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The status of different response indicators of forest condition were measured and assessed between 1995 and 1997 at 6 Permanent Monitoring Plots (PMPs) in Tuscany (central Italy), where beech, holm oak and Turkey oak are the most frequent tree species. Foliage transparency, leaf damage and crown dieback have changed significantly over the monitoring period. Leaf area, length of the current year shoots, and total leaf area changed as well, but only for Turkey oak. Changes were consistent between and within the plots. Different indices of plant diversity showed marked changes, apparently linked to natural dynamics within individual ecosystems. These rapid and contrasting fluctuations in the various indicators of forest ecosystem make it difficult to derive a synthesis about the general condition of ecosystems and - especially - about the effects of air pollution.

The paper provides basic information about background, objectives and structure of O 3 SWE (Ozone at the permanent monitoring plots in South-Western Europe), an international co-operative project aimed at evaluating O 3 concentrations, cumulative exposure, uptake and effects on forest vegetation in four countries of South-Western Europe (France, Italy, Luxenbourg, Spain and Switzerland). The project covers a total of 83 permanent plots of the EU and UN/ECE intensive forest monitoring programme and span over three years of investigation (2000–2002). The O 3 SWE project aims to demonstrate how, using data collected routinely in an intensive forest monitoring network, O 3 exposure, flux and effects can be assessed and exceedances critically evaluated.

International audience; No abstract available

Epiphytic lichens and forest trees have been used as biomonitors of geothermal air pollution in the Travale-Radicondoli area (central Italy). The diversity of the lichen flora and the crown status of Quercus cerris were taken as active indicators of air quality, and both lichens Parmelia caperata and tree leaves were analyzed for their elemental content. The lichen survey pointed out a belt of about 500 m around the power plants as the area of highest contamination and boron as the main trace pollutant. As far as forest trees were concerned, crown thinness was affected mostly by the nature of the geological substrate, while reduction in leaf area and increase in specific dry weight were well correlated with the presence of the geothermal power plants. High levels of sulphur were detected in leaf tissues.

Explained and unexplained crown transparency (ECT and UCT, respectively) of 2090 beech trees were examined in 1994 and compared with site condition and other indices of tree status. No relationship was found between UCT, social class, age and diameter. Some relationships were found between UCT, canopy closure, the amount of discolored foliage, the growth pattern (a modified Roloff score), fruiting and regeneration. UCT increases with altitude and decrease with site quality. Short-term changes in UCT do not exceed 5 % in approximately 70 % of the observed beeches, although changes of 20 % or more in UCT scores has been recorded on 6 % of the beeches.

An unprecedented database concerning the apparent condition of forest trees has been created over the last decade. In particular, millions of data concern crown transparency and discoloration have been collected. Unfortunately, the subjectivity and poor specificity of the international data complicate their comparability and interpretation. A suite of other indices with species-specific relevance were also been used in various surveys. However, the development of suitable indices is incomplete and there is an urgent need for the improvement of definitions, training, data collection and reporting.

Over the last decades much of the work on the impact of air pollution on forests in Europe has concentrated on central and northern countries. The southern part of Europe has received far less attention, although air pollutants—especially the photochemical ones—can reach concentrations likely to have adverse effects on forest vegetation. Although international forest condition surveys present serious problems where data consistency is concerned, they reveal considerable year-by-year species-specific fluctuations rather than a large-scale forest decline. Cases of obvious decline related to environmental factors are well circumscribed: (1) the deterioration of some coastal forests due to the action of polluted seaspray; (2) the deterioration of reforestation projects, especially conifers, mainly due to the poor ecological compatibility between species and site; and (3) the decline of deciduous oaks in southern Italy and of evergreen oaks in the Iberian peninsula apparently due to the interaction of climate stresses and pests and diseases. However, besides obvious deterioration, changes in environmental factors can provoke situations of more subtle stress. The most sensitive stands are Mediterranean conifer forests and mesophile forests of the Mediterranean-montane plane growing at the edges of the natural ecological distribution. Evergreen sclerophyllous forests appear less sensitive to variations in climatic parameters, since they can adapt quite well to both drought and the action of UV-B rays. Several experiments were carried out to test the sensitivity of Mediterranean forest species to air pollutants. Most of those experiments used seedlings of different species treated with pollutant concentrations too high to be realistic, so it is difficult to derive adequate information on the response of adult trees in field conditions. Ozone has been proved to cause foliar injury in a variety of native forest species in different Southern European countries, while the effects of other pollutants (e.g. nitrogen, sulphur, acidic deposition) are less obvious and likely to be very localized. In the case of ozone, visible symptoms were almost completely missed by large-scale surveys and—at the same time—non-visible symptoms are suspected to be even more widespread than the visible ones. Owing to this and to the complex relationships existing between species sensitivity, ozone exposure and doses, length of the vegetative periods, influence of climatic and edaphic condition on the tree's response, the impacted areas are yet to be identified. Therefore, the large-scale impact of air pollutants on the forests of Southern Europe remains largely unknown, until more specific investigations are carried out.

Simultaneous assessment of epiphytic lichen diversity by teams from six European countries, following the procedures defined in the recently adopted European standard, revealed several sources of error (e.g. location of plot, selection of trees, identification of taxa). Routine training and further improvement of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are suggested to boost the harmonization process of the European guidelines, which promises to be an effective tool for standardizing the assessment of lichen diversity. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd.

