Sequential reactions of aminoalkynes represent a powerful tool to easily assembly biologically important polyfunctionalized nitrogen heterocyclic scaffolds. Metal catalysis often plays a key role in terms of selectivity, efficiency, atom economy and green chemistry of these sequential approaches. This review examines the existing literature on the applications of reactions of aminoalkynes with carbonyls which are emerging for their synthetic potential. Aspect concerning the features of the starting reagents, the catalytic systems, alternative reaction conditions and the pathways as well as the possible intermediates are provided.

We analyze the information that can be retrieved from the tracking parameters produced by an innovative wearable eye tracker. The latter is based on a permanent-magnet marked corneal lens and by an array of magnetoresistive detectors that measure the magnetostatic field in several positions in the eye proximity. We demonstrate that, despite missing information due to the axial symmetry of the measured field, physiological constraints or measurement conditions make possible to infer complete eye-pose data. Angular precision and accuracy achieved with the current prototypical device are also assessed and briefly discussed. The results show that the instrumentation considered is suitable as a new, moderately invasive medical diagnostics for the characterization of ocular movements and associated disorders.

This paper provides an exhaustive narrative review of third-generation antipsychotics (TGAs), focusing on aripiprazole, cariprazine, brexpiprazole, and lurasidone for managing substance-induced psychosis. It includes a comprehensive literature review to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of these medications. The paper emphasizes the distinct challenges in treating substance-induced psychosis, which is a psychiatric condition triggered by the misuse or withdrawal of various substances, leading to symptoms like hallucinations and delusions, and is distinct from primary psychotic disorders. It underscores the potential of TGAs in addressing both psychotic symptoms and substance-related issues, while highlighting the need for more research on long-term effects and advocating for an integrated approach combining pharmacological and psychological interventions

Power disaggregation aims at determining the appliance-by-appliance electricity consumption leveraging upon a single meter only, which measures the entire power demand. Data-driven procedures based on Factorial Hidden Markov Models have been proven remarkable results on energy disaggregation. Nevertheless, those procedures have various weaknesses: there is a scalability problem as the number of devices to observe raises and the algorithmic complexity of the inference step is severe. DNN architectures, such as Convolutional Neural Networks, have demonstrated to be a viable solution to deal with FHMMs shortcomings. Nonetheless, there are two significant limitations: a complicated and time-consuming training system based on back-propagation has to be employed to estimates the neural architecture parameters, and large amounts of training data covering as many operation conditions as possible need to be collected to attain top performances. In this work, we aim to overcome those limitations by leveraging upon the unique and useful characteristics of the extreme learning machine technique, which is based on a collection of randomly chosen hidden units and analytically defined output weights. Experiment evaluation has been conducted using the UK-DALE corpus. We find that the suggested approach achieves similar performances to recently proposed ANN-based methods and outperforms FHMMs. Besides, our solution generalises well to unseen houses.

In Mexico there is a deficit in the production of pine resin, because it depends on natural forests. Therefore, it is necessary to select provenances and phenotypes of potential species such as P. oocarpa. The objective was to determine the difference between provenances and the variation of resin components and quality, as well as the effect of geographic and climatic factors. Resin from five provenances was collected from southern Mexico. The percentage of rosin, turpentine and water was obtained, as well as the acidity and saponification index. P. oocarpa resin had 80.94 % rosin, 7.7 % turpentine and 11.49 % water. The saponification and acidity index was 125.47 and 117.49 mg KOH.g_1, respectively. All variables showed differences (p≤ 0.0001) between provenances. The provenance contributed between 6.44 and 11.71 % to the total variance, the error contributed between 88.29 and 93.56 %. Geographic and climatic variables only had an effect on the percentage of turpentine; the correlation was negative with altitude and longitude, but positive with temperature and precipitation. The results allow defining seed collection sites for resin plantations and orienting the selection for a P. oocarpa improvement program.

The dynamic response of a Bell-and-Bloom magnetometer to a parallel (to the bias field) time-dependent field is modelled beyond the commonly assumed quasi-static regime. The results unveil features that are related to the parametric nature of the considered system. It is shown that a for low-amplitude time-dependent field different operating conditions are possible and that, beside the commonly reported low-pass-filter behaviour, a band-pass response emerges. Moreover, we numerically show that for larger field amplitude the system, due to its parametric nature, has a kind of ``non-linear'' response.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) represents an important public health problem with a prevalence between 1.3% and 12.5%. Several population-based randomized trials have evaluated ultrasound screening for AAA providing evidence of a reduction in aneurysm-related mortality in the screened population. The aim of our study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of the risk factors for AAA. We conducted a systematic review of observational studies and we performed a meta-analysis that evaluated the following risk factors: gender, smoking habits, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, Coronary Artery Disease and family history of AAA. Abdominal aortic aneurysm prevalence is higher in smokers and in males. It is important to underline that all countries, where AAA screening was set up, had high income level and the majority belong to Western Europe (United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy, Poland, Spain and Belgium). Abdominal aortic aneurysm screening is fundamental for public health. It would avoid deaths, ruptures, and emergency surgical interventions if abdominal aortic aneurysm was diagnosed early in the population target for screening.

Mini-drones can be used for a variety of tasks, such as weather monitoring, package delivery, search and rescue, and recreation. Their uses are mostly restricted to outside locations with access to the Global Positioning System (GPS) and/or similar systems since their usefulness, safety, and performance substantially rely on ubiquitously accurate positioning and navigation. Indoor localization is getting better, thanks to technologies like Visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (V-SLAM). However, more advancements are still required for mini-drone navigation applications with greater safety standards. In this research, a novel method for enhancing indoor mini-drone localization performance is proposed. By merging Oriented Rotated Brief SLAM (ORB-SLAM2), Semi-Direct Monocular Visual Odometry (SVO), and an Adaptive Complementary Filter, the suggested strategy improves V-SLAM approaches (ACF). The findings demonstrate that, when compared to other widely-used indoor localization algorithms, the suggested methodology performs better at estimating location under various situations (low light, low texture, and dynamic environments).

Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) are anchored floating structures often made with cheap scrapped materials and used to aggregate pelagic fish under their artificial shadow. Globally, the dangerous impact of FADs has well known. They pose a severe threat due to known and unknown levels of bycatch, the danger to navigation, and their high potential to become marine litter. Entanglement and consequent mortality in FADs of protected species and species of conservation concern (e.g., sharks, sea turtles, and cetaceans) are a serious concern for several international inter-governmental bodies (e.g., EU, GFCM, and IWC). This work describes the first case of a cetacean, a striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba), killed by a FAD in the Mediterranean Sea. This dolphin was found stranded along the coast of the central Tyrrhenian Sea. The evidence suggests that this specimen suffered a painful death. Although this is the first confirmed case of a cetacean killed by a FAD in Italian waters, given the extent of the deployment of FADs, the scale of this type of interaction with protected species might be seriously underestimated. Therefore, actions and monitoring need to be implemented urgently to effectively protect and conserve marine biodiversity.

In this study, the external magnetic field emitted by a wireless power transfer (WPT) system and the internal electric field induced into human body models during recharging operations of a compact electric vehicle (EV) are evaluated. To this aim an ad-hoc formulation for the source modeling is coupled with a commercial software that performs numerical dosimetry. Specifically, two realistic anatomical models both in a driving position and in a standing posture are considered, and the chassis of the EV is modeled either as a currently employed aluminum alloys and as a futuristic carbon fiber composite panel. Aligned and misaligned coil configurations of the WPT system are considered as well. The analysis of the obtained results shows that the ICNIRP reference levels are exceeded in the driving position, especially for the carbon fiber chassis, whereas no exceedance is observed in terms of basic restrictions, at least for the considered scenarios.

A model for enabling the production of lower carbon cement paste is proposed in this research. The model is based on predicting the strength of cement pastes with partial replacement of wheat straw ash (WSA) and silica fume (SF), two major wastes of agricultural and industrial production. The model is set up based on response surface methodology and Box-Behnken design, and included a suite of mechanical tests with distinct replacements following a micro an meso characterization. The model shows capability for predicting strength of any cement paste, including partial substitution of WSA and/or SF at any combination level with excellent accuracy, which is verified with three validation mixtures demonstrating maximum errors of less than 6% at the three ages. The analysis of the response surface evidences that any cement replacement in the range of 0-20% WSA and above 5% SF allows the reduction of the carbon footprint by maximizing the incorporation of both wastes. The proposed model can be used by setting the required strength of cement paste and calculating the maximum possible replacement, which should contribute to making the construction industry more sustainable by utilizing local waste.

This study aimed to evaluate the hazards posed by foodborne bacteria of the Listeria genus by analyzing prevalence, diversity and virulence of Listeria spp. in food and food manufacturing plants. Seventy five isolates obtained from the routine analysis of 653 samples by three diagnostic laboratories in Northern Italy were genotipically differentiated by Repetitive Extragenic Palindrome (rep) PCR with the GTG5 primer, identified by sequencing the 16S rRNA gene and examined by specific PCR tests for the presence of L. monocytogenes virulence determinants occasionally found to occur in other species of the genus. The identity of the amplification products was confirmed by sequencing. Fifty seven isolates were identified as L. innocua, 12 as L. monocytogenes, 5 as L. welshimeri and one as L. seeligeri. All L. monocytogenes isolates belonged to the serotype 1/2a and were predicted to be virulent for the presence of the inlJ internalin gene. Potentially virulent strains of L. innocua, L. seeligeri and L. welshimeri, carrying the L. monocytogenes inlA gene and/or hly gene, were identified, and most isolates were found to possess the toxin-antitoxin system mazEF for efficient adaptation to heat shock. Results indicated the need to reinforce food contamination prevention measures against all Listeria species by efficiently defining their environmental distribution.

: E-commerce sales surge represents a huge challenge for urban freight transport. Parcel lockers constitute a valid solution for addressing the challenges home deliveries imply. In fact, eliminating courier-consumer contact (also relevant for health-related issues, as made evident by COVID19 pandemic) and delivering in few predefined places might help coping with missed deliveries substantially. Furthermore, this option enables consolidated shipping and reducing delivery trip costs. This paper analyses and compares consumers’ preferences for alternative collection strategies. It investigates home delivery vs parcel locker use and forecasts their future market shares. This is performed based on both customers’ socio-economic variables and attributes characterising these alternative logistic fulfilment strategies. The case study considered rests upon a stated preference survey deployed in the city of Rome. The investigation specifically targets young people (i.e., population under 30 years) since they represent early adopters. Discrete choice models allow both quantifying the monetary value of parcel lockers attributes (i.e., willingness to pay measures) and estimating the potential demand for this innovative delivery scheme. Results show that distance and accessibility are the main choice determinants. Furthermore, there is an overall high propensity to adopt parcel lockers. This research can support policymakers when implementing such solutions.

There is an increasing pressure by community and customers forcing companies to insert environmental concerns in their practices. To help companies initiatives, the green bonds market was incepted. Our research question is how to select bonds in a growing billion-dollar market. This paper presents a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) model to enable investors identify opportunities based not only in opinions, but grounded on objective facts. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Complex Proportional Assessment (COPRAS) are two MCDA methods applied in this paper. Top-fifteen green bonds ranked by specialized media were assessed with the proposed MCDA model. Criteria included the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) proposed by Yale University, and common financial indicators as assets, risks (β), and dividends. The new AHP–COPRAS rank is compared with another published by specialized media.

Sorption of pure CO2 and CH4 and CO2/CH4 binary gas mixtures in amorphous glassy Poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene) oxide (PPO) at 35°C up to 1000 Torr is investigated. Sorption experiments were carried out using an approach that combines barometry with FTIR spectroscopy in the transmission mode to quantify the sorption of pure and mixed gases in polymers. The pressure range is chosen to prevent any variation of the glassy polymer density. The solubility within the polymer of the CO2 present in the gaseous binary mixtures is practically coincident with the solubility of pure gaseous CO2, up to a total pressure of the gaseous mixtures equal to 1000 Torr and for CO2 mole fraction of ~0.5 mol mol-1 and ~0.3 mol mol-1. The Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics for Glassy Polymers (NET-GP) modelling approach has been applied to the Non-Random Hydrogen Bonding (NRHB) lattice fluid model to fit the solubility data of pure gases. We have assumed here that no specific interactions are occurring between the matrix and the absorbed gas. The same thermodynamic approach has been then used to predict the solubility of CO2/CH4 mixed gases in PPO resulting in a deviation lower than 9.5% from the experimental results for CO2 solubility.

Entrepreneurship education has become increasingly relevant. For some years now, the business environment for starting a new company in the Dominican Republic has been considered very propitious. This has generated that many universities have incorporated training in entrepreneurship in their study plans. This study aims to analyse whether the cognitive and affective components, the country's business environment, university training in entrepreneurship and attitudes towards entrepreneurship are antecedents of the entrepreneurial intention of university students. It also seeks to investigate the relationship between entrepreneurial intention and entrepreneurial behaviour of students. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire from a sample of 523 students who had taken courses on entrepreneurship. The data have been analysed through the SPSS and Smart-PLS programs. The results of this research highlight the importance of the affective component and attitudes towards entrepreneurship in the formation of students' entrepreneurial intentions. This reinforces the importance of cultivating positive attitudes through educational interventions. These results contribute to the understanding of the factors that drive entrepreneurial intentions among university students and provide a foundation for future research.

