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Phytothermotherapy ("grass baths") is a traditional phytotherapy for rheumatism consisting of taking baths in hot fermenting grass. Scientific studies have demonstrated its efficiency in treating several rheumatic diseases. However the efficiency and repeatability of the therapy is dependent on the wild fermentations, determining sometimes the appearance of unpleasant conditions leading to the early abandonment of the therapy. The metabolism undergoing in the grass baths is unknown and there is not an established method to evaluate and predict grass baths quality. The aim of this study is to establish a simple VOCs profiling method able to evaluate the grass baths, predicting their evolution, through the identification of marker volatiles related to the best conditions and/or the spoilage. After replicating in real scale the traditional grass baths, the volatile profiles were measured using passive diffusion samplers injected in a thermal desorption-comprehensive GC × GC-TOF-MS. The high dimensionality of the data coupled with the limited number of time points, required a rigorous method development for the analysis of the data, achieved through the development of a novel R package for variable selection in GC × GC data matrices. The further application of a fuzzy clustering approach demonstrated to be a useful tool dealing with short time series, allowing to discard un-trending volatiles and giving a clear snapshot of the main trends in the data. A broad coverage of the volatolome was provided, thus suitable to describe the main metabolic changes ongoing in the grass baths. Coupling this data with the temperature and pH, and comparing it to the data from similar processes, like silage and compost, we demonstrated that the established method can be helpful to evaluate short time series, allowing us to obtain a list of volatiles as candidate markers for the quality of the grass baths. The established method gave a list of markers applicable to real scale grass baths to predict spoilage; furthermore it provides a list of volatiles where to search for candidate markers with reported health-related effects and can be used to generate hypothesis on the mechanisms of action of the treatment.

Present work identify the relations between the distribution of some species of bryophytes and the principal mesoclimatic gradients along the north-south section of the Adige Valley between the border of Veneto—Trentino Alto Adige and the entrance to the Venosta Valley. The correlations between the distribution of some groups of species of bryophytes belonging to different chorotypes and the main climatic variables of the transect make it possible to formulate a few biogeographic hypotheses.

This is the presentation of the volume that collect botanical articles published in honor of Professor Francesco Maria Raimondo to celebrate his 70th birthday and his activity in the field of botany.

Questa lista bibliografica contiene il secondo aggiornamento della bibliografia della Lisy e deriva dall’assemblaggio da parte della redazione (M. Serdoz ed E. Panfili) dei contributi parziali stilati dai gruppi regionali.

Co-creation is increasingly being used as a tool for companies to position their products in the market. The aim is to enhance a dialogue with customers and enhance firm-customer value. In the experience industry co-creation is also increasingly linked with another major trend: storytelling. The aim of this narrative technique is to build a story around a business, a product or a destination. The purpose of this paper is to discuss and highlight the application of these techniques, together with experiential learning, in order to generate a new point of view on the learning process. These techniques are applied to the Saint James‟ Way in Spain, a major generator of experiences for tourists and pilgrims. The outcome of this research study is to produce a concept for a study trip based on creative tourism

A preliminary study to characterize filamentous bacteria, whose presence is related to high mortality of Litopenaeus vannamei larvae cultured in Santa Catarina State, Brazil, is reported. The extract of infected larvae was diluted in different concentrations, cultured in marine agar (DifcoTM, Marine Agar 2216) and incubated at 30 °C for 48 hours. The biochemical characterization included hydrolytic reactions of starch, gelatin and tyrosine, growth in TCBS agar, growth in 0 and 37‰ salinity, pigment production in tyrosine agar, production of H2S, nitrate reduction, congo red reaction, oxidase and catalase. The isolated bacteria belong to the species Flexibacter maritimus, Gram-negative bacilli of 0.4-0.5 µm width and 15 µm length. Experiments were carried out on pathogenicity of F. maritimus in post-larvae of L. vannamei. Survival and symptoms in L. vannamei post-larvae 24 hours after inoculation with F. maritimus and its growth in marine agar were evaluated. Mortality was detected around 92,5% as well as symptoms like melanized lesions in several parts of body, discolouration of gills, bad formation of appendages and of the last abdominal segment, low motility and feeding reduction. The experimental infection results suggested that isolated bacteria of the genus Flexibacter are pathogenic to the shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei post-larvae. Neste trabalho, relata-se um estudo preliminar para caracterizar bactérias filamentosas associadas a elevadas mortalidades de larvas e pós-larvas cultivadas no Estado de Santa Catarina, Brasil. Um extrato de larvas infectadas foi diluído em diferentes concentrações, cultivado em Agar Marine (DifcoTM, Marine Agar 2216) e incubado a 30° C por 48 horas. A caracterização bioquímica inclui reações de amido, gelatina e tirosesine, crescimento em Agar TCBS,crescimento a 0 e 37‰ de salinidade, produção de pigmentos em Agar Tirosine, produção de H2S, redução de nitrato, reação vermelho congo, oxidase e catalase. A bactéria isolada apresentou características de Flexibacter maritimus, um bacilo Gram negativo de 0,4-0,5 µm de largura e 15 µm de comprimento. Os experimentos foram realizados sobre a patogenicidade de F. Maritimus, em pós-larvas de L. vannamei. Foram avaliados a sobrevivência e os sintomas das pós-larvas 24 horas após a inoculação com F. Maritimus, além do seu crescimento em Agar Marine. Foram encontradas mortalidades de 92,5% e sintomas próprios da enfermidade, tais como lesões melanizadas em várias partes do corpo, descoloração das brânquias e diminuição da motilidade e da alimentação. Com base nos resultados da infecção experimental, pode se concluir que a bactéria isolada do gênero Flexibacter é patogênica para pós-larvas de L. vannamei.

In Biondi E., Bracco F., Nola P. eds., Bibliografia fitosociologica italiana.

La plus ancienne forèt de hètres d'Europe a été retrouvée dans les Apennins. Ce peup!ement est situé dans la vallée Cervara (Parc national des Abruzzes) qui s'étend sur environ 50 ha, à une altitude de 1 400 à 1 800 m. La forèt est caractérisée par une mosa'lque composée de plusieurs unités, qui présentent différents stades de développement, allant des arbustes aux arbres sénescents ou morts. Certains arbres atteignent cinq cents ans, deux fois plus que l'age maximum documenté en littérature pour le Hètre. Les analyses dendrochronologiques des séries de cernes ont révélé les diverses variations de la croissance des arbres, qui se sont succédé dans la forèt depuis le Petit Àge glaciaire. Dans ce contexte, la découverte de la hètraie de la vallée Cervara ouvre de nouveaux horizons dans le domaine de la science de la végétation et de la gestion sylvicole.