Indian nurses in Italy: a qualitative study of their professional and social integration

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To investigate the lived subjective experiences of immigrant Indian nurses in Italy and specifically their professional and social integration. BACKGROUND: To study the worldwide, nursing flux is a health priority in the globalised world. The growth in migration trends among nurses, not only from Philippines or India, has proliferated in recent years. The research on nurses' mobility for Southern European countries is underexplored, and in Italy, the out-migration flows of Indian nurses were never analysed. DESIGN: Qualitative methodological approach. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews (n = 20) were completed with Indian clinical nurses working in Italy for more than one year mainly in private organisations. A purposive sampling technique was used for recruitment. The data were then content-analysed using an inductive method. RESULTS: The findings were categorised into four themes: (1) aspects of professional integration and working experience, (2) intra- and interprofessional relationships and perceptions of the IPASVI Regulatory Nursing Board, (3) initial nursing education and continuous professional development and (4) perceptions of social integration. CONCLUSION: The results show that for Indian nurses in Italy emigration is important to gain opportunities to expand economic and social privileges as well as escape from historical assumptions of stigma associated with nursing work, especially for women. However, these conclusions have to be seen in wider socio-cultural complexities that are at the basis of transnational fluxes (Prescott & Nichter ). RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The research offers an insight into the complicated reasons for Indian nurses out-migration to Italy. Without comprehending the interwoven textures of the political and social relations that are continually constructed and re-constructed among different nations, it is difficult to understand nurses out-migration and consequently have a better and safer collaborative teamwork in the host countries

Studies of Fe(II) and Fe(III)-DNA complexes by XANES spectroscopy

The composition of the ligands around the iron centers in Fe(II) and Fe(III)-DNA complexes has been investigated by X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure (XANES) spectroscopy at the Fe-K-edge. the spectra are compared to the models FePO4 and Fe(dadipy)(2), each one bearing only one of the ligands expected in the Fe-DNA interaction, namely oxygen (from phosphate groups, H2O or bases) and nitrogen (from bases), respectively. the spectrum of Fe(II)-DNA exhibits a higher pre-edge peak and a more prominent shoulder at 7145 eV than Fe(III)-DNA. These spectral features indicate a distortion associated with the the presence of nitrogen in the first coordination sphere Fe(II)-DNA. These spectral features indicate a distortion associated with the presence of nitrogen in the first coordenation sphere of Fe(II)DNA. Similarities between Fe(III)-DNA and FePO4 are consistent with the possibility that only oxygen atoms are coordinated to the Fe(III) center.UNIFESP, CEDEME, Escola Paulista Med, BR-04023090 São Paulo, BrazilUSP, IQ, Dept Bioquim, BR-05508900 São Paulo, BrazilLab Nacl Luz Sincrotron, BR-13083970 Campinas, SP, BrazilUNIFESP, CEDEME, Escola Paulista Med, BR-04023090 São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Compartmentalized PDE4A5 signaling impairs hippocampal synaptic plasticity and long-term memory

Alterations in cAMP signaling are thought to contribute to neurocognitive and neuropsychiatric disorders. Members of the cAMP-specific phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) family, which contains >25 different isoforms, play a key role in determining spatial cAMP degradation so as to orchestrate compartmentalized cAMP signaling in cells. Each isoform binds to a different set of protein complexes through its unique N-terminal domain, thereby leading to targeted degradation of cAMP in specific intracellular compartments. However, the functional role of specific compartmentalized PDE4 isoforms has not been examined in vivo. Here, we show that increasing protein levels of the PDE4A5 isoform in mouse hippocampal excitatory neurons impairs a long-lasting form of hippocampal synaptic plasticity and attenuates hippocampus-dependent long-term memories without affecting anxiety. In contrast, viral expression of a truncated version of PDE4A5, which lacks the unique N-terminal targeting domain, does not affect long-term memory. Further, overexpression of the PDE4A1 isoform, which targets a different subset of signalosomes, leaves memory undisturbed. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer sensor-based cAMP measurements reveal that the full-length PDE4A5, in contrast to the truncated form, hampers forskolin-mediated increases in neuronal cAMP levels. Our study indicates that the unique N-terminal localization domain of PDE4A5 is essential for the targeting of specific cAMP-dependent signaling underlying synaptic plasticity and memory. The development of compounds to disrupt the compartmentalization of individual PDE4 isoforms by targeting their unique N-terminal domains may provide a fruitful approach to prevent cognitive deficits in neuropsychiatric and neurocognitive disorders that are associated with alterations in cAMP signaling

Concerning Order and Disorder in the Ensemble of Cu-O Chain Fragments in Oxygen Deficient Planes of Y-Ba-Cu-O

