Role of biological markers in the clinical outcome of colon cancer

We investigated a number of biological markers, evaluated under strict intralaboratory quality control conditions, in terms of their role in predicting clinical outcome of patients with colon cancer treated with 5-FU-containing regimens. Colon cancer tissue from 263 patients enrolled onto two randomised clinical trials were studied for their cytofluorimetrically determined DNA content and their immunohistochemically evaluated microvessel density, vascular endothelial growth factor expression, thymidylate synthase expression and tumour lymphocyte infiltration. Disease-free survival and overall survival of patients were analysed as a function of the different variables. At a median follow up of 57 months, age, gender and Dukes' stage showed an impact on disease-free survival, whereas no biological marker emerged as an indicator of better or worse disease-free survival. Only histological grade and Dukes' stage were found to influence overall survival. The different biological variables, studied with particular attention for determination reliability, proved to have no impact on the clinical outcome of patients with colon cancer. Therefore, other markers must be identified to complement clinico-pathological variables in the management of this disease

Authors publication strategies in scholarly publishing

In this exploratory study, we analyze publishing patterns of authors from different disciplines, as part of a broader analysis of the transformation of the scholarly publishing industry. Although a growing body of literature analyses the author’s role within the process of research production, validation, certification and dissemination, there is little systematic empirical research on publishing patterns; little therefore can be said on relevant issues within the current debate on the future of scholarly publishing such as authors’ responses to (or even awareness of) the growing array of publication possibilities or the speed of adaptation to the increasing series of incentives by funding agencies or academic institutions. On the basis of the analysis of three years of publications gathered in the institutional repository of Università degli Studi di Milano, we highlight trends of publication strategies and different responses to incentive systems. Preliminary results indicate that publication outcomes and intensity differ across disciplines, while similarities occur mainly in terms of choice of preferred outcomes by seniority. Open access is still uncommon among the authors in our sample and it is more utilized by relatively senior authors and active authors

La sostenibilità dei modelli di Open Access

In this article we seek to assess the economic sustainability of Open Access models, that is to say to what extent these models are effective and durable competitors to traditional journals. The article highlights the conditions to be met for Open Access repositories to erode the competitive advantage of traditional journals, describes the need to quickly reach reputation and critical mass with an innovative editorial project and describes the virtuous circle leading to the success of Open Access models: editorial identity, and a rigid selection process lead to a solid reputation which, thanks to a higher accessibility to published content, becomes visible and attractive for researchers in their double role of authors and readers. The visibility and prestige acquired enhance the repository reputation, stimulate a growing number of submissions, leading to a more rigorous selection process, which in turn contributes to a strengthening of the reputation of the journal. The article highlights the need to compare traditional journals and Open Access models within the broader process of production, financing and diffusion of results of the scientific research

Il ruolo dei social network s nello sviluppo delle aziende culturali: il caso New York Public Library

il capitolo analizza la governance della new york public library secondo una prospettiva multistakeholder evidenziando l'importanza dei social network per la sostenibilità del progetto cultural

Si torna a parlare di Siae

Gestione dei diritti di proprietà intellettuale, trasformazione dei settori culturali, innovazione tecnologica e modelli di business per le clearing houses

La legge sulla lettura

il contributo analizza la specificità della legge sulla lettura uscita nel 2020 e le conseguenze sul funzionamento della filiera editoriale e sulla promozione della lettur

La cultura al tempo del coronavirus

No abstract availabl