IRIS UNIME
Not a member yet
103940 research outputs found
Sort by
Emergent Carotid Stenting for Acute Anterior Circulation Ischemic Stroke With Tandem Lesions: The Multicenter CERES-TANDEM Study
No full textBackground and ObjectivesThe management of anterior circulation tandem lesion stroke remains controversial, given its under-representation in randomized thrombectomy trials and uncertainty regarding optimal extracranial carotid intervention. We aimed to determine whether emergent carotid stenting (eCAS) during endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) for anterior circulation tandem lesions improves 90-day functional outcomes compared with a no-stenting strategy.MethodsWe conducted an international multicenter longitudinal retrospective cohort study (CERES-TANDEM, NCT06965036) of consecutive adults treated at 49 comprehensive stroke centers in Europe, North America, and Singapore for anterior circulation acute ischemic stroke due to tandem lesions from January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2024. Exclusion criteria were primary hemorrhagic stroke, absence of intracranial occlusion, presentation >24 hours from symptom onset, and age younger than 18 years. We compared 90-day modified Rankin Scale (mRS) scores between participants receiving eCAS and those receiving no stenting during EVT. The primary estimand was mRS shift, analyzed by stabilized inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW)-weighted ordinal regression. Additional estimands were direct-effect estimand adjusting for successful recanalization (defined as Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction grade 2b or higher) and symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) (estimand 2) and stratum estimand restricting to never-crossers (estimand 3).ResultsOf 4,053 patients (mean age 70 years, 65.5% female), 2,522 underwent eCAS and 1,531 received no stenting. After IPTW, eCAS was associated with an improved 90-day functional outcome (common odds ratio (OR) 1.31; 95% CI 1.17-1.47;p < 0.001) and higher odds of mRS score 0-1 (OR 1.27; 95% CI 1.08-1.50; p = 0.005) and mRS score 0-2 (OR 1.30; 95% CI 1.13-1.51; p < 0.001), without a significant increase in sICH (OR 1.21; 95% CI 0.93-1.56; p = 0.15). Findings were consistent in direct-effect (common OR 1.17; 95% CI 1.04-1.31; p = 0.008) and stratum (common OR 1.37; 95% CI 1.21-1.55; p < 0.001) estimands. There was no interaction for intracranial occlusion site, IV thrombolysis, sedation technique, EVT approach, or access site. Sensitivity analysis including recanalization in IPTW-weighted estimand 1 framework confirmed the association of eCAS with improved 90-day functional outcomes (common OR 1.14, 95% CI1.02-1.27, p = 0.008).DiscussionIn this large real-world cohort, eCAS during EVT for anterior circulation tandem lesions was associated with superior 90-day functional recovery without increased hemorrhagic risk. These findings support consideration of eCAS in clinical practice and warrant confirmation in randomized trials.Trial Registration InformationRegistered in clinicaltrials.gov, NCT06965036.Classification of EvidenceThis study provides Class II evidence that in patients with stroke due to anterior circulation tandem lesions, eCAS during EVT improves 90-day functional outcomes compared with EVT alone
Generative AI and employee well-being: Exploring the emotional, social, and cognitive impacts of adoption
No full textOptimizing catalysts and electrocatalytic cell for selective CO2-to-ethylene conversion
No full textNowadays, the sharp and constant increase in atmospheric CO2 caused by human activities is one of the most important challenges that humanity must overcome. The increase in CO2 has direct consequences on the environment, enormously impacting our lives and our future. To mitigate these issues, several initiatives have been proposed and implemented over time, and different technologies have been developed. Among these technologies, Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) is one of the most interesting, as it not only allows a decrease in atmospheric CO2 emissions by capturing it and transforming it into new chemicals and fuels, but also turns CO2 from a waste into a valuable raw material. CO2 can be converted via chemical reduction into a wide spectrum of products (CO, HCOOH, CH4, C2H4, C2H6O, etc.) with different applications and uses. Among these products, ethylene is one of the most interesting due to its versatility and high market value (around 1,200 per ton). Conventionally, C2H4 is produced by steam cracking of petroleum-based products such as ethane or naphtha, a process that is highly energy-demanding and produces CO2 as a by-product. By contrast, C2H4 obtained through CO2 conversion is completely fossil-free, as it relies on atmospheric CO2 or CO2 captured from other sectors where it is generated in large quantities and can be valorized as a feedstock.
