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Showing papers by "University of Florence published in 2022"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, Cucurbita pepo was used as model plant to test the toxic effects of the four most abundant microplastics identified in contaminated soils, i.e. polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), polyvinylchloride (PVC), and polyethyleneterephthalate (PET).

83 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article , the authors investigated the persistence of symptoms compatible with COVID-19 in a real-file prospective cohort of patients at 12 months from hospital discharge and found that 40.5% of patients reported at least one symptom.

39 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, an integrated probabilistic approach to the NBL assessment combining aquifer-based preselection criteria and multivariate non-parametric geostatistics was proposed.

34 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jan 2022-Animal
TL;DR: In this article , a focused literature review was carried out to identify technologies already applied or at an advanced stage of development for livestock management in pastures, specifically cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, poultry.
Abstract: Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) encompasses the combined application of single technologies or multiple tools in integrated systems for real-time and individual monitoring of livestock. In grazing systems, some PLF applications could substantially improve farmers' control of livestock by overcoming issues related to pasture utilisation and management, and animal monitoring and control. A focused literature review was carried out to identify technologies already applied or at an advanced stage of development for livestock management in pastures, specifically cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, poultry. Applications of PLF in pasture-based systems were examined for cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and poultry. The earliest technology applied to livestock was the radio frequency identification tag, allowing the identification of individuals, but also for retrieving important information such as maternal pedigree. Walk-over-weigh platforms were used to record individual and flock weights. Coupled with automatic drafting systems, they were tested to divide the animals according to their needs. Few studies have dealt with remote body temperature assessment, although the use of thermography is spreading to monitor both intensively reared and wild animals. Global positioning system and accelerometers are among the most applied technologies, with several solutions available on the market. These tools are used for several purposes, such as animal location, theft prevention, assessment of activity budget, behaviour, and feed intake of grazing animals, as well as for reproduction monitoring (i.e., oestrus, calving, or lambing). Remote sensing by satellite images or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) seems promising for biomass assessment and herd management based on pasture availability, and some attempts to use UAVs to monitor, track, or even muster animals have been reported recently. Virtual fencing is among the upcoming technologies aimed at grazing management. This system allows the management of animals at pasture without physical fences but relies on associative learning between audio cues and an electric shock delivered if the animal does not change direction after the acoustic warning. Regardless of the different technologies applied, some common constraints have been reported on the application of PLF in grazing systems, especially when compared with indoor or confined livestock systems. Battery lifespan, transmission range, service coverage, storage capacity, and economic affordability were the main factors. However, even if the awareness of the existence and the potential of these upcoming tools are still limited, farmers' and researchers' demands are increasing, and positive outcomes in terms of rangeland conservation, animal welfare, and labour optimisation are expected from the spread of PLF in grazing systems.

34 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors review the prospects for quarkonium-production studies in proton and nuclear collisions accessible during the upcoming phases of the CERN Large Hadron Collider operation after 2021, including the ultimate high-luminosity phase, with increased luminosities compared to LHC runs 1 and 2.

33 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The following novelties are introduced: a minimization approach for the tuning of the initial parameters in the SSI algorithm, a statistical method to automatically define the cut-off threshold in the hierarchical clustering phase, and a Modal Quality Index to validate the identified modes.

31 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the non-covalent interaction between PF-07321332 and SARS-CoV-2 main protease at the atomic level using a computational approach based on extensive molecular dynamics simulations with explicit solvent was studied.
Abstract: We have studied the non-covalent interaction between PF-07321332 and SARS-CoV-2 main protease at the atomic level using a computational approach based on extensive molecular dynamics simulations with explicit solvent. PF-07321332, whose chemical structure has been recently disclosed, is a promising oral antiviral clinical candidate with well-established anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity in vitro. The drug, currently in phase III clinical trials in combination with ritonavir, relies on the electrophilic attack of a nitrile warhead to the catalytic cysteine of the protease. Nonbonded interaction between the inhibitor and the residues of the binding pocket, as well as with water molecules on the protein surface, have been characterized using two different force fields and the two possible protonation states of the main protease catalytic dyad HIS41-CYS145. When the catalytic dyad is in the neutral state, the non-covalent binding is likely to be stronger. Molecular dynamics simulations seems to lend support for an inhibitory mechanism in two steps: a first non-covalent addition with the dyad in neutral form and then the formation of the thiolate-imidazolium ion pair and the ligand relocation for finalising the electrophilic attack.

