This paper proposes a re-conceptualization of the port supply chain as a smart service system, according to the theory of the Service science. Starting from a short literature review about the port supply chain approach and the Service science, a new comprehensive framework is provided to better understand the seaport dynamics and the creation of competitive port supply chains. The methodology used is the case study approach. The authors examined the port of Salerno (Italy), and re-conceptualized it as a smart port service systems. Both theoretical and practical implications are provided to enrich the literature about the port supply chain and to support the port operators.

Malnutrition, clinically evident primarily with sarcopenia, is present in more than 50% of CHF patients and is an independent factor of morbidity and mortality. Several pathophysiological mechanisms, such as reduced appetite, metabolic imbalance and altered protein synthesis/degradation rate, due to the blood increase of hypercatabolic molecules, have been proposed to explain this phenomenon. Nutritional supplementation with proteins, amino acids and vitamins have all been used to treat malnutrition, acting through mTOR stimulation. However, the success and efficacy of these procedures are often contradictory and not conclusive. Interestingly, data on exercise training show that exercise reduces mortality and increase functional capacity, although it also increases energy expenditure and nitrogen providing substrate needs. Therefore, this paper discusses the molecular mechanisms of integrated nutritional approaches that would stimulate metabolic anabolic pathways. Pivotal in our opinion, is the relationship between exercise and Deptor, a subunit of the mTOR complex. Consequently, we propose a combination of personalized and integrate nutritional supplementation as well as exercise to treat malnutrition and related anthropometric and functional CHF-related disorders.

Abstract: Cancer cells are originated by normal cells and with those share the need to be fed. Metabolic reprogramming in cancer cells is not yet fully understood although there is a vast literature suggesting that huge amounts of both energy and substrates are require for synthesis of components of new neoplastic cells so that any macronutrient may be efficiently utilized. Recently, in vitro data show that EAA supplementation promoted colon cancer cells apoptosis by enhanced autophagy. Therefore, in this study we tested in vivo the effects of matched macronutrients standard laboratory diet (control) versus EAA rich modified diet (EAArmd) in mice injected with colon cancer cells. Results of the first set of 12 animals, 6 controls and 6 EAArmd-fed, showed that controls mice develop cancer volume cancers 5 times larger and heavier than EAArmd-fed. If confirmed, these results would open new scenarios for the cancer integrate therapies.

Background: Amyloid beta peptides (Aβ) have been identified as the main pathogenic agents in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Soluble Aβ oligomers, rather than monomer or insoluble amyloid fibrils, show membrane-binding capacity to red blood cells (RBCs) and trigger several morphological and functional alterations in RBCs that can result in impaired oxygen transport and delivery. Since bioactive lipids have been recently proposed as potent protective agents against Aβ toxicity, we investigated the role of sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) in signaling pathways involved in the mechanism underlying ATP release in Aβ-treated RBCs. Methods: In RBCs following different treatments, ATP, 2,3 DPG, cAMP levels, and caspase 3 activity were determined by spectrophotometric and immunoassay. Results: S1P rescued the inhibition of ATP release from RBCs triggered by Aβ through a mechanism involving caspase-3 and restoring 2,3 DPG and cAMP levels within the cell. Conclusions: These findings reveal the molecular basis of S1P protection against Aβ in RBCs and suggest new therapeutic avenues in AD.

Orificed Hollow Cathodes are electric devices necessary for the functioning of common plasma thrusters for space applications. From their reliability mainly depends the success of a spacecraft’s mission equipped by electric propulsion. The development of plasma models is crucial in the evaluation of plasma properties within the cathodes that are difficult to measure due to the small dimensions. Many models, based on non-linear system of plasma equations, have been proposed in the open literature. These are solved commonly by means of iterative procedures. This paper investigates the possibility to solve them by means of Particle Swarm Optimization method. The results of the validation tests confirm the expected trends for all the unknowns; the confidence bound of the discharge current as function of mass flow rate is very narrow (2÷5V), moreover the results match very well the experimental data except at the lowest mass flow rate (0.08mg/s) and discharge current (1A), where the computations underpredict the discharge current to the utmost by 40%; the highest data dispersion regards the plasma density in the emitter region (± 20 % of the average value) and the wall temperatures (± 50K respect to the average values) of orifice and insert; those of the others variables are very tiny.

Enophthalmos is a severe complication of primary reconstruction following orbital floor frac-tures, oncological resections or maxillo-facial syndromes. The goal of secondary reconstruction is to re-store symmetrical globe positions to recover function and aesthetics. In this article we pre-sent a method of computer-assisted orbital floor reconstruction using a mirroring technique and a customized titanium or high-density polyethylene mesh, printed using computer aided manufac-turing techniques. This reconstructive protocol involves 4 steps: mirroring of the healthy orbit at the affected site, vir-tual design of a patient specific orbital floor mesh, computer-assisted manufacturing (CAD) of the implant, and surgical insertion of the device. Using a computed tomography data set, the un-injured side of the craniofacial skeleton was reflected onto the contralateral injured side, and a reconstructive orbital floor prosthesis was virtually designed on the mirrored orbital bone sur-face. The solid-to-layer (.STL) files of the prosthesis were then manufactured using Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) or Computer Numerical Control (CNC) methods, leading to the produc-tion of 10 titanium meshes and 2 high density polyethylene (HDPE) implants. Clinical outcomes were assessed using 3dMD photogrammetry and computed tomography measures in 14 treated patients. The technique described here appears to be a viable method to correct complex orbital floor de-fects needing delayed reconstruction. This article represents the prosecution of a previous study, which is part of a wider experimental protocol for orbital floor reconstruction using comput-er-assisted design-computer-assisted manufacturing (CAD-CAM) technology

Background: The coexistence of HIV infection and latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) presents a significant public health concern due to the increased risk of tuberculosis (TB) reactivation and progression to active disease. The multicenter observational cohort study, TUBHIVIT, conducted in Italy from 2017 to 2023, aimed to assess the prevalence of LTBI among people living with HIV (PLHIV) and their outcomes following LTBI screening and therapy initiation. Methods: We performed a prospective study in 5 referral centers for HIV care in Italy. PLHIV who consented to participate underwent QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus and clinical, microbiological, and radiological assessments to exclude subclinical tuberculosis, as opportune. PLHIV diagnosed with LTBI that started chemoprophylaxis were followed until the ending of therapy. Results: A total of 1105 PLHIV were screened for LTBI using the QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus test, revealing a prevalence of 3.4% of positive results (38/1105). Non-Italy-born individuals exhibited a significantly higher likelihood of testing positive. Thirty-one were diagnosed with LTBI, 1 showed active subclinical TB, 6 were lost to follow-up before discriminating between latent and active TB. Among PLHIV diagnosed with LTBI, 83.9% (26/31) started chemoprophylaxis. Most individuals received 6-9 months of isoniazid-based therapy. Of the 26 PLHIV commencing chemoprophylaxis, 18 (69.2%) completed the therapy, while 3 discontinued it and 5 were still on treatment at the time of the analysis. Adverse events were observed in two cases, while in one case the patient refused to continue the treatment.

Obturator herniæ are a quite rare type of abdominal hernia, accounting for less then 1% of all abdominal wall hernias and for 0.2-1.6% of patient with a small bowel obstruction. The obturator canal is the only portion of the obturator foramen that is not obliterated by the membrane of the same name and hosts the obturator neurovascular bundle; it is, for this reason, a locus minoris resistentiae, through which obturator hernias are formed, generally in elderly, multiparous women. Despite the fact that Computed Tomography offers the possibility of a quick, correct preoperative diagnosis, often signs and symptoms of obturator herniæ are quite unspecific; considering that, at the same time, patients with an obturator hernia are generally elderly, with concurrent conditions, this might cause delays in the diagnosis and treatment and produces the high postoperative mortality rates that obturator herniæ yield

Background. Sarcopenia, defined as the loss of skeletal muscle mass and function, is a major clinical problem in many chronic illnesses, in cancer and in the elderly. Exercise and adequate nutrition, peculiarly dependents on availability of essential amino acids, considered the primary strategies for prevention and treatment of protein synthetic deficits, affect both the efficient scavenging of aged and overused protein molecules and the renewal, by maintaining muscular protein synthesis. Many questions still remain about the regulation of protein syntheses and degradation. Degradation of inefficient proteins or organelles is performed by the sum of micro and macro-autophagy plus ubiquitin-proteasome system, activities known as proteostasis, necessary to preserve and promote protein masses and consequently, the body’s reserves. However, how protein synthesis is regulated, and how activation of the mTOR complex may modulate and transduce the flow of information provided by exercise and nutrition to balance proteostasis and syntheses, is far from being fully understood. We suggest that energy production and availability, thus also mitochondria, may have a pivotal role in synchronizing activity and functional outcomes of protein syntheses, and that those syntheses, since higly energy demanding, are main effectors of AMPK dependent autophagy activation by consuming ATP and producing AMP. Conclusion. While in normal conditions protein syntheses drive autophagy activation by decreasing ATP to AMP ratio, conversely autophagy may be inefficiently activated when chronic both low production and consumption of ATP would result in lowest concentrations of AMP, and therefore both blunted rates of protein syntheses and autophagy would be observed. We suggest that this functional hypothesis may explain sarcopenia in many pathological conditions , as in cancer or in aging muscles.

Exoskeleton robots are a rising technology in industrial contexts to assist humans in onerous applications. Mechanical and control design solutions are intensively investigated to achieve a high performance human-robot collaboration (e.g., transparency, ergonomics, safety, etc.). However, the most of the investigated solutions involve high-cost hardware, complex design solutions and standard actuation. In the presented work, an industrial exoskeleton for lifting and transportation of heavy parts is proposed. A low-cost mechanical design solution is proposed, exploiting compliant actuation at the shoulder joint to increase safety and transparency in human-robot cooperation. A hierarchic model-based controller is then proposed (including the modeling of the compliant actuator) to actively assist the human while executing the task. An inner optimal controller is proposed for trajectory tracking, while an outer fuzzy logic controller is proposed to online deform the task trajectory on the basis of the human’s intention of motion. A gain scheduler is also designed to calculate the optimal control gains on the basis of the performed trajectory. Simulations have been performed in order to validate the performance of the proposed device, showing promising results. The prototype is under realization.

Production of energy is a main task of cancer cells metabolism, since costs of duplicating are enormous. Although energy is derived in cells by dismantling carbon to carbon bonds of any macronutrient, cancer nutritional needs for energetic purposes have been studied primarily as dependent on glycolysis. Since the end of the last century, awareness of dependence of cancer metabolism on amino acids not only for protein syntheses but also for matching energy needs has grown. The roles of specific amino acids, like glutamine, glycine and serine have been explored in different experimental conditions and reviewed. Moreover, there are epidemiological evidences that some amino acids used as supplement for therapeutic reasons (the branched chain ones) may reduce incidence of liver cancer, and some molecular mechanism has been proposed as functional to their protective action. On the contrary, metabolic signature of some pathology connected with increased risk of cancer, like prolonged hyperinsulinemia in insulin resistant patients, is signed by plasma elevated levels of the same branched chain amino acids, posing puzzling questions to clinicians. Most recently, peculiar formulations of amino acids, deeply different if compared to amino acids compositions normally present in foods, have shown the power to master epigenetics slowing growth or driving cancer cells to apoptotic death, while being even beneficial for normal cells and for animals health and life span. In this review, we will analyze and try to disentangle some of the many knots dealing with complexities of amino acids biology and linked to cancer metabolism.

This article proposes a particular strategy to proceed with a progressive electrification of public transport systems in cities. Starting from a bus operation model, the possible electrification of two routes is analysed, one urban and another extra-urban in the city of Pisa. An estimate is made of the energy uses associated with certain operating modes. The maximum level of consumption is estimated at approximately 280 kWh per day per bus for the urban route and excluding some special days, less than 215 kWh per day for the extra-urban route, for which a hybrid bus is proposed. Starting from an estimate of the daily consumption for the management of the two routes, the sizing of a photovoltaic system distributed on some modular shelters which serves to power the same routes is carried out. The resulting system has a power of the order of 190-200 kW. The modular solution is also outlined, and an installation is proposed. The analyzed case lends itself to being easily replicated.

Manual handling tasks, both in daily activities and at work, require high dexterity and the ability to move objects of different shapes and sizes. However, musculoskeletal disorders that can arise due to aging, disabilities, overloading, or strenuous work can impact the natural capabilities of the hand with serious repercussions both in working and daily activities. To address this, researchers have been developing and proving the benefits of wrist exoskeleton., This paper, which is the part II of a study on wrist exoskeletons, presents and summarizes wearable wrist exoskeleton devices conceived for use in rehabilitation, assistance, and occupational fields. Exoskeletons considered within the study are those available either in a prototyping phase or on the market. They can support the human wrist by relieving pain or mitigating fatigue while allowing at least one movement. According to the requirements to be met, the majority have been designed active (80%) for higher force/torque transmission, and soft for better kinematic compliance, ergonomics, and safety (13 devices out of 24, more than 50%). Electric motors (11 devices out of 24, almost 50%) and cable transmission (9 devices out of 24, almost 40%) are the most common due to their simplicity, controllability, safety, power-to-weight ratio, and the possibility of remote actuation. As sensing technologies, position and force sensors are widely used in all devices (almost 90%). The control strategy depends mainly on the application domain: for rehabilitation, CPM (Control Passive Motion) is preferred (35% of the devices), while for assistance and occupational purposes AAN (Assistance-As-Needed) is more suitable (38% of the devices). What emerges from this analysis is that while rehabilitation and training are fields in which exoskeletons have been grown more easily and gained some user acceptance (almost 18 devices of which 4 are available on the market), relatively few devices have been designed for occupational aims (6 of which only 2 are available on the market) due to difficulties in meeting the acceptance and needs of users. In this perspective, as a result of the state-of-the-art analysis, the authors propose a conceptual idea of a portable soft wrist exoskeleton for occupational assistance.

