been developed in Matlab-Simulink environment using REFPROP 9. A preliminary test of the model has been carried out comparing the numerical results with the experimental data., Proceedings of the 21st European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 3-7 June 2013, Copenhagen, Denmark, pp. 1107-1111

1 -In this study recent changes of the distribution of three phanerogam species (Ruppia cirrhosa, Cymodocea nodosa, and Nanozostera noltii) were studied in the Orbetello lagoon, a meso-eutrophic and human stressed ecosystem. 2 -The aim was: I) to produce SURFER distributions maps, and II) to statistically evaluate significant changes in the spatial distribution taking into account two different factors (basin and year). For these reasons, percentage of coverage (CP) of each species was estimated in 38 sites equally distributed inside the Eastern and Western basins both in summers 2003 and 2009. 3 -The geostatistical maps evidenced changes in phanerogams distribution during the studied period but only variations observed for the N. noltii species at basin level resulted significant on a statistical basis. Significant differences at basin level were also obtained by the multivariate analysis. These results might be explained by the different ecological characteristics existing between Western and Eastern basins.

Rabbit production is of considerable economic importance in Italy. In the last thirty years, meat production has risen and the number of intensive husbandry establishments has grown. The major region of production (about 60%) lies in the northern part of the country. In addition, approximately one million live animals and more than 14,000 tons of meat are imported yearly. More than 150,000 hares are also imported for restocking and hunting purposes. During the second half of the 1980s a "new" disease (X disease), characterised by haemorrhagic and degenerative lesions and high mortality, was observed on traditional farms in some regions. This form spread throughout the country between 1986 and 1988. In 1988, diagnostic research led to identification of a viral agent. Because of its morphology, the virus was at first considered a picornavirus. More recent research has included the virus in the Caliciviridae family. This agent reproduces the disease experimentally. Between 1988 and 1989, many intensive establishments in several regions were affected by the disease, known as viral haemorrhagic disease (VHD); the losses were always very high. In 1989, after mortality among free-living hares had been observed in the northern part of Italy for some years, the agent of the European brown hare syndrome (EBHS) was identified as being morphologically similar to the VHD virus. The antigenic relationship between VHD and EBHS and the possibility of cross-infection between rabbits and hares are currently being studied. Hygienic measures and vaccination are the most reliable methods of control. International cooperation has greatly helped in the study of the disease and in the adoption of control measures.

Indications for endoscopic transthoracic upper dorsal sympathectomy are axillary and palmar hyperhidrosis, upper extremities ischemia (due to, e.g., Raynaud s disease), and upper extremities causalgia.At present, this methodology relies on (at least) double trocar insertion (per side) and/or carbon dioxide insufflation. Thus, although this approach, compared with the traditional open sympathectomy techniques, it guarantees the smallest number of postoperative complications, it still determines a certain amount of postoperative discomfort as well as a risk of complications related to carbon dioxide insufflation, as intraoperative profound bradycardia and hypotension due to mediastinal shift, and postoperative subcutaneous emphysema. From December 1995, we are using a minimally-invasive endoscopic transthoracic sympathectomy technique, performed by a single-entry specifically modified thoracoscope and without the need for carbon dioxide insufflation, with the aim to reduce the drawbacks associated with the above-mentioned currently adopted endoscopic techniques. After general anesthesia with double-lumen endotracheal tube, with the patient placed in a half-sitting position with both arms abduced to 90 degrees, a 1 cm incision is performed, along the midclavear line (in male patients) or the anterior axillary line (in female patients), in the second or third intercostal space.The effects of sympathectomy are immediate, and the patients wake up with warm and dry hands and axillae.In personal opinion, this single-entry technique, compared with other reported approaches, should minimize any damage to the intercostal neurovascular bundle, while avoiding the complications connected with carbon dioxide insufflation.

In order to evaluate the pathogenesis of cleft-lip in relation to both the anatomical and structural anomalies of the mesenchymal tissues, the authors concluded that the presence of structural anomalies in the examined tissues could not explain the malformation, but might be a consequence of it. Delayed muscular development, asymmetrical distribution of the muscular fibres and their anomalous insertion suggest that the anatomical/functional loss clinically detectable in the orbicular muscle could be the result of a perinatal dysmorphological process rather than of a simple mesenchymal hypoplasia.Schendel et al. suggested that a metabolic defect in the mitochondrial function could cause a deficiency in cell migration and proliferation responsible for the malformation in question. To establish whether the pathogenesis of the cleft-lip is associated with an alteration in mitochondrial functionality, eight patients affected by unilateral cleft-lip were subjected to a biopsy of the orbicular muscle during the course of reparative surgery.The results obtained showed: 1) a great variation in the size of muscle fibres; 2) the absence of ragged red fibres; 3) a normal oxidative function in the muscle fibres examined; 4) the absence of typologically significant groupings positive for myofibral ATPases. Furthermore, the morphology of the mitochondria was preserved in all cases and neither inclusions nor morphological or volumetric changes were detected.This preliminary data did not confirm the constant presence of mitochondrial pathology responsible for the malformation in question. In our opinion, the growth deficiency of the maxillary segment could be ascribed to the cicatrization of the surgical repair of the cleft-lip.

The aim of this study was to test the ex-vivo biomechanical properties of acutely expanded scalp flaps, in order to quantitatively assess the efficacy of acute scalp expansion.A total of 14 fresh male cadavers were used for the study. In each cadaver, a rectangular (4 x 10 cm), laterally-based flap was designed on each side of the scalp, starting from the superior margin of the external auditory canal. One randomly-selected flap per each scalp underwent acute-intermittent expansion (3-minute expansion-3-minute rest cycle per three times with the maximal expansion achievable), while the contralateral flap served as control. After the expansion process, the acutely-expanded flaps were measured to assess if the applied biomechanical stress have determined any changes in their dimensions. The biomechanical properties (stress/strain ratio, mean stiffness) of both expanded and control flaps were then assessed by means of a dynamometer and a force-transducer.The obtained data showed that the biomechanical benefits provided by acute scalp expansion were not statistically different (p0.05) from those obtained by simple subgaleal undermining. Neither any change of length nor any gain in the compliance have been observed in the acutely-expanded flaps as compared to control scalp flaps.In our opinion, a possible explanation (to be further validated) for the lack of effect of acute scalp expansion might be that inelastic galea aponeurotica did not allow the mechanical creep to exploit the inherent elastic properties of the overlying scalp skin.