The Experts below are selected from a list of 9000 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform

Staracealfredo - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

Alfredo Starace - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • A fuzzy decision system for Genetically Modified Plant environmental risk assessment using Mamdani inference
    Expert Systems With Applications, 2015
    Co-Authors: Francesco Camastra, Angelo Ciaramella, Valeria Giovannelli, Matteo Lener, Valentina Rastelli, Antonino Staiano, Giovanni Staiano, Alfredo Starace
    Abstract:

    A fuzzy system for environmental risk assessment of Genetically Modified Plants is described.The fuzzy system is based on Mamdani inference.The Fuzzy System Risk Assessments have been validated on real world trial case studies.The system decisions have been considered coherent and consistent by human experts. Environmental risk assessment (ERA) of the deliberate release of Genetically Modified Plants (GMPs) is currently performed by human experts on the basis of own personal experience and knowledge. In this paper we describe a fuzzy decision system (FDS) for the ERA of GMPs, based on Mamdani fuzzy inference. The risk assessment in the FDS is obtained by using a fuzzy inference system (FIS), performed using jFuzzyLogic library. The FDS permits obtaining an evaluation process for the identification of potential impacts that can achieve one or more receptors through a set of migration paths. The decisions derived by FDS have been validated on real world cases by the human experts that are in charge of ERA. They have confirmed the reliability and correctness of the fuzzy system decisions.

Beatrix Tappeser - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • General recommendations for soil ecotoxicological tests suitable for the environmental risk assessment of Genetically Modified Plants.
    Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management, 2010
    Co-Authors: Jörg Römbke, Stephan Jänsch, Matthias Meier, Angelika Hilbeck, Hanka Teichmann, Beatrix Tappeser
    Abstract:

    Before a Genetically Modified Plant (GMP) can be placed on the market in the European Union (EU), an environmental risk assessment has to be conducted according to EU-Directive 2001/18/EC or Regulation (EC) No. 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council. However, no harmonized concept for ecotoxicological testing is available today that considers the characteristics of GMPs as a whole. In fact, to date, mainly ecotoxicological tests originally developed and standardized for pesticides are used for this purpose. Frequently in these tests, not the whole GMP is tested but only specific transgene products (mainly toxins). In this contribution, ecotoxicological methods developed for the testing of pesticides are evaluated for whether they are suitable for risk assessment of GMPs as well. In total, 105 test methods covering a wide range of terrestrial invertebrates, microbes, and Plants (laboratory, semifield, and field levels) were assessed. Only 7 of them had already been used with GMPs, and in about 20 studies the existing tests methods were Modified, mostly in a way such that nonstandard species were used. In the laboratory, few earthworm and nontarget arthropod (NTA) species as well as collembolans and isopods were tested, and, in the field, only the litter-bag test was used. Clearly, more species than these few standard organisms currently in use have to be selected for testing purposes. A more detailed analysis of GMP tests with soil invertebrates published in the literature revealed that some of the relevant GMP exposure routes, such as via bulk soil, soil porewater, and litter from GMPs, are well covered. However, studies addressing either consumption of GMPs themselves or secondary exposure after GMPs have been taken up by invertebrates that feed on living or dead GMPs are underrepresented. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2010;6:287–300. © 2009 SETAC

S Arpaia - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • a statistical simulation model for field testing of non target organisms in environmental risk assessment of Genetically Modified Plants
    Ecology and Evolution, 2014
    Co-Authors: Paul W. Goedhart, Ferdinando Baldacchino, Hilko Van Der Voet, S Arpaia
    Abstract:

    Genetic modification of Plants may result in unintended effects causing potentially adverse effects on the environment. A comparative safety assessment is therefore required by authorities, such as the European Food Safety Authority, in which the Genetically Modified Plant is compared with its conventional counterpart. Part of the environmental risk assessment is a comparative field experiment in which the effect on non-target organisms is compared. Statistical analysis of such trials come in two flavors: difference testing and equivalence testing. It is important to know the statistical properties of these, for example, the power to detect environmental change of a given magnitude, before the start of an experiment. Such prospective power analysis can best be studied by means of a statistical simulation model. This paper describes a general framework for simulating data typically encountered in environmental risk assessment of Genetically Modified Plants. The simulation model, available as Supplementary Material, can be used to generate count data having different statistical distributions possibly with excess-zeros. In addition the model employs completely randomized or randomized block experiments, can be used to simulate single or multiple trials across environments, enables genotype by environment interaction by adding random variety effects, and finally includes repeated measures in time following a constant, linear or quadratic pattern in time possibly with some form of autocorrelation. The model also allows to add a set of reference varieties to the GM Plants and its comparator to assess the natural variation which can then be used to set limits of concern for equivalence testing. The different count distributions are described in some detail and some examples of how to use the simulation model to study various aspects, including a prospective power analysis, are provided.

  • the impact of transgenic Plants on natural enemies a critical review of laboratory studies
    Entomologia Experimentalis Et Applicata, 2005
    Co-Authors: Gabor L Lovei, S Arpaia
    Abstract:

    We reviewed laboratory tests which studied the impact of Genetically Modified Plants on arthropod natural enemies. A total of 18 species of predators and 14 species of parasitoids have been tested, most in only a few experiments. Certain groups (braconid wasps) or species (the green lacewing, Chrysoperla carnea ) have attracted much effort, while representatives of others, including whole orders (e.g., Diptera), have never had a species tested. We conclude that laboratory tests are not the ‘worst case’ scenarios intended by the experimental designs, and are not often ecologically realistic: they typically provided ad libitum feeding, no prey choice, single prey type, no combination of stress factors and usually uniform temperatures. None of these are representative of field conditions, yet most could be easily mimicked in more complex laboratory tests. In most cases (94.6%), the studies were unable to indicate the level of power required to detect any impact. Small sample size and large variability are factors that mask all but very large differences in potential effects. For predators, 126 parameters were quantified, most commonly including survival/mortality (37 cases), development time (22), and body mass/size (20). For parasitoids, 128 parameters were quantified, the majority involving lectins or proteinase inhibitors. Most frequent measurements were: fecundity (23 experiments), adult longevity, extent of parasitism (17 each), body size, mortality, and larval development time. An aggregative scoring (summarising all quantified parameters) indicated that the laboratory tests quantified a remarkable number of cases (30% for predators, 39.8% for parasitoids), where the impacts of the Genetically Modified Plant were significantly negative. These involve various parameters, organisms, test methods, and significance levels, but collectively they indicate that the use of Genetically Modified crops may result in negative effects on the natural enemies of crop pests.

Camastrafrancesco - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.