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The focus on rural landscapes, already present in 'Agenda 2000', is reconfirmed for the CAP 2023–2027 (Green Deal). The CAP programmes have, however, often turned out to be generic and unsuited to the multifaceted reality of Mediterranean Europe, while FAO-GIAHS and UNESCO World Heritage programmes suit large territories. Both, as well as the CAP, support the conservation or renaturalisation of rural landscapes but cannot apply prescriptions at the planning stage. In Italy, the 'Code of Cultural Heritage and Landscape' contains prescriptive measures that the regions must include in their Landscape Plan (RLP); the municipalities must then adopt Urban Plans in accordance with the RLP. In Sardinia, RLP has protected the coastal areas (49.6 per cent of the 24,000 km2 surface area of the island) since 2006 but does not provide detailed guidelines for inland areas. We therefore tested the methodology proposed by the Ministry of Agriculture for recovering Historic Rural Landscapes in a study area of 23.63 km2 located in the heart of the island (in Mandrolisai region), where the two rural villages of Atzara and Sorgono border a system of traditional vineyards. Comparison of the 1860–1880 Land Register data, images from the first (1954) and last air flight (2016) shows that the agro-silvo-pastoral system has not changed structurally. In 2016, 53 per cent of the analysed area retains the same land-use macrocategories as the 1954 aerial photographs. Despite wide fluctuations in some agricultural crops, the most characteristic ones tend to occupy the same places, e.g., 72 per cent of 2016 vineyards compared to 1954. The biggest changes have been the transformation of natural pastures into cork oak wooded pastures, due to the sustained demand for cork. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the main roles of the nuclear fuel bundle spacer grid (SG) is to safely support the fuel rods (FRs) through springs and dimples. The SG design is an important matter for nuclear power plant operation when a damaged FR could release fission products. For this work, Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is applied to define the geometries of the springs and dimples existing in a SG. Other algorithms had been used to optimize these geometries but not PSO. This paper proposes a PSO variable model and its fitness function in order to define an optimized geometry for the spring and the dimple so that they can provide sufficient gripping forces and minimize stresses. The implemented PSO was able to generate geometries of springs and dimples with stresses minimized and with a specific required stiffness value. The results of these two characteristics are compared with other results in the literature. For further work, PSO will be used to optimize other important design characteristics of a SG: grid-to-rod fretting, coolant flow-induced vibration, and the function of mixing coolant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work extends the transported probability density function (PDF) method to model hydrogen–diesel dual direct injection (H2DDI) combustion, where a H 2 jet is ignited by a small pilot diesel jet flame. The work is motivated by previous H2DDI engine tests where stable compression ignition engine operation was reported with up to 90 % H 2 supply by energy share. To help explain this high performance and provide a tool to help further engine optimization, the Eulerian Monte Carlo Fields (EMCF) solution method is employed with which a transported PDF equation is solved in combination with Flamelet Generated Manifold (FGM) for high accuracy and computational efficiency. In all cases, the pilot fuel ignites before interacting with the H 2 jet and thus reaction rate and chemical composition are computed as the weighted average of the corresponding values taken for two separated FGM tables generated for the two fuels. Pressure measurements and high-speed schlieren imaging performed in a preburn-type optical constant volume combustion chamber (CVCC) with n -heptane (n C 7 H 16 ) pilot fuel were used to validate the EMCF+FGM model. The application focus is how H 2 ignition and combustion is affected when the n C 7 H 16 is injected prior to or after the main H 2 jet. EMCF+FGM computed heat release rate and flame structure were compared with experimental data and results from conventional FGM model based on presumed PDF. When applied to H2DDI combustion, the EMCF+FGM model successfully reproduces flame structures and heat release rate under different injection strategies, including the transition towards partially-premixed combustion when the n C 7 H 16 pilot follows the main H 2 injection. Moreover, analysis of heat release rate from different stochastic fields can provide a useful indication about cyclic variability and combustion stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Introduction We evaluated healing after nonsurgical primary/secondary endodontic treatment of apical periodontitis (AP) in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) treated with anti–tumor necrosis factor alpha biologic medications (BMs). Methods Nineteen patients with 22 teeth affected by AP from the gastroenterology unit of the hospital with IBDs under treatment with BMs formed the study