University of Udine
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Advancing leptomeningeal metastases treatment in EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer: lessons from the BLOSSOM trial
Get PDFBacterial and Fungal Communities Respond Differently to Changing Soil Properties Along Afforestation Dynamic
Get PDFSpontaneous afforestation following land abandonment has been increasingly recognized as a nature-based solution to mitigate climate change and provide measurable benefits to biodiversity. However, afforestation effects on biodiversity, particularly on soil microbial communities, are still poorly characterized, with most previous studies focusing on artificial plantations rather than forest rewilding dynamics. Here, we assessed changes in topsoil physical-chemical properties and related dynamics of bacterial and fungal community composition and structure following spontaneous afforestation of abandoned grasslands in Northeast Italy over the last 70 years. With a space-for-time approach, we selected four chronosequences representing different successional stages: grassland, early (2000-2020), intermediate (1978-2000), and late (1954-1978). Results showed that spontaneous afforestation progressively reduced topsoil pH and total phosphorus (P), while soil organic carbon (SOC), nitrogen (N), and C:N ratio increased. Correspondingly, the overall α-diversity of the fungal community, assessed by ITS DNA metabarcoding, progressively decreased after an initial increase from grassland conditions, following substrate acidification and trophic specialization. Bacterial diversity, assessed by 16S DNA metabarcoding, was highest at the initial stages, then progressively decreased at later stages, likely limited by lower organic matter quality. Shifts of fungal community composition included an increase of ectomycorrhizal Basidiomycota linked to topsoil's higher SOC, N, and C:N ratio. Differently, bacterial community composition responded substantially to pH, with topsoil acidity favoring Proteobacteria (Pseudomonadota) and Acidobacteria (Acidobacteriota) at the late afforestation stages. Our findings provide a first contribution to clarify how fungi and bacteria respond to spontaneous afforestation. This is particularly relevant in the context of climate change mitigation, considering the fundamental role of microorganisms in shaping soil carbon storage dynamics
The Italian-English code commutation. The case of a non-native speaker in the (semi)dialogue of youtube
No full textMulti-modal Analysis of Bi-Parametric MRI Slices for Lesion Detection in Prostate Cancer Screening
Get PDFProstate cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men, with early detection playing a critical role in improving patient outcomes. While deep learning has significantly advanced prostate cancer detection in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), most existing models depend on full 3D scans, posing challenges for real-time deployment in clinical practice. Our work addresses this problem by leveraging a slice-based approach that balances accuracy with efficiency, ensuring scalability for real-world applications. We present a dual-branch, multi-modal deep learning framework focusing on individual bi-parametric MRI slices to detect clinically significant prostate cancer areas (csPCa). The proposed approach combines pixel-level segmentation via UNet++ and instance-level classification using EfficientNet to enhance lesion localization and reduce false positives. We evaluated our framework on the PI-CAI (Prostate Imaging: Cancer AI) dataset, achieving perforamances that outperform other 2D segmentation models. The study highlights the feasibility of slice-based MRI analysis for prostate cancer screening in resource-limited clinical settings, highlight the potential of this approach as a clinical decision support tool, reducing interpretation burden and aiding radiologists in prostate cancer screening
Donor Heart Preservation for Heart Transplantation: Single-Center Experience with Three Different Techniques
