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In this chapter, reducing the high-density populations of wild boars in an Italian’s Tuscany region is addressed as a measure of controlling crop damage and road accidents. The issue is usually tackled from a technical and rarely sociological point of view, making the proposed and implemented solutions less effective. The results presented in these chapter highlight the importance of awareness of the social context when the technical choices are applied. The management of ungulates creates economic interests that oppose changes that shift the economic balance, even when the actions taken are for the benefit of the entire community’. In the previous decades, the wild boar populations have increased considerably in Italy in the Tuscany region. As a consequence of this phenomenon, damage to crops and road accidents has increased. In 2016, the Tuscany region enacted a law to change the management of ungulates by promoting individualism in unsustainable harvest rate areas, allowing shooting wild boar with stalking and selling the meat and maintaining a corporate approach in sustainable harvest rate areas. In three years of enforcing the law, damage to crops and road accidents have decreased significantly and meet supply chain has started. On the other hand, a strong reaction against this Law by wild boar drive hunters emerged. The region is, consequently, faced with an emblematic case where political intervention in future is inevitable in order to mediate between long-term results and short-term consensus.

Despite the popularity of the entrepreneurial ecosystem literature, scholars have almost overlooked and largely ignored policies that regional institutions deploy to grow their entrepreneurial ecosystems. The paper explores the nature of policies and programs that drive entrepreneurial ecosystems and shows how these changes overtime with the ecosystem evolution. The study represents an original attempt in clustering policy measures during entrepreneurial ecosystem's evolution. Evidence is taken from the Campania entrepreneurial ecosystem (South of Italy) and shows that a blend of top-down and bottom-up approaches are beneficial for the Campania ecosystem evolution. In addition, we identify three roles played by the regional institution along with three phases of ecosystem evolution: set-upper, dirigist and broker.

Ectomycorrhizal fungi are central members of the forest fungal community, forming symbiosis with most trees in temperate and boreal forests, enhancing plant access to limiting soil nutrients. Decades of greenhouse studies have shown that specific mycorrhizal fungi enhance tree seedlings growth and nutrient uptake rates, and that these effects are sustained when seedlings are out-planted into regenerating forests. Whether these relationships scale up to affect the growth of mature trees and entire forests harboring diverse fungal communities remains unknown. In this study, we combined a continental set of European forest inventory data from the ICP forest network with molecular ectomycorrhizal fungal community surveys to identify features of the mycorrhizal mycobiome linked to forest productivity. We found that ectomycorrhizal fungal community composition was a key predictor of tree growth, and this effect was robust to statistically accounting for climate, nitrogen deposition, soil inorganic nitrogen availability, soil pH, and forest stand characteristics. Furthermore, ectomycorrhizal fungi with greater genomic investment in energy production and inorganic nitrogen metabolism, but lower investment in organic nitrogen acquisition, were linked to faster tree growth. Lastly, we sampled soils from fast and slow growing forests and introduced their microbiomes into a sterilized growth medium to experimentally isolate microbiome effects on tree development. Consistent with our observational analysis, tree seedling growth was accelerated when inoculated with microbiomes from fast vs. slow growing forests. By linking molecular community surveys and long-term forest inventory data in the field, and then pairing this with a microbiome manipulation study under controlled conditions, this work demonstrates an emerging link between the forest microbiome and dominant European tree growth rates.

Creating large bronze statues is one of the boldest technological challenges faced by the makers of past material cultures. Investigation of these relatively uncommon artefacts relies on various methods such as visual observation, instrumental methods, and replica experiments. Most important is comparative observation, that is, observing the occurrence of a given technical feature in different statues. Having points of comparison is therefore crucial to investigate the technology of large bronze statuary. This paper aims at extending comparison possibilities by presenting and globally discussing the outcomes of the investigations that have taken place since the mid-1980s on the bronze statues of the Boxer at Rest and the Hellenistic Prince exhibited at the museum of Palazzo Massimo in Rome. Different aspects of the construction of the statues such as the preparation of the wax models, the casting sections, the welding, and the alloys are addressed. Whenever possible specific technical features are compared with similar ones observed in other statues. As often occurs in scientific research, a deeper knowledge of the artefacts has produced some answers and many additional questions.

