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A relevant number of adenomas can be missed during colonoscopy.Assess the current status of colonoscopy procedures in Italian centers.A prospective observational study involving 17 hospitals (34 endoscopists) included consecutive patients undergoing standard colonoscopy. In the first phase, endoscopists performed consecutive colonoscopies. In the second phase, retraining via an online learning platform was planned, while in the third phase data were collected analogously to phase 1.A total of 3,504 patients were enrolled. Overall, a BBPS score ≥6 was obtained in 95.6% of cases (94.8% and 96.9% in the pre- and post-training phases, respectively). 88.4% of colonoscopies had a withdrawal time ≥6 min (88.2% and 88.7% in the pre- and post-training phases). Median adenoma detection rate (ADR) was 39.1%, with no significant differences between the pre- and post-training phases (40.1% vs 36.9%; P = 0.83). In total, 81% of endoscopists had a ADR performance above the 25% threshold.High colonoscopy quality standards are achieved by the Italian hospitals involved. Quality improvement initiatives and repeated module-based colonoscopy-training have been promoted in Italy during the last decade, which appear to have had a significant impact on quality colonoscopy metrics together with the activation of colorectal cancer screening programs.

IntroductionSafe and effective pharmacological treatment is of paramount importance for treating severe psoriasis. Brodalumab, a monoclonal antibody against interleukin (IL) 17 receptor A, was granted marketing authorisation in the EU in 2017. The European Medicines Agency requested a postauthorisation safety study of brodalumab to address potential safety issues raised during drug development regarding major adverse cardiovascular events, suicidal conduct, cancer and serious infections.Methods and analysisBRodalumab Assessment of Hazards: A Multinational Safety is a multicentre observational safety study of brodalumab running from 2017 to 2029 using population-based healthcare databases from Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, Germany and three different centres in Italy. A distributed database network approach is used, such that only aggregate data are exchanged between sites.Two types of designs are used: a case-time-control design to study acute effects of transient treatment and a variation of the new user active comparator design to study the effects of transient or chronic treatment. As comparators, inhibitors of TNF-α, inhibitors of IL-12 and IL-23, and other inhibitors of cytokine IL-17A are included.In the self-controlled case-time-control design, the risk of developing the outcome of interest during periods of brodalumab use is compared within individuals to the risk in periods without use.In the active comparator cohort design, new users of brodalumab are identified and matched to new users of active comparators. Potential baseline confounders are adjusted for by using propensity score modelling. For outcomes that potentially require large cumulative exposure, an adapted active comparator design has been developed.Ethics and disseminationThe study is approved by relevant authorities in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy in line with the relevant legislation at each site. Data confidentiality is secured by the distributed network approach. Results will be published in peer-reviewed journals.Trial registration numberEUPAS30280.

to geocode all residence addresses from Lazio Health Information System in order to obtain a geographical regional database.a semiautomatic and multistep geocoding procedure using several tools and software.all residence addresses of resident population of Lazio Region (Central Italy) in 2020.geographic coordinates at residence addresses and accuracy level of geocoding procedure for more than 1 million of addresses.the 99% of residence addresses in the Lazio Region have been geocoded thanks to the purposed procedure; almost 94% of the addresses have been geocoded with a good level of accuracy (more than 56% at civic number level). In the province of Rome, the percentage of addresses geocoded with a good level of accuracy is higher (97.1%), while in the province of Rieti and Frosinone is lower (82.7% and 84.2%, respectively).this method is useful to obtain accurate geographic coordinates of residences of the entire regional population. This database will be useful for several epidemiological studies in the Region.

Purpose Infertility is a topic of growing interest, and female infertility is often treated with gonadotropins. Evidence regarding comparative safety and efficacy of different gonadotropin formulations is available from clinical studies, while real-world data are missing. The present study aims to investigate effectiveness and safety of treatment with different gonadotropin formulations in women undergoing medically assisted procreation treatments in Latium, a region in central Italy, through a real-world data approach. Methods A retrospective population-based cohort study in women between the ages of 18 and 45 years who were prescribed with at least one gonadotropin between 2007 and 2019 was conducted. Women were enrolled from the regional drug dispense registry, and data on their clinical history, exposure to therapeutic cycles (based on recombinant “REC” or extractives “EXT” gonadotropin, or combined protocol “CMD” (REC + EXT)), and maternal/infantile outcomes were linked from the regional healthcare administrative databases. Multivariate logistic regression models were applied to estimate the association between exposure and outcomes. Results Overall, 90,292 therapeutic cycles prescribed to 35,899 women were linked to pregnancies. Overall, 15.8% of cycles successfully led to pregnancy. Compared to extractives, recombinant and combined treatments showed a stronger association with conception rate (RRREC adj = 1.06, 95% CI: 1.01–1.12; RRCBD adj = 1.17, 95% CI: 1.11–1.24). Maternal outcomes occurred in less than 5% of deliveries, and no significant differences between treatments were observed (REC vs EXT, pre-eclampsia: RR adj = 1.24, 95% CI: 0.86–1.79, ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome: RR adj = 1.25, 95% CI: 0.59–2.65, gestational diabetes: RR adj = 1.06, 95% CI: 0.84–1.35). Regarding infantile outcomes, similar results were obtained for different gonadotropin formulations (REC vs EXT: low birth weight: RR adj = 0.98, 95% CI: 0.83–1.26, multiple births: RR adj = 1.06, 95% CI: 0.92–1.23, preterm birth: RR adj = 1.03, 95% CI: 0.92–1.26). Conclusions Efficacy and safety profiles of REC proved to be similar to those of EXT. Regarding the efficacy in terms of conception rate and birth rate, protocols using the combined approach performed slightly better. Outcomes related to maternal and infantile safety were generally very rare, and safety features were overlapping between gonadotropin formulations.

