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Several recent studies in educational literature showed how students’ skills in maths affect their success at higher levels of education. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the effect of taking additional maths class at high school on first-year performance of Italian university students. However, university performance and the choice of the high-school depend on several factors that make this evaluation challenging. Using information coming from three different sources, we carry out a multilevel propensity score procedure to estimate the average treatment effect between the applied sciences track and the traditional scientific one. After balancing for school- and student-level covariates, the results of a logistic regression model suggest no difference between the two school tracks.

Personalized medicine is a new paradigm in health care, and the concept of socio-cultural gender, as opposed to biological sex, emerged in several medical approaches. This exploratory study aimed to investigate the knowledge of sex and gender in clinical medicine among Sicilian physicians. Data collection was based on an online survey sent to the members of the Medical Councils of Sicily (Italy). The questionnaire included nine specific items about awareness and attitudes regarding gender medicine and its importance in clinical practice. 8023 Sicilian physicians received the solicitation e-mail and only 496 responded. Regarding the knowledge of gender medicine, 71.1% of participants stated that they know it, while 88.5% believe that gender medicine should be included in training programs. Similarly, a high percentage (77.6%) would like to keep up to date on this topic. Physicians sampled seem to understand the importance of gender medicine principles, although their experience of some gender issues (i.e., sex disparities in acute cardiovascular care and smoking cessation strategies) is low (55.44% and 21.57%, respectively). The results of this exploratory study should encourage facing the gender medicine gap in the current curricula of health professionals and should implement the transitional value of sex and gender principles in the clinical setting.

To evaluate the accuracy of preoperative contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the assessment of radiological depth of invasion (rDOI) and bone invasion in patients with oral cavity cancer, and the prognostic value of preoperative rDOI.This retrospective study included patients with surgically resected oral cavity cancer and preoperative MRI acquired within four weeks before surgery. Two readers evaluated the MRI to assess the superficial and deep bone invasion, preoperative T stage, and measured the rDOI. The rDOI was compared to the histopathological DOI (pDOI), used as reference standard. Prognostic value of preoperative features for the disease-specific survival was evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier curve and multivariable Cox proportional hazards analysis.The final population included 80 patients (50 males, mean age 67.7 ± 13.6 years). There was a strong statistically significant correlation between the rDOI (median 10 mm) and the pDOI (median 9 mm) (ρ: 0.978, p 0.001). The agreement between MRI and histopathological T stage was excellent (k = 0.93, 95% CI 0.86, 0.99). The sensitivity and specificity of preoperative MRI were 93.3% and 98.8% for deep bone invasion, while they were 75.0% and 95.8% for superficial bone invasion, respectively. The rDOI 10 mm was associated with poorer disease-specific survival (log-rank p = 0.016). The rDOI remained the only independent preoperative predictor associated with poorer disease-specific survival at multivariable analysis (hazard ratio 5.5; 95% CI 1.14, 26.58; p = 0.033).Preoperative MRI is accurate for the assessment of DOI and bone invasion. The rDOI is an independent preoperative predictor of disease-specific survival in patients with oral cavity cancer.

We propose an iterative algorithm to select the smoothing parameters in additive quantile regression, wherein the functional forms of the covariate effects are unspecified and expressed via B-spline bases with difference penalties on the spline coefficients. The proposed algorithm relies on viewing the penalized coefficients as random effects from the symmetric Laplace distribution, and it turns out to be very efficient and particularly attractive with multiple smooth terms. Through simulations we compare our proposal with some alternative approaches, including the traditional ones based on minimization of the Schwarz Information Criterion. A real-data analysis is presented to illustrate the method in practice.

Human migration involves the movement of people from one place to another. An example of undirected migration is Italian student mobility where students move from the South to the Center-North. This kind of mobility has become of general interest, and this work explores student mobility from Sicily towards universities outside the island. The data used in this paper regards six cohorts of students, from 2008/09 to 2013/14. In particular, our goal is to study the 3-step migration path: the area of origin (Sicilian provinces), the regional university for the bachelor’s degree, and the regional university for the master’s. Our analysis is conducted by building a multipartite network with four sets of nodes: students; Sicilian provinces; bachelor region of studies; and the master region of studies. By projecting the students’ set onto the others, we obtain a tripartite network where the number of students represents the link weight. Results show that the big Sicilian cities—Palermo, Catania, and Messina—have different preferential paths compared to small Sicilian cities. Furthermore, the results reveal preferential paths of 3-step mobility that only, in part, reflect a south-north orientation in the transition from the region of study for the bachelor degree to that for the master’s.

