Adattamento al cambiamento climatico nei sistemi rurali del Perù: tra fattori locali e dinamiche globali

During the last decade adaptation to climate change (c.c.) rose on the political and research agenda. The impacts of c.c. are increasingly evident and are expected to be severe specially for the most vulnerable low and middle income countries. Through a qualitative case study in two rural districts of the Amazonas Region (Peru), this research aims at studying how people, particularly smallholder farmers, are adapting to climate change impacts and which factors influence their responses, starting from their voices and points of view. Also the role of institutions and their initiatives related to c.c. in the area are considered. We found that although c.c. is widely present in the national and regional policy strategies, few plans related to adaptation are being implemented. A primary focus is paid on mitigation, while the complexity and multi dimension of c.c is underestimated. On the other hand, local farmers are responding autonomously diversifying the varieties of coffee they cultivate, increasing the use of chemicals and fertilizers, diversifying their sources of income with temporary jobs. Also family and community nets play an important role in case of crisis. However, most of these strategies are not sustainable in the long term and people adaptive capacity is threatened by the interaction of multiple stressors related to the local and international context, such as economic globalization. These factors need to be considered in the designing of adaptation policies and initiatives

Protein Identification and Haplotype Description of Homozygote Mutation Causing Congenital Plasminogen Deficiency

Severe type I Plasminogen (PLG) deficiency was clinically diagnosed after hyaline-positive periodic acid Schiff material was detected in the histologic study of superior tarsal conjunctiva and vulvar pseudomembrane of the patient. Direct immunofluorescence also confirmed multiple deposits of fibrinogen in the dermis. Plasma plasminogen activity was calculated in a <5% value (reference values, 75% to 150%) and sequencing of the PLG gene evidenced the homozygous mutation in c.2377T/A (p.Tyr793Asn), confirming the molecular diagnosis of congenital deficiency of plasminogen type 1. Genotype-Phenotype correlation among family members evidenced the recessive hereditary pattern of clinical manifestations of chronic inflammatory disease of the mucous membranes due to PLG deficiency, but co-dominance effect to present a decreased plasma plasminogen activity (46%) among heterozygous asymptomatic individuals. SNPs/CNVs whole genome array hybridization analysis in the patient, detected long Loss of Heterozygosity regions (LOH) and demonstrated the consanguinity in the family. Proteomic analysis identified impaired secretion of mutant PLG tissue specific proteins, as definitive molecular etiopathogenesis of the type I PLG deficiency in the patient

Sustainable fonio value chain development in Ghana

&lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;Factsheet 2 is dedicated to the sustainable fonio value chain development in Ghana.&nbsp;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Fonio has gained attention in recent years as a nutritious and sustainable crop that could help address food security and nutritional challenges in West Africa and beyond. It offers an alternative to more common cereals like sorghum, millet, wheat, rice, and maize and can grow on marginal lands. Despite the great benefits associated with the crop, fonio is under-exploited and is considered to be an underutilized crop species in Africa. A study by the EWA-BELT project funded by EU horizon 2020 (GA 862848) has analysed the fonio value chain in Ghana in order to identify what opportunities and barriers exist for more widespread uptake.&nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The introduction of cost-effective, labour-saving mechanisation at the production and processing stages of the value chain, along with access to the credit facility, improved seed, and enhanced knowledge on good agronomic practices, could significantly boost the value chain in Ghana. Marketing and promotion campaigns should be conducted to create awareness of the potential of the fonio value chain. Collective marketing and contract production could solve some of the marketing challenges of the fonio value chain. Capacity building amongst farmers and improved processing is needed. Increased funding for fonio research is recommended to develop new and improved varieties.&lt;/p&gt

Housing Demand in Urban Areas and Sanitary Requirements of Dwellings in Italy

The phenomenon of urbanisation is becoming increasingly prevalent on a global level, and the health issues regarding the urban environment are of primary importance in public health. Accordingly, the present manuscript describes an analysis of the housing conditions of Italian urban areas, referring to the city of Sassari (Sardinia), Italy, focused on the dwelling structural and sanitary conditions issued by the Italian regulations. Data relating to the housing conditions of the population were acquired by the Local Hygiene and Public Health Service (SISP), in a period between 2012 and 2016. Qualitative variables were summarised with absolute and relative (percentages) frequencies, whereas quantitative variables with means and standard deviations depending on their parametric distribution. Statistical comparisons for qualitative and quantitative variables were performed with the χ2 test or Student’s t-test, respectively. A p value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Finally, the dwellings and the collected variables were georeferenced on a city map. During the 2012–2016 observation period, 363 certification requests were received from 193 (53.2%) foreign-born citizens and 170 (46.8%) Italians at the SISP offices. The main reasons relate to the request for a residency permit (46.6%) and to obtain a subsidy from the local government (32.8%). Overall, 15.4% of dwellings were found to be improper, while 35.3% and 22.0% were found to be unhygienic and uninhabitable, respectively. The foreigners’ homes were found to be suitable in 82.7% of cases; the housing of Italian citizens, on the contrary, was found to be suitable in 28% of the observations. The present study offers a cross section of the housing conditions of Italian urban areas, referring to the city of Sassari. To the authors’ best knowledge, this observation is the first one carried out in Sardinia and one of the first observations in Italy. It has emerged that “hygienically unsuitable” homes are those that, in most cases, are located in the city centre. Moreover, the Italian population is hit by a significant housing problem, due to overcrowding, uninhabitability, and unhygienic conditions. Overall, our findings suggest that it is necessary to develop a multidisciplinary approach to guarantee public health, with safe dwellings homes and the surrounding urban context alongside the development of social relations. Nevertheless, there is still little evidence available today on the population housing conditions, especially regarding the private indoor environment, and further research is needed to bridge this knowledge gap

