• Rural Digital Europe
• 2023-2023close
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The present study aims to determine the combined effect of cropping system and irrigation regime on the chemical composition and bioactive properties of lemon balm aerial parts. For this purpose, lemon balm plants were grown under two farming systems (conventional farming vs organic farming) and two irrigation levels (full irrigation vs deficit irrigation) and harvested twice throughout the growing period. The collected aerial parts were subjected to three different methods of extractions, namely infusion, maceration and ultrasound-assisted extraction and the obtained extracts were evaluated in terms of chemical profile and bioactivities. Five organic acids with varied composition among the tested treatments were identified in all the tested samples for both harvests, namely, citric, malic, oxalic, shikimic and quinic acid. Regarding phenolic compounds composition, the most abundant ones were rosmarinic acid, lithospermic acid A isomer I and hydroxylsalvianolic E, especially for the maceration and infusion extraction methods. Full irrigation resulted in lower EC50 values than deficit irrigation only in the treatments of the second harvest, while variable cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory effects were recorded in both harvests. Finally, in most cases the lemon balm extracts has similar or better activity than the positive controls, while the antifungal activity of lemon balm extracts was stronger than the antibacterial effects. In conclusion, the results of the present study showed that the implemented agronomic practices, as well as the extraction protocol may significantly affect the chemical profile and bioactivities of lemon balm extracts, suggesting that both the farming system and the irrigation schedule may improve the quality of the extracts depending on the implemented extraction protocol.

In an era of rapid technological improvements, state-of-the-art methodologies and tools dedicated to protecting and promoting our cultural heritage should be developed and extensively employed in the contemporary built environment and lifestyle. At the same time, sustainability principles underline the importance of the continuous use of historic or vernacular buildings as part of the building stock of our society. Adopting a holistic, integrated, multi-disciplinary strategy can link technological innovation with the conservation and restoration of heritage buildings. This paper presents the ongoing research and results of the application of Machine Learning methods for the remote monitoring of the built environment of the historic cluster in Cypriot cities. This study is part of an integrated, multi-scale, and multi-disciplinary study of heritage buildings, with the end goal of creating an online HBIM platform for urban monitoring.

The Mesopotamian marshes, a unique and ecologically important wetland ecosystem, have experienced significant changes over the past five decades due to various anthropogenic interventions and natural processes. This thesis focuses on analyzing the temporal dynamics and spatial extent of the marshlands using a combination of satellite imagery and remote sensing techniques. The study utilizes a time series of satellite images spanning from 1972 to 2023, providing a comprehensive understanding of the marshes' evolution. The imagery is processed using advanced techniques, including mosaic creation, band extraction, index calculation, and land cover classification. Various indices, such as NDVI, NDWI, NDMI, and MNDWI, are employed to capture the vegetation density, water content, and moisture conditions within the marshes. The classification results reveal significant changes in the marshes' extent and composition over time. The analysis highlights the gradual decline of the marshes from the 1980s, exacerbated by the Iraq-Iran war in the 1980s and subsequent drainage projects. However, a positive trend of restoration is observed from 2014 to 2023, indicating successful conservation efforts. The findings of this study have significant implications for the management and conservation of the Mesopotamian marshes. The integration of satellite imagery, indices, and classification techniques offers a powerful tool for monitoring and assessing the ecosystem's health and identifying key areas for restoration. The study underscores the importance of preserving wetland ecosystems, as they provide essential habitats for diverse flora and fauna, support local communities, and contribute to regional biodiversity and ecological balance. Overall, this thesis contributes to the broader understanding of the Mesopotamian marshes' dynamics and provides valuable insights for policymakers, environmentalists, and researchers working towards the sustainable management and restoration of wetland ecosystems. Τα έλη της Μεσοποταμίας, ένα μοναδικό και οικολογικά σημαντικό υγροτοπικό οικοσύστημα, έχουν υποστεί σημαντικές αλλαγές τις τελευταίες πέντε δεκαετίες λόγω διαφόρων ανθρωπογενών παρεμβάσεων και φυσικών διεργασιών. Η παρούσα πτυχιακή επικεντρώνεται στην ανάλυση της διαχρονικής δυναμικής και της χωρικής έκτασης των ελών χρησιμοποιώντας ένα συνδυασμό δορυφορικών εικόνων και τεχνικών τηλεπισκόπησης. Η μελέτη χρησιμοποιεί μια χρονοσειρά δορυφορικών εικόνων που καλύπτει το χρονικό διάστημα από το 1972 έως το 2023, παρέχοντας μια ολοκληρωμένη κατανόηση της εξέλιξης των ελών. Η επεξεργασία των εικόνων γίνεται με τη χρήση προηγμένων τεχνικών, συμπεριλαμβανομένης της δημιουργίας μωσαϊκού, της εξαγωγής ζωνών, του υπολογισμού δεικτών και της ταξινόμησης της κάλυψης γης. Χρησιμοποιούνται τέσσερις δείκτες, ο NDVI, ο NDWI, ο NDMI και ο MNDWI, για να αποτυπωθούν η πυκνότητα της βλάστησης, η περιεκτικότητα σε νερό και οι συνθήκες υγρασίας εντός των ελών. Τα αποτελέσματα της ταξινόμησης αποκαλύπτουν σημαντικές αλλαγές στην έκταση και τη σύνθεση των ελών με την πάροδο του χρόνου. Η ανάλυση αναδεικνύει τη σταδιακή μείωση των ελών από τη δεκαετία του 1980, η οποία επιδεινώθηκε από τον πόλεμο Ιράκ-Ιράν τη δεκαετία του 1980 και τα επακόλουθα έργα αποξήρανσης. Ωστόσο, παρατηρείται μια θετική τάση αποκατάστασης από το 2014 έως το 2023, γεγονός που υποδηλώνει επιτυχείς προσπάθειες διατήρησης. Τα ευρήματα της παρούσας μελέτης έχουν σημαντικές επιπτώσεις για τη διαχείριση και τη διατήρηση των ελών της Μεσοποταμίας. Η ενσωμάτωση δορυφορικών εικόνων, δεικτών και τεχνικών ταξινόμησης προσφέρει ένα ισχυρό εργαλείο για την παρακολούθηση και την αξιολόγηση της υγείας του οικοσυστήματος και τον εντοπισμό βασικών περιοχών για αποκατάσταση. Η μελέτη υπογραμμίζει τη σημασία της διατήρησης των υγροτοπικών οικοσυστημάτων, καθώς παρέχουν βασικούς βιότοπους για ποικίλη χλωρίδα και πανίδα, στηρίζουν τις τοπικές κοινότητες και συμβάλλουν στην περιφερειακή βιοποικιλότητα και οικολογική ισορροπία. Συνοπτικά, η παρούσα πτυχιακή συμβάλλει στην ευρύτερη κατανόηση της δυναμικής των ελών της Μεσοποταμίας και παρέχει πολύτιμες πληροφορίες για τους υπεύθυνους χάραξης πολιτικής, τους περιβαλλοντολόγους και τους ερευνητές που εργάζονται για τη βιώσιμη διαχείριση και αποκατάσταση των υγροτοπικών οικοσυστημάτων. Completed

