University of Macerata

Avelumab, pembrolizumab, and enfortumab vedotin (EV) demonstrated efficacy in mUC following platinum-based chemotherapy. However, real-world data in patients with urothelial carcinoma with squamous differentiation (UCSD) are limited. The aim of this study is to assess the real-world clinical outcomes of avelumab, pembrolizumab, or EV in mUCSD patients. The ARON-2EV study is a retrospective, international, multicenter analysis in patients with mUC treated with avelumab, pembrolizumab, or EV across 79 centers in 21 countries. Patients were divided into three cohorts: 1 (avelumab), 2 (pembrolizumab), and 3 (EV). Primary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and time on treatment (ToT). Secondary objectives included evaluating clinical factors associated with outcomes and exploring the impact of UCSD histology on response to therapy. Statistical methods included Kaplan-Meier estimates, log-rank tests, Fisher's exact and chi-square tests, and Pearson's correlation coefficients. A total of 1918 patients, 1696 with advanced pure UC (pUC) and 222 with mUCSD (36 in cohort 1, 111 in cohort 2, and 75 in cohort 3), were included. Median OS was shorter in patients with UCSD compared to patients with pUC histology in the three cohorts (1: 13.0 vs 26.8months, HR 2.66,p = 0.003; 2: 10.2 vs 18.5months, HR 1.52,p = 0.008; and 3: 7.6 vs 13.1months, HR 1.68,p = 0.011). Median ToT was shorter in patients with UCSD compared to patients with pUC histology in cohort 1 (3.5 vs 5.6months, HR 1.57,p = 0.044) and 3 (7.6 vs 13.6months, HR 1.83,p = 0.005) but not in cohort 2 (3.7 vs 4.7months, HR 1.19,p = 0.177). Response to therapy was negatively correlated with UCSD histology in cohorts 2 (correlation coefficient 0.094,p = 0.008) and 3 (correlation coefficient 0.107,p = 0.021), while response to avelumab was not correlated with UCSD (correlation coefficient 0.072,p = 0.263). UCSD is a histology with a poor prognosis and response to treatments compared to pUC. Treatments activity and effectiveness in divergent differentiations should be addressed in dedicated prospective studies. NCT05290038.

Global climate change is contributing to more frequent weather anomalies and extreme events, influencing the timing and severity of forest fires. As of 7 January 2025, 14 wildfires have severely affected the Los Angeles metropolitan area and San Diego County in California, USA. This paper analyses the journalistic narrative of this disaster from the perspective of the European media. The study takes place between 7 and 31 January 2025. This timeframe, although seemingly short, represents the fundamental moment to capture the environmental, political and socio-cultural changes of the fires that broke out in Los Angeles, as well as the production of news about them in the European context. Specifically, the research aimed to study the spaces and contents related to the narration of the environmental disaster in the main international newspapers, considering two precise phases: (a) the onset of the disaster and the construction of the news in the first days of the fires in Europe; (b) the main dominant themes within the macro-narrative of the disaster.

Abstract Employment inclusion for people with disabilities remains a persistent challenge across developed nations, with employment rates 24 percentage points below general population levels in Europe. Traditional centralized employment matching systems face privacy constraints, data sovereignty requirements, and limited collaborative learning capabilities. This paper presents a comprehensive privacy-preserving federated learning framework for multi-regional disability employment matching that enables collaborative model training while maintaining data locality and regulatory compliance. Our approach combines ensemble-based LightGBM federation with parameter-level MLP federation, achieving 0.9011 F1-score (LightGBM) and 0.7881 F1-score (MLP with privacy preservation) across five Italian employment centers in Veneto region. The privacy framework integrates differential privacy with RDP composition (ε = 1.0, δ = 10⁻⁶), Shamir’s 3-of-5 secret sharing for secure aggregation, and blockchain anchoring for long-term integrity verification. Empirical evaluation demonstrates minimal performance degradation under federated constraints (0.0005 F1-score loss) while providing formal privacy guarantees. The system reduces manual processing time from 30–60 min to under 5 min per candidate with sub-100 ms response times suitable for real-world deployment. Ongoing pilot deployment at partner employment centers validates practical applicability for European disability employment services. The research contributes to trustworthy AI frameworks for sensitive social applications requiring regulatory compliance, algorithmic fairness, and privacy preservation.

The relationship between personality and the various aspects of human cognition that influence behavior has long been recognized as central to understanding individual differences. The study investigates the relationship between personality and aesthetic preference, in relation to a specific category of objects (hats). An online questionnaire showing grayscale images of 34 iconic types of hats (Set 1) and eight types of baseball caps (Set 2) was presented to 539 Italian adults, asking them to rate how much they liked them and how likely they were to wear them. The Big Five Inventory-2 was used to evaluate personality. Significant associations were found between the five personality traits (open mindedness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and negative emotionality) and the participants' ratings of both liking and willingness to wear the hats in both Sets 1 and 2. The results of the study are relevant not only for basic research but also, potentially, suggest applicative developments in the domain of design and customized recommendation systems.

Understanding the role of individual factors associated with positive academic outcomes is fundamental to providing effective support for students with specific learning disabilities (SLDs) throughout their academic careers. The present study aimed to investigate group differences between students with and without SLDs and to examine the relationships between study-related factors, social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) skills, and student outcomes (achievement, academic and life satisfaction, and burnout) in a sample of 752 university students (133 male; Mage = 22.28 years, SDage = 5.35; 125 with SLDs). The results of the group comparisons showed that students with SLDs reported lower scores in academic self-efficacy, SRL strategies, and self-management skills. This finding suggests that their difficulties may extend beyond the academic domain. Furthermore, we ran a multivariate regression model including study-related factors and SEB skills as independent variables and student outcomes as dependent variables. The results showed that the associations of study-related factors and SEB skills with student outcomes were comparable between students with and without SLDs, although cooperation skills were significantly associated with academic burnout in students without SLDs, but not in students with SLDs. These findings have the potential to inform the development of student-centered practice and policy.

Abstract National policies significantly shape resource allocation and priorities in EdTech development. This paper presents insights from six countries through a systems thinking perspective. Drawing on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, the authors explore how national policies evolved in response to global EdTech trends. Each country offers unique approaches as case studies. China emphasizes digital transformation and the use of artificial intelligence in teacher education. Germany focuses on enhancing student media literacy through school initiatives. Japan accelerates digitalization through cross-ministerial efforts to address educational disparities. Italy emphasizes the updating of school curricula, tertiary offerings, and digital innovation projects. Norway underscores teacher autonomy and innovative methods for digital literacy, while the United States focuses on academic recovery and addressing the challenges posed by new forms of digital divide. The case studies offer insights into global EdTech trends while cautioning against viewing the field as monolithic. The authors synthesize key strategies in national priorities and practices and provide recommendations for an ethical and effective approach to EdTech development.

Nel corso del tempo il governo parlamentare ha subìto una marcata evoluzione. Il saggio analizza questo processo e dimostra che comporta un significativo rafforzamento del Governo a danno del Parlamento. Di qui la questione se sia affermata in via di fatto una nuova forma di governo, oppure se sia in corso una transizione dall’esito ancora incerto.