Mechanized recovery of olive pruning residues: ash contamination and harvesting losses

Agricultural residues represent an important source of biomass for energy. Among the available biomass suitable for energy and available in Italy, pruning represents about the 20% of the total. About 1.184 million of hectares are planted with olive trees; the pruning residues coming from these plantations represent a wide source of biomass at National level. The authors tested six commercial pruning harvesters to determine harvesting losses and product contamination when recovering pruning residues. All harvesters used a mechanical pick-up to collect the residues and a shredder to reduce them into chips. Three different pick-up settings were tested and namely: 1 cm above ground level, manufacturer’s specification and 3 cm above ground level. Ash content in the shredded material was taken as a measure of contamination: the uncontaminated branch material collected directly from the trees had a value of 3.5%, whereas in shredded residues varied between 4.5% and over 5.5%, for the shortest and the longest distance between the pick-up and the soil surface, respectively. Harvesting losses were slightly, but significantly, related to pick-up setting, and mainly depended on machine type. Both machines have shown a good quality of the work performed and the results obtained indicates that the work phases could be simplified in order to reduce both the time of use and the harvesting costs

Implicating factors in the increase in cases of central precocious puberty (CPP) during the COVID-19 pandemic: Experience of a tertiary centre of pediatric endocrinology and review of the literature

Sexual development is a complex mechanism activated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. Over the last one hundred years there has been a decline in the age at puberty onset in industrialised countries. Some Italian studies showed an increase in diagnoses of Central Precocious Puberty (CPP) during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is thus supposed that in this period there was an increased impact of factors that can influence pubertal development. Our retrospective monocentric study aimed to confirm the existence of this phenomenon and analysed possible related factors. We retrospectively evaluated clinical, laboratory, radiological and ultrasound (US) data of 154 girls referred to our Tertiary Centre of Paediatric Endocrinology from January 2019 to April 2021 for different forms of Precocious Puberty. We subdivided the cases into subgroups according to the final diagnosis: CPP, Early Puberty (EP), isolated thelarche and isolated pubarche. The observation period was subdivided into: Period 1, before lockdown (1 January 2019 - 8 March 2020) and Period 2, lockdown and the following months (9 March 2020 - 30 April 2021). Period 2 was further divided into "restrictive lockdown period" (Period 2.1) (March 2020 - 14 June 2020, in which the schools were closed) and "less restrictive lockdown period" (Period 2.2) (15 June 2020 - 30 April 2021). We analysed data regarding the use of electronic devices before and during lockdown in a group of girls with CPP diagnosed in Period 2 and we compared the data with that of a control group. Our data show an increase in the number of new diagnoses of CPP during lockdown and in the following months, compared with the previous period. We also detected a higher use of PCs and smartphones in girls with CPP diagnosed in Period 2, compared with the control group. The percentage of the presence of endometrial rhyme detected during the pelvic ultrasound was higher in girls with CPP in Period 2, compared with the previous period. Based on our data we assume there was an environmental effect on pubertal timing that calls our attention to factors such as food, use of electronic devices and stress. We will need further studies to better understand this data

Platelet rich plasma from different preparations: effect on chondrocytes and synoviocytes of osteoarthritis patients

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MAD in campo al lavoro. New Holland TD 5.85 essenzialità positiva

MAD in campo al lavoro. New Holland TD 5.85 essenzialità positiv

MAD in campo al lavoro. Axion 950 tanta potenza a variazione continua

MAD in campo al lavoro. Axion 950 tanta potenza a variazione continu

Membrane fatty acid heterogeneity of leukocyte classes is altered during in vitro cultivation but can be restored with ad-hoc lipid supplementation

Background: The cell membrane is a primary and fundamental player in most cellular processes, and fatty acids form a major structural component of cell membranes. The aim of this study was to compare the membrane fatty acid profiles of different human blood leukocytes and selected cell lines, to identify the effects of in vitro culture on fatty acid profiles, and to test medium supplements for their effect on fatty acid profiles.Methods: Different classes of leukocytes were isolated from human blood and their membrane fatty acid profiles were analysed and compared. After culturing in vitro immortalised and primary leukocytes, membrane fatty acids were analysed and compared. Finally, different lipid formulations were developed and used for supplementing leukocytes in vitro in an effort to maintain the in vivo fatty acid profile. Descriptive and analytical tests were performed to compare the obtained fatty acid profiles.Results: Membrane fatty acid profiles of primary human CD4+ T-lymphocytes, CD8+ T-lymphocytes, B-lymphocytes and monocytes differed. Moreover, there were differences among Jurkat, Raji and THP-1 cell lines and the corresponding primary leukocyte classes, as well as between freshly prepared and in vitro cultured primary lymphocytes. A lipid supplement was able to maintain cultured Jurkat cells with a membrane fatty acid profile almost identical to that of the primary CD4+ T-lymphocytes. Finally, variations in the lipid supplement composition enabled the development of Jurkat cells with different membrane fatty acid profiles characterising different physiological or pathological human conditions.Conclusions: Each leukocyte class has its own specific membrane fatty acid profile in vivo. Cultured primary leukocytes and immortalized leukocytic cells display different membrane fatty acid profiles when compared to their respective in vivo counterparts. The membrane fatty acid composition of cultured cells can be restored to reflect that of the corresponding in vivo condition through use of optimised lipid supplementation. Typical physiological or pathological leukocyte membrane fatty acid profiles can be obtained by tuning in vitro fatty acid supplementation.<br/