Archivio Istituzionale della Ricerca- Università degli Studi di Foggia
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Obesity and Chronic Inflammation: Implications for Rheumatoid Arthritis, Spondyloarthritis, and Ulcerative Colitis
No full textBackground: Immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) are a group of chronic conditions characterized by dysregulated immune responses and persistent inflammation. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), spondyloarthritis (SpA), and ulcerative colitis (UC) exemplify prominent IMIDs, each presenting unique challenges for their management, that impact patient's quality of life (QoL). Obesity, marked by persistent low-grade inflammation, influences the progression, response to treatment, and clinical management of patients with RA, SpA, and UC. Besides, the emerging role of sarcopenic obesity, a special subtype of obesity with malnutrition, should be considered in the definition of the appropriated therapeutic interventions. Methods: This narrative literature review summarizes recent evidence on the interplay between obesity-induced inflammation and IMIDs. Results: Obesity contributes to elevated levels of proinflammatory cytokines, influencing the inflammatory pathways common to IMIDs. White adipose tissue, acting as an endocrine organ, produces cytokines like TNF-α and IL-6, fueling chronic inflammation. The dysregulation of adipokines, such as leptin and adiponectin, further complicates this interplay, impacting immune responses and metabolic processes. Conclusions: Understanding the cross-talk between inflammatory pathways in obesity and IMIDs can provide insight into potential targets for intervention. This includes lifestyle modifications aimed to regulate weight gain, paving the way for comprehensive strategies to manage IMIDs in the context of obesity
Imaging Features of Prostate Sarcoma: A Case Report
No full text: A 54-year-old man presented to our clinic complaining of painful ejaculation. The patient underwent various imaging modalities, including ultrasound, transrectal ultrasound, prostate magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography/computed tomography that detected a voluminous mass originating from the prostate. Histological examination diagnosed a prostate sarcoma, a rare mesenchymal tumour. This case offers an opportunity to evaluate a rare subtype of prostate cancer and to describe its main imaging features with an educational approach
New Digital Technologies for Psychotherapy
No full textWhat will happen when an artificial intelligence entity has access to all of the information saved about me online, together with the ability to handle my information in an efficient and error-free manner? Is it possible that such a person could not serve as my ideal therapist? Would there ever be a time when you would feel comfortable confiding in an all-knowing, all-perceiving and highly intelligent robot therapist? This is the point in time when technological singularity will occur for psychotherapy; there is a horizon beyond which we cannot sight nor even begin to conceive what is beyond it. If it is possible for human intelligence to develop artificial intelligence that is more advanced than that of its creators, then it is also possible for artificial intelligence to create a subsequent generation of intellect that is even more advanced. An unavoidable cycle of positive feedback would eventually result in an intelligence growth rate that was exponential. The term “Therapist Panopto’s” is presented in this article as a working hypothesis to investigate the implications for psychotherapy of an artificial therapeutic agent. This agent would ben access all available data for a potential client and process these with an intelligence that is unimaginably more advanced than human beings currently possess. The delicate dependence of complex techno-social systems on their starting conditions makes it hard to make any kind of prediction, even though this opens up a new viewpoint on the potential of psychotherapy in the future. Both humans and artificial intelligence come together to form a biotechnological system. The evolution of the participating actors in this complex superorganism is dependent not only on the individual actions of each actor but also on the fact that each actor is a coevolving part of a self-organized whole
How Does NPLs Securitization Affect EU Banks’ Systemic Risk?
