The effect of conservation tillage methods on biodiversity and weed suppression in the Montepaldi Long-Term Experiment (MoLTE).

MoLTE is part of the experimental farm of Florence University, which is located in Montepaldi, San Casciano Val di Pesa, Tuscany, Central Italy, and it covers an area of about 15 ha, in a lightly slopped area, 90 m asl. The whole MoLTE experimental site is divided in ten fields of around 1,3 ha each. The MoLTE experiment started in 1992 and is currently still ongoing. The fields are surrounded by semi-natural habitats composed by natural and artificial hedge, flower strip, spontaneous bushes and grass. The experimental site is composed by differently managed systems, designed with the purpose of comparing organic and conventional management. The organic systems operate on a 4-year rotation including Maize/Sunflower – Legume -Wheat/Barley – Legume, while for the conventional one a two-year crop rotation is used in which Maize/ Sunflower follows Wheat/ Barley. The European project FertilCrop, started in 2015, will last for three years. The overall aim of FertilCrop is to develop efficient and sustainable management techniques aimed at increasing crop productivity in organic farming systems. To achieve this, one of the aims of the project is to investigate the mutual interactions of crop plants with weeds and co-cultivated plants. Our experimental design consists in studies different type of primary soil tillage operations to test this mutual interaction in two different crops: barley and sunflower. The study is based on how this tillage can affect the biodiversity quality of the agro-ecosystem in different managed systems, organic and conventional, and to investigate the response of the crop in terms of yield. The species sampling was doing within the field and the semi natural habitat. This communities are sampled using two different methods. Within the field the Raunkiær method are used and the density of the species (number of individuals expressed per unit of area) and biomass per species are assessed. Within the semi natural habitat the transect method are used, with which the presence/absence of the species are evaluated. Using numerical indexes, the biodiversity quality of the agro-ecosystem are evaluated. Furthermore additional information about primary tillage operation and the interaction with weeds could be assessed

Strategies implemented by informal caregivers to facilitate self-care in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): a scoping review protocol

Background and aim: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a disease characterized by persistent respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation. COPD is a significant social and economic burden, and hospital admissions contribute to increased costs. Informal caregivers play a crucial role in supporting COPD patients in their self-care efforts. Therefore, understanding informal caregiver interventions to improve self-care may be helpful in reducing hospitalizations. This is the protocol for a scoping review that aims to map the literature on informal caregiver interventions to facilitate self-care in COPD patients. Research question: What are the strategies implemented by informal caregivers to facilitate self-care for patients with COPD? Methods: The review will adhere to the methodology outlined by the JBI. A comprehensive search strategy will be executed in PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane, and PsycINFO. Additionally, grey literature and relevant unpublished documents will be searched to minimize publication bias. Studies describing strategies/actions implemented by informal caregivers to promote self-care in COPD patients from all countries will be included. We will exclude abstracts, editorials, articles on paid caregivers and social and healthcare workers. Two independent reviewers will screen titles, abstracts, and full-text articles based on inclusion criteria. Key data from the selected studies will be extracted using a predefined data extraction table. The results will be aggregated into themes and described qualitatively, figures and graphs may also be presented. The results will be presented according to the PRISMA-ScR. Review registration: Open Science Framework https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/4TWRM

Impact of organic and conventional management and tillage operations on soil quality and productivity in the Montepaldi Long-Term Experiment (MoLTE)

The goal of the research was to assess the impact of different management (organic and conventional) and tillage (plowing, chisel plowing, disk harrowing) on soil quality, and to investigate the response of two crops, barley and sunflower respectively, in terms of yield. The indicators used for the soil quality evaluation were: earthworm's abundance, root's density, soil compaction score obtained with spade test, bulk density, soil penetration resistance and chemical analysis. Data were collected from November 2015 to September 2017, then statistical analysis, based on ANOVA test, was performed. Main results show that conventional system is more productive than organic and there is not significant difference between plowing and reduced tillage operations regarding yield; earthworms are more abundant under reduced tillage; root's density is about 20% higher in organic soils but phosphorous decreased by about 40% in 25 years

Characteristics of people living in Italy after a cancer diagnosis in 2010 and projections to 2020

BACKGROUND: Estimates of cancer prevalence are widely based on limited duration, often including patients living after a cancer diagnosis made in the previous 5 years and less frequently on complete prevalence (i.e., including all patients regardless of the time elapsed since diagnosis). This study aims to provide estimates of complete cancer prevalence in Italy by sex, age, and time since diagnosis for all cancers combined, and for selected cancer types. Projections were made up to 2020, overall and by time since diagnosis. METHODS: Data were from 27 Italian population-based cancer registries, covering 32% of the Italian population, able to provide at least 7 years of registration as of December 2009 and follow-up of vital status as of December 2013. The data were used to compute the limited-duration prevalence, in order to estimate the complete prevalence by means of the COMPREV software. RESULTS: In 2010, 2,637,975 persons were estimated to live in Italy after a cancer diagnosis, 1.2 million men and 1.4 million women, or 4.6% of the Italian population. A quarter of male prevalent cases had prostate cancer (n\u2009=\u2009305,044), while 42% of prevalent women had breast cancer (n\u2009=\u2009604,841). More than 1.5 million people (2.7% of Italians) were alive since 5 or more years after diagnosis and 20% since 6515 years. It is projected that, in 2020 in Italy, there will be 3.6 million prevalent cancer cases (+\u200937% vs 2010). The largest 10-year increases are foreseen for prostate (+\u200985%) and for thyroid cancers (+\u200979%), and for long-term survivors diagnosed since 20 or more years (+\u200945%). Among the population aged 6575 years, 22% will have had a previous cancer diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: The number of persons living after a cancer diagnosis is estimated to rise of approximately 3% per year in Italy. The availability of detailed estimates and projections of the complete prevalence are intended to help the implementation of guidelines aimed to enhance the long-term follow-up of cancer survivors and to contribute their rehabilitation need

