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We demonstrate, for the first time to our knowledge, a monolithically-integrated photonic interferometric imager circuit with on-chip detectors, CMOS trans-impedance-amplifiers, and associated photonic imager components. A proof-of-principle demonstration of interferogram fringe generation will be discussed.

Numerosi studi hanno dimostrato che l’incremento delle temperature medie stagionali e le variazioni nel regime stagionale delle precipitazioni influenzano direttamente la variabilità di crescita dei popolamenti forestali. Conoscere la risposta delle foreste alla variabilità del clima è propedeutica a calibrare gli interventi selvicolturali per garantire minore stress alle piante e una migliore efficienza ecosistemica. Il progetto LIFE AForClimate (LIFE15 CCA/IT/000089 - Adaption of FORest management to CLIMATE variability: an ecological approach) mira a fornire soluzioni concrete per realizzare una gestione forestale efficace nell’adattamento ai cambiamenti climatici e definire un metodo per la stima degli impatti della variabilità del clima sulla crescita dei boschi di faggio. Grazie a questo cambiamento d’approccio rispetto alla gestione forestale classica, AForClimate intende raggiungere i seguenti risultati: i) elaborare un modello previsionale dettagliato per la pianificazione della gestione forestale delle faggete che prenda in considerazione la variabilità climatica nel tempo, in modo da conservarne la resilienza, favorire la rinnovazione naturale e distribuire i prelievi legnosi in periodi con condizioni climatiche favorevoli all’accrescimento; ii) sviluppare uno schema di costante monitoraggio climatico per valutare, a fine progetto, gli impatti dell’approccio alla gestione in termini di crescita del bosco e di rinnovazione; iii) sviluppare ed implementare un prototipo di Sistema di Supporto alle Decisioni per pianificare la gestione forestale in uno scenario di cambiamenti climatici. Il progetto viene sviluppato in tre aree forestali e geografiche diverse rappresentative dei tre habitat di faggeta presenti nel territorio italiano secondo un gradiente latitudinale: faggete nord appenniniche senza impronta mediterranea (Mugello, Toscana), faggete appenniniche ad impronta mediterranea (Matese, Molise), faggete mediterranee con siccità estiva (Monti Nebrodi, Sicilia). Questo contributo oltre a presentare il progetto, ne riporta i risultati preliminari ottenuti nei primi due anni.

Previous research experiences have shown that climate variability can play a relevant role in forest planning and management within a climate change scenario. In forest planning and management, yield tables, site quality indices, age classes, and rates of growth are some of the most frequently used parameters and tools. However, these ‘traditional’ methods do not include the influence of climate variability on forest growth over time, although it is one of the main influencing factors in tree growth. Changes in climate determine changes in thermo-pluviometric regimes that often have a marked influence on forest growth trends. Forest biomass, resilience, and carbon sequestration may be damaged unless forest planning and management implement the relationships between climate variability and trends of tree growth. The absence of an approach that implements the relationships between climate variability and tree growth as an ordinary tool for forest planning and management can have significant negative effects on forest biomass, resilience and carbon sequestration. The project AForClimate (Adaption of FORest management to CLIMATE variability: an ecological approach - LIFE15 CCA/IT/000089) aims to adapt forest management to climate change by defining an effective method for estimating the impacts of climate variability on growth of the forest. In this, AForClimate aims to manage forests in order to preserve their resilience, promote their natural renewal and distribute the wood mass harvested over periods with climatic conditions favourable to growth. The project targets beech ecosystems given their economic and ecological importance at European level. In Europe there are about 15 million hectares of beech forests that grow mainly in mountain areas of central and southern Europe, from sea level up to 1,800 m altitude. The expected results of the project are: (i) adapt forest management to climate change in the project areas; (ii) develop a detailed forecasting model for forest management that takes into account climate variability over time; (iii) build a monitoring scheme to assess, at the end of the project, the impacts of the management approach in terms of forest growth and regeneration; (iv) elaborate a prototype of Decision Support System to plan forest management in a climate change scenario. The project feasibility will be demonstrated in three Italian regions (Molise, Sicily, and Tuscany) thanks to the support of three territorial partners responsible for management in their respective areas of competence: Molise Region, Sicily Region, and Mountain Union of the Mugello Municipalities

