The definition of an Urban Waste Management Plan: the case of Genoa

The theme of waste is one of the major environmental challenges at the international level, with a significant impact in the strategies to be adopted in urban areas. Given the importance of the issue, the EU has required Member States to develop Waste Management Plans. Currently in Italy there are few Plans realized at the municipal level, and the existing tools have quite heterogeneous contents. The paper shows an EU research on the definition of guidelines for the preparation of an Urban Waste Management Plan; a Plan able to reach an integrated waste system, in which the different stages of management are coordinated and integrated in the context of the whole process. After the definition of the Guidelines, the paper presents a first elaboration for the Municipality of Genoa which involved University, Public Administration and practitioners in the sector. Currently the city doesn’t have a dedicated Plan; the waste management is governed by the Regional Waste Management Plan (2014) and by the Urban Waste Prevention Programme (2010). The new Plan proposed for Genoa has important objectives to solve the specific problems of the territory: from the reduction of waste, to a management economically and environmentally sustainable, to valorization of recyclable and recoverable fractions through separate collection, aiming to the green economy until close of the cycle of the waste with the production of compost. In order to achieve a good level of implementation, following the preparation of the Plan, the participatory processes will play a key role in ensuring the full consent and cooperation between the actors involved and especially with the population that is the main actuator

Metropolitan Governance for Territorial Cohesion

This paper proposes and defines new metropolitan governance strategies for territorial cohesion between inland and urban areas. Different reflections are here presented to comprehend how is it possible to implement cities’ ability to understand and manage metropolitan dynamics. In Europe, urbanisation and land abandonment is a widespread phenomenon compared to many other parts of the world. According to research carried out by the European Union it is estimated that four out of five European citizens will be living in urban areas abandoning villages and rural areas. Many European metropolitan areas are character-rized by overpopulated centres, degraded suburbs and different abandoned or almost abandoned inland areas. These areas, if well connected among them and to the main metropolitan centre, can contribute to solving many urban challenges. There is the necessity to image metropolitan areas as a single entity to increase the cohesion of lands. The latent capital of inland areas can be considered as driving factor behind territorial cohesion and development. This paper analyses in deep the case of the Italian Metropolitan Cities proposing a new governance approach to increase the capacity of urban systems to adapt to natural and man-made changes, considering the hinterland as a strong point rather than a disadvantage. Strategic and Spatial Plans drive the growth of metropolitan areas in a competitive space-economy and support sustainable development policy by ensuring a balance between urban areas with strong competitiveness and inland area

Stakeholder Participation in Planning of a Sustainable and Competitive Tourism Destination: The Genoa Integrated Action Plan

The outbreak of COVID-19 confronted the international community with critical health, social, and economic challenges. Travel and tourism were among the hardest affected sectors. In 2020 and 2021 new travel trends emerged, emphasizing local destinations, short distances, and consequently, lower-carbon transportation (proximity tourism). Post-pandemic recovery represents an opportunity to bounce back better by rethinking the sector’s economic model for the sake of sustainability and innovation. This paper disseminates the research that led to the structuring of guidelines for a breakthrough and inclusive municipal-level action plan for the promotion of sustainable tourism, as part of the Tourism Friendly Cities project. An operational methodology is discussed here, whereby key stakeholder participation, conceptualized through a sextuple helix model, is the foundation of the planning process. A small-scale action and a qualitative assessment tool of the participatory process are also illustrated. The proposed methodology corroborates the vast positive effects deriving from stakeholder participation in terms of trust, ownership, planning quality, innovativeness and sustainability of interventions. In applying the methodology, although the digital framework was evaluated positively in terms of the number of participants that could be involved, data collection, and confidentiality of activities, the evaluation shows that hybrid modes of participation are more desirable

Static hot air and infrared rays roasting are efficient methods for aflatoxin decontamination on hazelnuts

Aflatoxins are a group of secondary metabolites produced by members of Aspergillus Section Flavi that are dangerous to humans and animals. Nuts can be potentially contaminated with aflatoxins, often over the legal threshold. Food processes, including roasting, may have different effects on mycotoxins, and high temperatures have proven to be very effective in the reduction of mycotoxins. In this work, two different roasting methods—traditional static hot air roasting and infra-red rays roasting—were applied and compared for the detoxification of hazelnuts from Italy and Turkey. At the temperature of 140 °C for 40 min of exposure, detoxification was effective for both roasting techniques. Residual aflatoxins after infra-red rays treatments were lower compared to static hot air roasting. On Italian hazelnuts, residual aflatoxins were lower than 5%, while for Turkish hazelnuts they were lower than 15% after 40 min of exposure to an infra-red rays roaster. After roasting, the perisperm was detached from the nuts and analyzed for aflatoxin contents. Residual aflatoxins in the perisperm ranged from 80% up to 100%. After roasting, the lipid profile and the nutritional quality of hazelnuts were not affected. Fatty acid methyl esters analyses showed a similar composition for Italian and Turkish hazelnuts

