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Le risorse del pianeta sono limitate dato che la produzione di energia avviene attraverso fonti non rinnovabili che utilizzano risorse naturali come i Combustibili fossili, Carbone, Petrolio, Gas naturali, Uranio e Plutonio. Esse si generano molto lentamente, perciò una volta terminate non saranno nuovamente disponibili in tempi brevi. L’utilizzo di tali fonti porta con sé problemi di carattere ambientale come l’incremento delle emissioni di CO2, assottigliamento dell’ozonosfera, cambiamenti climatici e la produzione di scorie radioattive con conseguenze sulla salute. Negli ultimi anni è stata prestata particolare attenzione alle energie alternative. Ad oggi, l’energia eolica e solare sono le principali fonti di energia rinnovabile su cui sono stati effettuati enormi investimenti negli ultimi anni. Tuttavia, il ciclo di vita di questi impianti è stimato in media circa 20 anni e molti di loro non sono più funzionali. Tali impianti devono essere smaltiti o migliorati sostituendo e riciclando le varie componenti usurate, spingendoci, sempre di più, nel verso dei principi dell’economia circolare. L’articolo consiste nell’ illustrare un’analisi economica-ambientale svolta su alcuni impianti eolici e solari, confrontandoli fra di loro. Si descrivono i vari scenari possibili, in cui sono stati applicati i principi del riutilizzo e del riciclo.

Several studies associate foetal human exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) to metabolic/endocrine diseases, mainly diabesity. They describe the role of BPA in the disruption of pancreatic beta cell, adipocyte and hepatocyte functions. Indeed, the complexity of the diabesity phenotype is due to the involvement of different endoderm-derived organs, all targets of BPA. Here, we analyse this point delineating a picture of different mechanisms of BPA toxicity in endoderm-derived organs leading to diabesity. Moving from epidemiological data, we summarize the in vivo experimental data of the BPA effects on endoderm-derived organs (thyroid, pancreas, liver, gut, prostate and lung) after prenatal exposure. Mainly, we gather molecular data evidencing harmful effects at low-dose exposure, pointing to the risk to human health. Although the fragmentation of molecular data does not allow a clear conclusion to be drawn, the present work indicates that the developmental exposure to BPA represents a risk for endoderm-derived organs development as it deregulates the gene expression from the earliest developmental stages. A more systematic analysis of BPA impact on the transcriptomes of endoderm-derived organs is still missing. Here, we suggest in vitro toxicogenomics approaches as a tool for the identification of common mechanisms of BPA toxicity leading to the diabesity in organs having the same developmental origin.

Estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) is a modular protein of the steroid/nuclear receptor family of transcriptional regulators that upon binding to the hormone undergoes structural changes, resulting in its nuclear translocation and docking to specific chromatin sites. In the nucleus, ERalpha assembles in multiprotein complexes that act as final effectors of estrogen signaling to the genome through chromatin remodeling and epigenetic modifications, leading to dynamic and coordinated regulation of hormone-responsive genes. Identification of the molecular partners of ERalpha and understanding their combinatory interactions within functional complexes is a prerequisite to define the molecular basis of estrogen control of cell functions. To this end, affinity purification was applied to map and characterize the ERalpha interactome in hormone-responsive human breast cancer cell nuclei. MCF-7 cell clones expressing human ERalpha fused to a tandem affinity purification tag were generated and used to purify native nuclear ER-containing complexes by IgG-Sepharose affinity chromatography and glycerol gradient centrifugation. Purified complexes were analyzed by two-dimensional DIGE and mass spectrometry, leading to the identification of a ligand-dependent multiprotein complex comprising beta-actin, myosins, and several proteins involved in actin filament organization and dynamics and/or known to participate in actin-mediated regulation of gene transcription, chromatin dynamics, and ribosome biogenesis. Time course analyses indicated that complexes containing ERalpha and actin are assembled in the nucleus early after receptor activation by ligands, and gene knockdown experiments showed that gelsolin and the nuclear isoform of myosin 1c are key determinants for assembly and/or stability of these complexes. Based on these results, we propose that the actin network plays a role in nuclear ERalpha actions in breast cancer cells, including coordinated regulation of target gene activity, spatial and functional reorganization of chromatin, and ribosome biogenesis.

Congestion issues at container terminals have been addressed by several authors in the past few years. Chena et al. (2013) tried to reduce gate congestion by applying the Vessel Dependent Time Windows (VDTWs) method to control truck arrivals. Han et al. (2008) developed a model and a tabu search heuristic to decrease traffic congestion of prime movers inside a container terminal. Zehendner & Feillet (2014) proposed to reduce truck turnaround and, consequently, terminal congestion, by developing a mixed integer linear programming model devoted to size a Truck Appointment System (TAS). They simultaneously determined the number of truck appointments to offer and allocates straddle carriers to different transport modes. Also Zhang et al. (2013) provided an optimization model for truck appointments, by developing a BCMP queuing network to describe the queuing process of trucks in the terminal.

Il progetto pilota di recupero di un complesso conventuale con fondi di provenienza pubblica nel Comune di Montesarchio, in provincia di Benevento, da destinare ad alloggi sociali, ha come obiettivi primari la conservazione e la valorizzazione mediante sperimentazione di soluzioni architettoniche bioclimatiche ed uso di materiali ecocompatibili.

24th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference, 21-25 September 2009, Hamburg, Germany; 4280-4284, Employment of Photovoltaics in Architecture has always been well accepted for its green appearance and for the idea that it is sustainable. This paper, billing with the subject of the PV, will focus on the advantages of this system in Architecture, by comparing the LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) of the crystalline silicon technology and the thin film one, and results will be presented in the paper. The life of the PV module has been divided into manufacturing, installation, operation and decommissioning steps. For all these stages energy and material flows have been considered. Then the VADE methodology has been applied for assessing the eco-sustainability of an ecological building taken as case-study. The results show that thin film technology represents at the moment the most acceptable solution from the environmental point of view.

24th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference, 21-25 September 2009, Hamburg, Germany; 656-660, Every thought about the interaction between industrial production and environment should take into account the fact that environmental sustainability is not only a non renounceable target to achieve, as often nowadays is meant, but also a direction to take. In this sense, not all the improvements on environment (such as the plain energy saving), can be considered sustainable. The binding requirements for defining a product as really sustainable are far back well outlined: the employment of renewable sources (with a use rate that does not outpass the regeneration one); optimization of non renewable sources; not harming for the site; not harming for human health. The paper deals with the subject of sustainability evaluation building products made up with advanced materials. The paper will show the comparison between a thin-film PV panel and an organic solar cell, obtained from the blueberry juice, which contains the anthocyanin, an element that allows the transformation of the solar heat in electricity, according to a process very similar to the photosyntesis. The two products will be compared, as far as my PH. D. research will go on, according to an evaluation method that I have developed, that takes into account their behaviours regarding three major classes: Eco-sustainability, Biocompatibility and Effectiveness.