Latest news with #Padua
Telegraph
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Italian barefoot luxury at the Falkensteiner Hotel & Spa Jesolo
Italy's coastal resort of Jesolo finds itself on many travellers' wish lists. And rightly so: it has an events calendar brimming with culture, as well as theme parks and family attractions. It's also a brilliant base from which to explore the art cities of Padua, Treviso, Vicenza and Verona. At its famous beachfront resort, Lido di Jesolo, you can enjoy bucket-and-spade days and cooling cocktails, with toes in the sand. Then, when it's time for some culture, you're just a short distance from Venice and the Unesco-listed North Lagoon. The cherry on top of Jesolo's cake is the wonderful pick of hotels you'll find here. One of its finest is the Falkensteiner Hotel & Spa Jesolo, carefully selected by British Airways Holidays for its five-star quality. With exceptional Mediterranean cuisine, a private sandy beach and easy access to Venice airport – to which British Airways flies direct from the UK – this beachfront paradise is hard to beat. Book your holiday package with this trusted tour operator and you can secure your holiday with a low deposit and enjoy a wide range of benefits. This includes Atol protection from the moment you book, access to a dedicated 24/7 support helpline during your trip and a generous baggage allowance. So, what's in store for you at this stylish hotel? For a start, it offers four fantastic outdoor swimming pools where attentive staff will bring you creatively prepared drinks. This top-notch service extends to the loungers and cabana beds that dot the hotel's private section of beach, one of Europe's longest stretches of sand. The hotel itself has been carefully considered to suit both couples and families. Its uplifting rooms come in duck-egg blues with sherbet-yellow accents, with spacious balconies delivering park or sea views. Some rooms are suited to families with their comfy sofa beds, and you'll be taking design notes when you see their gorgeous bathrooms. Many of its wide-ranging suites also come with a kitchen and spacious seating area to make larger groups feel right at home. Crisp white sheets, air con, a mini bar and guest beach bags tick the box for creature comforts. Two sixth-floor penthouses deliver the ultimate luxury with their panoramic terraces and capacious living spaces. Relaxing, and finding things to do, comes easy here for guests. Families are kept busy with a dedicated children's pool and the hotel's family-focused facilities include an indoor soft play area, dedicated kids' club, plus a varied programme of games, entertainment and workshops which span face painting, art sessions, origami sessions and mini discos. There are also plenty of children's menu options across the hotel's restaurants, keeping mini diners – and their parents – happy. On the topic of dining, Falkensteiner Hotel & Spa Jesolo stands out for its authentic cuisine. New for 2025 is the highly anticipated Puro Cucina Autentica, an à la carte restaurant open to both staying guests and external visitors. With two carefully considered menus signed by the Michelin-starred chef Theodor Falser and Ciro Salatiello, and a concept that celebrates authentic Mediterranean cuisine, guests can expect a memorable gastronomical experience. Post-dinner, the hotel's outdoor Lounge Bar is a lovely spot to enjoy an aperitif, with Friday night live music bringing a convivial vibe. Since you're here to enjoy la dolce vita, make time to use the hotel's spa and wellness facilities at the 2,500 sq m Acquapura Blue Horizon Spa. Its Hawaiian-inspired 'Lomi Lomi' treatments are designed to soothe the tightest muscles and many treatments use natural, maritime essences to soothe the skin. The facilities here include a Finnish sauna, ice bath, aroma steam bath and large sauna commanding Adriatic Sea views. Its focal point is an indoor-outdoor pool. You can swim from one to the other via vast glass doors. There's a Technogym area open until late and a yoga room where you can practice your sun salutations. With its beach setting, five-star facilities and delectable Italian cuisine, we're sure you'll agree the Falkensteiner Hotel & Spa Jesolo is simply 'bellissimo'. British Airways Holidays packages include a generous checked baggage allowance for each customer and come with full Atol protection for complete peace of mind. Secure your Italy holiday to Falkensteiner Resort Jesolo with a low deposit and enjoy flexible payments until you fly.* *Based on two sharing. Full balance due four weeks before departure for short-haul holiday bookings. Subject to availability. T&Cs apply.
