The Contribution of Universities to Growth: Empirical Evidence for Italy

New entrepreneurial ventures may represent a viable and effective mechanism to transform academic knowledge into regional economic growth. We test this notion for the Italian provinces between 2001 and 2006. We evaluate three outputs of academic activities: teaching, research and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) activities management. New ventures may be able to transform the mentioned outputs into improved economic performance. The findings show that the effects of academic outputs on provincial economic growth (all sectors) are appreciable when they are associated with sustained entrepreneurial activities in the province. It suggests that academic inquiry may provide new ventures with valuable commercial opportunities overseen by established companies.

Characterization and digital restauration of XIV-XV centuries written parchments by means of non-destructive techniques. Three case studies

Parchment is the primary writing medium of the majority of documents with cultural importance. Unfortunately, this material suffers of several mechanisms of degradation that affect its chemical-physical structure and the readability of text. Due to the unique and delicate character of these objects, the use of nondestructive techniques is mandatory. In this work, three partially degraded handwritten parchments dating back to the XIV-XV centuries were analyzed by means of X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, µ-ATR Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and reflectance and UV-induced fluorescence spectroscopy. 'e elemental and molecular results provided the identification of the inks, pigments, and superficial treatments. In particular, all manuscripts have been written with iron gall inks, while the capital letters have been realized with cinnabar and azurite. Furthermore, multispectral UV fluorescence imaging and multispectral VIS-NIR imaging proved to be a good approach for the digital restoration of manuscripts that suffer from the loss of inked areas or from the presence of brown spotting. Indeed, using ultraviolet radiation and collecting the images at different spectral ranges is possible to enhance the readability of the text, while by illuminating with visible light and by collecting the images at longer wavelengths, the hiding effect of brown spots can be attenuated

Characterization and digital restauration of XIV-XV centuries written parchments by means of non-destructive techniques. Three case studies

Parchment is the primary writing medium of the majority of documents with cultural importance. Unfortunately, this material suffers of several mechanisms of degradation that affect its chemical-physical structure and the readability of text. Due to the unique and delicate character of these objects, the use of nondestructive techniques is mandatory. In this work, three partially degraded handwritten parchments dating back to the XIV-XV centuries were analyzed by means of X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, µ-ATR Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and reflectance and UV-induced fluorescence spectroscopy. 'e elemental and molecular results provided the identification of the inks, pigments, and superficial treatments. In particular, all manuscripts have been written with iron gall inks, while the capital letters have been realized with cinnabar and azurite. Furthermore, multispectral UV fluorescence imaging and multispectral VIS-NIR imaging proved to be a good approach for the digital restoration of manuscripts that suffer from the loss of inked areas or from the presence of brown spotting. Indeed, using ultraviolet radiation and collecting the images at different spectral ranges is possible to enhance the readability of the text, while by illuminating with visible light and by collecting the images at longer wavelengths, the hiding effect of brown spots can be attenuated

Optimal design of PV-based grid-connected hydrogen production systems

A cost-optimal design of power-to-hydrogen (PtH) systems is crucial to produce hydrogen at the lowest specific cost. New challenges arise when it comes to ensuring a reliable and cost-effective hydrogen supply in the presence of variable renewable energy sources. In this context, the aim of this analysis is to investigate the optimal design of PV-based grid-connected hydrogen production systems under different scenarios. To this end, an optimisation framework based on the mixed integer linear programming (MILP) technique is developed. Results are presented by employing a set of techno-economic and environmental indicators to provide general guidance on how to optimally size PtH systems, going beyond the analysis of a specific case study. The analysis is applied to Italy and particular attention is paid to exploring the impact of the price of grid electricity. The results indicate that the price of grid electricity strongly affects the optimal design of PtH systems. Specifically, in scenarios with high electricity prices, it is economically convenient to significantly oversize the PV plant and the electrolyser. The optimal PV ratio, representing the ratio between the PV size and the electrolyser size, increases from 1.6 to 2.7 as the electricity price rises from 50 to 300 euro/MWh. Additionally, when electricity prices exceed approximately 120 euro/MWh, the optimal electrolyser size (in terms of hydrogen production under rated conditions) becomes almost three times larger than the average hydrogen demand. By comparing gridconnected and off-grid scenarios, the importance of the electrical grid is also highlighted: even when poorly used, it plays a crucial role in limiting the size of the hydrogen storage. The levelised cost of hydrogen for the optimal PtH configuration falls within the range of 3.5-7 euro/kg (depending on the price of grid electricity) and increases to 8.2 euro/kg when the system operates off-grid. Finally, the hydrogen carbon footprint, quantified as kgCO2,e/kgH2, is also explored. Considering the current price and carbon intensity of grid electricity, t

Testing Local Lorentz and Position Invariance and Variation of Fundamental Constants by searching the Derivative of the Comparison Frequency Between a Cryogenic Sapphire Oscillator and Hydrogen Maser

The cryogenic sapphire oscillator (CSO) at the Paris Observatory has been continuously compared to various Hydrogen Masers since 2001. The early data sets were used to test Local Lorentz Invariance in the Robertson-Mansouri-Sexl (RMS) framework by searching for sidereal modulations with respect to the Cosmic Microwave Background, and represent the best Kennedy-Thorndike experiment to date. In this work we present continuous operation over a period of greater than six years from September 2002 to December 2008 and present a more precise way to analyze the data by searching the time derivative of the comparison frequency. Due to the long-term operation we are able to search both sidereal and annual modulations. The results gives P_{KT} = \beta_{RMS}-\alpha_{RMS}-1 = -1.7(4.0) \times 10^{-8} for the sidereal and -23(10) \times 10^{-8} for the annual term, with a weighted mean of -4.8(3.7) \times 10^{-8}, a factor of 8 better than previous. Also, we analyze the data with respect to a change in gravitational potential for both diurnal and annual variations. The result gives \beta_{H-Maser} - \beta_{CSO} = -2.7(1.4) \times 10^{-4} for the annual and -6.9(4.0) \times 10^{-4} for the diurnal terms, with a weighted mean of -3.2(1.3) \times 10^{-4}. This result is two orders of magnitude better than other tests that use electromagnetic resonators. With respect to fundamental constants a limit can be provided on the variation with ambient gravitational potential and boost of a combination of the fine structure constant (\alpha), the normalized quark mass (m_q), and the electron to proton mass ratio (m_e/m_p), setting the first limit on boost dependence of order 10^{-10}.Comment: Fixed typo