Personalized colorectal cancer risk assessment through explainable AI and Gut microbiome profiling

The clinical adenoma–carcinoma progression represents a well-established framework for understanding colorectal cancer (CRC) development, although the molecular mechanisms underlying this transition remain only partially understood. Increasing evidence suggests the gut microbiome (GM) as a key modulator of colorectal carcinogenesis, positioning microbial profiling as a promising avenue for noninvasive risk stratification and early detection. In this study, Machine Learning (ML) classifiers integrated with eXplainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) techniques were employed to identify microbiome-derived biomarkers predictive of CRC and adenomatous lesions. The models were trained on 16S rRNA sequencing data from 453 patients and evaluated through cross-validation, achieving AU-ROC and AU-PRC scores of 0.71 and 0.67, respectively. External validation on an independent Italian cohort ((Formula presented.)) yielded AU-ROC and AU-PRC scores of 0.70 and 0.89, respectively. XAI-based interpretation revealed consistent microbial signatures across datasets. In detail, taxa belonging to the Fusobacterium and Peptostreptococcus genera were associated with increased CRC risk, whereas the Eubacterium eligens group was identified as a robust negative predictor. Beyond classification, patient-level explanations enabled by XAI facilitated the identification of adenoma subgroups exhibiting microbiome profiles converging toward those of CRC, suggesting the presence of transitional microbial states. Moreover, SHAP-based interaction networks uncovered microbial hubs and inter-species dependencies characterizing high-risk configurations, providing insights into the ecological dynamics of colorectal tumorigenesis. These findings demonstrate the added XAI value in elucidating microbiome interactions, enhancing model interpretability, and supporting biologically informed hypotheses. This integrative, explainable framework highlights the potential of AI-driven microbiome analysis in precision oncology and advances the development of interpretable, noninvasive tools for CRC risk prediction and management

Topographical modification of titanium using diatom biosilica to promote human mesenchymal stem cell proliferation and osteogenic differentiation

Silica-based biomaterials have gained significant attention in the fields of orthopedics and dentistry due to their favorable properties that promote bone regeneration and integration. Techniques such as surface coatings or functionalization can be applied to silica-based biomaterials to further enhance the biological interactions with various composites and hybrid systems, enhancing the properties of polymers, ceramics, and metals used in implants. Diatoms microalgae are fascinating organisms that provide an innovative approach to source silica-based materials sustainably. Diatom-derived biosilica has been proved to be valuable for applications in various fields such as catalysis, drug delivery, environmental remediation. This study explores the potential of Navicula (N.) pelliculosa, a benthic diatom, to self-assemble on smooth titanium (Ti) surfaces. This self-adhesion phenomenon and subsequent topographical modification of the titanium surface are exploited to enhance the growth and osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs. By culturing hMSCs on titanium surfaces that have been nanotextured with the hierarchical silica texture of N. pelliculosa, increase in calcium deposition is observed within the extracellular matrix, along with elevated collagen production and upregulation of RUNX2, SP7, and COL1A1. These results indicate that the diatom's structure may serve as an effective bioactive interface to facilitate stem cell behavior and promote bone tissue engineering

I nove dell’Orsa maggiore. La svolta giovane del cineromanzo

La pratica editoriale dei cineromanzi ha un’ampia diffusione sul territorio italiano all’inizio degli anni Cinquanta: fratelli minori dei più noti fotoromanzi, questi rotocalchi propongono ai lettori e alle lettrici trasposizioni a fumetti delle pellicole cinematografi che coeve, ricorrendo a fotogrammi e fotografi e di scena. Nonostante gran parte dei cineromanzi di quel decennio si rivolgano a un pubblico femminile, promuovendo trasposizioni di film melodrammatici e sentimentali, alcune testate si differenziano tanto per i contenuti proposti, quanto per il pubblico di riferimento. Tra queste, un caso significativo è quello di "Orsa Maggiore. Fotosettimanale di film per la gioventù". Il periodico, pubblicato per soli nove numeri tra aprile e giugno 1956, ha infatti il merito di ripensare il formato del cineromanzo, alla luce di un target giovane. Il presente saggio mira a riflettere sull’avventura editoriale di "Orsa Maggiore", ponendo l’attenzione su tre aspetti: le politiche che guidano la selezione dei lungometraggi trasposti; le strategie di adattamento che guidano il passaggio dallo schermo alla carta; le rubriche di accompagnamento che, in una sorta di virtuale controcanto, offrono uno sguardo reale (o presunto tale) sul pubblico

