Archivio istituzionale della ricerca - Università dell'Insubria
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Is pre-operative electromyography a reliable tool in differentiating acute and chronic facial palsy? A preliminary evaluation in patients treated with triple innervation facial reanimation
No full textElectromyographic evaluation is a reliable tool for confirming facial palsy and assessing its severity. It allows differentiating facial paresis and paralysis, and further distinguishes acute palsies, still showing muscle fibrillations, from chronic cases. This article aims to show that EMG fibrillations might represent a better criterion to differentiate acute and chronic palsies than the standard 18–24 months’ cut-off usually employed for classification and treatment purposes. We performed a cohort study using the eFACE tool for comparing triple innervation facial reanimation results in patients with EMG fibrillation treated <12 months, 12–18 months, and >18 months from paralysis onset. Patients showed a statistically significant post-operative improvement in all eFACE items, both in the whole sample and in the three groups. Only the deviation from the optimal score for the gentle eye closure item in group 2 didn't reach statistical significance (p = 0.173). The post-operative results were comparable in the three groups, as the Kruskal-Wallis test showed a difference only for the platysmal synkinesis item scores, which were significantly lower in group 3 (p = 0.025). EMG should represent a further tool to wide the group of paralysis patients that could be treated as recent facial palsy patients; Further prospective studies on pre-operative EMG fibrillations might allow for further refinement of the technique selection process
Cross-cultural boards and ESG disclosure
No full textThis study aims to investigate whether and how board cultural diversity influences the relationship between core board characteristics and the level of overall Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosure, as well as its three pillars. To this end, the paper draws on a multi-theoretical framework that integrates Agency Theory, Stakeholder Theory, and Resource Dependence Theory, and uses a sample of non-financial listed companies operating in the European Union for the period 2014-2021. The resultssuggest that board cultural diversity may complement or substitute for other board attributes in improving ESG transparency. The presence of directors from diverse cultural backgrounds reinforces the positive influence of board size and gender diversity on the overall level of ESG disclosure. For social disclosure, it amplifies the positive effect of gender diversity, board size, and CEO duality, but a substitution effect emerges with respect to board independence. Furthermore, board size and board cultural diversity act in a complementary way to enhance environmental disclosure. Theoretically, this research sheds light on the interaction between board characteristics in shaping ESG disclosure behavior. The findings have practical implications for companiesinterested in appointing directors from diverse cultural backgrounds, for investors interested in assessing companies’ ability to create long-term value, and for regulators and policymakers who should promote board configurations that strategically combine different board characteristics to enhance ESG disclosure
Democrazia e verità plurale. Per una via terza, al di là di relativismo e universalismo
No full textImmunity of the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens): recent progress and technological applications
No full textThe black soldier fly (BSF, Hermetia illucens) is a keystone for sustainable waste bioconversion and alternative protein production, and its tolerance to microbially rich substrates reflects a robust innate immune system. Most of the recent advances in our understanding of BSF innate immunity have been published between 2020 and 2025; this review synthesizes those recent findings across molecular, cellular, and ecological scales. BSF larvae deploy rapid cellular defenses, such as phagocytosis and encapsulation, supported by a broad and dynamic humoral arsenal-including dozens of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), lysozyme, and melanization factors-that are often strongly induced following microbial challenge. Conserved signaling modules (Toll/Imd-like cascades and dual oxidase-mediated pathway) shape both systemic resistance and gut microbial composition, while the resident microbiota contributes to pathogen suppression. Noteworthy, nutrition and environment can markedly shape BSF immunity: for example, nutrient-poor diets alter AMP expression and hemocyte numbers, while microbe- or fungus-rich substrates induce distinct AMP production and cellular responses. In general, BSF can reduce zoonotic pathogen load in the rearing substrate, BSF-derived AMPs act against antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and BSF-based feedstuffs enhance immune markers in livestock-biosecurity and development of value-added BSF-based bioproducts. Modern tools (high-quality genomes, transcriptomics, proteomics, RNAi, and CRISPR) now permit precise functional dissection of immune mechanisms in this insect, but key gaps remain, including antiviral and antiparasite defenses, the roles of JAK/STAT signaling, and mechanisms of immune ontogeny. Building on this synthesis, we identify critical knowledge gaps and propose prioritized research and applied actions to improve biosecurity and advance BSF bioproduct development
Profili del nuovo concordato preventivo, rapporti con l'accertamento e con la riserva di legge
No full textThe structural aspects of the two-year preventive agreement are examined, in the light of the changes brought by the corrective decrees, and a composite rationale is discussed. It marks a new way of implementing the tax duty, by pre-determining its amount through statistical-mathematical methodologies.
