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Despite the implementation of preventive measures to counteract the obesity epidemics, the prevalence of childhood obesity is still alarming all over the world. Childhood obesity is the most common risk factor for both cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. In fact, an earlier onset of obesity can cause a greater risk of adiposity tracking across the lifespan and consequently a longer exposure to cardiometabolic risk factors. Accumulating evidence provided by prospective and intervention studies demonstrated the link between pediatric obesity and selected subclinical signs of cardiovascular damage (atherosclerosis and left ventricular hypertrophy), or fatal and not fatal cardiovascular events as early as 40 years of age.The numerous guidelines and scientific documents published in the last years demonstrate the relevance of assessing cardiometabolic risk factors in children and adolescents with OB.This Position paper, released by experts of the "Childhood Obesity study group" within the Italian Society for Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetology, aims to review the assessment of cardiometabolic risk factors and comorbidities in children and adolescents with OW/OB on the light of the most recent scientific evidence.The main recommendations are: (a) early detection of comorbidities, including hypertension, dyslipidemia, prediabetes/type 2 diabetes, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, polycystic ovary syndrome, inactivity, obstructive sleep apnea and decline in kidney function; (b) weight loss treatment, which is associated with a reduction of all cardiometabolic risk factors; (c) specific treatment of comorbidities, through lifestyle modifications or pharmacological treatment added to lifestyle for suitable individuals; d). monitoring comorbidities for mitigating future morbidity and mortality., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Introduction: Advancements in monoclonal antibodies, tyrosine kinase inhibitors, and antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) have notably enhanced outcomes for metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer patients. Despite the expanding treatment options and clinical complexities, determining the optimal sequence of HER2-targeted therapies remains partly uncertain, influenced by various factors., Methods: To refine HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer management, particularly regarding tucatinib's position, a Steering Committee of leading oncologists in breast cancer care devised a panel of statements via a Delphi approach, focusing on five key topics: general clinical management, therapeutic approaches for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer and brain metastases, treatment sequence, and tucatinib's safety and efficacy., Results: A total of 29 statements were deliberated, with strong consensus achieved for most. However, no consensus emerged regarding the management of brain progression alongside stable extracranial disease: 48 % advocated for switching to tucatinib, while 53 % favored a stereotactic brain radiotherapy (SBRT) approach if feasible., Conclusion: The unanimous consensus attained in this Delphi panel, particularly regarding tucatinib's efficacy and safety, underscores oncologists' recognition of its clinical significance based on existing trial data. These findings align closely with current literature, shedding light on areas necessitating further investigation, not thoroughly explored in prior studies. Moreover, the results underscore the scarcity of data on managing brain progression alongside stable extracranial disease, emphasizing the imperative for dedicated research to address these gaps and yield definitive insights., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest PC: Consulting or Advisory Role: Daiichi Sankyo/Lilly, Reveal Genomics, Gilead Sciences; Speakers' Bureau: Roche/Genentech, Novartis, AstraZeneca, Lilly, BMS; Research Funding: Merck KGaA (Inst); Patents, Royalties, Other Intellectual Property: HER2Dx patent; Expert Testimony: AstraZeneca. EC: reports consulting fees from Novartis, Lilly, Pfizer, Roche, AstraZeneca, and Daiichi Sankyo; speaker's bureau from Lilly, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Daiichi Sankyo; and travel and accommodations from Pfizer and Roche. GC: received honoraria for speaker's engagement: Roche, Seattle Genetics, Novartis, Lilly, Pfizer, Foundation Medicine, NanoString, Samsung, Celltrion, BMS, MSD; Honoraria for providing consultancy: Roche, Seattle Genetics, NanoString; Honoraria for participating in Advisory Board: Roche, Lilly, Pfizer, Foundation Medi-cine, Samsung, Celltrion, Mylan; Honoraria for writing engagement: Novartis, BMS; Honoraria for participation in Ellipsis Scientific Affairs Group; Institutional research funding for conducting phase I and II clinical trials: Pfizer, Roche, Novartis, Sanofi, Celgene, Servier, Orion, AstraZeneca, Seattle Genetics, AbbVie, Tesaro, BMS, Merck Serono, Merck Sharp Dome, Janssen-Cilag, Philogen, Bayer, Medivation, MedI- mmune MDL: advisory boards, activities as a speaker, travel grants, consultancy: Eli Lilly, Novartis, Seagen, Takeda, Roche, Daiichi Sankyo, Tomalab, Gilead, Genetic, Menarini, Sophos, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Sanofi, Ipsen, Pierre Fabre, GSK. AG: research funding to the Institution: AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Janssen, Roche, MSD, Daichii-Sankyo, GSK/Tesaro, HiFiBio, Merck, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Exelixis, Bayer, Incyte, Bayer, Aileron; travel, accommodation, expenses: Gentili. LDM: advisory role for Agendia, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Collage SpA, Daiichi Sankyo, Eli Lilly, Exact Sciences, Gilead, GSK, Havas Life, Pfizer, Pierre Fabre, Roche, Seagen Int, Stemline Menarini and Uvet; personal fees as an invited speaker for Accademia Nazionale Medicina, Andromeda E20, Aristea, Delphi international, Editree, Eli Lilly, Ipsen, Meeting SrL, MSD, Novartis, Over Srl, Prex Srl, Symposia and Vyvamed Srl; personal fees for writing engagements for Edizioni Minerva Medica, Pensiero Scientifico Editore and Roche; personal consultancy fees from Eli Lilly, Gilead, Kardo Srl and Sharing Progress in Cancer Care (SPCC)—Switzerland; personal fees for author slide kits from Forum service and Think2it; personal fees for interviews from Infomedica Srl and Think2it; institutional funding as a local PI from AstraZeneca, Daiichi Sankyo, Eli Lilly, Gilead, Novartis, Novella Clinical, Roche and Seagen; institutional funding as a national coordinating PI from Roche; institutional research grant from Pfizer; and non-remunerated product samples from FoundationOne. AG: received advisory role from AstraZeneca, Daiichi, Eisai, Lilly, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Seagen, Gilead, Teva, and Gentili; lecture honoraria from Novartis, Pfizer, Gilead, Roche, Eisai, Seagen, Teva, and Gentili; and research support from Roche, Eisai, Gilead, and Pharmanutra AL: Research support: Roche, Agendia, Lilly, Pfizer, Novartis, Merck Sharp&Dhome, Gilead, Daiichi Sankyo; Consulting/advisor: Lilly, Roche, Pfizer, Novartis; Speaker's Bureaus: Lilly, Astrazeneca, Merck Sharp&Dhome, Pfizer, Novartis; Travel support: Roche, Pfizer, Astrazeneca, Merck Sharp&Dhome. MM: Honoraria: Roche/Genentech, Lilly, Pfizer, Novartis, Pierre Fabre, Seagen; Consulting or Advisory Role: Roche/Genentech, Novartis, Pfizer, Lilly, AstraZeneca, Daiichi-Sankyo; Speakers' Bureau: Lilly/ImClone, Lilly/ImClone, Roche/Genentech, Pierre Fabre; Research Funding: Novartis (Inst), Roche (Inst), Puma Biotechnology (Inst); Travel, Accommodations, Expenses: Daiichi-Sankyo; Other Relationship: Roche, Novartis. FPo: advisory board from AstraZeneca; speaking honoraria and travel grants from Eli Lilly, Novartis, Seagen, Daichii Sankyo, and Gilead. AP: reports grants and personal fees from NanoString Technologies, Veracyte, Novartis, AstraZeneca, DaiichiSankyo, and Roche; in addition, A. Prat has a patent for DNADX pending. FPu: reports honoraria for advisory boards, activities as a speaker, travel grants, research grants from Amgen - Astrazeneca - Daiichi Sankyo - Celgene - Eisai - Eli Lilly- Exact Sciences- Gilead - Ipsen – Menarini- MSD - Novartis - Pierre Fabre - Pfizer - Roche - Seagen - Takeda – Viatris; Research funding from Astrazeneca – Eisai – Roche. CS: consultancy or advisory role for AstraZeneca, Ax's Consulting, Byondis, Daiichi Sankyo, Eisai, Exact Sciences, Exeter, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., International Society for the Study and Exchange of evidence from Clinical research And Medical experience (ISSECAM), Medical Statistics Consulting, MediTech, Merck Sharp and Dohme Corp, Novartis, Pfizer, Philips, Pierre Fabre, PintPharma, Puma, Roche, Sanofi, Seagen, Zymeworks, and research funding from Aragon, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Byondis, CytomX, Daiichi Sankyo, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Genentech, German Breast Group Forchungs, GlaxoSmithKline, Immunomedics, Innoup, International Breast Cancer Study Group (IBCSG), Lilly, Macrogenics, Medica Scientia Innovation Research, Menarini Ricerche, Merck Sharp and Dohme Corp, Merus, Millennium, Novartis, Pfizer, Piqur, Puma, Roche, Sanofi, Seagen, Synthon, and Zenith., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background: In response to the imperative need for standardized support for adolescent Gender Dysphoria (GD), the Italian Academy of Pediatrics, in collaboration with the Italian Society of Pediatrics, the Italian Society for Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, Italian Society of Adolescent Medicine and Italian Society of Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry is drafting a position paper. The purpose of this paper is to convey the author's opinion on the topic, offering foundational information on potential aspects of gender-affirming care and emphasizing the care and protection of children and adolescents with GD., Main Body: Recognizing that adolescents may choose interventions based on their unique needs and goals and understanding that every individual within