Tree crown defoliation data collected on 102 managed forest plots of the RENECOFOR programme in France were investigated to identify (i) short-term (annual) changes and medium term (1994–2009) trends, and (ii) possible correlates of such changes and trends. Methodological aspects (trees assessed, changes in methods and reporting units, observers, assessment dates) were considered. To account for the specificity of individual plots in terms of tree provenance, age, site condition and management regime, an individual plot approach was adopted. Results showed highly frequent, statistically significant and methodologically meaningful (>5% of the expected measurement error) annual defoliation changes, with pulses of increasing defoliation occurring in 1994–1997 (with a possible methodological bias), in 2002–2004 and 2008–2009. A meta-analysis of individual plot results revealed a significant overall increase, in defoliation over the examination period; when the potentially biased 1994–1996 data were excluded from the analysis, the increase in defoliation was also significant. Within this overall increasing trend, cases of stability (11–24% of the plots) or even decreasing defoliation (11–18%) were frequent. We used a Partial Least Square (PLS) regression to model defoliation on 87 plots where sufficient data was available for a standard set of predictors, including meteorology, nutrition, phenology, reported health problems, management regime and assessment methodology. The most frequent correlates of defoliation were precipitation-related variables (of the current and previous years), tree density and frequency of trees with reported health problems. Foliar nutrients, air temperature, assessment method and observers were never found to be important predictors. Within this general pattern, interactions among predictors varied on a plot basis, leading to divergent estimated effects for the same predictor. The adopted plot-based approach avoids the bias that affects traditional cross-sectional, correlative studies and makes it possible to estimate correlates of change at the scale of individual plots; it is therefore a powerful tool to identify response patterns that can be of value when considering (or re-considering) management options.

We studied forest monitoring data collected at permanent plots in Italy over the period 2000-2009 to identify the possible impact of nitrogen (N) deposition on soil chemistry, tree nutrition and growth. Average N throughfall (N-NO3 +N-NH4 ) ranged between 4 and 29 kg ha(-1) yr(-1) , with Critical Loads (CLs) for nutrient N exceeded at several sites. Evidence is consistent in pointing out effects of N deposition on soil and tree nutrition: topsoil exchangeable base cations (BCE) and pH decreased with increasing N deposition, and foliar nutrient N ratios (especially N : P and N : K) increased. Comparison between bulk openfield and throughfall data suggested possible canopy uptake of N, levelling out for bulk deposition >4-6 kg ha(-1) yr(-1) . Partial Least Square (PLS) regression revealed that - although stand and meteorological variables explained the largest portion of variance in relative basal area increment (BAIrel 2000-2009) - N-related predictors (topsoil BCE, C : N, pH; foliar N-ratios; N deposition) nearly always improved the BAIrel model in terms of variance explained (from 78.2 to 93.5%) and error (from 2.98 to 1.50%). N deposition was the strongest predictor even when stand, management and atmosphere-related variables (meteorology and tropospheric ozone) were accounted for. The maximal annual response of BAIrel was estimated at 0.074-0.085% for every additional kgN. This corresponds to an annual maximal relative increase of 0.13-0.14% of carbon sequestered in the above-ground woody biomass for every additional kgN, i.e. a median value of 159 kgC per kgN ha(-1) yr(-1) (range: 50-504 kgC per kgN, depending on the site). Positive growth response occurred also at sites where signals of possible, perhaps recent N saturation were detected. This may suggest a time lag for detrimental N effects, but also that, under continuous high N input, the reported positive growth response may be not sustainable in the long-term.

The extensive outpouring of the Oligocene Trap basalts over eastern Africa and western Arabia was interrupted by a period of quiescence marked by the deposition of terrestrial sediments. These so-called intertrappean beds are often lignitiferous and yield recurrent floras and faunas, sometimes represented by endemic mammals. We intended to highlight the peculiar features of these sedimentary intercalations using a large-scale approach including eastern Africa and the western Arabian peninsula. Starting from a new mapping in the Eritrean highland, the intertrappean beds resulted a continuous level that was a few tens of meters thick and traceable for some tens of kilometers. They consist of fluvial red, green and gray mudstones and siltstones with subordinate channelized pebbly sandstones, and lignite seams. Two new 40Ar–39Ar datings constraint the age of the intertrappean beds between 29.0 Ma and 23.6 Ma. The outcrops near Mendefera have yielded the remains of two proboscidean families, the Deinotheriidae and the Gomphoteriidae. The morphological grade of the two Mendefera proboscideans would suggest a more derived stage than that of representatives of the same families from other Oligocene African sites (e.g., Chilga, Ethiopia). An Oligocene age could be inferred for them. The occurrence of the genus Prodeinotherium at Mai Gobro possibly represents the first occurrence of this taxon, while the Gomphotheirum sp. might represent the oldest occurrence of this taxon in Africa before its dispersal towards Asia and Europe. Proboscideans have also been found in the lowland intertrappean beds of Dogali near Massawa. These sediments were contiguous with the Eritrean highland intertrappean beds during the Oligocene, but are now tectonically displaced from them by two thousand meters of vertical topographical distance. Dogali is also known for the occurrence of possible Deinotheriidae remains and the primitive elephantoid Eritreum. Entering the Ethiopian highland, an inspection of the Agere Selam (Mekele) intertrappean beds revealed the occurrence of lacustrine limestones and diatomites, which were contrastingly quite subordinate with respect to the fine clastic sediments found in the nearby Amba Alaji area. Further south, the intertrappean section in the Jema valley (100 km north of Addis Ababa and close to the Blue Nile gorge) is 120 m thick with predominant clastic sediments and a few diatomites at the top. Literature information from 35 additional sites, including northern Kenya, Yemen, Sudan and Saudi Arabia sections, confirms the fluvial and lacustrine depositional environment of the intertrappean beds, underlines the interest in their mammal fauna (Chilga, Losodok), and reports exploitable coal seams for some of them. As for the vegetal landscape in which the intertrappean beds were deposited, pollen and plant analysis results indicative of a tropical wet forest, similar to that of present-day western Africa. Another common feature of the intertrappean beds is their relatively limited thickness, averaging a few tens of meters, but reaching a few hundred meters in graben-related basins, such as Delbi Moye in southern Ethiopia. In most cases only thin, lens-shaped successions were deposited above the hummocky topography of their volcanic substratum, commonly unaffected by significant faulting. An average duration of the intertrappean beds is from one to three million years. This time interval is commonly matched by a few tens (or more rarely, hundreds) of meters of sediments left over after erosive episodes or depositional starvation. As to the lateral continuity of the intertrappean beds, the present-day outcrops show large differences: from some tens of kilometers in the Mendefera area, to a few tens of kilometres in the Jema valley, and to a few hundreds meters in the Agere Selam (Mekele) area. Even if it is difficult to quantify the original size of the sedimentation areas, it nevertheless proves that the intertrappean basins exceed thousands of square kilometers in only a single case (Mendefera), but were quite restricted in most cases. Their most likely endorheic and local character, together with a regional ill-defined fluvial network, was the effect of a water-course rerouting caused by the progressive rising of the eastern African and Arabian plateaux. Chronological constraints for the intertrappean beds can be inferred from the age of the hosting Trap succession and by the stratigraphical position that they occupy. Intervolcanic sedimentary episodes are typically found in the basaltic and subordinately rhyolitic successions that followed the 31–29 Ma old basaltic widespread paroxysm. With due caveats deriving from the discontinuous availability of datings specifically dedicated to this issue, we regard the age of the intertrappean beds as mostly encompassed in the interval from 29 to 27 Ma at the transition between the Early and Late Oligocene in the Ethiopia/Yemen Trap core. In marginal areas, such as SW Arabia, Eritrea and Kenya, the volcanic activity above the intertrappean beds resumed later, and its quiescence allowed a more prolonged period of sedimentation. The intertrappean beds fall in the second cooling event of the Oligocene climatic deterioration. During the contemporaneous apparent drop in the global sea-level and closure of the Tethyan Ocean between Arabia and southwestern Asia, connections were established between the African and the Eurasian continents. At that time, southwestern Asia was experiencing severe aridity with faunal exchanges toward the luxuriously vegetated eastern Africa.

