• Title/Summary/Keyword: Florence

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Wind and solar energy: a comparison of costs and environmental impacts

  • Carnevale, Ennio A.;Lombardi, Lidia;Zanchi, Laura
    • Advances in Energy Research
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    • v.4 no.2
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    • pp.121-146
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    • 2016
  • This study is concerned with the analysis of two renewable technologies for electric energy production: wind energy and photovoltaic energy. The two technologies were assessed and compared by economic point of view, by using selected indicators characterized by a clear calculation approach, requirement of information easy to be collected, clear, but even complete, interpretation of results. The used economic indicators are Levelized Cost of Energy, $CO_2$ abatement cost and fossil fuel saving specific cost; these last two specifically aimed at evaluating the different capabilities that renewable technologies have to cut down direct $CO_2$ emissions and to avoid fossil fuel extraction. The two technologies were compared also from the environmental point of view by applying Life Cycle Assessment approach and using the environmental impact categories from the Eco-indicator'95 method. The economic analysis was developed by taking into account different energy system sizes and different geographic areas in order to compare different European conditions (Italy, Germany and Denmark) in term of renewable resource availability and market trend. The environmental analysis was developed comparing two particular types of PV and wind plants, respectively residential and micro-wind turbine, located in Italy. According to the three calculated economic indicators, the wind energy emerged as more favorable than PV energy. From the environmental point of view, both the technologies are able to provide savings for almost all the considered environmental impact categories. The proposed approach, based on the use of economic and environmental indicators may be useful in supporting the policies and the decision making procedures concerned with the promotion and use of renewables, in reference to the specific geographic, economic and temporal conditions.

Effect of Perceived Social Support on Psychosocial Adjustment of Turkish Patients with Breast Cancer

  • Rizalar, Selda;Ozbas, Ayfer;Akyolcu, Neriman;Gungor, Bulent
    • Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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    • v.15 no.8
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    • pp.3429-3434
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    • 2014
  • Aims: To identify the psychosocial adjustment of Turkish patients with breast cancer and the effects of perceived social support on their adjustment. Materials and Methods: The sample comprised 100 volunteering patients diagnosed with breast cancer in the last six months reporting to the Outpatient Chemotherapy Unit at the Medical Faculty Hospital in northern Turkey. The data for the study were collected through the Descriptive Information Form, the Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale-Self-reflection (PAIS-SR) and the Cancer-Specific Social Support Scale and analyzed via SPSS 16.0 for Windows. Descriptive statistics, Chi square test, ANOVA and correlation were used to evaluate data. Results: There was a negative significant correlation between mean scores in the sub-scales of the social support scale and the ones in the sub-scales of the psychosocial adjustment to illness scale (p<0.05). Similarly, there was a negative significant correlation between confidence support and health care orientation as well as adjustment to social environment. Likewise, emotional support was in a negative significant correlation with health care orientation, adjustment to domestic environment, extended family relationships and adjustment to social environment. Conclusions: It was concluded that social support for patients with breast cancer had an influence on their psychosocial adjustment to illness. Holistic care should be given to breast cancer patients by oncology nurses especially in the first six months of treatment. It could be concluded that patients should be accompanied by their family/relatives in treatment and care following their diagnosis with breast cancer, that their family should be made more aware of the fact that the patient should be physically and psychologically supported, that patients with breast cancer should be provided with domiciliary care, and that they should be encouraged to participate in social support groups.

Indications, Outcomes, and Complications of Pedicled Propeller Perforator Flaps for Upper Body Defects: A Systematic Review

  • Lazzeri, Davide;Huemer, Georg M.;Nicoli, Fabio;Larcher, Lorenz;Dashti, Talal;Grassetti, Luca;Li, Qingfeng;Zhang, Yixin;Spinelli, Giuseppe;Agostini, Tommaso
    • Archives of Plastic Surgery
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    • v.40 no.1
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    • pp.44-50
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    • 2013
  • Background The aim of this investigation was to systematically review the current literature to provide the best data for indications, outcomes, survival, and complication rates of pedicled propeller perforator flaps for upper body defects. Methods A comprehensive literature review for articles published from January 1991 to December 2011 was performed using the PubMed, Medline, and Cochrane Databases. Articles without available full-text, single case reports or papers with excessive missing data were excluded. Papers reporting pedicle-perforator (propeller) flaps used for lower extremity reconstruction were excluded from meta-analysis. Results From the initial 1,736 studies our search yielded, 343 studies qualified for the second stage of selection. Of 117 full-text reports screened, 41 studies, met the definitive inclusion and exclusion criteria. Of the selected 41 articles, 26 were case series, original papers or retrospective reviews and were included, whereas 15 were case report papers and therefore were excluded. Two hundred ninety-five propeller flaps were reported to have been used in a total of 283 patients. Indications include repair of trauma-induced injuries, post-trauma revision surgery, cancer resection, chronic infection, pressure sores, and chronic ulcers with a major complication rate (3.3%) comparable to that of free flaps. No specific exclusion criteria for the procedure were presented in the studies reviewed. Conclusions Pedicled propeller flaps are a versatile and safe reconstructive option that are easy and quick to raise and that provide unlimited clinical solutions because of the theoretical possibility of harvesting them based on any perforator chosen among those classified in the body.