No full textThis chapter contributes to the growing debate on the NPLs issue by addressing the challenges leading to financial stability and promoting the NPLs resolution plans for EU banks. Our main hypothesis is a U-shaped relationship between the NPLs securitizations and the systemic risk. We find that the maximum amount of NPLs securitization performed by EU banks to minimize the contribution to systemic risk shifts about Global systemic important banks (G-SIB) designation and country risk. The bank’s contribution to systemic risk lies in the involvement of the bank in this instrument and not in its features. Our results contribute to the ongoing debate on the important issue of designing suitable systemic risk indicators that act as Early Warning Systems (EWS) for predicting incoming financial crises. Evaluating the bank's contribution to systemic risk is important to take into account the bank’s exposure to NPL securitization
Sustainable universal access to essential medicines amidst conflict: a stakeholder analysis of primary care in Syria
No full textINTRODUCTION: Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Indicator 3.b.3 is defined as the proportion of health facilities that have a core set of relevant essential medicines available and affordable on a sustainable basis. Data for these three dimensions is collected and measured as part of the World Health Organization (WHO) Medicines Strategy, which recognizes that sufficient access to medicines is an indispensable element of quality healthcare delivery. Among other long-term consequences, internal conflict in Syria has led to the breakdown of health systems, lack of qualified medical personnel, and shortage of medicines. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: This report investigates the power and relationship dynamics between key stakeholders involved in the delivery of essential medicines in Syria. A stakeholder analysis was conducted to identify key actors, their influence, and accountability in ensuring access to medicines. Additionally, policy and healthcare system evaluations were performed to assess barriers to universal medicine delivery. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: Findings indicate a fragmented healthcare system with multiple actors, including government agencies, international organizations, and local providers, often operating with limited coordination. The role of humanitarian aid has been crucial, but supply chain disruptions, regulatory barriers, and financial constraints continue to hinder consistent access to essential medicines for chronic diseases in primary care. CONCLUSIONS: To improve the universal delivery of essential medicines in Syria, stronger coordination among stake-holders, regulatory reforms, and sustainable funding mechanisms are required. Strengthening local pharmaceutical pro-duction, enhancing supply chain management, and increasing international support for medicine accessibility are critical to addressing the ongoing crisis
Rapid single-step pretreatment of urine samples using a 2D carbon microfiber fractionation for phthalate and metabolite detection via GC–MS and LC-MS/MS
No full textPhthalates (PAEs) are widely used as plasticizers and softeners. PAEs and their metabolites (PMs) are considered toxic substances, causing endocrine disruption and damage to reproductive and immune systems. Due to their different polarities, a comprehensive analysis of PAEs and PMs in real samples requires multi-step, complex, and expensive pretreatments, increasing the possibility of sample contamination or analyte losses. In this work, a fast and eco-sustainable sample pretreatment method that allows PAEs and PMs analysis in urine samples by using a two-dimensional microscale micro-carbon fiber (CF) / active micro-carbon fiber (ACF) (2DμCFs) device is proposed. 2DμCFs device allows PAEs, PMs, and water-soluble impurities separation in a single pretreatment exploiting the selective adsorption of CFs and ACFs that is carried out by using small solvent amounts. Furthermore, the 2DμCFs device reduces the matrix effect allowing reliable GC–MS and LC-MS/MS analyses. Limits of quantification were in the range of 15–25 ng mL-1 and of 20–30 ng mL-1, and recoveries were in the range of 78.1 %-87.1 % and 79.4 %-97.3 %, for PAEs and PMs, respectively. The method also showed good reproducibility, with relative standard deviations in the range of 3.8 %-13.3 % and 3.3 %-11.3 % for PAEs and PMs, respectively. Considering these results, the 2DμCFs sample pretreatment procedure can be considered a powerful tool for effective, fast, accurate, and eco-sustainable PAEs and PMs analyses in real samples
The Use of Educational Robotics in Autism
No full textOver the last decade, numerous studies have been conducted on the application of robotics to stimulate deficit social and communication skills in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The contribution aims to understand if and how social robots can be used to support autistic children’s communication and improve their attention and involvement. It is interesting to investigate which technologies could work in order to derive usable reflections in the preparation of future intervention protocols. The paper pursues an exploratory investigation through a Scoping Review aimed at understanding if and how social robots can be used to support the autistic child’s communication, encouraging attention, imitation and the implementation of new social behaviours (Abu Amara et al. 2021). Studies have shown that robots improve the social skills of autistic children, for whom interaction with other people can be disorienting, due to the varied expressiveness of the human face and social signals that are difficult to interpret. The educational robot, programmable according to the child’s needs, facilitates communication by allowing cognitive relief and predictability of action. Attention is also focused more on the robot, maintaining greater eye contact. The support of social robots has proven to be more effective than other ‘technological’ therapies, such as video games or apps: the robot encourages interaction. Unlike other tools such as software, which completely capture children’s attention, humanoid robots facilitate natural face-to-face interactions
Synthesis and characterization of chitosan-grafted-dopamine based micelles as multifunctional nanomedicines for Parkinson's disease treatment by intranasal administration
No full textParole e immagini nella pedagogia di Comenio: tra auctoritas antica e innovazione multimediale
No full textThis paper focuses on the use of words and images in Comenius’s pedagogy,
highlighting how the Orbis Sensualium Pictus represents an innovative
educational and encyclopedic tool. In particular, it examines the role of images
as support for memory, understanding, and learning, at the intersection of pedagogical
tradition, method, and technology