Maritime economy is a multi-facet business ecosystem, which embraces a number of interconnected economic activities and involves public and private actors. This business aggregate not only includes sea transport and port operations but also those entrepreneurial initiatives which take place in the hinterland and are closely connected with port businesses. Being aware of the new centrality gained by Mediterranean sea within deep-sea trade patterns, this paper carried out an empirical investigation on the maritime economy in Campania, unveiling how maritime-related business segments contribute to foster the economic development of the entire region. The outcomes confirmed the eminent role played by maritime economy in Campania both in absolute and relative terms against other economic sectors. In particular, the number of people employed in the maritime cluster tremendously increased over the last years. In Campania this cluster is really significant in comparison with the amount of Italian firms that operate in analogous regional clusters, both in regard to employees and value added. Further in-depth investigations confirmed the high ranking of Campania at national level, positioning it in the leading group of maritime Regions together with Sicilia, Liguria, Toscana and Veneto. In addition, passenger and tourism activities demonstrated to strongly contribute to the development of the maritime cluster in Campania. Finally, this paper raises some weaknesses and threats which have to be take into account in drawing the overall picture. Lack of port spaces, inefficient hinterland connections, growing competition from off-shore hubs in low-cost countries and limited integration between port vs. city planning and management are critical factors which undermine the pursuit of a port development in harmony with economic, social and environmental claims.

The crucial step in the conversion of solar to chemical energy in Photosynthesis takes place in the reaction center where the absorbed excitation energy is converted into a stable charge separated state by ultrafast electron transfer events. However, the fundamental mechanism responsible for the near unity quantum efficiency of this process is unknown. Here we elucidate the role of coherence in determining the efficiency of charge separation in the plant photosystem II reaction centre (PSII RC) by comprehensively combining experiment (two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy) and theory (Redfield theory). We reveal the presence of electronic coherence between excitons as well as between exciton and charge transfer states which we argue to be maintained by vibrational modes. Furthermore, we present evidence for the strong correlation between the degree of electronic coherence and efficient and ultrafast charge separation. We propose that this coherent mechanism will inspire the development of new energy technologies.

Ozone may cause functional alterations on plants without, before and besides the onset of visible foliar symptoms. While field assessment techniques for foliar symptoms have been developed and applied even at the large-scale, methods to detect functional alterations were mostly used under controlled experiments with little (if any) formalized field test. During a five-month field survey, two populations of Viburnum lantana L. plants growing at sites characterized by different ozone levels (+62.6% at the high-ozone with respect to the low-ozone, in terms of cumulated exposure) and visible foliar ozone symptoms (from negligible to frequent) were examined in Trentino (North Italy). For each site, five haphazardly selected leaves from six randomly selected plants were monitored to evaluate the temporal trend in the chlorophyll content (ChlSPAD) and chlorophyll a (Chl a) fluorescence transient (FT) in relation to the onset and development of foliar injury. The FT variables considered were: basal (F0) and maximal (FM) fluorescence in the dark-adapted state; maximum quantum yield efficiency (FV/FM); J phase; I-P phase; performance index total (PITOT). We investigated (i) whether the physiological indicators are linked to the development of visible ozone injury on native vegetation; (ii) whether they can be an early indicator of ozone effect on a sensitive species before the onset of visible foliar symptoms; and (iii) what is the appropriate sample size for their reliable measurements. Results show that (i) ChlSPAD and FM decreased concurrently with the onset and time development of foliar injury (suggesting a degradation of chlorophyll due to an excess of the total oxidative stress), with a much stronger reduction when the injury becomes widespread (reduction of chlorophyll due to increased necrotic surface). (ii) At the high ozone site visible foliar symptoms were frequent and appeared on plants displaying significant differences in most of the Chl a FT variables even before the onset of symptoms. (iii) Given the reported variability of the ChlSPAD and Chl a FT data, and assuming a randomized sampling design, an acceptable precision level (defined as SE = 10% of the mean estimated value at P = 95%) can be achieved in most cases by sampling four leaves for each V. lantana plant and five plants per site. Under these conditions, the concurrent measurements of Chl a FT variables together with ozone-specific visible foliar symptoms and ChlSPAD can provide a set of valuable diagnostic indicators for the early identification and assessment of ozone effects on native vegetation and – potentially – for the phenotyping of ozone-sensitive individuals.

