Tree Growth and Wood Quality in Pure Vs. Mixed-Species Stands of European Beech and Calabrian Pine in Mediterranean Mountain Forests

Mixed-species forests may deliver more forest functions and services than monocultures, as being considered more resistant to disturbances than pure stands. However, information on wood quality in mixed-species vs. corresponding pure forests is poor. In this study, nine plots grouped into three triplets of pure and mixed-species stands of European beech and Calabrian pine (three dominated by European beech, three dominated by Calabrian pine, and three mixed-species plots) were analysed. We evaluated tree growth and wood quality through dendrochronological approaches and non-destructive technologies (acoustic detection), respectively, hypothesizing that the mixture might improve the fitness of each species and its wood quality. A linear mixed model was applied to test the effects of exogenous influences on the basal area index (BAI) and the dynamic modulus of elasticity (MOEd). The recruitment period (Rp) was studied to verify whether wood quality was independent from stem radial growth patterns. Results showed that the mixture effect influenced both wood quality and BAI. In the mixed-species plots, for each species, MOEd values were significantly higher than in the corresponding pure stands. The mixture effect aligned MOEd values, making wood quality uniform across the different diameter classes. In the mixed-species plots, a significant positive relationship between MOEd and Rp, but also significantly higher BAI values than in the pure plots, were found for European beech, but not for Calabrian pine. The results suggest the promotion of mixing of European beech and Calabrian pine in this harsh environment to potentially improve both tree growth and wood quality

Indagine conoscitiva sulla violenza verso il maschile

Riassunto La violenza di genere costituisce una tipologia di reato in costante espansione e di continuo interesse da parte della comunità scientifica. Il fenomeno nella sua globalità è complesso da analizzare in quanto gli autori di reato commettono gli episodi perlopiù entro le mura domestiche e ciò comporta, dato il legame spesso di natura intrafamiliare tra autore e vittima, il silenzio di quest’ultima che concorre ad accrescere il cosiddetto “numero oscuro”. Da ciò derivano i limiti dell’analisi di un fenomeno per sua natura sommerso, del quale non è facile tracciare i contorni. Una conoscenza approfondita del fenomeno nel suo insieme, tuttavia, è essenziale per lo sviluppo delle politiche e dei servizi, a partire dalle campagne di sensibilizzazione per arrivare alle contromisure legislative finalizzate a prevenire e/o contenere la violenza. Va rilevato come inchieste, sondaggi e ricerche che analizzano tale comportamento deviante e che vengono proposte con continuità a livello istituzionale e mediatico da diversi decenni, sono solite prendere in considerazione solo l’eventualità che la vittima della violenza di genere sia donna e che l’autore di reato sia uomo. Tale informazione, distorta alla sua origine, passa tramite canali ufficiali (dai media alle campagne di prevenzione) determinando una conseguente sensibilizzazione unidirezionale che relega ad eccezioni - spesso non prese neppure in considerazione - le ipotesi che la violenza possa essere subita e/o agita da appartenenti ad entrambi i sessi. L’indagine presentata in questo articolo è finalizzata a raccogliere elementi di valutazione ancora inesistenti nel nostro Paese, utili a verificare se esista, ed eventualmente in che misura, una realtà diversa da quella fondata esclusivamente su condizionamenti, luoghi comuni e pregiudizi. La violence de genre constitue l’un des crimes qui connaît une forte croissance et qui fait l’objet d’un intérêt certain pour la communauté scientifique. Le phénomène est complexe à analyser dans sa globalité car la plupart des auteurs commettent leurs crimes dans le foyer domestique. Étant donné le lien intrafamilial existant entre l’auteur et la victime, cette dernière reste dans le silence qui contribue à faire augmenter le « chiffre noir ». Par conséquent, l’analyse de ce phénomène, caché à cause de sa propre nature, montre ses limites. Des campagnes de sensibilisation à l’adoption de mesures législatives pour la prévention et répression de la violence, une connaissance approfondie de ce phénomène dans sa globalité est toutefois primordial pour le développement des politiques et des services d’aide aux victimes. Il faut souligner que les enquêtes et les recherches analysant ce comportement déviant et, depuis plusieurs décennies, proposées en permanence à des niveaux institutionnel et médiatique, ont tendance à considérer que la victime de la violence de genre ne peut être qu’une femme et que son auteur, un homme. Cette information, altérée dès le début, passe à travers des chaînes officielles (des médias aux campagnes de prévention) provoquant une sensibilisation unidirectionnelle qui relègue à l’état d’exceptions – qui souvent ne sont même pas prises en considération – les hypothèses que la violence puisse être subie et/ou perpêtrée aussi bien par les hommes que par les femmes. L’enquête présentée dans cet article a pour objectif de collecter des éléments d’évaluation encore inexistants en Italie. Ces données peuvent être utilisées pour vérifier s’il existe une réalité différente de celle qui n’est basée que sur les lieux communs et sur les préjudices et quelle serait sa dimension. Gender-based violence is a constantly increasing crime and continuously attracting a lot of interest in the scientific community. This is a complex phenomenon to analyse as a whole because perpetrators usually commit the acts of violence at home. For this reason, and also due to the intimate relationship between the author and the victim, this latter remains silent, so the dark number increases. Consequently, the analysis of this phenomenon, hidden just because of its nature, has its limits. A deep knowledge of this phenomenon as a whole, however, is important for the development of policies and services, for example sensibilisation campaigns and countermeasures to prevent and combat violence. It is important to point out that surveys and researches studying this deviant behaviour, and continuously proposed at an institutional level and disseminated by mass media, usually consider that the victim of gender-based violence is a woman and the perpetrator a man. This distorted information is transmitted through official channels (for example, mass media and sensibilisation campaigns) producing a consequent unidirectional sensibilisation which relegates as exceptions – often not taken into consideration – hypothesis that violence may be endured and/or committed by both sexes. The purpose of the survey presented in this article is to collect some evaluation data that do not exist yet in our country, data that will be useful in order to verify if it exists in reality, and if yes what extension it has, different from the one based exclusively on common sense and prejudices