this group has a distinct trajectory, it is crucial to ensure that each one is welcomed and supported. The approach to managing individuals with GD is a multi-stage process involving a multidisciplinary team throughout all phases. Decisions regarding treatment should be reached collaboratively by healthcare professionals and the family, while considering the unique needs and circumstances of the individual and be guided by scientific evidence rather than biases or ideologies. Politicians and high court judges should address discrimination based on gender identity in legislation and support service development that aligns with the needs of young people. It is essential to establish accredited multidisciplinary centers equipped with the requisite skills and experience to effectively manage adolescents with GD, thereby ensuring the delivery of high-quality care., Conclusion: Maintaining an evidence-based approach is essential to safeguard the well-being of transgender and gender diverse adolescents., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Biliary tract cancers (BTCs) represent a spectrum of malignancies associated with a dismal prognosis. Recent genomic profiling studies have provided a deeper understanding of the complex and heterogenous molecular landscape of BTCs, identifying several actionable genetic alterations, and expanding treatment options. Due to the high number and complexity of genetic alterations which require testing, next-generation sequencing (NGS) is currently the preferred approach over conventional methods (i.e., immunohistochemistry, fluorescence in-situ hybridization and PCR) for molecular profiling of BTCs and should be performed upfront in all BTC patients. However, BTC sampling often yields low tumor cellularity tissue, hampering NGS analysis. Future perspectives to overcome this obstacle include liquid biopsy and optimization of biopsy protocols. In this position paper, the authors discuss the current histopathologic, molecular, and therapeutic landscape of BTCs, provide a critical overview of the available testing methods for molecular diagnostics, and propose a practical diagnostic algorithm for molecular testing of BTC samples., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest All other authors declare that they have no conflict of interest related to the present work. Conflict of interest statement MF has been involved in consulting/advisory roles in Astellas Pharma, Pierre Fabre, MSD, AstraZeneca, Janssen, GlaxoSmithKline, BMS, Incyte, Amgen, Novartis and Roche, and received research funding from Astellas Pharma, QED Therapeutics, Diaceutics and Macrophage Pharma. NN has been involved in consulting/advisory roles in MSD, Bayer, Biocartis, Illumina, Incyte, Roche, BMS, Merck, Thermofisher, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, Novartis; financial support to research projects (institutional grants) from Merck, Thermofisher, QIAGEN, Roche, AstraZeneca, Biocartis, Illumina, Sophia genetics; non-financial interests President of the International Quality Network for Pathology (IQN Path) and Past President of the Italian Cancer Society (SIC). GP has been involved in consulting/advisory roles in Roche, Illumina, Novartis, Lilly, AstraZeneca, Exact Sciences, ADS Biotech. GT has received honoraria from Molteni, Novartis and Pharmamar. AS has received consulting fees from Amgen, AstraZeneca, Basilea, Incyte, and Ipsen and lecture fees from Amgen, Incyte, Ipsen, Merck Serono, Roche, and Sanofi. LR has received consulting fees from AstraZeneca, Basilea, Bayer, BMS, Eisai, Exelixis, Genenta, Hengrui, Incyte, Ipsen, IQVIA, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, MSD, Nerviano Medical Sciences, Roche, Servier, Taiho Oncology, and Zymeworks; lecture fees from AstraZeneca, Bayer, BMS, Eisai, Incyte, Ipsen, Merck Serono, Roche, and Servier; travel expenses from AstraZeneca; and institutional research funding from Agios, AstraZeneca, BeiGene, Eisai, Exelixis, Fibrogen, Incyte, Ipsen, Lilly, MSD, Nerviano Medical Sciences, Roche, and Zymeworks. FG has been involved in consulting/advisory roles in MSD and GlaxoSmithKline; lecture fees from MSD, Incyte and GlaxoSmithKline., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Although the relationship between religion and football has gained considerable interest during the last twenty years, scant attention has been paid to the relationship between pilgrimage and football. This paper seeks to advance the study of this relationship through an exploration of collective memory about football disasters that throws fresh light on central themes within pilgrimage studies—pilgrimage as both a journey to a sacred place and the performance of diverse rituals at such places. The paper explores, in particular, the ways in which three different tragedies involving English football clubs have been commemorated through journeys to and ritual performance at places seen as sacred to those involved in commemoration—football stadiums and urban spaces, and cathedrals and pilgrimage shrines in England, Germany and Italy. Through this analysis, we seek to show how the commemoration of football disaster is linked to pilgrimage as a process where people seek healing and reconciliation through the public performance of rituals that link the local to the global. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fluidity, adaptability and complexity of a dancer's movement are often used as examples of how dance at a level of mastery is embodied. The freedom this gives the dancer to choose what and how they move is enjoyed at a subconscious level, with often tacit knowledge driving the artistic and technical brilliance. The topic of embodied agency in dance becomes more complicated when examining dance for the older person who has had little training. Embodiment is not straight forward, particularly if one examines dancing for the older adult with a neurodegenerative condition, which disrupts cognition and physical movement. Yet, as I argue, embodied agency is a key vision for socially engaged dance practices, particularly using improvisation. In the paper I examine how centring the amateur older dancer with a neurological condition means looking again at embodied agency and what it could mean in this context, as well as what the conditions are that might make it work. The paper takes the example of Dance Well, a group of community dancers in Italy that accommodates people with Parkinson's and others, including those seeking asylum. With this example I draw upon ideas from research I co-led to name some of the tacit soft skills--such as empathy and understanding and appreciating difference--developed through Dance Well's engagement with the local community, which, I now suggest, led to a process of embodied agency. I argue that in identifying this anoetic knowing, it is clear that embodied agency is not just aboutmastery of movement, but about important relational skills that are embodied and practiced through dancing, even by those with little formal dance training. I argue that moving together whilst embodying soft skill qualities may nurture an environment that could enable the transformation of relationships between those dancing and contribute to the creation of an important and meaningful activity within the community. In this way, the paper outlines ideas on how embodied agency through dancing may contribute to a vision of social justice and a characterization of embodiment that emphasizes the recognition of each other's humanity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals who reside in a country without regular authorisation generally find it difficult to access public medical services beyond emergency treatment. Even in countries with universal healthcare, there is often a gap between rights on paper and their implementation. Civil society organisations (CSOs) fill this gap by providing medical services to vulnerable populations, including irregular migrants. What, if any, are the ethical dilemmas that arise for CSO staff when delivering such services in countries with universal healthcare? Under what conditions do these dilemmas arise? And what strategies do CSO staff use to mitigate them? We answer these questions using 40 semi-structured interviews with CSO staff working in two European countries with high levels of irregularity, universal healthcare provisions on paper, and significant differences in approaches and availability of public services for irregular migrants: Italy and Spain. We show that CSO staff providing medical services to irregular migrants in places with universal healthcare coverage face a fundamental dilemma between humanitarianism and equity. CSO staff respond to the humanitarian belief in the value of taking all possible steps to prevent or alleviate human suffering, thus promoting a decent quality of life that includes access to both emergency and non-emergency care. In doing so, however, they run the risk of substituting rather than complementing public provisions, thereby preventing governments from assuming responsibility for these services in the long term. Individuals who acknowledge the existence of this dilemma generally oppose the creation of parallel structures; that is, services specifically developed for irregular migrants outside the public system; while those who ignore it essentially subscribe to a tiered system, giving up on considerations of equity. We argue that CSOs involved in the provision of healthcare to irregular migrants do not simply provide services; they also play an inherently political role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aimed to investigate the influence, on the assessment of the structural safety level of an existing r.c building, of the different choices that the technician in charge of a structural evaluation (the "analyst") can make regarding the structural elements to be tested to obtain a prescribed level of knowledge. To this end, the case study of a reinforced concrete framed structure built in the 1960s in Italy was investigated by means of numerical analyses. The probability distribution of the estimated safety levels was evaluated in the paper by means of a Monte Carlo approach, considering the alternative selections of elements done by a large