The effects of decoupling on Italian COP sector: an ex-post evaluation

One of the main objectives of the 2003 CAP reform was that to enhance farm competitiveness and make farmers able to catch market signals and adjust their production level and specialization accordingly. The aim of the paper is to evaluate the effects of decoupling in Italy COP sector comparing the estimated results of some structural and economic indicators of a sample of farms before and after the 2003 reform using data from the Italian Institute of Statistics and of the Italian Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN). The analysis shows an improvement of income in farms that kept COP production specialization through the years under study. At the same time, farms that opted for a different specialisation in the post reform period improved their economic performance. All this suggests that coupled support had become a constraint rather than an opportunity and that the 2003 reform, decoupling farm support from production, has contributed to a more efficient and market-oriented COP sector in Italy.CAP, decoupling, Italian FADN, COP sector, Agricultural and Food Policy, Q18,

Nonvisible Satellite Estimation Algorithm for Improved UAV Navigation in Mountainous Regions

This paper presents a very simple and computationally efficient algorithm for the calculation of the occlusion points of a scene, observed from a given point of view. This algorithm is used to calculate, in any point of a control volume, the number of visible satellites and the Dilution Of Precision (DOP). Knowledge of these information is extremely important to reject measurements of non-visible satellites and for the reconstruction of a fictitious Digital Elevation Map (DEM), that envelops all the regions characterized by a number of visible satellites lower than a given threshold. This DEM evolves in time according to the platform motion and satellite dynamics. Because of this time dependency, the Digital Morphing Map (DMM) has been defined. When the DMM is available, it can be used by the path planning algorithm to optimise the platform trajectory in order to avoid regions where the number of visible satellites is dramatically reduced, the DOP value is very high and the risk to receive corrupted measurement is large. In this paper also presents the concept of a Safety Bubble Obstacle Avoidance (SBOA) system. This technique takes advantage from the numerical properties of the covariance matrix defined in the Kalman filtering process. A space and time safety bubble is defined according to the DOP value and is used to automatically determine a minimum fly distance from the surrounding obstacles

Ill-conditioned problems improvement adapting Joseph covariance formula to non-linear Bayesian filters

Integration of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) into civil airspace is becoming a fundamental requirement to satisfy the even more consumer growing demand. The limiting issues for this integration are related to the development of a reliable Sense and Avoid (SAA) system able to equate the human eye performances. Multisensor data fusion techniques are generally used in order to overcome single sensor shortcomings. Although much research addresses toward the realisation of better performing sensors, system degradation could arise from bad numerical behaviours injected by the specific fusion algorithm. Bayesian estimators are the most widely used techniques to perform this task but they could be affected by round-off errors. To improve filter instabilities, induced by ill-conditioned matrices, an alternative numerical approach, based on the Joseph form of the state covariance matrix update applied to non-linear systems is presented. The novelty of this technique lies on taking advantage from the higher order accuracy ensured by Sigma-Point Kalman Filters for solving non-linear inference problems, and using the more numerically robust Joseph update equation

Acoustic Impact of Hybrid-Electric DEP Aircraft Configuration at Airport Level

The Italian research project PROSIB (PROpulsione e Sistemi IBridi per velivoli ad ala fissa e rotante), is a 30-month initiative funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Scientific Research (MIUR) and coordinated by the Leonardo company. The project is aimed to investigate configurations for regional aircraft and rotary wing platforms and architectures for propulsion systems, and is dedicated to the identification of the best strategy for their use, given different on-board energy sources. The reduced environmental impact is the key for the success of the new hybrid/electric aircraft configurations. This not only considers the chemical pollution introduced in the atmosphere, but also the noise produced on the surrounding area of airports. The present paper describes the acoustic impact assessment resulting from the inclusion of new propulsion technologies and new configurations of regional aircraft (ATR42 pax) in a reference airport area

Effects of Chronic Sleep Restriction on Transcriptional Sirtuin 1 Signaling Regulation in Male Mice White Adipose Tissue

Chronic sleep restriction (CSR) is a prevalent issue in modern society that is associated with several pathological states, ranging from neuropsychiatric to metabolic diseases. Despite its known impact on metabolism, the specific effects of CSR on the molecular mechanisms involved in maintaining metabolic homeostasis at the level of white adipose tissue (WAT) remain poorly understood. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the influence of CSR on sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) and the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR gamma) signaling pathway in the WAT of young male mice. Both genes interact with specific targets involved in multiple metabolic processes, including adipocyte differentiation, browning, and lipid metabolism. The quantitative PCR (qPCR) results demonstrated a significant upregulation of SIRT-1 and some of its target genes associated with the transcriptional regulation of lipid homeostasis (i.e., PPAR alpha, PPAR gamma, PGC-1 alpha, and SREBF) and adipose tissue development (i.e., leptin, adiponectin) in CSR mice. On the contrary, DNA-binding transcription factors (i.e., CEBP-beta and C-myc), which play a pivotal function during the adipogenesis process, were found to be down-regulated. Our results also suggest that the induction of SIRT1-dependent molecular pathways prevents weight gain. Overall, these findings offer new, valuable insights into the molecular adaptations of WAT to CSR, in order to support increased energy demand due to sleep loss

Real-World Outcomes in Patients with Spinal Muscular Atrophy Treated with Onasemnogene Abeparvovec Monotherapy: Findings from the RESTORE Registry

