Architectural development and dry matter production in a multisite trial on single and multiaxis apple trees (Malus domestica Borkh) grafted on different rootstocks

In two Italian sites, multiaxis trees slightly reduced primary axis length and secondary axis length of newly grafted trees, and increased the number of secondary shoots. The total length, node production, and total dry matter gain were proportional to the number of axis. Growth of both primary and secondary shoots, and dry matter accumulation, have been found to be also well related to rootstock vigour. A great variability in axillary shoot production was recorded among different environments. Grafted trees had higher primary growth, secondary axis growth, and dry matter gain than chip budded trees. Stem water potential measured in the second year after grafting was not affected by rootstocks or number of leaders. Measurements performed in New Zealand (Hawke’s Bay) during the second year after grafting revealed that both final length and growth rate of primary and secondary axis were related to the rootstock rather than to the training system. Dwarfing rootstocks reduced the number of long vegetative shoots and increased the proportion of less vigorous shoots.

On land management: landowners' attitudes to land and farming in Valdera, Tuscany

This thesis aims at explaining the intersecting dynamics of structural changes in agriculture and urbanisation, which involves changes in urban-rural relationships. The research questions are: how and why do landowners differ in their attitudes to land and farming? what are the main implications on rural landscapes and the policy implications? Relationships between urbanisation and agriculture are firstly analysed through a critical literature review; the analysis focuses on the 'landowner' as the key actor who actively takes decisions on the rural landscape From the empirical study – which is based on a Tuscan area (Valdera), and addressed through qualitative methods – a great diversity of landowners' attitudes to land and farming emerge, thus contributing to the agricultural restructuring, such as: 1) the emphasis on recreational function of the countryside for urban people 2) contracting out of land management, especially when landowners live or/and have 'urban' employment 3) the active role of hobby farmers in land management 4) agricultural operations simplification and lack of investments (especially in case of property rights expropriation). The thesis is framed in three papers, with the same methods and research questions. It seems evident that rural landscapes is subjected to functional changes (e.g. residential) and structural changes (landscape polarisation), which requires the need 1) to consider that rural landscape management is increasingly less connected to agricultural production as economic activity; 2) to give a coherence to the range of policy interventions (physical planning, landscape, sectoral).

A farm-level programming model to compare the atmospheric impact of conventional and organic farming

A model is developed to represent the activity of a farm using the method of linear programming. Two are the main components of the model, the balance of soil fertility and the livestock nutrition. According to the first, the farm is supposed to have a total requirement of nitrogen, which is to be accomplished either through internal sources (manure) or through external sources (fertilisers). The second component describes the animal husbandry as having a nutritional requirement which must be satisfied through the internal production of arable crops or the acquisition of feed from the market. The farmer is supposed to maximise total net income from the agricultural and the zoo-technical activities by choosing one rotation among those available for climate and acclivity. The perspective of the analysis is one of a short period: the structure of the farm is supposed to be fixed without possibility to change the allocation of permanent crops and the amount of animal husbandry. The model is integrated with an environmental module that describes the role of the farm within the carbon-nitrogen cycle. On the one hand the farm allows storing carbon through the photosynthesis of the plants and the accumulation of carbon in the soil; on the other some activities of the farm emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The model is tested for some representative farms of the Emilia-Romagna region, showing to be capable to give different results for conventional and organic farming and providing first results concerning the different atmospheric impact. Relevant data about the representative farms and the feasible rotations are extracted from the FADN database, with an integration of the coefficients from the literature.

Farming and processing stategies for improving poultry meat quality

The purpose of the PhD research was the identification of new strategies of farming and processing, with the aim to improve the nutritional and technological characteristics of poultry meat. Part of the PhD research was focused on evaluation of alternative farming systems, with the aim to increase animal welfare and to improve the meat quality and sensorial characteristics in broiler chickens. It was also assessed the use of innovative ingredients for marination of poultry meat (sodium bicarbonate and natural antioxidants) The research was developed by studying the following aspects: - Meat quality characteristics, oxidative stability and sensorial traits of chicken meat obtained from two different farming systems: free range vs conventional; - Meat quality traits of frozen chicken breast pre-salted using increasing concentrations of sodium chloride; - Use of sodium bicarbonate in comparison with sodium trypolyphosphate for marination of broiler breast meat and phase; - Marination with thyme and orange essential oils mixture to improve chicken meat quality traits, susceptibility to lipid oxidation and sensory traits. The following meat quality traits analyseswere performed: Colour, pH, water holding capacity by conventional (gravimetric methods, pressure application, centrifugation and cooking) and innovative methods (low-field NMR and DSC analysis) ability to absorb marinade soloutions, texture (shear force using different probes and texture profile analysis), proximate analysis (moisture, proteins, lipids, ash content, collagen, fatty acid), susceptibility to lipid oxidation (determinations of reactive substances with thiobarbituric acid and peroxide value), sensorial analysis (triangle test and consumer test).

