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In Italy, from 2000 to 2010, 58% of farms in mountain areas were abandoned leading to a 33% decrease in available land for agriculture. This research aimed to restore value and competitiveness to the Apennine area, by proposing a balanced and sustainable agriculture model. Following the needs of farmers, underutilised cereals were selected as the ideal genetic material for the study and development of short local food supply chains. The field experiments were carried out in two organic farms located in the Emilia-Romagna Region (Italy). During two growing seasons, seven wheat genotypes, two wheat evolutionary populations and one einkorn mixture were cultivated under organic farming management. Results related to functional traits are presented along with the main agronomic and technological parameters that were determined. Several nutritional properties are included. Mean yield and stability performance over environments for each genotype were explored using the “Genotype and Genotype by Environment biplot” elaboration. Considering yield performances, “Benco” was closer to the ‘ideal’ genotype. All the results were evaluated with the farmers, who expressed their own preferences from field observations. The right coupling between environment and genotypes can discourage the abandonment of hilly and mountainous farms by enhancing the economic competitiveness of agriculture in these regions.

Digital transformation in the public sector provides digital services to the citizens aiming at increasing their quality of life, as well as the transparency and accountability of a public administration. Since adaptation to the citizens changing needs is central for its success, Agile methodologies seem best suited for the software development of digital services in that area. However, as well documented by an attempt to use Scrum for an important Public Administration in Italy, substantial modifications to standard Agile were needed, giving rise to a new proposal called improved Agile (in short, iAgile). Another notable example is the Scrum@IMI method developed by the City of Barcelona for the deployment of its digital services. However, given the importance of digital transformation in the public sector and the scarcity of efforts (documented in the scholarly literature) to effectively bring Agile within it, a strategically important contribution that Computer Science can offer is a general paradigm describing how to tailor Agile methodologies and, in particular, Scrum, for such a specific context. Our proposal, called Scrum@PA, addresses this strategic need. Based on it, a public administration has a technically sound avenue to follow to adopt Scrum rather than a generic set of guidelines as in the current state of the art. We show the validity of our proposal by describing how the quite successful Scrum@IMI approach can be derived from Scrum@PA. Although iAgile can also be derived from our paradigm, we have chosen Scrum@IMI as a pilot example since it is publicly available on GitHub.

Pedodiversity is generally neglected in studies concerning soil organic carbon (SOC). Therefore, this investigation aimed to explore the effect of soil types on the following: (1) soil processes related to organic matter (OM) dynamics along the profile; and (2) the microbial community and functionality within the uppermost horizon. Humic Dystrudepts (HD), Typic Dystrudepts (TD), and Humic Lithic Dystrudepts (HLD) were selected in beech forests of the Apennine ridge in the Emilia-Romagna Region (Italy). Soils were sampled by horizons until parent material, and physico-chemical and functional analyses were performed. The results showed that both HD and HLD soils had a higher SOC accumulation than TD, particularly within the deeper horizons. Such accumulation might be due to the lower turnover rate of soil OM forms, namely fulvic acid-like substances, humic acid-like substances, and non-extractable OM. Noteworthy, the A horizons showed slight differences in SOC among the soil types, suggesting similar SOC decomposition processes. This fact was confirmed by the lack of differences in microbial DNA-based diversity and functionality. This study highlighted the importance of combining pedodiversity and microbial diversity for a wider perspective on SOC dynamics.

This work addresses short-run fluctuations of nominal global meat commodity prices, that is, beef, lamb, pork, and poultry, from January 1980 to October 2023, thus including the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russo-Ukrainian conflict. It tries to answer the following questions: how do fluctuations in meat commodity prices behave historically? Are meat commodity prices synchronised? Do their co-movements show specific features during recent global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russo-Ukrainian war? Using a 'classical' framework of cycle analysis, the work provides a series of turning points upon which statistics on phase and cycle durations and amplitudes are generated. Care is put into highlighting the pros and cons of employing algorithms based on turning points instead of harmonic models. Global nominal meat prices feature cycles lasting between 3.8 and 4.6 years on average. Pork prices, contrary to other meat prices, are characterised by a highly volatile and prevalently contractionary behaviour. From a policy perspective, the article provides results on the synchronisation of couples of meat prices and on the existence of a common meat price cycle both historically and during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russo-Ukrainian war.