Among the different technologies used to transform CO2 into C2H4, electrocatalysis is one of the most promising, as it: i) operates under mild conditions, ii) can achieve high selectivity and conversion by modulating the applied potential (or current), and iii) can utilize renewable energy sources as the energy input. Consequently, electrocatalytic CO2 reduction (CO2ER), including the optimization of the electrocatalytic cell and optimization (or synthesis) of electrocatalysts, to produce C2H4 selectively, represents the main topic of this thesis.
This thesis is organized into five main chapters and the general conclusions.
Chapter 1 provides a general overview of CO2, its capture, storage, and utilization pathways, with a particular focus on electro- and photocatalytic CO2 reduction, contextualizing the use of these technologies among conventional and emerging ones for ethylene production. Moreover, the objectives of the thesis were defined.
Chapter 2 aimed to highlight that the extrinsic parameters (nature of the electrode, cell configuration, electrolytes, membranes, flow-field engineering and Gas Diffusion Layer nature) associated with the cell can influence the selective CO2ER to C2H4, creating an existing knowledge gap. This study aims also to optimize the electrocatalytic cell to produce C2H4 from CO2.
Chapter 3 focuses on the study and optimization of a CuO-based electrocatalysts with nanosheet morphology (CuONS), through the introduction of various heteroatoms (N, S, P, B) and Ni, with the aim of enhancing both the Faradaic efficiency toward C2H4 (FEC2H4) and the current density. The study also investigates the role of CO as a key intermediate in C2H4 formation, analyzing how catalyst modification can influence its generation and subsequent conversion, providing insights into the rational design of more efficient electrocatalysts for CO2 electroreduction.
Chapter 4 reports the results of the research activity carried out at Versalis S.p.A. (Mantua, Italy). The study focuses on industrial scale-up, addressing carbonate formation during CO2ER and the impact of diluted CO2 streams, simulating realistic conditions. Different electrolytes with varying pH values (1, 7, and 14) were used to evaluate their effect on carbonate formation and C2H4 selectivity. Additionally, CO electroreduction (COER) was investigated, as its pathway proceeds without the formation of carbonate species. This study highlighted how electrolyte composition and catalyst hydrophobicity can be considered key parameters for achieving high performance in electrocatalytic C2H4 production.
Chapter 5 focuses on the research activity carried out at the IMDEA Energy Institute (Madrid, Spain) and addresses the photoreduction of CO2 (CO2PR) using Ni-modified CuONS catalysts, described in Chapter 3. A heterojunction was constructed between the Ni-CuONS and commercial TiO2 to evaluate the effect of Ni modification on hydrocarbon production. The study highlighted that a higher Ni content enhances the generation of CH4 and C2H4, providing useful insights for optimizing CuONS catalysts for applications in CO2 photoreduction
Causal-augmented disentanglement for contrastive recommendation
No full textGraph neural networks (GNNs) combined with contrastive learning have shown promise in mitigating data sparsity and noise in recommender systems. However, current approaches face two key challenges: (1) they often conflate genuine user preferences with group-level influences, introducing confounding bias in representation learning; (2) conventional graph contrastive methods rely on random perturbations that can compromise semantic structure and amplify noise. To overcome these issues, we propose CaDCR — Causal-Augmented Disentanglement for Contrastive Recommendation. CaDCR introduces a dual-channel mechanism to separate individual and collective intent, applying causal interventions to eliminate bias from factors like popularity. Additionally, it employs dual contrastive regularization in both interaction and intent spaces, preserving semantic integrity and enhancing representation quality without manual augmentation. Experiments on Gowalla and other datasets show CaDCR outperforms 14 mainstream methods on metrics like Recall and NDCG, validating its effectiveness and practical relevance
Low- and high-tech AAC approaches in severe acquired brain injury: an exploratory pilot study
