Tensile Behavior of Thermoplastic Films from Wheat Flours as Function of Raw Material Baking Properties

The production of bioplastics directly from wheat flour has been demonstrated to be reliable, but scarce knowledge is available on how flour characteristics may affect the performance of thermoplastic films. In this work, we first established the most suitable recipe and process for the production of extruded films and then we used eight single-cultivar wheat flours with different baking technological properties to assess how they affect the mechanical properties of thermoplastic films. The results have shown that flours from soft grain cultivars offered more rigid and deformable films than flours from hard grain cultivars. For similar hardness, the alveographic P/L ratio of the dough was inversely related to rigidity and directly related to deformability of plastic films, while the deformation energy of the dough (W) played a role only for great differences of it. The subsequent fabrication of blends between each of the flours that yielded the best film properties and polycaprolactone (PCL) at different proportions indicated that a wheat flour/PCL ratio (TWF/PCL) of 75/25 offered the most suitable films for further application. Our results are likely to be useful for improving the plasticization of flour, in that selection of wheat flours could be tailored on the properties desired for the bioplastic films.     

A closed-form solution for the deposition of atmospheric particulate matter on electrical insulators

Environmental Fluid Mechanics - The present study provides a simplified closed-form solution for the deposition flux of atmospheric Particulate Matter on electrical insulators. Due to the lack of...     

Ozone sensitivity of currant tomato (Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium), a potential bioindicator species

The wild tomato species Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium (currant tomato) was exposed to different O3 concentration, both in controlled environment fumigation facilities and in open-top chambers, to assess its sensitivity and to verify its potential as a bioindicator plant. Plants appeared particularly sensitive to O3 at an early stage of growth, responding with typical chlorotic spots within 24 h after exposure to a single pulse of 50 ppb for 3 h, and differentiating peculiar symptoms, such as reddish necrotic stipples, bronzing and extensive necrosis, depending on O3 concentration. Histo-cytochemical investigations with 3,3'-diaminobenzidine, to localize H2O2, and Evans blue, to detect dead cells, suggested that currant tomato sensitivity to O3 could be due to a deficiency in the anti-oxidant pools. The combination of these stainings proved to be useful, either to predict visible symptoms, early before their appearance, and to validate leaf ozone injury.     

Simulating the fate of indigenous antibiotic resistant bacteria in a mild slope wastewater polluted stream

The fate of indigenous surface-water and wastewater antibiotic resistant bacteria in a mild slope stream simulated through a hydraulic channel was investigated in outdoor experiments.The effect of(i) natural(dark) decay,(ii) sunlight,(iii) cloudy cover,(iv) adsorption to the sediment,(v) hydraulic conditions,(vi) discharge of urban wastewater treatment plant(UWTP)effluent and(vii) bacterial species(presumptive Escherichia coli and enterococci) was evaluated.Half-life time(T1/2) of E. coli under sunlight was in the range 6.48–27.7 min(initial bacterial concentration of 10~5 CFU/mL) depending on hydraulic and sunlight conditions. E. coli inactivation was quite similar in sunny and cloudy day experiments in the early 2 hr, despite of the light intensity gradient was in the range of 15–59 W/m~2; but subsequently the inactivation rate decreased in the cloudy day experiment(T1/2= 23.0 min) compared to sunny day(T_(1/2)= 17.4 min). The adsorption of bacterial cells to the sediment(biofilm) increased in the first hour and then was quite stable for the remaining experimental time. Finally, when the discharge of an UWTP effluent in the stream was simulated, the proportion of indigenous antibiotic resistant E. coli and enterococci was found to increase as the exposure time increased, thus showing a higher resistance to solar inactivation compared to the respective total populations.     

