LIFE+IPNOA mobile prototype for the monitoring of soil N2O emissions from arable crops: First-year results on durum wheat

Agricultural activities are co-responsible for the emission of the most important greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). Development of methodologies to improve monitoring techniques for N2O are still needful. The LIFE+IPNOA project aims to improve the emissions monitoring of nitrous oxide from agricultural soils and to identify the agricultural practices that can limit N2O production. In order to achieve this objective, both a mobile and a stationary instrument were developed and validated. Several experimental field trials were set up in two different sites investigating the most representative crops of Tuscany (CentralItaly), namely durum wheat, maize, sunflower, tomato and faba bean. The field trials were realized in order to test the effect on N2O emissions of key factors: tillage intensity, nitrogen fertiliser rate and irrigation. The field trial on durum wheat was set up in 2013 to test the effect of tillage intensity (minimum and conventional tillage) and nitrogen fertilisation rate (0, 110, 170 kg N ha–1) on soil N2O flux. Monitoring was carried out using the IPNOA mobile prototype. Preliminary results on N2O emissions for the durum wheat growing season showed that mean daily N2O fluxes ranged from –0.13 to 6.43 mg m–2 day–1 and cumulative N2O-N emissions over the period ranged from 827 to 2340 g N2O-N ha–1. Tillage did not affect N2O flux while increasing nitrogen fertilisation rate resulted to significantly increase N2O emissions. The IPNOA mobile prototype performed well during this first year of monitoring, allowing to catch both very low fluxes and peaks on N2O emissions after nitrogen supply, showing a good suitability to the field conditions

New national and regional Annex I Habitat records: from #45 to #59

New Italian data on the distribution of Annex I Habitats are reported in this contribution. Specifically, 8 new occurrences in Natura 2000 sites are presented and 27 new cells are added in the EEA 10 km × 10 km reference grid. The new data refer to the Italian administrative regions of Apulia, Campania, Calabria, Lazio, Tuscany, Umbria, Sardinia, and Sicily

Notulae to the Italian native vascular flora: 8

In this contribution, new data concerning the distribution of native vascular flora in Italy are presented. It includes new records, confirmations, exclusions, and status changes to the Italian administrative regions for taxa in the genera Ajuga, Chamaemelum, Clematis, Convolvulus, Cytisus, Deschampsia, Eleocharis, Epipactis, Euphorbia, Groenlandia, Hedera, Hieracium, Hydrocharis, Jacobaea, Juncus, Klasea, Lagurus, Leersia, Linum, Nerium, Onopordum, Persicaria, Phlomis, Polypogon, Potamogeton, Securigera, Sedum, Soleirolia, Stachys, Umbilicus, Valerianella, and Vinca. Nomenclatural and distribution updates, published elsewhere, and corrigenda are provided as Suppl. material 1

Shedding light on typical species : implications for habitat monitoring

Habitat monitoring in Europe is regulated by Article 17 of the Habitats Directive, which suggests the use of typical species to assess habitat conservation status. Yet, the Directive uses the term “typical” species but does not provide a definition, either for its use in reporting or for its use in impact assessments. To address the issue, an online workshop was organized by the Italian Society for Vegetation Science (SISV) to shed light on the diversity of perspectives regarding the different concepts of typical species, and to discuss the possible implications for habitat monitoring. To this aim, we inquired 73 people with a very different degree of expertise in the field of vegetation science by means of a tailored survey composed of six questions. We analysed the data using Pearson's Chi-squared test to verify that the answers diverged from a random distribution and checked the effect of the degree of experience of the surveyees on the results. We found that most of the surveyees agreed on the use of the phytosociological method for habitat monitoring and of the diagnostic and characteristic species to evaluate the structural and functional conservation status of habitats. With this contribution, we shed light on the meaning of “typical” species in the context of habitat monitoring

Colorectal Cancer Stage at Diagnosis Before vs During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy

IMPORTANCE Delays in screening programs and the reluctance of patients to seek medical attention because of the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 could be associated with the risk of more advanced colorectal cancers at diagnosis. OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic was associated with more advanced oncologic stage and change in clinical presentation for patients with colorectal cancer. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This retrospective, multicenter cohort study included all 17 938 adult patients who underwent surgery for colorectal cancer from March 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021 (pandemic period), and from January 1, 2018, to February 29, 2020 (prepandemic period), in 81 participating centers in Italy, including tertiary centers and community hospitals. Follow-up was 30 days from surgery. EXPOSURES Any type of surgical procedure for colorectal cancer, including explorative surgery, palliative procedures, and atypical or segmental resections. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was advanced stage of colorectal cancer at diagnosis. Secondary outcomes were distant metastasis, T4 stage, aggressive biology (defined as cancer with at least 1 of the following characteristics: signet ring cells, mucinous tumor, budding, lymphovascular invasion, perineural invasion, and lymphangitis), stenotic lesion, emergency surgery, and palliative surgery. The independent association between the pandemic period and the outcomes was assessed using multivariate random-effects logistic regression, with hospital as the cluster variable. RESULTS A total of 17 938 patients (10 007 men [55.8%]; mean [SD] age, 70.6 [12.2] years) underwent surgery for colorectal cancer: 7796 (43.5%) during the pandemic period and 10 142 (56.5%) during the prepandemic period. Logistic regression indicated that the pandemic period was significantly associated with an increased rate of advanced-stage colorectal cancer (odds ratio [OR], 1.07; 95%CI, 1.01-1.13; P = .03), aggressive biology (OR, 1.32; 95%CI, 1.15-1.53; P < .001), and stenotic lesions (OR, 1.15; 95%CI, 1.01-1.31; P = .03). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This cohort study suggests a significant association between the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the risk of a more advanced oncologic stage at diagnosis among patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer and might indicate a potential reduction of survival for these patients

