Archivio istituzionale della Ricerca - Università degli Studi di Parma
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Evaluating perineural invasion severity in head and neck cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas to refine prognostic accuracy: A retrospective case-control study
No full textAims: Perineural invasion (PNI) is a well-recognized risk factor for head and neck cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (HNCSCC). This study investigates whether a detailed scoring system for PNI can improve prognostic accuracy in HNCSCC, beyond the traditional PNI binary assessment. Methods: Among the Emilia-Romagna Cancer Registry, we analysed 61 patients with tumour progression and 61 without, using six histological PNI features: number of nerves involved, nerve diameter and depth, intra- vs. extratumoral location, nerve sheath involvement, and presence of mitotic figures within PNI. These parameters were compiled into a cumulative PNI score, categorizing patients as high- or low-risk based on the median score. An additional 20 patients treated with immunotherapy and 25 external PNI-positive cases were included for validation. Prognostic correlations were then analyzed by Cox proportional hazards regression model. Results: Twenty-one patients (17.2 %) had PNI and 81 % of them were cases with recurrence. A significantly higher proportion of cases (81.0 %) exhibited perineural invasion compared to controls (19.0 %) (p = 0.005). High-risk PNI scores were significantly associated with worse outcomes: five-year overall survival was lower in high-risk patients (10.1 % vs. 23.3 %), and disease-specific survival was also reduced (75.0 % vs. 88.9 %). High-risk PNI scores conferred a four-fold increased risk of recurrence and nearly eight-fold higher risk of death. Among immunotherapy-treated patients, the risk of death was nineteen times higher for those in the high-risk PNI group. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that a multi-parameter PNI scoring system can refine prognostic stratification, potentially guiding more personalized treatment decisions and informing updates to the current staging guidelines
Human Metapneumovirus: A Narrative Review on Emerging Strategies for Prevention and Treatment
No full textHuman metapneumovirus (HMPV) is a major cause of acute respiratory tract infections, particularly in infants, young children, older adults, and immunocompromised individuals. Since its discovery in 2001, the virus has been recognized for its significant clinical and socioeconomic impact. Despite extensive research, no licensed vaccines or antiviral therapies are currently available for HMPV. This review aims to synthesize current knowledge on HMPV prevention and treatment, and to highlight promising avenues for future interventions. Several monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) targeting conserved epitopes of the HMPV fusion (F) protein have shown strong neutralizing activity in vitro and in animal models, although none have reached clinical trials. Vaccine development, including subunit, live attenuated, vector-based, and mRNA platforms, is progressing, with some candidates showing promise in adult populations. However, data in children, especially seronegative infants, remain limited. Antiviral research has explored repurposed drugs such as ribavirin and probenecid, along with novel agents like fusion inhibitors and T-cell-based immunotherapies, though none are yet approved. The development of safe, effective interventions—especially multivalent approaches targeting multiple respiratory viruses—remains a high priority. Continued research is essential to bridge the gap between preclinical promise and clinical application and to reduce the burden of HMPV infection worldwide
AntPi: A Raspberry Pi based edge–cloud system for real-time ant species detection using YOLO
No full textAnt detection is essential for ecological research, offering insights into biodiversity, habitat health, and environmental change. Traditional detection techniques rely on manual sampling methods, which are labor-intensive and time-consuming. Recent advances in autonomous, vision based systems show promise for insect monitoring, yet no dedicated, field ready solution exists for ant identification. In this work, we present ANTPI, a deep learning based system for real-time detection and classification on a Linux development board. To the best of our knowledge, the system is trained on the first dedicated dataset for arboricolous ants, comprising five species and one morphotype, sourced from citizen science contributions and direct field captures. Our approach employs the “You Only Look Once” (YOLO) framework for efficient object detection, augmented with environmental sensors to enable correlation between climatic variables and ant activity. To evaluate performance and robustness, we compare ANTPI with an alternative configuration, including controlled experiments using background-only images with artificial ant-like noise, and introduce a novel robustness indicator to assess reliability under realistic conditions. Experimental results demonstrate strong detection performance and confirm the feasibility of automated, in-field ant monitoring
