Essays on the Political Economy of Growth and the Ecological Transition

This PhD dissertation unfolds essentially within a political economy approach, in which the innate connection between economics and politics permeates the discussion alongside its two main research topics: economic growth and the ecological transition. The core background draws from the Classical-Keynesian perspective to growth theory, which is combined with Comparative Political Economy and Ecological Macroeconomics approaches to build an interdisciplinary framework to address political, soc...

From the Imaginary Money to Metal Standards. The Italian contribution to monetary and financial thought in the 18th century.

The dissertation explores the "imaginary money" system, in which the unit of account was separate from the physical means of payment. This allowed rulers to stabilize and manage the monetary system more flexibly than later metal standards, which were more rigid. The study highlights the transition from imaginary money to metal standards like the English gold standard and the French bimetallic standard, which, while initially stabilizing currency, eventually led to deflationary pressures and r...

Policies to elicit pro-social behaviors

This thesis investigates strategies to elicit pro-social and pro-environmental behaviors, focusing on social norms, economic incentives, and gamification as mechanisms to influence waste management practices or tendency to cooperate. Through three studies, it examines the effects of (1) social norms, illusion of knowledge, and strategic ignorance on recycling behaviors; (2) the Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) waste collection system in Tuscan municipalities; and (3) gamification via the game “Prosper...

Le canzoni morali di Guittone d'Arezzo: edizione critica e commento

This thesis is part of a larger research project aiming to complete the critical and commented edition of the entire poetical corpus of Guittone d’Arezzo. My work contributes to a better knowledge and insight of the less studied and more complicated production of our author, usually defined “moral poetry”, because it follows the poet’s conversion and the rejection of the his entire love poetry. After three introductory chapters on the corpus of the “canzoni morali” and their context (1, 2, 3)...

Studio ecotossicologico sull’ aguglia imperiale, Tetrapturus belone (Rafinesque, 1810): esposizione, accumulo ed effetti di contaminanti e considerazioni sul consumo umano

The Mediterranean spearfish, Terapturus belone (Rafinesque, 1810), is a large pelagic fish inhabiting the Mediterranean Sea, poorly known especially from an ecotoxicological point of view. In the present research, the first data regarding the bioaccumulation of trace elements and organochlorine compounds, as well as the levels of biomarkers of exposure and/or effect have been provided for T. belone. Human health implications related to the consumption of the species have been also evaluated...

Application of computational methods for the design and optimization of Src family kinase inhibitors

Kinases constitute a family of enzymes involved in many cellular signalling pathways thanks to their ability to catalyse the transfer of a phosphate group from a donor, ATP or GTP, to an acceptor, a protein or a lipid. Src family kinases (SFKs), that represent the topic of this PhD work, belong to the cytosolic tyrosine kinases group and act by transferring the phosphate group to a tyrosine of the acceptor protein. SFKs play a key role in controlling cellular processes such as proliferation, ...

Autochthonous tuscan olive leaves (Olea europaea var. Olivastra seggianesse) as antioxidant, antimicrobial and immunomodulatory source for biomedicine and tissue engineering

Introduzione. L'Olea europaea è uno degli alberi più antichi della regione mediterranea. Gli estratti di foglie di olivo (Olive Leaf Extracts, OLE) hanno suscitato interesse nei ricercatori di diverse discipline scientifiche principalmente a causa della particolare composizione fenolica, presumibilmente correlata alla sua potente attività biologica. Obiettivi. Lo scopo di questo studio è stato valutare: a) le proprietà degli OLE di Olea europaea Toscana per proteggere le cellule endoteliali d...

Recovery of rare cells and single cells analysis: different opportunities and challenging applications

Single-cell biology is a new discipline which aims to address and solve the problem of cellular heterogeneity. Single-cell omic, which allows the molecular investigation of different cell types in a high throughput manner, is driving the Precision and Personalized Medicine approaches. Single B cell isolation strategies, the starting points of the single-cell omics, have become essential research procedures for efficiently sampling the natural repertoire of immunized animals and huma...

Immunohistochemical studies of pulmonary remodeling in mice exposed to chronic cigarette smoke