Notulae to the Italian alien vascular flora: 1

In this contribution, new data concerning the Italian distribution of alien vascular flora are presented. It includes new records, exclusions, and confirmations for Italy or for Italian administrative regions for taxa in the genera Agave, Arctotheca, Berberis, Bidens, Cardamine, Catalpa, Cordyline, Cotoneaster, Dichondra, Elaeagnus, Eragrostis, Impatiens, Iris, Koelreuteria, Lamiastrum, Lantana, Ligustrum, Limnophila, Lonicera, Lycianthes, Maclura, Mazus, Paspalum, Pelargonium, Phyllanthus, Pyracantha, Ruellia, Sorghum, Symphyotrichum, Triticum, Tulbaghia and Youngia

Encontros ou Desencontros: histórias de idosos que tentaram suicídio e a Rede de Atenção Integral em Porto Alegre/RS, Brasil

Este artigo, fruto do trabalho de pesquisa realizado na cidade de Porto Alegre/RS, visa colocar em discussão um fenômeno, pouco conhecido, que é a tentativa de suicídio em idosos. A subnotificação das tentativas nessa população tem dificultado a inserção desse grave problema de saúde pública na agenda política. Neste estudo, foram entrevistados não só idosos que atentaram contra a própria vida como os seus familiares e profissionais vinculados a serviços de emergência e de urgência em geral e em saúde mental, no ano de 2014. A análise textual discursiva permitiu identificar, nos diferentes relatos, a emergência da categoria intitulada encontros e desencontros, que aborda a relação entre as necessidades de cuidado dos idosos e o modelo de atenção em saúde. O estudo, por meio de três breves histórias, questiona o modelo biomédico quanto ao atendimento a situações de risco e enfatiza, para a conquista da atenção integral em saúde, a concepção da Clínica Ampliada. Essa concepção privilegia, nas diferentes formas de cuidado, a singularidade do usuário que tem sido, muitas vezes, negligenciada no modelo biomédico. O estudo também destaca a necessidade da construção de uma linha de cuidado para a população idosa, bem como investimentos em educação permanente sobre o tema do envelhecimento ativo e do acolhimento na crise, sob a perspectiva da articulação da rede intersetorial

Geospatial intelligence and health analitycs : its application and utility in a city with high tuberculosis incidence in Brazil

Background: Geospatial Intelligence and Health Analysis have been used to identify tuberculosis (TB) hotspots and to better understand their relationship to social and economic factors. The purpose of this study was to use geospatial intelligence to assess the distribution of TB and its correlations with Human Development Index (HDI) in a city with high TB incidence in Brazil. Methods: We conducted an ecological study, using National System of Information on Noticeable Disease (SINAN) to identify TB cases. Geocoding was performed using QGIS 2.0 software and Google Maps API 3.0. We applied geospatial intelligence to detect where in the city clustering of TB cases occurred, and assessed the association of an area’s HDI (each one of the components — longevity, education, and income) with TB spatial distribution. Results: During the study period (2011–2013), there were 737 TB cases. TB cases showed heterogeneity across the 29 neighborhoods. The neighborhoods with HDI-income lower than the mean had higher TB incidence (p = 0.036). Conclusions: We found several hotspots of TB across the 29 neighborhoods, and an inverse association between HDI-income and TB incidence. These findings provide useful information and may help to guide TB control programs

New Red List of the Italian vascular flora: nearing the end.

In 2011, MATTM and SBI started a collaboration for the New Red List of Italian Vascular Flora, according to the IUCN Categories and Criteria. IUCN Red Lists represent the most widely applied protocol for evaluating species extinction risk, because they facilitate objective and replicable assessments. National assessments provide a basis for conservation planning, representing an important starting points for further conservation actions. Data on species distribution gathered, from recent field surveys, herbarium specimens, published and unpublished data, were assembled with the collaboration of a large number of SBI members. All georeferenced records were validated by a selected group of botanists and organized in a 2 7 2 km cells grid in GIS environment. A database including distribution data, population trends and the main threats affecting taxa was developed. All the assessments were validated during several collective workshops. During 2016, the New Red List of the Italian Vascular Flora will be completed with the evaluation of more than 2000 taxa including Italian Policy species (152 taxa, listed in the annexes of Directive 92/43/CEE \u201cHabitat\u201d and Bern Convention), all Italian endemics (more than 1200 taxa, most part of taxonomically critical genera as Alchemilla, Hieracium, Pilosella, Ranunculus, Rubus and Taraxacum excluded) and all those species of potential conservation interest listed in 2012 for MATTM (more than 1500 taxa, some endemics included). Here, we present the updated status, in view of the ultimate goal that will be reached by the end of 2016. The publication of a book that will summarize all the work done is foreseen for 2017

The Red List of Italian endemic vascular plants

The Italian vascular flora is one of the richest in the European Union and the Italian peninsula is located at the centre of the Mediterranean Basin, one of the 25 world biodiversity hotspots with an exceptional loss of habitats and species (1). Preliminary to any conservation initiative concerning plant diversity, a prioritization of the most endangered species is needed. IUCN Red List protocol is widely recognized and used to evaluate the conservation status of a species, according to its estimated extinction risk (2). Assessing the conservation status of plants endemic to an entire nation is a key challenge, because of the huge amount of data, knowledge and information required. Such a result can be achieved only through the collaboration of many specialists and an adequate financial base. \u201cThe Red List of the Italian Flora\u201d project, promoted by the Ministry for Environment and Protection of Land and Sea General, Directorate for Protection of Nature and Sea, in collaboration with the Italian Botanical Society, started in 2013 with the aim to update the conservation status of Italian plants. In 2016 the assessment of all the vascular plants strictly endemics to Italy was completed. Considering all the Italian endemics, with the exclusion of taxonomically critical genera (i.e. Alchemilla, Hieracium, Ophrys, Pilosella, Ranunculus, Rubus and Taraxacum), a total of 1088 taxa was assessed. Three taxa are considered extinct (EX), one extinct in the wild (EW) and six are possibly extinct (CR[PE]). Around 27% of the Italian endemics are included in one of the major threat categories (CR, EN and VU), while c. 20% may become threatened with extinction in the near future (NT). Around half of the Italian endemic taxa (506) are widespread and abundant taxa (LC). Finally, 80 species (7%) were categorized as Data Deficient since the available data did not allow a robust assessment, indicating that further taxonomic and field studies should be undertaken in the next future