Global and regional IUCN red list assessments: 5

In this contribution, the conservation status of four vascular plants according to IUCN categories and criteria are presented. It includes the assessment of Arceuthobium oxycedri (DC.) M.Bieb., Ionopsidium albiflorum Durieu, Trifolium latinum Sebast., and Vicia incisa M.Bieb. at a Regional level (Italy)

SentiBench - a benchmark comparison of state-of-the-practice sentiment analysis methods

In the last few years thousands of scientific papers have investigated sentiment analysis, several startups that measure opinions on real data have emerged and a number of innovative products related to this theme have been developed. There are multiple methods for measuring sentiments, including lexical-based and supervised machine learning methods. Despite the vast interest on the theme and wide popularity of some methods, it is unclear which one is better for identifying the polarity (i.e., positive or negative) of a message. Accordingly, there is a strong need to conduct a thorough apple-to-apple comparison of sentiment analysis methods, \textit{as they are used in practice}, across multiple datasets originated from different data sources. Such a comparison is key for understanding the potential limitations, advantages, and disadvantages of popular methods. This article aims at filling this gap by presenting a benchmark comparison of twenty-four popular sentiment analysis methods (which we call the state-of-the-practice methods). Our evaluation is based on a benchmark of eighteen labeled datasets, covering messages posted on social networks, movie and product reviews, as well as opinions and comments in news articles. Our results highlight the extent to which the prediction performance of these methods varies considerably across datasets. Aiming at boosting the development of this research area, we open the methods' codes and datasets used in this article, deploying them in a benchmark system, which provides an open API for accessing and comparing sentence-level sentiment analysis methods

New evidence of specific synaptic remodelling by corticosterone-treated astrocytes conditioned medium

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a debilitating multifactorial neuropsychiatric syndrome, affecting about 20% of the population and representing the leading cause of disability worldwide with severe social and economic consequences [1]. Stress exposure has been recognized as the main risk factor and more in detail, an individual’s ability to cope with stress in an adaptive way can determine their resilience or vulnerability to MDD development [2]. MDD is characterized by many alterations among which, in most patients, hyperactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and glucocorticoid resistance. In patients with severe depression, increased levels of serum and salivary cortisol have been found [3]. Astrocytes are glial cells fundamental for the central nervous system, functioning as neuronal support and participating in the regulation of ion homeostasis, neurotransmission, synaptic plasticity and neuroinflammation. Evidence from both human post-mortem brains and animal models indicate the involvement of astrocytes in MDD pathophysiology [4]. In literature the impact of glucocorticoids on astrocyte alone is still understudied and even less is known about how treated astrocytes can affect neuronal function. Thus, to shed light on this topic, we treated mouse primary hippocampal astrocytes with corticosterone (CORT) at low concentration or DMSO twice a day for 3 days and then used their conditioned medium (ACM) to treat mouse primary hippocampal neurons at DIV 17 for either 1 or 24 hours. We investigated the impact of such treatment on neurons by (i) recording miniature post-synaptic currents (mEPSCs and mIPSCs) in whole-cell patch clamp configuration, and by (ii) performing immunofluorescence experiments targeting vGLUT1 and vGAT, markers of the excitatory and inhibitory pre-synaptic compartments respectively. Interestingly, ACM-CORT-treated neurons displayed specific and persistent changes of both mEPSCs and mIPSCs frequencies compared to ACM-DMSO-treated neurons at both 1 and 24 hours whereas only minimal changes appeared in terms of amplitude. In parallel and in line, ACM-CORT-treated neurons showed changes in the expression of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic puncta. The TUNEL assay showed no changes in the number of apoptotic nuclei, indicating that the functional and structural variations in ACM-CORT-treated neurons were not related to neuronal loss. We could conclude that the medium conditioned by astrocytes treated chronically with CORT has a toxic effect on neuron synapses, specifically affecting the pre-synaptic and post-synaptic compartment at 1 hour and then at 24 hours. In order to pinpoint the mechanisms by which ACM-CORT and ACM-DMSO have different effects on neurons, ACMs were analyzed through liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) with label-free quantification. Of all the 1193 proteins present in both conditions, a total of 636 were significantly varied: 451 were decreased and 221 were increased in ACM-CORT compared to ACM-DMSO. 16 proteins were present only in ACM-DMSO and 20 were present only in ACM-CORT. In the next future, understanding exactly which factors released from CORT-treated astrocytes are impacting on neuronal function will be important to better understand how astrocytes and glucocorticoids can be involved in MDD pathophysiology and potentially be targeted to discover new treatments

Temporal changes of vascular plant diversity in response to tree dieback in a mediterranean lowland forest

Palo Laziale wood is a small biotope of about 129 ha situated along the north coast of Rome. It is one of the last remaining patches of an ancient lowland floodplain forest that once covered the coastal area of the Lazio region. It contains several habitats and species of high conservation interest which has been included in the Natura2000 network. The forest suffered an impressive dieback event in 2003, coinciding with a particularly hot and dry summer. In the framework of an ecological restoration project (LIFE PRIMED LIFE17 NAT/GR/000511), a preliminary assessment of the biotic and abiotic components of the ecosystem was carried out, including a floristic analysis. This analysis was compared with that conducted in 1990 to assess whether there was any change in the species composition also following the forest dieback. Comparisons between biological forms, chorotypes and the Ellenberg indicators were also made in the analysis. The total flora of the site increased from 462 to 490 species. Moreover, there has been a turnover of species with the disappearance of some grassland and halophytic species and the appearance of allochthonous/ruderal and freshwater habitat species. Despite this, the flora remained unchanged in ecological terms, demonstrating a certain resilience of the plant species, confirming this approach to identify declining processes and support ecosystem-based restoration actions elsewhere