Bamboo is the building material of the past and future. It offers numerous properties that make it versatile for various applications, including construction. Its impressive strength-to-weight ratio enables it to bear substantial loads and stresses, while its good elasticity allows efficient energy absorption. However, its mechanical properties can vary based on factors such as species, age, locations, methods, and treatment. Treating bamboo is essential to enhance its properties and durability. The literature provides various natural and chemical treatments which enhanced some of the properties but also reported a drawbacks on higher temperature, content and duration. This paper reviewed 57 articles from Scopus database, specifically focusing on article-document type publications from the years 2003 to 2023. Additional references were also incorporated to address concerns in properties, treatment and standards to provide systematic understanding. MATLAB was utilized for data text analytics. With extensive assessment on the articles, the following gaps and concerns were observed and recommends for further study and assessment such as for bamboo properties, the development of centralized guidelines and procedures for the preparation and processing; exploration of alternative materials to reinforce bamboo without compromising its ductility; development of joint connections, and testing of mechanical properties considering seismic, wind and vibration. For treatment methods, the standardization of procedures using natural, chemical or combination. Lastly, for bamboo codes and standards, assessment of existing codes and standards for testing the mechanical properties of bamboo highlighting the potential limitations and areas, uniformity, differences with all existing similar standards. By filling these gaps, it can support the reliability and robustness of bamboo as a sustainable material, fostering its promotion and adoption in construction industry.

Prediction markets are heralded as powerful forecasting tools, but models to describe them often fail to capture the full complexity of the underlying mechanisms that drive price dynamics. To address this issue, we propose a model in which agents belong in a social network, have an opinion about the probability of a particular event to occur, and bet on the prediction market accordingly. Agents update their opinions about the event by interacting with their neighbours in the network, following the Deffuant model of opinion dynamics. Our results suggest that a simple market model that takes into account opinion formation dynamics is capable to replicate the empirical properties of historical prediction market time series, including volatility clustering and fat-tailed distribution of returns. Interestingly, the best results are obtained when there is the right level of variance in the opinions of the agents. Moreover, this paper provides a new way to indirectly validate opinion dynamics models against real data by using historical data obtained from PredictIt, an exchange platform whose data has never been used before to validate models of opinion diffusion.

In the past decade, the idea that single populations of neurons support cognition and behavior has gradually given way to the realization that connectivity matters, and that complex behavior results from interactions between remote yet anatomically connected areas that form specialized networks. In parallel, innovation in brain imaging techniques has led to the availability of a broad set of imaging tools to characterize the functional organization of complex networks. However, each of these tools poses significant technical challenges and faces limitations, which require careful consideration of their underlying anatomical, physiological and physical specificity. In this review, we focus on emerging methods for measuring spontaneous or evoked activity in the brain. We discuss methods that can measure large-scale brain activity (directly or indirectly) with relatively high temporal resolution, from milliseconds to seconds. We further focus on methods designed for studying the mammalian brain in preclinical models, specifically in mice and rats. This field has seen a great deal of innovation in recent years, facilitated by concomitant innovation in gene editing techniques and the possibility of more invasive recordings. This review aims to give an overview of currently available preclinical imaging methods and an outlook on future developments. This information is suitable for educational purposes and for assisting scientists in choosing the appropriate method for their own research question.

Rare earth rich magnesium alloys are used in aerospace and automotive fields because of their high specific strength and good castability. However, due to their low corrosion resistance, protective surface treatments, such as conversion coating or electroless plating are necessary, when they have to be used in humid or corrosive environments. The present study was aimed to evaluate the effect of Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation (PEO) and different surface roughness (Ra≈0.8 μm and Ra≈0.3 μm) on the rotating bending fatigue of an innovative Mg alloy, with a high content of Nd (up to 3.1 wt%) and Gd (up to 1.7 wt %). Fatigue tests revealed a 15% decrease in the fatigue strength of the PEO treated alloy (fatigue strength = 88 MPa) with respect to the bare alloy (fatigue strength = 103 MPa). The reduction of fatigue strength was mainly due to the residual tensile stresses induced by the PEO treatment. The effect of surface roughness on the bare alloy was, instead, negligible. The mechanisms of crack initiation were similar in the untreated and PEO treated alloy, with crack nucleation sites located in correspondence of large facets of the cleavage planes.

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is crucial in higher education, providing students with the knowledge, skills, and values necessary for a sustainable future. ESD seeks a holistic understanding of sustainability and promotes critical thinking and innovative approaches. Specifically, ESD is very important to address in engineering careers, as engineers will need to establish sustainable solutions in the future. For this reason, the integration of sustainability into university curricula has been studied for some time. In this way, this research analyses the perceptions (attitudes towards teachers; knowledge about sustainable development; environmental, economic and social attitudes; sustainable behaviours) that engineering students in the Dominican Republic have towards sustainable development. 626 questionnaires completed by engineering students were obtained. Subsequently, the data was analysed in SPSS and PLS-SEM. The results showed that attitudes towards teachers have an impact on engineering students' knowledge of sustainable development. In turn, the results also showed that knowledge about sustainable development influences both attitudes (economic, social and environmental) and sustainable behaviours of engineering students. Contrary to other research, this study suggested that economic attitudes are not identified as an antecedent of sustainable behaviours among engineering students. From these results, implications and future lines of research are generated.

Listeria ivanovii and L. monocytogenes, are the only pathogenic species of the genus Listeria and share many virulence factors and mechanisms of pathogenicity. L. ivanovii shows host tropism towards small ruminants and rodents and much lower virulence for humans compared to L. monocytogenes. However, severe infections caused by L. ivanovii, resulting in bacteremia, abortion and stillbirth, occasionally occurred in immunocompromised persons and in pregnant women, while in immunocompetent hosts L. ivanovii can cause gastroenteritis. In this review the updated knowledge on virulence aspects and distribution of L. ivanovii in the environment and in food are summarized. Recent research on its virulence characters at genome level gave indications on how pathogenicity evolved in this bacterial species. As for L. monocytogenes, L. ivanovii infections occur after the ingestion of contaminated food, so an overview of reports regarding its distribution in the food products was carried out to obtain indications on the categories of foods exposed to contamination by L. ivanovii. It was found that a wide variety of food products can be a source of this microorganism and that, like L. monocytogenes, L. ivanovii is able to persist in the food production environment. Studies on its ability to grow in enrichment and isolation media suggested that its occurrence in nature might be underestimated. Moreover, virulence varies among strains for differences in virulence character regulation, presence/absence of genetic regions and the possible instability of a Listeria pathogenicity genomic island, LIPI-2, which is unique to L. ivanovii. We can conclude that L. ivanovii, as a possible pathogen for animals and humans, requires more focused investigations regarding its occurrence in the environment and in food and on intra-species variability of pathogenic potential.

The secondary structures of Scherer commonly known as perineuronal and perivascular satellitosis have been identified as a histopathological hallmark of diffuse, invasive, high-grade gliomas. They are recognized as perineuronal satellitosis when clusters of neoplastic glial cells surround neurons cell bodies and perivascular satellitosis when such tumour cells surround blood vessels infiltrating Virchow-Robin spaces. In this review, we provide an overview of emerging knowledge regarding how interactions between neurons and glioma cells can modulate tumour evolution and how neurons play a key role in glioma growth and progression, as well as the role of perivascular satellitosis into mechanisms of glioma cells spread. At the same time, we review the current knowledge about the role of perineuronal satellitosis and perivascular satellitosis within the tumour microenvironment (TME), in order to highlight critical knowledge gaps in research space.

Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) by symbiotic bacteria plays a vital role in sustainable agriculture. However, current quantification methods are often expensive and impractical. This study explores the potential of Raman spectroscopy, a non-invasive technique, for rapid assessment of BNF activity in soybeans. Raman spectra were obtained from soybean plants grown with and without rhizobia bacteria to identify spectral signatures associated with BNF. δN15 isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) was used to determine actual BNF percentages. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) was employed to develop a model for BNF quantification based on Raman spectra. The model explained 80% of the variation in BNF activity. To enhance the model's specificity for BNF detection regardless of nitrogen availability, a subsequent elastic net (Enet) regularization strategy was implemented. This approach provided insights into key wavenumbers and biochemicals associated with BNF in soybeans.

Participatory landscape conservation is an innovative approach that weaves theory and practice to bridge the gap between theoretical models and practical applications. Intertropical regions as the case of Mexico face challenges to conciliate regional governability, social justice, and nature conservation. The State of Michoacan is one of these regions where the challenges exacerbate since nature conservation is last due to its ongoing territorial disputes. We implemented the participatory landscape conservation approach by creating a complementary form of protected areas with ongoing conflicts, drought conditions, and extreme poverty. We conducted participatory mapping and land cover/use analyses as main methodological tools to reach consensus among stakeholders. We integrated, macro, micro and social scales to provide sound arguments to integrate local, scholar and policy makers perceptions. The outcomes of the participatory mapping analyses were assessed. The present papers provide evidence of the positive outcome of using a Participatory Landscape Conservation to establish a Biosphere Reserve, safeguarding one of the most biologically diverse and delicate ecosystems consisting of seasonally dry tropical forests within a rather disputed region. We discussed the relevance of our findings and compared them to ongoing regional and global trends in the light of other forms of establishing protected areas.

Background and objectivesː Physical examination is the predominant method for evaluating pelvic floor defects. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a radiological technique useful to identify the underlying defects of pelvic floor structures that require surgery. The primary aim was to find correspondence between the clinical and radiological staging of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) before and after vaginal surgery. A secondary endpoint was to investigate, through clinical and MRI findings if surgery influences continence mechanisms. Finally, we reported changes in the quality of life in women who underwent surgery for prolapse. Materials and methodsː Twenty-five women with prolapse stage ≥ 2 POP-Q were recruited in this prospective study. They underwent preoperative clinical examination, MRI at rest and under the Valsalva maneuver, and quality of life questionnaires. Three months after vaginal surgery they repeated clinical and radiological evaluation. Resultsː Twenty women completed the study. Both clinical and MRI evaluations showed an improvement in prolapse and symptoms after surgery. There were some discrepancies between clinical and radiological staging. MRI parameters did not show differences between pre and postoperative at rest; under the Valsalva maneuver instead, the measurements changed after surgery. Continence was not worsening by the widening of the vesicourethral angle. Patients reported improvement in quality of life. Conclusionsː MRI is an accurate and objective method to define the stage of prolapse but the clinical evaluation alone is sufficient to stage prolapse before surgery and evaluate the result at follow-up. It is an accurate method to visualize some pelvic structures that can be compromised because of pelvic organ prolapse. MRI showed that vaginal surgery doesn’t affect continence mechanisms.

We present the hardware of a cheap multi-sensor magnetometric setup, where a relatively large set of magnetic field components is measured in several positions by calibrated magnetoresistive detectors. The setup is developed to map the (inhomogeneous) field generated by a known magnetic source, which is measured and then discerned from the background (homogeneous) geomagnetic field. The data output from this hardware can be successfully and reliably used to retrieve the position and orientation of the magnetic source with respect to the sensor frame, together with the orientation of the frame with respect to the environmental field. Possible applications of the setup are briefly discussed, and a synthetic description of the methods of data elaboration and analysis is provided.

Several pathotypes of enteric E. coli have been identified. The group represented by Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) is of particular interest. Raw milk and raw milk products are significant sources of STEC infection in humans; therefore, identifying pathogens at the herd level is crucial for public health. Most national surveillance programs focus solely on raw milk and raw milk cheeses that are ready for retail sale, neglecting the possibility of evaluating the source of contamination directly at the beginning of the dairy chain. In order to assess the viability of new molecular methodologies applied to raw milk filters enabling the identification of the presence of STEC serotypes in milk production and apply the same methods to identify the presence of these pathogens in calf feces we analyzed, through a commercial real-time PCR assay, a total of 290 samples coming from 18 different dairy herds; 88 bulk tank milk (BTM), 104 raw milk filters (RMF) and 98 calves’ feces samples. In total 3.4% of BTM, 41.4% of RMF and 73.4% of calves’ feces tested positive for stx presence, supporting our hypothesis that BTM is not a suitable matrix to assess the STEC presence at herd level, underestimating it. Our conclusion is that the surveillance program needs critical and extensive improvements such as RMF and calves’ feces analysis implementation in order to be more efficient in detecting and preventing STEC infections. The epidemiology of these infections and the characteristics of the pathogen clearly show how a One Health approach will be pivotal to improve our capabilities to control the spread of these infections.

Bisphenol A analogs (BPA analogs) are emerging contaminants with a rising production caused by the replacement of BPA with these compounds. The increased production of BPA analogs is leading to an increased release into various ecosystems, including sea. The aim of this study was to evaluate the biological effects of BPA analogs on a primary producer, the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum Bohlin. Three different BPA analogs (BPAF, BPF, and BPS) and their mixture were tested at the environmental relevant concentration of 300 ng/L. Growth curve, cell size and several biomarkers of oxidative stress and oxidative damage were measured. Our results indicated that the tested compounds caused alteration of the growth and induced oxidative stress altering many antioxidant enzymes. However, no oxidative damages were observed.

