Italy Research Articles

«Цифровой поворот» в культурной дипломатии Италии

 The paper examines the changes observed in the implementation of cultural diplomacy. The pandemic and the forced isolation associated with it have accelerated the ongoing processes of digitalization in the field of culture. Due to the fact that according to UNESCO, culture is one of the most affected areas of activity, governments, to one degree or another, are striving to intensify this type of foreign policy activity.  According to research articles and a case study on the development of cultural diplomacy during past two years in the Italian Republic as a state in whose territory approximately 40% of cultural heritage monuments are located, allow us to conclude that cultural diplomacy uses almost all key developments in the field of digitalization and digital diplomacy. The author concludes that, despite the universal set of tools of the implementation of digital cultural diplomacy (virtual tours of museums, broadcasting of various concerts, online lectures and various educational events, video games and quests aimed at knowledge of culture, etc.) each state faces such obstacles as insufficient funding, lack of specialized personnel, ethical side of digitization (whose software should be used).

Republika Włoska wobec przemian politycznych na Bałkanach Zachodnich na przełomie Xx i Xxi wieku (1991–2001). Interesy narodowe i polityka euroatlantycka

The Italian Republic Toward Political Changes in the Western Balkans Region at the Turn of 20th and 21st Centuries (1991–2001). National Interests and Euro-Atlantic Policy The article aims to show the main circumstances influencing the evolution of the Italian diplomatic attitude towards the post-Yugoslav and Albanian area from 1991 through 2001. Both the international and internal contexts are included (the change of international order after the collapse of communist regimes, relations with NATO and the European Union, and the weakening of the international position of Italy as the result of its internal political crisis in 1992–1994). Two mutually supportive elements can be distinguished within the Italian policy toward the Balkans. Traditionally, Italian diplomats were focused on bilateral and multilateral activities aiming at the protection of territorial security and economic interests, primarily in the Adriatic region. They criticized all international military intervention in the post-Yugoslav area. This attitude was partially changed in 1999, when Italy decided to take part in NATO’s air operation Allied Force against Yugoslavia, although many controversies regarding this action arose on the Italian political scene. The article is based on published diplomatic documents, scientific publications and the press.

Cross-country risk quantification of extreme wildfires in Mediterranean Europe.

We estimate the country-level risk of extreme wildfires defined by burned area (BA) for Mediterranean Europe and carry out a cross-country comparison. To this end, we avail of the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) geospatial data from 2006 to 2019 to perform an extreme value analysis. More specifically, we apply a point process characterization of wildfire extremes using maximum likelihood estimation. By modeling covariates, we also evaluate potential trends and correlations with commonly known factors that drive or affect wildfire occurrence, such as the Fire Weather Index as a proxy for meteorological conditions, population density, land cover type, and seasonality. We find that the highest risk of extreme wildfires is in Portugal (PT), followed by Greece (GR), Spain (ES), and Italy (IT) with a 10-year BA return level of 50'338 ha, 33'242 ha, 25'165 ha, and 8'966 ha, respectively. Coupling our results with existing estimates of the monetary impact of large wildfires suggests expected losses of 162-439 million € (PT), 81-219 million € (ES), 41-290 million € (GR), and 18-78 million € (IT) for such 10-year return period events. SUMMARY: We model the risk of extreme wildfires for Italy, Greece, Portugal, and Spain in form of burned area return levels, compare them, and estimate expectedlosses.

The Italian model of humanitarian diplomacy

Тhe term humanitarian diplomacy is undergoing a number of changes in the political discourse of international relations. Already, various states and international organizations are investing in it with diff erent content. In this article, we will look at how Italy, the ancestor of the modern diplomatic system, puts into practice humanitarian diplomacy in the broad sense of the term. If initially the concept of "humanitarian diplomacy" meant only "providing humanitarian assistance to vulnerable segments of the population during a confl ict and victims of natural or man-made disasters", today it is already a whole umbrella concept that includes a wide palette of humanitarian cooperation on an ongoing basis in such areas such as: culture, science, education, youth, tourism. Particular attention is paid to the institutionalization of humanitarian diplomacy in the process of "transformation" of the foreign policy system of the Italian Republic. In addition, the author studies the cultural and scientific component of the international activities of the state on the example of cooperation with such "vulnerable" regions as: Africa and the Mediterranean. As the analysis of plans and reports of the relevant Italian structures, namely: the Ministry of Foreign Aff airs and International Cooperation, the Italian Cooperation Agency, showed, the main areas for cooperation in the humanitarian sphere are: education, fundamental research on environmental issues, agriculture, clean water and gender policy. In fact, activities in the fi eld of humanitarian diplomacy cover most areas of a universal, comprehensive nature. It is concluded that the Italian model of humanitarian diplomacy follows the global "trends" of reforming the ministries of foreign aff airs, and also "creates" its own practices of diplomatic discourse — legal and "hybrid" diplomacy, which, unfortunately, are not currently widely used and in its essence, in the first case, it is part of a multilateral (conventional), and in the second, it is rather a characteristic than an independent form of foreign policy activity, in the extreme case, a part of public diplomacy.

The Treaty of Quirinale between Italy and France

Abstract On 26 November 2021, France and Italy signed a Treaty on enhanced cooperation, currently named the Treaty of Quirinale after the residence of the President of the Italian Republic, where the ceremony of signature was held, echoing the Treaty of the Elysée between France and Germany signed by Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer. However, the Treaty of Quirinale is not aimed at ending any secular conflict like that between France and Germany, which was supplemented by the Aachen Treaty (2019). The French-Italian Treaty is more of a proclamation than a document endowed with rights and duties. The obligatory provisions are mainly those aimed at organising cooperation between the two countries with the establishment of new institutions or enabling the presence of each country in the other’s relevant existing institutions. The cooperation invests the main political sectors of the administration, such as foreign policy, defence, economic and social development, European integration, cultural affairs and neighbour relations. There is not a coordination between the Quirinale Treaty and the Elysée/Aachen Treaty. In case of different views (for instance on the reform of the United Nations Security Council), diplomacy should find the proper solution.

Storage of chicken breast meat in paper coated with different types of hydrophobic agents

Chicken meat is well known for its high nutritional value. Its shelf life is short, due to the pronounced perishability, even under refrigeration. Paper bags are usually used as packaging materials, due to their biodegradability. The main negative aspect concerning paper is its high porosity and low moisture barrier. In this regard, it has to be coated/modified with efficient moisture barrier materials. The storage of chicken breast meat wrapped in four types of paper‐based materials currently in use in Romania (RO), Italy (IT), Spain (SP) and Slovenia (SLO) is reported. RO and IT are paper coated with polyethylene (PE) film, SP is waxed paper, and SLO is paper modified with hydrophobized starch. The influence of the coating film on the organoleptical, biochemical and microbiological characteristics of the chicken breast meat stored at 4°C was the aim of the study. The mathematical modelling revealed two aspects: (1) the stability period in which the meat safe for consumption is in the range 1.92–2.18 days in the case of all paper types, and (2) cadaverine, the amine generated by protein degradation, is a less sensitive indicator of the meat alteration than microbial growth. The papers coated with PE (RO and IT samples) and with hydrophobized starch (SLO paper) were packaging materials more efficient that the waxed paper (SP sample). The polyethylene film reduced the conversion of putrescine into spermidine in a higher extent than wax.

Vaccines for older adults; the low-hanging fruit of disease prevention

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the significance of vaccination for older adults (OA), however, more health benefits could be gained with vaccination against influenza, pneumococcal disease, herpes zoster and tetanus as their uptake remains rather low. As healthcare professionals (HCP) play an important role in the vaccination decision making of OA, this study identifies obstacles in vaccination communication between HCP and OA. Methods 80 in-depth structured interviews have been conducted with HCPs in Hungary (HU), Italy (IT), the Netherlands (NL) and France (FR). Participants were general practitioners, medical specialists, public health physicians, occupational physicians, pharmacists, geriatricians, specialists elderly care and nurses. The interview included questions on HCPs’ perceptions regarding information provision to OA on vaccines. Data were analyzed cross-country, using thematic analysis. Results Preliminary results reveal that a factor hindering HCPs to initiate conversations with OA on vaccines was lack of time (FR, IT, HU, NL). In hospitals this was often due to (acute) clinical problems taking precedence over discussing vaccines (IT, NL). In ambulatory settings the high number of patients waiting to be seen prevented discussing vaccines with OA (HU). Moreover, HCPs sometimes forgot to discuss vaccines with OA (NL, HU, IT). Patient factors hindering the conversation of HCPs on OA vaccines were a negative attitude (IT, HU) and lack of understanding the information provided (IT, HU). Also, misinformation on vaccines (FR, HU), as well as anti-vax beliefs from patients (NL) or their relatives (FR, IT) hampered the conversation on vaccines. HCPs mentioned their need to learn communication skills to convince OA on vaccines (FR, IT, HU). Conclusions HCPs encounter various obstacles in communicating with OA about vaccines. Lack of time and not recognizing the opportunity to discuss vaccines are important barriers for initiating vaccine conversations. Key messages • Providing HCPs with communication strategies is important to support HCPs in discussing vaccines with OA. • Reminder systems are important to help HCPs remember address vaccination.

