Urban Green Development and Resilient Cities: A First Insight into Urban Forest Planning in Italy

The research proposes an application of a modification of the 3–30–300 rule to identify areas that require Urban Forestry implementation in small and medium-sized Roman and/or medieval urban areas. The selected case study is that of Asti in Piedmont, Italy. An open source, cross-platform desktop geographic information system is used to process geospatial datasets via qualitative analyses of electoral sections (or wards). An analysis of the number and distribution of trees around each building is performed, in addition to the calculation of tree canopy cover and distance between buildings and green spaces. Findings reveal that 64 out of 70 wards have an average of at least three trees per building and sufficient green areas of at least 0.5 hectares within 300 m of the buildings. Additionally, the tree canopy cover ranges from approximately 0.6% (lowest) to about 55% (highest) for the electoral sections. Lastly, findings suggest that the highly built-up urban fabric in these areas may significantly affect the availability and quality of green spaces. In conclusion, the case study proves the benefits of applying the 3–30–300 rule to small and medium-sized urban areas using an integrated assessment approach based on nature-based solutions and ecosystem services

Spatializing Urban Forests as Nature-based Solutions: a methodological proposal

The Fifth Session of the UNEA-5 defines Nature-based Solutions (NbS) as “actions to protect, conserve, restore, sustainably use and manage natural or modified terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine ecosystems, which address social, economic and environmental challenges effectively and adaptively, while simultaneously providing human well-being, ecosystem services and resilience and biodiversity benefits”. A large number of the EU HORIZON 2020 research program projects include the implementation of NbS in urban settings. The proGIreg project implemented several NbS for urban regeneration with and for citizens in its Living Lab in the city of Turin (Italy), among others. Focusing on the NbS of urban forestry, this paper addresses the following question: where can NbS be implemented within the city, in order to maximize their social impact? To achieve this goal, by identifying neighborhoods in need of NbS implementation, the 3–30-300 rule proposed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) was adopted and implemented, taking greater account of environmental and social characteristics. The paper also proposes an index to identify neighborhoods of the city that could have precedence in the implementation of NbS. The results highlight 10 neighborhoods where there is a high need of NbS implementation

Nutritional factors influencing plasma adiponectin levels: results from a randomised controlled study with whole-grain cereals

Data from intervention studies about the effects of a high intake of whole-grain cereals on adiponectin expression are still inconclusive. We evaluated the effects of whole-grain or refined cereals on fasting and postprandial serum adiponectin in people at high cardiovascular risk. According to a randomised controlled parallel group design, participants with metabolic syndrome were assigned to an isoenergetic diet based on either whole-grain cereal (WGC) or refined cereal (RC) products for 12-weeks. Anthropometric and biochemical measures were taken. Compared to baseline, fasting and postprandial serum adiponectin levels increased after both RC and WGC. In the WGC and RC groups combined, adiponectin concentrations significantly increased after 12-week intervention, and are directly associated with plasma SCFAs and acetate. Only increasing whole-grain cereals may not influence adiponectin levels, which could be modified by a fibre rich, low-fat, low-glycemic index diet, possibly through changes in gut microbiota, as suggested by the relation with SCFAs. Clinical Trials number: NCT00945854

Short-term rail rolling stock rostering and maintenance scheduling

This paper describes an optimization framework for railway rolling stock rostering and maintenance scheduling. A key problem in railway rostering planning requires covering a given set of services and maintenance works with limited rolling stock units. The problem is solved via a two-step approach that combines the scheduling tasks related to train services, short-term maintenance operations and empty runs. A commercial MIP solver is used for the development of a real-time decision support tool. A campaign of experiments on real world scenarios from Trenitalia (Italian train operating company) illustrates the improvement achievable by the approach when compared to the practical solution

Polyphenol-rich diets improve glucose metabolism in people at high cardiometabolic risk: a controlled randomised intervention trial

Dietary polyphenols and long chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCn3) are associated with lower cardiovascular risk. This may relate to their influence on glucose metabolism and diabetes risk. We evaluated the effects of diets naturally rich in polyphenols and/or LCn3 of marine origin on glucose metabolism in people at high cardiometabolic risk

Clozapine Impairs Insulin Action by Up-Regulating Akt Phosphorylation and Ped/Pea-15 Protein Abundance

Clinical and experimental evidence indicates that atypical antipsychotics impair glucose metabolism. We investigated whether clozapine may directly affect insulin action by analyzing insulin signaling in vitro and in vivo. Clozapine reduced insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in PC12 and in L6 cells, representative models of neuron and skeletal muscle, respectively. Consistently, clozapine reduced insulin effect on insulin receptor (IR) by 40% and on IR substrate-1 (IRS1) tyrosine phosphorylation by 60%. Insulin-stimulated Akt phosphorylation was also reduced by about 40%. Moreover, insulin-dependent phosphorylation of protein kinase C-ζ (PKC-ζ) was completely blunted in clozapine-treated cells. Interestingly, clozapine treatment was accompanied by an insulin-independent increase of Akt phosphorylation, with no change of IR, IRS1, and PKC-ζ basal phosphorylation. The cellular abundance of Ped/Pea-15, an Akt substrate and inducer of insulin resistance, was also increased following clozapine exposure, both in the absence and in the presence of cyclohexymide, a protein synthesis inhibitor. Similar as in cellular models, in the caudate–putamen and in the tibialis muscle of clozapine-treated C57/BL/KsJ mice, Akt phosphorylation and Ped/Pea-15 protein levels were increased and PKC-ζ phosphorylation was decreased. Thus, in these experimental models, clozapine deranged Akt function and up-regulated Ped/Pea-15, thereby inhibiting insulin stimulation of PKC-ζ and of glucose uptake. J. Cell. Physiol. 227: 1485–1492, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Urine 8-isoprostane in relation to adiposity and insulin resistance in individuals at high cardiometabolic risk

Oxidative stress has been implicated in the pathogenesis of many conditions, including insulin resistance and obesity. However, in vivo data concerning these relationships are scarce and conflicting. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the association of oxidative stress with abdominal adiposity and insulin resistance in individuals at high cardiometabolic risk

The climate in the European Union and the enlarged European Region is a determinant of the COVID-19 case fatality ratio

Climate could influence the COVID-19 pandemic, but while no evidence has been advanced on the influence of colder climates, some studies have provided data to support a possible heat-related protective factor. The objective is to verify whether areas with a Cold Temperate Climate (TC) have a higher Case Fatality Ratio (CFR) for COVID-19 than areas with a Cold Climate (CC) or with a Mediterranean Climate (MC) in the European Union and the Enlarged European Region. Countries or regions were subdivided into 3 groups according to the Köppen climate classification system: TC (Cfa, Cfb and Cfc in the Köppen system); MC (Csa, Csb); CC (D and E in the Köppen system). The total number of cases and the total number of deaths were detected on 13 August 2020 on the COVID-19 Map-Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center-the CFR was thus calculated by area. Living in TC areas is strongly associated with risk of a high Case Fatality Ratio for COVID-19, OR for MC =0.42, IC 95% 0.41-0.43; OR for CC=0.33, IC 95% 0.33-0.35. The results are confirmed in the EU, OR per MC=0.85, CI 95% 0.84-0.87; OR per CC=0.63, IC 95% 0.61-0.65.The study found that the IC in a humid temperate climate is associated with higher CFR with respect to the coldest and warmest temperate climates in Europe. This does not appear to be the only determinant of the pandemic