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Commodity risk assessment of Taxus baccata plants from the UK
No full textThe European Commission requested the EFSA Panel on Plant Health to prepare and deliver risk assessments for commodities listed in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2019 as ‘High risk plants, plant products and other objects’. This Scientific Opinion covers plant health risks posed by plants of Taxus baccata imported from the United Kingdom (UK) as: (a) bundles of 2-year-old bare root plants (whips), (b) 2- to 7-year-old bare root plants, either exported as single plants or in bundles, (c) 2-year-old cell grown plants exported in bundles, and (d) 3- to 15-year-old plants in pots. The assessment was performed considering the available scientific information, including the technical information provided by the UK. All pests associated with the commodity were evaluated against specific criteria for their relevance for this opinion. One EU quarantine pest, Phytophthora ramorum (non-EU isolates) fulfilled all relevant criteria and was selected for further evaluation. For the selected pest, the risk mitigation measures implemented in the technical dossier from the UK were evaluated taking into account the possible limiting factors. An expert judgement was given on the likelihood of pest freedom taking into consideration the risk mitigation measures acting on the pest, including uncertainties associated with the assessment. The fact that T. baccata is an evergreen plant on which P. ramorum can cause foliar infection was considered a critical element in the risk assessment. In addition, the age of the plants was considered, reasoning that older trees are more likely to be infected mainly due to longer exposure time and larger size. The degree of pest freedom slightly differs between bare root plants (including whips) and plants in pots (including cell grown plants), with plants in pots being less likely pest free. The Expert Knowledge Elicitation (EKE) indicated with 95% certainty that between 9699 and 10,000 3- to 15-year-old plants in pots and bundles of 2-year-old cell grown plants per 10,000 will be free from P. ramorum (non-EU isolates)
Comparative analysis of HFO CO2 Cascade vs. CO2 transcritical refrigeration systems in two supermarkets, Part I: Evaluating efficiency at medium and low-temperature stages
No full textTactile Models and Social Sustainability Management in Museums for People With Disabilities
No full textIn the contemporary context, cultural institutions assume a pivotal role in the social and educational spheres. As public- centred institutions, they are obliged to develop a value proposition inspired by the principles of democratic participation, inclusiveness and accessibility for every visitor. In this regard, the integration of inclusive technological approaches holds considerable potential in facilitating access for individuals with visual impairment and multiple disabilities. The present study employs a qualitative approach to develop a framework for enhancing the inclusion and accessibility of cultural content for blind and visually impaired viitors through the use of 3D technology. A fundamental objective of this research is to explore how these innovations not only enhance accessibility but also promote social sustainability within museums. The data demonstrate that understanding the visitor experience is essential for managing accessible approaches to value creation processes to preserve and enhance cultural heritage
Modification of a flexoelectric perovskite type LaMnO3 with APg-C3N4 for the removal of organic micropollutants: a synergy between tribo-catalysis and photo-illumination
Get PDFInvestigating the interaction between tribocatalysis and photocatalysis using the flexoelectric catalyst shows promising potential for water treatment. However, there is a lack of research on the combined effects of photocatalysis and tribocatalysis, especially when utilizing the flexoelectric catalyst. In this research, we synthesized the La0.8MnO3 modified with acid-activated porous Graphitic carbon nitride (APCNS) (La0.8MnO3@APCNS). We examined it using various methods such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The tribocatalytic and tribo-photocatalytic performance of the La0.8MnO3@APCNS for degrading Rhodamine blue (RhB) and Methylene blue (MB) was explored. The results showed the PTFE magnetic bar, grinding wheel and La0.8MnO3@APCNS achieved degradation rates of 83.33% for RhB and 84.78% for MB within 360 min. When combining tribocatalysis and photocatalysis, the efficiency increased to 100% for RhB and 95.5% for MB within 90 min. Experimental evidence confirms the significant synergistic effects of combining both techniques. The scavenger test revealed that hydroxyl and superoxide radicals played a major role in degrading both dyes. The performance of the La0.8MnO3@APCNS remained consistent through the fifth cycle, for both dyes. This demonstrates effectiveness and underscores the potential practical and environmentally friendly aspects of tribo-photocatalytic techniques for purifying water
Advisers’ perception of biosecurity implementation on large-scale poultry farms in Europe
Get PDFBiosecurity is a fundamental preventive tool to control animal infectious diseases. The relationship between
advisers and farmers plays a key role in determining farmers’ compliance with on-farm biosecurity measures
