Archivio istituzionale della ricerca - Università dell'Insubria
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Vitamin E TPGS-emulsified poly-ε-caprolactone nanoparticles increase curcumin in vitro cytotoxic effect and inhibitory metastatic characteristics in prostate cancer cells
No full textIrritable Bowel Syndrome with Diarrhea (IBS-D): Effects of Clostridium butyricum CBM588 Probiotic on Gastrointestinal Symptoms, Quality of Life, and Gut Microbiota in a Prospective Real-Life Interventional Study
Full text linkDiarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) is a functional gastrointestinal disorder characterized by altered motility, abdominal pain, and dysbiosisparticularly reduced biodiversity and a lower abundance of butyrate-producing bacteria. Strategies that modulate the gut microbiota may offer therapeutic benefit. Clostridium butyricum (C. butyricum) CBM588 is a butyrate-producing probiotic with immunomodulatory properties and potential efficacy in treating gastrointestinal disorders. This pragmatic, prospective, open-label, single-arm interventional study assessed the clinical, microbial, and safety-related effects of an 8-week CBM588 supplementation, along with a low-fiber and low-residue diet, in 205 patients with IBS-D who attended Quisisana Nursing Home Hospital, Rome, Italy, between November 2024 and February 2025. The primary outcomes included the global symptom response, the Bristol Stool Scale (BSS), stool frequency, diarrhea episodes, abdominal pain (severity and frequency), bloating, bowel dissatisfaction, quality of life (QoL), safety, and treatment tolerability—measured using the IBS Symptom Severity Scale (IBS-SSS) and a standardized tolerability scale. CBM588, in patients treated with a low-fiber and low-residue diet, significantly improved all clinical endpoints, with a >80% reduction in diarrhea episodes; ~60% reductions in stool frequency and abdominal pain; and >50% improvements in bloating, bowel dissatisfaction, and QoL. Treatment was well tolerated (mean tolerability score 8.95 ± 0.88), with >95% adherence, and no serious adverse events were reported. The secondary outcomes included changes in gut microbiota.
In a subset of patients, 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed increased α-diversity andenrichment of butyrate-producing genera (Agathobacter, Butyricicoccus, Coprococcus), which correlated with symptom improvement. Bloating increased in some patients, possibly related to fermentation activity. These findings support the C. butyricum CBM588 probiotic strain as a safe, well-tolerated, and microbiota-targeted intervention for IBS-D. Randomized controlled trials are warranted to confirm efficacy
Empowering Development. Strategies and Projects for Sustainable Waste Management in the Majority World
Full text linkLa gestione dei rifiuti solidi rappresenta una sfida ambientale e sociale cruciale, soprattutto nei paesi a basso e medio reddito. La crescita economica è legata al consumo di risorse e alla generazione di rifiuti, con le economie in rapida espansione che registrano un forte aumento della produzione di rifiuti solidi urbani (MSW). Queste regioni spesso affrontano difficoltà nel gestire i rifiuti, con conseguente degrado ambientale e rischi per la salute. Per affrontare tali sfide, sono necessarie strategie innovative e sostenibili adattate alle specifiche esigenze del "Majority World".
Lo studio si concentra sul sistema di gestione dei rifiuti in Uganda, un paese rappresentativo dell'Africa subsahariana. Tra i principali problemi individuati figurano bassi tassi di raccolta, smaltimento scorretto e riciclaggio spinto da condizioni di povertà, che ostacolano il raggiungimento degli Obiettivi di Sviluppo Sostenibile (SDGs). In questo contesto, le priorità includono il miglioramento della raccolta, la costruzione di discariche controllate, condizioni di lavoro più sicure per i lavoratori informali, l'eliminazione del lavoro minorile e la promozione di energia pulita e imprenditorialità locale nel riciclaggio.
La ricerca analizza soluzioni sostenibili utilizzando metodi come analisi dei flussi di materiali, valutazioni ambientali (LCA), analisi sociali e analisi di governance. Lo studio si focalizza sulla municipalità di Gulu e sul St. Mary’s Lacor Hospital, evidenziando che il sistema ospedaliero, grazie a risorse finanziarie e competenze gestionali adeguate, può rappresentare un modello per iniziative di riciclaggio e tecnologie sostenibili. A Gulu, un'adeguata gestione dei rifiuti entro il 2030 potrebbe evitare circa 17,000 tonnellate di emissioni di CO2-eq all'anno tra il 2030 e il 2050.
