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The determinants of the farmland market
Get PDFLand is a fixed resource and represents one of the main factors of farm production. In Italy, as in the rest of Europe, structural change is continuing, and land managed in the form of ownership is decreasing while land managed in the form of rent is increasing. The European Parliament in 2017 asked all Member States to review their land regulation to avoid the concentration of land in the hands of a few large farms and to guarantee fair access to this productive factor.
This research aims to explore the agricultural land market by identifying endogenous and exogenous factors that may influence it and the effect these may have. A literature review was conducted to develop the conceptual model. Based on this model and the available data, a probit regression analysis was performed on the FADN-Italy 2013-2020 data. To capture the dynamics within the land market and to study land regulation, a qualitative analysis of semi-structured questionnaires was conducted to experts in the Italian and French market.
The research showed that endogenous factors related to the farm structural characteristics and farmers socio-demographic characteristics, and exogenous factors related to the macroeconomic context and land regulation influenced the land market between 2013 and 2020. These factors do not act independently but influence each other.
The two empirical studies presented are complementary and have been valuable in conducting exploratory research into the complex system of the agricultural land market. Understanding the factors that influence the land market and their effects can be helpful for policymakers in implementing policies and land regulations that can improve the competitive position of farmers in the land market, either directly or indirectly
Control and censorship in Venetian opera during the second half of the seventeenth century (ca. 1670-1690)
Get PDFIl presente lavoro ha permesso di fare luce su un fenomeno attualmente poco investigato, ossia, la censura sul dramma per musica. Nel panorama veneziano si delinea un doppio binario di contenimento, uno legato ai comportamenti di attori e spettatori, uno legato ai contenuti e al testo a stampa dei libretti, che subivano il medesimo processo di revisione pensato per i testi di letteratura.
Se è vero che musicisti, compositori, attori e le manovalanze non appartenevano ad un ceto sociale elevato, i proprietari dei teatri erano spesso patrizi in aperto conflitto d’interessi con le magistrature cittadine, poiché facenti parte della medesima classe sociale di coloro che si occupavano di mantenere l’ordine a Venezia. Una prima magistratura coinvolta nel controllo del teatro e specializzata nell’osservazione del comportamento era quella degli Inquisitori di Stato, che ottenevano informazioni grazie all’impiego di spie anonime. Un’altra risorsa sono le gazzette manoscritte, che a fine Seicento erano personalizzabili e che facilmente eludevano il controllo degli organi statali. Le testimonianze di maggior rilievo permangono, in realtà, nei libretti d’opera e in quelle che Mauro Calcagno ha sapientemente chiamato cicatrici; questi seguivano un iter semplificato per la pubblicazione che prevedeva il semplice visto di due su tre degli Esecutori contro la bestemmia e della firma del segretario generale delle magistrature veneziane. Sono esempi di censura Il demone amante, overo Giugurta di Matteo Noris, Il Falaride di Adriano Morselli e Adone in Cipro, su poesia inizialmente pensata per le scene viennesi da Giovanni Matteo Giannini . Nei drammi per musica, tirando le somme, era importante evitare di trattare argomenti di carattere religioso, ma era altresì fondamentale non toccare argomenti legati all’amore carnale ed espressioni che facessero riferimento al libertinismo accademico.The present work’s goal was to make it possible to shed light on a phenomenon that is currently little investigated, i.e., censorship on XVII Century Venetian dramma per musica. In the Venetian panorama, a double track of containment is outlined, one linked to the behavior of actors and spectators, one linked to the contents of librettos and printed texts, which underwent the same revision process designed for literary texts.
If it is true that musicians, composers, actors and laborers did not belong to a high social class , the owners of the theatres were often patricians in open conflict of interest with the city magistrates, since they belonged to the same social class. A first judiciary involved in the control of the theater and specialized in the observation of behavior was that of the Inquisitori di Stato, who obtained information thanks to the use of anonymous spies around the city.
Another resource for the period are handwritten gazettes, such as Mercuri, which at the end of the Seventeenth century were customizable and easily eluded the control of state censors. The most important testimonies remain librettos; they followed a simplified procedure for publication that provided for the simple approval of two out of three of the Esecutori contro la Bestemmia and the signature of the Secretary General of the Judiciary.
