ANALYSIS OF THE SOIL MOISTURE BEHAVIOUR DURING WETTING AND DRYING EPISODES FROM TDR DATA COLLECTED AT PALLANZENO (TOCE VALLEY)

http://www.map.meteoswiss.ch/map-doc/NL15/menziani.pd

Soil moisture monitoring in the Toce valley (Italy)

International audienceIn the framework of the Mesoscale Alpine Programme (MAP), soil water content profiles were collected at a point station in the Toce Valley (Lago Maggiore MAP Target Area). The data are for the first 70 cm depth of soil for the period April?November, 1999. All measurements were made by a Time Domain Reflectometry device. The time variation of the water stored in a column of soil was estimated by a mass balance method. Evaporation was estimated from the data collected in the summer period. Likewise, by applying the mass balance method to the data collected during and after heavy precipitation events, the water infiltrated into the soil was also estimated. A qualitative evaluation of ponding and/or runoff as the difference between the precipitated and the drained water was obtained under suitable assumptions. Furthermore, the time evolution of the soil water content profile was studied by solving the Richards equation both analytically and numerically for two particular cases: the driest period and a period following a heavy precipitation event. Finally, during the MAP Special Observing Period, two intensive campaigns were performed, together with measurements using an airborne passive microwave radiometer, to assess the spatial distribution of the surface (0?30 cm depth) soil water content in fields with different physical and agricultural characteristics

Carry-over effects of food supplementation on recruitment and breeding performance of long-lived seabirds

Supplementation of food to wild animals is extensively applied as a conservation tool to increase local production of young. However, in long-lived migratory animals, the carry-over effects of food supplementation early in life on the subsequent recruitment of individuals into natal populations and their lifetime reproductive success are largely unknown. We examine how experimental food supplementation early in life affects: (i) recruitment as breeders of kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla born in a colony on Middleton Island (Alaska) between 1996 and 2006 (n = 1629) that bred in the same colony through 2013 (n = 235); and (ii) breeding success of individuals that have completed their life cycle at the colony (n = 56). Birds were raised in nests that were either supplemented with food (Fed) or unsupplemented (Unfed). Fledging success was higher in Fed compared with Unfed nests. After accounting for hatching rank, growth and oceanic conditions at fledging, Fed fledglings had a lower probability of recruiting as breeders in the Middleton colony than Unfed birds. The per-nest contribution of breeders was still significantly higher for Fed nests because of their higher productivity. Lifetime reproductive success of a subset of kittiwakes that thus far had completed their life cycle was not affected by the food supplementation during development. Our results cast light on the carry-over effects of early food conditions on the vital rates of long-lived animals and support food supplementation as an effective conservation strategy for long-lived seabirds

Raveguard: A noise monitoring platform using low-end microphones and machine learning

Urban noise is one of the most serious and underestimated environmental problems. According to the World Health Organization, noise pollution from traffic and other human activities, negatively impact the population health and life quality. Monitoring noise usually requires the use of professional and expensive instruments, called phonometers, able to accurately measure sound pressure levels. In many cases, phonometers are human-operated; therefore, periodic fine-granularity city-wide measurements are expensive. Recent advances in the Internet of Things (IoT) offer a window of opportunities for low-cost autonomous sound pressure meters. Such devices and platforms could enable fine time\u2013space noise measurements throughout a city. Unfortunately, low-cost sound pressure sensors are inaccurate when compared with phonometers, experiencing a high variability in the measurements. In this paper, we present RaveGuard, an unmanned noise monitoring platform that exploits artificial intelligence strategies to improve the accuracy of low-cost devices. RaveGuard was initially deployed together with a professional phonometer for over two months in downtown Bologna, Italy, with the aim of collecting a large amount of precise noise pollution samples. The resulting datasets have been instrumental in designing InspectNoise, a library that can be exploited by IoT platforms, without the need of expensive phonometers, but obtaining a similar precision. In particular, we have applied supervised learning algorithms (adequately trained with our datasets) to reduce the accuracy gap between the professional phonometer and an IoT platform equipped with low-end devices and sensors. Results show that RaveGuard, combined with the InspectNoise library, achieves a 2.24% relative error compared to professional instruments, thus enabling low-cost unmanned city-wide noise monitoring

Polymers in linear shear flow: a numerical study

We study the dynamics of a single polymer subject to thermal fluctuations in a linear shear flow. The polymer is modeled as a finitely extendable nonlinear elastic FENE dumbbell. Both orientation and elongation dynamics are investigated numerically as a function of the shear strength, by means of a new efficient integration algorithm. The results are in agreement with recent experiments.Comment: 7 pages, see also the preceding paper (http://arxiv.org/nlin.CD/0503028

Chitosan induces delayed grapevine defense mechanisms and protects grapevine against Botrytis cinerea

