640 research outputs found
Economic factors affecting obesity: an application in Italy
No full textThe World Health Organization has stated that obesity is spreading around the world like a “global epidemic”. In 2004 the percentage of obese people in the Italian population was 9%, but the trend s increasing in recent years. Focusing on this country, the purpose of the paper is to analyze the socio-economic variables affecting obesity by means of a survey conducted in a consumer sample. Our analysis is based on a survey conducted in Italy, and the sample was composed of 999 consumers. We used a binary logit model and the dependent variable is body mass index (BMI), expressed in a dichotomic way (seriously overweight and obese, value 1, and normal weight, value 0). The results show that the condition of the seriously overweight and obese increases with age, especially in people over 65 of age. Also gender is correlated with the pathology: being seriously overweight and obese is far more likely for men than for women. An inverse relation was shown between obesity and education, and between obesity and the level of food knowledge. The results highlight that disadvantaged social categories are more susceptible to the problem of overweight and obesity. A policy implication of the analysis, to limit the spread of obesity, could lie in programs aimed at improving health and food awareness and focused on these minority groups.economics of obesity, BMI and consumer, logit model, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Health Economics and Policy,
Assessment of large wood budget in two different rivers located in Alpine and Andean environment
No full textIn forested river basins, Large Wood (LW) is a key component responsible for the geomorphological and ecological aspect of fluvial systems but, at the same time, is a source of hazard for sensitive places. Given its dual role, the analysis and quantification of LW in rivers, as well as understanding its mobilization and deposition, are crucial steps in order to ensure an appropriate management of riverine areas. This study attempts to increase knowledge in the main LW-related processes, such as the lateral recruitment from bank erosion, fluvial transport and the presence of buried LW, assessing the LW budget in two rivers. The study was conducted in two different fluvial environments. A 3.7 km-long reach was selected along the middle course of the Italian Piave River, a human impacted gravel-bed river typified by wandering and island-braided morphologies. In addition, three 80 m-long reaches were selected along the lower course of the Chilean Blanco River, a natural river with a morphology that drastically changed because of a recent volcanic eruption. The three considered items of the budget were analyzed by field activities conducted during the three years of the PhD. The lateral recruitment of LW was analyzed only in the Piave River for an over-bankfull flood (RI~7yr) by measuring, positioning and tagging all standing trees (D≥ 0.1m) within a 20 m buffer wide along the floodplain banks and island perimeters. A similar methodology was used to investigate, in both rivers, the fluvial transport of LW by considering all woody elements (D≥0.1m and L≥1m) within the active channel. In this way, during post-event surveys it was possible to identify the input (deposition) and output (mobilization) elements. Because the sediments from the volcanic eruption caused the burial of several standing trees and LW, the presence of buried LW was explored only in the Blanco River by Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) testing. In the Piave River, the LW budget was assessed for very low floods (RI<1yr), whereas in the Blanco River ordinary (RI~1yr) and not-ordinary floods (RI 10-25yr) were considered. The results highlighted that, in the Piave River, the recruitment from bank erosion is a common process for the supply of LW. Volumes of recruited LW were found to vary according to the extension of the eroded surface, type of eroded morphological unit and riparian vegetation characteristics. Larger volumes (25.1 m3∙km-1) are recruited from both the floodplain and fluvial islands during not-ordinary floods (RI~7yr), whereas for ordinary events (RI<1yr) small amounts of LW (0.21 m3∙km-1) are recruited just from the floodplain. Furthermore, flood magnitude was found to be an important factor controlling the temporal fluctuations of LW storage, resulting in decreases and increases of LW abundance during ordinary and not-ordinary events, respectively. The increase in wetted area results in a greater inundation of fluvial bars that allows, at the same time, the mobilization and deposition of LW. In addition to the role of flood magnitude, the local-scale morphology of the river appeared to be another factor influencing the changes in LW abundance, with greater variations in multi-thread than single-thread channels, where the larger and faster increase in the inundated area increases the amount of in-transport LW. In particular, the budget for the Piave River featured negligible variations in LW storage (-9.7%) and a very low mobility rate (1.43%) reflecting the low magnitude of occurred events. By contrast, a higher dynamicity of LW was found in the Blanco River also during ordinary events, with mobility rates ranging from 41 to 94% and LW storage increasing up to 179%, because of the considerable input volumes (highest input of 285.35 m3∙ha-1). The complexity of LW dynamics in the Blanco River is also due to the presence of buried LW (1.65 m3∙ha-1) that can be easily exhumed and, thus, increase the amount of in-transport LW. This volume was obtained as a first approach with the GPR that proved to be a valid and non-destructive method to bridge this gap. The results obtained in this study can be considered useful advances in understanding the three main LW-related processes (recruitment, mobilization, deposition), knowledge of which is essential in order to ensure the positive contributions of wood to river ecosystems, and minimize potential hazards adopting correct management plans