Examples of censorship could be found in Il demone amante, overo Giugurta by Matteo Noris, Il Falaride by Adriano Morselli and Adone in Cipro, a libretto initially conceived for the Viennese stage by Giovanni Matteo Giannini. In Venetian dramma per musica, summing up, it was important to avoid dealing with topics of a religious nature, but it was also essential not to touch on topics related to carnal love and expressions that referred to academic libertinism
Keeping a comfortable distance: the role of intragroup, intergroup and cultural factors in the choice of interpersonal distance
Get PDFManaging a comfortable interpersonal distance is crucial for establishing positive interpersonal relationships and promoting societal integration. However, understanding the factors underlying the choice of interpersonal distance remains a fundamental yet understudied topic in social psychology, particularly regarding the limited research on the multifaceted influence of intragroup, intergroup, and cultural factors on this choice. Accordingly, this dissertation bridges this gap by examining these factors across the following chapters. Chapter 1 presented a brief overview of the research, introducing the main goals of two empirical studies. Chapter 2 focused on intragroup dynamics, examining the impact of social identification with classmates, friends, and family on adolescents’ choice of interpersonal distance, as well as their involvement in bullying/cyberbullying behaviors. Results indicated that identification with peer groups correlated with a shorter distance from unfamiliar individuals. Moreover, high identification with family and classmates was related to reduced engagement in bullying behaviors, with family identification being linked to traditional bullying and both family and classmates identification being associated with cyberbullying. Chapter 3 concentrated on intergroup dynamics and cultural influence, addressing how Chinese and Italian adolescents’ choice of interpersonal distance was influenced by the combined effects of group membership and cultural conceptions. The findings suggested that Chinese participants preferred a longer distance with outgroup compared to ingroup members, while Italian participants maintained consistent distance regardless of group affiliation. Notably, within the Chinese sample, female participants maintained greater distance than male participants when being exposed to a male target, a trend not observed among Italians. Additionally, this study revealed that individuals increased their distance when approached by outgroup members from the back instead of the front, highlighting the interplay between group membership and direction of approach. Finally, Chapter 4 summarized and discussed these findings in light of their implications for facilitating intergroup relations and intercultural communications in contemporary societies
Network analysis models of eating disorders (NAMED): an exploratory study of symptoms configuration at different stages of illness
Get PDFEating disorders (ED) represent a complex category of psychiatric conditions, characterized by dysfunctional thoughts and behaviours about food and excessive preoccupation with body weight or shape, heterogeneous presentations, diagnostic migration and comorbidity. Such complexity underlined the limits on conventional diagnostic classification systems that do not include trajectories of symptoms and possible comorbidities. An alternative conceptualization of disease is the clinimetric staging model, which aims to determine the current stage of a psychiatric disorder, ranging from prodromal to chronic, by focusing on the characteristics of a condition at a particular point in time. The staging model helps differentiate between the progression of clinical manifestations. Recently network analysis (NA) has been widely applied to explore ED at the symptom level, in an attempt to tackle its intricacies. NA allows to model psychiatric conditions as a constellation of interacting symptoms and appears particularly relevant to explore the complexity of ED. The following explored the characteristics of ED at different stages, modelling symptom networks and comparing their structures. The results highlight the central role of positive functioning and transdiagnostic dimensions in all but the clinical population, where ED symptoms were more prominent. These results support the idea that ED is a complex category of conditions in which clinically meaningful manifestations reach beyond the symptomatology strictly related to eating behaviours and cognitions. While it was past the scope of this work to establish a full staging model for ED, the results obtained provide relevant information regarding clinical manifestations of ED at different levels of ED symptom intensity, thus supporting not only the development of a more refined staging model for these conditions but also providing potential clinical targets for stage-specific interventions
Signal processing algorithms for joint sensing and communication
Get PDFJoint sensing and communication (JSC) systems can usher in a new era of mobile networks with pervasive sensing capabilities, by enabling precise user localization and non-collaborative objects detection. In this dissertation, several signal processing techniques for JSC systems are investigated and a comprehensive analysis of their sensing performance is presented by focusing on two main contributions.
First, an analysis of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)-based JSC systems is performed by investigating the dominant factors that affect performance in the context of different radar settings when considering line-of-sight propagation conditions. Several signal-processing techniques for estimating target position and velocity are examined, with particular emphasis on multiple-input multiple-output systems. The sensing performance is first investigated in the presence of single and multiple point-like targets by considering monostatic and bistatic JSC systems with multibeam capabilities. Then, the analysis is extended by considering extended targets and a multistatic configuration with a single transmitter and two receivers to exploit spatial diversity for improved sensing performance. Furthermore, both near-field and far-field propagation conditions are considered to improve estimation performance when the target is close to the transmitter or receiver.
