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Young people’s engagement with sustainability includes both civic and pro environmental behaviors (e.g. environmental activism) that contribute to the development of sustainable communities. It reflects a holistic idea of sustainability, where civic democracy and ecological integrity are strictly interconnected. The lack of empirical studies exploring this kind of engagement among young people may well be a consequence of the lack in the literature of a shared theoretical model that provides a framework for both types of behaviors. By integrating Positive Youth Development with the Capability Approach, the aim of this paper is to provide new theoretical input as a way of filling this gap. The proposed model is based on the idea that both positive individual and sustainable development are a question of social justice that takes place within specific domains and is related to understanding experience within life courses. Key words: Positive Youth Development; Capability Approach; Young people; Engagement; Sustainability, Visions for Sustainability, No 10 (2018)

The gravitational granular flows (e.g. debris flows or snow avalanches) are catastrophic and destructive phenomena affecting many areas in the world, and especially the mountain areas of Europe. Proper design criteria are required in order to improve protection structures and prevention strategies. Due to their complex nature, these phenomena present many aspects still unsolved in the research field. This research addresses some aspects of the mechanics of dry granular flows: a 1D depth integrated model has been developed, based on a two phase approach. The system of equations consists of three partial differential equations, derived from the mass balances for the solid and fluid phase and from the momentum balance for the solid phase, and two rheological relations determined through experimental tests and particle numerical simulations. The experimental investigation hes been conducted in a laboratory channel, by recording through high speed cameras the motion of polystyrene spherical particles. Within this research, it has been developed an ad hoc optical method to analyze and process the images recorded, with the aim of defining the main flow characteristics. From a numerical point of view, a path conservative finite volume scheme has been adopted to solve the system of equations previously described: the numerical solution is compared to the experimental results for different configurations, in order to verify the effectiveness of the mode

Since the ban of antibiotics as growth promoting feed additives by the European Union in 2006, plant extracts and plant secondary metabolites have been considered as an alternative to manipulate the rumen. The term ‘plant secondary metabolite’ is used to describe a vast array of chemical compounds in plants that are not involved in the biochemical processes of plant growth and reproduction. These have been studied and used in medicines and preservation of foods for a substantial time. The technology to assess methane emission in vivo is very slow, expensive, labour intensive and unsuitable for large-scale individual animal measurements. For this reason, a great deal of research has been conducted using in vitro simulation technique, which estimates the emission in vivo. However, the in vitro systems are often disapproved because of their short term duration (i.e. 24 hrs) and the lack of adaptation (they are conducted using rumen fluid which had not been exposed to the presence of the investigated compounds before). Based on this argument, this thesis aims to examine different aspects, regarding systems and procedures, used to investigate rumen fermentation and methane emission from ruminants, as follows: 1) Screening of different natural additives using a batch culture system; 2) Verify, through a batch culture system, the effect of the subministration in vivo of some natural additives in order to adapt the rumen fluid used as inoculum; 3) Asses the effect of one natural extract using a long-term continuous culture system; 4) Study the consequences on dairy products after the subministration of natural additives to lactating dairy cows. The first contribution aimed to explored effects of four pure plant extracts (allyl-sulfyde, cinnamaldehyde, eugenol, and limonene) and one synthetic compound (monensin), on in vitro rumen fermentation and methane (CH4) production of a commercial diet for dairy cows, using a batch culture system, equipped with devices for automated gas venting at fixed pressure. Two dosages were tested: 3 or 30 mg/g of diet for the plant extracts; 0.015 or 0.030 mg/g of diet for Monensin. All the additives were ineffective at the low dosage. The high dosage of limonene caused a marked depression of neutral detergent fiber degradability (NDFd) (-68%) and true dry matter degradability (TDMd) (-14%) compared to the control; less marked reductions were noted for high dosage of eugenol (-15% and -4%, for NDFd and TDMd, respectively) and of monensin (-16% and -3%, for NDFd and TDMd, respectively). No effects emerged for other additives on NDFd and TDMd, irrespective by the dosage. Compared to the control, high dosage of allyl sulfide, cinnamaldheyde, eugenol, limonene and monensin significantly reduced gas production (ml/g DM; -16%, -12%, -9%, -38%, -12%, respectively). In vitro CH4 production was significantly reduced only by high dosage of allyl sulfide, cinnamaldheyde, limonene and monensin (-32%, -12%, -43%, -18%, respectively, compared to the control). Only high dosage of allyl sulfide, and limonene significantly reduce CH4 proportion (-18%, -12% respectively, compared to the control). The most promising results were observed for the high dosage of cinnamaldehyde, that reduced in vitro CH4 production without compromising degradability and VFA production. Based on the results of the first trial, cinnamaldehyde, limonene and allyl-sulfide have been selected as the most effective in the reduction of methane emission, but also preserving the feed degradability and rumen functionality. The three compounds have been tested following a different procedure, indeed, the second trial aim was to evaluate the effect of rumen fluid which has not been adapted (NAF) and rumen fluid that has been adapted (AF) to the presence of the extract in vivo, before the in vitro tests. Therefore, four dry cows were fed diets with and without the pure compounds, according to a 4×4 Latin Square design, and the collected rumen fluids were used as in vitro inocula with or without the addition of the 3 compounds during the incubation. Cinnamaldehyde, limonene and allyl-sulfide have been tested for in vitro gas production kinetics and end products of fermentation. In general, the results confirmed the first additive performed, however, regarding the adaptation in vivo of the rumen fluid, the use of AF did not affect any fermentation parameter compared to NAF. However, adding an in vitro diet with allyl-sulfide, the magnitude of the effects of this pure compound tended to be greater when incubated with AF compared to NAF. These results suggest that the administration of pure compounds to the cows can affect the rumen microbial activity and the response of in vitro experiments. The third trial examined another category of plant secondary metabolites, flavonoids, which have recently gained interest because of their wide range of biological activities, but also because of their antimicrobial properties. Previously, it has been hypothesised that an extract of liquorice, rich in prenylated isoflavonoids and particularly glabridin, might potentially improve the efficiency of nitrogen utilisation and reduce methane production in the rumen. The experiment was carried out using a different in vitro system, the long-term rumen simulation technique (RuSimTec), which maintained the vitality and functionality of the rumen microbiome for long time and adapt the rumen fluid to the presence of the extract. The results obtained showed that when liquorice extract is added at 1 g/L, ammonia production decreased (-51%; P

