In this contribution, new data concerning the distribution of vascular flora alien to Italy are presented. It includes new records, confirmations, exclusions, and status changes for Italy or for Italian administrative regions. Nomenclatural and distribution updates published elsewhere are provided as Suppl. material 1.
Digital and representation: the second line and the forgotten castle of FiumedinisiThe Belvedere Castle of Fiumedinisi (ME) belongs to that historical heritage of Sicily characterized by abandoned and forgotten military architecture. Along the Ionian coast the defensive problem has been particularly felt over time, due to the proximity of the Turkish coast, the Middle East and the African one. The first defensive line was the coastal one, defined by principals placed on the sea in a strategic position for direct control of the coast. They were part of this group: the Maniace castle of Syracuse, that of Augusta, of Brucoli, of Catania, of Acicastello, the Tocco of Acireale, Schisò in the territory of Giardini, Capo Sant'Alessio, the Saracen Tower of Roccalumera, Capo Grosso in Ali , San Salvatore in Messina. Along the eastern side of the Peloritani mountains from Calatabiano to Messina, the island's defensive strategy also included a second line of fortifications, which controlled a more distant horizon from their position. These include the castle of Calatabiano, Taormina, Castelmola, Forza d’Agrò, Savoca, Fiumedinisi, Scaletta Zanclea, Santo Stefano di Briga, Matagrifone. Among them, the Belvedere castle of Fiumedinisi, at a critical distance from the village, so as to be in a state of neglect, among those listed is that which is in the worst conditions. In stark contrast to the dignity and history of the site and territory of Fiumedinisi, dating back to the Greek period. In this work we propose the survey of the castle with digital, photogrammetric technologies, Structure From Motion (SFM) and dense matching, to arrive at a 3D documentation and graphic drawings, considering that to date there are no significant scientific surveys and representations of this abandoned fortress.
IntroductionMonomorphic ventricular tachycardia (VT) is a life-threatening condition often observed in patients with structural heart disease. Ventricular tachycardia ablation through radiation therapy (VT-ART) for sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia seems promising, effective, and safe. VT-ART delivers focused, high-dose radiation, usually in a single fraction of 25 Gy, allowing ablation of VT by inducing myocardial scars. The procedure is fully non-invasive; therefore, it can be easily performed in patients with contraindications to invasive ablation procedures. Definitive data are lacking, and no direct comparison with standard procedures is available.DiscussionThe aim of this multicenter observational study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of VT-ART, comparing the clinical outcome of patients undergone to VT-ART to patients not having received such a procedure. The two groups will not be collected by direct, prospective accrual to avoid randomization among the innovative and traditional arm: A retrospective selection through matched pair analysis will collect patients presenting features similar to the ones undergone VT-ART within the consortium (in each center independently). Our trial will enroll patients with optimized medical therapy in whom endocardial and/or epicardial radiofrequency ablation (RFA), the gold standard for VT ablation, is either unfeasible or fails to control VT recurrence. Our primary outcome is investigating the difference in overall cardiovascular survival among the group undergoing VT-ART and the one not exposed to the innovative procedure. The secondary outcome is evaluating the difference in ventricular event-free survival after the last procedure (i.e., last RFA vs. VT-ART) between the two groups. An additional secondary aim is to evaluate the reduction in the number of VT episodes comparing the 3 months before the procedure to the ones recorded at 6 months (from the 4th to 6th month) following VT-ART and RFA, respectively. Other secondary objectives include identifying the benefits of VT-ART on cardiac function, as evaluated through an electrocardiogram, echocardiographic, biochemical variables, and on patient quality of life. We calculated the sample size (in a 2:1 ratio) upon enrolling 149 patients: 100 in the non-exposed control group and 49 in the VT-ART group. Progressively, on a multicentric basis supervised by the promoting center in the VT-ART consortium, for each VT-ART patient enrollment, a matched pair patient profile according to the predefined features will be shared with the consortium to enroll a patient that has not undergone VT-ART.ConclusionOur trial will provide insight into the efficacy and safety of VT-ART through a matched pair analysis, via an observational, multicentric study of two groups of patients with or without VT-ART in the multicentric consortium (with subgroup stratification into dynamic cohorts).
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.