Demographic Trends and Pensions in Italy: An Outlook for the Future

Projections of expenditures for old age pensions, survivor pensions, and disability pensions were made for the period 1985-2050 on the basis of future developments in the population structure by age, sex, and marital status. Four demographic scenarios were formulated: (i) a Benchmark scenario, with demographic rates kept constant at their 1980-84 level; (ii) a Fertility scenario, with a rise of the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) towards replacement level; (iii) a Mortality scenario, with reductions in mortality rates of 30 percent for females, and 45 percent for males; (iv) a Western scenario, which combines extreme demographic conditions of several West European countries: a TFR of 1.28, proportions never-marrying of one-third, one-third of marriages ending in divorce, and male and female life expectancies of 74 and 81 years, respectively. The current pension system was combined with all four scenarios. Also, the impact of high female labor force participation, and a rise in the average age at retirement were investigated. The results indicate that changes in demographic conditions cannot prevent increases in and funding problems for pension expenditures in Italy. An increase in fertility has no effect on the pension system until 2030, when a larger generation will enter the labor force. Longer active periods for males and females will cause increases in pension expenditures in the future and are not long term solutions of the pension problem. Postponement of retirement age would help to balance the pension funds, but depends on the economic situation and on the labor market

Living Arrangements and Family Networks of Older Women in Italy

Population aging in Italy is, as in many other industrialized countries, disproportionately a phenomenon associated with unmarried women, mainly widows. This paper examines the extent to which older unmarried women live alone, and the extent to which they receive help in everyday tasks from others outside their households, using data from a large Italian household sample survey conducted in 1983. Older women can either live alone or with others, and may or may not receive external help in either case; thus there are four distinct combinations of outcomes analyzed. In both descriptive, bivariate analysis and a multivariate model of the outcomes we find pronounced differences in behavior according to region of residence, educational level, age, degree of disability, work experience and pension receipt. The findings indicate the importance of family as a source of help and/or coresidence in situations of need

Disabilità e inclusione nell'immaginario di un gruppo di insegnanti in formazione. Una ricerca sulle rappressentazioni

Gli atteggiamenti verso la disabilità e l’inclusione sono il risultato delle rappresentazioni che le persone creano e condividono durante l’interazione sociale: sono un’interpretazione individuale di una credenza collettiva (Ramel, 2014; Salès-Wuillemin, 2006). Partendo da questa prospettiva, l’articolo riporta i risultati di uno studio condotto tra il 2017 e il 2018 sulle rappresentazioni della disabilità e dell’inclusione di un gruppo di insegnanti in formazione. Dagli aspetti evidenziati dalla ricerca, si ravvisa la necessità di continuare a insistere sullo studio delle rappresentazioni e degli atteggiamenti degli insegnanti, anche in vista della complessificazione degli scenari sociali e dell’approccio culturale alle differenze a scuola

Lezioni da non dimenticare… la didattica universitaria durante la pandemia: dal monitoraggio all’elaborazione delle Linee Guida sulla Teledidattica UniSalento

In concomitanza dell’improvvisa attivazione dei corsi universitari online dettata dall’emergenza sociosanitaria da Covid-19, il Centro sulle nuove tecnologie per la disabilità e l’inclusione (CNTHI) dell’Università del Salento ha avviato una ricerca quali-quantitativa di Ateneo finalizzata a monitorare l’impatto dell’introduzione della didattica online su docenti e studenti e ad elaborare, sulla scorta delle evidenze esposte nella ricerca che sarà presentata, linee-guida di indirizzo per l’aggiustamento e il miglioramento dell’esperienza di tele-didattica. Scongiurando ogni possibile retorica e artificiosa contrapposizione tra didattica in presenza e online, il percorso di ricerca-intervento evidenzia l’apporto che le tecnologie hanno sui processi cognitivi, relazionali e di autonomia degli studenti universitari, richiamando, però, l’importante ruolo delle competenze del docente universitario in tema di mediazione e progettazione pedagogico-didattic

Anti-Müllerian hormone in health and disease: a review

Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is a homodimeric glycoprotein, member of the transforming growth factor β family of growth and differentiation factors. In the ovary, AMH has an inhibitory effect on primordial follicle recruitment as well as on the responsiveness of growing follicles to follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). The ovary-specific expression pattern in granulosa cells of growing non-selected follicles makes AMH an ideal marker for the size of the ovarian follicle pool.  AMH levels accurately reflect the ovarian follicular reserve and could, therefore, be considered as an extremely sensitive marker of ovarian aging and a valuable tool in the diagnosis and the recognition of recurrence of granulosa cell tumors. Furthermore, AMH could be a surrogate diagnostic marker of polycystic ovary syndrome in cases in which ultrasonographic examination is not possible. Additionally AMH evaluation is of clinical importance in predicting the success of in vitro fertilization (IVF). Special reference is made to the possible implications of AMH in the pathogenesis of polycystic ovary syndrome and the relationship between AMH and obesity. AMH also plays important role in evaluation of infants with ambiguous genitalia and other intersex conditions. This article is a review of the clinical usefulness of AMH evaluation in the fields of gynecological endocrinology, menopause, gynecological oncology and assisted reproduction and also in pediatric patients

