Exploring Returnee Migrant Women, COVID-19 and Sustainability in Spain

The COVID-19 pandemic has signified an historical change in human mobility. By transforming the patterns of people on the move, it has highlighted gender-based inequalities and women’s vulnerabilities. The link between COVID-19 and return migration shapes returnees’ readaptation process in their home countries, as returnees are embedded in a limbo between the pandemic’s pressure on the policy and socio-economic setting, on one hand, and their efforts for reintegration, on the other. Due to the pandemic, the gender-based imbalance has increased existing gender gaps both in migration and return, exacerbating women’s vulnerability. Thus, personal aspirations and professional expectations of highly educated women are caught in a system of socio-economic and geographical (im)mobility, which represents the principal outcome in their relocation and readaptation process. Based on a qualitative methodology through the analysis of ten life histories of highly educated returnee migrant women, this paper sheds light on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on their migratory trajectories, providing a typology of them. Findings stress the necessity for more sustainable measures and resources for life–work balance and gender-sensitive policies, to promote a better integration process into the local labour market; to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on returnee women, and to prevent the proliferation of mental health problems among returnee women

Escritoras migrantes y movimiento social no organizado

La literatura intercultural escrita por mujeres migrantes se enmarca en la literatura testimonial con carácter universal, ya que dichas escritoras migrantes en sus escritos autobiográficos, semi-autobiográficos o de ficción, incluyen testimonios de procesos de transformación identitaria complejos derivados de la migración, que se reflejan en la vida de otras personas migrantes. Esta literatura testimonial tiene una dimensión socio-política y cultural clara, ya que es una literatura basada en las historias personales en el contexto socio-político del país de destino. En este caso, se interpreta a partir del proceso migratorio y del proceso de integración socio-cultural. Además, la literatura es considerada una forma de activismo socio-político por parte de las escritoras migrantes. La literatura testimonial se aborda aquí dentro de un repertorio de protesta, el repertorio de acción contestataria, como parte de otros movimientos sociales. Las preguntas que se quieren responder son las siguientes: ¿cuál es el posicionamiento socio-político y cultural de las mujeres migrantes escritoras? ¿Dicho género literario puede ser definido como marco de un nuevo movimiento social alternativo? En este artículo se analiza la forma de posicionarse de las escritoras migrantes en nuestras sociedades; así como las formas de desafiar las políticas migratorias con la participación desde abajo a través de la escritura y de la cultura como herramienta de reivindicación

Mujeres inmigrantes como “transformadoras de cultura”. Un método experimental para la transferencia intergeneracional de la identidad cultural.

This paper has a descriptive nature, based on an experimental work, and its main aim is to propose an alternative methodological tool, which is able to gather the principles of the traditional qualitative inquiry and socio-community intervention strategies. This method is suitable for exploring both immigrants’ cultural identity and transforming conflictive intergenerational dialogues (in the core of immigrants’ families) into constructive and positive intercultural dialogues, based on a learning process through the application of the appreciative approach. This paper describes the dynamic of the “life box” as a powerful transforming tool in a participatory action-research process carried out with immigrant women from different origin and located in the Basque Country. In migration studies migrant women are identified as “bearers” of human values and cultural identity. The main findings show that they also are “transformers” of culture, having an active role in the intergenerational dialogue

Identidades en tránsito: mujeres altamente formadas del Europa del Este en trabajos encajados en el País Vasco

The international migration is a changing process linked to both economic and socio-political transformations, which impact the migratory career of the women on the move. Migrant women, traditionally, are submerged in complex structure of power and oppression, which demand a de/reconstruction process of their personal and professional identities, and socio-political subject in action. In highly educated women, individual challenges for balancing personal, relational and professional aspirations are based on the interplay of different structures of opportunities and constrains. Thus, they have to apply different coping strategies to overcome barriers and access to new opportunities, in order to achieve a migratory project in line with their pre-migratory aspirations and professional identity profiles. By exploring not lineal migratory careers in highly educated women from East European countries at a macro (structures of opportunities and constrains), meso (networks), and micro (personal aspirations, imaginaries) dimensions, we seek to understand the way they achieve a job-education matching in the Basque Country socio-occupational context. Some findings show that structural problems and professional aspirations are inputs for emigration. In the Basque Country respondents experienced temporary overqualification and deskilling, during the first phase of immigration, due to structural barriers (homologation; work/resident permits; lack of knowledge of the language). The main strategies they use for labour market incorporation are “bridge-works” in gendered care and service sectors, mostly in moonlighting way; mixing study and work; and try to manage the homologation process. Other strategies are up-skilling; re-orientation of professional careers; or recapitalization of their personal and professional competencies. At micro level, resilience and biographical agency are stressed

