Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo

Background: Hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogels are the most widely used injectable fillers for facial rejuvenation. A new generation of HA fillers crosslinked with poly(ethylene glycol) diglycidyl ether (PEGDE) has been developed to enhance cohesiveness, tissue integration, stability, and longevity while minimizing swelling and immunogenicity. Owing to their distinct viscoelastic properties, PEGDE-crosslinked HA fillers may require product-specific selection and adapted injection techniques. Objective: The objective of this study is to provide practical, expert-based recommendations for the safe and effective use of PEGDE-crosslinked HA hydrogels in facial aesthetic treatments. Methods: A multidisciplinary panel of nine Italian experts in aesthetic medicine, each with more than 15 years of experience using HA fillers, developed consensus recommendations based on clinical practice and available evidence. A pre-meeting questionnaire informed structured discussions during a face-to-face meeting held in Paris in January 2024. The nominal group technique was applied, with consensus defined as agreement by at least 80% of panel members. Results: Consensus was reached on product selection, injection planes, delivery devices, techniques, and typical treatment volumes for PEGDE-HA hydrogels across multiple facial regions, including the forehead, temples, midface, nasolabial folds, chin, jawline, and lips. Recommended injection techniques included microbolus, macrobolus, and retrograde linear threading, with placement ranging from superficial subcutaneous to supraperiosteal planes depending on the anatomical area and clinical indication. Typical injection volumes generally ranged from 0.1 to 0.5 mL per side. Optional ultrasound mapping was considered beneficial in selected high-risk or superficial procedures to improve anatomical safety. Conclusions: These expert consensus recommendations provide practical guidance for clinicians using PEGDE-crosslinked HA hydrogels in facial rejuvenation. Tailoring product characteristics to injection depth, technique, and regional anatomy may help optimize clinical outcomes and procedural safety. Future research priorities include prospective comparative studies with other crosslinking technologies, standardized reporting of adverse events, long-term outcome registries, and further evaluation of ultrasound-guided injection strategies.

Understanding how land use and land cover changes (LULCCs) affect ecosystem services (ES) is essential for guiding sustainable management strategies in protected areas (PAs), particularly in small island contexts where ecological processes, historical land uses and socio-economic dynamics are tightly interwoven. This study explores the medium-term dynamics of ES supply using LULCCs as a spatial indicator on the island of Asinara (Italy). Spatially modelled results show that the transition from agricultural and semi-natural uses to uncultivated areas, driven by land abandonment and soft nature-restoration actions, has reshaped the balance between provisioning, regulating and cultural services, generating reflections on opportunities and land management challenges. These outcomes require careful contextualization to reflect underlying ecological processes and land capabilities, highlighting the need for governance frameworks oriented towards conservation-driven landscape management rather than passive rewilding, especially in landscapes long shaped by human activities. More generally, sustainability in PAs is not an automatic outcome of protection or abandonment, but a contingent, spatially differentiated and governed process, in which indicators and maps serve to guide decisions, not to certify their success.

Osteopenia is a pre-pathological condition characterized by reduced bone mineral density that may lead to increased fracture risk and to the onset of osteoporosis. Standard treatments for managing osteopenia include supplementation of calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin K. Interestingly, recent studies suggest D-chiro-inositol and α-lactalbumin may enhance bone health through mechanisms such as insulin sensitization and improved nutrient absorption; furthermore, D-chiro-inositol is thought to be a specific mediator of osteoclast activity by inhibiting the expression of several osteoclastogenic genes. Six Caucasian patients with osteopenia-four men and two women with an average age of about 41 years-were treated with a daily regimen of calcium (400mg), cholecalciferol (50μg), vitamin K2 (50μg), D-chiro-inositol (150mg), and α-lactalbumin (30mg) for 2months. Even thoughthe results reported no significant changes in T-scorevalue, all patients exhibited improved serum levels of vitamin D and osteocalcin, along with fluctuations in alkaline phosphatase and parathyroid hormone levels. Despite the preliminary nature of the obtained data, combined supplementation exerted positive effects on bone metabolism by influencing serum levels of both vitamin D and osteocalcin, thus suggesting enhanced bone formation. Biochemical improvements support the potential of D-chiro-inositol and α-lactalbumin, in addition to traditional supplements, as a therapeutic strategy for managing osteopenia, even though further clinical studies are needed to clarify the effects and related molecular mechanisms.