Active-treatment effects of the Forsus fatigue resistant device during comprehensive Class II correction in growing patients

  • Cacciatore, Giorgio;Alvetro, Lisa;Defraia, Efisio;Ghislanzoni, Luis Tomas Huanc;Franchi, Lorenzo
    • The korean journal of orthodontics
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    • v.44 no.3
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    • pp.136-142
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    • 2014
  • Objective: To evaluate the active-treatment effects of the Forsus fatigue resistant device (Forsus) during comprehensive correction of Class II malocclusion in growing patients. Methods: Fifty-four patients (mean age, $12.5{\pm}1.2$ years) with Class II division 1 malocclusion were consecutively treated with fixed app-liances in combination with Forsus. Lateral cephalograms were analyzed at the beginning of the fixed treatment (T1), Forsus insertion (T2), its removal (T3), and end of the comprehensive therapy (T4). Statistical comparisons were carried out by repeated-measures ANOVA with Tukey's post-hoc test (p < 0.05). Results: The overall therapeutic effects were mainly dentoalveolar and occurred mostly during the active treatment with Forsus (T2-T3, mean duration = $0.5{\pm}0.1$ years). The overjet and overbite decreased significantly (-3.5 and -1.5 mm, respectively) and the molar relationship improved by 4.3 mm. These changes were associated with significant retroclination of the maxillary incisors ($-3.1^{\circ}$), proclination and intrusion of the mandibular incisors ($+5.0^{\circ}$ and -1.5 mm, respectively), and mesialization of the mandibular molars (+2.0 mm). Conclusions: Forsus had mainly dentoalveolar effects and contributed largely to the overall therapeutic outcome.

Assessing the Parasitic Burden in a Late Antique Florentine Emergency Burial Site

  • Roche, Kevin;Pacciani, Elsa;Bianucci, Raffaella;Bailly, Matthieu Le
    • Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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    • v.57 no.6
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    • pp.587-593
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    • 2019
  • Excavation (2008-2014) carried out under the Uffizi Gallery (Florence, Italy) led to the discovery of 75 individuals, mostly buried in multiple graves. Based on Roman minted coins, the graves were preliminarily dated between the second half of the 4th and the beginning of the 5th centuries CE. Taphonomy showed that this was an emergency burial site associated with a catastrophic event, possibly an epidemic of unknown etiology with high mortality rates. In this perspective, paleoparasitological investigations were performed on 18 individuals exhumed from 9 multiple graves to assess the burden of gastrointestinal parasitism. Five out of eighteen individuals (27.7%) tested positive for ascarid-type remains; these are considered as "decorticated" Ascaris eggs, which have lost their outer mammillated coat. Roundworms (genus Ascaris) commonly infest human populations under dire sanitary conditions. Archaeological and historical evidence indicates that Florentia suffered a period of economic crisis between the end of 4th and the beginning of the 5th centuries CE, and that the aqueduct was severely damaged at the beginning of the 4th century CE, possibly during the siege of the Goths (406 CE). It is more than plausible that the epidemic, possibly coupled with the disruption of the aqueduct, deeply affected the living conditions of these individuals. A 27.7% frequency suggests that ascariasis was widespread in this population. This investigation exemplifies how paleoparasitological information can be retrieved from the analysis of sediments sampled in cemeteries, thus allowing a better assessment of the varying frequency of parasitic infections among ancient populations.