Un análisis exploratorio de la transformación de la identidad de mujeres inmigrantes en el País Vasco. Hacia una conceptualización del “ser intercultural”

Los estudios sobre migración internacional y género se han abordado desde la perspectiva clásica meso-analítica, dejando al margen el nivel micro-analítico. Por ende, todavía no se ha ahondado lo suficiente en la esfera de la identidad personal dentro de las trayectorias migratorias. ¿Cuál es el impacto social de las migraciones a un nivel psico-social? ¿Cuál es su precio? Este estudio exploratorio tiene como objetivo el de reflexionar sobre los factores que influyen y determinan la transformación de la identidad transnacional de las mujeres latinoamericanas en el País Vasco, y profundizar en el desarrollo de su proceso de empoderamiento en destino. Se analizan quince entrevistas realizadas por el Observatorio Vasco de Inmigración. A la luz del análisis y de los resultados, se desarrolla una propuesta teórica para abordar la problemática de la identidad transnacional y la integración socio-cultural, desde una perspectiva relacional, interseccional, y con impacto psico-social

The impact of different doses of indocyanine green on the sentinel lymph-node mapping in early stage endometrial cancer.

INTRODUCTION Aim of the study is to evaluate the impact of different doses of indocyanine green (ICG) on the sentinel lymph-node (SLN) mapping in endometrial cancer (EC). MATERIALS AND METHODS A retrospective analysis of EC patients undergoing a laparoscopic SLN mapping at two institutions was performed. Two different injection protocols were used (protocol # 1: 5 mg/ml and a volume of 8 ml; protocol # 2: 1.25 mg/ml and a volume of 4 ml). In every case, the injection was intracervical. The laparoscopic equipment adopted was the same among both institutions. Overall and bilateral detection rates (DR) and median number of retrieved SLNs were calculated. At uni- and multivariate analysis factors (including ICG dose) associated with DR and number of detected SLNs were investigated. RESULTS Overall, 168 patients were included. The overall and bilateral DR were 96.3 and 84.5%. Median number of removed SLNs was 3 (0-18). In 56% of the patients, a median number of 6 (1-93) non-SLNs (NSLNs) were removed. Seventeen (10.1%) patients had metastatic SLNs. At multivariate analysis, no factors were associated with bilateral DR. ICG dose was the only factor associated with number of removed SLNs at multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION A larger dose of ICG is associated with a higher number of retrieved SLNs but not with an increased bilateral DR

Clot characterization by multidisciplinary approach: biochemical and imaging parameters in a hypocoagulative setting. A pilot study.

Background: Clot characterization is, to the present days, a multimodal approach: scanning the clot by electron microscopy (SEM) is helpful for the visualization of fibrin structure along with laboratory parameters such as the clot waveform analysis (CWA) and thrombin generation in different settings of clot abnormalities. This study aimed to assess whether the coagulative parameters were consistent with the clot images texture acquired by SEM, and therefore to propose a more generalist and integrative approach to clots classification.Design and Methods: In this pilot study, the examined population consists of eight healthy subjects, seven patients affected by Acquired Hemophilia A (AHA) and seven patients treated with Vitamin K Antagonists (VKAs), similar for age and gender. We studied the velocity and acceleration (1st and 2nd derivative of the aPTT) of clot formation (CWA), the thrombin generation, and the clots' scanning by SEM. Images acquired with SEM were then analyzed with the MATLAB software with the "Texture Analysis" methods to perform classification. Among the various texture parameters, we reported Contrast and Energy.Results: Significant differences among healthy subjects, patients with AHA and those treated with VKAs were detected for the coagulative parameters. We found no differences between VKAs and AHA patients. Contrast and energy highlighted a significant difference among the three groups in agreement with the laboratory's parameters. We found no significant differences between VKAs and AHA patients.Conclusions: The use of SEM, CWA and thrombin generation parameters may be a starting point for studies aimed to demonstrate the general characteristics of clot formation in different clinical conditions with a multiparametric approach

