Income levels and farm economic viability in Italian farms: An analysis of FADN data

In the European Union legislative proposals for the next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) the income support remains an essential part of the CAP. This paper analyses agricultural income levels, the role of EU aids in ensuring fair levels of income and how different socio-economic and structural characteristics affect farms' economic viability. Italian Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) data have been processed and economic viability has been assessed by comparing Farm Net Income to a reference income and by estimating a profitability index to check whether the agricultural activities remunerate factors owned by the farmer and his/her family. After an explorative analysis, two multinomial logit models have been estimated to evaluate how structural and socio-economic characteristics affect the likelihood of a farm to be viable with and without EU aids. Both structural farm characteristics and farmer's production strategies explain the likelihood of a farm to be viable in the short and in the medium-long term. Farms are more likely to be viable as the size increases and the higher the capital intensity, while viability likelihood decreases with the farmer's age, when the holder is a woman, and the farm is localized in Southern Italy. CAP payments do not modify the factors that affect farm viability but can change their weight

Domestic food waste and covid-19 concern: An application of the theory of planned behaviour

The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic rapidly and dramatically disrupted household behaviours in almost all areas and, among these, eating behaviours and daily food patterns have also been radically altered. All reported changes have potential effects in terms of food waste, which is a global problem that mainly occurs at household level. Many scholars attempted to understand the antecedents of food waste in the framework of Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). In this paper we follow this strain of research by focussing on two different behaviours, suggested by the Waste Framework Directive of the EU, namely (a) reducing servings and (b) using leftovers, which may be predicted by the intention to reduce food waste. An online questionnaire containing the key constructs of the TPB and the concern towards the pandemic was administered to a sample of 201 Italian consumers. Results show that the TPB model was confirmed for both behaviours while the Covid-19 concern had no direct effect. However, in the case of portion reduction, there is a significant interaction between concern and intention not to waste food. That is, the effect of intention on reducing servings is increasing as the level of concern increases. Therefore, some indications on how to address food waste policies are drawn

The Beauty of the Commons? Consumers participation in Food Community Networks

Why are consumers increasingly joining farmers to co-produce and transact sustainable foods world-wide? May these networks be a new tool to promote sustainable practices? As stated by Sandler (2010): “Longitudinal collective action environmental problems are likely to be effectively addressed only by an enormous number of individuals each making a nearly insignificant contribution to resolving them”. Consumers-farmers networks may serve this scope by inducing individual actors to change their preferences towards sustainable products. However participation in these networks is still not well understood. On one hand new institutional economics explains consumers joining farmers in creating a network as a choice of the “most cost-economizing” governance structure to carry out a transaction where credence attributes are involved (i.e. sustainable-produced foodstuff). Thus a credence food is transacted through a consumers-farmers network if this governance structure can ensure the minimization of the transaction costs. However the way different (transactional) contexts can influence the change of consumers perceptions and preferences for credence foods is still not completely addressed. On the other hand behavioral economics underlines the role of social and psychological motivations such as altruism and fairness, to describe this type of decision making process. Still a clear link between transaction costs, motivations and the choice context to describe consumers participation in these networks is not completely understood and analysed. In this paper we use both new institutional and behavioural economics arguments to conceptualize the consumers participation in this new type of governance structures, which we have defined as food community network (FCN). More specifically we have investigated an Italian fast-spreading type of FCN named Solidarity Purchase Group . GAS are associations of consumers whose behavior is characterized by a strong philosophical and ethical agreement in which the territorial, economic and social ties between the individuals involved in it, tend to evolve into networks of participative economy. The present study, which is part of a wider study financed by the Sicilian Regional Authority, analyses the GAS presence in Sicily (a region in Southern Italy), where 32 active GAS are present, representing an estimated number of 1,200 families. Although this phenomenon is still marginal and limited to recent years, it can be particularly interesting because of its rapid proliferation. Attention to this type of participative consumerism is warranted for two reasons: firstly, because of its progressive expansion into rural areas, far from the main cities where the phenomenon originated, and secondly, because of its potential impact on the sustainability of food production in this region. To evaluate the potential impact of this phenomenon in Sicily a sample of involved consumers has been interviewed. This sample included some 200 individuals (those in the household in charge of buying) belonging to the main GAS operating in Sicily. This group represents 946 consumers. More specifically a survey was developed to investigate consumers participation in this GAS. In the questionnaire three main issues have been investigated: transaction costs, motivations and social preferences (i.e. altruism and trust), and choice context features as driving factors of consumers participation. Moreover we controlled for i) attitudes towards environmental protection and nature, industrial food production, technological progress, animal welfare, food and environment; ii) consumption frequencies and type of purchased products (i.e. organic, other certified products, conventional products, environmental friendly products and not certified products); and iii) socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents, including food-related lifestyle (FRL). The transaction-costs-related, motivational and choice-context-related variables have used to analyse different level of participation, comparing results from a conditional logit model with a latent-class one. Results indicate different factors affecting participation and profiles of GAS participants, which we can classify as follow: environmentalism and ecological sensitivity (1); gourmet, innovations and creativity (2); cultural patriotism and ethnocentrism (3); animal welfarism (4); cost and price awareness (5); belief in food traditionalism and purity of cuisine (6). Based on these results policy implications have been drawn to promote public support of GAS and food community networks both in the Italian and European contexts

