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This paper describes the main findings of a national action-research project, promoted by Regional School Office of Campania (South of Italy), aimed at improving numeracy and mathematical literacy ...

This paper describes an embedded case study of “blended” teaching integrated with traditional lessons in a Student-Centered Active Learning Environment and social activities on the platform. The didactic phenomena were designed by creating learning environments, artifacts, and teaching/learning sequences in authentic educational contexts. We aim at improving the task design of a mathematics lesson with an impact on students’ performance in mathematics. Quantitative results show considerable benefits in the evolution of the use and coordination of several systems of semiotic representation. As a result, a better predisposition to the study of the subject seems to appear; moreover, the satisfaction test shows the achievement of alternative teaching methodologies for most of the students.

Pastoralism has a long tradition in the Mediterranean region. However, there is little evidence about its contribution to sustainable development in the region. Therefore, this review analyses the state of research on the multifaceted relations between pastoralism and sustainable development in the Mediterranean with a particular reference to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It draws upon a systematic review of all documents indexed in the Web of Science by June 2021. The analysis of the scholarly literature suggests that (i) there is a divide with most studies performed in Northern Mediterranean countries; (ii) no article has investigated the contribution of pastoralism to the implementation of the sustainable development agendas (MDGs and SDGs) in the Mediterranean; and (iii) most of the selected articles deal with environmental sustainability (cf. biodiversity, land use, land degradation, deforestation) while social, cultural and economic aspects are generally overlooked. The ongoing processes of intensification, specialisation and modernisation of pastoral systems do not only jeopardise the provision of various ecosystem services, but also put at risk the preservation and sustainability of traditional pastoral systems. Such modernisation also leads to the erosion of pastoral culture and the abandonment of some traditional systems such as sylvo-pastoralism and mobile pastoralism. Sustainable development of pastoralism in the Mediterranean implies improving the livelihoods and living conditions of pastoralists while preserving their unique cultural heritage and social capital and ensuring the continued provision of ecosystem systems. Such development pathway should be guided by and aligned with the SDGs.

Despite the recurring discourse on food systems and their sustainability in the Mediterranean region, compre-hensive studies are hard to find. Therefore, this article provides an overview on the challenges and perspectives of food systems in the Mediterranean. In particular, the paper addresses the main challenges (environmental, economic, socio-cultural and nutrition-health) facing Mediterranean food systems; analyses the multifaceted relations between sustainable food systems (SFS) and sustainable diets by exploring the example of the Medi-terranean diet; and briefly presents the relevance of the innovation for Mediterranean food systems. The paper highlights the urgency of action to move towards sustainable and resilient food systems in the Mediterranean area. This is particularly relevant in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. For that, there is a need for shared policy, governance, practice and research agenda. In this respect, the contribution of CIHEAM results fundamental. The paper concludes by highlighting the disruptive potential of the SFS-Med Platform – under co-development by CIHEAM, FAO and the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) – to foster food systems trans-formation towards sustainability and accelerate the achievement of SDGs in the region.

Nowadays, a growing body of evidence supports the view that plants offer an extraordinary opportunity to discover and develop new promising therapeutic strategies for many diseases, including cancer. Here we tested the anticancer action against Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) of extracts obtained from two plants harvested in Apulia, namely Brassica oleracea L. and Crithmum maritimum L. B. oleracea was grown in biodynamical agriculture without any agrochemical input, instead C. maritimum was collected on Apulian coasts and is still commonly eaten in Apulia. HCC, one of the most frequent tumors worldwide, is estimated to become the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Western Countries by 2030. The approved synthetic drugs for the treatment of HCC are currently inadequate in terms of therapeutic results and tolerability. Hence, aim of the present study was to test the anticancer action against HCC of extracts obtained from Brassica oleracea L. and Crithmum maritimum L. We preliminary prepared extracts from both plants using four solvents with different polarity: hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol and ethanol. Then, we tested the effect of the different fractions in inhibiting HCC cell growth. Finally, we characterized the mechanism of action of the most effective fraction. We found that ethyl acetate fractions from both plants were the most effective in inhibiting HCC growth. In particular, we demonstrated that these fractions effectively reduce HCC growth by exerting, on one hand, a cytostatic effect through their action on the cell cycle, and on the other hand by triggering apoptosis and necrosis. Our findings support the notion that ethyl acetate fractions from Apulian B. oleracea and C. maritimum can be in perspective considered as promising tools to expand the opportunities to identify new and not toxic anticancer therapeutic approaches for HCC. Further pharmacological investigations will shed light on how this could be effectively achieved. Graphical Abstract Experimental workflow for the detection of the ethyl acetate extract of Brassica oleracea L. and Crithmum maritimum L. as an active fraction in inhibiting HCC cell growth.