group (the IBD group). Fourteen patients with 22 teeth with AP, matched by age and sex, without systemic diseases and not taking medications formed the control group. Teeth underwent primary or secondary root canal treatments and clinical and radiographic follow-up every 3 months for 24 months. The periapical index score was recorded, and 2 trained and calibrated endodontists evaluated and compared radiographs (weighted kappa values, κ = 0.8). The Mann-Whitney, t , chi-square, Fisher, and Bruner-Langer tests and analysis of variance–type statistics were used as appropriate. Results The recall rate was 100%. All teeth in the IBD patients and 81% in the control patients healed (P =.108). Initial healing was appreciable at 3 months in the IBD group and 6 months in the control group (P =.174). Overall healing was reached at 6 and 10.5 months in the IBD and control groups, respectively (P =.106). At any time of the experiment, teeth in the IBD patients showed a higher probability of healing (P <.05). Both groups exhibited a similar decrement of the periapical index (P =.291), more significant for the IBD at the 3-month follow-up (P <.05). The 2 BMs used showed a similar trend of healing (P =.628). Conclusions The treatment of AP in patients taking BMs had no complications; furthermore, it was associated with faster healing than the controls. These results support the possible therapeutic aid of BMs in treating AP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Primary lymphomas of appendix are extremely rare tumors. The incidence is 0.015% of all gastrointestinal lymphomas. Presentation of case We present a case of a 75 year-old male patient who presented with acute abdominal pain in the lower right quadrant and fever. Discussion The patient received laparotomic appendectomy. The definitive histopathological examination revealed the presence of diffuse large cell B-lymphoma of the appendix. The neoplasms of appendix usually manifest clinically with sign and symptoms of acute appendicitis from luminal obstruction (30–50%). Preoperative diagnosis is difficult and often occurs through histopathological examination. Conclusion Primary appendiceal lymphoma is rare and there are no clear guidelines for therapy. Primary surgical resection followed by post-operative chemotherapy showed high efficacy. The histopathological examination of all appendectomy is essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What gets measured gets managed is an axiom common to the business world that also applies to the management of environmental assets and processes. But what is the most adequate way to measure ecosystem value to optimise ecosystem management? In this paper, we unpack three valuation frameworks often applied in understanding ecosystem services and their benefits: 1) the Ecosystem Services framework, operationalised by the United Nations System of Environmental Economic Accounting - Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA-EA) framework; 2) value-centric approaches operationalised by the Total Economic Value framework; and 3) First Nations Peoples (FNP) frameworks, which seek to capture values from FNPs' perspective. By assessing the strengths and weaknesses of these value frameworks for managing the World's largest reef ecosystem—the Australian Great Barrier Reef—we construct an extended SEEA-EA valuation framework tailored to complex coastal settings. The significance of our approach is the inclusion of the whole range of benefits from all coastal and marine uses and users and therefore the integration of non-market and FNP values into the more traditional market-based valuation approach. Assessments that jointly consider multiple values originating from these three different frameworks are more likely to produce sustainable management outcomes than more restrictive approaches. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Oligoclonal bands of IgG (OB) are proposed as an early prognostic factor of the disease. Growing attention is directed towards brain volume evaluation as a possible marker of the severity of MS. Previous studies found that MS patients lacking OB have less brain atrophy. Aim to evaluate a possible relationship between OB and cerebral volume in a cohort of early MS patients. Methods Inclusion criteria were: diagnosis of relapsing-remitting MS; CSF analysis and MRI acquired simultaneously and within 12 months from clinical onset. A total of 15 healthy controls underwent MRI. Results In 20 MS patients, CSF analysis did not show OB synthesis (OB negative group). A control group of 25 MS patients in whom OB was detected was also randomly recruited (OB positive group). T test showed a significant difference in NWV between the OB positive and OB negative groups (P value = 0.01), and between the OB positive group and the healthy controls (P value = 0.001). No differences were detected between OB negative group and healthy controls. Multivariable linear regression showed a relationship between NWV and OB synthesis (P value = 0.02) controlling for age, gender, and EDSS. Conclusions Our preliminary results suggest that OB positive patients show more atrophy of white matter since early phases of the disease, supporting the role of CSF analysis as a prognostic factor in MS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]