Influence of gender on Behçet's disease phenotype and irreversible organ damage: Data from the International AIDA Network Behçet's Disease Registry

Objectives: Gender impact on phenotypical expression of Behçet's disease (BD) has been specifically investigated only in a few large-scale studies. The main goal of the study was to examine gender differences in a large cohort of patients affected by BD. Methods: Data were retrieved from the International AIDA Network Registry for BD. We assessed differences between males and females in terms of Behçet's syndrome Overall Damage Index (BODI), differences in the disease manifestations at onset and in the cumulative manifestations throughout disease course, as well as differences in the cardiovascular risk. Finally, predictive factors leading to major organ involvement were investigated. Results: In total, 1024 BD patients (567 males, 457 females) were enrolled in the study, with a male-to-female ratio of 1.24/1. Males displayed a significantly higher mean ± SD BODI (1.92 ± 2.09) at the last follow-up, compared to female patients (1.25 ± 1.87) (P < 0.0001). Uveitis (P < 0.0001) and vascular involvement (P = 0.0076) were significantly more frequent among males whereas female patients were significantly over-represented in arthralgia (P < 0.0001), arthritis (P = 0.00025), isolated headache (P < 0.0001), central nervous system (CNS) involvement (P = 0.040), and gastrointestinal involvement (P = 0.00046). Regarding cardiovascular risk, no differences between the two groups emerged (P = 0.617). Four variables were associated with the development of major organ involvement: male gender (OR = 2.104, P = 0.001), current treatment with biologic agents (OR = 2.257, P = 0.0003), origin from endemic countries (OR = 2.661, P = 0.0009), and disease duration (OR = 1.002, P = 0.024). Conclusion: BD displays a more severe course among males. This subgroup develops more irreversible damage and presents more frequently ocular and vascular involvement during disease course. On the other hand, female patients are prone to experience articular involvement, headache, CNS and gastrointestinal involvement. These data suggest the existence of a gender-driven disease expression

Spatiotemporal partitioning between sympatric hares and their predators

Assessing spatiotemporal activity patterns of carnivores and prey, and their overlaps, provides key insights into behavioural adaptations for mitigating competition and predation. Camera-trapping has improved our potential to conduct systematic studies of activity patterns and spatiotemporal niche overlap on mammalian guilds and, particularly, to monitor the presence and the spatiotemporal behaviour of species of conservation concern. In this study, we used 30 fixed camera traps to investigate spatiotemporal partitioning among two lagomorphs and their shared terrestrial predators (i.e., the grey wolf Canis lupus, the red fox Vulpes vulpes, the pine marten Martes martes, the European badger Meles meles and the wildcat Felis silvestris), in two similar natural reserves located in Apennine forests of central Italy. We obtained 10,043 independent videos in six months of monitoring, including the two target hare species, i.e. the European brown hare Lepus europaeus and the protected endemic Apennine hare L. corsicanus, and their predators. Our results indicate a high temporal overlap between hares, particularly at dusk and dawn, which suggests potential competition for shared resources. Conversely, moderate spatial overlap and distinct habitat preferences suggest habitat partitioning as co-existence mechanism between European brown hares and Apennine hares. Apennine hares are strongly associated with wooded areas, whereas European brown hares favour open habitats. Both species avoided bright moonlight nights, as an anti-predatory strategy. The higher spatial overlap of Apennine hares with predators suggests that this Italian endemic species may face higher predation pressure, potentially exacerbating competition with the more abundant European brown hare

Endocarditis and Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Infective endocarditis (IE) is an uncommon but potentially fatal complication in patients affected by hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). The risk has been described to be significantly higher than in the general population, but the incidence of IE in HCM population remains unknown. The complex pathophysiology of this disease, characterized by structural alterations of the mitral valve apparatus and the presence of turbulent flow that promotes the deposition of microorganisms, could provide a substrate for IE and may, to some extent, explain its higher incidence in this specific population. The purpose of this case series is to highlight the correlation between endocarditis and HCM, a concern that has also been raised in recent European guidelines. © 2025 The Author