Application of polycapillary optical systems to improve a spatial resolution for the ?-XRF analysis by focusing a primary x-ray beam and/or by collecting fluorescence emission is well known. The challenge is to optimize them in combination with x-ray source for exciting K-lines above 20 keV that could allow characterization of many materials composed by heavy elements. To pursue this goal, preliminary studies on possible polycapillary lens employment in thickness determination for multilayer metal materials will be presented in this work. In this paper, the results of first attempts of integrating PyMCA with Monte Carlo simulation code (XMI-MSIM) that takes into account the secondary fluorescence effects on quantitative analysis of homogeneous matrices, in particular, metal alloys, are presented. © 2014 Author(s).

Part of this paper has been prepared for the lecture Forest Health Assessment-Criteria,Methods and Problems given by the author at the UIMPuniversity course Sanidad Forestal en el Bosques Mediterraneos yTemplados. Implicacion de la Contaminacion Atmosferica y del Cambio Global, held in Valencia, Spain, October, 1995. Assessment and monitoring of forest health representsa key point for environmental policy and for the management ofenvironmental resources. With the renewed interest in assessment andmonitoring of forest health generated by the suspected occurrence ofa widespread forest decline in Europe and North America, manyactivities have been undertaken: however, some questions should beconsidered and clarified when attempting to estimate forest health.Particularly, the objective(s) of the assessment and monitoringprogram should be carefully identified. Identification of a program‘stask has a number of implications and consequences: it implies adefinition of what concept of forest health (forest ecosystem health,forest health or forest trees health?) is assumed, what will be thetarget entity to be monitored, and therefore the identification of therelevant assessment questions and assessment endpoints.Consequences concern the definition of the spatial scale (frominternational to landscape and plot scale monitoring) and ecologicalcoverage (from single species population to population ofecosystems) of the program, which can have a considerable influenceon the choice of the proper sampling strategy and tactic, as well ason the most suitable methods, indicators and indices to be used.Although much of the work in the field of forest health and airpollution has concentrated on surveys on crown transparency anddiscoloration, there is an entire range of methods, indicators andindices developed to assess the health status of forests. The decisionas to which ones should be used will depend on the aim of theprogram and on economic and practical considerations. A furtherconsideration concerns the time span of the program, but anydecision in this field is subject to many limitations due to difficultiesin predicting future monitoring needs. All these points should becarefully considered and implemented according to a rigorousQuality Assurance procedure since any decision will influence futurework for many years.

A survey of the crown status of Turkey oak Quercus cerris L.) trees in the boron-rich area atTravale (Southern Tuscany, Italy) was carried outin order to evaluate the impact ofgeothermal power plants. Crown thinness was assessed andmorphological and chemical tests werecarried out on leaf samples. Leaf area and dry weight weredetermined as morphological parameters;while the chemical measurements performed included nitrogenand potassium (among the nutrients),and sulphur, boron, arsenic and mercury (among the elements ofgeothermal origin). Acute damagewas found only in the area immediately adjacent to the outletsand is the result of the action of boron;crown thinness, on the other hand, is affected by the natureof the geological substrate. High quantitiesof sulphur were found in leaves throughout the survey area,due both to the availability of this elementin the geopedological substrate and to the atmospheric inputof geothermal H2S. The leafcontent of this element correlates negatively with thedistance from the power plants. Boron andarsenic are the other geothermal origin elements most commonlyfound in plant matrices. The presenceof these two elements is associated with leaf area reductionand/or an increase of specific dry weight.The most significant impact on the environment appears to beexerted by the southernmost powerplant, where there is an unfavourable ratio between quantityof emissions and height of the chimneys.

With this work we report on the performance and degradation mechanism of commercially available remote phosphors (RP) for SSL. Thermal analysis indicates that phosphors can reach temperatures above 60°C during operation at an ambient temperature of 25°C when subjected to an optical power of 346 mW/cm2. We also demonstrate that temperature is a strong driving force for the degradation. Results indicate a gradual reduction in luminous flux output and a decrease of correlated color temperature as a consequence of stress. We demonstrate that the degradation rate is strongly correlated with stress temperature with an activation energy of 1.36 eV for a TTF of 70%.

This paper describes the architecture of a chip-set that can be adopted in systems for object recognition based on the Generalized Hough Transform (GHT). The targeted applications aim at the real-time localization of two-dimensions objects of arbitrary shape not analytically described: this system has a throughput allowing for real-time operation on standard television signals. The characteristics of the GHT recognition process, aimed at generic bi-dimensional shapes, have been carefully exploited in order to map into silicon this transformation, so far considered too complex for a VLSI implementation. A functional description of the chip-set modules is given; the architectural aspects are analysed, together with the results of the prototyping phase, which addresses the problems of VLSI integration.

In this paper we present the results of a research activity which addresses the problem of high-quality image compression. The approach consists of embedding a model of the human visual system into the framework of the biorthogonal wavelet expansion. After a brief overview on the application of wavelets on image compression and a comparison with other transform-based approaches, we describe the mathematical aspect of the algorithm and the coding method used in the compression scheme. Some examples of the experimental results we have obtained end the paper.

To be useful in a forest and environmental management perspective, monitoring data need to provide conclusive results in terms of forest's status, changes, and their correlates. To be fit for such a use, monitoring data must satisfy a number of requirements. In particular, well-defined objectives, sound statistical design, and known and documented metrological quality are essential for defensible data, results, and information. Together with other sources of error (nonstatistical errors, model errors, definition errors), they need to be considered at the design stage of the monitoring. The value of a comprehensive Quality Assurance (QA) perspective is emphasized in that it forces program managers and designers to consider and provide explicit answers and solutions for each individual step of the monitoring program.