Coastal dune systems around the world have been severely degraded by human activities, especially in the last century. This has resulted in severe structural and functional damage to these dynamic yet fragile transitional ecosystems and a net loss of important ecosystem services, especially in the face of climate change threats. The implementation of measures for sustainable coastal management and the restoration of degraded ecosystems are urgently needed. In this context, we revised and used several indicators and indices on the geomorphology, biology, and ecology of the dune systems along the Venetian coast to define the current conservation status and assess the feasibility of dune restoration measures. The application of the indices provided important information about the sites and the measures needed to improve the functionality of the coastal dune systems. In addition, the indices provided useful insights for the implementation of management strategies aimed at ensuring the current and future provision of ecosystem services by coastal dune systems and promoting their sustainable use by translating scientific knowledge into management and restoration practices, which has been a bottleneck in ecosystem conservation and restoration so far.

AbstractCamelina [Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz] is a Brassicaceae oilseed that is gaining interest worldwide as low‐maintenance crop for diverse biobased applications. One of the most important factors determining its productivity is climate. We conducted a bioclimate analysis in order to analyze the relationship between climatic factors and the productivity of spring‐type camelina seeded in the spring, and to identify regions of the world with potential for camelina in this scenario. Using the modelling tool CLIMEX, a bioclimatic model was developed for spring‐seeded spring‐type camelina to match distribution, reported seed yields and phenology records in North America. Distribution, yield, and phenology data from outside of North America were used as independent datasets for model validation and demonstrated that model projections agreed with published distribution records, reported spring‐seeded camelina yields, and closely predicted crop phenology in Europe, South America, and Asia. Sensitivity analysis, used to quantify the response of camelina to changes in precipitation and temperature, indicated that crop performance was more sensitive to moisture than temperature index parameters, suggesting that the yield potential of spring‐seeded camelina may be more strongly impacted by water‐limited conditions than by high temperatures. Incremental climate scenarios also revealed that spring‐seeded camelina production will exhibit yield shifts at the continental scale as temperature and precipitation deviate from current conditions. Yield data were compared with indices of climatic suitability to provide estimates of potential worldwide camelina productivity. This information was used to identify new areas where spring‐seeded camelina could be grown and areas that may permit expanded production, including eastern Europe, China, eastern Russia, Australia and New Zealand. Our model is the first to have taken a systematic approach to determine suitable regions for potential worldwide production of spring‐seeded camelina.

Camelina, a traditional oil-producing plant, has gained global interest due to the high-quality oil found in its seeds. It has numerous applications, including human dietary consumption, aviation biofuel, and biodiesel production. Seed quality testing is crucial for identifying suitable seed batches for market sale. Currently, vigor tests have been established for a limited selection of commercially cultivated plant species, including camelina. This study aims to assess seed vigor and contribute to the development and validation of methods/tests for reliable vigor assessment. The experiment used two camelina genotypes developed at the Institute of Field and Vegetables Crops in Novi Sad, Serbia. The findings revealed a noteworthy reduction in germination percentages for both genotypes across all the conducted tests, as compared to the conventional laboratory germination. Simultaneously, there was a notable increase in abnormal seedlings. However, no statistically significant differences in the values of growth parameters were observed among the applied tests. In summary, the reduced seed vigor values indicate potential issues with this trait, despite generally sound germination. Additionally, the preliminary findings and methodology developed for testing the camelina seed vigor highlighted the need for optimization when applying these tests to other species to ensure their reliability and applicability.

Listeria monocytogenes (in the meat, fish and seafood, dairy and fruit and vegetable sectors), Salmonella enterica (in the feed, meat, egg and low moisture food sectors) and Cronobacter sakazakii (in the low moisture food sector) were identified as the bacterial food safety hazards most relevant to public health that are associated with persistence in the food and feed processing environment (FFPE). There is a wide range of subtypes of these hazards involved in persistence in the FFPE. While some specific subtypes are more commonly reported as persistent, it is currently not possible to identify universal markers (i.e. genetic determinants) for this trait. Common risk factors for persistence in the FFPE are inadequate zoning and hygiene barriers; lack of hygienic design of equipment and machines; and inadequate cleaning and disinfection. A well-designed environmental sampling and testing programme is the most effective strategy to identify contamination sources and detect potentially persistent hazards. The establishment of hygienic barriers and measures within the food safety management system, during implementation of hazard analysis and critical control points, is key to prevent and/or control bacterial persistence in the FFPE. Once persistence is suspected in a plant, a ‘seek-and- destroy’ approach is frequently recommended, including intensified monitoring, the introduction of control measures and the continuation of the intensified monitoring. Successful actions triggered by persistence of L. monocytogenes are described, as well as interventions with direct bactericidal activity. These interventions could be efficient if properly validated, correctly applied and verified under industrial conditions. Perspectives are provided for performing a risk assessment for relevant combinations of hazard and food sector to assess the relative public health risk that can be associated with persistence, based on bottom-up and top-down approaches. Knowledge gaps related to bacterial food safety hazards associated with persistence in the FFPE and priorities for future research are provided. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion