Archivio Istituzionale della Ricerca- Università del Piemonte Orientale
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Bridging science and society: Developing a citizen science biomonitoring approach for river ecosystems in Italy
Get PDFRivers are among the most altered and impacted freshwater ecosystems on Earth, so that collective efforts should be fuelled by professionals and societies to implement their biomonitoring and conservation. Citizen science is recognized as a powerful approach but its application in river biomonitoring is still scarce, especially in Italy. This study was aimed at developing and validating a citizen science biomonitoring approach for river ecosystems based on the analysis of benthic macroinvertebrate communities. By using a calibration dataset composed of 932 sampling events performed by professionals, a simplified macroinvertebrate community was first obtained by selecting only 36 representative taxa. Four different, but routinely applied, metrics were calculated on both the simplified and calibration communities and showed strong and significant correlations. Thresholds for the four selected metrics were statistically derived and offered a good agreement in discriminating not-impacted and impacted conditions according to the official methodology. The performance of the proposed approach was validated on ten independent sampling campaigns with citizen science volunteers and compared to benchmark sites. Since 33 out of 36 taxa were recorded at least once, results showed that the simplified macroinvertebrate community was effective and representative. The ecological status assessment and the selected metrics were generally comparable to the values of the benchmark sites, despite some differences being observed depending on the metric. This study represents one of the first efforts in the direction of developing a citizen science macroinvertebrate-based methodology for river biomonitoring in Italy and it supports the adoption of a multi- metric approach
Etonogestrel Subdermal Implant in Adolescents: Everything We Should Know to Conduct Proper Counseling, a Narrative Review
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Silk fibroin nanoparticles for enhanced sodium borocaptate delivery in boron neutron capture therapy
No full textCommunication and Library Marketing. Literature Review, academic and professional courses in Italy: state of the art and new insights
Get PDFIl presente articolo si propone di ricostruire una storia della letteratura, dei corsi di formazione e del dibattito scientifico e professionale sul marketing e la promozione delle biblioteche, con un focus particolare sul caso italiano. Partendo dal dettagliato resoconto di Norman O. Gene (1982) sull’emergere del library marketing nella letteratura internazionale, il primo paragrafo ne ricostruisce la nascita e gli sviluppi in Italia, ripercorrendo la cronologia dei principali articoli e monografie sul tema. Nella seconda sezione, il focus si sposta sui convegni e seminari, i quali a loro volta hanno spesso dato vita a output editoriali. Il terzo paragrafo affronta il tema della formazione dei bibliotecari su comunicazione e library marketing in Italia, sia nella forma di corsi universitari, sia di workshop per professionisti, valutandoli insufficienti in relazione allo scenario contemporaneo. Infine, si discute dei blog, newsletter e podcast sul library marketing nello scenario italiano e internazionale e dei premi internazionali per library marketers. In tutti i casi il panorama italiano è letto attraverso il confronto con lo scenario internazionale. L’argomento si intreccia inevitabilmente con la storia dell’evoluzione del marketing a disciplina non esclusivamente votata al profitto, e del passaggio dai metodi analogici di promozione a quelli contemporanei offerti da ICT e social media. Lo studio evidenzia come in Italia sia necessaria ulteriore ricerca e impegno sul tema del digital marketing per le istituzioni culturali
Unraveling the Genetic Heartbeat: Decoding Cardiac Involvement in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
No full textCardiomyopathy represents the most important life-limiting condition of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients after the age of 20. Genetic alterations in the DMD gene result in the absence of functional dystrophin protein, leading to skeletal/cardiac muscle impairment. The DMD incidence is one in 5000 live male births. Identifying the genetic background, in addition to DMD disease-causing variants, is one of the unmet needs in understanding the cardiac disease’s pathogenetic mechanisms and its prognostic implications. The clinical scenario is made even more intricate by the difficulty in predicting the onset and progression of cardiomyopathy, as no clear genotype/phenotype correspondence has been found thus far. The evaluation of genes involved in the onset of primary cardiomyopathies could explore the hypothesis that changes in cytoskeletal and sarcomeric protein function are the modulators of ventricular dysfunction in DMD patients. In the last decade, with the advent of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology, many disease-causing genes and modifiers have been identified. Assessing the genetic origin of the phenotypic variability of the disease in both the onset and progression of cardiomyopathy in DMD would be extremely helpful in managing these patients. This review article aims to spotlight the genetic background associated with Cardiomyopathy in DMD patients toward a more predictive personalized model of care