A series of quantitative micro X-ray fluorescence (μ-XRF) analyses was performed on a) corroded surface, b) stripped-patina area and c) polished cross section of twenty-five archaeological copper alloys from Iran in order to check the viability of quantitative XRF data for the classification of ancient copper alloys. The limits of detection and quantification and, also, the precision and accuracy of the analytical data were measured using twelve certified reference materials (CRM). The compositional data obtained through these three approaches were statistically evaluated comparing with the compositional data on the same samples obtained by the inductively coupled plasma – optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). We demonstrated that the corroded surfaces are depleted in Ni and Zn and enriched in Pb, Sn and As. Also, we suggest that although μ-XRF quantitative compositional data collected from the corroded surfaces may result in misleading information, the areas with the lowest Sn concentration may represent the closest compositional data to the absolute quantity of Cu, Zn, As and Pb in ancient copper alloys. Moreover, it is shown that the quantitative μ-XRF data obtained from the stripped-patina surface and those from the polished cross sections are comparable with the ICP-OES compositional data and can be confidently used for determining the diversity and technology of ancient copper alloys.

Although coppice forests represent a significant part of the European forest area, especially across southern Countries, they received little attention within the Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) processes and scenarios, whose guidelines have been mainly designed to high forests and national scale. In order to obtain “tailored” information on the degree of sustainability of coppices on the scale of the stand, we evaluated (i) whether the main coppice management options result in different responses of the SFM indicators, and (ii) the degree to which the considered SFM indicators were appropriate in their application at stand level. The study considered three different management options (Traditional Coppice TC, coppice under Natural Evolution NE, and coppice under Conversion to high forest by means of periodical thinning CO). In each of the 43 plots considered in the study, which covered three different European Forest Types, we applied a set of eighteen “consolidated” SFM indicators, covering all the six SFM Criteria (FOREST EUROPE, 2020) and, additionally, tested other sixteen novel indicators shaped for agamic forests and/or applicable at stand level. Results confirmed that several consolidated indicators related to resources status (Growing stock and Carbon stock), health (Defoliation and Forest damage), and socio-economic functions (Net revenue, Energy and Accessibility) were highly appropriate for evaluating the sustainability of coppice at stand level. In addition, some novel indicators related to resources status (Total above ground tree biomass), health (Stand growth) and protective functions (Overstorey cover and Understorey cover) proved to be highly appropriate and able to support the information obtained by the consolidated ones. As a consequence, a subset of consolidated SFM indicators, complemented with the most appropriate novel ones, may represent a valid option to support the evaluation of coppice sustainability at stand level. An integrated analysis of the SFM indicators showed that NE and CO display significant higher environmental performances as compared with TC. In addition, CO has positive effects also on socio-economic issues, while TC -which is an important cultural heritage and a silvicultural option that may help to keep local communities engaged in forestry – combines high wood harvesting rates with dense understory cover. Overall, each of the three management options showed specific sustainability values; as a consequence, their coexistence at a local scale and in accordance with the specific environmental conditions and the social-economic context, is greatly recommended since it may fulfill a wider array of sustainability issues.

Wood fuel has become central in environmental policy and decision-making processes in cross-sectoral areas. Proper consideration of different types of woody biomass is fundamental in forming energy transition and decarbonization strategies. We quantified the development of theoretical (TPs) and sustainable (SPs) potentials of wood fuel from forests, trees outside forests, wood residues and waste wood in Switzerland for 2020, 2035 and 2050. Ecological and economic restrictions, timber market situations and drivers of future developments (area size, tree growth, wood characteristics, population growth, exporting/importing (waste wood)) were considered. We estimated a SP of wood fuel between 26.5 and 77.8 PJ/a during the three time points. Results demonstrate that the SP of wood fuel could be significantly increased already in the short term. This, as a moderate stock reduction (MSR) strategy in forests, can lead to large surpluses in SPs compared to the wood fuel already used today (~36 PJ/a), with values higher by 51% (+18.2 PJ) in 2020 and by 59% (+21.3 PJ) in 2035. To implement these surpluses (e.g., with a cascade approach), a more circular economy with sufficient processing capacities of the subsequent timber industries and the energy plants to convert the resources is required.

