Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca
Recent publications
Lactam rings are essential structural motifs in organic chemistry, widely present in natural products and clinically important drugs, such as antibiotics and antiepileptics. Existing methods for synthesizing N‐functionalized lactams often require harsh conditions, toxic reagents, or complex catalytic systems. Here, we report a mild and efficient photochemical approach for generating N‐centered radicals, enabling straightforward N‐heteroarylation of lactams. This versatile method enables the synthesis of a range of N‐(het)arylated lactams and is effective even in aqueous media, facilitating the functionalization of biomolecules. Furthermore, the photochemical reaction is easily scalable under continuous flow conditions, making it highly suitable for large‐scale applications.
While mesophotic assemblages in the Gulf of Aqaba have been described in some detail, in the Red Sea proper, data are rare. Here we present a first report on a detached carbonate platform fragment from the Northern Red Sea off Al Wajh that stretches over a water depth range of 25 to 130 m. The assemblages observed comprise depth-typical large benthic foraminifers, crustose coralline algae, and mesophotic scleractinian corals (e.g., Leptoseris spp.). Encrusting bryozoans and foraminifers are abundant. A soft sediment cover in the deeper areas indicates the absence of strong currents. Radiocarbon ages confirm that this community is currently thriving. This example resembles the previously known occurrences of mesophotic reefs in the Gulf of Aqaba with respect to assemblage despite different oceanographic conditions. At the same time, it reminds of Cenozoic, in particular pre-Upper Miocene (i.e., before 8.5 million years ago), coral-associated assemblages, when coral bioherms preferentially occurred in mesophotic rather than euphotic settings. The present study thus contributes to improving the interpretation of those fossil bioherms with respect to their ecosystem dynamics and environmental significance.
Replacing hydrogen with deuterium raises the activation energy for C−D bond cleavage. This approach has gained attention in drug design, especially to protect the ortho‐position of pyridines, which are susceptible to enzymatic oxidation. Until now, direct hydrogen isotope exchange has been largely restricted to the use of reactive organolithium reagents or metal‐catalysed deuteration methods. In this work, we present a metal‐free, selective ortho‐deuteration of N‐heterocycles starting from their N‐oxides, proceeding at room temperature in just 5 minutes. This method achieves high deuterium incorporation across a broad range of N‐heterocycles, including bioactive compounds. Experimental and computational studies have elucidated the mechanism of the reaction, showing that regioselectivity is driven by a successful increase in acidity at the ortho‐position, enabling deprotonation by the in‐situ generated dimsyl anion.
Theory of Mind (ToM) and Mentalization are essential domains involved in child socioemotional development. ToM is the ability to understand people’s actions and interactions as guided by internal beliefs, emotions, desires, and intentions. In contrast, mentalization is a mental process involved in interpreting human behaviour in terms of mental states related to the self and others. ToM and mentalization constructs are frequently used interchangeably, although they play distinct roles in child development. The present study explores this issue, focusing on the mentalization and ToM interactive dynamics in relation to middle childhood socioemotional skills. Participants were 112 non-clinical children from 8 to 10 y.o. assessed with Child Reflective Functioning Scale (CRFS) on Child Attachment Interview, Reading the Mind in the Eyes test and the Roberts-2 Test. Results from network analysis revealed an association between ToM and Mentalization. Mentalization is positively connected with self-help abilities and age. ToM supports mentalization, while mentalization is related to developing a sense of self-agency involved in improving psychological resources and preventing mental health impairment.
In this paper, we analyze resource allocation and explore the life-cycle evolution of health care expenditures (HCE) by investigating the effect of age, morbidity and time to death (TTD) on HCE for the young-old population. Using a rich 10-year population-level panel, we estimate a fixed-effects model to analyze HCE patterns for different health care services and by primary disease. Our main findings indicate that the effect of age on total HCE is lower when morbidity is controlled for while it increases when we also condition on TTD. This indicates that, compared to those incurred at older ages, earlier deaths are associated with higher HCE. At younger ages, increased expenditures are also observed as the severity of the health condition deteriorates. We also show that expenses for out-of-hospital services mainly drive the evolution of total HCE by age, while inpatient expenses are primarily determined by morbidity and TTD. In the end-of-life period, hospital costs continue to rise, whereas expenses incurred for all other services fall sharply in the year of death. We prove that expenses for long-lasting conditions start to increase long before death, while those for acute conditions grow exponentially only in the last two years of life. Our work contributes to informing cost-containment policies through a better understanding of HCE evolution during the life cycle and in the last years of life.