Strategic planning of forest resources in Europe requires reliable information on the status and trend of forest condition. National Forest Inventories (NFIs) and Forest Condition Monitoring (FCM) networks are primary sources of data for large area assessments of forest resources. This contribution seeks to outline a statistical perspective for the construction of a European forest monitoring system, able to provide statistically sound estimates of forest condition (defoliation) parameters and of their changes over time. Monitoring objectives, parameters of interest, and accuracy indexes are presented, under the assumption that a common definition for forests is adopted by European countries. The proposed estimators are of two types: (i) based solely on information acquired from FCM and (ii) derived from integration of FCM and NFIs.

Vegetation-related response variables adopted in the ICP Forests are related to health, growth, phenology, and diversity. Their assessment and measurement is subject to errors, which need to be controlled and documented. To do this, data quality requirements (DQRs) and intercomparison exercises were implemented. During 2009 and 2010, 111–260 field crews took part in different exercises organized across Europe. Results revealed that, while for some variables (e.g., tree diameter, standing basal area, ozone injury, species diversity) DQRs were substantially achieved, problems still exist for other measurements/calculations (tree height, volume and increment, crown base height, crown symptoms identification and description). In some cases, achievement of DRQs was partly due to relaxed DQRs. While the recent progresses in Quality Assurance/Quality Control for field surveys are promising, further effort is necessary to sharpen DQRs, refine standard operating procedures, and reinforce training.

Light-harvesting in photosynthesis is determined by the excitonic interactions in disordered antennae and the coupling of collective electronic excitations to fast nuclear motions, producing efficient energy transfer with a complicated interplay between exciton and vibrational coherences. Two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy (2DES) is a powerful tool to study the presence of these coherences in photosynthetic complexes. However, the unambiguous assignment of the nature of the observed coherences is still under debate. In this paper we apply 2DES to an excitonically coupled bacteriochlorophyll dimer, the B820 subunit of the light harvesting complex 1 (LH1-RC) of R. rubrum G9. Fourier analysis of the measured kinetics and modeling of the spectral responses in a complete basis of electronic and vibrational states allow us to distinguish between pure vibrational, mixed exciton-vibrational (vibronic), and predominantly exciton coherences. The mixed coherences have been found in a wide range of oscillation frequencies, whereas exciton coherences give the biggest contributions for the frequencies in the 400-550 cm(-1) range, corresponding to the exciton splitting energy of the B820 dimer. Significant exciton coherences are also present at higher frequencies, i.e., up to 800 cm(-1), which are determined by realizations of the disorder with a large energy gap between the two pigments (which increases the apparent value of the exciton splitting). Although the B820 dimer is a model system, the approach presented here represents a basis for further analyses of more complicated systems, providing a tool for studying the interplay between electronic and vibrational coherences in disordered photosynthetic antennae and reaction centres.

The international, multipartner, multiagency nature of the ICP Forests conditioned its design from the beginning, with a number of trade-offs necessary to accommodate specific needs, perspectives, and monitoring “traditions.” Reconciling these differences with the program objectives is a major challenge for program managers and stakeholders. In this chapter, basic design concepts and principles of the ICP Forests are described, together with more recent efforts undertaken to respond to that major challenge. Emphasis is placed on fixed-area plot design for both Levels I and II monitoring intensity, as well as the need to maintain data time series. The newly developed Quality Assurance perspective, the enhanced data management system, and the policy for intellectual property, publication, and data distribution are also important elements of the entire monitoring design.

Forest monitoring by terrestrial investigation has achieved a number of results in terms of infrastructure, enhanced international cooperation, development of methods, data, data quality, and capability to provide information. In addition, long-term monitoring data are increasingly requested by researchers and modelers. Despite these achievements, forest monitoring programs are facing increasing challenges related to a superimposed reduction in resources and a generalized loss of appeal and enthusiasm by policy and funding agencies. Although forest monitoring is a relatively young discipline, which has already evolved considerably, a further, rapid evolution is necessary. The next generation of monitoring programs should consider (i) identifying a wider range of users for monitoring information; (ii) expanding monitoring potential by means of connections with terrestrial and remotely based inventory, modeling, and research systems; (iii) adapting and further improving quality and coverage of data, information and reporting to fit specialized stakeholders; and (iv) enhanced global cooperation. Long-term commitment and financial support are necessary to secure continuity of operation, data collection, and maintenance of data series.

Las cruces procesionales de plata son objetos de culto litúrgico que, por su naturaleza y función, han estado sometidas a reparaciones y operaciones de mantenimiento periódicas. Por lo tanto, además de la técnica de fabricación y, en cierta medida la datación, la historia de estos objetos debe ser investigada desde el punto de vista del análisis y composición de los materiales que los integran. Además, dada su catalogación como Bienes de Interés Cultural, esta investigación ha de realizarse mediante técnicas no destructivas, lo cual convierte a la fluorescencia de rayos-X (XRF) en una elección casi ineludible entre las técnicas potencialmente aplicables. No obstante, la peculiar estruc80tura de las cruces de plata, compuestas por un soporte de madera recubierto por una lámina de plata dorada decorada con esmaltes, hace que la aplicación de esta técnica no sea sencilla, ya que la señal de fluorescencia contiene la contribución de todas las capas (sustrato de plata, dorado y/o esmalte) incluidas en el volumen analizado.

Over the past decades, the demand for and interest in harmonized data on the status of forests has changed in nature, increasing and becoming cross-sectoral. Although its history is much more recent than forest inventories, forest monitoring today has a great potential to provide useful data and information. The chapter outlines the development of monitoring needs over the past 40 years, the value of monitoring and its importance for other forms of scientific inquiry, introduces the basic methodological issues, and presents an overview of the major forest monitoring programs. Emphasis is placed on the importance that monitoring be driven by explicit objectives and grounded on solid scientific background. This chapter presents the aims and structure of the book.

