LED lighting for indoor cultivation of basil

Indoor cultivation systems are gaining importance worldwide, thanks to their greater efficiency in the use of resources (water, land and nutrients). The limiting factor for these systems is the illumination costs that are still high. In this context, LEDs (light emitting diodes) are gaining attention because of their ability to provide the required light spectra, and high electricity use efficiency. The goal of this study is to identify the role played by red:blue (R:B) ratio on the resource use efficiency of indoor basil cultivation, linking the light physiological response to changes in yield and nutritional properties. Basil plants were cultivated in growth chamber under 5 different R:B ratio LED lighting regimens (respectively, RB0.5, RB1, RB2, RB3, and RB4), using fluorescent lamps as control (CK1). For the six light treatments, a PPFD of 215 mol m-2 s-1 and a photoperiod of 16/8 light/dark per day were provided. Greater biomass production was associated with LEDs lighting as compared with fluorescent lamp, with best performances observed using RB≥2. Adoption of RB2 and RB3 improved also the plant’s capacity to transform resources, resulting in greatest water, land and energy use efficiency. Nutrient use efficiency was increased by using LED lights with a greater portion of blue light in the spectrum. Decreasing R:B ratio also increased leaf stomatal conductance. Plant grown under RB3 showed the best antioxidant properties in terms of flavonoid content and FRAP as compared to the other light treatments. From this study it can be concluded that a R:B ratio of 3 (RB3) provides optimal growing conditions for indoor cultivation of basil

Antagonism of the prokineticin system prevents and reverses allodynia and inflammation in a mouse model of diabetes

Neuropathic pain is a severe diabetes complication and its treatment is not satisfactory. It is associated with neuroinflammation-related events that participate in pain generation and chronicization. Prokineticins are a new family of chemokines that has emerged as critical players in immune system, inflammation and pain. We investigated the role of prokineticins and their receptors as modulators of neuropathic pain and inflammatory responses in experimental diabetes. In streptozotocin-induced-diabetes in mice, the time course expression of prokineticin and its receptors was evaluated in spinal cord and sciatic nerves, and correlated with mechanical allodynia. Spinal cord and sciatic nerve pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines were measured as protein and mRNA, and spinal cord GluR subunits expression studied. The effect of preventive and therapeutic treatment with the prokineticin receptor antagonist PC1 on behavioural and biochemical parameters was evaluated. Peripheral immune activation was assessed measuring macrophage and T-helper cytokine production. An up-regulation of the Prokineticin system was present in spinal cord and nerves of diabetic mice, and correlated with allodynia. Therapeutic PC1 reversed allodynia while preventive treatment blocked its development. PC1 normalized prokineticin levels and prevented the up-regulation of GluN2B subunits in the spinal cord. The antagonist restored the pro-/anti-inflammatory cytokine balance altered in spinal cord and nerves and also reduced peripheral immune system activation in diabetic mice, decreasing macrophage proinflammatory cytokines and the T-helper 1 phenotype. The prokineticin system contributes to altered sensitivity in diabetic neuropathy and its inhibition blocked both allodynia and inflammatory events underlying disease

La sfida educativa nella formazione dell’homo technologicus. Ripensare la scuola e le competenze dei docenti tra reale e digitale

Abitiamo un mondo mediato da dispositivi digitali. Protagonisti della rivoluzione tecnologica in atto, questi ultimi sono al centro di una mutazione profonda delle capacità di sviluppo della persona e del suo sistema di relazioni. Il digitale, infatti, cambia il modo di pensare e di apprendere e, contestualmente, di agire con e verso gli altri. Il contributo, attraverso una riflessione sulla natura delle tecnologie digitali e dei moderni ambienti virtuali, sottolinea l’importanza di promuovere una formazione specifica rivolta ai docenti atta ad innalzare il livello di consapevolezza sugli effetti determinati dall’uso dei device, e ad implementare, in ottica individuale e collettiva, le potenzialità educative di questi ultimi. Nell’elaborato si analizzano le ricerche presenti in letteratura circa l’influenza del digitale nei diversi contesti e, a partire da questi elementi, si ipotizzano possibili soluzioni empiriche da adottare al fine di educare alunni e studenti al digitale umano

Emergency situations supported by Context-Aware and application streaming technologies

Abstract: The concept of Emergency Telecommunications (EMTEL) addresses a broad spectrum of aspects related to the provisioning of telecommunications services in emergency situations; these can range from an individual in a state of personal emergency (with need to make an emergency call due to sudden illness, traffic accident, outbreak of fire at home) to a very broad perspective of serious disruptions (earthquakes, floods, terrorist attacks, etc.). The concept also covers the telecommunications needs of public safety resources, like: police, firefighters, ambulances and other medical services. Such services usually rely on dedicated networks and equipments, often different for different services. Leveraging on pervasive mobile technologies and context-aware systems it is possible to realize such critical services on large public telecommunications networks. We designed and implemented PICO (control platforms and delivery of services in converged networks), an innovative Context-Aware solution for service delivery and management of emergency situations. The Context-Aware platform for fixed-mobile convergence is based on IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) platform and application streaming on Android OS. Thanks to the PICO platform we were able to implement customized context-aware emergency services with demanding performance requirements on top of a public IMS infrastructure. The PICO platform enables the integration of context-aware emergency services but some works are needed for minimizing energy consumption

FoodE Project. Optimal photoperiod for the indoor cultivation

This data set contains the underlying data of the scientific publication: Pennisi, G., Orsini, F., Landolfo, M., Pistillo, A., Crepaldi, A., Nicola, S., Fernandez J.A., Marcelis L.F.M., Gianquinto, G. (2020). Optimal photoperiod for indoor cultivation of leafy vegatables and herbs. European Journal of Horticultural Science , 85 (5), 329-338. https://doi.org/10.17660/eJHS.2020/85.5.