Precision Agriculture Workflow, from Data Collection to Data Management Using FOSS Tools: An Application in Northern Italy Vineyard

In the past decades, technology-based agriculture, also known as Precision Agriculture (PA) or smart farming, has grown, developing new technologies and innovative tools to manage data for the whole agricultural processes. In this framework, geographic information, and spatial data and tools such as UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) and multispectral optical sensors play a crucial role in the geomatics as support techniques. PA needs software to store and process spatial data and the Free and Open Software System (FOSS) community kept pace with PA’s needs: several FOSS software tools have been developed for data gathering, analysis, and restitution. The adoption of FOSS solutions, WebGIS platforms, open databases, and spatial data infrastructure to process and store spatial and nonspatial acquired data helps to share information among different actors with user-friendly solutions. Nevertheless, a comprehensive open-source platform that, besides processing UAV data, allows directly storing, visualising, sharing, and querying the final results and the related information does not exist. Indeed, today, the PA’s data elaboration and management with a FOSS approach still require several different software tools. Moreover, although some commercial solutions presented platforms to support management in PA activities, none of these present a complete workflow including data from acquisition phase to processed and stored information. In this scenario, the paper aims to provide UAV and PA users with a FOSS-replicable methodology that can fit farming activities’ operational and management needs. Therefore, this work focuses on developing a totally FOSS workflow to visualise, process, analyse, and manage PA data. In detail, a multidisciplinary approach is adopted for creating an operative web-sharing tool able to manage Very High Resolution (VHR) agricultural multispectral-derived information gathered by UAV systems. A vineyard in Northern Italy is used as an example to show the workflow of data generation and the data structure of the web tool. A UAV survey was carried out using a six-band multispectral camera and the data were elaborated through the Structure from Motion (SfM) technique, resulting in 3 cm resolution orthophoto. A supervised classifier identified the phenological stage of under-row weeds and the rows with a 95% overall accuracy. Then, a set of GIS-developed algorithms allowed Individual Tree Detection (ITD) and spectral indices for monitoring the plant-based phytosanitary conditions. A spatial data structure was implemented to gather the data at canopy scale. The last step of the workflow concerned publishing data in an interactive 3D webGIS, allowing users to update the spatial database. The webGIS can be operated from web browsers and desktop GIS. The final result is a shared open platform obtained with nonproprietary software that can store data of different sources and scales

Population trends of the fan mussel Pinna nobilis from Portofino MPA (Ligurian Sea, Western Mediterranean Sea) before and after a mass mortality event and a catastrophic storm

Two Pinna nobilis populations thriving inside the borders of the Portofino Marine Protected Area (MPA) (Ligurian Sea, western Mediterranean Sea) were monitored before (2012) and after (September 2018) a dire mass mortality event that, since September 2016, spread through the whole Mediterranean Sea. In Portofino MPA, recorded mortality rates reached values of 91.29% and 43.94% in the two populations. The presence of a Haplosporidium protozoan parasite, considered to be the main cause of the mortality episodes, was confirmed from histological evidence: sporocysts and plasmodia were observed in all the tubules of the digestive glands of the collected specimens. Moreover, a catastrophic storm hit the Ligurian coasts at the end of October 2018, causing considerable damages both below and above the surface; a new survey conducted in November 2018 showed the complete annihilation of the two studied populations, as a probable combination of the continued parasite infections and the mechanical impacts caused by the storm. Finally, in June 2020 the sites were monitored again looking for traces of recovery, but no new specimens were recorded, indicating that P. nobilis became virtually absent from the MPA

The Arrangement of the Peripheral Olfactory System of Pleuragramma antarcticum: A Well-Exploited Small Sensor, an Aided Water Flow, and a Prominent Effort in Primary Signal Elaboration