Wolfram syndrome 1 (WS1) is an uncommon autosomal recessive neurological disorder that is characterized by diabetes insipidus, early-onset non-autoimmune diabetes mellitus, optic atrophy, and deafness (DIDMOAD). Other clinical manifestations are neuropsychiatric symptoms, urinary tract alterations, and endocrinological disorders. The rapid clinical course of WS1 results in death by the age of 30. Severe brain atrophy leads to central respiratory failure, which is the main cause of death in WS1 patients. Mutations in the WFS1 gene, located on chromosome 4p16, account for approximately 90% of WS1 cases. The gene produces wolframin, a transmembrane glycoprotein widely distributed and highly expressed in retinal, neural, and muscular tissues. Wolframin plays a crucial role in the regulation of apoptosis, insulin signaling, and ER calcium homeostasis, as well as the ER stress response. WS1 has been designated as a neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorder due to the numerous abnormalities in the ER stress-mediated system. WS1 is a devastating neurodegenerative disease that affects patients and their families. Early diagnosis and recognition of the initial clinical signs may slow the disease's progression and improve symptomatology. Moreover, it is critical to provide genetic counseling to the patient's relatives in order to reduce the risk of transmitting WS1. Regrettably, there are currently no specific drugs for the therapy of this fatal disease. A better understanding of the etiology of WS1 will make possible the development of new therapeutic approaches that may enhance the life expectancy of patients. This review will examine the pathogenetic mechanisms, development, and progression of neuropsychiatric diseases commonly associated with WS1. A thorough understanding of WS1's neurophysiopathology is critical for achieving the goal of improving patients' quality of life and life expectancy.

Comprehensive understanding of tree characteristics and conditions holds paramount importance for the precise management of hazelnut orchards. It facilitates the determination of tree vigor, pruning requirements, phytosanitary interventions, and plant water consumption. The primary objective of this study was to explore, for the first time on a fruit tree with a bushy structure and across trees of four Italian distinct hazelnut cultivars, the efficacy of multispectral and thermal UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) technologies in assessing canopy attributes, vegetative growth, and predicting abiotic stresses. These technologies serve as tools for precision agriculture, enabling the computation of various indices such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and crop water stress index (CWSI). The study of water content is of particular importance at this time, especially considering the increasing water stress levels in Europe as well as globally. While Red Green Blue (RGB) and thermal imagery collectively demonstrated superior performance in model reconstruction, the multispectral UAV remained more adept at characterizing size traits of hazelnut plants. Thermal images alone proved inadequate for accurately reconstructing hazelnut biometric characteristics. Furthermore, all indices were found to be cultivar-specific, underscoring the importance of conducting studies across different cultivars. The utilization of two UAVs, namely multispectral and thermal, facilitated the examination of the relationship between NDVI and CWSI across tree species.

The decarbonization of the electricity grid as one among the actions to reduce fossil fuel emissions, and thus their impact on global warming in the future, will be achieved mainly via the integration and widespread diffusion of renewable power sources. This is going to be supported also by the shift from the paradigm production-transmission-distribution, where electricity production oversees large-size power plants, to renewable-based distributed/diffused production, where electricity is generated very close or even by the same (group of) user(s) (or prosumers in the latter case). The number of mid-/small-size installations based on renewable energy technologies will therefore increase substantially, and the related renewable generation will be dominant against that from large-size power plants. Unfortunately, this will reduce the reliability of the grid very likely, unless appropriate countermeasures are taken/implemented, hopefully at the same time the paradigm shift is being achieved. To this aim, it is important to identify the anomalies and main fault causes that might determine in renewable-based power systems. This paper surveys the current state-of-the-art on anomalies and faults affecting wind-PV-storage hybrid power systems, i.e., the main renewable technology ensemble that will establish the future grid, and highlights possible research directions that may help to fill the literature gaps.

Soil texture is a key property influencing most soil physical, chemical, and biological processes and its catchment-scale spatial variation may yields insights for soil management. Texture data are generally available only at a few locations, since sampling and laboratory analyses are time consuming. Therefore, it is essential to predict soil size particles texture variability using appropriate methods. Moreover, soil texture distribution across a catchment is influenced by erosion and sedimentation processes controlled by hillslope morphology, which can be quantified through some topographic attributes. The study was aimed to evaluate the ability of a multivariate approach based on non-stationary geostatistics to merge remotely sensed high-resolution LiDAR-derived topographic attributes with Vis-NIR diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and laboratory analysis to produce high-resolution maps of soil sand content and estimation uncertainty in a forested catchment in southern Italy. Moreover, the proposed approach was compared with the commonly used univariate approach of ordinary kriging. Soil samples were collected at 135 locations within a 139 ha-forest catchment with granitic parent material and subordinately alluvial deposits, where soils classified as Typic Xerumbrepts and Ultic Haploxeralf crop out. A number of linear trend models coupled with different auxiliary variables were compared and the best one resulted the model using clay content as auxiliary variable. The improvement of estimation from using only LiDAR data (elevation) compared to the univariate (no trend) model was rather marginal.

We characterize the performance of a system based on a magnetoresistor array. This instrument is developed to map the magnetic field, and to track a dipolar magnetic source in the presence of a static homogeneous field. The position and orientation of the magnetic source with respect to the sensor frame is retrieved together with the orientation of the frame with respect to the environmental field. A nonlinear best-fit procedure is used, and its precision, time performance, and reliability are analyzed. This analysis is performed in view of the practical application for which the system is designed that is an eye-tracking diagnostics and rehabilitative tool for medical purposes, which require high speed ($\ge 100$~Sa/s) and sub-millimetric spatial resolution. A throughout investigation on the results makes it possible to list several observations, suggestions, and hints, which will be useful in the design of similar setups.

The sustainability of cities often changes as rapid urban developments and population growth affect the carrying capacity. Understanding the dynamics of carrying capacity then becomes crucial for tourist-oriented cities. This study focused on Baguio City, the "Summer Capital of the Philippines," attracting large crowds on holidays and actively promoting various events on non-holidays, thereby having temporal context variations classified as regular days, days with events, and holidays. Using the enhanced urban carrying capacity load number (EUCCLN) model, load number (LN) changes for different temporal contexts are calculated based on spatial indicators grouped into air, traffic, economy, and waste. The city experiences the worst pressures on air quality during holidays with $99.23\%$ districts under very high to critical levels followed by regular and days with events. However, the total LN is balanced by favorable economic conditions with only $9.23\%$ at critical. EUCCLN effectively pinpoints areas experiencing critical states at any time, advocating targeted government monitoring. We demonstrate that Night Time Light, for places with no economic data available, can be used as a proxy to highlight areas requiring improved urban vibrancy. This work suggests that EUCCLN monitoring urban pressures can easily be expanded to nowcasting with real-time data.

This study investigates the effects of xylitol, a natural sugar alcohol, on tumor progression in syngeneic mouse cancer models. Xylitol has been known for its dental health benefits, but emerging evidence suggests broader biological roles, including potential anti-cancer properties. We explored xylitol's impact on two mouse cancer models: 4T1 mammary carcinoma and B16F10 melanoma. Xylitol's efficacy in inhibiting cancer cell lines and modulating tumor progression was assessed using immunocompetent female mice. The experiments involved intratumoral and peri-tumoral administration of a 20% xylitol solution in two mouse strains: BALB/c (4T1 mammary carcinoma) and C57BL/6 (B16F10 melanoma). Tumor volume, histopathology, and metabolomic analyses were conducted to gauge xylitol's influence. The study revealed that xylitol administration initially reduced tumor growth in the B16F10 melanoma model, accompanied by alterations in tumor metabolism. However, similar effects were not observed in the 4T1 mammary carcinoma model, and melanoma tumor growth re-commenced after stroma deterioration permitted xylitol solution leakage. These findings suggest that xylitol may have potential as an adjunct therapy in cancer treatment, specifically in melanoma. The differential response between the two cancer models underscores the complexity of cancer biology and the need for further investigation into xylitol's mechanisms of action and its role in cancer therapy.

Malassezia species are part of human commensal microbiota and is also related to diseases. Little is known about the interaction of these microorganisms with their host. Here we established two standard culture conditions for Malassezia spp. to perform infection assays using C. elegans and T. molitor. Invertebrate hosts infected by Malassezia spp. cultured in M9M resulted in higher death rate on survival assays when compared to yeasts cultured in standard Dixon medium indicating that M9M cultured Malassezia species have increased virulence. The culture and infection conditions established in this work, using invertebrate alternative models, are valuable tools to understand Malassezia-host interaction.

Outdoor exercise is beneficial for psychophysical well-being. Limited studies have compared outdoor and virtual reality (VR) indoor physical activities, especially in coastal settings. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the impact of outdoor coastal walking and indoor walking in a VR simulation with a similar environment on physiological and psychological variables in healthy adults. Twenty-six subjects (14M and 12F; age 25.2 ± 2.5 years) voluntarily participated in this crossover randomized controlled and counterbalanced study and were allocated under three conditions: VR indoor walking (INVR), outdoor walking (OUT) and standard indoor walking (IN). IN and INVR conditions were performed on a treadmill (speed 4.5 Km/h) and the OUT was per-formed on a seaside pedestrian road. The same outdoor environment was displayed in the visor during the INVR. Heart rate (HRmean/max), Physical Activity Enjoyment (PACES-It) and State of Mindfulness for Physical Activity (SMS-PA) were assessed at the end of each condition. The OUT condition showed significantly greater PACES-It scores and HRmean than IN and INVR (p<0.001) and greater SMS-PA scores and HRmax than IN (p<0.01 and p<0.05, respectively). No significant dif-ferences were found between OUT and INVR regarding HRmax and SMS-PA scores (p>0.05). Findings suggest that physical activity in an immersive technology may lead to physiological loads comparable to the outdoor environment. OUT is more enjoyable than IN and INVR but exhibits a mindfulness response comparable to INVR. Therefore, INVR could be an alternative to OUT for those who cannot engage in outdoor activities for various reasons.

Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) refer to a group of conditions that affect the temporomandibular joint, causing pain and dysfunction in the jaw joint and related muscles. The diagnosis of TMDs typically involved clinical assessment through operator-based physical examination, self-reported questionnaire and imaging studies. To objectivize the measurement of TMD, this study aims at investigating on the feasibility to use machine-learning algorithms fed with data gathered from low-cost and portable instruments to discriminate the presence of TMD in adult subjects. Through this aim, the experimental protocol involved fifty participants, equally distributed between TMD and healthy subjects, acting as control group. The diagnosis of TMD has been performed by a skilled operator through the typical clinical scale. Participants underwent to a baropodometric analysis by using a pressure matrix and the evaluation of the cervical mobility through inertial sensors. Nine machine-learning algorithms belonging to support vector machine, k-nearest neighbours and decision tree were compared. The k-nearest neighbours based on cosine distance was found as the best performing, achieving performance of 0.94, 0.94 and 0.08 for the accuracy, F1-score and G-index, respectively. These findings open the possibility to use such methodology to support the diagnosis of TMDs in clinical environments.

Several eye-tracking technologies have been developed in the last 20 years. This paper aims to present a new kind of eye tracker that can produce detailed information on both eye and head movements using an array of magnetoresistive detectors fixed on the patient’s head and a small magnet inserted in a contact lens, tailored to the subject’s cornea curvature. The software used for data analysis can combine or compare the eye and the head movements and can draw them up as 2D or 3D images. Preliminary data concern a starter patient that was asked to perform several tasks to establish the accuracy, reliability and tolerance of the magnetic eye tracker and the software. The tasks included the evaluation of saccadic eye movements and pursuit, “drawing” shapes or alphabetical letters and reading. Finally, a Head Impulse Test (HIT) was performed for VOR gain estimation, comparing the standard deviation established through vHIT to the one established through this magnetic eye tracker (mHIT). This prototypic device is low invasive, light, relatively low cost and tolerable, with a high grade of reliability and accuracy. All these features might lead to future use of the magnetic eye tracker in neurological and otoneurological fields.

During the night between 9 and 10 September 2017, multiple flash floods associated to a heavy-precipitation event affected the town of Livorno, located in Tuscany, Italy. Accumulated precipitation exceeding 200 mm in two hours, associated with a return period higher than 200 years, caused all the largest streams of the Livorno municipality to flood several areas of the town. We used the limited-area Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, in a convection-permitting setup, to reconstruct the extreme event leading to the flash floods. We evaluated possible forecasting improvements emerging from the assimilation of local ground stations and X- and S-band radar data into the WRF, using the configuration operational at the meteorological center of Tuscany region (LaMMA) at the time of the event. Simulations were verified against weather station observations, through an innovative method aimed at disentangling the positioning and intensity errors of precipitation forecasts. By providing more accurate descriptions of the low-level flow and a better assessment of the atmospheric water vapour, the results demonstrate that assimilating radar data improved the quantitative precipitation forecasts.

Contagious pathogens have very high costs for dairy herds, and they may have zoonotic and reverse-zoonotic potentials, and may contribute in spreading antimicrobial resistance. One of the most important risk factors for spreading these infections is milking, when liner contamination may transfer the pathogens from infected to healthy cows. There is no effective protocol for avoiding the transmission of infection out of the segregation of infected cows. Recently, the availability of elastomers including patented antimicrobial components in their formulations has opened the way to explore alternative methods to decrease infection risk. Two different types of elastomers (rubber and silicon) and 9 different receipts were challenged by three major mastitis pathogens (S. aureus, S. agalactiae, and E. coli). The results showed interesting and unexpected results. Indeed, for the first time to our knowledge, we have shown that basic rubber materials have intrinsic antimicrobial activity. Silicon elastomers did not exhibit the same levels of killing activity, although they did exhibit some antibacterial capacity. Generally, a significant decrease in bacterial survival curves was observed with the tested formulations. The results observed for the various products are likely due to the specific activity of the chemical components, as well as the diverse chemical reactions that occur during their production. The availability of new tools able to reduce the risks for the spread of infections and generally decrease the bacterial load at milking, would be an important step forward to achieve a higher global sustainability of dairy production from a One Health perspective.