number of analysts, and the probability of unsuccessful safety estimations is discussed for the knowledge levels considered in the Italian technical codes and the Eurocodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Potentially inappropriate polypharmacy (PIP) is among the major factors leading to adverse drug reactions, increased healthcare costs, reduced medication adherence, and worsened patient conditions. This study aims to identify existing interventions implemented to monitor and manage polypharmacy in the Italian setting. Methods: A systematic literature review (PROSPERO: CRD42023457049) was carried out according to the PRISMA statement guidelines. PubMed, Embase, ProQuest, and Web of Science were queried without temporal constraints, encompassing all published papers until October 2023. Inclusion criteria followed the PICO model: patients with polypharmacy; interventions to monitor/manage polypharmacy regimen versus no/any intervention; outcomes in terms of intervention effectiveness and cost variation. Results: After duplicate deletion, 153 potentially relevant publications were extracted. Following abstract and full-text screenings, nine articles met the inclusion criteria. Overall, 78% (n = 7) were observational studies, 11% (n = 1) were experimental studies, and 11% (n = 1) were two-phase studies. A total of 44% (n = 4) of the studies involved patients aged ≥ 65 years, while 56% (n = 5) were disease-specific. Monitoring was the most prevalent choice of intervention (67%; n = 6). Outcomes were mainly related to levels of polypharmacy (29%; n = 6) and comorbidities (29%; n = 6), effectiveness rates (14%; n = 3), and avoidable costs (9%; n = 2). Conclusions: This review outlines that Italy is still lacking in interventions to monitor/manage PIP, addressing an unmet need in developing patient-tailored strategies for reducing health-system burden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The task of change detection (CD) in optical and SAR images is an ever-evolving and demanding subject within the realm of remote sensing (RS). It holds great significance to identify the target areas by using complementary information between the two. Due to the distinct imaging mechanisms employed by optical and SAR sensors, effectively and accurately identifying changing regions can be challenging. To this end, a novel heterogeneous RS images CD network (Twin-Depthwise Separable Convolution Connect Network, TDSCCNet) is proposed in this paper. Image domain transformation is a front-end task, while the back-end employs a single-branch bilayer depthwise separable convolutionconnected encoder-decoder to accomplish CD work. Specifically, first, the cycle-consistent adversarial network (CycleGAN) serves to integrate the optical and SAR visual domains, and a consistent feature expression is obtained. Second, the single-branch encoder structure of bilayer depthwise separable convolution is employed to realize change feature extraction. Finally, the multiscale connected decoder reconstructed by change map is utilized to reconstruct the original images and solve the local discontinuities and holes in the binary change map. Multiscale loss is designated for optimizing the global and local effects to alleviate the class imbalance problem. It was tested on four representative datasets from Gloucester, Shuguang Village, Italy and WV-3 datasets with an overall accuracy of 97.36%, 97.01%, 97.62%, and 98.01% respectively. By comparing the existing methods, experimental results confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the ongoing processes in the organisational field of Italian schools in light of the innovations induced by digital education policies. Specifically, it focuses on the relationship between actors and digital policies concerning the experience of distance learning (DL) that characterised the period of the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper reflects on DL outcomes regarding the three expectations that have often characterised the rhetoric associated with the promotion of digital educational policies, namely: the raising of learning levels, the development of digital competences and the increase in school inclusion. Through an analysis of a series of empirical studies exploring the point of view of the paper, this paper highlights what progress has been made in the digital schooling in Italy and what are still its main limitations. The results of the study show both the limits of the effectiveness of educational policies constructed with a top-down approach and highlight the potential for policy recalibration offered by a reorganisation of the decision-making process through the active involvement of all the actors in the educational system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social innovation has been associated with contributing to 'valuable' rural development; however, usually, the impact of social innovation has been identified in the aftermath of its development or implementation. This might be too narrow an approach, as an ongoing social innovation process in itself may already lead to effects that contribute to regional and social changes in a local community and beyond. This paper argues that collaborative valuation processes are embedded in social innovation processes, generating effects that contribute to rural development. Focusing on a case study that exemplifies social innovation processes in agriculture and food production carried out by a rural collaborative community in southern Italy, we demonstrate how three valuation phases, such as contestations and negotiations of norms, symbolic capital accumulation and recognition of actions, as well as re-definitions of values, impact community development through joint sense-making, empowerment and societal change. Our empirical results suggest the close intertwining of both social innovation and valuation processes. The empirical results demonstrate how collective valuation processes have micro-effects on the agro-economic system, on local socio-cultural processes, and on place-making activities. Methodologically, this paper builds on ethnographic methods, including participatory observations, semi-structured interviews, oral histories, and socio-spatial analysis investigating moments of valuation embedded in daily collaborative practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This paper describes the peculiarities of the plasma-derived medicinal product (PDMP) market and illustrates the results of a review of the literature on policies aimed at counteracting the shortage of PDMPs. Characteristics of PDMPs: Plasma is primarily used for the industrial production of blood products (80%). The demand for PDMPs, particularly immunoglobulins (IGs), is increasing. However, the production of PDMPs is complex, long (7-12 months), and expensive, accounting, according to US estimates, for 57% of the total costs of PDMPs compared to 14% for small molecules. PDMP market: Unexpected increases in clinical need cannot be addressed in the short term. Once the demand for some diseases is satisfied, the collection and fractionation of plasma will only be used to supply some specific patients. Hence, the full weight of the marginal costs, which remain constant, are borne by a few products. According to last liter economics, the industry stops producing when the marginal revenue equals the marginal cost, thereby reducing the convenience of producing the most commonly used PDMPs (albumin and IG). The imbalance between the demand and supply of PDMPs was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which further increased the cost of plasma collection. Shortage issue and possible solutions: Policies to counteract this imbalance have also been discussed. If the demand is inappropriate, it should be reduced. If the demand is appropriate and supply cannot be increased, the demand should be prioritized for patients for whom PDMPs are the only available treatment. If the shortage depends on insufficient supply and technical and allocative efficiency, both production and supply should be improved, together with incentives for all stakeholders involved in the PDMP market to increase the sustainability of production/supply. The paper is focused on this second issue, that is supply-driven unbalance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Particularly at the beginning of the pandemic, adults aged 65 and older were portrayed as a homogeneously vulnerable population due to the elevated health risks associated with contracting the COVID-19 disease. This portrayal, combined with travel restrictions, closures of economic sectors, country-wide lockdowns, and suggestions by governmental authorities to limit social contact, had important implications for the wellbeing of older individuals. However, older adults are a heterogeneous population who relies on different resources to cope with stressful periods, like the COVID-19 pandemic. Simultaneously, countries also employed differentmeasures to contain the virus. Research thus far has focused on the short-termconsequences of the pandemic, but studies have yet to address its long-term consequences. Objectives: We explore older adults' lived experiences nearly 2 years after the pandemic onset. Moreover, we focus on the bordering countries of Switzerland and Italy, who employed contrasting containmentmeasures. This paper analyzes (1) Howthe COVID-19 pandemic impacted the experiences of wellbeing of older adults in these regions and (2) How older adults coped with the stressors brought about by the pandemic, in particular social distancing. Methods: The paper draws on 31 semi-structured interviews with 11 Swiss natives residing in Switzerland, 10 Italian migrants residing in Switzerland, and 10 Italian natives residing in Italy. Interviews were conducted from December 2021 to March 2022. Results: Coping mechanisms of the three groups related to acceptance, hobbies, cognitive reframing, telephone use, vaccine use and social distancing. However, results show heterogeneous experiences of wellbeing, with Swiss natives sharing more positive narratives than the other two groups. Moreover, Italian migrants and Italian natives expressed the long-term negative consequences of the pandemic on their