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Modelling, simulations and monitoring for sustainable plant and animal production systems through precision technique
No full textProtected crop production is a modern and innovative approach to cultivating plants in a controlled environment to optimize growth, yield, and quality. This method involves using structures such as greenhouses or tunnels to create a sheltered environment. These productive solutions are characterized by a careful regulation of variables like temperature, humidity, light, and ventilation, which collectively contribute to creating an optimal microclimate for plant growth. Heating, cooling, and ventilation systems are used to maintain optimal conditions for plant growth, regardless of external weather fluctuations. Protected crop production plays a crucial role in addressing challenges posed by climate variability, population growth, and food security. Similarly, animal husbandry involves providing adequate nutrition, housing, medical care and environmental conditions to ensure animal welfare. Then, sustainability is a critical consideration in all forms of agriculture, including protected crop and animal production. Sustainability in animal production refers to the practice of producing animal products in a way that minimizes negative impacts on the environment, promotes animal welfare, and ensures the long-term viability of the industry. Then, the research activities performed during the PhD can be inserted exactly in the field of Precision Agriculture and Livestock farming. Here the focus is on the computational fluid dynamic (CFD) approach and environmental assessment applied to improve yield, resource efficiency, environmental sustainability, and cost savings. It represents a significant shift from traditional farming methods to a more technology-driven, data-driven, and environmentally conscious approach to crop and animal production. On one side, CFD is powerful and precise techniques of computer modeling and simulation of airflows and thermo-hygrometric parameters, that has been applied to optimize the growth environment of crops and the efficiency of ventilation in pig barns. On the other side, the sustainability aspect has been investigated and researched in terms of Life Cycle Assessment analyses
Investments to ports and airports infrastructures and state aid
No full textGli investimenti alle infrastrutture di trasporto sono stati per lungo tempo considerati misure di politica generale di competenza esclusiva degli Stati membri, nonostante il generale divieto di misure di sostegno pubblico a favore delle imprese ai sensi dell’art. 107 TFUE.
Le sentenze rese dalle corti eurounitarie in relazione agli aeroporti di Parigi e di Lipsia Halle hanno dato avvio ad un vero e proprio revirement giurisprudenziale, in considerazione delle trasformazioni economiche internazionali, rimettendo in discussione il concetto di impresa, nonché la ferma interpretazione secondo cui il finanziamento alle infrastrutture – in quanto beni pubblici intesi a soddisfare i bisogni di mobilità dei cittadini – sfuggirebbe all’applicazione della disciplina degli aiuti di Stato.
Nonostante le esigenze di costante ammodernamento e sviluppo delle infrastrutture, il nuovo quadro regolatorio adottato dall’Unione europea a seguire ha condotto inevitabilmente gli Stati membri a dover sottoporre al vaglio preventivo della Commissione ogni nuovo investimento infrastrutturale.
La presente trattazione, muovendo dall’analisi della disciplina degli aiuti di Stato di cui agli artt. 107 e ss. TFUE, analizza i principi di creazione giurisprudenziale e dottrinale che derivano dall’interpretazione delle fonti primarie, mettendo in evidenza le principali problematiche giuridiche sottese, anche in considerazione delle peculiarità delle infrastrutture in questione, dei modelli proprietari e di governance, delle competenze e dei poteri decisionali in merito a nuovi progetti di
investimento.
Infine, la trattazione si concentra sui grandi progetti infrastrutturali a livello europeo e internazionale che interessano le reti di trasporto, analizzando le nuove sfide, pur considerando la necessità di assicurare, anche rispetto ad essi, la salvaguardia del cd. level playing field e l’osservanza sostanziale delle norme sugli aiuti di Stato.Investments in transport infrastructures have for a long time been considered as general policy measures, belonging to the exclusive competence of the Member States, despite the general prohibition of public support measures in favor of enterprises pursuant to art. 107 TFEU.
The judgements rendered by the EU courts in relation to the airports of Paris and Leipzig Halle have triggered a real jurisprudential revirement, in consideration of the international economic transformations, concerning the concept of enterprise, as well as the firm interpretation according to which the financing to infrastructures – as public goods aimed at satisfying citizens' mobility needs – would escape the application of the state aid rules.
Despite the need for constant modernization and development of infrastructures, the new regulatory framework adopted by the European Union inevitably led to the obligation of the Member States to submit each new project to the prior scrutiny of the Commission.
