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Bone and Body Composition by Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry Across a Spectrum: From Precocious to Physiological Puberty
No full textBackground: In recent years, a rising incidence of central precocious puberty (CPP) has been reported, with a notable increase during the COVID-19 pandemic. The onset of puberty is influenced by a multifactorial interplay of genetic, nutritional, environmental, and psychosocial factors. Since puberty is marked by significant changes in body composition and bone mineral accrual, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) represents a valuable tool for accurately assessing fat and lean mass distribution, as well as skeletal development, offering more detailed insights than conventional anthropometric measures.
Aim: To evaluate the clinical, auxological, metabolic, and densitometric characteristics of girls with early pubertal development and to explore potential associations with lifestyle factors and body composition.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective, single-center study including 184 girls with early breast development (before age 9), referred for suspected precocious puberty between 2011 and 2024. Girls were categorized as having central precocious or early puberty (Group P, n=108) or premature thelarche (Group T, n=76), and were compared with age-matched prepubertal controls (Group C, n=47). Data collection included anthropometric measurements, hormonal and metabolic profiles, pelvic ultrasound, and whole-body DXA scans for the assessment of both body composition and bone mineral status. Participants also completed standardized lifestyle questionnaires (KIDMED, PAQ-C, SDSC, and screen time).
Results: Compared to Group T, girls in Group P showed significantly higher delta height-target heigh (ΔH-TH) SDS (p = 0.005), bone age, IGF-1 SDS (adjusted for both chronological and bone age), and uterine dimensions (p < 0.001). In contrast, Group T exhibited significantly higher height SDS, weight, BMI SDS, ΔH-TH SDS (p < 0.05), and IGF-1 SDS (adjusted for both chronological and bone age) compared to Group C (p < 0.001). Additionally, girls in Group P had a significantly lower android-to-gynoid fat ratio and greater total free fat mass than those in Group T (p < 0.05). Compared to controls, girls in Group T showed significantly increased fat and lean mass, as well as higher BMD Z-scores at both the lumbar spine and total body level (p < 0.05). Within Group T, girls presenting with pubarche as the initial pubertal sign had significantly higher weight and BMI SDS (p < 0.001), greater android and gynoid adiposity, total and free fat mass, limb lean mass, , and lumbar spine BMD Z-score than those with thelarche (p < 0.01). In Group T, pubarche-onset girls showed higher Fat-to-Lean Ratio (p < 0.01), indicating greater metabolic risk than those with thelarche.
Lifestyle data (n=100) showed:
• Low adherence to the Mediterranean diet in 21.7% of Group P and 16.1% of T;
• 46.2% reported low physical activity (no difference between groups P and T);
• 28% had sleep disturbances (no intergroup difference);
• 37.2% exceeded 2 hours/day of screen time, more common in Group P.
Conclusions: Significant differences in anthropometry, IGF-1, bone age, and DXA-derived fat and lean mass were observed between groups. Notably, girls with pubarche as the first pubertal sign showed more adverse body composition profiles.
Lifestyle data highlighted suboptimal diet, reduced physical activity, and excessive screen use as modifiable risk factors. These findings underscore the importance of early identification, lifestyle interventions, and individualized management to mitigate long-term health risks associated with early pubertal development
Il c.d. Complesso della Mazza di Breccia nel Settore Nord-Est di Haghia Triada (Creta): lo studio architettonico
No full textThe thesis focuses on the analytical study of the architectural ruins of the so-called Complesso della Mazza di Breccia, a neopalatial building located in the cemetery of the Minoan site of Haghia Triada in Crete, excavated in the 1990s by the Italian Archaeological Mission and which has remained almost entirely unpublished until now
Search for diphoton resonances in the 66 to 110 GeV mass range using pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector
No full textNeural radiance fields as a regularization approach to inverse volume rendering
No full textInverse volume rendering poses a significant challenge in reconstructing density and color functions from real-world observations, particularly due to the non injectivity of the problem. This study addresses this issue by introducing a unique criterion to ensure a well-defined solution. We explore the connection between classical regularization, as well as the selection method, and modern neural network approaches. Our methodology integrates minimum support regularization with a novel technique to achieve sharper density estimates, complemented by a georeferencing pipeline that aligns reconstructed point clouds with planar cartographic data, specifically suited for urban sutanability
Competition or cooperation? Disentangling the Bank-FinTech interaction through a hybrid literature review
No full textThe advent of FinTech companies (FTCs) in the banking sector has sparked a transformative shift, encouraging banks to navigate responses ranging from competition to collaboration. Through a comprehensive hybrid literature review and structured exploration of Bank-FinTech interaction models, we provide an actionable framework for understanding cooperative and competitive dynamics in Bank-FinTech relationships. Our analysis highlights a prevailing consensus within the literature favouring a cooperative strategy over competition between banks and FTCs. We examine the prevalent types of collaboration, their underlying rationales, and their effects on banks' performance and activity. Through the identification of emerging themes and specific strategic gaps, we also suggest a targeted pathway for further inquiry, pointing at potential directions for future research
AI & Simulation to Create a Common Strategic Engineering Framework to Support Sustainability
No full textWithin the current economic context, ports represent fundamental hubs for global trade, allowing the development of countries' economies. However, the nature of ports and the operations within them makes ports dangerous and complex environments at the same time. Accidents involving dangerous substances could have impacts not only on the port, but also on the surrounding areas. For this reason, training exercises and decision support tools are used to draft emergency plans, to be used when accidents occur.
The main purpose of this thesis is to illustrate advantages of introduction of innovative oil spill model and a dense gas diffusion model in the context of decision-making and training in maritime ports, as to support environmental assessment between different scenarios. Having to take into account numerous complex factors, these models have been studied with innovative approaches through the integration of modeling and simulation tools, data analysis and the use of artificial intelligence. The models were finally tested within a seaport simulation system, within predefined scenarios, where models were positively evaluated by the Subject Matter Experts.
Therefore, this thesis will first illustrate the port context and associated dangers and hazards, highlight the importance of training and simulation-based decision support tools, and finally detail the development of the two environmental models and results
Inner Branch Off the Shelf Technology for Chronic Post-dissection Thoraco-Abdominal Aneurysm with Narrow True Lumen: Results of a European Multicentre Study
No full textObjective: This study aimed to evaluate the early and midterm outcomes of endovascular repair of aortic dissection (AD) using a new pre-cannulated, inner branch based, off the shelf stent graft (E-nside; JOTEC, CryoLife, Inc.). Methods: Data from an international multicentre registry on patients treated with the E-nside endograft for AD were analysed. Pre-operative clinical and anatomical characteristics, procedural data, and early and follow up outcomes were recorded in a dedicated electronic data capture system. The primary endpoint was technical success. Secondary endpoints were overall death, aortic related death, aortic related re-intervention rate, endoleak rate, and target vessel instability (TVI) at 30 days and during follow up. Results: Thirty four patients treated in 14 high volume European institutions between January 2020 and May 2024 were included. The mean patient age ± standard deviation was 66 ± 9.8 years, and 30 (88%) were male. The mean true lumen aortic diameter at the visceral aorta was 24.5 ± 7.7 mm. The median procedure time was 300 minutes (interquartile range 215, 373). The technical success rate was 97%, due to one case of placement of the coeliac trunk covered stent into the branch of the superior mesenteric artery and vice versa. The 30 day mortality and re-intervention rates were 6% (n = 2) and 9% (n = 3), respectively. At a mean follow up of 15.1 ± 7.5 months, there were no aortic related deaths. Freedom from aortic related death and all cause death at 12 months was 97% and 94%, respectively. The TVI rate during the follow up was 13% (four of 32). The total re-intervention rate was 16% (five of 32). Conclusion: Endovascular treatment of AD with an off the shelf, inner branched endograft is feasible, with acceptable short and midterm outcomes. The results showed good technical implantation safety and efficacy. Long term follow up results are needed to better define the clinical role of this novel endograft
Oggetti e società. Azioni dal basso
No full textIn un’epoca segnata da tensioni sociali, crisi ambientali e vulnerabilità spaziali, il design, inteso come pratica trasformativa, è chiamato a confrontarsi con la dimensione sociale dei luoghi in cui interviene: gli oggetti, infatti, non possono essere considerati entità neutre, poiché partecipano attivamente alla configurazione di pratiche e comportamenti. In tale prospettiva, il progetto si configura come un processo che include relazioni e luoghi, costituendo un microcosmo complesso capace di riflettere e trasformare i contesti in cui si inscrive. Il design può, dunque, assumere una funzione generativa, aprendo varchi nei tessuti consolidati di una città che “è viva perché la sostiene un intreccio di relazioni” , attivando prossimità e promuovendo modalità di convivenza temporanee, per riscoprire – attraverso il fare – valori capaci di restituire senso a pratiche collaborative. Tre esperienze progettuali, protagoniste di una giornata di studi organizzata nell’ambito del Miserabilia Cities Workshop presso il Dipartimento di Architettura e Design dell’Università di Genova, vengono assunte come casi studio per indagare il ruolo del design nei contesti di marginalità della città contemporanea. Accomunate da un approccio essenziale sperimentato in luoghi segnati dalla miseria, intesa come condizione estrema di povertà, questi progetti offrono l’opportunità di esplorare la capacità del design di inserirsi in contesti liminali – tanto fisici quanto sociali – attivando processi collettivi e promuovendo, attraverso la costruzione degli oggetti, forme alternative di relazione in condizioni di fragilità territoriale e sociale
