Sanitization Treatment of Fresh Produce with Acidic Electrolyzed Water: Experimental Results on Energy Efficiency, Effectiveness on Rots, Cost and Environmental Impact at Near-Industrial Scale

Abstract: This study evaluates the potential of acidic electrolyzed water (AEW) as an alternative sanitizing solution for the fruit and vegetable industry. Conducted on a nearindustrial scale, the experiment used a 300 L solution with 10% AEW, measuring pH, free chlorine concentration, and electro-oxidative potential (EOP). The sanitizing efficacy of AEW was tested against common phytopathogens responsible for post-harvest decay including Penicillium expansum, Aspergillus niger, Botrytis cinerea, and Alternaria alternata. With a pH of 7.27, EOP of −0.40 mV, and free chlorine at 5 mg/L, AEW achieved an 85–90% decay reduction in a 2 min wash. Energy consumption for AEW production was notably lower than that for sodium hypochlorite, a widely used industrial sanitizer, and AEW production demonstrated a reduced environmental impact due to its recycling potential and favorable effluent properties. However, free chlorine levels necessitated further treatment before wastewater discharge

Response to comments on ‘Tuberculosis Outcomes among International Migrants in Europe: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis’

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Remote sensing techniques to assess badlands dynamics: insights from a systematic review

Badlands are typical landforms that develop on unconsolidated sediments or poorly consolidated bedrock, with bare or sparse vegetation, generally characterized by high rates of erosion. These landscapes are vulnerable to dynamic changes driven by natural processes such as rainfall and tectonic processes, as well as anthropogenic factors including deforestation and land reclamation. The evolution of their interaction significantly influences resource management, particularly soil and water, and informs sustainable land-use planning strategies. Monitoring and analyzing badlands dynamics is crucial for understanding their downstream effects and mitigating natural and environmental hazards such as landslides, debris flows, piping and sediment delivery to rivers. Remote sensing (RS) technologies, from ground- to satellite-based, have emerged as valuable tools for assessing these processes due to their ability to provide data at high spatial and/or temporal resolutions over complex terrains. This article provides a systematic overview of recent advancements in RS techniques applied to badlands, highlighting their respective contributions across various environmental contexts. Starting from 516 papers retrieved from Web of Science and Scopus databases, the review synthesizes the main findings of 96 peer-reviewed studies selected by the use of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) process. The majority of these studies (59%) were conducted in Europe, with significant contributions from Italy, Spain and France. Ground-based methods like Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) remain invaluable for site-specific studies that focus on fine-scale processes such as rill formation and micro-landslides, while airborne laser scanning and aerial photography and photogrammetry, offer broader spatial coverage, facilitating the creation of geomorphological maps and the analysis of large-scale erosional features. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), emerging since 2011, have bridged the gap between ground precision field studies and aerial scalability, becoming essential for 3D mapping and erosion monitoring in inaccessible terrain. Satellite imagery is a leading tool due to its extensive spatial and temporal coverage, enhancing land-use change monitoring and erosion modeling capabilities. The study also emphasizes the importance of well-known tools such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to support the analysis of data and the creation of thematic maps (e.g. erosion susceptibility, land use/land cover, geotourism), while also recognizing the increasing role of Machine Learning (ML) in handling large and complex datasets, identifying hidden patterns, and supporting predictive analyses in environmental research. By providing a structured comparison of RS approaches in relation to their spatial scale, resolution, and applicability, this study contributes to a better understanding of their potential and limitations in badlands research, and offers a useful reference for designing future monitoring strategies

Role of Free Radicals in the Pathophysiology of OSA: A Narrative Review of a Double-Edged Sword

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a highly prevalent sleep-related breathing disorder, primarily characterized by recurrent episodes of upper airway obstruction during sleep. Individuals affected by OSA are at increased risk for a variety of adverse health outcomes, particularly neurocognitive impairments and cardiovascular complications, highlighting the clinical significance of this condition. A defining feature of OSA is intermittent hypoxemia, which contributes to the excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the subsequent development of oxidative stress. The primary objective of this narrative review was to comprehensively investigate the intricate mechanisms of oxidative stress and elucidate their complex interplay in the development and progression of OSAS. Subsequently, we examined the current literature to identify the most promising biomarkers and pharmacological treatments related to OSA and oxidative stress. We found that biomarkers of oxidative stress have shown potential in assessing disease severity and tracking individual responses to therapy. However, none have yet to be incorporated into standard clinical practice. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the gold standard treatment for OSA. Nevertheless, antioxidant therapy has emerged as a potential adjunctive approach that may help address residual dysfunctions not fully resolved by CPAP alone. Both the use of oxidative stress biomarkers and antioxidant-based therapies require further validation through robust clinical studies before they can be routinely implemented in clinical settings

