Spatial Effects of NAO on Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies in Italy

The NAO teleconnective pattern has a great influence on the European climate; however, the exact quantification of NAO pattern in the different areas is sometimes lacking, and at other times, highlights even large differences between the various studies. This motivation led to the identification of the aim of this research in the study of the relationship between the NAO index and temperature and precipitation anomalies over the period 1991-2020, through the analysis of 87 rain gauges and 86 thermometric stations distributed as homogeneously as possible over the Italian territory. The results were sometimes at odds with the scientific literature on the subject, as significance was also found outside the winter season, e.g., in the spring for temperatures and in the autumn for precipitation, and in some cases, correlations were found, especially in August, even in southern Italy, which is usually considered a poorly correlated area. In addition, the linear relationship between the NAO index and temperature and precipitation anomalies was verified, with many weather stations obtaining significant coefficients of determinations as high as 0.5-0.6 in December, with 29 degrees of freedom, and a p-value set at 95%. Finally, for both climatic parameters, the presence of clusters and outliers at seasonal and monthly levels was assessed, obtaining a spatial distribution using the local Moran index, and summarising them in maps. This analysis highlighted important clusters in Northern and Central Italy, while clusters in the summer months occur in the South. These results provide information that may further elucidate local atmospheric dynamics in relation to NAO phases, as well as encourage future studies that may link other teleconnective indices aimed at better explaining the variance of climate parameters

GGE Biplot Analysis of Forage Yield Performance and Stability Assessment of Tall Fescue Experimental Populations Selected Under Grazing Pressure in a Stress Environment

Integrating the yield and stability of genotypes selected under grazing pressure is an important objective in breeding forage crops. Genotype × environment (G x E) interaction is a major source of inconsistency in crop performance across locations. As a result, a genotype is considered stable if it has a low contribution to the G x E interaction. This study explores the effects of G x E interaction on yield and stability of 10 tall fescue experimental populations selected for persistence under grazing pressure outside the area of adaptation of the species (stress environment). Six standard checks were included. The populations were tested in a randomized complete block design with 5 replications in 9 environments. The pooled analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed highly significant (p \u3c 0.01) variations between populations, locations, years, and G × E interaction. The first two principal components generated by the GGE biplot accounted for 46.78% and 28.45% variation in GGE for yield. The locations (Athens and Blairsville) were found to be the most significant causes of yield variation. The GGE biplot revealed three winning populations GALA1301 (ga1), GALA1302 (ga2), and GALA1306 (ga6) in terms of yield across environments. These populations performed better than all the checks. GALA1502T (g2t) was the most stable and GALA1502A(g2a), GALA1301(ga1), and GALA1303(ga3) are both comparatively stable and high yield performers. Comparison of the two populations g2t and g2a that were selected from the same base population but in different environments (g2t selected for persistence at Tifton under grazing pressure and g2a selected for yield without grazing in Athens) showed that g2t was the most stable across environments but lower in yield than g2a. Our results suggest that selection under grazing pressure in stress environments could result in improved stability across environments while yield performance will still depend on the genetic background of the germplasm

Analysis of Snow Cover in the Sibillini Mountains in Central Italy

Research on solid precipitation and snow cover, especially in mountainous areas, suffers from problems related to the lack of on-site observations and the low reliability of measurements, which is often due to instruments that are not suitable for the environmental conditions. In this context, the study area is the Monti Sibillini National Park, and it is no exception, as it is a mountainous area located in central Italy, where the measurements are scarce and fragmented. The purpose of this research is to provide a characterization of the snow cover with regard to maximum annual snow depth, average snow depth during the snowy period, and days with snow cover on the ground in the Monti Sibillini National Park area, by means of ground weather stations, and also analyzing any trends over the last 30 years. For this research, in order to obtain reliable snow cover data, only data from weather stations equipped with a sonar system and manual weather stations, where the surveyor goes to the site each morning and checks the thickness of the snowpack and records, it were collected. The data were collected from 1 November to 30 April each year for 30 years, from 1991 to 2020; six weather stations were taken into account, while four more were added as of 1 January 2010. The longer period was used to assess possible ongoing trends, which proved to be very heterogeneous in the results, predominantly negative in the case of days with snow cover on the ground, while trends were predominantly positive for maximum annual snow depth and distributed between positive and negative for the average annual snow depth. The shorter period, 2010–2022, on the other hand, ensured the presence of a larger number of weather stations and was used to assess the correlation and presence of clusters between the various weather stations and, consequently, in the study area. Furthermore, in this way, an up-to-date nivometric classification of the study area was obtained (in terms of days with snow on the ground, maximum height of snowpack, and average height of snowpack), filling a gap where there had been no nivometric study in the aforementioned area. The interpolations were processed using geostatistical techniques such as co-kriging with altitude as an independent variable, allowing fairly precise spatialization, analyzing the results of cross-validation. This analysis could be a useful tool for hydrological modeling of the area, as well as having a clear use related to tourism and vegetation, which is extremely influenced by the nivometric variables in its phenology. In addition, this analysis could also be considered a starting point for the calibration of more recent satellite products dedicated to snow cover detection, in order to further improve the compiled climate characterizatio

Seascape connectivity of European anchovy in the Central Mediterranean Sea revealed by weighted Lagrangian backtracking and bio-energetic modelling

