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Background In Italy, as in many European countries, Pediatric Emergency Medicine is not formally recognized as a pediatric subspecialty, hindering nation-wide adoption of standards of care, especially in the field of procedural sedation and analgesia (PSA) in the Emergency Department (ED). For this reason PSA in Italy is mostly neglected or performed very heterogeneously and by different providers, with no reference standard. We aimed to describe the procedures and results of the first multidisciplinary and multi-professional Consensus Conference in Italy on safe and effective pediatric PSA in Italian EDs. Methods The preparation, organization and conduct of the Consensus Conference, held in Florence in 2017, followed the recommended National methodological standards. Professionals from different specialties across the country were invited to participate. Results Overall 86 recommendations covering 8 themes (pre-sedation evaluation, pharmacologic agents, monitoring, equipment and discharge checklists, training, non-pharmacologic techniques, the adult ED setting, impact on hospitalizations) were developed, taking into account the Italian training system and healthcare organization characteristics. Conclusion The results of the first multidisciplinary and multi-professional Consensus Conference in Italy are meant to provide up-to-date national guidance to improve the standard of care of children undergoing painful and stressful procedures in the ED. The recommendations will be periodically updated as new relevant evidence is published.

The present paper aims to implement the knowledge on sessile oak (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.) in the Mediterranean area where, although present, the species is rare both for natural and anthropogenic reasons. The focus is on two sessile oak aged coppice stands in Tuscany (Central Italy), classified as worthy of protection for their value at local to European level. In addition to environmental and stand structure characteristics, the technological properties of sessile oak wood at the surveyed sites are provided and compared with data in literature. Wood features consist of the anatomical parameters (growth ring thickness, earlywood and latewood thickness, fiber length, earlywood and latewood vessel diameter, amount of earlywood and latewood vessel) and the physical and mechanical parameters (density, modulus of elasticity, strength, hardness). No appreciable technological differences resulted between wood properties in the stands analysed and those from other Italian and French provenances reported in literature. Results highlighted that, even if already managed as coppice, the timber produced by both the stands is basically qualified as source of reproductive material for re-afforestation and to favour again the diffusion of this endangered species in suitable areas. All of this, taking into account that wood quality is determined by technological properties, but also by growing conditions (i.e. site quality), and by the quality of silvicultural management.

La collezione egiziana del Museo Civico Archeologico Etnologico di Modena conta al suo interno due oggetti lignei: un piccolo sarcofago antropoide contenente la mummia con cartonnage di un bambino (fig.1; vd. scheda EG39, pp. 64-65) e una statuetta ushabti di personaggio anonimo (fig.2; vd. scheda EG2, p.36), entrambi acromi. Nell'ambito dell'intervento di manutenzione conservativa e di studio al quale è stato sottoposto l'intero nucleo di antichità, si è deciso di indagare le specie legnose costitutive di questi manufatti per verificare quanto affermato neo documenti d'archivio in merito alla statuetta ushabti "idoletto in legno sicomoro" (Bellucci 2018, passim), e specificare meglio tecniche e materiali di produzione di un sarcofago che stilisticamente non corrisponde ai canoni egiziani.

This work is aimed at showing the results of a work of identification of the wood species used for the construction of the mechanical components of a historic pipe organ. The instrument was built in 1895 in Pistoia (Tuscany, Italy) for a church of a small municipality in the north-west of Tuscany, the summer residence of a family of ancient European nobility; it is therefore a large monumental organ, still original. During the restoration operations, and consequently on the disassembly, it was possible to carry out a complete sampling of the wooden components that are normally not directly accessible. The sampling was performed under the supervision of the restorer, through the cut and drawing of very small samples and with minimally invasive criteria. The identification was performed by observing thin sections, manually cut, by means of an optical microscope. The results of the identification carried out on the 25 samples are reported. The identified timbers are not very numerous and the most represented one is poplar (Populus sp.).

The sanctuary of San Michele Arcangelo dates back to 493 AD and is listed in the UNESCO World Heritage. The door of the sanctuary is considered a "perpetual holy door". It is made of bronze panels covering a wooden structure, which was investigated in order to identify the tree species and the dating. The wooden structure is made mainly by oak with few elements of larch. The oak has been dated through radiocarbon analysis to the year 1385 AD ± 65, while the larch was dated through dendrochronology to the year 1689. None of the wooden elements corresponds to the original structure, but they are the result of different restoration works. The oldest intervention, dated around 1400 AD, is not mentioned in any documentation or source, while the recentest one, towards the half of 1700, is probably the consequence of the fire that damaged the door in that time.