Medscape
19-05-2025
- Health
- Medscape
New High-Risk TNBC Subgroup Identified
New data support integrating tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte levels with nodal status to improve risk stratification in women with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and pathological complete response (pCR) following neoadjuvant treatment. Specifically, patients with lower levels of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes had a higher risk for relapse and worse overall survival than those with higher levels, said Davide Massa, MD, medical oncologist, University of Padua, Padua, Italy. 'For every 5% increase in [tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes], we saw a 10% reduction in the risk of distant relapse-free survival and an 11% reduction in the risk of death,' he reported in an oral presentation at the ESMO Breast Cancer 2025 meeting. And when combining tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and nodal status, 'we could identify a previously unrecognized high-risk subgroup — patients with low tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and positive nodal involvement,' Massa noted. These data may help guide post-neoadjuvant strategies for patients otherwise considered to have favorable long-term outcomes, he added. Refining Risk Stratification In TNBC, pCR after neoadjuvant treatment is associated with favorable outcomes, but a subset of patients remains at risk for relapse. Massa and his colleagues wanted to find out if they could identify these patients. Stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in TNBC are a strong independent prognostic biomarker associated with improved outcomes, yet their role in risk stratification within the pCR subgroup has been underexplored. The retrospective study included 1532 patients with stage I-III TNBC who received neoadjuvant therapy between 2000 and 2023 at 12 European centers. Of these patients, 733 (48%) had a pCR. Tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte levels, assessed in treatment-naive biopsies, were available for 613 patients with a pCR (84%), which comprised the study cohort. The median follow-up was 4.2 years. In multivariate analyses, both tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and nodal status were independent prognostic factors for distant relapse-free survival and overall survival in patients with a pCR. Patients with positive nodal status had significantly worse distant relapse-free survival (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 2.38) and overall survival (aHR, 3.45) compared with those with negative nodal status. When evaluating tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes at a predefined cutoff of 30%, patients with higher tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte levels demonstrated better survival outcomes. Patients with tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte levels ≥ 30% had a 5-year distant relapse-free survival elapsed survival rate of 96.3% compared with 89.5% in patients with levels < 30% (aHR, 0.42). Similarly, in patients with higher tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte levels, 5-year overall survival was 98.1% compared with 91.5% in those with lower levels (aHR, 0.33). When combining tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte and nodal status information, patients with low tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte levels and positive nodal involvement had significantly worse 5-year distant relapse-free survival compared with all other subgroups (82.6% vs at least 94.7%; aHR, 3.17). This finding held for 5-year overall survival (84.3% vs at least 97%; aHR, 5.09). Sensitivity analyses confirmed the study findings for both distant relapse-free survival and overall survival. 'This is a simple, cost-effective, and universally applicable stratification tool that relies only on hematoxylin and eosin-stained slides and no proprietary technology, which can be implemented in treatment-tailoring trials,' Massa said. Massa noted that a prospective study to validate these findings is ongoing. Kevin Kalinsky, MD, with Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, who served as study discussant, called the results 'intriguing' and 'hypothesis-generating.' Kalinsky said it will be important to validate whether low tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes are associated with worse outcomes regardless of pCR. And, if so, what is the role of antibody-drug conjugates with or without immunotherapy — a question that may be answered in the ongoing OptimICE-pCR trial, he added. Another question is whether patients with stage I TNBC and high tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes can opt out of systemic therapy, as is being explored in the OPTImaL and ETNA trials. Finally, Kalinsky said it will be worth exploring the use of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and other markers to tailor the selection of chemotherapy in TNBC, something the NeoTRACT trial is investigating.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Italian physicists explain how to avoid lumps in cheesy pasta sauce
How do you mix cheese and hot water without making it lumpy? This is the question for anyone who has ever tried to make the popular Italian pasta dish Cacio e Pepe, which consists of pasta, the Italian hard cheese Pecorino and pepper. Physicists have now taken on the challenge of solving this complex culinary puzzle and sharing it with pasta enthusiasts around the world. In the journal Physics of Fluids, scientists from the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems in Dresden, the University of Padua and other institutions report their findings – and provided what they consider to be a "foolproof recipe." Normally, fatty substances like cheese do not mix well with water, which is why starch is an important binding agent. Through tests, the research team discovered that 2-3% starch relative to the amount of cheese is optimal for a creamy, uniform sauce. With less than 1%, the risk of lumps is too high, while more than 4% makes the sauce stiff and unappetising. Heat is also crucial, as the sauce cannot tolerate much of it. Excessive temperatures destroy the proteins in the cheese, causing it to form lumps – a process the researchers refer to as the undesirable "mozzarella phase." That's why the water should be cooled slightly before mixed it with the cheese, the scientists say. "A true Italian grandmother or a skilled home chef from Rome would never need a scientific recipe for cacio e pepe," the study states. "For everyone else, this guide offers a practical way to master the dish." For those attempting the recipe, the researchers recommend preparing a starch solution – ideally with potato or corn starch – rather than relying on pasta water, where the starch content is unknown. Dissolve four grams of starch in 40 grams of water and heat it until it reaches a gel-like consistency. To this gel, add another 80 grams of water to cool the mixture. Only then should the Pecorino (160 grams in this example) be stirred into the starch solution until a homogeneous consistency is achieved. Finally, warm the sauce to serving temperature. Add pepper, mix in the pasta, and the dish is ready. The researchers had not only scientific curiosity but also a personal interest in the project. "We are Italians living abroad. We often have dinner together and enjoy traditional cooking," co-author Ivan Di Terlizzi from the Max Planck Institute in Dresden is quoted as saying in a statement by the American Institute of Physics. Cacio e Pepe, he said, seemed like an interesting dish from a physics perspective. "And of course, there was the practical aim to avoid wasting good pecorino."
South China Morning Post
07-05-2025
- Science
- South China Morning Post
A no-lumps pasta sauce? Italian physicists have recipe for cheesy Roman dish cacio e pepe
How do you mix cheese and hot water without making it lumpy? This is the question for anyone who has ever tried to make the popular dish cacio e pepe, which consists of pasta, the Italian hard cheese pecorino and pepper. Advertisement Physicists have now taken on the challenge of solving this culinary puzzle and sharing it with pasta enthusiasts around the world. In the journal Physics of Fluids, scientists from the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems in Dresden, the University of Padua and other institutions report their findings – and provide what they consider to be a 'foolproof recipe'. Normally, fatty substances like cheese do not mix well with water, which is why starch is an important binding agent. Through tests, the research team discovered that two to three per cent of starch relative to the amount of cheese is optimal for a creamy, uniform sauce. Pecorino is a hard cheese made from sheep's milk that is made in various regions of Italy. Photo: Shutterstock Lower than 1 per cent and the risk of lumps is too high, while more than 4 per cent makes the sauce stiff and unappetising. Advertisement Heat is also crucial: the sauce cannot tolerate much of it. Excessive temperatures destroy the proteins in the cheese, causing it to form lumps – a process the researchers refer to as the undesirable 'mozzarella phase'.