In this work, we introduce the design a 16-channel in-pixel neural analog front-end which employs a current-based summing approach to establish a common-mode feedback loop. The primary aim of this novel structure is to enhance both the system common-mode rejection ratio (SCMRR) and the common-mode interference (CMI) range. Compared to more conventional designs, the hereby proposed front-end utilizes DC-coupled inverter-based main amplifiers, which significantly reduce the occupied on-chip area. Additionally, the current-based implementation of the CMFB loop obviates the need for voltage buffers, replacing them with simple common-gate transistors and in turn decreasing both area occupancy and power consumption. The proposed architecture is further examined from an analytical standpoint, providing a comprehensive evaluation through design equations of its performance in terms of gain, common-mode rejection and noise power. A 50μm×65μm compact layout of the pixel amplifiers that make up the recording channels of the front-end was designd in a 180 nm CMOS process. Simulations conducted in Cadence Virtuoso reveal an SCMRR of 80.5 dB and a PSRR of 72.58 dB, with a differential gain of 44 dB and a bandwidth that fully encompasses the frequency range of the bio-signals that can be theoretically captured by the neural probe. The noise integrated in the range between 1 Hz and 7.5 kHz results in an IRN of 4.04 μVrms. Power consumption is also tested, with a measured value of 3.77 μW per channel, corresponding to an overall consumpution of about 60 μW. To test its robustness with respect to PVT and mismatch variations, the front-end is evaluated by means of extensive parametric simulations and Monte Carlo simulations, revealing favorable results.

Zinc plays a crucial role in the process of virion maturation inside the host cell. The accessory Cys-rich proteins expressed in SARS-CoV-2 by genes ORF7a and ORF8 are likely involved in zinc binding and in interactions with cellular antigens activated by extensive disulfide bonds. In this report we provide a proof of concept for the feasibility of a structural study of orf7a and orf8 proteins. A conceivable hypothesis is that lack of cellular zinc, or substitution thereof, might lead to a significant slowing down of viral maturation.

Background: This study investigated the biological effects on circulating monocytes after challenge with SARS-CoV-2 recombinant spike protein. Methods: Whole blood collected form seven ostensibly healthy healthcare workers was incubated for 15 min with 2 and 20 ng/mL recombinant spike protein of Ancestral, Alpha, Delta and Omicron variants. Samples were analyzed with Sysmex XN and DI-60 analyzers. Results: Cellular complexity (i.e., presence of granules, vacuoles and other cytoplasmic inclusions) increased in all samples challenged with the recombinant spike protein of Ancestral, Alpha and Delta variants, but not in those containing Omicron. The cellular content of nucleic acids was constantly decreased in most samples, achieving statistical significance in those containing 20 ng/mL of Alpha and Delta recombinant spike proteins. The heterogeneity of monocyte volumes significantly increased in all samples, achieving statistical significance in those containing 20 ng/mL of recombinant spike protein of Ancestral, Alpha and Delta variants. The monocyte morphological abnormalities after spike protein challenge included dysmorphia, granulation, intense vacuolization, platelet phagocytosis, development of aberrant nuclei and cytoplasmic extrusions. Conclusions: The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein triggers important monocyte morphological abnormalities, more evident in cells challenged with spike protein of the more clinically severe Alpha and Delta variants.

In this paper, we present an experimental procedure to enhance the dimensional accuracy of fabrication via Stereolithography (SLA) of features at the micro-scale. Using a custom benchmark part, deviations in feature dimensions (micro-pores diameters and depths) were detected and measured by confocal microscopy. Samples characterization and experimental observations allowed the identification of inaccuracy sources, mainly due to the laser beam scanning strategy and to the incomplete removal of uncured liquid resin in post-processing (i.e., IPA washing). As a technology baseline, the measured dimensional errors on pores diameters were up to -46%. A compensation method of the nominal laser spot diameter (85m) was defined and implemented resulting in relevant improvements in dimensional accuracy of 9.8% and 11.3% on full-open pores diameter and depth, respectively. Further investigation was performed on a customized test part to adjust the calibration procedure. The measurements revealed that the estimate of the laser beam spot size is 968m. Measurements on micro-pores having different sizes revealed that a constant compensation parameter (i.e., C=85, 96, 120m) is not fully effective at the micro-scale, where average errors still remain at -24%, -18.8%, and -16% for compensations equals to 85, 96 and 120m, respectively. A further experimental campaign allowed the identification of an effective nonlinear compensation law where the compensation parameter depends on the micro-feature size C= f (D). Results show a sharp improvement in dimensional accuracy on micro-pore fabrication, with errors consistently below +8.2%. The proposed compensation method can be extended for the fabrication of any micro-features without restrictions on the specific technology implementation. Concerning the inaccuracy introduced by the laser path, experimentation with a customized part allowed the optimization of the part orientation to reduce the errors and their differences along the X and Y machine axes.

A combination of straw filtration and nanofiltration was investigated for the first time as a sus-tainable approach aimed at valorizing olive mills wastewaters (OMWs) within a circular economy strategy. Ground straw filters with different granulometry (120, 250 and 500 m) were tested in the first step to clarify the raw wastewater. The 500m filter offered the best performance due to a lower exposed surface of the filtering fibers and a shorter filtering time allowing to reduce about 70% of the COD of the raw wastewater. Three different commercial membranes in flat-sheet con-figuration with molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) in the range 150-500 Da were tested to frac-tionate the clarified wastewater according to a dead-end configuration. Among the investigated membranes the NFA-12A membrane exhibited the highest productivity in selected operating conditions (steady-state values of 11.4 L/m2h at 20 bar and 24 ± 2 °C). In addition, flux decays for this membrane resulted lower than the other two tested membranes indicating a lower propensity to fouling phenomena. Higher rejections towards total polyphenols and TAA (76.6% and 73.2%, respectively) were also observed for this membrane. Flavanols and hydroxycinnamic acids were retained for more than 99%. The combination of straw filtration and NF with NFA-12A membrane allowed to reduce the COD of raw OMWs up to 97.6%. The retentate fraction of this membrane exhibited a TAA of 18.9 ± 0.7 mM Trolox supporting its propensity for the development of inno-vative formulations of interest in food and nutraceutical applications.

The increasing regulatory pressure to monitor and reduce GHG emissions and air pollutants requires cost-effective methods for their surveillance. The most common technique used for scientific investigations on gas concentration monitoring in barns are accurate but expensive and with a complex maintenance. This research study analysed the potential use of a low-cost portable measurement devices for the measurement of ammonia (NH3) and carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations in an open dairy barn. A comparison between gas concentrations acquired at different heights from the floor by using portable devices and those acquired by a photoacoustic infrared multigas spectroscope (i.e., reference measurement) in the same sampling locations was carried out to determine the precision of the low-cost portable devices. The performance of low-cost portable devices was statistically analysed by the application of the one-way analysis of variance, correlation analysis and regression analysis. The results showed a significant difference between gas concentration values at various heights from the floor for both NH3 and CO2. The correlations between concentrations acquired by the low-cost portable device and the INNOVA were statistically significant (r=0.83; P<0.001) for gas concentrations monitored at 0.4 m from the floor. Compared with the reference measurement device, the low-cost devices were effective in the monitoring of NH3 concentrations at 0.40 m from the floor though it underestimated them in the barn at increasing of the height from the floor, whereas the device was not adequate for CO2 concentrations. In detail, the relative measurement error of the low-cost devices compared to INNOVA was reduced close to the floor during NH3 concentration measurements. Within these limitations, this device could be useful for monitoring NH3 concentration in the barn and to assess variation in NH3 concentrations mainly related to the animal occupied zone. Further efforts are needed in this field of research to identify low-cost device that could simplify emission estimation from open dairy barns.

Cancer cells are originated by normal cells and with those share the need to be fed. Metabolic reprogramming in cancer cells is not yet fully understood, and there is a vast literature suggesting that any macronutrient may be efficiently utilized by cancer for duplication purposes. Metabolic hyperactivity of cancer and continuous duplication requires huge amounts of both energy and substrates for syntheses of components of new cells, and the modifications of metabolism induced by cancer cells to survive and grow damaging lethally, the whole organism. In rodents, we have recently observed that by modifying diet in a way not existent in nature, changing radically the ratios among essential and non-essential amino acids (AA) (usually less than 0.9), largely increasing essential-AA (EAA) percentages, lifespans increased. In vitro, EAA supplementation promoted colon cancer cells (CT116) apoptosis by enhanced autophagy. Therefore, we tested in mice if injection of colon cancer cells would have been followed by unvaried development of cancer volumes in animals fed with standard laboratory diet (controls) versus EAA rich modified diets (EAAmd). Both diets perfectly matched the same total macronutrients and micronutrients contents; only quality of nitrogen was radically different. Results of the first set of 8 animals, 4 controls and 4 EAAmd-fed, showed that controls develop cancers near 5 times larger and heavier than EAAmd-fed (P<0,002) on the same time. We discuss which epigenetic modifications would be involved and worth to be studied, and what kind of scenarios those preliminary findings, if confirmed, would open.

Phytoestrogens are plant-derived bioactive compounds with estrogen-like properties. Their potential health benefits, especially in cancer prevention and treatment, have been a subject of considerable research in the past decade. Phytoestrogens exert their effects, at least in part, through interactions with estrogen receptors (ERs), mimicking or inhibiting the actions of natural estrogens. Recently, there has been growing interest in exploring the impact of phytoestrogens on osteosarcoma (OS), a type of bone malignancy that primarily affects children and young adults, and currently presenting limited treatment options. Considering the critical role of estrogen/ERs axis in bone development and growth, the modulation of ERs has emerged as a highly promising approach in the treatment of OS. This review provides an extensive overview of current literature on the effects of phytoestrogens on human OS models. It delves into the multiple mechanisms through which these molecules regulate the cell cycle, apoptosis and key pathways implicated in the growth and progression of OS, including ERs signaling. Moreover, potential interactions between phytoestrogens and conventional chemotherapy agents commonly used in OS treatment will be examined. Understanding the impact of these compounds in OS holds great promise for developing novel therapeutic approaches that can augment current OS treatment modalities.

Coastal lagoons are dynamic transitional water ecosystems hosting valuable biological communities, including rich and diverse macrophyte assemblages. Aquatic macrophytes must cope with large fluctuations of environmental conditions on a spatial and seasonal scale. Salinity is one of the most variable parameters, changing from nearly freshwater to hypersalinity, and it is known to have a strong influence on the composition and structure of macrophyte assemblages. This study is focused on the effect of salinity on macrophyte communities of the eight most important coastal lagoons of Apulia (south-eastern Mediterranean Sea). A set of eleven transitional water body types (sensu Water Framework Directive) were allocated in a range of meso- to hyperhaline lagoons. Macrophyte sampling was carried out between 2011 and 2019 and a total of 324 samples (18 sampling stations x 2 seasons x 9 years) was analyzed. Then, macrophyte occurrence in each transitional water body (T-WB) was expressed as frequency values (%) and assemblages were compared to assess any similarity in relation to four salinity classes (mesohaline, polyhaline, euhaline, hyperhaline). Species richness varied according to the salinity class, being much higher in polyhaline and euhaline T-WBs and strongly decreasing at the extremes of salinity range (mesohaline and hyperhaline T-WBs). Moreover, statistical analysis showed a high resemblance of macrophyte assemblages of T-WBs within the same salinity class, which shared a great number of species. Four distinct macrophyte communities were distinguished, reflecting the salinity conditions of different T-WB types and confirming the effectiveness of a lagoon typology based on this descriptor.

Purpose. This paper aims to present a unique perspective that emphasizes the intricate interplay between energy, dietary proteins, and amino acid composition, underscoring their mutual dependence for health-related considerations. Energy and protein synthesis are fundamental to biological processes, crucial for the sustenance of life and growth of organisms. Methods and Results. We explore the intricate relationship between energy metabolism, protein synthesis, regulatory mechanisms, protein sources, amino acid availability, and autophagy, in order to elucidate how these elements collectively maintain cellular homeostasis. We underscore the vital role this dynamic interplay has in preserving cell life. Conclusion. A deeper understanding of the link between energy and protein synthesis is essential to comprehend fundamental cellular processes. This insight could have wide-ranging impact in several medical fields, such as nutrition, metabolism, and disease management.

Cars are a highly inefficient mode of urban transport with significant negative impacts. Electric vehicles make it possible to eliminate direct CO2 emissions (though the total over a vehicle’s entire life cycle greatly offsets the advantages) but leave unchanged – or even aggravate – all the other negative effects on the quality of urban environments. Three visions for urban transport were presented: automobility, multimodality and accessibility. The first dominates North American cities, the second European one. The anomalies of these two visions have been examined. The automobility cities cannot manage the congestion and the attempts are self- defeating. The anomalies of multimodality city are related to the public space consumption for mobility and the impossibility to plan spatial proximity. The sustainable vision, that resolve the anomalies, is represented by the accessibility city in the Triple Access System (TAS) version which, however, still has a long way to go to be accepted and implemented.

