POSSIBLE FUTURE SCENARIOS FOR SICILIAN CEREAL CROPPING IN THE LIGHT OF CURRENT TRENDS IN AGRICULTURAL POLICY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

This paper sets out the results of a research project carried out by the University of Palermo and financed by the Sicilian Region, which aims to establish the impact of the Fischler Reform on Sicilian agriculture, and to project future scenarios that take into account some of the changes that the production process may undergo in the Region, following both the application of the Reform itself (now in force) and the eventual application of indications contained in the Health check. The impacts of the Fischler Reform, and especially the application of the Single Payment scheme to companies, were examined in cereal cropping companies, especially considering the significant amount of durum wheat cultivation in vast areas of the Region’s hilly and its strategic importance for many areas where there is a risk of farming being abandoned, with grave consequences for the territory and its farmland, for employment and for the encouragement of food and processing industries. The chosen means for assessing the effects of the reform was that of direct interviews at a statistically representative sample made up of 400 agricultural companies, determining possible earnings within the current situation, but also in the eventuality of some of the indications in the Health check being applied. The results indicate that Community aid plays a crucial role in the companies looked at, allowing them to remain on the market. Indeed, the elimination of the aid planned within the framework of the Common Agricultural Policy in the hypothetical scenarios showed a negative impact on earnings for the companies and could cause their exclusion from the market.CAP, Future of the CAP, Sicilian agriculture, Agricultural and Food Policy, Q10, Q18.,

Pain perception and stabilometric parameters in people with chronic low back pain after a pilates exercise program: A randomized controlled trial

Various exercise interventions, such as Pilates exercises and traditional physical therapy methods, are employed to decrease low back pain (LBP). Nonspecific low back pain (NSLBP) is distinct from LBP, however, as the distribution of pain is restricted to the region between the costal margin and the inferior gluteal. The aim of our randomized controlled trial was to evaluate the effects of a program of Pilates exercises on pain perception and stabilometric parameters in patients with NSLBP.Thirty-eight participants were randomly allocated, using a 1:1 scheme, to either the experimental group (EG) or control group (CG). The EG completed a 14-week program of Pilates exercises, performed thrice per week under the supervision of an exercise specialist, while the CG was managed with a social program only. Measures of posturography and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) for pain perception were obtained at baseline (T0) and after the 14 weeks of intervention (T)1.Posturography measures improved for patients in the EG, with both eyes open and eyes closed (P\u200a<\u200a0.05). There were no statistical differences in posturography in the CG. ODI decreased significantly in both groups over the 14 weeks of the study protocol: EG, T0, 13.7\u200a\ub1\u200a5.0 compared with T1, 6.5\u200a\ub1\u200a4.0 (P\u200a<\u200a0.001); and CG, T0, 10.7\u200a\ub1\u200a7.8 compared with T1, 8.4\u200a\ub1\u200a7.8 (P\u200a<\u200a0.01). A greater extent of reduction in pain was achieved in the EG.The Pilates exercise program yielded improvements in pain and posturography outcomes. Our study also confirms the applicability of posturography in evaluating postural instability in patients with NSLBP. Due to our relatively small study group, future studies would be necessary to confirm our findings

Influence of weaning age (28 vs. 63 d) on quantitative and qualitative carcass traits of rabbits

Nowadays there is an increasing interest towards breeding systems, also for rabbit meat production, that are more mindful of animal welfare through an attenuation of the productive cycles intensity. These particular rearing techniques provide a delaying of the weaning age to reduce young rabbits stress. The present experiment is part of a wider research (Pinna et al., 2004; Marongiu et al., 2004) conducted in a sardinian farm in which rabbits are usually weaned at about 60 days of age. Surely this managerial choice could be considered rather questionable but from a scientific point of view could also represent the occasion to examine the productive performance of rabbits submitted to such a late weaning. The final part of the survey, regarding the carcass composition and the meat chemical-nutritional characteristics, was carried out through the comparison of two groups of rabbits weaned at 28 and at 63 days of age respectively

New Cities Subway, Virtuous Trials or "Routes Tortuous"?

The enunciation of the concept of metropolitan city has been fed by a series of contributions and debates, not only from architects, but also from jurists, and experienced of territorial planning, which in the processes of depth change of the metropolitan phenomenon they have determined considerable transformations becoming motor of new organizations and setting different problems of management, as well as baiting renewed dynamics among political and social strengths. The urbanization of large urban areas, affecting rural depopulation and the sub explosion. urban. Large metropolitan areas are composed of: - high concentration areas; - large centers; - the bleak suburbs; - low-density areas; - densely populated urban environments that coexist in a sub dominance condition between them, in which the conditions of life appear to be extremely uncomfortable. When experience these conditions we see, not only the immigration process of rural areas to the city, but the immigration of masses of people who every day have to face the city, this involves economic, social and cultural rights in many civilizations and historical periods have occurred and have been a key feature in modern society unprecedented. These migrations are in the "metropolis" the focal point, in the sub urban fringe (with populations residing outside the administrative border spread like wildfire) where the attraction of the city center with degrades degrade the environment for the urbanization great masses. Big cities do not limit its effect modifiers within their administrative boundaries traced by politics, they shall obtain zoning and economic forces work of integration, in whole or in part, in economic, social and cultural system and have their focal point in metropolis. The densification in the administrative boundaries of the city until the collapse of urbanization in large areas, are processes that have taken significant pace in the big cities, in commercial ports and in the capitals. The phenomenon has brought with it an extensive transformation of urban centers, the protagonists of a poorly controlled development, which led to growing problems of public services, traffic, transport, housing and pollution. No wonder that the first proposals that have contributed to the emergence of metropolitan areas come from one of the countries that experienced the first industrial revolution, namely the United Kingdom. Scholars agree that the phenomenon has also spread to many European cities, which turn out to be more modest size compared to cities in the United States, Japan and other countries, distinguishing itself in the inequality of the size ranking of cities. In the Mediterranean countries, urbanization has been more delayed and based on industrial bases in most popular way, especially on the tertiary development

Exact treatment of operator difference equations with nonconstant and noncommutative coefficients

We study a homogeneous linear second-order difference equation with nonconstant and noncommuting operator coefficients in a vector space. We build its exact resolutive formula consisting of the explicit noniterative expression of a generic term of the unknown sequence of vectors. Some nontrivial applications are reported in order to show the usefulness and the broad applicability of the resul

Investigating, Implementing and Funding Regenerative Urban Design in a Post-COVID-19 Pandemic Built Environment: A Reading Through Selected UN Sustainable Development Goals and the European Green Deal

Before the world was impacted by COVID-19, progress towards the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was already uneven, and a more focused attention was needed in most SDGs target areas. The pandemic abruptly disrupted plans and efforts towards urban transition, in some cases reverting decades of progress. The concept of resilience changed in 2020 and having to face severe health issues combined with increased socio-economic challenges in a climate change scenario, cities must urgently explore how to best combine environmental goals with economic recovery and social justice, modifying on-going plans and initiatives, while re-arranging priorities. Acknowledging the impact that the pandemic will produce, for the years to come, on processes and initiatives towards a regenerative economy, this contribution describes most recent strategies aimed at urban transition in Europe, and critically discusses available options with respect to implementation and funding, within the framework of selected UN SDGs. Our conclusions challenge the ability of our modern society to put in practice the needed urgent actions, and call for a paradigm shift to prepare Europe to deal with climate disruptions, activate transition to a healthy and prosperous future within the planetary boundaries, and scale up solutions that will trigger transformations for the benefit of people and the environment