This analysis, starting from the study of the state aid regulations referred to in Articles 107 et seq. TFEU, analyzes the emerging jurisprudential and doctrinal principles resulting from the interpretation of the primary sources, highlighting the main underlying legal problems, also on the basis of the peculiarities of the infrastructures at stake, the ownership and governance models, the competences and decision-making powers on new projects of investment.
Finally, the discussion focuses on large infrastructure projects at European and international level concerning transport networks and the new challenges, without forgetting to consider the need to ensure at the same time the protection of the so-called "level playing field" and substantive compliance with state aid rules
The bright routes to five-membered heterocycles: a photoredox catalytic approach
No full textSynthetic chemists constantly strive to develop new methodologies to access complex molecules more sustainably. The recently developed photocatalytic approach results in a valid and greener alternative to the classical synthetic methods. Here we present three protocols to furnish five-membered rings exploiting photoredox catalysis. We firstly obtained 4,5-dihydrofurans (4,5-DHFs) from readily available olefins and α-haloketones employing fac-Ir(ppy)3 as a photocatalyst under blue-light irradiation (Figure 1, top). This transformation resulted very broad in scope, thanks to its mild conditions and the avoidance of stoichiometric amounts of oxidants or reductants. Moreover, similar conditions could lead to β,γ-unsaturated ketones, or highly substituted tetrahydrofurans (THFs) by carefully differentiating the substitution pattern on the starting materials and properly adjusting the reaction parameters. We then turned our attention to the reactivity of allenamides employing analogous photocatalytic conditions to access 2-aminofurans (Figure 1, bottom). α-Haloketones again provided the radical generated by fac-Ir(ppy)3 under visible-light irradiation, which added to the π-system and furnished the cyclic molecule. The addition of a second molecule of the α-haloketone moiety led to the formation of the final highly functionalized furan, which might be further elaborated to afford more complex products. The two works were both supplied with mechanistic investigations supported by experimental and computational methods. As our last project, we developed a methodology to achieve cypentanonyl-fused N-methylpyrrolidines (Figure 2), exploiting N,N-dimethylamines and carboxylic acids as radical sources. In two separated photocatalytic steps, both functionalities are manipulated through the photoredox catalysis by 4CzIPN to add to an α,β-enone system, furnishing the bicyclic product
Resistance and opposition to the Macedonian kingship in the ancient Iranian world
No full textThis thesis deals with the criticism of Macedonian kingship in the ancient Iranian world. The question of indigenous opposition and resistance to the Greeks and Macedonians has been little addressed by ancient historians. The study therefore adopts a different, interdisciplinary perspective and seeks to understand where the utterly negative portrayal of Alexander and the Macedonians found in most Iranian sources stems from. The first part deals with the subject by first examining the acts of violence committed by Alexander and his men against the Iranians during the expedition to Asia that might have led to such a portrayal in the Iranian sources. I have focused on looting, massacres and insults to deities, such as the looting of temples or the destruction of many settlements in ancient Iran handed down in classical sources. To this end, an important part was devoted to the analysis of archaeological sources, especially the signs of destruction in areas such as Persia and Sogdiana. In the second part, the image of Alexander and his successors, although mentioned much less frequently, as it appears in pre-Islamic Iranian literature, is analysed in detail, focusing on the faults and cruelties attributed to them against the Iranians, but especially against their religion. These are mostly Zoroastrian religious sources, whose clergy preserved a demonic image of the Macedonian kings. In the third and final part, further examples of offences committed by the Diadochi and Seleucids against the Iranians in the classical tradition are collected. At the same time, it is examined how the Hellenistic rulers of Iranian origin, e.g. the Arsacids and the Orontids, opposed not only militarily but also ideologically the Macedonian tradition represented by the kingdoms of Macedonian descent and chose a pro-Iranian tradition that was clearly different from the Greco-Roman one.La presente tesi si occupa della critica alla regalità macedone nel mondo iranico antico. La questione dell'opposizione e della resistenza indigena ai Greci e ai Macedoni è stata poco affrontata dagli storici antichi. Lo studio adotta quindi una prospettiva diversa, interdisciplinare, e cerca di capire da dove derivi la rappresentazione assolutamente negativa di Alessandro e dei Macedoni che si trova nella maggior parte delle fonti iraniche. Nella prima parte si affronta l'argomento esaminando innanzitutto gli atti di violenza commessi da Alessandro e dai suoi uomini contro gli Iranici durante la spedizione in Asia che potrebbero