The second part of this thesis investigates the performance of an orthogonal time frequency space (OTFS)-based JSC system. OTFS is a novel multicarrier modulation scheme that has shown promise for future mobile systems, particularly in JSC applications. However, it is associated with high computational complexity. Therefore, a novel low-complexity estimation and detection approach based on Dirichlet kernel analysis is presented by considering a monostatic JSC system. Through numerical simulations, it is proven that the proposed approximation technique effectively preserves the sensing performance while significantly reducing the computational complexity.
The goal of this dissertation is to contribute to a deeper understanding of OFDM- and OTFS-based JSC systems and to provide innovative solutions to address key challenges
Tailoring meropenem treatment for critically ill patients with hospital-acquired or ventilator associated pneumonia: a personalized PK/PD approach
Get PDFCritically ill patients with hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) pose a formidable challenge in clinical management due to the profound alterations in their pharmacokinetics (PK).
Meropenem is a treatment option for HAP/VAP and its efficacy target is its concentration (Css) to minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ratio (Css/MIC) of 4-8.
This thesis aims to investigate strategies for optimizing meropenem PK and PD in critically ill patients with HAP/VAP.
To enhance meropenem PK optimization in critically ill patients, I evaluated the performance of various methods for estimating renal function, which is crucial for dosing adjustments. These methods included the measurement of creatinine clearance (mCLCR) and its estimation using empiric equations.
For PD optimization of meropenem in patients with HAP/VAP, I developed a PK/PD model to quantify the relationships between meropenem concentrations and changes in C-reactive protein (C-RP), an inflammation biomarker. Then, I simulated C-RP fate for different Css/MIC scenarios.
In the first project, results showed that dose adjustments of meropenem should be based on mCLCR. The use of equations for GFR estimation may result in significant under- or overestimation of meropenem dosages.
In the second project, I successfully built a PK/PD model. Simulations demonstrated that higher Css/MIC ratios were associated with greater and faster reductions in C-RP from baseline.
This research endeavors to personalize the treatment of critically ill patients with HAP/VAP treated with meropenem. It is essential to optimize both PK and PD aspects of therapy. The measurement of creatinine clearance (mCLCR) is essential, and empirical estimation formulas should not be relied upon. Regarding the PD, C-RP serves as a biomarker reflecting meropenem’s efficacy and can be used in clinical practice to assess whether the PK/PD efficacy target has been achieved
Laser balloon ablation for atrial fibrillation: a prospective evaluation of short and long term effectiveness and safety
Get PDFBackground: The third generation of laser balloon (Cardiofocus Heartlight X3) with its compliant balloon and endoscope allows visualization of the ostium of the pulmonary veins and delivery of laser energy in a rapid semi-automatic mode, achieving a linear, continuous, and durable isolation of the pulmonary veins.Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of AF ablation with the Laser Balloon X3 system through a prospective observational study in a contemporary patient population, and secondly the impact of RAPID mode on procedural and clinical endpoints.Methods: We prospectively enrolled consecutive patients with symptomatic paroxysmal or persistent atrial fibrillation, indicated for pulmonary vein isolation according to current guidelines between September 2020 and December 2022. Efficacy was defined as freedom from clinical or significant subclinical atrial fibrillation recurrence at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months. All procedure-related complications were recorded.Results: We enrolled 126 patients with a mean age of 61 years (+/-10), including 25% women. 76.2% of patients suffered from paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, 23,8% persistent AF. At 3-6-12 and 24 months respectively 93%, 88%, 80%, and 74% of patients were free from atrial fibrillation. Among patients with paroxysmal AF at baseline, 83% and 78% were free from AF at 12 and 24 months, while for persistent AF patients, the figures were 73% and 63%, respectively. The Rapid mode utilization > 70% correlated with significantly shorter procedural times and a lower rate of late AF recurrence. Four serious adverse events (3.1%) were recorded with no life-threatening complications, two phrenic nerve palsies and one pericardial effusion without cardiac tamponade, one venous access complication.Conclusions: In our single-centre experience, the Laser Balloon X3 System demonstrates an excellent efficacy and safety profile in terms of AF recurrence and procedure-related complications. The novel Rapid Mode was associated with shorter procedural time and lower AF recurrence rate
Legumes in low input agricultural systems: agronomical traits, sustainability aspects and nutritional features.
