NUOVE ROTTE MIGRATORIE: MOBILITA' E AUTO-PERCEZIONE DI GIOVANI ITALIANI ALL'ESTERO

2012/2013Abstract Approcciando il tema delle emigrazioni dei giovani italiani appare importante rintracciare nella storia la dinamica migratoria dei flussi che hanno caratterizzato il passato del nostro Paese. In quest’ottica è stata strutturata l’analisi della storia dell’emigrazione italiana a cui è dedicato il primo capitolo che ha, pertanto, lo scopo di delinearne le principali caratteristiche in termini di cause, destinazioni e impatto sul sistema nazionale dei flussi di emigrazione nel corso dei secoli. Dal momento che il fenomeno ha radici lontane nel tempo, si è proceduto con una disamina delle principali caratteristiche che esso ha assunto nel corso dell’Età medievale, moderna e contemporanea. Su quest’ultima fase, per ragioni di prossimità temporale, ci si è maggiormente soffermati, analizzandone più nel dettaglio le caratteristiche e i flussi che l’hanno caratterizzata. Il secondo capitolo ha lo scopo di fornire un’analisi complessiva della mobilità italiana oggi, utilizzando le fonti di dati ufficiali a disposizione (Dati Aire; iscrizioni e cancellazioni anagrafiche da e per l’estero 2010-2012 Istat, dati provenienti dagli schedari consolari del Ministero degli Affari Esteri). L’intento è quello di restituire un’istantanea delle principali caratteristiche socio-demografiche della porzione di popolazione italiana residente all’estero che le rilevazioni ufficiali sono in grado di raggiungere. Questi due primi capitoli hanno la finalità di ripercorrere il presente e il passato dell’emigrazione italiana, ponendo anche in rilievo quanto il fenomeno dipenda dal contesto sociale e demografico da cui origina. La Seconda Parte si apre con il terzo capitolo, dedicato allo studio dei principali paradigmi che la sociologia delle migrazioni ha messo in campo nel corso degli anni per analizzare il fenomeno migratorio nel suo complesso. Il fine di questo percorso di analisi è quello di fornire un quadro generale sul tema attraverso l’esposizione dei principali paradigmi interpretativi prodotti nel corso degli anni. Ciò che si desidera porre in rilievo definendo quelli che sono i principali fattori che portano i soggetti a compiere la scelta di emigrare, è la complessità del fenomeno e quanto questo incida nel complesso della vita del soggetto. Il quarto capitolo ha invece lo scopo di realizzare un’analisi diacronica del concetto di identità così come viene approcciata nell’ambito della sociologia. L’analisi di tre tra i principali approcci sociologici al tema (il funzionalismo, l’interazionismo simbolico e la fenomenologia sociale), verrà utilizzata come strumento di comprensione degli elementi che, nella contemporaneità, risultano più o meno adatti per condurre una lettura calata nel contesto della post-modernità. L’analisi giunge dunque ad una riflessione alla luce delle nuove necessità messe in campo della società liquida e multiculturale che innalza il grado di incertezza e pone il soggetto davanti ad una serie sempre più ampia di scelte e opzioni. A questo proposito, attraverso le posizioni di Baumann, Beck e Hall che ben sintetizzano il contesto fluido e incerto nel quale gli individui sono inseriti, vengono delineati i presupposti sociali nel quale le emigrazioni dei giovani italiani oggi prendono forma e, di conseguenza, vengono gettate le basi per l’interpretazione delle loro testimonianze a riguardo. In un contesto in cui la vita è essa stessa “creatrice di differenze” (Maalouf 2009), ciò che accomuna gli esseri umani è, infine, la loro diversità. L’analisi così impostata consente di comprendere come si sviluppa l’auto percezione degli intervistati a fronte anche dell’esperienza migratoria in corso. Essa appare funzionale a comprendere la necessaria evoluzione del concetto a fronte delle esperienze di plurilocalismo (Albera, Audenino e Corti citati in Luconi 2011) e di mobilità vissute oggigiorno dai giovani emigranti italiani. Stabiliti nella Prima e nella Seconda parte i principi teorici, il lavoro si chiude con una Terza Parte che comprende il capitolo conclusivo contenente l’analisi della metodologia della ricerca utilizzata per la conduzione della rilevazione. A partire dai presupposti legati alla scelta del metodo, viene presentata la traccia utilizzata per le interviste semi-strutturate, condotte tra novembre 2012 e ottobre 2013. Dal momento che lo scopo del questionario è quello di riprodurre le biografie in transizione dei soggetti intercettati, ponendo l’accento sull’evoluzione del percorso migratorio che ne deriva, ampio spazio viene dato all’analisi delle testimonianze emerse dal racconto dei soggetti intercettati dalla ricerca. Essa, ponendo in rilievo la storia e le motivazioni legate dell’evento migratorio così come vengono raccontate e percepite dal soggetto, ha come finalità quella di rendere evidenti alcune delle caratteristiche legate all’emigrazione dei giovani dall’Italia. Analizzare i perché e i per come alla base di questa scelta pone in evidenza come, nell’attuale contesto economico e sociale, l’emigrazione non sia esclusivamente supportata dalla ricerca di migliori condizioni economiche ma come essa sia anche l’esempio e la testimonianza della nascita di una nuova mentalità appartenente ad una élite globale (Bauman 2006) per cui la mobilità è prima di tutto un valore.XXVI Ciclo198

