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Piante, animali e societa' : l’America precolombiana e l’agricoltura europea
No full textLa domesticazione di piante e animali nell’America precolombiana rappresenta uno dei processi più rilevanti della storia umana, non solo per le società che la svilupparono, ma anche per gli effetti profondi e duraturi esercitati sugli equilibri agricoli, economici e sociali di altre aree del mondo.
Questo volume raccoglie i contributi del convegno dedicato all’agricoltura americana precolombiana, affrontando il tema da una prospettiva interdisciplinare che integra archeologia, genetica, agronomia, zootecnia, storia economica e divulgazione museale.
Attraverso l’analisi dei centri di domesticazione, di casi emblematici come mais, patata e camelidi sudamericani, e dello scambio biologico e culturale innescato dopo il contatto tra Vecchio e Nuovo Mondo, gli Atti ricostruiscono la complessità dei processi che hanno plasmato l’agricoltura globale
Dietary patterns and change in food consumption in overweight or obese breast cancer survivors: the InForma randomized intervention trial
No full textBackground and aims: InForma is a randomized controlled trial designed to promote weight loss in overweight or obese breast cancer survivors by encouraging adherence to a healthy diet and/or increased physical activity. This secondary analysis evaluated its effects on dietary patterns, nutrients and food groups intake, over a two-year period. Methods and results: 260 breast cancer survivors with a BMI ≥25 kg/m2 were randomized into four arms: Dietary Intervention (DI), Physical Activity Intervention (PAI), Physical Activity and Dietary Intervention (PADI), and Minimal Intervention (MI). Participants were followed for 24 months and dietary intake and adherence to the Mediterranean diet were assessed throughout validated questionnaires (EPIC-FFQ, QueMD). Principal component analysis identified three baseline dietary patterns explaining 33.6 % of the variance: MEDITERRANEAN loaded heavily on “olive oil” and “vegetables”; SWEET on “cake, sweets”; and WESTERN on “red, processed meat”. Dietary factors contributing predominantly to each pattern decreased over follow-up visits, indicating an overall reduction in food consumption. Enrollment in DI and PADI arms compared to MI arm and being ≥60 years compared to <50 years, significantly predicted weight loss >5 %. Significant nutrient and energy intake reductions were observed, particularly at 6 months. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet improved in the whole study population, with no differences between intervention arms. Conclusion: A lifestyle intervention can promote significant reductions in energy and nutrient intake, and modifications in dietary patterns. This study provides new insights into the effectiveness of personalized lifestyle interventions in promoting long-term dietary changes among breast cancer survivors. Trial registration: ISRCTN53325751; ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02622711
Verso un neocentralismo del tempo di lavoro? Potenzialità e limiti della contrattazione collettiva
No full text
Status and perspectives for rice irrigation in the Mediterranean Basin
No full textRice is cultivated on approximately 1,000,000 ha in the Mediterranean area, with production concentrated in Egypt, Italy, Türkiye, Spain, Grece and Portugal. In these areas, rice is traditionally established by wet seeding and cultivated under continuous flooding (WFL), which requires larger volumes of water compared to other irrigation practices. The aim of this study is to benchmark irrigation methods alternative to WFL across sites representative of the rice agro-ecosystems producing areas of 5 of the main rice-producing countries. For each site, WFL and one or more alternative methods, selected and adapted to site-specific conditions, were implemented and monitored for at least two years. The alternative methods included: alternate wetting and drying (AWD), dry seeding and delayed flooding (DFL), water input/output reduction (WIR), hybrid irrigation (HYBRID), sprinkler irrigation (SPRINKLER), surface drip irrigation (DRIP), and subsurface drip irrigation (SDI). The results suggest that AWD, DFL and WIR, which are easy-to-implement flooding techniques, increase water productivity (WP) and preserve yield production. Both SPRINKLER and HYBRID showed a higher increase in WP (by about 50%) while maintaining or even increasing yield production, but at the cost of changes in irrigation management and investments for equipment purchases (limited in the case of HYBRID and greater for SPRINKLER). DRIP and SDI increasing WP by more than 100% but, sometimes, yield was significantly reduced. Additionally, pressurized irrigation methods, and especially DRIP and SDI, showed the need for careful consideration of site conditions (during system design and management) to avoid yield losses
MAPPING GENOMIC VARIANTS ASSOCIATED WITH FUNCTIONAL AND HEALTH TRAITS IN DAIRY CATTLE POPULATION
No full textThis thesis aimed to integrate high-resolution genomic data with longitudinal
phenotypes collected through Automatic Milking Systems (AMS). The objective
was to investigate genetic variability, resilience, and udder health in Holstein dairy
cattle. By combining genomic tools, sensor-derived time series, and veterinary
treatment records, the study provides a multidimensional view of animal
functionality under real farming conditions. The first chapter, “Genetic variability
in dairy cattle”
, studied the genetic diversity of Holsteins bred in seven dairy farms
in the Lombardy region through Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNP), Runs of
Homozygosity (ROH) and Copy Number Variants (CNVs). The results revealed
that intensive selection for milk yield, applied to Holstein cattle during the first
decades of the 20th century, strongly shaped the genome of the breed. This process
reduced variability in some regions while increasing the frequency of alleles linked
to production. CNVs overlapping with genes involved in immunity and fertility
suggested a role in adaptation. Within this chapter, these findings were presented
in two published articles, providing the genetic background of the animals under
study. The second chapter, “Resilience”, addressed resilience using daily AMS data
and statistical models to estimate expected lactation curves and calculate resilience
indicators. Four indicators were evaluated: variance of milk yield deviations
(LnVar), autocorrelation of residuals (rauto), frequency of perturbations (wfPert),
and total milk loss (dPert). Analysis of nearly 600,000 daily records showed that
older cows displayed greater variability and more frequent perturbations, while the
capacity to recover (rauto) remained constant. Genome-wide analyses based on
these indicators identified genes related to immune function, metabolism, and tissue
integrity, confirming the complex biological nature of resilience. The third chapter,
presented as a dedicated article, explores a novel approach that integrates AMS-
derived perturbations with veterinary treatment records, thereby incorporating
health information into resilience phenotyping. Deviations in milk yield were
quantified as perturbation events described by duration, slopes of decline and
recovery, and area of loss. Cows were classified into immunological susceptibility
groups according to the temporal relationship between veterinary treatments and
perturbations. This classification revealed clear differences in resilience indicators
across categories. By aligning perturbation profiles with treatment timing (before,
during, or after perturbations), the study showed that interventions significantly
influenced both the severity of production losses and the trajectories of recovery.
