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The paper presents a method of analysis and design of urban landscapes called PlaceMaker. The method is intended as a key resource for assessing the identity of places and measures for its enhancement, reconstruction and design. By using different tools for analysis and interpretation of places and questionnaires administered to their users, PlaceMaker finds the identity material that the city has available and how to de-compose and re-compose it for its sustainable project transformation. Pedestrian-intensive areas, in particular urban, cultural and historical poles of attraction, increasingly bear the imprint of globalization, conveying messages which have developed in an uncontrolled manner and are aimed at conveying their users' patterns of thought and action. The presence of a dense mixture of contrasting elements and perceptions can detract from the image of a city. As regards, the paper is completed with a synopsis of the experiment carried out in an historic axe in London - Oxford Street - where globalization is in danger of levelling out the beauty of the area in favour of widespread genericity

Bioenergy crops are well known for their ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase the soil carbon stock. Although such crops are often held to be in competition with food crops and thus raise the question of current and future food security, at the same time mitigation measures are required to tackle climate change and sustain local farming communities and crop production. However, in some cases the actions envisaged for specific pedo-climatic conditions are not always economically sustainable by farmers. In this frame, energy crops with high environmental adaptability and yields, such as giant reed (Arundo donax L.), may represent an opportunity to improve farm incomes, making marginal areas not suitable for food production once again productive. In so doing, three of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations would be met, namely SDG 2 on food security and sustainable agriculture, SDG 7 on reliable, sustainable and modern energy, and SDG 13 on action to combat climate change and its impacts. In this work, the response of giant reed in the marginal areas of an agricultural district of southern Italy (Destra Sele) and expected farm incomes under climate change (2021-2050) are evaluated. The normalized water productivity index of giant reed was determined (WP; 30.1gm-2) by means of a SWAP agro-hydrological model, calibrated and validated on two years of a long-term field experiment. The model was used to estimate giant reed response (biomass yield) in marginal areas under climate change, and economic evaluation was performed to determine expected farm incomes (woodchips and chopped forage). The results show that woodchip production represents the most profitable option for farmers, yielding a gross margin 50% lower than ordinary high-input maize cultivation across the study area.

Thermochemical systems for energy conversion are just at the interface between chemical and thermal engineering because the final aim is a transformation of energy, while the specific tool is a thermally driven chemical reaction. Designing the efficient systems calls for appropriate choice of chemical process, comprehensive analysis of its thermodynamics and kinetics, intensification of heat and mass transfer, intelligent integration of components into overall heat device, etc. This paper reviews the joint activity of the six institutes from the four countries on applying chemical reactions in modern devices for production of cold, which are driven by solar heat.

Farming of shellfish and seaweeds is a tested tool for mitigating eutrophication consequences in coastal environments, however as many other marine economic activities it should be a subject of marine spatial planning for designating suitable sites. The present study proposes site selection framework for provisional zebra mussel farming in a eutrophic lagoon ecosystem, aimed primarily at remediation purposes. GIS-based multi-criteria approach was applied, combining data from empirical maps, numerical models and remote sensing to estimate suitability parameters. Site selection and prioritisation of suitable areas considered 15 environmental and socio-economic criteria, which contributed to 4 optimisation models (settlement, growth and survival of mussels, environmental and socio-economic) and 3 predefined scenarios representing provisional goals of mussel cultivation: spat production, biomass production and bioremediation. The relative importance of each criterion was assessed utilizing the Analytical Hierarchy Process. Site suitability index was calculated and the final result of the site selection analysis was summarized for 3 scenarios and overall suitability map. Four suitability classes (unsuitable, least, moderately and most suitable) were applied, and 3 most suitable zones for provisional zebra mussel cultivation with 12 candidate sites were selected accordingly. The integrated approach presented in this study can be adjusted for designating zebra mussel farming sites in other estuarine lagoon ecosystems, or cultivation of other mussel species for bioremediation purposes. The analytical framework and the workflow designed in this study are also adoptable for addressing other aquaculture-related spatial planning issues.