Inadequate protein intake can impair protein balance and lead to skeletal muscle atrophy, impaired body growth, and functional decline. Foods provide both non-essential (NEAAs) and essential amino acids (EAAs) that may convey different metabolic stimuli to specific organs and tissues. In this study, we sought to evaluate the impact of six diets with various EAA/NEAA blends on body composition and the risk of developing tissue wasting in late middle-aged male mice. Mice consuming NEAA-based diets, although showing increased food and calorie intake, suffered the most severe weight loss. Interestingly, even moderate NEAAs prevalence was able to induce inflammatory catabolic stimuli, generalized body wasting and systemic metabolic alterations. Complete depletion of retroperitoneal white adipose tissue and a severe loss (>75%) of brown adipose tissue were observed together with muscle wasting. Conversely, EAA-based diets induced significant decreases in weight by reducing primarily fat reserves, but improved clinical parameters. Tissue wasting was caused by altered AA quality, independent of reduced nitrogen or caloric intake. Our results indicate that an optimized balance of AA composition is necessary for preserving overall bodily energy status. These findings are particularly relevant in the context of aging and may be exploited for contrasting its negative correlates including body wasting.

Background: Anthropometric measurements play a crucial role in medico-legal practices. Actually, several scanning technologies are employed in post-mortem investigations for forensic anthropological measurements. This study aims to evaluate the precision, in-ter-rater reliability, and accuracy of a hand-held scanner in measuring various body parts. Methods: Three independent raters measured seven longitudinal distances using an iPad Pro equipped with a LiDAR sensor and specific software. These measurements were sta-tistically compared to manual measurements conducted by an operator using a laser level and a meterstick (considered the gold standard). Results: The Friedman’s test revealed minimal intra-rater variability in digital measurements. Inter-rater variability analysis yielded an ICC=1, signifying high agreement among the three independent raters. Addi-tionally, the accuracy of digital measurements displayed errors below 2%. Conclusions: Preliminary findings demonstrate that the pairing of LiDAR technology with the Polycam app showcases high precision, inter-rater agreement, and accuracy. Hand-held scanners show potential in forensic anthropology due to their simplicity, affordability, and porta-bility. However, further validation studies under real-world conditions are essential to es-tablish the reliability and effectiveness of handheld scanners in medico-legal settings.

Goal of this article is to provide the numerical and experimental assessments of an effective near-field to far-field transformation (NF–FF T) technique with planar spiral scanning for flat antennas under test (AUTs), which requires a non-redundant, i.e. minimum, amount of NF measurements. This technique has its roots in the theory of non-redundant sampling representations of electromagnetic fields and has been devised by suitably applying the unified theory of spiral scans for non-volumetric antennas to the case in which the considered AUT is modeled by a circular disk having its radius equal to one half the AUT maximum dimension. It makes use of a 2-D optimal sampling interpolation (OSI) formula to accurately determine the massive NF data required by the classical plane-rectangular NF–FF T technique from the non-redundant ones gathered along the spiral. It must be emphasized that, when considering flat AUTs, the developed transformation allows to further and significantly save measurement time as compared to that needed by the previously developed NF–FF T techniques with planar spiral scans based on the quasi-planar antennas modelings, because the number of turns of the spiral and that of NF data to be acquired depend somehow on the area of the modeling surface. The reported numerical simulations assess the accuracy of the proposed NF–FF T technique, whereas the experimental tests prove its practical feasibility.

MAPLE (matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation) depositions of Candida Rugosa lipase were carried out from ice matrices whose composition is optimized in order to minimize conformational damage of the protein, which strongly influences its catalytic activity. To induce lid opening and to protect lipase during the MAPLE process, pentane and m-DOPA amino acid were added to the liquid matrix giving a target formed by a frozen water-lipase-pentane microemulsion. FTIR and AFM were used to investigate the structure of MAPLE deposited lipase films. The ability of MAPLE films to promote transesterification was determined by thin layer chromatography. It was shown that m-DOPA has influence on the aggregation but not on the unfolding of lipase induced by MAPLE, while the microemulsion formed by the addition of pentane to the target composition is effective in protecting lipase during the MAPLE process. MAPLE deposited lipases showed a modified specificity.

The decarbonization of the built environment, both in new construction and renovation, is crucial to mitigate its relevant impact on climate change and achieve the Paris agreement goals. This study presents a systematic LCA-based methodology to assess the whole life carbon emissions of buildings, applied to a proposal for the regeneration of one of Milan’s disused railway yards. As an entry for the 2020 Reinventing Cities competition, Scalo Lambrate is a project for a mainly residential neighborhood with a public park. Strategies to reduce carbon emissions deriving both from the operational energy and construction and maintenance were evaluated and their effects compared to a reference scenario over a time horizon of 100 years. The results show that, while the opportunities to reduce carbon emissions during the use phase are somehow limited due to the already stringent performance requirements for new builds, the use of fast-growing biogenic materials for construction materials, even if mixed with more traditional ones, can provide a significant reduction of the global warming potential over the whole life cycle, with a reduction of 70% over the baseline. The remaining emissions can be offset with afforestation initiatives that, however, must be assessed against land use issues.

Inflammation is widely acknowledged as a significant characteristic of cancer, playing a substantial function in both the initiation and advancement of cancers. In this research, we planned to investigate the comparison among pan-immune inflammation markers and other well-known markers (systemic immune inflammation index and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio) to predict prognosis in individuals treated with radical cystectomy for bladder cancer. Methods: In this retrospective analysis, we focused on preoperative PIV, systemic immune inflammation index (SII), and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in 193 individuals managed with radical cystectomy for bladder cancer between January 2016 and November 2022. Multivariable logistic regression assessments were perfomred to assess the predictive capabilities of PIV, SII, and NLR for infiltration of lymph nodes (N), aggressive tumor stage (pT3/pT4), and any non-organ limited disease at the time of RC. Multivariable Cox regression analyses were conducted to assess the predictive impact of PIV on Relapse-free survival (RFS), Cancer-specific survival (CSS), and Overall survival (OS). Results: Our individuals were divided into high PIV and low PIV cohorts using the optimal cut-off value (340.96 x 109/ L) based on receiver operating characteristic curve analysis for relapse-free survival. In multivariable preoperative logistic regression models, only SII and PIV correlated with the infiltration of lymph nodes, aggressive disease, and any non-organ confined disease. In multivariable Cox regression models considering presurgical clinicopathological variables, an higher PIV was associated with diminished RFS (p = 0.017) and OS (p = 0.029). In addition, in multivariable Cox regression models for postoperative outcomes, a high PIV correlated with both RFS ( p = 0.034) and OS ( p= 0.048). Conclusions: Our study suggests that PIV and SII are two very similar markers that may serve as an independent and significant predictor of aggressive disease and worse survival impacts on individuals undergoing radical cystectomy for bladder neoplasm.

Skeletal metastases of unknown primary (SMUP) represent a clinical challenge dealing with patients diagnosed with bone metastases. The management have improved significantly in the past years, however fraught with lack of evidences, approach to these patients held out hope for more systematic and tailored treatment—and some patients can achieve impressive gains. Nevertheless, in real-life practice the outlook at the beginning of the take in charge of SMUP is decidedly more somber. An incomplete translational relevance of pathological and clinical data on the mortality and morbidity rate has had unsatisfactory consequences for SMUP patients and their physicians. We examined several approaches to confront the available evidences and highlighted three key points that emerge. The characterization of the SMUP biologic profile is essential to drive clinical decisions, integrating genetic and molecular profile into a multi-step diagnostic work-up. Nonetheless, pragmatic investigation plan and therapy of SMUP cannot follow a single template; it must be adapted to different pathophysiological dynamics and coordinated with efforts of a systematic algorithm and high-quality data derived from statistically powered clinical trials within. This review argues that greater efforts are required to face the unmet need dealing with SMUP patients in oncology. Finally, we provide an original functional network analysis, identifying novel therapeutic targets.

As the world’s population age, Cognitive Frailty (CF) is becoming one of the most serious health problems and elucidating its biological mechanisms along with prevention and treatments becomes increasingly important also considering the associated health costs. This pilot study aims to investigate the potential cognitive and neuropsychological effects of a 5-week treatment with a therapy based on the regenerative properties of ozone (O3) in a cohort of patients stratified according to CF. We also study the potential effects of O3 on blood-based biomarkers indicative of specific biological systems that may be altered in CF. Seventy-five older persons have been recruited and randomly assigned to receive the active treatment (150cc of oxygen-O2-O3 mixture at the concentration of 30ug of O3 per cc of O2) or O2, or the placebo (air) for 5 weeks. The primary endpoint is a change in the scores of clinical scales from baseline (T0) to weeks 3 (T3), 9 (T9), 15 (T15) after treatment. The secondary endpoint is a change in biomarkers levels resulting from transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomic patterns at the same times. This study will evaluate whether an intervention with the O2-O3 therapy could have potential cognitive, neuropsychological and biological effects on CF.

Chronic diseases are characterised by cell’s autophagy and proteins disarrangement resulting in sarcopenia, hypoalbuminemia and hypo-haemoglobinaemia. Hypo-haemoglobinaemia couses worse prognosis independentely of the principal disease. Currently, the cornerstone of therapy of anaemia is iron supplementation, with or without erythropoietin for the stimulation of hematopoiesis. However, treatment strategies should incorporate the addition of heme, the principal biochemical constituent of haemoglobin. Heme synthesis follows a complex biochemical pathway. The limiting step of heme synthesis is D-ALA availability which, for its synthesis, requires Glycine and Succinil-CoA. Consequently, treatment of anaemia should not be based only on iron availability, but also on the availability of the molecules fundamental for heme synthesis. Therefore, an adequate clinical therapeutic strategy should integrate the standard iron infusion and the supply of essential amino acids and vitamins involved in the heme synthesis. We report preliminary data in selected elderly anaemic patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) and catabolic disarrangement, who, in addition to standard iron therapy, received personalized therapy with essential-AAs and vitamins involved in the maintenance of heme. Notably, such individualized therapy resulted in a significant increase in the serum concentration of haemoglobin after 30 days of treatment compared to standard iron therapy.

Our work is regarding the analysis of land use changes, in the light of “saving soil” against the expansion due to unearned plus value of land: The loss of natural and agricultural surface in front of the expanding urban environment is a critical aspect of unsustainability of urban development, especially in the way it was carried out in the past decades. The measure of the physical transition of land use and characters from a more natural condition of land surface to a new artificial one, joint with a parallel analysis of the increase of land value due to such change is nowadays a major land-policy tool. The interplay of urban economics regulation with planning, reveals new key issues in urban governance and environmental preservation. In this paper it will be shown some experiment about the impact assessment of soil take, related with the seek of valorization of property inside the planning process. Our paper reports as well about the experimental activity carried out inside the MITO Lab of the Polytechnic of Bari, where reports about property values and environmental values have been produced, specially looking at the reality of the Apulia, a southern Italian Region, that is rich of farmlands and coastlines, often invaded by constructions with a severe loss of nature, landscape and ecosystems services.

Polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) form in polar regions typically between 15 and 25 km, when the local temperature is sufficiently low. PSCs play an important role in the ozone chemistry and the dehydration and denitrification of the stratosphere. Lidars with a depolarization channel may be used to detect and classify different classes of PSCs. The main PSC classes are water ice, nitric acid trihydrate (NAT) and supercooled ternary solutions (STS), the latter being liquid droplets consisting of water, nitric acid and sulphuric acid. PSCs have been observed at the lidar observatory at Concordia Station from 2014 on. The harsh environmental conditions at Concordia during winter render successful lidar operation difficult. In order to facilitate the operation of the observatory several measures have been put in place to achieve an almost complete remote control of the system. PSC occurrence is strongly correlated with local temperatures and is affected by dynamics, as the PSC coverage during the observation season shows.

Immersion in forest environments was shown to produce beneficial effects to human health, in particular psychophysical relaxation, so much that this practice is increasingly recognized as a form of integrative medicine. Limited evidence exists about both statistical significance and size of the effects conditioned on personal characteristics, as well as on the main external variables. The primary purpose of this study was to substantiate the very concept of forest therapy by means of the quantification and significance of the psychological effects, stratified by gender, age groups and place of residence. A preliminary qualitative analysis of the main determinants, in particular the method of conducting, the meteorological comfort and the concentration of volatile organic compounds in the forest atmosphere, was afforded. Seven forest therapy sessions were performed in late summer though early fall, resulting in 150 psychological self-assessment questionnaires administered before and after each session. The results were comparable or even better than others reported in the international literature. Moreover, preliminary evidence arose about different functionality towards specific psychological indexes conditioned at least on gender and age groups, as well as meteorological comfort, structured programs and, possibly, volatile organic compounds showed an impact on the outcomes.

Background. We investigated, for the first time, whether there are any sex differences in retrospective self-reported childhood maltreatment (CM) in Italian adult patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) or bipolar disorder (BD). Furthermore, the potential impacts of patients’ age on the CM self-report was investigated. Methods. This retrospective, cross-sectional study used the data documented in the electronic medical records of patients who were hospitalized for a 4-week psychiatric rehabilitation program. The CM was assessed using the 28-item Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), which evaluates emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, as well as emotional and physical neglect. The linear and logistic regression models were used (α = 0.01). Results. Three hundred thirty five patients with MDD (255 women and 80 men) and 168 with BD (97 women and 71 men) were included. In both samples, considerable CM rates were identified, but no statistically significant sex differences were detected in the variety of CTQ-based CM aspects. There was a significant association, with no sex differences, between the increasing patients’ age and a decreasing burden of CM. Conclusion. Both women and men with MDD or BD experienced a similar and considerable CM burden. Our findings support the routine CM assessment in psychiatric clinical practice.

