Eco-efficiency assessment and food security potential of home gardening: a case study in Padua, Italy

In the expanding urban agriculture phenomenon in Europe, home gardens are a traditional form that have kept agriculture within cities, even becoming crucial in certain historical periods (e.g., war periods). However, horticultural practices in home gardens can also have negative consequences. The goal of this paper is to assess the eco-efficiency of home gardens as a type of urban agriculture. To do so, a case study in Padua (Italy) was evaluated following life cycle assessment and life cycle costing methods. A home garden of 30.6 m(2) and 21 crop cycles were evaluated. The functional unit of the assessment was 1 kg of harvested fresh vegetable at the consumption point, and the ReCiPe method was employed for impact assessment. Environmental assessment indicated that organic fertilization, use of tap water, mineral fertilization and pesticides were the most contributing elements of the entire life cycle. Furthermore, the relevance of garden design and crop selection was a determinant in the eco-efficiency results. The assessed home garden could satisfy the food requirements of between 1 and 2 members of the household. Crop management and design recommendations are provided to improve eco-efficiency and food security potential of home gardens

Processing Eucalyptus cloeziana seed lots to improve purity, germination and vigor.

Eucalyptus cloeziana is one of the highest-density wood species offering significant added value, frequently used in the construction and furniture industries. Despite its suitability, it may be overlooked on account of its propagation difficulties due either to its low rooting cutting capacity or to its seeds having a low germination rate perhaps attributable to the high proportion of indistinguishable impurities within the seed lots. This study aimed to develop an efficient technique for Eucalyptus cloeziana seed processing to increase the physical purity and, consequently, the physiological quality of the seed lot. Three seed lots, separated by size in sieves with 1.18, 1.00, and 0.84 mm square openings, were used. X-ray analyses were carried out, the number of normal seedlings and germination rate identified and the percentage and speed of seedling emergence under greenhouse conditions ascertained. The greenhouse evaluation showed that the seed retained in the 1.18 mm sieve presented viability and vigor twice that of the control. Therefore, the processing technique by size classification is efficient in terms of improving the physical and physiological performance of Eucalyptus cloeziana seed lots

Storage potential of African mahogany seeds under different environmental and packaging conditions.

ABSTRACT African mahogany (Khaya grandifoliola) is a forest species with excellent wood quality. Due to the increasing demand for viable seeds in forest production programs, the storage capacity of this species must be evaluated. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the appropriate environmental and packaging conditions for the storage of African mahogany seeds. Initially, the water content of the seeds, germination rate, and seedling length were determined in two environments (cold chamber and laboratory), two packages (polyethylene and glass), and three storage periods (72, 144, and 216 d) as well as in additional treatment without storage. The variables analyzed during storage were water content, germination capacity, germination speed index, and seedling length. The experiment was conducted in a completely random design with four repetitions in a split-plot scheme and an additional treatment of 2 × 3 × 2 + 1. African mahogany seeds stored in a cold chamber (6 °C and 72% relative humidity) in a polyethylene packaging maintained their physiological quality for 216 d. RESUMO O mogno africano (Khaya grandifoliola) é uma espécie florestal que apresenta excelente qualidade madeireira. Com a crescente demanda por sementes viáveis para atender programas de produção florestal, tem-se observado a necessidade de estudos sobre a capacidade de armazenamento dessa espécie. O objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar as condições adequadas de ambiente e embalagem para o armazenamento de sementes de mogno africano. Inicialmente, o grau de umidade das sementes; a germinação e o comprimento de plântulas foram determinados. Foram testados dois ambientes - câmara fria e laboratório; duas embalagens (polietileno e vidro); e três períodos de armazenamento (72, 144 e 216 dias). As variáveis analisadas no armazenamento foram: grau de umidade, porcentagem de germinação, índice de velocidade de germinação (IVG) e comprimento de plântulas. O experimento foi realizado em delineamento inteiramente casualizado com quatro repetições em parcelas subdivididas e tratamento adicional 2 × 3 × 2 + 1. As sementes de mogno africano armazenadas em ambiente de câmara fria (6 °C e 72% UR) em embalagem de polietileno mantiveram a qualidade fisiológica por 216 dias

Amazonian peach palm seeds methods comparation of water content determination by quadratic plateau regression.

ABSTRACT - Given the recalcitrant nature of peach palm seeds, which results in high sensitivity to desiccation, more effective approaches to seed quality monitoring are extremely important and justify the need to provide an efficient method to determine their moisture content. For seeds which are considered to be larger (thousand seed weight > 200 g), seed preparation is required, but it is impractical owing to endocarp hardness. The objective of this work was to compare methods of evaluating the moisture content of peach palm seeds, aiming to identify an straightforward method for the species. Different seed preparation and drying methods (oven method at 105 ± 3 °C, low temperature at 103 ± 2 °C, and high temperature at 130 ± 2 °C) were tested. For all methods tested, the beginning of weighing took place after the first hour, and continued until the mass of each repetition became constant for two consecutive measurements. The data were analyzed by nonlinear quadratic plateau regression to evaluate the stabilization period of water content. Thus, the oven method at 130 °C for four hours (with whole seeds) is recommended. RESUMO - O comportamento altamente recalcitrante das sementes de pupunheira justifica a adequação de um método eficiente para determinação do seu teor de água, uma vez que estas são sensíveis à dessecação. Visto que as sementes de pupunha são consideradas grandes (peso de mil sementes > 200 g) os métodos atuais de determinação do teor de água exigem preparo das sementes, o que é inviabilizado devido a resistência do endocarpo. O objetivo deste trabalho foi comparar diferentes métodos de determinação do teor de água de sementes de pupunheira, visando identificar o mais eficiente para a espécie. Foram testadas diferentes formas de preparo da semente e métodos de secagem. Para todos os tratamentos testados, o início da pesagem ocorreu após a primeira hora, continuando até que a massa de cada repetição se tornasse constante por duas medidas consecutivas. Os dados foram analisados por uma regressão não linear quadrática em platô para avaliar o período de estabilização do teor de água. Assim, o método de estufa a 130 ºC durante quatro horas (com sementes inteiras) é recomendado

Managing toxicities associated with immune checkpoint inhibitors: consensus recommendations from the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) Toxicity Management Working Group.

Cancer immunotherapy has transformed the treatment of cancer. However, increasing use of immune-based therapies, including the widely used class of agents known as immune checkpoint inhibitors, has exposed a discrete group of immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Many of these are driven by the same immunologic mechanisms responsible for the drugs\u27 therapeutic effects, namely blockade of inhibitory mechanisms that suppress the immune system and protect body tissues from an unconstrained acute or chronic immune response. Skin, gut, endocrine, lung and musculoskeletal irAEs are relatively common, whereas cardiovascular, hematologic, renal, neurologic and ophthalmologic irAEs occur much less frequently. The majority of irAEs are mild to moderate in severity; however, serious and occasionally life-threatening irAEs are reported in the literature, and treatment-related deaths occur in up to 2% of patients, varying by ICI. Immunotherapy-related irAEs typically have a delayed onset and prolonged duration compared to adverse events from chemotherapy, and effective management depends on early recognition and prompt intervention with immune suppression and/or immunomodulatory strategies. There is an urgent need for multidisciplinary guidance reflecting broad-based perspectives on how to recognize, report and manage organ-specific toxicities until evidence-based data are available to inform clinical decision-making. The Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) established a multidisciplinary Toxicity Management Working Group, which met for a full-day workshop to develop recommendations to standardize management of irAEs. Here we present their consensus recommendations on managing toxicities associated with immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy