Environmental and economic impacts of improper materials in the recycling of separated collected food waste through anaerobic digestion and composting.

Separately collected food waste (SC-FW) is effectively recycled through industrial anaerobic digestion (AD) and composting. However, the presence of improper materials in SC-FW not only generates technical problems to AD and composting, but also lowers the quality of the outputs of the processes. As a consequence, improper materials found in SC-FW cause not negligible environmental and economic burdens. In this study, the environmental and economic impacts due to the presence of unsuitable materials in the SC-FW, determined through compositional analysis, were estimated through life cycle assessment and environmental life cycle costing approaches. Three different scenarios were analysed for both AD and composting processes: (i) the current situation (CS); (ii) the improved scenario (AS) with an amount of improper materials in SC-FW reduced to 3 % (w/w); (iii) the ideal scenario (IS) with the total absence of foreign materials. Environmental benefits were determined for the AS and IS scenarios in 17 of the 19 analysed impact categories. Considering the GHG emissions, higher savings were measured for AD in AS and IS scenarios (47 % and 79 %, respectively) than in CS scenario. Similarly, savings of -10.4 kg fossil oil eq/tonSC-FW (AS) and - 17.1 kg fossil oil eq/tonSC-FW (IS) for AD could be obtained with respect to the CS scenario. Greater economic benefits were calculated for AD (-76.4 €/tonSC-FW) and composting (-52.2 €/tonSC-FW) in the IS scenario. Savings up to € 2,249,780 and € 3,888,760 could have been obtained in 2022 by reducing to 3 % (w/w) and eliminating, respectively, the amount of improper materials in the SC-FW. The results of the compositional analyses of SC-FW allowed to identify the incorrect behaviours in FW source-sorting activity and to plan interventions to improve the current FW management system. The quantified environmental and economic benefits could further motivate citizens to correctly differentiate FW.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on domestic violence: The dark side of home isolation during quarantine.

Domestic violence is a global public health problem. It takes many different forms and leads to significant physical and psychological consequences for the victim and the whole family. Situations that may prompt episodes of violence in the family include stress, emotional disappointment, economic factors, bad and cramped housing, and alcohol or drug abuse. How does the government's forced home isolation to contain Covid-19 infections impact on this type of abuse? Numerous articles have reported a decrease in reports of domestic violence since quarantine began but how reliable is these data? Is it a potential wake-up call for public institutions? We discuss the risks associated with quarantine measures during the pandemic and suggest the measures to prevent and improve the reporting of abuse cases.

Covid-19 emergency in prison: Current management and forensic perspectives.

The Covid-19 pandemic is currently a major worldwide public health problem. Contagion within prisons and in other custodial settings will need to be addressed promptly, but the management of preventive measures will be difficult due to overcrowding and inmates and officers' close physical contact. There may also be less access to care than in community settings. Accordingly, prisons are particularly vulnerable to outbreaks of infection, and in addition to the likely greater risks of contagion attention must be paid to the psychological problems that the pandemic can have on the prison population. Riots and episodes of violence have already taken place in various prisons. With the inevitable restrictions on social contact and family meetings, prisoners who already are at increased risk of mental illness and suicide are more susceptible to adverse psychological repercussions. From a forensic point of view, therefore, we stress the need for the development of a strong support network by mental health workers for the prison population.

Role of post-mortem multi-slice computed tomography in the evaluation of single gunshot injuries.

Post-mortem multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) is a new approach in forensic pathology for gunshot injuries. This study determines the role of MSCT in the characterisation of single gunshot injuries. We report three cases. In the first case, an 80-year-old man was found dead in his bedroom with a gun. External examination showed devastating head injuries. In the second case, an 81-year-old man was found dead in his apartment, without a gun. External examination showed gunshot injuries. In the third case, a 56-year-old man was found dead on a road. MSCT and autopsy were performed in all these cases. MSCT not only allowed the determination of entrance and exit wounds but also showed some artefacts. In conclusion, radiology is fundamental for the reconstruction of gunshot injuries, and the manner of death can only be ascertained by autopsy.