We generate numerically on a lattice an ensemble of stationary metrics, with spherical symmetry, which have Einstein action S_E « ħ. This is obtained through a Metropolis algorithm with weight exp(-β²S_E²) and β » ħ^-1. The squared action in the exponential allows to circumvene the problem of the non-positivity of S_E. The discretized metrics obtained exhibit a spontaneous polarization in regions of positive and negative scalar curvature. We compare this ensemble with a class of continuous metrics previously found, which satisfy the condition S_E=0 exactly, or in certain cases even the stronger condition R(x)=0 for any x. All these gravitational field configurations are of considerable interest in quantum gravity, because they represent possible vacuum fluctuations and are markedly different from Wheeler's ''spacetime foam''.

Contemporary cities are facing many challenges, from social and economic issues to the new risks related to the impacts of climate change. Focusing on energy consumptions, and the related GHG emissions, cities are considered not only the main global contributors but also the areas most exposed to risks, because of their density of population and economic activities. Implementing urban planning strategies with the purpose of increasing energy efficiency and resilience overall are, for all these reasons, considered a top priority. This paper investigates the innovative contents about energy-efficient and energy-resilient urban planning solutions that have started to be implemented in the cities of the Emilia-Romagna region. Two kinds of planning instruments are therefore analyzed: the voluntary Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SECAPs) and the mandatory General Urban Plans (GUPs), recently approved in several cities of Emilia-Romagna. A comparative analysis of three cities in the Emilia-Romagna region, Bologna, Modena and Ravenna, is proposed on the strategies of their newly local city plans and SECAPs with focus on energy management and planning. The aim is to assess whether the new structure of local city plans and the influence of SECAPs could be useful in implementing such urban energy resiliency solutions.

Cancer cells require substantial amounts of energy and substrates for their metabolic hyperactivity, enabling the synthesis of new cells at the expense of healthy ones. Preliminary in vitro data suggest that a mix of free essential amino acids (EAA-mix) can promote cancer cell apoptosis by enhancing autophagy. This study aimed to confirm, both in vitro and in vivo, whether EAA intake could influence the development of colon cancer in mice. We investigated changes in cancer proliferation in CT26 cells treated with EAA-mix, and in mice fed with EAA rich modified diets (EAARD) as compared to those on a standard laboratory diet (StD). CT26 cells were injected subcutaneously (s.c.) or intraperitoneally (i.p.). After 21 days, tumors were removed and measured. In vitro data corroborated that EAA-mix impairs cancer growth by inducing autophagy and apoptosis. In vivo data revealed that mice on StD developed significantly larger (s.c.) and more numerous (i.p.) cancers than those on EAARD. EAA administration appears to influence cancer cell survival with notable anti-proliferative properties.

In the last two centuries, land use change (LUC) has been the most important direct changes driver for terrestrial ecosystems. To contrast the consequent ecosystems degradation, forward-looking spatial policies and target landscape and land-use planning processes, promoting a sustainable land use change, are needed. The present paper proposes a framework of action including different landscape planning and ecological approaches: from the spatial modelling to recognize the LUC and build different scenarios, to the ecosystem services (ESs) assessment to evaluate the possible environmental impacts. Three different scenarios were built: Trend, No-Tillage and Energy crops. The Sediment Delivery Ratio and Carbon Storage and Sequestration ESs were assessed and compared for each scenario. The aim of the paper is to support decision-makers and local communities into the landscape planning process. Results show that a regional development in line with past trend could lead to further land degradation. Instead, the two scenarios proposed in compliance with EU policies, could bring benefits only if related to moderate LUCs and respecting the naturally grass-vegetated land. From the local to global scale, a guided and shared LUC management allows implementing sustainable development, basing on a deep knowledge of physical-environmental but also social and economic issues.

Background: obese pre-diabetics have altered expression of cytokines, and sirtuin-1, that might influence myocardial function via microRNAs (miRs) expression. Objectives: to evaluate inflammatory/oxidative stress, miRs’ expression and cardiovascular function in obese pre-diabetics randomly assigned to metformin therapy vs. placebo vs. normo-glycemics at 12 months of follow-up. Materials and methods: eighty-three obese patients enrolled for abdominoplastic surgery, were divided in pre-diabetics (n 55), normo-glycemics (n 28), and assigned to hypocaloric diet. Pre-diabetics were randomly assigned to metformin (n 23) or to placebo (n 22) plus hypocaloric diet. Results: at enrollment, pre-diabetics obese vs. normo-glycemic presented higher values of glucose, insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), inflammatory/oxidative stress markers, miR-195 and miR-27, and lower values of sirtuin-1 (p<0.05). At 12 months of follow up, obese pre-diabetics with metformin vs. placebo experienced significant reduction of glucose values, HOMA-IR, and inflammatory/oxidative stress markers, with significant reduction of intima-media thickness (IMT), septum and posterior wall thickness, and left ventricle mass (LVM), (p <0.05). At 12 months of follow-up, obese pre-diabetics with placebo vs. normo-glycemics had higher values of inflammatory/oxidative stress markers, higher values of IMT, septum and posterior wall thickness, LVM, and myocardial performance index (MPI), (p<0.05). Obese pre-diabetics in metformin vs. placebo, and obese pre-diabetics with placebo vs. normoglycemics, had significant differences about IMT, MPI, and LVM (p<0.05). Obese pre-diabetics in metformin vs. placebo showed significant reduction of serum miR-195 and miR-27 (p<0.05). Obese pre-diabetics in metformin vs. normoglycemics showed higher expression of serum miR-195 and miR-27 ( p<0.05). Finally, we found inverse relation between IMT and insulin (R -0.351), HOMA-IR (R -0.340), miR-195 (R -0.355), miR-27 (R -0.181); between LVEF and Insulin (R -0.332), HOMA-IR (R -0.142), miR-195 (R -0.297) and miR-27 (R -0.163). We found inverse correlation between LVM and sirtuin-1 (R -0.272), Insulin (R -0.810), HOMA-IR (R-0.183), miR-195 (R -0.446) and miR-27 (R-0.433), and direct correlation with interleukin-6 (R 0.195). MPI inversely linked to miR-195 (R -0.260) and miR-27 (R -0.591). Conclusion: in obese pre-diabetics metformin therapy significantly reduces inflammation/oxidative stress, circulating miR-195 and miR-27, causing reduction of LVM, IMT and amelioration of cardiac performance.

Breast Angiosarcoma is a rare malignancy, accounting less than 1% of all soft tissue. It comprises primitive and secondary subtypes, such as radiogenic breast angiosarcoma (RAS). Despite the multimodal treatment, angiosarcomas represent an incurable disease for many patients and represent a cause of substantial deterioration of their quality of life. Surgery represents the cornerstone in the management, but high recurrence rates are reported. Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is practicable locoregional treatment in patients with advanced angiosarcoma, in a multimodal therapeutic strategy. ECT palliative benefit includes optimal patient compliance, good local hemostasis control, and local responses. Considering that only 22 cases are described in literature, we reported a rare case of RAS treated with ECT, after a multidisciplinary approach including Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). A literature review about the feasibility of ECT in RAS management was also performed.

Mesenteric ischemia diagnosis is challenging with an overall mortality in up to 50% of cases despite advances in treatment. The main problem that affects the outcome is the delayed diagnosis because of non-specific clinical presentation. Multi Detector CT Angiography (MDCTA) is the first line investigation for the suspected diagnosis of vascular abdominal pathologies and is the diagnostic test of choice in suspected mesenteric bowel ischemia. MDCTA can accurately detect the presence of arterial and venous thrombosis, determine the extension and the gastrointestinal tract involved, and provide detailed information determining the subtype and the stage progression of the diseases helping clinicians and surgeons for the proper management. CT can differentiate forms that are still susceptible to pharmacological or interventional treatment (NOM= non-operative management) from advanced disease with transmural necrosis in which a surgical approach is required. Knowledge of CT imaging patterns and corresponding vascular pathways is mandatory in Emergency settings to reach a prompt and accurate diagnosis. The aims of this paper are 1. to provide technical information about the optimal CTA protocol; 2. To empathize the CTA arterial and venous supply to gastrointestinal tract and relative ischemic pattern; 3. To describe vascular, bowel and extraintestinal CT findings for the diagnosis of acute mesenteric ischemia.

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a persistent neurodevelopment disorder frequently co-occurring with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and behavior-related disorders. While behavioral therapy is the first-line option to manage ASD core symptoms, pharmacological therapy is sometimes needed to treat acute problems, such as agitation and aggressive behaviors. Recent guidelines recommend neuroleptics to reduce psychomotor agitation in people with ASD. However, since children with ASD are often drug-resistant, alternative treatments are often justified. Reports from literature showed that intra-venous valproate (IV-VPA) can be effective in reducing agitation in psychiatric patients, with lower frequency of adverse events compared to convention-al treatments. However, since findings are occasionally inconsistent, IV-VPA is not an approved option in clinical psychiatry. We aim at improving the knowledge on the IV-VPA treatment option in emergency psychiatry in the pediatric age. Methods: We report the case of a 11-year-old boy suffering from a complex neurodevelopmental condition, who experienced a psychotic episode with severe aggressive and disruptive behaviors, successfully treated with IV-VPA. Besides, we conducted an up-dated literature review on this topic. Conclusion: In our case, first-line therapies proved to be ineffective. On the contrary, IV-VPA led to a safe and prompt clinical success, in line with other reports. Based on our literature review, IV-VPA can be highly effective and can reduce the risk of adverse events that frequently occur with the use of high-dose standard medications in emergency psychiatry.

In recent years, many studies have highlighted the consistent finding of amoxicillin in waters destined for wastewater treatment plants, in addition to superficial waters of rivers and lakes in both Europe and North America. In this paper, the amoxicillin degradation pathway was investigated by simulating the chlorination process normally used in a wastewater treatment plant to reduce similar emerging pollutants at three different pH values. The structures of 16 isolated degradation byproducts (DPs), one of which was isolated for the first time, were separated on a C-18 column via a gradient HPLC method. Then, combining mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS/TOF) and nuclear magnetic resonance, we compared commercial standards and justified a proposed formation mechanism beginning from the parent drug. Microbial growth inhibition bioassays with Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Staphylococcus aureus were performed to determine the potential loss of antibacterial activity in isolated degradation byproducts. An increase of antibacterial activity in the DPs was observed compared to the parent compound.

The Upper Hunter Valley is a major coal mining area containing approximately 40% of the currently identified total coal reserves in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Due to the ongoing increase of mining activities, PM10 (air-borne particle with an aerodynamic diameter less than 10 micrometres) pollution has become a major air quality concern in local communities. This paper summarises the spatial and temporal variability modes of PM10 pollution in the region, based on long-term multi-site monitoring data and the application of the rotated principal component analysis (RPCA) and wavelet analysis techniques. RPCA identified two distinct air quality clusters/subregions in the valley, one in the west/northwest, the other in the southeast. Wavelet analysis revealed the annual cycle to be most persistent temporal mode of PM10 variability in both subregions, with intermittent signals observed at time scales of around 120, 30~90 and under 30 days. How these variation modes are related to the effects of local PM10 emissions and the influence of meteorology at different time scales deserves further attention in future work. The findings will be used in air quality reporting and forecasting in NSW. The methodology and results can also be useful for air quality research in similar regions elsewhere.

The scratch test consists in pushing a tool across the surface of a material at a given penetration depth or applied load. It has several applications in Science and Engineering including strength testing, damage and quality control of thin films and coatings. Despite numerous attempts in scientific literature, the application of scratch test to characterizations of fracture properties remains a heavily controversial topic. Therefore, this investigation arises as an experimental study in order to assess the fracture toughness using scratch test. A study on the effect of cryogenic treatment, performed after tempering, on fracture toughness, via scratch test experiments, of different tool steels has been made. A laboratory investigation on AISI D2, AISI M2 and X105CrCoMo18 steel confirms the possibility of increasing the fracture toughness by carrying out the cryogenic treatment after the usual heat treatment

The Upper Hunter Valley is a major coal mining area in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Due to the ongoing increase of mining activities, PM10 (air-borne particle with an aerodynamic diameter less than 10 micrometres) pollution has become a major air quality concern in local communities. The early part of this study identified two air quality subregions in the valley. This paper aims to provide a holistic summarisation of the relationships between elevated PM10 pollution in two subregions and the local- and synoptic-scale meteorological conditions for spring and summer, when PM10 pollution is relatively high. A catalogue of twelve synoptic types and a set of six local meteorological patterns have been quantitatively derived and linked to each other using the self-organising map (SOM) technique. The complex meteorology-air pollution relationships have been visualised/interpretated on the SOM planes for two representative locations. It was found that the influence of local meteorological patterns differed significantly for mean PM10 levels vs the occurrence of elevated pollution events and between air quality subregions. In contrast, synoptic types showed generally similar relationships with mean vs elevated PM10 pollution in the valley. Two local meteorological patterns, the hot-dry-northwesterly wind conditions and the hot-dry-calm conditions, were found most PM10 pollution conducive in the valley when combined with a set of synoptic counterparts. These synoptic types are featured with the influence of eastward migrating continental high pressure system and westerly troughs, or a ridge extending northwest towards coastal northern NSW or southern Queensland from the Tasman Sea. The method and results can be used in air quality research for other locations of NSW, or similar regions elsewhere.

