'Palaeoshellomics' reveals the use of freshwater mother-of-pearl in prehistory.

The extensive use of mollusc shell as a versatile raw material is testament to its importance in prehistoric times. The consistent choice of certain species for different purposes, including the making of ornaments, is a direct representation of how humans viewed and exploited their environment. The necessary taxonomic information, however, is often impossible to obtain from objects that are small, heavily worked or degraded.

Cardiac risk stratification in patients undergoing endovascular aortic repair.

Endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) is the preferred first treatment option in case of patients with advanced age and/or fit anatomy owing to shorter length of in hospital staying, less complications or laparotomy-related re-interventions, and lower initial costs. Although it is a less-invasive intervention, EVAR entails a risk similar to that of open aortic procedures for medical comorbidities, and a perioperative clinical evaluation is mandatory to minimize the early and late cardiovascular risk. In this brief review the determinants of cardiac risk (functional capacity, cardiac evaluation, non-invasive tests, bio markers and "specialist" cardiac tests) as well the most widely used predictive risk scores were analyzed.

Heart failure with preserved systolic function: prevalence and clinical features in a cohort of patients admitted to internal medicine units. The study PRESYF-HF Tuscany.

Background: There is uncertainty about the prevalence and clinical characteristics of heart failure (HF) patients with preserved systolic function (PRESYF).

Aim: To analyze the prevalence and clinical characteristics of patients with PRESYF in an unselected cohort of subjects consecutively hospitalized for HF.

Methods: The study cohort included 338 patients consecutively admitted for HF at 24 Internal Medicine units homogeneously settled in Tuscany area (Italy).

Heart failure, oxidative stress and allopurinol.

Oxidative stress is one of the new and most intriguing pathogenetic hypotheses of heart failure; it involves various mechanisms such as endothelial dysfunction, mechano-energetic uncoupling and apoptosis. Xanthine oxidase, a key enzyme in purine catabolism, is overexpressed in patients with heart failure, and it is also an important source of oxidizing activity molecules (free radicals, superoxide anion, oxygen peroxide, etc..

Living-floors and structures from the Lower Paleolithic to the Bronze Age in Italy.

New researches have been performed on the analysis of some Italian dwelling structures dating from the Lower Paleolithic to Bronze Age. Different methods have been applied to each study according to the extensions of the areas explored. The following sites have been analyzed: Isernia La Pineta (Molise), Visogliano (Trieste) - Lower Paleolithic; Grotta del Cavallo (Lecce), Grotta Grande and Riparo del Molare (Salerno) - Middle Paleolithic; Grotta di Fumane (Verona), Riparo Tagliente (Verona), Grotta Continenza (Fucino L'Aquila), San Bartolomeo (Maiella Mountain, Abruzzo) - Upper Paleolithic; Mondeval de Sora (Belluno), Alpe Veglia (Verbania) and Grotta Edera (Aurisina, Trieste) -Mesolithic; Cala Giovanna Piano (Pianosa Island, Livorno), Contraguda (Perfugas, Sassari), Colle Santo Stefano (Fucino, L'Aquila), Catignano (Pescara), Settefonti (L'Aquila) - Neolithic; Castellaro Lagusello (Monzambano, Mantua) - Bronze Age.