The biogeography of the Amazonian tree flora.

We describe the geographical variation in tree species composition across Amazonian forests and show how environmental conditions are associated with species turnover. Our analyses are based on 2023 forest inventory plots (1 ha) that provide abundance data for a total of 5188 tree species. Within-plot species composition reflected both local environmental conditions (especially soil nutrients and hydrology) and geographical regions.

Disentangling the veil line for Brazilian biodiversity: An overview from two long-term research programs reveals huge gaps in ecological data reporting.

The lack of synthesized information regarding biodiversity is a major problem among researchers, leading to a pervasive cycle where ecologists make field campaigns to collect information that already exists and yet has not been made available for a broader audience. This problem leads to long-lasting effects in public policies such as spending money multiple times to conduct similar studies in the same area. We aim to identify this knowledge gap by synthesizing information available regarding two Brazilian long-term biodiversity programs and the metadata generated by them.

Consistent patterns of common species across tropical tree communities.

Trees structure the Earth's most biodiverse ecosystem, tropical forests. The vast number of tree species presents a formidable challenge to understanding these forests, including their response to environmental change, as very little is known about most tropical tree species. A focus on the common species may circumvent this challenge.

Mapping density, diversity and species-richness of the Amazon tree flora.

Using 2.046 botanically-inventoried tree plots across the largest tropical forest on Earth, we mapped tree species-diversity and tree species-richness at 0.1-degree resolution, and investigated drivers for diversity and richness.

More than 10,000 pre-Columbian earthworks are still hidden throughout Amazonia.

Indigenous societies are known to have occupied the Amazon basin for more than 12,000 years, but the scale of their influence on Amazonian forests remains uncertain. We report the discovery, using LIDAR (light detection and ranging) information from across the basin, of 24 previously undetected pre-Columbian earthworks beneath the forest canopy. Modeled distribution and abundance of large-scale archaeological sites across Amazonia suggest that between 10,272 and 23,648 sites remain to be discovered and that most will be found in the southwest.

Unraveling Amazon tree community assembly using Maximum Information Entropy: a quantitative analysis of tropical forest ecology.

In a time of rapid global change, the question of what determines patterns in species abundance distribution remains a priority for understanding the complex dynamics of ecosystems. The constrained maximization of information entropy provides a framework for the understanding of such complex systems dynamics by a quantitative analysis of important constraints via predictions using least biased probability distributions. We apply it to over two thousand hectares of Amazonian tree inventories across seven forest types and thirteen functional traits, representing major global axes of plant strategies.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the activity of the Radiological Emergency Department: the experience of the Maggiore della Carità Hospital in Novara.

Purpose: During the first peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the activity of Emergency Departments worldwide changed dramatically, focusing on diagnosis and care of the Sars-Cov-2 associated disease. These major changes also involved the activity of the Emergency Radiology Department (ERD). This study aimed to analyse the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on imaging studies, both in terms of the amount, frequency and subspecialty of different imaging modalities requested to the ERD of the Maggiore della Carità Hospital in Novara (Italy).

Biased-corrected richness estimates for the Amazonian tree flora.

Amazonian forests are extraordinarily diverse, but the estimated species richness is very much debated. Here, we apply an ensemble of parametric estimators and a novel technique that includes conspecific spatial aggregation to an extended database of forest plots with up-to-date taxonomy. We show that the species abundance distribution of Amazonia is best approximated by a logseries with aggregated individuals, where aggregation increases with rarity.

Rarity of monodominance in hyperdiverse Amazonian forests.

Tropical forests are known for their high diversity. Yet, forest patches do occur in the tropics where a single tree species is dominant. Such "monodominant" forests are known from all of the main tropical regions.

Persistent effects of pre-Columbian plant domestication on Amazonian forest composition.

The extent to which pre-Columbian societies altered Amazonian landscapes is hotly debated. We performed a basin-wide analysis of pre-Columbian impacts on Amazonian forests by overlaying known archaeological sites in Amazonia with the distributions and abundances of 85 woody species domesticated by pre-Columbian peoples. Domesticated species are five times more likely than nondomesticated species to be hyperdominant.

Expectation and quality of life after aortic valve replacement over 85 years of age match those of the contemporary general population.

Background: In the transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) years, very elderly patients with aortic stenosis (AS) are referred to surgery with reluctance despite excellent hospital outcomes. A poorly assessed outcome of discharged survivors might further overlook the actual efficacy of the surgical strategy in this cohort. We thus evaluated life-expectancy and functional results in discharged survivors over 85 years operated on for AS.

Estimating the global conservation status of more than 15,000 Amazonian tree species.

