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The piggyback basin of Bezhan, southeastern Albania, was formed during the late Neogene and contains Pliocene/Pleistocene deposits. These continental deposits consist of marls, siltstones and clays separated by a thin series of lignite-seams alternating with clays (Bezhan formation). We investigated leaf fossils and dispersed pollen from marls of the upper portion of this formation. Fifty-two plant taxa comprising algae, gymnosperms, and angiosperms were recovered. Of these, at least 19% belong to extant species and less than 16% belong to taxa today extinct in western Eurasia. Tsuga is represented by three pollen taxa with affinities to modern Chinese, Japanese, and North American species. Herbaceous taxa indicative of steppe (Artemisia, Amaranthaceae) occur in low quantities (≤1%) suggesting an interglacial setting. Four vegetation units are recognised: Wet riparian and aquatic vegetation, mesic oak forest, dry sub-Mediterranean woodland, and montane conifer forest. A comparison of the Bezhan flora with well-dated Pliocene and Pleistocene floras of Italy suggests a Calabrian (late early Pleistocene) age for the upper unit. This estimate is based on the abundance of extant taxa, the absence of subtropical taxa, and threshold values of particular taxa (Tsuga, Carya). The findings are in agreement with age estimates for extant tree species from molecular studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract\nKEY POINTSPredictive prognostic scoring (PS) systems are not primarily applicable to elderly patients with classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL). The objective of this study was to develop a PS system for these patients. The derivation cohort (DC) was utilized for model development, consisting of 97 variables. The resulting algorithm was named as Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Early Death in the Elderly within 12 months (HEDEL12). Internal and external validation cohorts (IVC and EVC) were employed for validation. A total of 286 patients were evaluated retrospectively. In DC 38 of 178 patients died within the first 12 months and overall survival (OS) at 12-month was 78.6%. Independent predictors of HEDEL12 were female sex, low albumin levels (<3.5 g/dL), and ECOG scores 2-4. According to HEDEL12 scores 0–1, OS at 12- months were 89.8% and 91.0% for IVC and EVC, respectively. The HEDEL12 scoring is useful in predicting the survival of advanced-stage cHL patients.Predictive prognostic scoring (PS) systems are not applicable to elderly patients with classical Hodgkin lymphomaFemale sex, low albumin levels (<3.5 g/dL), and ECOG scores 2-4 are independent predictors of survival in older advanced stage cHL patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]