117,419 research outputs found
Lupino (Lupinus albus L.) La riscoperta di un’antica coltura in AA.VV. Nuove colture possibili nel territorio del Gal Daunofantino Nespolo (Eriobotrya japonica L.), Lupino (Lupinus albus L.) e Canapa (Cannabis sativa L.) a cura di Roberto Rana
No full textAnalysis of Socio-Economic and Environmental Sustainability of Barley Supply Chain: a Healthy Crop for Human Nutrition
No full textLa ricerca ha lo scopo di fornire evidenze sui benefici, in termini di salubrità, sostenibilità ambientale ed efficienza produttiva, dell’orzo (Hordeum vulgare L.), una coltura ampiamente diffusa in Puglia (Italia).
Al fine di perseguire questo obiettivo generale, lo scopo della ricerca è duplice: (i) studiare la percezione dei consumatori circa la qualità dei prodotti biologici, in termini di sostenibilità e salubrità, e analizzare come e in che misura la qualità percepita dei prodotti biologici è influenzata dalla presenza di informazioni in etichetta relative alla qualità e dal profilo socio-demografico dei consumatori; (ii) confrontare la coltivazione dell’orzo in regime biologico e convenzionale, in condizioni pedo-climatiche favorevoli, al fine di valutare i potenziali impatti ambientali ed individuare la migliore soluzione in termini di sostenibilità ambientale ed efficienza produttiva.
È stato usato un approccio basato su una Combinazione tra una variabile casuale Uniforme discreta e una variabile casuale Binomiale traslata, denominato modello CUB per analizzare le preferenze dei consumatori in termini di due componenti latenti, il livello di attrazione verso l’item considerato (feeling) e l’incertezza connessa alle modalità della raccolta delle risposte (uncertainty).
È stata usata la metodologia della valutazione del ciclo di vita, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), usando alternativamente come Unità Funzionali (FU) 1 ha di terra destinata alla coltivazione di orzo per testare la sostenibilità ambientale, e 1 kg di granella secca di orzo per testare l’efficienza produttiva.
I risultati del modello CUB evidenziano che la presenza di informazioni specifiche sull’etichetta dei prodotti (e.g. etichetta ambientale, certificazione biologica, indicazioni salutistiche) fanno percepire i prodotti biologici come prodotti di qualità superiore. I risultati sottolineano anche come il profilo socio-demografico dei consumatori svolge un ruolo fondamentale ne determinare il meccanismo di acquisto dei prodotti.
I risultati di LCA mostrano che la coltivazione di orzo biologico è più sostenibile da un punto di vista ambientale (ma non è produttivamente efficiente), viceversa la coltivazione di orzo convenzionale è più efficiente da un punto di vista produttivo (ma non è sostenibile per l’ambiente). I risultati relativi all’efficienza produttiva e alla sostenibilità ambientale dovrebbero essere bilanciate da assunzioni metodologiche (la scelta dell’unità funzionale, il procedimento di allocazione) e da elementi qualitativi (la qualità della coltura, l’adattabilità a specifiche condizioni pedo-climatiche). L’unità funzionale di superficie (1 ha) è preferibile per l’analisi delle fasi di coltivazione in campo, mentre l’unità funzionale di massa (1 kg) è consigliabile per la valutazione di un contesto più ampio, quale un’intera filiera.
La ricerca tenta di colmare la mancanza esistente nella letteratura economica relativa alla coltura dell’orzo, che rappresenta un punto di forza per le aziende agricole e di trasformazione pugliesi, grazie alle sue caratteristiche di sostenibilità e salubritàThe scope of the research is to provide evidences about the benefits, in terms of healthiness, environmental sustainability, and productive efficiency, related to barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), a widespread crop in the Apulia region (italy). Seeking to pursue this general goal, the aim of the research is twofold: (i) investigating consumers’ perception about quality of organic food, in terms of sustainability and healthiness, and analyzing how and to what extent perceived quality of organic food is influenced by the presence of information related to quality on food products’ label, and consumers’ socio-demographic profile; (ii) comparing organic and conventional cultivation of barley, under favorable pedo-climatic conditions, to evaluate the potential environmental impacts related to the cultivation of barley and to identify the most suitable solution in terms of environmental sustainability and productive efficiency.