In this work, the nearest neighbor distances and Voronoi cell features of the Cu-Ag deposits were analyzed and fitted with Lognormal, Weibull, and Gamma distributions. The nearest neighbor distance distributions of the samples were compared with those of complete spatially random points, showing spatial inhomogenity due to the nucleation exclusion effect. The radial distribution function was calculated, showing both influences from the grain size and the nucleation exclusion effect. Voronoi cells were generated based on the shape of the grains. The size, occupancy, and coordination of the Voronoi cells were examined and fitted. The results show that despite the Cu-Ag deposits seem to be governed by instantaneous nucleation mode, the spatial distribution of the nuclei is more impacted by the nucleation exclusion effect than the Cu-only samples. This behavior is also justified by the grain size distribution generated with Voronoi cell size and occupancy distributions.

Background The main aim of reconstructive surgery (RS) is to restore the integrity of soft tissues damaged by trauma, surgery, congenital deformity, burns or infection. Microsurgical techniques consist of harvesting tissues that are separated from the vascular sources of the donor site and anastomosed to the vessels of the recipient site. In these procedures, there are some preoperative modifiable factors that have the potential to influence the outcome of the flap transfer and its anastomosis. Methods Chronic inflammatory anaemia (ACD) is a constant condition in patients who have undergone RS and correlates with the perfusion of the free flap. In RS, it is important to maintain good tissue oxyporesis, avoiding blood hyperviscosity. From January 2017 to September 2019, we studied 16 patients (16 males, mean age 38 years) who underwent microsurgical procedures for RS. Haemoglobin (Hb) levels, Corpuscular Indexes, Transferring saturation (TSAT) ferritin concentrations and creatinine clearance have been measured the first day after surgery (T0), after the first week (T1) and after five weeks (T2). At T0 all patients showed low hemoglobin levels (average 7.4 g/dl, STD 0,71range 6,2-7,4 g dL-1), with an MCV of 72, MCH 28, MCHC 33, RDW 16, Sideremy 35, Ferritin 28, Ret% 1,36, TRF 277 and Creatinine Clearance 119. . We assessed all patients for clinical status, medical history and comorbidities before starting therapy. Results. In collaboration between the two departments, we started a therapeutic protocol with erythropoietic stimulating agents (ESAs) (Binocrit 6000 UI/week) and intravenous iron every other day, on the second day after surgery. Thirteen patients received ESAs and FCM (500-1000 mg per session), three patients received ESAs and iron gluconate (1 vial every other day). No patients received blood transfusions. No side effects were observed and, most importantly, no limb or flap rejection. Conclusions Preliminary data from our protocol show an optimal therapeutic response in a surgical setting with limited data in the scientific literature. The enrolment of further patients will allow us to validate this therapeutic protocol with statistically significant data.

Uveal melanoma (UM) is characterized by relatively few, highly incident molecular alterations and their association with metastatic risk is deeply understood. Nevertheless, this knowledge has so far not led to innovate therapies for the successful treatment of UM metastases or for adjuvant therapy, leaving survival after diagnosis of metastatic UM almost unaltered in decades. The driver mutations of UM, mainly in the G-protein genes GNAQ and GNA11, activate the MAP-kinase pathway as well as the YAP/TAZ pathway. At present, there are no drugs that target the latter and this likely explains the failure of MEK-inhibitors. Immune checkpoint blockers, despite the game changing effect in cutaneous melanoma (CM) show only marginal effects in UM probably because of the low mutational burden of 0.5 per megabase and the unavailability of antibodies targeting the main immune checkpoint active in UM. The highly pro-tumorigenic microenvironment of UM also contributes to therapy resistance. However, T-cell redirection by a soluble T cell receptor that is fused to an anti-CD3 single-chain variable fragment, local, liver specific therapy, new immune checkpoint blockers and YAP/TAZ specific drugs give new hope to repeat the success of innovative therapy obtained for CM.

This study explores the innovative use of CO2 laser technology in frenuloplasty, a significant shift from traditional methods like scalpel surgery or electrocautery, towards a minimally invasive approach. The research involved 15 patients aged 25 to 50, undergoing frenuloplasty with a CO2 laser system equipped with a 7-inch defocused handpiece, set at 20Hz and 0.3W. This method diverges from conventional laser techniques, focusing on controlled laser passes combined with manual traction to elongate the fibrous tissue of the frenulum. The results demonstrated that the CO2 laser technique allowed for a precise and progressive modification of the frenulum, significantly reducing the risks of hemorrhage and secondary in-tention fibrosis. The healing process was notably expedited, with patients reporting satisfactory outcomes within a two-week period. Statistically significant improvements were observed in pa-tient-reported outcomes, as evidenced by the increases in the Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) scores, with the mean Physical Component Summary (PCS) score rising from 32.5 to 47.5 and the mean Mental Component Summary (MCS) score from 39.3 to 52.3 (p < 0.001 for both). The study concludes that CO2 laser frenuloplasty is an effective and safe technique, offering sub-stantial benefits in terms of reduced healing time and enhanced patient satisfaction. The signifi-cant improvements in SF-12 scores underscore the positive impact on patient quality of life, ad-vocating for the broader application of this technique in clinical practice. Further research is warranted to explore its potential in a wider clinical context.

Introduction: The serological support to early diagnosis and differential diagnosis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) is actually very limited. In this study we evaluated the performance of a promising multiparametric method including either well established and newly developed biomarkers. Methods: This multicenter retrospective observational study finally enrolled 156 patients with IBD, 100 affected by Crohn’s disease (CD) and 56 by ulcerative colitis (UC) recruited at the Gastroenterology Units of Udine (Italy), Rijeka (Croatia) and Belgrade (Serbia). Twently age-sex matched blood donors (BD) were included as controls. Autoantibody profiles were determined using a mosaic cell and tissue-based indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) method simultaneously investigating: anti-saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies (ASCA), anti-atypical perinuclear neutrophilic antibodies (P-ANCA), anti-pancreatic antigens antibodies (PAB) and anti-goblet cells antibodies (GAB). Results: PAB (anti-CUZD1 and/or anti-GP2 antibodies) were present in 24 CD patients versus none of UC patients or BD (24% sensitivity, 100% specificity). As regards CD patients, combined positivity of PAB and ASCA (sensitivity 84%, specificity 71.4%) performed better than ASCA alone. Colon involvement (87.5% vs. 60.5%; p=0.014), deep mucosal lesions (58.3% vs. 25.0%; p=0.002) and need for biologic therapies (79.2% vs. 46.1%; p=0.005) were significantly more prevalent in PAB-positive than in PAB-negative CD patients. Multivariate analysis identified PAB positivity (OR=3.67; 95%CI=1.29-10.46) and anti-CUZD1 in particular (OR=3.54; 95%CI=1.08-11.63) as significant risk factors for deep mucosal lesions development in CD. Conclusion: A multiparametric diagnostic approach appears very useful to better characterize IBD patients. PAB, isolated or combined with other autoantibodies, may support both differential diagnosis and selection of CD patients at risk for more severe disease.

This paper aims to raise awareness on certain interoperability issues as we intend to shape industry 5.0 in order to enable a human-centric resilient society. We advocate that the need of sharing small and specific data will become more intensive as AI-based solutions will become more pervasive. Consequently, dataspaces should be carefully designed to address this need. We advance the conversation by presenting a case study from HR demonstrating how to predict the possibility of an employee experiencing attrition. Our experimental results show that we need more than 500 samples for developing a machine learning model to be sufficiently capable to generalize the problem. Consequently, our experimental results show the feasibility of the idea. However, in small and medium sized companies this approach cannot be implemented due to the limited number of samples. At the same time, we advocate that this obstacle may be overcome if multiple companies will join a shared dataspace, thus raising interoperability issues

Pediatric psychology action in the pediatric clinical-surgical high complexity unit has become increasingly necessary. It allows for the possibility of integrating complex pediatric clinical-surgical operations by reducing painful effects on the emotional world of children and adolescents. The pediatric psychologist in a pediatric unit continuously oversees children and adolescents (C/A) throughout the entire therapeutic process, extending activity to parents and healthcare personnel. In ill children and adolescents, physical pain and psychological suffering follow, with minimal temporary variations, the same clinical path with continuous changes which put a strain on the ability of children, adolescents, parents and healthcare staff to cope with stress.

A methodological similarity between Thomas Hobbes and Pëtr Kropotkin is the intention to spread a theoretical foundation to everyone, in the sense that they are willing to give to all the people a clear description of the reality and a subsequent political view. To do so, they use a scientific method, deductive (starting from empirical observations) in the case of Hobbes, inductive-deductive in the case of Kropotkin. Kropotkin underlines the educational value of the scientific method.In this work we want to highlight that, although they both start their argumentations from a materialist ontology, Hobbes and Kropotkin conjecture two completely different states of nature. Hobbes describes the state of nature through the two famous metaphors homo homini lupus (citing Plautus) and bellum omnium contra omnes, while Kropotkin introduced the theory of mutual aid. Both the theory of a state of war by Hobbes and the theory of mutual aid by Kropotkin have been revolutionary. Hobbes has been influenced by the scientific revolution initiated by Francis Bacon, one of his mentors, and Galileo Galilei, together with a criticism towards the ancient Greece philosophers, in particular Aristotle. Kropotkin has been influenced by the ground-breaking writings of Charles Darwin together with a very fruitful Russian scientific environment.We want to stress here that the disenchanted view of the human nature in Hobbes, a state of war due to the fact that everyone has rights on everything, helps him to legitimate sovereignty, while the positive view of human nature in Kropotkin, a spontaneous mutual aid among people in a community, helps him to legitimate anarchy. Therefore, the fascinating scientific methods of the two materialists Hobbes and Kropotkin to structure a solid political theory cannot neglect different views on human nature due to their historical contexts.

This paper illustrates an experimental activity for the closed-loop position control of an actuator made using shape memory alloy (SMA) wire. A solution with the self-sensing effect was implemented to miniaturize the systems, i.e., without external sensors. A proportional control algorithm was initially used, demonstrating the idea's feasibility: the wire can behave simultaneously as an actuator and sensor. An experimental investigation was subsequently conducted for the optimization of the developed actuator. As for the material, a Flexinol wire, Ni-Ti alloy, with a diameter of 0.150 mm and a length of 200 mm, was used. Preliminarily, a characterization of the SMA wire at constant and variable loads was carried out: the characteristics detected are elongation vs. electric current and elongation vs. electrical resistance. The control system is PC-based with a data acquisition card (DAQ). A drive board has been designed and built to read the wire's electrical resistance and power it by pulse width modulation (PWM). A notable result is that the actuator works with good precision and in dynamic conditions, even when it is called to support a load up to 65% different from that for which the electrical resistance-length correlation has previously been experimentally obtained, on which the control is based. This opens up the possibility of using the actuator in a counteracting configuration with a spring, which makes hardware implementation and control management simple.

In the last four years, the evolution and adoption of blockchain and, more generally, distributed ledger systems have shown the affirmation of many concepts and models with significant differences in system governance and suitable applications. This work aims to update the critical analysis of blockchain technologies carried out by our previous contribution to this journal, extending the focus to distributed ledger components and systems. Starting from the topical concept of decentralization, we introduce concepts and building blocks currently adopted in the available systems centering on their functional aspects and impact on possible applications. We present some conceptual framing tools helpful in the application context, and we will propose the concept of process authenticity, which we will discuss through two use cases: blockchain document dematerialization and e-voting.

The interplay between thrombosis and inflammation, known as thromboinflammation, is a significant pathway driving cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases, as well as COVID-19. Key modulators of this process have emerged as innate immune cells. Strategically positioned to promote thromboinflammation are neutrophils, the most predominant white blood cells in humans. Neutrophils can trigger an organized cell death pathway by releasing decondensed chromatin structures known as neutrophil extracellular traps. These structures are decorated with histones, cytoplasmic, and granular proteins, and have cytotoxic, immunogenic, and prothrombotic effects, which can accelerate disease progression. The activities of PAD4, which catalyses the citrullination of histones, and the neutrophil inflammasome are required for distinct steps leading to extracellular DNA release (NETosis). PAD4 activity has important implications for understanding the processes that drive thromboinflammation by linking the immunological function of neutrophils with the procoagulant and proinflammatory activities of monocytes and platelets. We will discuss how vascular blockages in thromboinflammation occur due to the interaction between neutrophil extracellular traps and ultra-large VWF (von Willebrand Factor). PAD4 activity has important implications for understanding the processes that drive thromboinflammation by linking the immunological function of neutrophils with the procoagulant and proinflammatory activities of monocytes and platelets. It will also review the mechanisms whereby vaso-occlusive events in thrombo-inflammation depend on the interaction of neutrophil extracellular traps with von Willebrand factor and suggest the importance of PAD4 in neutrophil inflammasome assembly and neutrophil extracellular traps in thrombo-inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis and CVD.

Background: The aim of this study has been to investigate if inflammatory biomarkers such as the systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) have any correlation with the recurrence of pleomorphic adenomas (PA) in patients afflicted by this disease. Methods: A retrospective multicentre study involving two Italian centres, the Maxillofacial Sur-gery at the Policlinico Federico II in Naples and the ENT and Maxillofacial Surgery at the IRCCS G. Pascale National Cancer Institute in Naples, has been performed. The study, involving 608 pa-tients who had received a diagnosis of PA, was conducted between January 2000 and January 2020. A Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve was used to calculate the optimal cut-off values for the SII, PLR and NLR. A linear regression model (LRM) and a non-linear logistic re-gression model (NLRM) were realized with respect to the NLR, PLR and SII. Results: The highest performance was achieved by the NLR (cut-off 2.960) with the AUC = 0.91, with an accuracy of 96.1%, sensitivity of 78.4% and specificity of 97.2%, PPV = 64.4% and NPV = 98.6%. The LRM and NLRM including all the haematological parameters did not increase the per-formance in terms of recurrence detection. Conclusion: The NLR is an excellent support tool in predicting the recurrence of PA with a cut-off of 2.960. It can be a good reference point for surgical decision-making and follow-up in clinical practice.