experienced wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accurate prediction of heavy precipitation in convective environments is crucial because such events, often occurring in Italy during the summer and fall seasons, can be a threat for people and properties. In this paper, we analyse the impact of satellite-derived surface-rainfall-rate data assimilation on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model's precipitation prediction, considering 15 days in summer 2022 and 17 days in fall 2022, where moderate to intense precipitation was observed over Italy. A 3DVar realised at CNR-ISAC (National Research Council of Italy, Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate) is used to assimilate two different satellite-derived rain rate products, both exploiting geostationary (GEO), infrared (IR), and low-Earth-orbit (LEO) microwave (MW) measurements: One is based on an artificial neural network (NN), and the other one is the operational P-IN-SEVIRI-PMW product (H60), delivered in near-real time by the EUMETSAT HSAF (Satellite Application Facility in Support of Operational Hydrology and Water Management). The forecast is verified in two periods: the hours from 1 to 4 (1–4 h phase) and the hours from 3 to 6 (3–6 h phase) after the assimilation. The results show that the rain rate assimilation improves the precipitation forecast in both seasons and for both forecast phases, even if the improvement in the 3–6 h phase is found mainly in summer. The assimilation of H60 produces a high number of false alarms, which has a negative impact on the forecast, especially for intense events (30 mm/3 h). The assimilation of the NN rain rate gives more balanced predictions, improving the control forecast without significantly increasing false alarms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radionuclide contamination is a serious health issue caused by nuclear experiments and plant accidents, as seen for the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear plants. Italy has been especially interested in northwestern alpine regions, as have several other nations. The aim of this work was to indagate 134Cs and 137Cs contamination in wild boars, which were considered bioindicators sampled in the Chisone/Germanasca Valley and the Pellice Valley districts (Piedmont, Italy) in two hunting seasons (2014 and 2016). In the 2014 season, only the livers of the animals (n = 48) were sampled, whereas in 2016, five different anatomical sampling sites were sampled for each animal (n = 16). The analyses were conducted in an accredited laboratory (Agenzia Regionale per la Protezione dell'Ambiente–ARPA) by the aid of an HPGe detector (Ortec) with a relative efficiency of 50%. In general, the contamination levels registered in 2014 were under the detection limit for 134Cs and low for 137Cs (Chisone/Germanasca valley: min: 0.0, max: 23.9 median 11.0 Bq/kg vs Pellice valley: min 0, max: 31.7, median: 9.6 Bq/kg) and no health concern can be supposed. In the first-year samples, the liver showed a negative correlation between age and contamination level. In the second year of sampling, low levels were confirmed (min: 3.1 Bq/kg, max: 113.3; median 17.7 Bq/kg). Multiple sampling from the same animal showed that the diaphragm (median = 27.7 Bq/kg) kidney (27.4) and tongue (27.6) were more contaminated than the liver (17.7) and spleen (15.3). Moreover, a linear mixed model revealed a negative organ-by-age interaction, meaning that interorgan differences in contamination level were greater in younger (5–11 months) than in older (18–36 months) animals. Different feeding habits can be the explanation. Our paper shows that muscle sites (diaphragm and tongue) can be useful for radionuclide pollution surveillance in wild boar populations and that younger animals show more interorgan variability in contamination levels than older animals. More investigations are needed to confirm this correlation and to fulfill the request for more data to achieve better risk assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper illustrates the LIBMOVIT project – Libraries on the Move: Scholars, Books, Ideas Traveling in Italy in the 18th Century – whose main research focus is the European Eighteenth century socio-cultural framework in which the library as an institution acquired an historical, social, public and dynamic dimension. This context will be analysed through a study of the Eighteenth century sources connected to the learned journey experience of the Grand Tour, in particular those contained in the Angiolo Tursi collection – one of the largest travel literature collections in Italy – held at the Marciana national library in Venice. The paper presents the planned approach of the research: first, a classification and an organization of a corpus of relevant documents for the knowledge of travel literature in connection to the libraries world will be created; in particular, the sources will be identified, further bibliographical information will be added, and new sources will be integrated to the corpus and selected documents will be digitized. After that, the research will proceed through a double analysis – traditional and computational – of the texts collected in the corpus is to be developed. First, all the library and bibliographical aspects described by travellers will be studied according to the traditional approach in humanities research to collect important information about the history of libraries (location, decoration, catalogues, opening hours, access, collections, cited books and documents), the travellers and their companions (professions, nationality, reason to travel), the people met (scholars, librarians, superintendents) and the subjects and ideas discussed during the visits in the libraries. Second, the texts will be computationally analysed through several Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques, starting from the automatic text recognition until arriving to more complex lexical and terminological analysis and Named Entity Recognition (NER). This work is meant to support the previously described qualitative study and will also allow to produce Linked open data about the domain entities (e.g. libraries, people, books) in view of their publication in the semantic web in order to ease and promote their exploration, visualisation and reuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) models is increasingly leveraged to automate and optimize Data Centre (DC) operations. However, the interpretability and transparency of these complex models pose critical challenges. Hence, this paper explores the Shapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) values model explainability method for addressing and enhancing the critical interpretability and transparency challenges of predictive maintenance models. This method computes and assigns Shapley values for each feature, then quantifies and assesses their impact on the model's output. By quantifying the contribution of each feature, SHAP values can assist DC operators in understanding the underlying reasoning behind the model's output in order to make proactive decisions. As DC operations are dynamically changing, we additionally investigate how SHAP can capture the temporal behaviors of feature importance in the dynamic DC environment over time. We validate our approach with selected predictive models using an actual dataset from a High-Performance Computing (HPC) DC sourced from the Enea CRESCO6 cluster in Italy. The experimental analyses are formalized using summary, waterfall, force, and dependency explanations. We delve into temporal feature importance analysis to capture the features' impact on model output over time. The results demonstrate that model explainability can improve model transparency and facilitate collaboration between DC operators and AI systems, which can enhance the operational efficiency and reliability of DCs by providing a quantitative assessment of each feature's impact on the model's output. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a crucial challenge in urban areas characterized by high energy consumption and reduced exposure to nature. In this context, the urban green system could play a pivotal role. In the literature, scholars have analyzed both the ability of species-specific and layout-specific green infrastructure to increase carbon sequestration and the best location sites for new green infrastructure to increase the provision of overall ecosystem services. There is a lack of studies helping green urban planners and designers choose where and which green infrastructure to implement based on vegetation species-specific performance and the local carbon emissions of city components. This paper uses tree inventory data from a medium-sized city in central Italy (Perugia) to develop a spatial analysis of urban park performance in carbon sequestration. Then, the method evaluates the carbon emission of a public city building to generate a spatialized balance between building demand and tree supply to support local decisions about the best locations for new green infrastructure and the choice between species. The paper contributes to GIS-based tools that vary the recommended location sites and species for new green infrastructure based on the demanded ecosystem service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Turnout has become increasingly unequal in many advanced democracies over the last few decades. Disadvantaged social groups are found to exhibit lower turnout compared to their better-off counterparts. According to numerous scholars, this growing gap is mainly attributed to the weakening of mass organizations that traditionally appealed to socio-economically disadvantaged social groups, particularly trade unions. However, very few studies have investigated these trends in Italy, a country that has witnessed a significant decrease in electoral turnout since the late 1970s, and where the socioeconomic causes of this decline have not been systematically explored. Against this backdrop, this paper aims to analyse, first and foremost, whether electoral participation in Italy is becoming increasingly unequal. Then, it moves to explore the extent to which the turnout gap between individuals with low and high