Immigrants and prison : good practices in Europe

RiUscire (Rete Universitaria SocioCulturale per l'Istruzione e il Recupero in Carcere) 2014-1-IT02-KA204-003517. Partners: Università per Stranieri di Siena (coordinator); Université Paris VII Diderot; Otto-Friedrich Universität-Bamberg; Fundação Fernando Pessoa-Universidade Fernando Pessoa; Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; Istituto Superiore di Studi Penitenziari (ISSP), Rome

INSEGNARE IN ITALIANO ALL’ESTERO: PROBLEMI E COMPETENZE

L'insegnamento dell'italiano a stranieri ha attualmente una varietà di finalità e di pubblici che rendono necessario distinguere tra lingua straniera, seconda, etnica: una particolare situazione si ha nei casi in cui viene insegnato/appreso nella scuole italiane all'estero nelle quali deve anche essere lingua veicolare e in cui si mischiano apprendenti di madre lingua italiana e di altre lingue. In tali situazioni assume particolare importanza la scelta del materiale didattico strettamente collegato all'identità del paese nel quale si svolge l'insegnamento, alla particolare situazione scolastica, alle caratteristiche sociolinguistiche-socioculturali e puramente linguistiche delle lingue coinvolte, ai bisogni e motivazioni, all'identità degli apprendenti e infine alla formazione degli insegnanti. Questi ultimi, e tra loro non solo quelli che si occupano di materie linguistiche, dovrebbero porsi una serie di domande per autovalutare le proprie competenze e atteggiamenti nei confronti delle lingue/culture della classe, lavorare in una ottica interdisciplinare e interculturale e prestare particolare attenzione allo sviluppo di abilità utili per il successo scolastico, senza tuttavia dimenticare l'aspetto ludico e autopromozionale dell'apprendimento. L'Appendice fornisce un esempio di pratica didattica per una scuola elementare nel quale la scelta dell'input permette operazioni finalizzate alla competenza plurilinguistica e pluriculturale

'Grammatica' e 'grammatiche' per la lingua italiana a stranieri

The contribution presents a reflection on an ever-present aspect of teaching second and foreign languages: the weight of linguistic reflection and of the choice of formal contents in teaching. Over the years, educational linguistics has matured more and more adequate responses to the diversification of the types of learners of Italian as a second/foreign language, that will be summarized in this contribution

Loss of the candidate tumor suppressor ZEB1 (TCF8, ZFHX1A) in Sézary syndrome

Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma is a group of incurable extranodal non-Hodgkin lymphomas that develop from the skin-homing CD4+ T cell. Mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome are the most common histological subtypes. Although next-generation sequencing data provided significant advances in the comprehension of the genetic basis of this lymphoma, there is not uniform consensus on the identity and prevalence of putative driver genes for this heterogeneous group of tumors. Additional studies may increase the knowledge about the complex genetic etiology characterizing this lymphoma. We used SNP6 arrays and GISTIC algorithm to prioritize a list of focal somatic copy-number alterations in a dataset of multiple sequential samples from 21 Sézary syndrome patients. Our results confirmed a prevalence of significant focal deletions over amplifications: single well-known tumor suppressors, such as TP53, PTEN, and RB1, are targeted by these aberrations. In our cohort, ZEB1 (TCF8, ZFHX1A) spans a deletion having the highest level of significance. In a larger group of 43 patients, we found that ZEB1 is affected by deletions and somatic inactivating mutations in 46.5% of cases; also, we found potentially relevant ZEB1 germline variants. The survival analysis shows a worse clinical course for patients with ZEB1 biallelic inactivation. Multiple abnormal expression signatures were found associated with ZEB1 depletion in Sézary patients we verified that ZEB1 exerts a role in oxidative response of Sézary cells. Our data confirm the importance of deletions in the pathogenesis of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. The characterization of ZEB1 abnormalities in Sézary syndrome fulfils the criteria of a canonical tumor suppressor gene. Although additional confirmations are needed, our findings suggest, for the first time, that ZEB1 germline variants might contribute to the risk of developing this disease. Also, we provide evidence that ZEB1 activity in Sézary cells, influencing the reactive oxygen species production, affects cell viability and apoptosis

Blood and skin-derived Sezary cells: differences in proliferation-index, activation of PI3K/AKT/mTORC1 pathway and its prognostic relevance

Sézary syndrome (SS) is a rare and aggressive variant of Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma characterized by neoplastic distribution mainly involving blood, skin, and lymph-node. Although a role of the skin microenvironment in SS pathogenesis has long been hypothesized, its function in vivo is poorly characterized. To deepen this aspect, here we compared skin to blood-derived SS cells concurrently obtained from SS patients highlighting a greater proliferation-index and a PI3K/AKT/mTORC1 pathway activation level, particularly of mTOR protein, in skin-derived-SS cells. We proved that SDF-1 and CCL21 chemokines, both overexpressed in SS tissues, induce mTORC1 signaling activation, cell proliferation and Ki67 up-regulation in a SS-derived cell line and primary-SS cells. In a cohort of 43 SS cases, we observed recurrent copy number variations (CNV) of members belonging to this cascade, namely: loss of LKB1 (48%), PTEN (39%) and PDCD4 (35%) and gains of P70S6K (30%). These alterations represent druggable targets unraveling new therapeutic treatments as metformin here evaluated in vitro. Moreover, CNV of PTEN, PDCD4, and P70S6K, evaluated individually or in combination, are associated with reduced survival of SS patients. These data shed light on effects in vivo of skin-SS cells interaction underlying the prognostic and therapeutic relevance of mTORC1 pathway in SS

