IRIS Università degli Studi dell'Aquila
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Sex-based differences in inflammatory predictors of outcomes in patients undergoing mechanical thrombectomy: an inverse probability weighting analysis
Get PDFBackground:
Inflammatory biomarkers, key predictors of ischemic stroke prognosis, may exhibit sex-specific predictive patterns.
Objectives:
This study investigates sex-based differences in inflammatory biomarkers as predictors of 90-day clinical outcomes in acute ischemic stroke patients undergoing mechanical thrombectomy (MT).
Design:
Multicenter retrospective study.
Methods:
This study included 970 patients consecutively treated with MT for anterior circulation large vessel occlusion between 2016 and 2023. Inflammatory indices, including neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), C-reactive protein (CRP), systemic inflammation response index, and systemic immune-inflammation index, were measured on admission and 24-h post-MT. Inverse probability weighting was used to balance baseline characteristics between male and female patients. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression and logistic regression were used to identify independent predictors of 90-day good functional outcomes (modified Rankin scale (mRS) score 0–2) and death, stratified by sex and age groups (<55 and ⩾55 years).
Results:
In the male weighted population (516 patients), multivariable analysis showed that MLR (odds ratio (OR): 0.37, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.13–0.95, p = 0.041), 24-h NLR (OR: 0.88, 95% CI: 0.83–0.94, p < 0.001), and 24-h MLR (OR: 0.33, 95% CI: 0.12–0.94, p < 0.001) were independent predictors of 90-day good functional outcome with age-specific differences noted. Twenty-four-hour MLR (OR: 5.05, 95% CI: 1.36–4.28, p = 0.047) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (OR: 1.02, 95% CI: 1.01–1.04, p = 0.025) were independent predictors of death, respectively, for men <55 and men ⩾55 years. In the weighted female population (454 patients), 24-h NLR (OR: 0.89, 95% CI: 0.81–0.96, p = 0.007) and 24-h CRP (OR: 0.98, 95% CI: 0.97–0.99, p = 0.029) were independent predictors of good functional outcomes. Twenty-four-hour CRP was also an independent predictor of 90-day death (OR: 1.01, 95% CI: 1.00–1.02, p = 0.017) in women with no age-specific differences noted. Interaction analysis revealed significant sex-specific relationships for MLR and CRP but not for NLR.
Conclusion:
This study highlights sex-based differences in the predictive value of widely available inflammatory biomarkers for stroke outcomes. MLR was a distinct predictor in men, while CRP was uniquely associated with outcomes in women. These findings underscore the need for sex-stratified approaches in stroke management and research
Different impact of menthol chirality on ideal and deep eutectic solvents: Thermal and structural insights
Get PDFTrAQ: A novel, versatile, semi-automated, two-dimensional motor behavioural tracking software
Get PDFWe present TrAQ, a new MATLAB-based two-dimensional tracking software for Open Field video analysis of an unmarked single animal. TrAQ allows automatic recognition of the animal within a user-defined arena, providing a full range of quantitative kinematic behavioral parameters. TrAQ, free and non-species-specific application, was quantitively tested with rodents. Within free software an innovative feature of TrAQ is the automated counting of in-plane rotations, an important parameter in the 6-hydroxydopamine hemiparkinsonian rat model and in many rodent models of neurodegenerative diseases, and a very time-consuming manual task for highly trained human operators. Quantitative results were successfully validated against commercial software (for tracking) and manual annotation (for rotations in a hemiparkinsonian rat model). TrAQ allows the characterization of motor asymmetry using non-invasive tools, thus appreciating the spontaneous Open Field behaviour of unmarked single animal, with minimum user intervention
Multi-methodological approach for assessing surface faulting and paleoliquefaction history in central Italy: applicative implications for seismic microzonation studies in the Quaternary L’Aquila basin
Get PDF«Ella è gagliarda, et è più bella molto; / né il suo famoso nome anco t’ascondo». Eroismo ed encomio nell’Ascanio errante di Barbera Tigliamochi degli Albizi
No full textIl saggio propone una prima analisi dell’Ascanio errante (1640) di Barbera Tigliamochi degli Albizi (1610-1696), un poema eroico sulle vicende degli esuli troiani Enea e Ascanio e l’amore di quest’ultimo per Corintia, regina di Fiesole e capostipite dei Medici. Il testo è interessante per la riscrittura del mito virgiliano in chiave encomiastica e la commistione di generi e forme nella cornice del poema eroico di ispirazione tassiana
Valutazione Epidemiologica Sulla Distribuzione Delle Vulnerabilità Sociali E Sue Ripercussioni Sullo Stato Di Salute Orale
No full textDental caries and periodontal disease pose a significant health challenge for the entire population, particularly affecting socio-economically disadvantaged individuals who are more vulnerable to these diseases. The inadequacy of the current healthcare response to the oral health needs of vulnerable individuals has led to the development of a new dental approach with economically sustainable and health-effective interventions. The aim of this project was to evaluate a diagnostic-therapeutic pathway designed to prevent and manage carious disease.
