Professional development perspectives across gender and age groups of under-qualified rural NEETs

Our study explored how self-efficacy perceptions are associated with Perceived Barriers (PB), meaning beliefs about constraints on current/future vocational development, and Professional Expectations (PE) among rural, under-qualified youths Not in Employment, nor in Education or Training (NEET). We also analyzed how the connections between these factors varied across gender and age groups. One-hundred and eighty eight NEETs participated in this study (58.20% female; (M = 23.05; SD = 1.96). Through linear regression analysis using PROCESS macros we found that higher self-efficacy was associated with stronger PB, after accounting for the effects of training offers and income. Moreover, men showing stronger self-efficacy also displayed stronger PB, while men depicting weaker self-efficacy presented weaker PB, compared to women in similar conditions. Being offered more training opportunities resulted in stronger perceptions of professional barriers for these NEETs. Thus, rural, under-qualified NEETs require person-centered approaches from employment services, to support their transition to employment/training.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Case mix at the European Institute of Oncology: first report of the Tumour Registry, 2000–2002

Introduction: An institutional and centralized hospital-based tumour registry (TR) is the ideal supporting tool for the organization and management of clinical data in a comprehensive cancer centre. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of the TR at the European Institute of Oncology (IEO) in Milan, Italy, from its origin to its current applications. Material and methods: After a series of meetings with members of administrative, clinical, research and informatics departments, the TR was activated in March 2006 with the aim to collect data on all the individuals referring to the Institute, with or at risk of developing a tumour. It was implemented on an Oracle\u2122-based interface. A minimum data set of variables was defined and data collection was divided into four forms, which together gather all the relevant data on patients, tumours, treatments and subsequent events. Results: After a 6-month pilot period, which involved the training of the tumour registrars, adjustments to the structure of the registry, development of data quality control procedure and finalization of the operative protocol, from September 2006 the data collection has been fully operative. Five registrars have been chronologically entering data of all individuals who visited the IEO for the first time since 1st January 2000. As of March 2009, data on 69,637 individuals and 43,567 tumours has been reviewed, recoded and registered in the TR. Twenty-two percent of the tumours (n=9,578) were first invasive primaries, diagnosed and treated in IEO; the most common sites were breast (n=4,972), lung (n=627), intestines (n=479) and prostate (n=376). Conclusion: The IEO TR has been proven functional and reliable in monitoring the activity of the Hospital, allowing extraction of data from any subpopulation with characteristics of interest. The structured and centralized TR represents an important tool for our research-oriented Institution

Intercomparison of Nine Micrometeorological Stations during the BEAREX08 Field Campaign

Land–atmosphere interactions play a critical role in regulating numerous meteorological, hydrological, and environmental processes. Investigating these processes often requires multiple measurement sites representing a range of surface conditions. Before these measurements can be compared, however, it is imperative that the differences among the instrumentation systems are fully characterized. Using data collected as a part of the 2008 Bushland Evapotranspiration and Agricultural Remote Sensing Experiment (BEAREX08), measurements from nine collocated eddy covariance (EC) systems were compared with the twofold objective of 1) characterizing the interinstrument variation in the measurements, and 2) quantifying the measurement uncertainty associated with each system. Focusing on the three turbulent fluxes (heat, water vapor, and carbon dioxide), this study evaluated the measurement uncertainty using multiple techniques. The results of the analyses indicated that there could be substantial variability in the uncertainty estimates because of the advective conditions that characterized the study site during the afternoon and evening hours. However, when the analysis was limited to nonadvective, quasi-normal conditions, the response of the nine EC stations were remarkably similar. For the daytime period, both the method of Hollinger and Richardson and the method of Mann and Lenschow indicated that the uncertainty in the measurements of sensible heat, latent heat, and carbon dioxide flux were approximately 13 W m‒2, 27 W m‒2, and 0.10 mg m‒2 s‒1, respectively. Based on the results of this study, it is clear that advection can greatly increase the uncertainty associated with EC flux measurements. Since these conditions, as well as other phenomena that could impact the measurement uncertainty, are often intermittent, it may be beneficial to conduct uncertainty analyses on an ongoing basis

A comparison of node vaccination strategies to halt SIR epidemic spreading in real-world complex networks