Background Cognitive dysfunction is increasingly recognized in multiple system atrophy (MSA). Locus coeruleus (LC) integrity is associated with cognitive performance both in healthy controls (HC) and neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson’s disease (PD). Furthermore, cortical glucose hypometabolism is associated with impaired cognitive performance in MSA. However, knowledge about LC sub-regional degeneration and its association with cognitive dysfunction and cortical glucose metabolism is lacking. Objective To investigate LC sub-regional involvement and its association with cognitive impairment and brain metabolism in MSA. Methods Eleven MSA, eighteen PD, and eighteen HC participants were included in the study. Neuromelanin-sensitive MRI was used to determine rostral, middle and caudal LC neuromelanin signals. Brain glucose metabolism was investigated with [¹⁸F]Fluorodeoxyglucose PET (FDG-PET). The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) was used as a measure of global cognition. Results Middle LC neuromelanin signal was significantly reduced in MSA [t(43) = 3.70, corrected-p = 0.004] and PD [t(43) = 2.63, corrected-p = 0.041] compared to HC, while caudal LC was only reduced in MSA [t(43) = 2.82, corrected-p = 0.030]. In MSA, decreased rostral LC neuromelanin was associated with lower MoCA scores (ρ = 0.760, p = 0.006) which, in turn, were associated with lower frontal cortex glucose metabolism. An association between rostral LC neuromelanin signal and frontal cortex glucose metabolism was found in exploratory analyses. Conclusion Loss of LC neuromelanin signal was found in MSA, the middle and caudal parts being targeted. Rostral LC neuromelanin signal loss was associated with both frontal cortex hypometabolism and lower MoCA scores. This pathophysiological link should be further investigated as the noradrenergic system transmission is amenable to pharmacological manipulation.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are prescribed to control pain, inflammation, and fever in upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs). To explore the relative effectiveness and gastrointestinal (GI)-related safety of individual NSAIDs to control symptoms of URTIs. Using an Italian primary care data source, we identified patients aged ≥ 15 years who were newly prescribed NSAIDs for URTIs between 2013 and 2022. Switching to another NSAID for the same indication within the 30-day follow-up was a proxy for drug effectiveness. The study outcome for GI safety analysis was upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB). In a cohort of 57,971 patients, the most prevalent subgroups were those treated with ketoprofen (39.5%) and dexibuprofen/ibuprofen (22.4%). Ketoprofen showed the lowest rate of switching to another NSAID [Hazard Ratio (HR) 0.40 (95% CI 0.20–0.83)] against acetylsalicylic acid/coxibs/diclofenac. Dexibuprofen/ibuprofen showed similar results [HR 0.50 (95% CI 0.22–1.10)], with no significant association. Ketoprofen and dexibuprofen/ibuprofen were prescribed as lysine and arginine salts in 85 and 6% of URTIs sufferers, respectively. Across NSAIDs, we did not find any significant difference in the risk of UGIB. Our findings indicated that various NSAIDs may exhibit differing levels of effectiveness in treating URTIs, particularly those formulated for quick onset of action. No NSAIDs-UGIBs association was found. Further prospective, larger studies are needed to confirm these findings.
Background Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is emerging as a potential treatment modality for individuals living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Despite its promise, the effectiveness of FMT for treating IBD, particularly for ulcerative colitis (UC), still requires thorough clinical investigation. Notwithstanding differences in methodologies, current studies demonstrate its potential for inducing remission in UC patients. Therefore, standardized and robust randomized clinical trials (RCTs) are needed to further support its efficacy for managing UC. The aim of the second Rome Consensus Conference was to address gaps and uncertainties identified in previous research regarding FMT and to offer a robust framework for future studies applied to the treatment of UC. Methods Global experts in the field of clinical IBD, mucosal immunology, and microbiology (N = 48) gathered to address the need for standardized clinical trials in FMT investigation. The group focused on key issues, such as stool donation, donor selection, characterization of fecal biomass, potential administration routes, as well as the process of induction, maintenance, and endpoint readouts. Results and Conclusions The consensus achieved during this conference established standardization of methods and protocols to enhance the current quality of research, with the aim of eventual implementation of FMT in managing UC and the ultimate goal of improving patient outcomes.