Efficacy and safety of once-weekly basal insulin therapy in people with type 1 diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Aims: Once-weekly basal insulins may offer similar or superior HbA1c reduction compared to once-daily analogues in people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. However, concerns about hypoglycaemia persist in individuals on multiple daily injections. This meta-analysis (PROSPERO CRD42024606874) aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of once-weekly basal insulin therapy in type 1 diabetes. Materials and Methods: A systematic search was conducted in MEDLINE, Web of Science and CENTRAL up to 1 April 2025. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing insulin icodec or efsitora against once-daily basal insulins in people with type 1 diabetes. Three reviewers independently evaluated the retrieved citations. The primary outcome was the change in HbA1c. Meta-analysis was performed using fixed- or random-effects models based on heterogeneity. Results: Five RCTs were included, enrolling 1629 adults living with type 1 diabetes. Once-weekly and once-daily basal insulins had similar effects on HbA1c (high certainty), body weight (moderate certainty), time in range (moderate certainty) and time above range. However, safety concerns emerged due to increased rates of level 3 hypoglycaemia (incidence rate ratio 2.532, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.758–3.645; moderate certainty). A significantly lower weekly bolus insulin dose was observed with once-weekly basal insulin therapy (estimated treatment ratio 0.837, 95% CI 0.794–0.882, I2 = 0%; high certainty). Conclusions: This meta-analysis is the first to evaluate the efficacy and safety of once-weekly basal insulin therapy exclusively in adults with type 1 diabetes and including all published RCTs. The analysis demonstrated a similar glucose-lowering effect compared to once-daily basal insulin but revealed an increased occurrence of severe hypoglycaemia

An interoperable web-based platform to support health surveillance against latent tuberculosis infection in health care workers and students: The evolution of CROSSWORD study protocol

Background Tuberculosis (TB) prevention is a major goal in teaching hospital setting. Because of the possible progression or reactivation of latent disease, the screening of both health-care workers (HCWs) and students is an important issue in the TB control program. Objective to deploy a web-based platform interoperating health surveillance systems from different hospitals to define models based on the highlighted risk factors to predict the occur- rence of Latent Tuberculosis Infection (LTBI) and to define prevention strategies and interventions. Methods This is a cross-sectional ambispective observational study without drug and device. The primary endpoint is the prevalence of LTBI. The secondary endpoint is the identification of possible risk factors of LTBI in a large cohort of HCWs and students. Conclusions This study aims to enrich the primary prevention measures against TB, having a high socio-economic-health impact in high-risk populations (HCWs and students) through an interoperable digital approach based on data obtained in three large Italian teaching hospitals

Quantification of Lateralized Overgrowth and Genotype-Driven Tissue Composition

Lateralized overgrowth (LO) is characterized by excessive growth of one side of the body compared to the other. LO can present as isolated (ILO) or within syndromes, like Beckwith-Wiedemann Spectrum (BWSp) and PIK3CA-related overgrowth spectrum (PROS). Currently, the diagnosis of LO relies on clinical evaluation and lacks a standardized method. In this study, we evaluated total body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (TB-DXA) as a potential tool for standardizing LO assessment. Patients with LO underwent both clinical evaluation and TB-DXA. TB-DXA data, including total mass, mass of the three main tissue components (adipose, muscle, and bone), total mass discrepancy ratio, relative tissue composition, and discrepancy of relative tissue composition were calculated and compared with clinical findings. Differences between affected regions and the contralateral side were assessed. A total of 46 patients (61% PROS, 24% BWSp, 15% ILO) were included in this study. TB-DXA detected overgrowth regions aligned with clinical evaluation in 91% of cases and was able to identify localized overgrowth even when clinically overlooked. Additionally, TB-DXA revealed differences in tissue composition between affected and unaffected regions for symmetrical body areas, with these differences varying by diagnostic subgroup. Different patterns of tissue composition overgrowth were observed among different conditions, with PROS predominantly showing adipose tissue overgrowth, while BWSp/ILO mainly osteo-muscular overgrowth. TB-DXA is an accurate, safe, and reproducible tool in the clinical setting providing an objective method for identifying and quantifying LO. It offers valuable guidance for clinicians in the diagnosis and management of LO