Use of Cold Atmospheric Plasma to Detoxify Hazelnuts from Aflatoxins

Aflatoxins, produced by Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus, can contaminate different foodstuffs, such as nuts. Cold atmospheric pressure plasma has the potential to be used for mycotoxin detoxification. In this study, the operating parameters of cold atmospheric pressure plasma were optimized to reduce the presence of aflatoxins on dehulled hazelnuts. First, the effect of different gases was tested (N2, 0.1% O2 and 1% O2, 21% O2), then power (400, 700, 1000, 1150 W) and exposure time (1, 2, 4, and 12 min) were optimized. In preliminary tests on aflatoxin standard solutions, this method allowed to obtain a complete detoxification using a high power for a few minutes. On hazelnuts, in similar conditions (1000 W, 12 min), a reduction in the concentration of total aflatoxins and AFB1 of over 70% was obtained. Aflatoxins B1 and G1 were more sensitive to plasma treatments compared to aflatoxins B2 and G2, respectively. Under plasma treatment, aflatoxin B1 was more sensitive compared to aflatoxin G1. At the highest power, and for the longest time, the maximum temperature increment was 28.9 °C. Cold atmospheric plasma has the potential to be a promising method for aflatoxin detoxification on food, because it is effective and it could help to maintain the organoleptic characteristics

Endothelin-1 drives invadopodia and interaction with mesothelial cells through ILK

Summary Cancer cells use actin-based membrane protrusions, invadopodia, to degrade stroma and invade. In serous ovarian cancer (SOC), the endothelin A receptor (ETAR) drives invadopodia by a not fully explored coordinated function of β-arrestin1 (β-arr1). Here, we report that β-arr1 links the integrin-linked kinase (ILK)/βPIX complex to activate Rac3 GTPase, acting as a central node in the adhesion-based extracellular matrix (ECM) sensing and degradation. Downstream, Rac3 phosphorylates PAK1 and cofilin and promotes invadopodium-dependent ECM proteolysis and invasion. Furthermore, ETAR/ILK/Rac3 signaling supports the communication between cancer and mesothelial cells, favoring SOC cell adhesion and transmigration. In vivo, ambrisentan, an ETAR antagonist, inhibits the adhesion and spreading of tumor cells to intraperitoneal organs, and invadopodium marker expression. As prognostic factors, high EDNRA/ILK expression correlates with poor SOC clinical outcome. These findings provide a framework for the ET-1R/β-arr1 pathway as an integrator of ILK/Rac3-dependent adhesive and proteolytic signaling to invadopodia, favoring cancer/stroma interactions and metastatic behavior

Ovarian Cancer-Driven Mesothelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition is Triggered by the Endothelin-1/ß-arr1 Axis

Transcoelomic spread of serous ovarian cancer (SOC) results from the cooperative interactions between cancer and host components. Tumor-derived factors might allow the conversion of mesothelial cells (MCs) into tumor-associatedMCs, providing a favorable environment for SOC cell dissemination. However, factors and molecular mechanisms involved in this process are largely unexplored. Herewe investigated the tumor-related endothelin-1 (ET-1) as an inducer of changes inMCs supporting SOC progression. Here, we report a significant production of ET-1 from MCs associatedwith the expression of its cognate receptors, ETA and ETB, along with the protein β-arrestin1. ET-1 triggers MC proliferation via β-arrestin1-dependentMAPK and NF-kB pathways and increases the release of cancer-related factors. The ETA/ETB receptor activation supports the genetic reprogramming of mesothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (MMT), with upregulation of mesenchymal markers, as fibronectin, α-SMA, N-cadherin and vimentin, NFkB-dependent Snail transcriptional activity and downregulation of E-cadherin and ZO-1, allowing to enhanced MC migration and invasion, and SOC transmesothelial migration. These effects are impaired by either blockade of ETAR and ETB R or by β-arrestin1 silencing. Notably, in peritoneal metastases both ETAR and ETBR are co-expressed with MMT markers compared to normal control peritoneum. Collectively, our report shows that the ET-1 axis may contribute to the early stage of SOC progression by modulating MC prometastatic behaviour via MMTAssociazione Italiana Ricerca sul Cancro (AIRC) to LR grant number AIRC 21372 and partially by Agencia Estatal de Investigación Project to ML-P “PID 2019-110132RBI00/AEI/10.13039/50110001103