STOP: A gamified approach to support obese patients in changing their health habits

Obesity is a challenge for the whole world and it is necessary to find new ways to reduce it and to help people in this situation by facilitating the acquisition of healthy habits to replace unhealthy ones. STOP is a project aimed at facing the challenge of obesity through a digital methodology and through a synergy between experts from the industry and academia. By tracing patients' habits, integrating these data with other data already present in databases and providing personalized paths and feedback the «STop Obesity Platform» can be a valuable help for both patients and Healthcare Professionals. All this is inserted in a gamification frame by the creation of an app that establishes an analogy to the wellknown Dorian Gray mirror with the aim of encouraging the performance of the user or the acquisition of healthy behavior through a stimulating and engaging experience. This paper shows the main objectives of the project, defines the general structure of the app and provides some examples of prototype application

Combined assessment of coronary artery calcium and myocardial perfusion by hybrid Rb-82 PET/CT imaging in the identification of obstructive coronary artery disease

Introduction: Myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) with positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) allows accurate measurements of coronary artery calcium (CAC), myocardial perfusion and coronary flow reserve (CFR). Aim: We sought to determine whether the combined assessment of CAC score, ischemic total perfusion defect (ITPD) and CFR improves the diagnostic accuracy of PET/CT in predicting obstructive CAD. Methods: We analyzed 93 patients with suspected CAD referred to 82Rb PET/CT MPI and available coronary angiography. Obstructive CAD was defined as a ≥75% stenosis. Regional CAC score was categorized into 2 groups: <300 and ≥300. Regional ITPD was categorized into 3 groups 0%, ≥1 to <5% and ≥5%. CFR was defined as the ratio between hyperemic and baseline myocardial blood flow (MBF). ROC curves were used to obtain the best cutoff value for regional CFR in identifying obstructive CAD. Regression analyses were used to identify variables associated with obstructive CAD. The incremental value of CAC score, ITPD and CFR was assessed. The continuous net reclassification improvement (NRI) was used to evaluate whether a reduced regional CFR was additive in the prediction of severe CAD Results: Vessels with obstructive CAD (n=54) had higher ITPD (P<.001) and lower hyperemic MBF (P<.001) and CFR (P<.001) values compared to those without. The prevalence of ITPD 0% was significantly higher in vessels with CAC score <300 (P<.001) compared to vessels with CAC score ≥300; differently, the prevalence of ITPD <5% was higher in vessels with CAC score ≥300 compared to those with CAC score <300. ROC curves showed that a CFR value of 1.64 was the trade-off between sensitivity and specificity in identifying obstructive CAD. In vessels with CAC score <300, both in non-ischemic (P<.001) as well in vessels with ITPD <5% (P<.05) the prevalence of obstructive CAD was higher in the presence of a reduced regional CFR. In vessels with CAC score ≥300 the prevalence of obstructive CAD was comparable among ITPD and CFR groups. At univariable analysis age (P <.001), male gender (P <.01), CAC score ≥300 (P <.01), regional ITPD (P <.001) and CFR <1.64 (P <.001) were significant predictors of severe CAD. At multivariable analysis CAC score ≥300 (P<.05), regional ITPD (P<.001) and CFR <1.64 (P <.001) were independent predictors of severe CAD. The addition of ITPD to a model including clinical data and a CAC score ≥300 increased the global chi-square in predicting obstructive CAD (29.91 to 72.72; P <0.001). The addition of regional CFR<1.64 further increased the global chi-square (72.72 to 91.97; P <0.001). The continuous NRI by adding CFR to clinical data, CAC score and ITPD was 0.682 Conclusions: CFR provides incremental information about the presence of obstructive CAD over established cardiac risk factors, CAC score and MPI parameters. A combined use of CAC score, MPI and CFR can help to predict more accurately the presence of obstructive CAD

L’accesso tramite data analysis a dati e informazioni protetti dal diritto d’autore, tra diritti esclusivi ed eccezioni di text and data mining

