Ordovician Albitites Generated by Magmatic Fluids within a Volcano-Sedimentary Sequence from NW Sardinia

n/

A morphometric study of human submandibular gland in type 2 diabetic status

Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 represents one of the principal diseases that afflict the world population. It is well documented that diabetes affects both morphology and function of several organs. In diabetic rats significant structural changes have been demonstrated in salivary glands, such as accumulation of secretory material and lipid droplets within secretory cells, parenchymal degeneration and its replacement with fibrous connective tissue (1). With regard to human salivary glands, the data are scanty and conflicting. Our work, carried out by light and electron microscopy, is based on the evaluation of the morphological changes which occur in human submandibular glands of diabetic with respect to non diabetic patients. Surgical fragments of glandular tissue were fixed, dehydrated, and processed for light and electron microscopy. Randomly chosen images were analyzed with Image Pro Plus software to record the dimension of acini, serous cells, secretory granules and other variables. Data were analyzed by Student’s t-test and Mann Whitney test. In diabetic glands statistically significant morphological changes were observed, such as enlargement of serous acini and increase of secretory granules area. These results suggest that the secretory activity of human submandibular gland is severely affected by the diabetic status. Obviously these data need to be confirmed with further measurements in order to explain better how diabetes affects human salivary glands

Relations between Natural Phenomena and Solar Activity in the Oceanographic and Forest Fields

A great number of studies on the relationship between solar activity and various terrestrial phenomena, both in the climatic and geophysical fields, have been carried out over several decades. In the present work we analyse the shorter oscillations of the solar activity such as the ones recognized in the climatic and oceanographic oscillations, for which, as it is known, longer series of observations are unavailable. Specially we analyse both the sunspot series (Wolf relative number series) considered an index of solar activity and observed since 1700 and the series of the mean sea level variation of the longest ones available in the word and relative to three oceanographic stations in Poland (Swinoujscie), France (Brest) and Italy (Venezia), whose geographical distribution made the comparison interesting. Because of the sea level evolution fluctuate in intensity, an analysis of these fluctuations and their possible correlation with the solar activity was considered of great interest to give a contribution for the explanation of the various interactions between natural phenomena and other problems relating to the forecasting of the climatic evolution

What Is New in Thyroid Cancer: The Special Issue of the Journal Cancers

The incidence of thyroid cancer has increased over the past 3 to 4 decades. Nonetheless, the mortality from thyroid cancer has remained stable. The thyroid gland may develop nodules encompassing several types of cell proliferation, from frankly benign to very aggressive forms with many intermediate challenging variants. For this reason, there is growing interest in evaluating thyroid nodules from many points of view, from the clinical to the molecular aspects, in the search for innovative diagnostic and prognostic parameters. The aim of this Special Issue was to provide an overview of recent developments in understanding the biology and molecular oncology of thyroid tumors of follicular cell derivation and their repercussions on the diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy. The contributions of many experts in the field made up a Special Issue of Cancers journal, that focusing on different aspects, including mechanistic and functional facets, gives the status of art of clinical and biological perspectives of thyroid cancer

A Comprehensive Analysis of Multilayer Community Detection Algorithms for Application to EEG-Based Brain Networks

Modular organization is an emergent property of brain networks, responsible for shaping communication processes and underpinning brain functioning. Moreover, brain networks are intrinsically multilayer since their attributes can vary across time, subjects, frequency, or other domains. Identifying the modular structure in multilayer brain networks represents a gateway toward a deeper understanding of neural processes underlying cognition. Electroencephalographic (EEG) signals, thanks to their high temporal resolution, can give rise to multilayer networks able to follow the dynamics of brain activity. Despite this potential, the community organization has not yet been thoroughly investigated in brain networks estimated from EEG. Furthermore, at the state of the art, there is still no agreement about which algorithm is the most suitable to detect communities in multilayer brain networks, and a way to test and compare them all under a variety of conditions is lacking. In this work, we perform a comprehensive analysis of three algorithms at the state of the art for multilayer community detection (namely, genLouvain, DynMoga, and FacetNet) as compared with an approach based on the application of a single-layer clustering algorithm to each slice of the multilayer network. We test their ability to identify both steady and dynamic modular structures. We statistically evaluate their performances by means of ad hoc benchmark graphs characterized by properties covering a broad range of conditions in terms of graph density, number of clusters, noise level, and number of layers. The results of this simulation study aim to provide guidelines about the choice of the more appropriate algorithm according to the different properties of the brain network under examination. Finally, as a proof of concept, we show an application of the algorithms to real functional brain networks derived from EEG signals collected at rest with closed and open eyes. The test on real data provided results in agreement with the conclusions of the simulation study and confirmed the feasibility of multilayer analysis of EEG-based brain networks in both steady and dynamic conditions

Indacaterol/Glycopyrronium Combination for COPD

n/

Autonomia privata e dati personali: dal consenso al contratto per il trattamento

The research analyzes the powers of private autonomy operating within the personal data processing framework and their applications in the emerging personal data market sector. After reconstructing personal data as informational signs that are the subject of the right to personal data protection, understood as a right with a primarily existential nature, the paper examines the main institutes of Reg. (EU) 679/2016 where it notes the data subject's power of decision with respect to the processing of personal data concerning him or her (consent to processing, right to object, contract for which personal data is necessary) and frames them within the general category of private autonomy. Even though the Euro-Union framework has strengthened the principle of free movement of personal data and the hypotheses of heterodetermination of the processing of personal data, an examination of the institutions demonstrates the presence of heterogeneous powers of autonomy in the hands of the data subject with which the freedom of the data controller is confronted. Recourse to the category of private autonomy makes it possible, first, to envisage the application of disciplines posed for other acts of private autonomy also with respect to the processing of personal data, where the special institutes examined have gaps and are compatible with the former; second, to assess whether personal data can also configure objects of contractual relations and, consequently, whether it is possible to discuss contractual autonomy over personal data as well. Regarding the latter, an examination of current business models and recent regulatory interventions (Dir. UE 770/2019, Reg. UE 868/2022) points to the existence of a market value even of personal data directed toward commercial use or reprocessing and, therefore, the suitability of personal data as the subject of a contract. From a legal point of view, the need to comply with the requirement of freedom of consent, understood as the absence of negative consequences for the data subject, if it does not prevent the economic-legal transactions in question from being qualified in terms of correspondence, suggests framing the making available of personal data within a subjective legal situation that is not coercible, i.e., resorting to the figure of burden