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Characteristics and Outcomes of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Patients with Autoimmune Hepatitis
Get PDFBackground: The incidence of HCC in patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is low and, due to the paucity of data in the literature, a thorough characterization of these patients is missing. Aim: To describe the main characteristics and outcome of patients with AIH and HCC. Methods: Among patients with HCC included in the Italian Liver Cancer (ITA.LI.CA) database during the period 2009–2022, we selected those with AIH, and we described their liver disease characteristics, modality of HCC diagnosis, tumor stage, treatment, and outcome. Results: Among 10,026 patients with HCC, we identified 23 patients (0.2%) with AIH (43.5% males, 69.6% aged > 65 years, 91.0% with cirrhosis). Fifteen patients (65.2%) had co-factors of liver disease [8 patients (34.8%) metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, 4 patients (17.4%) alcohol abuse, 3 patients (13.0%) AIH/Primary Biliary Cholangitis overlap syndrome]. Tumors diagnosed under surveillance (60.9%) were more frequently uninodular (85.7% vs 66.6%, p = 0.146) and Milan-in (85.7% vs 44.4%, p = 0.066) than those diagnosed outside surveillance. Treatment with curative intent was more frequent among patients under surveillance (78.6% vs 33.3%, p = 0.077). Median overall survival was 41.7 months and was remarkably longer in patients under surveillance than in those diagnosed outside surveillance (68.2 vs 27.4 months, p = 0.032). Conclusion: AIH accounts for a minimal fraction of patients with HCC, and in most patients, risk co-factors for HCC are present. In patients with AIH, too, surveillance is associated with better tumor stage, higher access rate to potentially curative treatments, and improved survival
Causal Inference Approaches Reveal Associations Between LDL Oxidation, NO Metabolism, Telomere Length and DNA Integrity Within the MARK-AGE Study
Get PDFGenomic instability markers are important hallmarks of aging, as previously evidenced within the European study of biomarkers of human aging, MARK-AGE; however, establishing the specific metabolic determinants of vascular aging is challenging. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the impact of the susceptibility to oxidation of serum LDL particles (LDLox) and the plasma metabolization products of nitric oxide (NOx) on relevant genomic instability markers. The analysis was performed on a MARK-AGE cohort of 1326 subjects (635 men and 691 women, 35–75 years old) randomly recruited from the general population. The Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting causal inference algorithm was implemented in order to assess the potential causal relationship between the LDLox and NOx octile-based thresholds and three genomic instability markers measured in mononuclear leukocytes: the percentage of telomeres shorter than 3 kb, the initial DNA integrity, and the DNA damage after irradiation with 3.8 Gy. The results showed statistically significant telomere shortening for LDLox, while NOx yielded a significant impact on DNA integrity. Overall, the effect on the genomic instability markers was higher than for the confirmed vascular aging determinants, such as low HDL cholesterol levels, indicating a meaningful impact even for small changes in LDLox and NOx values
Disassembler: Cloud-Based Solution for Optimized Cutting Tool Quality Control
No full textIn Industry 4.0, exploiting the useful life of components can be a competitive advantage for companies in terms of cost and efficiency. In this context, the Disassembler solution of the Horizon Europe project AIDEAS was born. Its main purpose is to create a tool for identifying the wear of industrial cutting tools. The authors propose a deterministic algorithm that supports near-real-time analysis even using nonindustrial cameras. The proposed solution enables validation of the wear status of cutting tools being machined in a non-invasive manner, avoiding wasting time, material and economic resources. The tool proposed by the authors is a client server solution with a Python backend that communicates with the frontend, developed in React, through Flask CORS. Using some photos of new tools as reference, the backend compares the test images, taken, or simply uploaded on the interface by an operator, with reference ones; then a report is generated, and the operator can read up the condition of the element
Contextualizing recent increases in Canadian boreal wildfire activity: decadal burn rates still within historical variability of the two past centuries