Ecological connectivity is one of the most important processes that shape marine populations and ecosystems, determining their distribution, persistence, and productivity. Here we use the synergy of Lagrangian back-trajectories, otolith-derived ages of larvae, and satellite-based chlorophyll-a to identify spawning areas of European anchovy from ichthyoplanktonic data, collected in the Strait of Sicily (Central Mediterranean Sea), i.e., the crucial channel in between the European and African continents. We obtain new evidence of ecosystem connectivity between North Africa and recruitment regions off the southern European coasts. We assess this result by using bio-energetic modeling, which predicts species-specific responses to environmental changes by producing quantitative information on functional traits. Our work gives support to a collaborative and harmonized use of Geographical Sub-Areas, currently identified by the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean. It also confirms the need to incorporate climate and environmental variability effects into future marine resources management plans, strategies, and directives

Improved isolation of cadmium from paddy soil by novel technology based on pore water drainage with graphite-contained electro-kinetic geosynthetics

Novel soil remediation equipment based on electro-kinetic geosynthetics (EKG) was developed for in situ isolation of metals from paddy soil. Two mutually independent field plot experiments A and B (with and without electric current applied) were conducted. After saturation using ferric chloride (FeCl3) and calcium chloride (CaCl2), soil water drainage capacity, soil cadmium (Cd) removal performance, energy consumption as well as soil residual of iron (Fe) and chloride (Cl) were assessed. Cadmium dissolved in the soil matrix and resulted in a 100% increase of diethylenetriamine-pentaacetic acid (DTPA) extracted phyto-available Cd. The total soil Cd content reductions were 15.20% and 26.58% for groups A and B, respectively, and electric field applications resulted in a 74.87% increase of soil total Cd removal. The electric energy consumption was only 2.17 kWh/m3 for group B. Drainage by gravity contributed to > 90% of the overall soil dewatering capacity. Compared to conventional electro-kinetic technology, excellent and fast soil water drainage resulted in negligible hydrogen ion (H+) and hydroxide ion (OH−) accumulation at nearby electrode zones, which addressed the challenge of anode corrosion and cathode precipitation of soil metals. External addition of FeCl3 and CaCl2 caused soil Fe and Cl residuals and led to 4.33–7.59% and 139–172% acceptable augments in soil total Fe and Cl content, correspondingly, if compared to original untreated soils. Therefore, the novel soil remediation equipment developed based on EKG can be regarded as a promising new in situ technology for thoroughly isolating metals from large-scale paddy soil fields

An Estimate of the Incidence of Prostate Cancer in Africa: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Prostate cancer (PCa) is rated the second most common cancer and sixth leading cause of cancer deaths among men globally. Reports show that African men suffer disproportionately from PCa compared to men from other parts of the world. It is still quite difficult to accurately describe the burden of PCa in Africa due to poor cancer registration systems.We systematically reviewed the literature on prostate cancer in Africa and provided a continentwide incidence rate of PCa based on available data in the regio

Biomass production of herbaceous energy crops in the United States: field trial results and yield potential maps from the multiyear regional feedstock partnership

Current knowledge of yield potential and best agronomic management practices for perennial bioenergy grasses is primarily derived from small-scale and short-term studies, yet these studies inform policy at the national scale. In an effort to learn more about how bioenergy grasses perform across multiple locations and years, the U.S. Department of Energy (US DOE)/Sun Grant Initiative Regional Feedstock Partnership was initiated in 2008. The objectives of the Feedstock Partnership were to (1) provide a wide range of information for feedstock selection (species choice) and management practice options for a variety of regions and (2) develop national maps of potential feedstock yield for each of the herbaceous species evaluated. The Feedstock Partnership expands our previous understanding of the bioenergy potential of switchgrass, Miscanthus, sorghum, energycane, and prairie mixtures on Conservation Reserve Program land by conducting long-term, replicated trials of each species at diverse environments in the U.S. Trials were initiated between 2008 and 2010 and completed between 2012 and 2015 depending on species. Field-scale plots were utilized for switchgrass and Conservation Reserve Program trials to use traditional agricultural machinery. This is important as we know that the smaller scale studies often overestimated yield potential of some of these species. Insufficient vegetative propagules of energycane and Miscanthus prohibited farm-scale trials of these species. The Feedstock Partnership studies also confirmed that environmental differences across years and across sites had a large impact on biomass production. Nitrogen application had variable effects across feedstocks, but some nitrogen fertilizer generally had a positive effect. National yield potential maps were developed using PRISM-ELM for each species in the Feedstock Partnership. This manuscript, with the accompanying supplemental data, will be useful in making decisions about feedstock selection as well as agronomic practices across a wide region of the country

Vertical Heterophoria and Postural Control in Nonspecific Chronic Low Back Pain

The purpose of this study was to test postural control during quiet standing in nonspecific chronic low back pain (LBP) subjects with vertical heterophoria (VH) before and after cancellation of VH; also to compare with healthy subjects with, and without VH. Fourteen subjects with LBP took part in this study. The postural performance was measured through the center of pressure displacements with a force platform while the subjects fixated on a target placed at either 40 or 200 cm, before and after VH cancellation with an appropriate prism. Their postural performance was compared to that of 14 healthy subjects with VH and 12 without VH (i.e. vertical orthophoria) studied previously in similar conditions. For LBP subjects, cancellation of VH with a prism improved postural performance. With respect to control subjects (with or without VH), the variance of speed of the center of pressure was higher, suggesting more energy was needed to stabilize their posture in quiet upright stance. Similarly to controls, LBP subjects showed higher postural sway when they were looking at a target at a far distance than at a close distance. The most important finding is that LBP subjects with VH can improve their performance after prism-cancellation of their VH. We suggest that VH reflects mild conflict between sensory and motor inputs involved in postural control i.e. a non optimal integration of the various signals. This could affect the performance of postural control and perhaps lead to pain. Nonspecific chronic back pain may results from such prolonged conflict