Enhancing Connectivity, improving Green Infrastructure. Cost-benefit solutions for forest and agri-environment. A pilot study in Lombardy

This pilot study over Lombardy addresses the cost-effective spatial development of a well-connected Green Infrastructure (GI) relevant to the integration of forest, agri-environment and regional development policies. The structural continuity and functional connectivity of semi-natural vegetation, as recommended component of the GI, are assessed. Corridors most favourable to species dispersal are mapped and gaps in connectivity are identified. Spatially explicit solutions are then proposed to prioritise improvement actions based on their monetary cost through payments of ‘greening’ subsidies and their benefit for connectivity. This is demonstrated at micro-scale to benefit pollinators and pest predators and at regional scale to benefit ‘connectivity sensitive’ terrestrial species

Indicators of biodiversity in agroecosystems: insights from Article 17 of the Habitat Directive and IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

In the current decade, the main goals for biodiversity conservation and environmental protection at the level of the European Union are set in the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020: halting biodiversity loss and restoring ecosystem services. A key requirement for the implementation of the Strategy in terms of targeting measures and funds, and monitoring trends is the construction of a biodiversity knowledge base, including spatially explicit information on biodiversity distribution and ecosystem condition. The work presented in this report is based on the analysis of two primary datasets on biodiversity and habitat status. The first one is the Habitats assessment carried out by EU Members States under Art.17 of the Habitats and Birds Directive. Information reported by Member States is analysed to derive the links between pressures and conservation status, showing that agriculture-related habitats have, on average, a worse conservation status when compared to other habitats. Consequently, threats and pressures having most influenced the status of the agricultural-related habitats can be identified. The second one is the global dataset on species threat status elaborated by The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Spatially explicit representations of species distribution, status and richness across the EU 28 are provided, and most importantly the identification of wide geographic variables linked to ecological theory is presented, that explain to a large extent the continental trend in species richness. Finally, an example is presented of how the two exploited datasets can be jointly used by cross-tabulating data on habitats assessments and species threat status in a spatially explicit way at 10 km resolution, aiming at identifying hotspots were policy intervention is needed

Are community-based nurse-led self-management support interventions effective in chronic patients? Results of a systematic review and meta-analysis

The expansion of primary care and community-based service delivery systems is intended to meet emerging needs, reduce the costs of hospital-based ambulatory care and prevent avoidable hospital use by the provision of more appropriate care. Great emphasis has been placed on the role of self-management in the complex process of care of patient with long-term conditions. Several studies have determined that nurses, among the health professionals, are more recommended to promote health and deliver preventive programs within the primary care context. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to assess the efficacy of the nurse-led self-management support versus usual care evaluating patient outcomes in chronic care community programs. Systematic review was carried out in MEDLINE, CINAHL, Scopus and Web of Science including RCTs of nurse-led self-management support interventions performed to improve observer reported outcomes (OROs) and patients reported outcomes (PROs), with any method of communication exchange or education in a community setting on patients >18 years of age with a diagnosis of chronic diseases or multi-morbidity. Of the 7,279 papers initially retrieved, 29 met the inclusion criteria. Meta-analyses on systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure reduction (10 studies-3,881 patients) and HbA1c reduction (7 studies-2,669 patients) were carried-out. The pooled MD were: SBP -3.04 (95% CI -5.01--1.06), DBP -1.42 (95% CI -1.42--0.49) and HbA1c -0.15 (95% CI -0.32-0.01) in favor of the experimental groups. Meta-analyses of subgroups showed, among others, a statistically significant effect if the interventions were delivered to patients with diabetes (SBP) or CVD (DBP), if the nurses were specifically trained, if the studies had a sample size higher than 200 patients and if the allocation concealment was not clearly defined. Effects on other OROs and PROs as well as quality of life remain inconclusive

Diabetic education in nursing: A Rodgers' evolutionary concept analysis

Aim: This concept analysis aims to clarify the concept of diabetic education in nursing to provide guidance for the further conceptualization and clarification of diabetic education in nursing.Background: Patient education is a fundamental component of diabetes care. Nurses have taken up a major role in educating people with diabetes to manage their conditions. However, the exact meaning of diabetic education in nursing remains challenging.Design: Rodgers' evolutionary method of concept analysis was performed to explore the concept of diabetic education in nursing.Data Source: We conducted a literature search on Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL). MedLine, and Psyclnfo for works published until October 2020 using "patient education," "diabetes," and "nursing" as key terms.Results: The concept analysis revealed that key attributes of diabetic education in nursing include patient-centered and interactive approaches, planning, and problem solving. Antecedents related to individuals with diabetes are their backgrounds. needs, and motivations, while the antecedents related to nurses are experience and attitude. Finally, three different consequences of the concept emerged: an increase in knowledge and skills, a behavioral change, and the improvement of clinical outcomes