Precision medicine emphasizes fine-grained diagnostics, taking individual variability into account to enhance treatment effectiveness. Parkinson's Disease (PD) heterogeneity among individuals is a proof that disease subtypes exist, and assigning individuals to subgroups is necessary for a better understanding of disease mechanisms and designing precise treatment approaches. The purpose of this study was to identify PD subtypes using RNA-Seq data in a combined pipeline including unsupervised machine learning, bioinformatics, and network analysis. 210 post mortem brain RNA-Seq samples from PD (n = 115) and Normal Controls (NC, n = 95) were obtained with a systematic data retrieval following PRISMA statements and a fully data-driven clustering pipeline was performed to identify PD subtypes. Bioinformatics and Network analyses were performed to characterize the disease mechanisms of the identified PD subtypes and to identify target genes for drug repurposing. Two PD clusters were identified and 42 DEGs were found (p.adjusted ≤ 0.01). PD clusters had significantly different gene network structures (p &lt; 0.0001) and phenotype-specific disease mechanisms, highlighting the differential involvement of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway regulating adult neurogenesis. NEUROD1 was identified as a key regulator of gene networks and ISX9 and PD98059 were identified as NEUROD1-interacting compounds with disease-modifying potential, reducing the effects of dopaminergic neurodegeneration. This hybrid data analysis approach could enable precision medicine applications by providing insights for the identification and characterization of pathological subtypes. This workflow has proven useful on PD brain RNA-Seq, but its application to other neurodegenerative diseases is encouraged.

Staphylococcus aureus are commensal bacteria present on skin and mucosae in both humans and animals, but they can also be found in food, water and in various environments. They are also considered a major pathogen having a great morbidity leading to a wide range of infections. They are included in the list of most virulent and antimicrobic resistant bacterial pathogens (ESKAPE, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus faecalis and faecium)) by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and S. aureus is part of the worldwide threat represented by the presence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The outcomes of an epidemiological investigation on 26,430 S. aureus isolates from a global public database (NPDIB; NCBI Pathogen Detection Isolate Browser) support the evidence of significant differences in the distribution of isolates and ARGs (Antimicrobial Resistance Genes) clusters among geographical areas of origin and among sources of the isolates. Moreover, the ARGs cluster patterns suggest an association between the isolates from human and animal populations. This outcome and the large diffusion of the pathogens among human and animal populations support the importance of gaining information on the epidemiology of these infections with a One Health approach.

The catastrophic failure of two dams in Libya in the night of 10th and 11th September 2023, resulted in a significant amount of water and debris destroying a large part of the city of Derna, which is located downstream of the two dams. The flood caused more than 6000 fatalities and the dis-placement of thousands of people from the city. The dams failed due to heavy rainfall caused by the Medicane Daniel, resulting in intense precipitation and the dams overspilling after reaching full capacity. This paper analyses the consequences of the dam breach by modelling the flow discharge and the flooding of the city of Derna. The analysis compares the computed quantities with the findings of the post-event satellite image analysis from UNOSAT and Copernicus, the field reports, and information gathered from the social media through AI detection. The results allows to better understand the dynamics of the dam breach, its initial parameters and an assessment of the accu-racy of the results.

Background: Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) may be due to different causes, ranging from benign secondary forms to severe cardiomyopathies. Transthoracic Echocardiography (TTE) and ECG are the first level examination for LVH diagnosis. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) defines accurately LVH type, extent and severity. Objectives: to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic role of CMR in patients with TTE and/or ECG evidence of LVH. Methods: We performed CMR in 300 consecutive patients with echocardiographic and/or ECG signs of LVH. Results: Overall, 275 patients had TTE evidence of LVH with initial suspicion of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) in 132 (44%), cardiac amyloidosis in 41 (14%), hypertensive LVH in 48 (16%), aortic stenosis in 4 (1%), undetermined LVH in 50(16%). The initial echocardiographic diagnostic suspicion of LVH was confirmed in 172 patients (57.3%) and changed in 128 patients (42.7%, p<0.0001): the diagnosis of HCM increased from 44% to 71% of patients; hypertensive and undetermined LVH decreased significantly (respectively to 4% and 5%). CMR allowed a diagnosis in 41 out of 50 (82%) with undetermined LVH at TTE. CMR also identified HCM in 17 out of 25 patients with apparently normal echo but with ECG criteria for LVH. Finally, the reclassification of the diagnosis by CMR was associated with a change of survival risk of patients: after CMR reclassification no events occurred in patients with undetermined or hypertensive LVH. Conclusions: CMR changed echocardiographic suspicion in almost half of patients with LVH. In the subgroup of patient with abnormal ECG, CMR identified LVH (particularly HCM) in 80% of patients. This study highlights the indication of CMR to better characterize the type, extent and severity of LVH detected at echocardiography and suspected with ECG.

At the beginning of 2019, the petroleum crisis impacted many economies dependent on this industry. The Mexican government started programs to identify points and government officials involved in the gasoline stealing from PEMEX (Petróleos Mexicanos), the country’s leading government petroleum company. The programs consisted of supervising and monitoring the Mexican country network of gasoline ducts to detect points where gasoline was being stolen. Consequently, large urban regions faced a lack and shortage of gasoline. This situation generated several reactions in social media and many open data in news media. Although the government provided open data about stealing gasoline locations related to crimes, it did not analyze the collected data to identify patterns, insights, and the spatio-temporal characterization of this phenomenon. This paper presents a study to deal with the regional semantics described in the social media locations of gasoline stealing. Thus, a framework to discover the trends that emerge from social media and how it is correlated with the government’s open data is also presented—the proposed methodology used machine learning techniques based on linguistic and semantic technologies. The analysis was applied to a dataset of 24,317 geo-referenced tweets. The obtained results reflected the Mexican thinking opinion regarding discovered social topics, polarization maps, and regional insights. According to discovered trends, there were long fuel lines between 1.5 and 5 kilometers (on average) at fuel stations in different Mexican states.

General anesthesia and surgical stress can suppress the immunological response by acting both directly on the immune system and indirectly on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the sympathetic nervous system. Disturbance of the immune system during the perioperative period can lead to complications such as wound-healing disorders and infections up to sepsis. Effective-ness of acupuncture in regulating the immune function by increasing leukocyte numbers and in-hibiting inflammatory response has been proven. The aim of this study was to explore the impact of electroacupuncture (EAP) on the dynamic bal-ance of the immune system and immune cell populations in dogs undergoing surgery. For this purpose, twelve healthy bitches scheduled for elective ovariectomy were divided into two groups according to whether (EAP, n=6) or not (CTR, n=6) a peri-operative electroacupuncture treatment was performed. Levels of leukocytes (neutrophils, monocytes, T- and B-cells) and immunoglobu-lins M (IgM) and A (IgA) were measured in blood samples collected before (T0), 1 hour (T1) and 2.5 hours (T2) after anesthesia induction. Leukocytes count decreased from T0 to T1 in both groups and restored within 1.5 hours in EAP group whereas remained significantly lower in CTR group (P<0.02). In particular, neutrophils and monocytes increased in dogs receiving EAP (P<0.01) while T-cells decreased in CTR group (P<0.04) at T2. B-cells and cytotoxic T-cells de-creased in EAP dogs (P<0.04) at T2. No differences in helper T-cells, IgM and IgA levels were recorded between groups and over time. Our results suggest a modulatory effect of EAP on the immune system which is early expressed on neutrophils, monocytes and T-cells.

Background: Endometriosis is a female chronic inflammatory disease in which endometrial tissue develops outside the uterine cavity. It is a complex pathology, that significantly contributes to morbidity in premenopausal women, leading to chronic pain, infertility, and subfertility negatively impacting the physical, and emotional well-being and overall quality of life. The public health burden of endometriosis remains elusive and challenging to determine, and this uncertainty can lead to inadequate healthcare services and treatments. Objective: To estimate the incidence and prevalence of endometriosis in Italy using the hospital discharge records database. Population-based retrospective study. Nationwide between 2011 and 2020. Methods: From the National Hospital Discharge Database were selected all admissions with a diagnosis of endometriosis (ICD-9-CM, codes 617.x), supported by the presence of a procedure code of laparoscopy or any other surgical procedure allowing direct visualisation of the lesions. Main outcomes measures Incidence and prevalence of endometriosis were estimated for the entire 2010-2020 period and by individual year, analysing the time trend and variability in different geographical areas of Italy. Results: A total of 134,667,646 women aged 15–50 years with one or more hospitalisations for endometriosis in all Italian hospitals. The incidence of endometriosis in Italy during this period was 0.839 per 1000 women (CI95% 0.834-0.844), exhibiting a statistically significant decreasing trend over the years. A discernible north-south gradient was observed, with higher rates documented in the northern regions. The prevalence rate stood at 14.0 per 1000 during the same period, and a similar north-south geographical gradient was identifiable in the prevalence rates as well. Conclusions: The utilization of national-level hospital data enables the generation of incidence and prevalence data for endometriosis without variations in methods and definitions, facilitating the evaluation of temporal trends and regional comparisons. Understanding and quantifying this phenomenon is essential for appropriate healthcare planning in various Italian regions.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease with a complex genetic architecture, showing monogenic, oligogenic, and polygenic inheritance. In this study, we describe the case of a 71 years-old man diagnosed with ALS with an atypical phenotype, due to the presence of a progressive ocular ptosis. Genetic analyses revealed two variants in SOD1 and TBK1 genes respectively and the LHON-associated m.14484T>C variant in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). We discuss how all these variants may synergically impinge on mitochondrial function, contributing to the pathogenic mechanisms which might ultimately lead to the neurodegenerative process, possibly influencing the clinical ALS phenotype.

Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC) is a chronic, cholestatic liver disease with a heterogeneous presentation, symptomatology, disease progression, and response to therapy. The current risk stratification assessment, aimed at identifying patients with a higher risk of disease progression, encompasses an in-depth analysis of demographic data, clinical and laboratory findings, antibody profiles, and the evaluation of liver fibrosis using both invasive and non-invasive techniques. Treatment response scores after one year of therapy remain to date a major factor influencing the prognosis of PBC patients. While the initial therapeutic approach with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) is universally applied, new second-line treatment options have recently emerged, with many others under investigation. Consequently, the prevailing one-size-fits-all approach is poised to be supplanted by tailored strategies, ensuring high-risk patients receive the most appropriate treatment regimen from diagnosis. This will require the development of a risk prediction model to assess, at the time of diagnosis, the course, outcome, and response to first and additional treatments of PBC patients. This manuscript provides a comprehensive overview of the current and emerging tools used for risk stratification in PBC and speculates on how these developments might shape the disease landscape in the near future.

Sporotrichosis’ clinical manifestations, lesions in the cutaneous or subcutaneous tissues, it is caused by dimorphic fungi of the Sporothrix complex, is a cosmopolitan mycosis that affects humans and animals. This study aimed to identify prevalent species in Minas Gerais, Brazil, and characterize virulence profiles and antifungal susceptibility associated with Sporothrix isolates. Isolates were identified using macro and micro-morphological traits as well molecular biology techniques. Antifungal susceptibility was determined using the Minimal Inhibitory Concentration test, while, virulence factors such as growth at different temperatures, biofilm formation, melanin production, and urease activity were assessed. Our findings revealed S. brasiliensis as a predominant species isolated. Urease activity was a crucial factor associated with growth at 50°C in S. brasiliensis isolates, highlighting their high thermotolerance. Furthermore, strains isolated from humans produced a more robust biofilm compare to those from felines. Strains of S. brasiliensis isolated from Felis catus exhibited faster melanin production, decreased susceptible to antifungal agents tested, and superior growth capacity at 50°C to strains isolated from humans. Therefore, our study highlights the prevalence of S. brasiliensis causing sporotrichosis in both human and felines. However, it underscores the circulation of different strains, with varying levels of virulence and susceptibility to antifungal agents.

Glial cells provide physical and chemical support and protection for neurons. Secreted neurotrophic factors, scaffolds and vesicles regulate in addition to normal homeostasis, repair following neural tissue injury or degeneration. We previously demonstrated that human CNS glia have revascularization capacity by inducing endothelial cell sprouting and microchanneling driven by glial cell secreted components. The clinical potential of using secreted factors and vesicles generated by glial cells in conditioned media was shown by their re-normalization of pathological blood vessels and 3D tissue wound healing and remodeling capacity. To identify secreted components of glial cells and how CNS and PNS glial cells differentially regulate neural tissue homeostasis, disease and injury response, we developed a novel culture method for various types of glial cells that allow for isolating and characterizing secreted glial components, free of animal factors and contaminants normally associated with serum-based culture conditions. Our culture method will enable to identify secreted components using ultrasensitive RNA, glycoconjugate and protein analysis technologies. The characterization of glial secreted factors involved microchanneling may help in development of new clinical therapies for glial and neural cells or axons to migrate and reform connections.