Il ruolo della chirurgia nel trattamento delle metastasi pancreatiche: 20 anni di esperienza

Introduzione: Le metastasi pancreatiche da tumore primitivo di altra sede sono molto rare, costituendo circa il 2% di tutte le neoplasie pancreatiche. Il tumore che con maggior frequenza metastatizza al pancreas è il carcinoma renale a cellule chiare (circa 80%), seguito da tumore colorettale, mammario, polmonare, melanoma e sarcoma. La chirurgia pancreatica è una chirurgia complessa ma negli ultimi 15 anni la significativa riduzione del rischio operatorio e della mortalità hanno permesso di applicare questo tipo di chirurgia anche al trattamento delle lesioni metastatiche. Materiali e Metodi: In questo studio retrospettivo sono stati estrapolati da un database di circa 1000 resezioni pancreatiche, ed analizzati, i dati relativi a pazienti sottoposti a chirurgia pancreatica per lesioni metastatiche tra il gennaio 1998 e il gennaio 2019 presso il Reparto di Chirurgia Generale Universitaria, centro di terzo livello per la chirurgia pancreatica. Risultati: Sono stati identificati 26 pazienti sottoposti a duodenocefalopancreasectomia, pancreasectomia distale e pancreasectomia totale in 6, 8 e 12 casi rispettivamente. L’analisi anatomo-patologica ha rivelato 21 metastasi da carcinoma renale a cellule chiare (80,77%), 1 adenocarcinoma del colon, 1 sarcoma stromale endometriale, 1 carcinoma embrionale del testicolo e 2 carcinomi del polmone. Nei pazienti con metastasi da carcinoma renale metacrone (19/21 - 90,5%), il tempo intercorso tra l’intervento sul primitivo e la resezione pancreatica è stato in media 108,29 mesi, mentre per i primitivi non renali (3/5 - 60%) 7,45 mesi, con differenza statisticamente significativa (p=0.001). Il 23,1% dei pazienti ha presentato sintomi (disturbi di transito, calo ponderale, ittero, dolore, sanguinamento gastro-intestinale). Nei pazienti con primitivo renale (gruppo A) la media della sopravvivenza globale è 143,58 mesi, mentre nei pazienti con primitivo non renale (gruppo B) 37,80 mesi, con differenza statisticamente significativa (p=0.001). Nei casi di recidiva, il tempo medio intercorso tra l’intervento di resezione pancreatica e l’insorgenza della recidiva è 54,00 mesi nel gruppo A e 2,00 mesi nel gruppo B, con differenza statisticamente significativa (p=0.031). Discussione: I risultati di questo studio sottolineano la grande diversità tra le neoplasie renali e non, in termini di aggressività biologica e conseguentemente in termini prognostici. I dati riguardanti la sopravvivenza dei pazienti con metastasi da carcinoma a cellule chiare (oltre 140 mesi) sono estremamente incoraggianti, supportando la scelta chirurgica come l’approccio da preferire per il trattamento di questi pazienti. Il lungo intervallo intercorso tra l’intervento sul primitivo e l’insorgenza della metastasi e la scarsa sintomaticità dei pazienti suggeriscono la necessità di effettuare un lungo follow-up, maggiore dei 10 anni suggeriti dalle attuali linee guida AIOM per il carcinoma renale. Per quanto concerne i primitivi non renali non è possibile interpretare i risultati con la solita sicurezza a causa del piccolo numero dei pazienti in studio. È possibile tuttavia concludere che anche in questi casi l’intervento chirurgico dovrebbe essere sempre preso in considerazione e rappresentare la prima scelta terapeutica nei pazienti sintomatici. Questo studio presenta dei limiti, quali la sua natura retrospettiva ed il campione limitato, nonostante la nostra casistica rappresenti la seconda più numerosa riportata in letteratura

Anaerobic digestion and Co-digestion of oleaginous Microalgae residues for biogas production

