103 research outputs found

    Saproxylic beetles of conservation interest in the Calabrian side of the Pollino National Park (Calabria, Italia): Lucanus tetraodon Thunberg, 1806, Osmoderma italicum Sparacio, 2000, Cerambyx cerdo Linnaeus, 1758 and Rosalia alpina (Linnaeus, 1758) (Coleoptera Lucanidae Cetoniidae Cerambycidae)

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    In this article an update on the distribution of Coleoptera Lucanus tetraodon Thunberg, 1806 (Lucanidae), Osmoderma italicum Sparacio, 2000 (Cetoniidae), Cerambyx cerdo Linnaeus, 1758 and Rosalia alpina (Linnaeus, 1758) (Cerambycidae) in the Calabrian side of the Pollino National Park is described. Data regarding the ecological part and the conservation status will be presented for each species. Therefore, of particular interest it can be noted: the presence in nine locations of L. tetraodon, an uncommon species and with little-known distribution; the discreet diffusion of O. italicum, rare and with a very restricted area, found in thirteen locations up to over 1800 m of altitude; C. cerdo for the Calabrian side of the National Park of Pollino; the first data for the presence of R. alpina at 1900 m altitude, the highest recorded in Italy and the discovery of larval stages on Italian alder (Alnus cordata), never ascertained in Italy. The Pollino National Park is confirmed as one of the areas of greatest national importance for the conservation of these xylophagous species linked to old forests

    Underground tales, overground lives: mobile work identities through to post-retirement

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    Although there has been recent attention given to the subject of mobile work, there has been less focus, within mobility studies, on the work of those who enable movement: the job of the transport worker. This article takes this incarnation of mobile workers as the basis for understanding the ways in which mobile work identities are pulled through into retirement. The article firstly proposes that transport workers, as movement enablers, have particular identities, and are an important and neglected topic of study within mobilities. Secondly, it suggests that the post-work identities of mobile workers are contingent on their experiences during their working lives and that these are particular to mobile work. The article is evidenced through data gathered during a mobile ethnographic study with two retired London Underground employees. The participants joined the researchers on a walking tour of a disused underground railway station in London, ‘Hidden London’, organised by the London Transport Museum and their experiences and emotional responses were recorded and analysed. Understanding post-work identities through the embodied and spatial experiences of the present, the research sought insights of the past and future; the continuity and fluidity of working identities that permeated through to post-work lives. This article argues that mobile work identities are specific identities that shape a distinct post-retirement identity

    Anthracycline-Free Neoadjuvant Treatment in Patients with HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Real-Life Use of Pertuzumab, Trastuzumab and Taxanes Association with an Exploratory Analysis of PIK3CA Mutational Status

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    HER2 is considered one of the most traditional prognostic and predictive biomarkers in breast cancer. Literature data confirmed that the addition of pertuzumab to a standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy backbone (either with or without anthracyclines), in patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive early breast cancer (EBC), leads to a higher pathological complete response (pCR) rate, which is known to correlate with a better prognosis. In this retrospective analysis, 47 consecutive patients with HER2-positive EBC received sequential anthracyclines and taxanes plus trastuzumab (ATH) or pertuzumab, trastuzumab and docetaxel (THP). Despite the limited sample size, this monocentric experience highlights the efficacy (in terms of pCR) and safety of THP in the neoadjuvant setting of HER2-positive EBC as an anthracycline-free approach. Given the role of PIK3CA as a prognostic and therapeutic target in breast cancer, tumors were also analyzed to assess the PIK3CA mutational status. Thirty-eight out of forty-seven patients were evaluated, and PIK3CA variants were identified in 21% of tumor samples: overall, one mutation was detected in exon 4 (2.6%), two in exon 9 (5.3%) and four in exon 20 (10.5%). Of note, one sample showed concurrent mutations in exons 9 (codon 545) and 20 (codon 1047). Among patients reaching pCR (n = 13), 38.5% were PIK3CA mutants; on the other hand, among those lacking pCR (n = 25), just 12% showed PIK3CA variants. Regarding THP-treated mutant patients (n = 5), 80% reached pCR (three hormone-receptor-negative, one hormone-receptor-positive). Interestingly, the only patient not achieving pCR had a tumor with two co-occurring PIK3CA mutations. In conclusion, this study provides new evidence about the efficacy and good safety profile of THP, compared to the ATH regimen, as an anthracycline-free neoadjuvant treatment of HER2-positive EBC. Further studies on larger/multicentric cohorts are planned for more in-depth analysis to confirm our molecular and clinical results
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