LA COMUNICAZIONE: MEDIA, PROCESSI PRODUTTIVI E NARRAZIONI Atti del workshop 2020 (Lecce, 15 – 16 ottobre)

Il volume, composto da 10 saggi che costituiscono solo una parte dei contributi discussi nel Workshop “La comunicazione: media, processi produttivi e narrazioni” del Dottorato in Human and Social Sciences dell’Università del Salento (Lecce, 15-16 ottobre 2020), attesta la vivacità delle riflessioni sul tema presenti nelle discipline storiche, geografiche, giuridiche, sociologiche, pedagogiche e psicologiche e tramite l’open access consente di rendere disponibili tali prodotti della ricerca alla comunità globale, scientifica e non, per divulgare le prospettive di sviluppo delle proposte di cui il Dottorato si è fatto incubator

Elevated levels of serum adenosine deaminase in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients

Background: Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder characterized by an absolute or relative deficiency of insulin and insulin resistance or both. Adenosine deaminase (ADA) is an enzyme, that catalyses the irreversible hydrolytic deamination of adenosine to uric acid. Since ADA activity is associated with T-lymphocyte activity and insulin resistance, in the present study, we measured serum ADA activity in type 2 Diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients to evaluate the relationship between serum ADA activities with glycemic status.Methods: A total of 100 T2DM patients and controls were recruited for the study. Estimation of fasting plasma glucose (FPG), postprandial plasma glucose (PPG), HbA1c and fasting lipid profile was done. Serum ADA level was estimated by Colorimetric method. Statistical analysis of data was performed using the SPSS version 15.Results: ADA level was significantly higher (p<0.001) in patients with T2DM (45.5+4.6 U/L) than controls. A significant positive correlation was observed between serum ADA and HbA1c (r=0.585), FPG (r=0.495), PPG (0.387) and serum triglycerides (r=0.375) among subjects with T2DM but not among non-diabetic controls.Conclusions: In the present study, serum ADA activity in T2DM patients has been increased. High ADA activity reduces the glucose uptake into cells; therefore, insulin resistance is related to ADA activity

po 049 egfr blockade induces a paneth cell like phenotype with rewired signalling dependencies in crc tumoursat maximal response

Introduction Anti-EGFR therapies with the monoclonal antibodies cetuximab and panitumumab have improved survival in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients; nevertheless, incomplete mass obliteration and eventual relapse are a common setback, even after a plateau of maximal response. Preclinical data suggest that tumour recurrence may be fueled by a reservoir of so-called 'drug-tolerant persisters' that engage non-mutational routes of adaptation to therapy. Yet, the molecular underpinnings that sustain residual disease, as well as the strategies to oppose it, are largely unexplored. Material and methods The effects of targeted therapies were evaluated in patient-derived xenografts. The biochemical and biological consequences of drug exposure were gauged by immunohistochemistry and morphometric analyses (in vivo), and by time-lapse imaging, Western Blot, Cell Titer-Glo and Caspase-Glo assays (in vitro). Transcriptional perturbations were assessed by microarray analysis and/or RT-qPCR. The activity of transcriptional modulators was measured by reporter assays in vitro. Results and discussions Residual tumours surviving cetuximab treatment exhibited a quiescent, Wnt-high, and secretory/Paneth cell-like state as a distinctive trait. This pattern outlines that of EGFR-inhibited quiescent stem cells of the normal intestine, suggesting that developmental trajectories are somehow coopted by cancer cells to face external insults. Such phenotype was reversible with drug suspension, pointing to non-genetic plasticity as a determinant of cancer cell reprogramming. Residual tumours also displayed lower expression of EGFR-activating ligands, congruent with reduced EGFR dependency, and showed rewired reliance on compensatory HER2/HER3 activity, as well as persistent PI3K signalling. Mechanistically, the acquisition of Paneth cell-like features was mediated, at least partly, by inactivation of YAP – a key driver of intestinal cell regeneration. Therapeutically, combined blockade of EGFR and PI3K/AKT lessened residual disease burden, but did not lead to long-term disease control. However, treatment with panHER, a mixture of antibodies concurrently targeting EGFR, HER2, and HER3, reduced tumour volumes and delayed tumour relapse after therapy cessation. Conclusion Drug tolerance in cetuximab-sensitive CRC models involves a switch towards a Paneth-cell like state typified by sustained HER2/HER3 and PI3K signalling. Treatment with panHER effectively exhausted residual tumour burden and impeded/delayed late relapse