The olfactory system is constituted in a consistent way across vertebrates. Nasal structures allow water/air to enter an olfactory cavity, conveying the odorants to a sensory surface. There, the olfactory neurons form, with their axons, a sensory nerve projecting to the telencephalic zone\u2014named the olfactory bulb. This organization comes with many different arrangements, whose meaning is still a matter of debate. A morphological description of the olfactory system of many teleost species is present in the literature; nevertheless, morphological investigations rarely provide a quantitative approach that would help to provide a deeper understanding of the structures where sensory and elaborating events happen. In this study, the peripheral olfactory system of the Antarctic silverfish, which is a keystone species in coastal Antarctica ecosystems, has also been described, employing some quantitative methods. The olfactory chamber of this species is connected to accessory nasal sacs, which probably aid water movements in the chamber; thus, the head of the Antarctic silverfish is specialized to assure that the olfactory organ keeps in contact with a large volume of water\u2014even when the fish is not actively swimming. Each olfactory organ, shaped like an asymmetric rosette, has, in adult fish, a sensory surface area of about 25 mm2, while each olfactory bulb contains about 100,000 neurons. The sensory surface area and the number of neurons in the primary olfactory brain region show that this fish invests energy in the detection and elaboration of olfactory signals and allow comparisons among different species. The mouse, for example\u2014which is considered a macrosmatic vertebrate\u2014has a sensory surface area of the same order of magnitude as that of the Antarctic silverfish, but ten times more neurons in the olfactory bulb. Catsharks, on the other hand, have a sensory surface area that is two orders of magnitude higher than that of the Antarctic silverfish, while the number of neurons has the same order of magnitude. The Antarctic silverfish is therefore likely to rely considerably on olfaction

Innovative In Vitro Strategy for Assessing Aluminum Bioavailability in Oral Care Cosmetics

Aluminum is an element found in nature and in cosmetic products. It can interfere with the metabolism of other cations, thus inducing gastrointestinal disorder. In cosmetics, aluminum is used in antiperspirants, lipsticks, and toothpastes. The aim of this work is to investigate aluminum bioavailability after accidental oral ingestion derived from the use of a toothpaste containing a greater amount of aluminum hydroxide than advised by the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS). To simulate in vitro toothpaste accidental ingestion, the INFOGEST model was employed, and the amount of aluminum was measured through the ICP-AES analysis. Tissue barrier integrity was analyzed by measuring transepithelial electric resistance, and the tissue architecture was checked through light microscopy. The margin of safety was also calculated. Overall, our results indicate that the acute exposure to aluminum accidentally ingested from toothpastes is safe for the final user, even in amounts higher than SCCS indications

Mappatura speditiva tridimensionale e multi-temporale mediante UAV. I casi di Pescara del Tronto e Accumoli

L’utilizzo dei Sistemi Aeromobili a Pilotaggio Remoto (SAPR), definiti anche come Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), ha sicuramente ricoperto un ruolo centrale durante le diverse fasi di gestione dell’emergenza in Centro Italia a seguito del sisma del 2016. Per la prima volta questi sistemi sono stati utilizzati in maniera estensiva e continuativa durante le operazioni sul campo, grazie soprattutto alla presenza del Nucleo SAPR del Corpo Nazionale dei Vigili del Fuoco con il quale i diversi ricercatori del Politecnico di Torino hanno strettamente collaborato. Tali esperienze congiunte sono state fondamentali per definire le esigenze degli operatori sul campo e per mettere a punto delle strategie operative per la georeferenziazione dei blocchi fotogrammetrici, anche con strategia multi-temporale, atte a massimizzare il contributo derivante dall’impiego dei SAPR. In particolare, i prodotti fotogrammetrici derivati dalle acquisizioni effettuate con tali sensori sono stati analizzati per valutarne il contributo nelle fasi di damage assessment

The Athena X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU)