Get PDFObjectives: In addition to traditional ice-cold storage (ICS), other techniques are emerging in the field of donor heart preservation for heart transplantation (HTx). However, in many centers, it could be difficult to justify their use, due to the higher costs and the greater technical complexity compared to ICS. This study aims to analyze the results obtained for HTx at our center employing ICS, controlled hypothermia with Paragonix SherpaPak (PSP), and ex vivo normothermic perfusion with Organ Care System (OCS) as donor graft preservation strategies. Methods: All HTx performed at the University Hospital of Udine, between January 2020 and August 2024, was analyzed and patient outcomes and complications after HTx were assessed. Endomyocardial biopsies were performed in donor hearts immediately after retrieval (T0), before implantation (T1), and at reperfusion (T2) to evaluate signs of myocardial damage. Results: Overall, 100 patients were transplanted with a donor heart preserved with ICS (n = 30), PSP (n = 36), or OCS (n = 34). Compared to ICS, PSP and OCS recipients showed a higher median IMPACT score (5 vs. 8 vs. 7, respectively, p = 0.05) and tended to have a higher rate of bridging to HTx with a long-term ventricular assist device (7% vs. 17% vs. 29%, p = 0.06). OCS was more commonly used in cases of expected ischemic time >4 h compared to ICS and PSP (p < 0.01). Histologically, severe degrees of cellular damage were higher in those hearts preserved with ICS. The 30-day mortality was 3% vs. 6% vs. 9% in ICS, PSP, and OCS groups, respectively (p = 0.65). Moderate-to-severe primary graft dysfunction was 37% vs. 11% vs. 17% (p = 0.03) in the three groups. Conclusions: PSP and OCS seem to be valid alternatives to traditional ICS, and their use could be strongly considered, particularly in the most complex and critical settings, until further data are available on more patient experiences
Posttransplant cyclophosphamide as GVHD prophylaxis in patients receiving mismatched unrelated HCT: the PHYLOS trial
Get PDFPosttransplant high-dose cyclophosphamide (PTCy) is effective in overcoming the negative impact of HLA disparity in the haploidentical setting. In light of these results, we investigated the efficacy of PTCy, in improving clinical outcomes of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) from a mismatched unrelated donor (MMUD) in patients with acute myeloid malignancies by reducing the incidence and severity of acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD). A prospective, single-arm, phase 2 study (PHYLOS) was conducted by the Gruppo Italiano Trapianto di Midollo Osseo. The ethical committees of the participating centers approved the study (EURODRACT 2017-003530-85). A total of 77 consecutive patients (acute myeloid leukemia: 64; myelodysplastic syndrome: 13) were enrolled at 26 Italian transplant centers (January 2020-November 2022). Median age of the patients was 53 (range, 19-65) years. The 100-day cumulative incidence of grades 2 to 4 aGVHD was 18.2% (95% CI, 10.6-27.6) and of grades 3 to 4 was 6.5% (95% CI, 3.1-15.1). Seventy-one patients (92%) had full-donor chimerism with complete neutrophil engraftment by day +30. One-year cumulative incidence of chronic GVHD was 13.4% (95% CI, 6.9-22.1). One-year cumulative incidence of nonrelapse mortality was 9.1% (95% CI, 4.0-16.9), and the relapse rate was 23.8% (95% CI, 14.9-33.9). One-year overall survival and graft relapse-free survival were 78.6% (95% CI, 67.4-86.3) and 55.3% (95% CI, 43.4-65.7), respectively. Our study in a homogeneous patient cohort suggests that PTCy leads to a low rate of aGVHD and improves clinical outcomes of HSCT from MMUD. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT03270748
Il reato di clandestinità e il processo penale: analisi delle sentenze depositate dal giudice di pace di Trieste nel triennio 2020-2022
Get PDFIl presente lavoro si pone l’obiettivo di analizzare l’impatto che l’introduzione del c.d. reato di clandestinità, disciplinato dall’art. 10bis, d.lgs. 286/1998, ha avuto sul nostro ordinamento.
Viene in primo luogo analizzata la fattispecie di reato, con un focus particolare sulla compatibilità della disposizione con la Costituzione e con la normativa sovranazionale, nonché sulle critiche fin da subito manifestate da dottrina, giurisprudenza e società civile circa la sua introduzione nel sistema.
Successivamente, una parte importante del lavoro è dedicata allo studio del Giudice di pace, autorità giudiziaria munita di competenza per il reato di clandestinità. L’accento viene posto soprattutto sulle caratteristiche proprie di questa figura di magistrato onorario, introdotta dal legislatore anche con il fine di sperimentare nel nostro ordinamento un sistema penale “dal volto mite” rivolto più alla riconciliazione dei soggetti coinvolti che alla punizione del colpevole.
