Evaluating the potential of marginal lands available for sustainable cellulosic biofuel production in Italy

The European Union aims to provide as much as one quarter of its transportation fuels via biofuels derived from renewable sources by 2030. To put this into perspective, the Italian government has recently established an ambitious goal to support the wider uptake of advanced second-generation biofuels, including cellulosic biofuels for the transportation sector. A sustainable way forward is to grow perennial biomass crops on marginal lands, however the nationwide availability of those lands for lignocellulosic feedstock production remains uncertain. We identify and evaluate the potential of marginal lands in Italy to produce sizeable amounts of biomass for sustainable cellulosic biofuel production while limiting land use conflicts and negative ecological impacts. We applied spatial multi-criteria decision analysis techniques in geographic information systems to ultimately generate spatially-explicit national land suitability and availability maps at a fine resolution (250-m). We selected a broad range of leading cellulosic biomass crops that includes poplar (Populus × canadensis Moench), willow (Salix alba Linnaeus), black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia Linnaeus), giant reed (Arundo donax Linnaeus), and vetiver grass (Chrysopogon zizanioides Linnaeus). Based on marginality criteria, our results suggest that such biomass plantations of perennial grasses and short rotation trees may produce 3.1–27.4 billion liters of cellulosic ethanol per year from 462,265 to 2,811,064 million hectares of available marginal lands. This estimated production may fulfill 7.8–69.1% of Italy's current liquid transportation fuel consumption, constrained by the requirement that each modelled location be within 70 km of a potential cellulosic biorefinery. Collectively, this study provides the cornerstone of efforts to rationally meet Italy's need for renewable fuels in a sustainable low-carbon economy future

Case report: Fulminant pneumococcal sepsis in an unvaccinated asplenic patient in Italy

We report a fatal case of overwhelming pneumococcal infection in an asplenic young adult not vaccinated against Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae). Post-mortem microbiological investigations revealed the presence of S. pneumoniae in blood samples and lungs. Serotyping by molecular methods identified the presence of a 6C serotype not comprised in the current 23-valent pneumococcal vaccine, highlighting that a risk of fatal infections may persist even in vaccinated splenectomised individuals

Why stem/progenitor cells lose their regenerative potential

Nowadays, it is clear that adult stem cells, also called as tissue stem cells, play a central role to repair and maintain the tissue in which they reside by their selfrenewal ability and capacity of differentiating into distinct and specialized cells. As stem cells age, their renewal ability declines and their capacity to maintain organ homeostasis and regeneration is impaired. From a molecular perspective, these changes in stem cells properties can be due to several types of cell intrinsic injury and DNA aberrant alteration (i.e epigenomic profile) as well as changes in the tissue microenviroment, both into the niche and by systemic circulating factors. Strikingly, it has been suggested that aging-induced deterioration of stem cell functions may play a key role in the pathophysiology of the various agingassociated disorders. Therefore, understanding how resident stem cell age and affects near and distant tissues is fundamental. Here, we examine the current knowledge about aging mechanisms in several kinds of adult stem cells under physiological and pathological conditions and the principal aging-related changes in number, function and phenotype that determine the loss of tissue renewal properties. Furthermore, we examine the possible cell rejuvenation strategies. Stem cell rejuvenation may reverse the aging phenotype and the discovery of effective methods for inducing and differentiating pluripotent stem cells for cell replacement therapies could open up new possibilities for treating age-related diseases

Role of toll-like receptors in actuating stem/progenitor cell repair mechanisms: Different functions in different cells

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) represent one of the bridges that regulate the cross-talk between the innate and adaptive immune systems. TLRs interact with molecules shared and preserved by the pathogens of origin but also with endogenous molecules (damage/danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs)) that derive from injured tissues. This is probably why TLRs have been found to be expressed on several kinds of stem/progenitor cells (SCs). In these cells, the role of TLRs in the regulation of the basal motility, proliferation, differentiation processes, self-renewal, and immunomodulation has been demonstrated. In this review, we analyze the many different functions that the TLRs assume in SCs, pointing out that they can have different effects, depending on the background and on the kind of ligands that they recognize. Moreover, we discuss the TLR involvement in the response of SC to specific tissue damage and in the reparative processes, as well as how the identification of molecules mediating the differential function of TLR signaling could be decisive for the development of new therapeutic strategies. Considering the available studies on TLRs in SCs, here we address the importance of TLRs in sensing an injury by stem/progenitor cells and in determining their behavior and reparative activity, which is dependent on the conditions. Therefore, it could be conceivable that SCs employed in therapy could be potentially exposed to TLR ligands, which might modulate their therapeutic potential in vivo. In this context, to modulate SC proliferation, survival, migration, and differentiation in the pathological environment, we need to better understand the mechanisms of action of TLRs on SCs and learn how to control these receptors and their downstream pathways in a precise way. In this manner, in the future, cell therapy could be improved and made safer

