Increased frequency of tree mortality and forest decline due to anomalous drought events calls for the adoption of effective monitoring of tree water status over large spatial and temporal scales. We correlated field-measured and remotely sensed plant water status parameters, to test the possibility of monitoring the risk of drought-induced dehydration and hydraulic failure using satellite images calibrated on reliable physiological indicators of tree hydraulics. The study was conducted during summer 2019 in the Karst plateau (NE Italy) in a woodland dominated by Fraxinus ornus L.; Sentinel-2 images were acquired on a seasonal scale on the same dates when absolute water content (AbWC), relative water content (RWC), and minimum water potential (Ψmin) were measured in the field. Plant water status parameters were correlated with normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI and NDVI 8A), normalized difference water index (NDWI), and soil-adjusted vegetation index (SAVI). Significant Pearson and Spearman linear correlations (α < 0.05) emerged between all tree-level measured variables and NDWI, while for NDVI, NDVI 8A, and SAVI no correlation was found. Our results suggest the possibility of using the NDWI as a proxy of tree water content and water potential.

Coastal sand dunes represent one of the most fragile ecosystems in the Mediterranean basin. These habitats naturally suffer the action of several limiting factors such as sand burial, marine aerosol and low soil fertility; on the other hand, they often host species of high conservation value. Over the last decades, they have also experienced a high level of biological invasion. In this study, we sampled psammophilous vegetation in two sites in the northern Adriatic coast belonging to the Natura 2000 network to describe diversity patterns and to identify the main ecological drivers of species diversity. Plant species richness and their abundance were assessed in each plot. Differences in species composition for native and alien species were compared via PERMANOVA analysis. Species complementarity was explored by partitioning beta diversity in its spatial components (richness and replacement). A Generalized Linear Model was also computed to assess the main environmental factors that may promote invasiveness in these ecosystems. For the investigated area, our results highlight the strong differentiation in community composition both in alien and native species: in particular alien species showed on average a lower complementarity among habitats compared to native species. Specifically, communities seem to be more diversified when larger spatial scales were considered. Beta diversity in both groups appears to be more dominated by the richness component with respect to the replacement component. Furthermore, in these habitats, the occurrence of alien species was shown to be related to geomorphological predictors more than climatic variables.

Nowadays, urban areas play a crucial role in biodiversity conservation and habitat protection despite the constant pressures on which these habitats are subjected. They may even host relatively new plant communities due to the peculiar ecosystem where they vegetate. The port of Trieste (NE Italy) is characterized by a mixed mosaic of intensely human impacted areas (where commercial activities are still ongoing) flanked by abandoned areas where vegetation persists or has spontaneously recovered. In this study, we sampled the whole port area through a stratified random sampling by placing multiscalar nested plots in four different habitats (strata) previously identified by photo-interpretation. Plant species richness and abundance were assessed in each plot. Each species was then classified as native or alien and patterns of species richness and complementarity were compared among habitats. Results show that there is a significant difference in species richness patterns among habitats, while observed patterns are likely to vary at different spatial scales. As expected, urban plots account for most of the alien species in the sampling, while wooded plots cope better with invasion, accounting for a lower alien/native ratio. These results highlight how habitat diversity enhances biodiversity in urban areas and how it could provide an effective filtering effect able to reduce the spread of alien species. In addition, we provide further evidence for the use of multi-scale approaches in order to study the complex relationships between spatial heterogeneity and plant species richness

Mixed neuroendocrine non-neuroendocrine neoplasms (MiNENs) refer to heterogenous rare neoplasms constituted of at least a neuroendocrine population—either well-differentiated, or more frequently poorly differentiated—and a non-neuroendocrine population, both accounting for at least 30% of the whole tumor mass. Several studies recently focused on the key genetic and epigenetic changes underlying MiNENs to better understand how they develop, and explore biological similarities among the two components and their pure counterparts. However, their molecular landscape still remains poorly understood. NGS may represent a useful tool to study this orphan disease by detecting the main genetic alterations and possible therapeutic targets. NGS analysis on tissue and/or blood samples through the Foundation One (F1) platform was performed on consecutive samples collected from four patients diagnosed with MiNENs of the gastroenteric tract. Several genetic alterations were shared among samples from the same patients, thus suggesting a common origin between them, although morphology sometimes changed at histopathological evaluation. Common molecular alterations among samples from different patients that had not been previously described to our knowledge were also detected. Finally, it is of the utmost importance to clarify if the maintenance of the 30% cut-off is still essential in defining MiNENs and really manages to include all of the mixed neoplasms.