Get PDFIn the context of the expanding global food demand and the climate-driven issues affecting the environment and biodiversity, organic cultivation of grain legumes can play a crucial role in making agri-food systems more sustainable. Given the combination of being high-protein source for human and animal feed, grain legumes are nitrogen fixing and also improve cropping systems, enhancing soil quality and supporting positive environmental impacts, such as reduction in greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions and increased biodiversity.
In this study, the agronomic performance of peas (Pisum sativum L. var. Turris) cultivated in organic farming system and under low input conditions in different Italian (Emilia-Romagna) environments (mountainous and hilly) and at different sowing times (Autumn and Spring) over two cropping seasons (2021 and 2022) was evaluated. In parallel, the harvested organic pea grain was totally substituted to soy-based diet in dairy cattle feeding and the relative effect on milk yield and quality was studied. Finally, the nutritional features of organic peas were investigated and deepen with the evaluation of functional characteristics of wheat-based baked snacks (crackers) enriched with 6% of the respective organic pea flour.
The results gave interesting insights showing that, despite mountainous environment appeared to be more promising in terms of growth parameters, the grain yield of hilly environment displayed good results. Regarding milk yield and nutritional quality of dairy cows feed, peas replacement showed an overall positive effect on main parameters and thus may be considered as a valuable and sustainable alternative to soybean in the nutrition of dairy cattle. Concerning the nutritional composition, weather conditions displayed a strong impact among most of the compounds of the pea grain, as well for the wheat-based crackers enriched with 6% of organic pea flour, which demonstrated to improve the dough and final food product characteristics, in terms of functional and nutritional quality
Measurement of integrated CP asymmetries in Lb0->ph− decays with the full Run 1+2 dataset from LHCb
Get PDFIn this thesis, a search for CP violation in Lb0->pK− and Lb0->ppi− decays using the full Run 1+2 dataset gathered by the LHCb experiment is presented. The sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 9 fb−1 of proton-proton collisions at centre-of-mass energies of 7, 8 and 13 TeV, collected between 2011 and 2018. Several corrections accounting for particle identification, trigger, Lb0 production, as well as detection asymmetries of final-state particles are needed to extract the physical CP asymmetries and are determined in this thesis. The CP asymmetries corresponding to the Run 1 dataset are measured to be ACP(pK−) = (0.09 ± 1.53 ± 0.72)%, ACP(ppi−) = (−0.52 ± 1.89 ± 0.56)%, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. The results are compatible with the ones from a previous iteration of the analysis and supersede them thanks to a significant reduction in the systematic uncertainties. The CP asymmetries corresponding to the Run 2 dataset are measured to be ACP(pK−) = (−1.45 ± 0.75 ± 0.43)%, ACP(ppi−) = (0.34 ± 0.95 ± 0.43)%. When combining the values from Run 1 and Run 2 the following values are found ACP(pK−) = (−1.12 ± 0.67 ± 0.36)%, ACP(ppi−) = (0.15 ± 0.85 ± 0.36)%, which are the world-best measurements of these asymmetries from a single experiment to date, and are compatible with the CP symmetry conservation hypothesis within 1.5σ and 0.2σ, respectively
Translational and discursive processes in multilingual news production by global news agencies: representations about Bolivia
Get PDFGlobal news agencies are major sources of international news that transcend geographical, cultural, and linguistic boundaries. Journalism and translation coexist in multilingual newsrooms; however, translation often goes unacknowledged within the plurality of authorship that characterizes this journalistic setting. Such a paradox motivates the examination of the role of translation and of news translators to define and describe translation as an enabler of global flows of information.
This thesis deals with the multilingual news production of global news agencies and concentrates on the journalistic representation of the South American country of Bolivia. This work brings to the table datasets informed by news coverage initially conceived in Spanish, that carry traces of indigenous languages and is produced at the local desks of global news agencies. The examination of these datasets continues through its journey to reach the global audience in French and English versions. This thesis also endeavours to offer a systematic account of the multilingual news coverage representing a country at a specific period of social import.
The analytical core of this work is the multilingual versions of news dispatches published in 2020 by Agence France-Presse, Associated Press, Agencia EFE, and Reuters, in Spanish, French, and English, which are contrasted and examined from a translational perspective. This translational approach is accompanied by the consideration of the discursive and contextual dimensions of news production, by employing a corpora and ethnographic work. These methodological approaches constitute an analytical framework that is applied to three case-studies to examine cultural and political news coverage, topics that are not always clearly disentangled from one another.
The linguistic evidence found in this work suggests that close and distant renditions occur in translated news. This thesis offers methodological reflections on the combination of translational, discursive, and ethnographic approaches and its potential to furthering interdisciplinary research