Cloud Computing has emerged as an interesting alternative for running business applications, but this might not be true for scientific applications. A comparison between HPC systems and cloud infrastructure not always sees the latter winning over the former, especially when only performance and economical aspects are taken into account. But if other factors, such as turnaround time and user preference, come into play, the landscape of the usage convenience changes. Choosing the right infrastructure, then, can be essentially seen as a multi-attribute decision-making problem. In this paper we introduce an evaluation model, based on a weighted geometric aggregation function, that takes into account a set of parameters, among which job geometry, cost, execution and turnaround time. The notion of user preference modulates the model, and allows to determine which platform, cloud or HPC, might be the best one. The model has then been used to evaluate the best architecture for several runs of two applications, based on two different communication models. Results show that the model is robust and there is a not negligible number of runs for which a cloud infrastructure seems to be the best place for running scientific jobs.

Substantial research has focused on how innovation is influenced by geography from a macro perspective (e.g., at the country, state, or metropolitan level). However, less attention has been paid to how innovation is configured within a cluster from a micro perspective (e.g., at the district or firm level within a city), i.e., the “micro-geographical proximity” within a cluster. With this paper, we aim to “zoom into” a technology cluster to study the role of the inter-organizational micro-geographical proximity for the establishment of knowledge transfer relationships. Specifically, we analyse whether and how the micro-geographical proximity is related to the formation of three different types of inter-organizational relationships: venture capital (VC) deals, intellectual property (IP) transfer agreements, and R&D strategic alliances. We take empirical evidence from the biopharma cluster in the Greater Boston Area. Our findings suggest the importance of micro-geographical proximity for the establishment of VC deals and IP transfer agreements, which emphasizes the importance of adopting a micro-geographical perspective to highlight this “neighbourhood effect”, which would not be possible when considering spatial proximity at the macro level.

This editorial for the special issue of FutureS is not intended to provide a comprehensive, analytical overview of the future of health care; rather, it collects the perspectives on which scholars have focused most. There is a danger that what we report will quickly become obsolete for numerous reasons; think of the speed of current technological progress or the fact that the Covid-19 pandemic could further stress health care systems around the world. However, we would like to outline some of the current topics explored in the literature and focus on the scenarios envisioned by practitioners. We write this piece being interested in the innovative impulses of all the actors belonging to the "renewed" health care ecosystem, aware of the fact that there are significant differences between the countries of the North and South of the world and, consequently, between their health care systems. What we can say with certainty is that the healthcare and life sciences are the protagonists of an unparalleled revolution. The aging population and changing needs, the increasingly common occurrence of chronic disorders, and digitization are some of the challenges facing the sector. The technological change of the fourth industrial revolution is disruptive and changes the logic of the market, not only that of healthcare but also that of adjacent markets. Because of the intensity with which insiders have to face these new trends, the topic has been the focus of interest of scholars and practitioners in recent years. The big players in consulting, as well as the scholars, have deepened the issues of healthcare of the future, focusing on what will be the major challenges in 10 years and imagining potential scenarios that will reconfigure the way health care is delivered and used. In the next 10 years, there will be profound demographic changes and the healthcare system will necessarily have to reconfigure the supply of the necessary services and the methods of delivery (KPMG, 2018). Due to the aging of the population, there has already been a dramatic increase in chronic and degenerative diseases requiring complex treatment in recent years. In addition, the Covid-19 pandemic that has been sweeping the world since 2019 has strained global health systems, revealed already existing weaknesses, even in the most advanced countries, and is representing an important moment of reflection for all policymakers. The whole world is questioning what will need to be done to foster greater effectiveness of national systems as well as better capacity to cope with shocks of such magnitude. In this document we explore what practitioners and scholars consider the main future challenges and the major changes that need to be made in the healthcare sector in order to embrace a new paradigm of care, based on the centrality of the patient, on prevention and not on cure, on technologies at the side of humans.

