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Abstract The methodology, the site and the dataset as well as the emissions scenario considered in the weather file definition influence the numerical evaluation of efficiency measures resilience. With a complete statistical and critical approach, the paper analyzes the importance of these aspects by means of a residential case study simulated in Benevento, a city of south Italy. Using data monitored from 2015 to 2020, a current weather file is built with different methodologies. The comparison indicates that there is not repeatability of the year chosen as a reference for the various months and thus the resolution of the building energy balance could bring different results. Some future climate projections are also generated on medium (2050 s) and long (2080 s) term considering different emission scenarios. With long term projection, the heating degree days are reduced also of − 21% meanwhile the cooling degree days are more than double compared with the current condition. This suggests a remarked transition towards a dominant cooling climate for Benevento. Moreover, when the climate change is considered, the insulation intervention and the installation of double glazed low emissive window is not resilient because the heating energy need decreases also of −56%, but the cooling energy need increases of + 62% (2080 s). If the efficiency measures include also the cool roof and the external shadings, the cooling demand could be reduced until –33% in some scenarios (e.g. RCP 4.5-50th percentile) and increased (+31%) in some others (e.g. 2080 s).

Abstract This study was undertaken to examine deformation of single, homogeneous brittle and ductile spheres and relate these contact stresses with bulk stresses of the material. Both ductile (polycarbonate) and brittle (polystyrene) polymer particles were measured for critical forces using a Single-Particle Crush Apparatus. Considering the criterion of material fracture, Hertzian analysis was used to c= ompute average critical stresses and critical strass distributions. the micron size particles were compression-molded into cylinders with a length-to-diameter ratio of two, and the critical stresses of the compressed cylinders were determined under plane compression using an Instron at 8 × 10−3 sec−1 sec−1 - Single-particle critical stresses were compared with bulk critical stresses, their average values as well as their distributions.

Abstract Commercial potential in developing countries has always received a great attention from international investors, but this is not the case in Waste-to-Energy sector. Waste-to-Energy is bound up with various uncertainties rooted in its long-term nature therefore incorporating risks regarding political matters in developing countries makes it more complex. The present study substantiates the incompatibility of classic valuation methods in risky projects. Consequently, to deal with the riskiness of Waste-to-Energy investment in less developed countries, the combination of binomial tree analysis and Decoupled NPV is proposed. The hybrid approach is deployed to value a Waste-to-Energy project in Iran, and all evidence attest to the robustness of the method. The contribution of this paper can open up new vistas for investing in Waste-to-Energy industry, thus abating the catastrophic effects of landfill gas emissions.

Biodiesel is a fuel generally consisting of a mixture of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) which is used in alternative or in combination with petroleum diesel for its environmental benefits. Biodiesel is conveniently manufactured from vegetable oils by transesterification of triglycerides with methanol. However, the process brings about the concurrent formation of glycerol, which may become an oversupplied chemical if biodiesel production keeps growing. A novel biodiesel-like material (abbreviated as DMC-BioD) was developed by reacting soybean oil with dimethyl carbonate (DMC), which avoided the co-production of glycerol. The main difference between DMC-BioD and biodiesel produced from vegetable oil and methanol (MeOH-biodiesel) was the presence of fatty acid glycerol carbonate monoesters (FAGCs) in addition to FAMEs. In the following study, details regarding synthesis and composition of DMC-BioD are provided along with physical properties relevant for its use as a fuel. In addition, the production of potential pyrogenic contaminants was investigated by analytical pyrolysis and compared with those from MeOH-biodiesel, and the model compounds tristearin, triolein, trilinolein and oleic acid glycerol carbonate ester (OAGC). The presence of FAGCs influenced both fuel and flow properties, while the distribution of main pyrogenic compounds, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), was little affected. Benefits and drawbacks of DMC as a candidate transmethylating reagent for producing biofuel from renewable resources and alternative co-products (glycerol carbonate and glycerol dicarbonate) are discussed.

