Prioritising CAP intervention needs: An improved cumulative voting approach

The process to define the 2023–2027 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is underway. The implementation model governing the process requires each EU Member State to design a National Strategic Plan to deliver operational actions exploiting the synergies under the two pillars of the policy. Each Plan must be built from an evidence-based needs assessment that undergoes rigorous prioritisation and planning to create comprehensive, integrated, and achievable interventions. In Italy, the success of this planning process requires all interested stakeholders to generate options for the regional authorities who plan, manage, and legislate agricultural activities. This research proposes a decision-making technique, based on the cumulative voting approach, that can be used effectively when multiple persons from different backgrounds and perspectives are engaged in problem-solving and needs prioritisation. The results indicate that the model can be applied both theoretically and practically to prioritise Strategic Plan needs that involve national and regional authorities. Validation of the model allows it to be used in the next consultative processes and for expansion to socioeconomic stakeholders

Agricoltura irrigua e ridotta disponbilità idrica: quali compatibilità? Evidenze da un modello di PMP nella pianura lombarda

Numerosi modelli economici sono utilizzati per valutare gli effetti dei cambiamenti climatici e le loro implicazioni sull\u2019economia globale. Tra gli altri, la programmazione matematica riveste un ruolo primario, specialmente dopo lo sviluppo del cosiddetto \u201capproccio positivo\u201d. La Programmazione Matematica Positiva (PMP) viene tipicamente usata per calibrare modelli regionali volti a valutare gli effetti dell\u2019introduzione di politiche settoriali. Nel comparto agricolo questo tipo di approccio \ue8 largamente utilizzato per condurre analisi di scenario in mutate condizioni di disponibilit\ue0 di risorse ed interventi strutturali. In quest'ottica, lo studio condotto si basa sull\u2019utilizzo della PMP in un areale agricolo lombardo, ed ipotizza che una ridotta disponibilit\ue0 d\u2019acqua irrigua costituisca il principale effetto del cambiamento climatico a livello locale; inoltre, assume che ulteriori interventi messi in atto dai decisori politici o dagli utilizzatori finali della risorsa per limitare il consumo idrico costituiscano delle strategie di mitigazione del climate change. Il modello implementato ottimizza la funzione di massimizzazione del profitto dell'agricoltore in corrispondenza di diversi livelli di disponibilit\ue0 d\u2019acqua irrigua, restituendo il pattern colturale che soddisfa le condizioni imposte. I risultati preliminari confermano quanto emerge dalle numerose evidenze di letteratura: ad una maggiore scarsit\ue0 della risorsa corrisponde la coltivazione di colture meno idro-esigenti, anche se non si riscontrano radicali cambiamenti nell'uso del suolo nel suo complesso. Configurazioni alternative comportano, tuttavia, implicazioni negative per l'economia dell\u2019area di studio, con il margine lordo che tende a diminuire al decrescere dei volumi d'acqua disponibili

Land rent values determinants: a Hedonic Pricing approach at local scale

Farmland values are driven by a complex set of factors. Starting from the idea that land rent values may reflect several characteristics both internal and external to agricultural sector, the paper has implemented a hedonic model based on land rent values in the metropolitan area of Milan, Northern Italy, assessing the influence of climate, soil, territorial and farm variables on a sample of farms. The model is based on data at rent contract level, matched with data at farm and municipal scale retrieved from different sources. Results confirm that land rent prices are affected by some climate variables, along with territorial and farm characteristics

Corevalve vs. Sapien 3 transcatheter aortic valve replacement: A finite element analysis study

Aim: to investigate the factors implied in the development of postoperative complications in both self-expandable and balloon-expandable transcatheter heart valves by means of finite element analysis (FEA). Materials and methods: FEA was integrated into CT scans to investigate two cases of postoperative device failure for valve thrombosis after the successful implantation of a CoreValve and a Sapien 3 valve. Data were then compared with two patients who had undergone uncomplicated transcatheter heart valve replacement (TAVR) with the same types of valves. Results: Computational biomechanical modeling showed calcifications persisting after device expansion, not visible on the CT scan. These calcifications determined geometrical distortion and elliptical deformation of the valve predisposing to hemodynamic disturbances and potential thrombosis. Increased regional stress was also identified in correspondence to the areas of distortion with the associated paravalvular leak. Conclusion: the use of FEA as an adjunct to preoperative imaging might assist patient selection and procedure planning as well as help in the detection and prevention of TAVR complications

Mitigation of Double-crested Cormorant Impacts on Lake Ontario: From Planning and Practice to Product Delivery

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation initiated a Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) control program in the eastern basin of Lake Ontario to mitigate cormorant impacts in 1999. Key objectives included improving the quality of Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus dolomieu) and other fisheries, restoring the structure and function of the warmwater fish community and reducing cormorant impacts to nesting habitats of other colonial waterbird species. In eight years of intensive control, cormorant numbers declined, with a corresponding reduction in estimated fish consumption. Diversity and numbers of co-occurring waterbirds either increased or have not been shown to be negatively impacted by management. Woody vegetation favorable to Black-crowned Night-Herons (Nycticorax nycticorax) has been maintained. A ca. 2.5-fold increase in the abundance of Smallmouth Bass abundance in assessment nets over the last seven years is a sign of improved recruitment to the fishery. Since the target population level of 4,500 to 6,000 cormorants has essentially been achieved, the eastern Lake Ontario cormorant program is expected to shift in 2007 from a population reduction focus towards a less intensive program intended to prevent population resurgence