Author response
No full textDetecting pathogens and mounting immune responses upon infection is crucial for animal health. However, these responses come at a high metabolic price (McKean and Lazzaro, 2011, Kominsky et al., 2010), and avoiding pathogens before infection may be advantageous. The bacterial endotoxins lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are important immune system infection cues (Abbas et al., 2014), but it remains unknown whether animals possess sensory mechanisms to detect them prior to infection. Here we show that Drosophila melanogaster display strong aversive responses to LPS and that gustatory neurons expressing Gr66a bitter receptors mediate avoidance of LPS in feeding and egg laying assays. We found the expression of the chemosensory cation channel dTRPA1 in these cells to be necessary and sufficient for LPS avoidance. Furthermore, LPS stimulates Drosophila neurons in a TRPA1-dependent manner and activates exogenous dTRPA1 channels in human cells. Our findings demonstrate that flies detect bacterial endotoxins via a gustatory pathway through TRPA1 activation as conserved molecular mechanism.sponsorship: Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie Alessia Soldano Luis Franco Guangda Liu Natalia Mora Emre Yaksi Bassem A Hassanr Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0702.12 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0077.15 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0680.10 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0681.10 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0503.12 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0654.15 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0761.10N Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0596.12 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek G.0565.07 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Alejandro Lopez-Requena Natalia Mora Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar KU Leuven GOA/14/011 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Luis Franco Alejandro Lopez-Requena Guangda Liu Natalia Mora Emre Yaksi Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar European Commission IUAP P7/13 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Luis Franco Alejandro Lopez-Requena Guangda Liu Natalia Mora Emre Yaksi Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekensr KU Leuven OT/12/091 Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Luis Franco Alejandro Lopez-Requena Guangda Liu Natalia Mora Emre Yaksi Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talaverar KU Leuven PF-TRPLe Alessia Soldano Yeranddy A Alpizar Brett Boonen Luis Franco Alejandro Lopez-Requena Guangda Liu Natalia Mora Emre Yaksi Thomas Voets Rudi Vennekens Bassem A Hassan Karel Talavera (Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|G.0702.12, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|G.0077.15, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|G.0680.10, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|G.0681.10, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|G.0503.12, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|G.0654.15, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|G.0761.10N, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|G.0596.12, KU Leuven|GOA/14/011, KU Leuven|OT/12/091, European Commission|IUAP P7/13, KU Leuven PF-TRPLe)status: Publishe
Using a terrestrial laser scanner to detect wood characteristics in gravel-bed rivers
No full textThe possibility of analysing the characteristics and volume of inchannel large wood (LW) is of importance for river management but the traditional manual field activities are usually time-consuming and not easy to apply at a larger spatial scale. This paper presents an alternative and faster method to detect the characteristics and measurements of large wood in rivers by using the terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) technology. Field-measurements data and TLS scans were collected in August 2013 along 14 ha of the Piave River (Italy) analysing 230 and 208 woody elements for the manual method and the TLS one, respectively. TLS data were processed using the Cyclone 7 software and the LW measurements were extracted adopting two specific tools. The resulting low margin of error in the comparison between field data and those derived from TLS surveys confirmed the ability of TLS in the detection of large wood and wood jams characteristics. The greatest deviations were found for wood jams height which the TLS showed a tendency to overestimate (+24.37%) and LW length with a slight underestimation (19.76%). Considering the wood volume, the relative difference between the TLS and manual method was within a negligible margin of error of ±7%. Characteristics and measurements of LW in rivers can be obtained from TLS surveys, but some progress in this technique is still needed to allow a better management of the 3D point cloud and a faster extraction of the wood measurements. The proposed method represents an alternative tool for faster and repeated surveys of wood characteristics in a complex river environment, ensuring a reliable quantification of spatial and temporal variation of wood volume
Bank erosion and large wood recruitment along a gravel bed river