Background and study aims COVID-19 has dramatically impacted endoscopy practice because upper endoscopy procedures can be aerosol-generating. Most elective procedures have been rescheduled. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is frequently performed in emergency or urgent settings in which rescheduling is not possible. We evaluated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on ERCP in Italy during the SARS-CoV-2 lockdown, in areas with high incidence of COVID-19. Patients and methods We performed a retrospective survey of centers performing ERCP in high COVID-19 prevalence areas in Italy to collect information regarding clinical data from patients undergoing ERCP, staff, case-volume and organization of endoscopy units from March 8, 2020 to April 30, 2020. Results We collected data from 31 centers and 804 patients. All centers adopted a triage and/or screening protocol for SARS-CoV-2 and performed follow-up of patients 2 weeks after the procedure. ERCP case-volume was reduced by 44.1 % compared to the respective 2019 timeframe. Of the 804 patients undergoing ERCP, 22 (2.7 %) were positive for COVID-19. Adverse events occurred at a similar rate to previously published data. Of the patients, endoscopists, and nurses, 1.6 %, 11.7 %, and 4.9 %, respectively, tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 at follow up. Only 38.7 % of centers had access to a negative-pressure room for ERCP. Conclusion The case-volume reduction for ERCP during lockdown was lower than for other gastrointestinal endoscopy procedures. No definitive conclusions can be drawn about the percentage of SARS-CoV-2-positive patients and healthcare workers observed after ERCP. Appropriate triage and screening of patients and adherence to society recommendations are paramount.

The availability of subcutaneous (SC) and intravenous (EV) formulations of trastuzumab and the recent release of the biosimilar EV version (10/2018) increase the offer for the treatment of patients with breast or gastric cancer HER2 positive. In this context, it is necessary to build therapeutic scenarios form avalible data in order to estimate the potential savings for the Regional Health Service (RHS) taking into account the appropriateness of use and patient's preferences.To evaluate the available comparative evidence regarding the effectiveness and safety of the different trastuzumab formulations; to analyze the supply of trastuzumab by type of administration (EV/SC) in Lazio in 2018, identifying the most appropriate use; to hypothesize a cost-effective scenario for the Regional Health Service (SSR) in 2019. Mehods. With the working group formed by clinicians and methodologists, we analysed the evidence of efficacy and safety available to date for the different formulations of trastuzumab, also taking into account the recent availability of biosimilars and with particular regard to the phenomenon of the potential switch between different therapeutic options. In addition, for the year 2019 the available economic impact assessments were also simulated with data from the Lazio Region. Through the datas from direct pharmaceutical products, the transtuzumab cycles supplied in 2018 were identified separately for the available formulations (EV/SC). For each cycle of therapy, starting from the date of delivery, the possible presence of a concomitant treatment (± 2 days) was investigated, tracing the type and method of administration. The treatments (concomitant with trastuzumab) were identified for which there were conflicting modes of administration. In addition, the supply of SC per dispensing structure was evaluated and, on the basis of this information, a scenario of use was hypothesized that takes into account costs and plausible consumption.A review of the literature summarized the available evidence on the efficacy and safety of the use of trastuzumab in the recorded therapeutic indications. The review was discussed with the working group and used to reproduce, at regional level, the estimates of the economic impact of the different therapeutic choices possible with trastuzumab. As regards the data on the use of trastuzumab, in the Lazio Region in 2018, 22,214 treatment cycles were observed (at a cost of 33 million euro) for 2,407 patients; new users accounted for 52.2%. 46.8% of the cycles were administered via SC; the use of the biosimilar was observed from October onwards and involved 143 cycles (0.6%). In 68.4% of the cycles trastuzumab was administered in monotherapy; among the therapies associated with trastuzumab, the most frequent was pertuzumab (n=4,258, 19.2% of the total cycles), followed by paclitaxel (n=1,364, 6.1% of the total cycles). Among the cycles of trastuzumab in concomitant therapy (N=7,022), 17.3% was administered via SC despite the presence of other drugs administered via EV. The prescriptive pattern of trastuzumab was heterogeneous for the different delivery structures. The SC administration presents a variability in the supply from 26% to 70% (interquartile range) and does not seem to be related to the type and volume of activity of the hospital. If the biosimilar EV is expected to account for 55% of consumption by 2019, thus reducing the use of the EV originator to 10% and the SC originator to 35%, savings of more than €7 million.Through the use data of the different formulations available for trastuzumab and taking into account the prescriptive appropriateness (and patient preferences), it has been possible to identify a SSR scenario of economic convenience due to the greater use of the biosimilar.

The IRPPS (Istituto di Ricerca sulla Popolazione e le Politiche Sociali) Library, established in 1981, through his acquisitions policy, has become, from a demographic subject library, a library with high specialized collections in the statistic studies. Semantic access follows a modified scheme of Population Index. In the framework of a co-operation with ISTI Library catalogue automation, and his network availability are managed through the sw LIBERO (Infologic s.r.l.). ISTI has realized data transfer from ISIS, UNIMARC mapping, client installation and personnel training.

Is available on the web the Grey Literature Catalogue on prevention and safety on workplaces (http://www.ispesl.it). The electronic catalogue is the result of a research project promoted by Documentation, Information and Formation Department of the Superior Insitute for Prevention and Safety on Workplaces with the collaboration of the CNR Central Library and the help of LINK s.r.l. Society.

