University of Basilicata

A new low‐manganese transformation‐induced plasticity steel is designed with optimized nickel content to achieve superior strength and ductility while minimizing the use of expensive nickel. The steel is optimized using JMatPro software, then cast, and hot rolled. To assess the effect of intercritical annealing on austenite (martensite at room temperature) volume fraction and carbon content, hot‐rolled steel samples quenched from different annealing temperatures (680–1100 °C) are used. Additionally, hot‐rolled steel coupons are intercritically annealed at about 50% austenite formation temperature (740 °C) and then subjected to isothermal treatments at 300–425 °C for varying times (10–90 min). After optimizing these treatments to maximize retained austenite (RA), tensile specimens are heat‐treated first at 740 °C and then isothermally at 325 °C. Thermodynamic calculations suggest that aluminum combined with silicon may lead to the δ ferrite formation, and even minimal nickel content can stabilize a considerable amount of austenite. In the experimental studies, it is shown that lower‐temperature bainitic holding enhances austenite stability by enriching the carbon content. Optimized two‐stage heat treatments yield up to 25.8% RA, with a tensile strength of 867.2 MPa and elongation of 40.6%, achieving a strength‐elongation product of 35.2 GPa×%, surpassing the third‐generation advanced high‐strength steel grades minimum requirement of 30 GPa×%.

Water deficit negatively impacts crop productivity and quality. Plants face these challenges by adjusting biological processes and molecular functions according to the intensity and duration of the stress. The cultivated potato ( Solanum tuberosum ) is considered sensitive to water deficit, thus breeding efforts are needed to enhance its resilience. To capture novel functional information and gene regulatory networks, we carried out mass spectrometry‐based proteomics in potato cell suspensions exposed to abrupt or stepwise osmotic stresses. Both forms of stress triggered significant alterations in protein expression, though with divergent response mechanisms. Stress response pathways orchestrated by key proteins enrolled in primary and secondary metabolism, antioxidant processes, transcriptional and translational machinery and chromatin organization were found in adapted cells. Target metabolites and reactive oxygen species levels were quantified to associate functional outcomes with the proteome study. Remarkably, we also showed that adapted cells tolerate an array of diverse conditions, including anoxia, salt and heat stress. Finally, the expression patterns of genes encoding selected differentially expressed proteins were investigated in potato plants subjected to either drought or salt stress. Collectively, our findings reveal the complex cellular strategies of osmotic stress adaptation, identifying new fundamental genes that could enhance potato resilience.

Having explored the why, what, and how of OILs, we now turn to practical application. This chapter transitions from theory to practice, offering actionable steps for creating, optimizing, and managing OILs to drive growth and creativity, enhancing innovation, performance, and competitive advantage. We introduce a strategic guide to identify the most suitable OIL type based on organizational needs and resources. It provides a roadmap for achieving efficiency and effectiveness, transforming OILs into innovation catalysts and avoiding pitfalls. Essential elements for successful OIL implementation are outlined, including best practices, critical success factors, and practical tips. A detailed roadmap for constructing an OIL is presented, covering planning, stakeholder engagement, design, and operation. This guide supports both new and existing labs in achieving objectives. Finally, strategies for fostering continuous innovation and learning are explored, emphasizing maintaining momentum, adapting to changing needs, and ensuring long-term sustainability. By focusing on the future, organizations can stay ahead of the curve and drive continuous value through OILs. This chapter serves as a practical guide to turning insights into action, helping create an OIL that meets current needs and evolves to address future challenges and opportunities, transforming your organization into a beacon of innovation and excellence.