Abstract The expanding human footprint drives profound transformations in species, including not only morphological trait loss but also behavioural trait extinction. In contrast to behavioural trait extinction, which entails a reduction in genetic variability, behavioural plasticity maintains behavioural trait diversity and the associated genetic variability required for evolutionary adaptation. Yet, while behavioural plasticity shaping non-human capacity to coexist with humans has evolved under past, human-modified, environmental conditions, few studies have examined whether species retain a level of behavioural plasticity after past interactions with humans. Using data from 64 juveniles golden eagles ( Aquila chrysaetos ) from a population demographically recovering after centuries of persecution, yet still restricted to less human-dominated alpine massifs, we tested whether human avoidance is innate or learned through experience during dispersal or parental influences during the pre-dispersal period. We performed a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) on landscape features used during the pre-dispersal and the first fifteen weeks of the dispersal phase, and used Mahalanobis distance as an indicator for quantifying changes in individual spatial behaviour over time. The lower frequency of use of human-dominated landscape features, compared with the more sparsely populated mid- and high-elevation landscape features, resulted from individuals’ consistent use of similar landscape features across the pre-dispersal and dispersal periods. Avoidance of humans was therefore better explained by a learning or imprinting process prior to dispersal, which predisposed individuals to use landscape features similar to those experienced during pre-dispersal, rather than by learning during dispersal, or by an innate avoidance. Imprinting on natal habitat features corroborates the observed limited range expansion of the alpine population beyond the massif borders. Differences among European populations in range recolonisation suggest contrasting histories of persecution, which may have left varying degrees of behavioural plasticity across populations. As a guide for future conservation priorities, these findings underscore the need to reconstruct past conditions and/or to document contemporary animal behaviour in order to build a library of behaviours that can be used in the future to track behavioural changes.

Passive acoustic monitoring has become a widely used method to study cetaceans, especially for populations facing escalating threats from noisy human activities, including shipping traffic, fishing industry and marine constructions. Here, we conducted a study using an autonomous surface vehicle to explore the distribution and acoustic behavior of cetaceans and to characterize anthropogenic sound sources in the central Mediterranean Sea. A wave glider equipped with a single-towed acoustic recorder was deployed from 13th September 2022 to 3rd March 2023. The recording yielded 19,115 files of 460s each (approximately 2 TB), a third of which was kept for a preliminary analysis based on spectrogram visualization and audio listening. The results showed that nearly half of the dataset contained delphinid signals (Delphinidae), followed by sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) and fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus), with notable hotspots in the southern Tyrrhenian and the Ionian Sea. Moreover, the almost continuous detection of anthropogenic sources highlighted the widespread acoustic impact of human activities in the area. These findings demonstrate the value of passive acoustics in the use of autonomous vehicles as a versatile tool for large-scale and long-term monitoring, offering a promising approach to support conservation efforts for vulnerable species while advancing strategies to mitigate human impacts on marine ecosystems.

The experience of recreationists is known to influence their willingness-to-pay for conservation. This paper presents key findings from a survey of visitors to three old-growth forests in Austria, Italy and Belgium. The results show that respondents hold preferences for nature conservation in regard to the expansion of old-growth and more naturally managed forests for their recreational purposes. Respondents indicated that they would be willing to pay between €2.1 and €4.1 per person a day to fund conservation management. The questionnaire identified the paths and areas where visitors spent their time in the forest. This approach makes it easier to distinguish between the actual use and the presence of old-growth forest. Visitors who experienced old-growth forests also expressed a higher willingness-to-pay for the conservation of these ecosystems. This is also an important finding for conservation management: While there are differences between socio-economic groups and the three forests, visitors who experienced the old-growth forests had a higher willingness-to-pay of roughly €1 per person a day. These results clearly show that visitors value recreation in old-growth forests, and that conservation management could capitalize on this higher valuation by directing visitors to areas associated with high biodiversity values while protecting sensitive areas and funding conservation activities. • Old-growth forests provide unique recreational experiences for visitors, and are also perceived as such. • The perception of the conservation status is mixed even in long-standing parks. • The recreation value of visitors depends on the areas of recreation evaluated by indicating the areas on maps. • Willingness-to-pay of visitors for conservation depends on variables connecting the recreational experience to the naturalness of the forest. • Management and planning can contribute to conservation funding by adding a conservation surcharge on existing fees.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of a socio-emotional intervention based on the development of Emotional Intelligence (EI) in primary school students in the city of Milagro, Ecuador. A socio-emotional development program was implemented, integrated into the technological education curriculum, with the participation of 200 students aged 9 to 11, distributed into an experimental group and a control group. The study used a quasi-experimental design with pre- and post-intervention measurements, applying quantitative tools such as the Children's Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue-C) and the emotional well-being scale, as well as qualitative techniques such as interviews and focus groups with teachers and students. The results showed significant improvements in emotional intelligence and emotional well-being for the experimental group students, compared to the control group, which showed no significant changes. These findings highlight the importance of integrating emotional intelligence into primary education as part of a comprehensive strategy to improve both emotional well-being and academic performance, especially in a context like Milagro, where socio-emotional challenges are common. It is concluded that socio-emotional education should be systematically incorporated into school curricula to promote the comprehensive development of students.