Lead and cadmium concentrations in spontaneous vegetation and in soil sampled at various distances (0–208 m) from several motorways throughout Italy were measured. Lead and cadmium concentrations appear to be correlated to distance from the motorway and to traffic levels. A comparison with data from a remote and unpolluted site shows that foliar lead concentrations can be up to 40 times higher, and foliar cadmium concentrations up to 3 times higher. Plants behave differently in their accumulation of lead and cadmium; conifers present the highest levels. Also the various receptors and compartments of the roadside ecosystem differ in their accumulation of lead and cadmium; soil and bark have consistently higher concentrations, while the leaves and twigs of trees have consistently lower levels. the data recorded by ad hoc introduced bio-accumulating plants (Lolium multiflorum L.) are consistent with those of the spontaneous vegetation. the concentrations of both lead and cadmium in Lolium vary from ...

The purpose of this study is to determine the type of plant barrier most suitable for the protection of areas adjacent to roadways from the emissions of motor vehicles, as well as to establish the most efficient plant species for use in the barriers. The survey gathered the following samples: (a) grass and soil samples near the major Italian motorway networks and from sites directly exposed to vehicle emissions or protected by plant barriers; (b) samples of leaves from various species of trees, growing both alongside motorways and in urban and remote sites. The results show that the most efficient barriers are those placed immediately alongside the road edge and the most efficient species are deciduous broadleaves and small-needle conifers.

In order to study the possible interactions between air pollution and climate conditions in Mediterranean evergreen broadleaf species, since 1987 we have been monitoring the annual and infra-annual variations in crown density of Quercus ilex L. (holm oak) in a permanent sample plot. The behaviour of crown density has been compared with litterfall pattern and aging processes in leaves. The results of this study confirm the important impact of climate on crown condition in Mediterranean broadleaves, so that even the role of nonacute pollution can be disguised. Xeromorph adaptations in holm oak leaves are also a mechanism providing a greater protection against pollutants.

Between 1987 and 1991 four surveys on the condition of forests in Tuscany (Central Italy) were carried out. The results, relating to 2275 trees in 111 sampling plots, show that the overall percentage of damaged trees (defined by the EC regulation 1696/87) increased between 1987-88 (51.4 +/- 5.4 per cent; 54.0 +/- 5.6 per cent) and 1990-91 (67.0 +/- 6.2 per cent; 64.0 +/- 6.1 per cent). The percentage of moderately and severely damaged trees also displayed an upward trend. The most severely affected species appeared to be Pinus pinea (a Mediterranean conifer, 96.7 per cent damaged trees) and Fagus sylvatica (a mountain broadleaf, 87.1 per cent damaged trees). Crown condition appeared to deteriorate with decreases in mean annual rainfall and where stand conditions are poor (thin soil, steep slopes). The findings suggest the possibility of an interaction between several different stress factors, some of which seem to be linked to local and stand conditions (exposure, silviculture, soil fertility), while others seem to be connected with long-term variations, such as changes in environmental parameters like precipitation. The actual role of background and/or local pollution can be neither demonstrated nor excluded on the basis of the present results.

The ductal carcinoma in situ is a malignant proliferation of mammary ductal epithelial cells without invasion beyond the basement membrane. The management of patients with DCIS is complex, controversial and has undergone changes over time.We treated 65 patients diagnosed with DCIS between 2002 and 2005. We surveyed women aged between 28 and 71 years (average age 51.4), the DCIS in 16 patients appeared as a palpable mass (about 2.2 cm) - group I and in 49 patients as microcalcifications detected on mammography - group II.The most frequent histological type was found to be the comedocarcinoma. After 3 years of follow-up, we had 3 cases of recurrence (4.6%) in patients undergoing conservative surgery, with Van Nuys Prognostic Index between 3 and 4.15-25% of cases of breast cancer are DCIS. Most of these are comedocarcinomas. Comedo form DCIS is an insidious cancer. Surgical treatment ranges from mastectomy to excision of the lesion, often the latter, followed by radiotherapy.We prefer, with regard to surgical treatment, quadrantectomy with systematic control of the free margins. The search for the axillary sentinel node represents for us, too, the gold standard.

In the frame of a process aiming at harmonizing National Forest Inventory (NFI) and ICP Forests Level I Forest Condition Monitoring (FCM) in Italy, we investigated (a) the long-term consistency between FCM sample points (a subsample of the first NFI, 1985, NFI_1) and recent forest area estimates (after the second NFI, 2005, NFI_2) and (b) the effect of tree selection method (tree-based or plot-based) on sample composition and defoliation statistics. The two investigations were carried out on 261 and 252 FCM sites, respectively. Results show that some individual forest categories (larch and stone pine, Norway spruce, other coniferous, beech, temperate oaks and cork oak forests) are over-represented and others (hornbeam and hophornbeam, other deciduous broadleaved and holm oak forests) are under-represented in the FCM sample. This is probably due to a change in forest cover, which has increased by 1,559,200 ha from 1985 to 2005. In case of shift from a tree-based to a plot-based selection method, 3,130 (46.7 %) of the original 6,703 sample trees will be abandoned, and 1,473 new trees will be selected. The balance between exclusion of former sample trees and inclusion of new ones will be particularly unfavourable for conifers (with only 16.4 % of excluded trees replaced by new ones) and less for deciduous broadleaves (with 63.5 % of excluded trees replaced). The total number of tree species surveyed will not be impacted, while the number of trees per species will, and the resulting (plot-based) sample composition will have a much larger frequency of deciduous broadleaved trees. The newly selected trees have—in general—smaller diameter at breast height (DBH) and defoliation scores. Given the larger rate of turnover, the deciduous broadleaved part of the sample will be more impacted. Our results suggest that both a revision of FCM network to account for forest area change and a plot-based approach to permit statistical inference and avoid bias in the tree sample composition in terms of DBH (and likely age and structure) are desirable in Italy. As the adoption of a plot-based approach will keep a large share of the trees formerly selected, direct tree-by-tree comparison will remain possible, thus limiting the impact on the time series comparability. In addition, the plot-based design will favour the integration with NFI_2.

