Rediscovering the scientific and didactic value of minor herbarium collections: the seeds and fruits collection by Gustavo Bonaventura

Seeds and fruits collections are very important from a systematic point of view and represent useful references in several disciplines and research fields. The Herbarium of Sapienza University of Rome (RO) hosts a Spermoteque/Carpoteque, which was organized by Gustavo Bonaventura (1902-1976). The purpose of this paper is to describe the heritage of Bonaventura's collection. It consists of 42 wooden boxes, globally hosting 3411 glass tubes containing seeds, fruits, and other materials. The collection was first of all catalogued; then, analysis were conducted regarding taxonomic composition, temporal and geographic coverage, institutions of provenience, collectors, content, and preservation status. The specimens refer to 2740 taxa, belonging to 890 genera and 135 families. Many genera of agricultural interest are present, each one with different cultivars. The collection spans across 130 years (1843-1975) and hosts specimens coming from all over the world. Materials were provided by several herbaria, botanical gardens and agrarian institutes, and by 50 collectors. The Bonaventura's collection is still a useful reference collection, testifying biodiversity over times and thus being useful for diachronic studies; moreover, it documents the interests of collectors and the past network activity between institutions

La ventilazione non invasiva in Medicina Interna

Legenda delle più comuni abbreviazioni e acronimi Prefazione P. Navalesi Presentazione M. Campanini La NIV in Medicina Interna F. Lari Il ventilatore e i suoi componenti F. Lari Maschere ed interfacce F. Lari Sistemi CPAP (pressione positiva continua applicata alle vie aeree) F. Lari Principi e tecniche di ventilazione meccanica F. Giostra, E. Di Flaviano Insufficienza respiratoria acuta cardiogena - ruolo della ventilazione non invasiva F. Ventrella Riacutizzazione di broncopneumopatia cronica ostruttiva M. La Regina, F. Orlandini Altre indicazioni alla ventilazione meccanica non invasiva F. Pieralli, O. Para, C. Nozzoli Le apnee del sonno: competenza multidisciplinare e ruolo dell’internista F. Lari La ventilazione meccanica non invasiva nella palliazione del paziente oncologico terminale S. Orlando, M. Giorgi-Pierfranceschi La NIV nel paziente con insufficienza respiratoria cronica, la gestione domiciliare - Competenza specialistica nelle patologie pneumologiche pure A. Marchioni, E.M. Clini, B. Beghé Approccio al paziente internistico, candidato alla ventilazione meccanica non invasiva: key messages M. Giorgi Pierfranceschi La ventilazione meccanica non invasiva: conclusioni M. Errico, A. Greco NIV in Medicina Interna: sono necessari sistemi di monitoraggio emodinamico? N. Di Battista, F. Savell

Clinical outcomes during anticoagulant therapy in fragile patients with venous thromboembolism.

Subgroup analyses from randomized trials suggested favorable results for the direct oral anticoagulants in fragile patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE). The frequency and natural history of fragile patients with VTE have not been studied yet. To compare the clinical characteristics, treatment and outcomes during the first 3 months of anticoagulation in fragile vs non-fragile patients with VTE. Retrospective study using consecutive patients enrolled in the RIETE (Registro Informatizado Enfermedad TromboEmbolica) registry. Fragile patients were defined as those having age ≥75 years, creatinine clearance (CrCl) levels ≤50 mL/min, and/or body weight ≤50 kg. From January 2013 to October 2016, 15 079 patients were recruited. Of these, 6260 (42%) were fragile: 37% were aged ≥75 years, 20% had CrCl levels ≤50 mL/min, and 3.6% weighed ≤50 kg. During the first 3 months of anticoagulant therapy, fragile patients had a lower risk of VTE recurrences (0.78% vs 1.4%; adjusted odds ratio [OR]: 0.52; 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 0.37-0.74) and a higher risk of major bleeding (2.6% vs 1.4%; adjusted OR: 1.41; 95% CI: 1.10-1.80), gastrointestinal bleeding (0.86% vs 0.35%; adjusted OR: 1.84; 95% CI: 1.16-2.92), haematoma (0.51% vs 0.07%; adjusted OR: 5.05; 95% CI: 2.05-12.4), all-cause death (9.2% vs 3.5%; adjusted OR: 2.02; 95% CI: 1.75-2.33), or fatal PE (0.85% vs 0.35%; adjusted OR: 1.77; 95% CI: 1.10-2.85) than the non-fragile. In real life, 42% of VTE patients were fragile. During anticoagulation, they had fewer VTE recurrences and more major bleeding events than the non-fragile

Rate and duration of hospitalisation for acute pulmonary embolism in the real-world clinical practice of different countries : Analysis from the RIETE registry

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Erbario Anzalone: a collection of RO Herbarium with a great importance for the floristic knowledge of Lazio region

