The management of agricultural plastic packaging waste: a pilot experimentation in Southern Italy.

In the early sixties started the "green revolution", a phenomenal increase in agricultural productivity worldwide; with it a wide and extensive diffusion of plastic material and a massive use of agrochemicals made their entrance in agriculture. The plastics used at farm level are many and different: film, hard sheet, net, string, tube and agrochemical container. All these plastics become waste and the problem of their disposal cannot be ignored since several studies indicate that most of them are disposed in an illegally way (by burning, burying, dispersion). When the waste are agrochemical containers the problem is more acute because they aren’t often rinsed, resulting contaminated with chemical residues. In order to analyze the Italian current situation on this matter the Authors, in the framework of the “Agrochepack” Project, produced a mapping of Agricultural Plastic Packaging Waste (APPW) situation in an area of Southern Italy. This information was took as a basis for the design of a pilot plant that was realized in order to enable pilot tests of APPW disposal. The first indications, as a result of meetings with farmers, showed an increased attention towards the "environmental protection", as shown by the good results that were obtained within the Project

Ancient roads in Southern Italy: an hypothesis of requalification for the valorization of the rural tourism.

The current rural heritage in a specific area represents the form that the man has been able to give to his surroundings. Over the centuries, in many European rural areas, the roads have lost their traditional design motivation. Their requalification in the framework of a sustainable development of the rural areas can be an important way for a sustainable development of rural tourism. It could pass through the valorization of route-based itineraries designed on some ancient roads, as those built in Europe by the Romans or during the middle-age for religious pilgrimages. The “Francigena Way" is a combination of arterial roads dating back to the roman epoch; the “Herculia Way" is a part of the “Francigena Way" that was built in Southern Italy. In this paper the possible requalification of a part of the Herculia Way has been hypotized. Some ancient paths, known as “tratturi” (sheep-tracks) and small royal tratturi, partly still existing, have been detected and located on historical maps, for a possible structural and functional restore, with the creation of a route that could be run along by walking, by bicycle or on horseback. This redevelopment could contribute to the protection and enhancement of the rural landscape elements examined, to the sustainable management of the environment and the enhancement of rural history and, more generally, to the promotion of rural tourism

Ancient roads in Southern Italy: an hypothesis of requalification for the valorization of the rural landscape.

The rural heritage of a specific area represents the form that man has been able to give to its surrounding landscape. Over the centuries, in many European rural areas, roads have lost their traditional design motivation. Their requalification, in the framework of a sustainable development of rural areas, can be an important way for the protection of the landscape. Through the provision of new alternative activities, compatible with the particular nature of the environment, new opportunities for a sustainable preservation of the environment are possible. The “Francigena Way" is a combination of arterial roads dating back to the Roman era. The “Herculia Way" is part of the “Francigena Way" that was built in southern Italy. The aim of this research is to study a possible requalification of a part of the Herculia Way. Some ancient paths, known as “tratturi” (sheep-tracks) and small royal tratturi, in some measure still existing, have been identified and located on historical maps. One of these paths has been chosen for the present analysis; different surveys have allowed us to identify some rural buildings along its route, with a significant architectonical, historical and landscape value. The hypothesis of a structural and functional recovery through their maintenance and restoration will help the sustainable protection and enhancement of the landscape

Frailty in Rheumatic Diseases

Frailty is a syndrome characterized by the decline in the physiologic reserve and function of several systems, leading to increased vulnerability and adverse health outcomes. While common in the elderly, recent studies have underlined the higher prevalence of frailty in chronic diseases, independent of age. The pathophysiological mechanisms that contribute to frailty have not been completely understood, although significant progresses have recently been made. In this context, chronic inflammation is likely to play a pivotal role, both directly and indirectly through other systems, such as the musculoskeletal, endocrine, and neurological systems. Rheumatic diseases are characterized by chronic inflammation and accumulation of deficits during time. Therefore, studies have recently started to explore the link between frailty and rheumatic diseases, and in this review, we report what has been described so far. Frailty is dynamic and potentially reversible with 8.3%\u201317.9% of older adults spontaneously improving their frailty status over time. Muscle strength is likely the most significant influencing factor which could be improved with training thus pointing at the need to maintain physical activity. Not surprisingly, frailty is more prevalent in patients affected by rheumatic diseases than in healthy controls, regardless of age and is associated with high disease activity to affect the clinical outcomes, largely due to chronic inflammation. More importantly, the treatment of the underlying condition may prevent frailty. Scales to assess frailty in patients affected by rheumatic diseases have been proposed, but larger casuistries are needed to validate disease-specific indexes, which could allow more accurate prognostic estimates than demographic and disease-related variables alone. Frail patients can be more vulnerable and more difficult to treat, due to the risk of side effects, therefore frailty should be taken into account in clinical decisions. Clinical trials addressing frailty could identify patients who are less likely to tolerate potentially toxic medications and might benefit from more conservative regimens. In conclusion, the implementation of the concept of frailty in rheumatology will allow a better understanding of the patient global health, a finest risk stratification and a more individualized management strategy

New secondary materials from recycled agricultural lastic films.

The extensive and expanding use of plastic material in the Italian agriculture for several diverse application results in increased accumulation of plastic waste in rural areas. The current practices adopted by Farmers consist, unfortunately, of a mismanagement of the plastic material that is abandoned or buried in open fields or burnt in a not controlled way, with heavy environmental consequences and a loss of material and energy. In the present paper, an analysis of the most technical efficient and economically feasible solutions for the management of agricultural plastic waste is given. These solutions represent main results of the European Project “Labelagriwaste” and they enable the analysis and planning of agricultural plastic waste fluxes, together with the possibility to investigate different development scenarios and to consider new planning strategies for the management of agricultural plastic waste