La popolazione dei giovani di origine immigrata iscritti all’università è in costante crescita nel contesto italiano, risultato di fattori di spinta e di attrazione complessi, legati tanto al processo di internazionalizzazione del sistema universitario italiano quanto alla storia migratoria del Paese, in cui i figli degli immigrati sono adesso in età per iscriversi all’università. Coesistono, infatti, due realtà della presenza straniera profondamente diverse nel sistema dell’istruzione post-secondaria. La prima è costituita dagli studenti stranieri in senso stretto, espressione di una mobilità internazionale per motivi di studio, che accedono all’università con un diploma conseguito all’estero; la seconda è rappresentata da quei giovani stranieri che, una volta completato il ciclo di istruzione superiore nella scuola italiana, decidono di iscriversi all’università, seguendo un percorso comune ai loro coetanei autoctoni. Si tratta di giovani nati da genitori stranieri in Italia o all’estero, almeno in parte scolarizzati nel nostro sistema di istruzione, la cui presenza nell’università è relativamente recente, legata al continuo aumento di alunni con cittadinanza straniera nella scuola superiore. Questa popolazione assume un ruolo chiave nel processo di integrazione delle collettività immigrate, testimone di un processo migratorio che arriva a maturità. Secondo le più recenti informazioni ricavate dal database Mobysu.it, nell’anno accademico 2020/21 oltre 16.700 studenti con cittadinanza straniera si sono immatricolati in un Ateneo italiano (5,3% delle immatricolazioni totali), con un incremento del 34,0% nel corso dell’ultimo decennio, a fronte di un aumento degli immatricolati italiani nello stesso periodo del 15,7%.

Gender gap in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) courses is a prevalent topic in the recent literature, and quantitative studies on this relationship are essential to understand better the discussion and issues claimed by the arguments and the theories on this topic. In Italy, since 1989, the overall share of females enrolling at university is larger than the males' one, but females are still underrepresented in almost all the STEM fields, while overrepresented in nursing, humanities, and law schools. Our paper aims to investigate the gender differences in terms of university performance in STEM courses in Italy. This is done via segmented regression models, representing a novel application in higher education literature. Data are provided by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MIUR). The analysis concerns freshmen enrolled at a 3-year STEM degree course in the Italian universities in the last decade. We focus on the relationship between the number of university credits (CUs) earned during the first year (a good predictor of the regularity of the career) and the probability of getting the Bachelor degree within four years. Furthermore, we account for other relevant covariates regarding students' high school career and some of their demographic characteristics. The novelty of our work consists of a straightforward representation of the relationship between CUs and the completion of the degree course. Segmented models allow identifying the relevant changepoints in the CUs accumulation during the students' careers. Our analysis confirms the first-year performance is strongly related to obtaining the Bachelor degree within four years. This relation often varies between males and females and is in line with the divide between the (female) care-oriented and the (male) technical-oriented courses. That relationship varies also among the STEM courses: the probability of getting the degree is higher for males in computer science, mathematics, and slightly higher in natural sciences and biotechnology. Those results show that the care/technical divide is consistent but in mathematics, where males outperform females. Though we initially included mathematics in the (female) care-oriented group, because it was considered a teaching-oriented course in the past, mathematicians’ job placement has significantly changed with many technical and computer science jobs. Therefore, nowadays, math could be considered both a care and a technical oriented course. We also highlight an interesting pattern in engineering, which is one of the most “masculinised” courses. It looks like female performance follows the male stream, which is an encouraging result, even if the limited female component is still an issue. Both the lower presence and the worse performance of females can be explained by the “chilly climate” theory, that is, the presence of university environments in which females face stronger difficulties in further succeeding in some specific STEM careers.