Off-label use of combined antiretroviral therapy, analysis of data collected by the Italian Register for HIV-1 infection in paediatrics in a large cohort of children

Background: Early start of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in perinatally HIV-1 infected children is the optimal strategy to prevent immunological and clinical deterioration. To date, according to EMA, only 35% of antiretroviral drugs are licenced in children  25%. At last check, during the off label regimen, the 80% (40/50) of patients had an undetectable VL, and 90% (45/50) of them displayed CD4 + T lymphocyte percentage > 25%. The most widely used off-label drugs were: dolutegravir/abacavir/lamivudine (16%; 8/50), emtricitbine/tenofovir disoproxil (22%; 11/50), lopinavir/ritonavir (20%; 10/50) and elvitegravir/cobicistat/emtricitabine/ tenofovir alafenamide (10%; 10/50). At logistic regression analysis, detectable VL before starting the current HAART regimen was a risk factor for receiving an off-label therapy (OR: 2.41; 95% CI 1.13-5.19; p = 0.024). Moreover, children < 2 years of age were at increased risk for receiving off-label HAART with respect to older children (OR: 3.24; 95% CI 1063-7.3; p = 0.001). Even if our safety data regarding off-label regimens where poor, no adverse event was reported. Conclusion: The prescription of an off-label HAART regimen in perinatally HIV-1 infected children was common, in particular in children with detectable VL despite previous HAART and in younger children, especially those receiving their first regimen. Our data suggest similar proportions of virological and immunological successes at last check among children receiving off-label or on-label HAART. Larger studies are needed to better clarify efficacy and safety of off-label HAART regimens in children, in order to allow the enlargement of on-label prescription in children

Outcomes of pregnancies after kidney transplantation: lessons learned from CKD. A comparison of transplanted, nontransplanted chronic kidney disease patients and low-risk pregnancies: a multicenter nationwide analysis.

BACKGROUND: Kidney transplantation (KT) may restore fertility in CKD. The reasons why materno-foetal outcomes are still inferior to the overall population are only partially known. Comparison with the CKD population may offer some useful insights for management and counselling.Aim of this study was to analyse the outcomes of pregnancy after KT, compared with a large population of non-transplanted CKD patients and with low-risk control pregnancies, observed in Italy the new millennium. METHODS: We selected 121 live-born singletons after KT (Italian study group of kidney in pregnancy, national coverage about 75%), 610 live-born singletons in CKD and 1418 low-risk controls recruited in 2 large Italian Units, in the same period (2000-2014). The following outcomes were considered: maternal and foetal death; malformations; preterm delivery; small for gestational age baby (SGA); need for the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU); doubling of serum creatinine or increase in CKD stage. Data were analysed according to kidney diseases, renal function (staging according to CKD-EPI), hypertension, maternal age, partity, ethnicity. RESULTS: Materno-foetal outcomes are less favourable in CKD and KT as compared with the low-risk population. CKD stage and hypertension are important determinants of results. KT patients with e-GFR >90 have worse outcomes compared with CKD stage 1 patients; the differences level off when only CKD patients affected by glomerulonephritis or systemic diseases ('progressive CKD') are compared with KT. In the multivariate analysis, risk for preterm and early-preterm delivery was linked to CKD stage (2-5 versus 1: RR 3.42 and 3.78) and hypertension (RR 3.68 and 3.16) while no difference was associated with being a KT or a CKD patient. CONCLUSIONS: The materno-foetal outcomes in patients with kidney transplantation are comparable with those of nontransplanted CKD patients with similar levels of kidney function impairment and progressive and/or immunologic kidney diseas