WOMEN – SCIENCE – TECHNOLOGY: ANALYSIS OF A CASE STUDY

Nowadays, a very little attention has been dedicated to gender studies in science and technology. In particular, very few researches deal with women vertical, but also orizontal, segregation in public research institutions. The main purpose of this work is to analyze the phenomenon of glass ceiling within an Italian public research labs which operate in Technological Science. The methodology applied is based on the narrative interview, applied to one of the biggest Technological Research Institute inside the National Research Council of Italy. This study shows tree main results: 1) gender identity; 2) social construction of science; 3) organizational culture of gender. Moreover another important factor has emerged: the freeze of careers. In fact it stops the possibility to actuate any kind of management actions against glass ceiling. Some concluding remarks ended this works.Women, Career, Science, Technology, Glass ceiling, Bottle neck

Scienziate in carriera? Il caso delle ricercatrici del CNR di Torino

Katia Ferraris e Ivana Tagliafico, "Scienziate in carriera? Il caso delle ricercatrici del CNR di Torino", prefazione di Claudia Piccardo, “Quaderni di donne e ricerca” n. 3, CIRSDe, 2006Nowadays, a very little attention is paid to gender studies in science and technology, in particular to vertical female segregation in public research institutions. For this reason, we’ve tried to analyze the phenomenon of glass ceiling within an Italian public research lab (CNR, the National Research Council of Italy) which  operates in Technological Science: why women don’t arrive to the top of scientific career? Why they stop before? In particular, we’ve tried to validate a model emergent from a personal elaboration of theories proposed in literature about this issue. Through narrative interviews, this study shows different factors behind glass ceiling, among which: 1) gender identity;2) motherhood;3) social construction of science;4) gender’s organizational culture.Moreover another important factor emerged: the “freeze of careers” that actually stops the possibility of actuating any kind of management actions against glass ceiling. Some concluding remarks end this work

Il pensiero di gruppo dei minori devianti: un’analisi quali-quantitativa dei verbali delle sedute di una terapia di gruppo di minori inseriti in un centro diurno

The present paper studies the minutes of the sessions of a psychodynamic group therapy in a day center for juveniles on probation, to the end of evaluating their content and the role of peer deviant effect. A clinical analysis has identified four themes concerning anxieties, defenses, the role of the therapist and group identity, stressing the importance of the restructuration of delinquent self, as an alternative to the development of a deviant identity. The relevance of the four themes has been the object of a content analysis of the minutes based on the “co-occurrences” of words, with the help of the software “T-LAB”: the analysis has supported the clinical results. Boys were characterized by self fragility, general distrust, oral starvation and depression, and defended themselves using idealization and denial (i.e. manic defenses), which supported the criminal acts and helped escaping the sense of guilt; moreover, the therapeutic experience was characterized by the positive antidepressive valence of the group and the negative influence of drugs as well the culture of the gang. Finally, the present research allowed us to add to the previous ones further characteristics of the boys’ experience: the defensive function of cannabis as a way of escaping problems, and the rooted need of flying away from psychic pain, even at risk of life. Moreover, the relevance of technical modifications in the therapeutic method (object of a parallel research) has been supported by the present study.La ricerca oggetto del presente contributo ha esaminato i verbali delle sedute di una terapia di gruppo impostata in senso psicodinamico all’interno di un centro diurno che accoglie prevalentemente minori messi alla prova, al fine di valutare i contenuti emersi dalle stesse e il ruolo dell’influenza dei pari devianti. Preliminarmente, è stata effettuata una lettura clinica dei verbali, che ha permesso di evidenziare quattro tematiche relative alle angosce, alle difese, al ruolo del terapeuta e alla struttura identitaria del gruppo, e ha rilevato l’importanza di un adeguato accompagnamento verso una più profonda e consapevole ristrutturazione del proprio Sé, come valida alternativa allo sviluppo di una personalità deviante. Al fine di confermare la presenza delle tematiche ipotizzate, è stata quindi effettuata un’analisi statistica del testo basata sulle occorrenze e sulle co-occorrenze dei termini utilizzati dai ragazzi, con l’ausilio del software T-LAB: i dati sottoposti ad analisi erano costituiti dai verbali di 43 sedute svolte nell’arco di 15 mesi.L’analisi quantitativa effettuata ha confermato la presenza di alcune tematiche rilevanti evidenziate dall’analisi clinica, come la fragilità del Sé dei ragazzi, la loro sfiducia incondizionata, la tematica orale dell’“esser affamati”, il ruolo della figura materna, i vissuti depressivi, le difese idealizzanti e maniacali che supportano gli agiti delinquenti, la valenza antidepressiva positiva del gruppo e negativa delle droghe, la necessità di una ridefinizione del proprio Sé, l’identità di banda. Questa analisi ha permesso inoltre di confermare i risultati di una ricerca parallela, che ha valutato positivamente l’efficacia di alcune modificazioni apportate al metodo terapeutico utilizzato; e ha aggiunto a quelle originarie nuove, possibili ipotesi legate all’utilizzazione difensiva della cannabis al fine di evitare i pensieri dolorosi legati alla propria condizione, e alla presenza del desiderio di fuggire dai problemi e dalla vita stessa