An approach based on Combination of Uniform and shifted Binomial random variables, named CUB model, was performed to analyze consumers’ preference in terms of two latent components, feeling and uncertainty. A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was performed alternatively using, as Functional Units (FUs), 1 ha of land involved in cultivation of barley to seek environmental sustainability and 1 kg of dry matter grains of produced barley to check productive efficiency.
Findings from CUB models highlight that the presence of specific information on food’s label (e.g. environmental label, organic certification, healthy claims) contributes to perceive organic food as food of superior quality. Results also underline how consumers’ socio-demographic profile plays a significant role in driving food purchasing decision mechanism.
Findings from comparative LCA show that organic barley cultivation is the most environmentally sustainable solution (but not efficient in production), vice versa conventional barley cultivation is the solution most efficient in production (but not environmentally sustainable). Efficiency in production and environmental sustainability may be balanced with methodological assumptions (choice of functional unit, allocation procedure) and qualitative elements (crop quality and adaptiveness to specific pedo-climatic conditions). A land-based FU is preferred in the analysis of the agricultural stage, while a mass-based FU is suitable for the assessment of a wider context, such as the entire supply chain.
The research seeks to fill the lack, existing in economic literature, about barley crop, which is a potential strength for Apulian farms and firms, thanks to its sustainability and healthiness properties
A support for signal compression in living environments: the Analog-to-Information Converter
No full textIn smart living environments many sensors are employed to improve the quality of daily life, collecting a variety of heterogeneous signals, characterized by different features. In order to save storage space and power consumption, a valid support for ambient assisted living may be provided by hardware architectures, to acquire while compressing the signals of interest: the Analog-to-Information Converters (AIC). This paper presents a LabVIEW implementation of the AIC based on the Random Demodulation principle. In particular, the phase of compression is designed through several LabVIEW building blocks, while the phase of reconstruction is implemented through a MATLAB script. The performed simulations show that, while performing the sub-sampling, the AIC can reconstruct correctly signals of interest for living environments
On the environmental impacts of voluntary animal-based policies in the EU: Technical and political considerations
No full textThe livestock sector has a large influence on direct and indirect (via land use change) greenhouse gas emissions, with potential negative impacts on climate change. We quantify the environmental impacts related to the introduction of a voluntary animal-based policy supported by the European Union (EU), the Measure 14 of Rural Development Programmes 2014–2020 on animal welfare. In particular, we focus on methane and nitrous oxide emissions (direct impacts), and on carbon-based and nitrous oxide emissions from land use change (indirect impacts). Our case study is the dairy sector of the EU Member States. We found that the animal-based measures have (on average) limited environmental impacts, although marked differences exist across Member States
Price responsiveness of supply and acreage in the EU vegetable oil markets: Policy implications
No full textVegetable oil market is becoming of increasing interest in the global biofuel industry. This phenomenon has also interested the European Union (EU), where the growing expansion of biofuel production is affected by political interventions promoting fuel security and environmental goals. Yet, empirical evidence on the impacts that changes in price of one commodity may have on the supply of another commodity are rather scant. We investigate these dynamics for the major sources of biodiesel in the EU and conclude on cross-commodity linkages for palm, rapeseed, soy, and sunflower oils. We also examine the acreage response of domestically produced feedstocks to changes in prices of vegetable oils. Our findings suggest strong and diversified path dependencies among vegetable oils that should be considered in planning sustainable biofuel policies. In particular, the empirical analysis reveals the great relevance of sunflower and soy oils, which show a high price responsiveness, and the high competition in end uses of domestically produced vegetable oils (i.e. rapeseed, soy, and sunflower oils), that tend to be net substitutes in supply. In terms of land use effects, we find that an increase in the price of imported palm oil results in a displacement effect in land devoted to rapeseed cultivation, whereas a surge in the price of sunflower oil decreases the use of land for rapeseed. Land use effects would be relevant in northern EU countries where the production of rapeseed is the most intense. A policy measure in the EU, incentivising the production of renewable and environmental-friendly fuel from sustainable feedstocks, would be positive for the domestic market to the extent that it stimulates the production of vegetable oils (soy and sunflower oils) with the highest direct and indirect emissions saving. However, the expansion of oil palm plantations in extra-EU producing countries and of imports to the EU would determine important impacts in terms of indirect land use change emissions and direct emissions due to increased transports
