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This paper illustrates contents, methods, and results of the first Italian course on easy-to-read, a model of facilitated writing for readers with intellectual disabilities and other reading difficulties, specifically aimed at the staff of a university. The course was organized by the Department of Legal, Language, Interpreting and Translation Studies at the University of Trieste. After an introduction on easy-to-read, the paper focusses on the drafting guidelines provided to the participants, and on the availability of administrative documents in easy-to-read. The structure, purpose, and results of the course are then illustrated through the example of a text written by the participants showing how the principles of easy-to-read were put into practice. Finally, some of the objections and remarks most frequently raised in class are reported as F.A.Q.s (frequently asked questions), as reference for future courses and dissemination initiatives.

Immunohistochemistry for epithelial membrane antigen (EMA) and histochemistry for alcianophilic substances were performed in 17 cases of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and 11 cases of benign thyroid lesions showing papillary changes (7 diffuse hyperplastic goitres-Graves' disease; 4 colloid cystic goitres). In all PTCs the glycocalix of the cells lining the papillary structures was strongly positive with anti-EMA antiserum. Alcian blue pH 2.5 stain (AB 2.5) was also positive in 15 of these cases. In contrast, no cases of benign thyroid lesions showed AB 2.5 positivity in the cells lining the papillary structures and the positivity with anti-EMA antiserum, present in only 5 out the 11 cases, was focal and very weak. These results indicate that the presence and distribution of EMA and alcianophilic substances may be useful in distinguishing benign from malignant thyroid lesions containing papillae.

An immunocytochemical method for estrogen receptor (ER) analysis of breast carcinomas was reported by one of us in 1981 (Eusebi et al., 1981). This technique was compared with the dextran-coated charcoal assay and a cytochemical method. We felt at the time that an improvement in existing techniques for assaying estrogen receptors was needed in view of conflicting evidence in the literature concerning correlation between the morphological and functional parameters of breast tumours. While some authors found a correlation between high ER content and a low histologic grade of malignancy (Fisher et al., 1980; Maynard et al., 1978), others did not (Johansson et al., 1970; Paszko et al., 1978; Rosen et al., 1978). Several groups of workers detected a positive correlation between ER positivity and the lobular type of invasive carcinoma (Antoniades and Spector, 1979; Eusebi et al., 1977; Rosen et al., 1975), but this was not corroborated by other investigators (Fisher et al., 1980; Maynard et al., 1978; Poulson et al., 1982).