Background and Objectives To compare navigator-gated three-dimensional T1-weighted gradient-echo sequences (NG-3D T1W-GRE) with standard breath-hold T1W-GRE (BH T1W-GRE) for the detection of HCC nodules in patients with chronic viral hepatitis which undergo at magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using gadoxetic acid. Methods and materials We evaluated 58 patients with hepatic nodules at least 1 cm in diameter detected by ultrasound who underwent liver MRI including NG-3D T1W-GRE sequences and breath hold T1-weighted gradient-echo sequences with different flip angles(FA) at 10-25-40° after contrast administration of gadoxetic acid at magnetic scanner operating at1.5 Tesla. Image quality and relative hepatic and nodular enhancement were evaluated by three blinded reviewers. Results In these patients, image quality of NG-3D T1W-GRE was assessed significantly better than quality of BHT1W- GRE (P < 0.005) and relative enhancement was significantly higher than that of BH- T1W-GRE ( P

The term neuroinflammation defines the reactions of astrocytes and microglia to alterations in homeostasis in the diseased central nervous system (CNS), the exacerbation of which contributes to the neurodegenerative effects of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Local environmental conditions, such as the presence of proinflammatory molecules, mechanical properties of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and local cell-cell interactions, are determinants of glial cell phenotypes. In AD, the load of the cytotoxic/proinflammatory amyloid β peptide (Aβ) is a microenvironmental component increasingly growing in the CNS, imposing time-evolving challenges on resident cells. This study aimed at investigating the temporal and spatial variations of the effects produced by this process on astrocytes and microglia, either directly or by interfering in their interactions. Ex vivo confocal analyses of hippocampal sections from the mouse model TgCRND8 at different ages have shown that overproduction of Aβ peptide induced early and time persistent disassembly of functional astroglia syncytium and promoted a senile phenotype of reactive microglia, hindering Aβ clearance. In the late stages of disease, these patterns were altered in the presence of Aβ-plaques, surrounded by typically reactive astrocytes and microglia. Morphofunctional characterization of peri-plaque gliosis revealed a direct contribution of astrocytes in plaque buildup that might result in shielding Aβ-peptide cytotoxicity and, as a side effect, in exacerbating neuroinflammation.

The Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is associated with a high rate of mortality in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs). The current vaccine strategy for KTRs seems to be unable to provide effective protection against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) [2] and the occurrence of severe COVID-19 in some vaccinated KTRs suggested a lack of immunity. We analized here the antibody response in a group of 32 kidney transplant recipients (KTR) followed at the Nephrology and Dialysis unit of the Hospital Pio XI of Desio, Italy, compared with a group of 23 healthy workers classified as Late responders (HCW-LR) (10 males age 27-62) and 13 females (age 46-64). We observed that the patients need additional vaccine boosters due to their immunocompromised status and therapy to protect them from infections related to viral variants, in accordance with the literature.

The diffusion process of water molecules within a polyetherimide (PEI) glassy matrix has been analyzed by combining the experimental analysis of water sorption kinetics performed by FTIR spectroscopy with theoretical information gathered from Molecular Dynamics simulations and with the expression of water chemical potential provided by a non-equilibrium lattice fluid model able to describe the thermodynamics of glassy polymers. This approach allowed to construct a convincing description of the diffusion mechanism of water in PEI providing molecular details of the process related to the effects of the cross- and self-hydrogen bondings established in the system on the dynamics of water mass transport.

Background: During the stay in the neonatal intensive care unit, parents play a crucial role in the care of their infants. Recent studies reported a decrease in parental participation due to Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic that determined restricted access policies in hospitals. The aim of this study is to describe the barriers to a good parents’ participation during the stay in the neonatal intensive care unit in the COVID-19 era. Methods: A quantitative observational study was carried out. Results: 270 parents participated in this study. Mothers’ participation in care seems to be higher as compared to fathers (p = 0.017). Parents who lived the birth of their first child reported a better level of participation in care when compared to those who lived the birth of their second born (p = 0.005). Parents of extremely preterm neonates reported a lower interaction with their infant if compared to parents of term newborns (p &lt; 0.001). Conclusions: Some more disadvantaged categories have reported lower scores: cultural and linguistic minorities, parents of multiple children and fathers. COVID-19 pandemic made several Family Centred Care activities not possible with a higher impact on those who benefited the most of these facilities. This study was prospectively registered by the IRB-CRRM of the University “G. d’Annunzio” Chieti-Pescara on the 23/01/2024 with registration number CRRM;2023_12_07_01.

-529391451442Citation: To be added by editorial staff during production. Academic Editor: Firstname Lastname Received: date Revised: date Accepted: date Published: date Copyright: © 2023 by the authors. Submitted for possible open access publication under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).0Citation: To be added by editorial staff during production. Academic Editor: Firstname Lastname Received: date Revised: date Accepted: date Published: date Copyright: © 2023 by the authors. Submitted for possible open access publication under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Abstract: SARS-CoV-2 vaccination offered the opportunity to get out of the pandemic and thereby worldwide health, social, and economic disasters. However, in addition to efficacy, safety is an important issue for any vaccine. The mRNA-based vaccine platform is considered to be safe but side effects are being reported more frequently as more and more people around the world become treated. Myo-pericarditis is the major, but not the only cardiovascular complication of this vaccine, hence it is important not to underestimate other side effects. We report a case series of patients affected by cardiac arrhythmias post mRNA vaccine from our clinical practice and the literature. Reviewing the official vigilance database emerged that heart rhythm disorders after Covid vaccination are not uncommon and deserve more clinical and scientific attention. Since Covid vaccine is the only vaccination to have been related to this side effect questions arose about whether these vaccines could affect heart conduction. Although the risk-benefit is clearly in favor of vaccination heart rhythm disorders are not a negligible issue and there are red flags in the literature about the risk of post-vaccination malignant arrhythmias in some predisposed patients. In light of these findings, we investigated the potential mechanism for the Covid vaccine to impact on cardiac electrophysiology and cause heart rhythm disorders.

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.

Since the beginning of the mass immunization with COVID-19 vaccines of patients with multiple sclerosis, many data on the efficacy and safety of these vaccines have been produced. Considering that MS is an autoimmune disease whose pathology can be explained by an altered immune system and that some DMTs seem to be able to decrease the antibody response against COVID-19 vaccines, we carried out this retrospective study with the aim to evaluate the safety in terms of AEFIs occurrence and the antibody response after the third dose of COVID-19 vaccines in people with MS. Third doses were administered from October 2021 to January 2022. Two hundred and ten patients (64.8% female; mean age: 46 years) received the third dose of the mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine and were included in the study. The majority of patients (n=193) were diagnosed with RRMS and EDSS values were ≤3.0 in 72.4% of them. DMTs most commonly used by included patients were interferon Beta 1-a, dimethyl fumarate, natalizumab and fingolimod. Overall, 160 patients (68.8% female) experienced 294 AEFIs, of which about 90% were classified as short-term, while 9.2% were classified as long-term. The most commonly reported following the booster dose were pain at the injection site, flu-like symptoms, headache, fever and fatigue. Regarding the immune response, consistently with literature data, we found that patients receiving ocrelizumab and fingolimod had lower IgG titer than patients receiving other DMTs.

Paleogenomics focuses on the recovery, manipulation, and analysis of ancient DNA (aDNA) from historical or long-dead organisms to reconstruct and analyze their genomes. The aDNA is commonly obtained from remains found in paleontological and archaeological sites, conserved in museums and in other archival collections. Herbarium collections represent a great source of phenotypic and genotypic information, and their exploitation allowed to infer and to clarify previously unsolved taxonomic and systematic relationships. Moreover, Herbarium specimens offered a new source to study phenological traits in plants and to disentangle biogeography and evolutionary scenarios of species. More recently, advances in the molecular technologies went in parallel with the decreasing costs of the next-generation sequencing (NGS) approaches, that paved the way to the utilization of aDNA for whole-genome studies. Although many studies have been carried out combining modern analytic techniques and Herbarium specimens, this research field is still relatively unexplored, due to the need of improving strategies for aDNA manipulation and exploitation. The higher susceptibility of aDNA to degradation and contamination during the Herbarium conservation and manipulation, and the occurrence of biochemical post-mortem damages, can result in the more challenging reconstruction of the original DNA sequence. Here, we review the methodological approaches that have been developed for the exploitation of historical Herbarium plant materials, such as the best practices for aDNA extraction, amplification and genotyping. We also focus on some strategies to overcome the main problems related to the utilization of Herbarium specimens for their exploitation in plant evolutionary studies.

How hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSPC) fate decisions are affected by genetic alterations acquired during AML leukemogenesis is poorly understood and mainly explored in animal models. Here, we studied isocitrate dehydrogenases (IDH) genes mutations in the human model of HSPC and provide a review of the literature on this topic. IDH1/2 mutations occur in ~20% of AML, are recognized among the mutations earliest acquired during leukemogenesis, and are target of specific inhibitors (ivosidenib and enasidenib, respectively). In order to investigate the direct effects of these mutations on the HSPC we expressed by lentiviral transduction either IDH1-R132H or IDH2-R140Q mutants into human CD34+ healthy donor cells and analyzed the colony-forming unit (CFU) ability. CFU ability was dramatically compromised with a complete trilineage block of differentiation. Strikingly, the block was reversed by the specific inhibitors, confirming it was a specific effect induced by the mutants. In line with this observation, the CD34+ leukemic precursors isolated from a patient with IDH2-mutated AML at baseline and during enasidenib treatment showed over time a progressive and marked improvement of their fitness in terms of CFU ability and propensity to differentiate, attaining clonal trilinear reconstitution of hematopoiesis and complete hematological remission.

Adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ADSCs) represent a subset of mesenchymal stem cells in every adipose compartment throughout the body. ADSCs can differentiate into various cell types, including chondrocytes, osteocytes, myocytes, and adipocytes. Moreover, they exhibit a notable potential to differentiate in vitro into cells from other germinal lineages, including endothelial cells and neurons. ADSCs have a wide range of clinical applications, from breast surgery to chronic wounds. Furthermore, they are a promising cell population for future tissue-engineering uses. Accumulating evidence indicates decreased proliferation and differentiation potential of ADSCs with increasing age, body mass index, diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, or exposure to radiotherapy. Therefore, recent literature thoroughly investigates this cell population's senescence mechanisms and how they can hinder their possible therapeutic applications. This review will discuss the biological mechanisms and the physio-pathological causes behind ADSC senescence and how they can impact cellular functionality. Moreover, we will examine the possible strategies to invert these processes, re-establishing the full regenerative potential of this progenitor population.

This study aims to demonstrate the possibility of incorporating a natural antioxidant biomolecule, into polymeric porous scaffolds. To this end, Poly-L-Lactic Acid (PLLA) scaffolds were produced using the Thermally Induced Phase Separation (TIPS) technique and additivated with different amounts of Rosmarinic Acid (RA). The scaffolds, with a diameter of 4 mm and a thickness of 2 mm, were characterized with a multi-analytical approach. Specifically, Scanning Electron Mi-croscopy analyses demonstrated the presence of an interconnected porous network, character-ized by a layer of RA at the level of the pore’s surfaces. Moreover, the presence of RA biomole-cules increased the hydrophilic nature of the sample, as evidenced by the decrease in contact angle with water from 128° to 76°. This approach is cost-effective, and it could be customized with different biomolecules, offering the possibility of producing porous polymeric structures con-taining antioxidant molecules. These scaffolds meet the requirements of tissue engineering and could be offered a potential solution to reduce inflammation associated with scaffold implantation thus improving tissue regeneration.

Biochemical recurrence (BCR) after primary treatments for prostate cancer (PC) is an extremely heterogeneous phase and at least a stratification in low and high-risk cases for early progression in metastatic disease is necessary. At now PSA-DT represents the best parameter to define low and high risk BCR PC, but a real precision medicine is strongly suggested to define a tailored management of patients with BCR. Before defining management, it is necessary to exclude the presence of low volume metastasis associated with PSA progression using new generation imaging preferably with PSMA PET/CT. Low risk BCR cases should be actively observed without early systemic therapies. Early treatment of low risk BCR with continuous androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) can produce disadvantages such the development of castration resistance before the appearance of metastases (non-metastatic castration resistant PC). Patients with high risk BCR benefit from early systemic therapy. The primary end point must be metastasis-free survival (MFS), even with the same overall survival (OS). The EMBARK study is able to impact on the management of high risk BCR, by introducing the concept of anticipation and intensification through the use of androgen receptor signaling inhibitors (ARSI) and ADT combination therapy. In high risk (PSA-DT ≤ 9 months) BCR cases, the combination of enzalutamide with leuprolide significantly improves MFS when compared to leuprolide alone, maintaining the quality of life unchanged in an asymptomatic phase of the disease. The possibility of using ARSI alone in this early disease setting is suggested by the EMBARK study (arm with enzalutamide alone) with less evidence than the intensification of the combination therapy. Continued use versus discontinuation upon reaching undetectable PSA levels of enzalutamide plus leuprolide intensified therapy needs to be better defined with further analysis. Real world analysis must verify the significant results obtained in the context of a phase 3 study.

Globally, the adoption of Solid Organ Transplantation (SOT) as first-line therapy for end-stage organ failure has not come without its share of complications. Enterococcal endocarditis poses a substantial risk to renal transplant patients, and multiple factors must be considered due to the grave nature of this infection. Such factors include addressing multidrug-resistant organisms, antibiotic therapy-related toxicity, and preserving the transplanted organ. Additional considerations include salvaging an affected cardiac valve and avoiding the need for a valve replacement with the attendant complications. Ampicillin and gentamicin have historically been the standard of care as first-line treatment for many years until the aminoglycoside sparing regimen of ampicillin and ceftriaxone showed non-inferiority in clinical studies. We present a second case report with an aminoglycoside sparing regimen of ampicillin and daptomycin in a renal transplant patient who developed Enterococcus faecalis endocarditis. We conclude with a brief review of published research with this combination.

Simple summary This reassessment of the findings from our Phase I/II study seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of SBRT for treating local intermediate-high risk prostate cancer in the absence of androgen-deprivation therapy due to patient’s refusal, with a median follow-up of 6.5 years. Our primary focus is on analysing the treated areas compared to recurrence patterns in the seven patients who experienced local relapse. Additionally, we provide updated data on late toxicities of grade 2 or higher, both genitourinary and gastrointestinal. Abstract Objectives: We investigated spatial patterns between primary and recurrent tumor sites and assessed long-term toxicity after dose escalation stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) to the dominant intraprostatic nodule (DIN). Materials and methods: In 33 patients with intermediate-high risk prostate cancer (PCa), doses up to 50 Gy were administered to the DIN. Recurrence sites were determined and compared to the original tumor development sites through multiparametric MRI and 68Ga-labelled prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (68Ga-PSMA-PET/CT) images. Overlap rates, categorized as 75% or higher for full overlap, and 25-74% for partial overlap, were assessed. Long-term toxicity is reported. Results: All patients completed treatment, with only one receiving concomitant androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). Recurrences were diagnosed after a median of 33 months (range: 17-76 months), affecting 13 out of 33 patients (39.4%). Intraprostatic recurrences occurred in 7 patients (21%), with ≥ 75% overlap in two, a partial overlap in another two, and no overlap in the remaining three patient. Notably, 5 patients with intra-prostatic recurrences had synchronous bone and/or lymph node metastases, while six patients had isolated bone or lymph node metastasis without intraprostatic recurrences. Extended follow-up revealed grade 2 or higher late GU and GI toxicity in 18% (n=6) and 6% (n=2) of the patients. Conclusions: Among patients with intermediate-high risk PCa undergoing focal dose-escalated SBRT without ADT, DIN recurrences were infrequent. When present, these recurrences were typically located at the original site or adjacent to the initial tumor. Conversely, relapses beyond the DIN and in extra-prostatic (metastatic) sites were prevalent, underscoring the significance of systemic ADT in managing this patient population. Advances in knowledge: focal dose escalated prostate SBRT prevented recurrences in the dominant nodule, however extra-prostatic recurrence sites were frequent.

Background: This systematic review aims to investigate whether percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage (PTGDB), as definitive treatment, is superior to emergency cholecystectomy (EC) in high-risk patients with acute cholecystitis (AC). Material and methods: A systematic literature search was performed until December 2022 using Scopus, Medline/PubMed and Web of Science databases in order to compare PTGDB as definitive treatment vs EC in AC. Results: Seventeen studies (1 Randomized Control Trials and 16 observational studies) have been included with a total of 783,672 patients (32,634 treated with PTGDB vs 4,663 who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy, 343 who underwent open cholecystectomy and 746,032 who underwent cholecystectomy, but without laparoscopic or open approach being specified). The quality assessment (ROBINS-I) of the not randomized studies showed a serious risk, differently the evaluation of the randomized study (RoB 2) showed a low risk of bias. Analysis of the results shows that PTGDB, despite being minimally invasive, do not have different incidence of complications than EC (RR 0.77 95% CI [0.44 to 1.34]; I2 = 99%; P=0.36). A lower postoperative mortality was reported in patients who underwent EC (2.37%) than in PTGDB group (13.78 %) (RR 4.21; 95% CI [2.69 to 6.58]; P < 0.00001), furthermore the risk of hospital readmission for biliary complications (RR 2.19 95% CI [1.72 to 2.79]; I2 = 48 %; P<0.00001) and hospital stay (MD 4.29 95% CI [2.40 to 6.19]; P<0.00001) were lower in EC group. Conclusions: No advantage in using PTGDB as a definitive treatment over EC in the management of critically ill patients with AC has been demonstrated; the results of our systematic review and meta-analysis suggest using EC as the treatment of first choice, even for very high-surgical-risk patient in which PTGDB should be reserved. The major limitation of this systematic review and meta-analysis is associated to a low quality of evidence for the serious bias in the not randomized studies. For this reason, new high powered and well-designed clinical trials are needed to recommend PTGDB as definitive treatment in patients unfit for surgery or those who refuse to undergo surgery.

Background: from December 2019 and the spreading of syndemics, a lot of medical centers reg-istered data about their patients. In Italy, the most relevant quantity of patients was hospitalized in internal medicine wards. Methods: In this observational, retrospective cross-sectional study, all data of the COVID-19 patients, admitted Latio hospitals, from March 01 to December 31, 2020, were collected and their Epidemiological data, demographics, signs and symptoms on admission, comorbidities, laboratory findings, chest radiography and CT findings, treatment received and mortality rate were analyzed by gender to find any differences of gravity of disease. Clinician details were registered on database (one for every hospital). Cost analysis was performed by length of stay and antiviral drugs use, using point of view of Italian Healthcare System. Results: 2256 patients with mean age of 71.01 ± 28.02 years were included. For men, frequency of hyper-tension, COPD, use of oxygen therapy, Tocilizumab were significantly higher and epidemiolog-ical link was related to rehabilitation ward and community. The gender difference about hospi-talization was one day more for man. No strong significant difference by gender in the death rate was observed. Considering antiviral drugs and hospitalization, a man costs €1000 more than woman. Conclusions: In male patients, hypertension and COPD were observed more frequently and the epidemiological link was related to rehabilitation ward and community. In female sub-jects, the epidemiological link was related to Hospital and we observed significantly higher atypical chest-X ray. Tocilizumab, oxygen therapy and antiviral drugs were prescribed more in male subjects. No differences by gender we report in other treatments and outcomes. Future studies should be analyzed to get a more comprehensive understanding of COVID-19 by gender.

Background: Systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARDs), including Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) and Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), are characterized by chronic inflammation and autoimmunity. Identifying reliable biomarkers is crucial for enhancing diagnosis, monitoring disease progression, and evaluating therapeutic responses. This study explores the potential of serum Syndecan-1 (SDC-1) as a biomarker for these conditions and concurrently examines its relationship with free light chain (FLC) expression levels in the same patients. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on serum samples from 120 patients (60 RA, 60 SLE), alongside 50 healthy donors (HD). Serum levels of κ and λ FLCs were determined by turbidimetric assay, while SDC-1 levels were measured using ELISA. Statistical analyses, including the Kruskal-Wallis test, Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney U test, multivariable linear regression and Spearman’s correlation, were employed to compare biomarker levels across groups and to explore correlations among them. Results: Significantly increased levels of SDC-1, κ-FLC, and λ-FLC were observed in patients diagnosed with RA and SLE compared to HD (p < 0.001), while no significant differences in the κ/λ ratio were noted among the groups (p = 0.4). A statistically significant difference in subject age was also identified. However, multivariate regression analysis indicated that RA and SLE statuses are significantly associated with the levels of these markers, with minimal confounding by age. A significant correlation was observed separately in all groups between the FLC markers. Conversely, no correlation was detected between SDC-1 and FLCs, nor between these markers and age. Conclusion: Elevated serum levels of FLCs and SDC-1 in RA and SLE patients compared to healthy controls underscore their potential as biomarkers for SARDs. The findings also suggest sustained plasma cells activation, supporting the SDC-1 role in the pathogenesis of these conditions.

Introduction: In recent years, generative Artificial Intelligence models, such as ChatGPT, have been increasingly utilized in healthcare. Despite acknowledging the high potential of AI models in terms of quick access to sources and formulating a response to a clinical question, the results obtained using these models still require validation through comparison with established clinical guidelines. This study compares the responses of the AI model to eight clinical questions with the Italian Association of Medical Oncology (AIOM) guidelines for ovarian cancer. Materials and Methods: The authors used the Delphi method to evaluate responses from ChatGPT and the AIOM guidelines. An expert panel of healthcare professionals assessed responses based on clarity, consistency, comprehensiveness, usability, and quality using a 5-point Likert scale. The GRADE methodology assessed the evidence quality and the recommendations' strength. Results: A survey involving 14 physicians revealed that the AIOM guidelines consistently scored higher averages compared to the AI models with a statistically significant difference. Post-hoc tests showed that AIOM guidelines significantly differed from all AI models, with no significant difference among the AI models. Conclusions: While AI models can provide rapid responses, they must match established clinical guidelines regarding clarity, consistency, comprehensiveness, usability, and quality. These findings underscore the importance of relying on expert-developed guidelines in clinical decision-making and highlight potential areas for AI model improvement.

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) pathophysiology comprises clinical and genetic factors. In fact, GDM has been associated with several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). This study aimed to build a prediction model of GDM combining clinical and genetic risk factors. A total of 1588 pregnant women from the San Carlos Cohort participated in the present study, 1069 (67.3%) Caucasian (CAU) and 519 (32.7%) Latin American (LAT), 255 (16.1%) with GDM. The incidence of GDM was similar in both groups (16.1% CAU and 16.0% LAT). Genotyping was performed by IPLEX Mass ARRAY PCR selecting 110 SNPs based on literature references. The SNPs showing the strongest likelihood of GDM development were the rs10830963, rs7651090 and rs1371614 in CAU and rs1387153 and the rs9368222 in LAT. Clinical variables including age, pre-pregnancy body mass index and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) at 12 gestational weeks predicted the risk of GDM (AUC 0.648, 95%CI 0.601-0.695 in CAU; AUC 0.688, 95%CI 0.628-9.748 in LAT) and adding the SNPs modestly improved prediction (AUC 0.722, 95%CI 0.680-0.764 in CAU; AUC 0.769, 95%CI 0.711-0.826 in LAT). In conclusion, adding genetic variants enhanced the prediction model of GDM risk in CAU and LAT pregnant women. An RCT is underway to demonstrate its usefulness

Obesity is a risk factor for the development of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). However, the most optimal type of nutritional intervention to prevent GDM in high-risk women is not clearly defined. This study investigates if nutritional treatment based on the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) before 12th gestational week (GW) in women at high risk due to a body mass index (BMI)≥25kg/m2, reduces the rate of GDM and metabolic syndrome (MetS) at 3 years postpartum. We performed a post-hoc analysis of the San Carlos Gestational Prevention Study. A total of 735 women with BMI≥25kg/m2 were evaluated between 2015-2018, 246 in standard diet control group (CG) and 489 in MedDiet intervention group (IG). The rate of GDM was significantly lower in IG compared to CG (25.1%vs31.7%;p=0.037). Postnatal follow-up was completed by 141 women in CG (57%) and 312 women in IG (64%). At 3 years postpartum, we observed a reduction (relative risk 95% confidence interval) in the rates of impaired fasting glucose (IFG) (0.51 (0.28-0.92);p=0.019), obesity (0.51 (0.28-0.92),p=0.041), waist circumference (WC)≥89.5cm (0.54 (0.31-0.94);p=0.022) and MetS (0.56 (0.33-0.94);p=0.003). MedDiet reduces the rate of GDM and postpartum MetS in women with BMI)≥25kg/m2, suggesting that its implementation should be routinely recommended from the first GWs.

Background: The identification of novel therapeutic strategies for Ovarian cancer (OC), the most lethal gynecological neoplasm, is of utmost urgency. Here, we have tested the effectiveness of the compound 2c (4-Hydroxy-2,6-bis(4-nitrobenzylidene)cyclohexanone 2). 2c interferes with cyste-ine-dependent deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs), thus affecting the ubiquitin-proteasome de-pendent degradation of proteins. Methods: 2c phenotypic/molecular effects were studied in two OC cell lines, primary tumor cells cultured in 2D/3D and in a mouse xenograft model. We also propose an in-silico model of 2c interaction with DUBs. Finally, we tested the effect of 2c conju-gated to several linkers to generate 2c-derivatives usable for improved drug delivery. Results: 2c effectively impairs OC cell line and primary tumor cell viability in both 2D and 3D conditions. The effectiveness is confirmed in a xenograft mouse model of OC. We show that 2c impairs pro-teasome activity and triggers apoptosis most likely by interacting with DUBs; we propose a mechanism for the interaction with a model DUB via an in-silico evaluation of the en-zyme-inhibitor complex. 2c also reduces cell growth by down-regulating the level of the transcrip-tion factor E2F1. Finally, 2c activity is often retained after the conjugation with linkers. Conclu-sion: Our data strongly support the potential therapeutic value of 2c/derivatives in OC.

We statistically investigate the Coronavirus Disease 19 (hereinafter Covid-19) epidemics, which is particularly invasive in Italy. We show that the high apparent mortality (or Case Fatality Ratio, CFR) observed in Italy, as compared with other countries, is likely biased by a strong underestimation of infected cases. To give a more realistic estimate of the mortality of Covid-19, we use the most recent estimates of the IFR (Infection Fatality Ratio) of epidemic, based on the minimum observed CFR, and furthermore analyse data obtained from the ship Diamond Princess, a good representation of a ‘laboratory’ case-study from an isolated system in which all the people have been tested. From such analyses we derive more realistic estimates of the real extension of the infection, as well as more accurate indicators of how fast the infection propagates. We then point out from the various explanations proposed, the dominant factors causing such an abnormal seriousness of the disease in Italy. Finally, we use the deceased data, the only ones estimated to be reliable enough, to predict the total number of infected people and the interval of time when the infection in Italy could stop.