Fonio VCA - Sustainable fonio value chain development in Ghana

&lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;Policy Brief 2 is dedicated to the value chain development of Fonio in Ghana.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Fonio has gained attention in recent years as a nutritious and sustainable crop that could help address food security and nutritional challenges in West Africa and beyond. It offers an alternative to more common cereal grains like sorghum, millet, wheat, rice, and maize and can thrive well on marginal lands. Despite the great benefits associated with the crop it is under exploited and considered an underutilized crop species especially in Africa. A study by the EWA-BELT project funded by EU horizon 2020 has analysed the fonio value chain in Ghana and has made recommendations for the boosting of the value chain in Ghana which are presented in this policy brief. The key messages include;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;The factors limiting fonio value chain development include lack of modern farming equipment's, inadequate farming and market information, and less interaction among the chain actors.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Birds attach is one major limiting factor of fonio production.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Processing of fonio is labour intensive&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Poor product quality has been observed in fonio VC.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;All nodes of the fonio VC are profitable.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;The introduction of cost-effective, labour-friendly mechanisation services at the various stages of the value chain, along with access to the credit facility, improved seed, and enhanced knowledge on good agronomic practices, will significantly boost the chain.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;It is recommended that marketing and promotion campaigns must be carried out to create awareness of the potential of the fonio value chain. Collective marketing and contract production is recommended as a remedy to the marketing challenges of the fonio value chain at the aggregation and trading nodes. Capacity building at the production and processing nodes is strongly recommended. Increase funding to fonio research is highly recommended for the development of new and improved varieties and new recipes.&lt;/p&gt

Exploring the impacts of woodland management on ecosystem services – a deliberative method

ABSTRACTThere is a need for operational decision-making methodologies applicable at local management scales which are inclusive and enable the integration of plural values, knowledges and perspectives of co-produced ecosystem services. Here we describe a deliberative scenario analysis method using ‘management intervention bundles’ as distinct scenarios to assess the perceived impact of changing management on woodland ecosystem services. We used three hypothetical future management scenarios, Biodiversity Conservation, People Engagement and Austerity, alongside scenarios of the Past, Present and an existing Management Plan. We assessed the perceived impacts of these scenarios on 11 ecosystem services using local expert workshops in six sites across Scotland. The experts were chosen to represent a range of different perspectives, from biodiversity to the local economy, community concerns and recreation. Overall, Management Plan, Biodiversity Conservation and People Engagement scenarios performed significantly better than Past, Present and Austerity scenarios. Further quantitative and in-depth qualitative analysis revealed trade-offs and noteworthy patterns. We explore some of these key trade-offs and patterns and argue that our methodology has potential to be an effective tool for local managers to support local decision-making at management scales for co-produced ecosystem services. Our methodology enabled a diverse group of local experts to express and deliberate a range of values, experiences and viewpoints. This knowledge sharing and collective learning allowed the development of shared values and perspectives, which are thought to be critical in more equitable and inclusive decision-making

Assessing fertiliser options for sustainable maize production in Africa

&lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;Factsheet 1 is dedicated to the assessment of fertiliser options for sustainable maize production in Africa.&nbsp;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;There is a need for sustainable maize production in Africa due to growing food demand and declining soil fertility. This factsheet suggests the promotion and upscaling of organic fertilizer and intergrated soil fertility management (ISFM) options for sustainable maize production in east and west Africa regions based on findings from research carried out in Ghana and Kenya under the EWA-BELT project (GA 862848). Strategies to increase organic fertilizer production should be pursued by governments and all stakeholders.&lt;/p&gt

