52 results match your criteria: "Institute of BioEconomy (IBE)[Affiliation]"

One of the most difficult issues in the juice industry is to manufacture juices where processing processes minimise the impact on the native characteristics of the fruits. In this study, high-pressure technology was used on whole apple fruits in order to evaluate the effect on the juice production. Two varieties, cv.

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The sweet chestnut ( Mill.) is subject to the progressive disappearance of its traditional chestnut groves. In the northern part of Italy, where distribution of the sweet chestnut is fragmented, many local varieties continue to be identified mostly by oral tradition.

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Capitalizing on the widespread adoption of smartphones among farmers and the application of artificial intelligence in computer vision, a variety of mobile applications have recently emerged in the agricultural domain. This paper introduces GranoScan, a freely available mobile app accessible on major online platforms, specifically designed for the real-time detection and identification of over 80 threats affecting wheat in the Mediterranean region. Developed through a co-design methodology involving direct collaboration with Italian farmers, this participatory approach resulted in an app featuring: (i) a graphical interface optimized for diverse in-field lighting conditions, (ii) a user-friendly interface allowing swift selection from a predefined menu, (iii) operability even in low or no connectivity, (iv) a straightforward operational guide, and (v) the ability to specify an area of interest in the photo for targeted threat identification.

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Negative plant-soil feedback (PSF) arises when localized accumulations of pathogens reduce the growth of conspecifics, whereas positive PSF can occur due to the emergence of mutualists. Biochar, a carbon-rich material produced by the pyrolysis of organic matter, has been shown to modulate soil microbial communities by altering their abundance, diversity, and activity. For this reason, to assess the long-term impact of biochar on soil microbiome dynamics and subsequent plant performance, we conducted a PSF greenhouse experiment using field soil conditioned over 10 years with (L.

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Environmental Temperature, Other Climatic Variables, and Cardiometabolic Profile in Acute Myocardial Infarction.

J Clin Med

April 2024

Diagnostic and Interventional Cardiology Department, Fondazione Toscana Gabriele Monasterio, Ospedale Pasquinucci, 54100 Massa, Italy.

To evaluate CV profiles, periprocedural complications, and in-hospital mortality in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) according to climate. Data from 2478 AMI patients (1779 men; mean age 67 ∓ 13 years; Pasquinucci Hospital ICU, Massa, Italy; 2007-2018) were retrospectively analyzed according to climate (LAMMA Consortium; Firenze, Italy) by using three approaches as follows: (1) annual warm (May-October) and cold (November-April) periods; (2) warm and cold extremes of the two periods; and (3) warm and cold extremes for each month of the two periods. All approaches highlighted a higher percentage of AMI hospitalization for patients with adverse CV profiles in relation to low temperatures, or higher periprocedural complications and in-hospital deaths.

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Detection of morphological and eco-physiological traits of ornamental woody species to assess their potential Net O uptake.

Environ Res

July 2024

Institute of Research on Terrestrial Ecosystems (IRET), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), Palermo, 90133, Italy.

Article Synopsis
  • * The study examined 14 commonly used ornamental woody species in Mediterranean urban areas to measure their stomatal conductance, biogenic volatile organic compounds (bVOCs) emissions, and Leaf Mass per Area (LMA).
  • * Results showed that while species like Catalpa bignonioides and Gleditsia triacanthos effectively remove ozone, others like Rhamnus alaternus and Cornus mas can contribute negatively to air quality due to high bVOC emissions.
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Assessment of seasonal variations in particulate matter accumulation and elemental composition in urban tree species.

Environ Res

July 2024

NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, 90133, Italy; Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Forestry Science and Technology (DAGRI), University of Florence, Piazzale delle Cascine, 18, 50144, Firenze, Italy; Institute of Sustainable Plant Protection (IPSP) National Research Council, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy.