Clinical Comparison of QUANTA Flash dsDNA Chemiluminescent Immunoassay with Four Current Assays for the Detection of Anti-dsDNA Autoantibodies

Introduction. The objective of the present study was to compare QUANTA Flash dsDNA, a chemiluminescent immunoassay (CIA) on the BIO-FLASH, a rapid-response chemiluminescent analyzer, to three other anti-dsDNA antibody assays and to Crithidia luciliae indirect immunofluorescence test (CLIFT). Methods. In the first part of the study, 161 samples, 61 from patients suffering from systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and 100 from a disease control group, were tested by QUANTA Flash dsDNA CIA, QUANTA Lite dsDNA SC ELISA, BioPlex 2200 multiplex flow immunoassay (MFI), ImmuLisa dsDNA ELISA, and NOVA Lite CLIFT. A second cohort of 69 SLE patients was then tested by QUANTA Flash dsDNA and CLIFT to expand the study. Results. The overall qualitative agreements varied between 77.0% (NOVA Lite CLIFT versus QUANTA Lite) and 89.4% (ImmuLisa versus NOVA Lite CLIFT). The clinical sensitivities for the anti-dsDNA antibody tests varied from 8.2% (NOVA Lite CLIFT) to 54.1% (QUANTA Lite), while the clinical specificities varied from 88.0% (BioPlex 2200) to 100.0% (NOVA Lite CLIFT). Good correlation was found between QUANTA Flash dsDNA and NOVA Lite CLIFT. Conclusion. Significant variations among dsDNA methods were observed. QUANTA Flash dsDNA provides a good combination of sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of SLE and good agreement to CLIFT

COVID-19 in rheumatic diseases in Italy: first results from the Italian registry of the Italian Society for Rheumatology (CONTROL-19)

OBJECTIVES: Italy was one of the first countries significantly affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic. The Italian Society for Rheumatology promptly launched a retrospective and anonymised data collection to monitor COVID-19 in patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs), the CONTROL-19 surveillance database, which is part of the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance. METHODS: CONTROL-19 includes patients with RMDs and proven severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) updated until May 3rd 2020. In this analysis, only molecular diagnoses were included. The data collection covered demographic data, medical history (general and RMD-related), treatments and COVID-19 related features, treatments, and outcome. In this paper, we report the first descriptive data from the CONTROL-19 registry. RESULTS: The population of the first 232 patients (36% males) consisted mainly of elderly patients (mean age 62.2 years), who used corticosteroids (51.7%), and suffered from multi-morbidity (median comorbidities 2). Rheumatoid arthritis was the most frequent disease (34.1%), followed by spondyloarthritis (26.3%), connective tissue disease (21.1%) and vasculitis (11.2%). Most cases had an active disease (69.4%). Clinical presentation of COVID-19 was typical, with systemic symptoms (fever and asthenia) and respiratory symptoms. The overall outcome was severe, with high frequencies of hospitalisation (69.8%), respiratory support oxygen (55.7%), non-invasive ventilation (20.9%) or mechanical ventilation (7.5%), and 19% of deaths. Male patients typically manifested a worse prognosis. Immunomodulatory treatments were not significantly associated with an increased risk of intensive care unit admission/mechanical ventilation/death. CONCLUSIONS: Although the report mainly includes the most severe cases, its temporal and spatial trend supports the validity of the national surveillance system. More complete data are being acquired in order to both test the hypothesis that RMD patients may have a different outcome from that of the general population and determine the safety of immunomodulatory treatments

Quale didattica per il plurilinguismo oggi?

The contribution addresses the complex problem of multilingual language development in learning paths in L2 aimed at adult subjects to facilitate social integration, ultimate goal which is not reachable without the more functional aim of a methodological elaboration of educational paths that are adequately inclusive and respectful of diversity and otherness. The underlying concept is that inclusive education is a tool to combat discrimination if it makes use of adequate practices for the enhancement of the individual, respecting his/her life experience

Rappresentazioni e autorappresentazioni degli immigrati nel cinema italiano: codici linguistici, extralinguistici e rappresentazioni discorsive dal film al documentario

L’interazione dei migranti con le società di accoglienza è un processo multidimensionale che coinvolge diverse variabili tra le quali: l’ambito professionale, gli elementi che creano distanza o vicinanza alla cultura del paese ospite, il genere, lo status giuridico, la natura del progetto migratorio e gli atteggiamenti convergenti o divergenti degli individui in relazione ad esso, includendo anche le differenti politiche per l’immigrazione. Tra tali variabili si inseriscono la conoscenza della lingua del paese ospite, il mantenimento della lingua d’origine, i diversi codici linguistici e le varietà dei repertori, tutti elementi che possono essere presi in esame per comprendere il grado di integrazione degli immigrati nella società. È  possibile osservare i processi di interazione dei migranti con la società  di accoglienza attraverso varie testimonianze, realia, fra i quali anche i molteplici prodotti filmici che sono stati realizzati negli ultimi venti anni sia da registi italiani che da registi immigrati

Mediazione linguistico-culturale e didattica inclusiva

Il volume propone una riflessione sulle pratiche di mediazione in una prospettiva interdisciplinare ed evidenzia alcuni rischi derivanti dall’attivazione di tali pratiche in assenza di azioni efficaci di inclusione educativa da parte delle istituzioni. Attraverso alcuni studi di caso e specifici ambiti di intervento, vengono proposti orientamenti e strumenti pratici di azione per favorire processi di integrazione linguistica e culturale e per la formazione alla lingua del paese di accoglienza, così come per il successo scolastico e professionale, ricercando pratiche che valorizzino la ricchezza interculturale e la varietà delle competenze dei differenti attori dei processi di mediazione