This study is focused on the new data access rules defined by the European Union directive n. 790 of 2019, on Copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market, and their implementation in the Italian system. Among the provisions introduced by the European legislator in terms of access to data, articles 3 and 4 provide for two different exceptions in the case of Text and Data Mining (TDM or, in general, data analysis) techniques. TDM consists in the extraction, through software, of text and data, to interpret and extrapolate information whose output generates a knowledge discovery. These techniques stand as a fundamental moment of technological and cultural innovation in the data-driven society, and they have prompted the European legislator to intervene with specific regulations. The recent Copyright Directive is just a piece of a European framework where data is becoming the center of attention, with legislations overlapping in different fields of law, such as the most recent Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act, that are just the last examples of an already full EU digital agenda. The survey will adopt as a point of view the observation of the exceptions as a tool for opening up data in enhancing access to information and in its relationship with exclusive rights, especially those copyright-related, which the new discipline aims to "open". The EU has thus set up an ambivalent liberalization mechanism, depending on the purpose pursued in conducting data analysis. A system of clear favor has been created for research organizations and cultural heritage institutions that use data analysis for scientific research purposes, while for any other subject and/or for any other purpose the opening of exclusive rights has been subject to an opt-out clause, also assuming for both cases that the person benefiting from the use has legitimate access to the material. It has been argued that the Directive, instead of encouraging research and access to information, strengthens the position of rightsholders, who would be forced to allow access to their works only to a limited circle of beneficiaries. This leads to the interpreter’s task to make sense of the provisions referred to in art. 4 of the Directive and art. 70-quater l. aut., to justify the introduction of a legislation that would risk to negatively affect access to data. To do this, different solutions may arise: through broader interpretations of the exceptions, or by legitimation of data analysis based on Copyright principles, or, finally, through antitrust regulation

Inzidenz, Mortalität und Langzeitergebnisse von Meningeomen : Eine bevölkerungsbezogene Studie aus Deutschland

Background: Meningiomas, which are benign tumors arising from the protective coverings of the brain and spinal cord, have received limited attention in terms of understanding their risk factors and epidemiology, particularly when compared to malignant glial tumors. Population-based data on cancer burden and patient outcomes for meningiomas are scarce. Methods: This study utilized population-based data from Saarland, in South-Western Germany, including 992 patients who were diagnosed between 2000 and 2015 with their first meningioma. The study analyzed incidence and mortality rates, observed and relative survival estimates, and cumulative incidence of tumor recurrence up to 10 years after diagnosis, taking into account factors like sex, age, WHO grade, and surgical intervention. Results: Not only were patient treated at the regional university hospital included in this population-based study but also the ones that were treated somewhere else or not undergo any surgical treatment at all. The average age of patients at diagnosis was 63 years, whereby 70% suffering from WHO grade I meningiomas, 28% having WHO grad II meningiomas and 3% were diagnosed with WHO grade III meningiomas. Combining all patients, the 10-year observed and relative survival rates amounted to 72% and 91%. Tumor-related mortality showed variation by sex and increased with age at diagnosis and the WHO grade of the tumor. Regarding the meningioma recurrence in a period of 10 years, the overall cumulative incidence was 9%. Conclusion: Being the first modern population-based study of menigioma incidence, mortality and patient outcomes in Germany, this analysis and study may, due to its unselected sample of patients, contribute to fill a previously existing gap in the literature of meningiomas

Determinants of financial instruments risk disclosure: An empirical analysis in the banking sector

This study investigates the effects of firm and country factors, considered as determinants of the financial instruments risk disclosure (FIRD) proxied by IFRS 7 in the European banking system. We select 582 banks-year observations based on the largest five European economies (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK) as provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Our analysis covers a period of 8 years (2007-2014) and adopts an OLS model. Results show that both firm (the type of auditor, board size and profitability) and country factors (financing environment, regulatory environment, and organizational status) affect FIRD. Limitations for this paper could relate to country selection, as well as on the breadth of the sample. Nevertheless, these aspects could unveil possible areas of future inquiry. The contribution of the study is twofold. It enriches the literature about firm and country determinants on financial instruments risk disclosure, as combined rather than single-standing variables. Yet, it draws the attention of banks' management and investors on what the crucial factors to reach an optimal level of FIRD are and gain the confidence of capital markets, reducing information asymmetries. This is the first empirical investigation on the determinants of FIRD, using IFRS 7, in the European banking sector that adopts firm and country factors in a combined effort

