University of Catania

This paper explores the legal and policy frameworks supporting agroecology in the Mediterranean basin through a comparative analysis of national legislation, policy instruments, and regulations. Drawing on the FAO’s ten principles of agroecology, the study integrates a systematic review of normative texts with conceptual bibliometric mapping using VOSviewer, and contrasts Mediterranean experiences with global practices from Latin America (including Central America), Asia, and Africa. The analysis identifies three main regulatory models: binding legal frameworks (e.g., Brazil, India), soft-law incentive systems (e.g., the European Union), and regional hybrid innovations (e.g., Sicily). In several European Mediterranean countries, such as Italy and France agroecological principles are increasingly referenced within policy and regulatory frameworks, although this alignment remains largely formal, fragmented, and predominantly incentive-based. In contrast, Sicily emerges as a pioneering example of subnational legal innovation, translating global agroecological principles into measurable and enforceable obligations. By focusing on formal legal and policy frameworks, the findings highlight both opportunities and limitations for scaling agroecology, including the need for stronger legal mandates, participatory governance, and institutionalized knowledge co-creation. The study provides actionable insights for legislators, farmers, researchers, civil society actors, and international organizations, positioning agroecology not merely as a technical paradigm but as a regulatory and institutional pathway toward sustainable food systems. • Comparative analysis of agroecological regulatory frameworks in Mediterranean and selected global contexts. • Three regulatory models identified: binding national, soft-law incentive, and subnational hybrid approaches. • Sicily emerges as an advanced subnational case of legally enforceable agroecological governance. • Bibliometric mapping links agroecology to law, governance, and sustainability debates. • Policy-relevant insights on translating FAO agroecological principles into regional legal frameworks.

Shareable abstractThe organisation and implementation of long-term home noninvasive ventilation treatment for COPD patients across Europe is complex and heterogeneous. Further research and experience sharing is required to optimise and align the patient pathway.https://bit.ly/3M3r566

Fluorescent protein (FP) variants have recently emerged as promising intracellular nitric oxide (NO) sensors based on NO-induced fluorescence loss due to cysteine S-nitrosylation - the covalent addition of a nitroso group to a cysteine thiol within a protein to form an S-nitrosothiol. Here, we investigate the mechanisms underlying this fluorescence loss using a combined experimental and computational approach. We focus on mTagBFP2, a blue fluorescent protein that undergoes a 70% reduction in fluorescence quantum yield and lifetime upon exposure to micromolar NO concentrations. We discriminate, through mutagenesis, the contributions of two key cysteine residues and propose an unprecedented excitation energy transfer (EET) from the mTagBFP2 chromophore to the S-nitroso groups as a potential quenching mechanism. Our EET efficiency calculations incorporate full couplings, the effects of the surrounding protein and solvent, and molecular dynamics-based configurational flexibility. The computed EET efficiencies broadly align with experimental observations, with remaining discrepancies for which we advance potential explanations. Our findings establish a mechanistic basis for NO-induced fluorescence loss in mTagBFP2, providing guidelines for the rational design of next-generation NO-sensitive FPs. Moreover, they suggest that analogous S-nitrosylation-driven quenching mechanisms could be operative in other FPs with exposed cysteine residues, underscoring the risk of artefacts in cellular imaging under physiological NO levels.

In this letter, we present a physics-assisted design strategy for tapered suspended slot waveguides operating at 2 μm. The proposed methodology enables a precise control of the optical field, specifically tailored for laser-driven dielectric accelerating structures. By using calibration curves that link the silicon waveguide strips width to both the effective refractive index and the accelerating field amplitude, we ensure local phase synchronism along the propagation axis. The design was performed for an input energy of 79 keV, and validated by HFSS simulations as far as the optical field computation is concerned, and by ASTRA-code for the single-particle beam dynamics. The results show an output energy of 102 keV with the optimized structure, corresponding to 20% increase compared to the previous constant-field approach.

The global rise in overweight and obesity has been associated with excessive sugar intake. We examined the impact of sugar reduction and substitution on key quality parameters of fruit preparations for a strawberry-based fruit yogurt. When the added sucrose was omitted completely, a substantial decline of the viscosity was observed and Bostwick flow distances expanded from 7.0 to 9.8 cm/min. Concurrently, density dropped from 1.17 to 1.03 g/cm 3 , and water activity increased from 0.96 to 0.99. In contrast, replacing 50% or 100% of the added sucrose by a 1:1 (w/w) mixture of erythritol and xylitol decreased the water activity. Sensory tests did not reveal any significant difference between the full-sugar reference and a 50%-substitution of sucrose by polyols. As examined by colorimetry and chromatographic anthocyanin analyses, approximately 22% of the initial anthocyanins were retained in the full-sugar variant after stress-test storing for eight weeks at 37 °C, while only 16% were retained upon complete sucrose omission without substitution. In contrast, full sucrose substitution with polyols slightly improved stability, preserving 25% of anthocyanins. Across all tested formulations, a clear inverse correlation between water activity and anthocyanin retention was observed (R 2 polynomic = 0.99). • Complete removal of sucrose resulted in losses of key quality attributes. • Substitution with non-bulk sweeteners resulted in losses of key quality attributes. • Substitution with polyols mimicked the full sugar variant’s properties. • Polyol substitution contributed to superior anthocyanin stability. • Ion mobilities of black carrot anthocyanins were determined for the first time. • Compliance with ethical standards