We used data from representatively sampled trees to identify key drivers of tree growth for central European tree species. Nonlinear mixed models were fitted to individual-tree basal area increments (BAI) from the Swiss national forest inventory. Data from 1983 to 2006 were used for model fitting and data from 2009 to 2013 for model evaluation. We considered 23 potential explanatory variables specifying individual-tree characteristics, site and stand conditions, management, climate, and nitrogen deposition. Model selection was processed separately for Picea abies, Abies alba, Pinus sp., Larix sp., other conifers, Fagus sylvatica, Quercus sp., Fraxinus sp./Acer sp., and other broadleaves. The selected models explained 56–70% of the BAI variance in the model fitting dataset and 21–64% in the evaluation dataset. While some variables were relevant for all species, the combination of further variables differed among the species, reflecting their physiological properties. In general, BAI was positively related to DBH and temperature and negatively related to basal area of larger trees, stand density, mean DBH of the 100 thickest trees per ha, slope, and soil pH. For most species, harvesting had a positive effect on BAI. In general, nitrogen deposition was positively related to BAI, except for spruce and fir, for which the inverse effect was found. Increasing drought reduced BAI for most species, except for pine and oak. These BAI models incorporate many influencing factors while representing large spatial extents, making them useful for both nationwide scenario analyses and deepening the understanding of the main drivers modulating tree growth throughout central Europe.

Port management is one of the most important economic pillars in maritime countries, where business players - such as port authorities, shippers, carriers, terminals, etc. - are called to undertake a virtuous process of economic development, respectful of the environment. This means achieving a sustainable growth, supported by green actions for environmental protection to improve corporate social responsibility. Coherently, the authors analyzed the role of Port Authorities (PAs) in adopting a socially responsible behavior, taking into consideration economic, environmental and societal expectations of all stakeholders in port logistics and management. For this purpose, in this work was adopted a multiple case study analysis to comparatively evaluate the green practices of PA enabling a sustainable growth, trying to explain: a. if there is a single or multiple stakeholders involvement in PA’s green strategies; b. what are the key green practices in port management; c. if there is a proactive or reactive approach to define green practices. In the empirical research were selected four representative PAs with a strong attitude towards green practices - Hong Kong (Asia), Antwerp (Northern Europe), Barcelona (Southern Europe) and Los Angeles (USA) - located in different geographical areas.

The frequency of Viburnum lantana L. plants showing visible foliar symptoms (VFS) was assessed in Trentino, north Italy in 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2015. The assessment was based on a sub-sample (n = 10) of the Vibur NeT observation plots network installed in 2010 according to a stratified random design. Depending on the year, a range of 193–232 plants were assessed during August. The frequency of symptomatic plants varied from 20.7 to 50.6%. Mean May-July hourly ozone concentration measured by conventional monitors over the same area and period varied from 37.9 to 45.8 ppb. There was a consistent time pattern between ozone and VFS. Consistency is confirmed if also a pilot survey carried out in 2009 is taken into account. Results are promising and supportive of the use of V. lantana as in-situ bioindicator for monitoring ozone impact on vegetation in forest areas.

The diversity of South American proboscideans during the Quaternary has been a subject of discussion for decades. The presence of Cuvieronius hyodon in South America is unquestioned and unanimous; however, the taxonomy of the known second South American proboscidean is still a controversy. Some authors argue that the South American species traditionally referred to Stegomastodon should instead be referred to a distinc genus, namely Notiomastodon, endemic to South America. Others authors, however, do not accept this attribution and continue to recognize the genus Stegomastodon as present in South America. In this study, we recognize several differences in the mandible, skull, dentition, and postcranial morphology of North American species of Stegomastodon and Notiomastodon, that further support the validity of Notiomastodon as a taxon separate from Stegomastodon. Indeed, a phylogenetic hypothesis of trilophodont bunodont proboscideans supports the separation between Stegomastodon and Notiomastodon, and the diversification of the common ancestor of these proboscideans may have occurred during the middle to late Miocene. No specimen with Stegomastodon diagnostic features is recognized in South America. The Stegomastodon records are restricted to the Pliocene-middle Pleistocene of North America, while Notiomastodon records are found only from the middle Pleistocene-early Holocene of South America. In this way, we recognize that Stegomastodon records are restricted to North America and that only Cuvieronius and Notiomastodon are recorded in South America.

