NPY Levels In Type 1 Diabetic Men of Different Duration.

Background: The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether the different duration of type 1 diabetes mellitus influences basal NPY secretion. Design: The NPY concentrations were measured in sixty-eight men with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) (duration: group 1 (n.21) <5 years (range 2-4 years); group 2 (n.24) >5 years and <10 years (range: 6-9 years); group 3 (n.29) >10 years (range: 11-14 years)) and in age matched normal control subjects (n. 30). Results: The NPY levels were significantly lower in group 3 than in group 2 and 1 and in the control group, in group 2 than in group 1 and in the control group and in group 1 than control group. Conclusion: These results support the view that the duration of diabetes may have a modulatory role in the decreased basal NPY secretion observed in diabetics

Two years monitoring of soil N2O emissions on durum wheat in a Mediterranean area: the effect of tillage intensity and N-fertilizer rate

Two years monitoring of soil N2O emissions on durum wheat in a Mediterranean area: the effect of tillage intensity and N-fertilizer rate. EGU General Assembly 2016 Conference Abstracts, European Geophysical Unio

Carbon Budget of an Agroforestry System after Being Converted from a Poplar Short Rotation Coppice

Poplar (Populus L. spp.) Short Rotation Coppice systems (SRCs) for bioenergy production are being converted back to arable land. Transitioning to Alley Cropping Systems (ACSs) could be a suitable strategy for integrating former tree rows and arable crops. A field trial (Pisa, Central Italy) was set up with the aim of assessing the C storage of an ACS system based on hybrid poplar and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) and comparing it with that of an SRC cultivation system. The carbon budget at the agroecosystem scale was assessed in the first year of the transition using the net biome production (NBP) approach with a simplified method. The overall NBP for the SRC was positive (96 40 g C m2 year1), highlighting that the system was a net carbon sink (i.e., NBP > 0). However, the ACS registered a net C loss (i.e., NBP < 0), since the NBP was 93 56 g C m2 year1. In the first year of the transition, converting the SRC into an ACS counteracted the potential beneficial eect of C storage in tree belowground biomass due to the high heterotrophic respiration rate recorded in the ACS, which was fostered by the incorporation of residues and tillage disturbance in the alley. Additional years of heterotrophic respiration measurements could allow for an estimate of the speed and extent of C losses

Carbon Budget of an Agroforestry System after Being Converted from a Poplar Short Rotation Coppice

Poplar (Populus L. spp.) Short Rotation Coppice systems (SRCs) for bioenergy production are being converted back to arable land. Transitioning to Alley Cropping Systems (ACSs) could be a suitable strategy for integrating former tree rows and arable crops. A field trial (Pisa, Central Italy) was set up with the aim of assessing the C storage of an ACS system based on hybrid poplar and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) and comparing it with that of an SRC cultivation system. The carbon budget at the agroecosystem scale was assessed in the first year of the transition using the net biome production (NBP) approach with a simplified method. The overall NBP for the SRC was positive (96 ± 40 g C m−2 year−1), highlighting that the system was a net carbon sink (i.e., NBP > 0). However, the ACS registered a net C loss (i.e., NBP < 0), since the NBP was −93 ± 56 g C m−2 year−1. In the first year of the transition, converting the SRC into an ACS counteracted the potential beneficial effect of C storage in tree belowground biomass due to the high heterotrophic respiration rate recorded in the ACS, which was fostered by the incorporation of residues and tillage disturbance in the alley. Additional years of heterotrophic respiration measurements could allow for an estimate of the speed and extent of C losses

LIFE+IPNOA mobile prototype for the monitoring of soil N2O emissions from arable crops: First-year results on durum wheat

Agricultural activities are co-responsible for the emission of the most important greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). Development of methodologies to improve monitoring techniques for N2O are still needful. The LIFE+IPNOA project aims to improve the emissions monitoring of nitrous oxide from agricultural soils and to identify the agricultural practices that can limit N2O production. In order to achieve this objective, both a mobile and a stationary instrument were developed and validated. Several experimental field trials were set up in two different sites investigating the most representative crops of Tuscany (CentralItaly), namely durum wheat, maize, sunflower, tomato and faba bean. The field trials were realized in order to test the effect on N2O emissions of key factors: tillage intensity, nitrogen fertiliser rate and irrigation. The field trial on durum wheat was set up in 2013 to test the effect of tillage intensity (minimum and conventional tillage) and nitrogen fertilisation rate (0, 110, 170 kg N ha–1) on soil N2O flux. Monitoring was carried out using the IPNOA mobile prototype. Preliminary results on N2O emissions for the durum wheat growing season showed that mean daily N2O fluxes ranged from –0.13 to 6.43 mg m–2 day–1 and cumulative N2O-N emissions over the period ranged from 827 to 2340 g N2O-N ha–1. Tillage did not affect N2O flux while increasing nitrogen fertilisation rate resulted to significantly increase N2O emissions. The IPNOA mobile prototype performed well during this first year of monitoring, allowing to catch both very low fluxes and peaks on N2O emissions after nitrogen supply, showing a good suitability to the field conditions

Evidence for a Prehypertensive Water Dysregulation Affecting the Development of Hypertension: Results of Very Early Treatment of Vasopressin V1 and V2 Antagonism in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

In addition to long-term regulation of blood pressure (BP), in the kidney resides the initial trigger for hypertension development due to an altered capacity to excrete sodium and water. Betaine is one of the major organic osmolytes, and its betaine/gamma-aminobutyric acid transporter (BGT-1) expression in the renal medulla relates to interstitial tonicity and urinary osmolality and volume. This study investigated altered water and sodium balance as well as changes in antidiuretic hormone (ADH) activity in female spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) and normotensive Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats from their 3-5 weeks of age (prehypertensive phase) to SHR's 28-30 weeks of age (established hypertension-organ damage). Young prehypertensive SHRs showed a reduced daily urine output, an elevated urine osmolarity, and higher immunostaining of tubule BGT-1, alpha-1-Na-K ATPase in the outer medulla vs. age-matched WKY. ADH circulating levels were not different between young prehypertensive SHR and WKY, but the urine aquaporin2 (AQP2)/creatinine ratio and labeling of AQP2 in the collecting duct were increased. At 28-30 weeks, hypertensive SHR with moderate renal failure did not show any difference in urinary osmolarity, urine AQP2/creatinine ratio, tubule BGT-1, and alpha-1-Na-K ATPase as compared with WKY. These results suggest an increased sensitivity to ADH in prehypertensive female SHR. On this basis, a second series of experiments were set to study the role of ADH V1 and V2 receptors in the development of hypertension, and a group of female prehypertensive SHRs were treated from the 25th to 49th day of age with either V1 (OPC21268) or V2 (OPC 41061) receptor antagonists to evaluate the BP time course. OPC 41061-treated SHRs had a delayed development of hypertension for 5 weeks without effect in OPC 21268-treated SHRs. In prehypertensive female SHR, an increased renal ADH sensitivity is crucial for the development of hypertension by favoring a positive water balance. Early treatment with selective V2 antagonism delays future hypertension development in young SHRs