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Herbarium collections shape our understanding of the world’s flora and are crucial for addressing global change and biodiversity conservation. The formation of such natural history collections, however, are not free from sociopolitical issues of immediate relevance. Despite increasing efforts addressing issues of representation and colonialism in natural history collections, herbaria have received comparatively less attention. While it has been noted that the majority of plant specimens are housed in the global North, the extent of this disparity has not been rigorously quantified to date. Here, by analyzing over 85 million specimen records and surveying herbaria across the globe, we assess the colonial legacy of botanical collections and how we may move towards a more inclusive future. We demonstrate that colonial exploitation has contributed to an inverse relationship between where plant biodiversity exists in nature and where it is housed in herbaria. Such disparities persist in herbaria across physical and digital realms despite overt colonialism having ended over half a century ago, suggesting ongoing digitization and decolonization efforts have yet to alleviate colonial-era discrepancies. We emphasize the need for acknowledging the inconvenient history of herbarium collections and the implementation of a more equitable, global paradigm for their collection, curation, and use.

Cardiovascular imaging is key for the assessment of patients with heart failure. Today, both cardiac magnetic resonance and cardiac computed tomography play an established role in the assessment of patients with suspected and confirmed heart failure syndromes. In particular, cardiac magnetic resonance is of paramount importance in identifying etiology of left ventricular dysfunction. It has an increasing role in prognostic stratification and in clinical decision-making around therapy. Key strengths include its ability to characterize myocardial tissue, unrestricted field of view, lack of radiation, as well as accuracy and reproducibility. Cardiac computed tomography has become an important tool in the management of patients with congestive heart failure. Advances in scanner technology have increased its spatial and temporal resolution to unprecedented levels while resulting in decreasing radiation doses. The primary diagnostic application is in differentiation of ischemic from nonischemic etiology of left ventricular dysfunction. Its role in tissue characterization shows promise and is increasingly being studied.

Purpose. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of three-dimensional (3D) reconstructions and quantitative analysis of the volume of each component of the lung with cystic fibrosis (CF). Materials and methods. Twenty-two patients with CF (mean age 17±8 yeas) were included in the study. The patients underwent an unenhanced single-slice spiral computed tomography (CT) chest scan with the following parameters: collimation 3 mm, table feed 6 mm×rot-1, reconstruction interval 1 mm, soft tissue reconstruction kernel. Four image data sets were obtained: native axial slices, cine-mode display, virtual bronchographic volumerendered images with algorithm for tissue transition display and virtual endoluminal views. The lungs were segmented manually from the hilum to the visceral pleura on the axial images, and the entire lung volume was calculated. A histogram was generated representing the fractional volume of tissues, the density of which was within a preset range. A curve was then obtained from the histogram. Results. Native axial images and cine-mode display allowed complete evaluation of lung volumes. Virtual bronchography allowed a better assessment of the distribution of bronchiectasis. Virtual bronchoscopy was limited by the fact that it visualised only the surface, without differentiating mucus from the bronchial wall. Manual segmentation and generation of density-volume curves required 41±7 min for each lung. Three curve patterns were identified depending on disease severity. Conclusions. Volume-density analysis of lungs with CF is feasible. Its main advantage is that image analysis is not analogical, as the assessment is not performed using scoring systems or similar ordinal scales. This technique cannot differentiate acute from chronic findings, and the predictive value of the curve should be assessed.

The aim of this article is to illustrate the main technical improvements in the last generation of 64-row CT scanners and the possible applications in coronary angiography. In particular, we describe the new physical components (X-ray tube-detectors system) and the general scan and reconstruction parameters. We then define the scan protocols for coronary angiography with the new generation of 64-row CT scanners to enable radiologists to perform a CT study on the basis of the diagnostic possibilities.