1,720,965 research outputs found
Produzione di bioetanolo da biomasse provenienti da siti di fitodepurazione nell'ambito del progetto FITOPROBIO
Full text linkDurante il progetto FITOPROBIO, sono state studiate nuove piante palustri per ottenere etanolo di seconda generazione. Le piante sono state irrigate con acque di scarico che potrebbero rappresentare un’opportunità interessante riguardo al riutilizzo di acque di scarsa qualità e allo sviluppo di zone marginali. Le attività agronomiche sono state svolte in due campi sperimentali (Veneto e Sicilia). Ventitré specie sono state caratterizzate in termini di elementi e fibra in modo da trovare le specie potenzialmente migliori alla produzione di etanolo. È stato sperimentato un pretrattamento chimico
di tre fasi, su scala banco per tutte le 23 specie. Dapprima, le biomasse sono state trattate con acido diluito a caldo (H2SO4 2%, T=80°C, t=24h), in seguito con NaOH 1% diluito alla temperatura di 40°C per 24 ore, infine H2O2 concentrato è stato aggiunto fino alla concentrazione dell’1% a t=25°C per 24 ore. Dopo il pretrattamento chimico, è stato recuperato fino al 90% di cellulosa e l’80% di lignina è stata solubilizzata. Il materiale pretrattato è stato idrolizzato con un mix di enzimi commerciali (Celluclast 1.5L e Novozym 188) per 72 ore e in seguito fermentato per 24 ore utilizzando un ceppo di Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolato nei laboratori dell’ENEA. Per ogni pianta studiata, è stata calcolata la resa di produzione dell’etanolo. Infine, i migliori esperimenti sono stati replicati in bioreattori del volume di 2/5 litri.During the project FITOPROBIO, new potential wetland plants were studied to obtain second generation ethanol. The plants were irrigated with wastewater which could be an interesting opportunity of the reuse of poor quality waters and the development of the marginal areas. The agronomic activities took place in two experimental fields (Veneto and Sicily). Twentythree species were characterized in terms of elements and fiber in order to find the best potential ethanol producers. A three-step chemical pretreatment was carried out on bench scale for all the 23 species. First the biomasses were treated with hot diluted acid (H2SO4 2%, T=80°C, t=24h), secondly with diluted NaOH 1% at 40°C for 24h, finally concentrated H2O2 was added until the 1% concentration at t=25°C for 24h. After the chemical pretreatment until the 90% of cellulose was recovered and the
80% of lignin was solubilised. This pretreated material was then hydrolysed with a mix of
commercial enzymes (Celluclast 1.5L and Novozym 188) for 72h and afterwards fermented for 24h by means of strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolated in the ENEA laboratories. For each studied plant the yield of ethanol production was calculated. At the end, the best experiments were scaledup on bioreactors of the volume of 2/5 liters
Inhibitors derived from wheat straw hydrolysate can affect the production of succinic acid by Actinobacillus succinogenes
No full textLignocellulosic biomasses are promising source of fermentative sugars for the production of succinic acid. The lignocellulosic matrix must be pretreated to make the sugars available for the fermentation, but the most tested operative conditions can generate inhibitors as acetic acid, furans, phenolic compounds. Inhibitors remained an obstacle for the implementation of succinic acid production starting from recalcitrant biomasses as wheat straw. Batch tests were performed at two starting concentrations of strain, sugars (glucose, glucose and xylose) and inhibitors (acetic acid and furfural) by comparing the fermentation in standard broth medium and hydrolysate. Notwithstanding the presence of acetic acid (52.5 mg/L) and furfural (15 mg/L), succinic acid was obtained at 9*10−2 ± 7*10−3 g/L by starting from wheat straw hydrolysate that contained glucose (1.1 g/L), xylose (0.4 g/L) and without additional nitrogen source. Therefore, the study highlighted that a more concentrated inoculum was able to reduce the synergistic effect of inhibitors at their highest concentrations. The results obtained may contribute to improve succinic acid production from the biomasses that have been under-exploited but abundantly available, as wheat straw, for which solutions must be found to solve the problem of inhibitors production or to mitigate its effect on the fermentation process
The PULSA (Plant-based Unit for Life Support in Antarctica): a sustainable plant food technology for remotes and isolated environments
No full textIn the last decade ENEA (Italian National Agency for New Technology, Energy and the Environment) has promoted some research projects with the aim to develop a system and a protocol for producing fresh vegetable food in the Italian bases of TNB (Terra Nova Bay) and Dome C (Concordia base) situated in Antarctica, with the main result of the construction of the Plant-based Unit for Life Support in Antarctica (PULSA). The paper reports a brief overview of the main prototypes and software developed with the cooperation of the Universities of Pisa and Palermo. This cooperation had produced the main following products: 1) a complete automatic hydroponic system for plant cultivation in artificial environment (C.H.G.S., Closed Hydroponic Greenhouse System); 2) a recycling wastes unit for the purification of water and the recycling of the residual biomasses produced by hydroponic growing cycles; 3) a complete automated and remote-controlling system for the germination and the production of the plantlets (Box-Nursery); 4) a lettuce growth and yield simulator (SLS). In addition, the paper describes also the last prototypes under development, such as a multilevel hydroponic growing unit and a solar photovoltaic system, developed with the aim to maximize the yield, using also the Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) as light source for plant crop growth. Considerations and comments on the possibility to use PULSA as scientific platform for research and demonstration activities on plant growth technologies useful for the Space are also reported. All the researches herein presented were financed by the PNRA (Italian National Plan for Antarctic Research)
Italian technology platform on food for life the vision for 2020 and beyond (A research agenda)
Full text linkThe Italian Food and Drink Federation– which Federalimentare represents through
