| 1. |
- Graziani, F., et al.
(author)
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Oral Care and Quality Evaluation: A Multicentric Study on Periodontal Treatment
- 2020
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In: Oral Health & Preventive Dentistry. - 1602-1622. ; 18:2, s. 363-371
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: No information is available on the perception of the quality of care in patients treated for periodontitis. The purpose of this article was to assess how periodontitis-affected patients perceive the quality of periodontal treatment (PT) and to measure the factors which may influence it. Materials and Methods: 306 subjects who completed PT were invited to participate. Questionnaires and visual analogic scales (VAS) evaluating perception of quality of care, symptoms, and oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) were handed out. Oral and periodontal indicators were collected before and after treatment. The impact of different factors on perception of quality was assessed with a regression model. Results: Quality evaluation was high yet unrelated for both patients and clinicians (p = 0.983). Quality was negatively influenced by the number of residual oral infections (p < 0.001), patient's age (p = 0.07) and presence of residual pain at completion of PT (p = 0.02). Professionalism, kindness of the staff and communication skills were the characteristics mostly appreciated. The OHRQoL was influenced by the number of residual teeth (p < 0.001), increasing age of patients (p = 0.08), number of residual infections (p < 0.01) and pain (p = 0.04). Conclusions: Patients' quality perception appeared to be influenced by clinical and emotional aspects. Oral care providers should be aware of the impact of non-clinical factors in patients' appreciation of quality of treatment.
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| 2. |
- Pellegrinelli, V, et al.
(author)
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Dysregulation of macrophage PEPD in obesity determines adipose tissue fibro-inflammation and insulin resistance
- 2022
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In: Nature Metabolism. - : Springer Nature. - 2522-5812. ; 4:4, s. 476-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Resulting from impaired collagen turnover, fibrosis is a hallmark of adipose tissue (AT) dysfunction and obesity-associated insulin resistance (IR). Prolidase, also known as peptidase D (PEPD), plays a vital role in collagen turnover by degrading proline-containing dipeptides but its specific functional relevance in AT is unknown. Here we show that in human and mouse obesity, PEPD expression and activity decrease in AT, and PEPD is released into the systemic circulation, which promotes fibrosis and AT IR. Loss of the enzymatic function of PEPD by genetic ablation or pharmacological inhibition causes AT fibrosis in mice. In addition to its intracellular enzymatic role, secreted extracellular PEPD protein enhances macrophage and adipocyte fibro-inflammatory responses via EGFR signalling, thereby promoting AT fibrosis and IR. We further show that decreased prolidase activity is coupled with increased systemic levels of PEPD that act as a pathogenic trigger of AT fibrosis and IR. Thus, PEPD produced by macrophages might serve as a biomarker of AT fibro-inflammation and could represent a therapeutic target for AT fibrosis and obesity-associated IR and type 2 diabetes. Obesity-associated AT fibro-inflammation and metabolic disturbances are linked to PEPD activity and PEPD extracellular levels.
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| 3. |
- Mancini, L., et al.