Get PDFWith approximately 15 million ha burned, the 2023 wildfire season in Canada was exceptional. However, it remains unclear whether such recent increases in burned areas exceed the range of variability observed over past centuries. The objective of this study was to leverage available dendrochronological reconstructions of decadal burn rates to contextualize their recent increase within their historical variability over the past two centuries. We compared decadal burn rate reconstructions based on dendrochronological data (1800–2023) for five large eastern and western Canadian boreal forest zones to those of recent decades up to 2023. The area burned in 2023 ranged from 0.76% to 32.5% among the five zones, which is unprecedented compared to the proportion recorded since 1972 for four of the five zones analyzed. In contrast, the burn rates of the decade ending in 2023 (i.e., 2014–2023) generally remained within the natural range of variability of the last two centuries. However, burn rates in two zones were close to the highest decadal burn rates observed since the 1800s and exceeded historical variability in one zone in western Canada. We discuss the historical and current trends in burn rates, their drivers and implications
Current State and Challenges of Road Bridges in Italy, Portugal, and Slovakia
Get PDFIn Europe, many countries are struggling with the condition of their infrastructure, particularly bridges. A significant number of bridges were constructed during the post-war era, and as a result, many are approaching the end of their service life. Another critical factor contributing to this issue is the lack of regular inspections and insufficient data for informed decision-making based on strategic planning. The approaches to condition rating systems vary across European countries, which can lead to differing final decisions on bridge maintenance and repairs. This paper focuses on the state of road bridges in Italy, Portugal, and Slovakia (Southern, Western, and Central Europe). It provides a summary of differences in rating systems, the number of bridges constructed from different materials, the distribution of bridges across various road types, and their geographical locations. Additionally, the paper discusses the principles behind these rating systems, including the COST Action TU1406, and outlines future challenges. This summary serves as a foundation for further research aimed at evaluating the application of various condition rating systems for road bridges and proposing a suitable, common European rating system, taking into account the possibilities offered by COST Action TU1406
BOOST e-learning platform for Precision Agriculture: bridging digital skills and sustainable agribusiness in Europe
No full textThe transition to a more sustainable and digital agricultural landscape is crucial for addressing the global challenges posed by climate change, population growth, and resource scarcity. Precision Agriculture (PA) is central to this transformation, leveraging digital technologies to optimize farming, reduce environmental impact, and improve efficiency and food quality. BOOST, an ERASMUS+ funded project, brings together a diverse consortium of European partners to equip current and future agripreneurs with the skills needed for PA and sustainable agriculture. This paper introduces the BOOST e-learning platform, an open-access, multilingual curriculum covering agricultural innovation, digital technologies, and business/marketing strategies, developed to bridge the gap between traditional agricultural education and the evolving needs of the agrifood sector. Preliminary pilot results in different European contexts highlight the platform’s adaptability and impact
Aging well in an aging society: Italy at the forefront of global aging and the Age-It Research Program
Get PDFObjectives: Italy, one of the world’s super-aged societies, faces profound demographic transformations amid relevant regional disparities in sociodemographic trends, institutional structures, and economic conditions. These features make it an ideal laboratory to study both the challenges and opportunities of population aging. This article introduces Age-It, a Research Program designed to leverage Italy’s position at the forefront of global aging to advance transdisciplinary research and inform evidence-based policies and practices on aging. Methods: Age-It adopts a life course perspective encompassing individual, family, and societal levels. It conceptualizes “aging well” as the outcome of multi-agent, multi-context processes unfolding from early life through old age. Furthermore, Age-It moves beyond a multidisciplinary approach by fostering true cross-fertilization between biomedical, sociodemographic, and technological sciences. Structured as an umbrella initiative, the program brings together multiple interlinked projects that address diverse dimensions of aging through transdisciplinary and collaborative research. Results: The program addresses key limitations in Italy’s current aging research and policy landscape: fragmented data, disciplinary silos, and weak connections between research and policymaking. By integrating biomedical, technological, and socioeconomic perspectives into structured, theory-driven research centers (Spokes), Age-It provides a coordinated and innovative platform for studying aging. Discussion: Leveraging Italy’s unique demographic profile and internal heterogeneity, Age-It promotes sustainable aging by harnessing the opportunities embedded in demographic change. The program ranges from the biology of aging to mental and physical health prevention, long-term care, labor market dynamics, and social participation—ultimately aiming to reshape how aging is perceived and managed in aging societies