L’open peer review (OPR) può essere applicata a tutte le tipologie di risultati della ricerca, dagli articoli scientifici, alle proposte di progetto fino ai dataset. Tuttavia, a partire dalla sua definizione, vanno ancora analizzati i criteri e modalità per assicurare una valutazione trasparente ed efficace per il progresso della ricerca scientifica. Ciò si inquadra nell’ambito dell’Open Science che coglie l’esigenza di analizzare le trasformazioni strutturali e tecnologiche nel sistema della comunicazione scientifica odierna. E’ proprio in tale contesto che i principi di Merton – in particolare quelli di communality e organized skepticism – diventano importanti punti di riferimento. Questo studio ha lo scopo di analizzare l’applicabilità della revisione paritaria aperta dei dati della ricerca prodotti nelle discipline afferenti alle scienze sociali. Lo studio inserisce nel progetto europeo OpenUP (OPENing UP new methods, indicators and tools for peer review, dissemination of research results, and impact measurement), che intende analizzare le trasformazioni nell’attuale scenario della ricerca scientifica allo scopo di 1) identificare meccanismi, processi e strumenti innovativi per la peer review applicata a tutti i risultati della ricerca (pubblicazioni, software e dati), 2) esplorare i meccanismi della disseminazione innovativa efficaci per le imprese, l’industria, il settore educativo e la società nel suo insieme e 3) analizzare un insieme di nuovi indicatori (altmetric) che valutano l’impatto dei risultati della ricerca collegandoli ai canali per la disseminazione. OpenUp utilizza una metodologia centrata sull’utente. Questo approccio metodologico non solo coinvolge tutti gli stakeholder (ricercatori, case editrici, enti che finanziano la ricerca, istituzioni, industria e il pubblico in generale) in una serie di workshops, conferenze e corsi di formazione, ma vuole testare i risultati acquisiti in un set di studi pilota. Questi ultimi sono collegati ai tre pilastri del progetto (revisione paritaria, disseminazione innovativa dei risultati e altmetric) e sono applicati ad alcune comunità e settori della ricerca specifici: scienze umane, scienze sociali, energia e scienze della vita. Nello specifico il lavoro presentato intende descrivere la metodologia usata per sviluppare lo studio pilota sull’OPR dei dati nelle scienze sociali. In particolare si concentra sulla prima fase che intende ricostruire il contesto generale della diffusione e condivisione dei dati. Sulla base di questa analisi, saranno identificati i criteri di selezione della comunità da coinvolgere nello studio pilota, insieme alle caratteristiche e alle problematiche specifiche che verranno successivamente indagate durante il suo svolgimento. L’analisi prende in considerazione sia la prospettiva di coloro che forniscono i dati sia quella degli utenti che li utilizzano. Essa si pone nella prospettiva di considerare i principi Mertoniani ed in particolare le problematiche legate alla loro applicabilità nella condivisione e valutazione dei dati della ricerca.

