Search results for "Indicators"

Nematodes colonization of pyrite cinders in a phytoremediation study

2007

Potentiality of extensive green roofs soils in sustaining Mediterranean annual dry grassland of the EU-Habitat 6220*

2015

Nature-based solutions are defined as living solutions inspired by, continuously supported by and using nature (Final Report of the Horizon 2020 Expert Group on 'Nature-Based Solutions and Re-Naturing Cities'). In line with this statement and according to the European research and innovation policy agenda, green roofs (GRs) represent a fundamental requisite for urban sustainable development, being potential stepping stones for plants and animals, including those characterizing habitats of Community interest. In our work, we tested the suitability of green roofs in hosting Mediterranean annual dry grassland of the 92/43 ECC Habitat 6220* (pseudo-steppe with grasses and annuals of the Thero-B…

Soil bioindicators and weed emergence as affected by essential oils extracted from leaves of three different Eucalyptus species

2017

The widespread use of synthetic herbicides has resulted in herbicide-resistant weeds, altered ecological balance and negative effects on human health. To overcome these problems, efforts are being made to reduce the reliance on synthetic herbicides and shift to natural products. Essential oils (EOs) extracted from plants have been demonstrated to have potential herbicide activity. EOs, composed by volatile organic compounds and characterized by a strong odor, are used in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food industries as they are thought to be safe compounds for humans, animals, and the environment. EOs extracted from Eucalyptus leaves have antimicrobial, antiviral, fungicidal, insecticida…

Bird abundance and richness in ten Mediterranean agroforestry systems

2019

Since the last century agriculture is strongly promoting the simplification of the landscape. The LIFE Desert Adapt project is been developed across 1000 hectares in Italy, Spain, Portu-gal and has the objective of implementing integrative agroforestry-based land use planning and management, and one of the indicators to evaluate the project effectiveness is birds richness and abundance. Here we present the results of the first assessment and explore the relationships with the main vegetation cover types. We established 68 sampling points where we recorded bird abundance and richness. In total we registered 57 bird species, sampling points surrounded by woodlands presented 50 species, while …

Study of benthic foraminifera in the Continental Shelf of the Gulf of Gela (Sicilian Channel) and their possible use as bioindicators

2009

A performance based approach for the analysis of urban water distribution systems under drought conditions

2009

The present study proposes some performance indicators for analysing urban water distribution system characterised by intermittent supply service. Specific indicators have been proposed for investigating the reduction of quality of water service under resources scarcity conditions. A modelling procedure has been implemented in order to allow for analysing complex network schemes in which users self adapt to scarcity conditions. The procedure has been applied to analyse the performance of an existing supply system in Palermo (Italy). The network and users’ behaviour in intermittent distribution conditions have been monitored in order to calibrate the model and verify the reliability of the p…

STERILIZZAZIONE CON MICROONDE DI RIFIUTI SANITARI: DETERMINAZIONE DIRETTA DELL’EFFICACIA DEL PROCESSO

2018

In the sterilization of those Health Care Waste that are marked as possibly infectious, microwaves (MW) have long been proposed as an alternative means to steam. The effectiveness of the operation is assessed determining the fraction that has survived to the sterilizing agent of a known starting population of micro-organisms. Customarily, this population is introduced into the waste mass in the form of one or more sealed vials. These make up an artificial environment which is completely under control; but onto it the sterilizing agent could a priori behave with higher or lower effectiveness, compared with the loose mass which is directly exposed to it. As far as the traditional steam steril…

SUSTAINABLE URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORT. A COMPARISON BETWEEN EUROPEAN AND NORTH AFRICAN CITIES

2011

The aim of paper is to carry out a benchmarking analysis among European and North African Cities in order to point out the improvement areas for a Sustainable Urban Public Transport System. The focus is to improve public transport performance, all aspects such as fares, operational effectiveness and attractiveness of the service.

ENERGY RETROFIT AND URBAN RENOVATION. APPLICATION OF SBTOOL METHOD. A CASE STUDY IN TRAPANI, ITALY

2013

Climate changes caused by carbon emissions are nowadays considered as one of the greatest threats faced by humanity, because they cause problems of human health and poor prospects for global economy. It means that, also in the field of architecture and urban planning, there is an urgency to find appropriate solutions to face this issue, as demonstrated by the increasing amount of normative measures and policy at global level. The paper aims to show a critical analysis of the urban context conducted through the application of sustainability assessment tool - SBTool - into the social housing complex of Cappuccinelli district, chosen as case study. The choice for applying this methodology, whi…

Searching the internet for learning materials through didactic indicators

2007

Internet offers a huge amount of didactic materials that can be used in creating new online courses. However, those materials need a deep analysis to understand their context and contents before their potential use. As a consequence, the search of didactic material in internet is often quite tedious and time consuming so the searcher usually limits his/her analysis to the first found web pages . To help users in finding efficiently and timely the most appropriate online materials, we have developed a system, called SAXEF (System for Automatic eXtraction of lEearning object Features), that is capable to automatically extract the didactic indicators (a sort of DNA) of any web page (or group o…