Quality of life in workers and stress: gender differences in exposure to psychosocial risks and perceived well-being

Background. Quality of working life is the result of many factors inherent in the workplace environment, especially in terms of exposure to psychosocial risks. Objectives. The purpose of this study is to assess the quality of life with special attention to gender differences. Methods. The HSE-IT questionnaire and the WHO-5 Well-Being Index were administered to a group of workers (74 males and 33 females). The authors also used Cronbach’s alpha test to assess the internal consistency of both questionnaires and the Mann–Whitney test to evaluate the significance of gender differences in both questionnaires. Results. The HSE-IT highlighted the existence of work-related stress in all the population with a critical perception regarding the domain “Relationships.” Furthermore, gender analysis highlighted the presence of two additional domains in the female population: “Demand” ( = 0,002) and “Support from Managers” ( = 0,287). The WHO-5 highlighted a well-being level below the standard cut-off point with a significant gender difference ( = 0.009) for males (18, SD = 6) as compared to females (14, SD = 6,4). Cronbach’s alpha values indicated a high level of internal consistency for both of our scales. Conclusions. The risk assessment of quality of working life should take into due account the individual characteristics of workers, with special attention to gender

Identification of Novel Mutations in Patients with Coffin–Lowry Syndrome by a Denaturing HPLC-Based Assay

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Influence of hCG on inducible nitric oxide synthase gene expression in ram testicular arteries

Background. Experimental evidence suggests a relationship between the vasodilatory effect of hCG and the NOS system in the testis. The influence of hCG administration on testicular vascular NOS gene expression has not been fully investigated. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the presence of the nitric oxide syntheses gene in ram testicular arteries and the influence of hCG administration on its expression. Materials and methods: Both testicular arteries of sixteen rams were extracted before and after i.v. administration of 5000 IU of hCG or placebo. The expression of the iNOS gene was investigated by real time PCR. Data were analyzed by means of Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney tests. A p value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: PCR revealed the presence of iNOS mRNA in all basal samples but the expression of the iNOS gene was significantly reduced in all arteries obtained 24 h after the administration of either hCG or placebo. A significant reduction in the expression of iNOS gene was observed in the testicular arteries extracted after 24 h in both treated and placebo groups. On the other hand hCG stimulation did not significantly influence iNOS expression following its administration compared to a placebo. Conclusion: Ram testicular arteries express the iNOS gene but hCG stimulation did not significantly influence iNOS expression. A significant reduction in the expression of this gene was observed in the testicular arteries extracted after 24 h in both treated and placebo groups, suggesting that iNOS expression on the testicular artery could be influenced by the spermatic vessel ligation of the controlateral testis

Soluble/MOF-Supported Palladium Single Atoms Catalyze the Ligand-, Additive-, and Solvent-Free Aerobic Oxidation of Benzyl Alcohols to Benzoic Acids

Metal single-atom catalysts (SACs) promise great rewards in terms of metal atom efficiency. However, the requirement of particular conditions and supports for their synthesis, together with the need of solvents and additives for catalytic implementation, often precludes their use under industrially viable conditions. Here, we show that palladium single atoms are spontaneously formed after dissolving tiny amounts of palladium salts in neat benzyl alcohols, to catalyze their direct aerobic oxidation to benzoic acids without ligands, additives, or solvents. With this result in hand, the gram-scale preparation and stabilization of Pd SACs within the functional channels of a novel methyl-cysteine-based metal-organic framework (MOF) was accomplished, to give a robust and crystalline solid catalyst fully characterized with the help of single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD). These results illustrate the advantages of metal speciation in ligand-free homogeneous organic reactions and the translation into solid catalysts for potential industrial implementation.This work was supported by the Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca (Italy) and the MINECO (Spain) (Projects PID2019−104778GB−I00, CTQ 2017–86735–P, RTC–2017–6331–5, Severo Ochoa program SEV–2016–0683 and Excellence Unit “Maria de Maeztu” CEX2019−000919−M). E.T. and M.M. thank MINECO and ITQ for the concession of a contract. D.A. acknowledges the financial support of the Fondazione CARIPLO/“Economia Circolare: ricerca per un futuro sostenibile” 2019, Project code: 2019–2090, MOCA and Diamond Light Source for awarded beamtime and provision of synchrotron radiation facilities and thanks Dr. Sarah Barnett and David Allan for their assistance at I19 beamline (Proposal No. MT18768-1). Thanks are also extended to the “2019 Post-doctoral Junior Leader-Retaining Fellowship, la Caixa Foundation (ID100010434 and fellowship code LCF/BQ/PR19/11700011” (J.F.-S.) and “La Caixa” scholarship (ID 100010434) LCF/BQ/DI19/11730029 (J.B.-S). E.P. acknowledges the financial support of the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme/ERC Grant Agreement No 814804, MOF reactors. J.O.-M. acknowledges the Juan de la Cierva program for the concession of a contract (IJC2018-036514-I). We gratefully acknowledge to ALBA synchrotron for allocating beamtime and CLÆSS beamline staff for their technical support during our experiment. The computations were performed on the Tirant III cluster of the Servei d’Informàtica of the University of Valencia.Peer reviewe