No full text: Acquired brain injury (ABI) is a major cause of long-term cognitive and communication impairments and is frequently associated with complex communication needs. Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) interventions are commonly used to support communication in individuals with severe acquired brain injury (SABI), yet evidence regarding their cognitive and neurophysiological effects remains limited. This pilot feasibility and exploratory study examined preliminary effects of low- and high-tech AAC interventions on cognitive, communicative, functional, and neurophysiological outcomes in individuals with SABI. Twenty participants were quasi-randomly assigned to an experimental group (EG) receiving high-tech AAC (Grid 3) or a control group (CG) receiving low-tech AAC. Cognitive functioning, functional independence, communication abilities, and P300 event-related potential latency were assessed at baseline and post-intervention. Non-parametric statistics were applied due to the small sample size. Within-group changes were examined using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, and exploratory between-group comparisons were conducted using Mann-Whitney U tests. Effect sizes with 95% confidence intervals were calculated, and Bonferroni correction was applied. Both groups showed significant within-group improvements in functional communication (EG p = 0.007, CG p = 0.014). The EG demonstrated significant gains in cognitive functioning (p = 0.005) and reduced P300 latency (p = 0.003), whereas no significant changes were observed in the control group. Changes in functional independence were modest and not statistically significant in either group. These findings support the feasibility of AAC interventions in SABI and suggest potential benefits for communication and selected cognitive processes. Larger randomised studies are needed to clarify comparative effects and mechanisms
«Il dio, se è veramente un dio, non ha bisogno di nulla» Dialoghi sul divino nell’Eracle di Euripide
No full textThe aim of this contribution is to analyse the theme of the relationship between the human and the divine in Euripidean religiosity, starting from the reading of several dialogues present in Euripides’ Heracles. In these dialogues, the tragedian’s decision to present a new representation of the divine becomes clear, offering a secular vision that willingly engages with ethical themes, questioning the value of the gods and their role and presence in human affairs: necessary and ambiguous, fluctuating between benevolence and enmity, between inevitability and sympateia
Il caricatoio di Termini. Snodo economico e antropico del Basso Tirreno tardomedievale
No full textIl saggio si pone come avvio di una ricerca sistematica sulla realtà economica e umana di un importante caricatoio siciliano di età medievale e moderna, Termini, nel contesto di un più ampio progetto Prin 2022 Pnrr sui porti minori di Mezzogiorno, Sicilia e Sardegna dal Medioevo a oggi
First Molecular Detection of Torque Teno Canis Virus in Apparently Healthy Dogs in Southern Italy
No full textBackground: Torque teno viruses are viruses with unclear pathogenic potential, as conflicting evidence has classified this family of viruses as harmless and opprtunistic. Dogs also have their own specific Torque teno virus, called Torque teno canis virus (TTCaV), which has been reported in several countries. Objectives: This study aimed to identify TTCaV in the feces of apparently healthy dogs and to evaluate risk factors correlated to higher prevalences. Methods: Faecal samples were collected from 171 dogs from the Campania region, Italy. DNA was extracted from each sample and used as a template in a nested end-point PCR, and some positive samples were sequenced by the Sanger method. Univariate analysis was performed to assess the correlation between molecular detection of TTCaV and variables included in the study. Results: A total of 18 out of 171 animals (10.5%) were PCR-positive. No individual factor (sex, age, etc.) was associated with higher prevalence, while significant differences were observed in mixed-breed (16.5%) and kennel dogs (17.7%). Although the identification of TTCaV DNA was more frequent in dogs with an altered faecal score (score > 2 on a 1–7 scale), we did not find higher prevalence in CPV-2-positive animals (even if based on only 11 CPV-2-positive samples). A total of six amplicons were sequenced, obtaining two different isolates that, once deposited in international databases and compared with those reported in other studies, showed a homology with other strains identified worldwide. Conclusions: Although questions concerning the clinical relevance of TTVs still remain unanswered, our study documented the presence of this virus in the dog population in southern Italy. Moreover, our work provided phylogenetic data and useful information to better characterize the epidemiological picture of this virus in Italy and in Europe