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The low gene manipulation efficiency of human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPC) remains a major hurdle for sustainable and broad clinical application of innovative therapies for a wide range of disorders. Given that all current and emerging gene transfer and editing technologies are bound to expose HSPC to exogenous nucleic acids and most often also to viral vectors, we reason that host antiviral factors and nucleic acid sensors play a pivotal role in the efficacy of HSPC genetic manipulation. Here, we review recent progress in our understanding of vector–host interactions and innate immunity in HSPC upon gene engineering and discuss how dissecting this crosstalk can guide the development of more stealth and efficient gene therapy approaches in the future.

Italy’s rural areas provide significant tourism opportunities which support local economies and sustainable development. This study examines the impact of socio-economic, technological, natural–ecological, and political–legal factors on rural tourism across Italy’s 21 regions. Using statistical data and correlation analysis, five macro factors were evaluated to determine their influence on the prevalence of agritourism as a measure of rural tourism development. The methodology involved a correlation analysis, including the assessment of bivariate relationships between variables, supported by robust statistical tests to ensure reliability. Key findings indicate that technological advancements, particularly in farm digitalization and innovation, are closely associated with rural tourism growth, alongside factors like regional GDP and natural–ecological resources. The study reveals that higher levels of farmer education and rich ecological and cultural assets within regions also positively impact rural tourism. These insights provide valuable guidance for policymakers and stakeholders in formulating strategies that promote rural tourism and regional development, emphasizing digitalization, ecological preservation, and education. This research extends our understanding of the factors driving rural tourism in Italy, offering a basis for targeted interventions that enhance economic resilience and support sustainable tourism in rural areas.

Traditional rural landscapes are multifunctional systems that represent examples of sustainable rural practices and development. This study developed a methodological framework for their identification at the national scale, based on high-resolution spatial analyses of different indicators of environmental, cultural, and socio-economic types. The methodology has been applied to the entire territory of China and then validated. Results demonstrate that China has a great potential regarding the presence of traditional landscapes. Traditional agricultural landscapes are more common in the east, scattered among intensive agricultural systems. Hotspots for traditional forest landscapes are located in Northeastern China and in the south. Traditional pastoral landscapes are instead related to extensive grazing and to sparsely populated areas. The strong correlation between the results of this study and the spatial distribution of the 188 NIAHS demonstrate the validity and reliability of the proposed methodological framework. This study provides high-resolution spatial data that can be used by different stakeholders involved in landscape management, conservation, and valorisation. The proposed framework can also be replicated and tested in different countries, for the development of national identification and conservation programmes, or for the selection of traditional cultural landscapes to be proposed for international programmes, such as the FAO GIAHS (Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems) Programme, or the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Oases are receiving particular attention for their capacity to provide different ecosystem services, and as examples of adaptation and resilience in the context of climate change. A 2025 study focusing on the global distribution of oases has been published by Hernández-Agüero et al. (DOI 10.7717/peerj.18884 ) reporting quantitative and spatial data about the global distribution of oases. An in-depth review of this global oases mapping found significantly inconsistent data with the risk of misinforming the scientific community and other relevant stakeholders about the global distribution of oases. The main critical issues are related to: (i) the oasis definition, (ii) not distinguishing between traditional and modern oases, (iii) methodological inconsistencies in the performed spatial analysis, and inadequate spatial resolution. While most common definitions of oases agree regarding the key role of (traditional) agricultural activities and practices for the oases’ origin, shaping, and preservation, the Hernández-Agüero et al. global oases mapping includes among the oases large portions of areas only characterized by natural vegetation of different types in arid areas. In addition, the global oases mapping includes intensive and, in the long term, unsustainable cultivations, and even urban areas. Traditional oases should be considered separately from intensive cultivation systems in arid areas, as only traditional oases are strictly related to high levels of agrobiodiversity, cultural values, traditional ecological knowledge, cultural landscapes, and sustainability. Oases, especially traditional ones, are characterized by different and complex characteristics with local high variability in terms of cultivated varieties, vertical and horizontal structure, and complexity of the landscape mosaic structure. An inaccurate mapping, together with the absence of a differentiation between modern and traditional oases, can lead to a misallocation of conservation resources or to misguided policy strategies. More research and training of automatic classification at a local/national level are needed due to the local/regional pattern variability, while the development of a shared oasis definition is essential for studies related to their mapping and knowledge, as well as for an effective strategy for the protection of these agroecosystems with important ecological and cultural values.