socio-economic status (SES) could be moderated by both de-unionization and trade unions' membership. By utilizing a dataset that combines 10 waves of the Italian National Election Study (1983-2018), the paper demonstrates that the turnout gap between low and high SES individuals has substantially widened over the last decades. Furthermore, it suggests that while the overall turnout gap is at least partially affected by the strength of trade unions in the country, trade unions still seem to be able to mobilize their members, particularly among lower social groups. This finding underscores the potential of trade unions to continue playing a role in equalizing turnout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The area surrounding the Po River, known as the Po Valley, provides a central contribution in the economy of Italy and is highly devoted to agriculture. Recently it has been hit by multiple droughts, among which the exceptional event of summer 2022 is considered the worst dry period of the past 200 years. In the near future, the frequency of such exceptional events is predicted to rise; thus, a deep knowledge of the past droughts that hit the area, the variables used to characterize the events, the impacts they caused and the mitigation strategies adopted to deal with dry periods is of the utmost importance for policy definitions and planning. This study maps the scientific literature published from 2000 to February 2024 on the topic of drought in the Po Valley using the Scopus and Web of Science databases. Overall, 44 articles have been identified and grouped in three main classes: event identification and characterization, impact analysis and management strategies. The main gaps found in the collected papers are the lack of evaluations of the impacts of drought events on human health, hydroelectric energy production and tourism. Furthermore, comprehensive drought management and planning in the area is never addressed in the considered articles. The mentioned aspects deserve more attention, especially the development of drought management plans and policies and the evaluation of their effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to assess the causes of spatial variations in labour productivity of Italian regions using the gravitational model of economic growth. The model is an extension of Robert Solow's economic growth model. The model parameters are calibrated using historical data and numerical simulations of the long-run equilibrium states of the model are carried out. The scenarios considered in the paper vary in forecast investment rates, employment growth rates and urbanisation rates. Based on the results of numerical simulations, it is claimed that to achieve the full convergence in labour productivity, it is necessary to maintain higher investment rates in the south of the country than in Lombardy (by about 4%–11%), and to keep investment rates in central and northern Italy at a similar level as in Lombardy. The fall in investment has affected the poorest regions, Southern Italy, the most, followed by central Italy and the richest regions of the north of the country the least. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anti-trafficking programmes in Italy have been implemented for more than two decades. Yet, little empirical evidence is available regarding their functioning. This paper draws on 56 semi-structured interviews carried out in the period of 2019–2021 with practitioners and beneficiaries of the N.A.Ve anti-trafficking programme. The interviews focused on practitioners' experience working with Nigerian women and on Nigerian women's experiences of the programme upon completion. By building on critical anti-trafficking studies and the autonomy of migration perspective, this contribution looks at the relationship between practitioners and Nigerian women admitted to the programme by addressing the following questions: what is the experience of practitioners and beneficiaries in the N.A.Ve programme? To what extent is the structural violence of the counter-trafficking apparatus reproduced in the relational dynamics between practitioners, particularly Case Managers, and beneficiaries? How do beneficiaries cope with such violence? I argue that the Case Managers' approach builds on "stratified layers of institutional knowledge" and that this concept is useful to highlight how their knowledge derives both from the counter-trafficking apparatus and their social work background. Furthermore, I present evidence that such an approach reproduces structural violence through processes of "conditional inclusion". Nigerian women denounced this violence but also seized the relational capital grown from rapport, calling for more engagement with people rather than programme objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although it originated from the Slow Food and Cittaslow movements, slow tourism has spread to many spheres of tourism. The purpose of the paper is to investigate what people associate with slow tourism, and how and where they engage in slow tourism. Social media content analysis on Instagram, using hashtag #slowtourism, was performed in the research. The general conclusion is that people mostly associate slow tourism with different forms of architecture and landscape, and to lesser extent with transport and food. Also, there was significant content variation within the architecture and landscape categories, suggesting that people associate different types of architecture and tourism destinations with slow tourism. When it comes to location, the majority of photos were taken in Italy, which is not surprising, considering that Slow Food and Cittaslow movements originated in this country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an innovative approach for improving the seismic protection of existing structures by introducing an additional dissipative structure (ADS). The seismic energy impacting the building can be dissipated through the contribution provided by the ADS, thereby reducing the need for the existing building to ensure its seismic capacity. This retrofitting technique is well-suited for structures facing architectural restrictions or challenging-to-update elements. It can help to address foundational issues by applying loads to new external components. This paper describes the design of the ADS and proposes a displacement-based design procedure. The design process involves a nonlinear static analysis and a simple procedure that must be iteratively repeated until the retrofitting target is achieved. This approach is simple and computationally efficient and can also be used for complex and irregular structures. Such structures are frequently encountered, and existing structures often exhibit unusual geometries and materials requiring extensive numerical modeling. The efficacy of this technique was evaluated using the case study of a school building located in central Italy. The results of numerical analyses indicated that owing to the ADS's contribution, the seismic capacity of both buildings was enhanced, addressing the challenges associated with complex foundational interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a contribution to national strategic energy planning, recent developments in meteorological modeling and wind generation technologies have improved the representation of the spatio‐temporal features of wind. This paper describes an updated Italian Wind Atlas (Atlante EOLico ItaliANo [AEOLIAN]) released in the early 2000s. The objective of AEOLIAN is to guide future wind generation to accord with ambitious European greenhouse gas emission targets set for 2030 and 2050. AEOLIAN is the result of a collaboration effort between Ricerca sul Sistema Energetico (RSE) SpA and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), which jointly developed a novel approach combining high‐resolution numerical weather modeling with the Analog Ensemble (AnEn) statistical technique. This paper uses dynamical model runs with hourly output for 1990–2019 with 4 km horizontal grid spacing. For 2015–2019, an inner grid nest with 1.33 km horizontal grid spacing is used. The AnEn is then employed to temporally extend the 5 years of high‐resolution runs back through 1990–2014 to create a 30‐year dataset for Italy and surrounding marine areas. A thorough verification is carried out using 104 observational stations homogeneously distributed throughout the territory. Compared with other state‐of‐the‐art products, AEOLIAN provides enhanced accuracy over complex terrain thanks to higher horizontal resolution and the assimilation of observational wind data over the domain, which result in a reduction of model bias on complex terrain and a better reconstruction of the wind distributions. Finally, a new WebGIS interface (https://atlanteeolico.rse-web.it/) to explore AEOLIAN data is described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses the energy efficiency of smart working (SW) as a solution to traditional work-approach issues, with a focus on evaluating benefits for both employers and employees. Remote working, while offering environmental advantages such as reduced commuting and office space use, poses challenges in assessing its true impact. The study presents results from a dynamic analysis on a real residential building, typical of an architectural style diffused in northern Italy, revealing a 15% average increase in energy consumption when all work tasks are performed from home. To address concerns about the environmental impact of SW, the research proposes a method and metrics for evaluation. Four novel indices (SWEET, SEE, SSEE, and 4E) are introduced, providing a structured approach to assess the energy efficiency of SW initiatives. The paper outlines a methodology for data gathering and metric application, aiming to acquire quantitative insights and mitigate disparities arising from a transfer of burdens to employees. This contribution not only signifies a ground-breaking methodology but also addresses an unresolved research question concerning the evaluation of the actual energy efficiency of smart working implementations for both employers and employees. The results underscore the importance of understanding the nuances of SW's impact on household energy