Spatial distribution and source identification of heavy metals in European mountain beech forests soils

The main objectives of this research were to (i) investigate the concentration; (ii) characterize the distribution; (iii) determine the sources apportionment; (iv) estimate environmental and health risks of heavy metals in soil from mountain beech forest. A total of 76 soil samples from 20 pure beech forest stands from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BA), Bulgaria (BG), Check Republic (CZ), Germany (DE), Italy (IT), Poland (PL), Romania (RO), Serbia (RS), Slovakia (SK), Slovenia (SL), and Spain (ES) were collected. The content of major elements was measured by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF). The content of heavy metals was measured by inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectrometry (ICP/OES). Heavy metals had a specific concentration range, which followed in soil samples from depth 0–40 cm the common order (low to high): Hg < Cd < As < Co < Pb < Ni < Cu < Cr < Zn, and from depth 40–80 cm: Hg < Cd < As < Pb < Co < Ni < Cu < Cr < Zn. The grouping of the examined parameters according to rock types, soil types, and localities indicated the separation of carbonate rocks from other substrates, luvisol, and rendzina from other soil types, and samples from BA, SL, and IT from other localities. According to sources apportionment As, Pb and Zn are of anthropogenic origin, Cd, Co, Cr, and Ni are of geogenic origin, while the middle position of Cu and Hg indicates a combined contribution of both sources. Elements Cd and Hg indicated severe to extremely severe enrichment with a mean value of 24.3 and 70.6, respectively. Based on the determined values Ni, Cr, As and Cd do not pose a health risk.

The First Three Months of COVID-19: Epidemiological Evidence for Two SARS-CoV-2 Strains Spreading and Implications for Prevention Strategies.

About a month after the COVID-19 epidemic peaked in Mainland China and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) migrated to Europe and then the USA, the epidemiological data began to provide important insights into the risks associated with the disease and the effectiveness of intervention strategies such as travel restrictions and lockdowns (“social distancing”). Respiratory diseases, including the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic, remain only about two months in any given population, although peak incidence and lethality can vary. The epidemiological data suggested that at least two strains of SARS-CoV-2 had evolved during the first months of the epidemic while the virus migrated from Mainland China to Europe. South Korea (SK), Iran, Italy (IT), and Italy’s neighbors were then hit by the more dangerous “SKII” variant. While the first epidemic in continental Asia was about to end and in Europe about to level off, the more recent epidemic in the younger US population was still increasing, albeit not exponentially anymore.The same models that help us to understand the epidemic also help us to choose prevention strategies. The containment of high-risk people, such as the elderly with comorbidities, and reducing disease severity, by either vaccination, reduction of comorbidities (seen as risk factors already in Italy), or early treatment of complications, are the best strategies against a respiratory virus disease (RVD). Lockdowns can be effective during the month following the peak incidence of infections when the exponential increase of cases ends (the window of opportunity). From the standard susceptible-infectious-resistant (SIR) model used, containing low-risk people too early, instead, merely prolongs the time the virus needs to circulate until the incidence is high enough to reach “herd immunity.” Containing low-risk people too late is also not helpful, unless to prevent a rebound if containment started too early.