BACKGROUND Improving quality and effectiveness of healthcare is one of the priorities of health policies. Hospital or physician volume represents a measurable variable with an impact on effectiveness of healthcare. An Italian law calls for the definition of «qualitative, structural, technological, and quantitative standards of hospital care». There is a need for an evaluation of the available scientific evidence in order to identify qualitative, structural, technological, and quantitative standards of hospital care, including the volume of care above or below which the public and private hospitals may be accredited (or not) to provide specific healthcare interventions. OBJECTIVES To identify conditions/interventions for which an association between volume and outcome has been investigated. To identify conditions/interventions for which an association between volume and outcome has been proved. To analyze the distribution of Italian health providers by volume of activity. To measure the association between volume of care and outcomes of the health providers of the Italian National Health Service (NHS). METHODS Systematic review An overview of systematic reviews was performed searching PubMed, EMBASE, and The Cochrane Library up to November 2016. Studies were evaluated by 2 researchers independently; quality assessment was performed using the AMSTAR checklist. For each health condition and outcome, if available, total number of studies, participants, high volume cut-off values, and metanalysis have been reported. According to the considered outcomes, health topics were classified into 3 groups: positive association: a positive association was demonstrated in the majority of studies/participants and/or a pooled measure (metanalysis) with positive results was reported; lack of association: both studies and/or metanalysis showed no association; no sufficient evidence of association: both results of single studies and metanalysis do not allow to draw firm conclusions on the association between volume and outcome. Analysis of the distribution of Italian hospitals by volume of activity and the association between volume of activity and outcomes: the Italian National Outcome evaluation Programme 2016 The analyses were performed using the Hospital Information System and the National Tax Register (year 2015). For each condition, the number of hospitals by volume of activity was calculated. Hospitals with a volume lower than 3-5 cases/year were excluded. For conditions with more than 1,500 cases/year and frequency of outcome ≥1%, the association between volume of care and outcome was analyzed estimating risk-adjusted outcomes. RESULTS Bibliographic searches identified 80 reviews, evaluating 48 different clinical areas. The main outcome considered was intrahospital/30-day mortality. The other outcomes vary depending on the type of condition or intervention in study. The relationship between hospital volume and outcomes was considered in 47 out of 48 conditions: 34 conditions showed evidence of a positive association; • 14 conditions consider cancer surgery for bladder, breast, colon, rectum, colon rectum, oesophagus, kidney, liver, lung, ovaries, pancreas, prostate, stomach, head and neck; • 11 conditions consider cardiocerebrovascular area: nonruptured and ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm, acute myocardial infarction, brain aneurysm, carotid endarterectomy, coronary angioplasty, coronary artery bypass, paediatric heart surgery, revascularization of lower limbs, stroke, subarachnoid haemorrhage; • 2 conditions consider orthopaedic area: knee arthroplasty, hip fracture; • 7 conditions consider other areas: AIDS, bariatric surgery, cholecystectomy, intensive care unit, neonatal intensive care unit, sepsis, and traumas; for 3 conditions, no association was demonstrated: hip arthroplasty, dialysis, and thyroidectomy. for the remaining 10 conditions, the available evidence does not allow to draw firm conclusions about the association between hospital volume and considered outcomes: surgery for testicular cancer and intracranial tumours, paediatric oncology, aortofemoral bypass, cardiac catheterization, appendectomy, colectomy, inguinal hernia, respiratory failure, and hysterectomy. The relationship between volume of clinician/surgeon and outcomes was assessed only through the literature re view; to date, it is not possible to analyze this association for Italian health provider hospitals, since information on the clinician/surgeon on the hospital discharge chart is missing. The literature found a positive association for 21 conditions: 9 consider surgery for cancer: bladder, breast, colon, colon rectum, pancreas, prostate, rectum, stomach, and head and neck; 5 consider the cardiocerebrovascular area: ruptured and nonruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm, carotid endarterectomy, paediatric heart surgery, and revascularization of the lower limbs; 2 consider the orthopaedic area: knee and hip arthroplasty; 5 consider other areas: AIDS, bariatric surgery, hysterectomy, intensive care unit, and thyroidectomy. The analysis of the distribution of Italian hospitals concerned the 34 conditions for which the systematic review has shown a positive volume-outcome association. For the following, it was possible to conduct the analysis of the association using national data: unruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm, coronary angioplasty, hip arthroplasty, knee arthroplasty, coronary artery bypass, cancer surgery (colon, liver, breast, pancreas, lung, prostate, kidney, and stomach), laparoscopic cholecystectomy, hip fracture, stroke, acute myocardial infarction. For these conditions, the association between volume and outcome of care was observed. For laparoscopic cholecystectomy and surgery of the breast and stomach cancer, the association between the volume of the discharge (o dismissal) operating unit and the outcome was analyzed. The outcomes differ depending on the condition studied. The shape of the relationship is variable among different conditions, with heterogeneous slope of the curves. DISCUSSION For many conditions, the overview of systematic reviews has shown a strong evidence of association between higher volumes and better outcomes. The quality of the available reviews can be considered good for the consistency of the results between the studies and for the strength of the association; however, this does not mean that the included studies are of good quality. Analyzing national data, potential confounders, including age and comorbidities, have been considered. The systematic review of the literature does not permit to identify predefined volume thresholds. The analysis of national data shows a strong improvement in outcomes in the first part of the curve (from very low to higher volumes) for most conditions. In some cases, the improvement in outcomes remains gradual or constant with the increasing volume of care; in other, the analysis could allow the identification of threshold values beyond which the outcome does not further improve. However, a good knowledge of the relationship between effectiveness of treatments and costs, the geographical distribution and the accessibility to healthcare services are necessary to choose the minimum volumes of care, under which specific health procedures could not been provided in the NHS. Some potential biases due to the use of information systems data should also be considered. The different way of coding among hospitals could lead to a different selection of cases for some conditions. Regarding the definition of the exposure (volume of care), a possible bias could result from misclassification of health providers with high volume of activity. Performing the intervention in different departments/ units of the same hospital would result in an overestimation of the volume of care measured for hospital rather than for department/unit. For the conditions with a further fragmentation within the same structure, the association between volumes of discharge department and outcomes has also been evaluated. In this case, the two curves were different. The limit is to attribute the outcome to the discharge unit, which in case of surgery may not be the intervention unit. A similar bias could occur if the main determinant of the outcome of treatment was the caseload of each surgeon. The results of the analysis may be biased when different operators in the same hospital/unit carried out the same procedure. In any case, the observed association between volumes and outcome is very strong, and it is unlikely to be attributable to biases of the study design. Another aspect on which there is still little evidence is the interaction between volume of the hospital and of the surgeon. A MEDICARE study suggests that in some conditions, especially for specialized surgery, the effect of the surgeon's volume of activity is different depending on the structure volume, whereas it would not differ for some less specialized surgery conditions. The data here presented still show extremely fragmented volumes of both clinical and surgical areas, with a predominance of very low volume structures. Health systems operate, by definition, in a context of limited resources, especially when the amount of resources to allocate to the health system is reduced. In such conditions, the rationalization of the organization of health services based on the volume of care may make resources available to improve the effectiveness of interventions. The identification and certification of services and providers with high volume of activity can help to reduce differences in the access to non-effective procedures. To produce additional evidence to guide the reorganization of the national healthcare system, it will be necessary to design further primary studies to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of policies aimed at concentrating interventions in structures with high volumes of activity.

A survey of in-house publishing practices at CNR Institutes is described. Fourth categories are introduced to measure the level of innovation in the management of in-house publications in order to identify the business model used by each CNR Institutes to manage their editorial products, especially digital products. Data used for this descriptive and quality study were obtained from CNR Institute websites. Includes: Conference preprint, Powerpoint presentation, Abstract and Biographical notes XA International

A survey of in-house publishing practices at CNR Institutes is described. Fourth categories are introduced to measure the level of innovation in the management of in-house publications in order to identify the business model used by each CNR Institutes to manage their editorial products, especially digital products. Data used for this descriptive and quality study were obtained from CNR Institute websites.