What Goes Around Comes Around: Learning Sentiments in Online Medical Forums

Currently 19%-28% of Internet users participate in online health discussions. A 2011 survey of the US population estimated that 59% of all adults have looked online for information about health topics such as a specific disease or treatment. Although empirical evidence strongly supports the importance of emotions in health-related messages, there are few studies of the relationship between a subjective lan-guage and online discussions of personal health. In this work, we study sentiments expressed on online medical forums. As well as considering the predominant sentiments expressed in individual posts, we analyze sequences of sentiments in online discussions. Individual posts are classified into one of five categories. We identified three categories as sentimental (encouragement, gratitude, confusion) and two categories as neutral (facts, endorsement). 1438 messages from 130 threads were annotated manually by two annotators with a strong inter-annotator agreement (Fleiss kappa = 0.737 and 0.763 for posts in se-quence and separate posts respectively). The annotated posts were used to analyse sentiments in consec-utive posts. In four multi-class classification problems, we assessed HealthAffect, a domain-specific af-fective lexicon, as well general sentiment lexicons in their ability to represent messages in sentiment recognition

Integrative Taxonomy of Armeria Taxa (Plumbaginaceae) Endemic to Sardinia and Corsica

Sardinia and Corsica are two Mediterranean islands where the genus Armeria is represented by 11 taxa, 10 out of which are endemic. An integrative approach, using molecular phylogeny, karyology, and seed and plant morphometry was used to resolve the complex taxonomy and systematics in this group. We found that several taxa are no longer supported by newly produced data. Accordingly, we describe a new taxonomic hypothesis that only considers five species: Armeria leucocephala and A. soleirolii, endemic to Corsica, and A. morisii, A. sardoa, and A. sulcitana, endemic to Sardinia

Global and Regional IUCN Red List Assessments: 11

In this contribution, the conservation status assessment of three vascular plants according to IUCN categories and criteria is presented. It includes the global assessment of Limonium parvifolium Tineo and Viscaria alpina (L.) G.Don, and the regional assessment of Rhazya stricta Decne. (Iraq)

Global and Regional IUCN Red List Assessments: 9

In this contribution, the conservation status assessment of three vascular plants according to IUCN categories and criteria are presented. It includes the assessment of Soldanella calabrella Kress at global level, and the regional assessment of Luzula pindica (Hausskn.) Chrtek & Křísa and Romulea variicolor Mifsud (Italy)

A Qualitative Study of Collaborative Food Programs: Insights from a FQHC–University Partnership During COVID-19

Background/objectivesThis study aims to fill gaps in the existing literature through a qualitative evaluation of stakeholders involved in Food Is Medicine (FIM) programs. The primary objective was to examine the structural components, implementation process, and perceived impact of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and Venice Family Clinic (VFC) Emergency Prepared Meal Program (UCLA-VFC Food Program), developed as a collaboration between a university and Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) during a period of community crisis. A secondary objective was to compare this program with three other FIM initiatives, identifying convergences and divergences in design and effectiveness.MethodsThe methodology involved semi-structured interviews conducted with stakeholders across all four programs. Participants were recruited based on their direct involvement with program ideation, design, or implementation. Interviews were conducted online between July and September 2022, with 11 stakeholders. A thematic analysis was applied to the transcribed responses using an inductive thematic analysis.ResultsKey findings highlighted four recurrent themes: (1) the critical role of leadership and a collaborative culture; (2) the importance of community partnerships and health education; (3) challenges related to logistics, funding, and sustainability; and (4) the need for assessment and evaluation. These findings provide valuable insight into the design of future FIM interventions, particularly those embedded in healthcare settings.ConclusionsIn conclusion, this study offers preliminary evidence supporting the unique potential of university-community partnerships to address food insecurity. Unlike previous research that emphasized clinical outcomes, our findings provide a contextualized understanding of programmatic implementation. While further quantitative evaluation is necessary, this work lays the groundwork for a collaborative model between various entities including universities, healthcare systems, clinics, and community health/food services aimed at addressing social determinants of health

Using drone imagery and group field activities for an in-depth investigation of the vascular flora: a case study in the Rocca di Novara Massif (NE Sicily, Italy)

Rocky habitats are suitable refuges for numerous rare and endemic plants. Due to their inaccessibility and the unreliability of traditional survey methods, assessing the survival status of these plants is quite a hard task. In order to address this sampling issue, we employed the drones and carried several field activities to investigate the vascular flora of Rocca di Novara massif located in Northeastern Sicily (NE Sicily hereafter). Located on the southern border of the Peloritani Mountains, Rocca di Novara, also known as Rocca Salvatesta, is a small carbonate massif and it represents one of the highest and most characteristic peaks in NE Sicily. According to our investigation, 300 taxa have been recorded, belonging to 189 genera and 51 different families. The results obtained show the presence of 13 endemic species to Italy (4.3%) and 12 strictly endemic to Sicily (4%). Some taxa of high phytogeographical value have been detected, such as Aubrieta columnae subsp. sicula, Daphne oleoides subsp. oleoides, Edraianthus graminifolius subsp. siculus, Fritillaria messanensis, Odontites bocconei subsp. bocconei, Phelipanche gussoneana, Saxifraga callosa subsp. australis. This latest species was rediscovered after 100 years on the high cliffs of Rocca di Novara thanks to the use of the drone imagery. Our results provide valuable insights into the floristic diversity of Rocca di Novara and offers a solid starting point for further phytogeographical and floristic studies on the vascular plants of the Peloritani district