Effects of long term application of compost and poultry manure on soil quality of citrus orchards in Southern Italy.

A six-year study was carried out in an organically managed orange orchard located in Sicily (Southern Italy) to assess the effect of compost and organic fertilizers utilisation on soil quality. Adopting a randomized-block experimental design with three replicates, four treatments were carried out. In treatments 1 and 2, two different composts (C1 from distillery by products and C2 from livestock wastes) were applied. The plots of treatment 3 were fertilized using dried poultry manure. The control treatment was fertilized with mineral/synthetic fertilizers. In order to verify the hypothesis that composts and organic fertilizers improve soil fertility, soil quality was evaluated by selecting dynamic soil parameters, as indicators linked to C and N cycles. Total organic C, total N, C/N ratio, humified fraction, isoelectric focusing (IEF) of extracted organic matter, microbial biomass C, potentially mineralisable N under anaerobic conditions, potenzially mineralizable C, C mineralization quotient and metabolic quotient were determined for each sample. Furthermore, the Comunity level Physiological Profile (by Biolog tecnique) was defined, calculating derived functional biodiversity and versatility indexes. Parameters related to IEF and potentially mineralizable C showed significant differences among the treatments. Moreover, total C, total N and humification parameters tended to increase, while no differences were observed in biodiversity indexes. On these findings, it was concluded that composts and poultry manure only weakly affected soil properties, though they increased soil nutritive elements potentially available to crops

Towards the Definition of a Comprehensive Walkability Index for Historical Centres

Historical centres are crucial areas where urban and transport planners should aim at enhancing adequate walkability conditions. This should be considered a priority in order to allow all users, including the most vulnerable ones, to access the activities they wish to engage in. Based on this premises, the paper aims at defining a methodological approach to comprehensively assess the existing pedestrian network infrastructure within historical centres, considering safety, comfort and enjoyment factors of the walking experience. In-field inspections have been carried out for the main pedestrian paths and crossings within the historical centre of Parma and data have been georeferenced in a GIS database. The indicators considered in the walkability analysis are: sidewalks width, change of levels, bottlenecks, coloured ground signs, protection level, presence of seats, maintenance level and presence of tactile flooring. A comprehensive walkability index has been developed to assess the quality of each pedestrian link and crossing. The results have been represented in GIS-based thematic maps, that can support local authorities in defining priorities of intervention

A sprayed graphene transistor platform for rapid and low-cost chemical sensing

We demonstrate a novel and versatile sensing platform, based on electrolyte-gated graphene field-effect transistors, for easy, low-cost and scalable production of chemical sensor test strips. The Lab-on-PCB platform is enabled by low-boiling, low-surface-tension sprayable graphene ink deposited on a substrate manufactured using a commercial printed circuit board process. We demonstrate the versatility of the platform by sensing pH and Na+ concentrations in an aqueous solution, achieving a sensitivity of 143 ± 4 μA per pH and 131 ± 5 μA per log10Na+, respectively, in line with state-of-the-art graphene chemical sensing performance

Effect of raloxifene on IGF-I and IGFBP-3 in postmenopausal women with breast cancer

The effect on the IGF system of 60 mg and 600 mg daily of raloxifene administered for 2 weeks prior to surgery was investigated in 37 postmenopausal women with breast cancer. Raloxifene significantly decreased insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I) as compared to placebo (P < 0.05) with no dose–response relationship. No significant change was observed in IGFBP-3, while the IGF-I/IGFBP-3 molar ratio was decreased by treatment, with a statistically significant effect only for the higher dose. Given that high plasma levels of IGF-I have been suggested as a risk factor for breast cancer, these findings provide further support for the potential activity of raloxifene in breast cancer prevention. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign http://www.bjcancer.co