Although urban freight transportation is crucial to address societal demands, it also has a major negative impact on the environment, the economy, and society. Then, the growing interest in promoting more sustainable and liveable cities is pushing to point out more in depth the role of urban goods movements within the planning process, as well as city administrators to implement new sustainable city logistics actions/policies/measures. Therefore, after a brief overview, the study presents more advanced techniques (models and methodologies) to help in the assessment of planning scenario. This paper concentrates on the importance of urban freight transport and logistics. Then, technical and logistics actions are outlined, and future last‐mile delivery challenges are discussed. The main objective is to support urban planners, on a strategic and tactical scale, in obtaining an overview of urban freight transport systems that point out the challenges for implementing sustainable city logistics scenarios. It is also of interest to technicians because they can identify the most suitable methodologies, as well as the features that they need for selecting and assessing ex ante the effects of city logistics measures. This work is useful for researchers in various sectors because it allows them to formalise and then to solve the problems for simulating the complex system of urban goods movements where there are different actors with own interests that are conflicting.

Since the 1970s, the issue of ageing farmers and generational renewal in agriculture has consistently attracted the attention of policymakers. However, despite successive reforms of the European Union Structural Funds, efforts to encourage young people to enter the agricultural sector remain largely focused on agricultural and rural policies, specifically on the First Settlement scheme. This paper highlights the role of the European Union’s rural development policy in supporting and encouraging generational renewal in agriculture. A qualitative analysis of the Italian case examining some of the demographic changes that have occurred within the agricultural system at the regional level has been conducted. The analysis is based on the comparison of policy implementations in different programming periods. Using data from the General Censuses of Agriculture and the Italian Agricultural Payments Agency—supplemented by the Annual Implementation Reports of the Italian Rural Development Programmes—the research traces the evolution of initiatives supporting young farmers. The main findings reveal a notable decline in the number of young people in the primary sector over the last decade, together with an ageing population of agricultural farmers. Measures to support young farmers under the Common Agricultural Policy appear to be ineffective in countering the ageing trend. There is scope for integrated policies to enhance the attractiveness and profitability of rural areas and to ensure long-term sustainable generational renewal in the agricultural sector.

Small woods, linear tree formations, or scattered trees in agricultural areas are receiving increasing attention for their multifunctional role, especially if associated to cultural landscapes. Osaki Kodo’s Traditional Water Management System for Sustainable Paddy Agriculture represents one of the most important cultural landscapes (satoyama) of Japan, also included by the FAO in the GIAHS (Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems) Programme. Here, local farmers surrounded their farmhouses with small woods, called igune, as a protection from the cold winter wind, creating a peculiar landscape characterized by an intensively cultivated plain dotted with small wood patches. The research aims at deepening the knowledge of igune, evaluating the landscape role and monitoring their changes in the last 20 years, through multitemporal and spatial analyses. In addition, a literature review has been performed to assess other Ecosystem Services (ESs) provided by igune within the study area. Despite the limited overall surface, 1737 igune and small woods currently characterize the area, with 72% of them having a surface smaller than 0.5 hectares. The multitemporal and spatial analyses show that their number, distribution, and spatial pattern remained almost completely unchanged in the last 20 years, testifying their key role in characterizing the local cultural landscape. Least-Cost Path analysis highlighted a crucial role in connecting the two forest nodes of the region, as 90% of the path passes inside more than 70 different igune and small woods. Literature review demonstrated that igune and other small woods still provide various ESs, including ecological network, habitat for various flora and fauna species, firewood, and byproducts, as well as cultural services. This maintenance of the traditional management in cultural forests is crucial not only to retain their landscape role, but mostly for the preservation of the related ESs, as changes in the management can lead to changes in horizontal and vertical structures, and in species composition.