World population is expected to approach 9.7 billion by 2050. This scenario will lead to an increase in food demand, worsening environmental problems due to intensive agricultural productions. For this reason, one of the major challenges is to attain both food security and sustainable agriculture worldwide. While food security is aimed at ensuring a constant and healthy food supply over time, sustainable agriculture plays a key role for the maintenance of resilient agroecosystems. In this study, we implemented a multicriteria accounting framework to explore the environmental performance and sustainability of agricultural production in Lebanon at both farm and national level. An extensive field study was conducted to collect data on natural and human-driven flows supporting nine main agricultural production systems in different Lebanese regions. The investigated cropping systems were assessed in terms of environmental costs and impacts by jointly applying the following environmental accounting methods: gross energy requirement (GER), material flow accounting (MFA), emergy accounting, and emissions accounting and contribution to impact categories. At national level, the total emergy demand resulted 5.46⋅1021 sej yr−1, while the total GER was 1.81⋅1010 MJ yr−1. The total water and abiotic demand resulted 6.27⋅108 t yr −1 and 2.64⋅106 t yr−1, respectively. Finally, the total contribution to global warming potential (GWP) resulted 1.45⋅1012 g CO2 eq yr−1, while the acidification potential (AP) and the human toxicity (HT) resulted 5.79⋅109 g SO2 eq yr−1 and 6.88⋅109 g 1,4-DCB eq yr−1. At farm level, orange production showed the lowest environmental performance due to a high use of water, diesel, and fertilizers. Instead, olive production showed the best environmental performance thanks to a low requirement of mass and energy inputs, and human labour, confirming the advantages of environmental friendly practices. The results of this study can help both farmers and policy makers in charge for ensuring a sustainable management of agricultural production while providing access to safe, healthy, and nutritious food for a growing population. Finally, a set of biophysical and socio-economic indicators is proposed for integrating the environmental accounting with a socio-economic perspective on food security and sustainable agriculture.

The Mediterranean diet is considered an example of sustainable diets and an intangible cultural heritage of the whole humanity. However, attention to the Mediterranean diet changes from a country to another even within the Euro- Mediterranean region. In this context, this paper analyses the state of research on the Mediterranean diet in the Western Balkans (viz. Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia). In particular, it explores whether and how environmental, economic, sociocultural, and nutrition-health aspects related to the sustainability of the Mediterranean diet are addressed. A search performed in June 2021 on the Web of Science returned 68 documents, and 41 of them were included in the systematic review. Most of the selected documents deal with Croatia, especially island regions, and focus on health-nutrition aspects while other sustainability dimensions are generally overlooked. The scholarly literature shows that higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet is associated with reduced risk of obesity, different noncommunicable diseases (e.g. diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancers, metabolic syndrome) as well as mental illnesses. However, it also highlights a decrease in the Mediterranean diet adherence even in Mediterranean/Adriatic territories. Interestingly, some recent studies showed a shift towards the Mediterranean diet during the COVID-19 lockdown even among adolescents. The analysis suggests the need to adopt a holistic approach in studies on the Mediterranean diet to better understand the relationships between the sustainability dimensions and operationalize its contribution to the transformation of food systems and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in the Mediterranean region.