It presents a clinical case of undifferentiated retroperitoneal liposarcoma with 5 years' recurrence from the first operation for the rarity of the occurrence, the problems related to surgery and complementary therapeutic approach.Male patient aged 73 was operated for removal of retroperitoneal mass with involvement of the right kidney at the Second University of Naples in the 2003. In accordance with the interdisciplinary board, complementary therapy is not indicated and follow-up program. The successive controls were negative until at least 2007. Reoperation for recurrence in 2008 for the presence of massive bone formation occupying a large part in the right half of the abdomen at the sub-hepatic level. In both cases histological examination showed undifferentiated liposarcoma.It is of unknown etiology and only 25% occurs in well-differentiated cells are also more than 100 histological subtypes, 85% are malignant. The most affected is the male sex and from the beginning looks like malignancy. The trend of growth in general is slow, and in most cases tends to recur over time. The role of chemotherapy and radiation therapy is controversial.The peculiarity of our case is higher than the average survival despite advanced age and presence of recurrence. This confirms the importance of surgical treatment, thus offering the patient a chance of better long-term survival.

In this paper we present the results of a study performed on a large collection of silver Roman republican denarii, encompassing about two centuries of history. The joint use of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) and X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy allowed for an accurate determination of the coins' elemental composition; the measurements, performed mostly in situ at the 'Monetiere' in Florence, revealed a striking connection between the 'quality' of the silver alloy and some crucial contemporary events. This finding was used to classify a group of denarii whose dating was otherwise impossible. The comparison with other contemporary denarii disproves a recent theory on the origin of the so called 'serrated' denarii (denarii showing notched chisel marks on the edge of the coin). Fil: Pardini, Lorenzo. Istituto di Chimica dei Composti Organometallici; Italia. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche; Italia Fil: El Hassan, A.. Cairo University Giza; Egipto Fil: Ferretti, Marco. Istituto per le Tecnologie Applicate ai Beni Culturali; Italia. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche; Italia Fil: Foresta, A.. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche; Italia. Istituto di Chimica dei Composti Organometallici; Italia Fil: Legnaioli, S.. Istituto di Chimica dei Composti Organometallici; Italia. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche; Italia Fil: Lorenzetti,Giulia. Istituto di Chimica dei Composti Organometallici; Italia. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche; Italia Fil: Nebbia, E.. Università di Torino; Italia Fil: Catalli, F.. Museo Archeologico Nazionale Firenze; Italia Fil: Harith, M.A.. Cairo University Giza; Egipto Fil: Diaz Pace, Diego Martin. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Instituto de Física Arroyo Seco; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigaciones en Física e Ingeniería del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Centro de Investigaciones en Física e Ingeniería del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. - Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigaciones en Física e Ingeniería del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; Argentina Fil: Anabitarte Garcia, F.. Universidad de Cantabria; España Fil: Scuotto, M.. Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II; Italia Fil: Palleschi, V.. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche; Italia. Istituto di Chimica dei Composti Organometallici; Italia

A rapid, empirical method is described for estimating weekly AOT40 from ozone concentrations measured with passive samplers at forest sites. The method is based on linear regression and was developed after three years of measurements in Trentino (northern Italy). It was tested against an independent set of data from passive sampler sites across Italy. It provides good weekly estimates compared with those measured by conventional monitors (0.85 ≤R(2)≤ 0.970; 97 ≤ RMSE ≤ 302). Estimates obtained using passive sampling at forest sites are comparable to those obtained by another estimation method based on modelling hourly concentrations (R(2) = 0.94; 131 ≤ RMSE ≤ 351). Regression coefficients of passive sampling are similar to those obtained with conventional monitors at forest sites. Testing against an independent dataset generated by passive sampling provided similar results (0.86 ≤R(2)≤ 0.99; 65 ≤ RMSE ≤ 478). Errors tend to accumulate when weekly AOT40 estimates are summed to obtain the total AOT40 over the May-July period, and the median deviation between the two estimation methods based on passive sampling is 11%. The method proposed does not require any assumptions, complex calculation or modelling technique, and can be useful when other estimation methods are not feasible, either in principle or in practice. However, the method is not useful when estimates of hourly concentrations are of interest.

Epiphytic lichens have long been used as ecological indicators. Lichen biomonitoring surveys were carried out by five experienced teams and the results compared across the entire process, from sampling design planning to species counting. The five teams received the same background information and worked in parallel but independently in the same area. European standard operating procedures (SOPs), which are still in preparation, were followed in order to identify possible critical issues and improve consistency. Five exercises with progressive reduction in the degree of operational freedom were carried out by the teams. The results revealed differences between teams on each exercise and showed that investigations run by different teams in the same area and at the same time may not be entirely comparable. This was partly due to inherent differences between crews (skills, familiarity with local flora, and accuracy in applying SOPs), partly to ambiguities in the SOPs, and partly to insufficient training with the SOPs. The results may be valuable in improving biomonitoring procedures and in achieving high-quality, consistent lichen diversity data. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

The common pheasant is a species that comes from Asia: its natural geographical distribution includes the central western and eastern areas of Asia, from Caucaso to Formosa island. It has been largely introduced in Europe: in Italy since Roman age, in most of central western and eastern Europe between 500 and 800 B.C.; much later it has been introduced also in North America, Hawaii islands, New Zealand and in many other countries (Cramp & Simmons, 1980; Hill & Robertson, 1988; Johnsgard, 1986). In Italy the populations of pheasant are composed of hybrids coming from subspecies of "Phasianus colchius" part of "colchius" group, "mongolicus" and "torquatus" and from the two subspecieses of "Phasianus versicolor" (Brichetti, 1984). At the present, the nominal subspecies can be considered extinct in Italy: the last stocks, probably extinct or genetically contaminated by captive reared pheasants released for hunting purposes, survived until the end of last century in Tuscany, Basilicata, Calabria and some other small areas of the north Italy. It is difficult to establish the consistency of the Italian population of this species, because its distribution is not known and because generally data density are missing. The Italian population is constituted by more or less isolated sub-populations, preserved in Protected Areas (PA) and in few hunting areas. The groups of animals, which are in free hunting territories, cannot be considered real populations because these groups are not selfsustaining, but they are artificially re-constituted year after year by regular restocking with new pheasants, breeders or young ones, captive reared or wild ones captured in no hunting areas during the winter months (Santilli & Bagliacca, 2008).

