External Benefits of Irrigation in Mountain Areas: Stakeholder Perceptions and Water Policy Implications

Irrigation contributes to land and ecosystem degradation, especially in intensive farming areas. However, in marginal areas, long-established irrigation systems also supply agroecosystem services. This study aimed to identify and prioritize the external benefits provided by irrigation in extensive grazing farms in an Italian alpine region (Aosta Valley, NW Italy). Three local stakeholder groups (land irrigation consortia members, non-farmer users of the irrigation water service, and non-user citizens) engaged in focus group discussions. The transcriptions were analyzed with an integrated subjective and computer-assisted approach. The main result of the study showed that a convergence of stakeholder opinions led to prioritization of the same four benefits, i.e., hydro-geological and land maintenance, traditional agricultural landscape conservation, biodiversity conservation, and leisure recreational activities provision. Incorporating this information into decision-making processes is relevant in marginal mountain areas, especially in light of the implementation of the water pricing policy laid down in the EU Water Framework Directive. To this end, the economic value of the external benefits should be considered along with the recovery costs for water services. Such information is essential to balance the environmental costs of irrigation and to compare the resource cost of alternative water uses

An easy mixed-method analysis tool to support rural development strategy decision-making for beekeeping

The EU has long-recognised the functions and contributions of beekeeping in sustainable rural area development. In 2018, the EU adopted the Pollinator Initiative to strengthen its pollinator conservation policies. To support the design of effective rural development actions, this work describes and tests an easy-to-apply, mixed-method tool for use with SWOT analysis. A two-step methodology was trialled with beekeepers in Piedmont Region (NW Italy). In step one, two independent groups of beekeepers operating in separate protected and intensive agricultural areas completed a SWOT matrix. In step two, three expert panels (beekeeper association leaders, honey market organisation leaders, and entomologists) prioritised the effects of the SWOT items with a quantitative weighting and rating process. Results suggest that the sector needs better-targeted incentives and that ‘soft’ policies on extension, advisory, and institutional measures could play a relevant role. The method was also confirmed as suitable for use with non-expert evaluators, such as policy officers and practitioners

What drives farm structural change? An analysis of economic, demographic and succession factors

The evolution of farm size and land use are important determinants of the efficiency and profitability of agriculture and the configuration of the territory. In this paper, a conceptual framework of the evolution of the number of farms and land use is presented, arguing that a major determinant of the change in the number of farms is the presence or absence of successors to ageing farmers and that these socio-demographic variables shape the evolution of the sector in terms of farm size, while they do not significantly affect the changes in the farmed area. This hypothesis was empirically tested with data drawn from individual farm records of the Italian Agricultural Censuses of 2000 and 2010—aggregated at the municipality level for an Italian region—by estimating regressions on the decrease rates of the number of farms, the utilised agricultural area and the total agricultural area. The results support the conclusion that the change in the number of farms was largely determined by the absence of successors in family farms and by the average operators’ age, unlike the change in the farmed area, for which natural land conditions were the main drivers

Profiting from enabling technologies?

How to profit from innovation has been an important question for both innovation scholars and practitioners over the years. It is certainly a relevant question for all types of technological innovation, including emerging ones. Teece's (1986) profiting from innovation (PFI) framework sets forth a theory of the relevant contingencies. However, Teece's framework focuses on technologies with applications in specific domains. We focus on the question of how to profit from enabling technologies: technologies that are applicable across multiple domains. We argue that capturing value in such circumstances is fundamentally different from profiting from less-enabling technologies and raises new issues with respect to the relevant business models and public policies. This paper's contribution is threefold. It formally revises and extends the original PFI framework to include the case of enabling technologies; it provides empirical evidence to support the distinction between profiting from enabling as compared to profiting from narrower "discrete" technologies; and it generates perspectives on the appropriate business models for these technologies and discusses related public-policy implications, in light of the fact that the share of the benefits the innovator can capture is likely to be even smaller for enabling than for discrete technologies

BIOMASS EXPLOITATION FOR ENERGY SUPPLY AND QUALITY COMPOST PRODUCTION. AN EXEMPLARY CASE OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN THE NORTH EAST OF ITALY