its 17 sector Associations members of Confindustria – is one of the pillars of our national economy, representing the second manufacturing industry of our country with a turnover of 110 billion euros (of which 16 in export) and 36,000 companies -
of which 6,600 with more than 9 employees and 2,600 with more than 20 employees-, with over 400,000 employees. Along with agriculture, induced activity and distribution, the Food and Drink Industry is the central element of the first economic sector of the Country. Industry buys and processes 70% of the national agricultural raw materials and is generally recognized as the ambassador of Made in Italy in the world considering that
almost 80% of the Italian agro-food export is represented by high quality industry brands.
The sector can claim several important factors and its image is an heritage extremely appreciated in Europe and in the world, divided in an enviable range of high quality products and on a wide series of products of protected or controlled designation of origin which are leading in the international markets. It’s a success due to the strict bonds of the Italian food and drink production with land and with the cultural heritage of Italy, and due to the safety standards, along with the ability to mix tradition and innovation of processes and of products. This is the reason why the sector is the target of a wide range of actions of imitation and forgery, especially on rich and demanding markets, like the American and the North European ones. Nevertheless, in spite of the positive figures reached in 2006, the food and drink industry is penalized by some structural gaps that hold down its growth and its capacity to compete. The main factor that penalizes the growth of the food and drink industry is the extreme fragmentation of production, that comes even before the other bonds that restrain the whole system of our companies (structural lacks and logistics, exaggerated costs of production like energy, low quality offer of services for the companies). The sector is characterized by an extreme fragmentation, that sees only 20% of the companies above the threshold of 9 units and the remaining 30.000 firms tied to such a small dimension ( 3-9 units) that with the global trends adopted by our competitors it would seem unthinkable to realize
any kind of competition. Its clear that the dimension of the companies in one of the major obstacles to the capacity to invest in research and innovation or to have access to the processes of transfer of technological innovations. Instead, a strong impulse to the transfer of process and product innovation would certainly contribute to improve the position of competition of our food industry, especially of the small and medium enterprises. About 25% of the turnover of the agro-food industry comes out from products for which innovation is an essential factor and which possess more added value; we are speaking of the so-called traditionally evolved, ready to eat sauces, spicy oils, fresh seasonings, frozen foods, etc., and of the real new products, that are products with a high content of wellness and of services. If we consider the trends of the models of food consumption, this line of more “evolved” products is likely to reach more space in comparison with the so-called classic food (pasta, preserved foods, cheese, wine, oil), that at the moment reach about two thirds of the entire turnover (65%), while the remaining 9% is represented by products of brand of origin and, by a smaller percentage, by biological products. So, if the internal market begins to show that research and innovation are one of the incentives of progress, the international one shows us that without capacity to innovate the risk to stay out of the market is going to become a reality, especially for our commodities. There is no doubt, therefore, that the success of our products rises from the capacity of our managers to mix tradition and innovation, giving due emphasis to applied research. During these last years our food companies, as a matter of fact have employed the most recent technologies, adapting them to the traditional gastronomical recipes, in order to create products easy to prepare, with higher security standards and a high level of quality. These results are possible only allocating resources every year to research. This financial commitment would not only mean an investment for the future but also an immediate response to the
consumers’ demands within the Italian Style. The Italian and international market of food products will be more and more affected by the changes in society (especially by the ageing an individualization), by the changes of the nutritional habits and by the way of life. For this reason the Italian food and drink industry is constantly involved in meeting the consumers’
needs supplying products adapted to the various nutritional needs, considering as
well the different ways of consumption that enable the consumer to make responsible choices and to follow a diet suitable to his lifestyle and the physical activity performed. The consumers themselves, especially the Italian and the European, are more and more in a position to recognize the real value of what they are buying, from the choice of the primary products, the technological features, to the attention given to the correct employ of natural resources, to logistics and packaging, from the point of view of the conceit of global quality. As a response to these requirements Federalimentare, while already involved in Brussels coordinating the European Technological Platform “Food for Life”, has started up, together with Crui (Conference of the Chancellors of the Italian
Universities) and in cooperation with the University of Bologna, ENEA Biotec,
Tecnoalimenti and with the most representative experts of the agroindustry sector
in Italy, the National Technology Platform “Italian Food for life”. It is an instrument
created with the aim to stimulate research and technological innovation in the agro-food sector at a national level in order to strengthen the scientific and technological basis of our food and drink industry, encouraging the development and international competition, especially to help the Small and Mediun Enterprises. The technology Platform “Italian Food for life” is a unique opportunity not only to promote the coordination of the research activity of primary products and nutrition, assuring whether the direction, whether enough critical mass, but also to guarantee transfer of know-how to the companies.
