Evaluation of triticale as energy crop in Italy.

The promotion of renewable energy represents a target of the European 2020 strategy for economical growth and sustainable competitiveness. Cereals are considered a promising biomass producing crop in temperate regions of Europe to be used for both fuel alcohol and biogas production. Among cereals, triticale represents a good candidate for this kind of application, showing a number of advantages such as high grain yield even in marginal environments, tolerance to drought, tolerance to more acid soils, lower production costs and lower susceptibility to biotic stresses. The aim of this study was to compare yield and quality of eight triticale lines grown in marginal areas in a two-year experiment. Italian variety, Magistral, and a bread wheat variety (EW9) were selected for comparison. Data from fields, chemical analyses and preliminary results from fermentation are reported.

Opposite effects of the A2A receptor agonist CGS21680 in the striatum of Huntington's disease versus wild-type mice.

Huntington's disease (HD) is an inherited neurodegenerative disorder. Adenosine A(2A) receptors (A(2A)Rs) are involved in excitotoxic/neurodegenerative processes, and A(2A)R ligands may be neuroprotective in models of HD. However, changes in the transcription, expression and function of A(2A)Rs have been reported to occur in HD models. The aim of the present work was to verify whether A(2A)R-mediated effects are altered in the striatum of transgenic HD (R6/2) versus wild-type (WT) mice. Extracellular field potentials (FPs) were recorded in corticostriatal slices from R6/2 mice in early (7-8 weeks) or frankly (12-13 weeks) symptomatic phases, and age-matched WT. In 12-13 weeks aged WT animals, the application of 75 microM NMDA induced a transient disappearance of the FP followed by an almost complete recovery at washout. In slices from HD mice, the mean FP recovery was significantly reduced (P<0.01 versus WT). A(2A)R activation oppositely modulated NMDA-induced toxicity in the striatum of HD versus WT mice. Indeed, the A(2A)R agonist CGS21680 reduced the FP recovery in slices from WT mice, while it significantly increased it in slices from R6/2 mice. In early symptomatic (7-8 weeks) mice, no differences were observed between WT and HD animals in terms of basal synaptic transmission and response to NMDA. At the same age, the behavioural effects elicited by CGS21680 were qualitatively identical in WT and HD mice. These findings may have very important implications for the neuroprotective potential of A(2A)R ligands in HD.