Success factors for dairy farming in the north of Italy

The study sets out to assess the relation between structural and organizational variables in dairy farms and their capacity for survival. It also highlights a number of factors influencing the success of a dairy farm. The main results are the identification of links between a number of farm variables and their survival potential. The author also develops a discriminant analysis model to estimate farm survival. Lastly the author illustrates the different types of entrepreneurs active in dairy farming in north Italy

Economic growth and the environment

As the UK economy emerges from the downturn, attention is shifting to how best to return it to sustained and durable economic growth. But what does sustained and durable economic growth mean in the context of the natural environment? The UK and the global economy face significant environmental challenges, from averting dangerous climate change to halting biodiversity loss and protecting our ecosystems. There has been debate over whether it is possible to achieve economic growth whilst also tackling these challenges. This paper does not try to answer the question of what the sustainable level of economic growth might be, but instead examines the link between economic growth and the environment, and the role of environmental policy in managing the provision and use of natural assets. Many question the value of continued growth in GDP, given its limitations – including as a measure of wellbeing – and some evidence of its diminishing benefits within rich countries. However, it remains essential to support continued improvements in factors that affect people’s wellbeing, from health and employment to education and quality of life, and to help the government deliver on a range of policy objectives – economic, social, and environmental.Environmental policy: Natural Environment: Natural Capital: Growth: Sustainable Growth:

Reperti delle colonie italiane nel Museo di Zoologia dell’Università di Modena

The link between the citizens of Modena and the Zoology Museum of the local University was particularly strong from the second half of the 19th century up to the first decades of the 20th century, as witnessed by numerous finds presented by travellers from Modena. Besides local specimens, there are several exotic collections that were put together during journeys and sojourns overseas. The finds coming from Italian Eastern Africa and Libya were mostly sent by military men. This study takes into account the collections of Vertebrates (Reptiles, Birds and Mammals) hunted in Eritrea in 1892-1894 by lieutenant of the Bersaglieri corps Ettore Martini and by Dr. Guido Corni when he was Governor of Italian Somaliland (1928-1931)

Nuova stazione di Utricularia sp. (Lentibulariaceae) per il Modenese

The presence of Utricularia sp. was observed in a pond during a survey in some small water bodies in the Modena Apennines (Italy). This ecosystem was sampled and observed in order to apply the IBEM index, which allows judging the quality of these habitats on the basis of their biodiversity. A specific taxonomic determination was not possible because of the lack of the flower on the individuals; nevertheless, some features led to U. australis. However, it was decided to report the new finding since all species of the genus Utricularia have become quite rare in Italy

Recent advances in multi-layer composite polymeric membranes for CO2 separation: A review

AbstractThe development of multilayer composite membranes for CO2 separation has gained increasing attention due to the desire for energy efficient technologies. Multilayer composite membranes have many advantages, including the possibility to optimize membrane materials independently by layers according to their different functions and to reduce the overall transport resistance by using ultrathin selective layers, and less limitations on the material mechanical properties and processability. A comprehensive review is required to capture details of the progresses that have already been achieved in developing multilayer composite membranes with improved CO2 separation performance in the past 15–20 years. In this review, various composite membrane preparation methods were compared, advances in composite membranes for CO2/CH4 separation, CO2/N2 and CO2/H2 separation were summarized with detailed data, and challenges facing for the CO2 separation using composite membranes, such as aging, plasticization and long-term stability, were discussed. Finally the perspectives and future research directions for composite membranes were presented

Prosthetic abdominal wall hernia repair in emergency surgery: from polypropylene to biological meshes

The use of nonabsorbable prosthetic materials such as polypropylene, polyester, and ePTFE, have expanded and are now widely used in reparative surgery for abdominal wall hernias

Comparación química de suelos en distintas coberturas vegetales del PNC mediante métodos de clúster análisis

La vegetación y el suelo son indicadores importantes de la salud del páramo. La capa vegetal del páramo es importante para la protección del suelo y como hábitat para la fauna nativa (Hofstede et al., 2003). La evaluación de las características del suelo requiere medir sus propiedades físicas y químicas. El Parque Nacional Cajas (PNC) es uno de los principales suministros de agua para la ciudad de Cuenca, puesto que sus suelos retienen grandes cantidades de líquido vital, especialmente el páramo de almohadillas; los suelos del pajonal resultan importantes en el secuestro de carbono atmosférico, mientras que los suelos de los bosques de Polylepis y bosques alto-andinos originan ecosistemas únicos evidenciado en un alto endemismo presente en el PNC; razón por lo cual el estudio de las características físico químicas del suelo resulta importante en la investigación de las interacciones sustrato-vegetal. El análisis de conglomerados o clúster es una técnica de análisis exploratorio de datos que permite descubrir asociaciones y estructuras en los datos que no son evidentes a priori,ordenando objetos en grupos de asociación/similitud de forma que los objetos de un mismo grupo sean muy similares entre sí,y los objetos de clústeres diferentes sean distintos (Figueras, 2001). El método KNN o k-Nearest Neighbors, basado en el reconocimiento de patrones de criterios de vecindad. Parte de la idea de que una nueva muestra será clasificada a la clase a la cual pertenezca la mayor cantidad de vecinos más cercanos del (reconocimiento de patrones patrón) del conjunto de entrenamiento más cercano a esta (Figueras, 2001). El objetivo general de este estudio es investigar las relaciones entre las características químicas del suelo (Ca, Mg, Fe, K, Na, pH, conductividad, nitrógeno total, fósforo, y materia orgánica) y el tipo de coberturas vegetales presentes en el PNC (páramo de pajonal,páramo de almohadilla, bosque de Polylepis y bosque altoandino), mediante métodos de análisis clúster y clasificación KNN