The free availability of data gathered during research activities is becoming one of the new challenges of the Open Access Movement. New scientific instruments and technologies used in highly collaborative fields such as molecular biology, hearth and space sciences, make it possible to collect a great amount of data under different formats. Moreover, data are often associated with tools that can aggregate them as well as with direct references to the publications - conventional or non-conventional - that report the results of their analysis. Benefits of the availability of these data are evident, they pertain among others the possibility to assess research results, reproduce and re-use data to possibly draw new insight for future research. There are an increasing number of repositories that also include datasets among the scientific results made openly available. Given the variety of scientific context in which datasets are produced as well as the diversity of dataset types, the objective of our study is to analyse this trend highlighting the main issues related to their provision, availability and preservation. In this context dataset definition, their function in providing value-added information for research, ownership of data as well as the development of a suitable infrastructure (within repositories and/or in other types of information systems) in which datasets can be best diffused and re-used are part of an ever-increasing list of issues put on the current research agenda. Our source of analysis is the directory of Open Access Repositories (OpenDOAR) that lists international repositories under different criteria and allows different types of analyses. For the purpose of our study, we selected in the listed category "Content type" the option "datasets" that provides information on and links to repositories that contain datasets. Our survey is focused first on the identification of types of repository and institutions providing datasets, and then on the analysis of each of the 78 repositories currently reported in OpenDOAR. In particular this analysis will concentrate on: *) Dataset content (row data, spatial data, formulae, etc,); *) Data layout (spreadsheets, tables, images, etc.); *) Relation with other digital objects in the repository; *) Metadata used to describe datasets; *) Access modality. Moreover, the possible inclusion of datasets (and/or other types of digital scientific contents) in the realm of Grey may open up new perspectives and challenges in tracking the knowledge creation process as well as in the collection and preservation of value-added information considering both new available technologies and evolving needs of the scholarly communication. Includes: Conference preprint, Powerpoint presentation, Abstract and Biographical notes XA International

This paper co-authored together with Daniela Luzi, Marta Ricci, and Roberta Ruggieri describes the results of an analysis of Italian Working papers (WP) available both in RePEc (Research Papers in Economics) and in Institutional Repositories (IR) and websites. Given that RePEc is a disciplinary repository based on the active involvement of economic institutions, rather than authors, our analysis intends to explore the institutions’ propensity for making their collections available both in disciplinary and Institutional repositories. Therefore, the paper provides a profile of the Italian Economics institutions participating in RePEc as well as an in-depth analysis of the their availability WPs and WP series. Moreover, IRs and websites of the Italian institutions participating in RePEc were analysed to compare the scientific contents available in these important sources of free access information (RePEc, IRs and websites).

This paper describes the results of an analysis of Italian Working papers (WP) available both in RePEc (Research Papers in Economics) and in Institutional Repositories (IR) and websites. Given that RePEc is a disciplinary repository based on the active involvement of economic institutions, rather than authors, our analysis intends to explore the institutions' propensity for making their collections available both in disciplinary and Institutional repositories. Therefore, the paper provides a profile of the Italian Economics institutions participating in RePEc as well as an indepth analysis of the their availability WPs and WP series. Moreover, IRs and websites of the Italian institutions participating in RePEc were analysed to compare the scientific contents available in these important sources of free access information (RePEc, IRs and websites). Includes: Conference preprint, Powerpoint presentation, Abstract and Biographical notes, Pratt student commentary XA International

The working paper presents a selected bibliography on Balkan demography on featuring books and chapter from books, scientific articles, conference proceedings and conference papers, reports and other grey materials. The bibliography includes Italian authors who published both in Italian and a language other than Italian as well as foreign authors who published their works in Italian and/or in Italian journals.

Considering that the collection policy is one of the most important elements in the development of Institutional Repositories (IR), the general aim of this study is to contribute to the development of a future CNR's IR identifying and proposing GL collections and related metadata. In this paper the results of a qualitative analysis of a sample of GL document types stored in a database containing CNR scientific production are described. The analysis of both the metadata schema and information content of the note fields allowed the identification of database improvements, which are represented by the introduction of fields describing GL characteristics as well as the provision of guidelines that help information providers to correctly insert bibliographic data. Includes: Conference preprint, Powerpoint presentation, Abstract and Biographical notes, Pratt student commentary XA International

Considering that the collection policy is one of the most important elements in the development of Institutional Repositories (IR), the general aim of this study is to contribute to the development of a future CNR's IR identifying and proposing GL collections and related metadata. In this paper the results of a qualitative analysis of a sample of GL document types stored in a database containing CNR scientific production are described. The analysis of both the metadata schema and information content of the note fields allowed the identification of database improvements, which are represented by the introduction of fields describing GL characteristics as well as the provision of guidelines that help information providers to correctly insert bibliographic data.

Il rapporto presenta i risultati di un'indagine che ha lo scopo di individuare le risorse documentarie, organizzative e tecnologiche su cui basare lo sviluppo di un Institutional Repository (IR) del CNR. L'indagine, condotta tramite la somministrazione a tutte le unità di ricerca del CNR di un questionario semi-strutturato, ha mostrato che nell'Ente esiste un ambiente tecnologico e organizzativo maturo per la realizzazione di un archivio aperto, nonostante vi sia un numero limitato di repository sviluppati su iniziativa autonoma delle singole strutture, molti dei quali non compatibili con lo standard OAI.

