Development of guide lines for the calculation of carbon footprint of peaches and apricots produced in Metapontino area (Basilicata): the project IQuaSoPO

The present study is conducted in the framework of the project IQuaSoPO. financed by the regional funds for rural development of Basilicata Region (Italy). It is a three year project which aims to transfer good sustainable practices to local fruit producers. One of the main expected results of the project is to develop guidelines for the calculation of carbon footprint of peaches and apricots, in a life cycle perspective, referred to the productive and geographical specificities of Metapontino area. These guidelines will be used by the local producer to easily assess and communicate the environmental sustainability of their products, which, in this way, will gain added value on the market. Three experimental fields for the production of peaches and apricots in the area of Metaponto are involved in the transfer of knowledge process, about carbon management and water management sustainable practices, which can influence the entity of GHG emissions, by favouring the accumulation of important amounts of carbon and nitrogen in soil and in the perennial parts of peach tree (trunks, branches, roots). Examples of these sustainable management practices are: reduced tillage, soil grass cover, recycling of pruned materials within the field, deficit controlled irrigation, use of compost. In the framework of this study, the three pilot sites are used for inventory data collection, calculation of the carbon footprint, and development of the guidelines. The whole life cycle of the orchards is considered from the tree nursery stage (one or two years), through the establishment, the young, mature and decay stages, and the final destruction, for an average of 15 years. All the agricultural operations have been included in the accounting, in terms of energy consumption and machinery utilization: soil tillage, thinning, pruning, mulching, harvesting, fertilization, plant protection, irrigation, harvesting. Moreover, the life cycle of all the constituent materials of the orchard’s plant and cover structure has been considered (steel wire, cement and aluminum poles, cement blocks, irrigation pipes and water distribution final devices), as well as all the productive inputs’ life cycle (pests and fertilizers). Not just the production phase of the nitrogen fertilizers has been considered, but also the N2O emissions derived from their use. Two different functional units have been used: one kg of peaches/apricot produced and one hectare of cultivated field. The most innovative part of the present study consists in the integration of GHG fluxes occurring within soil-tree-atmosphere system, into the carbon footprint assessment: our aim is to estimate the soil carbon content change, in the considered time boundaries of the study (medium term perspective), related to soil respiration, plant growing, green and brown pruning decomposition, organic compost utilization, cover crop, through sampling activities at field, and using formulas from literature and different models recently emerging in the international scientific community. The guidelines for the carbon footprint calculation along the peach and apricots productive chain in Metapontino region are developed in accordance to the recently published standard ISO 14067; an innovative label for c-footprint communication could be introduced in order to improve the competitiveness of this products on national and international markets

Manipulation of Charge Delocalization in a Bulk Heterojunction Material Using a Mid-Infrared Push Pulse

In organic bulk heterojunction materials, charge delocalization has been proposed to play a vital role in the generation of free carriers by reducing the Coulomb attraction via an interfacial charge transfer exciton (CTX). Pump-push-probe (PPP) experiments produced evidence that the excess energy given by a push pulse enhances delocalization, thereby increasing photocurrent. However, previous studies have employed near-IR push pulses in the range 0.4-0.6 eV which is larger than the binding energy of a typical CTX. This raises the doubt that the push pulse may directly promote dissociation without involving delocalized states. Here, we perform PPP experiments with mid-IR push pulses at energies that are well below the binding energy of a CTX state (0.12-0.25 eV). We identify three types of CTX: delocalized, localized, and trapped. The excitation resides over multiple polymer chains in delocalized CTXs, while is restricted to a single chain (albeit maintaining a degree of intrachain delocalization) in localized CTXs. Trapped CTXs are instead completely localized. The pump pulse generates a hot delocalized CTX, which relaxes to a localized CTX, and eventually to trapped states. We find that photo-exciting localized CTXs with push pulses resonant to the mid-IR charge transfer absorption can promote delocalization and contribute to the formation of long-lived charge separated states. On the other hand, we found that trapped CTX are non-responsive to the push pulses. We hypothesize that delocalized states identified in prior studies are only accessible in systems where there is significant interchain electronic coupling or regioregularity that supports either interchain or intrachain polaron delocalization. This emphasizes the importance of engineering the micromorphology and energetics of the donor-acceptor interface to exploit a full potential of a material for photovoltaic applications