usage and its broader implications for sustainability goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyses how Moroccan Muslim migrants in Europe define their heterosexual premarital experiences and construct their masculinities by trying to combine two main social and educational scenarios: the context of the native country on one side, and their life abroad on the other. The contribution is based on results from qualitative research (based on semi-structured interviews and ethnographic observations) involving young Moroccan migrant men aged 19-30 years old living in France and Italy. Through studying the case of different heterosexual mixed couples (formed by a Moroccan Muslim man with a non- Muslim European woman), the article shows how young migrant men cope with the fact of engaging in premarital relationships with a European girl abroad. Pre-conjugal sex, indeed, is presented by the interviewees as one of the practices which is the most difficult to reconcile with their identity as Muslims and with their Moroccan family socialisation. The paper especially analyses how, abroad, heterosexual young men elaborate specific arrangements with both sexual and religious norms, as well as with family bonds, in order to deal with a hegemonic model of “conjugal masculinity”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to achieve the ambitious goal of "carbon neutrality", countries around the world are striving to develop clean energy. Against this background, this paper takes China and Italy as representatives of developing and developed countries to summarize the energy structure composition and development overview of the two countries. The paper analyzes the serious challenges facing the future energy development of both countries and investigates the possibilities of energy cooperation between the two countries, taking into account their respective advantages in energy development. By comparing the policies issued by the two governments to encourage clean energy development, this paper analyzes the severe challenges faced by the two countries' energy development in the future and combines their respective energy development advantages to look forward to the possibility of energy cooperation between the two countries in the future. This lays the foundation for China and Italy to build an "Energy Road" after the "Silk Road". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, ventilation in buildings was not always given its due importance. The World Health Organization has highlighted the important role of air exchange with the outdoors in improving the air quality in buildings; buildings should, therefore, be equipped with mechanical ventilation or adequate air conditioning systems. This paper aims to investigate different retrofit solutions for air conditioning, evaluating them in terms of energy consumption and cost and the impact of increased outdoor air exchange rates on countering the propagation of COVID-19; the latter is the main novelty of the paper. As a case study, we take an existing office building located in Central Italy that was previously not equipped with a mechanical ventilation system (a system with primary air was introduced during the study). The energy analysis was conducted using dynamic simulation software after validation through energy bills; energy and economic analyses were conducted considering different external-air exchange rates. An optimal number of outdoor air changes was found to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 infection, a finding in line with the international literature. The increase in air changes with outdoor air leads to a rise in energy consumption and costs. These values were evaluated for different air conditioning systems and operational schedules. These drawbacks can be made less significant by combining interventions in the system with energy-efficiency measures applied to the building envelope. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: There has been limited research on why football clubs contribute to charity. This paper examines how football clubs and their charitable conduits report information when discussing their connectedness. In addition, it explores reasons why, and the extent to which, football clubs support altruism via such charitable vehicles. Design/methodology/approach: Case studies of four major football teams (Manchester City/Manchester United in England and AC Milan/Inter Milan in Italy) are discussed, with formal reports of the clubs and their associated charitable conduits being analysed. Findings: Boundaries between the clubs and their charitable conduits are frequently blurred. Evidence suggests that acknowledging the co-existence of different factors may help to understand what is reported by these organisations and address some of the caveats in terms of autonomy and probity of their activities and reporting practices. Research limitations/implications: The research uses case studies of four major 'powerhouses' of the game and their associated charitable spinoffs. While this is innovative and novel, expanding the research to investigate more clubs and their charitable endeavours would allow greater generalisations. Practical implications: The study provides material that can be used to reflect on the very topical subject of 'sportswashing'. This has the potential to input to deliberations relating to the future governance of the game. Originality/value: The paper explores relationships between businesses and charities/nonprofits in a sector so far little investigated from a charitable accountability perspective. It suggests that motives for engaging in charitable activity and highlighting such engagement may extend beyond normal altruism or warm-glow emotions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses experimental and simulated data regarding the thermal bridging effect in a reinforced concrete corner pillar, which belongs to a building dating back to the 1980s and located in Southern Italy. The thermal field determined by the concrete pillar corner has been evaluated, introducing an experimental procedure based on both direct measurements and indirect observations of the inner superficial temperature by means of thermal imaging techniques and surface temperature probes. Moreover, indoor and outdoor air temperature and relative humidity were measured to provide suitable boundary conditions in the numerical simulations, performed with a commercial software tool widely used in Italy based on 2D finite element techniques. The experimental measurements show that, at more than 50 cm from the corner, the surface temperatures become almost constant, meaning that the thermal bridging effect becomes less evident. However, the surface temperature in the corner is around 1.5 °C lower than in the undisturbed flanking walls. In terms of local heat flux, the discrepancy between simulations and measurements is below 3%. Finally, this paper verifies the effectiveness of External Thermal Insulation Composite System (ETICS) renovation in reducing the thermal bridging effect of the corner pillar. The results also include the calculation of the linear thermal transmittance with a series of relations available in well-known atlases for thermal bridges and show that these relations are more reliable in the case of uninsulated pillar than for the insulated one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on managing the Cultural Heritage maintenance process through web platforms, exploring a data-driven new approach that relies on the framework of Master Data Management (MDM). The MDM framework is based on data quality, revisioning and auditing of information, and the Microsoft SQL Server Master Data Services (MDS) was used. It is a highly customizable commercial tool that proved to be effective and able to manage extended and articulated databases and provide stability and long-term software support. MDS provides powerful tools to avoid duplicates, ensure data quality, and record all the modifications that occurred on the dataset over time. These are key features to build a reliable platform for information management of complex CH assets.The paper presents some first tests applied for the Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy case of study. It is a UNESCO wide religious architectural complex site in northern Italy's mountainous part. The paper compares approaches and previous experiences of Sacri Monti management using web platform information systems, such as the BIM3DSG, Chimera, and Main10ance, to support Sacri Monti management activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In mountain environments, landslide activity can be assessed through a combination of remote and proximal sensing techniques performed at different scales. The complementarity of methods and the synergistic use of data can be crucial for landslide recognition and monitoring. This paper explored the potential of Multi-Temporal Differential Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (MT-DInSAR) to detect and monitor slope deformations at the basin scale in a catchment area of the Northern Apennines (Italy) and verified the consistency between the landslide classification by the Inventory of Landslide Phenomena in Italy (IFFI) and displacements from the SAR data. In this research, C- and X-band SAR were considered to provide insights into the performances and suitability of sensors operating at different frequencies. This study provides clues about the state of activity of slow-moving landslides and critically assessed its contribution to the IFFI inventory update. Moreover, it demonstrated the benefits of the synergistic use of SAR and geomorphological analysis to investigate slope dynamics in clayey terrains by exemplifying the approach for a relevant case study, the Gaiato landslide. Notwithstanding the widespread use of MT-DInSAR for landslide kinematics investigations, the main limiting factors are discussed along with the expected improvements related to the upcoming new generations of L-band SAR satellites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we aimed to assess the capacity of a physics-based earthquake simulator to improve our understanding of the seismogenic process. In this respect, we applied