Sustainable forest management and habitat of diurnal raptors in the SIC Alpe della Luna-Bocca Trabaria (province of Pesaro and Urbino).

For the definition of methodology in a naturalistic silviculture in a Site of Community Importance (Marche Region), documents relating to the physiognomic-structural data of forest vegetation and ecological requirements of 4 species of raptors (Goshawk, Sparrow hawk, Buzzard, Honey Buzzard) were superimposed. A wildlife suitability index of forest habitats (IIHF) was calculated, according to which forestry interventions, aimed at improving and preserving the raptor habitats, are proposed

Enablers of Managerial Practices for Circular Business Model Design: An Empirical Investigation of an Agro-Energy Company in a Rural Area

The concept of circular economy (CE) has gained prominence in management research as a new industrial approach that society, companies, and policymakers should follow in aiming to manage for sustainability issues. The adoption of CE principles has highlighted particular managerial practices that companies can implement in their business models. However, existing research still falls short of describing in sufficient detail the enablers of these practices for a circular business model design. This issue, especially in rural areas, is particularly interesting for the agri-food sector, which is characterized by enormous sustainability challenges, including food production and waste, packaging, transportation, consumer habits and behavior, and energy production and consumption. This article takes stock of this gap through an analysis of the enablers of managerial practices in Fiusis, a company operating in the agro-energy sector of a rural area, which has designed a circular business model and was recognized as “the best business model in the rural area” by the European Commission in 2019. The case highlights the importance of a suitable political and institutional environment beneficial to the starting-up and development of the business, and the importance of collaborating within the community of stakeholders for the creation of a new culture of sustainability

Imprese familiari:gestire la sfida dell’innovazione col modello FDI

Allineare le strategie di innovazione con le caratteristiche dell'azienda permette di creare un vantaggio competitivo. Il modello Family-Driven Innovation consente di gestire l'innovazione nelle imprese familiari perché rifugge soluzioni di generale applicabilità

How companies innovate business models and supply chains for a circular economy : a multiple-case study and framework

To implement a circular economy (CE), companies are pushed to innovate, respectively, their business models, from a micro-perspective, and their supply chains, from a meso-perspective. Despite the increasing research on both these perspectives, there is still a knowledge gap on how companies innovate business models and supply chains for circularity. In this study, we build on innovation management, circular business model (CBM), and circular supply chain (CSC) literatures and develop a theory-based framework where circularity leads to product/process/service innovation from a micro-perspective, and to possible innovation in companies' supply chains (retaining existing chains/renewing them) from a meso-perspective. Through a multiple-case study of Finnish and Italian CE pioneer companies, we validate this framework, find evidence on interplay between CBM and CSC innovation, and identify innovation strategy variants. The framework contributes to innovation management, CBM, and CSC literature works, and encourages managers willing to adopt circularity to consider innovating simultaneously both their business models and supply chains.acceptedVersionPeer reviewe

Value Creation in Component Reuse Circular Business Model Innovations

Despite the surging research on circular business models and awareness of the radical transformations that reuse practices cause in industrial value chains, there is minimal knowledge on what are the critical mechanisms of value creation and capture for reuse alongside the technical process. To close this important gap in the intersection of technical- and business-oriented circular economy research, we conduct a multiple-case analysis of two construction industry value chains carrying out reuse of concrete elements. Our extensive analysis reveals nine distinct mechanisms of value creation and capture in component reuse – namely design for reuse, value harvest, component optimization, component validation, value relocation, value chain design, market creation, data management and coping with regulatory and societal impacts. Moreover, we reveal which determinants govern the value creation and capture potential of these mechanisms. Our results offer managers extensive tools to optimize reuse value chains for maximal value creation and capture.Non peer reviewe

Surface functionalization of extracellular vesicle nanoparticles with antibodies: a first study on the protein corona "variable"

To be profitably exploited in medicine, nanosized systems must be endowed with biocompatibility, targeting capability, the ability to evade the immune system, and resistance to clearance. Currently, biogenic nanoparticles, such as extracellular vesicles (EVs), are intensively investigated as the platform that naturally recapitulates these highly needed characteristics. EV native targeting properties and pharmacokinetics can be further augmented by decorating the EV surface with specific target ligands as antibodies. However, to date, studies dealing with the functionalization of the EV surface with proteins have never considered the protein corona "variable", namely the fact that extrinsic proteins may spontaneously adsorb on the EV surface, contributing to determine the surface, and in turn the biological identity of the EV. In this work, we explore and compare the two edge cases of EVs modified with the antibody Cetuximab (CTX) by chemisorption of CTX (through covalent binding via biorthogonal click-chemistry) and by formation of a physisorbed CTX corona. The results indicate that (i) no differences exist between the two formulations in terms of binding affinity imparted by molecular recognition of CTX versus its natural binding partner (epidermal growth factor receptor, EGFR), but (ii) significant differences emerge at the cellular level, where CTX-EVs prepared by click chemistry display superior binding and uptake toward target cells, very likely due to the higher robustness of the CTX anchorage

An innovative strategy to investigate microbial protein modifications in a reliable fast and sensitive way: A therapy oriented proof of concept based on UV-C irradiation of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein

: The characterization of modifications of microbial proteins is of primary importance to dissect pathogen lifecycle mechanisms and could be useful in identifying therapeutic targets. Attempts to solve this issue yielded only partial and non-exhaustive results. We developed a multidisciplinary approach by coupling in vitro infection assay, mass spectrometry (MS), protein 3D modelling, and surface plasma resonance (SPR). As a proof of concept, the effect of low UV-C (273 nm) irradiation on SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein was investigated. Following UV-C exposure, MS analysis identified, among other modifications, the disruption of a disulphide bond within the conserved S2 subunit of S protein. Computational analyses revealed that this bond breakage associates with an allosteric effect resulting in the generation of a closed conformation with a reduced ability to bind the ACE2 receptor. The UV-C-induced reduced affinity of S protein for ACE2 was further confirmed by SPR analyses and in vitro infection assays. This comprehensive approach pinpoints the S2 domain of S protein as a potential therapeutic target to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection. Notably, this workflow could be used to screen a wide variety of microbial protein domains, resulting in a precise molecular fingerprint and providing new insights to adequately address future epidemics