University of Siena

Metastability from recurrence analysis in depression

Abstract This study investigates recurrent patterns in Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) data from a single-case longitudinal study (239 days) of a patient diagnosed with major depressive disorder undergoing antidepressant dosage adjustments. We construct a dynamic network ba...

Snow microinvertebrates from lowlands, high mountains and the Arctic—implications for conservation efforts

Abstract The protection of cryospheric ecosystems and their biota cannot be properly defined without a detailed species inventory. Snow microinvertebrates are crucial for estimating cryophilic biodiversity, yet they are poorly described at broader spatial scales. To fill this kno...

Machine Learning-Based Classification of Retinitis Pigmentosa from Color Fundus Images: A Reproducible Benchmark and Screening-Oriented Pipeline

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a rare inherited retinal disorder in which fundus changes may be subtle and heterogeneous, limiting detection from color fundus images. This study evaluated multiple machine learning architectures for binary-RP versus healthy-control classification, a...

A Multinuclear 1H and 31P NMR Approach for Quantification of Pneumococcal Cell-Wall Polysaccharide in Vaccine Development

Abstract Capsular polysaccharides are the principal constituents of S. pneumoniae capsules and major determinants of bacterial virulence. As key antigenic targets, they represent the foundation for pneumococcal vaccine development. Cell wall polysaccharides (CWPSs) commonly persi...

The spatial distribution of alternative financial service providers in Alabama: a multi-scale analysis

Alabama is a high-poverty state with permissive small-dollar credit regulation and one of the largest licenced alternative financial service provider (AFSP) markets in the United States. Using Alabama State Banking Department licencing data for 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2020, w...

Circulating anti-Ro/SSA-antibodies and risk of heart rate-corrected QT interval prolongation: a meta-analysis

Abstract Backgrounds Accumulating evidence indicates that anti-Ro/Sjögren’s syndrome-related antigen A(SSA)-antibodies, specifically the anti-Ro/SSA-52kD subtype, can promote heart rate-corrected QT interval(QTc) prolongation by inhibiting the hERG-K+ channel. However, the numero...

The janus-faced function of mesenchymal stem cells in oral cancer

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which exist in bone marrow, tooth pulp, and tumor microenvironments, have a dual role in oral malignancies. These cells interact closely with cancer stem cells (CSCs) and the tumor microenvironment (TME). On the one hand, MSCs accelerate the growth...

Investigating the relationship between relative accuracy and linearity acceptance criteria in bioassay validation for clinical studies

BACKGROUND: Relative accuracy (RA) and linearity are distinct validation characteristics in bioassay validation, yet quantitative relationships between their acceptance criteria are rarely defined. This study investigated how predefined RA tolerances determine admissible linearit...

Plant-Derived Compounds as Antibiotic Adjuvants Against Drug-Resistant ESKAPE Pathogens: Mechanisms of Action, Synergistic Strategies, and Translational Challenges

Background/Objectives: Antimicrobial resistance among ESKAPE (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter species) pathogens has become a major global health threat, significantly reducing t...

Review of Particle Physics *

The Review summarizes much of particle physics and cosmology. Using data from previous editions, plus 3,200 new measurements from 903 papers, we list, evaluate, and average measured properties of gauge bosons and the recently discovered Higgs boson, leptons, quarks, mesons, and b...