Prezydenci Republiki Włoskiej w latach 1992–2022. Dynamika zmian

The purpose of this article was to present the functioning of the office of the president in the Italian Republic in terms of personnel in the years 1992-2022, explaining the dynamics of changes in this period. In order to do this, the author formulated the main hypothesis assuming that the dynamics of changes in the office of the president was stimulated by the personal characteristics of people in this office, and not by significant systemic changes within the political system. In order to verify, research questions were established relating to the political past of the presidents, their personal characteristics and the evolution of the office over the years. In order to answer these questions and verify the hypothesis, research methods adequate to the analysis of the past and systemic inference were used, these were the following methods: historical and comparative. Thanks to this, it was presented that this dynamics of changes was shaped by the personal decisions of successive presidents. In the absence of any significant political changes, the image of the head of state was stimulated by the personal characteristics of the people in this office.

Evolution of the Ovarian Cancer Treatment Paradigm, Including Maintenance Treatment, in the US and Europe: A Real-World Chart Review Analysis (2017-2020) (028)

Evolution of the Ovarian Cancer Treatment Paradigm, Including Maintenance Treatment, in the US and Europe: A Real-World Chart Review Analysis (2017-2020) (028)

Italy: Immigration and the evolution of populism

We study the effect of immigration on the upsurge of right-wing populism in Italy. Our data considers electoral results at the municipality level of the Senate of the Italian Republic and the Chamber of Deputies over the period 2006–2018. Using an IV strategy based on the shift–share instrument, we find that immigration generates a sizable causal increase in votes for the right-wing populist party Lega. Immigration also works as a major catalyst for the electoral distance between Lega and its most direct competitors. We explore how different levels of tax autonomy impact the results, as well as how the re-branding of Lega as a national movement affects the relation between immigration and support for the party.

Abstract 6276: Real-world prevalence of MSI/MMR testing for patients with recurrent or advanced endometrial cancer in Europe

Abstract Introduction: Microsatellite instability (MSI) due to defective DNA mismatch repair (MMR) has emerged as an actionable biomarker in endometrial cancer (EC) with the recent availability of MSI-directed therapies. Currently, there is no data on utilization of MSI/MMR testing for EC in Europe. This study aims to assess the real-world prevalence of MSI/MMR testing and related tumor status in women with recurrent or advanced EC (aEC) in Europe. Methodology: Endometrial Cancer Health Outcomes-Europe (ECHO-EU) is a multicenter retrospective chart review study in United Kingdom (UK), Germany (GE), Italy (IT) and Spain (SP). Physicians extracted de-identified data from medical records of women (≥18 years) diagnosed with aEC, who progressed after prior systemic therapy between July 2016 and July 2019. Patients’ demographics, clinical characteristics, and MSI/MMR testing data were collected. Women were categorized by MSI/MMR status. Results: Interim data from 81 physicians included 349 eligible women (UK=83, GE=64, IT=102, SP=100). More than 85% of physicians were medical oncologists and 91% had a hospital-based practice. At aEC diagnosis, eligible women were on average 68 years, 91% were Stage III/IV, and 56% had endometrioid carcinoma. Overall, 36% of patients were tested by either polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for MSI or immunohistochemistry (IHC) for MMR (UK=33%, GE=31%, IT=25%, SP=55%). Of those with ≥1 test, 54% were tested prior to systemic therapy initiation, with large inter-country differences (16-70%), 20% were MSI-high/deficient MMR (dMMR), 73% were non-MSI-high/proficient MMR (pMMR), and 7% had a mixed result. (Table) Conclusion: Overall MSI/MMR testing rates in Europe are low. Approximately 1 in 5 tested patients had MSI-high/dMMR tumors and three quarters had non-MSI-high/pMMR tumors. Knowledge regarding MSI/MMR testing and related tumor status may be helpful for optimal utilization of targeted therapies for aEC patients in Europe. Table - Patient characteristics and MSI/MMR testing/prevalence in women with aEC in Europe Variable All (N = 349) UK (N = 83) Germany (N = 64) Italy (N = 102) Spain (N = 100) Age at diagnosis of advanced or recurrent EC (years), Mean (SD) 67.5 (9.2) 69.0 (8.4) 68.5 (8.3) 66.1 (9.3) 67.1 (10.1) Stage III-IV at initial diagnosis, N (%) 318 (91.1) 78 (94) 58 (90.6) 96 (94.1) 86 (86) ECOG at recurrent or advanced diagnosis, N (%) 0-1 287 (82.2) 79 (95.2) 34 (53.1) 88 (86.3) 86 (86) Any MSI/MMR testing (IHC or PCR), N (%) Not tested 222 (63.6) 56 (67.5) 44 (68.8) 77 (75.5) 45 (45) Tested 127 (36.4) 27 (32.5) 20 (31.3) 25 (24.5) 55 (55) MSI/MMR status, N (%) MSI-High/dMMR 25 (19.7) 7 (25.9) 3 (15) 3 (12) 12 (21.8) Non-MSI-High/pMMR 93 (73.2) 20 (74.1) 14 (70) 19 (76) 40 (72.7) Mixed 9 (7.1) 0 (0) 3 (15) 3 (12) 3 (5.5) MSI/MMR testing administration, N (%) Before treatment initiation 68 (53.5) 19 (70.4) 10 (50) 4 (16) 35 (63.6) Citation Format: Jingchuan Zhang, Sneha S. Kelkar, Vimalanand S. Prabhu, Shelby Corman, Lucy Qiao, Véronique Grall, Nicola Miles. Real-world prevalence of MSI/MMR testing for patients with recurrent or advanced endometrial cancer in Europe [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 6276.

