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Detecting Social-Ecological Fit in Natura 2000 Governance and Management: Evidence from LIFE projects focused on forest protected habitat types DATABASE
No full textDatabase for conducting a social-ecological network analysis of LIFE projects focused on forest habitat types. To protect privacy, the names of LIFE partners have been replaced with numerical identifiers
Visceral Adiposity is closely linked to Vitamin D Status in Patients with endogenous Cushing’s Syndrome
No full textBackground: Vitamin D deficiency is commonly observed in conditions characterized by obesity and exogenous glucocorticoid excess. However, the determinants of vitamin D status in endogenous Cushing’s syndrome (CS), particularly the role of visceral adiposity, remain poorly defined.
Objective: To assess serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D 25(OH)D levels and body composition in patients with untreated endogenous CS compared with matched healthy controls, and to evaluate the associations between vitamin D status and adiposity parameters.
Design: Monocentric, retrospective cross-sectional study including 51 newly diagnosed, CS patients and 52 age-, sex-, and BMI-matched healthy controls.
Results: Patients with CS showed significantly lower 25(OH)D levels (p<0.001) and a higher prevalence of hypovitaminosis D (p<0.001) compared with controls, despite similar sunlight exposure. CS patients exhibited greater central adiposity, with higher trunk fat (p=0.008) and visceral VAT mass (p=0.016), while total body fat was comparable. Within the CS cohort, hypovitaminosis D was associated with increased LDL cholesterol (p=0.049), visceral adiposity index (p=0.05), higher VAT mass (p=0.038) and VAT percentage (p=0.045). Serum 25(OH)D correlated inversely with BMI (rho= -0.318, p=0.029), waist circumference (rho= -0.328, p=0.019), trunk fat percentage (rho= -0.448, p=0.042), and VAT (rho=-0.412, p=0.05). In multivariable models, 25(OH)D remained independently and inversely associated with VAT percentage after adjustment for age, BMI, and urinary free cortisol (β= -0.424, p=0.03).
Conclusions: In endogenous CS, hypovitaminosis D is highly prevalent and strongly linked to visceral fat accumulation, particularly VAT percentage, rather than total adiposity. These findings suggest that fat distribution plays a key role in determining vitamin D status in this population, supporting the need for systematic vitamin D assessment and comprehensive body composition evaluation at diagnosis
Seismic vs. sub-seismic Experimental Mirror-like Fault Surfaces in Bituminous Dolostones
No full textMirror-like Surfaces (MSs) are ultra-polished surfaces frequently found in exhumed seismogenic fault zones in carbonates. They form under a wide range of pressure-temperature conditions and slip rates, from seismic (≈1 m/s) to sub-seismic (≈0.1-100 μm/s), reflecting distinct phases of the seismic cycle. Motivated by the abundance of MSs in bituminous dolostones from the Central Apennines (Italy), we performed rotary-shear experiments at seismic and sub-seismic slip rates, under water-dampened and room-humidity conditions, to determine the conditions favoring MSs formation. The resulting fault surfaces were analyzed using FEG-FIB-SEM to identify micro- and nano-structural indicators of slip rate. MSs developed under all tested conditions, regardless of water content. All experimental MSs consist of a 10s-nm-thick film of rounded nanoparticles (5-15 nm in diameter) overlying a 10-100 µm-thick Cataclastic Slip Zone (CSZ). Under room-humidity conditions, subtle differences emerged. The “seismic” MS is cut by micro-cracks due to thermal contraction or desiccation, and nanoparticles are arranged in flat, sub-rounded aggregates measuring 5-150 nm. Differently, in “sub-seismic” MSs, the nanoparticles are arranged in sub-spherical aggregates measuring few tens of nanometers. The CSZ displays micro- to nano-porosity in the first 2-3 µm beneath the “seismic” MS, while it is finer-grained and free of porosity in the “sub-seismic” slip zone. We conclude that MSs are the morphological convergence of physical and chemical processes acting across a broad range of deformation conditions. However, micro- to nano-scale structural features, if preserved in nature, may help distinguish between the “seismic” and “sub-seismic” origin of MSs
Role of postural test in differentiating primary aldosteronism from low renin hypertension
No full textBackground: The diagnostic accuracy of screening procedures and confirmatory tests is suboptimal to differentiate primary aldosteronism (PA) among patients with low-renin hypertension (HTN) is challenging. Our aim was to assess the role of postural stimulation test (PST, previously used for PA subtyping) in differentiating PA from low-renin HTN.