The impact of changing attitudes, norms, and self-efficacy on health-related intentions and behavior: a meta-analysis

Objective: Several health behavior theories converge on the hypothesis that attitudes, norms, and self-efficacy are important determinants of intentions and behavior. Yet inferences regarding the relation between these cognitions and intention or behavior rest largely on correlational data that preclude causal inferences. To determine whether changing attitudes, norms, or self-efficacy leads to changes in intentions and behavior, investigators need to randomly assign participants to a treatment that significantly increases the respective cognition relative to a control condition, and test for differences in subsequent intentions or behavior. The present review analyzed findings from 204 experimental tests that met these criteria. Methods: Studies were located using computerized searches and informal sources and meta-analyzed using STATA Version 11. Results: Experimentally induced changes in attitudes, norms, and self-efficacy all led to medium-sized changes in intention (d+ = .48, .49, and .51, respectively), and engendered small to medium-sized changes in behavior (attitudes-d+ = .38; norms-d+ = .36; self-efficacy-d+ = .47). These effect sizes generally were not qualified by the moderator variables examined (e.g., study quality, theoretical basis of the intervention, methodological characteristics, features of the targeted behavior), although effects were larger for interventions designed to increase (vs. decrease) behavioral performance. Conclusion: The present review lends novel, experimental support for key predictions from health behavior theories, and demonstrates that interventions that modify attitudes, norms, and self-efficacy are effective in promoting health behavior change

Adaptive and Innate Cytotoxic Effectors in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (CLL) Subjects with Stable Disease

Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) is characterised by the expansion of a neoplastic mature B cell clone. CLL clinical outcome is very heterogeneous, with some subjects never requiring therapy and some showing an aggressive disease. Genetic and epigenetic alterations and pro-inflammatory microenvironment influence CLL progression and prognosis. The involvement of immune-mediated mechanisms in CLL control needs to be investigated. We analyse the activation profile of innate and adaptive cytotoxic immune effectors in a cohort of 26 CLL patients with stable disease, as key elements for immune-mediated control of cancer progression. We observed an increase in CD54 expression and interferon (IFN)-γ production by cytotoxic T cells (CTL). CTL ability to recognise tumour-targets depends on human leukocyte antigens (HLA)-class I expression. We observed a decreased expression of HLA-A and HLA-BC on B cells of CLL subjects, associated with a significant reduction in intracellular calnexin that is relevant for HLA surface expression. Natural killer (NK) cells and CTL from CLL subjects show an increased expression of the activating receptor KIR2DS2 and a reduction of 3DL1 and NKG2A inhibiting molecules. Therefore, an activation profile characterises CTL and NK cells of CLL subjects with stable disease. This profile is conceivable with the functional involvement of cytotoxic effectors in CLL control

FEL stochastic spectroscopy revealing silicon bond softening dynamics

Time-resolved X-ray Emission/Absorption Spectroscopy (Tr-XES/XAS) is an informative experimental tool sensitive to electronic dynamics in materials, widely exploited in diverse research fields. Typically, Tr-XES/XAS requires X-ray pulses with both a narrow bandwidth and sub-picosecond pulse duration, a combination that in principle finds its optimum with Fourier transform-limited pulses. In this work, we explore an alternative xperimental approach, capable of simultaneously retrieving information about unoccupied (XAS) and occupied (XES) states from the stochastic fluctuations of broadband extreme ultraviolet pulses of a free-electron laser. We used this method, in combination with singular value decomposition and Tikhonov regularization procedures, to determine the XAS/XES response from a crystalline silicon sample at the L2,3-edge, with an energy resolution of a few tens of meV. Finally, we combined this spectroscopic method with a pump-probe approach to measure structural and electronic dynamics of a silicon membrane. Tr-XAS/XES data obtained after photoexcitation with an optical laser pulse at 390 nm allowed us to observe perturbations of the band structure, which are compatible with the formation of the predicted precursor state of a non-thermal solid-liquid phase transition associated with a bond softening phenomenon