Background and aim of the work: We report 1-year single-centre experience in carotid endarterectomy (CEA) combining general anaesthesia with preserved consciousness (GAPC) and standardized carotid sequential cross-clamping, for our protocol effectiveness evaluation in reduction of perioperative stroke, death or cardiologic complications. Methods: We considered all patients who underwent CEA in 2016. All patients underwent superficial cervical plexus block and GAPC with Remifentanil. The surgical technique consisted of common carotid artery (CCA) cross-clamping, carotid bifurcation isolation, external (ECA) and internal carotid artery (ICA) cross-clamping. After CCA cross-clamping, we performed a neurological tolerance test (NTT); this allowed selective shunting only for positive NTT. Primary end-points were: transient ischemic attack (TIA)/stroke, myocardial infarction, death in perioperative period. Secondary end-points were: carotid shunting, peripheral cranial nerves injuries (PCNI), GAPC intolerance, other complications, reintervention in perioperative period, length of hospital stay. Results: 104 consecutive patients underwent CEA with this protocol in the considered period. Twenty-seven (25.9%) patients were symptomatic. Mean clamping time was 48±13.5 minutes. Five cases (4.8%) requested internal carotid artery shunting. No TIA/stroke, myocardial infarction or death were recorded in the perioperative period. PCNI were observed in 19 cases (18.2%) in the immediate post-operative period; 16 of them (84.2%) showed complete or partial resolution at discharge. Only one patient (0.9%) showed GAPC intolerance. No other complication occurred. Three patients (2.9%) underwent reintervention for neck haematoma drainage. Mean hospital stay were 3±0.9 days. Conclusions: GAPC associated with sequential carotid cross-clamping appeared to be safe and effective in prevention of major neurological and cardiologic complications during CEA. (www.actabiomedica.it).

Eighteen Marek’s disease virus (MDV-1) strains collected from clinical cases of Marek’s disease occurred from 2014 to 2016 in Italian commercial and backyard chicken flocks, were analyzed. Viruses were detected by a PCR protocol targeting the meq gene from feathers, spleen, liver or tumor samples of birds affected by classical nervous or acute forms. Nucleotide and amino acid sequences obtained, were edited and assembled using BioEdit software, then, using Clustal W, were aligned against and compared with complete homologous sequences of selected MDV-1 strains with different degrees of pathogenicity retrieved from GenBank. Phylogenetic analysis of meq genes was performed using neighbor-joining method including sequences of major vaccine strains currently used in Italy. Eight out of ten strains from vaccinated commercial chickens and two from unvaccinated backyard flocks, affected all by acute form, clustered together and with published Polish strains isolated in the last decade. Their sequences may be ascribed to virulent and very virulent MDVs. Six out of eight strains from unvaccinated backyard chickens with classical form were, as expected, closely related to mild and attenuated ones. Sequences of two strains from vaccinated white layer pullets with a clinical nervous form were instead very close to the sequence of a commercial vaccine. Peripheral neuropathy was suspected. In conclusion high virulence MDVs seems to circulate mostly in Italian commercial compartment where vaccination is routinely applied, while the rural sector is still affected by mild viruses probably due to the absent or lower vaccine pressure.