One shot-proteomic profiling, allergenicity assessment and varietal discrimination of lentils seeds by discovery high resolution tandem mass spectrometry
No full textLentils ( Lens culinaris ) represent important food staple replacing meat products in human diet with various applications of foods and feeds due to the high protein content. This work reported on the comparative proteomic profiling of four lentils commercial varieties Crimson, Eston, Laird and Black, providing novel knowledge on the differential expression of specific protein accessions with specific focus placed on the major protein families also investigating their allergenicity risk. The electrophoretic profile of lentil extracts confirmed that most of the proteomic profile was conserved across the investigated varieties, with only few differences highlighted for convicillin, vicilin and legumin subunits. A more in-depth analysis was carried out by one-shot discovery proteomics and provided the unequivocal identification and label -free quantification of 365 protein entries ranked into the main protein families. Statistically significant differences were disclosed for most of these protein groups and/or subgroups, cupins being the major contributors to the protein profile for all lentil samples. Noteworthy, the 7 S/11 S ratio describing seed nutritional quality highlighted clear differences among the four varieties with highest values reported for Eston and Laird samples. However, such higher nutritional quality was offset by a higher risk of allergenicity for sensitized individuals; indeed, the in-silico allergenicity prediction reported that most of the identified proteins presented either strong or weak evidence of immunogenicity with highest abundance in the Eston and Laird lentil samples. In perspective, the differential expression of specific protein accessions suggested the possibility to identify protein markers for varietal discrimination: a preliminary multivariate statistical analysis was accomplished to this aim
Considerations on the environmental and social sustainability of animal-based policies
No full textThe contribution of the livestock sector to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as well as the worsening of animal welfare, with the intensification of production methods, have become increasingly relevant. Our contribution investigates the environmental impacts, in terms of methane and nitrous oxide emissions, of animal-based policies supported by the European Union. We examine factors affecting the adoption and the magnitude of related budget of Measure 215-animal welfare-of Rural Development Programmes 2007-2013. Our focus is cattle farming in Italy. The results highlight that the problem of animal welfare is highly perceived in regions with greater livestock intensity, also where GHG emissions are relevant. Given the adoption of measure 215, more budget tends to be allocated in regions where livestock units are particularly high. In addition, from the analysis emerges the bargaining position of regions with a higher propensity to the agricultural sector
Interior lighting control system: a practical case using daylight harvesting control strategy
No full textThe adoption of an interior lighting control system could be an efficient solution to reduce the amount of the electrical energy used for the medium and large tertiary and commercial buildings. The adequate regulation of the control system is essential but not simple to identify. The system programmer must do it at the installation start-up of the system. Moreover, during the first period of the life cycle of the system a technical management to monitor and fine-tune the control is necessary. In the research, the interior lighting control system installed into a university classroom is discussed as a case study. The control system is equipped with illuminance sensors that detect the punctual level of illuminance in the area below. A campaign of measurements on the field and simulations by software were carried out with different lighting scenarios. Particular relevance was given to the start-up activity. It consists in the adjusting the modulation of the flux emitted by the lamps in order to guarantee, in every scenario, the minimum average value of illuminance required by standards
Lynn L. Sams Papers
No full textA founding member of the American Bandmasters Association, Lynn L. Sams (1896-1990) was also a businessman and leader in the music industry. For many years, he served as editor of the ABA newsletter and as the ABA historian--both in official and unofficial capacities. Over his lifetime, Sams collected biographical and photographic materials documenting the history of the band in America and the prominent people in the band world. The collection consists of correspondence, notes, photographs, sound recordings, and publications related to Sams' research on the 20th century band movement and development of the American Bandmasters Association, and for his unfinished manuscript "History of School Bands." Correspondents include Harold B. Bachman, Jaroslav "Jerry" Cimera, Herbert L. Clarke, Merle Evans, William P. Foster, Karl L. King, Caesar LaMonaca, Frank Mancini, Williams Santelmann, Al Wright, and Paul Yoder
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe 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
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