| 1. |
- Tesi, Tomaso, et al.
(författare)
-
Flood-driven transport of sediment, particulate organic matter, and nutrients from the Po River watershed to the Mediterranean Sea
- 2013
-
Ingår i: Journal of Hydrology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0022-1694 .- 1879-2707. ; 498, s. 144-152
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Po River (Northern Italy) discharge represents a considerable input of the land-derived material entering the Mediterranean Sea. Most of its particulate and dissolved constituents are supplied to the sea in response to short-lived climate events. Although these floods exert first-order control on the transport of organic and inorganic elements, both composition and magnitude of the river material are poorly constrained during high discharge periods. In order to fill this knowledge gap, in this study we carried out an event response sampling in the Po River in November 2011. Beginning in early November, intense rainfall occurred in the Po watershed that resulted in a flood of similar to 6000 m(3) s(-1) year return period). Water samples were collected from the river before and during the flood. Dissolved nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, and silicate were measured and the particulate material was analyzed for total suspended sediment, elemental composition, delta C-13, delta N-15, grain-size, and Cs-137 activity. Our results showed a temporal decoupling between solid and water discharge implying that predicted sediment loads simply derived from sediment rating curves could potentially give rise to large errors, especially when calculations are used to understand the sediment export in response short-lived events. The suspended organic material during high flow was dominated by soil organic matter while high delta N-15 indicated the influence of an additional N-15-enriched source (e.g., manure, sewage, and algal biomass) during low discharge. Because the concentrations of nitrite and ammonia were positively correlated with the content of particulate material in suspension, we inferred that nitrite and ammonia concentrations were driven by either bacteria activity (ammonification-nitrification) or ionic exchange whose rates were proportional to concentration of the suspended material. In addition, due to the dilution with nitrate-poor rainfall, the concentration of nitrate decreased with increasing water discharge. High concentrations of nitrate were instead attributable to the influx of nitrate-rich water from groundwater that is chronically contaminated and constitutes most of the baseflow during low flow. Our results indicate that the event-dominated transport in the Po drainage basin is particularly important for the organic matter supply as flood events account for at least one-third of the particulate annual export (organic carbon and nitrogen). Finally, this study has demonstrated the utility of event-response sampling for understanding the importance of event-dominated transport in rivers.
|
|
| 2. |
- Albertazzi, S, et al.
(författare)
-
The technical feasibility of biomass gasification for hydrogen production
- 2005
-
Ingår i: Catalysis Today. - : Elsevier BV. - 0920-5861 .- 1873-4308. ; 106:1-4, s. 297-300
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Biomass gasification for energy or hydrogen production is a field in continuous evolution, due to the fact that biomass is a renewable and CO2 neutral source. The ability to produce biomass-derived vehicle fuel on a large scale will help to reduce greenhouse gas and pollution, increase the security of European energy supplies, and enhance the use of renewable energy. The Varnamo, Biomass Gassification Centre in Sweden is a unique plant and an important site for the development of innovative technologies for biomass transformation. At the moment, the Varnamo plant is the heart of the CHRISGAS European project, that aims to convert the produced gas for further upgrading to liquid fuels as dimethyl ether (DME), methanol or Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) derived diesel. The present work is an attempt to highlight the conditions for the reforming unit and the problems related to working with streams having high contents of sulphur and alkali metals.
|
|
| 3. |
- Cassidy, A, et al.
(författare)
-
Critical review of health effects of soyabean phyto-oestrogens in post-menopausal women
- 2006
-
Ingår i: The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. - : Cambridge University Press (CUP). - 0029-6651. ; 65:1, s. 76-92
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A consensus view of soyabean phyto-oestrogens in clinical interventions in post-menopausal women is presented that is based on data from the EU-funded project Phytohealth. The phyto-oestrogens, primarily genistein and daidzein, were given as soyabean-protein isolates, whole-soyabean foods or extracts, supplements or pure compounds. A comprehensive literature search was conducted with well-defined inclusion or exclusion criteria. For areas for which substantial research exists only placebo-controlled double-blind randomised controlled trials (RCT) conducted on healthy post-menopausal women were included. For emerging areas all available human studies in post-menopausal women were reviewed. In order to make cross comparisons between studies the doses of isoflavones were calculated as aglycone equivalents. There is a suggestion, but no conclusive evidence, that isoflavones from the sources studied so far have a beneficial effect on bone health. The consumption of whole-soyabean foods and soyabean-protein isolates has some beneficial effects on lipid markers of cardiovascular risk. The consumption of isolated isoflavones does not affect blood lipid levels or blood pressure, although it may improve endothelial function. For menopausal symptoms there is currently limited evidence that soyabean-protein isolates, soyabean foods or red-clover (Trifolium pratense L.) extract are effective but soyabean isoflavone extracts may be effective in reducing hot flushes. There are too few RCT studies to reach conclusions on the effects of isoflavones on breast cancer, colon cancer, diabetes or cognitive function. The health benefits of soyabean phyto-oestrogens in healthy post-menopausal women are subtle and even some well-designed studies do not show protective effects. Future studies should focus on high-risk post-menopausal women, especially in the areas of diabetes, CVD, breast cancer and bone health.
|
|