(author)
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The GAPS programme with HARPS-N at TNG XVI. Measurement of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect of transiting planetary systems HAT-P-3, HAT-P-12, HAT-P-22, WASP-39, and WASP-60
- 2018
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 613
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Context. The measurement of the orbital obliquity of hot Jupiters with different physical characteristics can provide clues to the mechanisms of migration and orbital evolution of this particular class of giant exoplanets.Aims. We aim to derive the degree of alignment between planetary orbit and stellar spin angular momentum vectors and look for possible links with other orbital and fundamental physical parameters of the star-planet system. We focus on the characterisation of five transiting planetary systems (HAT-P-3, HAT-P-12, HAT-P-22, WASP-39, and WASP-60) and the determination of their sky-projected planet orbital obliquity through the measurement of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect.Methods. We used HARPS-N high-precision radial velocity measurements, gathered during transit events, to measure the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect in the target systems and determine the sky-projected angle between the planetary orbital plane and stellar equator. The characterisation of stellar atmospheric parameters was performed by exploiting the HARPS-N spectra, using line equivalent width ratios and spectral synthesis methods. Photometric parameters of the five transiting exoplanets were re-analysed through 17 new light curves, obtained with an array of medium-class telescopes, and other light curves from the literature. Survey-time-series photometric data were analysed for determining the rotation periods of the five stars and their spin inclination.Results. From the analysis of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect we derived a sky-projected obliquity of lambda = 21.2 degrees +/- 8.7 degrees, lambda = -54 degrees(+41 degrees)(-13 degrees), lambda = -2.1 degrees +/- 3.0 degrees, lambda = 0 degrees +/- 11 degrees, and lambda = -129 degrees +/- 17 degrees for HAT-P-3 b, HAT-P-12 b, HAT-P-22 b, WASP-39 b, and WASP-60 b, respectively. The latter value indicates that WASP-60 b is moving on a retrograde orbit. These values represent the first measurements of lambda for the five exoplanetary systems under study. The stellar activity of HAT-P-22 indicates a rotation period of 28.7 +/- 0.4 days, which allowed us to estimate the true misalignment angle of HAT-P-22 b, psi = 24 degrees +/- 18 degrees. The revision of the physical parameters of the five exoplanetary systems returned values that are fully compatible with those existing in the literature. The exception to this is the WASP-60 system, for which, based on higher quality spectroscopic and photometric data, we found a more massive and younger star and a larger and hotter planet.
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| 4. |
- Carruba, V., et al.
(author)
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On the identification of the first two young asteroid families in g-type non-linear secular resonances
- 2024
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In: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 528:1, s. 796-814
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Linear secular resonances happen when there is a commensurability between the precession frequency of the pericenter, g, or longitude of the node, s, of an asteroid and a planet. Non-linear resonances are higher order combinations of these frequencies. Here, we studied the three most diffusive g-type non-linear secular resonances using Artificial Neural Networks. We identified a population of more than 2100 resonant objects in the g − 2g6 + g5 and g − 3g6 + 2g5 resonances. This allows the creation of a Convolutional Neural Network model for the g − 2g6 + g5 resonance, able to predict the status of several thousands of asteroids in seconds. We identified 12 new possible dynamical groups among the resonant population, including the 5507 and 170776 families, which have both estimated ages of less than 7 Myr. These are the two first-ever identified young families in resonant configurations of the investigated resonances, which allows for setting limits on their original ejection velocity field.
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| 5. |
- Romagnoli, F, et al.
(author)
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Windstorm impacts on European forest-related systems: an interdisciplinary perspective
- 2023
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In: Forest Ecology and Management. - 1872-7042 .- 0378-1127. ; 541
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Windstorms are considered the main disturbing abiotic agent in European forests. They affect a multiplicity of forest-related dimensions, such as forest ecology, forest operations, geomorphology, economy, and socio-cultural aspects. Due to the complex dynamics set off by windstorms, the design of post-windstorm forest management should be characterized by an interdisciplinary approach able to address multiple environmental and social needs. However, scientific literature investigating the impacts of windstorms on forests appears mainly focused on specific aspects. An interdisciplinary and more comprehensive approach is needed to cope with such multi-facet phenomena and to address future forest research.We reviewed current literature analyzing consequences of windstorms on European forests focusing on interconnections and cascade effects among forest-related dimensions in post-windstorm dynamics. We performed an in-depth review of 111 articles to detect most recurrent direct and indirect impacts as well as cascade effects among ecological, geomorphological, operational, economic, socio-cultural, and institutional forest-related dimensions. Our analysis aimed at providing a detailed analysis of the state of the art of windstorm impacts on European forests reported in literature, and suggesting an innovative approach to analyze windstorm consequences at a systemic level to acquire a comprehensive overview of post-windstorm dynamics.Our results showed that most of the studies dealt with interactions among ecological components of forests, but links between ecology, geomorphology, and society have been poorly studied. These knowledge gaps reduce the comprehension of windstorm impacts in the short and long terms and overlook the influence of societal-related aspects in post-windstorm forest management. Moreover, our analysis suggested the need of a post-windstorm management acting at systemic and comprehensive level, supported by forest policies that promotes multifunctionality to overcome challenges derived by natural disturbances intensification.
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