Nel 1999, il “Processo di Bologna” ha proposto la realizzazione dello spazio europeo di istruzione superiore (concretizzatosi nell’European Higher Education Area - EHEA) con l’intento di promuovere la conoscenza, la mobilità e la coesione culturale fra i paesi europei e il resto del mondo. Tali obiettivi sono stati ribaditi nel Comunicato di Bucarest (2012), approvato dai Ministri dell’Istruzione Superiore dei 47 membri dell’EHEA, in cui si mette l’accento sulla necessità di garantire, da un lato, il massimo livello possibile di finanziamento pubblico per l’istruzione superiore, come forma di investimento per il superamento della crisi finanziaria e, da un altro lato, un accesso paritario all’istruzione superiore a tutti gli europei. Quest’ultimo aspetto è rilevante per il nostro Paese che, non solo non è competitivo sul piano europeo a causa del basso investimento per la Ricerca e lo Sviluppo, ma è anche afflitto da un dualismo territoriale Sud-Nord, sia in tema di occupazione sia in tema di istruzione (SVIMEZ, 2014). Inoltre, il sistema universitario italiano negli ultimi 25 anni è stato oggetto di riforme che hanno prodotto molti cambiamenti. L’autonomia finanziaria delle università, introdotta con la legge 537 del 1993 come strumento per contenere le spese, accompagnata dai crescenti tagli alla spesa pubblica, ha innescato un meccanismo di competitività fra le università e ha condizionato le politiche dell’istruzione alle logiche del mercato. “Il fatto che i meccanismi di premialità inerenti al finanziamento delle Università abbiano sottratto risorse dal Sud verso il Centro-Nord è assai inquietante. È vero che in media le Università del Mezzogiorno risultano meno efficienti, ma la cura non può passare per una dieta dimagrante del loro finanziamento, che si traduce in un impoverimento del capitale umano e in una accelerazione della migrazione giovanile verso il resto del Paese e verso l’estero” (Livi Bacci, 2015). Ciò ha ampliato le differenze fra gli atenei del Sud e quelli del Nord in termini di servizi offerti, di qualità della ricerca, di attrattività degli studenti, favorendo la mobilità degli studenti nel passaggio dal diploma di II grado all’università. Questa avviene solo dal Sud verso il Centro e il Nord del Paese e trasferisce il dualismo territoriale anche sugli atenei, in un circolo vizioso in termini di sviluppo sociale ed economico. Invero, non si tratta solamente di mobilità momentanea, ma di una vera e propria migrazione che si traduce in un ulteriore depauperamento del capitale umano del Mezzogiorno, già afflitto da dispersione scolastica e rinuncia all’istruzione terziaria.

Negli ultimi anni si è assistito ad un incremento della competizione tra gli atenei per “accaparrarsi” gli studenti, a cui si aggiunge una sempre maggiore attività di promozione e di reclutamento degli studenti delle università non statali (telematiche e non). Le università non statali, altrimenti denominate “libere Università”, sono promosse sia da enti di diritto privato che da enti pubblici (regioni, province, comuni). Esse sono legalmente riconosciute dal Ministero dell'Istruzione dell'Università e della Ricerca, e autorizzate a rilasciare titoli accademici, relativi all’ordinamento universitario, di valore legale identico a quelli rilasciati dalle università statali. La letteratura ha già mostrato quali sono le determinanti del successo universitario, come il tipo di scuola, il voto alla maturità, il corso di studi, la macroregione di residenza, il genere ma non ancora in relazione alle differenze tra le università statali e non statali. Infatti, non sono ancora stati condotti studi sulle carriere universitarie in termini di successo degli studenti iscritti negli atenei italiani, distinti tra: università statali e università non statali, che, a loro volta vista la grande differenza al loro interno, vanno distinte in telematiche (NS_Tel) e non telematiche (NS_NonTel).

Nephronophthisis (NPHP), the leading genetic cause of end-stage renal failure in children and young adults, is a group of autosomal recessive diseases characterized by kidney-cyst degeneration and fibrosis for which no therapy is currently available. To date, mutations in >25 genes have been identified as causes of this disease that, in several cases, result in chronic DNA damage in kidney tubular cells. Among such mutations, those in the transcription factor–encoding GLIS2 cause NPHP type 7. Loss of function of mouse Glis2 causes senescence of kidney tubular cells. Senescent cells secrete proinflammatory molecules that induce progressive organ damage through several pathways, among which NF-κB signaling is prevalent. Herein, we show that the NF-κB signaling is active in Glis2 knockout kidney epithelial cells and that genetic inactivation of the toll-like receptor (TLR)/IL-1 receptor or pharmacologic elimination of senescent cells (senolytic therapy) reduces tubule damage, fibrosis, and apoptosis in the Glis2 mouse model of NPHP. Notably, in Glis2, Tlr2 double knockouts, senescence was also reduced and proliferation was increased, suggesting that loss of TLR2 activity improves the regenerative potential of tubular cells in Glis2 knockout kidneys. Our results further suggest that a combination of TLR/IL-1 receptor inhibition and senolytic therapy may delay the progression of kidney disease in NPHP type 7 and other forms of this disease.