Aereodynamics of dry helically-filleted bridge cables

Dry limited amplitude vibrations flow-transition induced vibrations were experienced on a helically-filleted tube, in a previous study performed by Kleissl and Georgakis (2012). These vibrations have never been reported in previous studies. A deep study on the same inclined-yawed cable configuration has been performed, in order to investigate and further understand the nature of these vibrations. The investigation has been carried out through passive-dynamic wind tunnel tests in the Climatic Wind Tunnel at FORCE Technology, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark. The results are carried out in terms of aerodynamic damping and peak to peak amplitude at different flow velocities and different boundary conditions. The latter are done by testing the model with and without the spray system installed in the wind tunnel cross section, in order to understand and evaluate the influence of the spray system on the start of the vibrations mechanism and on the flow turbulence. The gained experiences are finally presented for the use in future testing activities with the purpose of improving the performance of passive-dynamic tests.

By-products of the dairy farming as raw material for the biotechnology production of polyhydroxyalkanoates

I Poliidrossialcanoati (PHA) sono poliesteri completamente biodegradabili, prodotti da microrganismi come fonte di energia e di carbonio per la sintesi di nuovo materiale cellulare, utilizzando come substrato materie prime rinnovabili. Questi poliesteri sono considerati potenziali candidati per la sostituzione delle materie plastiche convenzionali. Tuttavia, i più alti costi di produzione dei PHA in confronto a quelli delle materie plastiche derivanti dal petrolio, rappresentano il principale ostacolo per la parziale sostituzione di questi ultimi con i biopolimeri. Gli alti costi sono principalmente dovuti all'utilizzo di colture microbiche pure (in cui sia presente un solo ceppo batterico) e substrati puri e costosi. Nell'ultimo decennio è stato sviluppato un processo di produzione a tre stadi alternativo e potenzialmente a minor costo, basato sull'utilizzo di colture microbiche miste (Mixed Microbials Culture, MMC) e una varietà di substrati organici a costo contenuto o nullo, quali alcuni rifiuti dell’industria agro-alimentare. Il presente studio si è concentrato sulla prima fase del processo di produzione dei PHA da colture miste, la fermentazione acidogenica, utilizzando siero di latte come fonte di carbonio per produrre acidi organici. In particolare questo lavoro ha avuto come obiettivo quello di studiare come diverse condizioni operative utilizzate nella fase di fermentazione acidogenica possono influenzare la concentrazione e il profilo degli acidi organici prodotti. Sono stati valutati anche gli effetti dei diversi profili degli acidi organici sulla fase di selezione della coltura microbica, in termini di capacità di stoccaggio di PHA e composizione polimerica.

Farming and processing factors for improving quality properties of poultry and rabbit meat

Recently, global meat market is facing several dramatic changes due to shifting in diet and life style, consumer demands, and economical considerations. Firstly, there was a tremendous increase in the poultry meat demand. Furthermore, current forecast and projection studies pointed out that the expansion of the poultry market will continue in future. In response to this demand, there was a great success to increase growth rate of meat-type chickens in the last few decades in order to optimize the production of poultry meat. Accordingly, the increase of growth rate induced the appearance of several muscle abnormalities such as pale-soft-exudative (PSE) syndrome and deep-pectoral-myopathy (DPM) and more recently white striping and wooden breast. Currently, there is growing interest in meat industry to understand how much the magnitude of the effect of these abnormalities on different quality traits for raw and processed meat. Therefore, the major part of the research activities during the PhD project was dedicated to evaluate the different implications of recent muscle abnormalities such as white striping and wooden breast on meat quality traits and their incidence under commercial conditions. Generally, our results showed that the incidence of these muscle abnormalities was very high under commercial conditions and had great adverse impact on meat quality traits. Secondly, there is growing market share of convenient, healthy, and functional processed meat products. Accordingly, the remaining part of research activities of the PhD project was dedicated to evaluate the possibility to formulate processed meat products with higher perceived healthy profile such as phosphate free-marinated chicken meat and low sodium-marinated rabbit meat products. Overall all findings showed that sodium bicarbonate can be considered as promising component to replace phosphates in meat products, while potassium chloride under certain conditions was successfully used to produce low marinated rabbit meat products.

From fossil to sustainable diets: an assessment of farming energy footprint

The dependence of industrial agricolture on fossil fuels has been assessed in two comparative case studies between Italy (Emilia-Romagna and Piemonte)and Missouri. The first is related to dairy farming; 15 different farms were surveyed, divided into three different groups: grain based, pasture based and organic. The second is devoted to rice cropping; 12 holdings were examined divided into two groups: conventional and organic. Energy footprint was determined for structures, machinery, fertilizers, pesticides, fuel, electricity, feed and seeds. Possible scenarios of transition to a more sustainable agricolture based on renewable energy sources were analized in detail for all the farms analized.

