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22nd IIM Meeting Assisi, Italy • 11-14 September 2025 From Muscle Physiology to Pathogenesis and Therapies of Neuromuscular Diseases.
No full textINTRODUCTION: Hyaluronan (HA) is a non-sulfated glycosaminoglycan, widely used for medical and pharmaceutical applications, including tissue and muscle repair. A recent study demonstrates that HA activates muscle stem cells to repair damaged muscle. When muscle damage occurs, stem cells start producing and coating themselves with hyaluronic acid, driven by demethylase JMJD3, which allows muscle stem cell adaptation to inflammation and the initiation of muscle repair (Nakka et al., 2022). AIM:The aim of this work is to characterize the effect of Multifractionated-HA on myoblast rescue under inflammatory conditions, using C2C12 murine muscle cell proliferation and differentiation. METHODS: In this study, we investigated the potential of a HA mixture (2-1000 KDa, 1mg/ml, Regenflex TeM, Regenyal Laboratories SRL) in increasing the proliferative and myogenic capacity of myoblasts in the presence or absence of pro-inflammatory agents (IL-1β, LPS), known to impair proliferation. RESULTS: Results revealed that TeM significantly improved reparative mechanisms and exerts a strong pro-proliferative effect, enhancing wound healing within 24 hours post-injury, even in the presence of inflammatory conditions. Additionally, we evaluated the myogenic potential of C2C12 cells treated with TeM by analyzing the gene and protein expression of key myogenic markers, including IGF-1, MyoD, Myogenin, Mrf4, myogenin, and MHC-1, even under inflammatory conditions. Moreover, TeM treatment upregulated myogenic biomarkers, suggesting a positive impact on differentiation pathways. CONCLUSION: Regenflex T&M has been shown to increase the repair process in injured myoblast monolayers, to restore healing capacity under otherwise limiting conditions, and to stimulate the muscle differentiation process. This data strengthens the rationale for using infiltrative intramuscular T&M to promote the repair of injured muscles in clinical settings
Artificial intelligence-based donor oocyte quality assessment moderately improves the prediction of blastocyst development: a first step towards higher personalization in the management of egg donation treatments
No full textStudy question: Can an artificial intelligence (AI)-based oocyte scoring system reliably predict the developmental competence of fresh donor oocytes? Summary answer: The AI-derived Magenta Score was significantly associated with fertilization, blastocyst formation, and helpful to estimate cumulative live birth rates, although a trend toward overestimation was observed in a subset of cycles. What is known already: Oocyte quality is a critical determinant of IVF success; however, standardized and objective methods for its assessment are lacking. Current allocation strategies in oocyte donation cycles often neglect recipient-related factors and risk overproduction of surplus embryos. AI-based evaluation may offer a more objective, reproducible alternative to traditional morphology-based assessment. Study design, size, duration: Prospective, observational, multicenter, blinded cohort study including 1179 fresh metaphase II (MII) oocytes from 145 donors, allocated to 171 recipient couples across three IVF centers between June 2023 and October 2024. Participants/materials, setting, methods: Denuded MII oocytes were imaged at 200-400× magnification and assessed using an AI-based scoring system (Magenta Score, Future Fertility). The primary outcome was the association between Magenta Score and blastocyst development, adjusted for donor age, sperm motility, and culture medium. Secondary outcomes included associations with oocyte dysmorphisms, fertilization, blastocyst quality and timing, implantation, cumulative live birth rates, and accuracy of blastocyst yield predictions. Main results and the role of chance: Oocytes with higher Magenta Scores had significantly higher rates of 2PN fertilization (odds ratio [OR] 1.08) and blastocyst formation (OR 1.19), independent of confounders. Magenta Score per se displayed an AUC of 0.6, reaching 0.62 if combined with donors' age and 0.65 if also combined with male partners' sperm motility 1%-increase and culture medium used, highlighting the multifactorial nature of embryo development. In 82% of cases, the actual blastocyst number fell within or above the predicted range extrapolated from the Magenta Scores of each cohort. A 10% increase in the predicted probability of achieving at least one live birth based on the Magenta Score was associated with a significantly higher true cumulative live birth rate (OR 1.55; AUC 0.691). Limitations, reasons for caution: The observational design precludes causal inference. Only fresh oocyte cycles were evaluated, limiting extrapolation to vitrified oocytes. Some donor oocytes were cryopreserved and excluded from analysis. Future randomized trials are needed to assess clinical utility when AI is actively used for allocation decisions. Wider implications of the findings: AI-based assessment of donor oocytes offers a promising tool to enhance the personalization and fairness of oocyte allocation in donation cycles. However, to maximize its clinical value, AI predictions should be integrated with additional donor-, recipient-, and cycle-specific variables. Further refinements and prospective validations are necessary to improve prediction accuracy and avoid overestimation, ultimately optimizing cumulative live birth rates while minimizing surplus embryo production. Study funding/competing interest(s): No funding. N.M., J.F., D.N., and A.K. are employees and hold stock options of Future Fertility, the company that developed the AI model used. All other authors report no conflict of interest related with the content of this manuscript. Trial registration number: n/a
Paolo Volponi e la tentazione dello spazio
No full textIl presente contributo è incentrato sull’esame di alcune carte inedite
di Volponi relative a una poesia, dal titolo provvisorio “La notizia del 13 set
tembre”, rimasta allo stato di bozza, dopo vari rimaneggiamenti manoscritti e
dattiloscritti. Ispirata dalla eco mondiale che ebbe l’impatto sul suolo lunare
della prima sonda umana (la sovietica Lunik 2) nel 1959, il testo nelle sue varie
redazioni rappresenta un tentativo incompiuto di letteratura engagée scritta per
l’“occasione”, e testimonia il passaggio molto delicato della poesia volponiana,
fra la composizione de Le porte dell’Appennino e il nuovo laboratorio che si
apre con Foglia mortale
Human Digital Twin for Healthcare Applications: a White Label Digital Twin Implementation
No full textThe concept of digital twin has become a pillar of healthcare research over the last decade. By mirroring real systems through a range of functionalities–from tracking the state of physical assets to providing cognitive services–it enables real-time analyses, thereby supporting informed decision-making.In this paper we are specifically interested in the human digital twin as one of the main component into the personalised healthcare framework. Even though literature is full of examples discussing this issue, a unified reference model and supporting technology are still lacking. As a result, a substantial gap remains between theoretical developments and practical implementation, with real-world applications still limited.Accordingly, this paper presents a human digital twin model, along with a practical implementation on the White Label Digital Twin platform, designed to be compliant to the reference standards and general enough to be specified and instantiated for different healthcare domains. As a proof of concept, we present an application in the context of hypertensive patient care where data are acquired from two different data sources and integrated into a unique standardised model
Emergenza sensoriale, “non-azione” e lentezza come moniti pedagogici
No full textThe article explores the concept of “educational non-action,” drawing inspiration from the ideas of Tom Hodgkinson, Itsuo Tsuda, Watts, Francesch and Zavalloni, and other philosophers and educators, in order to rediscover a pedagogy rooted in natural time, pleasure, and slowness.
It proposes a reversal of the traditional adult-child relationship, placing the child as the teacher and educational reference point. Referring to Taoist wu-wei and Epicurean hedonism, the text emphasizes the importance of respecting the inner rhythms of learning, while valuing present experience, natural pleasure, and spontaneous creativity. In this context, subjective time (Kairòs) becomes central, opposing the productivity-driven, quantitative time (Chrònos) that dominates traditional schooling.
The article thus promotes a slow, sensory-based education, grounded in respect for individual rhythms, freedom, and the authenticity of being
Before We Inject: Assessing the Impact of Silica-Based Aerosols on Stratospheric Chemistry via a Kinetic Model Informed by Molecular Dynamics
No full text: Stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) has been proposed as a geoengineering strategy to mitigate global warming by increasing Earth's albedo. Silica-based materials, such as diamond-doped silica aerogels, have shown promising optical properties, but their impact on stratospheric chemistry, ozone one in particular, remains largely unknown. Here, we present first-principles molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of the heterogeneous reaction between hydrogen chloride (HCl) and chlorine nitrate (ClONO2), two main reservoirs of stratospheric chlorine and nitrogen species, on a dry and hydroxylated α-quartz silica interface, a surface that serves as a proxy for silica-based aerosols under low relative humidity and stratospheric conditions. Our results reveal a barrierless reaction pathway toward the formation of chlorine gas (Cl2), a major contributor to stratospheric ozone loss. We design a heterogeneous kinetic model informed by our MD simulation and available experimental data: despite the barrierless formation of Cl2, the higher surface affinities and partial pressures of HNO3 and HCl compared to those of ClONO2 result in a negligible reaction probability, γClONO2, upon chlorine nitrate collision with the silica surface. Since γClONO2 enters as a proportionality constant in the definition of the heterogeneous reaction rate, our kinetic model indicates that the injection of silica-based aerosols may have only a limited impact on stratospheric ozone depletion driven by HCl and ClONO2 chemistry. At the same time, our findings also underscore the scarcity of experimental data, the need of better theoretical frameworks for the inclusion of MD results into kinetic models, and the urgency for further experimental validations of silica-based SAI technologies before their deployment in climate intervention strategies
The Italian validation of the Obstetric Violence Scale: Implications for the quality of the maternal bond
No full textBackground: Obstetric violence (OV) is a form of mistreatment against women during childbirth that negatively impacts women's childbirth experiences and overall well-being. It is a globally recognised phenomenon, but the lack of a shared definition and measurement questionnaire makes it difficult to understand its prevalence. Furthermore, this form of violence has been studied mainly on the consequences of women's well-being, while no attention has been paid to its relationship with the quality of the mother-infant bonding. The present study aimed to provide an Italian validation of the Obstetric Violence Scale (OVS) and to explore the relationship between OV and the quality of postnatal maternal bond, considering the role of maternal depressive symptoms in this relationship. Method: A total of 488 women (M = 34.36 ± 3.74) were recruited for validation of the OVS, and 577 (M = 34.11 ± 3.75) for testing the hypothesised model. Results: The results confirmed the psychometric robustness of the Italian version of the OVS. Furthermore, the data highlighted a relationship between the experience of OV and the quality of postnatal maternal bond, both directly and indirectly, through the role of depressive symptoms. Women who experience OV are more likely to develop depressive feelings in the postpartum period, which, in turn, affects the maternal bond with the child. Conclusions: This study is the first to highlight the relationship between OV and postnatal maternal bond quality, underlining the need for preventive policies and further longitudinal research to understand the long-term effects of OV
Noninterference Analysis of Deterministically Timed Reversible Systems
No full textInformation flow theory aims at guaranteeing the absence of covert channels among different security levels. As for the verification of noninterference via equivalence checking, in nondeterministic and probabilistic settings weak bisimilarity is adequate only for forward-computing systems, while branching bisimilarity has turned out to be appropriate for reversible systems too. In this paper we investigate noninterference for deterministically timed systems based on the model of Moller and Tofts. After recasting a selection of noninterference properties via timed variants of weak and branching bisimilarities, we analyze their preservation and compositionality aspects, establish their taxonomy, and compare it with the nondeterministic taxonomy for (ir)reversible systems. We illustrate the adequacy of our proposal on real-time database transactions