Evaluation of Trends in Influenza A and B Viruses in Wastewater and Human Surveillance Data: Insights from the 2022-2023 Season in Italy

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is a recognized, dynamic approach to monitoring the transmission of pathogens in communities through urban wastewater. This study aimed to detect and quantify influenza A and B viruses in Italian wastewater during the 2022–2023 season (October 2022 to April 2023). A total of 298 wastewater samples were collected from 67 wastewater treatment plants (WTPs) across the country. These samples were analyzed for influenza A and B viruses (IAV, IBV) using primers originally developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for real-time PCR and adapted for digital PCR. The overall detection rates of IAV and IBV across the entire study period were 19.1% and 16.8%, respectively. The prevalence of IAV in wastewater showed a gradual increase from October to December 2022, peaking at 61% in December. In contrast, IBV peaked at 36% in February 2023. This temporal discrepancy in peak concentrations suggests different seasonal patterns for the two influenza types. These trends mirrored human surveillance data, which showed influenza A cases peaking at 46% in late December and declining to around 2% by April 2023, and influenza B cases starting to increase significantly in January 2023 and peaking at about 14% in March. IAV concentrations ranged from 9.80 × 102 to 1.94 × 105 g.c./L, while IBV concentrations ranged from 1.07 × 103 to 1.43 × 104 g.c./L. Overall, the environmental data were consistent with the human surveillance trends observed during the study period in the country. These results demonstrate the value of WBE in tracking epidemiological patterns and highlight its potential as a complementary tool to infectious diseases surveillance systems

Profili costituzionali dei beni culturali tra proprietà, diritti e livelli di governo

Il presente lavoro di ricerca si occupa dei profili costituzionali dei beni culturali seguendo tre direttrici generali, ossia la proprietà, i diritti e i livelli di governo. La prima direttrice esamina la dimensione costituzionale del bene della cultura delineata dall’articolo 9 Cost. mettendola in relazione con quella della proprietà derivante dall’art. 42 Cost., per poi passare ad indagare l’impianto codicistico e la sua compatibilità con il dettato costituzionale. La seconda direttrice analizza la dinamica soggettiva del patrimonio culturale relativa alla dimensione dei diritti, ricercando un fondamento costituzionale, in particolare, al diritto alla fruizione del bene culturale e analizzando le relative tracce all’interno dell’ordinamento. La terza direttrice approfondisce l’ambito relativo ai livelli di governo, con particolare riferimento al rapporto tra Stato e Regioni e all’assetto delle rispettive competenze in materia di beni culturali, ponendo particolare attenzione all’emergente fenomeno del regionalismo differenziato. Da ultimo, il lavoro è altresì completato da un focus sui beni culturali di proprietà privata siti nel territorio della Regione Puglia destinatari di contributi statali e pertanto resi accessibili ai sensi dell’art. 38 del Codice dei beni culturali e del paesaggio: esso consiste essenzialmente nella raccolta, analisi e organizzazione dei dati ad essi riferiti in ordine alla loro collocazione, regime di accessibilità e durata dell’apertura al pubblico.This research explores the constitutional aspects of cultural heritage along three general lines: property, rights, and levels of government. The first line examines the constitutional dimension of cultural heritage as outlined in Article 9 of the Constitution, connecting it to the concept of property as established in Article 42 of the Constitution. It then investigates the legislative framework and its compatibility with constitutional provisions. The second line analyzes the subjective dynamics of cultural heritage in relation to rights, seeking a constitutional basis, particularly, for the right to access and enjoy cultural heritage and identifying its traces within the legal system. The third line focuses on the governance framework, specifically the relationship between the State and Regions and the division of their respective competencies regarding cultural heritage, with special attention to the emerging phenomenon of differentiated regionalism. Lastly, the study includes a focus on privately owned cultural heritage in the Apulia Region that benefits from state funding and is consequently made accessible under Article 38 of the Code of Cultural Heritage and Landscape. This section primarily involves the collection, analysis, and organization of data related to their location, accessibility conditions, and the duration of public access

The PLS-PM approach to analyze the quality of health services over time

The study of the quality of services provided in the health sector plays a fundamental role in applied statistical studies. The work focuses on using Structural Equation Modeling Path Modeling as a valuable way to analyze longitudinal data relating to the level of the satisfaction expressed with respect to a selection of public and private operators. The aim of the study is to develop an experimental model to measure the level of satisfaction with the services provided by an external organization over time. In the work, the data used result from a survey on the services offered by Sanita’ Service s.r.l. at the ASL (local health organization) agencies in Foggia