Wet and dry model granulates under mechanical load : a confocal microscopy study

Granular matter, also known as bulk solids, consists of discrete particles with sizes between micrometers and meters. They are present in many industrial applications as well as daily life, like in food processing, pharmaceutics or in the oil and mining industry. When handling granular matter the bulk solids are stored, mixed, conveyed or filtered. These techniques are based on observations in macroscopic experiments, i.e. rheological examinations of the bulk properties. Despite the amply investigations of bulk mechanics, the relation between single particle motion and macroscopic behavior is still not well understood. For exploring the microscopic properties on a single particle level, 3D imaging techniques are required.rnThe objective of this work was the investigation of single particle motions in a bulk system in 3D under an external mechanical load, i.e. compression and shear. During the mechanical load the structural and dynamical properties of these systems were examined with confocal microscopy. Therefor new granular model systems in the wet and dry state were designed and prepared. As the particles are solid bodies, their motion is described by six degrees of freedom. To explore their entire motion with all degrees of freedom, a technique to visualize the rotation of spherical micrometer sized particles in 3D was developed. rnOne of the foci during this dissertation was a model system for dry cohesive granular matter. In such systems the particle motion during a compression of the granular matter was investigated. In general the rotation of single particles was the more sensitive parameter compared to the translation. In regions with large structural changes the rotation had an earlier onset than the translation. In granular systems under shear, shear dilatation and shear zone formation were observed. Globally the granular sediments showed a shear behavior, which was known already from classical shear experiments, for example with Jenike cells. Locally the shear zone formation was enhanced, when near the applied load a pre-diluted region existed. In regions with constant volume fraction a mixing between the different particle layers occurred. In particular an exchange of particles between the current flowing region and the non-flowing region was observed. rnThe second focus was on model systems for wet granular matter, where an additional binding liquid is added to the particle suspension. To examine the 3D structure of the binding liquid on the micrometer scale independently from the particles, a second illumination and detection beam path was implemented. In shear and compression experiments of wet clusters and bulk systems completely different dynamics compared to dry cohesive models systems occured. In a Pickering emulsion-like system large structural changes predominantly occurred in the local environment of binding liquid droplets. These large local structural changes were due to an energy interplay between the energy stored in the binding droplet during its deformation and the binding energy of particles at the droplet interface. rnConfocal microscopy in combination with nanoindentation gave new insights into the single particle motions and dynamics of granular systems under a mechanical load. These novel experimental results can help to improve the understanding of the relationship between bulk properties of granular matter, such as volume fraction or yield stress and the dynamics on a single particle level.rnrn

Hydraulic Conductivity of Model Soil-Bentonite Backfills Subjected to Wet-Dry Cycling

The potential for changes in hydraulic conductivity, k, of two model soil-bentonite (SB) backfills subjected to wet-dry cycling was investigated. The backfills were prepared with the same base soil (clean, fine sand) but different bentonite contents (2.7 and 5.6 dry wt %). Saturation (S), volume change, and k of consolidated backfill specimens (effective stress = 24 kPa) were evaluated over three to seven cycles in which the matric suction, Ym, in the drying stage ranged from 50 to 700 kPa. Both backfills exhibited susceptibility to degradation in k caused by wet-dry cycling. Mean values of k for specimens dried at Ym = 50 kPa (S = 30-60 % after drying) remained low after two cycles, but increased by 5- to 300-fold after three or more cycles. Specimens dried at Ym ≥ 150 kPa (S < 30 % after drying) were less resilient and exhibited 500- to 10 000-fold increases in k after three or more cycles. The greater increases in k for these specimens correlated with greater vertical shrinkage upon drying. The findings suggest that increases in hydraulic conductivity due to wet-dry cycling may be a concern for SB vertical barriers located within the zone of a fluctuating groundwater table.

Mannitol dry powder challenge in comparison with exercise testing in children

Rationale Mannitol dry powder (MDP) challenge is an indirect bronchial provocation test, which is well studied in adults but not established for children. Objective We compared feasibility, validity, and clinical significance of MDP challenge with exercise testing in children in a clinical setting. Methods Children aged 6–16 years, referred to two respiratory outpatient clinics for possible asthma diagnosis, underwent standardized exercise testing followed within a week by an MDP challenge (Aridol™, Pharmaxis, Australia). Agreement between the two challenge tests using Cohen's kappa and receiving operating characteristic (ROC) curves was compared. Results One hundred eleven children performed both challenge tests. Twelve children were excluded due to exhaustion or insufficient cooperation (11 at the exercise test, 1 at the MDP challenge), leaving 99 children (mean ± SD age 11.5 ± 2.7 years) for analysis. MDP tests were well accepted, with minor side effects and a shorter duration than exercise tests. The MDP challenge was positive in 29 children (29%), the exercise test in 21 (21%). Both tests were concordant in 83 children (84%), with moderate agreement (κ = 0.58, 95% CI 0.39–0.76). Positive and negative predictive values of the MDP challenge for exercise-induced bronchoconstriction were 68% and 89%. The overall ability of MDP challenge to separate children with or without positive exercise tests was good (area under the ROC curve 0.83). Conclusions MDP challenge test is feasible in children and is a suitable alternative for bronchial challenge testing in childhood. Pediatr. Pulmonol. 2011; 46:842–848. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Gene-environment interaction for childhood asthma and exposure to farming in Central Europe

Asthma is a disease in which both genetic and environmental factors play important roles. The farming environment has consistently been associated with protection from childhood asthma and atopy, and interactions have been reported with polymorphisms in innate immunity genes.