Motor neuron disease; Newborn screening; Spinal muscular atrophyEnfermedad de la neurona motora; Cribado neonatal; Atrofia muscular espinalMalaltia de la neurona motora; Cribratge neonatal; Atròfia muscular espinalBackground: Long-term, real-world effectiveness and safety data of disease-modifying treatments for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) are important for assessing outcomes and providing information for a larger number and broader range of SMA patients than included in clinical trials. Objective: We sought to describe patients with SMA treated with onasemnogene abeparvovec monotherapy in the real-world setting. Methods: RESTORE is a prospective, multicenter, multinational, observational registry that captures data from a variety of sources. Results: Recruitment started in September 2018. As of May 23, 2022, data were available for 168 patients treated with onasemnogene abeparvovec monotherapy. Median (IQR) age at initial SMA diagnosis was 1 (0–6) month and at onasemnogene abeparvovec infusion was 3 (1–10) months. Eighty patients (47.6%) had two and 70 (41.7%) had three copies of SMN2, and 98 (58.3%) were identified by newborn screening. Infants identified by newborn screening had a lower age at final assessment (mean age 11.5 months) and greater mean final (SD) CHOP INTEND score (57.0 [10.0] points) compared with clinically diagnosed patients (23.1 months; 52.1 [8.0] points). All patients maintained/achieved motor milestones. 48.5% (n = 81/167) experienced at least one treatment-emergent adverse event (AE), and 31/167 patients (18.6%) experienced at least one serious AE, of which 8/31 were considered treatment-related. Conclusion: These real-world outcomes support findings from the interventional trial program and demonstrate effectiveness of onasemnogene abeparvovec over a large patient population, which was consistent with initial clinical data and published 5-year follow-up data. Observed AEs were consistent with the established safety profile of onasemnogene abeparvovec.All financial and material support for this research was provided by Novartis Gene Therapies, Inc

Combination disease-modifying treatment in spinal muscular atrophy: A proposed classification

Spinal muscular atrophyAtròfia muscular espinalAtrofia muscular espinalWe sought to devise a rational, systematic approach for defining/grouping survival motor neuron-targeted disease-modifying treatment (DMT) scenarios. The proposed classification is primarily based on a two-part differentiation: initial DMT, and persistence/discontinuation of subsequent DMT(s). Treatment categories were identified: monotherapy add-on, transient add-on, combination with onasemnogene abeparvovec, bridging to onasemnogene abeparvovec, and switching to onasemnogene abeparvovec. We validated this approach by applying the classification to the 443 patients currently in the RESTORE registry and explored the demographics of these different groups of patients. This work forms the basis to explore the safety and efficacy profile of the different combinations of DMT in SMA

Analysis of joule heating of pork sausages

Joule heating, also called as ohmic heating, is a promising technology for cooking. It is expected to be rapid and economic since no transfer medium is required, electrical energy is directly affecting foodstuff. Additionally, cooking is induced by current stream and starts inside food. This reverse direction compared to the traditional technique needs different considerations, such as cold point calculation and expected final surface temperature. Viennese type smoked pork sausages were acquired in retail. Adjustable AC power supply of 0-240 V (1000 VA, 50 Hz) was applied to control current and voltage. Infrared thermometer was used to record temperature data at three positions along the sample surface. Thermal images were captured during cooking with the spectral range of 8-14 μm. Both infrared thermometer and thermovision camera had the same accuracy of ±2%. Two parallel samples were cooked during experiments. Measurements were performed in 3 replicates. Three levels of voltage were applied (50 V, 125 V and 200 V). Low level was considered inefficient and too slow, while high level did burn meat around electrode easily. Kinetics of current and surface temperature were analyzed and compared. Based on the temperature change, optimal cooking protocol can be suggested in order to warm up quickly and cook safe food without burning and decreasing its value. Finite element calculations were performed using software COMLSOL Multiphysics®. According to the results, Joule heating treatment is an effective way of cooking and easy to control. In spite of the fact that technique is investigated from different aspects, there are still open questions and issues before deployment into everyday practice

Acid hydrolysis of spent coffee grounds: effects on possible prebiotic activity of oligosaccharides

Abstract Background Spent coffee grounds (SCG) are a promising source of natural by-products which can be used for different purposes. In this work, a possible use of oligosaccharides isolated from SCG as functional ingredients was investigated. SCGs were treated with an acid hydrolysis at high temperature (200 °C) in a closed reactor setting reaction time of 30, 60 and 90 s depending on the sample (original or defatted). A comprehensive study of the resulted water-soluble hydrolysate using a high-resolution mass spectrometry analysis was performed. Additionally, the growth of four Lactobacillus strains was tested to assess the prebiotic potential of the hydrolysate. Results Oligosaccharide chains formed by hexoses with a degree of polymerization ranging from 3 to 6 were identified and characterized. Regardless of the composition and the reaction time of hydrolysis, the bacterial activity of SCG extracts exhibited significantly higher values than the well-known versatile carbohydrate used by food industry, i.e., inulin. Conclusions The results pave the way toward the use of hydrolysate SCG as an innovative ingredient intended to fortify food formulations. The diversity in coffee oligosaccharides composition suggests their selective prebiotic activity for specific bacterial strains. Graphical Abstrac