Prognostic Relevance of Multi-Antigenic Myeloma-Specific T-Cell Assay in Patients with Monoclonal Gammopathies

: Multiple Myeloma (MM) typically originates from underlying precursor conditions, known as Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance (MGUS) and Smoldering Multiple Myeloma (SMM). Validated risk factors, related to the main features of the clonal plasma cells, are employed in the current prognostic models to assess long-term probabilities of progression to MM. In addition, new prognostic immunologic parameters, measuring protective MM-specific T-cell responses, could help to identify patients with shorter time-to-progression. In this report, we described a novel Multi-antigenic Myeloma-specific (MaMs) T-cell assay, based on ELISpot technology, providing simultaneous evaluation of T-cell responses towards ten different MM-associated antigens. When performed during long-term follow-up (mean 28 months) of 33 patients with either MGUS or SMM, such deca-antigenic myeloma-specific immunoassay allowed to significantly distinguish between stable vs. progressive disease (p < 0.001), independently from the Mayo Clinic risk category. Here, we report the first clinical experience showing that a wide (multi-antigen), standardized (irrespective to patients' HLA), MM-specific T-cell assay may routinely be applied, as a promising prognostic tool, during the follow-up of MGUS/SMM patients. Larger studies are needed to improve the antigenic panel and further explore the prognostic value of MaMs test in the risk assessment of patients with monoclonal gammopathies

A comparison of qualitatively and qualitatively driven analytic procedures of psychotherapeutic group sessions with deviant adolescents

The present paper deals with the therapy-related change in a group of deviant adolescents attending a therapeutic facility. The main issue of two studies reported here is to identify pattern of changes through different methods. The paper describes how the mixing of two different types of analysis may yield a more complex and complete view of the data. The analyses were performed at the same time: the first part (study 1), which was of a clinical\u2013quantitative nature, involved picking out changerelated features through the analysis of the frequency of lemmas in the content of the sessions; the second part (study 2) had a qualitative orientation and traced the pattern of narrative themes in the sessions during the course of time. In both studies, the same data were analyzed at the same times, though each study adopted a different approach. While both approaches focused on change, the results brought out different aspects: the study that adopted the quantitative/clinical approach highlighted changerelated problems and proposed an explanation in terms of the \u201cdeviant peer effect\u201d; by contrast, the qualitative study underlined the possibilities offered by change and viewed therapeutic change in terms of the shift in narrative themes from the detachment and lack of responsibility initially shown by the youths towards progressive maturation that may have been due to the efficacy of the therapy. The discussion of results brings us to consider the fuzzy set approach for future research into the field of criminology and group therapy. In conclusion, the paper shows that looking at the same data through two different methodological \u201clenses\u201d yields different, and only apparently contradictory, conclusions

Donne - scienza - tecnologia: analisi di un caso di studio

Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Biblioteca Centrale - P.le Aldo Moro, 7 , Rome / CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle RichercheSIGLEITItal

BTK Inhibitors Impair Platelet-Mediated Antifungal Activity

In recent years, the introduction of new drugs targeting Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) has allowed dramatic improvement in the prognosis of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and other B-cell neoplasms. Although these small molecules were initially considered less immunosuppressive than chemoimmunotherapy, an increasing number of reports have described the occurrence of unexpected opportunistic fungal infections, in particular invasive aspergillosis (IA). BTK represents a crucial molecule in several signaling pathways depending on different immune receptors. Based on a variety of specific off-target effects on innate immunity, namely on neutrophils, monocytes, pulmonary macrophages, and nurse-like cells, ibrutinib has been proposed as a new host factor for the definition of probable invasive pulmonary mold disease. The role of platelets in the control of fungal growth, through granule-dependent mechanisms, was described in vitro almost two decades ago and is, so far, neglected by experts in the field of clinical management of IA. In the present study, we confirm the antifungal role of platelets, and we show, for the first time, that the exposure to BTK inhibitors impairs several immune functions of platelets in response to Aspergillus fumigatus, i.e., the ability to adhere to conidia, activation (as indicated by reduced expression of P-selectin), and direct killing activity. In conclusion, our experimental data suggest that antiplatelet effects of BTK inhibitors may contribute to an increased risk for IA in CLL patients