The paper presents the results of a survey aiming at identifying documentation, organization as well as technological resources that could be the basis for a future development of a CNR IR. The survey makes use of a semi-structured questionnaire submitted to all CNR research units. Results show that, despite a limited number of OAI complaint repository developed under the autonomous initiative of some CNR research units, there is a mature environment for the development of an IR. Includes: Conference preprint, Powerpoint presentation, Abstract and Biographical notes XA International

Co-authored together with D. Luzi and R. Ruggieri: The use of Grey Literature (GL) has hitherto been studied on the basis of whether and to what extent GL documents had been cited in peer-reviewed conventional literature applying citation analysis techniques based on primary sources (i.e. bibliographic references of journal articles) >Alb2000, Dic2004@, or on the multisciplinary citation indexes produced by Thomson ISI, the Web of Science (WoS) [Pel2003, Cor2004]. More recently, other tracking citation systems have been developed, such as Scopus, Google Scholar (GS), Citeseer, and CrossRef. To some extent these have challenged the ISI monopoly over scientific evaluation of countries, institutions, groups and authors. Accordingly, many studies have begun to compare the different systems, particularly WoS, Scopus and GS >Bak2006, Jac 2005, Nor2005@, to reveal the citations they have in common and the discrepancies, both in terms of frequency and source. In the process, the limits of the individual systems have emerged. These include citation errors (typographical errors, nonstandard reference formats, parsing errors, etc.), as well as varying focus according to discipline and the varying document types used for tracking citation counts. Our research concentrates principally on the latter aspect and aims to ascertain the impact of GL on the web environment. Consequently we chose to use GS that considers not only citations from peer-reviewed conventional journals, but also includes citations received by GL documents. Potentially, GS is the appropriate tool for illustrating the various changes underway in scholarly communication as it can reveal not only different electronic documents, predominantly GL documents, to be found in the assortment of institutional pages, open archives and repositories, but can also reveal their impact in terms of the citations made. Therefore, a secondary aim of this paper is to verify whether GS is an efficient tool to identify core papers as well as in tracking citations from different document types and whether it is able to represent the scholarly communication deriving from citations considering both GL and conventional literature. This is fundamental for GL, which is clearly an integral part of scholarly communication for numerous scientific disciplines, but still remains on the periphery of research evaluation activities. The paper presents the results of a citation analysis with the aim of evaluating the use of GL through a comparison of the number of citations received by both GL and conventional documents. The analysis is carried out retrieving documents dealing with the topic population ageing, a “hot multidisciplinary topic”, which is studied under demographic, socio-economical or medical perspectives.

The use of Grey Literature (GL) has hitherto been studied on the basis of whether and to what extent GL documents had been cited in peer-reviewed conventional literature applying citation analysis techniques based on the muldisciplinary citation indexes produced by Thomson ISI, the Web of Science (WoS). More recently, other tracking citation systems have been developed, such as Scopus, Google Scholar, Citeseer, and CrossRef. The novelty of some of these new systems is that they consider not only cited articles of peer-reviewed conventional journals, but also include the number of citations received by GL documents. This opens up new research perspectives in citation analysis, which permit a better measurement of GL use as well as of its impact on scholarly communication. The paper presents the results of a citation analysis with the aim of evaluating the use of GL through a comparison of the number of citations received by both GL and conventional documents in a pre-defined scientific topic. Moreover, the paper aims to apply some bibliometric indicators, which allow us to identify different citation behaviours and verify whether they are related to the type of documents cited, to the disciplinary field and/or to the availability of the full text. The analysis is carried out retrieving documents dealing with the topic population ageing reported in Google Scholar. In the first step of the study, 100 most cited documents are analysed selecting them from the approximately 2000 documents retrievable in Google Scholar. In particular, the analysis focuses on the identification of: a) GL and conventional literature, b) type of cited documents, c) authorship, d) year of publication. In the second step of the study, a significant sub-set of the above cited documents are further analysed taking their citing documents into account. Bibliometric indicators, such as the immediacy index, the average citations per year and the cited half-life are used in order to identify differences in citing behaviours in both GL and conventional literature. Moreover, the topic population ageing has the advantage of being studied under various perspectives, such as demographic, socio-economical or medical aspects and this allows us to verify whether there are differences in the type of the citing documents related to the disciplinary field. Another overall result of the study is the evaluation of Google Scholar, in terms of the consistency of retrievable information as well as of the additional tools, which may provide value added information to perform citation analysis for both GL and conventional documents. Includes: Conference preprint, Powerpoint presentation, Abstract and Biographical notes XA International

Colon diverticular disease presents in 10%-25% of cases when a complication arises. Helped by Hinchey's classification, the surgeon can choose from among the following therapeutic strategies: a) medical treatment; b) one-stage resection and anastomosis with or without a protective colostomy; and c) resection according to Hartmann. The increasingly widespread use of laparoscopic techniques, though generally improving surgical outcomes, has perhaps made the choice of treatment more difficult, because it has extended the range of indications, both in the elective and emergency setting. From January 1999 to December 2004 411 patients (174 men and 237 women) affected by symptomatic diverticular disease were admitted to our surgical department and 94 of these (22.8%) underwent surgery: 41 of them (43.6%) underwent a true emergency operation, while for 53 of them surgery was delayed (within one week). None of the patients undergoing resection-anastomosis had a protective colostomy. The total morbidity was 3.7% and total perioperative mortality 1% (one patient undergoing surgery with the Hartmann procedure). More than one year after the end of the research there was no need for operation of any of the non-surgical patients and no deaths due to diverticular disease were recorded. On the basis of our experience we may conclude that a one-stage resection, even in the emergency situation, is possible and yields excellent results, while preventive resection would not currently seem justified.

