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The current understanding of the richness and distribution of plant species on a national scale, achieved by the recent checklists of Italian flora, is largely based on the quality and thoroughness of the data provided by regional floristic studies. This knowledge benefits from regional databases, such as the Wikiplantbase #Liguria project, which offers an online platform where thousands of geo-referenced floristic records from Liguria (north-western Italy) are stored and freely accessible. In 2019, adopting a citizen science approach, a floristic survey program consisting of 11 excursions opened to the public was implemented, with the aim of deepening the floristic knowledge of some poorly investigated areas of the region. The active collaboration between scientists and volunteers led to the collection of about 4000 floristic data corresponding to more than 800 taxa, including 13 taxa unknown or no longer recorded for Liguria. These results suggest that citizen science can be a useful tool to address the knowledge gaps of regional floras. In particular, collaboration between experts and non-professional botanists allows to collect reliable data even for hardly-to-recognize taxa, contributing to fix some gaps occurring in the Wikiplantbase #Liguria project.

The Maritime and Ligurian Alps have a flora characterised by a very high number of endemic species in relation to their small geographical extension. This area is considered one of the most important centres of diversification of the Alps and a Mediterranean hotspot of biodiversity. In the last years many studies were performed in order to describe the distribution and phylogeographical patterns of endemism. Despite these studies, Maritime and Ligurian Alps still lack in a broad view about the evolution of endemisms in this area. In this review, we examine the knowledge about the distribution patterns of endemic plant species living in the Maritime and Ligurian Alps in order to identify the evolutionary and biogeographical mechanisms operating on them.

In this contribution, new data concerning algae, bryophytes, fungi, and lichens of the Italian flora are presented. It includes new records and confirmations for the algae genus Chara , the bryophyte genera Cephalozia , Conardia , Conocephalum , Didymodon , Sphagnum , Tetraplodon , and Tortula , the fungal genera Endophyllum , Gymnosporangium , Microbotryum , Phragmidium , and Pluteus , and the lichen genera Candelariella , Cladonia , Flavoplaca , Lichenothelia , Peltigera , Placolecis , Rinodina , Scytinium , and Solenopsora .

In this contribution, new data concerning the Italian distribution of native vascular flora are presented. It includes new records, exclusions, and confirmations pertaining to the Italian administrative regions for taxa in the genera Arundo , Bromopsis , Cistus , Crocus , Festuca , Galeopsis , Genista , Lamium , Leucanthemum , Nerium , Orobanche , Peucedanum , Pilosella , Polycnemum , Stipa and Viola .

In this contribution, new data concerning the distribution of native vascular flora in Italy are presented. It includes new records, confirmations, exclusions, and status changes to the Italian administrative regions for taxa in the genera Ajuga , Chamaemelum , Clematis , Convolvulus , Cytisus , Deschampsia , Eleocharis , Epipactis , Euphorbia , Groenlandia , Hedera , Hieracium , Hydrocharis , Jacobaea , Juncus , Klasea , Lagurus , Leersia , Linum , Nerium , Onopordum , Persicaria , Phlomis , Polypogon , Potamogeton , Securigera , Sedum , Soleirolia , Stachys , Umbilicus , Valerianella , and Vinca . Nomenclatural and distribution updates, published elsewhere, and corrigenda are provided as Suppl. material 1.

Pancratium maritimum L. is an Amaryllidaceous species whose presence is severely endangered in its original range, the sandy coasts of the Mediterranean sea. A molecular analysis has been performed to evaluate the genetic distance among populations coming from different locations, in order to define the best repopulating strategy. The plant genome, analysed by AFLP markers, was found to be extremely homogeneous and conserved, evoking vegetative or autogamous reproductive habits. Seeds from two different locations showed a good germination capability in greenhouse tests, indicating the potential presence of an efficient sexual reproduction. The combination of molecular data and germination tests would support the hypothesis of an autogamous reproduction for this species.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

Cerastium utriense Barberis (Caryophyllaceae) is an endemic plant growing on ultramafic outcrops in northwestern Italy. Despite its great phytogeographical importance, little is known about its ecological requirements and environmental range. Thus, the main objective of the present work was to examine and clarify these aspects. On the basis of a preliminary survey on its range, 28 plots were sampled, and Ellenberg ecological indices of the flora growing with C. utriense were defined. Furthermore, on the basis of the floristic diversity and physical, chemical, and biological properties of the soils, 10 of these plots were selected and more closely investigated. This preliminary study characterized C. utriense as a strictly Ni-excluding serpentinophyte with no apparent relationship with typical chemical characteristics of serpentine soils. On the contrary, the species showed a direct association with physical traits typical of serpentine substrates.

