Desertification risk fuels spatial polarization in ‘affected’ and ‘unaffected’ landscapes in Italy

Southern Europe is a hotspot for desertification risk because of the intimate impact of soil deterioration, landscape transformations, rising human pressure, and climate change. In this context, large-scale empirical analyses linking landscape fragmentation with desertification risk assume that increasing levels of land vulnerability to degradation are associated with significant changes in landscape structure. Using a traditional approach of landscape ecology, this study evaluates the spatial structure of a simulated landscape based on different levels of vulnerability to land degradation using 15 metrics calculated at three time points (early-1960s, early-1990s, early-2010s) in Italy. While the (average) level of land vulnerability increased over time almost in all Italian regions, vulnerable landscapes demonstrated to be increasingly fragmented, as far as the number of homogeneous patches and mean patch size are concerned. The spatial balance in affected and unaffected areas—typically observed in the 1960s—was progressively replaced with an intrinsically disordered landscape, and this process was more intense in regions exposed to higher (and increasing) levels of land degradation. The spread of larger land patches exposed to intrinsic degradation brings to important consequences since (1) the rising number of hotspots may increase the probability of local-scale degradation processes, and (2) the buffering effect of neighbouring (unaffected) land can be less effective on bigger hotspots, promoting a downward spiral toward desertification.

Economic Evaluation of Posidonia oceanica Ecosystem Services along the Italian Coast

This study reports the quantification and analysis of the ecosystem services (ESs) value of Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile (1813) meadows in Italy (Liguria, Tuscany, Latium, Campania, Calabria, Apulia, Sardinia, and Sicily regions). The ES evaluation method of P. oceanica meadows applied in this study was obtained from a previous study in which the site-specific approach for the definition of the benefits and services was applied. The distribution of P. oceanica and the ESs economic value have been managed through an open-source geographic information system (QGIS), focusing on five essential ESs: carbon sequestration, bioremediation, oxygen production, erosion protection, and food production. The average value of the ESs obtained on the Italian national scale is €21,660.5 ha−1 yr−1, which is comparable with the values reported in the international literature concerning P. oceanica ESs. The results of this study confirm that the economic evaluation of ESs is an essential tool for the management of the coastal marine environment, especially considering the modularity of the applied approach. The value of the total benefits, considering the entire extension of the national P. oceanica meadows, represents significant value with respect to the Italian gross domestic product, and the individual budgets of the considered Italian regions.

NURSES’ PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS DURING THE FIRST COVID-19 LOCKDOWN IN ITALY

Background and objective: Northern Italy was one of the first European territories to deal with the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. Drastic emergency restrictions were introduced across the country to contain the spread and limit pressure on healthcare facilities. Nurses were at high risk of developing physical, mental and working issues due to professional exposure. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate these issues among nurses working in Italian hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) programmes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Data were collected online immediately after the first "lockdown" period in order to investigate the prevalence of physical issues, sleep disorders and burnout symptoms and explore correlations with COVID-19 territorial incidence in Northern Italian regions versus Central and Southern Italian regions. Results: Three hundred and eight nurses working in 61 Italian HSCT Units responded to the survey. Depression, cough and fever were more frequently reported by nurses working in geographical areas less affected by the pandemic (p=0.0013, p<0.0001 and p=0.0005 respectively) as well as worst sleep quality (p=0.008). Moderate levels of emotional exhaustion (mean±SD - 17.4±13.0), depersonalization (5.3±6.1) and personal accomplishment (33.2±10.7) were reported without significant differences between territories. Conclusions: different COVID-19 incidence among territories did not influenced nurses’ burden of symptoms in HSCT setting. However, burnout and insomnia levels should be considered by health care facilities in order to improve preventive strategies.