Immersive reality surgical training for Le Fort I orthognathic surgery: Initial results of a randomized feasibility study
No full text: Immersive reality (IR) technology has been shown to have benefits for surgical training, planning, and navigation of orthognathic surgery. This study evaluates the use of IR technology for training in Le Fort I (LFI) orthognathic surgery. Twelve participants, including surgery experts, IR specialists, engineering students, and residents, completed a simulation session and assessed the IR system's validity, reliability, and suitability. Participants noted the high realism of the images and the procedure's similarity to real surgery, without significant side effects. The IR system shows potential as an effective educational tool for orthognathic surgery, particularly for residents, and may compliment the traditional training methods
Deep immunophenotyping of circulating immune cells in major depressive disorder patients reveals immune correlates of clinical course and treatment response
Get PDFIl Disturbo Depressivo Maggiore (MDD) è una condizione psichiatrica diffusa che impatta il funzionamento sociale e lavorativo, rendendolo una delle principali cause di disabilità. La diagnosi di MDD rimane clinica, basandosi sui criteri del Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-5, poiché i biomarcatori non sono ancora stati validati per scopi diagnostici o come predittori della risposta al trattamento. Le strategie terapeutiche tradizionali spesso seguono un approccio uniforme, ottenendo risultati subottimali per molti pazienti che non sperimentano risposta o recupero. Diversi studi hanno riportato un'associazione tra MDD e disfunzione del sistema immunitario, ma pochi si sono concentrati sulla caratterizzazione approfondita delle cellule circolanti durante la fase acuta del MDD.
Questo lavoro si è proposto di immunofenotipizzare le cellule del sangue periferico nella fase di ricaduta del disturbo, per identificare popolazioni cellulari rilevanti per il monitoraggio clinico dei pazienti. È stata condotta un'analisi multiparametrica sul sangue periferico di 60 pazienti con MDD utilizzando la citometria a flusso per identificare i linfociti (naive/effettori, memoria, regolatori) e le cellule mieloidi (cellule dendritiche, monociti). Sono state studiate le associazioni tra immunofenotipo, sintomi depressivi, funzionamento sociale e lavorativo e qualità della vita soggettiva durante la fase acuta e dopo tre mesi di trattamento.
L'analisi multivariata ha mostrato che i CD4+ effettori terminalmente differenziati della memoria (TEMRA) erano associati a sintomi depressivi più gravi, con particolare enfasi sulle caratteristiche anedoniche e su un peggior funzionamento sociale e lavorativo e qualità della vita. I CD8+ TEMRA erano associati a sintomi depressivi legati alla disperazione. Al contrario, i Tregs ICOS+ erano associati a ideazioni suicide di bassa intensità, suggerendo un ruolo protettivo. I CD4+ effettori della memoria (EM) basali erano predittori negativi della riduzione dei sintomi depressivi dopo tre mesi di trattamento, mentre le cellule dendritiche plasmacitoidi (pDC) predicevano la riduzione della disperazione.
Questi risultati confermano il coinvolgimento del sistema immunitario nel MDD e dimostrano l'esistenza di firme immunologiche associate alla gravità degli episodi depressivi maggiori e alla risposta al trattamento, che potrebbero guidare il monitoraggio clinico e future terapie personalizzate
Evaluation of structurally related acyclic ligands OBETA, EHDTA, and EGTA for stable Mn2+ complex formation
Get PDFIn recent years, significant research efforts have been dedicated to finding efficient and safe alternatives to the currently used gadolinium (Gd)-based MRI contrast agents. Among the most explored alternatives are paramagnetic chelates of the Earth-abundant Mn2+, which form a prominent class of metal complexes. The design of Mn2+ complexes with enhanced relaxation properties and improved safety profiles hinges on a delicate balance between thermodynamic and kinetic stability, as well as the presence of coordinated water molecules. In this study, we present a comprehensive investigation into the coordination chemistry of three structurally related polyetheraminocarboxylic chelating agents. Our aim is to elucidate the structural features, paramagnetic properties, and thermodynamic and kinetic inertness of the corresponding Mn2+ complexes. The most significant finding is the considerable difference in the dissociation rates of the complexes, with the octadentate EGTA complex being the most labile. The observed dissociation rates correlate well with the nitrogen inversion dynamics, as assessed through NMR spectral analysis of the analogous Zn2+ complexes