A Local Innovation Systems (LIS) is defined as an innovative network characterized by the heterogeneous nature and the spatial proximity of the actors, presenting a high level of social embeddedness and a base of analytical knowledge. On the other hand, academic research on port community systems considers ports as complex systems where mechanisms of coordination and cooperation between local partners play a crucial role in supporting the competitiveness and the efficiency of the port itself. Few studies have combined to date, the perspective of port community as a complex system with the complex nature of innovation systems. The paper provides an original theoretical framework to study port communities from a local innovation system perspective. In particular, the article investigates the elements of complexity typical of a LIS in the specific case of Port Community Systems. The article will focus on the localised nature of innovation processes within a Port Community System as well as the existence of inter-organizational relationships occurring among actors of heterogeneous nature (i.e. firms, local institutions and research organizations). These relationships will be analysed according to the innovative value of the economic externalities they are able to produce and according to their ability to confer economic value to the results of academic research.

The purpose of this article is to analyze the impact of information technology (IT) solutions on the knowledge sharing process within the sea-land logistics network. To tackle the research aim, we illustrate the case of the Port of Genoa, the most important in Italy, the first to adopt a port community system to coordinate logistical processes. Our findings indicate how the IT platform, called E-port, improves interconnections within the system by creating a virtual network that facilitates data exchange among actors. Recent studies investigate ports as a simple logistics supply chain and not as a business network. This paper fills this gap by adopting an actor’s network perspective interconnected by an IT infrastructure that acts as a knowledge orchestrator in the business network.JEL Codes: M11, M15, O33

This paper aims to explore the local innovation system's network structure in mature industries and in an emerging economy, by taking empirical evidence from the transport and logistics innovation system in the Campania region (South of Italy). The social network analysis conducted on R&D alliances among a heterogeneous sample of organisations revealed that the Campania LIS in transport and logistics is characterised by a closed network, where brokering positions are mostly undertaken by academic institutions, which is in line with the studies arguing that a closure structure better sustains the conduct of innovation activities.

The purpose of this study is to verify the impact of visitor experience (VEX) on memorable experience, overall satisfaction and behavioural intentions, through an empirical study between a digital and a traditional museum. Findings reveal that in the case of the digital museum, VEX shows more satisfactory results in terms of memories and behavioural intentions. For museum managers, this study sheds light on the importance of creating an experiential cultural platform by visiting museums and providing evidence for the critical role of digital technology. Despite the richness of works on the tourism experience, few studies have investigated the VEX in museum management, and no study has analysed the impact of VEX on memorability, satisfaction and behavioural intentions when comparing traditional and digital museums. Therefore, this study is adding to the body of the knowledge in relation to this context and contributing to both theory and practice.

The response of forest productivity to climate extremes strongly depends on ambient environmental and site conditions. To better understand these relationships at a regional scale, we used nearly 800 observation years from 271 permanent long‐term forest monitoring plots across Switzerland, obtained between 1980 and 2017. We assimilated these data into the 3‐PG forest ecosystem model using Bayesian inference, reducing the bias of model predictions from 14% to 5% for forest stem carbon stocks and from 45% to 9% for stem carbon stock changes. We then estimated the productivity of forests dominated by Picea abies and Fagus sylvatica for the period of 1960–2018, and tested for productivity shifts in response to climate along elevational gradient and in extreme years. Simulated net primary productivity (NPP) decreased with elevation (2.86 ± 0.006 Mg C ha−1 year−1 km−1 for P. abies and 0.93 ± 0.010 Mg C ha−1 year−1 km−1 for F. sylvatica). During warm–dry extremes, simulated NPP for both species increased at higher and decreased at lower elevations, with reductions in NPP of more than 25% for up to 21% of the potential species distribution range in Switzerland. Reduced plant water availability had a stronger effect on NPP than temperature during warm‐dry extremes. Importantly, cold–dry extremes had negative impacts on regional forest NPP comparable to warm–dry extremes. Overall, our calibrated model suggests that the response of forest productivity to climate extremes is more complex than simple shift toward higher elevation. Such robust estimates of NPP are key for increasing our understanding of forests ecosystems carbon dynamics under climate extremes., We assimilated extensive and long‐term monitoring data into the 3‐PG forest ecosystem model to assess how forest productivity responds to climate extremes across environmental gradients in Switzerland. Data assimilation using Bayesian inference significantly improved model predictions. During warm–dry extremes, net primary productivity increased at higher and decreased at lower elevations, with reductions in NPP of more than 25% for one‐fifth of the potential species distribution range in Switzerland.