Prevalence and Clinical Relevance of IgE Sensitization to Profilin in Childhood: A Multicenter Study

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the prevalence and clinical relevance of hypersensitivity to the plant panallergen profilin in children. OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to investigate prevalence, risk factors and clinical relevance of profilin sensitization in a large cohort of Italian children of different ages living in different geographic areas. METHODS: Children with pollen allergy enrolled by 16 pediatric outpatient clinics sited in three main geographic areas of Italy were studied. SPT were carried out with commercial pollen extracts and a commercial purified date palm pollen profilin. IgE specific for allergenic pollen molecules, Phl p 12 (grass profilin) and Pru p 3 (peach lipid transfer protein) were tested by ImmunoCAP FEIA. RESULTS: IgE to Phl p 12 (≥0.35 kU/l) was observed in 296 of the 1,271 participants (23%), including 17 of the 108 (16%) preschool children. Profilin SPT was positive (≥3 mm) in 320/1,271 (25%) participants. The two diagnostic methods were concordant in 1,151 (91%, p < 0.0001) cases. Phl p 12 IgE prevalence declined from northern to southern Italy and was directly associated with IgE to Phl p 1 and/or Phl p 5 and Ole e 1. Among children with IgE to Phl p 12, OAS was provoked by kiwi, melon, watermelon, banana, apricot and cucumber. CONCLUSIONS: Profilin sensitization is very frequent among pollen-allergic children, occurs at a very young age and contributes to the development of childhood OAS with a typical pattern of offending foods. Pediatricians should always consider IgE sensitization to profilin while examining pollen-allergic children, even if they are at preschool age

The Management of Dry Eye Disease: Proceedings of Italian Dry Eye Consensus Group Using the Delphi Method

Dry eye disease (DED) is a highly prevalent, chronic and progressive condition that affects 5-33% of the world's adult population [...]

The effect of component-resolved diagnosis on specific immunotherapy prescription in children with hay fever

Sensitization to profilins and other cross-reacting molecules might hinder proper specific immunotherapy (SIT) prescription in polysensitized patients with pollen-related allergic rhinitis (AR). In these patients, component-resolved diagnosis (CRD) might modify SIT prescription by improving the identification of the disease-eliciting pollen sources. We sought to measure the effect of CRD on SIT prescription in children with pollen-related AR. Children (n = 651) with moderate-to-severe pollen-related AR were recruited between May 2009 and June 2011 in 16 Italian outpatient clinics. Skin prick test (SPT) reactivity to grass, cypress, olive, mugwort, pellitory, and/or Betulaceae pollen was considered clinically relevant if symptoms occurred during the corresponding peak pollen season. IgE sensitization to Phl p 1, Phl p 5, Bet v 1, Cup a 1, Art v 1, Ole e 1, Par j 2, and Phl p 12 (profilin) was measured by using ImmunoCAP. SIT prescription was modeled on SPT responses first and then remodeled considering also CRD according to GA(2)LEN-European Academy of Allergology and Clinical Immunology guidelines and the opinions of 14 pediatric allergists. No IgE to the respective major allergens was detected in significant proportions of patients with supposed clinically relevant sensitization to mugwort (45/65 [69%]), Betulaceae (146/252 [60%]), pellitory (78/257 [30%]), olive (111/390 [28%]), cypress (28/184 [15%]), and grass (56/568 [10%]). IgE to profilins, polcalcins, or both could justify 173 (37%) of 464 of these SPT reactions. After CRD, the SPT-based decision on SIT prescription or composition was changed in 277 (42%) of 651 or 315 (48%) of 651 children according to the European or American approach, respectively, and in 305 (47%) of 651 children according to the opinion of the 14 local pediatric allergists. In children with pollen-related AR, applying CRD leads to changes in a large proportion of SIT prescriptions as opposed to relying on clinical history and SPT alone. The hypothesis that CRD-guided prescription improves SIT efficacy deserves to be tested