This study comprises a systematic literature review of 68 articles published between 2010 and 2024, identifying and coherently grouping the wine tourism sector’s adoption of technological innovation practices. The articles were analyzed using a framework developed from the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). The selection criteria included peer-reviewed, full-length articles in English emphasizing technological innovations in the wine tourism sector. The results highlight several key trends in technological innovation applied to wine tourism. The innovations were categorized into five areas: digital marketing and promotion, sustainability and innovation, immersive technologies (AR/VR), e-commerce and distribution models, and smart technologies for winery management. The review reveals a growing interest in digital marketing and immersive technologies in promoting wine tourism through digital platforms and creating engaging tourist experiences through virtual and augmented reality. The review focuses only on peer-reviewed studies published in English, which may limit its global scope. Books and non-peer-reviewed articles may have introduced further developments in technological innovation that are not captured in this review. This study is a post-COVID-19 review of technological innovation in wine tourism. The findings provide significant implications for researchers and policymakers, suggesting future research areas and offering insights on how public funds can support wine tourism’s digital transformation and sustainability

Context Cycling is a climate-friendly means of transport that enables people to reduce their use of motorized transport and makes human settlements more inclusive and resilient. In Italy, the development of cycling has recently been boosted by the approval of Law no. 2/2018, which makes it compulsory for all Italian regions to draw up a regional cycling mobility plan. Objective To meet this regulatory provision, the Region of Sardinia approved the Regional Plan for Cycling Mobility in December 2018. Drawn up by the Sardinian Regional Transport Agency and the transportation research group of the University of Cagliari, the plan aims to lay out a regional cycle network to promote the use of the bicycle as a means of transport for both every day and tourist–recreational needs. One of the main objectives of the plan is to make the inland areas of the island more accessible, as the development of such areas tends to have been neglected compared to the coastal areas linked to seaside tourism. Hence, the plan intends to contribute to the increase of tourist flows into rural areas, which can be a strategic segment of local development. Results By analysing the methodology adopted to lay out Sardinia’s regional cycle network, the aim of the current paper is to show how the planning of an integrated cycle network in an island context can improve sustainable mobility and accessibility in the rural areas through which it passes. Furthermore, our analysis indicates that many rural settlements along the routes of the planned cycle network are sufficiently near each other for people to travel between them by bicycle. Conclusions Therefore, the cycling infrastructure could prompt a sustainable increase in the accessibility and connectivity of inland areas and stimulate the formation of clusters of small, interconnected towns and villages.

Clinical application of lentiviral vector (LV)‐based hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPC) gene therapy is rapidly becoming a reality. Nevertheless, LV‐mediated signaling and its potential functional consequences on HSPC biology remain poorly understood. We unravel here a remarkably limited impact of LV on the HSPC transcriptional landscape. LV escaped innate immune sensing that instead led to robust IFN responses upon transduction with a gamma‐retroviral vector. However, reverse‐transcribed LV DNA did trigger p53 signaling, activated also by non‐integrating Adeno‐associated vector, ultimately leading to lower cell recovery ex vivo and engraftment in vivo . These effects were more pronounced in the short‐term repopulating cells while long‐term HSC frequencies remained unaffected. Blocking LV‐induced signaling partially rescued both apoptosis and engraftment, highlighting a novel strategy to further dampen the impact of ex vivo gene transfer on HSPC. Overall, our results shed light on viral vector sensing in HSPC and provide critical insight for the development of more stealth gene therapy strategies. Synopsis Lentiviral (LV) gene therapy vectors escape innate sensing but trigger p53 signaling in human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPC), ultimately leading to lower engraftment of short‐term repopulating cells. LV transduction remains remarkably stealth in human HSPC, avoiding innate immune activation but triggering p53 signaling in human HSPC. p53 signaling occurs upon ATM‐dependent nuclear sensing of vector DNA (LV, IDLV, AAV) independently of integration into the host genome. Vector‐mediated activation of p53 leads to cell cycle arrest and apoptosis ex vivo ultimately leading to lower engraftment of short‐term HSPC in vivo . Inhibition of LV‐signaling rescues ex vivo apoptosis and early engraftment of human HSPC. Graphical Abstract Lentiviral (LV) gene therapy vectors escape innate sensing but trigger p53 signaling in human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPC), ultimately leading to lower engraftment of short‐term repopulating cells.