THE VALUE RELEVANCE OF IFRS 7. EVIDENCE FROM EUROPEAN BANKING SECTOR

Before 2007, European banks and other financial activities were characterized, on the one hand, by high income, many assets on and off balance and strong recourse to the use of leverage; on the other hand, the inappropriate use of derivatives, securitization containing collateralized debt obligation and (CDO) and credit default swap (CDS), and the conceding of subprime loans have created the conditions of the financial crisis. The lack of confidence generated in the financial market has made it increasingly pressing need for better disclosure to all stakeholders, as an important element to ease the funding of other venture capital and/or debt aimed at improving the competitiveness and growth. The quality of the relationships between the bank and the market is linked to the ability to communicate their economic and financial performance, highlighting the risks that characterize its core business. The information opacity of credit intermediaries is often caused by both managerial opportunism phenomena and by excessive cost of disclosure. The predominant literature, indeed, claims that there are many advantages of a good disclosure that results in reduction of the cost of capital (Diamond and Verrecchia, 1991), easy access to found (Linsey and Schrives, 2005), creation of more stability in the whole banking industry and consequent reduction of systemic risk (Nier and Baumann, 2006), and effective tool for avoiding banking crises (Financial Stability Board, 2012). However, other Authors argue that there are some disadvantages related to the excessive disclosure due to the complexity of financial instruments because markets are unable to incorporate additional information in a beneficial way (Hodder et al., 2001; Hassan et al., 2009; Hassan and Mohd-Saleh, 2010; Siregar et al. 2013). In addition, banks often oppose to requirements asking for higher disclosures because they determine significant costs (Mozes, 2002, Gebhardt, 2004). In order to respond to the aforementioned situation of crisis, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has issued the IFRS 7: Financial Instruments Disclosure, an ad hoc accounting standard which identifies the minimal disclosure requirements that entities must meet to communicate to investors the risks arising from financial instruments used. The value relevance of financial instruments risk disclosure is an important key factor for a transparent relationship between banks and stakeholders, in particular investors, because, first of all, the last financial crisis has revealed the weaknesses of the European banking system and related disclosure; secondly, banks’ regulatory framework is complex, so it is possible to detect cases of information opacity, because it is formulated by a range of different bodies (i.e. local banking authority, Basel Committee and European Banking Authority - EBA); lastly, a gap in the literature of the relevance of financial instruments risk disclosure in the banking sector exists. On this basis, the aim of this thesis is to test the value relevance of the financial instruments risk disclosure (FIRD) from the users’ perspective, as recommended by the IFRS 7 in the European banking sector. In particular, UK, Germany, Italy, Spain and France are investigated because they are countries with highest capitalization in Europe from 2007, year of IFRS 7 entry in force, to 2014, last year available. Final results show that only qualitative index has a positive effect on banks’ value, meaning that qualitative disclosure recommended by IFRS 7 is value relevant. Maybe qualitative information can be easily found because it is supposed to have a clearer language (Pucci and Tutino, 2012). Instead, the quantitative disclosure index is not relevant for investors because of uncertainty, multi-person settings with conflicts of interest, and information asymmetry

Theonella: A Treasure Trove of Structurally Unique and Biologically Active Sterols

: The marine environment is considered a vast source in the discovery of structurally unique bioactive secondary metabolites. Among marine invertebrates, the sponge Theonella spp. represents an arsenal of novel compounds ranging from peptides, alkaloids, terpenes, macrolides, and sterols. In this review, we summarize the recent reports on sterols isolated from this amazing sponge, describing their structural features and peculiar biological activities. We also discuss the total syntheses of solomonsterols A and B and the medicinal chemistry modifications on theonellasterol and conicasterol, focusing on the effect of chemical transformations on the biological activity of this class of metabolites. The promising compounds identified from Theonella spp. possess pronounced biological activity on nuclear receptors or cytotoxicity and result in promising candidates for extended preclinical evaluations. The identification of naturally occurring and semisynthetic marine bioactive sterols reaffirms the utility of examining natural product libraries for the discovery of new therapeutical approach to human diseases

Computational approaches to shed light on molecular mechanisms in biological processes

Computational approaches based on Molecular Dynamics simulations, Quantum Mechanical methods and 3D Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationships were employed by computational chemistry groups at the University of Milano-Bicocca to study biological processes at the molecular level. The paper reports the methodologies adopted and the results obtained on Aryl hydrocarbon Receptor and homologous PAS proteins mechanisms, the properties of prion protein peptides, the reaction pathway of hydrogenase and peroxidase enzymes and the defibrillogenic activity of tetracyclines. © Springer-Verlag 2007