Impact Absorption Performance of Multi-layered Composite Structures based on Material-Structure Optimization (소재-구조 최적화 기반 다층-복합재료구조 충격흡수성능)

  • Kim, Byung-Jo;Kim, Tae-Won
    • Composites Research
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    • v.22 no.3
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    • pp.66-73
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    • 2009
  • Total thickness, areal density and mass moment of inertia of materials are important material factors for structural characteristics. In this work, a material-structural optimization was performed up to the maximum ballistic limit of multi-layered composite structures under high impact velocity followed by the investigation of the influence of these factors on an impact absorption performance. A unified model combined with Florence's and Awerbuch-Bonder's models was used in optimizing the multi-layered composite structure consisting of CMC, rubber, aluminum and Al-foam. Total thickness, areal density and mass moment of inertia were used for the optimization constraint. As shown in the results, the ballistic limit determined from a newly developed unified model was closely similar to the finite clement analysis. Additionally, the ballistic limit and impact absorption energy obtained by the optimized structure were improved approximately 16.8% and 26.7%, respectively comparing with a not optimized multi-layered structure.

Turkish Version of the Perceived Future Decent Work Securement Scale: Validity and Reliability for Nursing Students

  • Oznur Ispir Demir;Betul Sonmez;Duygu Gul;Sergul Duygulu
    • Safety and Health at Work
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    • v.14 no.3
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    • pp.332-339
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    • 2023
  • Background: The aim of the study was to test the validity and reliability of the Perceived Future Decent Work Securement Scale for Turkish nursing students. Methods: A cross-sectional, methodological study design was used. The study was carried out at three nursing undergraduate programs in Turkey during the academic year of 2020-2021 with 336 senior nursing students. Language validity and content validity analyses were performed for the scale adaptation, followed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for construct validity. The reliability of the scale was determined using the test-retest and Cronbach's alpha internal consistency coefficient. Results: The scale-content validity index score was 0.988. In CFA, all goodness-of-fit indices verified the acceptable fit of the model; its root mean square error of approximation was 0.076; the normed fit index was 0.909; the standardized mean square residual was 0.097; the relative fit index was 0.881; the goodness-of-fit index was 0.915; the adjusted goodness-of-fit index was 0.872 and χ2/df = 2.932. The overall reliability was α = 0.86. The item-total correlations of the scale were above the acceptable level, and the test-retest analysis had a high correlation. The access to healthcare (14.68, SD 3.53) obtained the highest average score, and the adequate compensation (8.52, SD 3.76) was the lowest rated by the senior nursing students. Conclusion: The Perceived Future Decent Work Securement Scale is a valid and reliable scale to assess nursing students' future decent work securement.

Dice-Five Polarization-Agile Corner-Fed Patch Array Antenna

  • Vallecchi, Andrea
    • ETRI Journal
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    • v.27 no.3
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    • pp.250-256
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    • 2005
  • A novel planar polarization-agile microstrip subarray is proposed and its performance assessed by a thorough numerical investigation. The subarray consists of five square patches with a central element, directly coupled to a pair of microstrip feed lines by a cross-shaped aperture, which spreads the power outwards to the other patches through a network of suitable connections. By properly exciting the antenna at its input ports, any kind of polarization of the radiated field can be accomplished with fairly low cross-polarization levels. Moreover, since only two feed lines are required to drive the whole subarray, polarization agility is simply and attractively achieved by a single phase-shift circuit. The design concept is described and the results of the analyses and simulations performed by two completely independent full-wave approaches are presented and discussed.

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Improvedd Vibration-Based Damage Identification Method (개선된 진동기초 손상검색방법의 유도와 검증)

  • 김정태;노리스스텁스
    • Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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    • v.12 no.3
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    • pp.331-343
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    • 1999
  • 본 논문에서는 새로이 유도된 진동기초 손상검색방법을 제시하고, 제한적인 모드특성치가 측정된 구조물을 대상으로 이 알고리즘의 적합성과 손상예측의 정확도를 검증하고자 하였다. 먼저, 기존의 Kim과 Stubbs에 의해 발표된 손상발견 알고리즘들을 검토하였으며, 이 알고리즘들의 적용한계와 오류적 가정을 극복할 수 있는 손상검색 알고리즘을 새로이 유도하였다. 다음으로, 손상발생 전후에 소수의 진동모드 특성치가 측정된 2경간 연속보를 대상으로 손상예측실험을 수행하여, 이들 손상검색 알고리즘의 손상예측 정확도를 분석하였다. 기존의 손상검색 알고리즘에 비하여 새로이 유도된 손상검색 알고리즘의 손상예측 정확도가 향상된 것으로 분석되었다.

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