60,146 research outputs found
Four years of Co-creation with stakeholders: What did we learn about its added value in Urban Planning? Insights from CLEVER Cities Milan three Urban Living Labs.
No full textSince 2018, the Horizon 2020 project CLEVER Cities has been promoting an inclusive co-creation pathway in order to support urban greening regeneration strategies towards a more participatory approach and the achievement of shared governance routines in local decision-making processes. Throughout the development of the methodological framework of the project, a special attention was given to social inclusivity and engagement of different stakeholders: public and local governments, the private sector, academia, and citizens.
Supported by the four years long evidence-based experience from the Milanese urban context and three different Urban Living Labs (ULLs), this research article develops a further understanding for the shared governance processes within co-creation processes with consideration to citizen participation and its collateral added values in urban planning methods and practice. The project since its’ initiation has also proven multiple added values in adopting Nature-based Solutions (NBS) within public participation processes and raising awareness about their evident environmental benefits as well as collaborative governance, spatial and financial challenges.
Based on a social monitoring methodology during the pre-greening phase, an in-depth understanding is further elaborated about the shared governance mechanisms and mainstreaming challenges of adopting NBS in the areas of interventions. Through an ex-ante verification of NBS ownership, stakeholder engagement, challenges of mainstreaming NBS co-creation in urban planning policies, this article sheds the light on the co-creation pathways added values in medium-long term urban regeneration processes
A survey on urban biodiversity in the territorial plans of three metropolitan cities in Italy
No full textThis article aims to investigate the objectives, targets, and tools related to urban biodiversity in planning through a comparative survey of the territorial plans of three Italian metropolitan cities: Bologna, Milan, and Turin. The methodology uses an analytical framework that includes a series of attributes referring to five themes of investigation with which the plan documents have been systematically analyzed: baseline data, biodiversity goals, biodiversity targets, regulatory elements, and tools of shared governance. The survey highlighted the presence of a substantial number of attributes related to urban biodiversity in the plans under investigation. At the same time, the limitations reported show an absence of baseline data on habitats and species, and the scarcity both of clear targets for measuring the benefits generated by the actions included in the plans, and of devices and mechanisms for monitoring the expected outcomes
AUTHOR CORRECTION - ERS International Congress 2019:highlights from Best Abstract awardees
No full textLorna E. Latimer, Marieke Duiverman, Mahmoud I. Abdel-Aziz, Gulser Caliskan, Sara M. Mensink-Bout, Alberto Mendoza-Valderrey, Aurelien Justet, Junichi Omura, Karthi Srikanthan, Jana De Brandt. Breathe 2019; 15: e143–e149. This article from the December 2019 issue of Breathe was published with an error in the name of one of the authors. The corrected author list is shown above. The article has been corrected and republished online.</p
Fig. 2 in In silico and in vitro studies of isolated constituents from Callistemon citrinus leaves: Anti-microbial potential and inhibition of iNOS activity
No full textFig. 2. Key HMBC, COSY and NOESY correlations for compounds 1-5.Published as part of Abdelmalek, Ereny M., Zulfiqar, Fazila, Albadry, Mohamed A., Khan, Shabana I., Meepagala, Kumudini M., Ramadan, Mahmoud A., Darwish, Faten M., Assaf, Mahmoud H. & Ross, Samir A., 2021, In silico and in vitro studies of isolated constituents from Callistemon citrinus leaves: Anti-microbial potential and inhibition of iNOS activity, pp. 1-9 in Phytochemistry (112745) 186 on page 4, DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2021.112745, http://zenodo.org/record/825837
State of play and future steps for the EU Biodiversity Strategy (EU BDS) dashboard
No full text→ The EU BDS dashboard is publicly accessible through the website of the European Commission’s Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity (KCBD) under “Tools”.
→ Following the publication of six new indicators, the EU BDS dashboard currently contains 16 indicators to monitor progress on 8 out of the 16 EU BDS targets.
→ The EU BDS dashboard has also undergone technical updates to make it easier to navigate and maintain.
→ The two indicators selected following the last meeting of the EU Biodiversity Platform’s Monitoring and Assessment subgroup (EUBP-MA) are planned to be published by the end of 2024, as well as the two pesticide indicators previously proposed.
→ Two new indicators are proposed to be added in the EU BDS dashboard: EUBP-MA is invited to give its feedback on these proposed indicators.