Despite the increase in agri-food trade, food insecurity is still a pressing challenge in many world regions. This is an indicator of the multifaceted relationship between trade and food security. Moreover, it is not clear how the outbreak of COVID-19 affected this relation. In this context, this article explores the outbreak’s impacts on food security-trade nexus starting from an analysis of the relations between agri-food trade and the four dimensions of food security (viz. availability, access, utilization, stability), and then by exploring how the pandemic has changed this relationship. It draws upon a systematic review of documents indexed in Scopus carried out in October 2020. Results show the central role of trade in ensuring food security and highlight that international trade has been disrupted due to border closures and the indirect consequences of the pandemic containment policies imposed on the industrial business sectors all over the world. Furthermore, we highlight that the current agricultural trade framework, defined by import dependencies and structural fragility, has exacerbated the outbreak’s consequences on food security. Food-related impacts of the pandemic vary not only from a country to another – depending, among others, on the epidemiological situation – but also among socio-economic groups; under these circumstances, agri-food trade disruption has struck heavily on low- and middle-income countries. We underline the need for a more sustainable and regional model of international trade to overcome the weaknesses of the ‘business as usual’ model and ensure food security for all.

There is a need for transition towards sustainability in agriculture and food systems. New technologies and innovations can play a central role in improving agriculture productivity and sustainability. However, there is still a gap in understanding the factors that determine the acceptance and adoption of technologies in agriculture. Therefore, this review provides an overview on the main models and theories on the acceptance, adoption, use and/or diffusion of technologies. The most prominent theories and models include the Theory of Reasoned Action, the Technology Acceptance Model, the Motivational Model, the Theory of Planned Behaviour, the Innovation Diffusion Theory, the Social Cognitive Theory, the Social Construction of Technology, and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology. Furthermore, different combinations of these models have been used in technology adoption studies. These conceptual approaches and models span across disciplines (e.g. sociology, psychology, innovation, management) and differ in terms of theoretical assumptions, goals, variables and assessment methods. Factors determining the acceptance and use of technologies in agriculture are related to the technology itself and the ease of its use as well as social (age, gender), emotional, attitudinal and cognitive factors. Technology adoption is also affected by the environment and context in which it takes place. Technology acceptance models make use of predictors that are cognitive or relating to attitude, beliefs or perceptions. Some of the models focus on internal factors, such as antecedents of behaviour (e.g. values, attitudes, intentions), while others also address external issues (e.g. social norms, economic incentives, institutional environment). The framing of technology adoption within the wider Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS) offers interesting opportunities for fostering transition towards sustainability in agriculture. Indeed, technologies are just one component of AKIS and innovation in agriculture also encompasses social, organizational, marketing and institutional fields.

Food wastage (i.e., food losses and waste [FLW]) refers to a decrease in the quantity of food intended for human consumption along the food chain (from production to consumption). FLW are recognized as a global issue, as over a third of the global food production is lost or wasted, with impacts on both food and nutrition security and on food systems sustainability. This chapter analyzes the issues of FLW in the context of food and nutrition security. It also explores the causes of FLW as well as their environmental and economic implications. Moreover, the chapter relates FLW to food systems (un)sustainability. Food wastage represents a loss of valuable nutrients; thus the chapter goes beyond food security (cf. caloric energy and kcal) and looks to the nutritional value of food wasted (cf. nutrients, minerals, vitamins). The reduction of FLW is essential to achieve sustainable food and nutrition security for present and future generations within the safe operating space for humanity.

Food security is a complex issue whose comprehension requires multidisciplinary research exploring environmental, socio-economic, and policy aspects. World population is expected to continue increasing in the next decades. As a consequence, the global food demand is also expected to increase, exacerbating the contribution of food consumption and production patterns to environmental problems and climate change. In addition, the problem of socio-economic inequalities is also noteworthy, with a very high number of undernourished people at global level. Considering the complex nature of food security, the integration of environmental and socio-economic indicators is much needed for assessing its multiple dimensions. In this study, environmental and socio-economic indicators were assessed to explore the sustainability of food patterns and food security in Lebanon. Environmental indicators were calculated to assess the environmental costs and impacts of the Lebanese and refugee diets. All the environmental indicators calculated for the Lebanese diet resulted higher compared to the refugee diet. The overall contribution of the refugee diet to the investigated impact categories resulted in about 25%, confirming its significance in terms of direct and indirect natural resources consumption and environmental impacts. The socio-economic indicators showed that food security is a critical issue for the Lebanese population and, particularly, for the refugees living in Lebanon. In particular, 59% and 15% of Lebanese and refugee populations resulted having an adequate individual access to food. In conclusion, the outcomes of the study provide scientific information to support policy-makers and a benchmark for future studies aimed at improving food security in Lebanon.