The role of vegetation analysis by remote sensing and GIS technology for planning sustainable development: A case study for the Santos estuary drainage basin (

The paper presents the map of intrinsic groundwater vulnerability of the Isonzo/Soča High Plain, which is located between the Collio Hills and the Classical Karst Region and holds an aquifer shared between Italy and Slovenia. The map, produced at a scale of 1:25,000 and printed in A0 format, was obtained by means of the SINTACS method and shows the intrinsic vulnerability of the aquifer in terms of seven vulnerability classes, from extremely high to low. It is accompanied by four supplementary sketches that illustrate the geological framework, the bedrock top surface, the groundwater flow paths, the Hazard Index map and three diagrams that summarize the percentages of vulnerability classes and of Hazard Index classes of the study area.

Despite that congruence across taxa has been proved as an effective tool to provide insights into the processes structuring the spatial distribution of taxonomic groups and is useful for conservation purposes, only a few studies on cross-taxon congruence focused on freshwater ecosystems and on the relations among vascular plants and lichens. We hypothesized here that, since vascular plants could be good surrogates of lichens in these ecosystems, it would be possible to assess the overall biodiversity of riparian habitats using plant data only. In this frame, we explored the relationship between (a) species richness and (b) community composition of plants and lichens in a wetland area located in central Italy to (i) assess whether vascular plants are good surrogates of lichens and (ii) to test the congruence of patterns of species richness and composition among plants and lichens along an ecological gradient. The general performance of plant species richness per se, as a biodiversity surrogate of lichens, had poor results. Nonetheless, the congruence in compositional patterns between lichens and vascular plants varied across habitats and was influenced by the characteristics of the vegetation. In general, we discussed how the strength of the studied relationships could be influenced by characteristics of the data (presence/absence vs. abundance), by the spatial scale, and by the features of the habitats. Overall, our data confirm that the more diverse and structurally complex the vegetation is, the more diverse are the lichen communities it hosts.

Background The combination of trifluridine-tipiracil and bevacizumab was compared with trifluridine-tipiracil monotherapy in a randomized, open-label, phase II trial, resulting in a statistically significant and clinically relevant improvement in progression-free survival (PFS), with tolerable toxicity in patients with refractory metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC); however, evidence supporting the role of this combination in a real-world setting is limited. Objective The aim of our work was to provide further evidence on the activity and safety of this combination in a real-world series of Western mCRC patients refractory or intolerant to previous therapies. Patient and Methods We conducted a retrospective, observational study of patients with mCRC refractory or intolerant to standard therapies. Patients were treated with trifluridine-tipiracil and bevacizumab. Previous therapy with fluoropyrimidines, irinotecan, oxaliplatin, bevacizumab, aflibercept, regorafenib, and cetuximab or panitumumab (only RAS wild-type) was allowed, as was previous participation in clinical trials. Clinicopathological characteristics, overall response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), overall survival (OS), PFS, and safety data were retrospectively collected and analyzed. Results We recorded 31 patients treated between 1 December 2017 and 30 June 2022. Median age was 69 years (range 38–82 years), 39% were male, 100% had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (PS) of 0–1, tumor location was left-sided in 77% of cases, 54% had synchronous presentation, 35% were RAS mutant, 3% were BRAF mutant, and 71% underwent primary tumor resection; 64% of patients had liver metastases, 55% had lung metastases, and 23% had peritoneal carcinomatosis. The median number of previous treatment lines was 2 (range 0–5), and 84% of patients received at least one previous anti-angiogenic agent. The ORR and DCR were 3% and 71%, respectively. With a median follow-up of 8 months (range 2–39), median PFS was 6 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 3.1–8.9 months) and median OS was 14 months (95% CI 10.1–17.8 months). Adverse events of any grade were reported in 58% of patients. The most common grade 3–4 toxicities were neutropenia (19%) and anemia (6%); 35% of patients required either dose delays or dose reductions due to toxicity. Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) prophylaxis was administered either on first or subsequent cycles of treatment in 35% of patients. No treatment-related deaths occurred. Sixty percent of the patients who discontinued treatment eventually received one or more lines of subsequent therapy. Conclusions Our series provides further evidence on the activity and safety of the combination of trifluridine-tipiracil and bevacizumab in a real-world series of Western refractory mCRC patients.