: We compared seven node vaccination strategies in twelve real-world complex networks. The node vaccination strategies are modeled as node removal on networks. We performed node vaccination strategies both removing nodes according to the initial network structure, i.e., non-adaptive approach, and performing partial node rank recalculation after node removal, i.e., semi-adaptive approach. To quantify the efficacy of each vaccination strategy, we used three epidemic spread indicators: the size of the largest connected component, the total number of infected at the end of the epidemic, and the maximum number of simultaneously infected individuals. We show that the best vaccination strategies in the non-adaptive and semi-adaptive approaches are different and that the best strategy also depends on the number of available vaccines. Furthermore, a partial recalculation of the node centrality increases the efficacy of the vaccination strategies by up to 80%

Network structure indexes to forecast epidemic spreading in real-world complex networks

Complex networks are the preferential framework to model spreading dynamics in several real-world complex systems. Complex networks can describe the contacts between infectious individuals, responsible for disease spreading in real-world systems. Understanding how the network structure affects an epidemic outbreak is therefore of great importance to evaluate the vulnerability of a network and optimize disease control. Here we argue that the best network structure indexes (NSIs) to predict the disease spreading extent in real-world networks are based on the notion of network node distance rather than on network connectivity as commonly believed. We numerically simulated, via a type-SIR model, epidemic outbreaks spreading on 50 real-world networks. We then tested which NSIs, among 40, could a priori better predict the disease fate. We found that the “average normalized node closeness” and the “average node distance” are the best predictors of the initial spreading pace, whereas indexes of “topological complexity” of the network, are the best predictors of both the value of the epidemic peak and the final extent of the spreading. Furthermore, most of the commonly used NSIs are not reliable predictors of the disease spreading extent in real-world networks

Sexual function after vaginal erbium laser: the results of a large, multicentric, prospective study.

The aim of this multicentric, prospective study was to evaluate the effects of vaginal erbium laser (VEL-SMOOTH®) on sexual function in postmenopausal women suffering from the genitourinary syndrom..

Considering weights in real social networks: A review

Network science offers powerful tools to model complex social systems. Most social network science research focuses on topological networks by simply considering the binary state of the links, i.e., their presence or absence. Nonetheless, complex social systems present heterogeneity in link interactions (link weight), and accounting for this heterogeneity, it is mandatory to design reliable social network models. Here, we revisit the topic of weighted social networks (WSNs). By summarizing the main notions, findings, and applications in the field of WSNs, we outline how WSN methodology may improve the modeling of several real problems in social sciences. We are convinced that WSNs may furnish ideas and insights to open interesting lines of new research in the social sciences

Small Cell Lung Cancer Transformation as a Resistance Mechanism to Osimertinib in Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor-Mutated Lung Adenocarcinoma: Case Report and Literature Review

Introduction: Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) transformation represents a mechanism of resistance to osimertinib in EGFR-mutated lung adenocarcinoma, which dramatically impacts patients' prognosis due to high refractoriness to conventional treatments. Case Description: We present the case of a patient who developed a SCLC phenotypic transformation as resistance mechanism to second-line osimertinib for T790M-positive EGFR-mutated NSCLC. Our patient received platinum–etoposide doublet following SCLC switch and achieved a modest clinical benefit which lasted 4 months. NGS and IHC analyses for p53 and Rb were performed on subsequent liver biopsies, revealing baseline TP53 mutation and complete absence of p53 and Rb expression. Primary cell cultures were established following a liver biopsy at the time of SCLC transformation, and drug sensitivity assays showed meaningful cell growth inhibition when osimertinib was added to platinum–etoposide compared with control (p < 0.05). A review of the current literature regarding SCLC transformation after failure of osimertinib was performed. Conclusions: Based on retrospective data available to date, platinum–etoposide chemotherapy is the preferred treatment choice in the occurrence of SCLC transformation after osimertinib failure. The extension of osimertinib in combination with chemotherapy in the occurrence of SCLC transformation as resistance mechanism to osimertinib is a matter of debate. The combination of osimertinib and platinum–etoposide was effective in inhibiting cell growth in our primary cell cultures. Clinical studies are needed to further explore this combination in the occurrence of SCLC transformation as a resistance mechanism to osimertinib