Encouraging active and sustainable transport modes in order to limit the excessive use of cars, as well as reducing pollutant emissions and creating livable urban environments, has become one of the priorities for policymakers in recent years. The introduction of innovative systems increasingly being introduced in modern cities, such as bike sharing, can certainly contribute to the spread of cycling and thus allow a radical change in the mobility habits of their citizens. This can be especially true for high-school students who are often otherwise accompanied by their parents with private cars. This article aims to assess the influence that a bike sharing program for students has on modal share and on city mobility. As a case study, the city of Palermo was chosen, where the use of the car for home-school trips is prevalent. The “Go2School” project, which involves the creation of a bike sharing program for four schools, with the construction of cycle docks and cycle paths in the nearby areas, will soon become a reality. Thanks to appropriate surveys and questionnaires, a multinomial logit model was calibrated to estimate the modal share towards bike sharing for the students and evaluate the demand for this transport mode.

This paper investigates gender differences in university performances in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) courses in Italy, proposing a novel application through the segmented regression models. The analysis concerns freshmen students enrolled at a 3-year STEM degree in Italian universities in the last decade, with a focus on the relationship between the number of university credits earned during the first year (a good predictor of the regularity of the career) and the probability of getting the bachelor degree within 4 years. Data is provided by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MIUR). Our analysis confirms that first-year performance is strongly correlated to obtaining a degree within 4 years. Furthermore, our findings show that gender differences vary among STEM courses, in accordance with the care-oriented and technical-oriented dichotomy. Males outperform females in mathematics, physics, chemistry and computer science, while females are slightly better than males in biology. In engineering, female performance seems to follow the male stream. Finally, accounting for other important covariates regarding students, we point out the importance of high school background and students’ demographic characteristics.

In recent years university students’ mobility has become increasingly important at a national level. It has been the subject of numerous studies on the South-Centre and South-North mobility flows of Italian students who choose university out of their residence region. The aim is twofold: to provide quantitative information on the university enrollment of the foreign students in the Italian universities (the size of the flows of foreign students enrolled at Italian universities, according to some socio-demographic characteristics); to measure the dropout rates and the time taken to obtain the degree comparing to the Italian students. Foreign students (FS) were classified into two groups: students with a high school diploma obtained abroad (i.e., IST international students) and foreign students with a high school diploma obtained in Italy (i.e., SGI second-generation immigrants). The analysis is based on the database ‘Anagrafe Nazionale Studenti’ (ANS) of the MIUR, concerning the careers of the university students enrolled in Italy from 2008/09 to 2017/18 (Mobysu.it). The results show that the IST and SGI enrolled in Italy have increased in the last decade, especially from 2014 to 2017 (+19%), but their presence is still very limited if compared to other European countries: 4.5% in 2011 and 5.3% in 2017. Their university performance is poor with much higher dropout rates than the Italian ones, even if the SGI perform better. Only a small amount of IST and SGI students enroll in Southern universities. Finally, the results confirm that the dramatic dropout rates at university are in line with their performance in the high school.

We examine discrimination against women in Italian universities in terms of career advancements for the last 20 years. Data is taken from the MUR archive. Two points are examined: the transition time from assistant professor to associate professor; and the transition time from associate professor to full professor.

Recessive mutations in the genes encoding the four subunits of the tRNA splicing endonuclease complex (TSEN54, TSEN34, TSEN15, and TSEN2) cause various forms of pontocerebellar hypoplasia, a disorder characterized by hypoplasia of the cerebellum and the pons, microcephaly, dysmorphisms, and other variable clinical features. Here, we report an intronic recessive founder variant in the gene TSEN2 that results in abnormal splicing of the mRNA of this gene, in six individuals from four consanguineous families affected with microcephaly, multiple craniofacial malformations, radiological abnormalities of the central nervous system, and cognitive retardation of variable severity. Remarkably, unlike patients with previously described mutations in the components of the TSEN complex, all the individuals that we report developed atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) with thrombotic microangiopathy, microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, proteinuria, severe hypertension, and end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) early in life. Bulk RNA sequencing of peripheral blood cells of four affected individuals revealed abnormal tRNA transcripts, indicating an alteration of the tRNA biogenesis. Morpholino-mediated skipping of exon 10 of tsen2 in zebrafish produced phenotypes similar to human patients. Thus, we have identified a novel syndrome accompanied by aHUS suggesting the existence of a link between tRNA biology and vascular endothelium homeostasis, which we propose to name with the acronym TRACK syndrome (TSEN2 Related Atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome, Craniofacial malformations, Kidney failure).

Description, EMT induces cilium assembly and signaling to promote mammogenesis and tumorigenesis., The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and primary ciliogenesis induce stem cell properties in basal mammary stem cells (MaSCs) to promote mammogenesis, but the underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Here, we show that EMT transcription factors promote ciliogenesis upon entry into intermediate EMT states by activating ciliogenesis inducers, including FGFR1. The resulting primary cilia promote ubiquitination and inactivation of a transcriptional repressor, GLIS2, which localizes to the ciliary base. We show that GLIS2 inactivation promotes MaSC stemness, and GLIS2 is required for normal mammary gland development. Moreover, GLIS2 inactivation is required to induce the proliferative and tumorigenic capacities of the mammary tumor–initiating cells (MaTICs) of claudin-low breast cancers. Claudin-low breast tumors can be segregated from other breast tumor subtypes based on a GLIS2-dependent gene expression signature. Collectively, our findings establish molecular mechanisms by which EMT programs induce ciliogenesis to control MaSC and MaTIC stemness, mammary gland development, and claudin-low breast cancer formation.

Background: Radiology-based outcomes, such as progression-free survival (PFS) and objective response rate (ORR), are used as surrogate endpoints in oncology trials. We aimed to assess the surrogacy relationship of PFS with overall survival (OS) in clinical trials of systemic therapies targeting advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by novel meta-regression methods. Methods: A search of databases (PubMed, American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), and European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Meeting Libraries, Clinicaltrials.gov) for trials of systemic therapies for advanced HCC reporting both OS and PFS was performed. Individual patient data were extracted from PFS and OS Kaplan&ndash, Meier curves. Summary median PFS and OS data were obtained from random-effect model. The surrogate relationships of median PFS, first quartile (Q1), third quartile (Q3), and restricted mean survival time (RMST) for OS were evaluated by the coefficient of determination R2. Heterogeneity was explored by meta-regression. Results: We identified 49 trials, 11 assessing immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and 38 multikinase inhibitors (MKIs). Overall, the correlation between median PFS and median OS was weak (R2 = 0.20. 95% Confidence Intervals [CI]-0.02, 0.42). Surrogacy robustness varied between treatment classes and PFS endpoints. In ICI trials only, the correlations between Q1-PFS and Q1-OS and between 12-month PFS-RMST and 12-month OS-RMST were high (R2 = 0.89, 95%CI 0.78&ndash, 0.98, and 0.80, 95% CI 0.63&ndash, 0.96, respectively). Interaction p-values obtained by meta-regression confirmed the robustness of results. Conclusions: In trials of systemic therapies for advanced HCC, the surrogate relationship of PFS with OS is highly variable depending on treatment class (ICI or MKI) and evaluation time-point. In ICI trials, Q1-PFS and 12-month PFS-RMST are robust surrogate endpoints for OS.

Le università rivestono un ruolo fondamentale per un territorio, oltre ad essere un luogo di alta formazione e quindi di creazione di capitale umano, la letteratura ha evidenziato che tali istituzioni attraverso il knowledge spillover possono talvolta rappresentare il motore dell’innovazione e quindi dello sviluppo economico (Wolfe 2005). Nonostante queste importanti funzioni, per garantirsi le risorse necessarie a portare avanti la propria attività le università italiane hanno un crescente bisogno di sviluppare la propria capacità di allargare il bacino di attrazione degli studenti, in quanto: i) parte della quota base del Fondo di Funzionamento Ordinario (FFO) ricevuta dal Ministero dell’Università e della Ricerca dipende dal numero di studenti; ii) maggiore è la platea studentesca, più ampie saranno le entrate dirette dovute alle contribuzioni; iii) la mobilità in entrata da stati esteri viene incentivata attraverso la quota premiale dell’FFO . Questo lavoro mira a fornire un’analisi esplorativa dei flussi delle matricole in uscita dalla Sardegna verso le regioni del Centro-Nord. Si ritiene infatti che prima di rispondere alla domanda “perché gli studenti vanno via?”, si debba sapere quanti sono e dove vanno. Possedere tale informazione rappresenterebbe infatti un prerequisito per una successiva analisi conoscitiva – che qui non affronteremo per ragioni di spazio – della offerta formativa delle università di arrivo.

