64 research outputs found
The cooperation between school slots and efficient investment
No full textthe paper wants to investigate two interrelated aspects of a peculiar model of governance for an American public school district. First, we analyze the Partnership between the Chelsea Public School District and Boston University to understand how the agreement changed the involvement of staff members, students, their families and the community as a whole. It emerges that stakeholders support a network of primarily private and nonprofit institutions (already in existence or created at the time) to improve the schooling system. Secondly, we describe the way operational management instruments contribute to the effective functioning of the network for the governance of the school district
Young people in Southern Italy and the phenomenon of immigration: what is their perception?
No full textIn Italy, the issues of immigration, integration and perception of the phenomenon are extremely topical and have prompted a rather heated debate. Lacking official data on the citizens’ “sentiment”, a survey was carried out through a questionnaire addressed to about 1,200 students attending the Apulian high schools. The aims are mainly two: to ascertain possible misperceptions or information gaps and to better understand young people’s opinions about the positive or negative effects of the immigrants’ presence in our communities, and their behaviour to facilitate the integration process. Some relevant misperceptions are highlighted, and the respondents’ perceptions are detected by means of exploratory analyses, heterogeneity indexes and multiple correspondence analysis
The periodic table of photosynthetic purple non-sulfur bacteria: intact cell-metal ions interactions
No full textPhotosynthetic purple non-sulfur bacteria (PNB) have been widely utilized as model organisms to study bacterial photosynthesis. More recently, the remarkable resistance of these microorganisms to several metals ions called particular interest. As a result, several research efforts were directed toward clarifying the interactions of metal ions with PNB. The mechanisms of metal ions active uptake and bioabsorption have been studied in detail, unveiling that PNB enable harvesting and removing various toxic ions, thus fostering applications in environmental remediation. Herein, we present the most important achievements in the understanding of intact cell-metal ions interactions and the approaches utilized to study such processes. Following, the application of PNB-metal ions interactions toward metal removal from contaminated environments is presented. Finally, the possible coupling of PNB with abiotic electrodes to obtain biohybrid electrochemical systems is proposed as a sustainable pathway to tune and enhance metal removal and monitoring
Offerta formativa, apertura virtuale e internazionalizzazione delle università milanesi
No full textEvaluating people's awareness about climate changes and environmental issues: A case study
No full textIn the last decade, environmental issues have become a major topic of public opinion. People have begun to develop increasing environmental awareness and positive attitudes toward ecological matters. In particular, young people have begun to actively participate in environmental challenges by organizing green movements and engaging with policymakers. In this perspective, this study explores two main aspects: 1) awareness of the potential impacts of climate change and of environmental issues in each individual's daily life, and 2) the relationship between attitudes and pro-environmental actions. To this end, we analyse qualitative data obtained from a tailored online survey involving either students from a selected group of Italian High schools or volunteer respondents from the students' acquaintances. A total of 1834 responses are analysed using statistical tools to assess the multiple objectives of the survey. We distinguish between young and adult respondents and examine the relationships between awareness, personal experience, and risk perception in the two groups. We then propose a Multiple Correspondence Analysis that focuses on youth attitudes to examine the factors that influence their propensity to environmental issues and to determine the impact of global green movements on the onset or acceleration of their environmental awareness. Although the results show a more pessimistic view of the threats posed by environmental crises, our results highlight that younger generations have a deeper awareness of environmental conditions and are committed to environmental recovery by adopting “good ecological practices” and “active ecological behaviors.
A novel route for anoxygenic polymerization of dopamine via purple photosynthetic bacteria metabolism
No full textDopamine is an efficient building block to produce a versatile coating polymer able to adhere on a vast repertoire of material surfaces. Polydopamine, a dark-bioinspired polymer, is produced by the self-assembly of the dopamine under aerobic conditions in an alkaline environment. The presence of oxygen is crucial for self-polymerization of dopamine in aqueous solution. In this manuscript we show that is possible to drive the polymerization in absence of oxygen exploiting the metabolism of anaerobic photosynthetic purple bacteria. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.