Article Synopsis
  • Outdoor air pollution, particularly particulate matter (PM), poses serious health risks, but urban trees and shrubs can help reduce this by filtering the air.
  • The study analyzed 22 plant species across different urban zones (traffic, background, industrial, rural) and found that PM accumulation on leaves varies based on species and seasonal changes, with winter levels generally higher than summer.
  • Key species identified for their PM accumulation abilities include L. nobilis, with unique traits noted for effectively dealing with air pollution, thereby highlighting the importance of selecting the right plants for urban greening initiatives.
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Progressive loss of plant diversity requires the protection of wild and agri-/horticultural species. For species whose seeds are extremely short-lived, or rarely or never produce seeds, or whose genetic makeup must be preserved, cryopreservation offers the only possibility for long-term conservation. At temperatures below freezing, most vegetative plant tissues suffer severe damage from ice crystal formation and require protection.

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Mitigating heat effects in the workplace with a ventilation jacket: Simulations of the whole-body and local human thermophysiological response with a sweating thermal manikin in a warm-dry environment.

J Therm Biol

January 2024

Laboratory of Ergonomics and Physiology, Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, INAIL, Via Fontana Candida 1, 00078, Monte Porzio Catone, Rome, Italy. Electronic address:

Climate change is increasingly affecting human well-being and will inevitably impact on occupational sectors in terms of costs, productivity, workers' health and injuries. Among the cooling garment developed to reduce heat strain, the ventilation jacket could be considered for possible use in workplaces, as it is wearable without limiting the user's mobility and autonomy. In this study, simulations with a sweating manikin are carried out to investigate the effects of a short-sleeved ventilation jacket on human thermophysiological responses in a warm-dry scenario.

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The development of spectral sensors (SSs) capable of retrieving spectral information have opened new opportunities to improve several environmental and agricultural practices, e.g., crop breeding, plant phenotyping, land use monitoring, and crop classification.

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Temperature dependence of emission of volatile organic compounds (VOC) from litters collected in two Mediterranean ecosystems determined before the flaming phase of biomass burning.

Environ Pollut

December 2023

Institutes for agricultural and forestry systems in the Mediterranean (ISAFOM), National Research Council (CNR), P.le Enrico Fermi 1, 80055 Portici, NA, Italy; National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), Palermo, Italy. Electronic address:

Fire represents a major threat to Mediterranean terrestrial ecosystems because of the high temperatures reached during summer. While massive loads of organic, inorganic compounds and particulate matter are known to be emitted into the atmosphere from forest wildfires, less is known about the emission from vegetation surrounding fires where air temperatures higher than 100 °C can be reached. Little information exists on the emission from dead vegetation accumulated as litter over forest soils, from which fires often starts.

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Naturalized Dyes: A New Opportunity for the Wood Coloring.

Polymers (Basel)

September 2023

Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence, Piazzale delle Cascine 18, 50144 Florence, Italy.

Naturalized dyes (NDs) are innovative and eco-friendly synthetic compounds in which a chromophore is covalently linked to a natural sugar (e.g., lactose).

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Biochar effects on early decomposition of standard litter in a European beech forest (northern Italy).

Sci Total Environ

December 2023

Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 11/A, 43124 Parma, Italy.

The release of biochar (BC) on forest soil is a strategy aimed at increasing carbon reserves and forest productivity. The effect of BC amendments on the decomposition of different quality litter is, however, poorly understood. With this study we investigate the effects of wood-derived BC applications on early decomposition in a European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.

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Foliar fertilisation is known to influence the physiological response of (hop plants), but its effect on the flavour profile of beer still has to be investigated. By comparing the effects of four fertilisation treatments, this study aims at determining whether different foliar fertilisation treatments have a significant impact on hop plants' aromatic quality and that of the beer produced. Hop cones harvested from each experimental treatment were brewed to obtain five single dry-hopped beers, which were subsequently analysed.

