Innovative passive reinforcements for the gradual stabilization of a landslide according with the observational method

A large number of landslides occur in North-Eastern Italy during every rainy period due to the particular hydrogeological conditions of this area. Even if there are no casualties, the economic losses are often significant, and municipalities frequently do not have sufficient financial resources to repair the damage and stabilize all the unstable slopes. In this regard, the research for more economically sustainable solutions is a crucial challenge. Floating composite anchors are an innovative and low-cost technique set up for slope stabilization: it consists in the use of passive sub-horizontal reinforcements, obtained by coupling a traditional self-drilling bar with some tendons cemented inside it. This work concerns the application of this technique according to the observational method described within the Italian and European technical codes and mainly recommended for the design of geotechnical works, especially when performed in highly uncertain site conditions. The observational method prescribes designing an intervention and, at the same time, using a monitoring system in order to correct and adapt the project during realization of the works on the basis of new data acquired while on site. The case study is the landslide of Cischele, a medium landslide which occurred in 2010 after an exceptional heavy rainy period. In 2015, some floating composite anchors were installed to slow down the movement, even if, due to a limited budget, they were not enough to ensure the complete stabilization of the slope. Thanks to a monitoring system installed in the meantime, it is now possible to have a comparison between the site conditions before and after the intervention. This allows the evaluation of benefits achieved with the reinforcements and, at the same time, the assessment of additional improvements. Two stabilization scenarios are studied through an FE model: the first includes the stabilization system built in 2015, while the second evaluates a new solution proposed to further increase the slope stability

Cost-effective systems for seedling production and tree farm establishment

Experiences from the ACIAR Smallholder Forestry Project reveal that production and use of high quality seedlings is a critical consideration for successful tree farming and reforestation activity, considering that most reforestation activities have been largely dependent on nursery-produced seedlings. While the use of polyethylene bags has been the traditional technique in raising seedlings, the planting stock produced often have a deformed or J-shape taproot and may develop to mature trees with poor anchorage in the field. The research project introduced the use of hiko tray as potting containers in seedling production as a way of resolving the problem of J-rooting and producing higher quality seedlings. A economic analysis was conducted to determine the comparative advantage and feasibility of the polybag and hiko tray techniques, with a view of promoting the adoption of the hiko technique among tree farmers, especially the smallholders. Results of the study revealed that the hiko tray technique is superior to the traditional polybag technique in terms of labour efficiency and cost in the nursery and field establishment, aside from the fact that higher quality seedlings are produced which provide the tree farmer with a higher level of assurance of timber harvest and cash income from forestry

Fair graph representation learning: Empowering NIFTY via Biased Edge Dropout and Fair Attribute Preprocessing

The increasing complexity and amount of data available in modern applications strongly demand Trustworthy Learning algorithms that can be fed directly with complex and large graphs data. In fact, on one hand, machine learning models must meet high technical standards (e.g., high accuracy with limited computational requirements), but, at the same time, they must be sure not to discriminate against subgroups of the population (e.g., based on gender or ethnicity). Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) are currently the most effective solution to meet the technical requirements, even if it has been demonstrated that they inherit and amplify the biases contained in the data as a reflection of societal inequities. In fact, when dealing with graph data, these biases can be hidden not only in the node attributes but also in the connections between entities. Several Fair GNNs have been proposed in the literature, with uNIfying Fairness and stabiliTY (NIFTY) (Agarwal et al., 2021) being one of the most effective. In this paper, we will empower NIFTY's fairness with two new strategies. The first one is a Biased Edge Dropout, namely, we drop graph edges to balance homophilous and heterophilous sensitive connections, mitigating the bias induced by subgroup node cardinality. The second one is Attributes Preprocessing, which is the process of learning a fair transformation of the original node attributes. The effectiveness of our proposal will be tested on a series of datasets with increasingly challenging scenarios. These scenarios will deal with different levels of knowledge about the entire graph, i.e., how many portions of the graph are known and which sub-portion is labelled at the training and forward phases

Nursery management in relation to root deformation, sowing and shading

The polybag is widely used for seedling production in the Philippines. Seedlings commonly have root deformation which has adverse effects as they grow and develop into mature trees. This study assessed the influence of potting technique and hardening intensity on the growth performance of seedlings in nursery and field conditions. Seedlings of bagras (Eucalyptus deglupta) and mangium (Acacia mangium) were grown in hiko trays and 4" x 6" polybags at the College of Forestry nursery, Leyte State University (LSU). Kalumpit (Terminalia microcarpa) and pellita (Eucalyptus pellita) were used for a trial in the Conalum Agroforestry Farmers Association (CAFA) nursery in Inopacan, Leyte, aimed at validating LSU results and at the same time evaluating farmers' perceptions on the use of hiko trays and polybags in seedling production. It was found that seedlings of bagras, mangium, kalumpit and pellita grown in hiko trays have smaller diameter and height compared with those in polybags at 12 weeks. Root deformation of seedlings was absent in hiko trays but high with seedlings in polybags. As perceived by both farmers and ACIAR researchers, hiko tray seedlings are of high quality exhibiting sturdy shoot, trained roots and homogenous growth