Libraries carry out a central role in the process of dissemination of scientific information. Particularly regarding grey literature, libraries have played a key role in overcoming obstacles to full access thereby contributing to the full inclusion of grey literature in the scientific communication network. This activity has been carried out with the development of grey literature produced within their organizations through specific collection-development policies and ad hoc bibliographic and editorial strategies. What issues connected with the planning of collections and with management of GL documents have been encountered and solved? Moreover, recently, a number of libraries are promoting or supporting open archives. To what extent do they profit from their experience in GL management in the realization of institutional repositories or of ongoing projects on open access? The aim of the paper is to examine the different approaches and strategies of a number of Italian special libraries, that hold high-quality collections and whose users have a high specialization, basically, towards their: a) management of historical and special GL collections; b) development and management of current GL collections; c) realization of institutional repositories or projects on open access. The survey makes use of a semi-structured questionnaire, which was submitted to a number of managers of Italian special libraries, of governmental institutes or research institutes. The questionnaire consists of fifty questions designed to capture all the information relevant to the above mentioned goals (a), (b), and (c). The questions are grouped into five sections: (1) general questions, and detailed questions on consistence and quality of GL collections; (2) detailed questions about the management and bibliographic description of GL documents, included the cost of the management of GL documents and people dedicated to them; (3) questions about past, current and future projects on GL education and training; (4) questions about current and future initiative regarding institutional repositories or open archives, and their link to the experience of GL management. scienze sociali. Moreover, each part of the questionnaire includes a set of questions on both objective and subjective data, that express value judgements. GL managers are asked to respond in the light of their personal experience as "privileged observers", in the commonly accepted meaning of this term in the social sciences. We close by discussing the "insight" and "feeling" of GL managers towards old and new issues connected with grey literature, through some open questions added at the end of the questionnaire.

The Authors report two cases of Merkel cell carcinoma and describe their diagnostic and therapeutic difficulties in the management of these tumours. The main therapeutic problem consists in establishing the size of the excision margins in relation to the neoplastic aggressiveness. The first case was characterised by major lymphophilia and by a tendency to relapse. Radical excision was achieved by low invasive surgery using a radioguided technique to search for microscopic disease. The radioguided technique takes the place of the intra-operative anatomo-pathological examination. After adjuvant ra- diotherapy and chemotherapy the patienthas remained in remission for three years. The second case is characterized by a rapid haematic diffusion with metastasis and exitus after one year. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy were ineffective. In this case surgery was limited to a bioptic approach since extirpative surgery would have been inappropriate. Our experience shows the wide biological variability of Merkel cell carcinoma and the importance of eclectic treatment to avoid ineffective extirpative surgery.

Libraries carry out a central role in the process of dissemination of scientific information. Particularly regarding grey literature, libraries have played a key role in overcoming obstacles to full access thereby contributing to the full inclusion of grey literature in the scientific communication network. This activity has been carried out with the development of grey literature produced within their organizations through specific collection-development policies and ad hoc bibliographic and editorial strategies. What issues connected with the planning of collections and with management of GL documents have been encountered and solved? Moreover, recently, a number of libraries are promoting or supporting open archives. To what extent do they profit from their experience in GL management in the realization of institutional repositories or of ongoing projects on open access? The aim of the paper is to examine the different approaches and strategies of a number of Italian special libraries, that hold high-quality collections and whose users have a high specialization, basically, towards their: a) management of historical and special GL collections; b) development and management of current GL collections; c) realization of institutional repositories or projects on open access. The survey makes use of a semi-structured questionnaire, which was submitted to a number of managers of Italian special libraries, of governmental institutes or research institutes. The questionnaire consists of fifty questions designed to capture all the information relevant to the above mentioned goals (a), (b), and (c). The questions are grouped into five sections: (1) general questions, and detailed questions on consistence and quality of GL collections; (2) detailed questions about the management and bibliographic description of GL documents, included the cost of the management of GL documents and people dedicated to them; (3) questions about past, current and future projects on GL education and training; (4) questions about current and future initiative regarding institutional repositories or open archives, and their link to the experience of GL management. scienze sociali. Moreover, each part of the questionnaire includes a set of questions on both objective and subjective data, that express value judgements. GL managers are asked to respond in the light of their personal experience as "privileged observers", in the commonly accepted meaning of this term in the social sciences. We close by discussing the "insight" and "feeling" of GL managers towards old and new issues connected with grey literature, through some open questions added at the end of the questionnaire. Includes: Conference preprint, Powerpoint presentation, Abstract and Biographical notes, Pratt student commentary XA International

Grey Literature (GL), defined as material in print and electronic format not readily available through regular market channels or not widely distributed, has received increasing attention in the last decade. Widespread agreement exists on its importance as an information source. However, problems related to the actual use of GL have not been adequately investigated. This paper proposes a methodology to analyze the use of GL in bibliographic references of journal articles, already applied in some disciplinary fields (Physics, 1994, Agricultural economics, 1995; Demography & Computer sciences, 2004). In order to verify to what extent GL contributes to scientific work, we use bibliometric indicators (frequency of GL use, frequency of GL citing), similar to the ones widely used for conventional literature. A specific bibliometric indicator, that seems useful for measuring GL impact namely the intensity of GL citing, i.e., the average frequency of GL references per article containing GL, is described. Moreover, the potential use of the impact factor as an indicator of variability in GL use is considered. The issues connected with the difficulty of locating and identifying citations to GL are also briefly discussed.