Questo lavoro sulla predittività dei test di accesso TOLC-E e TOLC-I si inserisce, a pieno titolo, in due progetti di ricerca promossi da alcuni autori di questo rapporto. Il primo, del 2016, è il “Protocollo di Ricerca per lo studio della mobilità universitaria (MS) e delle carriere universitarie” tra gli atenei di Palermo, Napoli Federico II, Firenze, Torino, Cagliari, Sassari e Siena e il Miur. Il secondo è un Progetto di Rilevanza Nazionale 2017HBTK5P dal titolo “From high school to job placement: micro-data life course analysis of university student mobility and its impact on the Italian North-South divide”, linea Sud, finanziato nel 2019 con la partecipazione degli atenei sottoscrittori del protocollo col Miur con sede nel Sud. La questione di fondo (a cui sicuramente non riusciamo a dare una risposta in questa sede) è capire se lo studente è stato orientato e in che modo, a quali informazioni ha avuto accesso per “riconoscere” i propri interessi e, conseguentemente, se ha scelto il corso di laurea e l’ateneo che si addicono alle sue aspettative. Il lavoro qui proposto, analizzando a livello nazionale la predittività dei test di accesso in due grossi gruppi disciplinari, vuole aggiungere un tassello di conoscenze nel passaggio cruciale tra la scuola secondaria e l’università.

Questo lavoro sulla predittività dei test di accesso TOLC-E e TOLC-I si inserisce, a pieno titolo, in due progetti di ricerca promossi da alcuni autori di questo rapporto. Il primo, del 2016, è il “Protocollo di Ricerca per lo studio della mobilità universitaria (MS) e delle carriere universitarie” tra gli atenei di Palermo, Napoli Federico II, Firenze, Torino, Cagliari, Sassari e Siena e il Miur. Il secondo è un Progetto di Rilevanza Nazionale 2017HBTK5P dal titolo “From high school to job placement: micro-data life course analysis of university student mobility and its impact on the Italian North-South divide”, linea Sud, finanziato nel 2019 con la partecipazione degli atenei sottoscrittori del protocollo col Miur con sede nel Sud. La questione di fondo (a cui sicuramente non riusciamo a dare una risposta in questa sede) è capire se lo studente è stato orientato e in che modo, a quali informazioni ha avuto accesso per “riconoscere” i propri interessi e, conseguentemente, se ha scelto il corso di laurea e l’ateneo che si addicono alle sue aspettative. Il lavoro qui proposto, analizzando a livello nazionale la predittività dei test di accesso in due grossi gruppi disciplinari, vuole aggiungere un tassello di conoscenze nel passaggio cruciale tra la scuola secondaria e l’università.

Questo lavoro sulla predittività dei test di accesso TOLC-E e TOLC-I si inserisce, a pieno titolo, in due progetti di ricerca promossi da alcuni autori di questo rapporto. Il primo, del 2016, è il “Protocollo di Ricerca per lo studio della mobilità universitaria (MS) e delle carriere universitarie” tra gli atenei di Palermo, Napoli Federico II, Firenze, Torino, Cagliari, Sassari e Siena e il Miur. Il secondo è un Progetto di Rilevanza Nazionale 2017HBTK5P dal titolo “From high school to job placement: micro-data life course analysis of university student mobility and its impact on the Italian North-South divide”, linea Sud, finanziato nel 2019 con la partecipazione degli atenei sottoscrittori del protocollo col Miur con sede nel Sud. La questione di fondo (a cui sicuramente non riusciamo a dare una risposta in questa sede) è capire se lo studente è stato orientato e in che modo, a quali informazioni ha avuto accesso per “riconoscere” i propri interessi e, conseguentemente, se ha scelto il corso di laurea e l’ateneo che si addicono alle sue aspettative. Il lavoro qui proposto, analizzando a livello nazionale la predittività dei test di accesso in due grossi gruppi disciplinari, vuole aggiungere un tassello di conoscenze nel passaggio cruciale tra la scuola secondaria e l’università.

In this paper, we highlight possible gender differences in performance of students attending Italian university STEM degree courses, controlling for sociodemographic and territorial variables.We used the micro-data from the Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research database of the 2011-12 freshmen cohort enrolled at an Italian bachelor university degree course. The analysis was dealt with by fitting a discrete-time competing-risks model. Bachelor degree graduation, dropout, and change to non-STEM courses were considered as competing events. The aim is to highlight gender gaps in the student performance, and the STEM courses where this gap is more critical.