The rapid spread of SARS-COV-2 Omicron variant in Italy reflected early through wastewater surveillance

The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant emerged in South Africa in November 2021, and has later been identified worldwide, raising serious concerns. A real-time RT-PCR assay was designed for the rapid screening of the Omicron variant, targeting characteristic mutations of the spike gene. The assay was used to test 737 sewage samples collected throughout Italy (19/21 Regions) between 11 November and 25 December 2021, with the aim of assessing the spread of the Omicron variant in the country. Positive samples were also tested with a real-time RT-PCR developed by the European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), and through nested RT-PCR followed by Sanger sequencing. Overall, 115 samples tested positive for Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant. The first occurrence was detected on 7 December, in Veneto, North Italy. Later on, the variant spread extremely fast in three weeks, with prevalence of positive wastewater samples rising from 1.0% (1/104 samples) in the week 5-11 December, to 17.5% (25/143 samples) in the week 12-18, to 65.9% (89/135 samples) in the week 19-25, in line with the increase in cases of infection with the Omicron variant observed during December in Italy. Similarly, the number of Regions/Autonomous Provinces in which the variant was detected increased from one in the first week, to 11 in the second, and to 17 in the last one. The presence of the Omicron variant was confirmed by the JRC real-time RT-PCR in 79.1% (91/115) of the positive samples, and by Sanger sequencing in 66% (64/97) of PCR amplicons. In conclusion, we designed an RT-qPCR assay capable to detect the Omicron variant, which can be successfully used for the purpose of wastewater-based epidemiology. We also described the history of the introduction and diffusion of the Omicron variant in the Italian population and territory, confirming the effectiveness of sewage monitoring as a powerful surveillance tool

Non-equilibrium response of quantum materials to resonant low-energy electronic photo-excitations

The properties of quantum materials are determined by the delicate balance among many interacting degrees of freedom. The existence of several competing orders makes these systems highly susceptible to even small perturbations that can induce giant responses and eventually change the macroscopic state of the material. The microscopic understanding of the intricate interplay between electrons, ions and spins is thus the key to attain new material functionalities. Pump-probe optical experiments are a powerful tool to study the non-equilibrium states of quantum materials, offering unique insight into the sub-picosecond dynamics of the energy redistribution among the coupled modes. The aim of the first part of this thesis is to implement a three-pulse experiment in which, by combining a visible pump, a mid-infrared push and a supercontinuum probe, the high- and low-energy degrees of freedom are simultaneously excited in the material and its transient optical response is probed over a broad energy range. The large frequency-tunability of the sources allows to selectively target specific excitations in matter and to dynamically study their coupling. The high versatility of this setup makes it ideally suited to study a wide range of different materials. We will discuss the application to a cuprate superconductor, in which pulses with photon energy either above or below the superconducting d-wave gap are found to photo-excite an anisotropic quasiparticle distribution. We will then investigate the role of dd orbital excitations in determining the magnetic properties of TiOCl, a one-dimensional spin-Peierls compound at low temperatures. Finally, we will study the optical response of bulk black phosphorus, a layered van der Waals material in which the photo-excitation by suitable sub-gap pulses is found to possibly trigger a non-adiabatic modification of the screening environment. In the second part of the thesis, we develop a covariance-based technique to study time-resolved electronic Raman scattering in cuprates. By probing the system with randomized pulses and implementing a single-shot frequency-resolved acquisition, we are able to unveil the spectral correlations imprinted in the pulses by the inelastic scattering from the pump-induced Cooper pair breaking. The momentum selectivity peculiar to Raman scattering, in combination with the sub-picosecond temporal resolution of the technique, allows to measure the correlation dynamics projected onto different regions of the Brillouin zone, thus enabling the isolation of the nodal and antinodal contributions. The observation of gap-size correlations in the pseudogap phase hints at the presence of a local pairing that survives even when the superconducting state is macroscopically melted