RECENT DEVELOPMENTS OF THE EU FARMLAND MARKETS: NATIONAL VARIABLES AND COMPARATIVE EFFECTS OF THE CAP REFORM IN SELECTED COUNTRIES

The present paper consists of two main parts. The first one gives a picture of the more recent development of the farmland market in selected EC countries since 1985/86. Two main indicators are used to make relatively comparable the observed trends concerning: i) land mobility, ii) farmland values. The second one tries to evaluate the effects of the CAP reform and the influence of national variables overtime, taking into account the following indicators: i) mobility (on land transfers; on tenancy), ii) income (for agricultural or forest use), iii) farmland values (in the plain; in the hill/mountain areas). Considerations on land market complexity and segmentation are finally included, with justification on the empirical approach adopted in the paper.

Effect of Lactoferrin on Clinical Outcomes of Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19: The LAC Randomized Clinical Trial

As lactoferrin is a nutritional supplement with proven antiviral and immunomodulatory abilities, it may be used to improve the clinical course of COVID-19. The clinical efficacy and safety of bovine lactoferrin were evaluated in the LAC randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial. A total of 218 hospitalized adult patients with moderate-to-severe COVID-19 were randomized to receive 800 mg/die oral bovine lactoferrin (n = 113) or placebo (n = 105), both given in combination with standard COVID-19 therapy. No differences in lactoferrin vs. placebo were observed in the primary outcomes: the proportion of death or intensive care unit admission (risk ratio of 1.06 (95% CI 0.63–1.79)) or proportion of discharge or National Early Warning Score 2 (NEWS2) ≤ 2 within 14 days from enrollment (RR of 0.85 (95% CI 0.70–1.04)). Lactoferrin showed an excellent safety and tolerability profile. Even though bovine lactoferrin is safe and tolerable, our results do not support its use in hospitalized patients with moderate-to-severe COVID-19