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Shira Klein, Italy’s Jews from Emancipation to Fascism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018), 369 pp.

Describes several techniques for implementing commercial radio to improve listening comprehension skills in the foreign language student. Canadian radio, accessible to much of the northern United States, brings news, weather, and sports, in French, to the student of French and provides major components for sharpening comprehension skills. (PJM)

Consumers' demands for innovative forms of heritage consumption combined with a desire for long-lasting memories have highlighted the role that staged events and other live music performances at cultural and historical sites can play in the conservation of these assets. However, to date, research on these aspects remains fragmented and indeed lacking within the Italian landscape. Building on these considerations, this article explores the tensions inherent in the reuse and conservation of Italian cultural and historical assets through live events. The research uses three World Heritage sites (WHS) distributed across the Italian territory as case studies to identify the positions of different stakeholders involved in the production of live music performances. A qualitative, comparative, case study design has been deemed as the most fitting to enable an in-depth investigation of the stances held by public and private sector organizations involved in the staging of events at WHS and to enable a rich analysis of the issues. Findings show significant ideological and cultural barriers impacting the use of staged live events at such venues. Besides suggesting a cross-sectorial cooperative approach to help rejuvenate these WHS and to generate funding for conservation purposes findings suggest the need to develop a sustainable strategy for managing national heritage assets incorporating clear guidelines on the reuse of WHS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the HR issues that tour operators experience in the planning, coordination, and management of tours revolving around cycling events. It does so by using a tour operator based in the UK as a case study and by deploying a qualitative ethnographic approach. This methodology was deemed as the most fitting to enable an in-depth and rich analysis of the issues that characterize the complex management of core (office-based employees) and peripheral workers (tour guides on the event site). Not only do the different operations, time frames, environments, and activities within which the employees operate result in the company's workforce division into two distinctive groups, but they also determine low levels of professional satisfaction and motivation among the tour guides. Investigating the stances held by the company's employees in relation to the difficulties encountered in the workplace is necessary to develop a strategy that allows for retaining peripheral workers, for creating synergy between the two different teams, and consequently for ensuring the achievement of the organization's goals and objectives. The findings highlight how the adoption of HR practices that aim at enhancing the company's internal marketing would entail an optimistic shift in the tour guides' perception of their position within the company, resulting in improved product delivery and reduced absenteeism, burnout, and turnover challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Immunofluorescence diagnostic systems cost is often dominated by high‐sensitivity, low‐noise CCD‐based cameras that are used to acquire the fluorescence images. In this paper, we investigate the use of low‐cost CMOS sensors in a point‐of‐care immunofluorescence diagnostic application for the detection and discrimination of 4 different serotypes of the Dengue virus in a set of human samples. A 2‐phase postprocessing software pipeline is proposed, which consists in a first image‐enhancement stage for resolution increasing and segmentation and a second diagnosis stage for the computation of the output concentrations. We present a novel variational coupled model for the joint super‐resolution and segmentation stage and an automatic innovative image analysis for the diagnosis purpose. A specially designed forward backward–based numerical algorithm is introduced, and its convergence is proved under mild conditions. We present results on a cheap prototype CMOS camera compared with the results of a more expensive CCD device, for the detection of the Dengue virus with a low‐cost OLED light source. The combination of the CMOS sensor and the developed postprocessing software allows to correctly identify the different Dengue serotype using an automatized procedure. The results demonstrate that our diagnostic imaging system enables camera cost reduction up to 99%, at an acceptable diagnostic accuracy, with respect to the reference CCD‐based camera system. The correct detection and identification of the Dengue serotypes have been confirmed by standard diagnostic methods (RT‐PCR and ELISA). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a social disease that is common in immigrants who are forced to live in difficult circumstances. In Italy, the guidelines for preventing TB include X-ray screening and application of the Mantoux test for migrants from high–TB-endemic countries as soon as possible after admission to Italy. This article describes a field survey conducted in the reception center for asylum seekers in Bari Palese in southern Italy following the death of a center resident from pulmonary TB. Methods: A Mantoux screening test, followed by chest X-ray, was carried out in March 2009 on 982 immigrants, representing 97.5% of the residents of the center. Results: A positive Mantoux test result was seen in 60.7% of the residents screened. The chest X-rays were performed on 92.9% of cuti-positive patients and on cuti-negative patients who were recent contacts of the deceased TB case and/or with symptoms suspicious for TB. Eight residents were diagnosed with active TB (0.8% of residents), and 117 residents (11.9%) had TB sequelae. In our survey, the Mantoux test demonstrated 88% sensitivity, 17% specificity, and a positive predictive value of 1% for active TB. Conclusion: The survey results suggest that residents in asylum centers are a special type of immigrant. Specific risk factors, such as overcrowding, may expose these residents to a greater risk for infectious diseases. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