Seeing Beyond the Microscope: Artificial Intelligence and Fluorescence Confocal Digital Imaging in Pediatric Surgical Pathology
Get PDFHighlights: What are the main findings? Integration of DP, FCM, and LLMs achieved high diagnostic accuracy in pediatric surgical pathology. Adding IHC data improved AI performance, resolving false negatives and reaching 100% sensitivity in neoplastic cases. What is the implication of the main finding? AI-assisted DP workflows can enhance diagnostic efficiency and intraoperative decision-making. These results highlight the potential of AI to complement expert pathologists and accelerate the adoption of digital workflows in pediatric pathology. Background: Digital pathology (DP) combined with fluorescence confocal microscopy (FCM) allows rapid tissue assessment while preserving specimens. Artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs) may enhance diagnostic workflows, but their role in pediatric surgical pathology is largely unexplored. Methods: We conducted a prospective, single-center study including 20 pediatric surgical cases with ex vivo FCM images acquired intraoperatively. Two commercially available LLMs, GPT-4V (AnPathology-Gpt) and Claude 3.7 Sonnet (AnPathology Project), were tested using structured prompts to generate diagnostic reports with and without immunohistochemistry (IHC) data, when available. Outputs were compared against the gold standard diagnosis by an experienced pediatric pathologist. Diagnostic performance was evaluated through accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and Cohen’s kappa. A paired sub-analysis was performed for cases with IHC (n = 5), and a sensitivity analysis excluding IHC cases (n = 15) was conducted. Results: Across all 20 cases, AnPathology-Gpt achieved 85% accuracy, 100% sensitivity, 86% specificity, and κ = 0.78, while AnPathology Project reached 80% accuracy, 100% sensitivity, 57% specificity, and κ = 0.63. Both models correctly identified all 13 neoplastic cases, with errors limited to non-neoplastic lesions mimicking tumors. In the IHC sub-analysis, accuracy improved from 40% to 80% and sensitivity from 50% to 100% for both models, resolving two false negatives observed in the FCM-only evaluation. Sensitivity analysis excluding IHC confirmed consistency of the results. Conclusions: This pilot study demonstrates that multimodal LLMs can support accurate and rapid diagnosis in pediatric digital pathology. The addition of IHC improves performance in diagnostically complex cases. Larger multicenter studies are needed to validate these findings and to define the role of AI-assisted workflows in pediatric surgical pathology
An integrated packing-moisture control approach in bitumen-stabilized materials (BSM) design
Get PDFThe mechanical performance of bitumen-stabilized materials (BSM) hinges on two interrelated factors, including aggregate packing and moisture control. However, current design practices offer little guidance on how to systematically balance these variables. This study, therefore, proposes an integrated volumetric framework that couples the Bailey packing principles with a liquid-filled-voids (VFL) criterion to identify the optimum aggregate gradation and total water content for mixtures composed entirely of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP). Four gradations were manufactured by blending coarse and fine RAP to represent 60 %, 80 %, 90 %, and 100 % of their loose-unit-weight (LUW) packing states. Each blend was stabilized with a 3 % residual bitumen emulsion and total water dosages ranging from 3 % to 6 %. Compaction behaviour was captured through the dry density, voids filled with liquid (VFL), and voids in the mixture (Vm), which were monitored for up to 100 gyrations. In contrast, water loss due to compaction, long-term evaporation, and 56-day indirect tensile strength (ITS) were also assessed. Results indicate that the 80LUW gradation, combined with a total water dosage of 4 %-4.5 %, produced the densest internal structure (Vm ≈ 8.4 %) and maintained VFL at the 85 % threshold that prevents liquid seepage. In contrast, finer (60 %LUW) and coarser (90–100 %LUW) gradations exhibited excessive voids at comparable moisture levels. The proposed framework thus offers a practical way for selecting gradation–moisture combinations, reducing experimental repetition and advancing the sustainable use of BSMs
Long‐term effects of economic depressions on wealth
No full textThis paper examines the long-term effects of economic depressions – defined as multi-year peak-to-trough GDP declines of at least 10 percent – experienced until young adulthood on the wealth distribution and portfolio allocation of older individuals in Europe. We document that experiencing more economic depression years when young has a positive effect on wealth at older ages. By analyzing individual portfolio choices, preferences, and personality, we find that, while experiencing a depression makes individuals more risk averse, it also increases their financial planning horizon and conscientiousness. These results provide evidence that individuals who experienced economic depressions when young invest less in risky assets but save more, and thus tend to accumulate more wealth in the long run