Microalgae have been suggested as one of the most promising feedstock for the production of bioenergy and biofuels, including biodiesel and aviation fuels, because of the high oil content of selected species. In the context of biofuel production from microalgae, anaerobic digestion of microalgal biomass residues after oil extraction has the potential to make the process more sustainable and increase the energy efficiency. The main goal of this study was to assess microalgae residues as substrates for anaerobic digestion and investigate their potential for biomethane production. Biochemical Methane Potential (BMP) tests were carried out on a microalgal species, Nannochloropsis gaditana, selected for its high oil content and fast growth rate. The methane potentials observed for the microalgae residue after lipid extraction were higher than those recorded for the raw microalgae samples. Co-digestion with cellulose did not clearly enhance the anaerobic digestion performances

New national and regional Annex I Habitat records: from #21 to #25

New Italian data on the distribution of the Annex I Habitats 3170*, 6110*, 91E0*, 9320, 9330 are reported in this contribution. Specifically, one new occurrence in Natura 2000 sites is presented and six new cells are added in the European Environment Agency 10 km × 10 km reference grid. The new data refer to the Italian administrative regions of Sardinia, Sicily and Umbria

Pancreatic resections for metastases: A twenty-year experience from a tertiary care center

Background: Literature data about pancreatic resections for metastases are limited to small series, so that the role of surgery in this setting remains unclear. We herein report our experience from a tertiary care center, analyzing the outcomes of patients who underwent pancreatic resections for metastases and discussing the role of surgical resection in their management. Materials and methods: From January 1999 to January 2019, 26 patients underwent pancreatic resections for metastases from renal cell carcinoma (RCC-group) or other primitive tumors (non-RCC-group). Details regarding pre-, intra-, post-operative course, and follow-up, prospectively collected in a database of pancreatic resection, were retrospectively analyzed and compared. Results: RCC-group was composed of 21 patients, non-RCC-group of 5 patients. RCC-group presented a longer disease-free interval: 96.4 vs. 5.4 months (p < 0.001). In 9/21 patients (42.9%) of RCC-group the surgical resection of other organs or vascular structures was performed, while in non-RCC-group pancreatic resection alone was performed in all cases, p = 0.070. No local recurrence was reported in all cases. The systemic recurrence rate was 42.9% (9/21 patients) in RCC-group and 80% (4/5 patients) in non-RCC-group, p = 0.135. RCC-group presented a longer DFS and OS: 107.5 vs. 25.2 months (p = 0.002), and 109.1 vs. 36.2 months (p = 0.016), respectively. Conclusions: Radical pancreatic resection may confer a survival benefit for RCC metastases, while for other primitive tumors it should be applied more selectively. For RCC pancreatic metastases, an aggressive surgical approach, even in patient with locally advanced tumors, or associated extra-pancreatic localizations, or recurrent metastases should be taken in consideration

Effect of centre volume on pathological outcomes and postoperative complications after surgery for colorectal cancer: results of a multicentre national study

Background: The association between volume, complications and pathological outcomes is still under debate regarding colorectal cancer surgery. The aim of the study was to assess the association between centre volume and severe complications, mortality, less-than-radical oncologic surgery, and indications for neoadjuvant therapy. Methods: Retrospective analysis of 16,883 colorectal cancer cases from 80 centres (2018-2021). Outcomes: 30-day mortality; Clavien-Dindo grade >2 complications; removal of ≥ 12 lymph nodes; non-radical resection; neoadjuvant therapy. Quartiles of hospital volumes were classified as LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH, and VERY HIGH. Independent predictors, both overall and for rectal cancer, were evaluated using logistic regression including age, gender, AJCC stage and cancer site. Results: LOW-volume centres reported a higher rate of severe postoperative complications (OR 1.50, 95% c.i. 1.15-1.096, P = 0.003). The rate of ≥ 12 lymph nodes removed in LOW-volume (OR 0.68, 95% c.i. 0.56-0.85, P < 0.001) and MEDIUM-volume (OR 0.72, 95% c.i. 0.62-0.83, P < 0.001) centres was lower than in VERY HIGH-volume centres. Of the 4676 rectal cancer patients, the rate of ≥ 12 lymph nodes removed was lower in LOW-volume than in VERY HIGH-volume centres (OR 0.57, 95% c.i. 0.41-0.80, P = 0.001). A lower rate of neoadjuvant chemoradiation was associated with HIGH (OR 0.66, 95% c.i. 0.56-0.77, P < 0.001), MEDIUM (OR 0.75, 95% c.i. 0.60-0.92, P = 0.006), and LOW (OR 0.70, 95% c.i. 0.52-0.94, P = 0.019) volume centres (vs. VERY HIGH). Conclusion: Colorectal cancer surgery in low-volume centres is at higher risk of suboptimal management, poor postoperative outcomes, and less-than-adequate oncologic resections. Centralisation of rectal cancer cases should be taken into consideration to optimise the outcomes