Architectures and Algorithms for Learning Without Data Accumulation over Time

The increasing demand for intelligent systems capable of operating in real-world, temporally dynamic environments calls for a fundamental rethinking of conventional machine learning paradigms. Traditional models rely heavily on the accumulation, storage, and repeated access to vast datasets—a process that contrasts sharply with how biological systems learn: incrementally, causally, and without revisiting the past. This thesis addresses the theoretical and practical challenges involved in designing learning systems that operate without data accumulation over time, laying the foundation for a new class of intelligent agents under the umbrella of Collectionless Artificial Intelligence. At its core, this work proposes learning algorithms and architectures designed to function online, in continuous time, and without reliance on stored data, under strict temporal and spatial locality constraints. In this collectionless setting, the agent is prohibited from buffering or revisiting past inputs, reflecting a more biologically plausible and ethically favorable approach to learning, particularly relevant in edge computing scenarios where privacy, energy efficiency, and decentralization are key. A key contribution is the formulation of the perpetual generation problem, which focuses on enabling systems to autonomously produce consistent and meaningful sequences over indefinite time horizons, without external inputs or memory. The thesis provides a detailed analysis of marginal stability in both linear and nonlinear recurrent neural networks, establishing spectral and dynamical criteria that ensure stable internal dynamics suitable for sustained inference and generation. Another major innovation is the introduction of the Hamiltonian Learning framework, which recasts learning as an optimal control problem solved forward in time. Unlike traditional methods such as backpropagation through time, this approach leverages Hamilton equations to derive learning rules that are local in both time and space. This not only enhances biological plausibility but also enables scalable training of deep and recurrent networks in settings where memory and computational resources are limited. The proposed theories and models are supported by comprehensive experimental validation across a range of tasks, including online sequence generation and streaming data classification. These experiments confirm the effectiveness of the methods under continuous-time constraints, where conventional approaches typically fail due to their reliance on data storage. By integrating perspectives from machine learning and control theory, this thesis advances the vision of self-sufficient, robust, and adaptive learning systems. The methods developed here point toward a new generation of intelligent agents—ones that operate efficiently, respect privacy, and more faithfully mirror the continuous, embodied learning seen in natural organisms

The shape of economics before and after the financial crisis

This paper investigates the impact of the global financial crisis on the shape of economics as a discipline by analyzing EconLit-indexed journals from 2006 to 2020 using a multilayer network approach. We consider two types of social relationships among journals, based on shared editors (interlocking editorship) and shared authors (interlocking authorship), as well as two forms of intellectual proximity, derived from bibliographic coupling and textual similarity. These four dimensions are integrated using Similarity Network Fusion to produce a unified similarity network from which journal communities are identified. Comparing the field in 2006, 2012, and 2019 reveals a high degree of structural continuity. Our findings suggest that, despite changes in research topics after the crisis, fundamental social and intellectual relationships among journals have remained remarkably stable. Editorial networks, in particular, continue to shape hierarchies and legitimize knowledge production

EASY OR NOT. European-Asian Six countries Yearly consensus On Recent guidelines: arterial hypertension, atrial fibrillation, chronic coronary syndromes, and peripheral artery diseases. Novel Or conventional Treatment options for these patients. Position Paper 2024

The 2024 guidelines of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) refer to four very important therapeutic areas: arterial hypertension, atrial fibrillation, chronic coronary syndromes and peripheral artery disease. The ESC countries and their institutional members share a common goal of reducing the bur-den of cardiovascular diseases, which remain the leading cause of death worldwide. Experts from these six countries — three from Europe and three from Asia — gathered at the annual meeting to briefly present the epidemiological situation regarding selected issues addressed in the 2024 ESC guidelines, and to create a document highlighting the significant progress in pharmacotherapy. The new guidelines allow us to identify particularly important therapeutic areas and unmet pharmaceutical needs within the four treatment guidelines developed by the ESC in 2024. While discussing each of these four documents, 10 subjectively selected points were chosen to highlight what should be kept in mind in daily clinical practice. Altogether, a range of all-risk categories are represented, and the observations made in this position paper are of a universal nature

Con la letteratura: la lettura letteraria, la scuola, l’insegnamento

Il volume propone un approccio all’insegnamento letterario fondato sul valore sociale della lettura, della scrittura e della condivisione. L’obiettivo è restituire centralità all’esperienza dell'incontro con le opere in aula, rendendo ogni studente protagonista del proprio percorso formativo con la letteratura. I primi capitoli dialogano con la narratologia, la psicologia cognitiva, la didattica della letteratura e con il pensiero di Gianni Rodari, interrogandosi su lettori reali, testi e media. La seconda parte affronta il contesto istituzionale dell’insegnamento, con riferimenti alla normativa scolastica, alla transizione digitale e alla prospettiva della scuola delle competenze.This book proposes an approach to literary education grounded in the social value of reading, writing, and sharing. It aims to restore centrality to the concrete experience of literary texts in the classroom, engaging each student as an active participant in their learning journey. The first chapters engage with narratology, cognitive psychology, literature pedagogy, and Gianni Rodari’s thought, reflecting on real readers, texts, and media. The second part addresses the institutional context of teaching, with references to school regulations, the digital transition, and the competence-based education framework