Adaptive forest governance to face land use change impacts in Italy: a review

Il cambiamento dell’uso del suolo è uno dei driver principali della riduzione della resilienza ecosistemica, così come della perdita di biodiversità e approvvigionamento di servizi. Rappresenta una sfida peculiare, specialmente negli ambienti mediterranei, dove i fenomeni di abbandono e ricolonizzazione naturale stanno minacciando in modo sempre più crescente la capacità delle foreste di fornire benefici alle comunità locali. In queste condizioni, il sistema di governance forestale è chiamato a bilanciare gli impatti del cambiamento dell’uso del suolo con l’assicurazione della salute e della stabilità degli ecosistemi forestali, al fine di garantire la sostenibilità a lungo termine degli ambienti, soprattutto di quelli marginali. Questo lavoro si propone di analizzare in modo più approfondito gli impatti del cambiamento dell’uso del suolo sugli ecosistemi forestali negli ambienti montani italiani. In primo luogo, esegue un’analisi bibliografica dei concetti legati al cambiamento dell’uso del suolo e all’approvvigionamento dei servizi ecosistemici, dalla scala globale a quella locale. In seguito, indaga le relazioni fra le potenzialità adattive di gestione e pianificazione forestali e il cambiamento dell’uso del suolo. Infine, vengono proposte alcune strategie future di possibili strumenti di governance adattiva per affrontare i cambiamenti dell’uso del suolo. Questa infatti può migliorare la resilienza degli ecosistemi forestali riducendo il gap nel campo della ricerca tra il contesto nazionale e quello globale, utilizzando strumenti di valutazione e monitoraggio per simulare cambiamenti e disturbi esterni, e adottando strategie e misure politiche coerenti a scala locale.Land use change is one of the most important drivers for the reduction of ecosystem resilience, and the loss ofbiodiversity and services provision. This is a peculiar challenge, especially in Mediterranean mountain environments,where abandonment and forest transition phenomena increasingly threaten the forest capacity to provide benefits for local communities. Under these conditions, forest governance is called to balance the landuse change impacts and the health and stability of forest ecosystems, in order to ensure the long-term sustainabilityof such marginal environments. This paper aims at deeper understanding the impacts of land use change on forest ecosystem on mountain environments in Italy. At first, a downscaled review on the conceptsof land use change and ecosystem services provision is carried out. Then, according to the review results, therelationships between adaptive capacity of forest management and planning, and land use change is deeply described. Finally, future-oriented strategies of adaptive governance to face land use change are proposed. Inthe context of land use change, adaptive governance can improve forest resilience through filling the researchgaps between the national and the global contexts, adopting monitoring and assessment tools to simulate external changes and disturbances, and effectively implement consistent policy measures and strategies at localscale

Forests and forest-wood system in Italy: towards a new strategy to address local and global challenges

Forest cover in Italy has increased three-fold in slightly more than a century. In 2018 the area covered by forest will be, for the first time since long, larger than that covered by active cultivation. In the same time, the stewardship of forest ecosystem services such as biodiversity provision, hydrogeological protection, and landscape conservation has increased. More than 27% of Italian forests are included in protected areas; 86% of forests is subject to limitation of use connected to soil protection and water cycle regulation, and 100% is under the landscape conservation law. Italy is also home of one of the largest economies of wood transformation, but 80% of the raw material is imported, which implies several environmental, socio-economic, and ethical issues, both domestically and abroad. The conditions are ripe to plan for a responsible management of the natural capital in the country\u2019s forests. A forest management that is active, shared, and conscious of domestic and global implications will be the best chance to maintain and improve the ecosystem services provided by forests in Italy

Il consumo di suolo in Italia - Edizione 2015

Nel nostro Paese si continua a consumare suolo e la seconda edizione del Rapporto ISPRA fornisce un quadro completo sull’avanzata della copertura artificiale del nostro territorio. Il Rapporto sul consumo di suolo in Italia 2015 integra nuove informazioni, aggiorna le precedenti stime sulla base di dati a maggiore risoluzione e completa il quadro nazionale con specifici indicatori per regioni, province e comuni. Sono, inoltre, approfonditi alcuni aspetti che caratterizzano le dinamiche di espansione urbana e di trasformazione del paesaggio a scala nazionale e locale con riferimento alla fascia costiera, alle aree montane, ai corpi idrici, alle aree protette, alle aree a pericolosità idraulica, all’uso del suolo, alle forme e alle densità di urbanizzazione, ai fenomeni dello sprawl urbano, della frammentazione, della dispersione e della diffusione insediativa

Evidence for interhemispheric imbalance in stroke patients as revealed by combining transcranial magnetic stimulation and electroencephalography

Interhemispheric interactions in stroke patients are frequently characterized by abnormalities, in terms of balance and inhibition. Previous results showed an impressive variability, mostly given to the instability of motor-evoked potentials when evoked from the affected hemisphere. We aim to find reliable interhemispheric measures in stroke patients with a not-evocable motor-evoked potential from the affected hemisphere, by combining transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and electroencephalography. Ninteen stroke patients (seven females; 61.26 ± 9.8 years) were studied for 6 months after a first-ever stroke in the middle cerebral artery territory. Patients underwent four evaluations: clinical, cortical, corticospinal, and structural. To test the reliability of our measures, the evaluations were repeated after 3 weeks. To test the sensitivity, 14 age-matched healthy controls were compared to stroke patients. In stroke patients, stimulation of the affected hemisphere did not result in any inhibition onto the unaffected. The stimulation of the unaffected hemisphere revealed a preservation of the inhibition mechanism onto the affected. This resulted in a remarkable interhemispheric imbalance, whereas this mechanism was steadily symmetric in healthy controls. This result was stable when cortical evaluation was repeated after 3 weeks. Importantly, patients with a better recovery of the affected hand strength were the ones with a more stable interhemispheric balance. Finally, we found an association between microstructural integrity of callosal fibers, suppression of interhemispheric TMS-evoked activity and interhemispheric connectivity. We provide direct and sensitive cortical measures of interhemispheric imbalance in stroke patients. These measures offer a reliable means of distinguishing healthy and pathological interhemispheric dynamics