The Herbarium Museum of Sapienza University of Rome (RO) hosts over one million specimens, in several historical and contemporary collections. It is divided into six main Herbaria (Erbario Romano, E. Generale, E. Cesati, E. Montelucci, E. Anzalone, E. Bazzichelli), and several minor collections (1). The computerized cataloging of RO Herbarium collections, carried out for many years (2, 3), has produced a Filemaker Pro relational database (4), which hosts also georeferenced data from literature, and fields surveys. Databases allow various analyses on data, e.g. the taxonomic composition of the collections, their temporal and geographical coverage, and collectors’ activity. At the same time, catalogues of the collections and floristic atlases can also be produced. Erbario Anzalone is a relevant collection for the knowledge of the flora of central Italy. Bruno Anzalone (1921-2007), full professor from 1974 to 1996 at Sapienza University of Rome, is considered the greatest expert of regional flora in Lazio. The collection, placed in the Erbario Romano room of the Museum, hosts about 37,700 specimens of vascular plants. It is organized in 361 parcels, and arranged in alphabetical order according to family, genus, and species; the delimitation of families and genera follows Pignatti (5). The specimens collected in Lazio are separated from those collected in other areas. The specimens collected by Anzalone in the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park are kept in a separate collection (43 parcels). The computerized cataloging of the materials, carried out from 2003 to 2014 with the supervision of the herbarium staff, was completed also thanks to the work of students, as the collection is also used for educational purposes. The nomenclatural update (6, 7) and the georeferencing of the materials is currently underway. The specimens belong to 180 families, and 997 genera. The most represented families are Asteraceae (4,539 specimens), Fabaceae (3,305), Apiaceae (2,174), Lamiaceae (1,718), Brassicaceae (1,677), Caryophyllaceae (1,470), Scrophulariaceae (1,373), Rosaceae (1,370), Poaceae (1,226), and Ranunculaceae (1,069). The most represented genera are Trifolium (552), Vicia (547), Centaurea (486), Ranunculus (455), Silene (452), Senecio (448), Carex (429), Euphorbia (370), Galium (355), and Quercus (335). Over 98% of the specimens were collected in Italy; 69% were collected in Lazio, 8% Trentino-Alto Adige, 7% Abruzzo, and 3% Marche. Anzalone collected about the 90% of the specimens (33,789); among the other 276 recorded contributors, the most active were Cesare Banchieri (682 specimens from Monte Cairo, Frosinone), Luigi Veri (404 specimens from the Ponziane islands), and Edda Lattanzi (356 specimens from different territories). The oldest specimen dates back to 1920, and the most recent one to 2004. The composition of the collection reflects the studies carried out by Anzalone throughout his career, testifying his interest in genera such as Astragalus, Centaurea (Fig. 1), Ferula, Pastinaca, Seseli, and the close relationship between Anzalone and his region. His intense activity, uninterrupted from 1940 to 2004, provided the essential data for drafting the vascular flora of Lazio (8), and for the geolocalised database that RO Museum is preparing (4). Within the database, the Erbario Anzalone provided valuable information on species distribution, useful to perform phytogeographical regionalisations (9), and to map rare, endemic, and endangered taxa (10)

Factors associated with survival in older patients affected by COVID-19: A retrospective cohort study

Aim: Mortality is high in Coronavirus disease 2019 patients with pre-existing comorbidities and advanced age. Associated complications have added to the negative prognosis. Nevertheless, many have fully recovered, even among the most fragile. Factors associated with their survival was investigated. Methods: Retrospective study of patients aged ≥90 years admitted for COVID-19 to the Internal Medicine wards of two hospitals in Lombardy, Italy. Results: Among 34 patients with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia, 33 (97.1%) had respiratory failure. Eighteen patients (52.9%) survived and 16 (47.1%) died during hospital stay. Survivors compared to deceased had a significantly longer hospitalization (19 vs. 10 days respectively; p = 0.02), a better PaO2:FiO2 ratio (241 vs. 171 respectively; p = 0.003), higher lymphocyte counts (p = 0.01) and lower serum LDH levels (p < 0.001) at admission. At multivariate analysis only higher PaO2:FiO2 was associated with survival (OR 1.06 [95%CI 1.0–1.03]; p = 0.02). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed a significant difference in event-free survival between patients treated or not with LMWH (p < 0.0001) and between those treated or not with beta-blockers (p = 0.008). Cox regression, performed in the subgroup of patients who received LMWH, did not show significant difference for sex (HR 2.7 [95% CI 0.53–14.3], p = 0.23), CCI (HR 0.7 [95% CI 0.37–1.45], p = 0.38), PaO2:FiO2 ratio (HR 0.98 [95% CI 0.97–1.0], p = 0.07), corticosteroid therapy (HR 0.99 [95% CI 0.22–4.5], p = 0.99) and beta-blocker therapy (HR 2.8 [95% CI 0.56–14,7], p = 0.21). Conclusions: Despite higher mortality in elderly, treatment with LMWH and betablockers might be associated with better survival. Dedicated studies are required to confirm our result