Anti-TIF-1γ-positive dermatomyositis associated with colorectal adenocarcinoma: a case report
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A phosphoserine phosphatase variant present in the brain of Alzheimer's disease patients favors nuclear mistargeting
No full textPhosphoserine phosphatase (PSP) catalyzes the dephosphorylation of 3-phosphoserine, which is the final step in the de novo biosynthesis of l-serine (l-Ser) via the phosphorylated pathway in human astrocytes. Individuals who are homozygous or compound heterozygous for functionally defective PSP variants exhibit reduced cerebrospinal fluid l-Ser levels and severe neurological symptoms. In the present study, single nucleotide polymorphisms in PSP were identified in hippocampal samples from Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms, likely forming a haplotype (chr7:56088825 T>A and chr7:56088811 T>C, encoding R27S and D32G PSP variants, respectively), were detected exclusively in AD patients (three females and one male). Biochemical characterization of the recombinant R27S/D32G PSP enzyme revealed a slight decrease in thermostability, a 38-fold reduction in catalytic efficiency and a two-fold increase in IC50 for l-Ser, with the D32G substitution being the primary contributor to these effects. Despite its reduced enzyme activity, the R27S/D32G variant did not impair l-Ser biosynthesis either in an in vitro reconstructed pathway or in U251 human glioblastoma cells ectopically expressing the variant under heterozygous conditions. In these cells, PSP colocalized extensively with the other two phosphorylated pathway enzymes, namely phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase and phosphoserine aminotransferase, suggesting that they assemble into a functional complex, known as the serinosome. Notably, the R27S/D32G PSP variant exhibited increased nuclear localization compared to the wild-type enzyme. This mislocalization raises the intriguing possibility that PSP's moonlighting functions, including its putative role as a protein phosphatase, may be affected, potentially implicating it in pathways beyond l-Ser biosynthesis
Not just a witness: Highlighting the utility of witness social defeat stress for the examination of neuroimmune-cardiovascular interactions across diverse populations
No full textExploring allergy to novel foods in the Western countries: current and future perspectives
No full textIntroduction: The demographic increase, environmental concerns, and heightened awareness about health have led Western countries to consider edible sources previously overlooked. The novelty of these sources implies a scarce knowledge about their allergenicity. Areas covered: This review has the purpose of offering an arranged view about the allergenicity of different categories of novel foods, such as edible insects, new plant-based foods, and microalgae, by exploring cross-reactivity and common traits with other food allergies but also specific peculiarities. A particular regard is reserved for the framework in Western countries. Expert opinion: Increasing efforts have been directed in the last years to identify dangerous cross-reactive allergens in novel foods, i.e. tropomyosin. On the other hand, eventual primary sensitizations should also be considered, especially for idiopathic anaphylaxis. In view of the partial knowledge about the allergenic potential of the novel sources, the education of the patient on this topic (particularly those with known food allergies), and an appropriate labeling of product’s packages may reveal helpful to minimize the risk
Efficiency and safety in cold warehouses: a combined approach for storage and routing optimisation
No full textThis paper proposes an analytic optimisation model that combines storage assignment and routing strategies for minimising the picking time in a single-block warehouse of frozen food products. In cold storage, not only the quality of the products must be preserved, but also the health of the workers, by limiting their exposure to low temperatures. The model first examines the risk of item damage during the picking process and proposes a systematic reallocation of products based on two weight classes, ensuring that heavier items are retrieved first while lighter ones are handled at the end of the picking tour. Then, two hybrid routing heuristics (‘S-shape with return’ and ‘adapted midpoint’) are incorporated into the allocation strategy, generating optimised picking sequences that adhere to precedence constraints. The proposed framework achieves a significant reduction in picking time, which turns out to be approximately 40% lower than the baseline scenario under optimal conditions, thereby minimising workers’ exposure to unsuitable temperatures while preserving product integrity. Furthermore, reducing order processing times enhances fulfilment efficiency and reduces operational costs, contributing to a more sustainable and competitive cold chain logistics system