aver portato a un simile ritratto nelle fonti iraniche. Mi sono concentrato su saccheggi, massacri e insulti alle divinità, come il saccheggio dei templi o la distruzione di molti insediamenti nell'Iran antico tramandati dalle fonti classiche. A tal fine una parte importante è stata dedicata all'analisi delle fonti archeologiche, soprattutto per quanto riguarda i segni di distruzione in aree come la Persia e la Sogdiana. Nella seconda parte l'immagine di Alessandro e dei suoi successori, sebbene menzionata molto meno frequentemente, così come appare nella letteratura iranica pre-islamica, viene analizzata nel dettaglio, concentrandosi sulle colpe e le crudeltà attribuite loro nei confronti degli Iranici, ma soprattutto della loro religione. Si tratta, infatti, per lo più di fonti religiose zoroastriane, il cui clero ha conservato un'immagine demoniaca dei re macedoni. Nella terza e ultima parte vengono raccolti altri esempi di offese commesse dai Diadochi e dai Seleucidi nei confronti degli Iranici nella tradizione classica. Allo stesso tempo si esamina come i sovrani ellenistici di origine iranica, ad esempio gli Arsacidi e gli Orontidi, si scontrarono non solo militarmente ma anche ideologicamente con la tradizione macedone rappresentata dai regni di ascendenza macedone e si orientarono verso una tradizione filo-iranica che era chiaramente diversa dal mondo greco-romano
Spectroscopic investigation on photoreactivity, structure and polymorphism of organic molecular crystals
No full textThe study of the spectroscopic phenomena in organic solids, in combination with other techniques, is an effective tool for the understanding of the structural properties of materials based on these compounds.
This Ph.D. work was dedicated to the spectroscopic investigation of some relevant processes occurring in organic molecular crystals, with the goal of expanding the knowledge on the relationship between structure, dynamics and photoreactivity of these systems. Vibrational spectroscopy has been the technique of choice, always in combination with X-ray diffraction structural studies and often the support of computational methods.
The vibrational study of the molecular solid state reaches its full potential when it includes the low-wavenumber region of the lattice-phonon modes, which probe the weak intermolecular interactions and are the fingerprints of the lattice itself. Microscopy is an invaluable addition in the investigation of processes that take place in the micro-meter scale of the crystal micro-domains. In chemical and phase transitions, as well as in polymorph screening and identification, the combination of Raman microscopy and lattice-phonon detection has provided useful information.
Research on the fascinating class of single-crystal-to-single-crystal photoreactions, has shown how the homogeneous mechanism of these transformations can be identified by lattice-phonon microscopy, in agreement with the continuous evolution of their XRD patterns. On describing the behavior of the photodimerization mechanism of vitamin K3, the focus was instead on the influence of its polymorphism in governing the product isomerism.
Polymorphism is the additional degree of freedom of molecular functional materials, and by advancing in its control and properties, functionalities can be promoted for useful applications. Its investigation focused on thin-film phases, widely employed in organic electronics. The ambiguities in phase identification often emerging by other experimental methods were successfully solved by vibrational measurements
Essays on risk-taking in corporate finance
No full textThis thesis consists of three independent essays on risk-taking in corporate finance. The first essay explores how community-level social capital (CSC), framed as a cultural characteristic of individuals born in different provinces of Italy, affects investment behavior in equity crowdfunding. Results show that investors born in high-CSC provinces invest more money in ventures characterized by an enhanced risk profile. Observed risk-taking is theoretically linked to higher generalized trust endowed to people born in high-CSC areas. The second essay focuses on how convexity of Chief Financial Officers’ stock options affects their hedging decisions in the oil and gas industry. Highly convex CFOs hedge less commodity price risk, even if the Chief Executive Officer’s incentives are consistent with a more conservative hedging strategy. Finally, the third essay is a systematic literature review on how different sources of compensation-based risk-taking incentives of Chief Executive Officers affect decision-making in corporate finance
Gene expression and genome-wide association studies analysis to select heavy pigs for protected designation of origin cured meats production
No full textThe high quality of protected designation of origin (PDO) dry-cured pork products depends largely on the chemical and physical parameters of the fresh meat and their variation during the production process of the final product. The discovery of the mechanisms that regulate the variability of these parameters was aided by the reference genome of swine adjuvant to genetic analysis methods.
This thesis can contribute to the discovery of genetic mechanisms that regulate the variability of some quality parameters of fresh meat for PDO dry-cured pork production.
