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Development of the cerebellum is characterized by rapid proliferation of cerebellar granule cell precursors (GCPs) induced by paracrine stimulation of Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling from Purkinje cells, in the external granular layer (EGL). Then, granule cell precursors differentiate and migrate into the inner granular layer (IGL) of the cerebellum to form a terminally differentiated cell compartment. Aberrant activation of Sonic hedgehog signaling leads to granule cell precursors hyperproliferation and the onset of Sonic hedgehog medulloblastoma (MB), the most common embryonal brain tumor. β-arrestin1 (ARRB1) protein plays an important role downstream of Smoothened, a component of the Sonic hedgehog pathway. In the medulloblastoma context, β-arrestin1 is involved in a regulatory axis in association with the acetyltransferase P300, leading to the acetylated form of the transcription factor E2F1 (E2F1-ac) and redirecting its activity toward pro-apoptotic gene targets. This axis in the granule cell precursors physiological context has not been investigated yet. In this study, we demonstrate that β-arrestin1 has antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic functions in cerebellar development. β-arrestin1 silencing increases proliferation of Sonic hedgehog treated-cerebellar precursor cells while decreases the transcription of E2F1-ac pro-apoptotic targets genes, thus impairing apoptosis. Indeed, chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments show a direct interaction between β-arrestin1 and the promoter regions of the pro-apoptotic E2F1 target gene and P27, indicating the double role of β-arrestin1 in controlling apoptosis and cell cycle exit in a physiological context. Our data elucidate the role of β-arrestin1 in the early postnatal stages of cerebellar development, in those cell compartments that give rise to medulloblastoma. This series of experiments suggests that the physiological function of β-arrestin1 in neuronal progenitors is to directly control, cooperating with E2F1 acetylated form, transcription of pro-apoptotic genes.

Castor is a candidate crop that grows in marginal lands in the Mediterranean area. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the economic and environmental impacts under the Mediterranean climate and farming conditions by examining two alternative scenarios: a castor crop grown on a low-inputs field vs. a crop grown in a high-inputs one. The environmental impacts were estimated by following a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology based on GHG emissions; while the economic feasibility of the castor crop production was assessed by calculating the gross margin, which is referred to the difference between revenues and the variable costs due to the agricultural phases. In addition, the ratio between gross margin and GWP (Global Warming Potential) emissions was applied to calculate the economic performance (gross margin) per unit of environmental burden. Findings showed that the castor oil produced by high inputs resulted in a more sustainable scenario due to its higher yield than low-inputs ones. Moreover, from an economic point of view, by switching the field management from low inputs to high ones, the Gross Margin increased by about 73%. Finally, the high-inputs scenario showed the best ratio between economic performance and GHG emitted into the atmosphere., Proceedings of the 30th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 9-12 May 2022, Online, pp. 377-382

The success of the use of wastewater in the irrigation depends on a wealth of factors. These include the amount of solids in the wastewater or its filtrate, the ability of the suspended material to form biofilms, the pressure of the water in the system, the type of filters and emitters, and age of the systems. Digestate from crop biomass and manure is increasingly being used, and its liquid fraction was indicated as a potential source for a wastewater irrigation. When used for irrigation purposes, information on the solid particles fractions, mostly salts, of these liquids in the irrigation systems are scarce. In case of low pressure (60 kPa) and low rate emitters (0.9 and 1.4 L h-1 emitter-1), high quality drip tapes showed a reduction of uniformity of distribution by 5.2 % on average depending on the activated sludge used as secondary effluent. In the present work, we studied the role of an increasing ratio between a hydrocyclone-filtered digestate liquid fraction and tap water on the performance of an irrigation system and water quality. Treatments included 3 diluition ratios (10 %, 25 %, and 50 % of total solution used for the irrigation) in contrast to tap water as control and measurements were taken at an hourly basis on an 8-h irrigation cycle, that simulates most of the irrigation cycles occurring in a broad range of crops. Hydrocyclone filtration scarcely affected the traits of the digestate liquid fraction used for the irrigation. Irrigation with hydrocyclone-filtered digestate liquid fraction injected in the system at 10 % and 25 % dilution did not affect the performance of the system nor the traits of the liquid fraction released by the emitters, whereas using 50 % dilution of the HF-DLF consisted in a lower amount of liquid released and of an increasing pH of the dilution., Proceedings of the 30th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 9-12 May 2022, Online, pp. 214-217

