Search results for "multifunctional"
showing 10 items of 67 documents
Explorative study of multifunctional agriculture in a Sicilian inland area
2016
The study investigates the agricultural multifunctional activities carried out in a Sicilian typical rural area, the motivations for entrepreneurial choices and the overall level of satisfaction. An exploratory survey was therefore carried out on a selected group of 13 farms localized in 3 Sicilian provinces, with the goal to identify strengths and weaknesses of their multifunctional activities. From the farm survey, several positive results came to light, among which a wide variety of services and activities, an increase in farm workforce and a high level in communication and Internet services. On the other hand, some criticalities emerged in the transition process, such as heavy delays in…
Bio-nano: Theranostic at Cellular Level
2018
Functionalized nanoparticles are important platforms for targeted drug delivery and multimodal imaging. Materials scientists provide tailor-made tools for medical research, diagnosis and treatment. These tools are rationally designed to have defined functions. Still, the value of these tools can only be determined by the users in medical sciences that develop assays for applying these tools. Until now, little is known about the impact of multifunctional particles that display intrinsic chemical and physical asymmetry which poses new challenges for cells associated with the amphiphilicity, dipole moments and chemical diversity/patchiness of the functionalized nanoparticles. Why is it importa…
Multifunctionality: Epistemic diversity and concept oriented research clusters
2008
International audience; This paper provides a mapping of the different uses of the word multifunctionality. To explore the diversity of meanings and interpretations, a comparative analysis was conducted through five national case studies in France, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Switzerland. The analysis conducted at national level makes it possible to identify eight Concept Oriented Research Clusters (CORCs), based on a relative homogeneity in the research practices, in the research questions addressed, in the concepts used or discussed by scientists to lead their work and in the scientific disciplines, the stream of thought or possibly the epistemic community researchers belong to. Th…
Photochemical behavior in azobenzene having acidic groups. Preparation of magnetic photoresponsive gels
2011
[EN] The photochemistry of three azobenzenes representing contrasting photochemical behaviors is described in the present work. Thus, Methyl Orange (MO, 4-[[(4-dimethylamino)phenyl]-azo]benzenesulfonic acid sodium salt, hereinafter (1) and 4-hydroxyazobenzene-4'-sulfonic acid (2) undergo in water fast photochemical proton shift, with decays in the microsecond timescale. In contrast to the previous cases, azobenzene-4,4'-dicarboxylic acid (3) undergoes photoisomerization in water. This photochemical behavior allows the preparation of aqueous gels with Aerosil as gelating agent (5% weight) exhibiting high cyclability and photoreversible isomerization of the trans to cis (300 nm irradiation) a…
La multifunzionalità in agricoltura: dai valori delle aree agricole al concetto di multifunzionalità e relazione con la pianificazione territoriale.
2014
La convivenza di più attività in aree agricole è sempre esistita ma la formalizzazione del principio di multifunzionalità applicata all’agricoltura è un passaggio importante che promuove la compresenza di più attività e offerte che si configurano con diversi livelli complessità, divenendo servizi al territorio e alla persona e riuscendo a riattivare territori a rischio. L’introduzione della multifunzionalità in agricoltura ha avuto un grande slancio a partire dalla crisi economica dell’agricoltura tradizionale e, quindi, i temi economici ricorrono spesso nell’analisi effettuata per farli incontrare e interagire con questioni culturali, sociali, ambientali. L’ottica da cui si indaga è quella…
Territori rurali ri-attivati. Multifunzionalità, fruizione e impegno sociale attraverso l’esperienza della Cooperativa Sociale “Lavoro e Non Solo”
2014
La riflessione prende le mosse dai concetti di territorio e paesaggio e dalla consapevolezza che i territori rurali sono frutto di relazioni complesse e di stratificazione sociale, culturale, economica. Si cerca di individuare le cause della crisi dell’agricoltura tradizionale e dell’abbandono delle campagne e quanto influiscono su questa gli stili di vita attuali, l’economia e la concorrenza globale. Ci si interroga su quali responsabilità e su quali possibilità di intervento ha la Pianificazione urbana e territoriale. La multifunzionalità in agricoltura è un principio che pare poter contribuire a restituire valore economico alle aree rurali, a ripopolarle, a renderle nuovamente attrattive…
Agriculture in a Sicilian inland area: Strategies and motivations of conversion towards multifunctional activities
2016
The main topic of the paper concerns multifunctional farms, their activities and motivations for starting up, and on the other hand visitor satisfaction. To this purpose, a preliminary sample survey was carried out addressed to 13 farms in 3 Sicilian provinces. The aim was to identify positive and negative aspects of the services offered. The most relevant findings of the survey are the variety of activities and services, a widespread use of internet services, efficient means of communications and a significant growth in labour force. On the other side, long time is generally needed in order to obtain administrative authorizations or to carry out farm plants, as well as excessive pay-back t…
I paesaggi agrari tradizionali dell’albero: il significato moderno di forme d’uso del suolo del passato
2011
Italy represents one of the most suitable environment for fruit trees and vines and since the origin of their domestication and introduction in extremely varying environments, depending on the species adaptability and local culture, a complex mosaic of landscapes has been originated by Nature, farmers or gardeners. In the study of the landscape it must be considered that the relationship between fruit trees or vines and landscapes represents a precious aspect of the Italian culture and has been studied by History, represented in Art and Literature, analyzed by science like Architecture and Agronomy, but at first has been created by Agriculture. Owing to the evolution of the relationship lan…
Wet electrospinning-aided self-assembly of multifunctional GO-CNT@PCL core-shell nanocomposites with spider leg bioinspired hierarchical architectures
2022
We report a fast route enabling the multiscale design of nanohybrid structures comprising a 3D fibrous network of polycaprolactone (PCL) wrapped by graphene oxide (GO) sheets onto which carbon nanotube (CNT) brushes are anchored. The method relies on electrospinning PCL solutions onto a suspension of GO and CNTs in ethanol. Self-assembly is due to electrostatic wrapping of GO sheets around PCL fibers and 7C-7C stacking between GO and CNTs. Hierarchical architecture and nanopatterned surface allow gathering the starting properties of PCL, GO and CNTs into lightweight (99% porosity) yet robust (1575% stiffness improvement), amphiphilic monoliths that can remove methylene blue and/or methyl or…
An innovative route to prepare in situ graded crosslinked PVA graphene electrospun mats for drug release
2022
We present a fast, one step method to obtain PVA/graphene/chlorhexidine nanofibrous membranes, with a crosslinking gradient along their cross-section. Briefly, polymeric solutions were electrospun onto a heated plate, enabling the in situ crosslinking of PVA macromolecules. Of course, the crosslinking degree of such structures was found to decrease upon the distance from the plate during deposition. The outcomes reveal the crucial role of graphene, capable of promoting heat transfer throughout the entire structure, thus leading to 70-80% crosslinking degrees and preventing delamination issues. Such membranes were compared to untreated and oven thermally treated ones, and a robust relationsh…