We investigated the Ubiquitin-Proteasome System (UPS), major nonlysosomal intracellular protein degradation system, in the genesis of experimental postsurgical peritoneal adhesions. We assayed the levels of UPS within the adhered tissue along with the development of peritoneal adhesions and used the specific UPS inhibitor bortezomib in order to assess the effect of the UPS blockade on the peritoneal adhesions. We found a number of severe postsurgical peritoneal adhesions at day 5 after surgery increasing until day 10. In the adhered tissue an increased values of ubiquitin and the 20S proteasome subunit, NFkB, IL-6, TNF-αand decreased values of IkB-beta were found. In contrast, bortezomib-treated rats showed a decreased number of peritoneal adhesions, decreased values of ubiquitin and the 20S proteasome, NFkB, IL-6, TNF-α, and increased levels of IkB-beta in the adhered peritoneal tissue. The UPS system, therefore, is primarily involved in the formation of post-surgical peritoneal adhesions in rats.

Biomonitoring by means of the supersensitive cultivar Nicotiana tabacum Bel-W3 is frequently used to obtain information on ozone effects on plants and estimates of ozone exposure. However, most of biomonitoring surveys do not account for other environmental variables (predictors in a statistical model) and their inherent multicollinearity with ozone. We tested the relative role of different predictors (fixed: time and site; random: ozone, temperature and humidity) on height growth and on the development of visible foliar symptoms of N. tabacum Bel-W3 plants. To do this, we investigated a relatively small area (256 km 2 ), used a random design at every stage of the survey, controlled watering and protected plants from direct solar radiation and wind. QA/QC procedures were adopted at every stage of the investigation. Linear correlation shows that Leaf Injury Index (LII) and height increment (H.I.) positively related to ozone concentration, elevation and temperature, and negatively to relative humidity. All the predictors correlate to each other. However, relationships between response and ozone vary with the site and the monitoring week. The effect of the random factor “ozone” in combination with fixed factors “site” and “time” on the response variables was therefore formally investigated using the ANCOVA model. Besides ozone, the interactions “ozone × site” and “ozone × time” resulted always significant (0.001 < P < 0.05). While the factor “time” emphasize the inherent development of injury and growth through time, the interaction “ozone × site” pointed out the importance of local conditions. When watering, solar radiation, wind and plant characteristics were controlled, the remaining site-specific covariates of interest were temperature (T) and humidity (RH). When T and RH were accounted for by means of partial correlation analysis, no significant relationship was found between ozone and LII. On the other side, O3 and RH resulted significant for both absolute and relative height increment. In short, LII seemed to be not solely dependent on ozone, T and RH, but showed to integrate their combined effect. On the other side, H.I. seemed to be favoured by high RH and T, and depressed by high ozone. Based on the above results, we recommend caution when handling bioindicator data: if the purpose is to infer ozone concentrations by leaf injury data, results may be affected by a serious bias, as the frequently reported correlations may be partly an artefact due to co-variation between predictors.

Thirty-three protected wild game reproduction areas, located in the province of Florence (Central Italy), were monitored for habitat characteristics and hare census over a period of 2 years. A total of 172 hares was captured, checked for sex, and age, and blood samples were taken. Serum samples were analyzed by competitive ELISA test for detection and titration of anti-European brown hare syndrome virus (EBHSV) antibodies. Results showed that EBHSV seropositive hares from areas with high and medium population densities had higher antibody titers than those coming from low-density areas and that adults showed lower values than young animals. Anti-EBHSV antibody levels were inversely related to the distances between protected areas and private hunting areas while a high density of protected areas was not associated with any similarity in the values or prevalence of EBHSV.

The behaviour of high-frequency acoustic excitations in disordered materials is one of the most provocative and less understood aspects of glass science. The frequency dependence of sound damping, in particular, is the result of the interplay of several physical mechanisms crucial for many theoretical models. The emerging picture suggests the existence of a frequency crossover in sound attenuation identifying a transition from a macroscopic continuum-like behavior, due to anharmonic damping effects, to a microscopic regime in which the dynamics is dominated by topological disorder, characteristic of the amorphous phase. The very nature of this hypothetic crossover, its frequency position and its relation to other anomalies of the amorphous state is highly debated.

Stratification of sampling with the consequent reduction of variables and the separation of samples by single species and homogeneous areas have been used for inventory of forest damage in Tuscany. The principal elements which resulted are: (1) a large increase in the percentile of damaged trees, especially in the classes of moderate and severe damage, following a trend which seems to be confirmed throughout a great part of Europe (the damage appears severe both in the montane and Mediterranean areas, with high peaks in Pinus pinea, Fagus sylvatica and Quercus pubescens); (2) the worrisome situation of F. sylvatica and Ostrya carpinifolia with respect to the symptomatology; (3) the intense decline of P. pinea in the Mediterranean area; (4) the serious situation of Q. pubescens; (5) a particular forest decline in the Mediterranean area; (6) the lessening of damage at the rise of altitude. The decline seems to be increased in the montane areas by the worst site conditions while in the Mediterranean zones it appears to be influenced by environmental factors of coastal origin.