Evaluation, maintenance and improvement of biodiversity for environmental protection and crop nutritional properties

Biodiversity is expected to be an assurance for agroecosystem resilience because it seems fundamental to preserve basic ecosystem services (ES). To examine in depth these topics, the present research aims: a) to evaluate, in real farms, the environmental sustainability by measuring the efficiency of some key ES in agroecosystems with different management; b) to search for relationships among biodiversity groups and ES and c) to explore the existence of correlations between different bioindication methodologies. The basic hypothesis is that a high efficiency of the ES can improve the environmental sustainability of agroecosystems. ES were studied by using several bioindicators associated to the functional biodiversity, which guarantees these useful services to crops. The chosen bioindicators, representing the principal trophic levels, were appropriate tools to investigate the complexity of food web in the crop field. The chosen bioindicators providing basic ES were: 1. Earthworms, soil structure drivers, responsible for air and water circulation and drainage, for organic matter (OM) decomposition and for cast enriching activity; 2. Mesofauna (including mites and springtails), which comprises mainly detritivores and small preys and predators; 3. Soil bacteria and fungi, promoters of OM decomposition, nutrient cycles, soil enzymatic activities and improvement of soil-root-water relationships; 4. Key Predators (including carabids) and parasitoids, natural control agents for crop pest outbreaks; 5. Crop Weeds and field margin vegetation, important reporters of soil conditions, can act as shelters for overwintering, provide alternative food sources for useful fauna and can attract pollinators in the field area. The research was carried out during 2012-2013 in five organic-biodynamic and five conventional horticultural fields in the Venice and Treviso provinces. The methodologies adopted to sample biodiversity of these bioindicators were: 30x30x20cm soil core hand sorting with irritant mustard powder water suspension for earthworms; Berlese-Tullgren extractor for mesofauna; Automated Ribosomal Intergenic Spacer Analysis and 16S and ITS sequencing performed in a 454 system (Roche) for overall communities of soil bacteria and fungi, PCR and qRT-PCR with specific primers for Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF); Visual control on the aboveground part of crop for phytophagous agent and predator communities; Indoor breeding for parasitoid communities; Random nested data collection for weed communities. After sampling with the aim to know the biodiversity guilds, other innovative techniques were exploited to measure environmental quality. Regarding the component of soil mesofauna, the QBS-ar index was applied to assess the status of soil alteration but not performable by a taxonomically inexperienced operator. In order to analyse earthworms, the new QBS-e index based on earthworm ecological categories, similar to QBS-ar but easier to use also by non-experts, was successfully applied. To measure microbiological activity and biomass, soil respiration rate assay, Fluorescein Diacetate hydrolysis test, dsDNA quantification together with key soil enzymatic activities were carried out along with probes with Fertimeters , simple devices made of silk and cotton yarns working as reporters of organic matter degradation. In order to assess the natural pest control, besides the quantification of predator presence in the field, the parasitization and hyperparasitization percentages regarding one of the most problematic cabbage pest (Plutella xylostella) were calculated. To quantify the extent of pollinator and useful fauna attraction of weed communities, an Entomophily Index (E.I.) was adopted that takes into account the presence and abundance of insect-pollinated species. Some conclusive remarks were: 1.Taxa composition of a bioindicator group does not always change according to different agroecosystem managements. There seem to be more sensitive bioindicators to management practices, such as predators and parasitoids (belonging to higher trophic levels), than others, such as phytophagous agents and weeds. 2.Biodiversity, simply described with classical diversity indexes found in literature, seemed not to be associated to the ES efficiency, probably because the link has to be searched in the complexity of interactions among all biodiversity groups. 3.Agroecosystems managed in an organic-biodynamic way demonstrated to have more efficient ES (almost all among the ones measured) both in the aboveground and in the epigeal sectors and therefore this management system can be defined as more sustainable from environmental point of view. 4.Finally a great quantity of correlations emerged between all analysed indicators (biotic and functional): these could be very useful to better planning future programs of monitoring of agroecosystem condition

Analisi di settore: il magazzino popolare in una prospettiva europea

INDICE - Caratteristiche della formula - Evoluzione storica e ciclo di vita - I fattori ambientali che influenzano la struttura - I fattori interni - La crisi - La reazione alla crisi

Gastrointestinal helminths of Gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua) from Stranger Point, 25 de Mayo/King George Island, Antarctica

Fil: Díaz, Julia Inés. Centro de Estudios en Parasitología y Vectores (CEPAVE). Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Fusaro, Bruno. Centro de Estudios en Parasitología y Vectores (CEPAVE). Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Longarzo, Lucrecia. Centro de Estudios en Parasitología y Vectores (CEPAVE). Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Coria, Néstor Rubén. Departamento Biología de Predadores Tope. Instituto Antártico Argentino. DNA, Balcarce . Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Vidal, Virginia. Departamento de Sanidad Animal (Parasitología). Facultad de Veterinaria. Universidad de Murcia. Murcia; EspañaFil: Jerez, Silvia. Área de Toxicología. Facultad de Veterinaria. Universidad de Murcia. Murcia; EspañaFil: Ortiz, Juana. Departamento de Sanidad Animal (Parasitología). Facultad de Veterinaria. Universidad de Murcia. Murcia; EspañaFil: Barbosa, Andrés. Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC). Madrid; Españ

iDREAM: a multidisciplinary methodology and integrated toolset for flight vehicle engineering