→ The indicator developed to track progress on the EU BDS commitment to unlock at least € 20 billion/year for biodiversity is also presented and open to EUBP-MA feedback
New and renewable energy and environmental engineering
No full textThere is an acute scarcity of potable water in many parts of the world, and especially in most of the Middle East region. Important advances have been made in desalination technology but its wide application is restricted by relatively high capital and input energy costs, even when solar energy is used. Until recently, flat-plate solar collectors have usually been employed to distill water in compact desalination systems. Currently, it is possible to replace these collectors by the more advanced evacuated tube collectors, which are now available on the market at a similar price. The research which is concerned with the development of a novel small scale solar water desalination technology, consists of experimental and theoretical investigations of the operation of a multi stage solar still desalination system coupled with a heat pipe evacuated tube solar collector with an aperture area of about 1.7 m(^2). The multi stage still was tested to recover latent heat from the evaporation and condensation processes in each of its four stages. A number of experimental tests were carried out using a laboratory rig to investigate its water production capacity. Solar radiation (insolation) during a mid-summer day in the Middle East region was simulated by an array of 110 halogen flood lights. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling of the evaporation and condensation processes in one of the still's stages was conducted using FLUENT 6.2 software. The simulation results demonstrate the importance of the various parameters affecting the total production rate of the solar still and provide detailed information on the temperature distribution and condensate formation inside the solar still. However, it was found that the CFD technique at this stage does not provide accurate quantitative predictions and results obtained can be used only for qualitative analysis. Hence, the use of a lumped parameter mathematical model was preferred for analysis and design purpose. A lumped parameter model has been developed to describe the system's operation. It consists of a system of ordinary differential equations of energy and mass conservation written for each stage of the still. A MATLAB computer program was written to solve the system of governing equations to simulate the evaporation and condensation processes and the experimental results were used to validate numerical predictions. The experimental and theoretical values for the total daily distillate output were found to be closely correlated. The test results demonstrate that the system produces about 9 kg of clean water per day and has a distillation efficiency of 90%. The overall efficiency is 33% due to the presence of heat losses in the system. However, this level of efficiency is greater of that for conventional solar stills. Following the experimental calibration of the lumped parameter model, this was used for determination of rational design parameters of the still and it was demonstrated that the performance of the system could be considerably improved to produce 11 kg/m(^2) of water per day if the number of stages and evaporation area were 4 and 1 m(^2), respectively. A water quality analysis was performed for the distilled water and the levels of total dissolved solids, electrical conductivity and pH were well within the range defined by the World Health Organization guidelines for drinking water. An economic study was also conducted for the system and it was shown that the distilled water costs of 0.016 US$/litre with a payback period of 6 months in the Middle East region conditions. This research demonstrates, empirically and theoretically, the potential role in the field of solar desalination of the multistage solar still coupled to the evacuated tube solar collector. Not only is this system a promising new technology but it could prove to be particularly appropriate in remote and rural areas. Simultaneously this system also uses a completely clean energy source and contributes to tackling environmental pollution, global carbon emissions and climate change problems
The role of chamomile oil against ochratoxin A in quail breeders: productive and reproductive performances, egg quality and blood metabolites
No full textThis study aimed to evaluate the beneficial role of chamomile essential oil in improving productive and reproductive performances, egg quality, and blood metabolites and reducing the toxic effect of Ochratoxin A (OTA) in quail breeder's diets. A total of 144 mature quails, 8 wk old, were divided into 6 groups. The treatments were: G1 (the control), G2 (supplemented with OTA 1 mg/kg diet), G3 (supplemented with chamomile oil 0.5 g/kg diet), G4 (supplemented with chamomile oil 1 G/kg diet), G5 (supplemented with OTA 1 mg/kg diet + chamomile oil 0.5 g/kg diet), and G6 (supplemented with OTA 1 mg/kg diet + chamomile oil 1 g/kg diet). The OTA administration alone significantly decreased egg production and mass in quail breeders (P < 0.0001). Moreover, poor feed conversion ratio (FCR), fertility percentage (P < 0.0001), and hatchability percentage (P < 0.0009) were recorded. A significant decline (P < 0.05) in the levels of serum protein (total protein and globulin) was also recorded in OTA-contaminated groups, along with elevated serum levels of liver enzymes such as