What lies beneath the EEG: aperiodic and complex dynamics as potential biomarkers of brain health and disease

This doctoral thesis investigates the potential of non-traditional EEG metrics, specifically the aperiodic component of the power spectrum and measures of signal complexity, as quantitative indicators of neural integrity, dysfunction, and recovery. By combining meta-analytic and experimental approaches, the work aims to clarify whether these parameters can serve as mechanistically grounded and clinically meaningful biomarkers of brain function. The first study presents a quantitative meta-an...

Monitoraggio della sicurezza dei vaccini COVID-19 in popolazioni speciali attraverso sistemi di farmacovigilanza attiva: risultati del progetto europeo Covid-Vaccine-Monitor

The COVID-19 pandemic posed an unprecedented global health challenge, accelerating the processes of vaccine development, authorization, and distribution. In this rapidly evolving context, ensuring timely, accurate, and transparent monitoring of vaccine safety became a critical public health priority. Traditional pharmacovigilance systems, mainly based on spontaneous reporting of suspected adverse reactions, remain essential for signal detection but are limited by underreporting and incomplete...

Prediction in spoken language comprehension across linguistic levels: evidence from L2 speakers and adults with dyslexia.

Language comprehension is not only incremental but predictive: over the past two decades, extensive evidence has shown that comprehenders do not passively wait for linguistic input but anticipate words and structures before they are encountered, thereby facilitating efficient comprehension. While it is no longer surprising that prediction exists, important questions remain about how it operates across linguistic levels and population groups. Research on second-language (L2) speakers has produ...

Decoding Restorativeness: exploring the visual and perceptual foundations of environmental restorativeness through a psychophysical approach

Enhancing fungal resistance in local Vitis vinifera cultivars: from optimized somatic embryogenesis process to NGTs application and phenotyping characterization

Evaluation of Italian flora biodiversity as a source of natural compounds to develop new sustainable strategies for the control of Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae

Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae (Psa), the causal agent of kiwifruit bacterial canker, represents one of the most severe threats to kiwifruit production worldwide. Since its first report in Japan in 1989, the disease has spread to all major kiwifruit-producing countries, including Italy, New Zealand, and Chile, where epidemic outbreaks associated with highly virulent biovars have caused extensive economic losses. Current disease management in Europe relies largely on copper-based compound...

Real-Time Pre-Impact Fall Detection in Wearable Systems: Lightweight Deep Learning Architectures for Embedded Deployment

Le cadute rappresentano una sfida critica per la sicurezza, essendo responsabili del 16% degli infortuni professionali non mortali e di 865 decessi sul lavoro negli Stati Uniti nel 2022. I sistemi tradizionali di rilevamento delle cadute post-impatto attivano il primo soccorso dopo che la caduta si è verificata, ma non sono in grado di prevenire le lesioni causate dall’impatto con il suolo. Il rilevamento pre-impatto delle cadute consente invece un intervento protettivo prima del contatto con...

Next-Generation Blockchain Systems: Innovations in Smart Contracts, Layer-2 Data Availability, Privacy-Preserving Compliance and Certification

The rapid digitalization of modern society has transformed how information is stored, transactions are executed, and trust is established in digital environments. Blockchain technology has emerged as a promising foundation for decentralized systems by providing immutability, transparency, and trustworthiness. Despite these advancements, real-world blockchain adoption reveals fundamental limitations. Smart contracts still lack modular and secure design patterns for managing complex access cont...

Real-Time Pre-Impact Fall Detection in Wearable Systems: Lightweight Deep Learning Architectures for Embedded Deployment

Le cadute rappresentano una sfida critica per la sicurezza, essendo responsabili del 16% degli infortuni professionali non mortali e di 865 decessi sul lavoro negli Stati Uniti nel 2022. I tradizionali sistemi di rilevamento delle cadute post-impatto sollecitano l’intervento di primo soccorso dopo che la caduta si è verificata, ma non riescono a prevenire le lesioni causate dall’impatto con il suolo. Il rilevamento pre-impatto delle cadute consente un intervento protettivo prima del contatto ...