This study provides a state-of-the art overview of forest biomass harvesting technologies and supply chains used in North America, Europe and the Southern Hemisphere. The productivity and cost of selected efficient technologies is presented for each country with a brief description about the source of the biomass and harvesting method. Expert opinions on the most successful biomass operations have been presented briefly for each country. The main conclusions from various intentional studies are provided in addition to future requirements for research and development. This report can be a useful high level guide of technology and supply chain selection for industry and academics.

A X-ray l-tomography technique, using a Cu Ka source at 8.048 keV coupled with both polycapillary optics and CCD detector, has been developed to reconstruct the composition of a transient gasoline spray generated by a high-pressure GDI injector for automotive applications. The polycapillary elements enable shaping the divergent beams and getting high-contrast images due to the suppression of radiation multiple scattering. A pressure-tight device permits the 360 rotation of a six-hole nozzle, with a step of 0.1, at injection pressures up to 20 MPa, while the spray plume develops in a vented Plexiglas chamber at the atmospheric backpressure. The entire system is configured as a table-top experiment. The extinction images acquired along the X-ray source-spray-detector line-of-sight have permitted the reconstruction of a 3D structure together with a morphology of the jets within a 3 mm region downstream the nozzle. The spray shape as well as the propagation direction can be clearly identified in the tomographic reconstruction for all the six jets. Quantitative measurements of the fuel mass density in the near nozzle region have been performed. Typical Gaussian-shape distribution of the intensities appears for the cross sections revealing the more dense jet regions in the core, while slight longitudinal asymmetries indicate an interaction between the jet plumes

Average atmospheric temperature has increased globally over the last decades and, as a response, the cryosphere is changing (Fountain et al., 2012). Permafrost, a component of the cryosphere, is widespread in the Arctic and Antarctica, and in cold mountains, including densely populated areas of the European Alps and Asian mountain ranges (Gruber, 2012). Permafrost interacts with climate (Walter Anthony et al., 2006; Schuur et al., 2015), hydrology (e.g., Liljedahl et al., 2016), ecosystems (Jorgenson et al., 2001; Vonk et al., 2015) and human systems (Nelson et al., 2002; Harris et al., 2009). Recent reviews have focused on the impacts of permafrost warming and degradation on river biogeochemistry (Frey and McClelland, 2009) and aquatic ecosystems (Vonk et al., 2015) in the Arctic. Notwithstanding, local and regional modifications of water hydrochemistry due to permafrost degradation have been reported from many locations, globally. Given the sparsity of data available, understanding and analysing permafrost degradation impacts on inorganic chemistry of surface fresh water will benefit from identifying common patterns in existing studies. The present review thus aims to distil insight gained across differing permafrost environments and configurations globally. Following a brief background section, we distinguish three typical example configurations of permafrost thaw. For those, we review impacts of permafrost degradation on major ions (e.g., Ca2+, Mg2+, SO42-, NO3-) and on trace elements (e.g., Ni, Mn, Al, Hg, Pb).

There are abundant renewable energy sources in Iran such as wind, solar, geothermal, biomass. However, Iran is fully dependent on fossil fuels for industrial, residential and transportation sectors. It results in the country to be in top 10 producers of greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere. GHGs can be controlled by incorporating renewable sources to produce energy. Therefore, renewable energy resources are becoming more attractive to develop sustainable energy development in Iran. However, the transformation from traditional fossil fuel infrastructures to advanced renewable technologies needs many considerations, such as strategic and core planning. In this regard, this paper covers the current state of Iran's energy market focusing on both fossil fuels and renewable energy resources. A general review is offered over the renewable energy production status in Iran and the production potentials. Finally, in conclusion, a comparisons are made over the current state, plans and also potential opportunities of Iran over each sort of energy production.