Fine mapping of the celiac disease-associated LPP locus reveals a potential functional variant

Transplantation and immunomodulatio

The Italian registry for patients with Prader-Willi syndrome

Background: Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a rare and complex genetic disease, with numerous implications on metabolic, endocrine, neuropsychomotor systems, and with behavioural and intellectual disorders. Rare disease patient registries are important scientific tools (1) to collect clinical and epidemiologic data, (2) to assess the clinical management including the diagnostic delay, (3) to improve patients' care and (4) to foster research to identify new therapeutic solutions. The European Union has recommended the implementation and use of registries and databases. The main aims of this paper are to describe the process of setting up the Italian PWS register, and to illustrate our preliminary results. Materials and methods: The Italian PWS registry was established in 2019 with the aims (1) to describe the natural history of the disease, (2) to determine clinical effectiveness of health care services, (3) to measure and monitor quality of care of patients. Information from six different variables are included and collected into this registry: demographics, diagnosis and genetics, patient status, therapy, quality of life and mortality. Results: A total of 165 patients (50.3% female vs 49.7% male) were included into Italian PWS registry in 2019-2020 period. Average age at genetic diagnosis was 4.6 years; 45.4% of patients was less than 17 years old aged, while the 54.6% was in adult age (> 18 years old). Sixty-one percent of subjects had interstitial deletion of the proximal long arm of paternal chromosome 15, while 36.4% had uniparental maternal disomy for chromosome 15. Three patients presented an imprinting centre defect and one had a de novo translocation involving chromosome 15. A positive methylation test was demonstrated in the remaining 11 individuals but the underlying genetic defect was not identified. Compulsive food-seeking and hyperphagia was present in 63.6% of patients (prevalently in adults); 54.5% of patients developed morbid obesity. Altered glucose metabolism was present in 33.3% of patients. Central hypothyroidism was reported in 20% of patients; 94.7% of children and adolescents and 13.3% of adult patients is undergoing GH treatment. Conclusions: The analyses of these six variables allowed to highlight important clinical aspects and natural history of PWS useful to inform future actions to be taken by national health care services and health professionals

Psychological treatments and psychotherapies in the neurorehabilitation of pain. Evidences and recommendations from the italian consensus conference on pain in neurorehabilitation

BACKGROUND: It is increasingly recognized that treating pain is crucial for effective care within neurological rehabilitation in the setting of the neurological rehabilitation. The Italian Consensus Conference on Pain in Neurorehabilitation was constituted with the purpose identifying best practices for us in this context. Along with drug therapies and physical interventions, psychological treatments have been proven to be some of the most valuable tools that can be used within a multidisciplinary approach for fostering a reduction in pain intensity. However, there is a need to elucidate what forms of psychotherapy could be effectively matched with the specific pathologies that are typically addressed by neurorehabilitation teams. OBJECTIVES: To extensively assess the available evidence which supports the use of psychological therapies for pain reduction in neurological diseases. METHODS: A systematic review of the studies evaluating the effect of psychotherapies on pain intensity in neurological disorders was performed through an electronic search using PUBMED, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Based on the level of evidence of the included studies, recommendations were outlined separately for the different conditions. RESULTS: The literature search yielded 2352 results and the final database included 400 articles. The overall strength of the recommendations was medium/low. The different forms of psychological interventions, including Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, cognitive or behavioral techniques, Mindfulness, hypnosis, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Brief Interpersonal Therapy, virtual reality interventions, various forms of biofeedback and mirror therapy were found to be effective for pain reduction in pathologies such as musculoskeletal pain, fibromyalgia, Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, Central Post-Stroke pain, Phantom Limb Pain, pain secondary to Spinal Cord Injury, multiple sclerosis and other debilitating syndromes, diabetic neuropathy, Medically Unexplained Symptoms, migraine and headache. CONCLUSIONS: Psychological interventions and psychotherapies are safe and effective treatments that can be used within an integrated approach for patients undergoing neurological rehabilitation for pain. The different interventions can be specifically selected depending on the disease being treated. A table of evidence and recommendations from the Italian Consensus Conference on Pain in Neurorehabilitation is also provided in the final part of the pape

Preface of the 31st Italian Symposium on Advanced Database Systems

This volume contains the proceedings of the 31st Italian Symposium on Advanced Database Systems (SEBD - Sistemi Evoluti per Basi di Dati), held in Galzinagno Terme (Padua, Italy) from 2 to 5 July 2023.</p