To evaluate efficacy and safety of a neoadjuvant treatment with irinotecan and cisplatin [cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II); CDDP] in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer.A phase 2 study was conducted at 13 centers located in Italy. Eighty-seven were enrolled between 2000 and 2003. Patients received irinotecan 175 mg/m2 on day 1 every 3 weeks followed by CDDP 80 mg/m2. Each patient was to receive 3 cycles of treatment. Tumor response was to be evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging 3 weeks after the end of the third cycle. At the end of therapy, all patients were to be examined for radical surgery.Of 71 patients included in the primary analysis, 9 (12.7%) showed a complete response; and 43 (60.6%), a partial response for an overall response rate of 73.2% (95% confidence interval [CI], 61.4%-83.1%). Complete pathological responses were observed in 13.6% of the patients (95% CI, 7.0%-23.0%). Overall survival rate at 4 years was 87.0% (95% CI, 79.5%-94.5%).There were no study-related deaths. Most common adverse events were alopecia in 76 patients (87.4%) and gastrointestinal disorders in 79 patients (90.8%). Serious adverse events were vomiting in 18 patients (20.7%), nausea in 14 (16.1%), diarrhea in 8 (9.2%), and neutropenia in 50 (57.5%). A total of 3 patients (3.4%) were discontinued from the study owing to the occurrence of 1 or more serious adverse event.Irinotecan and CDDP as neoadjuvant chemotherapy in locally advanced cervical cancer showed a promising response rate. These data warrant confirmation with a phase 3 study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: Fertility-sparing surgery has been proposed for the treatment of borderline ovarian tumors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcome of patients submitted to cystectomy (CYS) compared with patients treated by unilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (USO) or bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy with/without total hysterectomy (radical surgery, RS). Methods: We reviewed retrospectively the data of patients treated in 3 institutions for borderline ovarian tumors. One hundred and sixty-eight patients underwent laparoscopic or laparotomic surgical treatment from 1985 to 2006. Tumor recurrence rate, disease-free survival and site of recurrences were evaluated. Specific prognostic factors, such as stage, histology, micropapillary subtype, exophytic tumor growth, intraoperative spillage, endosalpingiosis, staging procedures, and route of surgery were analysed. Results: Thirty-five patients underwent cystectomy, 50 unilateral salpingo-oopohorectomy, and 83 radical surgery. Twelve patients in the CYS group (34.3%), 10 in the USO group (20.0%), and 5 (6.0%) in RS group relapsed. Five-year progression-free survival (PFS) was 59.6%, 78.4%, and 93.5% in CYS, USO and RS groups, respectively. None of the relapsed patients died of disease. Conclusions: Cystectomy is an effective surgical strategy for patients with borderline ovarian tumor. The higher risk of local relapses is not associated with a reduction in the overall survival. The procedure should be offered to young patients with bilateral tumors and to very young ones, considering the higher risk of local relapse. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Giordano G, Gnetti L, Ricci R, Merisio C, Melpignano M. Metastatic extragenital neoplasms to the uterus: a clinicopathologic study of four cases. Int J Gynecol Cancer 2006; 16(Suppl. 1):433–438. The aim of this study was to elucidate the clinicopathologic features, the differential diagnostic problems, and the prognostic consequences of patients with metastatic extragenital malignancies to uterus. The patients with metastatic extragenital malignancies to the uterus were evaluated. We considered the metastases in non–genital tract organs at diagnosis of primary neoplasm, the distribution of the metastases in the uterus, and the presence of concomitant metastases in other genital and non–genital tract organs. There were four cases of metastatic extragenital malignancies to the uterus. The breast was the most frequent primary site (two cases: 50%). The other two primary tumors were adenocarcinoma of the cecum and malignant melanoma of the skin. The diagnosis was facilitated by clinical history, revealing the previous primary neoplasm, and by specific immunohistochemical study. Almost all the patients died from disseminated disease. Thus, the prognosis of metastatic extragenital malignancies to the uterus alone or simultaneously to the uterus and other organs of the genital tract is poor. Thus, the metastases to the uterus and to other organs of the genital tract can be considered a preterminal event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]