10 research outputs found
Health inequalities between lone and couple mothers and policy under different welfare regimes – The example of Italy, Sweden and Britain
This study examines the welfare state arrangements and social policy, living conditions and health among lone and couple mothers in three contrasting policy environments: Italy, Sweden and Britain. These countries fall into distinctive family policy categories. Data were drawn from representative national household interview surveys. The findings highlight both similarities and differences. Lone mothers had significantly worse health than couple mothers in all three countries, were more likely to suffer material disadvantage and were much more likely to be smokers. They could be considered a disadvantaged group in particular need in all three countries, irrespective of the policy regime. It is the differences between countries, however, in the experiences of lone and couple mothers that indicate that the prevailing policy regime really does matter. There were telling differences in the prevalence of lone motherhood, their composition, rates of joblessness, poverty and health status of lone mothers in relation to couple mothers in each country. These may be traced back to the main policy regimes of each country, but also partly reflect culture and traditions. The study illustrates an emerging approach to investigating the health inequalities impact of complex social policy contexts. The experiences of lone mothers as a group may serve as a ‘litmus’ test of how each family policy system is operating and offer an early warning of adverse impacts when policies change
Does non-employment contribute to the health disadvantage among lone mothers in Britain, Italy and Sweden? Synergy effects and the meaning of family policy.
This study analyses self-rated health and non-employment and potential synergy effects among lone and couple mothers aged 25–59 in Britain, Sweden and Italy, representing different family policy categories using data from national surveys (2000–2005). Synergy effects on health were calculated by synergy index. Non-employment only marginally contributed to the excess risk of poor health among lone mothers but there were synergy effects between lone motherhood and non-employment in all three countries, producing a higher risk of poor health than would be expected from a simple addition of these exposures. Results are discussed in relation to the different family policy and living contexts
The Role of the Management Control System in Supporting ESG-Focused Transformation in Financial Intermediaries: A Case Study of an Italian Bank
This paper investigates how environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues are declined within the
management control system (MCS), focusing on an Italian bank. Deepening the role that management control
tools can play in supporting banks in facing the challenges posed by the ESG-focused transformation is pivotal.
This is even more important if considering that national and international supervisors are engaged in
disseminating a series of initiatives to promote the adoption of practices focused on sustainability issues among
intermediaries: on this topic, for example, in April 2022, the Bank of Italy issued a first document of Supervisory
Expectations on Climate and Environmental Risks, containing non-binding indications regarding the integration
of climate and environmental risks into governance and control systems, business model and corporate strategy,
organizational system and operational processes, in the risk management system and in the market disclosure of
supervised banking and financial intermediaries. Due to the explorative nature of this research, the work is based
on the qualitative analysis of an in-depth case study (Eisenhardt & Graebner, 2007; Miles et al., 2014). The
selected case is an Italian bank with many recognitions over time about its engagement on ESG-focused
transformation. Our investigation aims to deepen the role of MC tools in promoting sustainable development and
realizing economic, social, and environmental purposes. This study can be considered original for two reasons.
First, it contributes to extending the literature regarding the role of MCS in supporting the implementation of
sustainable strategies, with a focus on banks. Second, it unveils the benefits and critical areas of the MCS in
sustainable-oriented management
Laboratory diagnosis of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections: data analysis from clinical practice
An etiological diagnosis of respiratory infections caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae is particularly challenging due to the lack of a definite standard test. This study aimed to analyse the correlation and combination of diagnostic results obtained from direct and indirect assays (Mycoplasma pneumoniae DNA by PCR and serology) in use at a first level diagnostic laboratory. Samples from patients with respiratory infections tested for M. pneumoniae during routine clinical practice were retrospectively analysed. In pediatric patients <15 years old, we documented a significantly higher proportion of IgM positive results (23.6% versus 3.9% in ≥15-year-old patients, p<0.0001) but a lower IgM specificity (false positive IgM 34.8% versus 12.2% in ≥15 years old patients, p 0.01), as verified by seroconversion. A small percentage (4%) of respiratory samples were positive for M. pneumoniae DNA regardless of age and type of sample. Assuming IgM positivity as the reference standard, PCR showed a total lack of sensitivity in patients <15 years old and 20% sensitivity in children <15 years old; specificity was 95% in both age groups. Agreement between PCR and IgM serology was slight (Cohen’s kappa 0.09). According to our data, no single diagnostic test could be considered optimal for M. pneumoniae detection and improved assays are required
Trends in educational inequalities in smoking in northern, mid and southern Italy, 1980-2000
BACKGROUND:
We aimed to determine the direction and magnitude of socioeconomic inequality in smoking in Italy over the last two decades, focusing on both national and macro-regional patterns.
METHODS:
We used data from six National Health Interview Surveys from 1980 to 2000, whose sample size ranged between 60,000 and 140,000. We calculated age-adjusted prevalence rates of current smoking and estimated odds ratios (OR) and relative indexes of inequality (with 95% confidence intervals) using logistic regression analysis.
RESULTS:
In men aged 25-49, the OR of current smoking of low compared to high educated was 1.26 (95% CI: 1.16, 1.37) in 1980 and 1.71 (95% CI: 1.62, 1.80) in 2000. A reversal of the association between education and tobacco use from positive (OR = 0.43) to negative (OR = 1.12) was found for women of the same age group. Changes in educational inequalities in smoking were similar between different macro-regions for men, whereas among women, smaller differentials over all the study period were found in southern regions compared to central and northern regions, despite similar direction in trends.
CONCLUSIONS:
The gap between high- and low-educated groups has widened, especially in the youngest generations. Southern regions lag behind central and northern Italy in the progression of the smoking epidemic
Expression of the 5'-nucleotidase gene in the peripheral blood lymphocytes from B-chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Evaluation of mRNA
Endo 5'-nucleotidase in healthy peripheral blood lymphocytes. Inhibition by αβ methylene adenosine 5'-diphosphate
Metabolism of adenosine in human colorectal tumour
The aim of this work is to analyse the activities of the enzymes metabolising adenosine in fragments of neoplastic and normal-appearing mucosa, surrounding the tumour in 20 patients affected by colorectal cancer. The results show that the activities of the enzymes are markedly higher in tumour in comparison to normal mucosa to coope with the accelerated purine metabolism in cancerous tissues
Effects of spatial and cognitive enrichment on activity pattern and learning performance in three strains of mice in the IntelliMaze
The IntelliMaze allows automated behavioral analysis of group housed laboratory mice while individually assigned protocols can be applied concomitantly for different operant conditioning components. Here we evaluate the effect of additional component availability (enrichment) on behavioral and cognitive performance of mice in the IntelliCage, by focusing on aspects that had previously been found to consistently differ between three strains, in four European laboratories. Enrichment decreased the activity level in the IntelliCages and enhanced spatial learning performance. However, it did not alter strain differences, except for activity during the initial experimental phase. Our results from non-enriched IntelliCages proved consistent between laboratories, but overall laboratory-consistency for data collected using different IntelliCage set-ups, did not hold for activity levels during the initial adaptation phase. Our results suggest that the multiple conditioning in spatially and cognitively enriched environments are feasible without affecting external validity for a specific task, provided animals have adapted to such an IntelliMaze