Thus, it favours simplification and ex ante certainty of the tax as opposed to the precise measurement of incomes yet difficult to be assessed a posteriori. Tampering the tax duty creates strains, inter alia, with the rule of law
Roadmap to Challenges in Limited Cellularity Specimens from Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Neoplasms: Diagnostic Tools for the Most Appropriate Management of Limited Material
No full textFine needle aspiration (FNA) and fine needle biopsy (FNB) procedures are increasingly employed in the diagnostic work-up of pancreatic masses. These procedures represent a challenge for pathologists who have to adapt to handling specimens of limited cellularity. In several cases, FNA and FNB specimens are the only available material, as many pancreatic neoplasms are surgically unresectable at the time of the initial diagnosis. In the present review paper, the diagnosis of pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms in limited cellularity specimens is presented using a morphology-based approach. The aim is to provide a practical guide for pathologists to select the most appropriate ancillary techniques to be used for the diagnostic work-up, while conserving precious material. The integration of morphology, immunohistochemistry, and molecular biology will be discussed to provide the reader with practical tools to solve the main differential diagnostic problems encountered in routine practice when working with cytological samples or small biopsies
Οὐ γὰρ ἀνῄρηκας τοὺς ἀδικήσαντας, ὰλλ’ἐκτήσω: humanitas, tolleranza e peculiarità storiche, sociali e giuridiche nel messaggio politico di Temistio da Costanzo II a Teodosio I. La metodologia storica per un’indagine nel Tardoantico
No full textDivergent Responses of Alpine Rock Glaciers to Climate Change: A Review of Ecological and Abiotic Dynamics
No full textPeriglacial processes and permafrost-related landforms, such as rock glaciers, are particularly vulnerable to climate change because of their reliance on sustained low temperatures to maintain permafrost integrity. Rising temperatures lead to permafrost thawing, increased active layer thickness, and ground instability, which disrupt the structural and ecological stability of these environments. Rock glaciers, which are ubiquitous in high mountain systems, are especially sensitive to these changes and serve as key geo-indicators of current or past alpine permafrost conditions, reflecting the multifaceted impacts of warming on both ecological and abiotic components. In this review, we synthesize current scientific knowledge on the complex and divergent responses of alpine rock glaciers to climate change, highlighting a wide range of methodologies employed to study the complex interactions between climatic drivers and rock glacier dynamics. We first explore ecological impacts, focusing on how climatic changes influence vegetation patterns, species composition, and overall biodiversity associated with rock glaciers. Subsequently, we examine the dynamic behavior of rock glaciers, including their structural integrity, movement patterns, and hydrological roles within high mountain ecosystems. By integrating findings from various disciplines, this review underscores the importance of multidisciplinary approaches and long-term monitoring to advance our understanding of rock glacier ecosystem dynamics and their role in periglacial processes under climate change. Our synthesis identifies critical knowledge gaps, such as the uncertain drivers of divergent rock glacier responses and the limited integration of ecological and abiotic data in existing studies. We highlight research priorities, including the establishment of regional monitoring networks and the development of predictive models that incorporate vegetation and permafrost interactions. These insights provide actionable guidance for adaptive management strategies to mitigate the ecological and geological impacts of climate change on these unique and sensitive environments
Transformer wave function for two dimensional frustrated magnets: Emergence of a spin-liquid phase in the Shastry-Sutherland model
No full textUnderstanding quantum magnetism in two-dimensional systems represents a lively branch in modern condensed-matter physics. In the presence of competing superexchange couplings, magnetic order is frustrated and can be suppressed down to zero temperature. Still, capturing the correct nature of the exact ground state is a highly complicated task, since energy gaps in the spectrum may be very small and states with different physical properties may have competing energies. Here, we introduce a variational ansatz for two-dimensional frustrated magnets by leveraging the power of representation learning. The key idea is to use a particular deep neural network with real-valued parameters, a so-called transformer, to map physical spin configurations into a high-dimensional feature space. Within this abstract space, the determination of the ground-state properties is simplified and requires only a shallow output layer with complex-valued parameters. We illustrate the efficacy of this variational ansatz by studying the ground-state phase diagram of the Shastry-Sutherland model, which captures the low-temperature behavior of SrCu2(BO3)2 with its intriguing properties. With highly accurate numerical simulations, we provide strong evidence for the stabilization of a spin liquid between the plaquette and antiferromagnetic phases. In addition, a direct calculation of the triplet excitation at the Γ point provides compelling evidence for a gapless spin liquid. Our findings underscore the potential of neural-network quantum states as a valuable tool for probing uncharted phases of matter, and open up new possibilities for establishing the properties of many-body systems