“Good Romanian Gypsy Looking for a Home”. Housing Policies and Politics of Identity among Roma and non-Roma in Turin, Italy

A strong tradition of anthropological studies highlights how institutions tend to produce classifications and put in place a process of framing in which immigrant groups are identified in advance and are therefore constructed as objects of policy. These framings direct social interventions and shape the public perception of the Roma. This article is the result of ethnographic fieldwork conducted among Roma and non Roma Romanian immigrants in four neighbourhoods in Turin, Italy and in Caraș-Severin, their departure region in Romania. Research brought to light complex dynamics by examining some illustrative life stories. In response to the attitude of the institutions, the protagonists of these stories make strategic use of cultural features, exacerbating the difference, or hiding it with processes of mimicry. Some rediscovered their ethnicity, benefitting as “nomads” from special housing projects; some dealt with the features of identity in a “segregating” form; some, despite not having Roma ancestors, in Italy define themselves as “Gypsy”, adopting the distinctive economic survival strategies of the Roma. This research study has shown how, in Italy and in Romania, the boundaries between identity categories are constantly negotiated.Une forte tradition d’études anthropologiques souligne la façon dont les institutions ont tendance à produire des classifications et à mettre en place un processus d’encadrement dans lequel les groupes d’immigrants sont identifiés à l’avance et sont donc construits comme des objets de politique. Ces cadrages dirigent les interventions sociales et façonnent la perception publique des Roms. Cet article est le résultat d’une enquête ethnographique menée auprès de Roms et d’immigrés non roms roumains dans quatre quartiers de Turin, en Italie et à Caraş-Severin, leur région de départ en Roumanie. La recherche a dévoilé des dynamiques complexes en examinant certains récits de vie illustratifs. En réponse à l’attitude des institutions, les protagonistes de ces histoires utilisent stratégiquement des caractéristiques culturelles, exacerbant la différence, ou la cachant avec des processus de mimétisme. Certains ont redécouvert leur appartenance ethnique, bénéficiant en tant que « nomades » de projets spéciaux en matière de logement ; d’autres traitent des caractéristiques de l’identité d’une façon « ségrégationniste » ; d’autres encore, bien qu’ils n’aient pas d’ancêtres roms en Italie, se définissent comme des « Gitans » et adoptent des stratégies économiques de survie propres aux Roms. Cette étude montre comment, en Italie et en Roumanie, les frontières entre les catégories identitaires sont constamment négociées.Una fuerte tradición de estudios antropológicos destaca la manera en la que las instituciones tienden a producir clasificaciones y poner en marcha un proceso de encuadre en el que los grupos de inmigrantes son identificados de antemano, por lo que se entienden como objetos de la política. Estos encuadres dirigen las intervenciones sociales y dan forma a la percepción pública de los romaníes. Este artículo es el resultado del trabajo de campo etnográfico realizado entre unos inmigrantes romaníes y no romaníes en cuatro barrios de Turín, Italia y Caraş-Severin, su región de salida en Rumania. La investigación trajo a la luz la dinámica compleja mediante la examinación de algunas historias de vida ilustrativas. En respuesta a la actitud de las instituciones, los protagonistas de estas historias hacen uso estratégico de características culturales, agravando la diferencia o escondiéndola mediante la imitación. Algunos han redescubierto su identidad étnica, beneficiando como «nómadas» de proyectos de viviendas especiales; algunos han lidiado con las características de la identidad de manera «segregacionista»; algunos, a pesar de no tener antepasados romaníes, en Italia se definen a sí mismos como «gitanos», adoptando las estrategias de supervivencia económicas distintivas de los romaníes. Este estudio de investigación ha demostrado que, en Italia y en Rumania, los límites entre las categorías de identidad se negocian constantemente

The State of the Art of Research in the EU on the Uptake and Use of ICT by Immigrants and Ethnic Minorities

The report provides a snapshot on the current state of the art of socio-economic research undertaken in Europe on ICT and migrations. After briefly illustrating the evolution of studies on ICT and migrations, the report provides an overview of the literature (over 150 items) published on this topic between 2004 and 2008. The main themes and disciplines involved are identified, along with emerging research lines of investigation. Based on the questionnaires gathered in the study, the third chapter of the report focuses on European research institutes, experts and the projects addressing the domain of ICT and migration. About 40 expert researchers were identified, working in/for about 30 research organisations in 11 Member States and Switzerland; and carrying on over 40 research projects. Overall, research in this field is carried out very much through networks of individuals (mostly junior scientists, with an overwhelming presence of women) or small groups, with a growing interdisciplinary character. The report concludes that research on ICT and migration would benefit from a stronger focus on user and impact analysis, and a more systematic comparative research across Europe. The authors also suggest a few topics that deserve further elaboration of theoretical approaches and could lead to cutting edge, comparative research in this field.JRC.J.4-Information Societ