Rapid prototyping of flight vehicle engineering needs the use of two key elements: the data from the different building blocks and the required engineering tools to design vital subsystems of the flight vehicle. Politecnico di Torino in the framework of the I-DREAM, a GSTP contract carried out under the supervision of the European Space Agency (ESA), has developed a unique multidisciplinary methodology and integrated toolset able to support the rapid prototyping of a wide range of aerospace vehicles. iDREAM allows complementing the conceptual design activities with the economic viability and technological sustainability assessments. In detail, the iDREAM methodology consists of four main modules that can be used in a stand-alone mode and in an integrated activity flow, exploiting the implemented automatic connections. The first module consists of a well-structured MySQL database developed to support all the other modules, thanks to a unified connection guaranteed by an ad-hoc developed Database Management Library managing the operations of data input and output from/to the database throughout the tool modules. The second module consists of a vehicle design routine and a mission design routine, supporting the design of a new vehicle and mission concept and assessing the main performance of an already existing configuration. The vehicle design routine is called ASTRID-H, and it is the latest version of an in-house conceptual design tool integrating capabilities ranging from high-speed aircraft to lunar-landers design. The vehicle design routine automatically interfaces with ASTOS, a commercial software environment used for mission analysis optimization. Automatic interactions between the two routines inside the module have been ad-hoc developed and tested to guarantee good accuracy of the results. The third module consists of the economic viability module. Once the design is defined, it is possible to run a subsystem-level cost estimation. Using the subsystems’ masses estimated in the design routine, the parametric cost model provides useful insights on the potential development, manufacturing, and operating costs, as well as the cost and price per flight. Eventually, the developed methodology gives the possibility to generate a technology roadmap (fourth module). Supported by a database connection, the tool estimates each technology readiness and risk assessment, along with an indication of the necessary activities, missions, and future works. This paper describes the methodology and the integrated toolset in flight vehicle engineering of Microlaunchers. Eventually, the Electron mission would be used as a benchmark and validation study to showcase the tool’s results and accuracy for preliminary design studies

Human lunar lander system design, cost estimation and technology roadmaps

This paper describes the methodology developed at Politecnico di Torino to support the European Space Agency in the Human Lunar Landing System design activity and to complement the traditional conceptual design with a multidisciplinary set of analyses which includes a thorough assessment of the economic and technological viability of the solution. The paper briefly describes the logic laying behind each of these analyses and it shows the results of the validation of the integrated design methodology, called iDREAM, with an already existing case study, the Exploration Systems Architecture Study-Lunar Surface Access Module spacecraft (ESAS-LSAM). The results are satisfactory and reveals errors lower than 10% in average, perfectly in line with the expectations of a conceptual design phase

Spiropyran-based reversible, light-modulated sensing with reduced photofatigue

Switchable materials have tremendous potential for application in sensor development that could be applied to many fields. We are focusing on emerging area of wireless sensor networks due to the potential impact of this concept in society. Spiropyran-based sensors are probably the most studied type of photoswitchable sensing devices. They suffer from many issues but photofatigue, insufficient selectivity and lack of sensitivity are probably the most important characteristics that hinder their wider application. Here, we are address these issues and demonstrate that covalent attachment of modified spiropyran into a polymeric film significantly reduces photodegradation. The observed signal loss after 12th cycle of switching between the spiropyran and merocyanine forms is only about 27% compared to the loss of 57% of the initial signal in an equivalent experiment based on non-immobilized spiropyran. This has enabled us to demonstrate at least five reversible cycles of detection of an ion of interest (in our case H+) with minimal signal loss. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the sensitivity can be increased by incorporation of additional binding groups in the parent spiropyran molecule. Using molecular modelling to calculate the relevant bond lengths as a measure of interaction between MC and H+, the calculated increase of H-bond strength is approximately an order of magnitude for a derivative containing a methoxy group incorporated in the o-position of the parent spiropyran in comparison to the equivalent unsubstituted phenol. This theoretical result was found to correspond very well with experimental observation. As a result, we have increased the sensitivity to H+ by approximately one order of magnitude

PERSONAS EN ACUSA [Material gráfico]

Copia digital. Madrid : Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte, 201

Covid-19 And Rheumatic Autoimmune Systemic Diseases: Role of Pre-Existing Lung Involvement and Ongoing Treatments

The Covid-19 pandemic may have a deleterious impact on patients with autoimmune systemic diseases (ASD) due to their deep immune-system alterations