The fourth chapter, “Mastitis susceptibility/resistance in Holstein cows”, focused
on one of the more expensive diseases in dairy farming. Somatic cell count (SCC)
and antibiotic treatments were used as a unique phenotype to map QTL linked to
mastitis resistance, highlighting genomic regions associated with immune response
and udder integrity. By combining SCC data with antibiotic treatments, the study
provided a more comprehensive understanding of susceptibility and resistance to
mastitis.
Overall, this thesis demonstrates that resilience can be assessed in practice using
AMS-derived phenotypes, reflects a partly poligenic genetic basis, and shows a
close association with health events. The integration of genomic information with
longitudinal data allow to identify animals that not only achieve high productivity
but also cope better with stress and recover more quickly, with important
implications for reducing antibiotic use, improving animal welfare, and enhancing
the sustainability of dairy farming. In summary, the results show that combining
genomic tools such as SNP, CNVs, and ROH with dynamic phenotypes derived
from AMS provides new opportunities to select cows that are productive, healthy,
and resilient
Benchmarking the real-world transplant benefit in unresectable colorectal liver metastases: A preliminary external validity assessment of the TransMet trial
No full textLiver transplantation (LT) for unresectable colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) has regained interest after the TransMet trial, which reported 5-year survival exceeding 70%. However, estimates of transplant benefit (TB) are lacking. This study provides a first external validity assessment of the TransMet criteria and estimates the 5-year TB using a real-world international cohort. A retrospective multicenter study included 61 TransMet-eligible patients with unresectable CRLM who underwent LT between 2006 and 2020 across seven centers. Matching-adjusted indirect comparisons were used to improve comparability, with sensitivity analyses on effective sample size. Survival was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier curves and restricted mean survival time up to 5 years. Weighted multivariable Cox regressions were employed to assess prognostic factors after transplantation. The 5-year restricted mean survival time was identical in the weighted cohort (effective sample size=19) and the TransMet LT arm (51.0 mo). Sensitivity analysis yielded a 5-year restricted mean survival time consistent with residual imbalance (48.2 mo, ESS=35). KRAS mutation (HR: 5.90, 95% CI: 1.89-18.4), right-sided primary tumor (HR: 4.17, 95% CI: 1.40-12.4), and female sex (HR: 5.73, 95% CI: 1.04-31.6) were associated with poorer survival; CEA≥80 ng/mL emerged as a potential prognostic factor (HR: 6.3, 95% CI: 1.73-22.6) across alternative specifications. The estimated 5-year TB of LT versus chemotherapy was 22.5 months (95% CI: 15.5-29.6). The findings of this first real-world assessment of the TransMet trial criteria and 5-year TB estimation in unresectable CRLM point to reasonable prognostic candidates and support evaluating the inclusion of CRLM in LT allocation models. We advocate expanded multicenter data to reach sufficient prognostic stratification through well-calibrated, highly discriminative studies
Bone Healing After Tooth Extraction in a Patient on Oral Bisphosphonates: A Case Report
No full textBackground: The present case report study aims to describe, from both clinical and
histological aspects, the bone healing pattern in a patient under oral bisphosphonates
therapy. Case Presentation: an 82-year-old female patient has been under oral nitrogen bisphosphonates therapy for two years. She underwent a tooth extraction. After
four months, two bone biopsies were harvested, during standard implant drilling procedures. The first one corresponded to the healed alveolar socket of the previously extracted tooth (specimen A), while the second one corresponded to the bone ridge that
was edentulous before starting the bisphosphonates therapy (specimen B). Morphometric
and histologic analyses were performed. Results: In both, the bone resulted vital and no
evidence of empty lacunae was detected. A reduction in the haversian canal diameter was
observed in specimen B. The present case report highlights histological findings suggesting
that patients undergoing oral bisphosphonates therapy may be eligible for surgical therapy.
A pre-operative careful anamnesis and the observance of international guidelines for treating patients taking bisphosphonates are mandatory. Conclusions: These preliminary
results will be used to plan a large clinical study in order to better understand the influence
of bisphosphonates on the bone healing process
Madius (Genova 1216-1217)
No full textEdizione critica dei frammenti del notaio genovese Madius degli anni 1216-1217