As we embark on the “WHAT” section of our exploration, we delve into defining and understanding Open Innovation Labs (OILs), tracing their historical evolution and encapsulating their contemporary essence. This crucial part of the book is designed to offer a comprehensive view of OILs, beginning with their historical roots in the inventors’ workshops, progressing through the era of traditional R&D laboratories, and culminating in the multifaceted forms of today’s OILs. By examining this evolution, it is possible to understand how OILs have developed over time and their strategic role in modern innovation ecosystems. Various scholarly contributions guide our journey through this section, each adding layers of understanding to the concept of OILs. By retracing the historical progression of innovation spaces, from solitary inventors' workshops to systematic R&D labs and finally to dynamic modern OILs, we trace the transformation of these spaces in tandem with the evolution of business and societal needs. By carefully examining the literature, we propose a working definition of OILs, illuminating their key dimensions, purposes, and roles. This exploration is not just about understanding what OILs are but also about grasping their transformative potential. We delve into the various roles that OILs play, from being hubs of creativity and innovation to acting as catalysts for digital transformation, business model innovation, innovation capacity development, and social change.

In the “HOW” section of our exploration of OILs, we transition from understanding their purpose to uncovering their operational and managerial intricacies. This part of the book provides a detailed examination of OILs’ dynamic mechanisms. We begin by exploring the spatial dynamics of OILs, encompassing internal, external, hybrid, and virtual forms. This analysis highlights how different spatial configurations influence innovation and collaboration within the labs, emphasizing the importance of space in shaping creativity and effectiveness. Moving beyond the physical realm, we delve into the infrastructure that supports OILs, including both tangible elements like advanced technological tools and intangible aspects such as intellectual resources, methodologies, and networks. Special attention is given to integrating and utilizing cutting-edge technologies like AI and IoT in facilitating innovation within the labs. An in-depth look at the critical resources essential for OILs’ success is also provided, covering human capital, time, space, and knowledge assets. Understanding the acquisition, management, and effective utilization of these resources is key to harnessing the full potential of OILs. Management and evaluation of OILs are equally crucial. This section discusses the models and strategies employed in managing these labs, along with evaluation mechanisms to measure their success and impact, both qualitatively and quantitatively. Finally, the section examines how OILs enhance the innovative capacity of organizations by fostering a culture of innovation, enhancing collaborative networks, and providing methodologies and tools for sustained innovation.

As we embark on the “WHY” section, this chapter delves into the strategic importance of OILs in the volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world. Organizations face an imperative need for continuous transformation and digital innovation to remain competitive amidst global disruptions like pandemics, environmental crises, and geopolitical instability. OILs emerge as a pivotal strategy, fostering digital innovation, overcoming barriers, and promoting collaborative approaches. They shift from traditional siloed R&D to open, collaborative models, leveraging diverse perspectives to accelerate market innovations. Aligning with Society 5.0 principles, OILs emphasize resilience, human-centricity, and sustainability, integrating advanced technologies to enhance human capabilities and address societal challenges. The chapter explores human-centric innovation, focusing on real-world needs to develop impactful solutions, and highlights OILs’ role in enhancing organizational resilience through collaboration and continuous learning. By driving sustainability and fostering inclusive, user-centered design, OILs contribute to creating a more equitable and resilient future. Through their strategic, collaborative, and innovative functions, OILs enable organizations to navigate the complexities of modern markets, ensuring sustained growth and competitive advantage.

Integrative phylogeographic studies supported by morphometric analysis and genetic data provide significant insights into the postglacial recolonization history and other factors shaping current distributions of plant species, including major forest-forming trees in Europe. However, genomic resources and phylogeographic knowledge of shrub species remain limited. Staphylea pinnata L. (European bladdernut) is a shrub native to thermophilous broadleaf forests and is the only representative of the Staphyleaceae in Central Europe. Given its historical associations with human and religious beliefs dating back to pre-Christian cultures, the current distribution of this iconic, Neogene relic species has been hypothesized to be influenced by human-assisted migration. This study aims to address this hypothesis by uncovering the genetic and morphometric relationships among S. pinnata populations across its wide distribution range in Europe, Caucasus and the Anatolian Peninsula, linking these findings with existing archaeobotanical and ethnobotanical data. We sampled 87 populations (979 individuals), genotyped them with the applications of newly developed genetic markers, and conducted morphological leafs’ measurements to estimate the postglacial expansion and human impact on the current distribution of S. pinnata. Both genetic and morphometric results indicate primarily natural post-glacial recolonization from two Pleistocene glacial refugia in the Apennines and Balkans. Additionally, we identified “suture zones” of increased genetic diversity in middle latitudes, resulting from secondary contact due to postglacial recolonization from different sources. Significant human contributions were observed towards the northernmost edge of the species’ range, including regions such as Eastern France, Lower Silesia in Poland, and Northern Podolia in Ukraine.