Patients and methods: Clinical and endocrine data in clinostatic position (CP) and orthostatic position (OP) were evaluated in 190 hypertensive patients: 80 PA and 110 low-renin HTN. Multivariate techniques were computed: Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Partial Least Square-Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) and k-means clustering.
Results: PST response showed 56/190 patients with suppressed renin levels in CP and OP (54/56 were PA), 56/190 with de-suppression of renin from CP to OP (45/56 were low-renin HTN), and 78/190 with renin measurable in CP and OP. Increased potassium and measurable renin in OP were predictors of low-renin HTN. Cluster analysis distinguished PA from low-renin: Cluster 2 included 104/110 low-renin HTN; Cluster 1 PA patients showed a higher frequency of suppressed renin levels at baseline and during PST (100% in CP and 95% in OP, respectively). Cluster 1 low-renin HTN patients had lower potassium and a higher frequency of suppressed renin levels at diagnosis and during PST, compared to Cluster 2. PLS-DA and PCA confirmed that renin in OP, renin response to PST and presence of hypokalemia were the most relevant parameters for distinguishing PA from low-renin HTN.
Conclusion: Renin response during PST can be used to exclude PA among patients with low-renin HTN
You Drink, You Lose (UDUL) - Uni-Impresa 2021
Full text linkHere we make available the two pre-prints resulting from our work on the "You Drink, You Lose" project funded by the Uni-Impresa 2021 grant from the University of Padova.
We also make available the surveys used for the three stages of the Uni-Impresa 2021 project that focused on a psychological intervention to raise prospective drivers (age 18-24) awareness of the risk of drink-driving.
Finally, we report a dataset related to the road crashes recorded in recent years by the police forces
Narrative habilities in Costarican children
No full textLanguage and cognitive assessment of preschool children from Costa Ric
Quality assessment of lump charcoal in 2020, 2021, 2023, and 2024
No full textThe files contain the results of proximate, bulk density, size distribution, and bag weight of the collected samples in the four considered years (2020 - 2021 - 2023 - 2024
Sediment Dynamics in the Venice Lagoon: Current Challenges and Future Perspectives of a Flood Regulated System
No full textData for the paper "Sediment Dynamics in the Venice Lagoon: Current Challenges and Future Perspectives of a Flood Regulated System
CASR gene polymorphisms in primary hyperparathyroidism: genetic susceptibility and clinical variability
No full textPurpose: This study investigates the role of CASR gene polymorphisms (A986S, R990G, Q1011E) in PHPT genetic susceptibility and its clinical variability. The aim is to evaluate the prevalence of these polymorphisms in patients with sporadic PHPT and their impact on clinical course, biochemistry, and histological features.
Methods: 106 patients underwent clinical and anamnestic evaluations, focusing on major PHPT complications, as well as biochemical analyses of blood and urine. Genetic testing was conducted for CASR gene polymorphisms. Histological data were available for 68 patients who underwent parathyroidectomy.
Results: The sample included 83 women and 23 men; mean age at diagnosis was 54.5 years. 55 patients carried CASR gene polymorphisms, while 51 were wild-type. Prevalence rates of polymorphisms were consistent with data for the Caucasian population, with A986S being the most common (31%). No significant associations were found between polymorphisms and increased levels of ionized calcium or other blood phospho-calcium metabolism parameters. However, 24-hour urinary calcium levels were higher in patients with polymorphisms (p=0.0185), particularly in those older than 50 years (p=0.030) and with the A986S variant. Hypercalciuria was predictive of CASR polymorphism presence (OR = 2.76, p = 0.003). No significant association with PHPT complications, such as renal calculi or bone involvement, was confirmed. Histological data revealed no clear links between polymorphisms and more aggressive variants.
Conclusion: CASR gene polymorphisms are associated with hypercalciuria but do not significantly influence age of onset or clinical phenotype in PHPT. Genetic analysis may be useful in selected cases to better understand individual clinical profiles
Transcriptomic profiling of GH-secreting pituitary neuroendocrine tumors for tissue deconvolution
No full textTen GH-PitNET samples were collected from acromegalic patients treated surgically. Total RNA was extracted using the Quick-DNA/RNA kit (Zymo Research), then quality-checked with Agilent Bioanalyzer and NanoDrop. Libraries were prepared using KAPA RNA HyperPrep with RiboErase (Roche) and sequenced (150 bp paired-end) on an Illumina NovaSeq X Plus. Gene-level counts presented in the table were quantified using Salmon and summarized with tximport