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With an approach combining crop modelling and biotechnology to assess the performance of three durum wheat cultivars (Creso, Duilio, Simeto) in a climate change context, weather and agronomic datasets over the period 1973–2004 from two sites, Benatzu and Ussana (Southern Sardinia, Itay), were used and the model responses were interpreted considering the role of DREB genes in the genotype performance with a focus on drought conditions. The CERES-Wheat crop model was calibrated and validated for grain yield, earliness and kernel weight. Forty-eight synthetic scenarios were used: 6 scenarios with increasing maximum air temperature; 6 scenarios with decreasing rainfall; 36 scenarios combining increasing temperature and decreasing rainfall. The simulated effects on yields, anthesis and kernel weights resulted in yield reduction, increasing kernel weight, and shortened growth duration in both sites. Creso (late cultivar) was the most sensitive to simulated climate conditions. Simeto and Duilio (early cultivars) showed lower simulated yield reductions and a larger anticipation of anthesis date. Observed data showed the same responses for the three cultivars in both sites. The CERES-Wheat model proved to be effective in representing reality and can be used in crop breeding programs with a molecular approach aiming at developing molecular markers for the resistance to drought stress.

We report the spectroscopic characteristics and the laser performances of a low-doped 1% at. Yb:Sc(2)O(3) ceramic sample. Under end- pumping at 933 nm and 968 nm in quasi-CW mode, at 1040.5 nm the laser delivers a maximum output power of 4.3 W and 1.77 W, respectively with a corresponding slope efficiency of 74% and 80%, which are, to the best of our knowledge, the highest value reported in literature for ceramics. We explored the tuning range of the sample, which spans from 1005 nm to 1050.5 nm, and finally we characterized the low losses tunable cavity at 1032 nm.

Sentinel-2 data have been used in various fields of human activity. In cultural heritage, their potential is still to be fully explored. This paper aims to illustrate how remote sensing and open source tools are useful for archaeological investigations. The whole issue revolves around the application of satellite (Sentinel-2) and accessory tools for the identification, knowledge and protection of the cultural heritage of two areas of southern Italy: Sant’Arsenio (SA) and Foggia (FG). Both study cases were selected for a specific reason: to demonstrate the usefulness of open data and software for research and preservation of cultural heritage, as in the case of urban sprawl, development of public works (gas- and oil-pipelines, etc.) or intensive use of land for agricultural purposes. The results obtained are relevant for the knowledge improvement and very useful to operate in the field of preventive archaeology, for the evaluation and management of risk, the planning of city-expansion or infrastructures that could damage the buried heritage.

Abstract. The amount of reflected energy by snow and ice plays a fundamental role in their melting processes. Different non-ice materials (carbonaceous particles, mineral dust, microorganisms, algae etc.) can decrease the reflectance of snow and ice promoting the melt. The object of this paper is to assess the capability of field and satellite (EO-1 Hyperion) hyperspectral data to characterize the impact of light-absorbing impurities on the surface reflectance of ice and snow of the Vadret da Morteratsch, a large valley glacier in the Swiss Alps. The spatial distribution of both narrow-band and broad-band indices derived from Hyperion was analyzed in relation to ice and snow impurities. In situ and laboratory reflectance spectra were acquired to characterize the optical properties of ice and cryoconite samples. The concentrations of Elemental Carbon (EC), Organic Carbon (OC) and Levoglucosan were also determined to characterize the impurities found in cryoconite. Multi-wavelength absorbance spectra were measured to compare the optical properties of cryoconite samples and local moraine sediments. In situ reflectance spectra showed that the presence of impurities reduced ice reflectance in visible wavelengths of 80–90 %. Satellite data also showed the outcropping of dust during the melting season in the upper parts of the glacier, revealing that seasonal input of atmospheric dust can decrease the reflectance also in the accumulation zone of the glacier. The presence of EC and OC in cryoconite samples suggests a relevant role of carbonaceous and organic material in the darkening of the ablation zone. This darkening effect is added to that caused by fine debris from lateral moraines, assumed to represent a large fraction of cryoconite. Possible input of anthropogenic activity cannot be excluded and further researches are needed to assess the role of human activities in the darkening process of glaciers observed in recent years.

The perennial shrub guayule (Parthenium argentatum A. Gray) has gained interest as a potential source of natural and hypoallergenic rubber in Southern Europe. Although, native to northern Mexico, it is suited to semi-arid and Mediterranean environments. A research study was conducted in Sardinia (Italy) to evaluate adaptation and biometric traits of introduced guayule lines and to determine the contents and yields of rubber and resin obtainable from its aboveground biomass. Seedlings of the accessions AZ-1, AZ-2, P803, and 11591 were field transplanted in 2015 at two locations of southern, and northern Sardinia, respectively, differing for annual precipitation. Plant survival rate, height and width, trunk diameter, leaf chlorophyll concentration and photosystem photochemical efficiency were monitored. Shoots were harvested at 30 months after transplanting and were partitioned into twigs and remaining stems and its rubber and resin contents were determined. Location markedly affected plant survival rates and biometric traits. Dry matter yield of aboveground components as well as contents of rubber and resin and plant rubber and resin yields differed significantly among accessions under comparison. We found that AZ1 and 11591 were the most successful accessions at southern Sardinia site, whereas 11591 was the only accession exhibiting a satisfactory plant survival rate in the northern location.

The edge of the RFX-mod (R=2m, a=0.46m) Reversed Field Pinch device is characterized by weak magnetic chaos affecting ion and electron diffusion. Edge particle transport is strongly influenced by a toroidal asymmetry caused by magnetic islands and an ambipolar radial electric field ensures local neutrality, in a way similar to the stochastic edge of tokamaks when resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs) are applied. The H? emission and floating potential Vf measured in different poloidal and toroidal positions shows a helical shape of the Plasma Wall Interaction, fitting the spatial periodicity of the innermost resonant tearing mode (m/n=1/7) [1]. However, detailed measurements, along the poloidal (parallel) direction, of the electron density and temperature with the Thermal Helium Beam, and of the floating potential Vf with electrostatic probes, show that the response of the edge plasma depends on the poloidal angle, in a more complicated way than a pure 1/7 harmonic. In particular, multiple poloidal harmonics can be recognized in the measurements. The results are robust, because data analysis has been performed with different techniques: in terms of correlations between Vf signals and the corresponding local flux-surface displacement, by the conditional average technique applied at Vf signals, and finally also in terms of a travelling helical angle frame as reference of the measurements. The interpretation of the results is not obvious, but it highlights the fact that the correlation between magnetic islands and kinetic properties of the edge plasma is not a simple one-to-one causal relationship, as it is often assumed in RMP studies in tokamaks.