An extensive amount of information is currently available to clinical specialists, ranging from details ofclinical symptoms to various types of biochemical data and outputs of imaging devices. Each type of dataprovides information that must be evaluated and assigned to a particular pathology during the diagnosticprocess. To streamline the diagnostic process in daily routine and avoid misdiagnosis, artificial intelligencemethods (especially computer aided diagnosis and artificial neural networks) can be employed. Theseadaptive learning algorithms can handle diverse types of medical data and integrate them into categorizedoutputs. In this paper, we briefly review and discuss the philosophy, capabilities, and limitations of artificialneural networks in medical diagnosis through selected examples

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BackgroundWild vegetables in the Mediterranean Basin are still often consumed as a part of the diet and, in particular, there is a great tradition regarding their use in Sicily.In this study, an ethnobotanical field investigation was carried out to (a) identify the wild native taxa traditionally gathered and consumed as vegetables in Sicily, comparing the collected ethnobotanical data with those of other countries that have nominated the Mediterranean diet for inclusion in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and (b) highlight new culinary uses of these plants.MethodsInterviews were carried out in 187 towns and villages in Sicily between 2005 and 2015. A total of 980 people over the age of 50 were interviewed (mainly farmers, shepherds, and experts on local traditions).Plants recorded were usually collected in collaboration with the informants to confirm the correct identification of the plants. The frequencies of citation were calculated.ResultsTwo hundred fifty-three taxa (specific and intraspecific) belonging to 39 families, and 128 genera were recorded (26 were cited for the first time). The most represented families were Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, Apiaceae, Amaryllidaceae, Malvaceae, and Polygonaceae. Only 14 taxa were cited by 75% of the people interviewed.The aerial parts of wild plants, including leaves, tender shoots, and basal rosettes, are the main portions collected, while the subterranean parts are used to a lesser extent. For some vegetables, more parts are utilized. Most of the reported vegetables are consumed cooked.In addition to the widely known vegetables (Borago officinalis, Beta spp., Cichorium spp., Brassica spp., Carduus spp., etc.), the so-called ancient vegetables are included (Onopordum illyricum, Centaurea calcitrapa, Nasturtium officinale, Scolymus spp., Smyrnium rotundifolium), and some unique uses were described.Comparing the Sicilian findings to those from other countries, a very high number of vegetable taxa were detected, 72 of which are eaten only in Sicily, while 12 are consumed in all the Mediterranean countries examined.ConclusionsThe research shows a high level of Sicilian knowledge about using wild plants as a traditional food source. Wild vegetables are healthy and authentic ingredients for local and ancient recipes, which are fundamental to the revitalization of quality food strictly connected to traditional agroecosystems.

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TOF MS was shown to be a useful technique for following the formation of gold carbides in the gas phase. Clusters and 'gold-doped' diamonds generated might inspire synthesis of new Au-C materials with hardly predictable, unusual properties.

a università degli studi roma tre facoltà di scienza matematiche fisiche e naturali, roma, italy; b Department of earth and environmental sciences, università degli studi di Pavia, Pavia, italy; c università di camerino, Barisciano, italy; d università del salento, lecce, italy; e ente Parco nazionale d'abruzzo lazio e molise, Pescasseroli, italy; f università degli studi di sassari, sassari, italy; g università degli studi di Palermo, Palermo, italy; h Dip. scienze della Vita, siena, italy; i scienze della terra e dell'ambiente -sez. ecologia del territorio, Pavia university, Pavia, italy; j Department of Botanical sciences, university of cagliari, cagliari, italy; k museo di storia naturale di milano, sezione di Botanica, milano, italy; l università degli studi di siena, siena, italy; m università degli studi di roma la sapienza, roma, italy; n guardie giurate ecologiche Volontarie, reggio emilia, italy; o università degli studi di ferrara, ferrara, italy; p università degli studi dell'insubria, Varese, italy; q Department of Biological, geological and environmental sciences, university of Bologna, Bologna, italy; r museo orto Botanico, università degli studi di Bari "aldo moro", Bari, italy; s università degli studi di Pisa, Pisa, italy; t DBsf, università degli studi dell'insubria, Varese, italy; u native flora centre of the lombardy region, galbiate, lecco, italy; v Parco nazionale della majella, sulmona, italy; w Dipartimento di scienze dell'ambiente e del territorio e di scienze della terra, università degli studi di milano -Bicocca, milano, italy; x comunità montana alta Valtellina, Bormio, sondrio, italy; y centro conservazione Biodiversità (ccB), Dipartimento di scienze Botaniche, università degli studi di cagliari, cagliari, italy; z oliena, nuoro, italy; aa centro ricerche floristiche dell'appennino, università di camerino -Parco nazionale del gran sasso e monti della laga), Barisciano, l'aquila, italy; ab isPra-istituto superiore per la protezione e la ricerca ambientale, Dip. Bio, roma, italy; ac Dipartimento di scienze Botaniche, università degli studi di cagliari, cagliari, italy; ad università di Pisa, Pisa, italy; ae università degli studi di modena e reggio emilia, modena, italy; af liceo scientifico statale "g. ferraris", Varese, italy; ag agenzia forestas, cagliari, italy; ah tuscia germplasm Bank, tuscia university, Viterbo, italy; ai majella national Park, sulmona, italy; aj ente Parco nazionale della majella, sulmona, l'aquila, italy; ak giardino Botanico gole del sagittario, anversa degli abruzzi, l'aquila, italy; al università di Palermo Diiaa, Palermo, italy; am agricultural, food and forest sciences, university of Palermo, Palermo, italy; an Dipartimento di Biologia vegetale, sapienza università di roma, rome, italy; ao Dipartimento di scienze Botaniche, ecologiche e geologiche, università degli studi di sassari, sassari, italy; ap Veneto agricoltura, legnaro, italy; aq evolutionary Biology -laboratories of Botany, university of florence, florence, italy; ar Dipartimento di Biologia, u...

The new Au-Ag-Te nano-composite was found to be a more suitable precursor for the generation of clusters than the mixtures of the elements. TOF MS was shown to be a useful technique for following the generation of gold-silver tellurides. Knowledge of the cluster stoichiometry could accelerate the further development of novel high-tech materials such as chalcogenide glasses.