Severe and recurrent cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) as part of standard cancer therapy is a known risk factor for development of chronic kidney disease (CKD). The specific role of superoxide (O2•-)-mediated disruption of mitochondrial oxidative metabolism in CKD after cisplatin treatment is unexplored. Cisplatin is typically administered in weekly or tri-weekly cycles as part of standard cancer therapy. To investigate the role of O2•- in predisposing patients to future renal injury and in CKD, mice were treated with cisplatin and a mitochondrial-specific, superoxide dismutase (SOD) mimetic, GC4419. Renal function, biomarkers of oxidative stress, mitochondrial oxidative metabolism, and kidney injury markers, as well as renal histology, were assessed to evaluate the cellular changes that occur one week and one month (CKD phase) after the cisplatin insult. Cisplatin treatment resulted in persistent upregulation of kidney injury markers, increased steady-state levels of O2•-, increased O2•--mediated renal tubules damage, and upregulation of mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) complex I activity both one week and one month following cisplatin treatment. Treatment with a novel, clinically relevant, small-molecule superoxide dismutase (SOD) mimetic, GC4419, restored mitochondrial ETC complex I activity to control levels without affecting complexes II–IV activity, as well as ameliorated cisplatin-induced kidney injury. These data support the hypothesis that increased mitochondrial O2•- following cisplatin administration, as a result of disruptions of mitochondrial metabolism, may be an important contributor to both AKI and CKD progression., Graphical abstract Scheme for potential disruption in ETC chain activity leading to mitochondrial dysfunction and increased levels of superoxide (O2•-).fx1, Highlights • Cisplatin-induced AKI and CKD have a negative impact in long-term renal function. • Cisplatin-induced CKD disrupts mitochondrial metabolism and increases O2•- levels. • SOD mimetic, GC4419 mitigates renal damage and mitochondrial metabolism disruptions.

Loss of function of the lipid kinase diacylglycerol kinase ε (DGKε), encoded by the gene DGKE, causes a form of atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome that is not related to abnormalities of the alternative pathway of the complement, by mechanisms that are not understood. By generating a potentially novel endothelial specific Dgke-knockout mouse, we demonstrate that loss of Dgke in the endothelium results in impaired signaling downstream of VEGFR2 due to cellular shortage of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-biphosphate. Mechanistically, we found that, in the absence of DGKε in the endothelium, Akt fails to be activated upon VEGFR2 stimulation, resulting in defective induction of the enzyme cyclooxygenase 2 and production of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). Treating the endothelial specific Dgke-knockout mice with a stable PGE2 analog was sufficient to reverse the clinical manifestations of thrombotic microangiopathy and proteinuria, possibly by suppressing the expression of matrix metalloproteinase 2 through PGE2-dependent upregulation of the chemokine receptor CXCR4. Our study reveals a complex array of autocrine signaling events downstream of VEGFR2 that are mediated by PGE2, that control endothelial activation and thrombogenic state, and that result in abnormalities of the glomerular filtration barrier.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the most common cause of death in patients with native and post-transplant chronic kidney disease (CKD). To identify new biomarkers of vascular injury and inflammation, we analyzed the proteome of plasma and circulating extracellular vesicles (EVs) in native and post-transplant CKD patients utilizing an aptamer-based assay. Proteins of angiogenesis were significantly higher in native and post-transplant CKD patients versus healthy controls. Ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA) indicated Ephrin receptor signaling, serine biosynthesis, and transforming growth factor-β as the top pathways activated in both CKD groups. Pro-inflammatory proteins were significantly higher only in the EVs of native CKD patients. IPA indicated acute phase response signaling, insulin-like growth factor-1, tumor necrosis factor-α, and interleukin-6 pathway activation. These data indicate that pathways of angiogenesis and inflammation are activated in CKD patients’ plasma and EVs, respectively. The pathways common in both native and post-transplant CKD may signal similar mechanisms of CVD.

Pediatric acute kidney injury is becoming a widely recognized clinical diagnosis that can be found across the clinical spectrum. The advances of genomic studies in the field of nephrology, specifically the pathophysiology mechanisms of ischemia-reperfusion, sepsis, and nephrotoxicity as they relate to acute kidney injury, have stimulated the desire to understand a genotype-phenotype connection. Ranging from targeted gene to genome-wide association studies, acute kidney injury genetic study designs warrant thoughtful methodology considerations in order to minimize bias and to improve result validity.