Entrepreneurship Education (EE) recently emerged as a relevant factor in fostering entrepreneurial dynamics. Accordingly, scholars and practitioners have widely acknowledged that the exploration and exploitation of knowledge-based dimensions strongly influence the effectiveness of EE. Despite this, a holistic knowledge-based perspective about EE is still missing. To fill this gap, this paper first identifies and categorizes the potential knowledge-based dimensions grounding EE and then provides a set of case studies to show the theoretical framework's application to current real EE programming. The paper combines deductive and inductive approaches. After elaborating a conceptual framework identifying the potential knowledge-based dimensions for EE, it is tested and applied in three real EE programs developed in Italy and in Finland. The study elaborates a dedicated conceptual framework and identifies the potential knowledge asset dimensions grounding EE programs. Then, a multiple case-study analysis enriches the proposed conceptual arguments with empirical evidence. This paper contributes to developing the literature on EE according to a knowledge- based perspective.

The Galapagos Islands are the world’s second-largest marine reserve, declared a World Heritage Site in 1978 by UNESCO, and are located in a hot and humid climate zone. Their fragile ecosystem is susceptible to the adverse effects of global warming. The increase in ambient temperature can lead to a rise in the energy requirement to achieve thermal comfort in the residential sector, mainly made up of naturally ventilated dwellings. Several studies have been developed for Ecuador regarding the impact of passive strategies in naturally ventilated dwellings on the continent, but no studies have been conducted in the Archipelago. In this sense, the present study aims to evaluate the vulnerability of a naturally ventilated house in the Galapagos, using adaptive models based on temperature and thermal stress index based on temperature and humidity. The results showed adequate levels of thermal comfort, according to UNE-EN 16,798–1:2020. However, the heat index revealed that for approximately 40% of the time the dwelling was occupied, the occupants were highly vulnerable (32 °C < HI < 52°), increasing the likelihood of heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stress.

The study focuses on seismic resilience at a sub-regional level and its effect on proactive planning of seismic strengthening. The case study for application is the sub-regional community of Agri Valley in Southern Italy. A resilience priority index is proposed and quantified, to determine the priority ranking of communities requiring retrofit interventions. In this study, the role of residential building stock is emphasized, since as this paper shows, it can strongly affect community resilience and mitigation strategies. The analysis presented in the study is only seemingly simplistic. In reality, its goal is to provide simple tools that are easy to apply. In this way, the study could improve mid and long-term resilience through the implementation of financially sustainable mitigation strategies based on a multidisciplinary approach. It considers a quantitative approach to resilience and combines the latter with socio-economic data in order to set priorities in the large-scale application of seismic risk mitigation strategies. The resilience values of the considered housing systems are calculated and are integrated with the processed economic and social data in order to prioritize retrofit interventions in the study area.

After the growth of decentralized system in the energy sector due to many benefits, a new concept of Renewable energy community (REC) in Europe is introduced. REC, which comprises local generation of renewable energy sources regulated by citizens, enterprises and Public Administrations, has emerged because of the growth of renewable sources in European Union countries. There are many benefits, including social, environmental and economical for making RECs and becoming part of it. However, this concept of RECs as per RED II has presented researchers with numerous research topics and opportunities. Among these, self-consumption, energy sold and energy sharing stand out as key concepts, enabling the optimization of renewable energy sources within these RECs. This work focuses on the mathematical model considering the optimization in REC to maximize profit based on the number of prosumers and consumers. In the model, the consumers could be part of REC and also could change their role from consumer to prosumer following the constraints set by regulatory. The optimization model is developed and analyzed on hourly basis as per Italian framework. Furthermore, this work also focuses on the economic analysis using different techniques to find the profitability at different cases for the optimal REC and without REC. Numerical results are obtained for different seasons and show that there is an optimal distribution of prosumers and consumers in which maximum profit can be obtained.