An overview of the Italian forest biodiversity and its conservation level, based on the first outcomes of the 4th Habitat Report ex-Art. 17

In 2019 the 4th Report ex-Art. 17 on the conservation status (CS) of Annex I Habitats of the 92/43/EEC Directive was expected by every EU/28 country, with reference to the period 2013-18. In Italy, the process was in charge to the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), on behalf of the Ministry for Environment, Land and Sea Protection (MATTM), with the scientific support of the Italian Botanical Society (SBI). A large group of thematic and territorial experts elaborated the available data concerning the 124 types of terrestrial and inland water Habitats present in Italy, 39 of which are represented by Forest Habitats (Group 9),. The main aim of the work was the evaluation of the overall CS of each Habitat by Biogeographic Region (Mediterranean, Continental and Alpine), for a total amount of 294 assessments. A high proportion of these (92, corresponding to 31% of the total) referred to Forest Habitats, including 20 marginal types for which the CS was not requested. The analysis was carried out at different scales: a) administrative territory, through the data contained in the ISPRA database, whose compilation was in charge to the Regions and Autonomous Provinces; b) Natura 2000 site, with the latest updates available (Standard Data Forms updated to 2018); c) national scale, implementing the distribution maps for each Habitat based on the European grid ETRS89-LAEA5210 (10x10 km2 mesh); d) Biogeographic Region, scale of the final assessment. Cartographic outcomes, associated databases and additional data used for the assessments will be available online on the ISPRA Portal as soon as the validation process by the European Commission will be completed. A dedicated archive named "HAB_IT" has been created in the national database "VegItaly" (1), managed by the Italian Society of Vegetation Science, where the phytosociological relevés representative of the various Annex I Habitats in Italy will be archived and freely accessible. An overview of the results regarding the Forest habitats is here provided, including a comparison with the outcomes of the former reporting cycle, the 3rd Report ex-Art. 17 (2). In several cases (e.g. 9120, 91L0), the distribution maps have been remarkably improved due to better knowledge and more fitful interpretation. The conservation status resulted as Favourable (FV) for 6,7%, Inadequate (U1) for 58,7% and Bad (U1) for 32,0% of the 72 assessed forest Habitat types. In no case there was an improvement of the conservation status, while in 6 cases a worsening of the conditions resulted from the data analysis, pointing out the Habitats types with a higher need of action. Similarly to other projects carried out as a team by the network of Annex I Habitat experts of the Italian Botanical Society and the Italian Society for Vegetation Science (e.g. 3, 4), this is another step in the direction of supporting the implementation of the 92/43/EEC "Habitat" Directive in Italy and Europe. On this ground, the high biodiversity of the Italian forest Habitats could be emphasized, however results pointed out that some rare or endemic types (e.g. Alnus cordata or Betula aetnensis-dominated forests) are still scarcely acknowledged by the most prominent EU conservation tools such as the Annex I to the "Habitat" Directive. 1) F. Landucci et al. (2012) Plant Biosyst., 146(4), 756-763 2) P. Genovesi et al. (2014) ISPRA, Serie Rapporti, 194/2014 3) E. Biondi et al. (2009) Società Botanica Italiana, MATTM, D.P.N., http://vnr.unipg.it/habitat/ 4) D. Gigante et al. (2016) Plant Sociology, 53(2), 77-8

Utilizzo di Etest nell’antibiogramma diretto da emocoltura su bacilli Gram negativi a crescita rapida e Staphylococcus spp.

The objective of this study was to compare E test antibiotic gradient performed directly from positive blood coltures with Vitek 2 System for rapid susceptibility testing.A total of 47 strains of Gram negative rapid growers and 37 strains of Staphylococcus spp. (10 strains S. aureus and 27 coagulase negative) were investigated. Direct testing of susceptibility to amikacin, imipenem, piperacillin-tazobactam, and ciprofloxacin was evaluated for Gram negative strains, and to oxacillin,ofloxacin, and imipenem for Gram positive. The rate of correlation resulted 99.4% for Gram negative strains (187/188) and 97% for Gram positive strains (144/148).Major errors (i.e. reported as resistant by the Etest but shown to be sensible by the Vitek) were observed and regarding one strain of P. aeruginosa for imipenem and two strains of Staphylococcus coagulase negative for oxacillin and imipenem. Etest resulted useful for direct testing susceptibility from blood and may lead to cost reducttion