Summary . New halogenated 1,4‐naphthoquinones were synthesized and together with other known 1,4‐naphthoquinones, were screened for antibacterial activity by a turbidimetric method, and for antifungal activity by the diffusion method on agar plates. . The half‐wave potentials and the influence on the oxidative phosphorylation of some of these compounds were determined. . 2‐chloro‐3,2′‐chloro‐ethyl‐1,4‐naphthoquinone (half‐wave potential = −187 mV) was the most active compound, completely inhibiting cell respiration. . While the natural active naphthoquinones, vitamin K and ubiquinones, possess, as substituent, the electron repelling methyl group, the microbiologically active 1,4‐naphthoquinones are substituted, in the quinone moiety, with electron attracting groups such as OH or Cl. . The half‐wave potentials can give only an initial indication of the activity of the compounds studied; a good correlation, on the contrary, can be found between the ultraviolet spectra of such compounds and their activity which seems to depend on the ability of active compounds to exist in an extensively conjugated structure and to form hydrogen bonds.

No abstract

GNSS real-time techniques and UAV photogrammetry can be alternative methods for the monitoring of sand beaches. This activity is particularly important in environments such as the Emilia-Romagna coastline. In this paper, two couples of surveys (year 2019 and 2020) performed using GNSS or a low-cost UAV equipment over a common area were compared in order to analyse: point-wise height differences, profile shapes along defined sections, and volumes variations over time. Both surveys were aligned to the same reference benchmark through GNSS measurements. The highest discrepancies between the two surveying methods (tens of cm) were found in vegetated areas and along the shoreline, otherwise, the height differences are mainly within the 10 cm level. In terms of volumes, excluding the most critical areas, differences close to zero can be found. Obtained results show that GNSS and UAV photogrammetry provides similar results, at least for quite flat terrains and when decimetre-level accuracy is required.

The knowledge of the so-called geoid undulation, which represents the height of the geoid above a reference ellipsoid, is a fundamental step to link ellipsoidal heights measured using satellite systems and orthometric heights. Several geoid models are available at the time both at the national or global scale, which can be used for the purpose. Another way to define the geoid undulation is to perform joint measures with GNSS and spirit levelling over common benchmarks. This requires onerous measurements that is seldom possible to perform due to their cost. In this work, we evaluated the possibility to define a local model of the geoid undulation using already available spirit levelling orthometric heights and GNSS ellipsoidal heights measured about 13 years later. The test area is the Emilia-Romagna Adriatic coastline, an area of great interest both from the environmental and economic point of view, which is also undergoing consistent subsidence phenomena.Test results show that the available measurements allow defining a geoid undulation that is coherent with the shape defined by the gravimetric models and also allows to transform ellipsoidal heights into orthometric ones more consistent with the height reference available on the surveyed area. A 7 cm overall bias with respect to the ITALGEO05 was found, whereas ITG2009 and EGM2008 have higher differences. The use of subsidence models to align over time the coordinates used to define the geoid undulation has proven to be a fundamental step. The analysis on the a-priori uncertainty in the geoid height definition shown that the combined use of much more precise GNSS coordinates and contemporary spirit levelling campaign is necessary to significantly improve the resulting geoid height.

In the last decade, a number of correction services for global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) precise positioning have been developed, mainly for offshore applications, based on a precise point positioning (PPP) real-time processing. These allow receiving corrections without the need for an internet connection or reference benchmarks around the survey area. In the paper, we tested the Atlas correction service implemented in a Stonex S900A machine (Monza, Italy), with the purpose to verify its performances under optimal operational conditions and in the practical case of a land survey on several benchmarks along the Adriatic coast. The data analysis focused on: accuracy with respect to the reference frame, repeatability of the coordinates considering short and long acquisition periods, time to initialize the survey, and reliability of the formal errors provided by the instrument. The system confirmed the declared performances in most cases and is shown to be a viable alternative to other GNSS techniques also for land surveys where no obstacles affect the sky visibility.