The X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU) is the high resolution X-ray spectrometer of the ESA Athena X-ray observatory. Over a field of view of 5' equivalent diameter, it will deliver X-ray spectra from 0.2 to 12 keV with a spectral resolution of 2.5 eV up to 7 keV on similar to 5 '' pixels. The X-IFU is based on a large format array of super-conducting molybdenum-gold Transition Edge Sensors cooled at similar to 90 mK, each coupled with an absorber made of gold and bismuth with a pitch of 249 mu m. A cryogenic anti-coincidence detector located underneath the prime TES array enables the non X-ray background to be reduced. A bath temperature of similar to 50 mK is obtained by a series of mechanical coolers combining 15K Pulse Tubes, 4K and 2K Joule-Thomson coolers which pre-cool a sub Kelvin cooler made of a He-3 sorption cooler coupled with an Adiabatic Demagnetization Refrigerator. Frequency domain multiplexing enables to read out 40 pixels in one single channel. A photon interacting with an absorber leads to a current pulse, amplified by the readout electronics and whose shape is reconstructed on board to recover its energy with high accuracy. The defocusing capability offered by the Athena movable mirror assembly enables the X-IFU to observe the brightest X-ray sources of the sky (up to Crab-like intensities) by spreading the telescope point spread function over hundreds of pixels. Thus the X-IFU delivers low pile-up, high throughput (> 50%), and typically 10 eV spectral resolution at 1 Crab intensities, i.e. a factor of 10 or more better than Silicon based X-ray detectors. In this paper, the current X-IFU baseline is presented, together with an assessment of its anticipated performance in terms of spectral resolution, background, and count rate capability. The X-IFU baseline configuration will be subject to a preliminary requirement review that is scheduled at the end of 2018. The X-IFU will be provided by an international consortium led by France, the Netherlands and Italy, with further ESA member state contributions from Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and contributions from Japan and the United States.Peer reviewe

The Athena X-ray Integral Field Unit: a consolidated design for the system requirement review of the preliminary definition phase

The Athena X-ray Integral Unit (X-IFU) is the high resolution X-ray spectrometer, studied since 2015 for flying in the mid-30s on the Athena space X-ray Observatory, a versatile observatory designed to address the Hot and Energetic Universe science theme, selected in November 2013 by the Survey Science Committee. Based on a large format array of Transition Edge Sensors (TES), it aims to provide spatially resolved X-ray spectroscopy, with a spectral resolution of 2.5 eV (up to 7 keV) over an hexagonal field of view of 5 arc minutes (equivalent diameter). The X-IFU entered its System Requirement Review (SRR) in June 2022, at about the same time when ESA called for an overall X-IFU redesign (including the X-IFU cryostat and the cooling chain), due to an unanticipated cost overrun of Athena. In this paper, after illustrating the breakthrough capabilities of the X-IFU, we describe the instrument as presented at its SRR, browsing through all the subsystems and associated requirements. We then show the instrument budgets, with a particular emphasis on the anticipated budgets of some of its key performance parameters. Finally we briefly discuss on the ongoing key technology demonstration activities, the calibration and the activities foreseen in the X-IFU Instrument Science Center, and touch on communication and outreach activities, the consortium organisation, and finally on the life cycle assessment of X-IFU aiming at minimising the environmental footprint, associated with the development of the instrument. Thanks to the studies conducted so far on X-IFU, it is expected that along the design-to-cost exercise requested by ESA, the X-IFU will maintain flagship capabilities in spatially resolved high resolution X-ray spectroscopy, enabling most of the original X-IFU related scientific objectives of the Athena mission to be retained. (abridged).Comment: 48 pages, 29 figures, Accepted for publication in Experimental Astronomy with minor editin

The Athena X-ray Integral Field Unit: a consolidated design for the system requirement review of the preliminary definition phase

