This review explores the combination of renewable energy production and agriculture through agrivoltaic, with a focus on its impact on fruit crops. As the world seeks alternatives to fossil fuels, agrivoltaics offers a promising solution by integrating solar panels with farming practices. The study examines various agrivoltaic configurations with different fruit crops, emphasizing their influence on microclimatic conditions beneath the panels and the effects on crop produc-tion. In particular, it underscores the need for tailored solutions to balance energy yield and crop productivity and quality, with different shading levels affecting fruit quality/production. De-spite ongoing research, a comprehensive understanding of agrivoltaics' potential benefits and challenges remains crucial for its successful application and implementation in sustainable ag-riculture.

Background: obese pre-diabetics have altered expression of cytokines, and sirtuin-1, that might influence myocardial function via microRNAs (miRs) expression. Objectives: to evaluate inflammatory/oxidative stress, miRs’ expression and cardiovascular function in obese pre-diabetics randomly assigned to metformin therapy vs. placebo vs. normo-glycemics at 12 months of follow-up. Materials and methods: eighty-three obese patients enrolled for abdominoplastic surgery, were divided in pre-diabetics (n 55), normo-glycemics (n 28), and assigned to hypocaloric diet. Pre-diabetics were randomly assigned to metformin (n 23) or to placebo (n 22) plus hypocaloric diet. Results: at enrollment, pre-diabetics obese vs. normo-glycemic presented higher values of glucose, insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), inflammatory/oxidative stress markers, miR-195 and miR-27, and lower values of sirtuin-1 (p<0.05). At 12 months of follow up, obese pre-diabetics with metformin vs. placebo experienced significant reduction of glucose values, HOMA-IR, and inflammatory/oxidative stress markers, with significant reduction of intima-media thickness (IMT), septum and posterior wall thickness, and left ventricle mass (LVM), (p <0.05). At 12 months of follow-up, obese pre-diabetics with placebo vs. normo-glycemics had higher values of inflammatory/oxidative stress markers, higher values of IMT, septum and posterior wall thickness, LVM, and myocardial performance index (MPI), (p<0.05). Obese pre-diabetics in metformin vs. placebo, and obese pre-diabetics with placebo vs. normoglycemics, had significant differences about IMT, MPI, and LVM (p<0.05). Obese pre-diabetics in metformin vs. placebo showed significant reduction of serum miR-195 and miR-27 (p<0.05). Obese pre-diabetics in metformin vs. normoglycemics showed higher expression of serum miR-195 and miR-27 ( p<0.05). Finally, we found inverse relation between IMT and insulin (R -0.351), HOMA-IR (R -0.340), miR-195 (R -0.355), miR-27 (R -0.181); between LVEF and Insulin (R -0.332), HOMA-IR (R -0.142), miR-195 (R -0.297) and miR-27 (R -0.163). We found inverse correlation between LVM and sirtuin-1 (R -0.272), Insulin (R -0.810), HOMA-IR (R-0.183), miR-195 (R -0.446) and miR-27 (R-0.433), and direct correlation with interleukin-6 (R 0.195). MPI inversely linked to miR-195 (R -0.260) and miR-27 (R -0.591). Conclusion: in obese pre-diabetics metformin therapy significantly reduces inflammation/oxidative stress, circulating miR-195 and miR-27, causing reduction of LVM, IMT and amelioration of cardiac performance.