Search Results (6)

Contemporary religiosity is undergoing profound transformation, shaped by postsecular and postmodern dynamics. Amid global declines in institutional affiliation, religious and spiritual tourism has emerged as a salient expression of evolving faith. Poland exemplifies this paradox: witnessing one of the world’s steepest declines in youth religiosity, even as Catholicism retains symbolic centrality. Drawing on survey data from 510 Polish young adults (Generation Z), this study examines how religiosity, faith-based travel, and social attitudes intersect within a postsecular framework. Findings reveal a dual trajectory: while religious tourism reinforces institutional belonging and traditional values, spiritual tourism aligns with individualized, fluid religiosity and looser ties to religious institutions. The study introduces a novel conceptual model mapping the interdependencies between religiosity, mobility, and identity among youth in postsecular societies. This framework demonstrates how faith-based travel actively mediates social attitudes and reconfigures religious engagement, positioning mobility as a generative force in shaping contemporary belief. Rather than following a linear path of secularization, Generation Z selectively blends inherited Catholic traditions with personalized, experience-driven spirituality. These findings advance sociological debates on secularization, postsecularism, and the transformation of religious identity through mobility. Full article

Background/Objectives: Ataxic dysarthria is a speech disorder characterized by the impaired coordination of movement due to cerebellar dysfunction. Despite its clinical relevance, few studies have explored its rehabilitation. This study aimed to evaluate the applicability of IMITAF, an adaptive computer-based clinical treatment protocol originally developed to target aphasia with a novel population comprising individuals with ataxic dysarthria. The approach leverages principles of procedural motor learning. Methods: Ten patients with ataxic dysarthria due to neurodegenerative disease were retrospectively studied. All patients received approximately one month of speech–language (SL) treatment. Among them, (1) three patients (LL, MD, and BoA) adjunctively received the IMITAF treatment, forming the experimental group, and (2) the remaining seven patients did not receive IMITAF, serving as the control group. Dysarthria was assessed using the “Protocollo di Valutazione Disartria e Disfonia” (PVDD). The applicability of IMITAF was assessed through within-session performance and by direct single-case comparisons of total PVDD scores pre- and post-treatment. Additionally, multiple single-case Crawford analyses were conducted using PVDD scores and subscores to compare trained (i.e., directly targeted) and untrained abilities between the experimental and control groups Results: Patients in the IMITAF group showed improvements during exercises, with further increases in total PVDD scores post-treatment. Two patients (LL and BoA) showed significant gains, while MD’s scores remained stable. Compared to the control group, all three experimental patients demonstrated measurable improvements in trained core deficits associated with dysarthria, including phonation, articulation, intelligibility, and prosody (as assessed by PVDD). Conclusions: These findings suggest that IMITAF may offer therapeutic benefits for patients with ataxic dysarthria. By engaging a cortico-subcortical network involved in procedural motor learning, IMITAF may help mitigate speech deficits resulting from cerebellar dysfunction. This preliminary evidence supports the potential of IMITAF as a promising adjunctive tool in the rehabilitation of ataxic dysarthria. Full article

Candidemia and invasive candidiasis (IC) are causes of morbidity and mortality in healthcare settings, with notable differences between children and adults. Understanding the species distribution and antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of clinical isolates can guide empiric therapy in patients at risk of IC. This study investigated the incidence and antifungal susceptibility patterns of yeasts involved in IC in pediatric and adult patients from 2019 to 2023. The average incidence of IC was 0.715 per 1000 patients, increasing over the study period; infants had the highest incidence rates. Over half of the IC episodes occurred in intensive care units (ICUs). Non-albicans Candida (NAC) species represented the most frequently isolated species in adults and children (55.96% and 50.0%, respectively), with the prevalence of C. parapsilosis (26.45% and 14.7%, respectively), N. glabratus (14.97% and 8.82%, respectively) and C. tropicalis (4.36% and 2.94%, respectively). C. lusitaniae was identified in 14.7% of pediatric IC cases. In NAC species, antifungal resistance has also increased over the five years of the study: 69.12% were resistant to azoles and 7.35% were resistant to micafungin. Resistance was higher in pediatric patients. Our study highlights differences in IC characteristics between pediatric and adult populations and emphasizes the importance of targeted antifungal stewardship in ICU patients with NAC invasive infections. Full article

In this work we have developed a multiplex microarray system capable of detecting VEGF₁₆₅ and thrombin. We recently described a Sandwich Aptamer Microarray (SAM) for thrombin detection feasible for use in multiplex microarrays; here we describe a new aptasensor for VEGF₁₆₅ detection employing Vap7 and VEa5, two DNA aptamers recognizing different sites of the protein. The aptamers were modified to be adapted to the solid phase platform of SAM and their capability to simultaneously recognize VEGF₁₆₅ by forming a ternary complex was analyzed in solution. Having so defined the best tandem arrangement of modified aptamers, we set up the aptasensor for VEGF₁₆₅, and finally analyzed the multiplex system with the two aptasensors for the simultaneous detection of VEGF₁₆₅ and thrombin. The results indicate that each sandwich is specific, even when the two proteins are mixed. The system performance is consistent with the behavior evidenced by the biochemical analysis, which proves to be valuable to drive the evaluation and refinement of aptamers prior to or along the development of a detection platform. Since thrombin upregulates VEGF expression, the simultaneous recognition of these two proteins could be useful in the analysis of biomarkers in pathologies characterized by neo-angiogenesis. Full article

A sandwich microarray employing two distinct aptamers for human thrombin has been optimized for the detection of subnanomolar concentrations of the protein. The aptamer microarray demonstrates high specificity for thrombin, proving that a two-site binding assay with the TBA1 aptamer as capture layer and the TBA2 aptamer as detection layer can ensure great specificity at times and conditions compatible with standard routine analysis of biological samples. Aptamer microarray sensitivity was evaluated directly by fluorescent analysis employing Cy5-labeled TBA2 and indirectly by the use of TBA2-biotin followed by detection with fluorescent streptavidin. Sub-nanomolar LODs were reached in all cases and in the presence of serum, demonstrating that the optimized aptamer microarray can identify thrombin by a low-cost, sensitive and specific method. Full article

We have developed an aptamer-based microarray for human thrombin detection exploiting two non-overlapping DNA thrombin aptamers recognizing different exosites of the target protein. The 15-mer aptamer (TBA1) binds the fibrinogen-binding site, whereas the 29-mer aptamer (TBA2) binds the heparin binding domain. Extensive analysis on the complex formation between human thrombin and modified aptamers was performed by Electrophoresis Mobility Shift Assay (EMSA), in order to verify in solution whether the chemical modifications introduced would affect aptamers/protein recognition. The validated system was then applied to the aptamer microarray, using the solid phase system devised by the solution studies. Finally, the best procedure for Sandwich Aptamer Microarray (SAM) and the specificity of the sandwich formation for the developed aptasensor for human thrombin were optimized. Full article