L’Insurrection angélique (Insurekcja anielska) i Testament de feu (Testament ognia) to pierwsze i jedyne jak dotąd samodzielne tomiki z wybranymi wierszami Krzysztofa Kamila Baczyńskiego, które ukazały się we francuskim przekładzie kolejno w 2004 i w 2006 roku, we wspólnym tłumaczeniu Claude’a-Henry’ego du Borda i Krzysztofa Jeżewskiego. Znikoma recepcja krytyczno-literacka i czytelnicza poezji Baczyńskiego we Francji skłania do rozważań nad kontekstem wydawniczym wymienionych przekładów oraz do wzięcia pod lupę zastosowanej w nich strategii translatorskiej. Celem niniejszego opracowania jest spojrzenie na tę rodzimą poezję przez pryzmat przekładu i jego obudowy paratekstualnej (na którą składają się m.in. tytuły nadane tym wyborom wierszy, przedmowy, przypisy tłumaczy), aby odpowiedzieć na pytanie o to, jak podjęte przez du Borda i Jeżewskiego szeroko rozumiane decyzje translatorskie mogą wpływać na odbiór poezji polskiego poety przez francuskiego czytelnika. Autorka artykułu poświęca również uwagę niektórym aspektom – dotyczącym rynku księgarskiego we Francji oraz przestrzeni translatorskiej – (nie)sprzyjającym szerszej popularyzacji poezji Baczyńskiego we Francji.

solo come regnante ma anche come luogo per la comunit.Il rilievo ha costituito la fase fondamentale per lo studio della struttura monumentale delineando differenze e similitudini con coevi esempi europei.L'edificio costituito da due corpi rettangolari di differenti dimensioni, uno sito a est, che comprende il convento e l'antico Palazzo degli infanti, e uno ad ovest con il Palazzo Reale e la Basilica intitolata a Nostra Signora e a Sant'Antonio.

Winter sports exert significant anthropogenic pressures on the snow microbiome, affecting the entire alpine ecosystem. The massive usage of artificial snow, human occupation, and the release of xenobiotics like microplastics or ski wax components on ski tracks can profoundly alter snow microbial ecology. Here, we reconstructed the temporal dynamics of the snow microbiome at three sites in the Italian Alps: inside and outside a ski track at the impacted site of Santa Caterina Valfurva and near Cancano lake as an unimpacted control. Using epifluorescence microscopy, 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, and inferred metagenomics, we found that the snow microbiome inside the track presented a higher load of prokaryotes and viruses. Notably, N2-fixing microorganisms from cryospheric environments and host-associated taxa, like Terrisporobacter, Clostridium sensu stricto, Enterococcus, and Muribaculaceae, and the opportunistic pathogen Citrobacter characterised the impacted site. These microorganisms could originate from the river water used to produce artificial snow during winter. Our findings highlight the complexity and multifunctionality of the snow microbiome, where microorganisms with different ecological propensities can coexist, and the detectable impact of ski tourism, which enriches host-associated and xenobiotic-degrading microorganisms. This underscores the need for systematic monitoring and protection of the snow microbiome in the Alpine environment from anthropogenic threats.