Backgrounds Validated tools for predicting individual in-hospital mortality of COVID-19 are lacking. We aimed to develop and to validate a simple clinical prediction rule for early identification of in-hospital mortality of patients with COVID-19. Methods and findings We enrolled 2191 consecutive hospitalized patients with COVID-19 from three Italian dedicated units (derivation cohort: 1810 consecutive patients from Bergamo and Pavia units; validation cohort: 381 consecutive patients from Rome unit). The outcome was in-hospital mortality. Fine and Gray competing risks multivariate model (with discharge as a competing event) was used to develop a prediction rule for in-hospital mortality. Discrimination and calibration were assessed by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and by Brier score in both the derivation and validation cohorts. Seven variables were independent risk factors for in-hospital mortality: age (Hazard Ratio [HR] 1.08, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.07–1.09), male sex (HR 1.62, 95%CI 1.30–2.00), duration of symptoms before hospital admission https://sites.google.com/community.unipa.it/covid-19riskpredictions/c19-rp). Conclusions A validated simple clinical prediction rule can promptly and accurately assess the risk for in-hospital mortality, improving triage and the management of patients with COVID-19.

La mobilità degli studenti dal Sud e dalle Isole verso il Centro-Nord ha creato e crea ulteriori disuguaglianze e una perdita di capitale umano che non sembra rallentare negli ultimi anni. In questo quadro si colloca il nostro studio sulla mobilità universitaria, i cui effetti non sono limitati al sistema universitario nazionale, ma hanno implicazioni sociali ed economiche sull’intero Paese.

The Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) and primary ciliogenesis induce stem cell properties in basal Mammary Stem Cells (MaSCs) to promote mammogenesis, but the underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Here, we show that EMT transcription factors promote ciliogenesis at intermediate EMT transition states by activating ciliogenesis inducers, including FGFR1. The resulting primary cilia promote BBS11-dependent ubiquitination and inactivation of a central signaling node, GLIS2. We show that GLIS2 inactivation promotes MaSC stemness, and GLIS2 is required for normal mammary gland development. Moreover, GLIS2 inactivation is required to induce the proliferative and tumorigenic capacities of the Mammary-Tumor-initiating cells (MaTICs) of claudin-low breast cancers. Claudin-low breast tumors can be segregated from other breast tumor subtypes based on a GLIS2-dependent gene expression signature. Collectively, our findings establish molecular mechanisms by which EMT programs induce ciliogenesis to control MaSC and MaTIC biology, mammary gland development, and claudin-low breast cancer formation.

Objectives An accurate prediction of the clinical outcomes of European patients requiring hospitalisation for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is lacking. The aim of the study is to identify predictors of in-hospital mortality and discharge in a cohort of Lombardy patients with COVID-19. MethodsAll consecutive hospitalised patients from February 21stto March 30th, 2020, with confirmed COVID-19 from the IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, Lombardy, Italy, were included. In-hospital mortality and discharge were evaluated by competing risk analysis. The Fine and Gray model was fitted in order to estimate the effect of covariates on the cumulative incidence functions (CIFs) for in-hospital mortality and discharge.Results 426 adult patients (median age 68 (IQR, 56 to 77 years) were admitted with confirmed COVID-19 over a 5-week period; 292 (69%) were male. By 21 April 2020, 141 (33%) of these patients had died, 239 (56%) patients had been discharged and 46 (11%) were still hospitalised. Regression on the CIFs for in-hospital mortality showed that older age, male sex, number of comorbidities and hospital admission after March 4thwere independent risk factors associated with in-hospital mortality.Conclusions Olderage, male sex and number of comorbidities definitively predicted in-hospital mortality in hospitalised patients with COVID-19

An accurate prediction of the clinical outcomes of European patients requiring hospitalisation for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is lacking. The aim of the study is to identify predictors of in-hospital mortality and discharge in a cohort of Lombardy patients with COVID-19. All consecutive hospitalised patients from February 21st to March 30th, 2020, with confirmed COVID-19 from the IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, Lombardy, Italy, were included. In-hospital mortality and discharge were evaluated by competing risk analysis. The Fine and Gray model was fitted in order to estimate the effect of covariates on the cumulative incidence functions (CIFs) for in-hospital mortality and discharge. 426 adult patients [median age 68 (IQR 56 to 77 years)] were admitted with confirmed COVID-19 over a 5-week period; 292 (69%) were male. By 21 April 2020, 141 (33%) of these patients had died, 239 (56%) patients had been discharged and 46 (11%) were still hospitalised. Among these 46 patients, updated as of 30 May, 2020, 5 (10.9%) had died, 8 (17.4%) were still in ICU, 12 (26.1%) were transferred to lower intensity care units and 21 (45.7%) were discharged. Regression on the CIFs for in-hospital mortality showed that older age, male sex, number of comorbidities and hospital admission after March 4th were independent risk factors associated with in-hospital mortality. Older age, male sex and number of comorbidities definitively predicted in-hospital mortality in hospitalised patients with COVID-19.