Archivio istituzionale della Ricerca - Università degli Studi di Parma
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Active listening modulates the spatial hearing experience: a multicentric study
No full textAlthough flexible and portable virtual reality technologies have simplified measuring participants' perception of acoustic space, their clinical adoption remains limited, often lacking ecological fidelity. In clinical practice, participants are typically instructed to remain still when testing sound localization, whereas head movements are crucial in daily life. Additionally, assessing spatial hearing extends beyond measuring accuracy to include meta-cognitive evaluations like perceived effort and confidence, which are rarely adopted. Our study hypothesized that allowing head movement during sound localization, compared to a static head condition, would reduce perceived listening effort and enhance confidence in normal hearing participants. Conducted across three audiology and otology hospital services in Northern Italy, the study involved personnel inexperienced with our VR equipment. This also tested the feasibility and usability of our VR approach in clinical settings. Results showed that head movements reduced subjective effort but did not significantly affect perceived confidence. However, during the active condition, participants reporting higher confidence exhibited less head movement and explored the space less. Similarly, those with less head movement reported lower listening effort. These findings underscore the importance of allowing natural posture to capture the full extent of spatial hearing capabilities and the value of including metacognitive evaluations in assessing performance. Our use of affordable, off-the-shelf VR equipment effectively measured spatial hearing in clinical settings, providing a flexible alternative to current static systems. This approach highlights the potential for more dynamic and comprehensive assessments in clinical audiology
Lo sviluppo normativo dei Leps, passando (anche) per l’autonomia differenziata
No full textIl saggio analizza il quadro normativo in tema di LEPS, che nei suoi sviluppi più recenti si è intrecciato con il tema dell’autonomia differenziata delle Regioni ordinarie. Prima con la legge di bilancio per il 2023 (l. n. 197/2022), che ha delineato una specifica procedura per fissare i LEP nelle materie di cui all’art. 116, c. 3, Cost. e, in seguito, con la legge n. 86/2024. Da questa prospettiva l’autrice esamina la sentenza della Corte costituzionale n. 192/2024 che, sul punto, ha enunciato importanti principi in merito al processo di determinazione dei LEP.The essay examines the regulatory framework governing the LEPS, which—particularly in its most recent developments— has crossed the issue of differentiated autonomy for ordinary Regions. This began with the 2023 Budget Law (Law No. 197/2022), which outlined a specific procedure for determining the LEP in the matters referred to in Article 116, paragraph 3, of the Constitution, and continued with Law No. 86/2024. From this perspective, the author examines Constitutional Court Judgment No. 192/2024, which established important principles regarding the process of LEP definition
Intelligent summaries: Will Artificial Intelligence mark the finale for biomedical literature reviews?
No full textLLM has attained generative capabilities similar to human discourse and can effectively summarize documents and extract information from texts. The development of R.A.G. systems will soon make these systems capable to browse databases such as MEDLINE and extract knowledge, creating summaries of the literature. These summaries may soon reach a point where they are equivalent to current reviews of the literature, possibly making them irrelevant. The availability of automated summaries of the literature may raise the bar of what is still worth publishing. Literature reviews may have to capitalize on human imagination, creativity and abstraction capabilities to survive the A.I. revolution
Multidimensional Assessment of Orthorexia Nervosa: A Case-Control Study Comparing Eating Behavior, Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet, Body Mass Index, Psychological Symptoms, and Autonomic Arousal
No full textBackground: The research on orthorexia nervosa (ON) has thoroughly outlined the connection between it and various mental disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorders and eating disorders, in addition to stress. However, research has not considered psychophysical stress and other measures of psychophysical health, such as adherence to the Mediterranean diet. Methods: This cross-sectional and case-control research involved 63 students from the University of Parma, aged between 18 and 49 years. The ORTO-15 questionnaire was utilized to categorize the entire sample into two groups: one without orthorexia (score > 35) and another with orthorexia (score < 35). All subjects were assessed with the Psychophysiological Stress Profile (PSP) and completed the Eating Disorder Inventory-3 (EDI-3) and the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R). In addition, they were interviewed using the PREDIMED questionnaire to assess adherence to the Mediterranean Diet, and their body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Results: Subjects with orthorexia represented 38.10% of the total sample and reported a higher BMI than controls, although the PREDIMED score did not show a difference in adherence to the Mediterranean diet. The EDI-3 highlighted