The possibility of treating more patients for a longer time, has exploded the concept of anticipation in the systemic treatment of metastatic prostate cancer (mPC). The genetic analysis of Damage DNA Repair (DDR) mutations in pathogenetic variants (PV) and the development of poly (adenosine diphosphate-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors led to the first valid precision medicine option tailored for mPC. PARP inhibitors are repeating the same evolutionary path experienced for androgen receptor signaling inhibitors (ARSI), starting from the late stage of second line mCRPC in a limited population and time frame. Inevitably also PARP inhibitors will be absorbed by the concept of anticipation and intensification of care. The anticipation of PARP inhibitors in the first line mCRPC therapy is already underway and further one in mHSPC will soon be verified. According to the crosstalk between androgen receptors (AR) and DNA repair, the new message that is emerging is that the combination of PARP inhibitors with ARSI, disconnects PARP from the genetic analysis. Most of the recent trials analyzing PARP inhibitors plus abiraterone or enzalutamide, enrolled first line mCRPC irrespectively to gene PV. The conclusion of the PROPEL trial was that the advantage was independent to PV status, however the highest advantage was reported in BRCA1/2 mutated subgroup. The conclusion of the MAGNITUDE trial was different, with a significant advantage only in the DDR mutated subgroup and the DDR non-mutated was closed for further enrollment. The combination of PARP inhibitors with ARSI represents a significant strategy in the concept of anticipation and intensification of care in mPC. However, it should not nullify the advantages of precision medicine linked to the genetic analysis of DDR.

Recently the use of food by products as natural sources of biologically active substances has been extensively investigated especially for the development of functional foods fortified with natural antioxidants. Due to their content of bioactive compounds, such as carotenoids, flavonoids and limonoids, Citrus peels could be suitable to formulate enriched olive oils able to boost a healthy nutrition. The aim of this study was: (i) to determine the compositional and sensory profiles of the Citrus olive oil and (ii) to evaluate its nutraceutical properties in rats with high fat diet-induced-metabolic syndrome and oxidative stress. The results obtained show the potential of using the Citrus peels as a source of bioactive compounds to improve the sensory profile as well as the phytochemical composition of olive oil. We demonstrated that the production system of C. aurantium olive oil and C. limon olive oil improves their organoleptic properties without altering their beneficial effects, which, like control extra virgin olive oil, showed protective effects on glucose and serum lipid levels, metabolic activity of adipocytes, myocardial tissue functionality, oxidative stress markers and endothelial function at blood vessel level.

Background: KDM5 enzymes are H3K4 specific histone demethylases involved in transcriptional regulation and DNA repair. These proteins are over-expressed in different kinds of cancer, including breast, prostate and bladder carcinoma, with positive effects on cancer proliferation and chemo-resistance. For these reasons, these enzymes are potential therapeutic cancer targets. Methods: In the present study, we analyzed the effects of three different inhibitors of KDM5 enzymes in MCF-7 breast cancer cells over-expressing JARID1B. In particular we tested H3K4 demethylation (western blot); target gene transcription (RNAseq and real time PCR); radio-sensitivity (citoxicity and clonogenic assays) and damage accumulation (kinetics of H2AX phosphorylation). Results: we show that two compounds with completely different chemical structure can selectively inhibit KDM5 enzymes and that both compounds are capable of increasing sensitivity of breast cancer cells to ionizing radiation and H2AX phosphorylation. Conclusions: These findings confirm the involvement of H3K4 specific demethylases in DNA damage signaling and repair and suggest new strategies for the therapeutic use of their inhibitors.

Milk serves as a crucial source of natural bioactive compounds essential for human nutrition and health. The gastrointestinal digestion of milk proteins releases various biologically active peptides that positively impact human health and enhance physiological performance. With the growing production of cheese, Greek yogurt, and other dairy products, the volume of unutilized acid whey is significantly increasing. Acid whey, containing almost all whey proteins and approximately one-quarter of casein, presents a valuable raw material for generating peptides with potential health benefits. These peptides exhibit properties such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic, antihypertensive, antithrombotic, opioid, mineral-binding, and growth-stimulating activities, contributing to improved human immunity and the treatment of chronic diseases. Enzymatic hydrolysis of milk proteins has been developed as a method to produce these peptides, facilitating their use in food fortification. To incorporate whey into functional beverages, it undergoes fermentation by lactic acid bacteria with proteolytic activity. To specifically enrich these beverages with peptides exhibiting targeted bioactivities, it is essential to select lactic acid bacteria strains possessing the requisite protease profiles. Additionally, the sensory properties of the final product can be enhanced using starter cultures with diverse metabolic capabilities, even in the absence of added flavoring agents. Given the imperative to develop waste-free technologies and enhance the profitability of the dairy industry, there is a growing need to efficiently utilize and transform acid whey into a broad spectrum of valuable products and food additives. This approach is justified not only by the nutritional benefits of the bioactive components in whey but also by the commercial potential of safe and health-enhancing products.

Endometrial cancer (EC) is the most frequent gynaecological malignancy. The ESGO/ESTRO/ESP 2020 guidelines identify prognostic groups based on morpho-molecular characteristics. This study aims to evaluate the clinical applicability of NGS analysis to define an appropriate risk class and application for a better diagnostic and prognostic stratification of ECs. Cases of serous carcinoma (OHEC), high (HGEC) and low (LGEC) grade endometrioid carcinoma diagnosed with the morphological and immunohistochemical (IHC) protocols were considered. After a standardized pre-analytical phase, the tumor DNA was semi-automatically extracted and analyzed by NGS with a panel of 14 genes. A total of 63 cases were considered. NGS analysis was successful in 60 cases; all of these were classified according to the new diagnostic algorithm. The molecular risk classification showed a good correlation with the morphological (k=0.8). The study showed that the protocols of the pre-analytical and analytical phases used are robust and can lead to molecular results that fall within the standards required for use in clinical practice for a more precise diagnostic-therapeutic management of patients. The implementation of the classification is particularly relevant for better prognostic stratification of HGECs. In addition, the identification of a suspicious VUS in POLE questions the classification of truncating variants.

The paper focuses on the application of a multilevel, integrative and territorial approach to the protection of cultural heritage through planning instruments in Serbia. It points out the problems of the sectoral approach and discusses international recommendations that can be integrated into the planning methodology. The case study is the area of Djerdap National Park, which has an already established international and national importance. The research suggests that the cultural heritage in the area, with the exception of the Roman limes, is still recognized at the level of individual localities. The study emphasizes the importance of aligning all levels of governance to safeguard the whole spatial entity rather than focusing solely on its particular areas. The interna-tional and national importance of the planning area contributes to the strengthening of awareness of heritage and its institutional protection. However, the vitality of the area, which is key to its sustainable development, comes from the local level. Planning documents contribute to the inte-gration of local values and local communities into development programs and projects.

In order to shorten the detection time and improve the average precision on embedded devices, A lightweight and high accuracy model is proposed for passion fruit in complex environments (backlight, occlusion, overlap, sunny, cloudy, rainy). Firstly, replacing the backbone network of YOLOv5 with a lightweight GhostNet model reduces the number of parameters and computation while improving detection speed. Secondly, a new feature branch is added to the GhostNet network, and the feature fusion layer in the neck network is reconstructed to effectively combine the lower-level and higher-level features, which not only improves the accuracy of the model but also maintains its lightweight. Finally, the knowledge distillation methods are used to transfer the knowledge from the more capable teacher model to the less capable student model, which significantly improving the detection accuracy. The improved model is denoted as G-YOLO-NK. The average accuracy of the G-YOLO-NK network is 96.00%, which is 1.00% higher than the original YOLOv5s model. Furthermore, the improved model size is 7.14MB, reduced to half of the original model, and the real-time detection frame rate is 11.25 FPS on the Jetson Nano. Compared to the state-of-the-art model, the proposed model outperforms them in terms of average precision and detection performance. The present work provides an effective model for real-time detection of passion fruits in complex orchard scenes, which can provide valuable technical support for the development of orchard picking robots and greatly improve the intelligence level of orchards.

The Simultaneous Localization And Mapping (SLAM) scanner is an easy and portable Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) data acquisition device. Its main output is a 3D point cloud covering the scanned scene. Regarding the importance of accuracy in the survey domain, this paper aims to assess the accuracy of two SLAM scanners: the NavVis VLX and the BLK2GO Scanner. This assessment is conducted for both outdoor and indoor environments. In this context, two types of reference data are used: the Total Station (TS) and the static scanner Z+F Imager 5016. To carry out the assessment, four comparisons are tested: cloud to cloud, cloud to mesh, mesh to mesh, and edge detection board assessment. However, the results of the assessments confirm that the accuracy of indoor SLAM scanner measurements (5 mm) is greater than that of outdoor ones (between 10 mm and 60 mm). Moreover, the comparison of cloud to cloud provides the best accuracy regarding direct accuracy measurement without manipulations. Finally, based on the high accuracy, scanning speed, flexibility, and the accuracy differences between tested cases, it is confirmed that SLAM scanners are effective tools for data acquisition.

The impact of interaction SS with MJO on rainfall along Java Island to East Nusa Tenggara has been studied using daily rainfall observation data from 2140 weather observation stations, which are also equipped with GSMaP, OLR, and ERA5 data. There were 61 SS events found, 17 during active MJO and 44 in inactive MJO. Rainfall increases more in the western study area when the active MJO and more in the eastern study area when the inactive MJO is due to SS. SS reduces rainfall in the Jakarta region, regardless of the activity or inactivity of the MJO. SS causes extreme rainfall to only occur in a small part of certain areas, so it tends to significantly reduce the possibility of extreme rainfall. In the southern part of the IMC, SS predominates over MJO in supporting increased water vapor transport. Large-scale synoptic circulations like the monsoon, SS, and MJO can interact with local land-sea wind circulation to produce spatiotemporal variability in rainfall on Java Island. Rainfall mostly increases in the afternoon and decreases in the morning when SS occurs, whether there is MJO or not. Convective instability analysis indicates that SS increases precipitation, most likely by lowering CIN and raising VIMFC.

Glycosidic linkage analysis was conducted on the unfractionated polysaccharides in the alcohol-insoluble residues (AIRs) prepared from six red seaweeds (Gracilariopsis sp., Prionitis sp., Mastocarpus papillatus, Callophyllis sp., Mazzaella splendens, and Palmaria palmata) using GC-MS/FID analysis of partially methylated alditol acetates (PMAAs). The cell walls of P. palmata primarily contained mixed-linkage xylans and small amounts of sulfated galactans and cellulose. In contrast, the unfractionated polysaccharides of the other five species were rich in galactans displaying diverse 3,6-anhydro-galactose and galactose linkages with varied sulfation patterns. Different levels of cellulose were also observed. This glycosidic linkage method offers advantages for cellulose analysis over traditional monosaccharide analysis that is known for underrepresenting glucose in crystalline cellulose. Relative linkage compositions calculated from GC-MS and GC-FID measurements showed that anhydro sugar linkages generated more response in the latter detection method. This improved linkage workflow presents a useful tool for studying polysaccharide structural variations across red seaweed species. Furthermore, for the first time, relative linkage compositions from GC-MS and GC-FID measurements, along with normalized FID and total ion current (TIC) chromatograms without peak assignments, were analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA) as a proof-of-concept demonstration of the technique's potential to differentiate various red seaweed species.

Background: Educating college students about the importance of good sleep habits could lead to the adoption of healthier sleep routines, including sufficient sleep duration and sleep quality. The current pre-post study examines the impact of completing a sleep education program called “Sleep 101” on (1) sleep hygiene practices, (2) sleep quality, and (3) weekday and weekend sleep behaviors among college students. “Sleep 101” is an interactive online course developed to educate college students about the importance of sleep by addressing basic sleep physiology, the impact of sleep on mood, academic and physical performance, the interactions between sleep and various substances, and common sleep disorders. Methods: 338 college students were recruited from a midsized public university in the US and invited to participate in “Sleep 101”, of which 25 participants completed the baseline and post-intervention questionnaire. The Sleep Hygiene Index (SHI) was utilized to evaluate sleep hygiene practices, while standard questions were employed to assess weekday and weekend sleep behaviors and overall sleep quality. Results: Those who completed the study demonstrated a significant increase in weekday sleep duration and were less likely to engage in negative prior bedtime activities. In addition, 40% of those who completed baseline and post-intervention assessments noticed improvements in their sleep quality. Conclusion: These findings suggest that a brief online program is beneficial in improving sleep behaviors among college and could be a scalable approach to addressing current sleep issues and preventing future sleep problems in college students.

The profile of secondary metabolites occurring in apple cuticular layer is not only characteristic for particular apple cultivar, but also dynamically reflects various external factors in growing environment. In this study, the possibility to authenticate apple samples based on analysis of their cuticular layer extracts was investigated. Ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS/MS) was employed for obtaining metabolomic fingerprints. In total, 274 authentic apple samples, four cultivars harvested within the seasons 2020 to 2022 in the Czech Republic and Poland were analysed. The generated complex data processed by univariate and multivariate statistical methods enabled to build classification models for discrimination of apple cultivars as well as their geographical origin. The models showed very good performance in differentiation of Czech and Polish samples for three of four cultivars: ‘Gala’, ‘Golden Delicious’ and ‘Idared’, moreover, the validity of the models was verified over harvest seasons. The diagnostic markers, besides metabolites of triterpene biosynthetic pathway, mainly represented wax esters. ‘Jonagold’, which is known to be susceptible to mutations, was the only cultivar for which the unambiguous classification of geographical origin was not possible.