Co-authored together with Rosa Di Cesare and Roberta Ruggieri. This paper proposes on the one hand to outline Italian initiatives regarding open archives, with a qualitative rather than quantitative analysis, focusing in particular on data providers and on organisation and initiatives that lead to integration that encourage the development of IRs. On the other hand, it proposes to analyse the 20 years of Italian input to SIGLE in order to verify if and to what extent the Italian producers participating in SIGLE have contributed to the fostering of new ways of sharing and diffusing information sources produced within their organisations.

This paper proposes on the one hand to outline Italian initiatives regarding open archives, with a qualitative rather than quantitative analysis, focussing in particular on data providers and on organisation and initiatives that lead to integration that encourage the development of IRs. On the other hand, it proposes to analyse the 20 years of Italian input to SIGLE in order to verify if and to what extent the Italian producers participating in SIGLE have contributed to the fostering of new ways of sharing and diffusing information sources produced within their organisations. Includes: Conference preprint, Powerpoint presentation, Abstract and Biographical notes XA International

The Authors describe a case of complete traumatic transection of the pancreatic isthmus associated with complete transection of the first portion of the duodenum and the isthmus of a horseshoe kidney. The treatment of the pancreatic lesion was intestinal drainage of the distal portion of the pancreas and closure of the proximal one. The authors stress the advantages and good outcome of the conservative operation, performed at an early stage, with the clinical indications and adequate surgical techniques.

Vengono presentati gli elenchi completi, in ordine cronologico e sequenziale, delle serie edite dall'Istituto di ricerche sulla popolazione e le politiche sociali: Monografie, Working papers, Demotrends, Quaderni di demotrends, Rapporto sulla situazione demografica in Italia, Atti di convegno e seminari, Serie documenti e ristampe, Fuori collana. Sono state inserite nell'elenco anche alcune pubblicazioni edite dall'Istituto con altre istituzioni e case editrici. Seguono gli indici degli autori e delle aree tematiche.

Co-authored together with Roberta Ruggieri, Silvia Giannini, and Stefania Biagioni. Over the last ten years the impact of grey literature on conventional literature has frequently been studied. Studies have made use of bibliometric instruments used for citation analysis. Recently, this research has magnified attention on the impact of new forms of GL that have emerged along with the spread of Internet. This work aims to a) measure the impact of GL on two different scientific fields; b) describe the characteristics of GL documents cited; c) ascertain any changes in LG impact due to use of the www. Two years (1995 and 2003) were chosen as illustrative of the situation before and after the growth in the use of the www. With these aims, bibliographic references have been analysed in publications in two scientific fields for which it is logical to hypothesize a different impact. The publications are three journals of computer sciences included in the Journal Citation Report (JCR) Science Ed., and three journals of demography included in Journal Citation Report (JCR) – Social Science Ed.. The three journals in each of the two categories were chosen on the basis of their stability during the observation period (1995 and 2003) in terms both of their Impact Factor (IF) - high, medium and low - and of their ranks.

Over the last ten years the impact of grey literature on conventional literature has frequently been studied. Studies have made use of bibliometric instruments used for citation analysis. Recently, this research has magnified attention on the impact of new forms of GL that have emerged along with the spread of Internet. This work aims to a) measure the impact of GL on two different scientific fields; b) describe the characteristics of GL documents cited; c) ascertain any changes in LG impact due to use of the www. Two years (1995 and 2003) were chosen as illustrative of the situation before and after the growth in the use of the www. With these aims, bibliographic references have been analysed in publications in two scientific fields for which it is logical to hypothesise a different impact. The publications are three journals of computer sciences included in the Journal Citation Report (JCR) Science Ed., and three journals of demography included in Journal Citation Report (JCR) – Social Science Ed.. The three journals in each of the two categories were chosen on the basis of their stability during the observation period (1995 and 2003) in terms both of their Impact Factor (IF) - high, medium and low - and of their ranks. Includes: Conference preprint, Powerpoint presentation, Abstract and Biographical notes, Pratt student commentary XA International

The authors present two cases of gastrin-producing carcinoma demonstrated by scintigraphy with In-111 pentetreotide. The possible malignant evolution of such tumours and the good results that can be achieved with surgical therapy suggest the usefulness of a radio-guided intraoperative strategy to locate the lesions and minimise invasive procedures. This approach enabled us to detect a lymph-node metastasis concealed in the adipose tissue in the first case and to exclude any other gastrin-producing tumour localisations in the second. We recommend that the radio-guided strategy should be included among the guidelines for the treatment of gastrinomas and believe that the procedure can also be used in other functioning endocrine tumours.

Right colon diverticulitis is an uncommon disease in Western countries. Often the disease is congenital and the clinical manifestations presenting at onset simulate the signs and symptoms typical of other diseases, such as acute appendicitis, appendicular abscess or caecal carcinoma. Since the diagnosis is usually intraoperative, diverticulectomy is recommended only in particular cases, with no complications resulting from inflammatory reactions. In the other cases, right hemicolectomy or segmental resection are the elective surgical treatments, depending on the patient's clinical condition and on the local anatomical situation. The authors describe 8 cases of complicated right colon diverticulitis, one of which with haemorrhagic complications, observed over the period from January 1999 to March 2003. The rareness and diagnostic and therapeutic difficulties of this disease are emphasised.

Viene fornita la descrizione della biblioteca dell'Istituto di Ricerca sulla Popolazione e le Politiche Sociali e delle fasi salienti del processo di automazione svolto dalla biblioteca stessa.