Food and nutrition security is the main outcome of a sustainable food system. However, food insecurity and malnutrition still affect half of the global population. This is a symptom of the dysfunction of the food system and highlights the urgent need for transition toward sustainability. This chapter reviews research on agro-food sustainability transitions and analyzes whether and how it addresses food security and nutrition. It also casts light on pathways for transition toward sustainable food systems (viz., efficiency increase, demand restraint, and food system transformation). It is assumed that agro-food sustainability transition affects the four dimensions of food security (i.e. availability, access, utilization, stability) and implies changes in nutrition practices and dietary patterns. Nonetheless, food security and nutrition are marginal in the literature dealing with food sustainability transitions. This chapter makes the case for fostering integration of agro-food sustainability transitions and food security not only in research but also in policy and practice.

During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, Italian schools and Universities were closed. In this scenario, teachers, in order to continue their work, had to manage the didactics by themselves, carrying out Distance Learning, thanks to the technology support. Nevertheless, teachers had some methodological and technical difficulties. This situation required the replanning of some physics contents, trying to include laboratory activities, too. A teachers’ training was organized in order to support the teachers both for effective and meaningful use of ICT and to carry out some laboratory activities in Distance Learning mode. The training aimed to investigate leading technologies relevant to physics teaching, the competencies that a physics teacher has to acquire to use digital technologies, and the effective approaches to develop these competencies. The course was organized into four webinars, timing 10 hours. Teachers became confident with ICT for communication, sharing, and documentation. Moreover, teachers approached the IBSE methodology, as modified by adding a further E-laboratory phase to the 5E cycle, promoted by Bybee, by planning a learning chunk, including a laboratory activity in synchronous e-learning mode. 20 High School Physics teachers were involved in the training.

Background: Nowadays the food production, supply and consumption chain represent a major cause of ecological pressure on the natural environment, and diet links worldwide human health with environmental sustainability. Food policy, dietary guidelines and food security strategies need to evolve from the limited historical approach, mainly focused on nutrients and health, to a new one considering the environmental, socio-economic and cultural impact&mdash, and thus the sustainability&mdash, of diets. Objective: To present an updated version of the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid (MDP) to reflect multiple environmental concerns. Methods: We performed a revision and restructuring of the MDP to incorporate more recent findings on the sustainability and environmental impact of the Mediterranean Diet pattern, as well as its associations with nutrition and health. For each level of the MDP we provided a third dimension featuring the corresponding environmental aspects related to it. Conclusions: The new environmental dimension of the MDP enhances food intake recommendations addressing both health and environmental issues. Compared to the previous 2011 version, it emphasizes more strongly a lower consumption of red meat and bovine dairy products, and a higher consumption of legumes and locally grown eco-friendly plant foods as much as possible.

Pastoralism is a livelihood system based on extensive production of livestock (e.g. cattle, sheep, goats, camels) mainly on marginal lands. It is a traditional activity in the Mediterranean in general and the Maghreb (viz. Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia) in particular. This review casts light on research regarding pastoralism in the Maghreb. In particular, the paper analyses the benefits of pastoralism as well as the challenges faced by pastoralists in the region from the environmental, sociocultural, economic and political points of views. A search performed in July 2020 on the Web of Science yielded 113 documents and 68 of them were included in the systematic review. The analysed literature emphasizes the negative impacts of pastoralism and the challenges faced by pastoral communities in the Maghreb. These include climate change, land degradation and desertification, poverty and livelihood vulnerability as well as the ongoing erosion of pastoral culture and traditions. Doing so, scholars question the future of pastoralism in the region and highlight the need for its adaptation and transformation through, among others, moving towards agro-pastoral systems. There is a dearth of articles that highlight the positive impacts and benefits of pastoralism in the Maghreb. However, the literature shows that pastoralism has a long tradition and is an integral part of the Maghrebi culture and history, and values the traditional knowledge of pastoralists as well as their adaptive capacity. The review shows that there is a gap in research on pastoralism in the Maghreb especially regarding economics. In this context, regional projects such as PACTORES (Pastoral ACTORs, Ecosystem services and Society as key elements of agro-pastoral systems in the Mediterranean) result crucial to bridge the current knowledge gap and foster the sustainable development of pastoralism in the Maghreb and the Mediterranean at large.

