Intraspecific variability of leaf form and function across habitat types

: Trait-based ecology has already revealed main independent axes of trait variation defining trait spaces that summarize plant adaptive strategies, but often ignoring intraspecific trait variability (ITV). By using empirical ITV-level data for two independent dimensions of leaf form and function and 167 species across five habitat types (coastal dunes, forests, grasslands, heathlands, wetlands) in the Italian peninsula, we found that ITV: (i) rotated the axes of trait variation that define the trait space; (ii) increased the variance explained by these axes and (iii) affected the functional structure of the target trait space. However, the magnitude of these effects was rather small and depended on the trait and habitat type. Our results reinforce the idea that ITV is context-dependent, calling for careful extrapolations of ITV patterns across traits and spatial scales. Importantly, our study provides a framework that can be used to start integrating ITV into trait space analyses

Design Principles of the Italian Round Robin Test on Reverberation Rooms

This paper describes the design principles underlying the Round Robin Test (RRT) carried out among the laboratories of the Sound Absorption working group of the Italian Standardization Body (UNI). In recent years, the determination of the measurement uncertainties in the fields of building and room acoustics has attracted increasing attention. In particular, sound absorption in a diffuse sound field has always been difficult to determine, especially for very highly absorptive materials, e.g. due to the edge effect; results coming from different laboratories cannot always be compared, due to differences in the actual sound field found in nominally equivalent facilities. During this RRT, carefully selected samples have been measured in the reverberation rooms of the different laboratories participating in the RRT according to the published ISO 354 standard as well as the newly proposed draft. The procedure will be presented in the paper

MISURE DI COEFFICIENTE DI ASSORBIMENTO IN CAMERA RIVERBERANTE: TEST INTER-LABORATORIO

La ISO 354:2003, ovvero la procedura riconosciuta a livello internazionale per la misurazione dei coefficienti di assorbimento acustico in condizioni di campo diffuso, è attualmente in fase di revisione. Il motivo principale di questa revisione è la limitata riproducibilità dei coefficienti di assorbimento misurati in laboratori diversi. Una rete di laboratori italiani si è unita per svolgere un test inter-laboratorio (ILT) per valutare e confrontare le incertezze di misura risultanti dall'applicazione dell'attuale versione della ISO 354:2003 e della nuova ISO/CD 354:2019. La memoria presenta i risultati delle misurazioni, relativi solamente alla norma in vigore, e fornisce una stima dell'incertezza e dell'accuratezza delle misurazioni attuali

Use of oral anticoagulant drugs in older patients with atrial fibrillation in internal medicine wards

Atrial \ufb01brillation is independently associated with a higher risk of morbidity and mortality, in particular with an increased risk of thromboembolic events. Use of oral anticoagulant (OAC) drugs reduces the risk of stroke and systemic embolism, as well as mortality among patients with AF. With the aim to provide evidences about use of OAC and NOACs in older hospitalized patients, we here report data about the retrospective observational phase of the \u201c Simulation-Based Technologies to Improve the Appropriate Use of Oral Anticoagulants in Hospitalized Elderly Patients with Atrial Fibrillation\u201d (SIM-AF) Tria

Appropriateness of prescription of oral anticoagulant therapy in acutely hospitalized older people with atrial fibrillation. Secondary analysis of the SIM-AF cluster randomized clinical trial

Aims: To assess the appropriateness of oral anticoagulant (OAC) prescription and its associated factors in acutely hospitalized elderly patients. Methods: Data were obtained from the prospective phase of SIM-AF (SIMulation-based technologies to improve the appropriate use of oral anticoagulants in hospitalized elderly patients with Atrial Fibrillation) randomized controlled trial, aimed to test whether an educational intervention improved OAC prescription, compared to current clinical practice, in internal medicine wards. In this secondary analysis, appropriateness of OAC prescription was assessed at hospital admission and discharge. Results: For 246 patients, no significant differences were found between arms (odds ratio 1.38, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.84\u20132.28) in terms of appropriateness of OAC prescription. Globally, 92 patients (37.4%, 95% CI = 31.6\u201343.6%) were inappropriately prescribed or not prescribed at hospital discharge. Among 51 patients inappropriately prescribed, 82% showed errors on dosage, being mainly under-dosed (n = 29, 56.9%), and among 41 inappropriately not prescribed, 98% were taking an antiplatelet drug. Factors independently associated with a lower probability of appropriateness at discharge were those related to a higher risk of bleeding (older age, higher levels of aspartate aminotransferase, history of falls, alcohol consumption) and antiplatelet prescription at admission. The prescription of OACs at admission was the strongest predictor of appropriateness at discharge (odds ratio = 7.43, 95% CI = 4.04\u201313.73). Conclusions: A high proportion of hospitalized older patients with AF remains inappropriately prescribed or nonprescribed with OACs. The management of these patients at hospital admission is the strongest predictor of prescription appropriateness at discharge

Intraspecific variability of leaf form and function across habitat types

Trait-based ecology has already revealed main independent axes of trait variation defining trait spaces that summarize plant adaptive strategies, but often ignoring intraspecific trait variability (ITV). By using empirical ITV-level data for two independent dimensions of leaf form and function and 167 species across five habitat types (coastal dunes, forests, grasslands, heathlands, wetlands) in the Italian peninsula, we found that ITV: (i) rotated the axes of trait variation that define the trait space; (ii) increased the variance explained by these axes and (iii) affected the functional structure of the target trait space. However, the magnitude of these effects was rather small and depended on the trait and habitat type. Our results reinforce the idea that ITV is context-dependent, calling for careful extrapolations of ITV patterns across traits and spatial scales. Importantly, our study provides a framework that can be used to start integrating ITV into trait space analyses.By using empirical data for two independent dimensions of leaf form and function and 167 species across five habitat types, we show that including intraspecific trait variability in a trait space: (i) rotates the axes of trait variation of the target trait space, (ii) increases the variance explained by these axes and (iii) modifies the functional structure of the trait space. However, these effects were rather small and strongly trait- and habitat-dependent.imag