Soil degradation and socioeconomic systems’ complexity: Uncovering the latent nexus

Understanding Soil Degradation Processes (SDPs) is a fundamental issue for humankind. Soil degradation involves complex processes that are influenced by a multifaceted ensemble of socioeconomic and ecological factors at vastly different spatial scales. Desertification risk (the ultimate outcome of soil degradation, seen as an irreversible process of natural resource destruction) and socioeconomic trends have been recently analyzed assuming “resilience thinking” as an appropriate interpretative paradigm. In a purely socioeconomic dimension, resilience is defined as the ability of a local system to react to external signals and to promote future development. This ability is intrinsically bonded with the socio-ecological dynamics characteristic of environmentally homogeneous districts. However, an evaluation of the relationship between SDPs and socioeconomic resilience in local systems is missing in mainstream literature. Our commentary formulates an exploratory framework for the assessment of soil degradation, intended as a dynamic process of natural resource depletion, and the level of socioeconomic resilience in local systems. Such a framework is intended to provide a suitable background to sustainability science and regional policies at the base of truly resilient local systems

Soil quality and peri-urban expansion of cities: A mediterranean experience (Athens, Greece)

Soil loss and peri-urban settlement expansion are key issues in urban sustainability, with multi-disciplinary implications that go beyond individual ecological and socioeconomic dimensions. Our study illustrates an assessment framework diachronically evaluating urbanization-driven soil quality loss in a Southern European metropolitan region (Athens, Greece). We tested the assumption that urban growth is a process consuming high-quality soils in a selective way analyzing two spatial layers, a map illustrating the diachronic expansion of settlements at five time points (1948, 1975, 1990, 2000, and 2018), and a geo-database reporting basic soil properties. The empirical results showed that the urban expansion in the Athens region took place by consuming higher- quality soil in fertile, mostly flat, districts. It entailed a persistent soil quality decrease over time. This trend globally accelerated in recent years, but in a heterogeneous way. Actually, newly built, more compact areas expanded on soils with lower erosion risk than in the past. Besides, low-density land take is likely to be observed in soils with moderate-high or veryhigh qualities. These evidences reflect the need for a comprehensive evaluation of complex processes of land take informing spatial planning for metropolitan sustainability

NTRK fusions in central nervous system tumors: A rare, but worthy target

The neurotrophic tropomyosin receptor kinase (NTRK) genes (NTRK1, NTRK2, and NTRK3) code for three transmembrane high-affinity tyrosine-kinase receptors for nerve growth factors (TRK-A, TRK-B, and TRK-C) which are mainly involved in nervous system development. Loss of function alterations in these genes can lead to nervous system development problems; conversely, activating alterations harbor oncogenic potential, promoting cell proliferation/survival and tumorigenesis. Chromosomal rearrangements are the most clinically relevant alterations of pathological NTRK activation, leading to constitutionally active chimeric receptors. NTRK fusions have been detected with extremely variable frequencies in many pediatric and adult cancer types, including central nervous system (CNS) tumors. These alterations can be detected by different laboratory assays (e.g., immunohistochemistry, FISH, sequencing), but each of these approaches has specific advantages and limitations which must be taken into account for an appropriate use in diagnostics or research. Moreover, therapeutic targeting of this molecular marker recently showed extreme efficacy. Considering the overall lack of effective treatments for brain neoplasms, it is expected that detection of NTRK fusions will soon become a mainstay in the diagnostic assessment of CNS tumors, and thus in-depth knowledge regarding this topic is warranted