Framework for high-resolution climate change impact assessment on grapevines at a regional scale

Understanding the impacts of climate change on viticulture is especially essential in those areas producing high-quality wines. In this work, we create an operational framework to investigate climate change impact on viticulture in the Tuscany region (central Italy) the viticulture industry of which relies on producing high-quality wines to compete in a global market. The framework includes (i) statistical downscaling of General Circulation Model (GCM) outputs for the period 1975–2099 to a local scale; (ii) the use of downscaling outputs as driving variables in specific simulation models; (iii) the spatial interpolation of model outputs to feed an economic and (iv) a quality model. The results show that as a consequence of a progressive increase in temperature and a decrease in rainfall, (a) the area potentially suitable for grapevine cultivation increases; (b) the grapevine growth cycle becomes shorter; (c) the final yield is gradually reduced, particularly in those areas characterised by quality cultivation regulation; and d) the premium wine quality production areas shift towards higher elevations. The proposed framework revealed itself to be an effective tool for climate change impact assessment at a very local scale. Additionally, this approach may be easily extended to testing the effect of different adaptation strategies in terms of management practices (e.g. irrigation) and grape varieties (e.g. longer or shorter cycle, advanced or delayed bud burst).     

Phylogeography of the diamond turbot (Hypsopsetta guttulata) across the Baja California Peninsula

We compared morphology and sequenced nuclear and mitochondrial genes from 11 populations of a previously genetically unstudied “Baja California disjunct” species, the diamond turbot (Hypsopsetta guttulata). This species exhibits very limited adult movement and restriction to soft-bottom habitats but has a moderately long pelagic larval duration. Therefore, if pelagic larval duration is correlated with gene flow between Gulf of California and Pacific populations, we expect a reduced level of genetic and morphological differentiation. However, if adult habitat and ecology have more effect on gene flow, we expect the populations in the two bodies of water to be more highly differentiated. We used logistic regression to compare morphological features and phylogenetic and population genetic analyses to compare nucleotide sequence data. Gulf of California H. guttulata are different from Pacific populations in morphology and both mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences. MtDNA shows reciprocal monophyly, and nuclear sequences from the Gulf of California formed a monophyletic group. Population genetic analyses also suggest further population subdivision within the Pacific and within the Gulf of California. We argue that adult ecology has a significant effect on migration rates among populations in the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California.     

Epistemic uncertainty in fault tree analysis approached by the evidence theory

Process plants may be subjected to dangerous events. Different methodologies are nowadays employed to identify failure events, that can lead to severe accidents, and to assess the relative probability of occurrence. As for rare events reliability data are generally poor, leading to a partial or incomplete knowledge of the process, the classical probabilistic approach can not be successfully used. Such an uncertainty, called epistemic uncertainty, can be treated by means of different methodologies, alternative to the probabilistic one. In this work, the Evidence Theory or Dempster–Shafer theory (DST) is proposed to deal with this kind of uncertainty. In particular, the classical Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) is considered when input data are supplied by experts in an interval form. The practical problem of information acquisition from experts is discussed and two realistic scenarios are proposed. A methodology to propagate such an uncertainty through the fault tree up to the Top Event (TE) and to determine the belief measures is supplied. The analysis is illustrated by means of two simple series/parallel systems. An application to a real industrial safety system is finally performed and discussed.     

Stabilisation of biodried municipal solid waste fine fraction in landfill bioreactor

The biodrying process of solid waste is a pre-treatment for the bio-stabilisation of the municipal solid waste. This study aims to investigate the fate of the municipal solid waste fine fraction (MSWFF) resulting from a biodrying treatment when disposed in landfills that are operated as bioreactors. Biodried MSWFF was apparently stable due to its low moisture content that slows down the microbial activity. The lab-scale anaerobic bioreactors demonstrated that a proper moisture content leads to a complete biodegradation of the organic matter contained in the biodried MSWFF. Using a pilot-scale landfill bioreactor (LBR), MSWFF stabilisation was achieved, suggesting that the leachate recirculation could be an effective approach to accomplish the anaerobic biodegradation and biostabilisation of biodried MSWFF after landfilling. The biostabilisation of the material resulting from the LBR treatment was confirmed using anaerobic and aerobic stability indices. All anaerobic and aerobic indices showed a stability increase of approximately 80% of the MSWFF after treatment in the LBR. The similar values of OD7 and BMP stability indices well agree with the relationship between the aerobic and anaerobic indices reported in literature.