30 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper , the non-covalent interaction between PF-07321332 and SARS-CoV-2 main protease at the atomic level using a computational approach based on extensive molecular dynamics simulations with explicit solvent was studied.
Abstract: We have studied the non-covalent interaction between PF-07321332 and SARS-CoV-2 main protease at the atomic level using a computational approach based on extensive molecular dynamics simulations with explicit solvent. PF-07321332, whose chemical structure has been recently disclosed, is a promising oral antiviral clinical candidate with well-established anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity in vitro. The drug, currently in phase III clinical trials in combination with ritonavir, relies on the electrophilic attack of a nitrile warhead to the catalytic cysteine of the protease. Nonbonded interaction between the inhibitor and the residues of the binding pocket, as well as with water molecules on the protein surface, have been characterized using two different force fields and the two possible protonation states of the main protease catalytic dyad HIS41-CYS145. When the catalytic dyad is in the neutral state, the non-covalent binding is likely to be stronger. Molecular dynamics simulations seems to lend support for an inhibitory mechanism in two steps: a first non-covalent addition with the dyad in neutral form and then the formation of the thiolate-imidazolium ion pair and the ligand relocation for finalising the electrophilic attack.

29 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the potential role of Circular economy in revitalizing an industrial district in a decline phase is investigated. And the authors provide insight to managers on how to successfully couple Circular Economy and technological or business model innovations with supply chain management practices, thus paving the way for a deeper understanding of the interplay among these phenomena.

26 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
D. Q. Adams1, C. Alduino1, F. Alessandria, K. Alfonso2  +243 moreInstitutions (22)
TL;DR: The CUORE experiment was the first to reach a tonne-scale, mK-cooled, experimental mass as mentioned in this paper, which has been operational since 2017 at a temperature of about 10 mK.

25 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article , the authors employed continuous sulfate and sulfur records from three Greenland and three Antarctic ice cores to estimate the emission strength, the frequency and the climatic forcing of large volcanic eruptions that occurred during the second half of the last glacial period and the early Holocene, 60-9 kyr before 2000 CE (b2k).
Abstract: Abstract. Large volcanic eruptions occurring in the last glacial period can be detected by their accompanying sulfuric acid deposition in continuous ice cores. Here we employ continuous sulfate and sulfur records from three Greenland and three Antarctic ice cores to estimate the emission strength, the frequency and the climatic forcing of large volcanic eruptions that occurred during the second half of the last glacial period and the early Holocene, 60–9 kyr before 2000 CE (b2k). Over most of the investigated interval the ice cores are synchronized, making it possible to distinguish large eruptions with a global sulfate distribution from eruptions detectable in one hemisphere only. Due to limited data resolution and large variability in the sulfate background signal, particularly in the Greenland glacial climate, we only list Greenland sulfate depositions larger than 20 kg km−2 and Antarctic sulfate depositions larger than 10 kg km−2. With those restrictions, we identify 1113 volcanic eruptions in Greenland and 737 eruptions in Antarctica within the 51 kyr period – for which the sulfate deposition of 85 eruptions is found at both poles (bipolar eruptions). Based on the ratio of Greenland and Antarctic sulfate deposition, we estimate the latitudinal band of the bipolar eruptions and assess their approximate climatic forcing based on established methods. A total of 25 of the identified bipolar eruptions are larger than any volcanic eruption occurring in the last 2500 years, and 69 eruptions are estimated to have larger sulfur emission strengths than the Tambora, Indonesia, eruption (1815 CE). Throughout the investigated period, the frequency of volcanic eruptions is rather constant and comparable to that of recent times. During the deglacial period (16–9 ka b2k), however, there is a notable increase in the frequency of volcanic events recorded in Greenland and an obvious increase in the fraction of very large eruptions. For Antarctica, the deglacial period cannot be distinguished from other periods. This confirms the suggestion that the isostatic unloading of the Northern Hemisphere (NH) ice sheets may be related to the enhanced NH volcanic activity. Our ice-core-based volcanic sulfate records provide the atmospheric sulfate burden and estimates of climate forcing for further research on climate impact and understanding the mechanism of the Earth system.