In connection with numerous X-ray and neutron investigations of some high temperature superconductors (YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6+x}$ and related compounds) a non-trivial part of the structure factor, coming from partly disordered Cu-O-$\dots$-O-Cu chain fragments, situated within basal planes, CuO$_x$, can be a subject of theoretical interest. Closely connected to such a diffusive part of the structure factor are the correlation lengths, which are also available in neutron and X-ray diffraction studies and depend on a degree of oxygen disorder in a basal plane. The quantitative measure of such a disorder can be associated with temperature of a sample anneal, $T_q$, at which oxygen in a basal plane remains frozen-in high temperature equilibrium after a fast quench of a sample to room or lower temperature. The structure factor evolution with $x$ is vizualized in figures after the numerical calculations. The theoretical approach employed in the paper has been developed for the orthorhombic state of YBCO.Comment: Revtex, 27 pages, 14 PostScript figures upon request, ITP/GU/94/0

Risk-cost optimization of buried pipelines using subset simulation

On the basis of time-dependent reliability analysis, a computational framework called subset simulation (SS) has been applied for risk-cost optimization of flexible underground pipeline networks. SS can provide better resolution for rare failure events that are commonly encountered in pipeline engineering applications. Attention in this work is devoted to scrutinize the robustness of SS in risk-cost optimization of pipelines. SS is first employed to estimate the reliability of flexible underground pipes subjected to externally applied loading and material corrosion. Then SS is extended to determine the intervention year for maintenance and to identify the most appropriate renewal solution and renewal priority by minimizing the risk of failure and whole life-cycle cost. The efficiency of SS compared to genetic algorithm has been demonstrated by numerical studies with a view to prevent unexpected failure of flexible pipes at minimal cost by prioritizing maintenance based on failure severity and system reliability. This paper shows that SS is a more robust method in the decision-making process of reliability-based management for underground pipeline networks

Twin chromatic indices of some graphs with maximum degree 3

Let k ≥ 2 be an integer and G be a connected graph of order at least 3. A twin k-edge coloring of G is a proper edge coloring of G that uses colors from k and that induces a proper vertex coloring on G where the color of a vertex v is the sum (in k ) of the colors of the edges incident with v. The smallest integer k for which G has a twin k-edge coloring is the twin chromatic index of G and is denoted by . In this paper, we determine the twin chromatic indices of circulant graphs , and some generalized Petersen graphs such as GP(3s, k), GP(m, 2), and GP(4s, l) where n ≥ 6 and n ≡ 0 (mod 4), s ≥ 1, k ≢ 0 (mod 3), m ≥ 3 and m {4, 5}, and l is odd. Moreover, we provide some sufficient conditions for a connected graph with maximum degree 3 to have twin chromatic index greater than 3

On twin edge colorings in m-ary trees

Let k ≥ 2 be an integer and G be a connected graph of order at least 3. A twin k-edge coloring of G is a proper edge coloring of G that uses colors from ℤk and that induces a proper vertex coloring on G where the color of a vertex v is the sum (in ℤk) of the colors of the edges incident with v. The smallest integer k for which G has a twin k-edge coloring is the twin chromatic index of G and is denoted by χ′t(G). In this paper, we study the twin edge colorings in m-ary trees for m ≥ 2; in particular, the twin chromatic indexes of full m-ary trees that are not stars, r-regular trees for even r ≥ 2, and generalized star graphs that are not paths nor stars are completely determined. Moreover, our results confirm the conjecture that χ′t(G)≤Δ(G)+2 for every connected graph G (except C5) of order at least 3, for all trees of order at least 3

On the stability of 2 \sqrt{2} x 2 \sqrt{2} oxygen ordered superstructures in YBa2Cu3O6+x

We have compared the ground-state energy of several observed or proposed " 2 \sqrt{2} x 2 \sqrt{2} oxygen (O) ordered superstructures " (from now on HS), with those of "chain superstructures" (CS) (in which the O atoms of the basal plane are ordered in chains), for different compositions x in YBa2Cu3O6+x. The model Hamiltonian contains i) the Madelung energy, ii) a term linear in the difference between Cu and O hole occupancies which controls charge transfer, and iii) covalency effects based on known results for $t-J$ models in one and two dimensions. The optimum distribution of charge is determined minimizing the total energy, and depends on two parameters which are determined from known results for x=1 and x=0.5. We obtain that on the O lean side, only CS are stable, while for x=7/8, a HS with regularly spaced O vacancies added to the x=1 structure is more stable than the corresponding CS for the same x. We find that the detailed positions of the atoms in the structure, and long-range Coulomb interactions, are crucial for the electronic structure, the mechanism of charge transfer, the stability of the different phases, and the possibility of phase separation.Comment: 24 text pages, Latex, one fig. included as ps file, to be publisheb in Phys. Rev.