An Intelligent system for the categorization of question time official documents of the Italian Chamber of Deputies

ABSTRACT In this work, we present an intelligent system for the automatic categorization of political documents, specifically the documents containing the parliamentary questions collected during the weekly Question Times at the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Republic. The proposed intelligent system leverages text classification models to perform the document categorization. The system is aimed at supporting and facilitating the research activities of political science scholars, who deal with comparative and longitudinal analysis of thousands of documents. To select the best classification models for our specific task, several classical machine learning and deep learning-based text classification models have been experimentally compared.

Treatment patterns and outcomes among patients with recurrent or advanced endometrial cancer in Europe: Endometrial Cancer Health Outcomes Europe (ECHO EU) Study.

e17627 Background: Until recently, recurrent or advanced endometrial cancer (aEC) patients in Europe had limited treatment options, with no consensus on standard of care in such settings. Approval of novel targeted therapies in 2021 are changing the treatment landscape. However, there is little real-world evidence among aEC patients in Europe. The objective of our study was to evaluate real-world treatment patterns and clinical outcomes in aEC patients who progressed following prior systemic therapy (FPST) in clinical practice in Europe. Methods: The ECHO-EU is a multicenter, retrospective chart review study in United Kingdom (UK), Germany (GE), Italy (IT) and Spain (SP). Adult women diagnosed with aEC who received at least one prior systemic therapy and progressed between July 1, 2016 – June 30, 2019, were included. De-identified patient data extracted by treating oncologists from patients’ medical records included patient demographics, clinical and treatment characteristics, and clinical outcomes. Kaplan-Meier analyses were performed to estimate real-world overall survival (OS). Results: A total of 379 (UK=101, GE=88, IT=100, SP=90) eligible aEC patients were included in the analysis. At aEC diagnosis, patients’ median age was 69 years, 97% were White/Caucasian and most prevalent histology was endometrioid carcinoma (58%). Molecular characterization of tumors including microsatellite instability/mismatch repair (MSI/MMR) status was performed in only 37% of patients. Metastases were observed in 56% of the patients at diagnosis. Median duration of follow up from aEC diagnosis was 24 months. The majority (95%) of patients initiated 1st line with chemotherapy (most commonly with platinum chemotherapy and paclitaxel). As 2nd line therapy, 81% received mono or combination chemotherapy, and 19% received hormonal therapy. Doxorubicin was the most frequently used agent (45%) in 2nd line, and 16% of patients were re-treated with platinum therapy. At last follow-up, the majority (90%) of patients discontinued 2nd line treatment, mostly due to disease progression (54%). Median duration of 2nd line therapy was 5 months (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 4-5). Median OS from initiation of 2nd line therapy was 11 months (95% CI: 10-13). Estimated probability of OS from initiation of 2nd line therapy at 6, 12, and 24 months were 70%, 45%, and 30%, respectively. Conclusions: Our study finds thatin Europe prior to mid-2019, available treatment options were sub-optimal for aEC patients FPST, leading to poor prognosis. The utilization of MSI/MMR testing for molecular characterization of tumors was low and needs to increase. There was a significant unmet need for novel therapies that improve clinical outcomes in this patient population. Future studies evaluating treatment patterns and clinical outcomes with more recently approved treatments are warranted.