In the present study, a commercial chitosan soluble in acid solution and obtained from shrimp shell waste, with a molecular weight of 173 kDa and a degree of acetylation of 17%, named as chitosan (173/17), was investigated. Chitosan is a well-known biopolymer whose antimicrobial properties are highly influenced by the molecular weight, degree of acetylation as well as the preparation and derivatization methods used. Chitosan (173/17) was applied on grapevine leaves before Botrytis cinerea inoculation to verify its effectiveness as a preventive treatment against the fungal infection. The expression of a set of defense marker genes, as well as accumulation of stilbene phytoalexins, was investigated. Thanks to its fungistatic and filmogenic properties, chitosan (173/17) protected grapevine leaves against B. cinerea. Moreover, it induced grapevine defense response: three days after the treatment an induction of the jasmonic acid and ethylene-mediated response, a repression of the salicylic acid-mediated signaling, and a transient accumulation of trans-resveratrol were registered. Our data indicate that chitosan (173/17), when used in preventive application, is able to protect grapevine against B. cinerea infection. The effectiveness of chitosan (173/17) as a natural ecofriendly product for the control of B. cinerea on grapevine was demonstrated

Design for additive manufacturing and for machining in the automotive field

High cost, unpredictable defects and out-of-tolerance rejections in final parts are preventing the complete deployment of Laser-based Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) on an industrial scale. Repeatability, speed and right-first-time manufacturing require synergistic design approaches. In addition, post-build finishing operations of LPBF parts are the object of increasing attention to avoid the risk of bottlenecks in the machining step. An aluminum component for automotive application was redesigned through topology optimization and Design for Additive Manufacturing. Simulation of the build process allowed to choose the orientation and the support location for potential lowest deformation and residual stresses. Design for Finishing was adopted in order to facilitate the machining operations after additive construction. The optical dimensional check proved a good correspondence with the tolerances predicted by process simulation and confirmed part acceptability. A cost and time comparison versus CNC alone attested to the convenience of LPBF unless single parts had to be produced

Evaluation of carcass and meat traits of Muscovy duck fed with black soldier fly partially defatted meal

The aim of this study was to evaluate the carcass characteristics and breast meat quality in Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata domestica) fed different inclusion levels of a partially defatted black soldier fly larva (BSF) meal. A total of 256 Muscovy ducklings (average live weight, LW: 71.32\ub12.70 g) were reared from day 3 to day 48 and randomly allotted in 32 pens (8 replicates/treatment). Four different diets were formulated with increasing substitution level of corn gluten meal with BSF larva meal (0, 3, 6 and 9%; BSF0, BSF3, BSF6 and BSF9, respectively) and divided in 3 feeding phases: starter (1-14 days), grower (14-35 days) and finisher (35-48 days). At day 48, 2 animals/replicate were slaughtered and dissected to determine their carcass yields. The weights of spleen, bursa of Fabricius, liver, heart and abdominal fat were recorded. Breast and thigh muscles were then excised from 16 ducks/treatment and weighted. Ultimate pH (pHu) and L*, a*, b* colour values were then measured on breast muscle. The collected data were tested by means of oneway ANOVA evaluating the effect of dietary BSF inclusion level by polynomial contrasts. Significance was declared at P<0.05. The inclusion of BSF did not affect final LW (2,515.68\ub192.42 g on average). Hot and cold carcass weights showed a quadratic response (P<0.05) to increasing BSF larva meal, with a minimum corresponding to BSF6; however, refrigeration losses were not affected by treatments. Weight of spleen, bursa of Fabricius, liver and heart did not differ among treatments. The weight of abdominal fat showed a quadratic response to increasing BSF meal with a minimum corresponding to BSF6 group (P<0.05). Breast and thigh yields, pHu and L*, a*, b* colour values did not differ among groups. With the exception of BSF6, the inclusion of BSF meal did not affect meat traits and carcass characteristics, confirming the potential use of BSF meal in Muscovy duck diets

An unusual dysphagia for solids in a 17-year-old girl due to a lusoria artery: A case report and review of the literature

Background: Dysphagia is a condition that can have many underlying causes, often different between adults and children and its early diagnosis is crucial especially during childhood and adolescence, given the importance of proper nutritional intake to ensure adequate growth and development. Case report: We described the case of a 17-year-old girl reporting dysphagia for solids for approximately one month. No symptoms were previously referred. Oesophagogastroduodenoscopy was performed, detecting an image of ab extrinseco compression at the level of the mid-cervical oesophagus. An upper gastrointestinal tract radiography confirmed an oesophageal impression above the arch of the aorta suggestive of vascular abnormality. Computed tomography angiography and three-dimensional reconstruction techniques showed the presence of a lusoria artery that originated from the medial margin of the descending aorta and crossed the trachea and oesophagus posteriorly to the distal third. The lusoria artery was transected via a left thoracotomy and re-implanted into the right common carotid artery with complete symptom resolution. Conclusions: Dysphagia lusoria is an impairment of swallowing due to compression from an aberrant right subclavian artery. The diagnosis is always difficult, as the symptoms are often nonspecific. It is imperative to accurately identify and properly manage dysphagia in pediatric age and this is only possible with an anamnestic, clinical and instrumental process that takes into account an adequate differential diagnosis