We investigate the problem of eradicating an alien predator population in a seasonal environment. It is expressed as a zero‐stabilizability problem with state constraints. The dynamics of the predators is described by a prey–predator system with nonlocal reaction terms and time‐periodic rates. First, we are concerned with a control that acts on the predators, in a subset of the relevant habitat. A necessary condition and a sufficient condition for the eradicability (zero‐stabilizability) of predators is given in terms of the sign of the principal eigenvalue of an appropriate operator that is not self‐adjoint. Next, we investigate the eradicability of predators via controllers of harvesting type which act either on the predator population or on the prey population. Concerning this last approach, the idea is to diminish the prey population to a level at which it cannot sustain the predator population. Some principal eigenvalues will be involved in this investigation as well.
Light Sheet Fluorescence Microscopy (LSFM) enables rapid and gentle 3D fluorescence imaging of dynamic processes over extended periods in translucent samples at the mesoscopic scale. However, its temporal resolution is constrained by the sequential acquisition of individual two-dimensional planes at varying depths, making it challenging to capture rapid dynamics such as the beating of a zebrafish heart. To address this limitation, we recently developed spatially modulated Selective Volume Illumination Microscopy, which utilizes a compressed sensing approach to reconstruct the entire imaging volume from measurements where multiple planes are illuminated simultaneously using spatially modulated light. Building on this advancement, we now introduce a novel spatio-temporal patterned illumination strategy and volume reconstruction method that incorporates low-rank and sparsity constraints, effectively leveraging the temporal and spatial redundancy present in sequential volumetric acquisitions. This method was applied to the volumetric imaging of embryonic zebrafish hearts, achieving an improvement in imaging speed of 4-fold compared to standard LSFM and a 2-fold improvement compared to traditional compressed sensing approaches, while preserving reconstruction accuracy and enabling the visualization of fast dynamic events with a resolution of a few tens of milliseconds. Our approach represents a step forward in enhancing the temporal resolution of LSFM for studying fast biological dynamics.
The anatomy of the antero‐lateral corner (ALC) has been the topic of recent interest, as evidenced by the increasing number of publications. Knowledge needs to be improved amongst clinicians regarding the anatomy and biomechanical function of this vital structure and its implications on the rotational stability of the knee. There has yet to be a consensus on the role of surgical procedures and their indications for addressing the instability associated with the injury to these structures. Through this article, the authors have tried to outline the existing literature regarding Anterolateral knee instability, the associated structures, and the management of its injuries, emphasising the role of the anterolateral capsule and reconstructive procedures in combined ligamentous knee injuries.
Understanding users’ perception of natural areas and their ecosystem services is crucial for managers and policy makers as it directly informs decisions that balance conservation efforts with public acceptance. The alpine areas are particularly vulnerable to climate change, making it critical to understand how visitors perceive these areas to develop management strategies that minimize conflicts, helping to ensure long-term support for environmental protection. This study explores the perceptions of 21 ecosystem services – including cultural, regulating and provisioning services – among visitors of two protected alpine areas in Italy. We distributed 3,399 questionnaires to evaluate visitors’ perceptions of the importance of key ecosystem services, their awareness of the ecosystem services concept and any shifts in perception due to COVID-19, as the study took place during an ease of restrictions caused by the pandemic. Additionally, we explored the relationship between perceptions and demographic factors. Results showed that visitor strongly perceived the importance of the aesthetic value of the landscape and biodiversity conservation. Perception of the overall importance of ES was strongly correlated with demographic factors, such as gender, age and a connection to outdoor and naturalistic activities. Visitors who were already aware of the ES concepts exhibited higher perceptions compared to those who did not acknowledge them, suggesting the need for targeted communication strategies to extend the awareness of the ES concept. This data provides critical insights for managers and policymakers to tailor communication efforts, fostering greater public awareness and support for the benefits provided by protected natural areas.
Institution pages aggregate content on ResearchGate related to an institution. The members listed on this page have self-identified as being affiliated with this institution. Publications listed on this page were identified by our algorithms as relating to this institution. This page was not created or approved by the institution. If you represent an institution and have questions about these pages or wish to report inaccurate content, you can contact us here.
14,427 members
Andrea Mangiatordi
  • Department of Human Sciences and Education "Riccardo Massa"
Roberta Rigolio
  • School of Medicine and Surgery
Information
Address
Milan, Italy
Head of institution
Giovanna Iannantuoni