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En Italia las zonas rurales están formadas por pequeños municipios que, aunque son extensos, tienen poca población. Se trata de áreas marginales afectadas por la despoblación, pérdida de tradiciones, abandono del territorio, etc. Pese a ello, en estas áreas existe un rico patrimonio cultural y medioambiental que puede ser explotado turísticamente y así crear nuevas oportunidades socioeconómicas. Entre las principales herramientas utilizadas para lograr estos objetivos están los itinerarios culturales. El presente trabajo analiza el potencial de los itinerarios para el desarrollo sostenible de las zonas rurales a través del Atlas Digital de los Caminos de Italia. La metodología se ha basado en un estudio teórico sobre el programa promovido por el Gobierno Italiano y un análisis detallado del camino de Santa Bárbara, Cerdeña. El trabajo confirma la utilidad de los itinerarios para el desarrollo de las zonas rurales, en base a criterios unificados y el uso de las TIC´s.

Maturational processes in the developing brain are disrupted by exposure to environmental toxicants, setting the stage for deviant developmental trajectories. Manganese (Mn) is an essential nutrient that is neurotoxic at high levels of exposure, particularly affecting the basal ganglia and prefrontal cortex. Both the intensity and timing of exposure matter; deciduous teeth can be used to retrospectively and objectively determine early-life windows of vulnerability. The aim of this pilot study was to examine associations between prenatal, early postnatal and childhood dentine Mn concentrations and intrinsic functional connectivity (iFC) of adolescents' brains. 14 adolescents (12-18 years; 6 girls) from northern Italian regions with either current, historic or no Mn contamination, completed a 10-minute resting state functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan in an 1.5T MRI scanner. We estimated prenatal, early postnatal and childhood Mn concentrations in deciduous teeth using laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. We performed seed-based correlation analyses, focusing on six subcortical seeds (left and right caudate, putamen, pallidum) and one cortical seed (bilateral middle frontal gyrus) from Harvard-Oxford atlases. We examined linear and quadratic correlations between log-transformed Mn concentrations and seed-based iFC (Bonferroni-corrected p<0.0023), controlling for either socio-economic status, sex or age. Dentine Mn concentrations (Mn:Calcium ratio) were highest during the prenatal period (median = 0.48) and significantly declined during the early postnatal (median = 0.14) and childhood periods (median = 0.006). Postnatal Mn concentrations were associated with: 1) increased iFC between the middle frontal gyrus and medial prefrontal cortex; 2) decreased iFC between the right putamen and pre- and postcentral gyrus. Together, these findings suggest that early postnatal Mn concentrations are associated with increased iFC within cognitive control brain areas, but decreased iFC between motor areas in adolescents. Future studies should replicate these findings in larger samples, and link brain connectivity measures to cognitive and motor outcomes.

The Po River Basin (PRB) is Italy’s largest river system and provides a vital water supply source for varying demands, including agriculture, energy (hydropower), and water supply. The current (2022) drought has been associated with low winter–early spring (2021–2022) snow accumulation in higher elevations (European Alps) and a lack of late spring–early summer (2022) precipitation, resulting in deficit PRB streamflow. Many local scientists are now estimating a 50- to 100-year (return period) drought for 2022. Given the importance of this river system, information about past (paleo) drought and pluvial periods would provide important information to water managers and planners. Annual streamflow data were obtained for thirteen gauges that were spatially located across the PRB. The Old World Drought Atlas (OWDA) provides annual June–July–August (JJA) self-calibrating Palmer Drought Severity Index (scPDSI) data for 5414 grid points across Europe from 0 to 2012 AD. In lieu of tree-ring chronologies, this dataset was used as a proxy to reconstruct PRB regional streamflow. Singular value decomposition (SVD) was applied to PRB streamflow gauges and gridded scPDSI data for two periods of record, referred to as the short period of record (SPOR), 1980 to 2012 (33 years), and the long period of record (LPOR), 1967 to 2012 (46 years). SVD serves as both a data reduction technique, identifying significant scPDSI grid points within the selected 450 km search radius, and develops a single vector that represents the regional PRB streamflow variability. Due to the high intercorrelations of PRB streamflow gauges, the SVD-generated PRB regional streamflow vector was used as the dependent variable in regression models for both the SPOR and LPOR, while the significant scPDSI grid points (cells) identified by SVD were used as the independent variables. This resulted in two highly skillful regional reconstructions of PRB streamflow from 0 to 2012. Multiple drought and pluvial periods were identified in the paleo record that exceed those observed in the recent historical record, and several of these droughts aligned with paleo streamflow reconstructions of neighboring European watersheds. Future research will utilize the PRB reconstructions to quantify the current (2022) drought, providing a first-time paleo-perspective of drought frequency in the watershed.

This project leverages AI-driven simulation to create immersive, culturally rich learning experiences that foster students’ development of cultural competence and interprofessional collaboration skills. Cultural competence and interprofessional collaboration are essential skills for future clinicians, yet traditional teaching methods often fall short in providing immersive, patient-centred learning experiences. AI-driven simulations offer a promising way to bridge this gap by creating realistic, interactive scenarios that engage students in meaningful, culturally nuanced clinical encounters. This project introduced Aalia, an AI-driven simulation featuring a 32 year-old Middle Eastern woman navigating the Italian healthcare system, delivered via a platform called ATLAS. Conducted in a synchronous 45-minute Zoom session, the simulation engaged over 130 health professions students and 20 educators from four countries. Working in interprofessional teams across ten breakout rooms, students interacted with Aalia through over 350 conversations and received automated feedback via ATLAS to support reflection and skill development. Evaluation results showed strong student agreement on the simulation’s value, with 94 % expressing interest in future AI simulations and 91 % reporting improved understanding of empathy in care. Simulate effectiveness was highly rated, notably, 89 % found the simulation realistic and engaging, 90 % engaging and 88 % felt it increased their confidence in providing culturally responsive healthcare. Interestingly, 67 % appreciated AI-generated feedback as more tolerable compared to teacher-given feedback. Aalia’s narrative provided a high-quality and authentic virtual environment for practising culturally responsive, collaborative care. This AI-driven simulation reinforced teamwork as essential in professional practice. Educators found it effective and easy to use, with significant potential for wider application.

Methods for the verification of the identity of offenders in cases involving video-surveillance images in criminal investigation events are currently under scrutiny by several forensic experts around the globe. The anthroposcopic, or morphological, approach based on facial features is the most frequently used by international forensic experts. However, a specific set of applicable features has not yet been agreed on by the experts. Furthermore, population frequencies of such features have not been recorded, and only few validation tests have been published. To combat and prevent crime in Europe, the European Commission funded an extensive research project dedicated to the optimization of methods for facial identification of persons on photographs. Within this research project, standardized photographs of 900 males between 20 and 31 years of age from Germany, Italy, and Lithuania were acquired. Based on these photographs, 43 facial features were described and evaluated in detail. These efforts led to the development of a new model of a morphologic atlas, called DMV atlas (“Düsseldorf Milan Vilnius,” from the participating cities). This study is the first attempt at verifying the feasibility of this atlas as a preliminary step to personal identification by exploring the intra- and interobserver error. The analysis yielded mismatch percentages from 19% to 39%, which reflect the subjectivity of the approach and suggest caution in verifying personal identity only from the classification of facial features. Nonetheless, the use of the atlas leads to a significant improvement of consistency in the evaluation.