Prenatal ethanol exposure produces severe changes in brain, liver, and kidney through mechanisms involving growth factors. These molecules regulate survival, differentiation, maintenance, and connectivity of brain, liver, and kidney cells. Despite the abundant available data on the short and mid-lasting effects of ethanol intoxication, only few data show the long-lasting damage induced by early ethanol administration. The aim of this study was to investigate changes in nerve growth factor (NGF), brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in brain areas, liver, and kidney of 18-mo-old male mice exposed perinatally to ethanol at 11% vol or to red wine at the same ethanol concentration. The authors found that ethanol per se elevated NGF, BDNF, HGF, and VEGF measured by ELISA in brain limbic system areas. In the liver, early exposure to ethanol solution and red wine depleted BDNF and VEGF concentrations. In the kidney, red wine exposure only decreased VEGF. In conclusion, the present study shows that, in aged mice, early administration of ethanol solution induced long-lasting damage at growth factor levels in frontal cortex, hippocampus, and liver but not in kidney. Otherwise, in mice exposed to red wine, significant changes were observed in the liver and kidney but not in the hippocampus and frontal cortex. The brain differences in ethanol-induced toxicity when ethanol is administered alone or in red wine may be related to compounds with antioxidant properties present in the red wine.

omega-Conotoxin and ethanol produce similar actions on in vitro calcium channel functions. The present study was designed to determine their possible behavioral interaction. omega-Conotoxin injected ICV at either 0.1 microgram or 0.3 microgram, produced an increase in spontaneous and evoked tremor activity in male Sprague-Dawley rats. The tremor was present at 30 min and continued at least 4 h after injection. At 4 h post ICV injection, animals were given an IP injection of ethanol (3 g/kg body weight). Although no blood alcohol differences were observed between groups, rats injected with omega-conotoxin showed a concentration-dependent increase in sleep times: Saline controls slept for an average of 84.7 +/- 16.7 min, 0.1 and 0.3 microgram conotoxin treated animals slept for 121.3 +/- 16.2 and 211.1 +/- 30.7 min, respectively. These results extend the class of calcium channel blockers capable of producing a behavioral interaction with ethanol.

Aeroengine manufacturers must continuously develop new high-performance engines, in terms of both specific fuel consumption and pollutant emissions. During the combustion of kerosene, CO 2 and lower amounts of SO 2 , CO, NO x and hydrocarbons are produced; those gases are directly or indirectly responsible for greenhouse effect. Large emission of NO x is produced by engines during the aircraft operation in airport. In the near future, the target in Europe for the aviation sector provides a reduction of SO% of NO x and 50% of CO 2 . For this reason, the hybrid-electric propulsion systems (HEPS) are becoming a viable alternative propulsion technology in the field of aviation, useful to guarantee a massive reduction of pollution. In the paper, the authors analyze and simulate a hybrid turbine/electric engine for a passengers regional aircraft, comparing the results in terms of pollutant and fuel consumption with the conventional thermal engine ones.

Abstract The idea of using porous media in internal combustion engines is proposed recently for charge homogenization. In this paper, the idea of using metallic porous media instead of ceramic type has been introduced and the macroscopic characteristics of high pressure diesel fuel spray has been studied in interaction with this type of porous media. High speed schlieren imaging method is used to capture the spray development process and evaluate time-dependent characteristics of the spray. The Spray characteristics such as tip penetration and spray projected area has been compared with free spray case and spray interaction with metal PM. Several parameters such as PM pore density, thickness of PM, distance between PM and injector tip has been investigated under different injection and chamber pressures. The results show that interaction with PM could reduce the spray tip velocity and increase spray projected area which proportionally increase the fuel-air mixture homogenization inside the chamber. Post processing of the spray images also indicated that the spray pattern (before and after interaction with PM) strongly depends on the PM pore density and injection pressure.