[The availability of adequate food supplies and mortality in Italy: an attempt at an analysis for the period 1861-1921]. / Disponibilita alimentari e tendenze della mortalita in Italia: un tentativo di analisi per il periodo 1861-1921.

PIP: Official data on mortality and the availability of food in Italy are used to analyze changes in the relationship between mortality and nutrition in the period from 1861 to 1921.^ieng

[Infant and early childhood mortality in Italy from the eighteenth to the twentieth century: long-term tendencies and regional differences]. / Mortalité infantile et post-infantile en Italie du XVIIIe au XXe siècle: tendances à long terme et différences régionales.

From the beginning of national unification (1861) onwards, the process of the decline in infant mortality has been well-known and several explanatory hypotheses have been offered about the time differences in the decline on different territories. Using a still fragmentary and heterogeneous documentary data basis, this article has attempted to outline the evolution of the mortality of children as from the eighteenth century, stressing the permanence of territorial particularities in the long run. Before the beginning of the irreversible decline (as from the second half of the nineteenth century), the determining factors of the territorial differences seem to depend more on socio-cultural factors and on the surrounding atmosphere than on the standards of living of the populations.

Clinical results of the Pop De Popa xenobioprosthesis in patients with advanced heart failure: long-term follow-up of 562 patients.

From January of 1984 through December of 1990, we implanted 739 Pop De Popa wild boar aortic valves in 626 patients, in all cardiac valvular positions. Of these patients, 562 received only the Pop De Popa xenobioprostheses, which numbered 620 valves. Only patients with contraindications for bioprosthetic valves (such as children under the age of 15) were excluded. At surgery, the 562 patients ranged in age from 17 to 66 years (mean, 41.7 yrs). Five hundred thirty-one (94.48%) were in NYHA functional class III or IV before valve replacement. Of the 620 valves implanted, 20 were replacements for Pop de Popa prostheses and the other 600 were replacements for native valves. Survivors were followed-up for a mean period of 31.6(+/-22) months (range, 3 months to 7 years), and for a cumulative period of 2,432 patient-years. Over the 7-year period of study, there were 78 late deaths, and 32 other patients were lost to follow-up. The analysis demonstrated good cardiac and general improvement. At the conclusion of the 7-year study, 94.83% of the survivors subject to follow-up were in NYHA functional class I or II. The early mortality rate was 12% (68 patients), and the following incidence of early valve-related complications was noted: thromboembolism, 3% to 4%; endocarditis, 1% to 2%; paravalvular leak, 1% to 2%; primary tissue failure, 1%; and anticoagulant-related hemorrhaging, 1%. At 7 years, 90% of survivors subject to follow-up were still free of valve failure. The probability of complications was as follows: thromboembolism, 16.1%; endocarditis, 8.8%; paravalvular leak, 4.4%; anticoagulant-related hemorrhaging, 1.2%; and valvular degeneration and reoperation, 12.5%. The probability of survival at 7 years was 86.12%. While this study does not yet demonstrate the superiority of the wild boar valve over other bioprosthetic valves, it does reaffirm the worth of implanting biologic valves in adult patients when not contraindicated. Perhaps as we continue follow-up beyond 7 years, the apparent durability of the wild boar cusps will manifest itself in a statistically significant manner.

[Regional differences in demographic events in Italy: some problems and hypotheses of a historical synthesis]. / Diversites territoriales dans les evenements demographiques italiens: problemes et hypotheses de synthese historique.

PIP: The author examines regional differences in demographic conditions that existed in Italy in the period preceding the demographic transition, with a focus on dissimilarities, both among and within the major regions. The author concludes that these differences are such that only a regional approach, as opposed to a national approach, is appropriate for the study of Italian historical demography in the period from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century.^ieng

[Demographic development models for Italy in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries: problems and hypotheses for research]. / Modelos de desarrollo demografico en Italia entre los siglos XVIII y XIX: problemas e hipotesis de investigacion.

PIP: The author examines regional differences in demographic conditions in Italy from the mid-eighteenth to the late nineteenth century. He concludes that these dissimilarities are such that only a regional approach, as opposed to a national one, is appropriate for the study of Italy's demographic history.^ieng

[Factors and conditions of mortality between 1800 and 1930: hygiene, health, and environment. The situation in Italy]. / Fattori e condizioni della mortalita tra 1800 e 1930: igiene, salute e ambiente. La situazione in Italia.

PIP: The author reviews the literature and examines medical, hygienic, and nutritional factors affecting mortality in Italy before and after the initiation of the modern decline in mortality. He also discusses trends toward lower mortality in the period following the uniting of the country in 1860, the continuation of geographic differences, and possible interpretive hypotheses.^ieng

[The chronology of urban demographic growth: the Grand Duchy of Tuscany from the mid-sixteenth to the mid-nineteenth century]. / Chronologie de la croissance demographique urbaine: le Grand-Duche de Toscane entre la moitie du XVI et la moitie du XIX siecle

PIP: Population trends in the main cities, small towns, and rural areas of Tuscany are compared from the middle of the sixteenth to the middle of the nineteenth century. Data are from the censuses of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Variations in the pattern of urbanization over time are identified and analyzed. The data also enable comparisons to be made between the growth of central cities and that of suburban areas. (summary in ENG, ITA)^ieng