The first study is of gene expression and showed that between low and high glycolytic potential (GP) samples of Semimembranosus muscle of Italian Large White (ILW) pigs in early postmortem, the differentially expressed genes were all but one over expressed in low GP. These were involved in ATP biosynthesis processes, calcium homeostasis, and lipid metabolism including the potential master regulator gene Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Alpha (PPARA).
The second is a study in commercial hybrid pigs to evaluate correlations between carcass and fresh ham traits, including carcass and fresh ham lean meat percentages, the former, a potential predictor of the latter. In addition, a genome-wide association study allowed the identification of chromosome-wide associations with phenotypic traits for 19 SNPs, and genome-wide associations for 14 SNPs for ferrochelatase activity. The latter could be a determinant for color variation in nitrite-free dry-cured ham.
The third study showed gene expression differences in the Longissimus thoracis muscle of ILW pigs by feeding diets with extruded linseed (source of polyunsaturated fatty acids) and vitamin E and selenium (diet three) or natural (diet four) antioxidants. The diet three promoted a more rapid and massive immune system response possibly determined by improvement in muscle tissue function, while the diet four promoted oxidative stability and increased the anti-inflammatory potential of muscle tissue
The green finance apparatus. How ideology and planning steer sustainable capital flows
No full textBy investigating the inner working of leading financial institutions, and their dense interconnections, this thesis explores the evolution of traditional financial instruments like bonds to tackle sustainability issues. Building on fieldwork among green financiers, the thesis is based upon participant observation of working groups appointed to define standards for sustainable bonds.
Engaging critical theory, one claim is that investors are increasingly recruited or interpellated by an emerging global green ideological apparatus, aimed at ensuring the reproduction of existing social relations. Taking stock of the proliferation of both public and private actors in the definition of green standards and practices, the thesis proposes that this green ideology is becoming hegemonic. Focusing on the case of green bond pricing, it suggests that environmental and climate labels and other financial green signifiers for financial products take on brand-like qualities. Crystallizing imaginaries, meanings, and forms of personhood, they play a fundamental role in what is defined as a dual process of valuation-cum-subjectivation. Identifying themselves as “green”, financiers valuate differently green and brown assets allowing a ‘green’ financial value to slowly come to matter.
Yet, alongside their ideological role, green labels have come to be almost exclusively standardized with reference to specific Climate Scenarios (e.g. Net Zero). These scenarios coordinate the optimal path towards achieving a carbon neutral world and represent the quintessential example of socioeconomic planning, crucially undermining neoliberal ideas of ‘the market’ as the ultimate calculative device
Patterns of long-term settlement and land exploitation in the region of the Nile First Cataract (Egypt)
No full textThe First Cataract region (Egypt) has always played a crucial role as a border area and a crossroads for cultures and people living in adjacent landscapes. The region has its central point in the modern city of Aswan, but it extends up to the Kom Ombo Plain in the north and reaches the Bab el-Kalabsha in the south. Its eastern and western limits cannot be defined with the same precision, given that they are located in deserts.
This research focused on the landscape analysis of the region intended as a complex entanglement of archaeological evidence in a geographical and natural environment whose changes impacted and, simultaneously, were influenced by human activities. Settlement patterns and land use can give interesting information on how these relationships worked from a diachronic perspective and how they shaped the region’s characteristics. To understand the links between the human presence and its evidence and the landscape of the First Cataract region, the integration of various datasets was needed, from historical and archaeological ones to the remote sensing observation of large areas.
An area corresponding to ca. 18.000 km2 has been selected for this research. The chronological framework has been chosen to cover a considerable period, from the beginning of the 5th millennium BCE to the 7th century AD.
Multi-temporality and multifunctionality appear as two essential aspects when the archaeological evidence of the First Cataract region is considered in its geographical and topographical setting as a general context for settlement patterns and resource exploitation analyses. A combination of remote sensing data and topographical materials has been integrated with archaeological evidence to obtain information about resource exploitation strategies and settlement adaptation from a diachronic perspective
Valorization and recycling of waste biomass and bioplastics into molecules, polymers and catalysts
No full textThe enormous amount of goods that world societies consume every day, derives from an immense consumption of energy and raw materials, and leads to an unthinkable amount of wastes. The abuse of fossil-based resources and the mismanaged waste is leading to big environmental pollution and climate change, with consequences on all living beings. To solve this issue and start living in equilibrium with nature, modern societies must stop using fossil fuels massively in favor to clean renewable energies, recycling, and biomass and waste utilization for materials and chemical production. Moreover, bioplastic recycling must be prioritized over their biodegrading and composting. This work is dedicated to the study of new synthetic strategies that fall into these fields