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Development cooperation in agriculture aims to contribute to the achieving of a large part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN 2030 Agenda, especially the first three, No Poverty (1), Zero Hunger (2), and Good Health and Well-being (3). Development cooperation in agriculture tries to help local communities to increase their awareness, participation, and skills about the management of land and environmental resources, in order to realize sustainable development. In this context, methods of participatory assessment of land suitability have been widely and successfully applied. The present research took place in the framework of a real development cooperation intervention in Nord Kivu (Democratic Republic of Congo) and aimed to implement a rapid participatory assessment of land suitability. In this context, where official and detailed data are not available, the study fostered the active involvement of local experts and used geographical information systems (GIS) to identify the most suitable crops to be supported in different zones of the study area. Toward this aim, the authors used a procedure based on the following steps: the identification of relevant land use types (LUTs), mapping capability factors, describing the responses of each LUT to the different capability factors, mapping potential land suitability for the LUTs, mapping accessibility, mapping land suitability for the LUTs. Resulting maps and tables were used to identify the most suitable areas for the different uses. Globally, forestry was the most suited use (99.6% of the study area is potentially highly suitable), followed by the cropping of manioc, sorghum, banana, oil palm, bean and cattle grazing in decreasing order (62.6% of the study area is potentially highly suitable for grazing). When accessibility is considered, forestry presents the largest decrease in the class of high potential suitability (−34.9% equal to a loss of 24,945.5 ha), while less adaptable uses, such as cattle grazing showed lower decreases in highly suitable class (−11.2%) and larger increases in scarcely suitable class (+9.5%). At a later stage, the comparison between computed suitability and actual land use helped with identifying the areas where forestry should be the only (or most) supported activity and the areas where to push integrated land uses. Our interpretation of the results allows us to recommend the adoption of agroforestry and intercropping as the main methodologies to integrate multiple aims such as the environmental conservation and the improvement of livelihoods.

ImportanceWith randomized clinical trials ongoing and vaccine still a long distance away, efforts to repurpose old medications used for other diseases provide hope for the treatment of COVID-19ObjectivesTo examine the risk factors for in-hospital mortality and describe the effectiveness of different treatment strategies in a real-life setting of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pneumonia.DesignReal-life single-center study during the Lombardy COVID-19 outbreak.SettingValduce Hospital in Como, Lombardy Region, Italy.Participants205 laboratory-confirmed patients presenting with SARS-Cov-2 pneumonia requiring hospitalization.InterventionsAll patients received best supportive care and, based on their clinical needs and comorbidities, specific interventions that included the main drugs being tested for repurposing to treat COVID-19, such as hydroxychloroquine, anticoagulation, antiviral drugs, steroids or interleukin-6 pathway inhibitors.Main outcomes and measuresClinical, laboratory and treatment characteristics were analyzed with univariate and multivariate logistic regression methods to explore their impact on in-hospital mortality and compared with current literature data.ResultsUnivariate analyses for clinical variables showed prognostic significance for age equal or greater than 70 years (estimated 28-days survival: 21.4 vs 67.4%; pConclusions and RelevanceResults from this real-life single-center experience are in agreement and confirm actual literature data on SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia, both in terms of clinical risk factors for in-hospital mortality and as regards the effectiveness of the different therapies proposed for the management of COVID-19 disease. Waiting the results from randomized clinical trials, these data could help clinicians to identify patients with poor prognosis at an early stage and guide the choice between the different treatments implied in COVID-19 disease.KEY POINTSQuestionAmong the main drugs that have been tested for repurposing to treat COVID-19, what are the most effective medical treatments for SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia?FindingsResults from these real-life cohort of 205 patients confirm at multivariate regression model an increasing odds of in-hospital death associated with age older than 70 years (OR 3.26) and a reduction in mortality for patients treated with anticoagulant (OR −0.37), antiviral lopinavir/ritonavir (OR −1.22), or steroids therapy (OR −0.59). In contrast, hydroxychloroquine and tocilizumab have not been confirmed to have a significant effect in the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia, in accordance with the latest data from the international literature.MeaningWaiting the results from randomized clinical trials, these data could help clinicians to identify patients with poor prognosis at an early stage and guide the choice between the different treatments implied in COVID-19 disease.

Growing and uncontrolled urbanization and climate change (with an associated increase in the frequency of intense meteoric events) have led to a rising number of flooding events in urban areas due to the insufficient capacity of conventional drainage systems. Nature-Based Solutions represent a contribution to addressing these problems through the creation of a multifunctional green infrastructure, both in urban areas and in the countryside. The aim of this work was to develop a methodology to define Green Infrastructure for stormwater management at the municipal level. The methodology is defined on the basis of three phases: the definition of the territorial information needed, the production of base maps, and the production of a Suitability Map. In the first phase, we define the information needed for the identification of non-urbanized areas where rainwater can potentially infiltrate, as well as areas with soil characteristics that can exclude or limit rainwater infiltration. In the second phase, we constructed the following base maps: a “map of green areas”, a “map of natural surface infiltration potential” and a “map of exclusion areas”. In phase 3, starting from the base maps created in phase 2 and using Geographical Information Systems’ (GIS) geoprocessing procedures, the “Green area compatibility map to realize Green Infrastructure”, the “map of areas not suitable for infiltration” and the final “Green Infrastructure Suitability Map” are created. This methodology should help municipal authorities to set up Green Infrastructure Suitability Maps as a tool for land-use planning.