The stretched exponential model describing the sedimentation process of a reservoir was extended to appropriately encompass extraordinary events. These were divided into rapid and sudden events and programmatic events. Among the uncontrollable events, we analysed landslides or extreme weather events. Scheduled events included the construction of satellite dams upstream of the reserve. In addition, a continuous process that reaches a stationary condition is analysed. Finally, it was indicated how to become aware of non-routine events by having a limited number of bathymetric surveys available. The management plot in the presence of two sudden events, which take place at two different times in the life of the dam, was illustrated and discussed.

Thin films based on tungsten oxide (WO3) were grown by nanosecond pulsed laser deposition on alumina printed-circuit boards to fabricate electrochemical sensors for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) detection. Samples exposed to thermal annealing (400 °C for 3 h) were also produced to compare the main properties and the sensor performance. Before gas testing, the morphology and structural properties were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy showed the formation of granular films with a more compact structure before the thermal treatment. Features of the main WO3 phases were identified for both as-deposited and annealed samples by Raman spectroscopy, whereas X-ray diffraction evidenced the amorphous nature of the as-deposited samples and the formation of crystalline phases after thermal annealing. The as-deposited samples showed a higher W/O ratio, as displayed by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. An Arrhenius plot revealed a lower activation energy (0.11 eV) for the as-deposited thin films, which are the most electrically conductive samples, presenting a better gas response (30% higher than the response of the annealed ones) in the investigated NO2 concentration range of 5–20 ppm at the moderate device operating temperature of 75 °C. This behavior is explained by a larger quantity of oxygen vacancies, which enhances the sensing mechanism.

In this paper we study, in the context of weighted function spaces of continuous functions, a class of integral operators of probabilistic type, which are constructed by means of the Weibull distribution, and a suitable modification that preserves linear functions. We study the approximation properties of those two sequences of operators and we present estimates of the rate of convergence, as well as some asymptotic formulae. In particular, we prove that the proposed modification has a better rate of convergence. Finally, we show how the modified Weibull operators can be fruitfully employed to approximate suitable positive $C_0$-semigroups.

Citation: Thawabteh, A.M.; Ghanem, A.W.; AbuMadi, S.; Thaher, D.; Jaghama, W.; Karaman, R.; Scrano, L.; Bufo, S.A. Antibacterial Activity and Antifungal Activity of Monomeric Alkaloids. Toxins 2024, 16, 489. Abstract: Scientists are becoming alarmed by the rise in drug-resistant bacterial and fungal strains, which makes it more costly, time-consuming, and difficult to create new antimicrobials from unique chemical entities. Chemicals with pharmacological qualities, such as antibacterial and antifungal elements, can be found in plants. Alkaloids are a class of chemical compounds found in nature that mostly consist of basic nitrogen atoms. Biomedical science relies heavily on alkaloid compounds. Based on 241 papers published in peer-reviewed scientific publications within the last ten years (2014-2024), we examined 248 natural or synthesized monomeric alkaloids that have antifungal and antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative microorganisms. Based on their chemical structure, the chosen alkaloids were divided into four groups: polyamine alkaloids, alkaloids with nitrogen in the side chain, alkaloids with nitrogen heterocycles, and pseudoalkaloids. With MIC values of less than 1 µg/mL, compounds 91, 124, 125, 136-138, 163, 164, 191, 193, 195, 205 and 206 shown strong antibacterial activity. However, with MIC values of below 1 µg/mL, compounds 124, 125, 163, 164, 207, and 224 demonstrated strong antifungal activity. Given the rise in antibiotic resistance, these alkaloids are highly significant in regard to their potential to create novel antimicrobial drugs. Key Contribution: The review emphasizes the importance of polyamine alkaloids, pseudoalkaloids, protoalkaloids, and genuine alkaloids in enhancing healthcare and urges further research into their mechanisms and uses. The potent antibacterial qualities of indole alkaloids and isoquinoline are particularly intriguing in terms of their application in medicine.