The interplay of KRAS mutational status with tumor laterality in non-metastatic colorectal cancer: An international, multi-institutional study in patients with known KRAS, BRAF, and MSI status

Background: Although the prognostic relevance of KRAS status in metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) depends on tumor laterality, this relationship is largely unknown in non-metastatic CRC. Methods: Patients who underwent resection for non-metastatic CRC between 2000 and 2018 were identified from institutional databases at six academic tertiary centers in Europe and Japan. The prognostic relevance of KRAS status in patients with right-sided (RS), left-sided (LS), and rectal cancers was assessed. Results: Of the 1093 eligible patients, 378 had right-sided tumors and 715 had left-sided tumors. Among patients with RS tumors, the 5-year overall (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) for patients with KRASmut versus wild-type tumors was not shown to differ significantly (82.2% vs. 83.2% and 72.1% vs. 76.7%, respectively, all p >.05). Among those with LS tumors, KRAS mutation was associated with shorter 5-year OS and RFS on both the univariable (OS: 79.4% vs. 86.1%, p =.004; RFS: 68.8% vs. 77.3%, p =.005) and multivariable analysis (OS: HR: 1.52, p =.019; RFS: HR: 1.32, p =.05). Conclusions: KRAS mutation status was independently prognostic among patients with LS tumors, but this association failed to reach statistical significance in RS and rectal tumors. These findings confirm reports in metastatic CRC and underline the possible biologic importance of tumor location

Social Representations of Economic Crisis in Italian and Greek Social Groups

The aim of this study is to investigate how culture and expertise of a complex phenomenon, the economic crisis, influence the construction of different social representations. In order to analyse the ???naïf theories??? elaborated by the common sense with regard to the economic thinking and acting, this research has been conducted inside the theoretical framework of SRT (Social Representation Theory). By interviewing Italian and Greek subjects belonging to different social groups, we examined how ???expert??? and ???lay??? people face this unfamiliar phenomenon. Inspired by the Structural Approach, which considers SRs (social representations) as constituted of two parts, a structure and a content, data were collected through a multi-method strategy (hierarchized evocations method, characterization and multiple choice questionnaires). Four groups of participants (n = 120 for each country; n = 30 for each group; gender balanced) were employed: university students (the second/third year; faculty of economics), mid-level bank clerks, shopkeepers, and laypeople. Obtained data were treated with rang/frequency and similarity analysis, as well as mono and multivariate statistical analysis. Discussion focuses on the relationships between culture, group membership and social representations of crisis and economic behaviors. The main findings demonstrate culture and group appurtenance differences in the ways participants define and foresee strategies to face the crisis. In particular, in both Italian and Greek samples, differences were founded among expert and lay groups. Methodological implications associated with combining qualitative and quantitative methods, in SRT???s Structural Approach, are systematically presented and discussed

Cuo/pmma polymer nanocomposites as novel resist materials for e‐beam lithography

Polymer nanocomposites have emerged as a new powerful class of materials because of their versatility, adaptability and wide applicability to a variety of fields. In this work, a facile and cost‐effective method to develop poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)‐based polymer nanocompo-sites with copper oxide (CuO) nanofillers is presented. The study concentrates on finding an appro-priate methodology to realize CuO/PMMA nanocomposites that could be used as resist materials for e‐beam lithography (EBL) with the intention of being integrated into nanodevices. The CuO nanofillers were synthesized via a low‐cost chemical synthesis, while several loadings, spin coating conditions and two solvents (acetone and methyl ethyl ketone) were explored and assessed with regards to their effect on producing CuO/PMMA nanocomposites. The nanocomposite films were patterned with EBL and contrast curve data and resolution analysis were used to evaluate their performance and suitability as a resist material. Micro‐X‐ray fluorescence spectroscopy (μ‐XRF) complemented with XRF measurements via a handheld instrument (hh‐XRF) was additionally em-ployed as an alternative rapid and non‐destructive technique in order to investigate the uniform dispersion of the nanofillers within the polymer matrix and to assist in the selection of the optimum preparation conditions. This study revealed that it is possible to produce low‐cost CuO/PMMA nanocomposites as a novel resist material without resorting to complicated preparation techniques. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

La représentation sociale de la crise économique dans quatre différentes pays européens

L’articolo presenta una ricerca internazionale sulla rappresentazione sociale della crisi economica diretta da Ida Galli e realizzata nell’ambito delle attività del Centro Mediterraneo per lo studio delle Rappresentazioni Sociali (CeMeRS). Data la complessità e l’estrema attualità dell’oggetto di analisi, è stato scelto un approccio “multi metodo”. Il disegno complessivo della ricerca ha previsto tre distinte tappe: la prima descrittiva, la seconda interpretativa e la terza comparativa. In ciascuno dei paesi implicati (Francia, Grecia, Italia e Romania), sono stati coinvolti nello studio soggetti appartenenti a tre categorie socio-economiche differenti: impiegati di banca, piccoli commercianti e studenti in Economia. La scelta ragionata dei partecipanti, ci ha consentito di testare empiricamente la nozione di “distanza dall’oggetto”. Le strategie e le tecniche di rilevazione ed analisi dei dati utilizzate, complesse e per certi versi assolutamente innovative, sono ben descritte nel corpo del testo. L’articolo rende conto unicamente dei risultati relativi alla prima tappa della ricerca