University of Modena and Reggio Emilia
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Did the COVID-19 pandemic shift the landscape of late HIV diagnosis?
No full textBackground: The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly disrupted healthcare services. This study assessed the impact of the pandemic on the incidence, characteristics, and outcomes of late HIV diagnosis (LD) in Italy. Methods: All people with HIV (PWH) enrolled in ICONA during 2016-2019 (pre-pandemic) and 2021-2024 (post-pandemic), and diagnosed with HIV within 3 months before enrolment, were included. LD was defined as CD4 <350 cells/mm3 or an AIDS-defining event (ADE) within three months of HIV diagnosis; AIDS presentation (AIDS-P) was considered an ADE at diagnosis. Annual incidence, socio-demographic determinants, and survival outcomes were compared between periods using Poisson regression, Cox proportional hazards models, and Fine-Gray competing risk models. Results: Among 5,724 newly diagnosed PWH, 56% were enrolled in pre-pandemic and 44% post-pandemic. Overall, 58% presented late and 13% as AIDS-P, with proportions stable across periods. Risk factors for LD - female sex, older age, foreign nationality, heterosexual transmission, lower education, and unemployment - remained consistent, with no significant interaction by time (p = 0.39). During follow-up, 151 deaths occurred. LD and especially AIDS-P were associated with substantially increased all-cause mortality compared with non-LD, particularly within the first-year post-diagnosis. Adjusted hazard ratios were 2.96 for LD and 6.51 for AIDS-P pre-pandemic, and 8.64 and 17.99 post-pandemic. No excess risk was observed for non-AIDS-related mortality. Conclusions: The prevalence and determinants of LD and AIDS-P in Italy remained stable before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. However, late presentation continues to carry a heavy mortality burden, underscoring the urgent need to strengthen early testing and prompt linkage to care
Subsonic propagation of cracks between dissimilar quasicrystals
No full textWe analyse the subsonic propagation of a crack along the interface between two different quasicrystals in two-dimensional ambient setting and small strain regime. In the absence of a phason self-action, we provide a closed-form solution of the related Riemann–Hilbert problem. Then, we use such a result as a benchmark for a numerical analysis of the influence of a phason self-action on the crack
propagation, which is the focus of our work. In addition to the special attention to quasicrystals, our work extends the classical analyses of interface cracks in linear elasticity to more general elastic bodies with ‘active’ microstructure described by vector phase fields
Metaverse in surgery — origins and future potential
No full textThe metaverse refers to a collective virtual space that combines physical and digital realities to create immersive, interactive environments. This space is powered by technologies such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain. In healthcare, the metaverse can offer many applications. Specifically in surgery, potential uses of the metaverse include the possibility of conducting immersive surgical training in a VR or AR setting, and enhancing surgical planning through the adoption of three-dimensional virtual models and simulated procedures. At the intraoperative level, AR-guided surgery can assist the surgeon in real time to increase surgical precision in tumour identification and selective management of vessels. In post-operative care, potential uses of the metaverse include recovery monitoring and patient education. In urology, AR and VR have been widely explored in the past decade, mainly for surgical navigation in prostate and kidney cancer surgery, whereas only anecdotal metaverse experiences have been reported to date, specifically in partial nephrectomy. In the future, further integration of AI will improve the metaverse experience, potentially increasing the possibility of carrying out surgical navigation, data collection and virtual trials within the metaverse. However, challenges concerning data security and regulatory compliance must be addressed before the metaverse can be used to improve patient care
Remediating prebunking in practice: Enhancing teachers’ competencies for digital source evaluation and disinformation detection
No full textThis study evaluates a national program for media literacy training designed to enhance Italian teachers' competencies in digital source evaluation and disinformation detection. Using a “remediated prebunking” approach, the program involved 115 primary and secondary school teachers across Italy in a blended learning experience combining online modules with hands-on workshops. The intervention focused on two core areas: digital source verification and visual literacy for detecting manipulated images. A pre-post quasi-experimental design assessed six competency domains through mixed-methods evaluation emphasizing argumentative reasoning over simple classification accuracy. Results demonstrated significant improvements across all domains, with particularly notable gains in visual literacy and collaborative analytical skills. These findings suggest that “remediated prebunking” methodologies can effectively address systematic gaps in teacher preparation for tackling disinformation in digital citizenship education, providing evidence-based guidance for scalable professional development interventions
Sustainable kidney care: A life cycle assessment of the peritoneal dialysis pathways
No full textBackground Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is a home-based treatment for kidney failure, offering significant social, economic and environmental advantages over haemodialysis (HD). It allows patients greater independence and flexibility, can reduce healthcare costs in some settings, and is reported to generate a smaller environmental footprint compared to HD. However, despite this, its environmental impact, particularly in terms of resource use and waste generation, is an area of growing concern. Evaluating PD through a sustainability lens, considering environmental, social, health and economic dimensions is crucial to improving its long-term viability and reducing the healthcare sector's environmental footprint.Methods An LCA of the PD treatment pathway was conducted at the Nephrology Dialysis and Kidney Transplantation Unit, 'Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria (AOU), Policlinico di Modena, Italy. Data were collected between April and July 2024 and was categorised into 17 PD-related procedures. Key activities assessed were electricity use, resource consumption (procurement), water consumption, patient and staff travel and waste disposal. Flow diagrams were created to model the PD pathway and product components were dismantled and weighed to determine material contributions. Environmental impacts were analysed using OpenLCA and the Ecoinvent database.Results Automated peritoneal dialysis (APD) treatments produced greater emissions than continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD), primarily due to higher electricity consumption and the use of polyvinylchloride. APD generated 3267 kg CO2e annually compared to 2975 kg CO2e for CAPD. Monthly patient examinations contributed 250 kg CO2e per year, largely from travel. CAPD produced more healthcare waste (320 kg), leading to 810 kg CO2e emissions, while APD waste emissions were lower at 374 kg CO2e. Incremental dialysis approaches showed substantial reductions, with emissions falling to 1642 kg CO2e (APD) and 1517 kg CO2e (CAPD). The most impactful materials included polyethylene and PVC, with plastic components contributing significantly to overall emissions.Conclusion This comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) highlights the environmental challenges associated with PD, particularly in waste generation and resource use. Key areas for improvement include reducing single-use plastic reliance, increasing recycling efforts and integrating energy-efficient solutions. This study provides a foundation for targeted sustainability interventions in PD and contributes to the broader goals of the KitNewCare project, which aims to optimise health outcomes while minimising environmental impacts in kidney care
Rethinking genomics of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy in the telomere-to-telomere era: pitfalls in the hidden landscape of D4Z4 repeats
No full textTechnology Adoption Within Global Value Chains: Upgrading Was (and Remains) a Demanding Stairway
No full textAusili alla digitalizzazione delle PMI: cosa favorisce l’ottenimento di finanziamenti pubblici?
No full textAn Empirical Investigation of Secondary Transfer Effects of Contact Among Five Ethnic-Cultural Minority Groups in the Netherlands
No full textAlthough the relationship between intergroup contact and prejudice has received pervasive scholarly attention, research on secondary transfer effects (STEs)—whereby positive contact experiences with primary outgroups promote tolerance toward uninvolved secondary outgroups—is still in the early stages. In particular, only a few studies have explored interminority STEs (i.e., primary-to-secondary-minority-outgroup transfer effects). Therefore, concerns about the robustness, the generality, and the underlying psychological mechanisms remain unaddressed. To tackle these gaps in the literature, we investigated STEs in a Dutch representative sample of five ethnic-cultural minority groups (N = 5,157) and an additional national majority group sample (N = 1,046). Our meta-analytic integrations revealed a small but robust overall interminority STE. It was further shown that attitude generalization (i.e., enhanced attitudes toward the primary outgroup) was an explanatory process variable. Follow-up analyses additionally demonstrated significant intergroup STE variation. Taken together, our findings contribute to literature by showing the robustness of interminority STEs in the Dutch context