a previously tested earthquake simulator to two well-known and completely different seismogenic fault systems, namely the Italian Apennines and the Nankai subduction in Japan, for which long historical records of strong earthquakes are available. They are characterized by different fault mechanisms, fault sizes, and slip rates. Because of the difference in slip rates, the time scale of the seismicity patterns is different for the two systems (several hundreds of years for the Apennines and a few tens of years for the Nankai Fault). The results of simulations that produced synthetic catalogues of 100,000 years show these significant long-term seismicity patterns characterizing the seismic cycles for both seismogenic areas as follows: The average stress and the occurrence rate of earthquakes increase in the long term as the next major earthquake approaches; while the average stress increases uniformly, the occurrence rate stops increasing well in advance of the mainshocks; the b-value exhibits a long-term increase before major earthquakes and a fast decrease shortly before the mainshocks. Even if no specific statistical tool was applied for the quantification of the similarities between the seismicity patterns of the two seismic areas, such similarities are clearly justified by the large number of seismic cycles included in the 100,000-year synthetic catalogues. The paper includes a discussion on the capability of the simulation algorithm to reliably represent the real long-term seismogenic process. This question is difficult to answer because the available historical observations are of too short a duration to provide significant statistical results. In spite of the limitations characterizing the use of earthquake simulators for time-dependent earthquake hazard assessment, and the lack of convincing mechanistic explanations of the specific seismic patterns reproduced by our simulator algorithm, our results encourage further investigations into the application of simulators for the development of seismogenic models, including short-term features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Necrotizing gingivitis (NG) is an acute inflammatory process with an estimated prevalence of less than 1%. The treatment of choice is usually antibiotics in addition to periodontal treatment. This scoping review aims to detail extent and type of proof related to NG in paediatric patient; moreover, a decision tree protocol was developed to define NG management in paediatric patients based on the presence or absence of systemic compromission. In addition, we also propose the use of ozone treatment as an adjuvant therapy. Seven papers (3 case reports, 2 guidelines, and 2 reviews) were selected for evaluation by reading the full texts. This review outlines the lack of research on the treatment of NG in paediatric patients; we, however, demonstrate the efficacy of the decision tree protocol by describing two case reports in which patients were treated with antibiotics according to the presence or absence of systemic involvement through the implementation of an individualized therapeutic approach, with periodontal ozone therapy. Moreover, the supportive use of this molecule in the management of NG can be a valuable tool in the healing of gingival tissues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction and purpose: Citrus bergamia, commonly known as bergamot, is a unique plant native to the Calabria region in Italy, prized for its fragrant fruits and versatile applications. Historically utilized for extracting essential oil, bergamot has garnered attention for its therapeutic properties, particularly its Bergamot-derived Polyphenolic Fraction (BPF), which exhibits lipid-lowering, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory effects. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive summary of existing research on the therapeutic potential of BPF in humans. Brief description of the state of knowledge: BPF has shown promise in supporting wound healing, alleviating neuropathic pain, and exhibiting antimicrobial properties. Research highlights BPF's role in modulating lipid metabolism, particularly in reducing LDL cholesterol and triglycerides while increasing HDL cholesterol levels. Additionally, BPF demonstrates anti-inflammatory effects, accelerating the recovery process in conditions such as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and potentially influencing pathways involved in cancer cell proliferation and apoptosis. Further studies explore BPF's impact on bone metabolism, erectile dysfunction, and its potential in dermatological applications, particularly in counteracting photoaging. Conclusions: While existing studies underscore the promising therapeutic effects of BPF in various medical domains, further research is warranted to establish its efficacy and safety for broader clinical use. Continued investigation on a larger scale holds the potential to develop BPF as a valuable physiotherapeutic strategy across diverse medical fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper's research question is to evaluate the potential impact of large numbers of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) on the future electric grid, and whether the flexibility of BEV charging can induce enough system benefits to remunerate BEV users for the change in their recharging pattern. The considered scenario refers to the Italian situation and what might occur through the year 2040, where a share of BEV stock of 40% can be foreseen, as well as significant increases in PV and wind generation. Although this study is focused on Italy, its results are applicable, with minor differences, to several EU countries. This paper first shows that the future impact of increasing penetration of BEVs appears to be compatible with the expected growth of generation from renewable energy sources (RES) and the corresponding reduction in fossil fuel-based generation. It also gives an estimate of the CO2 emission reduction resulting from these changes, considering an unmanaged BEV charge profile and two different managed profiles that shift the car's charging period to hours of the day when they have no negative impact on the grid and maximize the utilization of RES. Finally, it shows an evaluation of the economic benefits of displacing private car charging ranging from 4 to 10 cEUR/kWh, which could be used as tariff incentives to stimulate this displacing in recharging time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I explore the properties and the uses of the past participles in the Arbëresh variety of S. Nicola dell'Alto, an Albanian dialect still spoken in Southern Italy, which has been in contact with Italo-Romance varieties for more than five centuries. The data are discussed in comparison to standard Albanian and the contact language, Italian. In Albanian grammar, there is only one type of participle: the past participle. It has both verbal and adjectival properties. As a verbal form, the participle is used in compound and in periphrastic tenses, in combination with both the auxiliaries KAM 'have' and JAM 'be'. It can also be used in combination with other particles to create non-finite verbal forms such as gerund or infinitive or to build up temporal expressions. Finally, it can also be used after some modal impersonal verbs. Verbal participles never show agreement. Albanian participles can also be adjectival. All the adjectives derived by a participial verb take a linking article and always agree with the noun they modify in gender, number, Case and definiteness. The formal distinction of the verbal participles from adjectival participles seems to correlate with the aspectual properties of the construction: a verbal participle appears in eventive structures, whereas an adjectival participle occurs in stative structures. But, as we shall see, this is not always the case. Arbëresh participles have maintained the same morphological and syntactical properties of Albanian. They can be used both in stative and in eventive contexts, but in Arbëresh eventive passives, which are built up as in Italian rather than as in Albanian, the adjectival participles are always inflected. Agreement is obligatory in all the contexts where it is in Italian. This is a clear contact-induced change. The data presented in this paper show that Arbëresh, on the one hand, preserves features of Albanian grammar, whereas, on the other hand, it has undergone changes under the influence of the surrounding Italo-Romance varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Il Capitale Culturale: Studies on the Value of Cultural Heritage is the property of Il Capitale Culturale Studies on the Value of Cultural Heritage and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Critically ill COVID-19 patients may exhibit various clinical symptoms of renal dysfunction including severe Acute Kidney Injury (AKI). Currently, there is a lack of bibliometric analyses on COVID-19- related AKI. The aim of this study is to provide an overview of the current research status and hot topics regarding COVID-19 AKI. The literature was retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database. Subsequently, we utilized Microsoft Excel, VOSviewer, Citespace, and Pajek software to revealed the current research status, emerging topics, and developmental trends pertaining to COVID-19 AKI. This study encompassed a total of 1507 studies on COVID-19 AKI. The United States, China, and Italy emerged as the leading three countries in terms of publication numbers, contributing 498 (33.05%), 229 (15.20%), and 140 (9.29%) studies, respectively. The three most active and influential institutions include Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan University and Harvard Medical School. Ronco C from Italy, holds the record for the highest number of publications, with a total of 15 papers authored. Cheng YC’s work from China has garnered the highest number of citations, totaling 470 citations. The co-occurrence analysis of author keywords reveals that ‘mortality’, ‘intensive care units’, ‘chronic kidney disease’, ‘nephrology’, ‘renal transplantation’, ‘acute respiratory distress syndrome’, and ‘risk factors’ emerge as the primary areas of focus within the realm of