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jan 2022-Energy
TL;DR: A wave-to-wire analytical code modeling an entire wave energy converter based on the oscillating water column (OWC) technology, operating with either a Wells or an impulse turbine, was developed in this article.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the combined effect of berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum, L.) and biochar amendment in remediating a sandy soil collected near a shooting range area co-contaminated with Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, 65 recent specimens of a terrestrial apex predator (Common buzzard), freshwater and marine apex predators (Eurasian otter, harbour porpoise, grey seal, harbour seal) and their potential prey (bream, roach, herring, eelpout) from northern Europe (United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden) were analyzed for the presence of legacy and emerging PFAS, employing a highly sensitive liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) method.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article , the authors performed a longitudinal evaluation of immunological memory to SARS-CoV-2 up to 1 year after infection and following mRNA vaccination in naive individuals and individuals recovered from COVID-19 infection.
Abstract: BACKGROUNDImmunization against SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19, occurs via natural infection or vaccination. However, it is currently unknown how long infection- or vaccination-induced immunological memory will last.METHODSWe performed a longitudinal evaluation of immunological memory to SARS-CoV-2 up to 1 year after infection and following mRNA vaccination in naive individuals and individuals recovered from COVID-19 infection.RESULTSWe found that memory cells are still detectable 8 months after vaccination, while antibody levels decline significantly, especially in naive individuals. We also found that a booster injection is efficacious in reactivating immunological memory to spike protein in naive individuals, whereas it was ineffective in previously SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals. Finally, we observed a similar kinetics of decay of humoral and cellular immunity to SARS-CoV-2 up to 1 year following natural infection in a cohort of unvaccinated individuals.CONCLUSIONShort-term persistence of humoral immunity, together with the reduced neutralization capacity versus the currently prevailing SARS-CoV-2 variants, may account for reinfections and breakthrough infections. Long-lived memory B and CD4+ T cells may protect from severe disease development. In naive individuals, a booster dose restored optimal anti-spike immunity, whereas the needs for vaccinated individuals who have recovered from COVID-19 have yet to be defined.FUNDINGThis study was supported by funds to the Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence (Project Excellence Departments 2018-2022), the University of Florence (project RICTD2122), the Italian Ministry of Health (COVID-2020-12371849), and the region of Tuscany (TagSARS CoV 2).