IRAK-M Is Involved in the Pathogenesis of Early-Onset Persistent Asthma

Asthma is a multifactorial disease influenced by genetic and environmental factors. In the past decade, several loci and >100 genes have been found to be associated with the disease in at least one population. Among these loci, region 12q13-24 has been implicated in asthma etiology in multiple populations, suggesting that it harbors one or more asthma susceptibility genes. We performed linkage and association analyses by transmission/disequilibrium test and case-control analysis in the candidate region 12q13-24, using the Sardinian founder population, in which limited heterogeneity of pathogenetic alleles for monogenic and complex disorders as well as of environmental conditions should facilitate the study of multifactorial traits. We analyzed our cohort, using a cutoff age of 13 years at asthma onset, and detected significant linkage to a portion of 12q13-24. We identified IRAK-M as the gene contributing to the linkage and showed that it is associated with early-onset persistent asthma. We defined protective and predisposing SNP haplotypes and replicated associations in an outbred Italian population. Sequence analysis in patients found mutations, including inactivating lesions, in the IRAK-M coding region. Immunohistochemistry of lung biopsies showed that IRAK-M is highly expressed in epithelial cells. We report that IRAK-M is involved in the pathogenesis of early-onset persistent asthma. IRAK-M, a negative regulator of the Toll-like receptor/IL-1R pathways, is a master regulator of NF-κB and inflammation. Our data suggest a mechanistic link between hyperactivation of the innate immune system and chronic airway inflammation and indicate IRAK-M as a potential target for therapeutic intervention against asthma

Paediatric arterial ischaemic stroke and cerebral sinovenous thrombosis: First report from the Italian registry of pediatric thrombosis (R. I. T. I., Registro Italiano Trombosi Infantili)

reserved55noData from large case series of children with cerebral thrombotic events are pivotal to improve prevention, early recognition and treatment of these conditions. The Italian Registry of Pediatric Thrombosis (R. I. T. I.) was established in 2007 by a multidisciplinary team, aiming for a better understanding of neonatal and paediatric thrombotic events in Italy and providing a preliminary source of data for the future development of specific clinical trials and diagnostic-therapeutic protocols. We analysed data relative to the paediatric cerebral thrombotic events of the R. I. T. I. which occurred between January 2007 and June 2012. In the study period, 79 arterial ischaemic stroke (AIS) events (49 in males) and 91 cerebral sinovenous thrombosis (CSVT) events (65 in males) were enrolled in the R. I. T. I. Mean age at onset was 4.5 years in AIS, and 7.1 years in CSVT. Most common modes of presentation were hemiparesis, seizures and speech disturbances in AIS, and headache, seizures and lethargy in CSVT. Most common etiologies were underlying chronic diseases, vasculopathy and cardiopathy in AIS, and underlying chronic diseases and infection in CSVT. Time to diagnosis exceeded 24 hours in 46% AIS and 59% CSVT. Overall data from the Italian Registry are in substantial agreement with those from the literature, despite small differences. Among these, a longer time to diagnosis compared to other registries and case series poses the accent to the need of an earlier recognition of paediatric cerebrovascular events in Italy, in order to enable prompt and effective treatment strategies.mixedSuppiej A.; Gentilomo C.; Saracco P.; Sartori S.; Agostini M.; Bagna R.; Bassi B.; Giordano P.; Grassi M.; Guzzetta A.; Lasagni D.; Luciani M.; Molinari A.C.; Palmieri A.; Putti M.C.; Ramenghi L.A.; Rota L.L.; Sperli D.; Laverda A.M.; Simioni P.; Angriman M.; Aru A.B.; Barisone E.; Bartalena L.; Berta M.; Bertoni E.; Cancarini P.; Cavaliere E.; Celle M.E.; Cerbone A.M.; Cesaroni E.; Via L.D.; Dell'Oro M.G.; Di Rosa G.; Ferrari G.M.; Fiori S.; Gaffuri M.; Gallina M.R.; Gimmillaro A.; Grandone E.; Ladogana S.; Laforgia N.; La Piana R.; Maschio F.; Miniero R.; Nosadini M.; Panzeri D.; Petrucci A.; Piersigilli F.; Sala D.; Sangermani R.; Santoro N.; Tufano A.; Ventura G.; Vittorini R.Suppiej, A.; Gentilomo, C.; Saracco, P.; Sartori, S.; Agostini, M.; Bagna, R.; Bassi, B.; Giordano, P.; Grassi, M.; Guzzetta, A.; Lasagni, D.; Luciani, M.; Molinari, A. C.; Palmieri, A.; Putti, M. C.; Ramenghi, L. A.; Rota, L. L.; Sperli, D.; Laverda, A. M.; Simioni, P.; Angriman, M.; Aru, A. B.; Barisone, E.; Bartalena, L.; Berta, M.; Bertoni, E.; Cancarini, P.; Cavaliere, E.; Celle, M. E.; Cerbone, A. M.; Cesaroni, E.; Via, L. D.; Dell'Oro, M. G.; Di Rosa, G.; Ferrari, G. M.; Fiori, S.; Gaffuri, M.; Gallina, M. R.; Gimmillaro, A.; Grandone, E.; Ladogana, S.; Laforgia, N.; La Piana, R.; Maschio, F.; Miniero, R.; Nosadini, M.; Panzeri, D.; Petrucci, A.; Piersigilli, F.; Sala, D.; Sangermani, R.; Santoro, N.; Tufano, A.; Ventura, G.; Vittorini, R