Superior fiber quality is one of the most important objectives in cotton breeding. To detect the genetic basis underlying fiber quality, an F2 population containing 413 plants was constructed by crossing Jifeng 914 and Jifeng 173, both of which have superior fiber quality, with Jifeng 173 being better. Five fiber quality traits were investigated in the F2, F2:3, F2:4, and F2:5 populations. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping was conducted based on a high-density genetic map containing 11,488 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and spanning 4,202.12 cM in length. Transgressive segregation patterns and complex correlations in the five tested traits were observed. A total of 108 QTLs were found, including 27 for fiber length (FL), 16 for fiber strength (FS), 24 for micronaire (MC), 17 for fiber uniformity (FU), and 24 for fiber elongation rate (FE). Chromosome A7 contained 12 QTL, ranking the first. No QTL was found on chromosome D1 and D11. Each QTL contributed 1.98%–21.45% to the phenotypic variation (PV), including 13 major effect QTLs that contributed more than 10% toward PV. Two QTLs could be repeatedly detected in three populations, including qFL-D3-2 in F2, F2:4, and F2:5 with 9.18%–21.45% of PV, qFS-A11-1 in F2:3, F2:4 and F2:5 with 6.05%–10.41% of PV. Another seven stable QTLs could be detected in two populations, including four major effect QTLs: qFL-A12-3, qFS-D10-2, qMC-D6-2, and qMC-D8-1. Fourteen QTL-overlapping regions were found, which might explain the complex correlations among the five phenotypic traits. Four regions on chromosome A11, D3, D6, and D10 covered by both stable and major effect QTLs are promising for further fine mapping. The genomic regions of the two QTLs detected in three populations and the four major effect QTLs contain 810 genes. Gene functional analysis revealed that the annotated genes are mainly involved in protein binding and metabolic pathways. Fifteen candidate genes in the qFL-D3-2 region are highly expressed in fiber or ovules during fiber initiation, elongation, secondary cell wall thickening, or maturation stages. qRT-PCR revealed that Ghir_D03G005440.1 and Ghir_D03G011310.1 may play a role in promoting fiber initiation, Ghir_D03G006470.1 may be beneficial for promoting fiber elongation. This study provides more information for revealing the molecular genetic basis underlying cotton fiber quality.

Currently there are fewer depth models applied to pepper picking detection, while the existing generalized neural networks have problems such as large model parameters, long training time, and low model accuracy.In order to solve the above problems, this paper proposes a Yolo-chili target detection algorithm for chili pepper detection. First, the classical target detection algorithm yolov5 is used as a benchmark model, and an adaptive spatial feature pyramid structure combining the attention mechanism and the idea of multi-scale prediction is introduced to improve the model's detection effect on occluded peppers and small target peppers. Secondly, a three-channel attention mechanism module is introduced to improve the algorithm's long-distance recognition ability and reduce the interference of redundant testers. Finally, the quantized pruning method is used to reduce the model parameters and realize the lightweight processing of the model. Applying the method to the homemade chili pepper dataset, the AP value of chili pepper reaches 93.11%; the accuracy rate is 93.51% and the recall rate is 92.55%.The experimental results show that yolo-chili is able to achieve accurate and real-time pepper detection under complex orchards.

The temporary immersion system bioreactor named GreenTray®[2], [3]presents advantages over the existing ones. Firstly, there is no need to use forceps to move the shoots or plantlets in or out of the recipient, neither the use of scalpel to divide them. Secondly, the basis of the shoot can remain in the GreenTray® and can sprout again in several cycles of growth. These two characteristics reduce the costs in the process of micropropagation. Besides, shoots or plantlets development is enhanced by the aeration of the recipient, thus enriching with CO2 the recipient atmosphere. The chapter describes and provides images and values of interest in (1) the micropropagation process of some commercial Prunus or Pyrus rootstocks; (2) the plantlet growth under autotrophic conditions; and (2) the inoculation of plants with pathogens that reproduce in vitro the symptoms observed in vivo, using the GreenTray® bioreactor.

Aiming at the problems of inaccurate segmentation of long object and information loss of small object in real-time semantic segmentation algorithm, this paper proposes a lightweight multi-branch real-time semantic segmentation network based on BiseNetV2. The new auxiliary branch makes full use of spatial details and context information to cover the long object in the field of view. Meanwhile, in order to ensure the inference speed of the model, the asymmetric convolution is used in each stage of the auxiliary branch to design a structure with low computational complexity. In the multi-branch fusion stage, the alignment and fusion module is designed to provide guidance information for deep and shallow feature mapping, so as to make up for the problem of feature misalignment in the fusion of information at different scales, and thus reduce the loss of small target information. In order to further improve the model’s awareness of key information, a global context module is designed to capture the most important features in the input data. The proposed network uses NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU experiment, on the road street view data set Cityscapes and CamVid average occurring simultaneously ratio reached 77.1% and 78.4% respectively, with running speed of 127 frames/s respectively and 112 frames/s. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can achieve real-time segmentation and improve the accuracy significantly, showing good semantic segmentation performance

In this paper we study a class of impulsive delayed neural networks with parameter uncertainties and reaction-diffusion terms. Using the properties of M-matrices and some inequality techniques, some sufficient conditions are derived to guarantee the global exponential stability of the given system. The results obtained are presented by simple algebraic inequalities, which are certainly more concise than previous methods. Finally, the validity and usefulness of our results are illustrated by arithmetic examples.

Strawberry root rot caused by Neopestalotiopsis clavispora is one of the main diseases of strawberry and significantly impacts the yield and quality of strawberry fruit. There are now no effective control techniques available except for fungicide sprays, which may directly impact consumers. Biological control is becoming an alternative method for the control of plant diseases to replace or decrease the application of traditional synthetic chemical fungicides. Trichoderma is widely used as a biological agent for controlling strawberry root rot. In order to provide resources for screening the highly effective biocontrol fungus for controlling strawberry root rot caused by Neopestalotiopsis clavispora, the biocontrol mechanism,the control effects of Trichoderma asperellum CMT10 against strawberry root rot and growth-promoting effects on strawberry seedlings were investigated by plate culture, microscopy observation and root drenching methods.The results showed that CMT10 had obvious competitive, antibiotic and hyperparasitism effects on Neopestalotiopsis clavispora CMGF3. The CMT10 could quickly occupy nutritional space, and the inhibition rates of CMT10 against CMGF3 in confrontation culture on 7 d was 65.49%. The inhibition rates of volatile metabolite and fermentation metabolite produced by CMT10 against CMGF3 were 79.67% and 69.84%, respectively. The mycelium of strain CMT10 can act as hyperparasites by making contacting, winding and penetrating hyphae of CMGF3. Pot experiment showed that the biocontrol efficacy of CMT10 on strawberry root rot caused by Neopestalotiopsis clavispora was 63.00%. CMT10 had obvious promotion effect on strawberry growth, the plant height, root length, total fresh weight, root fresh weight, stem fresh weight and root dry weight, with the promotion rates were 20.09%, 22.39%, 87.11%, 101.58%, 79.82% and 72.33%, respectively. Overall, this study showed the ability of Trichoderma asperellum CMT10 to control strawberry root rot and their potential to develop as novel biocontrol agents to replace chemical fungicides for eco-friendly, sustainable agriculture.

Pyrops candelaria is one of the common pests of fruit trees, but the research on the pathogenic microorganisms it may carry is very limited. Therefore, it is essential to reveal the pathogenic microbes it carries and their potential hazards. This study found a new virus from the transcriptome of P. candelaria, which was first reported in P. candelaria and named as PyCaV (Pyrops candelaria associated virus). RACE and bioinformatics assay revealed that the full-length of PyCaV is 10855 bp with the polyA tail, containing a single open reading frame (ORF) encoding a polyprotein consisting of 3171 amino acid (aa). The virus has a typical Iflavirus structure, including two rhv domains, a RNA helicase domain (HEL), a 3C cysteine protease domain (Pro), and a RNA-dependent RNA polymerase domain (RdRp). Further phylogenetic analysis revealed that this virus belongs to family Iflaviridae and sequence alignements analysis suggedted PyCaV is new member in unassigned genus of family Iflaviridae. Further in-depth analysis of virus-infection-part showed that PyCaV is distributing in the whole longan lanternfly, including its head, chest, and abdomen, but more PyCaV was identified in the chest. The distribution of PyCaV in different parts of P. candelaria was further explored, which showed that more PyCaV were detected in its piercing-sucking mouthparts and chest viscera. Statistical analysis showed that the PyCaV infection was affected by time and locations.

With the burgeoning growth of online retail, the issue of counterfeit products has become a significant threat to both consumer trust and brand integrity, posing challenges to sustainable market practices. Online retail platforms are promoted to redesign their channel structures and enhance brand traceability to tackle counterfeits using blockchain technology. To investigate the interactions between blockchain technology and the channel structures of online retail platforms, we design a game theory model incorporating a manufacturer with(out) blockchain participation selling products via an online retail platform that operates an agency channel and/or a reselling channel. We show that the critical trade-off of blockchain participation comprises the brand assurance effect of the blockchain, the channel competition intensification effect, and the blockchain adoption cost. The platform is capable of strategically designing the channel structure to encourage (while discouraging) blockchain participation by the manufacturer. Our analysis highlights the complementarity between blockchain participation and the channel structure. Furthermore, the effect of the consumer’s belief in the reselling channel, the commission fee in the agency channel, and the substitutability between channels are investigated in depth. The research provides valuable insights for online retail platforms and policymakers seeking to foster a sustainable and trustworthy e-commerce ecosystem.

Apis mellifera, especially weak ones, are highly vulnerable to Carpoglyphus lactis mites, which can rapidly infest and consume stored pollen, leading to weakened colonies and potentially colony collapse. This study aimed to ascertain and investigate the prevalence of this mite in honeybee colonies across 9 provinces in the Republic of Korea (ROK). A total of 615 honeybee colonies were collected, from 66 apiaries during the spring and 58 apiaries during the summer of 2023. A 1,242 bp segment of the the Cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene was amplified using the polymerase chain reaction method. The detection levels of C. lactis in the honeybees were compared between winter and summer. Based on the COI sequence analysis, the nucleotide sequence similarity of C. lactis mites isolated in the ROK with those from China (NC048990.1) was found to be 99.5%, and with those from the United Kingdom (KY922482.1) was 99.3%. This study is the first report of C. lactis in Korean apiaries. The findings in this study demonstrate a significantly higher detection rate in winter, which is 4.1 times greater than that in summer (p &lt; 0.001). Furthermore, the results underscore the usefulness of molecular diagnostic techniques for detecting C. lactis mites.

COX II containing a dual core CuA active site is one of the three core subunits of mitochondrial Cco, which plays a significant role in the physiological process. In this report, the full-length cDNA of COXⅡ gene was cloned from Sitophilus zeamais, which had an ORF of 684 bp encoding 227 amino acids residues. The predicted COXⅡ protein had a molecular mass of 26.2 kDa with pI value of 6.37, and multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis indicated that Sitophilus zeamais COXⅡ had high sequence identity 78.51% with the COXⅡ of other insect species, especially similarity to sitophilus oryzae. This gene was subcloned into the prokaryotic expression vector pET-32a, and induced by IPTG in E.coli Transetta (DE3) expression system. Finally the COXⅡ with 6-His tag was purified using affinity chromatography with Ni²⁺-NTA agarose. WB showed the recombinant COXⅡ was about 44 kD, and the concentration of fusion protein was 50μg/mL. UV-spectrophotometer and infrared spectrometer analysis showed that recombinant COXⅡ could catalyze the oxidation of substrate Cytc, and influenced by AITC. It was found that AITC could form a hydrophobic region with COXⅡ protein via molecular docking, besides, a sulfur atom of AITC structure could form a length of 2.9 Å hydrogen bond with Leu-31. These results will provide valuable information for elucidating the role of COXⅡ in Sitophilus zeamais responses to AITC, meanwhile, it will helpful to carry out a point mutation in AITC binding sites for the future research.

The properties of the annual, semiannual and triennial oscillations (AO, SAO and TO) in the middle atmosphere have been investigated using the TIMED/SABER temperature data. The Lomb-Scargle and wavelet spectra were used to determine the dominant oscillations in the background temperature field. The AO is prominent at the mid-latitudes. The AO amplitudes present an asymmetry between the two Hemispheres, being larger in the mesosphere than in the stratosphere. The SAO dominates the tropical regions, with three amplitude maxima at altitudes of 45, 75, and 85 km. The SAOs in the upper mesosphere (75 km) are out of phase with those in the mesopause (85 km) in the tropical regions, which can generate an enhancement of 11 K at each equinox, contributing to the lower mesospheric inversion layer. The TO is significant in the tropical region, with amplitude being maximum at 35, 45 and 85 km. Result shows that there may be potential interaction by the TO with SAO at 85km at the equator. The relation between ENSO and TO has also been discussed. The ENSO signal may modulate the amplitude of the TO, mainly in the lower stratosphere. The real origin of the TO may lie in the wave-mean-flow interaction.

The paper describes the new method for image compression based on coordinated group signal transformation. The algorithm is a type of difference coding. Coordinated processing significantly simplifies the difference signal conversion scheme using a single group codec for all signals. The described method considers color channels as correlated signals of a multi-channel communication system. The specifics of the processed data required modification of the coordinated group processing algorithm. First, we changed how to calculate the difference signals to prevent data loss. Secondly, the group codec was supplemented with a neural network to improve the quality of reconstructed images. We considered the following types of neural networks: fully connected, recurrent, convolution, and convolution in the Fourier space. Based on the simulation results, it is best to use fully connected neural networks if the goal is to minimize processing delay time. These networks have a response time of 13 ms. On the other hand, if the priority is to improve quality in cases where delays are not critical, then convolution neural networks in the Fourier space should be used. These networks have a response time of 140 ms and are of significant interest.