A prevention and treatment protocol for carious disease (protocol-AQ) was developed for socially vulnerable individuals and gradually implemented at the Dental Clinic of the University of L'Aquila. The sample included 150 patients aged between 4 and 14 years who were monitored at T0 (initial visit) and T1 (one year post-treatment). Clinical data including DMFT/dmft index, caries prevalence and incidence as well as socioeconomic information were collected. The percentage ratio between the sub-indices DMT/dmt, MT/mt, and the entire DMFT/dmft was compared, and the percentage of restoration failures following minimally invasive treatments were assessed.
At T0, the mean DMFT/dmft was 3.2, with a DMT/dmt of 3.07 (93.7% of the total) and a low FT/ft of 0.11 (6.3%). At T1, the DMFT/dmft decreased to 1.06, showing a 60.1% reduction compared to T0. Among 284 minimally invasive treatments, 17.2% experienced restoration failure. Participants with higher caries indices were more likely to come from low-income families, consume high-sugar diets, practice poor oral hygiene, and have irregular visits to dental healthcare services.
The findings of this project highlight the effectiveness of continuous patient management and repeated educational interventions over an occasional treatment approach. Furthermore, minimally invasive treatments such as Atraumatic Restorative Treatment (ART), Interim Therapeutic Restoration (ITR), and the use of fluoride varnishes resulted in a 60.1% reduction in caries, showing results superior to those reported in the literature (27% vs. 38.7%-53%)
Enhancing Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) through AI-powered Biometrics
Get PDFThis thesis explores the enhancement of Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) through AI-driven biometric systems, focusing on industrial and healthcare applications. Key contributions include developing intelligent systems that use emotional intelligence (EI), EEG signals, and multimodal datasets to improve collaboration, safety, and efficiency in human-robot workflows.
In industrial settings, an EI-Vision Transformer (ViT)-based system was implemented to monitor operator attention levels using facial expressions and hand gestures. This system optimizes collaborative robot (cobot) trajectory planning, enhancing safety and reducing downtime. The study also addresses issues in Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) technologies for healthcare applications, provides the REMEMO dataset for emotion recognition based on self-evoked memories, and enables breakthroughs in emotion-driven assistive technologies. The thesis also presents MOVING, a novel multimodal dataset that integrates EEG signals and virtual glove hand tracking for motor rehabilitation tasks, advancing research in assistive devices and rehabilitation robotics. In addition, deep learning architectures were analyzed for their efficacy in classifying motor execution and emotional states, highlighting the potential of compact and efficient models like EEGNet for real-time applications.
Future research directions include extending datasets to encompass diverse subjects, refining signal processing methods, and exploring physiological interpretations to further bridge the gap between humans and robots. These advancements underline the transformative role of AI in fostering intuitive, safe, and collaborative human-robot ecosystems
Education 4.0: Considering the Development of Teachers’ Psychological Dispositions Towards the Use of ICT with Kindergarten Children
No full textSince 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced teachers to rapidly adopt Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools for distance learning, transforming education into an all-digital environment. This shift posed significant challenges, especially for kindergarten teachers accustomed to traditional, face-to-face methods. These changes will have long-term impacts on education, influencing teachers’ attitudes and beliefs, which take time to stabilize and evaluate. The present paper addresses this by posing the question: In 2024, four years after the COVID-19 pandemic, what attitudes have kindergarten teachers developed towards ICT integration in the classroom? For this purpose, the standardized “Intrapersonal Technology Integration Scale” was chosen to assess the beliefs of Italian kindergarten teachers. The study includes 49 kindergarten teachers, all women. Data analysis showed that they have a strong interest in using ICT, indicating a need for ongoing support and training initiatives. However, teachers did not report feeling self-efficacy in using ICT with children in the classroom. This finding is crucial as it can influence their expectations and motivation towards integrating these technologies into daily teaching activities. In conclusion, this study highlights the critical importance of teachers’ attitudes in shaping future learning environments within the Education 4.0 era and provides suggestions to maximize ICT integration starting from early education to better meet the needs of future citizens
Mereomodal partialhood and fractional counting
Get PDFWhen we count, we often count fractions, too. We contend that fractional counting involves partial entities, which are merely possible parts of entities of the counted kind. The size of these possible parts is measured with respect to the size of a possible member of that kind. Therefore, partialhood is mereomodal, and the logical form of fractional counting claims includes mereological predicates, modal operators, and a measurement functor. Different varieties of modality and forms of measurement are involved, depending on the kinds of entities to be counted and the context. The mereomodal account validates the idea that fractional counting is a way of counting by identity, in continuity with logic-based accounts of non-fractional counting, albeit more complex than them. Such an account also explains why some kinds of entities are not involved in partialhood and cannot be fractionally counted, while others only have marginal involvement in these phenomena. In the last part, we discuss some difficult cases and show that an integrity condition for partial entities is required in the logical form of some fractional counting claims