BACKGROUND: The role of positive end-expiratory pressure in mechanical ventilation during general anaesthesia for surgery remains uncertain. Levels of pressure higher than 0 cm H(2)O might protect against postoperative pulmonary complications but could also cause intraoperative circulatory depression and lung injury from overdistension. We tested the hypothesis that a high level of positive end-expiratory pressure with recruitment manoeuvres protects against postoperative pulmonary complications in patients at risk of complications who are receiving mechanical ventilation with low tidal volumes during general anaesthesia for open abdominal surgery. METHODS: In this randomised controlled trial at 30 centres in Europe and North and South America, we recruited 900 patients at risk for postoperative pulmonary complications who were planned for open abdominal surgery under general anaesthesia and ventilation at tidal volumes of 8 mL/kg. We randomly allocated patients to either a high level of positive end-expiratory pressure (12 cm H(2)O) with recruitment manoeuvres (higher PEEP group) or a low level of pressure (≤2 cm H(2)O) without recruitment manoeuvres (lower PEEP group). We used a centralised computer- generated randomisation system. Patients and outcome assessors were masked to the intervention. Primary endpoint was a composite of postoperative pulmonary complications by postoperative day 5. Analysis was by intention-to-treat. The study is registered at Controlled-Trials.com, number ISRCTN70332574. FINDINGS: From February, 2011, to January, 2013, 447 patients were randomly allocated to the higher PEEP group and 453 to the lower PEEP group. Six patients were excluded from the analysis, four because they withdrew consent and two for violation of inclusion criteria. Median levels of positive end-expiratory pressure were 12 cm H(2)O (IQR 12–12) in the higher PEEP group and 2 cm H(2)O (0–2) in the lower PEEP group. Postoperative pulmonary complications were reported in 174 (40%) of 445 patients in the higher PEEP group versus 172 (39%) of 449 patients in the lower PEEP group (relative risk 1·01; 95% CI 0·86–1·20; p=0·86). Compared with patients in the lower PEEP group, those in the higher PEEP group developed intraoperative hypotension and needed more vasoactive drugs. INTERPRETATION: A strategy with a high level of positive end-expiratory pressure and recruitment manoeuvres during open abdominal surgery does not protect against postoperative pulmonary complications. An intraoperative protective ventilation strategy should include a low tidal volume and low positive end-expiratory pressure, without recruitment manoeuvres. FUNDING: Academic Medical Center (Amsterdam, Netherlands), European Society of Anaesthesiology.

In Italy, chronic pain affects more than a quarter of the population, whereas the average European prevalence is 21%. This high prevalence might be due to the high percentage of Italian people who do not receive treatment, even after the passing of law 38/2010 (the right to access pain management in Italy), which created a regional network for the diagnosis and treatment of noncancer chronic pain. Italian epidemiologic studies on chronic pain are scanty, and this observational, multicenter, cross-sectional study is the first to investigate the clinical characteristics of patients who attended the pain management clinics in the Latium Region, Italy, for the management of their noncancer chronic pain. A total of 1,606 patients (mean age 56.8 years, standard deviation ± 11.4), 67% women, were analyzed. Severe pain was present in 54% of the sample. Women experienced pain and had it in two or more sites more often than men (57% vs. 50%, p = .02; and 55.2% vs. 45.9%, p .001, respectively). Chronic pain was musculoskeletal (45%), mixed (34%), and neuropathic (21%). In more than 60% of the cases, chronic pain was continuous, and in 20% it had lasted for more than 48 months; long-lasting pain was often neuropathic. Low back (33.4%) and lower limbs (28.2%) were the main locations. Severe intensity of pain was statistically significantly associated with female gender (odds ratio [OR] 1.39; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.06-1.84); with International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, codes for chronic pain syndrome (OR 2.14; 95% CI 1.55-2.95); and with continuous pain (OR 2.02; 95% CI 1.54-2.66). Neuropathic pain and mixed pain were significantly associated with number of sites, and a trend seemed to be present (OR 2.11 and 3.02 for 2 and 3 + sites; 95% CI 1.59-2.79 and 2.00-4.55, respectively).