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper , a multi-reference perturbation theory (PGCM-PT) was proposed to capture dynamical correlations on top of the projected generator coordinate method for low-lying spectroscopy of complex nuclei.
Abstract: In spite of missing dynamical correlations, the projected generator coordinate method (PGCM) was recently shown to be a suitable method to tackle the low-lying spectroscopy of complex nuclei. Still, describing absolute binding energies and reaching high accuracy eventually requires the inclusion of dynamical correlations on top of the PGCM. In this context, the present work discusses the first realistic results of a novel multi-reference perturbation theory (PGCM-PT) that can do so within a symmetry-conserving scheme for both ground and low-lying excited states. First, proof-of-principle calculations in a small ( $$e_{\mathrm {max}}=4$$ ) model space demonstrate that exact binding energies of closed- ( $${}^{16}\mathrm {O}$$ ) and open-shell ( $${}^{18}\mathrm {O}$$ , $${}^{20}\mathrm {Ne}$$ ) nuclei are reproduced within 0.5– $$1.5\%$$ at second order, i.e. through PGCM-PT(2). Moreover, profiting from the pre-processing of the Hamiltonian via multi-reference in-medium similarity renormalization group transformations, PGCM-PT(2) can reach converged values within smaller model spaces than with an unevolved Hamiltonian. Doing so, dynamical correlations captured by PGCM-PT(2) are shown to bring essential corrections to low-lying excitation energies that become too dilated at leading order, i.e., at the strict PGCM level. The present work is laying the foundations for a better understanding of the optimal way to grasp static and dynamical correlations in a consistent fashion, with the aim of accurately describing ground and excited states of complex nuclei via ab initio many-body methods.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors developed the "Remote sensory testing" research project aimed at testing the effectiveness and validity of the sensory tests conducted remotely through a comparison with evaluations in a classical laboratory setting.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors provide a systematic review of the literature focused on the relationship between digitalization and organizational agility (OA) and apply the bibliographic coupling method to 171 peer-reviewed contributions published by 30 June 2021.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors reviewed the highly dynamic and complex microbiome-immune system interface, its bidirectional relationship with cancer immunotherapies, and explored the future possibilities and risks in manipulating the gut microbiome.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors show that the Siele system has a low resilience and natural recovery will take many years (probably decades), during which the area will remain an important source of Hg for the Paglia and Tiber River systems, and eventually for the Mediterranean Sea.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, differences in dough rheology and bread characteristics are assessed as a function of two factors: kneading machine type (spiral and double-arm) and total element revolutions (800, 1600, and 2400).
Abstract: Kneading (or mixing) is a fundamental unit operation which must be carefully managed since it significantly influences the development of the gluten network and the final bread quality. Nevertheless, there is a lack of specific researches regarding kneading machine type and total element revolutions, thus motivating this work. This paper assesses differences in dough rheology and bread characteristics as a function of two factors: kneading machine type (spiral and double-arm) and total element revolutions (800, 1600, and 2400). Two breadmaking methods, namely straight dough and biga, were investigated. Results show that kneading machine type and total element revolution have statistically-significant effects on dough rheology and bread characteristics in both the methods. For straight dough method, double-arm mixer seems to be the most suitable for the production of bread with optimal characteristics. On the other hand, for biga method, spiral mixer was able to produce bread with the highest specific volume and loaf height. The results presented here allowed a big step forward in understanding the effects of kneading machine type and total element revolutions. Specifically, our work could guide the improvement of straight dough and biga methods (using double-arm and spiral mixers, respectively), and the development of specific kneading machines.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Results show that several factors, such as fish preference, attitude, and subjective knowledge, affect consumers' intention to purchase farmed and wild fish, and information strategy is crucial to promote the consumption of farmed fish.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors assessed the potential of urban and peri-urban agricultural areas in providing some key ecosystem services such as food supply, CO2 storage and biodiversity/connectivity.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Dietary HI inclusion did not substantially modify the presence of important fatty acids for human nutrition (i.e., EPA and DHA) in the sn-2 position of the fillet triglycerides, increasing the chances to be better assimilated and absorbed by humans.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A dual-tail approach was applied to the design of a novel series of 2-thiopyrimidine-benzenesulfonamides as carbonic anhydrase (CA) inhibitors.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provide an analysis of the evolution of forests in Italy during the last 150 years through official forest inventories and various investigations, showing that human influence has affected extension, density, structure and species composition of Italian forests in all the geographical areas of the country.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The notion that the TAS2R38 gene uniquely controls PROP tasting is called for a re-examination and for future research devoted to a more in-depth genetic characterization of the AVI/AVI group and its possible associations with other polymorphisms.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, seven biochars obtained from pyrolysis or gasification of different vegetal feedstocks were thoroughly characterized in comparison with three commercial activated carbons (ACs) routinely used in drinking water treatment plants.


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the structure and facet-to-facet systematic links across the temperamental basis of humor along with humor traits using network analysis and found that humor, seriousness, and bad mood were largely interconnected to humor-related traits, further providing evidence for criterion validity of the humor model.