emotional dysregulation and hypercontrol in students with orthorexia, and a dissociation between subjective and objective measures of stress emerged. Particularly, the psychophysiological parameters of skin conductance, heart rate, and heart rate variability showed greater reactivity to stressful stimuli, but no difference was noted in psychological symptoms. Conclusions: These findings confirmed the presence of alterations in eating behavior in people with orthorexia as well as a higher BMI. It was hypothesized that hypercontrol might favor the perception of psychological well-being at a subjective level, although inadequate management of stress emerged at an objective psychophysiological level. Further studies are needed to highlight the causality between ON, hypercontrol, diet, and psychophysical stress, given that students with orthorexia present a dysregulation of emotions associated with greater autonomic arousal
Electronic nose technology for the detection of ergot alkaloid in soft wheat and identification of the relevant volatile compounds by solid phase microextraction/gas chromatography-high resolution Orbitrap-mass spectrometry coupled to chemometrics
No full textErgot alkaloids (EA) are mycotoxins produced by Claviceps purpurea which commonly infects various cereal
species, compromising food safety. This study evaluates the potential of the electronic nose to reliably predict EA
contamination in wheat, demonstrating as a proof-of-concept the ability of this technology combined with su-
pervised techniques to distinguish samples contaminated at levels of interest from compliant samples. In
particular, the average value of samples correctly classified using PLS-DA was 95.5 %. Furthermore, a vola-
tilomics approach based on HS-SPME/GC–Orbitrap HRMS and chemometrics was successfully applied for the
first time to characterize the volatile compound pattern of wheat samples based on the level of EA contamination
paying attention to the secondary volatile metabolites. Overall, a high confidence in compound identification
was achieved with sub-1 ppm mass accuracy. Unsupervised PCA was used for discrimination purposes, revealing
19 differential compounds (markers), some of which are released during the growth of Claviceps Purpurea fungi
Length scales in the tear resistance of soft tissues and elastomers: a comparative study based on computational models
No full textFracture toughness describes a material’s ability to resist failure in the presence of defects. In case of soft biological tissues, a reliable determination and interpretation of the fracture properties is essential to estimate the risk of fracture after clinical interventions. Here we perform a comparative computational study between soft biological tissues and compliant elastomers to discuss the influence of material non-linearity on the crack tip nearfield. Using detailed finite element simulations, singular near-tip stress fields are obtained, and a so-called nonlinear region is identified. Additional focus is put on the effect of material nonlinearity on the phenomenon of elastic crack blunting, by analysing the deformed crack profile and extracting a radius of curvature at the tip. Through concepts of traditional fracture mechanics, we identify the size of the process zone and nonlinear elastic zone in biological tissues, juxtaposed with that of elastomers, demonstrating the limitations of the traditional metrics in capturing the remarkable defect tolerance of this highly nonlinear material class
Regenerative Agronomic Approaches: Technological, Biochemical and Rheological Characterization of Four Perennial Wheat Lines Grown in Italy
No full textCereals are the basis of the human diet, and among them, after rice and corn,
wheat is the most cultivated in the world. Drought, conflicts, and high prices affect food
security in many countries. The CHANGE-UP project funded by the PRIMA program
aims at redesigning agricultural systems for the Mediterranean area to make them more
resilient to climate change, and includes, among other agronomic innovations, the
cultivation and characterization of perennial wheat genotypes. In this study, four
perennial wheat lines, 235a, 20238, OK72, and 11955, grown in Italy, were examined for
their technological and chemical composition and rheological properties and compared
with the perennial species Thinopyrum intemedium (Kernza®) and to a modern durum
wheat variety, used as controls. On average, all the perennial genotypes presented very
small kernels along with high protein content, total antioxidant capacity, and mineral
content, and genotypes OK72 and 11955 presented good test weight values. Line 235a had
the best gluten quality, whereas line 20238 reported the worst values for bread-making
aptitude. Results indicate that perennial grains could adapt to the Italian environment
and manifest their nutritional and technological potential, constituting promising raw
materials for enhancing diversification in nutrition by sustainable agriculture based on
agroecological principles
La disciplina dei LEP per l’autonomia differenziata (ma non solo) al vaglio della Corte costituzionale. Note a margine della sentenza n. 192/2024
No full textNei suoi più recenti sviluppi, il percorso di determinazione del LEP si è intrecciato con il tema dell’autonomia differenziata delle Regioni ordinarie. Prima con la legge di bilancio per il 2023 (l. n. 197/2022), che ha delineato una specifica procedura per fissare i LEP nelle materie di cui all’art. 116, c. 3, Cost. e, in seguito, con la legge n. 86/2024.