In Uganda, i rifiuti organici costituiscono la maggior parte dei rifiuti urbani e vengono spesso smaltiti in discariche a cielo aperto, causando emissioni nocive. La gestione efficace dei rifiuti organici è cruciale, poiché il 20% delle emissioni antropogeniche di metano proviene dalla decomposizione anaerobica. Lo studio esamina la fattibilità di impianti di compostaggio e digestione anaerobica per trattare i rifiuti organici al Lacor Hospital. Sebbene la digestione anaerobica offra vantaggi ambientali, il compostaggio su piccola scala risulta più sostenibile dal punto di vista economico e gestionale nei contesti con risorse limitate.
Un impianto pilota di compostaggio al Lacor Hospital è stato quindi dimensionato ed implementato, trattando circa 45 tonnellate di rifiuti organici all'anno, producendo 22 tonnellate di compost e riducendo l’impatto ambientale del 97% rispetto allo smaltimento tradizionale in discarica. Lo studio dimostra come tale approccio riduca significativamente il potenziale di riscaldamento globale, promuovendo anche comportamenti di riciclo collettivi.
Infine, un caso studio sulle isole Pelagie (Italia) mostra come l'efficacia di progetti innovativi sia altamente dipendente dal contesto in cui gli stessi sono implementati. In questo caso, il trattamento locale dei rifiuti organici ha portato a una riduzione di oltre 1,100 tonnellate di emissioni di CO2-eq all'anno e risparmi economici di oltre 250,000.0 euro grazie all'eliminazione dei costi di trasporto e smaltimento.
Le attività al Lacor Hospital hanno prodotto un quadro strategico replicabile per la gestione sostenibile dei rifiuti, compreso un nuovo sistema di raccolta differenziata, un impianto pilota di compostaggio e progetti pronti per essere finanziati e implementati. I risultati offrono dati preziosi per progettare impianti e scalare soluzioni sostenibili nei contesti a basso reddito.Solid waste management (SWM) is a critical environmental and social challenge, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Economic growth drives increased resource consumption and waste generation, with rapidly expanding economies struggling to manage the resulting waste effectively. This leads to environmental degradation and health risks, highlighting the need for sustainable and innovative strategies tailored to the needs of developing regions.
The study focuses on Uganda’s SWM system, analyzing circular strategies implemented over the past decade. Key challenges include low waste collection rates, unsafe disposal practices, and poverty-driven informal recycling, all of which hinder progress toward Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Prioritized actions include improving waste collection, constructing sanitary landfills, creating safer conditions for informal workers, eliminating child labor, promoting access to clean energy, and fostering local entrepreneurship in recycling.
The research explores sustainable SWM solutions using material flow analysis, environmental analysis, social surveys, and governance analysis, focusing on Gulu municipality and St. Mary’s Lacor Hospital in Uganda. While Gulu faces financial constraints that hamper effective waste management, the hospital’s system demonstrates financial and managerial efficiency, supporting recycling initiatives and sustainable practices. By adopting improved waste management, Gulu could avoid approximately 17,000 metric tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions annually between 2030 and 2050.
Organic waste dominates Uganda’s municipal solid waste (MSW) and is often disposed of in open dumps, contributing to harmful methane emissions. The study evaluates anaerobic digestion (AD) and composting as methods for managing the organic fraction of MSW (OFMSW) at Lacor Hospital. Economic and environmental analyses indicate that while AD has advantages, small-scale composting is more viable in resource-constrained settings serving around 3,000 people, as it ensures economic and management sustainability.
The research includes the construction and operation of a pilot composting plant at Lacor Hospital, processing 45 tonnes of organic waste annually and reducing environmental impacts by 97% compared to open dumping. This method also lowers the global warming potential (GWP) by 14 times. Waste collection infrastructure was introduced to encourage recycling behaviors, and temperature monitoring ensured effective composting.
A comparative case study from the Pelagian Archipelago (Italy) highlights the importance of context in waste management projects, showcasing economic savings and CO2-equivalent emission reductions through onsite organic waste treatment.