A number of research projects and a rich literature have dealt with the theme of abandoned medieval villages in Sardinia since the end of the 60s of the last century. Some more or less precise catalogues and reviews of villages in limited territories have been published. Only recently, however, this subject is being addressed in an interdisciplinary manner, combining traditional historical research with the results of archaeological surveys and excavation campaigns, geo-archaeology, toponymy, paleoclimatology. This allows us to have a picture of the landscape and human settlement evolution with its historical changes, conditioned not only by institutional superstructures but also by human and natural traumatic events. Particular attention will be given to the sudden changes that occurred between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. To carry out this survey, it is possible to use some very powerful IT tools which, through the aggregation, organization, correlation and management of information, allow the geo-localization of abandoned villages as proven by the documentary evidence. Thus, on this documentation, existing and acquired in the future, is founded the construction of the related information system. The most easy and suitable tools for this purpose are the CMSs (Content Management Systems) which, in association with GIS (Geographic Information Systems) engines, allow spatial and contextual analysis of the settlements, as they were inserted in their territory. This type of tools aggregates different peculiarities of the object of study, supporting a multidisciplinary reading on the argument. The computerized tools, integrated as a system, offer the possibility to implement it, feeding it and correcting it continuously, basing on new acquisitions. In this study, we will examine a historical areal, for which we have a sufficient number of sources available: Sarrabus, Colostrai and Quirra, adding to the geographical visual information, the temporal visual evolution.

Cetacean Morbillivirus, the most relevant pathogen impacting the health and conservation of cetaceans worldwide, has shown in recent years an increased tendency to cross “interspecies barriers”, thereby giving rise to disease and mortality outbreaks in free-ranging dolphins and whales. The present article deals with the evolutionary “trajectories” of this viral pathogen, likely originating from Rinderpest Virus, along with its “journey” from land to sea (and viceversa), mimicking that of cetaceans' terrestrial ancestors.

Contemporary diagnostic practice in psychiatry relies on the tick-box approach of diagnostic manuals. In light of the obvious limitations of diagnostic systems, narrative formulations, whether in the form of biological, psychodynamic or behavioural cognitive ones, have been proposed. Their approach, which can be caricatured as one of drawing arrows, enriches our clinical tools and practice but in their explicitly theoretical orientation, as well as expanding the field of discovery, they also constrain it. In two previous papers I summarized the resulting limitations, with specific reference to the patient’s experience and proposed further enriching clinical perspicacity by attending to images and parataxis. The specific intent of attending to the patient’s experiences through a process that explicitly eschews narrativization, but allows clinical phenomena to “hang loose”, is to facilitate a process of clinical discovery and healing through practices of co-production between patient and clinician. In the present paper, I expand the range of phenomena that may assist in this co-production through adding attention to dreams to that of images and parataxis. In particular, I turn to the work of the Italian novelist Guido Morselli. Morselli agrues that the self is created through bundling experiences together through acts of “will” in order to establish our personal narrative. In doing so, however, the “will” forbids access to phenomena that do not fit the dominant narrative. Experience is therefore impoverished. Dream consciousness is a type of consciousness not harnessed by the constraints of narrativity. It allows a slipping of the narrative vigilance which bundles phenomena together to create a coherent narrative and thus offers a richer menu of potential experiences, including “bizarre” images that can serve to challenge our usual self-narrative and offer a new perspective on ourselves.

ORF7b-2 is an accessory protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus of only 43 amino acids. It has been implicated in various functional hypotheses, some of which predict its involvement as a trans-membrane protein. In this study, ORF7b-2 has often been compared to ORF7b-1 of the SARS virus to highlight differences and similarities with a protein that should have a similar biological role. Structural analysis of ORF7b-2 and its electrostatic characteristics show a polypeptide with both ends negatively charged and a diffuse negative charge over the entire structure. Therefore, its behavior in solution is like that of a weak negative polyelectrolyte, more precisely a polyanion with a net charge of – 4 at neutral pH. Its structure was modeled with two different modeling systems, one of which was ab initio. The two best models are similar, as confirmed by the Ramachandran plot, and show a central alpha-helical structure with two disordered and mobile ends. A normal mode analysis characterized the low-frequency dynamic aspects of the protein. The analysis of the structural shows a rigid central segment with mobile and fluctuating extremities, involved in a conformational equilibrium of the helix ↔ coil type. The calculation of the dipole moment shows its vector is not aligned with the main axis of the structure with an outward tilt of 24°. Molecular dynamics simulations were also conducted and the one in water is in good agreement with the previous results. While, the simulation performed by inserting a pre-oriented dimer (OMP) into a solvated lipid showed the low tendency of the protein to solvate in the apolar environment of the membrane. ORF7b-2 also shows a widespread distribution of negative surfaces that dynamically adjust to changes in structural organization. The BioGrid platform's [Biological General Repository for Interaction Datasets] through the BioGrid COVID-19 Coronavirus Curation Project shows a very large number of experimentally proven physical interactions unique to ORF7b-2, some of them with cytoplasmic proteins. These features of ORF7b-2, evaluated together, suggest a remarkable propensity of ORF7b-2 to interact with multiple molecular partners on both an electrostatic and hydrophobic basis. All this makes it unreasonable that the only biological function of this protein should be that exerted as an intramembrane protein.

The statistical bundle is the set of couples $(Q,W)$ of a probability density Q and a random variable W such that $\mathbb{E}$_Q [W] = 0. On a finite state space, we assume Q to be a probability density with respect to the uniform probability and give an affine atlas of charts such that the resulting manifold is a model for Information Geometry. Velocity and accelleration of a one-dimensional statistical model are computed in this set up. The Euler-Lagrange equations are derived from the Lagrange action integral. An example of Lagrangian using minus the entropy as potential energy is briefly discussed.

The evaluation of the piezoelectric properties of ferroelectric ceramics generally has a high level of uncertainty, due to incomplete poling, porosity, domain wall clamping and other effects. In addition, the poling process is often difficult and dangerous, due to the risk of breaking or damaging the sample. A method is described for the evaluation of the potential intrinsic piezoelectric response that a ceramic would have after full poling, without poling it. The method relies on the fact that any material undergoes an elastic softening below the ferroelectric transition temperature, whose magnitude can be expressed in terms of the intrinsic piezoelectric and dielectric coefficients of the material. Such a softening is equivalent to an electromechanical coupling, averaged over all the components due to the unpoled state of the sample, and can be deduced from a single temperature scan of an elastic modulus of a ceramic sample, spanning the ferroelectric and paraelectric states. The strengths, limits and possible applications of the method are discussed.

Bilateral recurrent nerve damage following total thyroidectomy in thyroid surgery represents severe complications. These complications have almost low incidence thanks also by using the Nerve Intraoperative Monitoring. The aim of this observational retrospective study is to evaluate the inception mode and the recovery time for different clinical laryngeal pictures that arise from this surgery. We enrolled 25 patients with bilateral vocal folds mobility deficit between October 2017 and October 2022, diagnosed in ENT Unit of University of Campania “L. Vanvitelli”, out of a total of 1417 patients undergoing total thyroidectomy. The 25 patients (23F,2M) aged from 24 to 78 years old (average age 51.7) presented a bilateral vocal folds motility deficit (occurring in about 0.1% of cases). All patients underwent 9 months diagnostic/therapeutic process, which started approximately 30 days after thyroid surgery. There are several outcomes of these complications with functional laryngeal defects being mainly related to respiratory and phonatory activities. These clinical manifestations evolve in different ways within a context of a wide range of possibilities, from spontaneous bilateral or monolateral recovery to functional or surgical restoration. This study allowed the acquisition of useful information about prognostic indications and an adequate therapeutic process, based on the specific clinical characteristics.

School-museum relations have gained considerable attention in the academic literature in recent decades. However, there still needs to be more research on their role in enhancing science education. This work reports the outcomes of the recovery, study, and valorization of the 18th-century geo-mineralogical collection belonging to the Collegio Nazareno, now housed at the Istituto San Giuseppe Calasanzio in Rome. The project consisted of four phases: 1) the securing of more than 1720 specimens; 2) their cataloging using the Italian national catalographic standards for the mineralogical and petrological heritage; 3) the establishment of new exhibit and storage areas; 4) the development of a self-instructive exhibition itinerary. The project, which was participated by the students enrolled in the fourth and fifth high school classes, revealed fascinating and unique specimens such as the ones collected by prominent Italian naturalists –e.g., Scipione Breislak (1750–1826) and Carlo Giuseppe Gismondi (1762–1824) – or those comprising the mineralogical collection donated by the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II (1741–1740) to the Mineralogical Cabinet of the Collegio Nazareno in 1785. This work thus offers significant insights into the importance of natural history school museums as useful (and oft-forgotten) learning tools in science education.

Tourism may not sustainably support territories with limited natural resource stock as islands. The volume in visitor arrivals and the industry investments can increase the pressure even beyond sustainable levels. There is an evident and unresolved tension between these two great polarities, sustainability and economic growth driven by tourism. The aim for policymakers is to find an acceptable equilibrium between these two dimensions. This paper investigates the tourism evolution between 2007 and 2019 in 15 Mediterranean islands, comparing the tourism pressures through statistical indicators. The analysis will compare tourism demand and supply trends in these contexts. The performances will be evaluated to identify the Islands positioning between sustainability needs and tourism development opportunities considering post-covid-19 challenges.

Variance-driven decomposition based on the singular spectrum analysis of the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA) dD, CO2 and CH4 records allowed a novel quantitative structural interpretation of all glacial/interglacial cycles and glacial terminations of the last 800 kyr. This bottom-up approach used the response components of EPICA stacked records to reconstruct the envelope of the thermal response through a physical interference model. The aim was to improve the understanding regarding the features of intensity, amplitude, and asymmetry of 73 marine isotope stages (MIS) and seven terminations. The Antarctic stack record can be described by a variance-weighted interference model of ten thermal waves of different origins (mid-term oscillation, orbitals and suborbitals) that stochastically interfere at a given time according to their relative differences in frequency, intensity, and polarity. Interglacial/glacial stages resulted from constructive interference and bipolar amplification of warming/cooling responses, respectively. The low intensity MISs (including 90% of substages) and the unbiased-dated terminations fell in the low interference regions where dominant destructive patterns minimise the thermal envelope. The positive skewness of the EPICA stack resulted from the constructive interference with a strong bias in the warming direction, especially after the Mid-Brunhes Event. Duration analysis of short eccentricity hemicycles exhibited an intrinsic unexpectedly prolonged mean cooling in the nominal solution (5.8 kyr) and its EPICA response as well (8.6 kyr), along with an interference-induced asymmetry (21.1 kyr). The overall effect resulted in the saw-tooth shape of glacial cycles which is heavily induced by interference and related to the intermediate feedback mechanisms controlled by short eccentricity.

The paper will analyze the pressures and vulnerabilities of the consolidated city from two perspectives: technical and social. Some design and pragmatic experiences conducted by the author in his teaching and research experience first at the Department of Urbanism of TUDelft in the Netherlands and currently at the PDTA Department of La Sapienza University of Rome will be introduced and analyzed. In the first research activity, whose case study is Rotterdam, all urban vulnerabilities related to climate change will be analyzed while in the second one, conducted in Viterbo, the vulnerability related to the hull of social inclusion, poor accessibility and psycho-social stress that plague our established cities will be treated. The two areas of study, different in size and spatial governance tools, are comparable because they allow deciphering the city's risks through lines of intervention that could serve as best practices and serve the urban planning disciplinary update also allowing to define a reflection on morphology and fabrics and on the shape of the city itself. Both teaching and research activities in which the author is involved allow the topic of urban vulnerability to be addressed with a broad exploratory scope that, in the final stage, hypothesizes design intervention on the neighborhood scale, identified as the most appropriate to provide plausible climate and social adaptation and mitigation responses.

In Brazil, Brazilian borreliosis (BB), characterized molecularly, exhibits symptoms akin to Lyme disease (LD) but presents unique epidemiological, clinical, and morphological features. This study explores the incidence, diagnostic challenges, and awareness initiatives regarding this disease in Brazil. Employing a narrative review methodology, data were sourced from Pubmed, Ebsco, Google Scholar, and Web of Science without temporal constraints. Results reveal diagnostic complexities in Brazil due to the low sensitivity of conventional tests and the use of North American B. burgdorferi antigens. Despite challenges, epidemiological studies indicate an upswing in cases in humans and animals. Therefore, there is an urgent need to define new biomarkers, molecular strategies, or new antigenic targets to advance the development of vaccines and diagnostics. Early and accurate pathogen identification is crucial for active surveillance to comprehend and manage this zoonosis.

A brief overview of the past and present trajectories made by the A(H5N1) avian influenza virus among domestic birds, avian and mammalian wildlife species and humans is presented here, thereby taking into special account the 2.3.4.4b clade of the virus recently emerged in several geographic areas of the globe.

