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Clinical trials confirmed the beneficial effects of adding pertuzumab (P) to the combination of trastuzumab-chemotherapy (TC) in the (neo)adjuvant setting of high-risk HER2-positive early breast cancer (HER2+BC). We evaluated the clinical, economic and societal impact of adding pertuzumab to neoadjuvant TC combination (TPC) in Italy. A cost-consequence analysis comparing TPC vs. TC was performed developing a cohort-based multi-state Markov model to estimate the clinical, societal and economic impact of the neoadjuvant therapy of TPC versus TC in HER2+BC at high-risk of recurrence. The model works on a cycle length of 1 month and 5-years-time horizon. Literature review-based data were used to populate the model. The following clinical and economic outcomes were estimated: cumulative incidence of loco-regional/distant recurrences, life of years and QALY and both direct and indirect costs (€). Finally, sensitivity analyses were performed. TPC was associated with a 75,630 € saved of direct costs. Specifically, it was associated with an initial increase of treatment costs (+4.8%) followed by reduction of recurrence management cost (−20.4%). TPC was also associated with an indirect cost reduction of 1.40%, as well as decreased incidence of distant recurrence (−20.14%), days of work lost (−1.53%) and days lived with disability (−0.50%). Furthermore, TPC reported 10,47 QALY gained (+2.77%) compared to TC. The probability to achieve the pathological complete response (pCR) was the parameter that mostly affected the results in the sensitivity analysis. Our findings suggested that TPC combination could be a cost-saving option in patients with HER2+BC at high-risk of recurrence. • TPC in the (neo)adjuvant setting is an effective treatment in high-risk HER2-positive early breast cancer. • TPC in the (neo)adjuvant setting is reimbursed in many European countries but not in Italy. • In our analysis, TPC was associated with a 124,956 € saved per 100 treated patients over 5-year time horizon compared to TC. • TPC showed a reduction of distant recurrence (−20.14%), days of work lost (−1.53%) and days lived with disability (−0.50%). • TPC showed a cost-saving profile in patients with HER2-positive early BC at high-risk of recurrence compared to TC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we analyze consumption patterns of leisure time among young people belonging to the so-called "second generation" of immigrants in Italy. Leisure time consumption describes how young immigrants use cultural products and services. We analyze data collected by the ISTAT through the survey on the "second generations" (2015). A comparison of leisure consumption patterns between second-generation immigrants and their Italian peers does not show significant differences. Rather, differences in consumption styles are associated to gender (male/female), geographic area of residence (North/South), and size of the municipality (large municipality/small municipality) of residence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heritage peach (Prunus persica L. Batsch) varieties in Emilia-Romagna, Italy's leading peach-producing region, are largely marked by melting, juicy, aromatic white-fleshed fruit with a short shelf-life and susceptibility to bruising. While these varieties have rapidly been replaced since the 1950's by yellow-fleshed peaches from US breeding programmes with improved handling resistance, the Fruit Research Unit of the Agricultural Research Council, at Forlì, has begun an effort to safeguard and characterise the heritage varieties of Emilia-Romagna. The programme has screened 26 local heritage accessions using a set of 16 highly polymorphic microsatellite (simple sequence repeat; SSR) markers to assess genetic diversity, to elucidate inter-relationships, and to resolve any cases of homonymy. Seven international peach cultivars have been included in order to standardise allele scoring. This study resulted in 19 unique molecular profiles among the heritage accessions, and a relatively high mean observed heterozygosity value of 0.49 for a germplasm pool from a restricted region, an indicator of potential genetic diversity. The main morphological features of the heritage peaches are reported, and potential benefits for future breeding programmes discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In most of Western countries, leisure studies have a rather consolidated tradition. Although still considered somehow marginal, this area of study has collected a number of researches and theoretical reflections that are both quantitatively and qualitatively significant. In Italy instead, even if some studies have been conducted, especially in the last thirty years, research appears quite fragmentary. This study intends to focus either on the relevance of leisure time as an object of study for sociologists or on the results leisure studies have attained so far. In particular, looking at the current literature, I shall focus on the different meanings of leisure as well as on the sociological aspects of this important «finite province of meaning». The study ends with a reflection on the characteristics of leisure in contemporary society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the activities of the temporary technical-administrative staff of the universities in Italy. Factors associated with the temporary nature of the job; Procedure for the recruitment of a staff with a determinate contract; Details of the recruitment of a personnel through public selection.

Background: Most SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen detection tests (RADTs) validation studies have been performed on specimens from COVID-19 patients and negative controls or from mostly symptomatic individuals. Herein we evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of AFIAS COVID-19 Ag, hereinafter denominated as AFIAS, during a COVID-19 screening program surveillance testing conducted among personnel of an Italian military airport., Methods: Nasopharyngeal swabs (NPSs) were collected from study participants and were analysed by both AFIAS and RT-PCR assay. A questionnaire collecting demographic and exposure data were administered to all participants. AFIAS accuracy parameters including Cohen's kappa (K) were determined., Results: Overall, from November 2020 to April 2021, 1294 (NPSs) were collected from 1183 participants (88.6% males, 11.4% females; mean age were 41.3, median age 42). Forty-nine NPSs (3.78%) were positive by RT-PCR, while 54 NPSs were positive by AFIAS. Overall baseline sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were 0.633, 0.981, 0.574, 0.985, respectively and K was 0.585 (moderate). AFIAS sensitivity tended to be higher for NPSs with higher viral load. A higher sensitivity (0.944) compared to the overall baseline sensitivity (0.633) was also found for NPSs from participants with COVID-19 compatible symptoms, for which K was 0.891 (almost perfect). Instead, AFIAS sensitivity was quite poor for NPSs from asymptomatic participants. Most false negative NPSs in this group had moderate viral load., Conclusion: Overall, AFIAS showed high specificity but only moderate sensitivity, mainly because of the high proportion of asymptomatic participants. However, AFIAS showed good sensitivity for NPSs with high viral load and nearly optimal accuracy parameters for NPSs from participants with COVID-19 compatible symptoms. Thus, taking into consideration its performance features, this test can be useful for COVID-19 case identification and management as well as for infection control., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2022 Verde et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Introduction: In jet pilots, the neck is stressed by dynamic loading and there is growing concern about possible neck damage in pilots of new agile aircraft. Jet pilots often report neck pain after flight so intense that their operational capability may be affected. However, there is no clear evidence of structural damage related to the operational exposure., Methods: We compared 35 F-16 pilots with 35 age-matched Eurofighter Typhoon pilots. All subjects completed an anonymous questionnaire on their flight activity and neck pain., Results: The incidence of neck pain in the F-16 group was 48.6% compared with 5.7% of the Typhoon group, significantly higher. In F-16 pilots, there was a significant association between neck pain and age over 30 yr, total flight hours, and flight hours exceeding 600., Discussion: Our findings suggest that the risk of neck pain after flight is higher among F-16 pilots compared with Typhoon pilots. This could be due to several reasons, including the backward reclined seat of the F-16, which exposes the neck to the load in an unfavorable posture while moving the head during maneuvers at sustained high-G.