Dietary Patterns at the Individual Level through a Nutritional and Environmental Approach: The Case Study of a School Canteen.

The public catering sector has important responsibilities in seeking a change toward more sustainable choices for many aspects related to the environmental impacts of their services. The environmental impact of production processes can be studied through life cycle assessment (LCA), which allows a greater awareness of choices and has rarely been applied to catering. In this work, we studied the impacts of two dishes (braised meat and cauliflower meatballs) in a school canteen, their impacts were studied using the daily energy requirement (expressed in kcal) as a functional unit. Global warming potential (GWP) and nonrenewable energy (NRE) were calculated starting from the supply of raw materials up to distribution. Electricity and the act of cooking the meatballs accounted for more than 60% of the measured impact in terms of GWP, whereas, less markedly, they dominated in terms of nonrenewable energy used. In the case of braised meat, the total impact was, however, attributable to the life cycle of the meat (between 60% and 76%) and the consumption of electricity (between 19% and 27%), whereas for all other factors, the contribution was never particularly high. Additionally, a discussion on the correct functional unit to be used proposed the environmental impact of different recipes as an additional criterion for nutritionists during the composition of the menu. An integrated system appears important for changing policies and behaviors and the application of LCA can be a tool capable of contributing to the construction of a holistic instrument of sustainability.

In Vitro Rooting of Capparis spinosa L. as Affected by Genotype and by the Proliferation Method Adopted During the Multiplication Phase.

The in vitro rooting of three caper (Capparis spinosa L.) selected biotypes, grown in a commercial orchard on the Sicilian island of Salina (38°33'49" N), was performed using-as base material for rooting experiments-shoot explants proceeding from two different in vitro culture systems: solid medium and liquid culture in a PlantForm bioreactor (TIS). The regenerated shoots of each accession were submitted to different auxin treatments (NAA, IBA, IAA - 1 or 2 mg L-1; NAA+IBA 0.75 and 0.25 mg L-1, respectively), supplemented with sucrose or fructose (mg L-1). The highest rooting rate in terms of root percentage (67%) was reached with the explants of the selected accession 'Sal 39' proceeding from liquid culture in PlantForm and induced in the MS medium with sucrose, as a carbon source, supplemented with NAA 0.75 mg L-1 + IBA 0.25 mg L-1, after six days in a climatic growth chamber at 25 ± 1 °C in the dark and then placed under a cool white fluorescent lamp, with a PPFD of 35 µmol m-1 s-1 and a photoperiod of 16 h. On the other hand, poor rooting rate was generally achieved under all the tested experimental conditions with the other biotypes, 'Sal 37' and 'Sal 35', demonstrating the strong role exerted by the previously adopted proliferation method and by the genotype for successful caper in vitro rooting.

In Vitro Regeneration of Capparis spinosa L. by Using a Temporary Immersion System.

Three caper (Capparis spinosa L.) biotypes grown on the Sicilian island of Salina (38°33'49″ N) were micropropagated to evaluate two different in vitro culture systems: one using the traditional solid medium, and the other based on liquid culture in a PlantForm bioreactor. PlantForm is a temporary immersion system (TIS), a new propagation method in which the shoots undergo temporary immersion in a liquid medium in order to avoid the accumulation of gas through forced ventilation. This study proposes a protocol to improve the efficiency of in vitro propagation of caper plants, while also reducing production costs, because of the elimination of the gelling agent, and manual labor, requiring limited subcultures and posing minimal contamination risks. Our results show that the caper shoots propagated in bioreactors demonstrated good adaptability and better growth rates than those grown in the conventional system. Statistically significant differences were observed between plants grown in the PlantForm liquid culture and those grown in solid medium regarding the number and length of shoots, which were further promoted by the addition of plant growth regulators (PGRs). The relative growth and real proliferation rate of the caper explants were higher when using meta-Topolin than when using 6-benzylaminopurine as a PGR. Overall, the TIS improved in vitro caper culture by promoting the proliferation, length, and vigor of the shoots.

Toward the definition of a carbon budget model: seasonal variation and temperature effect on respiration rate of vegetative and reproductive organs of pistachio trees (Pistacia vera).

This study, as a preliminary step toward the definition of a carbon budget model for pistachio trees (Pistacia vera L.), aimed at estimating and evaluating the dynamics of respiration of vegetative and reproductive organs of pistachio tree. Trials were performed in 2005 in a commercial orchard located in Sicily (370 m a.s.l.) on five bearing 20-year-old pistachio trees of cv. Bianca grafted onto Pistachio terebinthus L. Growth analyses and respiration measurements were done on vegetative (leaf) and reproductive (infructescence) organs during the entire growing season (April-September) at biweekly intervals. Results suggested that the respiration rates of pistachio reproductive and vegetative organs were related to their developmental stage. Both for leaf and for infructescence, the highest values were observed during the earlier stages of growth corresponding to the phases of most intense organ growth. The sensitivity of respiration activity to temperature changes, measured by Q(10), showed an increase throughout the transition from immature to mature leaves, as well as during fruit development. The data collected were also used to estimate the seasonal carbon loss by respiration activity for a single leaf and a single infructescence. The amount of carbon lost by respiration was affected by short-term temperature patterns, organ developmental stage and tissue function.