Cottagecore. Le contraddizioni slow di un’estetica nostalgica

Cottagecore is a trend that gathers social contents characterised by an aesthetic that celebrates rural life, inspired by an idealised vision of nature and the pre-industrial past. The posts base their success on the sharing of manual activities (crafting, making clothes, preparing traditional food) in country houses. What idea of nostalgia emerges from the spontaneous circulation of these contents? What cultural elements construct the idyllic past in which digital users find relief from the anxieties of the present? To answer these questions, critical exploratory research was undertaken based on the coding and analysis of a sample of posts from 2020 to 2025. The analysis of the visual content allowed the phenomenon to be read since the distinctions between progressive/regressive and restorative/reflective nostalgia

Purtroppo questo è solo un'occasione di tregua e non un accordo di pace

Le tregue non si traducono automaticamente in accordi di pace: c'è una sospensione del conflitto ma non una ricostruzione delle relazioni fra i popol

Individuo singolare? Per ripensare l'umanità del Figlio

Sfruttando l'antropologia di Paul Ricoeur e Francois Jullien, il saggio applica le categorie di Identità narrativa e Scarto ai racconti su Gesù di Nazareth, muovendosi tra filosofia e teologi

Cristina Roccati: la donna che osò studiare la fisica

Nel cuore del Settecento, in un’Italia dominata da convenzioni sociali rigide e da un’educazione universitaria ancora esclusivamente maschile, una giovane donna intraprende un percorso che avrebbe infranto le barriere dell’epoca: Cristina Roccati sceglie di frequentare l’università fuori dalla sua città natale, diventando una delle prime studentesse “fuori sede” italiane

Decisional capacity to consent to treatment in children and adolescents: A systematic review

Obtaining informed consent in vulnerable populations like children and adolescents, is a relevant issue and raises ethical concerns. Minors are considered unable to consent to treatment, and permission from guardians is required for them. Nevertheless, several studies have been carried out on the competence of pediatric patients, with mixed results. Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic review was performed to assess children and adolescents’ decisional capacity to consent to treatment. The search strategy identified 2,790 studies, including 10 that survived full-text screening and evaluation. Studies included in the analysis evaluated the decisionmaking capacity of minors using the MacArthur Competency Assessment Tool - Treatment (MacCAT-T), the Adolescent Psychiatric Patient Competency Questionnaire (CQ-ChP); the Measure of Competency (MOC), the Measure of Competency- Hypothetical (MOC–Hyp). Overall, minors over the age of 13 showed an acceptable decisional capacity. However, further research, preferably on larger groups, is needed to shed more light on this topic

Il rapporto tra agricoltura e territori per la costruzione di modelli di sviluppo sostenibile: il ruolo della collettività nei sistemi di governance

Obiettivo del presente lavoro è indagare il quadro delle soluzioni giuridiche adottate nel settore agroalimentare che esprime l’esigenza di individuare un legame tra l’attività produttiva ed i territori sui quali la stessa si svolge, nella costruzione di modelli di sviluppo orientati alla creazione di valore condiviso e al benessere sociale dei singoli e delle collettività. The aim of the paper is to investigate the framework of legal solutions adopted in the agri-food sector, which expresses the need to identify a link between production activity and the territories on which it takes place, in the construction of development models oriented to the creation of shared value and social well-being of individuals and communities

L’ossimoro come ‘‘terapia”. Critica della modernità e umiltà nella scrittura giornalistica di Franco Cassano

The main focus of the articles published by Franco Cassano since the second half of the 90s in many national newspapers (and later collected in Modernizzare stanca) is the mythology of progress, the idea of an unlimited productivity, the domination of speed and technology in every human sphere, social competition and individualism as a kind of civil religion. These themes seem to be linked to the critique of capitalism made by the late Pasolini, with particular reference to the category of “development without progress”. Cassano himself, in Il pensiero meridiano, identifies Pasolini’s oxymoron as a privileged means to explore the logic of Western modernity, not a simple figure of speech, but a heuristic mode capable to express reality in its complex aspect and make the differences coexist without “closing” them in a synthesis. The sociologist identifies, specifically, in the “measure” – the so-called dissoi logoi, the divergent or in-contrast speech – the only possible antidote to the “mythology of modernity” and to the rhetoric of the north-western development model. According to Cassano, the oxymoron is a means of circumventing the unilinear narrative of progress, the “grafting” of a curative and therapeutic countertrend on the trunk of the mainstream narratives: a “et et” model that opposes the apodictic logic of “aut aut”. There is something constantly “temporary” in Cassano’s research, such as a principle of dissatisfaction with the pre-established models and truths, which refers to a need for a “perennial re-foundation and re-weighting”, a continuous recalibration of the gaze and search for the best conditions for “visibility”. The “humility” of Cassano lies in the knowledge that – as it is stated in Calvino’s Palomar – “It is only after you have come to know the surface of things that you can venture to seek what is underneath