Sustainable use of genetic resources: the characterization of an Italian local grapevine variety (‚Grechetto rosso') and its own landscape

Biodiversity and landscape are two tightly liked environmental traits, so that the loss in traditional agricultural landscapes imply the erosion of precious  local germplasm. The on-farm conservation of local cultivars assure the preservation of optimized environment-genotype interactions, unique multifunctional agro-ecosystems and landscapes. Therefore, the safeguard of endangered genetic resources has to consider genotyping, phenotyping, but also the characterization  of the related landscapes. The objective of this study was to provide the characterization of a local Italian grapevine, i.e. 'Grechetto rosso' through an integrated approach based on conventional ampelographic and molecular determinations and on the characterization of the landscape in the innate environment. 'Grechetto rosso' has affinity with 'Sangiovese', of which keeps the main ampelographic characters. Nonetheless, its diversity is prevalently expressed in berry characters, like the occasional presence of a not uniformly pigmented pulp, week epicuticular waxes and a red-coloured skin. This berry characters appeared to be related to the micro-environmental variables, i.e. the occurrence of cold-temperate nights during the ripening period and a rather temperate climate of the innate area. The 'Grechetto rosso' wine-grape-growing area is characterized by high naturality, and the 47 % of the 'Grechetto rosso' vineyards are still mixed with olive groves (traditional arrangement), while the remaining surface is represented by either specialized (46 %) or neglect (residual/relict) (7 %) vineyards. 'Grechetto Rosso' vineyards are distributed even in steep and extremely steep slope areas. The resulting description represents an example of useful information for promoting a sustainable use of grapevine genetic resources based on the in situ conservation on farm

Sustained response to infliximab treatment in two cases of early rheumatoid arthritis that has been maintained after drug withdrawal

The authors report two cases of active seropositive rheumatoid arthritis who were treated in an early phase of the disease with infliximab plus methotrexate obtaining a clinical remission. The benefit was maintained after the discontinuation of the anti-TNF alpha inhibitor for adverse events, indicating that the early administration of the drug may be followed by a sustained remission

Comparação de indicadores de desempenho de produtores de leite localizados dentro e fora de assentamentos de reforma agrária no Triângulo Mineiro

In the discussion of agrarian reform in Brazil, a central concern is the competitiveness of farms on land settlements. This comparative study between milk producers on land settlement schemes and outside aims to enhance understanding of the settlers’ technical and economical potential. The analysis is based on data collected from 39 milk producers from the Rio das Pedras settlement and 42 milk producers located in the bordering municipalities of Uberlândia and Monte Alegre, State of Minas Gerais. The field research took place on April and June but the farm data refer to production, costs, and income occurred in March 2006. We use various technical and economic measures to assess farm performance, though focused on the gross margin per liter and per hectare. The survey results reveal that the average gross margin per liter of milk obtained by producers from outside the settlement was higher than for the settlers. However, the difference in the two averages can be explained by the higher average price per liter obtained by producers from outside the settlement. The larger total gross margin were found among producers ranging from 600 to 1400 liters. Both outside and on the settlement there was wide variation in farm performance. The highest gross margins per liter were obtained on some of the small and medium-size farms, including a few settler farms. The full range of performance indicators which we used did not demonstrate an absolute superiority of non-settler producers over the settlers: producers with poor performance were found among small and large farms, regardless their location. These results lead us to recommend the identification and implementation of actions designed to raise the price of the liter of milk for small scale producers. The study also revealed a need to reassess the optimum intensity of use of purchased feed-stuffs and for the transfer of best practice between farms with similar resource endowments.agrarian reform, competitiveness, efficiency, milk production, Triângulo Mineiro., Agribusiness, Q 15,

Pain in systemic sclerosis

Chronic pain is a healthcare problem that significantly affects the mental health, and the professional and private life of patients. It can complicate many disorders and represents a common symptom of rheumatologic diseases, but the data on its prevalence is still limited. Pain is a ubiquitous problem in systemic sclerosis (SSc). SSc-related pain has been studied on the basis of biomedical models and is considered a symptom caused by the disease activity or previous tissue damage. Effective pain management is a primary goal of the treatment strategy, although this symptom in SSc has not yet been investigated in detail. However, these patients do not all respond adequately to pharmacological pain therapies, therefore in these cases a multimodal approach needs to be adopted

Quercetin and Cancer Chemoprevention

Several molecules present in the diet, including flavonoids, can inhibit the growth of cancer cells with an ability to act as “chemopreventers”. Their cancer-preventive effects have been attributed to various mechanisms, including the induction of cell-cycle arrest and/or apoptosis as well as the antioxidant functions. The antioxidant activity of chemopreventers has recently received a great interest, essentially because oxidative stress participates in the initiation and progression of different pathological conditions, including cancer. Since antioxidants are capable of preventing oxidative damage, the wide use of natural food-derived antioxidants is receiving greater attention as potential anti-carcinogens. Among flavonoids, quercetin (Qu) is considered an excellent free-radical scavenging antioxidant, even if such an activity strongly depends on the intracellular availability of reduced glutathione. Apart from antioxidant activity, Qu also exerts a direct, pro-apoptotic effect in tumor cells, and can indeed block the growth of several human cancer cell lines at different phases of the cell cycle. Both these effects have been documented in a wide variety of cellular models as well as in animal models. The high toxicity exerted by Qu on cancer cells perfectly matches with the almost total absence of any damages for normal, non-transformed cells. In this review we discuss the molecular mechanisms that are based on the biological effects of Qu, and their relevance for human health