The term “biobanking” is often misapplied to any collection of human biological materials (biospecimens) regardless of requirements related to ethical and legal issues or the standardization of different processes involved in tissue collection. A proper definition of biobanks is large collections of biospecimens linked to relevant personal and health information (health records, family history, lifestyle, genetic information) that are held predominantly for use in health and medical research. In addition, the International Organization for Standardization, in illustrating the requirements for biobanking (ISO 20387:2018), stresses the concept of biobanks being legal entities driving the process of acquisition and storage together with some or all of the activities related to collection, preparation, preservation, testing, analysing and distributing defined biological material as well as related information and data. In this review article, we aim to discuss the basic principles of biobanking, spanning from definitions to classification systems, standardization processes and documents, sustainability and ethical and legal requirements. We also deal with emerging specimens that are currently being generated and shaping the so-called next-generation biobanking, and we provide pragmatic examples of cancer-associated biobanking by discussing the process behind the construction of a biobank and the infrastructures supporting the implementation of biobanking in scientific research.

Background Colorectal cancer can be efficiently treated when found at early stages, thus the search for novel markers is of paramount importance. Since inflammation is associated with cancer progression and angiogenesis, we investigated expression of cytokines like IL-6 and other mediators that play a key role in the innate immune system, in particular toll like receptor 4 (TLR4), in the microenvironment of lesions from different stages of colon disease progression, from ulcerative colitis to adenoma and adenocarcinoma to find useful markers. Methods The presence of inflammatory cells and expression of key cytokines involved in the inflammation process were quantified by immunohistochemistry in specific tissue compartments (epithelial, stromal, endothelial) by immunohistochemistry. A murine azoxymethane/dextran sulfate model in which Tir8, a negative regulator of the inflammatory response, was ablated was used to confirm the clinical observations. 116 Archival tissue samples from patients with different stages of colorectal disease: 13 cases of ulcerative colitis (UC), 34 tubular or tubulo-villous adenomas (AD), and 53 infiltrating adenocarcinomas. 16 specimens of healthy mucosa surgically removed with the cancerous tissue were used as a control. Results The differences between healthy tissues and the diverse lesions was characterized by a marked inflammatory-angiogenic reaction, with significantly (P < 0.05) higher numbers of CD68, CD15, and CD31 expressing cells in all diseased tissues that correlated with increasing grade of malignancy. We noted down-regulation of a potential modulator molecule, Hepatocyte Growth Factor, in all diseased tissues (P < 0.05). TLR-4 and IL6 expression in the tumor microenvironment were associated with adenocarcinoma in human samples and in the murine model. We found that adenocarcinoma patients (pT1-4) with higher TLR-4 expression in stromal compartment had a significantly increased risk in disease progression. In those patients with a diagnosis of pT3 (33 cases) colon cancer, those with very high levels of TLR-4 in the tumor stroma relapsed significantly earlier than those with lower expression levels. Conclusions These data suggest that high TLR-4 expression in the tumor microenvironment represents a possible marker of disease progression in colon cancer.

Investigators observed the healing of a broncholpeural fistula soon after the injection of mesenchymal stem cells into the area surrounding the fistula. To the Editor: Large-airway defects and tracheobronchial dehiscence after lung resection present a problem for clinicians because there are few effective methods of treatment. 1 Bronchopleural fistula is a pathologic connection between the airway and the pleural space that may develop after lung resection. For many patients with empyema, the presence or absence of a fistula makes the difference between recovery, chronic illness, and death. 2 , 3 In our previous preclinical experiments, we found that bronchoscopic transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells derived from bone marrow could close a bronchopleural fistula with the extraluminal proliferation of fibroblasts and the development of collagenous matrix. . . .