The Coronavirus pandemic has revealed the fragility of our food systems, affecting all dimensions of food security and nutrition across the world. It has highlighted how deeply our world is interconnected and the importance of better recognising and understanding the interconnections that are intrinsic to these systems and their key role in pursuit of the SDGs of the 2030 Agenda. There is now, more than ever, a stronger need for a “route change” towards a common action on food systems transformation. Dialogues among all stakeholders to redesign the future of tomorrow’s food systems are needed to trigger collective, multi-stakeholder actions on the ground, at local, regional and global level, towards more sustainable food systems, linking sustainable food production to more healthy and sustainable food consumption. In this context CIHEAM, FAO, and the Union for the Mediterranean Secretariat (UfMS) initiated in 2019, a joint collaborative effort for the establishment of a multi-stakeholder platform on Sustainable Food Systems in the Mediterranean to accelerate the shift towards the Agenda 2030 in the Mediterranean region, with the Mediterranean diet acting as a driver.

The paper introduces an approach, developed in Agriculture & Quality programme, to evaluate the environmental sustainability of Apulian quality agro-food products that is integrated in the regional quality scheme “Quality Products”. It highlights the methodological approach adopted, the sustainability themes identified and the indicators selected. Indicators measurable at the farm/firm level were selected in relation to the following environmental themes: biodiversity, land use and management, energy use and climate change, use of chemical inputs, and responsible management of by-products and waste. A scoring scale was developed for each indicator; going from 0 (unsustainable) to 10 (very sustainable) with 5 corresponding to the sustainability threshold or reference value. The presented approach is both robust and user friendly and is in line with the principle entailing continuous improvement; the key sustainability thresholds will be periodically reviewed and updated. It represents a practical and innovative way to develop an information scheme for typical agri-food products and can be, with some refinement and contextualisation, easily scaled up to other territories.

The history of geometry teaching in Italy, in the period from the final years of the 19th century to the first half of the 20th century, is analysed here, taking into account the influence of both school reforms and the “New geometry of the triangle”, first introduced in France in 1873. Specifically, we refer to some theorems, about Cevian and orthic triangles, which may be included in the “New geometry of the triangle”, although they have been discovered in Italy before 1873. Some Italian booklets and textbooks have been analysed, to show the influence of these factors on the geometric teaching. Keywords: geometry teaching, New geometry of the triangle, Ceva’s theorem, orthic triangles, Cevian quadrilaterals, Fagnano’s problem

Background: Between 2000 and 2020, Europe experienced an annual net arrival of approximately 1.6 million immigrants per year. While having lower mortality rates, in the setting of severe diseases, immigrants bear a greater cancer-related burden due to linguistic and cultural barriers and socio-economic conditions. Professionals face a two-fold task: managing clinical conditions while considering the social, economic, cultural, and spiritual sphere of patients and their families. In this regard, little is known about the care provision to low-income immigrant cancer patients in real contexts. Aim: To investigate the perspective of professionals, family members, and stakeholders on the caring process of low-income immigrant cancer patients at the end of life. Design: A Constructivist Grounded Theory study. Setting/participants: The study, conducted at a Hospital in Northern Italy, involved 27 participants among health professionals, family caregivers, and other stakeholders who had recently accompanied immigrant cancer patients in their terminal phase of illness. Results: Findings evidenced that professionals feel they were not adequately trained to cope with immigrant cancer patients, nonetheless, they were highly committed in providing the best care they could, rushing against the (short) time the patients have left. Analyses evidenced four main categories: “providing and receiving hospitality,” “understanding each other,” “addressing diversity,” and “around the patient,” which we conceptualized under the core category “Achieve the best while rushing against time.” Conclusions: The model reveals the activation of empathic and compassionate behavior by professionals. It evidences the need for empowering professionals with cultural competencies by employing interpreters and specific training programs.