(BMs). The aims of this survey were (1) to provide an overview on the implementation of biosecurity in European poultry farms as declared by the advisers and (2) to better understand advisers’ perception of the reasons why farmers do not comply with biosecurity rules and pinpoint potential obstacles to their implementation. One hundred and fifty-seven advisers working in various poultry sectors (breeders, enclosed and free-range layers, enclosed and free-range meat poultry) were interviewed to give their opinion on the implementation of 62 BMs. The advisers’ replies (n = 6485) on the implementation of BMs were reported as “always” (67.6 %), “sometimes” (19.8 %) and “never” (8.1 %) implemented. The advisers from the local governmental institutions declared a significantly lower percentage of “always implemented” replies (62 %) than those from other categories (producer organisations (73.7 %), companies (73.8 %) and veterinary clinics (67 %)). Regardless of the poultry sector, the most commonly implemented BMs declared by the advisers were the “daily surveillance of birds”, “flock register”, “rodent control” and “feed storage protection”. The BMs declared as the least commonly implemented were “visitors and personnel showering before entering the poultry house” for all the surveyed productions and “personnel hand washing” for all the production types except breeders. Some hygiene practices were also declared to be poorly implemented in most of the surveyed productions such as the “cleaning/disinfection of the rendering tank after each collection”, the “presence of concrete area around the house”, the “use of separate material for the poultry house” and the “restriction of domestic animals entering the site” and especially in meat poultry “the bacterial self-check of the house” and “the cleaning/disinfection of the feed silo between each flock”. According to the advisers ‘reports, the reasons why farmers do not comply with biosecurity on their farm were insufficient knowledge of biosecurity issues (“not enough training” 12.3 % and “not enough advice” 8.5 %), low awareness of the expected benefits (“no known advantages” 14 % and “not useful” 4.6 %), the lack of time (17.8 %), financial issues (16.8 %) and the unsuitability of the measures (17.4 %). This study highlighted, from the European advisers ’point of view, the shortcomings of the implementation of biosecurity on poultry farms and a room of improvement requiring adapted and tailored support measures for a better biosecurity compliance
San Pietro martire e la «voce del sangue». Alcuni sermoni duecenteschi
No full textIl saggio analizza l’evoluzione della predicazione su san Pietro martire nel XIII seco-lo attraverso i sermoni basati sul tema biblico “Vox sanguinis” (Gen 4,10). Dall’esame dei testi scritti da frati Predicatori come Tommaso Agni da Lentini, Alberto Magno e altri, per lo più anonimi, emergono i diversi usi della figura di san Pietro martire nella lotta all’eresia e il suo ruolo all’interno della costruzione identitaria dell’Ordine. Le fonti mostrano l’evoluzione della narrazione omiletica: da un’iniziale enfasi sul parallelismo con Abele e Cristo si passa a un’attenzione crescente per gli aspetti agiografici, per il ruolo di Pietro come inquisitore e per la sua interpretazione quale iniziatore di una nuova era di martiri. In appendice l’edizione di un sermone inedito conservato nella Biblioteca Statale di Cremona
IQUEYE at Gemini South: instrument, science commission, and first results
No full textThe Italian quantum eye (IQUEYE) is a fast photon counter based on the single photon avalanche diode detectors and capable of preserving a 0.5 ns h−1 accuracy photon time of arrival. IQUEYE was originally developed for intensity interferometry experiments, but now its scientific scope has been extended towards ultra fast astronomy, including optical pulsars, millisecond pulsars and the enigmatic fast radio bursts. IQUEYE’s capabilities are mainly restricted by the number of photons detected, a quantity that scales with the collector size of an optical telescope. Through the visitor instrument program at Gemini South (Cerro Pach ́on, Chile) we brought IQUEYE to the 8.1-m dish, reaching an order magnitude sensitivity increased from previous operations. At Gemini South we installed IQUEYE to observe giant pulse emitters, millisecond pulsars, and transitional millisecond pulsars for over 40 hours in the span of a week. Here we present the instrument and its adaptation to Gemini South interfaces, the instrument commission, and show the immediate first results from its early operations
Fine-Tuning BirdNET for the Automatic Ecoacoustic Monitoring of Bird Species in the Italian Alpine Forests
Get PDFThe ongoing decline in global biodiversity constitutes a critical challenge for environmental science, necessitating the prompt development of effective monitoring frameworks and conservation protocols to safeguard the structure and function of natural ecosystems. Recent progress in ecoacoustic monitoring, supported by advances in artificial intelligence, might finally offer scalable tools for systematic biodiversity assessment. In this study, we evaluate the performance of BirdNET, a state-of-the-art deep learning model for avian sound recognition, in the context of selected bird species characteristic of the Italian Alpine region. To this end, we assemble a comprehensive, manually annotated audio dataset targeting key regional species, and we investigate a variety of strategies for model adaptation, including fine-tuning with data augmentation techniques to enhance recognition under challenging recording conditions. As a baseline, we also develop and evaluate a simple Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) trained exclusively on our domain-specific dataset. Our findings indicate that BirdNET performance can be greatly improved by fine-tuning the pre-trained network with data collected within the specific regional soundscape, outperforming both the original BirdNET and the baseline CNN by a significant margin. These findings underscore the importance of environmental adaptation and data variability for the development of automated ecoacoustic monitoring devices while highlighting the potential of deep learning methods in supporting conservation efforts and informing soundscape management in protected areas