Morphological and Molecular Evolution Are Not Linked in Lamellodiscus (Plathyhelminthes, Monogenea)

Lamellodiscus Johnston & Tiegs 1922 (Monogenea, Diplectanidae) is a genus of common parasites on the gills of sparid fishes. Here we show that this genus is probably undergoing a fast molecular diversification, as reflected by the important genetic variability observed within three molecular markers (partial nuclear 18S rDNA, Internal Transcribed Spacer 1, and mitonchondrial Cytochrome Oxidase I). Using an updated phylogeny of this genus, we show that molecular and morphological evolution are weakly correlated, and that most of the morphologically defined taxonomical units are not consistent with the molecular data. We suggest that Lamellodiscus morphology is probably constrained by strong environmental (host-induced) pressure, and discuss why this result can apply to other taxa. Genetic variability within nuclear 18S and mitochondrial COI genes are compared for several monogenean genera, as this measure may reflect the level of diversification within a genus. Overall our results suggest that cryptic speciation events may occur within Lamellodiscus, and discuss the links between morphological and molecular evolution

Evolutionary relationships and divergence times among the native rats of Australia

Background The genus Rattus is highly speciose and has a complex taxonomy that is not fully resolved. As shown previously there are two major groups within the genus, an Asian and an Australo-Papuan group. This study focuses on the Australo-Papuan group and particularly on the Australian rats. There are uncertainties regarding the number of species within the group and the relationships among them. We analysed 16 mitochondrial genomes, including seven novel genomes from six species, to help elucidate the evolutionary history of the Australian rats. We also demonstrate, from a larger dataset, the usefulness of short regions of the mitochondrial genome in identifying these rats at the species level. Results Analyses of 16 mitochondrial genomes representing species sampled from Australo-Papuan and Asian clades of Rattus indicate divergence of these two groups ~2.7 million years ago (Mya). Subsequent diversification of at least 4 lineages within the Australo-Papuan clade was rapid and occurred over the period from ~ 0.9-1.7 Mya, a finding that explains the difficulty in resolving some relationships within this clade. Phylogenetic analyses of our 126 taxon, but shorter sequence (1952 nucleotides long), Rattus database generally give well supported species clades. Conclusions Our whole mitochondrial genome analyses are concordant with a taxonomic division that places the native Australian rats into the Rattus fuscipes species group. We suggest the following order of divergence of the Australian species. R. fuscipes is the oldest lineage among the Australian rats and is not part of a New Guinean radiation. R. lutreolus is also within this Australian clade and shallower than R. tunneyi while the R. sordidus group is the shallowest lineage in the clade. The divergences within the R. sordidus and R. leucopus lineages occurring about half a million years ago support the hypotheses of more recent interchanges of rats between Australia and New Guinea. While problematic for inference of deeper divergences, we report that the analysis of shorter mitochondrial sequences is very useful for species identification in rats

Multiple Geographic Origins of Commensalism and Complex Dispersal History of Black Rats