A classification of European agricultural land using an energy-based intensity indicator and detailed crop description

With agricultural areas covering almost half of European land, proper management of agro-ecosystems is key toachieve the European Union’s environmental and climate objectives. This requires spatially explicit methods andindicators. We developed an approach for the classification of agricultural land by combining two main di-mensions i) land cover, using detailed geo-spatialized census data covering 63 individual crops; ii) managementintensity, measured as the anthropogenic energy required in the primary crop production. As a result weidentified 10 main crop systems further classified into 30‘crop-management systems’at a spatial resolution of 5arcminutes. The resulting maps show the spatial patterns of agricultural management intensity across Europe,both in absolute terms (total energy input per hectare) and relative to the dominant crop system in the spatialunit of analysis. The use of multiple intensity dimensions provides new, more detailed insights on agriculturalintensity by which areas that were previously classified as low-medium intensive - some permanent crops sys-tems or irrigated arable land - appear now as highly intensive. An expert-based evaluation was carried out on theintensity maps and corroborated the obtained results. The generated maps can be used to support decision-making in designing more targeted, context-specific agricultural and territorial policies. In particular,findingscan be relevant in the context of the Common Agricultural Policy post 2020 and the Biodiversity Strategytowards 2030, both of which will benefit from more detailed spatially explicit information to achieve their statedobjectives

Curriculum formativo del laureato specialista e mondo del lavoro: Indagine su infermieri e ostetriche dell'Universití Cattolica

La societí  oggi richiede ed esige professionisti della salute di sempre più ampia ed elevata taratura tali da riuscire a modulare le proprie competenze in base ai bisogni e alle necessití  del contesto.L'indagine di tipo trasversale (cross sectional) ha come obiettivo primario rilevare informazioni sullo stato occupazionale dei laureati specialisti, e come obiettivo secondario descrivere se e in che modo il percorso di studi ha influito, secondo le autovalutazioni degli intervistati, sulla qualití  e sui risultati del loro lavoro. Lo strumento adottato per la raccolta dei dati è un questionario costruito ad hoc.L'indagine è stata condotta da maggio ad agosto 2011 su tutti coloro che hanno conseguito la Laurea specialistica in Scienze infermieristiche e ostetriche presso l'UCSC (dall'a.a. 2004-05 al 2009-10). I risultati evidenziano che in 44 casi sui 111 considerati (40%) è avvenuto un cambiamento di posizione lavorativa dopo il conseguimento della Laurea specialistica e di questi il 68% (30/44) dichiara che il cambiamento è sicuramente legato al conseguimento del titolo accademico. Tutti gli intervistati dichiarano che il percorso di studi ha sicuramente contribuito a modificare alcuni comportamenti professionali: utilizzo di studi di ricerca (93%); risoluzione di problematiche lavorative (68%); maggiore facilití  a comunicare le ragioni che stanno alla base delle proprie scelte organizzative/assistenziali (70%); attenzione all'autoformazione (63%).Tuttavia, da un punto di vista di spendibilití  del titolo accademico, questi professionisti vengono quasi esclusivamente chiamati a esplicare ruoli dirigenziali, nonostante la forte connotazione disciplinare del percorso formativo attualmente posto in essere e che permetterebbe una crescita professionale anche nella Pratica Infermieristica Avanzata (APN).Parole chiave: laurea specialistica, realizzazione, successo lavorativo, valutazione competenze. Educational curriculum and occupational status of nurses and midwives after second level degree (MNsc) at Catholic University of RomeABSTRACTOur society requires health professionals of increasingly competence, able to modulate their skills according to the needs and the requirements of the context.   This survey (cross - sectional) has as primary aim to collect information on employment status of individuals who have a Master degree in Nursing and Midwifery, and as secondary objective to describe if and how the post graduation education has affected the quality and the outcomes of nursing work. A questionnaire devised for the purpose has been used.The survey was conducted from May to August 2011 on all individuals who have a Master in Nursing and Midwifery at the UCSC (from 2004-2005 to 2009-2010).Results show that in 44 cases out of 111 (= 40%) there was a change of employment status after obtaining the Master's Degree and of these 68% (30 out of 44) state that the change is definitely linked to the Post graduation education.All respondents state that the University curriculum has certainly helped to modify some professional behaviors: research utilization (93%), skills in problem solving at work (68%); greater ease to communicate the reasons underlying their organizational choices or decision making (70%); self-training abilities (63%). Within the Italian context, however it seems that those individuals are involved in a managerial progression of their career rather than in the core nursing activities despite the fact that educational programs have important subjects for Advanced Nursing Practice and Nursing Science.Key words: nursing education, master degree, working success, skill developmen

The Effectiveness of Coping Strategies in the Latent First Stage of Labour: A Systematic Review

The latent phase of labour is defined as a period of time marked by painful uterine contractions and variable changes of the cervix, including some degree of cervical effacement and a slow dilatation up to 5 cm [1]..