Obiettivo dello studio sono l’analisi, la valutazione e la classificazione dei fontanili. Il fontanile e una presa d’acqua nella falda acquifera non affiorante creata dall’uomo per far risalire e utilizzare a scopo irriguo le acque sotterranee tipica della Pianura Padana del nord Italia e della Regione Lombardia in particolare. A partire dai secoli XI e XII i fontanili sono stati un elemento fondamentale per lo sviluppo dell’agricoltura lombarda. Nei secoli successivi mezzi di approvvigionamento idrico alternativi hanno spesso sostituito l’impiego dell’acqua dei fontanili che tuttavia mantengono ancora la loro funzione irrigua. Poiche le acque dei fontanili si mantengono durante l’anno in un intervallo di temperatura compreso tra 8 e 15°C, costituiscono un ecosistema ricco di specie animali e vegetali e svolgono un ruolo di particolare importanza anche dal punto di vista ecologico e paesaggistico. Dal momento che questa risorsa rappresenta un elemento unico caratterizzante la pianura padana non esiste una letteratura internazionale relativa a metodologie di valutazione funzionale dei fontanili. Il primo obiettivo e stato quello di individuare una serie di indicatori per valutare le funzioni idriche, ecologiche e ricreative dei 1160 fontanili della Regione Lombardia. Il secondo obiettivo e stato quello di individuare aree omogenee per caratteristiche simili dei fontanili stessi, utilizzano metodi interpolazione in ambiente GIS. E’ stata elaborata una prima proposta per la definizione di una metodologia per la classificazione e misurazione del biotopo fontanile che potra essere utilizzata dalla Regione Lombardia per l’assegnazione di finanziamenti mirati al recupero e alla conservazione di tale risorsa attraverso misure di protezione ambientale.

A community garden (CG) can generally be defined as a piece of land gardened collectively by a group of people that grow their produce on shared lots that have been divided into smaller plots. Some gardens are grown collectively, are divided into different plots for individual and family use; CGs are usually located in urban or peri-urban areas. As a growing portion of the urban open space network, CGs are contributing to land preservation, access to open space, and sustainable re-use of vacant land. They promote healthy communities and provide food security for many. In this context, the object of the study are the municipal community gardens (MCGs), a specific typology of CGs provided for land-use planning legislation and practice as an urban service with social function, made available to the community by the municipalities and assigned to be cultivated to citizens (usually seniors/retired people). In particular, the study aimed: i) to evaluate the presence of MCGs in the città metropolitana di Milano (the former province of Milano); and ii) to define criteria for new MCGs settlement, using existing geo-database and geographical information system to make it replicable in other settings. For the first topic the 133 municipalities of the former province of Milano (excluded the city of Milano) were analysed. Only 59 municipalities had presence of MCGs. The average area per capita of MCGs is 0.68 sq.m/inhab. (if we exclude Rodano, an outlier with 35 sq.m/inhab.). An overlay with land use map has permitted to define the relationships between the MCGs and their surrounding territory. The major part of MCGs are included in urban or suburban areas. For the second goal, the land area to be allocated for new MCGs was assessed for each municipality, comparing area of existing MCGs and a minimum required area (calculated on the basis of the inhabitants number). Finally a method was proposed to locate the new MCGs areas. Criteria used to identify suitable areas for new MCGs were: proximity to the road network inside residential areas, suitable land use, not high land capability. In this way it has been defined for each municipality the number of MCGs to be realized and their area, and located the potentially suitable sites. Choosing between the identified suitable areas, the new MCGs were homogeneously located on the territory of each municipality in order to ensure adequate coverage of residential areas; the degree of coverage has been verified through a service area analysis. The proposed method seems to be useful for the MCGs settlement at metropolitan/provincial level.

The design of green areas and landscape is often related to spaces with special features, which, due to their territorial peculiarities, require the adoption of appropriate design solutions. This category includes spaces located below the urbanised/street level (or on different levels), which may have various origins: areas derived from the regeneration of defensive ditches that, after having lost their original function, have become centres of urban aggregation (ancient city walls, castles moats); sites derived from the demolition of buildings or other structures; spaces created expressly sub-level as a result of design choices. This paper deals with some design issues concerning those places, in relation to orography, vegetation and the type of users expected. Moreover, the opinion of the population is taken into account to clearly define design choices; the issue is explored using special techniques to involve citizens in the design process, namely focus groups and surveys aimed at identifying their needs. The paper, finally, presents a design experience applied to a study area in the municipality of Abbiategrasso (Lombardy region, Italy) located under the urbanised level and currently used as urban park (the so-called Fossa Viscontea). This park (about 3.7 ha) occupies the area of the ancient defensive moat of the historical village (including the Visconti Castle - 13th century); design solutions are proposed for ensuring accessibility and fruition of this area such as leisure and aggregation centre.

The topic of the present study was the antibacterial finishing of cotton fabrics by ultraviolet grafting of chitosan biopolymer on fiber surface. A first part, carried out at laboratory level, deals with the optimization of process parameters, followed by a deep characterization of treated samples, revealing the effectiveness of the treatment. Therefore, the applied method was carefully monitored, laboratory apparatus were used and just samples of small surface were prepared by UV-grafting of pure chitosan in inert atmosphere, on dried samples, as recommended for radical curing. To test the feasibility of the proposed treatment even at semi-industrial level, in the second step of the study larger fabric samples were impregnated by foulard with a commercial chitosan solution and then were irradiated, both dried and wet, with an high power UV lamp, in air. Moreover, samples add-on was significantly reduced in order to hold down the finishing cost. White and dyed samples were treated and evaluated in terms of conferred antibacterial activity, yellowing or color changes and final hand. Eventually, treatment fastness to domestic laundering was tested. Obtained results confirmed the previous laboratory results: a strong antibacterial activity with good washing fastness was achieved by irradiation of the samples even wet and in air. It was obtained with a chitosan add-on percentage lowered till 0.3 wt% with a negligible affection of color or hand properties of the fabric.