Profiles of Potential Unconstitutionality of Legislation Restricting Personal Freedom for the Containment of COVID-19 on the Example of the Italian Republic

Abstract The Sars-CoV–2 pandemic is changing the main issues of Italian constitutional law. The phases of the Italian normative management of the crisis focused on important and extraordinary measures and brought to light some structural problems of the Italian constitutional legal system. More generally the ongoing health crisis is revealing the lack of an articulated emergency framework in the Italian Constitution and questioning whether existing legislative tools are suitable to face contemporary threats. This article aims to analyse the main issues raised by the Italian government’s reaction to the coronavirus: the notion of emergency in Italian constitutional law, the legal forms chosen to fight the virus, the choice of the Italian Government to regulate the emergency by decrees of the President of the Council of Ministers, the role of decree law (‘decreto-legge’), from the emergency and the compression and restriction of fundamental rights to the balance of the fundamental freedoms with the protection of right to health.

MO926: Development and Implementation of an Electronic Patient-Reported Outcome System to Support Health-Related Quality of Life Management in a Large, European Dialysis Network

Abstract BACKGROUND AND AIMS Electronic patient-reported outcome measures (ePROMs) may help personalize healthcare for dialysis patients. ePROMs allow patients to self-report their symptoms and disease burden remotely and make the data available to healthcare professionals (HCP) in real-time. Such information can be used for digital phenotyping, symptoms and disease burden monitoring and to enable personalized healthcare through improved outcomes prediction, as well as Screen and Act, N-of-1 trials and treat-to-target approaches. However, routine use of ePROM in clinical practice presents several challenges, including respondent burden and a lack of clear guidance on medical and psycho-educational intervention in response to patients’ complains. We sought to implement a quality improvement programme based on ePROM management in a large network of dialysis patients. METHOD ePROM were collected as part of a screen and act programme launched for the first time in all centres belonging to the Fresenius Medical Care (FMC) Nephrocare network in France (FR), Italy (IT), Spain (SP), UK and Ireland (IR) starting on 20 September 2021. The screening phase ended on 4 December 2021. The action phase is still ongoing. The programme aims at screening all dialysis patients for undetected quality of life and adjustment problems and allow physicians, at their sole discretion, to provide remediation actions potentially including adjustment of treatment plan based on revision of patients’ clinical charts and administration of health education modules. The questionnaire included KDQOL-36, the 5D-Itch questionnaire and an ad hoc module on intradialytic symptoms, and its content was mapped to SONG-HD initiative endpoints. ePROM were collected at the bedside or at patients’ home with a web application available for tablet and smartphones either as self-report or assisted self-report. All ePROM data were recorded in EuCLiD®, the clinical information systems adopted by FMC Nephrocare clinics, as part of patients’ clinical chart. A dashboard displaying patients’ scores was shown to the attending healthcare professional upon survey completion. Statistics about patients’ engagement, scores and action alerts are presented in clinical reports. In the present analysis, we report a retrospective analysis of data abstracted from the EuCliD® database. RESULTS Overall, 152 centres (93%) joined the campaign. Participation statistics across countries are reported in Fig. 1. Among 11 537 active patients treated in the five participating countries, 1553 were ineligible because belonging to non-participating centres, temporarily transferred to other centres outside the network (i.e. vacation, rehabilitation, etc.), hospitalized, or because they were considered unable to respond to the survey (i.e. language barrier, inability to read and write or cognitive impairment). Around 23% (IT) to 30% (FR) were considered eligible with assisted administration only. Attrition rate ranged from 3% (IT) to 15% (FR). Item missingness was &amp;lt;2% for all items throughout the survey except for the item on sexual activity (&amp;gt;10% in all countries). KDQOL-36 scores are reported in Fig. 2; 22.5% reported moderate to very severe pruritus mostly distributed on the head/scalp, chest, abdomen, back, lower legs and thighs, forearm and upper arm (all &amp;gt;30% prevalence). Between 10% (IT) and 20% (UK) reported any complications during their last dialysis session, and between 6% (SP) and 12% (IR) suspended or interrupted treatment because of their symptoms. Prevalence of recovery time &amp;gt;3 h ranged from 34.8% (FR) to 46.4% (IR). CONCLUSION The ePROM quality improvement campaign attained wide participation and low attrition. We found no evidence of respondent burden given the low missingness rate throughout the survey items. The screening phase allowed to collect and organize a wealth of patient-reported outcomes amenable of medical or psycho-educational interventions.