Changing environmental conditions may substantially interact with site quality and forest stand characteristics, and impact forest growth and carbon sequestration. Understanding the impact of the various drivers of forest growth is therefore critical to predict how forest ecosystems can respond to climate change. We conducted a continental-scale analysis of recent (1995–2010) forest volume increment data (ΔVol, m3 ha−1 yr−1), obtained from ca. 100,000 coniferous and broadleaved trees in 442 even-aged, single-species stands across 23 European countries. We used multivariate statistical approaches, such as mixed effects models and structural equation modelling to investigate how European forest growth respond to changes in 11 predictors, including stand characteristics, climate conditions, air and site quality, as well as their interactions. We found that, despite the large environmental gradients encompassed by the forests examined, stand density and age were key drivers of forest growth. We further detected a positive, in some cases non-linear effect of N deposition, most pronounced for beech forests, with a tipping point at ca. 30 kg N ha−1 yr−1. With the exception of a consistent temperature signal on Norway spruce, climate-related predictors and ground-level ozone showed much less generalized relationships with ΔVol. Our results show that, together with the driving forces exerted by stand density and age, N deposition is at least as important as climate to modulate forest growth at continental scale in Europe, with a potential negative effect at sites with high N deposition.

Significance With a limited understanding of spatiotemporal trends of carbon turnover time and its drivers, we are unable to quantify future changes in the forest carbon sink strength. By comparing long-term forest plot data and Earth system model (ESM) projections, we found a pervasive increase in carbon loss from tree mortality, likely driving declines in living aboveground vegetation carbon turnover time across forest climate zones. The climate correlations between temperature or precipitation and temporal trends of living vegetation carbon turnover time differed between forest plots and ESMs. Our results indicate that a mechanistic representation of tree mortality in ESMs and its sensitivity to climate is a crucial uncertainty in predicting the future forest carbon sink., Forests play a major role in the global carbon cycle. Previous studies on the capacity of forests to sequester atmospheric CO2 have mostly focused on carbon uptake, but the roles of carbon turnover time and its spatiotemporal changes remain poorly understood. Here, we used long-term inventory data (1955 to 2018) from 695 mature forest plots to quantify temporal trends in living vegetation carbon turnover time across tropical, temperate, and cold climate zones, and compared plot data to 8 Earth system models (ESMs). Long-term plots consistently showed decreases in living vegetation carbon turnover time, likely driven by increased tree mortality across all major climate zones. Changes in living vegetation carbon turnover time were negatively correlated with CO2 enrichment in both forest plot data and ESM simulations. However, plot-based correlations between living vegetation carbon turnover time and climate drivers such as precipitation and temperature diverged from those of ESM simulations. Our analyses suggest that forest carbon sinks are likely to be constrained by a decrease in living vegetation carbon turnover time, and accurate projections of forest carbon sink dynamics will require an improved representation of tree mortality processes and their sensitivity to climate in ESMs.

In postmodern societies socioeconomic changes characterizing the last decades shifted value orientations and attitudes towards wildlife, diminishing consumptive uses of wildlife, such as recreational hunting or fishing. However, no study has tested yet whether the same forces of modernization also increased non-consumptive uses of wildlife. We adopted multivariate random forests to model the effect of urbanization, average income and higher education over the conjoint incidence of recreational hunters and people who volunteer with animals at the municipal scale, in Tuscany (Central Italy). We also used time series analysis to see if these effects were supported by long term trends in recreational hunting across different areas. Urbanized areas, characterized by higher proportion of residentswith a higher education, are negatively associated with the incidence of recreational hunters, and positively to the incidence of people volunteering with animals. Cluster analysis identi fied two groups of municipalities, characterized by opposite incidences of hunters and volunteers, by a different magnitude of change in recreational hunting and by a different level of urbanization. Although hunting participation declined steadily over the last 15 years, this decline was greater at urbanized municipalities. These differences are likely to produce conflicts about wildlife management, and we believe regional agencies should adopt preemptive measures to mitigate them, such as improved data sharing and staff training about human dimensions of wildlife. Our findings indicate that the cognitive hierarchy can be a valuable theoretical frame to link socioeconomic dynamics to changes in human-wildlife relationships, even for non-consumptive wildlife uses.