Halotolerance of Rhodobacter sphaeroides for saline and hypersaline wastewater bioremediation
No full textHypersaline wastewaters require the continuous development of new and inexpensive alternatives for bioremediation. Halotolerant bacteria, which tolerate and are able to survive in moderate to high salinity environments, have been explored with promising results for wastewater treatment. Purple photosynthetic bacteria, a wide class of phototrophs, possess extraordinary metabolic versatility and include extremophiles that thrive in habitats having extreme pH, salinity, and light. The ability to grow under extreme environmental conditions of Rhodobacter (R.)sphaeroides, a purple non-sulfur proteobacteria that typically inhabits freshwater was evaluated. To investigate the response of R. sphaeroides to increased medium osmolarity under anerobic growth conditions, media with elevated osmotic strengths were attained by adding NaCl into the growing media at the desired concentrations in the range 0-2.5 M NaCl. Moreover, the pH effect on anaerobic growth was evaluated
The cost of inflammatory bowel disease management matches with clinical course: A single outpatient centre analysis
No full textInflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) have a large economic burden on health systems. Our single-centre observational retrospective study aimed to assess an economic evaluation in two IBD outpatient cohorts (biological and conventional therapy) in relation to disease activity within a three-year follow-up. Four hundred and seventeen consecutive IBD patients referred to our tertiary gastroenterology unit (Bari-Puglia-Southern Italy) on January 2014–December 2016 were included. For each group (conventional/biological), we assessed direct/indirect costs and clinical/endoscopic activity within the first year and along the three-year follow-up. Statistical analyses: Wilcoxon signed-rank test (continuous variables), chi-square and Fisher’s test (categorical variables), Spearman ranks (single outcome) and ANOVA (detection time, clinical/endoscopic scores) were used. Continuous variables were expressed as mean ± standard deviation and range and/or median, interquartile range and range; categorical variables were expressed as proportions with 95% confidence interval. Direct and indirect cost items of 2014 and 2014–2016 were higher in patients treated with biological than conventional therapy. Subjects on biological therapy were younger and showed clinical and endoscopic moderate-to-severe disease activity. After three years, they reached a significant improvement from baseline. Conversely, disease activity was mild when conventional treatment had a beneficial effect. In conclusion, overall IBD management cost matches with clinical course and needs long-term evaluation in critical patients
Metadata of "Ethylenediammine is not detrimental to the photoactivity of the bacterial photosynthetic reaction center"
No full textMetadata of "Ethylenediammine is not detrimental to the photoactivity of the bacterial photosynthetic reaction center
Intact photosynthetic bacteria-based electrodes for self-powered metal ions monitoring
No full textThe low-cost and early monitoring of metal ion contaminants is paramount to prevent widespread contamination of water environments. Self-powered microbial electrochemical sensors represent an interesting approach to achieving this goal. Purple non-sulfur bacteria have a versatile metabolism and a well-characterized photosynthetic system, making them an ideal candidate for developing biohybrid technologies. In this work, we report the use of these bacteria in biophotoelectrodes to develop self-powered monitoring systems for two common pollutants, NiCl2 and CuSO4. The microbial biophotoelectrode was obtained on a homemade poly-hydroxybutyrate-carbon nanofibers electrode modified with a redox-adhesive polydopamine matrix-based entrapping the purple bacterium Rhodobacter capsulatus. The presence of 500 μM NiCl2 resulted in a 60 % decrease in current density, while the simultaneous presence of 100 μM NiCl2 and 100 mM CuSO4 led to an 83 % current inhibition. Given the implementation of the biophotoelectrode in the field, the biohybrid system was tested in a complex matrix containing beer, demonstrating the promising ability of the photoelectrochemical system to act as an efficient biosensor in complex solutions. Finally, the biohybrid electrode was coupled to a cathode performing oxygen reduction, which allowed obtaining a self-powered monitoring system, paving the way for the future implementation of a low-cost monitoring system for widespread metal ions contaminant monitoring
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