The International, Regional and Local Interaction in the Promotion of Cultural Tourism in Mozambique

This paper discusses the tourist promotion of the cultural and natural heritage in Mozambique, one of Africa’s poorest countries, whose strategy for the reduction of poverty highlights the role of tourism in supporting territorial development and implementing the Millennium/Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nation plan to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. The country has produced a national strategy for the development of tourism that is based on the integration at the national level of international and regional policies implemented through the territorial action of several subjects working at the local level. Among them, regional and international Ngos, that play an important role in promoting actions aimed at capacity-building, advocacy, empowerment. This strategy makes of Mozambique a very interesting example of the rescaling process in tourism development that guides the political agenda of both the international tourist organizations and the national governments

A.M. Sala, S. Grandi, F. Dallari (a c. di), Turismo e turismi tra politica e innovazione, Bologna, Patron editore 2008

none1noIl contributo è una recensione del volume di A.M. Sala, S. Grandi, F. Dallari "Turismo e turismi tra politica e innovazione", Bologna, Patron editore 2008. Il volume contiene diversi contributi presentati nel corso del convegno “Quali turismi italiani per un mercato internazionale?” tenutosi a Modena nel maggio del 2007, che affrontano trasversalmente il tema del turismo come strumento di promozione economica locale.mixedE.MagnaniE.Magnan

“La maggiore sfida per la sostenibilità del turismo nel XXI secolo”: il complesso nesso tra cambiamento climatico e turismo

L’articolo propone una riflessione teorica sull’interconnessione esistente – e potenzialmente molto più criticamente intensa nel futuro – tra cambiamento climatico e turismo, facendo riferimento alla letteratura prodotta da studiosi di diverse discipline, al fine di discutere della complessità delle variabili coinvolte nello studio di questo nesso teorico, e le opportunità e criticità che emergono. L’articolo è diviso in due sezioni: la prima analizza l’interconnessione tra cambiamento climatico e turismo; la seconda esplora le strategie di mitigazione e adattamento climatico del settore evidenziando limiti e potenziali successi

Surface soil moisture estimate from Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 data in agricultural fields in areas of high vulnerability to climate variations: the Marche region (Italy) case study

Surface soil moisture is a key hydrologic state variable that greatly influences the global environment and human society. Its significant decrease in the Mediterranean region, registered since the 1950s, and expected to continue in the next century, threatens soil health and crops. Microwave remote sensing techniques are becoming a key tool for the implementation of climate-smart agriculture, as a means for surface soil moisture retrieval that exploits the correlation between liquid water and the dielectric properties of soil. In this study, a workflow in Google Earth Engine was developed to estimate surface soil moisture in the agricultural fields of the Marche region (Italy) through Synthetic Aperture Radar data. Firstly, agricultural areas were extracted with both Sentinel-2 optical and Sentinel-1 radar satellites, investigating the use of Dual-Polarimetric Entropy-Alpha decomposition's bands to improve the accuracy of radar data classification. The results show that Entropy and Alpha bands improve the kappa index obtained from the radar data only by 4% (K = 0.818), exceeding optical accuracy in urban and water areas. However, they still did not allow to reach the overall optical accuracy (K = 0.927). The best classification results are reached with the total dataset (K = 0.949). Subsequently, Water Cloud and Tu Wien models were implemented on the crop areas using calibration parameters derived from literature, to test if an acceptable accuracy is reached without in situ observation. While the first model’s accuracy was inadequate (RMSD = 12.3), the extraction of surface soil moisture using Tu Wien change detection method was found to have acceptable accuracy (RMSD = 9.4)

Desidratação de gemas de ovos por secagem por atomização em diferentes temperaturas