Il saggio prende in esame, in particolare, la sentenza della Corte costituzionale n. 192/2024 che ha analizzato numerose questioni di illegittimità costituzionale sollevate contro la legge n. 86/2024. In merito al tema indagato, questa decisione ha ricondotto il processo per la definizione dei LEP, in linea con il disposto dell’art. 117, c. 2, lett. m) Cost., agli istituti posti a tutela dei diritti fondamentali: la riserva di legge e il principio di legalità; la discrezionalità del legislatore (con il limite della ragionevolezza) nell’assicurare condizioni di eguaglianza, nell’assetto territoriale e di finanza pubblica dello Stato.
La Corte ha altresì rimarcato la centrale rilevanza che tale categoria costituzionale riveste all’interno della forma di Stato, in cui la differenziazione (simmetrica o meno) deve avere il fine ultimo “di concorrere alla attuazione dei principi costituzionali e dei diritti che su di essi si radicano” ed essere, prima di tutto, “strumento al servizio del bene comune della società”.In its most recent developments, the process of determining the LEP has crossed the issue of differentiated autonomy for ordinary Regions. First, with the 2023 Budget Law (Law No. 197/2022), which outlined a specific procedure for establishing the LEP in the matters included in Article 116, paragraph 3, of the Constitution, and subsequently with Law No. 86/2024.
The essay specifically examines Constitutional Court ruling No. 192/2024, which analyzed several issues of constitutional illegitimacy raised against Law No. 86/2024. Regarding the subject under investigation, this decision linked the process of defining the LEP, as requested by the provisions of Article 117, paragraph 2, letter m) of the Constitution, to institutions aimed at protecting fundamental rights: the rule of law and the principle of legality; the legislator’s discretion (within the limit of reasonableness) in ensuring conditions of equality in the territorial structure and public finance system of the State.
The Court also emphasized the central importance of this constitutional category within the State structure, where differentiation (whether symmetrical or not) must ultimately "contribute to the implementation of constitutional principles and of the rights founded upon them" and, above all, serve as a "tool for the common good of society.
Il De muliere mala di Marbodo di Rennes e la costruzione poetica della misoginia medievale
No full textLa letteratura latina medievale rappresenta uno specchio significativo delle concezioni di genere dell’epoca, con particolare riguardo agli atteggiamenti misogini. In questo contesto il De mala muliere di Marbodo di Rennes, parte integrante del Liber decem capitulorum, si configura come erede di una consolidata tradizione letteraria che ha cristallizzato nei secoli un ricco repertorio di stereotipi femminili. Tale filone letterario raggiunge la sua massima espressione tra l’XI e il XII secolo, anche in virtù delle coeve riforme monastiche ed ecclesiastiche. Il poema rivela una sapiente architettura retorica e compositiva nella rappresentazione del femminile, interessando figure retoriche, costruzioni allegoriche e riferimenti classici e biblici. L’opera si struttura attraverso una stratificazione di topoi misogini, arricchiti da un prezioso apparato simbolico dove spiccano figure archetipiche come la Chimera, Cariddi e le Sirene. Il testo dialoga intimamente con la tradizione medievale, attingendo all’eredità greco-romana, alla letteratura patristica e al pensiero medico-filosofico del tempo. Pur rappresentando un esempio emblematico di misoginia letteraria, la raffinata elaborazione poetica del De mala muliere lo rende una testimonianza preziosa per comprendere l’evoluzione e il consolidamento dei pregiudizi di genere nella cultura medievale