Infine, viene condotta un’analisi “sul campo” presso gli Uffici del Giudice di pace di Trieste, che per la loro collocazione geografica sono stati particolarmente colpiti dall’introduzione del reato in esame. Gli aspetti considerati nello studio delle sentenze depositate nel triennio 2020-2022 riguardano la percentuale di processi celebrati per violazione dell’art. 10bis, d.lgs. 286/1998, rispetto al totale; gli esiti degli stessi e il mutamento di orientamento nel corso del triennio; i costi sostenuti dallo Stato per la loro celebrazione; la compatibilità di quest’ultimi con l’istituto dell’assenza, così come disciplinata dalla l. 67/2014. Un ultimo aspetto considerato riguarda l’impatto che la riforma Cartabia avrà su questa tipologia di procedimenti.This study aims to analyze the impact of the introduction of the crime of illegal immigration (Article 10bis, Legislative Decree 286/1998) on the Italian legal system.
The first part of this study delves into the crime itself, with emphasis on the compatibility of the relevant provision with both the Italian Constitution and supranational legislation. The same chapter also ecamines the criticism that Italian law scholars, judges and civil society have leveled against the provision ever since its enactment.
The second chapter focuses on the Justice of the peace, i.e. the judicial authority with jurisdiction over the crime of illegal immigration. This honorary judge was introduced in the Italian legal system with the aim of experimenting a new system of criminal law, focused more on the reconciliation of the parties involved than on the punishment of the offender.
The last chapter reports a series of data collected in the Justice of the Peace Department in Trieste. Given the geographical location of the city, the Department has been particularly affected by the introduction of the crime of illegal immigration.
The aspects considered in the study of the judgments handed down in the three-year period 2020-2022 concern the percentage of trials held in cases of violation of Article 10bis, Legislative Decree 286/1998 ; their outcomes; the change in orientation during the analyzed period; the costs incurred by the State for holding them; their compatibility with the “absence” regimen under Law 67/2014 . The last part of the study focuses o n the impact that the so-called Cartabia reform will have on this type of proceedings
Aldo Leopold and us: Person deixis as a rhetorical strategy in Barbara Kingsolver’s introduction to A Sand County almanac
Get PDFThis paper focuses on the use of person deixis in the framing of a new edition of Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County almanac: And sketches here and there (1949). This celebrated non-fiction work, considered one of the most important books on ecology and environmentalism ever written, has been published in many editions in 15 languages, with more than two million copies printed. The recent 2020 OUP edition is particularly interesting from a pragmatic point of view, for the way it is targeted to a new generation of readers thanks to an introduction by the author Barbara Kingsolver. Here, deixis is effectively employed to overcome what Kingsolver calls the “full-metal culture war” between conservationists and conservatives. Her ecumenical use of several varieties of the “inclusive we” (Yule, 1996, p. 11) may be considered part of a strategic manoeuvring aimed to create “communion” (van Eemeren & Houtlosser, 1999, p. 485) between the two opposing parties, while at the same time averting a risk of cancellation that Kingsolver perceives in “the heat of modern culture wars”
Search for Continuous Gravitational Waves from Known Pulsars in the First Part of the Fourth LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Observing Run
Get PDFContinuous gravitational waves (CWs) emission from neutron stars carries information about their internal structure and equation of state, and it can provide tests of general relativity. We present a search for CWs from a set of 45 known pulsars in the first part of the fourth LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA observing run, known as O4a. We conducted a targeted search for each pulsar using three independent analysis methods considering single-harmonic and dual-harmonic emission models. We find no evidence of a CW signal in O4a data for both models and set upper limits on the signal amplitude and on the ellipticity, which quantifies the asymmetry in the neutron star mass distribution. For the single-harmonic emission model, 29 targets have the upper limit on the amplitude below the theoretical spin-down limit. The lowest upper limit on the amplitude is 6.4 × 10-27 for the young energetic pulsar J0537-6910, while the lowest constraint on the ellipticity is 8.8 × 10-9 for the bright nearby millisecond pulsar J0437-4715. Additionally, for a subset of 16 targets, we performed a narrowband search that is more robust regarding the emission model, with no evidence of a signal. We also found no evidence of nonstandard polarizations as predicted by the Brans-Dicke theory