The goal 12 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development takes into consideration the responsible consumption and production in the perspective of circular economy. The agri-food sector is more actively involved in these initiatives, because it offers the possibility to exploit waste and by-products, by adopting suitable biotechnologies. Such processes can be carried out either under aerobic conditions, for the production of compost, or anaerobically, for the production of biogas. In this work the case of a plant managed by Desag Ecologia, located in the municipality of Sedegliano, in the North-East of Italy, is presented. The plant started up in June 2016. Its main activity consists in exploitation of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste and urban forestry green waste coming from separate waste collection. The basin of provenance of collected materials consists not only of the province of Udine, but also of other areas of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region and other northern Italian regions. The plant ensures the production of both biogas (used in a cogeneration installation for producing electricity and heat) and quality compost, which can be used in agriculture, after submission to physico-chemical analyses to verify the end-of-waste status. In this way, the reduction of waste disposal in landfill is ensured. Thermal energy is partially recovered for the production of hot water to heat the anaerobic digester, the leachate collection tank and the plant rooms. Approximately 10% of electricity is self-consumed for the needs of the anaerobic facility, the remaining amount is fed straight into the public electricity network

Safety of polymyxin-B-based hemoperfusion in kidney and liver transplant recipients.

Abstract Infection represents one of the primary barriers to successful organ transplantation. Our principal end point was to use a new assay, Entotoxin Activity Assay (EAA), which was developed to rapidly detect endotoxin activity (EA) for an early diagnosis of this complication. We also sought to prove the validity and safety of endotoxin removal using polymyxin-B–based hemoperfusion (PMX-DHP). The criterion for inclusion in the study was suspected infection when a patient experienced at least 2 of the 4 criteria of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome. EAA was performed on 71 patients: 29 liver transplantations and 42 kidney transplantations. Twenty-eight patients (39.5%) with EA >0.60 underwent PMX-DHP treatment to remove endotoxins. Each treatment was performed for 2 hours with a blood flow of 100 mL/min. All of the patients were treated with PMX-DHP until achieving an E

The Glycolytic Pathway as a Target for Novel Onco-Immunology Therapies in Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is one of the most lethal forms of human cancer, characterized by unrestrained progression, invasiveness and treatment resistance. To date, there are limited curative options, with surgical resection as the only effective strategy, hence the urgent need to discover novel therapies. A platform of onco-immunology targets is represented by molecules that play a role in the reprogrammed cellular metabolism as one hallmark of cancer. Due to the hypoxic tumor microenvironment (TME), PDA cells display an altered glucose metabolism—resulting in its increased uptake—and a higher glycolytic rate, which leads to lactate accumulation and them acting as fuel for cancer cells. The consequent acidification of the TME results in immunosuppression, which impairs the antitumor immunity. This review analyzes the genetic background and the emerging glycolytic enzymes that are involved in tumor progression, development and metastasis, and how this represents feasible therapeutic targets to counteract PDA. In particular, as the overexpressed or mutated glycolytic enzymes stimulate both humoral and cellular immune responses, we will discuss their possible exploitation as immunological targets in anti-PDA therapeutic strategies

AUTHENTICATION OF WILD AND REARED SEA BASS BY INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY NIRs (NEAR INFRARED REFLECTANCE SPECTROSCOPY)

The aim of this study was to evaluate NIRs (Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy) performances in the prediction of Farmed vs.Wild production method in European sea bass. Samples collected (n=39) were submitted to analysis in order to assess chemical composition and fatty acids profile of fillets. Aliquots of wet and ground freeze-dried minced samples were scanned in duplicates (1100 to 2498 nm; 2 nm intervals) in reflectance mode using a monochromator NIRsystem 5000. NIRs technique showed a satisfactory accurateness in predicting Protein, Lipids and Fatty acids profile in raw samples. Sample lyophilisation increased some predicting values (r2: coefficient of determination on cross-validation range from 0,671 to 0,992; SECV: standard error of cross-validation range from 0,864 to 2,981). Results showed that NIRs technique was able to discriminate between Wild (94,7% samples recognized) and Farmed (100% samples recognized) using wet muscles, and 100% for both classes on ground freeze-dried fillet

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