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Abstract: This study examined age and cultural differences on both personal and general beliefs about memory by comparing three age groups within two subcultures belonging to the same country: Milanese and Sardinian. Two innovative instruments on general and personal beliefs with graphic-rating-scale format (General Beliefs about Memory Instrument and Personal Beliefs about Memory Instrument) and a memory task (recall of 40 words) were administrated to participants. Sardinians held more positive attitudes about the effects of aging on memory reporting a later onset of declining memory ability and control over memory across the life span. They were also more optimistic in rating their global memory efficacy, control, and retrospective change. The two subcultural groups differed in terms of memory performance, with Sardinian individuals outperforming the Milanese. Findings are discussed in relation to the view of aging in different subcultural contexts. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Lombardy was one of the hardest hit regions in Italy during the COVID19 pandemic. We hereby report our experience with SARS-CoV2 infection in lung transplant recipients. We retrospectively collected clinical data on all the consecutive cases of COVID19 in our centre, based in Milan, from March 2020 to August 2021. Diagnosis was always confirmed by a positive nucleic acid amplification test (RT-PCR) for SARS-CoV-2 on nasopharyngeal swab and/or tracheal aspirate. 21 patients were diagnosed with COVID19. Figure 1 summarizes the clinical course of these individuals. We reduced immunosuppressive regimen in all these patients, typically holding the antiproliferative agent and augmenting steroids; when hospitalized, everybody received initial empiric antibiotic treatment with piperacillin/tazobactam and high-dose LMWH. Hydroxychloroquine was used only in the "first wave" (4 patients). One patient was compassionately administered anakinra and remdesivir as a "rescue therapy". Lymphocitopenia was a common presenting sign (14 patients, 66%). Aspergillus co-infection occurred in 5 patients (24%). Mortality rate was 29%; 4 out of these 6 patients were affected by CLAD and 3 had chronic kidney disease. Of note, in March 2021, we tested all our patients for anti-SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antibodies before starting vaccinations: we found three additional seropositive patients, who were not included in the present analysis, but had been presumably affected by an asymptomatic/mild form of the disease. Apart from immunosuppression, the majority of our patients presented at least one risk factor for mortality in COVID-19 (diabetes, chronic kidney disease, arterial hypertension) and, for this reason, we felt that they should be hospitalized to enable close monitoring and prompt management of possible complications and deterioration. Clinical course seemed favorable in only two thirds of our patients but, for the time being, none of these individuals showed sign of new-onset CLAD after COVID19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]