alanine transaminase (ALT) and Aspartate transaminase (AST) and kidney function test as urea and creatinine levels (P < 0.05). Ochratoxin A-contaminated feed resulted in a significant elevation (P < 0.05) in total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), along with a significant reduction (P < 0.05) in antioxidant status and immunological response. The supplementation of chamomile essential oil, either 0.5 g/kg or 1g/kg, to the basal diet or OTA-supplemented feed, revealed a significant increase in hatchability %, fertility, egg mass, and egg production and better FCR, egg quality, and immunological status when compared to OTA only. Moreover, chamomile essential oil supplementation improves liver and kidney function markers, decreases LDL, VLDL), TG, and TC. Along with a significant increase (P < 0.05) in terms of antioxidant status as glutathione peroxidase enzyme (GPX), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and significantly (P < 0.05) improves immunological response as IgM, IgG, lysozyme and complement 3. In summary, chamomile oil supplementation, either separate or combined with OTA, reduced the adverse effects of OTA and led to improved productive and reproductive performance, egg quality, and blood metabolites in Japanese quail breeders
The Green Breath of the City: A Dynamic Approach for Air Purification through NbS in the City of Milan, Italy
No full textAir pollution is a worldwide issue and is considered one of the biggest urban challenges and the single largest environmental health risk in Europe. Exposure to Air pollution causes serious health problems and even mortality. In recent decades, cities recognise that nature can be part of the solution to air pollution reduction. By focusing on Milan as the case study and Nature-based Solutions (NbS) as the main framework, this research aims to present the most convenient timedependent implementation strategies through a dynamic process, for maximising air purification through nature. The cycles of the city (mainly people movements) can benefit from optimizing the cycles of nature, which is here intended as a breathing system that purifies air at different rates and times of the day. Based on optimal targeting criteria, three target exposure areas have been recognized for three different timespans of the day. For the optimal selection strategy, Urban Green NbS and vegetation have been classified based on their appropriateness to different exposure time. This study aims to show that with consideration of time and locations, and by the optimal selection of Urban Green NbS and the vegetation species, air purification in all parts of the city can be maximised
Evaluation of dittrichia viscosa (L.) greuter dried biomass for weed management
No full textDittrichia viscosa (L.) Greuter, a plant species common in the Mediterranean basin, produces several bioactive compounds, some of which have herbicidal effects. A number of greenhouse and field experiments were carried out in order to evaluate if these effects could be obtained also by using the whole plant biomass, to identify the efficacious doses, determine their effects on seed germination and weed emergence, and to evaluate influence of soil characteristics on biomass efficacy. The experiments carried out evidenced that: (i) the dried biomass completely hampers plant emergence when high doses (30–40 kg biomass m−3 of soil) are mixed into the soil, or delays it at a lower dose (10 kg m−3 ); (ii) the detrimental effects are not affected by soil type. The exploitation of the D. viscosa dried biomass appears to be a feasible option in weed management practices and its potential is discussed
Leverage of Matricaria chamomilla L. Oil Supplementation over Ochratoxin A in Growing Quails
No full textOchratoxin A (OTA) is one of the mycotoxins in the agriculture and livestock sectors. The poultry sector su3ered from significant economic losses due to the adverse impacts of OTA on the growth rate, feed conversion ratio, and livability. Thus, the present investigation aimed to determine the impact of chamomile essential oil supplementation against OTA toxicity in growing quails. 360 one-week-old growing quails were distributed into six groups (n = 60) with four replicates of 15 birds. The groups were G1 (control negative), G2 (OTA 1 mg/kg diet, control positive), G3 (chamomile oil 0.5 g/kg diet), G4 (chamomile oil 1 g/kg diet), G5 (OTA 1 mg/kg diet + chamomile oil 0.5 g/kg diet), and G6 (OTA 1 mg/kg diet + chamomile oil 1 g/kg diet). Adding OTA significantly (P < 0.05) reduced live body weight and weight gain at 5 weeks. Feed intake at 5 weeks was non significantly reduced in G3 and G4 compared to G1. G4 showed a significant (P < 0.05) increase in weight gain and the lowest feed conversion ratio. The G2 showed the lowest superoxide dismutase (SOD), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), glutathione transferase (GST) activity, and the highest levels of malondialdehyde (MDA). Moreover, they showed a significant improvement in liver enzymes and kidney function tests and a significant (P < 0.05) reduction in the levels of total cholesterol and triglycerides. Chamomile supplementation alone or with OTA significantly (P < 0.05) increased immunoglobulin M, G, A, and complement 3 than OTA alone. Chamomile oil with an OTA diet or alone reduced the negative effects of OTA and improved the performance, antioxidant status, lipid profile, and immunological state of growing Japanese quails
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