Uptake of Ecological Farming Practices by EU Farms: A Pan‐European Typology

Understanding and measuring the sustainability of farms is key to evaluating progress towards policy goals for a more sustainable agriculture. In the LIFT project, a farm typology was developed to classify farms according to their ecological performance, based on farm-level variables from the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN). Selected variables are used to assess three key ecological dimensions of farming: total input intensity; degree of circularity (reliance on own-produced versus external inputs); and avoidance of the use of specific inputs of concern for the environment and consumers. The combination of these aspects is considered as a measure of the farm proximity to a full agroecological approach. The typology allows comparison of farms across farm types, countries and years. We briefly present the method and discuss two key aspects: 1) how the proposed farm typology can inform policymaking in the context of a new EU policy framework; 2) how it can inform the foreseen transformation of the FADN into a Farm Sustainability Data Network (FSDN). We suggest that the use of a typology approach under the new FSDN provides useful information on the impacts of the implementation of agroecological practices with an acceptable additional effort in terms of data collection.</p

Agricultural biomass as provisioning ecosystem service: quantification of energy flows

Agro-ecosystems supply provisioning, regulating and cultural services to human society. This study focuses on the agro-ecosystem provisioning services regarding the production of agricultural biomass. These services strongly respond to the socio-economic demands of human beings, and are characterised by an injection of energy in the ecosystems production cycle which is often exceeding the ecological capacity of the ecosystem, i.e. the overall ability of the ecosystem to produce goods and services linked to its bio-physical structure and processes that take place during the agricultural production. Agricultural production is identified as ecosystem service in widely recognised ecosystem service frameworks, but currently there is no clear agreement within the scientific and policy communities on how the ecological-socio-economic flow linked to this provisioning service should be assessed, beyond a mere accounting of yields. This study attempts to provide a new insight to this issue by proposing an approach based on the energy budget, which takes into consideration the energy needed by the ecosystem to supply the service. The approach is based on the concepts of Energy Return on Investment (EROI) and Net Energy Balance (NEB), and considers different bio-physical structures and processes of agro-ecosystems. The work is structured in three parts: the first aims at estimating inputs (machinery, seeds, fertilizers, irrigation, labour) in energy terms; the second at estimating biomass output in energy terms; the third to compare actual agricultural production with three reference scenarios encompassing a range of human input (no input – low input – high input scenarios). Results show that in general terms cereal and grassland systems have the largest energy gains (both in terms of EROI and NEB). Such systems are characterised by a lower economic value of their output compared to other producing systems such as fruits, which have lower energy gains but a higher embodied energy, which is recognized in the market as valuable. Comparison of actual production systems with the high input scenario confirms that current production in Europe is already highly intensive, and that increasing the energy input would not improve the efficiency of the conversion of such additional energy into biomass. Overall, the proposed approach seems a useful tool to identify which are the factors in the agricultural production process that could be modified to improve the energy efficiency in agricultural systems and the sustainability of their production. This study can be considered as a first step in the assessment of the total energy balance of the agro-ecosystem. In fact it deals with the quantification of energy regarding human inputs and the corresponding output and further analysis should address crucial issues such as the quality of the energy and the embodied energy in the plant production, which will help to understand the full complexity of the agro-ecosystemJRC.H.4-Monitoring Agricultural Resource

A pan-European model of landscape potential to support natural pest control services

Pest control by natural enemies (natural pest control) is an important regulating ecosystem service with significant implications for the sustainability of agro-ecosystems. The presence of semi-natural habitats and landscape heterogeneity are key determinants of the delivery of this service. However, to date, synthetic and consistent indicators at large scales are lacking. We developed a pan-European, spatially-explicit model to map and assess the landscape potential to sustain natural pest control. The model considers landscape composition in terms of semi-natural habitats types, abundance, spatial configuration and distance from the focal field. It combines recent high-resolution geospatial layers with empirical results from extensive field surveys measuring the specific contribution of different semi-natural habitats to support insects flying enemies providing natural pest control. The resulting maps facilitate a comparison of the relative biological control potential of different areas and show that currently a large proportion of high-productive agricultural areas in Europe has low potential. The obtained indicator can inform the formulation of policies and planning strategies aimed at increasing biodiversity and ecosystem services and can be used to assess trade-offs between different services. Potential fields of application include the Common Agricultural Policy and the EU Biodiversity Strategy, in particular the implementation of Green Infrastructure