Without any doubt the promotion of the culture of innovation, of research and
training is the keystone for the success of our products in Italy and abroad. We are
speaking of what will be recognized as the future Made in Italy of food, that today
needs to pass through specialization, research and technological progress in order
to become, tomorrow, the “new classic” in which stands out our capacity, typically Italian, to elaborate culture and know-how, innovation and tradition
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Impiego di antagonisti microbici nella lotta contro i marciumi della frutta in post-raccolta nell'ambito del progetto ORTOFRULOG
Full text linkI prodotti ortofrutticoli sono caratterizzati da un’elevata deperibilità soprattutto durante la fase del post-raccolta. In questo lavoro sono state condotte delle ricerca volte a valutare l’efficacia di alcuni microrganismi antagonisti per contrastare e limitare l’insorgenza di malattie fungine che interessano la frutta durante la fase di conservazione e trasporto. Sono stati saggiati i lieviti Pichia guilliermondii ceppo CTR-2 e Pichia anomala ceppo GR-2001 ed un batterio Bacillus subtilis ceppo ET-1 contro Penicillium digitatum su frutti di mandarino e contro Botrytis cinerea su frutti di fragola ed uva. I frutti sono stati trattati con sospensioni cellulari del lievito (107 CFU/ml) e con il supernatante ottenuto dalla crescita di B. subtilis in coltura liquida agitata. In seguito, i frutti sono stati artificialmente inoculati con sospensioni conidiche dei patogeni (104 conidi/ml) e incubati a 20 °C con un’umidità relativa del 90%. Alla comparsa dei sintomi è stato rilevato il numero dei frutti con marciumi ed i dati sono stati sottoposti ad elaborazione statistica mediante analisi della varianza. Le percentuali di frutti infetti delle tesi protette con il supernatante di B. subtilis e con la sospensione cellulare di P . guilliermondii, sono state rispettivamente, su mandarino del 20% e 15%, su fragola del 34%
e 56% e su uva 15% e 40%. La percentuale di frutti infetti nelle tesi testimoni è risultata di circa il 100%. Dall’analisi HPLC del supernatante di B. subtilis ottenuto dalla coltura in High Medium broth è stata individuata una elevata quantità di iturina: noto metabolita secondario ad attività antifungina.Fruits and vegetables are afflicted by economically important postharvest diseases. In this study some antagonistic microrganisms against fungal diseases during fruits storage were evaluated. The antagonist activity of Pichia guilliermondii, Pichia anomala and Bacillus subtilis strains was tested against Penicillium digitatum on citrus fruits
and Botrytis cinerea on strawberries and grape fruits. The fruits were treated with cell suspensions of P. guilliermondii (107 CFU/ml) and with cell-free culture fluid of B. subtilis. After treatment, the fruits were artificially inoculated with conidial suspensions of the pathogens (104-105 conidia/ml). All fruits were stored at 20 °C and 90 % relative humidity and their quality was assessed daily for the development of rots. Three replicates of each treatment were done and the data were statistically analysed using analysis of va riance. For citrus fruits, strawberry and grape fruits treated with
B. subtilis supernatant it was observed a percentages of infected fruits of 20%, 34%, and 15%, respectively. Concerning the citrus fruits, namely strawberry and grape fruits treated with yeast cell suspensions, it was observed a percentages of infected fruits of 15% , 56% and 40%, respectively. The percentage of infected fruits in the control test
was 100 %. HPLC analysis of the supernatant from the B. subtilis culture indicated an high amount of iturin. It belongs to a category of bioactive compounds, biosurfactants, that are well known for a wide spectrum of antifungal activity
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
- …