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Recent developments in low-cost imaging hyperspectral cameras have opened up new possibilities for high-throughput phenotyping (HTP), allowing for high-resolution spectral data to be obtained in the visible and near-infrared spectral range. This study presents, for the first time, the integration of a low-cost hyperspectral camera Senop HSC-2 into an HTP platform to evaluate the drought stress resistance and physiological response of four tomato genotypes (770P, 990P, Red Setter and Torremaggiore) during two cycles of well-watered and deficit irrigation. Over 120 gigabytes of hyperspectral data were collected, and an innovative segmentation method able to reduce the hyperspectral dataset by 85.

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In this study color, texture, starch-pectin, total antioxidant capacity, microbial count, and microstructure of HPP-treated Violina pumpkin cubes were evaluated. Samples were treated at six different pressures (100 to 600 MPa-HPP100 to HPP600) for 3 min. Moisture, total soluble solids, and pH showed no significant differences between untreated (UNTR) and treated samples.

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Over the last century, the management of pastoral systems has undergone major changes to meet the livelihood needs of alpine communities. Faced with the changes induced by recent global warming, the ecological status of many pastoral systems has seriously deteriorated in the western alpine region. We assessed changes in pasture dynamics by integrating information from remote-sensing products and two process-based models, i.

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Influence of Wet Ageing on Beef Quality Traits.

Animals (Basel)

December 2022

Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence, 50144 Florence, Italy.

Fresh samples of of Charolais ( = 12), Romagnola ( = 15), Limousine ( = 77), and crossbreed ( = 62) animals were evaluated with different storage periods (0, 4, 9, and 14 days). Proximate analysis (i.e.

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Effects of Wood-Derived Biochar on Germination, Physiology, and Growth of European Beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and Turkey Oak (Quercus cerris L.).

Plants (Basel)

November 2022

Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 11/A, 43124 Parma, Italy.

Biochar (BC) soil amendments could partially counteract soil carbon (C) stock decrease in broad-leaved forests in Italy; however, its effects on the growth of representative tree species—Fagus sylvatica L. and Quercus cerris L.—has not yet been addressed.

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(1) Background: The fig tree ( L.) is widely cultivated in the Mediterranean area and it produces fruits largely consumed in the Mediterranean diet. Previous studies have shown that this fruit represents a rich source of (poly)phenols, which are mainly located in the peel rather than the pulp.

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Long-term atmospheric CO concentration records have suggested a reduction in the positive effect of warming on high-latitude carbon uptake since the 1990s. A variety of mechanisms have been proposed to explain the reduced net carbon sink of northern ecosystems with increased air temperature, including water stress on vegetation and increased respiration over recent decades. However, the lack of consistent long-term carbon flux and in situ soil moisture data has severely limited our ability to identify the mechanisms responsible for the recent reduced carbon sink strength.

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Mastitis is a most common disease of dairy cows and causes tremendous economic loss to the dairy industry worldwide. Somatic cell counts (SCC) reflect the inflammatory response to infections and is a metric used as key indicator in mastitis screening programs, typically within the framework of national milk recording schemes. Besides the determination of total SCC, the differentiation of cell types has been described to be beneficial for a more definite description of the actual udder health status of dairy cows.

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Article Synopsis
  • Habitat anthropization negatively impacts global biodiversity, but some species show adaptive life-history responses, like increased reproduction, to cope with these changes.
  • The study focused on the yellow-bellied toad and utilized a large dataset of over 21,000 individuals from various European populations to examine the effects of anthropogenic environments on their survival and reproduction.
  • Results indicated that while adult toads had lower survival and shorter lifespans in human-modified habitats, their increased reproductive output compensated for these losses, helping to maintain stable population growth rates despite habitat alterations.
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The Effects of LED Light Spectra and Intensities on Plant Growth.

Plants (Basel)

July 2022

Tree Physiology and Fruit Crop Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences (DAFNE), University of Tuscia, 01100 Viterbo, Italy.

Light is an electromagnetic radiation that occurs in a narrow range of over an extremely wide range of wavelengths, from gamma rays with wavelengths to radio waves measured in meters [...

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