During the last few decades native European hares (Lepus europaeus) have declined in Central and Northern Italy. Despite this trend having multiple causes, it was hypothesized that invasive Eastern cottontails (Sylvilagus floridanus) contributed to the decline through apparent competition and disease transmission. In this research we explored whether cottontails may act as carriers of EBHSV (European Brown Hare Syndrome Virus) and RHDV (Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease Virus), the viral agents of two major diseases affecting lagomorphs in Europe. We took biological samples from 267 cottontails that were shot between March and August 2015 in Tuscany, performing specific antigenic and serological ELISA tests for both viruses as well as molecular investigation for lagoviruses. Virologic tests were all negative and serological titers were below the threshold that could indicate the active circulation of either of the two pathogenic viruses. Our findings suggest that cottontails were not playing an active role as carriers or reservoirs for both known virulent lagoviruses and were also not infected with non-pathogenic lagoviruses - at least at that time in the study area.

Porting to the cloud large scientific applications designed and optimized for a standard HPC facility does not always pay off, mainly because of the implied communication pattern. By profiling the applications, researchers can build a performance model, which is able to give insights about how the application will perform on the cloud. To validate this approach, we use a hemodynamic application that embeds both heavy computations and extensive communications with several collective operations to exchange data across all processes. We expect that this case instance is a model for other applications. Our approach is based on profiling and modeling, and builds an analytical model for the communication pattern of the chosen hemodynamic application. We collect data both on an on-premise HPC system and on the Google Cloud infrastructure, and assess the prediction based on the analytic model. The outcome suggests that the prediction consistently underestimates the actual execution time, but correctly guess the scalability, thus allowing to strike a good balance between performance and costs. Finally, we introduce a figure of merit to assess cost vs performance between cloud and on-premise implementation, and validate a first version of such a model.

The human-driven spread of Invasive Alien Species is a major concern for conservation biologists. Since hunters are spreading invasive Eastern cottontails (Sylvilagus floridanus) in Italy, we investigated their beliefs about the species through semi-qualitative questionnaires in Tuscany, an area where cottontails have been occurring since 2000. Most respondents regarded invasive cottontails as a subspecies of the native European wild rabbit. Native European hares were highly valued as a game and perceived as a declining species, whereas no clear reason explained the hunting of cottontails and their population trend. We found no relationship between perceiving hares as a declining game and supporting the introduction of cottontails, or hunting cottontails. Respondents supported or opposed the eradication of cottontails according to their beliefs about the negative impact of the species over native hares. Hunters seem to have unclear ideas about cottontails and their impact and hold stable and positive attitudes towards the conservation of native hares. Cottontails are unlikely to replace hares as a game in the short term but may become a substitute game in case of a severe reduction in the abundance of hares. Our results could enable wildlife managers to plan eradication schemes to counteract invasive cottontails without fearing any strong opposition by hunters, provided that effective conservation plans are available for native game species. Hunters could also be engaged in large-scale monitoring programs based on hunting bags, as an encouraging number of respondents record killed cottontails on their hunting card. Future studies should broaden the investigation of hunters’ and angler’s perception of invasive alien species, as these two leisure activities are responsible for their spread worldwide.

This paper aims to evaluate the environmental management systems of ports by employing a multistep strategy based on official data for 24 Italian ports in 2016. In the first step, two original composite indicators are proposed to evaluate i) environmental quality related to greenhouse gas emissions due to port activity (i.e., the undesirable output), and ii) the efforts of port authorities to pursue a pro-environmental path. In the second step, port relative efficiency is evaluated by means of the DEA method with the main objective of investigating the persistence of economic efficiency when it is adjusted for environmental costs and pro-environmental commitments. The findings of this study suggest that to avoid partial judgements, the use of a comprehensive framework is pivotal in jointly assessing ports’ environmental and economic performance. The process is optimised when economic performance, the minimisation of the undesirable output and the adoption of green port policies have an appropriate balance. An interesting result for managers and policy makers is that efficiency converges towards the optimal target when ports feature a high pro-environmental attitude by implementing proactive green policies.