Wpływ interwencjonizmu państwowego w XX wieku na współczesną kondycję gospodarczą regionów włoskich

The article deals with the importance of the Italian state intervention in the 20th century in selected sectors of the economy (in regional terms) on the subsequent socio-economic situation of the regions. Due to the observed today very large differentiation of the regions, the question is whether and to what extent the central policy of the Italian state of the post-unification period influenced the disproportions occurring today? The article consists of three main parts: the first outlines the contemporary socio-economic differentiation of the regions, the second presents the economic condition of the regions after the unification of the country, and the position of the state, and the measures it has taken, including repair programs used to improve the socio-economic conditions of the regions, the third part assesses the relevance and legitimacy of the implementation of these measures in the context of the current situation of the country. The aim of the article is to indicate the importance of the role of state policy, and the decisions taken in the past on the contemporary economic condition of Italian regions. Thus, the author attempts to explain the permanent, and in some areas still deepening, differences in the socio-economic development of Italian regions.

Modeling Early Phases of COVID-19 Pandemic in Northern Italy and Its Implication for Outbreak Diffusion

The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked an intense debate about the hidden factors underlying the dynamics of the outbreak. Several computational models have been proposed to inform effective social and healthcare strategies. Crucially, the predictive validity of these models often depends upon incorporating behavioral and social responses to infection. Among these tools, the analytic framework known as “dynamic causal modeling” (DCM) has been applied to the COVID-19 pandemic, shedding new light on the factors underlying the dynamics of the outbreak. We have applied DCM to data from northern Italian regions, the first areas in Europe to contend with the outbreak, and analyzed the predictive validity of the model and also its suitability in highlighting the hidden factors governing the pandemic diffusion. By taking into account data from the beginning of the pandemic, the model could faithfully predict the dynamics of outbreak diffusion varying from region to region. The DCM appears to be a reliable tool to investigate the mechanisms governing the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 to identify the containment and control strategies that could efficiently be used to counteract further waves of infection.

Il formative assessment nelle convinzioni e nelle pratiche degli insegnanti. Analisi secondarie da una indagine sui docenti di scuola media di due regioni italiane

All around the world, several scholars are reflecting on the role of the so-called «teacher variable» for orienting changes towards quality and equity in the education. In this field, it is stressed the importance of the relationship between teachers’ beliefs practices. Following this tradition, this paper aims to prove the existence of a relationship between democratic beliefs of the teachers and their adoption of formative assessment (FA) practices. Secondary analyses are conducted on data collected during a study, which involved a sample of more than a thousand middle school teachers. In this work we focused on data from two Italian regions: Emilia-Romagna and Piemonte. These data are re-analyzed to prove the relationship between the declaration on the adoption of FA practices and three beliefs variables, namely teachers’ beliefs on the FA, on the existence of natural gifts of students, and on the utility and dynamicity of instructional design. Personal, professional, and experiential variables are included to prove the existence of significant differences. The results suggest that the teachers who adopt FA practices more often and who present more democratic beliefs are: women, experienced teachers, those who teach literature or scientific disciplines, and those who are specialized in special needs teaching. Multivariate regression analysis, finally, confirm the relationship between the adoption of FA practices and positive beliefs towards the formative assessment and instructional design.

Food Neophobia, Odor and Taste Sensitivity, and Overall Flavor Perception in Food

Smell, which allows us to gather information about the hedonic value of an odor, is affected by many factors. This study aimed to assess the relationship among individual factors, odor sensitivity, and enjoyment, and to evaluate how overall flavor perception and liking in actual food samples are affected by odor sensitivity. A total of 749 subjects, from four different Italian regions, participated in the study. The olfactory capabilities test on four odors (anise, banana, mint, and pine), as well as PROP (6-n-prpyl-2-thiouracil) status and food neophobia were assessed. The subjects were clustered into three groups of odor sensitivity, based on the perceived intensity of anise. The liking and intensity of the overall flavor were evaluated for four chocolate puddings with increasing sweetness (C1, C2, C3, and C4). The individual variables significantly affected the perceived intensity and liking of the odors. Even if all of the odor sensitivity groups perceived the more intensely flavored samples as the C1 and C4 chocolate puddings, the high-sensitivity group scored the global flavor of all of the samples as more intense than the low-sensitivity group. The low-sensitive subjects evaluated the liking of the sweeter samples with higher scores than the moderate-sensitive subjects, whereas the high-sensitive subjects gave intermediate scores. In conclusion, odor sensitivity plays a pivotal role in the perception and liking of real food products; this has to be taken into account in the formulation of new products, suitable for particular categories with reduced olfactory abilities.