The present exploratory study tested the hypothesis that computerized cognitive training (CCT) in home telemonitoring may beneficially affect eyes-closed resting-state electroencephalographic (rsEEG) rhythms in Parkinson's disease patients with cognitive deficits (PDCD). A Eurasian database provided clinical-demographic-rsEEG datasets in 40 PDCD patients, 29 PD patients without cognitive deficits (PDNCD), 40 Alzheimer’s disease patients with cognitive deficits (ADCD), and 40 cognitively normal older adults (Healthy). Sixteen of the 40 PDCD patients completed a cross-over unsupervised CCT program of simple, serious video games (versus a sham program) consisting of 14 daily sessions of approximately 20 minutes each in the patients' homes. Compared to the Healthy, PDNCD, and ADCD groups, the PDCD group was characterized by greater diffuse rsEEG delta (about 2-4 Hz) and theta (about 4-7 Hz) source activity. The PDCD patients who underwent the CCT program showed an improvement in video game performance and a reduction in these delta-theta source activities after this program compared to the control condition. In conclusion, these results suggest that the 2-week CCT program in home telemonitoring may mitigate the abnormal “slowing” of rsEEG rhythms in PDCD patients, possibly enhancing the regulation of brain arousal and quiet vigilance.

The current view of the mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes I, III and IV foresees the oc-currence of their assembly in supercomplexes providing additional functional properties as compared with randomly colliding isolated complexes. According to the plasticity model, these two structural states of the respiratory chain may interconvert influenced by the intracellular prevailing conditions and in previous studies we candidated the mitochondrial membrane po-tential as a factor controlling their dynamic balance. Here, we extended those studies investigating if and how the cAMP/PKA-mediated signalling influences the aggregation state of the respiratory complexes. Analysis of inhibitory-titration profiles of the endogenous oxygen consumption rates in intact HepG2 cells with specific inhibitors of the respiratory complexes was performed to quantify, in the framework of the metabolic flux theory, the corresponding control coefficients. The results attained inhibiting pharmacologically either PKA and sAC indicate that the reversible phosphorylation of the respiratory chain complexes/supercomplexes influences their assembly state in response to the membrane potential. This conclusion is supported by scrutiny of the available structure of the CI,CIII2,CIV respirasome enabling to map several PKA-target serine residues exposed to the matrix side of the complexes I, III and IV at the contact interfaces of the three complexes.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) surgery is now a viable solution in selected patients and the “remodelling” palatopharyngeal surgery is the most common one. Recently it becomes less in-vasive with the introduction of Barbed Sutures (BS). An optimization of surgical technique is represented by Barbed pharyngoplasty (BP), that requires surgical precision and needs efficient and precise oropharyngeal visualization. Consequently, the lighting system is of pivotal im-portance in BP. The aim of this work is to describe the first experience on the use of a new light-ing system, called KlaroTM in BP for OSA. We evaluated the Klaro™ system in 15 consecutives BP for OSA in comparison with conventional headlamp illumination. The visualization of pala-topharyngeal muscle in the bottom of the tonsillar fossa, entry and exit needle, such as needle tip were statistically better with KlaroTM than headlamp illumination both for surgeon and resi-dent (p<0.05). No significant differences for the visualization of the posterior pharyngeal wall and uvula were reported. The KlaroTM lighting system allows a satisfied illumination of oral cavity and oropharynx in the majority of cases. We encourage to use of KlaroTM not only in BP for OSA, but also in all oral and pharyngeal surgeries, including tonsillectomy and oncological surgery.

Autism Spectrum Disorder etiopathogenesis is still unclear and no effective preventive and treatment measures have been identified. Research has focused on the potential role of neuroinflammation and kynurenine pathway. Here we review the nature of these interactions. Pre-natal or neonatal infections would induce microglial activation, with secondary consequences on behavior, cognition and neurotransmitter networks. Peripherally, higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and anti-brain antibodies have been identified. Increased frequency of autoimmune diseases, allergies, and recurring infections have been demonstrated both in autistic patients and in their relatives. Genetic studies, also, have identified some important polymorphisms in chromosome loci related to human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system. The persistence of immune-inflammatory deregulation would lead to mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress, creating a self-sustaining cytotoxic loop. Chronic inflammation activates kynurenine pathway with increase in neurotoxic metabolites and excitotoxicity, causing long-term changes in glutamatergic system, trophic support and synaptic function. Furthermore, overactivation of kynurenine’s branch induces depletion of melatonin and serotonin worsening ASD symptoms. In this scenario, kynurenine pathway appears as a pharmacological target to treat and prevent ASD. Thus, in genetically predisposed subjects aberrant neurodevelopment may derives from a complex interplay between inflammatory process, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress and kynurenine pathway overexpression. To validate previous hypothesis a new translational research approach is necessary.

Keywords: oligozoospermia; male infertility; epididymis; scrotal exploration; scrotal ultrasound; partial epididymal obstruction

The paper aims at presenting the results obtained in the development of a system allowing the detection and monitoring of forest fires and the continuous comparison of their intensity when several events occur simultaneously, as usually happens in the European Mediterranean countries during the summer season. The system, called SFIDE (Satellite FIre DEtection), exploits a geostationary satellite sensor (SEVIRI on board of MSG satellite series). The algorithm was developed several years ago in the framework of a project (SIGRI) funded by the Italian Space Agency (ASI). This algorithm has been completely reviewed in order to enhance its efficiency by reducing false alarms rate preserving a high sensitivity. Due to the very low spatial resolution of SEVIRI images (4x4 km² at Mediterranean latitude) the sensitivity of the algorithm should be very high to detect even small fires. The improvement of the algorithm has been obtained by: introducing the sun elevation angle in the computation of the preliminary thresholds to identify potential thermal anomalies (hot spots), introducing a contextual analysis in the detection of clouds and in the detection of night-time fires. The results of the algorithm have been validated in the Sardinia region by using ground true data provided by the regional Corpo Forestale e di Vigilanza Ambientale (CFVA). A significant reduction of the commission error (less than 10%) has been obtained with respect to the previous version of the algorithm and also with respect to fire-detection algorithms based on low earth orbit satellites.

Long Covid is a heterogeneous clinical condition in which Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and brain fog stand out among the different clinical symptoms and syndromes. The cerebral metabolic alterations and neuroendocrine disorders seem to constitute an important part of Long Covid. Given the substantial lack of drugs and effective therapeutic strategies, hypothalamic phospholipid liposomes which have been on the market for several years as adjuvant therapy of cerebral metabolic alterations resulting from neuroendocrine disorders, can be taken into consideration in an overall therapeutic strategy that aims to control the Long Covid associated symptoms and syndromes. Their pharmacological mechanisms and clinical effects strongly support their usefulness in Long Covid. Our initial clinical experience corroborates this rationale. Further research is imperative in order to obtain robust clinical evidence.

For the agricultural sector to develop sustainably in the future, progress toward more environmentally friendly technologies and methods is crucial. It is necessary to increase output while reducing the demand for energy, agrochemicals, and water resources. Although greenhouses can be utilized successfully for this purpose, significant technical advancements are required, especially when it comes to heating, to lower the use of fossil fuels and boost energy efficiency. Infrared waves and microwaves, for instance, can warm plants without having to heat the entire greenhouse volume, which takes a significant amount of energy to compensate for heat loss to the outdoor environment. In this paper, through a thorough examination of the state of the art, a general overview of novel greenhouse heating systems based on radiation is reported. First, infrared heating of greenhouses is analyzed, then the strengths and weaknesses of microwave and dielectric heating are discussed, and finally the use of microwaves for soil sterilization is examined. All outcomes suggest these irradiation-based technologies can contribute significantly to an agriculture that is energetically sustainable.

Many historic buildings and monuments on the Salento Peninsula (Apulia, southern Italy) were built from locally quarried Miocene calcarenites belonging to the Pietra Leccese Formation (Late Burdigalian-early Messinian). The main facies consists of a homogeneous and porous biomicrite, pale yellow in color and fine- to medium-grained, very rich in planktonic Foraminifera and massive or thick-bedded in outcrop. Additionally, there are other facies among which Piromafo stands out for its aesthetic appearance, which is enhanced by its greenish-brown or greenish-grey colors. Its physical characteristics, in terms of thermal properties mainly due to the mineral content and fabric, make it a good refractory and insulation material. Piromafo occurs in the upper part of the Pietra Leccese Fm. and is repre-sented by a fine- to medium-grained glauconitic and phosphatic biomicrite with macrofossils, es-pecially Bivalves and Gastropods. Despite its important historical use as building and ornamental material, especially in the Roman and Baroque architecture, a research gap exists in the scientific literature describing the properties of the stone and their correlation. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to present a wide range of properties useful to explain the in-situ behavior and damage susceptibility of the stone in monu-ments and buildings, but also for selecting preservation treatments and strategies. Thus, an overall assessment of the main petrophysical and mechanical properties especially for restoration/conservation purposes was performed using both standard and unconventional tech-niques. Starting from rock fabric inspection, particular attention was given to the relationship be-tween pore-size distribution and, hydraulic and thermal properties of the material. Unconfined compressive strength, flexural strength and indirect tensile strength were also estimated.

Triangular resonators re-shaped with the Sierpinski geometry and U-shaped resonators have been designed, linking them with single-pole-double-through (SPDT) RF MEMS switches to provide frequency tuning for potential applications in the K-Band. Prototypes of band-stop narrowband filters working around 20 GHz and 26 GHz, interesting for RADAR and satellite communications, have been studied in coplanar waveguide (CPW) configuration, and the tuning was obtained by switching between two paths of the devices loaded with different resonators. As a result, dual-band operation or fine-tuning can be obtained depending on the choice of the resonator, acting as a building block. The studied filters belong to the more general group of devices inspired by the metamaterial design.

MzSTools is a plugin for QGIS developed by the Institute of Environmental Geology and Geoengineering of the National Research Council (CNR-IGAG). The plugin has been designed as a set of practical and easy-to-use tools to carry out seismic microzonation (SM) studies, by producing standard compliant geographic database and maps, thus making them accurate, homogeneous and uniform for all municipalities in Italy. A geodatabase based on SQLite/SpatiaLite Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) has been designed to collect and store data related to elements such as: geognostic surveys; bedrocks and cover terrains; superficial and buried geomorphological elements; tectonic-structural elements; elements of geological instability such as landslide zones, liquefaction zones and zones affected by active and capable faults; homogeneous microzones in seismic perspective, microzones characterized by a seismic amplification factor. MzSTools assembles in a single software environment a set of useful tools in a configurable QGIS project template, comprising layers, symbol libraries, cartographic styles and print layouts for the SM maps. The plugin is open source and hosted on the GitHub platform, and available via the official QGIS plugins repository (https://plugins.qgis.org/plugins/MzSTools/).

Idiopathic acute pancreatitis (IAP) presents a diagnostic challenge and refers to cases where the cause of acute pancreatitis remains uncertain despite a comprehensive diagnostic evalua-tion. Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) has emerged as a valuable tool in the diagnostic workup of IAP. This review explores the pivotal role of EUS in detecting the actual cause of IAP, as-sessing its accuracy, timing, safety, and future technological improvement. Following PRISMA guidelines, 60 pertinent studies were selected and analysed. EUS emerges as a cru-cial diagnostic tool, particularly when conventional imaging fails. It can offer intricate visu-alization of the pancreas, biliary system, and adjacent structures. High accuracy of EUS is evident in detecting the actual causes of IAP such as microlithiasis, small bile duct stones, pancreas divisum, and small pancreatic tumors. Optimal timing for EUS is post-resolution of the acute phase of the disease. EUS, when conducted by experienced endoscopists, it boasts minimal safety concerns, and is crucial to prevent complications. EUS-guided interventions, including fine-needle aspiration, collection drainage, and biopsies, aid in cytological analy-sis. With high diagnostic accuracy, safety, and therapeutic potential, EUS is able to improve patient outcomes when managing IAP. Further refinement of EUS techniques and cost-effectiveness assessment of EUS-guided approaches need to be explored in multicenter prospective studies. This review underscores EUS as a transformative tool in unraveling IAP's enigma and advancing diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.

Background: Infantile tibia vara (ITV) is a rare proximal tibia deformity in infancy, leading to progressive knee varus. High tibial osteotomy is commonly practiced but has high recurrence rates. This study analyzed factors affecting treatment failure and recurrence in children undergoing opening-wedge high tibial osteotomy (OWHTO) for ITV. Methods: We retrospectively studied children with ITV who had OWHTO with press-fit cancellous bone allograft between 2000 and 2020, with ≥2-year follow-up. Outcomes included recurrence (knee varus with tibiofemoral angle >10°), complications, and reintervention. Results: We analyzed 39 knees in 29 patients (mean age: 4.8 ± 1.9 years; median follow-up: 7.4 years). Recurrence occurred in 22 cases (56%). Age at surgery significantly influenced recurrence, with rates of 16% before age 5 versus 95% later (hazard ratio: 12.0, p = 0.001). Langenskiöld stage also affected recurrence (β-coefficient: 2.7, 95% C.I. 1.0–4.5, p = 0.002; pseudo-R-squared: 0.50, p = 0.001), with recurrence in all stage III IV or higher cases. Conclusions: Early diagnosis and treatment before age 45, ideally with Langenskiöld stage III or lower, are crucial for stable correction with OWHTO alone. Late, high-grade ITV may require combined, acute or gradual, and/or staged correction. Further evidence is needed for optimal management.

This study presents a dynamic modeling approach to investigate the impact of saturation dynamics on HIV/AIDS transmission in the presence of vertical transmission and treatment strategies. The proposed model incorporates disease-free and endemic equilibria, with a focus on analyzing the basic reproduction number and conducting stability analysis. Results indicate that the disease-free equilibrium is locally asymptotically stable under certain conditions. The findings suggest that a combination of treatment interventions and awareness campaigns, along with other control measures, may play a crucial role in curbing the spread of the HIV/AIDS virus. This research contributes to understanding the complex dynamics of HIV/AIDS epidemics and highlights the importance of considering saturation effects in epidemic modeling.

