Towards a Pan‐European Assessment of Land Susceptibility to Wind Erosion

Understanding spatial and temporal patterns in land susceptibility to wind erosion is essential to design effective management strategies to control land degradation. The knowledge about the land surface susceptible to wind erosion in European contexts shows significant gaps. The lack of researches, particularly at the landscape to regional scales, prevents national and European institutions from taking actions aimed at an effective mitigating of land degradation. This study provides a preliminary pan‐European assessment that delineates the spatial patterns of land susceptibility to wind erosion and lays the groundwork for future modelling activities. An Index of Land Susceptibility to Wind Erosion (ILSWE) was created by combining spatiotemporal variations of the most influential wind erosion factors (i.e. climatic erosivity, soil erodibility, vegetation cover and landscape roughness). The sensitivity of each input factor was ranked according to fuzzy logic techniques. State‐of‐the‐art findings within the literature on soil erodibility and land susceptibility were used to evaluate the outcomes of the proposed modelling activity. Results show that the approach is suitable for integrating wind erosion information and environmental factors. Within the 34 European countries under investigation, moderate and high levels of land susceptibility to wind erosion were predicted, ranging from 25·8 to 13·0 M ha, respectively (corresponding to 5·3 and 2·9% of total area). New insights into the geography of wind erosion susceptibility in Europe were obtained and provide a solid basis for further investigations into the spatial variability and susceptibility of land to wind erosion across Europe. © 2014 The Authors. Land Degradation and Development published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Magma ascent and the pressurization of Mount Etna's volcanic system

After a period of deflation during the 1991-1993 flank eruption, Mount Etna underwent a rapid inflation. Seismicity and ground deformation show that since 1994, a huge volume of magma intruded beneath the volcano, producing from 1998 onward a series of eruptions at the summit and on the flank of the volcano. The last of these, started on 27 October 2002, is still in progress and can be considered one of the most explosive eruptions of the volcano in recent times. Here we show how geodetic data and seismic deformation, between 1994 and 2001, indicate a radial compression around an axial intrusion, consistent with a repressurization of Mount Etna's plumbing system at a depth of 6 to 15 kilometers, which triggered most of the seismicity and provoked the dilatation of the volcano and the recent explosive eruptive activity.     

Effects of milk feeding, frequency and concentration on weaning and buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) calf growth, health and behaviour

Growth, weight at birth and daily weight gain (DWG) on 12 water buffalo calves, starting from 6 days of age until completion of weaning, was investigated in this study. Different feeding regimens were given to two groups of animals with regard to daily milk replacer: (1) group 1 (G1) received a double concentration in single administration; whereas (2) group 2 (G2) received the same amount of milk replacer split twice daily. Blood samples were collected from each calf on days 6, 30, 60 and 90 to evaluate acute phase proteins (haptoglobin), bactericide activity, lysozime, total protein content and biochemical parameters. No differences were observed between the two groups in terms of dry matter intake, feed efficiency and live body weight at the end of the study. Interestingly, a significantly (P?<?0.05) reduced DWG was observed earlier in G1 (day 45) than in G2 (day 60). Gastrointestinal disorders were not recorded throughout the experimental period, and no significant differences were recorded between the two groups for all considered parameters. This study confirms the possibility of utilising one daily administration of milk replacer in water buffalo calf during weaning. This new approach facilitates calves management, without interfering with calves growing performances.     

Agronomical,quality, and molecular characterization of twenty Italian emmer wheat (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Triticum dicoccon</Emphasis>) accessions

Emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccon Schrank, 2n = 4x = 28) consists in a hulled wheat; its cultivation has been drastically reduced during the last century as a consequence of its low yield. Recently, its agronomic and nutritive values, as well as the increase of popularity of organic agriculture, have led to a renewed interest making its cultivation economically viable in the marginal lands with an increase of the cultivated areas. In Italy, it mainly survives in few marginal lands of central and southern Italy, where local varieties, adapted to the natural environment from where they originate, are used; moreover, some selected lines have also been developed. In the present work, agro-morphological and qualitative traits, together with molecular analyses of 20 emmer accessions consisting of Italian landraces, breeding lines, and cultivars, were performed. The field experiments were conducted for two consecutive years (2001/2002–2002/2003) in two locations: Viterbo in central Italy, and Foggia in south Italy. The analyzed emmer wheat accessions showed a good amount of genetic variability for both evaluated agro-morphological and molecular traits. This study illustrates an increase in earliness, GY, TW, TKW, and YI going from landraces, breeding lines to cultivars, while the variability does not change proportionally.     

Annual survival probabilities of juvenile loggerhead sea turtles indicate high anthropogenic impact on Mediterranean populations

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Study on cortisol,cortisone and prednisolone presence in urine of Chianina cattle breed

The Chianina, one of the oldest and most important cattle breeds of Italy, is now reared all over the world. The Chianina has been known and appreciated since ancient times because, from a nutritional point of view, its meat has no proper rivals. To date, studies have been performed to evaluate the genetic profile of the breed, but knowledge about the chemical profile is generally lacking. Due to the increased interest from farmers regarding breeding of the Chianina, this study proposes a preliminary evaluation of main endogenous urinary corticosteroids (cortisol and cortisone) and most commonly used synthetic one (dexamethasone). Moreover, after recent findings regarding the presence of endogenous prednisolone in the urine of more popular breeds, particular attention was given to analysis of the presence of prednisolone and prednisone, as well. For this aim, the urine samples of 12 young cows and 30 young bulls was collected at the farms and analysed using a fit‐for‐purpose LC‐MS/MS method. The preliminary results of this study show that prednisolone was found only in Chianina females (3 out of 12). Cortisol and cortisone were found at concentrations that showed a high inter‐individual variability, and that were higher in female urine compared to that of males.     

Ellagic Acid and Polyhydroxylated Urolithins Are Potent Catalytic Inhibitors of Human Topoisomerase II: An in Vitro Study

Ellagic acid (EA), a natural polyphenol abundant in fruits and common in our diet, is under intense investigation for its chemopreventive activity resulting from multiple effects. EA inhibits topoisomerase II, but the effects on the human enzyme of urolithins, its monolactone metabolites, are not known. Therefore, the action of several synthetic urolithins toward topoisomerases II was evaluated, showing that polyhydroxylated urolithins, EA, and EA-related compounds are potent inhibitors of the α and β isoforms of human topoisomerase II at submicromolar concentrations. Competition tests demonstrate a dose-dependent relationship between ATP and the inhibition of the enzyme. Docking experiments show that the active compounds bind the ATP pocket of the human enzyme, thus supporting the hypothesis that EA and polyhydroxylated urolithins act as ATP-competitive inhibitors of human topoisomerase II.