No full textRiverine environments can be very dynamic and complex systems, particularly because of the interaction between active channel and riparian land during flood events of different magnitude. In recent years increasing attention has been paid to large wood (LW), focusing on its role and impact along riverine systems and fluvial landscapes. This research aims to analyze the characteristics of LW recruitment as a consequence of a flood event along a reach of a gravel-bed river. The study was conducted on a 3 km-long reach located in the middle course of the Piave River (north-eastern Italian Alps). A 20 m-wide buffer zone was considered along the floodplains and islands. Every standing tree in this buffer with diameter ≥ 0.10 m was measured manually (diameter breast height; height), whereas shrubs were not considered. The most common species in the study area are: Populus sp.,Salix sp., Alnus sp., Carpinus sp., Fraxinus sp., Pinus sylvestris and Robinia pseudoacacia. An over bankfull flood (Q=1329 m 3 s –1 ; recurrence interval=6 years) in November 2014 caused erosions along the floodplain (15,565.5 m 2 ), pioneer islands (25.2 m 2 ) and building islands (2085.6 m 2 ), recruiting 690 trees. Four of these trees were recruited from the pioneer islands (0.16 tree m –2 ), 79 from building islands (0.04 tree m –2 ) and 607 from floodplains (0.04 tree m –2 ). Accurate dendrometric measurements were used to define the input volume of LW from the floodplains (86.25 m 3 ), pioneer islands (0.14 m 3 ) and building islands (6.62 m 3 ). The maximum distance traveled by LW recruited from the floodplain, pioneer and building islands was 8927, 1021 and 3727 m, respectively. Statistical analysis showed no significant relationship between the displacement and LW characteristics considered (diameter, length, volume, density). These results demonstrate that the recruitment and subsequent transport of LW is a complex mechanism that requires further study. To better characterize these mechanisms, it appears clear that it is important to consider not only the LW characteristics but also the connection between LW, morphological settings, and flood event characteristics
Modeling the effects of low flow on wood transport in the Piave River
No full textApplication of the 2D model ORSA2D_WT to a low-flow event of the Piave River case study, to analyse the tranport of the large wood. The application helped in assessing the model capabilities to work in low-flow condition, where river bed friction, log shape and dimension play a significant role in wood mobilization
Sampling riparian vegetation and morphology with cross sectional transects: first results from three North-eastern Italian rivers
No full textThis study investigated woody vegetation and geomorphology in three gravel-bed rivers (North-East Italy) affected by different intensities of human pressure. To characterize the links between riparian vegetation and morphological settings, the analysis were carried on at least one braided and one wandering sub-reach along each river. A total of 710 plots (4×4 m) along eighteen cross-sections (266-1000 m long) of the floodplain extent were surveyed. Morphological characteristics, stand and species composition has been analysed. Preliminary results suggest that the composition and characteristics of the riparian vegetation of the three fluvial ecosystems and the gradients between the geomorphic units in morphological variables have been strongly affected by the human pressure. There are relevant differences in the species composition of riparian woody communities, the elevation, and the geomorphic persistence of floodplains, islands and bars between the rivers. This will have implications on the forest management and conservation planning of riparian habitats
Medium and short term riparian vegetation, island and channel evolution in response to human pressure in a regulated gravel bed river (Piave River, Italy)
No full textDuring the last decades, several Italian gravel-bed rivers suffered from different types and levels of human
pressures that changed their morphological and vegetation patterns. This study aims to analyze the medium-
and short-term evolution of vegetation cover, fluvial islands and main channel characteristics along a gravel-
bed reach of the Piave River (North-eastern Italy), with special emphasis on the changes in the vegetation
cover type and structure. The Piave River experienced different types of human disturbance such as gravel min-
ing, hydropower schemes, and land use changes. A sequence of aerial photographs (1960, 1970, 1982, 1991,
1999, 2006, 2010 and 2012) have been analyzed to detect the medium-term (about 50 yr) evolution of riparian
vegetation along a reach about 30 km-long in the middle course of the Piave River. In addition, LiDAR data (2003)
and seven repeated topographic surveys (done between 2007 and 2011) have been used to quantify changes in
three cross sections on a sub-reach about 2 km-long, in order to analyze the channel evolution over a short period
(1–8 yr). The medium-term analysis revealed that changes in the river evolutionary trend depended on the
variations in human activities both in the main channel and at basin scale. In fact, during the last five decades
there has been a consistent and continuous increase of riparian vegetation within the river corridor, from around
50% up to 68%, which corresponds to a continuous decrease from around 46% to 29% in the area of exposed gravel
and low flow channels. Considering the different vegetation cover types, there was a predominant increase of sta-
ble and tall vegetation from around 34% up to a maximum of around 67% (1999), then a slight decrease to around
62% (2010 and 2012). After a slight recovery phase subsequent to the cessation of gravel mining in the late 1990s
and associated to flood events in the early 2000s, the Piave River appears to have been in an equilibrium phase in
terms of bed elevation, planform morphology and areas of vegetation, which is becoming taller and more mature,
as a result of the combination of flow regulation, reduced bedload input from upstream and lack of relevant flood
events. These results suggest that in highly regulated — in terms of flow and sediment fluxes — rivers the cessation
of gravel mining alone is not sufficient to revert a degradation trend and thus restore prior morphological patterns
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