Od okupatora do saveznika. Prelazak divizija „Venecija“ i „Taurinense“ na stranu JVuO i NOVJ posle kapitulacije Italije

The paper discusses the fate of two Italian divisions that decided to join the Yugoslav resistance movements after Italy’s withdrawal from the war. Emphasis was placed on their military capacity, political and ideological challenges of the new alliances, the one with the Chetniks and the one with the Partisans, and general guidelines that will mark the cooperation of former opponents to the end. The article is written on archival material kept in the Archives of the Military Department of the General Staff of the Italian Republic in Rome, Military Archives, Archives of Serbia and Yugoslavia, all in Belgrade, as well as domestic and foreign scholarly literature

First-line treatment of stage IIB to stage IV classical Hodgkin lymphoma in Italy, Israel, and Spain: Patient characteristics, treatment patterns, and clinical outcomes.

Classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) is curable in 90% of cases, but advanced stage patients who do not respond well to first‐line (1L) therapy have poorer outcomes. This retrospective study examines patient characteristics, treatment patterns, clinical outcomes, and safety management of 1L cHL therapies in common clinical practice in Italy (IT), Israel (IL), and Spain (SP). The overall sample (n = 256) included patients with stage IIb to IV cHL, of which 86.3% received ABVD as 1L therapy (n = 221). Clinical outcomes were similar for the overall population and ABVD subsample: complete response (CR) in 75% and 76.5%; 30‐month (30‐mo) survival (OS) of 92.5% and 93.6%; and 30‐mo progression‐free survival (PFS) of 70.7% and 72.6%. Thirty‐month PFS was significantly lower for patients ≥ 60 years and/or with high (4–7) IPS. Treatment‐induced pulmonary and cardiac toxicities, and febrile neutropenia occurred, respectively, in 10%, 2.3%, and 6.8% of ABVD‐treated patients. Interim PET or PET‐CT scans were performed after two cycles of 1L therapy (PET2) for 70.3% and 66.6% of the overall and ABVD cohorts, respectively. PET2 positive rates were nearly 30% (49/173), yet PET‐adapted strategy of dose modification only occurred in a small fraction of patients.

Institutional Communication and the Covid-19 Pandemic: Italian Government Media Campaigns

The SARS-CoV-2 virus struck the entire world unexpectedly, and Italy was one of the countries that suffered the most losses. Considering the importance and influence of the media in crisis and risk situations, the main aim of this paper is to examine official institutional public announcements issued by the Republic of Italy from February 2020 to July 2021. Following previous research recommendations that advocate the informational and persuasive nature of institutional communication during times of crisis and risk, these audio-visual messages are examined from two complementary perspectives: as institutional communication and as commercials. A distinct theoretical and analytical approach is developed by combining tools from various topic areas, in this case, public relations and semiotics. As a result, the messages are first examined through the lens of Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication as an Integrative Model. Throughout the various stages of crisis communication, various pragmatic, rhetorical, and semiotic tools are identified and analyzed. It is possible to conclude that institutional communication in the studied period goes through nearly the entire cycle of the integrative model. The evaluation stage's full potential is still untapped, but there are some sporadic evaluative attempts within previous stages. Simultaneously, by analyzing pandemic narratives, values, and semiotic resources at various stages of the pandemic, it becomes clear that these video clips are positioned differently within Flock's square, with linguistic-stylistic and semiotic features of varying complexity and creativity. As the pandemic progresses, the advertisements become more substantial, and then mythical, glorifying the Italian nation and cultural heritage, from the initial referential advertisements. The artistic expression of Tornatore's advertisement "Room of Embraces" serves as the oblique advertisement. In the final stages of the pandemic institutional communication, the government is turning to real-life images once more, but this time in a completely different mood. Instead of fabricated real-life images with a spokesperson at the center of the message, there are now authentic images of young people, beaches, music, and happy TV faces as immediate, intimate, and optimistic messages about the future.