The Black Rat (Rattus rattus) spread out of Asia to become one of the world's worst agricultural and urban pests, and a reservoir or vector of numerous zoonotic diseases, including the devastating plague. Despite the global scale and inestimable cost of their impacts on both human livelihoods and natural ecosystems, little is known of the global genetic diversity of Black Rats, the timing and directions of their historical dispersals, and the risks associated with contemporary movements. We surveyed mitochondrial DNA of Black Rats collected across their global range as a first step towards obtaining an historical genetic perspective on this socioeconomically important group of rodents. We found a strong phylogeographic pattern with well-differentiated lineages of Black Rats native to South Asia, the Himalayan region, southern Indochina, and northern Indochina to East Asia, and a diversification that probably commenced in the early Middle Pleistocene. We also identified two other currently recognised species of Rattus as potential derivatives of a paraphyletic R. rattus. Three of the four phylogenetic lineage units within R. rattus show clear genetic signatures of major population expansion in prehistoric times, and the distribution of particular haplogroups mirrors archaeologically and historically documented patterns of human dispersal and trade. Commensalism clearly arose multiple times in R. rattus and in widely separated geographic regions, and this may account for apparent regionalism in their associated pathogens. Our findings represent an important step towards deeper understanding the complex and influential relationship that has developed between Black Rats and humans, and invite a thorough re-examination of host-pathogen associations among Black Rats

Les possibilités des turbines de détente dans les industries gazière et pétrolière Application of Expansion Turbines in the Gas and Oil Industry

Utilisées depuis longtemps dans l'industrie cryogénique, les turbines de détente voient leur intérêt augmenter actuellement en tant que turbines de récupération de l'énergie des laminages. Cette énergie peut servir à l'entraînement de compresseurs, pompes ou générateurs électriques. Il existe surtout des turbines dans la gamme de 200 à 20 000 ch. Deux types principaux sont développés : les turbines axiales et les turbines radiales. Les particularités techniques et les domaines d'emploi de chaque type sont discutés. Ue intérêt particulier est porté au domaine des petites puissances (de 100 kW jusqu'à quelques centaines de watts). L'évolution du rendement en fonction de la puissance est étudiée et quelques types spéciaux bien adaptés à cette gamme, tels que les turbines périphériques, sont présentés. Quelques indications sur la récupération de l'énergie des liquides par turbines sont également données. Ensuite, plusieurs exemples d'applications sont exposés tels que : récupération de fractions condensables du gaz naturel (butane, propane, éthane), récupération de gaz perdu, récupération de l'énergie des laminages lors de la distribution et au niveau des stockages souterrains, turbine hydraulique de lavage de gaz, récupération de l'énergie des fumées de cracking catalytique, entraînement de petits générateurs électriques dans la gamme de quelques kilowatts à quelques centaines de watts. Enfin, nous abordons la technologie et les dispositions constructives particulières en nous attachant plus spécialement aux problèmes de régulation, étanchéité, paliers. Des techniques nouvelles telles que l'emploi de paliers à gaz et leurs avantages sont décrites. Les difficultés dues aux basses températures et à la condensation sont examinées. Nous terminons par quelques considérations d'ordre économique destinées à prévoir la rentabilité d'une installation de récupération d'énergie. <br> Already used for a long lime in the cryogenic industry, expansion turbines are becoming increasingly attractive as turbines for recovering fluidic energy. This energy can be used to drive compressors, pumps or power generators. Such turbines exist mainly in the 200 hp ta 20,000 hp range. The author discusses two types in particular - axial flow turbines and radial flow turbines - and discusses the technical singularities and the areas of application of each type. Special emphosis is placed on low power ratings (from one hundred to a few hundred kilowatts). The pattern of evolution of efficiency versus power is considered, and certain special types particularly well

Waste Heat Recovery by Organic Fluid Rankine Cycle

The use of Organic Rankine Cycle for waste heat recovery presents several characteristics which are analyzed in details. After a short comparison with steam cycles, the Organic Rankine Cycle is described : its simplicity is shown and achievable efficiencies versus heat source temperature are given. Available fluids are presented. The choice of the fluid allows a good adaptation to temperature and power for each application. The most interesting field for Organic Rankine Cycles are low mechanical powers of a few megawatts and medium temperatures, about 500 C/600 C, for flue gas. The very simple technology of turbines is shown. Three examples are presented. The first one is a test loop of 300 thermal kW built in BERTIN & Cie laboratory to experiment a supersonic turbine designed by the same company for organic vapor at 250 C. The second gives the main characteristics of recovery from exhaust gas of Diesel engines. The last deals with possible recovery from air quenching of clinker in cement plants