A flux-based assessment of the effects of ozone on foliar injury, photosynthesis, and yield of bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv. Borlotto Nano Lingua di Fuoco) in open-top chambers

Stomatal ozone uptake, determined with the Jarvis' approach, was related to photosynthetic efficiency assessed by chlorophyll fluorescence and reflectance measurements in open-top chamber experiments on Phaseolus vulgaris. The effects of O₃ exposure were also evaluated in terms of visible and microscopical leaf injury and plant productivity. Results showed that microscopical leaf symptoms, assessed as cell death and H₂O₂ accumulation, preceded by 3-4 days the appearance of visible symptoms. An effective dose of ozone stomatal flux for visible leaf damages was found around 1.33 mmol O₃ m⁻². Significant linear dose-response relationships were obtained between accumulated fluxes and optical indices (PRI, NDI, ΔF/F_m^′). The negative effects on photosynthesis reduced plant productivity, affecting the number of pods and seeds, but not seed weight. These results, besides contributing to the development of a flux-based ozone risk assessment for crops in Europe, highlight the potentiality of reflectance measurements for the early detection of ozone stress.     

瓦里关气相色谱法大气CO_2和CH_4在线观测数据处理分析

加强我国本底站温室气体数据资源的科学管理与共享,首先应保证观测全流程的标准化和规范化,确立数据处理和质量控制方法.我国青海瓦里关全球本底站自1994年开始了气相色谱-氢火焰离子化检测器法(GC-FID)大气CO2和CH4在线观测,本文详细讨论了该系统原始资料采集、数据信息合并、时间序列检查、观测员级质量控制和专家级质量控制等流程.利用局部近似回归法对大气CO2和CH4数据进行本底值筛分,获得CO2本底数据百分比约占有效数据的72%、CH4占44%.在线观测的CO2和CH4月平均浓度与同期瓶采样分析结果基本一致,相对偏差均在±0.5%以内.经流程化处理和质控的瓦里关大气CO2和CH4本底浓度变化资料已进入全球同化数据库(Globalview-CO2、Globalview-CH4),报送世界温室气体数据中心(WDCGG)并应用于世界气象组织(WMO)温室气体公报和联合国政府间气候变化专门委员会(IPCC)评估.     

Human influence over 150 years of coastal evolution in the Volturno delta system (southern Italy)

This paper focused on the past shoreline change rates along the coastal plain of the Volturno River, in southern Italy, western Mediterranean. A wide database comprising historical maps, aerial photographs, topographic sheets, bathymetric data was used to extract the spatial and temporal information of the coastlines at seven time points. Coastline displacement was calculated for two successive time points and relative surface variation (accretion and erosion) was estimated as well as minimum and maximum accretion/erosion linear values and rates. The surface variation analysis has revealed that the studied coast can be considered homogeneous since the 1970s, whereas it exhibits a variety of shoreline evolutionary trends after that time period. Timing and causes of trends and rates of variation were detected. Based on the estimated shoreline change rates, an appropriate morhodynamic one-line model was applied to predict evolutionary scenarios also in presence of port and defence works. The results obtained strongly emphasize that a successful coastal management requires a constant monitoring of the human-induced changes to account for the variability of rates over time.     

A design for EoL approach and metrics to favour closed-loop scenarios for products

Recently, environmentally conscious design and extended producer responsibility have become key aspects for companies that need to develop products that are sustainable along their whole life cycle. Design for End of Life (EoL) is a strategy that aims to reduce landfill waste through the implementation of closed-loop product life cycles. It is important to consider disassembly and EoL scenario management as early as the design phase. For these reasons, this paper presents an approach to help designers in the evaluation and subsequent improvement in product EoL performance. The method is based on four innovative EoL indices that compare different EoL scenarios for each product component. In this way, the designer can modify the product structure or the liaisons to maximise the reuse and remanufacture of components as well as material recycling. The presented case studies confirm the validity of the approach in helping designers during the redesign phase of goods and products to reduce the quantity of materials and industrial wastes sent to landfill.     

Government to Citizens (G2C) communication and use of social media in the post-disaster reconstruction phase

Post-disaster reconstruction (PDR) poses specific and complex challenges that government agencies have to deal with. Existing crisis management and communication models as well as literature on social media adoption by public organisations tend to focus on the critical stage, neglecting the issues that arise when the social, physical and cultural environments affected by a disaster have to be rebuilt. Conversely, this paper presents some preliminary findings on the Government to Citizen (G2C) communications and social media usage in PDR settings. The PDR process that followed the earthquakes in Emilia-Romagna (Northern Italy) in 2012 was used as a case study. Data derived from field notes and multiple-choice questionnaires revealed that government agencies provided information mainly about housing and infrastructure and financing and that they addressed this information to all citizens, although information was sometimes targeted specifically to business people, homeowners and members of community-based groups. Government officers gave preference to face-to-face contacts, Web portals and printed material. Social media were used predominantly as additional means of communication of PDR-related information, thus underrating their potential for community engagement and G2C bidirectional communication. In the discussions, findings are integrated into and validated against literature and communication theories.     

Sperm allocation in relation to male traits, female size, and copulation behaviour in freshwater crayfish species

Sperm competition is a well-recognised agent in the evolution of sperm and ejaculate structure, as well as variation in female quality. Models of the evolution of ejaculate expenditure predict that male body condition, female fecundity and the risk and intensity of sperm competition may be the ultimate factors shaping optimal ejaculate size. We investigated sperm allocation in Austropotamobius italicus, a freshwater crayfish exhibiting a coercive mating system and external fertilisation, in relation to male and female traits and copulation behaviour under laboratory conditions. We found that mating males were sensitive to female size and produced larger ejaculates when mating with larger females, which were more fecund in terms of number of eggs produced. We found no evidence for female egg production being sperm-limited, as the number of eggs was not dependent on male sperm expenditure. Copulation duration and number of ejaculations reliably predicted the amount of sperm transferred, and both these behavioural measures positively covaried with female body size. These results indicate that male freshwater crayfish can modulate their sperm expenditure in accordance with cues that indicate female fecundity. In addition, a novel finding that emerged from this study is the decrease in sperm expenditure with male body size, which may either suggest that large, old male crayfish are better able than small males to economise sperm at a given mating to perform multiple matings during a reproductive season, or that they experience senescence of their reproductive performance.     

Production of biodiesel from macroalgae by supercritical CO2 extraction and thermochemical liquefaction

We compare two different techniques for the extraction of biodiesel from macroalgae: the thermochemical liquefaction and the extraction using supercritical carbon dioxide (sc-CO₂). The first allows to use wet material, while sc-CO₂ requires dry material and uses moderate temperature and pressure so that it can be useful for the extraction of thermolabile compounds which may decompose at the temperature at which thermal methos are carried out. In both cases the extracted oil was characterized quantitatively and qualitatively. The novelty of the work is that in the literature the use of macroalgae for the production of biodiesel has not so far been described, while they are used mainly as food or other purposes.     

First in vitro use of the phenylphosphate carboxylase enzyme in supercritical CO2 for the selective carboxylation of phenol to 4-hydroxybenzoic acid

A new biotechnological synthetic approach to 4-hydroxybenzoic acid is reported. Thauera aromatica cells produce the phenylphosphate carboxylase enzyme that selectively carboxylates phenylphosphate in the para position, without any formation of the ortho isomer. Here we show that the enzyme also works in supercritical carbon dioxide, opening a new technological solution to the recovery of the products that is a key problem when aqueous media are used. The enzyme shows an activity comparable with that shown under CO₂ pressure in aqueous media and does not require the presence of NaHCO₃.