Olive pruning could represent an important biomass resource for energy production considering that over 2600 Gg of dry matter represent the annual amount of biomass that could be obtained from olive groves just in Italy. Different experiences of pruning harvesting are reported in literature, especially related to shredders towed by tractors while limited knowledge is available on performance, quality of work and costs of harvesting logistics based on stationary chippers. The aim of the present paper is to analyze machine performance of a forestry stationary chipper applied to pruning harvesting for what concerning work productivity, quality of the comminuted product and harvesting operating costs. Although widely used in the forestry sector, the use of a stationary chipper for harvesting and comminuting olive tree pruning is poorly documented and therefore the study is innovative and fills a gap in the literature where little information is currently available. The results showed highest work productivity ever found in olive pruning harvesting systems and equal to 5.23��0.81 Mgdm h-1. This allowed also to obtain a little economic gain from a residue which is actually considered a problem for olive groves��� owners and not a potential source of income. According to preliminary data the use of a stationary chipper seemed very efficient in olive groves with big amount of pruning to be processed, and with big branches not harvestable by the most common towed pruning harvester. In addition, the collection system based on a stationary chipper does not require pre-harvest raking. This aspect represents an added benefit in terms of cost reduction for the farmer., The work was performed in the framework of the AGROENER project

The increasing demand for sustainable food and non-food biomass production is challenging farmers all over the world, particularly in those areas where are short in water supply. Besides, the constant spreading of desertification in the Mediterranean region makes cropping even more difficult. In fact, the main problem related to desertification is the reduction of rainy events in a given region, although the annual rainfall remains constant. Hence, surface water reservoirs are accessible only for a limited period of the year forcing farmers to rely on belowground water, which is expensive and, sometimes, impossible to carry out. In the framework of MediOpuntia Project, a possible strategy to harvest rain water in arid and semiarid regions of the world, is represented by the installation of subsurface water retention Technology (SWRT) made of impermeable U-shaped barriers laid 80-100 cm belowground with aim to prevent water loss due to percolation. In addition, also soil nutrients loss is prevented as they will be collected by the membranes and kept available to roots after major rainy events. So far, the market still lacks the availability of machineries capable to lay impermeable membranes belowground in a single pass, and the present Project aims to fill this gap. The present study aims to develop and test a machinery capable to lay an impermeable membrane at 80-100 cm belowground to catch rainwater in arid and semi-arid areas., Proceedings of the 29th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 26-29 April 2021, Online, pp. 89-93

This work has been developed under the AGROinLOG Project, “Demonstration of innovative integrated biomass logistics centres for the Agro-industry sector in Europe”. An Integrated Biomass Logistics Center (IBLC), is based on the introduction of new production chains into existing agro-industries by using new biomass feedstock. The AGROinLOG Project has dedicated great attention to investigate the potential of cereal chaff as a valuable resource.Chaff is the fine fraction of the thrashing residues, not usually collected. Chaff is made up of glumes, seed husks, rachis and the tinner part of the cereal stems, whole and cracked kernels, as well as weed seeds.Currently there are several mechanical solutions available on the market for chaff recovery, and others are still at prototype stage, but theyare not so common and very often unknown to the farmers.So far, the literature reportsfew cases of chaff collection with the specific purpose of weed seeds removal, but it still lacks specificexperiments on these machinesintentionally used for biomass collection.For this reason, during the Project AGROinLOG a series of large field tests were performed using an independent scientific approach with different kind of chaff harvesting technologiesin France, Sweden and Italy from 2017 to 2019.The present study collects the results of these activities with the aim to fill that gap and provide deeper understanding in the possibility to enhance the current cereal harvesting method, in order to improve the quantity of biomass collected by including the chaff., Proceedings of the 29th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 26-29 April 2021, Online, pp. 62-68

Wheat is one of the most widespread crops worldwide because of its high yield and importance for food, chemical purposes and livestock feed. Some of the residues of this crops (wheat chaff) remain in the field after grain harvesting. In Europe, the only wheat chaff could provide an annual potential biomass of 54.8 Mt. Collecting such a biomass could be of interest for bioenergy production and could increase farmers’ income. However, progress in harvest technology play a key role in order to turn untapped by-products into valuable feedstock. The research represents a study of the performance and the quality of the work of an innovative system (Harcob), developed for maize cob collection, during wheat chaff harvesting. Results highlighted that it was possible to harvest 0.67 t ha-1 of chaff, without affecting the harvesting performance of the combine. The Harcob system resulted suitable to harvest such different and high potential crop by-products and may represents a solution for farmers investing in the bioenergy production chain., Proceedings of the 29th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 26-29 April 2021, Online, pp. 199-202

The growing demand for renewable substitute for oil-derived products is a valid opportunity for farmers who cultivate oilseed species. Castor bean oil is gaining interest during the last decades not only for cosmetics purposes but also as source of biofuel or raw material for the production of lubricants and oleo-chemical products. In order to produce castor oil, the mechanical harvesting is a problem that has to be addressed. Conventional combine harvesters fail to process the considerable amount of biomass produced by castor plant, while geneticists are involved in the selection of dwarf hybrids, further investigation on the castor chain supply is fundamental for developing a reliable mechanical harvesting system. The goal of the study is to assess the possibility to extend the use of conventional machinery, currently applied for cereal crops, to the harvest of castor beans in new selected cultivars., Proceedings of the 29th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 26-29 April 2021, Online, pp. 366-369

Short and medium rotation coppice (SRC and MRC) have been identified as an interesting solid biomass resource at global level. The production of large amount of biomass in limited time is no longer complicated thanks to modern machine technology, but the concentrated availability of wood fuel often does not go in line with the demand for energy in cases where this demand is high and steady all along the year. This lack of alinement implies the need to find storage solutions to buffer fluctuations in supply and demand. The goal of this study was to understand the storage performance of 5 years old Eucalyptus whole trees, with and without branches, obtained from an MRC plantation located in central Italy (42°10’19’’N latitude, 12°62’66’’E longitude). Fuel quality parameters were evaluated periodically during a 8 months period from March to September 2018, being the first attempt to store Eucalyptus in this area., Proceedings of the 29th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 26-29 April 2021, Online, pp. 203-206

Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz in an interesting oil crop for multipurpose uses and its cultivation is gaining growing attention in Mediterranean context. This species is indeed suitable for cultivation in marginal lands and feasible to crop rotation with cereals. Camelina seeds are currently harvested by a combine harvester equipped with cereal header. Considering the tiny dimension of the seeds, which can lead to substantial seed loss, proper assessment of mechanical harvesting is a key issue for the correct development of effective camelina seeds supply chain. The present study is one of the first which aimed to analyze mechanical harvesting of camelina seeds through combine harvester. Work performance, in details work productivity, harvesting costs and seed loss, of harvesting operation were carried out in two experimental field tests. The first one located in Northern Italy and characterized by organic farming, whilst the second experimental field was located in Spain, with conventional farming system. While working productivity and harvesting costs resulted to be comparable to the ones found in literature for other seeds collected by combine harvester, seed loss showed higher values. This is mainly related to two factors: the small dimension of seeds and the presence of weeds. Proper combine setting and assessment of the working speed seem currently being the most effective solutions to reduce seed loss., Proceedings of the 29th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 26-29 April 2021, Online, pp. 77-80

Dedicated energy crops can play a key role in providing substantial amounts of lignocellulosic feedstocks equired for the second-generation biofuel production chain as well as heat and electricity production (JRC EC, 2011). Giant reed (Arundo donax L.) has already been recognized as a high yielding, stress tolerant crop suited to marginal lands and low-input cultivation, which could be encompassed in land-saving and environmentally sound bioenergy supply chains. For instance, giant reed has been proposed for bioethanol, biogas, and thermochemical conversion. Although considered for bioenergy throughout the world, this crop has received particular attention in the Mediterranean, where promising yields have been achieved in mid- and long-term field trials., Proceedings of the 29th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 26-29 April 2021, Online, pp. 306-309

One of the main problems of Central Italy forest sector is the low economical valorization of wood products and in particular of fuel wood. According to this there is the need of products diversification. In order to reach this goal it is fundamental the implementation of scientific research, not only to find new possible innovative solutions, but also for the recovering of traditional products which nowadays are abandoned, obviously trying to improve them with new technologies. A feasible example is wood charcoal, which years ago was the main product of Central Italy forests but today is completely disappeared from forest chain. This assortment could be rediscovered in order to improve forest value chain. According to this a new model of mobile charcoal kiln was tested evaluating the characteristics of the process and of the product. The results of the analysis showed that the process of carbonization with the new mobile charcoal kiln is very efficient and productive. This process could be very advantageous for local community, differentiating economically marginal productions and qualifying new operators., Proceedings of the 28th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 6-9 July 2020, Virtual, pp. 686-689

Coppice is one of the most important management system of Italian forests. An overall view of Italian coppices situation taken from National Forest Inventory is given in the present work. Moreover forest enterprises characteristics were analyzed and the overlay between these investigated parameters allowed to an evaluation of the improvement possibilities of coppice management in Italian context. The main results of this analysis showed that the main problems of Italian forest sector, with particular reference to coppice are: predominance of private properties, lacking of forest utilizations planning, lacking of technological innovation mostly linked to bunching-extraction operation, low economic value of fuel wood and lacking of products diversification., Proceedings of the 28th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 6-9 July 2020, Virtual, pp. 74-76

How much the policy of contractualizazion of the public servant valorised the ministerial employers, the public company clerks and the contractualized public servant? How much after the first crisis of the mix economy model of the sixties this affect the strengthen of the public technocracy that once upon a time was strategic for the development of the country? Is it possible to read those policy as a clue for the disinvestment of the republican government in a part of the public management among hautes fonctions and an administrative class? The objective of this explorative paper is to reconstruct and identify the consequences of the administrative choices on the economic growth of the country, especially focusing on the public company bureaucracy. It is clear that, as already said by De Cecco in the late eighties, the choice of renounce to a technocratic elite in favour of a partitocratic bureaucratic leadership has had consequences in terms of administrative efficiency. Looking at the stocks of ministerial employers of the generic bureaucracy and of the public company clerks we can divide the history in three periods: 1963-1973 with the centre-left government; 1973-1980 with the consequences of the regionalization and 1980-1991, with the end of the first republic. The ministerial employer grow in the period, breaking a relationship both with the population and the gdp. It is a growth that has no reasons to be, and that can be explained just with a political cartelization of the system.

The work has been developed under the AGROinLOG Project, aimed at demonstrating the technical, environmental and economic feasibility of Integrated Biomass Logistics Centres (IBLC) for food and non-food products. The goal of the project is to give support to one of the agroindustries selected in the Project, dehydrating facility, to build an IBLC extending the utilization of their equipment used for regular activity to new business chain based on the valorisation of agricultural residues, cereal straw and maize stalks. In particular, the purpose of this work is to evaluate the maximum distance between the fields and the storage centre from which it is more economically convenient to gather the biomass with balers instead of forage hauling equipment, regularly utilized in their activity. To this aim the performance of the machines (working times, yield and material losses) and fuel consumption in each operation (harvesting, loading, transport and unloading) of both yards have been evaluated. With the data collected in field, machine costs analysis was performed. The total costs per ton of biomass harvested (€ t-1) are about 59% higher for baling system and from the analysis of unitary transport costs, resulted a cost per ton per km three times higher when the biomass is transported with the self-loading wagon., Proceedings of the 26th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 14-17 May 2018, Copenhagen, Denmark, pp. 314-317

Rootstocks disposal in orchards and vineyard at the end of the productive-cycle is a costly and necessary operation traditionally performed using excavator or specific grinders. Nowadays, the problem of the rootstock disposal has become even more common respect some years ago, because orchard and vineyards are now grown as intensive cultivation requiring frequent turnover. In case rootstocks are extracted from the ground, these are successively loaded in trailers and disposed in specific landfills or composting facilities. The management of this residue includes costs such as removal, loading, transport and disposal that till now cannot be offset because the valorization of this material seems unreliable for its scarce quality. In this work, a commercial continuous single pass rootstock extractor was tested to assess its performance during removal operations in two vineyards trained using different systems. Biomass availability was evaluated on the base of the clean dry product obtained per hectare from each vineyard. Results show interesting biomass yield per hectare and interesting machine performance respect traditional methods. In general terms, the paper demonstrated the good potential of biomass obtainable from end-life vineyard, but also highlighted the need to improve the biomass quality for efficient bioenergy conversion., Proceedings of the 25th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 12-15 June 2017, Stockholm, Sweden, pp. 194-196

This aim of this work, carried out in the framework of the EuroPruning Project (“Development and implementation of a new and non existent logistics chain for biomass from pruning”), co-financed by the European Commission’s Seventh Framework Programme, has been to achieve improvements for the assessment of woody biomass obtained during execution of agricultural prunings in Italy. Pruning operations are carried out regularly in vineyard, olive groves and fruit tree plantations. Several works propose biomass production rates (t/ha) for the pruning wood in the estimation of regional potentials. These rates are subject of very high variability due to the influence of several aspects. On the one hand aspects directly linked to the crop characteristics, such as specie, variety and age, and, on the other hand to the crop management, often associated to local habits and conditions, such as tree form, planting pattern and density, pruning methods, irrigation, climate, etc. The present works has carried out a data collection from through surveying ad literature review. The sub-set of Italian records in the EuroPruning database contains 70 records. Each record includes the biomass production rate measured and 8 agronomic variables. Additionally a set of 6 climatic and agro-climatic groups of variables (adding 28 variables) have been added to each record. A statistical analysis has yield moderate to good correlations specially with few climatic factors. As result two regression models are proposed for the evaluation of the vineyard pruning biomass production rates for Italy., Proceedings of the 23rd European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 1-4 June 2015, Vienna, Austria, pp. 313-320