Search results for "STIMA"

Estimating the size of the loan sharking market in Italy

2014

In the current economic crisis, the risk is so high that entrepreneurs, commercial activities and even families may turn to the illegal market to obtain liquidity. This article proposes an estimate of the size of the usury credit market in Italy. The estimate is based on the assumption, provided by Guiso1, that before coming to a moneylender the borrower seeks to obtain credit through official channels. The results of our estimates confirm the seriousness of the problem, but provide much lower data than those reported periodically by the media. It is estimated that 372,000 economic activities may have been potentially involved in the usury market in 2012. The volume of loans disbursed in th…

Il ruolo delle caratteristiche personali nei comportamenti problematici degli adolescenti

2010

Prediction of embryo survival and live birth rates after cryotransfers of vitrified blastocysts

2020

Which pre-vitrification parameters are the most predictive of survival and live birth in vitrified-warmed blastocyst transfer cycles?A retrospective study including 11,936 warmed blastocysts. Pre-vitrification morphological parameters analysed for blastocysts included day of vitrification; blastocyst expansion degree; trophoectoderm grade (A, B and C); and inner cell mass grade (A, B and C). Univariate and multivariate generalized estimating equations models were used to analyse survival, clinical pregnancy and live birth rate. A stepwise regression analysis was conducted to select and classify by order which outcomes were the most predictive.The odds of survival increased almost twice for …

Assessing the Relationship Between Attitudinal and Perceptual Component of Body Image Disturbance Using Virtual Reality

2018

Body image disturbance (BID) affects quality of life even in the absence of clinically diagnosable eating pathology, and numerous studies have shown its crucial role in the emergence and maintenance of eating disorders. This study aimed at exploring attitudinal and perceptual components of BID using a novel virtual reality (VR)-based paradigm. A community sample of women (N = 27) recreated in VR their perceived body in both an allocentric (third-person view) and egocentric (first-person view) perspective. Specifically, women were able to choose between a wide range of three-dimensional bodies spanning body mass index 12.5-42.5 kg/m2. Attitudinal indexes of BID (body dissatisfaction, body un…

Validation of the SNACOR clinical scoring system after transarterial chemoembolisation in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

2017

Abstract Background Transarterial chemoembolisation is the standard of care for intermediate stage (BCLC B) hepatocellular carcinoma, but it is challenging to decide when to repeat or stop treatment. Here we performed the first external validation of the SNACOR (tumour Size and Number, baseline Alpha-fetoprotein, Child-Pugh and Objective radiological Response) risk prediction model. Methods A total of 1030 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma underwent transarterial chemoembolisation at our tertiary referral centre from January 2000 to December 2016. We determined the following variables that were needed to calculate the SNACOR at baseline: tumour size and number, alpha-fetoprotein level,…

Erratum: By promoting cell differentiation, miR-100 sensitizes basal-like breast cancer stem cells to hormonal therapy

2019

Basal-like breast cancer is an aggressive tumor subtype with a poor response to conventional therapies. Tumor formation and relapse are sustained by a cell subset of Breast Cancer Stem Cells (BrCSCs). Here we show that miR-100 inhibits maintenance and expansion of BrCSCs in basal-like cancer through Polo-like kinase1 (Plk1) down-regulation. Moreover, miR-100 favors BrCSC differentiation, converting a basal like phenotype into luminal. It induces the expression of a functional estrogen receptor (ER) and renders basal-like BrCSCs responsive to hormonal therapy. The key role played by miR-100 in breast cancer free-survival is confirmed by the analysis of a cohort of patients' tumors, which sho…

Improved usability of the minimal model of insulin sensitivity based on an automated approach and genetic algorithms for parameter estimation.

2006

Minimal model analysis of glucose and insulin data from an IVGTT (intravenous glucose tolerance test) is widely used to estimate insulin sensitivity; however, the use of the model often requires intervention by a trained operator and some problems can occur in the estimation of model parameters. In the present study, a new method for minimal model analysis, termed GAMMOD, was developed based on genetic algorithms for the estimation of model parameters. Such an algorithm does not require the fixing of initial values for the parameters (that may lead to unreliable estimates). Our method also implements an automated weighting scheme not requiring manual intervention of the operator, thus impro…

The metabolic syndrome predicts cardiovascular events in subjects with normal fasting glucose: results of a 15 years follow-up in a Mediterranean pop…

2006

The aim of this study was to evaluate the cardiovascular (CV) risk due to the metabolic syndrome in a 15-year prospective study of a Sicilian population. In the Mediterranean area obesity is highly prevalent, but epidemiological data on the metabolic syndrome are limited. Methods and results: Among the 1351 subjects enrolled in the “Ventimiglia di Sicilia” epidemiological project, we selected 687 subjects between 35 and 75 years of age; baseline parameters were assessed and subjects have been followed for 15 years recording CV events, total and cardiovascular mortality. The metabolic syndrome was defined according to both the Adult Treatment Panel III and the International Diabetes Federati…

Seeking the “Beauty Center” in the Brain: A Meta-Analysis of fMRI Studies of Beautiful Human Faces and Visual Art

2020

AbstractThe existence of a common beauty is a long-standing debate in philosophy and related disciplines. In the last two decades, cognitive neuroscientists have sought to elucidate this issue by exploring the common neural basis of the experience of beauty. Still, empirical evidence for such common neural basis of different forms of beauty is not conclusive. To address this question, we performed an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis on the existing neuroimaging studies of beauty appreciation of faces and visual art by non-expert adults (49 studies, 982 participants, meta-data are available at https://osf.io/s9xds/). We observed that perceiving these two forms of beauty a…

Serum and ascitic fluid bacterial DNA: a new independent prognostic factor in noninfected patients with cirrhosis.

2008

We tested the hypothesis that the presence of bacterial DNA (bactDNA) in ascitic fluid and serum is associated with decreased survival in patients with cirrhosis. In a prospective, multicenter study, we analyzed the clinical evolution of 156 patients with cirrhosis and ascites (first or recurrence) with lower than 250 polymorphonuclear cells (PMN)/L, negative ascites bacteriological culture, and absence of other bacterial infections being admitted for evaluation of largevolume paracentesis, according to the presence of bactDNA at admission. Survival, causes of death, and successive hospital admissions were determined during a 12-month follow-up period. BactDNA was detected in 48 patients. T…