The Athena X-ray Integral Unit (X-IFU) is the high resolution X-ray spectrometer studied since 2015 for flying in the mid-30s on the Athena space X-ray Observatory. Athena is a versatile observatory designed to address the Hot and Energetic Universe science theme, as selected in November 2013 by the Survey Science Committee. Based on a large format array of Transition Edge Sensors (TES), X-IFU aims to provide spatially resolved X-ray spectroscopy, with a spectral resolution of 2.5 eV (up to 7 keV) over a hexagonal field of view of 5 arc minutes (equivalent diameter). The X-IFU entered its System Requirement Review (SRR) in June 2022, at about the same time when ESA called for an overall X-IFU redesign (including the X-IFU cryostat and the cooling chain), due to an unanticipated cost overrun of Athena. In this paper, after illustrating the breakthrough capabilities of the X-IFU, we describe the instrument as presented at its SRR (i.e. in the course of its preliminary definition phase, so-called B1), browsing through all the subsystems and associated requirements. We then show the instrument budgets, with a particular emphasis on the anticipated budgets of some of its key performance parameters, such as the instrument efficiency, spectral resolution, energy scale knowledge, count rate capability, non X-ray background and target of opportunity efficiency. Finally, we briefly discuss the ongoing key technology demonstration activities, the calibration and the activities foreseen in the X-IFU Instrument Science Center, touch on communication and outreach activities, the consortium organisation and the life cycle assessment of X-IFU aiming at minimising the environmental footprint, associated with the development of the instrument. Thanks to the studies conducted so far on X-IFU, it is expected that along the design-to-cost exercise requested by ESA, the X-IFU will maintain flagship capabilities in spatially resolved high resolution X-ray spectroscopy, enabling most of the original X-IFU related scientific objectives of the Athena mission to be retained. The X-IFU will be provided by an international consortium led by France, The Netherlands and Italy, with ESA member state contributions from Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, with additional contributions from the United States and Japan.The French contribution to X-IFU is funded by CNES, CNRS and CEA. This work has been also supported by ASI (Italian Space Agency) through the Contract 2019-27-HH.0, and by the ESA (European Space Agency) Core Technology Program (CTP) Contract No. 4000114932/15/NL/BW and the AREMBES - ESA CTP No.4000116655/16/NL/BW. This publication is part of grant RTI2018-096686-B-C21 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe”. This publication is part of grant RTI2018-096686-B-C21 and PID2020-115325GB-C31 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033

Comparative and functional anatomy of the elasmobranch olfactory system

The sense of smell in elasmobranchs is considered to be highly developed compared to other classes of vertebrates, often referred to as "swimming nose." Numerous studies have attempted to explain this phenomenon from both behavioral and anatomical/physiological perspectives. This study aims to be one of the most comprehensive analyses of the olfactory system from an anatomical and morphological point of view. Three main areas of the olfactory system were considered: the nostrils, olfactory rosette, and olfactory bulb. Studies on the morpho dynamics of shark nostrils, organs that vary in complexity depending on the species, mainly focus on their relationship with the animal's environment, lifestyle, and water flow in and out of them, as well as the anatomical features that govern this process. Using a geometric morphometrics approach, this study investigated the shape of shark nostrils on the largest dataset used to date, correlating observed differences and similarities with the hydrodynamics of the animal and other anatomical features related to the olfactory system. Analyses of the olfactory rosette and olfactory bulb, respectively, the peripheral organ responsible for the reception of chemical molecules called odorants and the first area of the nervous system responsible for the initial processing and transmission of the signal to higher centers, were mainly histological. The primary lamellae of the olfactory rosette, extremely branched and diversified among the analyzed species, were investigated to understand both their complexity and their possible function in increasing the total surface area of the olfactory epithelium that covers them. In addition, a new variable related to the count of olfactory neurons residing in the rosette epithelium was systematically introduced. The olfactory bulb was analyzed using the isotropic fractionation technique, obtaining quantitative data on its cellular and neuronal composition as previously applied in other studies. Both types of analyses, conducted on a large number of species, demonstrate the existence of an exceptional olfactory system in elasmobranchs, surpassing that of other vertebrates like mammals. However, the system's cellular density is comparatively less developed than in other taxa. The shape of the nostrils seems to correlate with the complexity of the olfactory system's development. Although the number of olfactory receptor neurons is substantial, the ratio of these neurons to the neurons in the olfactory bulbs is similar to that of other vertebrates, and the number of olfactory receptors in the genomes is notably low. Overall, these findings, along with previous studies, suggest that elasmobranchs have developed an optimized sense of smell that is adapted to their lifestyle, rather than possessing a super olfactory system as previously thought