Estimates of extinction risk for Amazonian plant and animal species are rare and not often incorporated into land-use policy and conservation planning. We overlay spatial distribution models with historical and projected deforestation to show that at least 36% and up to 57% of all Amazonian tree species are likely to qualify as globally threatened under International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List criteria. If confirmed, these results would increase the number of threatened plant species on Earth by 22%.

Biological and clinical outcomes in the elderly with left ventricular dysfunction: Are there differences between on-pump and off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting?

Aim: To compair biological and clinical outcomes after off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCABG) and conventional on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CCABG) in the elderly with left ventricular (LV) dysfunction.

Material Of Study: We retrospectively reviewed 90 consecutive patients aged more than 75 years with preoperative left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) < 50% who underwent isolated coronary artery bypass grafting at our Institution between January 2000 and July 2009. According to operative technique, patients were categorized in to the OPCABG group (39 patients) or in to the CCABG group (51 patients).

Coronary artery bypass grafting in the octogenarian. Is complete revascularization always necessary?

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate whether the completeness of revascularization affects the outcomes in the octogenarian.

Material Of Study: We retrospectively reviewed 130 consecutive octogenarians who underwent isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) between January 2003 and September 2010. According to operative technique, patients were categorized in Complete Revascularization (CRV) Group (96 patients) and in Incomplete Revascularization (IRV) Group (34 patients).

Aortic valve replacement with smaller prostheses in elderly patients: does patient prosthetic mismatch affect outcomes?

Background And Aim Of The Study: To evaluate the influence of patient-prosthesis mismatch (PPM) on survival, and quality of life (QOL) after aortic valve replacement (AVR) in elderly patients with small prosthesis size.

Methods: Between 2005 and 2010, 142 patients older than 65 years were discharged from the hospital after AVR with 19 or 21 mm prosthesis for aortic stenosis. Their median age was 79 years (range 66 to 91).

Fate of the preserved aortic root after treatment of acute type A aortic dissection: 23-year follow-up.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the fate of the native aortic root after replacement of the ascending aorta to treat acute type A aortic dissection.

Methods: Between June 1985 and January 2010, 319 consecutive patients (mean age, 63 ± 11 years) with acute type A aortic dissection underwent replacement of the ascending aorta with preservation of the aortic root. The aortic valve was also replaced in 21 of these patients (7%).

Fate of the aortic valve after root reconstruction in type A aortic dissection: a 20-year follow up.

Background And Aim Of The Study: The study aim was to evaluate the fate of the aortic valve after root reconstruction in acute type A aortic dissection.

Methods: Between 1982 and 2006, a total of 373 consecutive patients underwent emergency surgery for acute type A aortic dissection at the authors' institution. Of these patients, 298 (mean age 63 +/- 11 years; range: 22-85 years) underwent replacement of the supracoronary aorta with root reconstruction.

Outcomes after surgical treatment for type A acute aortic dissection in octogenarians: a multicenter study.

Background: Management of octogenarian patients with acute type A acute aortic dissection is controversial. This study analyzed the surgical outcomes to identify patients who should undergo operations.

Methods: Beginning January 2000, we established a registry including all octogenarian patients operated on for type A acute aortic dissection.

Should octogenarians be denied access to surgery for acute type A aortic dissection?

Aim: Outcomes after surgery for acute type A aortic dissection in the octogenarian are controversial. To analyze this issue further, the authors reviewed their experience in the hope of finding ways to improve results in these high-risk patients.

Methods: Between April 1990 and November 2006, 319 consecutive patients underwent emergency surgery for acute type A aortic dissection at the San Martino University Hospital of Genoa (Italy).

[Hypertension and fluid volume increase in uremic patients treated with convective hemodialysis: electric bioimpedence analysis].

Purpose: Hypertension is considered an important cardiovascular (CV) risk for uremic patients on hemodialysis (HD). Its main pathogenetic factor is the extracellular fluid volume increase.

Methods: This study aimed to evaluate the water distribution by electric bioimpedence (BIA) in hypertensive uremic patients treated with convective hemodialysis (HD) (group A) and with diffusive HD (group B).

[Hospital mortality at a cardiosurgical unit in Torino: international comparisons and time trend].

Objective: To compare hospital mortality in a cardiac surgery unit with external data and to assess changes in time (patients undergoing surgery in two different periods).

Materials And Methods: Data on risk factors for hospital mortality were collected from clinical records (retrospectively for the first period and prospectively for the second) for all patients undergoing open heart surgery at the Heart Surgery Unit of the University of Turin (Italy) during 1991 and 1995 (n = 1794) and 1999 (n = 892). Comparisons of in-hospital mortality, expressed as Standardized Mortality Ratios (SMR), were adjusted for risk factors defined according to EuroSCORE (European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation).