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Neuromuscular Evaluation in Orthodontic–Surgical Treatment: A Comparison Between Monomaxillary and Bimaxillary Surgery
No full textPurpose: Orthognathic surgery is a cornerstone therapeutic approach for correcting dentofacial
deformities; however, its Impact on neuromuscular adaptation remains incompletely
understood, particularly regarding different surgical strategies. The aim of this study
was to evaluate and compare neuromuscular changes in patients undergoing monomaxillary
or bimaxillary orthognathic surgery. Methods: Eighty adult patients treated with
combined orthodontic–surgical therapy were included (37 monomaxillary; 43 bimaxillary).
A control group of 20 healthy adult subjects with physiological occlusion and no
history of orthodontic or orthognathic treatment was included. Surface electromyography
(sEMG) of the masseter and anterior temporalis muscles and mandibular kinesiography
were performed using standardized protocols at five treatment phases. Electromyographic
symmetry indices (Percent Overlapping Coefficient—POC), muscle activity (μV), IMPACT
values, and mandibular movement parameters were analyzed. Results: During the presurgical
orthodontic phase, both groups showed comparable reductions in neuromuscular
activity. Postoperatively, monomaxillary patients exhibited earlier stabilization of sEMG
symmetry and a faster increase in IMPACT values, approaching physiological reference
ranges at the final follow-up. In contrast, bimaxillary patients showed greater variability
and slower functional recovery. Mandibular opening and lateral movements improved
in all patients, with more stable kinesiographic patterns observed in the monomaxillary
group. Conclusions: Within the limitations of this study, neuromuscular adaptation following
orthodontic–surgical treatment appears to be associated with the surgical approach
adopted, rather than representing a direct effect of surgical extent. These findings support
the role of functional assessment as a complementary component in the management of
orthognathic patients
Curriculum standardization, central exams and achievement inequalities in primary education: A cross-national longitudinal study
No full textThis study examines whether standardization increases academic performance and reduces achievement inequalities in primary education. We analyze standardization from a multidimensional perspective, considering educational inputs, such as the national curriculum, and outputs, such as central exams.
We use data from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) for 2006, 2011, and 2016, covering 43 countries and nearly 700,000 fourth-grade students. For each country and year, we construct a novel index of curriculum standardization and examine the presence of central exams. Using an innovative two-step multilevel meta-regression strategy, we assess the role of standardization in shaping average reading performance and multiple measures of test score inequality.
Results reveal substantial cross-national differences in standardization practices but no consistent relationship between curricular or assessment standardization and reading proficiency or inequality. Although within-country temporal variation is limited, findings remain robust across specifications, challenging the assumption that standardization alone promotes educational equity or effectiveness in primary education
Taxon-specific responses to temperature, landscape, and local management challenge common strategies for pest control in vineyards
No full textGrape is among the most pesticide treated crops in Europe. To reduce pesticide use, it is increasingly important to enhance pest control by natural enemies. However, the provision of biological control in vineyards is highly context- and taxa-dependent. Here, we selected 60 vineyards across Italy in order to explicitly explore the effect of vineyard management, temperature and landscape composition on arthropod predators, grapevine pests, dummy caterpillar predation, and seed predation. We found that plant cover in the inter-row was lower in dry-warm climates, and it positively affected only the abundance of hoverflies, while the abundance of carabids, ladybugs, harvest spiders and spiders was affected by temperature and the surrounding landscape. Organic
management did not affect predators but supported more abundant populations of the pest Erasmoneura vulnerata.
Overall, most leafhopper pests showed species specific responses to local management, temperature and the landscape. The abundance of two leafhopper species decreased with increasing semi-natural areas. By contrast, pest control rate and grape damage did not respond to any of the selected drivers. In conclusion, our findings suggest that local vineyard management significantly influences biocontrol and pests, but the effects are taxon specific and shaped by the surrounding landscape and by the temperature, challenging universal strategies.Therefore, we advocate for developing regional strategies for grape protection accounting for local climate and
multiple taxa responses
Intermittent fasting enhances cisplatin-metformin efficacy in therapy-resistant ovarian cancer PDXs
No full textThe development of platinum resistance is a significant challenge in the management of ovarian cancer. Targeting the metabolic adaptability of cancer cells and combining dietary interventions with pharmacological treatments are emerging strategies in oncology, enhancing therapy efficacy at low costs. Using ovarian cancer cisplatin-resistant patient-derived xenografts, we showed that repeated cycles of cisplatin plus metformin reversed platinum resistance by remodeling tumor metabolism. Then, based on metabolomic studies, we explored the use of different food approaches, in particular diets with a high vs. a low methionine content and the intermittent fasting regimen, to further stress tumor metabolism and increase the effect of drug treatment. Our findings demonstrated that only intermittent fasting enhanced the antitumor effects of the drug combination and significantly improved the survival, by impairing the tumor energy states. This research highlights the potential of integrating diet-based approaches with pharmacological treatments to overcome platinum resistance in ovarian cancer
Seeing Beyond: Unlocking Image Emotion with Contextual Depths
No full textCan a machine truly grasp the myriad emotions an image evokes? We dive into this fascinating challenge, exploring how contextual information can dramatically improve the recognition of emotions in images. Our journey begins with EmoSet, a rich dataset already annotated for the feelings images stir within us. We then expand its horizons, carefully crafting both concise and expansive textual descriptions for each visual. These added narratives act as crucial guides, unearthing semantic and emotional nuances that may remain hidden in the image alone. When we fused these new text embeddings with visual features to train a baseline model, the results were compelling: a nearly 5% boost in accuracy on the manually annotated subset of our dataset. This significant improvement, achieved even with relatively straightforward contextual additions, underscores a vital insight. It highlights how even simple forms of contextual enrichment can meaningfully contribute to emotion classification and, more broadly, emphasizes the profound importance of multimodal inputs for truly understanding the affective content of images
Which clinical factors and biochemical parameters differentiate major depressive disorder with versus without lifetime psychotic symptoms?
No full textObjective: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a prevalent disabling condition, with psychotic features complicating its course and management. Purpose of the study is to identify clinical and biochemical factors differentiating psychotic from non-psychotic MDD.
Methods: This is a retrospective single-centre study conducted on patients hospitalised between 2002 and 2022 at Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico (Milan, Italy) with a diagnosis of MDD. A large set of clinical and biochemical variables was collected on the first day of hospitalisation. Patients were divided according to the presence or absence of lifetime psychotic symptoms and compared by Student's t-test for continuous variables and Chi-square tests for categorical ones. The statistically significant continuous variables were inserted in a binary logistic regression model as independent predictors of lifetime psychotic symptoms.
Results: No statistically significant differences in biochemical parameters (p > 0.05) were found in the two groups. The logistic regression model showed that depressed patients with lifetime psychotic symptoms had a significant longer duration of hospitalisation (p = 0.007), more lifetime suicide attempts (p = 0.035) and higher BPRS scores (p = 0.004) than the counterpart.
Conclusions: Lifetime psychotic symptoms confer a more severe course of illness in patients with MDD. No biochemical parameter resulted as a biomarker of MDD psychotic subtype
The influence of digital information and technological advancement on firms’ ethical practices
No full textWhile technology has the potential to enhance ethical practices, its impact is complex and poorly
understood. This paper examines corporate ethical standards in digital tech–oriented firms to
explore this dynamic. Using data from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys spanning 2006 through
2023, we find that technology and digitalization positively influence the adoption of environmental
and social standards. However, digital tech–oriented firms exhibit lower governance standards.
These results are shaped by country culture, the burden of business regulation, and the perception
of the courts as obstacles to business activity. Our findings highlight the significance of broader
societal influences and the quality of the business environment in determining how digital-oriented
technological firms adopt ethical standards
Unlocking extra virgin olive oil identification: predicting ethyl esters with explainable AI on IR spectra
No full textExtra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is susceptible to adulteration and degradation, making the assessment of its authenticity and quality essential. Fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE), formed through fermentative processes, are regulated by EU legislation as key markers of EVOO quality, with acceptable levels up to 35 mg/kg. In this study, a rapid, non-destructive, and cost-effective alternative based on infrared spectroscopy combined with traditional statistical methods (i.e., Partial Least Square – PLS), machine learning (ML) and explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) is proposed. A dataset of 170 olive oil samples with FAEE concentrations ranging from 1.81 mg/kg to 109.00 mg/kg were analyzed using Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy. Spectral data were preprocessed and used to train various regression models. The best performance was obtained with an XGBoost model (R2 = 0.90, RMSE = 9.41 mg/kg). XAI techniques enabled interpretation of the model and identification of spectral regions mostly associated with FAEE content
Innovazione sociale aperta : Governance pubblica, risorse finanziarie, imprenditorialità e impatto sociale
No full textPolyphenols and Eye Health: A Narrative Review of the Literature on the Therapeutic Effects for Ocular Diseases
No full textThe worldwide burden of visual impairment is mostly attributed to ocular diseases, which include alterations of the retina, optic nerve, cornea, and ocular surface. Despite advances in medicine, the prevention and management of these conditions remain challenging, driving ongoing research into novel bioactive compounds. Among these, polyphenols—an assorted group of plant-derived compounds abundant in the human diet—have attracted significant
attention due to their potential antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory properties. Increasing evidence suggests that polyphenols may help counteract oxidative stress and modulate pathways involved in ocular pathologies, assisting the conventional therapeutic strategies. This narrative review aims to analyze the current evidence about the potential therapeutic effects of the main polyphenols (e.g., curcumin, resveratrol, epigallocatechin gallate) currently recognized for the management of ocular diseases