COVID-19 AKI. In summary, this study analyzes the research trends in the field of COVID-19 AKI, providing a reference for further exploration and research on COVID-19 AKI mechanisms and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citation networks enable analysis of author groups, defining in-group dynamics, and mapping out inter-group relationships. While intellectual diversity and inclusiveness is one of the important principles of modern scholarship, it is intriguing to explore the extent to which these principles apply to historical communities of leaders and intellectuals. This paper introduces a novel methodological framework aimed at assessing the degree of viewpoint plurality and diversity of historical scholarship communities, through an in-depth analysis of the citations used in their literature, which has become possible due to the recently developed advanced computational analysis techniques. To achieve this goal, we have devised a set of new network-based indicators grounded in standard network metrics. These indicators can be applied at both the individual author and community levels. The developed methodology was applied to a citation network automatically constructed from a corpus of Rabbinic Halachic literature spanning the 10th to 15th centuries. This corpus includes over 5,000 citations from hundreds of books authored by approximately 140 Rabbinic scholars from six diverse geographic communities. We found that most of the authors and communities cite many more external resources from other communities than their own reflecting a willingness to engage with a diverse range of viewpoints. A more in-depth analysis based on the novel proportional diversity measures unveils more intriguing insights. Contrary to expectations, communities with the greatest number of external citations, such as Spain and Ashkenaz, surprisingly exhibit lower levels of viewpoint plurality compared to others, such as Italy and North Africa, elucidating a key finding of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The estimation of the slope (b -value) of the frequency–magnitude distribution of earthquakes is based on a formula derived by Aki decades ago, assuming a continuous exponential distribution. However, as the magnitude is usually provided with a limited resolution, its distribution is not continuous but discrete. In the literature, this problem was initially solved by an empirical correction (due to Utsu) to the minimum magnitude, and later by providing an exact formula such as that by Tinti and Mulargia, based on the geometric distribution theory. A recent paper by van der Elst showed that the b -value can be estimated also by considering the magnitude differences (which are proven to follow an exponential discrete Laplace distribution) and that in this case the estimator is more resilient to the incompleteness of the magnitude data set. In this work, we provide the complete theoretical formulation including (i) the derivation of the means and standard deviations of the discrete exponential and Laplace distributions; (ii) the estimators of the decay parameter of the discrete exponential and trimmed Laplace distributions and (iii) the corresponding formulas for the parameter b. We deduce (iv) the standard 1 σ intervals for the estimated b. Moreover, we are able (v) to quantify the error associated with the Utsu minimum-magnitude correction. Furthermore, we have discussed the formulas to produce statistically independent magnitude differences. We tested extensively the b -value estimators on simulated synthetic data sets including complete catalogues as well as catalogues affected by a strong incompleteness degree such as aftershock sequences where the incompleteness is made to vary from one event to the next. We have also analysed the real aftershock sequence of the 30/10/2016 Norcia (central Italy) to integrate the finding of the simulations. To judge the performance of the various estimators we have introduced an index p that can be seen as a non-parametric extension of the Student's t index. The main outcomes of this paper are that (1) the b -value estimators devised for continuous magnitude data are not adequate for binned magnitudes, (2) for complete data sets, estimators based on magnitudes and on magnitude differences provide substantially equivalent results, (3) for incomplete magnitude data sets, estimators based on magnitude differences provide better results and (4) for incomplete aftershock sequences there is no evidence that methods based on positive magnitude differences are superior than other methods using differences. This conclusion is further confirmed by our analysis of the above-mentioned Norcia seismic sequence. This last finding contrasts with the van der Elst's claim that the so called |${{b}_ + }$| method is the most adequate to treat real aftershock sequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Muslims in Italy are an increasingly large and relevant part of the social fabric, although their social condition is still characterized by a "precarious" status. This is explained by a relationship with State institutions that is not yet fully defined in formal terms and by resistance to legitimizing their presence in the public space. In addition, international events have led to the spread of a securitarian political rhetoric and to the intensification of "control" devices on the organized forms and public manifestations of Muslim religiosity. One issue that has concerned political interlocutors has been the training of "imams". This paper presents the Italian case of training "on" and "of" Islam, analyzing it as a contested field, albeit in a not open and hostile form, between the different social and institutional actors, that is Italian universities, Islamic organizations and transnational Islam and Islam "of the States". It then analyzes the approach that has been developed and experimented by an Italian State university for the training of imams and murshidat, in collaboration with Italian Islamic organizations and some universities in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation countries, and it also discusses how it fits in as a possible innovative model among the various "assemblages" that have emerged in Europe in recent years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The incidence of endocrine sequelae following central nervous system (CNS) infections in pediatric age is not known. We conducted this scoping review to assess the incidence of endocrinological alterations in patients with prior CNS infections in pediatric age. Methods Our screening process included both randomized and non-randomized controlled trials. All types of observational studies, prospective and retrospective, have been included. Results Ten studies were included in our review. The cumulative number of patients in all of the studies was 211, the mean age of the population study was 4.9 (±5 years). The included papers described the following acute CNS infections: meningitis (nine studies reported eighty-five cases) and encephalitis (three studies described sixty-five cases). Two case reports and one retrospective study reported hypopituitarism as a consequence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis CNS infection. In five studies the patients developed endocrine comorbidities at the time of infection. Another study analyzed 49 young adults who previously had tuberculous meningitis at a mean age of 5.9 ± 5.0 years: seven patients had growth hormone deficiency, four of whom also had gonadotropin deficiency; the other three had gonadotropin deficiency, corticotropin deficiency, and mild hyperprolactinemia. Conclusion Standardized multidisciplinary follow-up and research of patients with prior CNS infection is crucial. Although pituitary reserve screening is not commonly performed in these patients, clinical and research centers should set up an endocrinological evaluation with monitoring of auxological parameters to detect the signs and symptoms of hypopituitarism early and to initiate the appropriate care in children with previous CNS infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: In Italy, buffalo milk is mainly transformed into 'Mozzarella di Bufala Campana', a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) cheese. A quick method for predicting the coagulation properties of the milk before cheese production could enhance the efficiency of the industry. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to evaluate the potential use of mid-infrared spectroscopy to predict milk coagulation traits in bulk milk from Mediterranean Italian buffaloes. A total of 1736 bulk milk samples from 55 farms in central Italy were analyzed. Prediction models using mid-infrared spectroscopy were built with a modified partial least-squares regression using an external validation dataset. The best prediction model was obtained for curd firmness, but it was still inaccurate enough to replace traditional methods. This study evaluated the potential use of mid-infrared spectroscopy to predict milk coagulation traits in bulk milk from Mediterranean Italian buffaloes. A total of 1736 bulk milk samples from 55 farms in central Italy were collected during the official milk quality testing system. The prediction models were developed based on modified partial least-squares regression with 75% of the samples and validated with the remaining samples. All bulk milk samples coagulated between 7.37 and 29.45 min. Average values for milk coagulation traits in the calibration set were 17.71 min, 3.29 min, and 38.83 mm for rennet coagulation time, curd firming time, and curd firmness, respectively. The validation set included samples with similar mean and standard deviation for each trait. The prediction models showed the greatest coefficient of determination of external validation (0.57) and the ratio of prediction to deviation (1.52) for curd firmness. Similar fitting statistics of the prediction models were obtained for rennet coagulation time and curd firming time. In conclusion, the prediction models for all three coagulation traits were below the threshold to consider the prediction models adequate even for rough screening of the samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]