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of dehydration temperatures by spray drying on the microbiological, physical, and chemical characteristics of egg powder and on the yield of the process. Dehydration was performed by spray drying at 90, 120, and 150°C, with five replicates for each treatment. The yield was estimated by the ratio between the amount of egg yolk powder obtained and the amount of in natura egg yolk used in the drying process. The dehydrated egg yolks were analyzed for chemical composition, objective color, and rancidity. For microbiological analyzes, the presence of coagulase‑positive staphylococcus, by direct plate count; Salmonella spp., within a 25‑g sample; and coliforms, at 45°C, was detected. The spray drying temperature influenced the moisture content of yolk powder, without affecting the levels of proteins, lipids and ash, the microbiological characteristics, or the rancidity of the final products. Higher drying temperatures produce higher product yield, but, at 150°C, there is a darkening and a reduction in the intensity of the yellow color of yolk powder.O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito de temperaturas de desidratação por atomização sobre as características microbiológicas, físicas e químicas de gemas de ovos em pó e sobre o rendimento do processo. A desidratação por atomização foi realizada a 90, 120 e 150°C, com cinco repetições para cada tratamento. O rendimento foi avaliado pela relação entre a quantidade de gema em pó obtida e a quantidade de gema in natura utilizada na secagem. As gemas desidratadas foram analisadas quanto à composição centesimal, à cor objetiva e à rancidez. Para as análises microbiológicas, foi detectada a presença de estafilococos coagulase‑positiva, pela contagem direta em placas; Salmonella spp., em amostra de 25 g; e coliformes, a 45°C. A temperatura de secagem por atomização influenciou a umidade das gemas em pó, sem interferir nos teores de proteínas, lipídeos e cinzas, nas características microbiológicas ou na rancidez dos produtos finais. As temperaturas de secagem mais elevadas proporcionam maior rendimento de produto, mas, a 150°C, ocorre escurecimento e diminuição na intensidade da coloração amarela das gemas em pó

Palytoxin and an Ostreopsis Toxin Extract Increase the Levels of mRNAs Encoding Inflammation-Related Proteins in Human Macrophages via p38 MAPK and NF-κB

BACKGROUND: Palytoxin and, likely, its analogues produced by the dinoflagellate genus Ostreopsis, represent a class of non-proteinaceous compounds displaying high toxicity in animals. Owing to the wide distribution and the poisonous effects of these toxins in humans, their chemistry and mechanism of action have generated a growing scientific interest. Depending on the exposure route, palytoxin and its Ostreopsis analogues may cause several adverse effects on human health, including acute inflammatory reactions which seem more typical of cutaneous and inhalation contact. These observations have led us to hypothesize that these toxins may activate pro-inflammatory signalling cascades. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we demonstrate that palytoxin and a semi-purified Ostreopsis cf. ovata toxin extract obtained from a cultured strain isolated in the NW Adriatic Sea and containing a putative palytoxin and all the ovatoxins so far known--including the recently identified ovatoxin-f--significantly increase the levels of mRNAs encoding inflammation-related proteins in immune cells, i.e. monocyte-derived human macrophages, as assessed by Real-Time PCR analysis. Western immunoblot and electrophoretic mobility shift assays revealed that nuclear transcription factor -κB (NF-κB) is activated in cells exposed to toxins in coincidence with reduced levels of the inhibitory protein IκB-α. Moreover, Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases (MAPK) were phosphorylated in response to palytoxin, as also reported by others, and to the Ostreopsis toxin extract, as shown here for the first time. By using specific chemical inhibitors, the involvement of NF-κB and p38 MAPK in the toxin-induced transcription and accumulation of Cycloxigenase-2, Tumor Necrosis Factor-α, and Interleukin-8 transcripts has been demonstrated. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: The identification of specific molecular targets of palytoxin and its Ostreopsis analogues, besides contributing to expand the still limited knowledge of the intracellular signalling cascades affected by these toxins, may have important implications in setting up focused pharmacological interventions, replacing currently used symptomatic treatments

Validation and application of a quantitative real-time PCR assay to detect common wheat adulteration of durum wheat for pasta production

Pasta is the Italian product par excellence and it is now popular worldwide. Pasta of a superior quality is made with pure durum wheat. In Italy, addition of Triticum aestivum (common wheat) during manufacturing is not allowed and, without adequate labeling, its presence is considered an adulteration. PCRrelated techniques can be employed for the detection of common wheat contaminations. In this work, we demonstrated that a previously published method for the detection of T. aestivum, based on the gliadin gene, is inadequate. Moreover, a new molecular method, based on DNA extraction from semolina and real-time PCR determination of T. aestivum in Triticum spp., was validated. This multiplex real-time PCR, based on the dual-labeled probe strategy, guarantees target detection specificity and sensitivity in a short period of time. Moreover, the molecular analysis of common wheat contamination in commercial wheat and flours is described for the first time