An innovative wireless sensor network (WSN) based on Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) technology for 3D accurate superficial monitoring of ground deformations, as landslides and subsidence, is proposed. The system has been designed and developed as part of an European Life+ project, called Wi-GIM (Wireless Sensor Network for Ground Instability Monitoring). The details of the architecture, the localization via wireless technology and data processing protocols are described. The flexibility and accuracy achieved by the UWB two-way ranging technique is analysed and compared with the traditional systems, such as robotic total stations (RTSs), Ground-based Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (GB-InSAR), highlighting the pros and cons of the UWB solution to detect the surface movements. An extensive field trial campaign allows the validation of the system and the analysis of its sensitivity to different factors (e.g., sensor nodes inter-visibility, effects of the temperature, etc.). The Wi-GIM system represents a promising solution for landslide monitoring and it can be adopted in conjunction with traditional systems or as an alternative in areas where the available resources are inadequate. The versatility, easy/fast deployment and cost-effectiveness, together with the good accuracy, make the Wi-GIM system a possible solution for municipalities that cannot afford expensive/complex systems to monitor potential landslides in their territory.

Conservation Agriculture (CA) and the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) are both agroecologically-oriented production systems that support more productive, sustainable, and resource-conserving farming, with synergies arising from their respective assemblages of reinforcing agronomic methods. Application of CA principles enhances the growth, yield, and performance of the crops grown under the cropping system as well as the health and resilience of the whole ecosystem. SRI practices create more favorable conditions for the development of crop plants below- and above-ground, conditions that can be enhanced by CA management. SRI practices such as reduced plant density m-2 can elicit better phenotypic expression of the genetic potentials of crops grown with CA.. For these two agronomic systems to converge at field level, some of their respective practices for plant, soil, water, and nutrient management need to be modified or aligned. One such adaptation is to practice SRI in CA systems on permanent, no-till, mulch covered raised beds, with rainfall or irrigation water in the furrows between the beds furnishing and controlling water; and providing weed suppression and improved nutrient recycling. SRI rice cropping can benefit from the CA practices of no-tillage, soil mulch cover, and diversified cropping, both in paddies and on raised beds. Several examples have shown that this convergence of cropping systems is feasible for smallholding farmers as well as for larger-scale producers, and also that SRI practices within a CA system are amenable to considerable mechanization. This review article examines the compatibility between CA and SRI, considering examples of their being utilized in complementary ways. Further research and experimentation are needed to identify and assess appropriate practices for capitalizing upon their synergies.

The presence of heavy metals in industrial effluents has recently become a source of concern for human health and the environment. Efficient removal of metal ions and wastewater treatment is essential for protecting public health and the environment. In this study, we present an eco-friendly, green synthesis of reactive and fully dispersed zerovalent iron nanoparticles (nZVI) in carbon nanofibers via an electrospinning technique. In this novel study, green tea (GT) was used as environmentally friendly, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was used for the stabilization and reduction of nZVI, and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) was added to provide flexibility and to increase the specific surface area of the nZVI based nanofibers. GT contains polyphenols, which act as reducing agents, converting iron ions into nZVI and the particles can then serve as the building blocks for the carbon nanofibers. TEOS can also contribute to the stability of the nZVI by coating their surfaces with a silica layer. This silica layer helps prevent the oxidation of the nZVI, thereby reducing their catalytic activity. The nZVI-based composite (∼ 400 nm) / carbonized (∼ 200 nm) nanofibrous mats were fully characterized by scanning electron microscopy. The average size of the nZVI embedded in the composite and carbonized nanofibers can range from 50 nm to 100 nm. The x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of nZVI-based carbon nanofibers showed that there is no crystallinity and a single-phase cubic structure. Both energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis also confirmed the formation of single-phase nZVI-based composite / carbonized nanofibers. The high intensity of the peaks in the FTIR spectrum indicates the formation of nZVI in the nanofibers structure. The electrospun nZVI-based carbon nanofibers have a higher surface area and better reactivity due to small particle size and large surface area-to-volume ratio. They can provide excellent water stability and dispersibility in water compared to bulk nZVI, which tend to agglomerate and settle quickly. Additionally, nanofiber morphology can enhance the mechanical strength and durability of the composite material. Due to low-cost synthesis and their high efficiency in removing pollutants, these nanofibers could be used as nano-filters for wastewater treatment.

Microstructured optical fibres (MOFs) are a new type of optical fibres that possess a wide range of optical properties and many advantages over common optical fibres. Those are provided by unique structures defined by a pattern of periodic or quasi-periodic arrangement of air holes that run through the fibre length. In recent years, MOFs have opened up new possibilities in the field of optics and photonics, enabling the development of advanced devices and novel optical systems for different applications. The key application areas of PCFs vary from telecommunications and high-power energy transmission to quantum optics and sensing. The stack-and-draw method is a standard manufacturing technique for MOFs, where a preform is first manually created and then drawn in a high-tech furnace into a fibre with the required final dimensions and position of the air holes. Since in the manufacturing process experimenters can control only a few parameters, mathematical models and numerical simulations of the drawing process are highly requested. They not only allow to deepen the understanding of physical phenomena occurring during the drawing process, but they also accurately predict the final cross-section shape and size of the fibre. In this manuscript, we assume thermal equilibrium between the furnace and the fibre and propose a functional form of the fibre temperature distribution. We utilise it with asymptotic mass, momentum, and evolution equations for free surfaces already available in the literature to describe the process of fibre drawing. By doing so, the complex heat exchange problem between the fibre and the furnace need not be solved. The numerical results of the whole asymptotic model overall agree well with experimental data available in the literature, both for the case of annular capillaries and for the case of holey fibres.

Coastal inundation is recently requiring a significant attention worldwide. The increasing frequency and intensity of extreme events (sea storms, tsunami waves) are highly stressing the coastal envi-ronments, e.g. endangering a large number of residential areas, ecosystems, tourist facilities, and also leading to potential environmental risks. Predicting such events and the generated coastal flooding is thus of paramount importance and can be reached by exploiting the potential of different tools, like remote sensors and numerical modeling. To this aim, a combination is possible between marine radars and wave-resolving propagation models. While instruments like X-band radars are able at precisely reconstructing both wave field and bathymetry within a coastal area that is some kilometers offshore, wave-resolving Boussinesq-type models can reproduce the wave propagation in the nearshore and the consequent coastal flooding. The present work illustrates the reconstruc-tion of coastal data (wave field and seabed depth) conducted using radar signals and a specifically suited data processing, named “Local Method”, and the use of such coastal data to run numerical simulations of wave propagation (using the FUNWAVE-TVD solver) aimed at reproducing coastal inundation over different scenarios. Such scenarios are built using two different European beaches, i.e. Senigallia (Italy) and Oostende (Belgium), and three different directional spreading values, to evaluate the performances in case of either long- or short-crested waves. The overall validation of the methodology, in terms of maximum inundation, shows good performances, especially in case of short-crested wind waves. Furthermore, the application on the Oostende beach demonstrates that the present methodology might work only using open-access tools, i.e. an easy investigation of the coastal inundation and a potential low-cost integration into early warning systems.

The term Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) refers generically to a class of positional and geometric conjugated dienoic isomers of linoleic acid. Among the isomers of linoleic acid cis9, trans11-CLA (c9, t11-CLA) and trans10, cis12-CLA (t10, c12-CLA) are found to be bio-logically active isomers, and they occur naturally in milk, dairy products and meat from ruminants. In addition, some vegetables and some sea-foods have also been reported to contain CLA. Although the CLA levels in these natural sources are insufficient to confer the essential health benefits, anti-carcinogenic or anti-cancer effects are of current interest. In the rumen, CLA is an intermediate of isomerization and the biohydrogenation process of linoleic acid to stearic acid conducted by ruminal microorganisms. In addition to rumen bacteria, some other bacteria, such as Propionibacterium, Bifidobacterium and some lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are also capable of producing CLA. In this regard, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (formerly Lactobacillus plantarum) has demon-strated the ability to produce CLA isomers from linoleic acid by multiple enzymatic activi-ties, including hydration, dehydration, and isomerization. L. plantarum is one of the most versatile species of LAB and the bacterium is widely used in the food industry as a micro-bial food culture. The studies reviewed in this article reveal how, in the production of some fermented foods, the use of appropriate strains of L. plantarum, as a starter or additional culture, can be considered a critical factor in the design of new CLA-enriched functional foods.

Daridorexant, as the first Dual Orexin Receptor Antagonist (DORA) marketed in Europe, offers a novel therapeutic approach to insomnia. However, data regarding its real-world safety are scarce. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess its safety profile using a large-scale pharma-covigilance database. Daridorexant-related Adverse Drug Reaction (ADR) reports from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System were scrutinized, and ADRs were selected using reporting odds ratio (ROR) as a measure of disproportionality. Frequencies of events related to daridorexant were compared to all other drugs (reference group, RG1) and only to other DORAs (RG2). Only significant disproportionalities to both RGs were evaluated in-depth. A total of 845 dari-dorexant-related reports were selected; nightmares (n = 146; Dari vs. RG1: ROR = 113.74; 95%CI[95.13, 136]; Dari vs. RG2: ROR = 2.35; 95CI%[1.93, 2.85]), depression (n = 22; Dari vs. RG1: 2.13; [1.39, 3.25]; Dari vs. RG2: ROR = 2.31; 95CI%[1.45, 3.67]), and hangover (n = 20; Dari vs. RG1: ROR = 127.92; 95CI%[81.98, 199.62]; Dari vs. RG2: 3.38; [2.04, 5.61]) were considered as safety signals. These data provide valuable insights into the real-world safety profile of dari-dorexant, supporting the existence of safety signals related to nightmares, depression, and hang-over.

Background: Dual disorders (DD) involve the coexistence of substance use disorder (SUD) with another mental illness, often from psychotic and affective categories. This study explores the ef-fectiveness of brexpiprazole, a third-generation antipsychotic, in individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorder (DSM-V) and comorbid AUD/SUD (DSM-V). Methods: Eighteen enrolled patients underwent psychometric assessments at baseline and one month into brexpiprazole treatment administered at a mean dosage of 2 mg/day. Results: Brexpiprazole demonstrated significant reductions in psychopathological burden (PANSS total score, p=0.004), improved CGI total score (p=0.042), and decreased MOAS total score (p=0.012). Quality of life improved in SF-36 subscales (p<0.05). Substance craving reduction, though observed, did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions: This study provides initial evidence supporting brexpiprazole's efficacy and safety with positive effects on psychopathology and quality of life, emphasizing the need for tailored, comprehensive treatment strategies in this complex patient population.

Telecommuting is a flexible form of work that has progressively spread over the last 40 years and which has been strongly encouraged by the measures to limit the Covid19 pandemic. There is still limited evi-dence on the effects it has on workers' health. In this survey we invited 905 workers of companies that made a limited use of telework to fill out a questionnaire to evaluate: Intrusive leadership of managers (IL), the request for work outside traditional hours (OFF-TAJD), workaholism (BWAS), effort / reward imbalance (ERI), happiness and common mental issues (CMIs), anxiety and depression, assessed by the Goldberg scale (GADS). The interaction between these variables has been studied by structural equation modeling (SEM). Intrusive leadership and working after hours were significantly associated with occu-pational stress. Workaholism is a relevant moderator of this interaction: intrusive leadership significantly increased the stress of workaholic workers. Intrusive leadership and overtime work were associated with reduced happiness, anxiety and depression. These results indicate the need to guarantee the right to disconnect, to limit the effect of the OFF-TAJD. In addition to this, companies should implement policies to prevent intrusive leadership and workaholism.

A nutritional approach could be a promising strategy to prevent or slow the progression of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, since there is no effective therapy for these diseases so far. The beneficial effects of omega-3 fatty acids are now well established by a plethora of studies through their involvement in multiple biochemical functions, including synthesis of antinflammatory mediators, cell membrane fluidity, intracellular signalling and gene expression. This systematic review will consider epidemiological studies and clinical trials that assessed the impact of supplementation or dietary intake of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. Indeed, treatment with omega-3 fatty acids, being safe and well tolerated, represent a valuable and biologically plausible tool in the management of neurodegenerative diseases in their early stages.

Since association between myocardial infarction (MI) and respiratory infections has been described for influenza-viruses and other respiratory viral agents, understanding possible physiopathological links between severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and acute coronary syndromes (ACS) is of the greatest importance. First data suggest an underestimation of ACS cases all over the world, but acute MI still represents a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and should not be overshadowed during the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic. No common consensus regarding the most adequate healthcare management policy for ACS is currently available. Indeed, important differences have been reported between the measures employed to treat ACS in China during the first disease outbreak and what currently represents clinical practice across Europe and the USA. This review aims to discuss: pathophysiological links between MI, respiratory infections, and Covid-19; epidemiological data related to ACS at the time of the Covid-19 pandemic; what emerged so far from several catheterization labs and coronary care units all over the world, in order to shed some light on the current strategies for optimal management of ACS patients with confirmed or suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Driven by the rapid uptake of battery electric vehicles, Li-ion power batteries are increasingly reused in stationary energy storage systems, and eventually recycled to recover all the valued components. Offering an updated global perspective, this study provides a circular economy insight on lithium-ion battery reuse and recycling.