Zaira T. Lofranco, Antonio Maria Pusceddu, eds, <em>Oltre Adriatico e ritorno: Percorsi antropologici tra Italia e Sudest Europa</em>, Milano, Meltemi, 2017, pp. 247

Recensione di Zaira T. Lofranco, Antonio Maria Pusceddu, eds, Oltre Adriatico e ritorno: Percorsi antropologici tra Italia e Sudest Europa, Milano, Meltemi, 2017, pp. 247

Figurations of displacement in southern Europe: empirical findings and reflections on protracted displacement and translocal networks of forced migrants in Greece and Italy

This working paper is based on empirical research on the Translocal Figurations of Displacement in Greece and Italy. The authors aim to compare protracted displacement in Greece and Italy, looking at the structural forces shaping it and their interactions with migrants' mobility and connectivity. This comparison is based on the analysis of the relations between two contextual variables (governance regimes and host population) and three key variables (mobility, connectivity and marginalisation). In this paper, they present findings from three study sites in Greece and four research locations in Italy. Findings show that protracted legal and socio-economic marginalisation is a key feature characterising the lives of displaced people in southern European countries. It confirms the hypothesis that protracted displacement does not end when forced migrants reach Greece or Italy. Restrictive governance regimes at the national and EU level severely limit mobility opportunities within Greece and Italy and across the European Union (EU). To cope with and resist marginalising and immobilising policies, displaced migrants in Italy and Greece put in place several strategies, ranging from adapting to governance regimes and taking the most out of them to resisting them and finding ways to avoid, bypass or overcome such regimes. In this framework, mobility and connectivity emerge as a resource and a trap for displaced migrants in southern Europe. On the one hand, migrants' strategies of intra-national and intra-EU mobility may help them out of protracted displacement, while on the other, certain types of mobility (hyper-, circular, paradoxical) can entrap, rather than free them. Similarly, local, translocal and transnational networks emerge as a crucial resource for displaced people in Greece and Italy. At the same time, family and co-ethnic networks may also be experienced as disabling, hampering one's aspirations to get out of protracted displacement. Fieldwork in both countries highlighted common factors shaping the relationships between displaced migrants and host communities. We also observed different facets of intergroup relations, ranging from indifference to friendship. The paper concludes by highlighting similarities and differences on the findings from both countries, based on qualitative and quantitative data

FeNO as a Marker of Airways Inflammation: The Possible Implications in Childhood Asthma Management

The aim of this study was to verify FeNO usefulness, as a marker of bronchial inflammation, in the assessment of therapeutic management of childhood asthma. We performed a prospective 1-year randomized clinical trial evaluating two groups of 32 children with allergic asthma: “GINA group”, in which therapy was assessed only by GINA guidelines and “FeNO group”, who followed a therapeutic program assessed also on FeNO measurements. Asthma Severity score (ASs), Asthma Exacerbation Frequency (AEf), and Asthma Therapy score (ATs) were evaluated at the start of the study (T1), 6 months (T2), and 1 year after (T3). ASs and AEf significantly decreased only in the FeNO group at times T2 and T3 (p[T1-T2] = 0.0001, and p[T1-T3] = 0.01; p[T1-T2] = 0.0001; and p[T1-T3] < 0.0001, resp.). After six months of follow-up, we found a significant increase of patients under inhaled corticosteroid and/or antileukotrienes in the GINA group compared to the FeNO group (P = .02). Our data show that FeNO measurements, might be a very useful additional parameter for management of asthma, which is able to avoid unnecessary inhaled corticosteroid and antileukotrienes therapies, however, mantaining a treatment sufficient to obtain a meaningful improvement of asthma

Cellulosic Graphene Biocomposites for Versatile High-Performance Flexible Electronic Applications

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Effect of graphene nano-platelet morphology on the elastic modulus of soft and hard biopolymers

Abstract Free-standing biocomposites were fabricated by solvent casting and hot-pressing employing two bio-polyesters having diverse elastic (Young's) moduli (soft and hard), reinforced with different graphene nanoplatelets (GnPs). Systematic mechanical measurements were conducted to investigate the effect of GnP thickness and lateral size on the elastic moduli. Comparisons were made with other reinforcing nanostructured filers such as organoclay, MoS 2 , Fe 2 O 3 , carbon black and silica nanoparticles. Upon solvent casting, GnPs did not perform better than the other model fillers in increasing the elastic modulus of the soft bio-polyester. Upon hot-pressing however, large (>300 nm) multi-layer GnPs (≥8 layers) more than doubled the elastic modulus of the soft bio-polyester matrix compared to other GnPs and fillers. This effect was attributed to the optimized alignment of the large 2D GnP flakes within the amorphous soft polymer. In contrast, hot-pressing did not yield superior elastic modulus enhancement for the hard bio-polyester when hot-pressed. GnPs only induced 30% enhancement for both processes. Moreover, multi-layer large GnPs were shown to suppress the thermally-induced stiffness reduction of the soft bio-polyester near its melting temperature. A theoretical analysis based on the spring network model is deployed to describe the impact of the GnP alignment on the elastic moduli enhancement