Inflammatory Microenvironment and Specific T Cells in Myeloproliferative Neoplasms: Immunopathogenesis and Novel Immunotherapies

The Philadelphia-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are malignancies of the hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) arising as a consequence of clonal proliferation driven by somatically acquired driver mutations in discrete genes (JAK2, CALR, MPL). In recent years, along with the advances in molecular characterization, the role of immune dysregulation has been achieving increasing relevance in the pathogenesis and evolution of MPNs. In particular, a growing number of studies have shown that MPNs are often associated with detrimental cytokine milieu, expansion of the monocyte/macrophage compartment and myeloid-derived suppressor cells, as well as altered functions of T cells, dendritic cells and NK cells. Moreover, akin to solid tumors and other hematological malignancies, MPNs are able to evade T cell immune surveillance by engaging the PD-1/PD-L1 axis, whose pharmacological blockade with checkpoint inhibitors can successfully restore effective antitumor responses. A further interesting cue is provided by the recent discovery of the high immunogenic potential of JAK2V617F and CALR exon 9 mutations, that could be harnessed as intriguing targets for innovative adoptive immunotherapies. This review focuses on the recent insights in the immunological dysfunctions contributing to the pathogenesis of MPNs and outlines the potential impact of related immunotherapeutic approaches

Neoantigen-Specific T-Cell Immune Responses: The Paradigm of NPM1-Mutated Acute Myeloid Leukemia

The C-terminal aminoacidic sequence from NPM1-mutated protein, absent in normal human tissues, may serve as a leukemia-specific antigen and can be considered an ideal target for NPM1-mutated acute myeloid leukemia (AML) immunotherapy. Different in silico instruments and in vitro/ex vivo immunological platforms have identified the most immunogenic epitopes from NPM1-mutated protein. Spontaneous development of endogenous NPM1-mutated-specific cytotoxic T cells has been observed in patients, potentially contributing to remission maintenance and prolonged survival. Genetically engineered T cells, namely CAR-T or TCR-transduced T cells, directed against NPM1-mutated peptides bound to HLA could prospectively represent a promising therapeutic approach. Although either adoptive or vaccine-based immunotherapies are unlikely to be highly effective in patients with full-blown leukemia, these strategies, potentially in combination with immune-checkpoint inhibitors, could be promising in maintaining remission or preemptively eradicating persistent measurable residual disease, mainly in patients ineligible for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT). Alternatively, neoantigen-specific donor lymphocyte infusion derived from healthy donors and targeting NPM1-mutated protein to selectively elicit graft-versus-leukemia effect may represent an attractive option in subjects experiencing post-HSCT relapse. Future studies are warranted to further investigate dynamics of NPM1-mutated-specific immunity and explore whether novel individualized immunotherapies may have potential clinical utility in NPM1-mutated AML patients

The Role of T Cell Immunity in Monoclonal Gammopathy and Multiple Myeloma: From Immunopathogenesis to Novel Therapeutic Approaches

Multiple Myeloma (MM) is a malignant growth of clonal plasma cells, typically arising from asymptomatic precursor conditions, namely monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) and smoldering MM (SMM). Profound immunological dysfunctions and cytokine deregulation are known to characterize the evolution of the disease, allowing immune escape and proliferation of neoplastic plasma cells. In the past decades, several studies have shown that the immune system can recognize MGUS and MM clonal cells, suggesting that anti-myeloma T cell immunity could be harnessed for therapeutic purposes. In line with this notion, chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy is emerging as a novel treatment in MM, especially in the relapsed/refractory disease setting. In this review, we focus on the pivotal contribution of T cell impairment in the immunopathogenesis of plasma cell dyscrasias and, in particular, in the disease progression from MGUS to SMM and MM, highlighting the potentials of T cell-based immunotherapeutic approaches in these settings