Archivio Istituzionale della Ricerca- Università del Piemonte Orientale
Not a member yet
52951 research outputs found
Sort by
A dataset from the Cryptogamia-Lichenes section of the Herbarium Universitatis Taurinensis (TO)
No full textPredicting Long-COVID Sequelae: A Multi-Label Classification Approach
No full textWe present a study about the prediction of long-COVID sequelae through multi-label classification (MLC). Data on more
than 300 patients have been collected during a long-COVID study at Ospedale Maggiore of Novara (Italy), considering
their baseline situation, as well as their condition on acute COVID-19 onset. The goal is to predict the presence of specific
long-COVID sequelae after a one-year follow-up. To amplify the representativeness of the analysis, we carefully investigated
the possibility of both augmenting the dataset by considering situations where different levels in the number of
complications could arise, and reducing the number of features to be considered for prediction. In the first case,
MLSmote under six different policies of data augmentation has been considered, while in case of feature reduction we
have generated new datasets via both a supervised and an unsupervised dimension reduction approach (RELIEF and
PCA respectively). A representative set of MLC approaches has been tested on all the available datasets. Results have
been evaluated in terms of Accuracy, Exact match, Hamming score and macro-averaged AUC; they show that MLC methods
can actually be useful for the prediction of specific long-COVID sequelae, under the different conditions represented
by the different considered datasets. In addition, interpretability of the results has been addressed through an approach
based on the SHAP method, showing that clinical interpretations of specific predictions can be actually captured by the
method, together with the observation that data augmentation techniques do not harm such a kind of explanations
Linking tumor immune infiltration to enhanced longevity in recurrence-free breast cancer
Get PDFBackground: The infiltration of tumor-infiltrating B cells and plasma cells in early-stage breast cancer has been associated with a reduced risk of distant metastasis. However, the influence of B-cell tumor infiltration on overall patient survival remains unclear. Materials and methods: This study explored the relationship between an antitumor immune response, measured by a 14-gene B-cell/immunoglobulin (IGG) signature, and mortality risk in 9638 breast cancer patients across three datasets. Associations with tumor subtype, stage, and age were examined. IGG was characterized using spatial GeoMx profiling and single-cell RNA sequencing, and its relationship with tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) was evaluated. The predictive value of each of the 14 IGG genes for B-cell receptor (BCR) and T-cell receptor (TCR) clonality and longevity was also assessed, along with its association with longevity in other cancer types. Results: High IGG signature expression was significantly associated with a 41%-47% reduction in death risk in breast cancer survivors (P < 0.001), regardless of age, tumor stage, or subtype. Similar associations were observed in other cancers, including melanoma. In breast cancer, the IGG signature was significantly linked to overall survival without relapse in patients aged 41-70 years at diagnosis. Additionally, IGG expression correlated with the presence of TLSs and higher B- and T-cell polyclonality. A specific subset of seven IGG genes strongly correlated with BCR and TCR clonality, with predictive power for identifying clonality and improved longevity, especially when combining two of these genes. Conclusions: This study uncovers a significant link between immune gene expression in tumors and extended longevity in breast cancer survivors, even in the absence of recurrence. The IGG signature, particularly its key gene subset, emerges as a powerful marker of sustained antitumor immunity and overall patient fitness. These findings pave the way for personalized treatment strategies that enhance both survival and long-term health outcomes
Il ruolo delle performance Esg nella valutazione della rischiosità aziendale
No full textQuesto studio approfondisce la relazione tra pratiche ambientali, sociali e di governance (Esg) e il costo del debito per le aziende non finanziarie. Utilizzando un dataset che copre 16 anni e circa 4.800 aziende in tutto il mondo, il nostro studio rivela una relazione negativa tra performance Esg e costo del debito, confermata sia attraverso regressioni panel sia con l’utilizzo di modelli con variabili strumentali (2Sls). Questi risultati sono particolarmente rilevanti a seguito del Paris Agreement ed evidenziano l’effetto significativo nei paesi con maggiori emissioni di CO2 pro-capite e minor allineamento agli Sdg. Il nostro studio sottolinea l’importanza strategica dell’integrazione dei principi Esg nelle strategie aziendali e fornisce implicazioni pratiche per le istituzioni finanziarie, evidenziando la necessità di incorporare i fattori Esg in una valutazione olistica del rischio
Predictive factors of health related quality of life in children and adolescents with celiac disease: An Italian multicenter study on behalf of the SIGENP
No full textPerceptions of ethical decision-making climate among clinicians working in European and US ICUs: differences between religious and non-religious healthcare professionals
No full textBackground: Making appropriate end-of-life decisions in the intensive care unit (ICU) requires shared interprofessional decision-making. Thus, a decision-making climate that values the contributions of all team members, addresses diverse opinions and seeks consensus among team members is necessary. Little is known about religion's influence on ethical decision-making climates. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the association between religious belief and ethical decision-making climates. Methods: The study was a cross-sectional analytical observation study as a part of the prospective observational DISPROPRICUS study. A total of 2,275 nurses and 717 physicians from 68 ICUs representing 12 countries in Europe and the US participated. All participants were asked which religion (if any) they belonged to and how important their religion (if any) was for their professional attitude towards end-of-life care. Perceptions of ethical decision-making climates were evaluated using a validated, 35-item self-assessment questionnaire that evaluates seven factors. Using cluster analysis, ICUs were categorised into four ethical decision-making climates: good, average (with nurses' involvement at the end of life), average (without nurses' involvement at the end of life) and poor. Results: Of the 2,992 participants, 453 (15%) were religious (had religious convictions and found them important or very important for their attitude towards end-of-life care). The remaining 2,539 were non-religious (i.e. had religious convictions but assessed that they were not important for their attitude towards end-of-life care). When adjusting for country and ICU, the overall perception of the four ethical climates was associated with religious beliefs, with non-religious healthcare providers having more positive perceptions of the ethical climates compared to religious healthcare providers (p < 0.01). Within good climates, non-religious healthcare providers rated leadership by physicians (p < 0.01), interdisciplinary reflection (p = 0.049) and active decision-making by physicians (p = 0.02) as more positive compared to religious participants. In poor climates, religious healthcare providers had a more positive perception of the active involvement of nurses (p = 0.01). Within the other climates, no differences were found. Conclusions: Overall perceptions of ethical decision-making climates were associated with religious beliefs, with non-religious healthcare providers generally having a more positive perception of the ethical climates than religious healthcare providers
The Beach: Tax Competition along the Italian Coasts
No full textThis paper investigates how tourism taxes are used by municipalities to attract tourists. We analyze how municipalities compete among each
other, explicitly accounting for the spatial dimension. This paper provides a novel contribution to the literature on tax competition by explicitly
modeling and testing the spatial dimension. First, we present a spatial model of tax competition, which is an adoption of the Hotelling model of
imperfect competition in the linear city. We find that tax rates are strategic complements, as a change in taxes of one town will lead to a similar
change of tax rates in neighboring towns. Second, we test the model with data from tourism taxes along the Italian coastline. We find that towns
on the Tyrrhenian coast loose tourists to municipalities in the (south)east, if those reduce their tourism tax rate, and compete by lowering their
own tax rates with respect to towns in the (north)west. We do not find similar behavior along the Adriatic coast
Public versus private access in the Italian NHS - The use of propensity score matching to provide more insight on the increasing adoption of voluntary health insurance
No full textIn the Italian NHS, over the last decades, a growing share of population opted for a Voluntary Health Insurance (VHI) in order to privately access healthcare services and bypass the increasingly long waiting times of the public system.
The study analyses whether and to what extent the presence of a VHI may condition the choice of privately accessing healthcare services. Information on different access fees, specifically “full price”, “copayment price” and “no price”, are furnished for both specialist visits and diagnostic tests; the analysis is focused on these services.
Data is drawn from the European Health Interview Survey, and is modelled through Propensity Score Matching to find possible differences in the choice of accessing private, rather than public, healthcare services by individuals with VHI.
Results show a higher likelihood of accessing private specialist (+7.3 %) and diagnostic care (+7.3 %) by patients with a VHI compared to patients without VHI; conversely, having a VHI decreases the probability of seeking NHS care, through copayment, by respectively 5.1 % and 6.3 %. These findings suggest that the spread of VHI may reduce the burden on the NHS and increase the availability of diagnostic and specialist services for patients without integrative coverage.
On the other side, the analysis shows that income, education and employment status are directly related to the probability of having a VHI, raising concern on possible inequalities across socioeconomic classes in the access to healthcare services. Policy implications are not univocal and claim for a deeper insight into these aspects by both scholars and policymakers
Monitoring and evaluation in disaster management courses: a scoping review
Get PDFBACKGROUND: Owing to the infrequent emergence of disasters and the challenges associated with their management, responders need appropriate training beyond doubt. Ensuring the highest standard of disaster management (DM) training is of paramount importance for high-quality DM. However, the literature concerning DM training monitoring and evaluation (M&E) is scarce. The primary objective of this review was to document the existing M&E strategies for DM training. METHODS: The authors conducted a systematic literature search on June 28, 2023, on the PubMed, Scopus, Embase and Cochrane databases, including studies that described the learning objectives and the M&E strategy of DM training. The authors categorized the learning objectives and the evaluation methodology according to the revised Bloom's Taxonomy and the New World Kirkpatrick model, respectively. RESULTS: Fifty-seven articles met the inclusion and exclusion criteria, described DM training targeting healthcare and non-healthcare professionals and employed diverse teaching methods and topics. Five studies reported using monitoring, while all reported an evaluation methodology. The learning objectives focused on students' ability to "Remember" (N = 50) and "Apply"(N = 44). The evaluations centred around the second level of the New World Kirkpatrick model (N = 57), with only 7 articles investigating the third level. Sixteen authors used existing, validated M&E frameworks. When corelating the learning objectives with the evaluation methodology, the authors observed a mismatch, as skills like the students' ability to "Apply" and "Create" were evaluated using the second level of the New World Kirkpatrick model. CONCLUSIONS: The great heterogeneity in DM training highlights the particularity of these educational programs. The lack of monitoring and the low usage of existing M&E frameworks highlighted a lack of awareness and standardization in the field. The mismatch between the learning objectives and the evaluation process led to deceptive evaluations, which may have resulted in graduates being deemed ready to deploy despite facing hardships in real-world settings, potentially leading to unprepared responders
European Deforestation-free products Regulation: genesi, valutazione d’impatto e potenziali ricadute sulle piccole e medie imprese
No full textIl contributo esamina il regolamento UE 2023/1115, noto come “Regolamento Deforestazione zero”, nello scenario europeo dei nuovi obblighi di diligenza, delle prospettive e delle ricadute non soltanto per le catene di fornitura transnazionali, ma anche per le piccole e medie imprese