COVID-19 in the tonsillectomised population

Objective: Interactions between SARS-CoV-2 and pharyngeal associated lymphoid tissue are thought to influence the manifestations of COVID-19. We aimed to determine whether a previous history of tonsillectomy, as a surrogate indicator of a dysfunctional pharyngeal associated lymphoid tissue, could predict the presentation and course of COVID-19. Methods: Multicentric cross-sectional observational study involving seven hospitals in Northern and Central Italy. Data on the clinical course and signs and symptoms of the infection were collected from 779 adults who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, and analysed in relation to previous tonsillectomy, together with demographic and anamnestic data. Results: Patients with previous tonsillectomy showed a greater risk of fever, temperature higher than 39°C, chills and malaise. No significant differences in hospital admissions were found. Conclusions: A previous history of tonsillectomy, as a surrogate indicator of immunological dysfunction of the pharyngeal associated lymphoid tissue, could predict a more intense systemic manifestation of COVID-19. These results could provide a simple clinical marker to discriminate suspected carriers and to delineate more precise prognostic models

Development and Validation of a Risk Score for Chronic Kidney Disease in HIV Infection Using Prospective Cohort Data from the D:A:D Study

Ristola M. on työryhmien DAD Study Grp ; Royal Free Hosp Clin Cohort ; INSIGHT Study Grp ; SMART Study Grp ; ESPRIT Study Grp jäsen.Background Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major health issue for HIV-positive individuals, associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Development and implementation of a risk score model for CKD would allow comparison of the risks and benefits of adding potentially nephrotoxic antiretrovirals to a treatment regimen and would identify those at greatest risk of CKD. The aims of this study were to develop a simple, externally validated, and widely applicable long-term risk score model for CKD in HIV-positive individuals that can guide decision making in clinical practice. Methods and Findings A total of 17,954 HIV-positive individuals from the Data Collection on Adverse Events of Anti-HIV Drugs (D:A:D) study with >= 3 estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) values after 1 January 2004 were included. Baseline was defined as the first eGFR > 60 ml/min/1.73 m2 after 1 January 2004; individuals with exposure to tenofovir, atazanavir, atazanavir/ritonavir, lopinavir/ritonavir, other boosted protease inhibitors before baseline were excluded. CKD was defined as confirmed (>3 mo apart) eGFR In the D:A:D study, 641 individuals developed CKD during 103,185 person-years of follow-up (PYFU; incidence 6.2/1,000 PYFU, 95% CI 5.7-6.7; median follow-up 6.1 y, range 0.3-9.1 y). Older age, intravenous drug use, hepatitis C coinfection, lower baseline eGFR, female gender, lower CD4 count nadir, hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) predicted CKD. The adjusted incidence rate ratios of these nine categorical variables were scaled and summed to create the risk score. The median risk score at baseline was -2 (interquartile range -4 to 2). There was a 1: 393 chance of developing CKD in the next 5 y in the low risk group (risk score = 5, 505 events), respectively. Number needed to harm (NNTH) at 5 y when starting unboosted atazanavir or lopinavir/ritonavir among those with a low risk score was 1,702 (95% CI 1,166-3,367); NNTH was 202 (95% CI 159-278) and 21 (95% CI 19-23), respectively, for those with a medium and high risk score. NNTH was 739 (95% CI 506-1462), 88 (95% CI 69-121), and 9 (95% CI 8-10) for those with a low, medium, and high risk score, respectively, starting tenofovir, atazanavir/ritonavir, or another boosted protease inhibitor. The Royal Free Hospital Clinic Cohort included 2,548 individuals, of whom 94 individuals developed CKD (3.7%) during 18,376 PYFU (median follow-up 7.4 y, range 0.3-12.7 y). Of 2,013 individuals included from the SMART/ESPRIT control arms, 32 individuals developed CKD (1.6%) during 8,452 PYFU (median follow-up 4.1 y, range 0.6-8.1 y). External validation showed that the risk score predicted well in these cohorts. Limitations of this study included limited data on race and no information on proteinuria. Conclusions Both traditional and HIV-related risk factors were predictive of CKD. These factors were used to develop a risk score for CKD in HIV infection, externally validated, that has direct clinical relevance for patients and clinicians to weigh the benefits of certain antiretrovirals against the risk of CKD and to identify those at greatest risk of CKD.Peer reviewe