This paper deals with the identification of the wood species used for the production of wooden tools in an ancient plant for manual paper production. After a quick historic contextualisation of the importance of the paper industry developed in the Pescia district (Tuscany, Italy), this paper describes the process of manual paper production and the different tools, mostly wooden, used by the workers. The historic plant "Le Carte" still preserves these tools, which were sampled to scientifically identify the timber species. Samples were drawn from any wooden component of the equipment involved in the whole manual paper making process. Sampling was performed on any portion of the artefact where the species of origin was not clearly and reliably identifiable by eye, or aided by a manual magnifying lens. In total, 1223 identifications were performed and 25 timber types observed. Most of timber identifications regard the large mould collection (434 artefacts, 1154 identifications, 17 timbers), while the equipment included fewer artefacts, identifications and timbers. Obtained results are then technologically discussed, considering the features of each species and the specific needs of each final use.

This paper deals with the description of the analysis performed to characterize the state of preservation of the wooden artefacts recently discovered at the site of Herculaneum, Italy. During 2009, several wooden artefacts were brought to light during maintenance work at Herculaneum. They were attributed to both the roofing elements and the ceiling of the House of the Relief of Telephus. The roof was found mainly disassembled; nevertheless, it was an extraordinary archaeological find, because it represents a unique vestige of a Roman roof and, moreover, the aspect of both the structural and the decorative panels, where portions of the original polychrome decoration and traces of gilding were still preserved, appeared almost intact. Within the framework of the Herculaneum Conservation Project, a diagnostic study was undertaken to characterize the state of preservation of the wood constituting the roof, and also including the decorated panels of the ceiling, in order to determine a consolidation process able to structurally support the decayed wood without damaging the residual polychrome decoration. The results of the micromorphological, chemical and physical characterization of the wood, as a combined diagnostic process, are reported. A first proposal of a possible consolidation methodology based on the analytical results is also suggested.

Il contributo vuole presentare i risultati preliminari relativi allo studio del record stratigrafico rinvenuto nella p.f. 1992/10 nel comune di Riva del Garda. Tale deposito deve la sua origine ad un evento catastrofico naturale, molto probabilmente una grossa colata detritica, favorita o causata da un episodio esondativo del torrente Varone. Oltre all'analisi delle unità stratigrafiche osservate nelle quattro sezioni di scavo e in alcune aree di interesse indagate in piano, vengono forniti anche i primi risultati ottenuti dall'analisi istologica dei resti lignei recuperati. In attesa dello studio geoarcheologico dei campioni di suolo prelevati e di quelle archeobotaniche sui residui di flottazione dei lacerti relitti di un probabile paleosuolo agrario di età romana, si propone un primo tentativo di ricostruzione paleoambientale.

The restoration of the wooden statue of San Nicola di Mira – usually known as San Nicola di Bari – at the Diocesan Museum of Palermo, is the result of a cooperation among art historians, restorers, physicists, chemists, biologists and geologists. The intervention was carried out by following a series of historical and scientific surveys which allowed to study the object in depth and to recover it its originality. The restoration took place in a hall of the Diocesan Museum, fitted out as a laboratory, according to rigorous scientific rules and to Cesare Brandi’s restorationtheory. So, the statue went back, as far as possible, to its ancient splendour; moreover, some details re-emerged, that had been so far buried under the patinas of the past.

Aim: To investigate and compare the effects of topical benzalkonium chloride-preserved prostaglandins (PGAs) on the ocular surface in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma before and after 3 months of treatment with additional 0.5% preservative-free tamarind seed polysaccharide single-dose eyedrops (TSP®, Oftagen, Pisa, Italy). Methods: This was a prospective, longitudinal, multicenter study. From 5 different Italian glaucoma centers, 10 glaucomatous patients were recruited in each center. All the patients were treated with a PGA with preservative for at least 1 year. Preservative-free artificial tears 3 times per day were prescribed. The participants were subjected to clinical and instrumental evaluation at baseline, after 1 month and after 3 months of treatment. All patients were examined with a digital corneal confocal laser scanning microscope (HRT II Rostock Cornea Module). Results: After 3 months of TSP 0.5% treatment, an improvement of some ocular signs and symptoms was found. The percentage of conjunctival hyperemia decreased from 67 to 13%. Schirmer's test and breakup time significantly changed from the baseline after 3 months. Confocal microscopy showed a significant increase in conjunctival goblet cells. Conclusion: Artificial substitutes, in particular TSP 0.5%, might protect the ocular surface hence giving higher compliance, adherence and quality of life to the patients.

This paper deals with the scientific identification of species utilized for the production of wooden sculptures collected into an exhibition of statues dated back to XVII – XVIII centuries, coming from the city of Asti and the surrounding region (Northwest Italy). Problems in sample drawing are analyzed, together with the results, described per period and author on the basis of the identified species. Almost all the statues were made of poplar or willow wood, except two, made of walnut wood. This paper also describes the principal technological characteristics of identified woods, considering specifically their utilization for carving.