The research outcomes include a strategic framework for replicable sustainable waste management solutions, such as a novel waste collection system, a pilot composting facility, and wastewater treatment innovations. These results provide practical insights and references for scaling up waste management projects in resource-limited settings, paving the way for future developments in the Majority World
Cyclostationary signals in LISA: A practical application to Milky Way satellites
No full textOne of the primary sources of gravitational waves (GWs) anticipated to be detected by the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) are Galactic double white dwarf binaries (DWDs). However, most of these binaries will be unresolved, and their GWs will overlap incoherently, creating a stochastic noise known as the Galactic foreground. Similarly, the population of unresolved systems in the Milky Way's (MW) satellites is expected to contribute to a stochastic gravitational wave background (SGWB). Due to their anisotropy and the annual motion of the LISA constellation, both the Galactic foreground and the satellite SGWB fall into the category of cyclostationary processes. Leveraging this property, we develop a purely frequency-based method to study LISA's capability to detect the MW foreground and SGWBs from the most promising MW satellites. We analyze both mock data generated by an astrophysically motivated SGWB spectrum, and realistic ones from a DWD population generated via binary population synthesis. We are able to recover or put constrains on the candidate foregrounds, reconstructing - in the presence of noise uncertainties - their sky distribution and spectrum. Our findings highlight the significance of the interplay between the astrophysical spectrum and LISA's sensitivity to detect the satellites' SGWB. Considering an astrophysically motivated prior on the satellite positions improves their detectability, which becomes otherwise challenging in the presence of the Galactic foreground. Furthermore, we explore the potential to observe a hypothetical satellite located behind the Galactic disk. Our results suggest that a Large Magellanic Cloud-like satellite could indeed be observable by LISA
La bioetica di inizio vita nel diritto hindu e il (controverso) caso della gestazione per altri
Full text linkThe investigation commences with a series of preliminary consider- ations on the bioethics of the commencement of life as practiced by Hindus, with ref- erence to the role of procreation for individual adherents, to comprehend its perti- nence within the overarching framework of religious precepts. Moreover, this contri- bution proffers a delineation of parenting by substitution within the Hindu religion in circumstances of infertility or sterility. The analysis concludes with a discussion of the possibilities offered by Indian legislation for third-party reproduction, and devotes concluding reflections to this topic, which is currently the subject of a wide (not only religious) debate
Exploiting earthquake-induced landslide inventories for macroseismic assessment using the environmental seismic intensity (ESI-07) scale
Full text linkEarthquake-induced landslides are one of the most impacting effects triggered
by seismic events and represent a relevant risk factor. Inventories of earthquake induced landslides are available for many case histories and may contain thousands of elements. The spatial pattern of landslides is typically analyzed in terms of density and areal coverage (LND: Landslide Number Density; LAP: Landslide Area Percentage). In addition to landslides, other earthquake environmental effects, such as surface faulting, liquefaction, or tsunami, may be triggered. A comprehensive evaluation of earthquake environmental damage can be achieved using the Environmental Seismic Intensity (ESI-07) scale; however, landslide inventories have not yet been fully exploited in terms of ESI-07 assessment. Here, we apply a grid-based methodology to compute LND, LAP and ESI-07 values for 40 landslide inventories related to 33 earthquakes worldwide. We derive the first empirical equations relating ESI-07 to LND or LAP, demonstrating that the LAP metric is more robust. We also find that the inventory itself (i.e., how landslide polygons are delineated) introduces much higher uncertainty into the process compared to the selection of a specific area-volume conversion equation. A comparison with independent ESI-07 data shows that the proposed procedure is reliable. We claim that our approach can be applied in other contexts and could represent the basis for enhanced collaboration between the scientific communities working on landslides and seismic intensity assessment
Sapere giuridico ed egemonia politica in Romagna all’inizio del Quattrocento. Fusignano, Cervia e i Malatesta in due ‘consilia ’ di Pietro d’Ancarano e Raffaele Raimondi
No full textNegli anni ’10 del XV secolo due autorevoli docenti di diritto civile, Pietro d’Ancarano e Raffaele Raimondi, forniscono pareri legali a proposito della giurisdizione sul villaggio di Fusignano e su Cervia con le sue saline, che coinvolgevano sia la Chiesa quale potere dominante sia la signoria malatestiana che sapeva abilmente avvantaggiarsi delle competenze dei giuristi per affermare il proprio disegno egemonico