In the IoT era, sensitive and non-sensitive data are recorded and transmitted to multiple service providers and IoT platforms, aiming to improve the quality of our lives through the provision of high-quality services. However, in some cases these data may become available to interested third parties, who can analyse them with the intention to derive further knowledge and generate new insights about the users, that they can ultimately use for their own benefit. This predicament raises a crucial issue regarding the privacy of the users and their awareness on how their personal data are shared and potentially used. The immense increase in fitness trackers use has further increased the amount of user data generated, processed and possibly shared or sold to third parties, enabling the extraction of further insights about the users. In this work, we investigate if the analysis and exploitation of the data collected by fitness trackers can lead to the extraction of inferences about the owners routines, health status or other sensitive information. Based on the results, we utilise the PrivacyEnhAction privacy tool, a web application we implemented in a previous work through which the users can analyse data collected from their IoT devices, to educate the users about the possible risks and to enable them to set their user privacy preferences on their fitness trackers accordingly, contributing to the personalisation of the provided services, in respect of their personal data.

While wild pollinators play a key role in global food production, their assessment is currently missing from the most commonly used environmental impact assessment method, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). This is mainly due to constraints in data availability and compatibility with LCA inventories. To target this gap, relative pollinator abundance estimates were obtained with the use of a Delphi assessment, during which 25 experts, covering 16 nationalities and 45 countries of expertise, provided scores for low, typical, and high expected abundance associated with 24 land use categories. Based on these estimates, this study presents a set of globally generic characterization factors (CFs) that allows translating land use into relative impacts to wild pollinator abundance. The associated uncertainty of the CFs is presented along with an illustrative case to demonstrate the applicability in LCA studies. The CFs based on estimates that reached consensus during the Delphi assessment are recommended as readily applicable and allow key differences among land use types to be distinguished. The resulting CFs are proposed as the first step for incorporating pollinator impacts in LCA studies, exemplifying the use of expert elicitation methods as a useful tool to fill data gaps that constrain the characterization of key environmental impacts. Funder: Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division Funder: Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnolog?a Funder: Montana Department of Agriculture

Research often illustrates the importance of digital transformation for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly during external disruptions. However, little attention has been devoted to how SMEs’ digital transformation occurs. Employing a micro-foundations perspective, this study investigates the effect of managers’ digital literacy (MDL) on SMEs’ digital transformation. We test a moderated mediation model using survey data from 158 SMEs operating in the United Arab Emirates. Our findings suggest that MDL impacts digital transformation through the usage of digital technologies. Moreover, the relationship between MDL and the usage of digital technologies is further moderated by managerial attributes (i.e., gender, education, and age). Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

This review paper aims to provide a meta-analysis of the scientific literature for heritage documentation and monitoring using geo-information sensors. The study initially introduces the main types of geomatic sensors that are currently widely used for heritage studies. Although the list provided here is indicative rather than exhaustive, it provides a general overview of the variety of sensors used for different observation scales. The study next focuses on the existing literature, based on published documents. Targeted queries were implemented to the Scopus database to extract the relevant information. Filtering was then applied to the results so as to limit the analysis on the specific thematic sub-domains that is applied for heritage documentation and monitoring. These domains include, among other close-range and underwater photogrammetry, Terrestrial Laser Scanner, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles platforms, and satellite observations. In total, more than 12,000 documents were further elaborated. The overall findings are summarized and presented here, providing further insights into the current status of the domain.

The purpose of this study is to explore the extent to which intelligent automation (IA) should be used to provide the best possible service quality and experience to customers, an area that needs further exploration. The study draws on an inductive qualitative inquiry from the supply side which has been rather overlooked despite its significant role in designing and shaping experiences. The data were gathered by conducting a total of 39 semi-structured interviews with tourism service providers in Cyprus. The findings revealed insightful information regarding human-IA tasks and interaction from a tourism provider perspective while stressing the cooperation between humans and IA within a service context. The importance of the human element, individual characteristics and key human capabilities are particularly stressed within a continuous digitally transformative industry. The paper concludes with theoretical contributions in regard to the experiential theoretical milieu, practical implications, and future research directions.