Nursery management in relation to root deformation, sowing and shading

The polybag is widely used for seedling production in the Philippines. Seedlings commonly have root deformation which has adverse effects as they grow and develop into mature trees. This study assessed the influence of potting technique and hardening intensity on the growth performance of seedlings in nursery and field conditions. Seedlings of bagras (Eucalyptus deglupta) and mangium (Acacia mangium) were grown in hiko trays and 4' x 6' (approximately 10 cm x 15 cm) polybags at the College of Forestry Nursery, Leyte State University (LSU). Kalumpit (Terminalia microcarpa) and pellita (Eucalyptus pellita) were used for a trial in the Conalum Agroforestry Farmers Association (CAFA) Nursery in Inopacan, Leyte, aimed at validating LSU results and at the same time evaluating farmers' perceptions on the use of hiko trays and polybags in seedling production. It was found that seedlings of bagras, mangium, kalumpit and pellita grown in hiko trays have smaller diameter and height compared with those in polybags at 12 weeks. Root deformation of seedlings was absent in hiko trays but high with seedlings in polybags. As perceived by both farmers and ACIAR researchers, hiko tray seedlings are of high quality exhibiting sturdy shoot, trained roots and homogenous growth

Advanced Mass Spectrometric Methods for the Rapid and Quantitative Characterization of Proteomes

Progress is reviewed towards the development of a global strategy that aims to extend the sensitivity, dynamic range, comprehensiveness and throughput of proteomic measurements based upon the use of high performance separations and mass spectrometry. The approach uses high accuracy mass measurements from Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR) to validate peptide ‘accurate mass tags’ (AMTs) produced by global protein enzymatic digestions for a specific organism, tissue or cell type from ‘potential mass tags’ tentatively identified using conventional tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). This provides the basis for subsequent measurements without the need for MS/ MS. High resolution capillary liquid chromatography separations combined with high sensitivity, and high resolution accurate FTICR measurements are shown to be capable of characterizing peptide mixtures of more than 105 components. The strategy has been initially demonstrated using the microorganisms Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Deinococcus radiodurans. Advantages of the approach include the high confidence of protein identification, its broad proteome coverage, high sensitivity, and the capability for stableisotope labeling methods for precise relative protein abundance measurements

Spin Transfer from a Ferromagnet into a Semiconductor through an Oxide barrier

We present results on the magnetoresistance of the system Ni/Al203/n-doped Si/Al2O3/Ni in fabricated nanostructures. The results at temperature of 14K reveal a 75% magnetoresistance that decreases in value up to approximately 30K where the effect disappears. We observe minimum resistance in the antiparallel configurations of the source and drain of Ni. As a possibility, it seems to indicate the existence of a magnetic state at the Si/oxide interface. The average spin diffusion length obtained is of 650 nm approximately. Results are compared to the window of resistances that seems to exist between the tunnel barrier resistance and two threshold resistances but the spin transfer seems to work in the range and outside the two thresholds

A pereira cv. Williams ou Bartlett.

A pereira cv. Williams, também conhecida como "Bartlett" ou "Williams Bon Chrétien", é descrita nesse artigo quanto a sua origem, adaptação climática, botânica e características agronômicas. Também são apresentados os principais aspectos morfológicos, fisiológicos e de resistência a doenças da planta, uso de porta-enxertos e plantas polinizadoras. Palavras chave: Pyrus communis, origem, características, resistência a doenças, porta-enxertos, colheita e armazenagem de frutos. The pear cv. Williams or Bartlett The pear cv. Williams, also known as ‘Bartlett’ or ‘Williams’ Bon Chrétien’, is described in this article concerning to its origin, climate adaptation, botanical and agronomic characteristics. It also presents the main morphological, physiological disease resistance of the plants, the use of rootstocks and plants pollinators. Index terms: Pyrus communis, origin, characteristics, diseases resistance, rootstocks, harvest and storage of fruits

Functional diversification of maize RNA polymerase IV and V subtypes via alternative catalytic subunits.

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