Soil Erosion Aspects in Agricultural Ecosystem

Agricultural activities have an important role in the primary sector of Italian economy. Within the present work, insert in a book dealing with the aspect related to soil erosion in agriculture, vineyard have been studied with the aim to analyze the effects caused by the intense cultivation practices, evaluating the annual soil loss and the management methodologies causing an increase or decrease of erosion phenomenon. The studies have been focused on the North-West Italy, in Monferrato area

Combined Large Cell Neuroendocrine Carcinomas of the Lung: Integrative Molecular Analysis Identifies Subtypes with Potential Therapeutic Implications

Combined large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (CoLCNEC) is given by the association of LCNEC with adeno or squamous or any non-neuroendocrine carcinoma. Molecular bases of CoLCNEC pathogenesis are scant and no standardized therapies are defined

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

Development of a criterion for hydraulic and ecological analysis for Orco stream, Piedmont region, Italy

The European Water Framework Directive (WFD), adopted in 2000, introduced the new European Water policy to respect the increasing demand by citizens and environmental organizations for cleaner rivers and lakes, groundwater and coastal beaches; the most important purpose of the new European Water Directive is to purify the polluted water and to keep it clean. Consequently, after its introduction all the Member States of the European Community had to emanate new rules and laws in order to apply the European directives. One of the approaches used to reach the water quality goals, enunciated in the WFD, involves the water and sediment management.This method has been applied within the Italian land through a case study in Piedmont: the Orco streams.This torrent is a tributary of Po River. In 2001, after the approving of two regional decisions, some actions have been realized for the water and sediment management of the tributary, starting from the study of Orco stream. Nowadays the scientific com- munity believes that a high level of the hydraulic and ecological aspects can be guaranteed only by the high quality of the river.This paper describes a methodology to study both the morphological and hydrological evolution of the river and their influence on the ecological quality, collecting all the historical information about the case study.The targets of the study will be reached through two steps: 1) the hydraulic and hydro-morphological analysis of Orco stream to define the bed and sediment river evolution; 2) the ecological analysis to identify the status of the numerous ecosy- stems present in the stream, using existent indices, and developing a new approach based on the information already existent. The first aim has been achieved using numerical and geometrical bed model, the second one through the elaboration of some indices as: SE (ecological status), SA (environmental status) and PA (anthropic pressure). All of these have been evaluated starting from the literature data, available from past and recent investigations in and around the Orco stream

Development of a criterion for hydraulic and ecological analysis for Orco stream, Piedmont region, Italy

The European Water Framework Directive (WFD), adopted in 2000, introduced the new European Water policy to respect the increasing demand by citizens and environmental organizations for cleaner rivers and lakes, groundwater and coastal beaches; the most important purpose of the new European Water Directive is to purify the polluted water and to keep it clean. Consequently, after its introduction all the Member States of the European Community had to emanate new rules and laws in order to apply the European directives. One of the approaches used to reach the water quality goals, enunciated in the WFD, involves the water and sediment management.This method has been applied within the Italian land through a case study in Piedmont: the Orco streams.This torrent is a tributary of Po River. In 2001, after the approving of two regional decisions, some actions have been realized for the water and sediment management of the tributary, starting from the study of Orco stream. Nowadays the scientific com- munity believes that a high level of the hydraulic and ecological aspects can be guaranteed only by the high quality of the river.This paper describes a methodology to study both the morphological and hydrological evolution of the river and their influence on the ecological quality, collecting all the historical information about the case study.The targets of the study will be reached through two steps: 1) the hydraulic and hydro-morphological analysis of Orco stream to define the bed and sediment river evolution; 2) the ecological analysis to identify the status of the numerous ecosy- stems present in the stream, using existent indices, and developing a new approach based on the information already existent. The first aim has been achieved using numerical and geometrical bed model, the second one through the elaboration of some indices as: SE (ecological status), SA (environmental status) and PA (anthropic pressure). All of these have been evaluated starting from the literature data, available from past and recent investigations in and around the Orco strea

Fisiologia vegetale applicata

Le piante sono organismi affascinanti in grado di percepire prontamente stimoli endogeni ed ambientali, integrarli e reagire con una rete complessa di risposte fisiologiche. Il concepimento di metodiche innovative di laboratorio \ue8 fondamentale per migliorare la conoscenza di questi processi e ideare strategie utili in molteplici settori, come la moderna agricoltura sostenibile e la bioenergia. FISIOLOGIA VEGETALE APPLICATA a cura di Vincenzo Lionetti e Daniela Bellincampi, forti della loro lunga esperienza in campo didattico, sono riusciti a scrivere un testo che sar\ue0 di grande aiuto agli studenti e, perch\ue9 no, anche a curiosi e appassionati, per l\u2019attivit\ue0 pratica di ricerca in laboratorio e per approfondire le procedure analitiche alla base degli studi attuali pi\uf9 rilevanti nel campo della Fisiologia vegetale, curando vari aspetti come la biologia cellulare, la biologia molecolare, la biochimica, l\u2019elettrofisiologia, l\u2019ingegneria genetica e varie applicazioni biotecnologiche. I contenuti sono stati adeguati alle esigenze dei recenti ordinamenti didattici dei corsi di laurea in Scienze biologiche, in Biotecnologie e in Agraria

Characterization of two transcriptomic subtypes of marker-null large cell carcinoma of the lung suggests different origin and potential new therapeutic perspectives

: Pulmonary large cell carcinoma (LCC) is an undifferentiated neoplasm lacking morphological, histochemical, and immunohistochemical features of small cell lung cancer, adenocarcinoma (ADC), or squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). The available molecular information on this rare disease is limited. This study aimed to provide an integrated molecular overview of 16 cases evaluating the mutational asset of 409 genes and the transcriptomic profiles of 20,815 genes. Our data showed that TP53 was the most frequently inactivated gene (15/16; 93.7%) followed by RB1 (5/16; 31.3%) and KEAP1 (4/16; 25%), while CRKL and MYB genes were each amplified in 4/16 (25%) cases and MYC in 3/16 (18.8%) cases; transcriptomic analysis identified two molecular subtypes including a Pure-LCC and an adenocarcinoma like-LCC (ADLike-LCC) characterized by different activated pathways and cell of origin. In the Pure-LCC group, POU2F3 and FOXI1 were distinctive overexpressed markers. A tuft cell-like profile and the enrichment of a replication stress signature, particularly involving ATR, was related to this profile. Differently, the ADLike-LCC were characterized by an alveolar-cell transcriptomic profile and association with AIM2 inflammasome complex signature. In conclusion, our study split the histological marker-null LCC into two different transcriptomic entities, with POU2F3, FOXI1, and AIM2 genes as differential expression markers that might be probed by immunohistochemistry for the differential diagnosis between Pure-LCC and ADLike-LCC. Finally, the identification of several signatures linked to replication stress in Pure-LCC and inflammasome complex in ADLike-LCC could be useful for designing new potential therapeutic approaches for these subtypes