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Vertical farming is gaining popularity as a sustainable solution to global food demand, particularly in urban areas where space is limited. However, optimizing key factors such as planting density remains a critical issue, as it directly affects light interception, energy efficiency, and crop yield. Lettuce and basil, the most commonly grown crops in vertical farms, were chosen for this study, with the aim of addressing the impact of planting density on light interception and overall productivity for improving the performance and sustainability of vertical farming systems. Plants were grown in an ebb-and-flow system of a fully controlled experimental vertical farm, where light was provided by light-emitting diode fixtures delivering a photoperiod of 16 h d−1 and 200 µmol m−2 s−1 of photosynthetic photon flux density. Experimental treatments included three planting densities, namely 123 (low density, LD), 237 (medium density, MD), and 680 (high density, HD) plant m−2. At the final harvest (29 days after sowing), the adoption of the highest planting density (680 plant m−2) resulted in greater fresh yield (kg FW m−2), leaf area index (LAI, m2 m−2), light use efficiency (LUE, g DW mol−1) and light energy use efficiency (L-EUE, g FW kWh−1) for both lettuce (+207%, +227%, +142%, +206%, respectively), and basil (+312%, +316%, +291, +309%, respectively), as compared to the lowest density (123 plant m−2). However, the fresh and dry weights of the individual plants were lowered, probably as a result of the reduced light availability due to the highly dense plants’ canopy. Overall, these findings underscore the potential of increasing planting density in vertical farms to enhance yield and resource efficiency.

In Northern Europe, the use of light–emitting diodes (LEDs) is widely adopted in protected horticulture, enabling to enhance plant growth by ensuring needed radiative fluxes throughout seasons. Contrarily, the use of artificial lighting in Mediterranean greenhouse still finds limited applications. In this study, the effects of supplemental LED interlighting on vegetative development, fruit growth, yield, and fruit quality of high-wire tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum L. cv. ‘Siranzo’) during spring and summer season were addressed in a hydroponic greenhouse in Italy. Plants were either grown under natural solar radiation (control), or by adding supplemental LED interlighting. LED treatment featured red (R) and blue (B) light (RB ratio of 3) and a photosynthetic photon flux density of 170 µmol m−2 s−1 for 16 h d−1. Supplemental LED interlighting enhanced yield as a result of increased fruit weight and dimension. While no effects on soluble solids content and fruit color at harvesting were observed, supplemental LED interlighting accelerated ripening by one week in spring and two weeks in summer and this also resulted in increased cumulated productivity (+16%) as compared to control treatment. Overall, supplemental LED interlighting can represent a feasible technology for tomato greenhouse production also in the Mediterranean region.

Vertical farming is gaining popularity as a sustainable solution to global food demand, particularly in urban areas where space is limited. However, optimizing key factors such as planting density remains a critical issue, as it directly affects light interception, energy efficiency, and crop yield. Lettuce and basil, the most commonly grown crops in vertical farms, were chosen for this study, with the aim of addressing the impact of planting density on light interception and overall productivity for improving the performance and sustainability of vertical farming systems. Plants were grown in an ebb-and-flow system of a fully controlled experimental vertical farm, where light was provided by light-emitting diode fixtures delivering a photoperiod of 16 h d[sup.−1] and 200 µmol m[sup.−2] s[sup.−1] of photosynthetic photon flux density. Experimental treatments included three planting densities, namely 123 (low density, LD), 237 (medium density, MD), and 680 (high density, HD) plant m[sup.−2]. At the final harvest (29 days after sowing), the adoption of the highest planting density (680 plant m[sup.−2]) resulted in greater fresh yield (kg FW m[sup.−2]), leaf area index (LAI, m[sup.2] m[sup.−2]), light use efficiency (LUE, g DW mol[sup.−1]) and light energy use efficiency (L-EUE, g FW kWh[sup.−1]) for both lettuce (+207%, +227%, +142%, +206%, respectively), and basil (+312%, +316%, +291, +309%, respectively), as compared to the lowest density (123 plant m[sup.−2]). However, the fresh and dry weights of the individual plants were lowered, probably as a result of the reduced light availability due to the highly dense plants’ canopy. Overall, these findings underscore the potential of increasing planting density in vertical farms to enhance yield and resource efficiency.

Neuropathic pain is a chronic debilitating condition caused by injury or disease of the nerves of the somatosensory system. Although several therapeutic approaches are recommended, none has emerged as an optimal treatment leaving a need for developing more effective therapies. Given the small number of approved drugs and their limited clinical efficacy, combining drugs with different mechanisms of action is frequently used to yield greater efficacy. We demonstrate that the combination of trazodone, a multifunctional drug for the treatment of major depressive disorders, and gabapentin, a GABA analogue approved for neuropathic pain relief, results in a synergistic antinociceptive effect in the mice writhing test. To explore the potential relevance of this finding in chronic neuropathic pain, pharmacodynamic interactions between low doses of trazodone (0.3 mg/kg) and gabapentin (3 mg/kg) were evaluated in the chronic constriction injury (CCI) rat model, measuring the effects of the two drugs both on evoked and spontaneous nociception and on general well being components. Two innate behaviors, burrowing and nest building, were used to assess these aspects. Besides exerting a significant antinociceptive effect on hyperalgesia and on spontaneous pain, combined inactive doses of trazodone and gabapentin restored in CCI rats innate behaviors that are strongly reduced or even abolished during persistent nociception, suggesting that the combination may have an impact also on pain components different from somatosensory perception. Our results support the development of a trazodone and gabapentin low doses combination product for optimal multimodal analgesia treatment.

ObjectivesSystemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterised by multiorgan involvement. Osteoporosis and fragility fractures, particularly vertebral fractures, are significant, yet often underestimated, comorbidities in patients with SLE. This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of vertebral fractures and their associations with demographic, disease-related and therapy-related factors in patients with SLE.MethodsWe conducted a monocentric, cross-sectional study to systematically evaluate bone health using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and vertebral fracture assessment (VFA). Associations between vertebral fractures and clinical, laboratory variables were investigated with logistic and linear regressions.ResultsOne hundred and six patients with SLE were included. The overall prevalence of radiographic vertebral fractures was 21.7%, whereas clinical vertebral fractures were reported in 14.2% of patients. New, previously not diagnosed, radiographic vertebral fractures were detected in 14.2% of all patients with SLE at screening with VFA. Older age, longer disease duration, cumulative glucocorticoid (GC) dose and lower bone mineral density were significantly associated with vertebral fractures. Cumulative GC dose had the strongest association with vertebral fractures. We also found a positive association between the number of vertebral fractures on VFA and cumulative GC dose (β 0.025, p=0.025).ConclusionsOur findings underscore the importance of actively screening for vertebral fractures in patients with SLE, especially those on long-term GC therapy, to prevent underdiagnosis, mitigate the risk of further skeletal damage and facilitate the timely initiation of targeted antiosteoporotic treatments when indicated.Trial registration numberNCT05590390.

Osteoporosis is a diffuse skeletal disease in which a decrease in bone strength leads to an increased risk of fractures. A wide variety of types of bone densitometry measurements are available, including quantitative computed tomography measurements of the spine, quantitative ultrasound devices for measurements of the heel and other peripheral sites and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) for measurement of bone mineral density (BMD) at the lumbar spine, proximal femur, forearm and total body scans. Compared with alternative bone densitometry techniques, hip and spine DXA examinations have a number of advantages that include a consensus that BMD results can be interpreted using the World Health Organization T score definition of osteoporosis, a proven ability to predict fracture risk, proven effectiveness at targeting anti-fracture therapies, and the ability to monitor response to treatment. However, in recent years, the authors have raised some important questions about the objective limits of this method that have led to doubts about its effectiveness in terms of clinical outcome.

Knowledge about muon tomography has spread in recent years in the geoscientific community and several collaborations between geologists and physicists have been founded. As the data analysis is still mostly done by particle physicists, much of the know-how is concentrated in particle physics and specialised geophysics institutes. SMAUG (Simulation for Muons and their Applications UnderGround), a toolbox consisting of several modules that cover the various aspects of data analysis in a muon tomographic experiment, aims at providing access to a structured data analysis framework. The goal of this contribution is to make muon tomography more accessible to a broader geoscientific audience. In this study, we show how a comprehensive geophysical model can be built from basic physics equations. The emerging uncertainties are dealt with by a probabilistic formulation of the inverse problem, which is finally solved by a Monte Carlo Markov chain algorithm. Finally, we benchmark the SMAUG results against those of a recent study, which, however, have been established with an approach that is not easily accessible to the geoscientific community. We show that they reach identical results with the same level of accuracy and precision.

In recent years, the use of radiographic inspection with cosmic-ray muons has spread into multiple research and industrial fields. This technique is based on the high-penetration power of cosmogenic muons. Specifically, it allows the resolution of internal density structures of large-scale geological objects through precise measurements of the muon absorption rate. So far, in many previous works, this muon absorption rate has been considered to depend solely on the density of traversed material (under the assumption of a standard rock) but the variation in chemical composition has not been taken seriously into account. However, from our experience with muon tomography in Alpine environments, we find that this assumption causes a substantial bias in the muon flux calculation, particularly where the target consists of high Z2∕A rocks (like basalts and limestones) and where the material thickness exceeds 300 m. In this paper, we derive an energy loss equation for different minerals and we additionally derive a related equation for mineral assemblages that can be used for any rock type on which mineralogical data are available. Thus, for muon tomography experiments in which high Z2∕A rock thicknesses can be expected, it is advisable to plan an accompanying geological field campaign to determine a realistic rock model.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors, including ipilimumab (IPI), achieve a clinical benefit in a small proportion of melanoma patients highlighting the need to investigate predictive biomarkers. In this study, we characterized tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), focusing on the CTLA-4+ subset, and evaluated their possible predictive significance. We characterized TIL density, cell type, and localization in 40 melanoma lesions from 17 patients treated with IPI. Associations of TILs with IPI timing, tissue localization, and response to IPI were estimated using a linear mixed-effects modelling approach. We found that most of TIL subsets increased in situ upon IPI therapy, with particular reference to FoxP3+ cells. TILs and TIL subsets, such as CD3+, CD45RO+, CTLA-4+, CD4+, CD8+ T cells, CD20+ B cells, and NKp46+ NK cells, showed significantly different spatial distributions in the tumor microenvironment being higher at the invasive margin (IM) as compared to the tumor center (TC) (P value < 0.001 for TIL score and P value < 0.05 for all subsets). Remarkably, high TIL score and density of CD3+, CD8+ T cells, and CTLA-4+ immune cells were significantly associated with a better response to IPI (P values = 0.002, 0.023, 0.007, and 0.001, respectively, for responders vs non-responders). In conclusion, we provide a detailed analysis of CTLA-4+ TIL distribution in melanoma tissues taking into account localization, relationship with CD3+/CD8+ TILs, and changes in response to IPI treatment. We identified that CTLA-4+ TILs may represent a marker of IPI response, alone or with CD3+/CD8+ subsets, although this requires confirmation in larger studies.