This thematic series collects some papers on Italian students' mobility. The aim of this thematic series is twofold. First, to describe the phenomenon which is important for universities and for its ...negative socio-economic implications for the South of Italy. Second, to propose new applications of statistical methods for this topic and applications which can be extended to other forms of migration, too.
In meta-analysis literature, there are several checklists describing the procedures necessary to evaluate studies from a qualitative point of view, whereas preliminary quantitative and statistical ...investigations on the "combinability" of trials have been neglected. Covariate balance is an important prerequisite to conduct meta-analysis. We propose a method to identify unbalanced trials with respect to a set of covariates, in presence of covariate imbalance, namely when the randomized controlled trials generate a meta-sample that cannot satisfy the requisite of randomization/combinability in meta-analysis. The method is able to identify the unbalanced trials, through four stages aimed at achieving combinability. The studies responsible for the imbalance are identified, and then they can be eliminated. The proposed procedure is simple and relies on the combined Anderson-Darling test applied to the Empirical Cumulative Distribution Functions of both experimental and control meta-arms. To illustrate the method in practice, two datasets from well-known meta-analyses in the literature are used.
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Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Knowing the spontaneous outcome of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is important for designing randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of new therapeutic approaches; however, survival of patients in the ...absence of treatment is highly variable, and prognostic factors influencing outcomes are incompletely defined. The aims of this meta‐analysis were to estimate the 1‐year and 2‐year survival rates of untreated HCC patients enrolled in RCTs of palliative treatments, and to identify prognostic factors. RCTs evaluating therapies for HCC with placebo or no‐treatment arms were identified on MEDLINE through April 2009. Data were combined in a random effect model. Primary outcomes were 1‐year and 2‐year survival. Thirty studies met the inclusion criteria. The pooled estimates of the survival rates were 17.5% at 1 year (95% confidence interval 95%CI, 11%‐27%; range, 0%‐75%) and 7.3% at 2 years (95%CI, 3.9%‐13%; range, 0%‐50%). Heterogeneity among studies was highly significant (P < 0.0001) both for 1‐year and 2‐year survival, and persisted when RCTs were stratified according to all patient and study features. Through meta‐regression, impaired performance status, Child‐Pugh B‐C class, and presence of portal vein thrombosis were all independently associated with shorter survival. Ascites was strongly linked to a worse outcome in intermediate/advanced Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stages. Conclusion: This meta‐analysis confirms the heterogeneity of behavior of untreated HCC and provides a sound basis for stratifying patients with HCC according to expected survival in future trials of new anti‐cancer agents. (HEPATOLOGY 2010.)
Student mobility has been much commented upon and much studied. Student mobility has social, economic, and political consequences. This form of mobility is relevant, in Italy, in terms of south-north ...flows, while the mobility of northern students toward the South and Centre of Italy is negligible. To the best of our knowledge, a proper focus on the dynamics among northern regions has not yet been carried out. This study focuses on the interregional mobility of northern first-year students. To this end, we use a longitudinal dataset with students’ individual histories from 2008 to 2017, obtained from the cohort-based datasets collected using the Italian Ministry of University’s administrative databases. Descriptive and model-based analyses are employed for assessing the association between the propensity to move and individual characteristics, as well as some territorial variables. A longitudinal study is also considered. Here, we see an increase in the population entering the university system and mobility flows across northern regions. The results show that students’ educational experiences influence the propensity to move. However, the most relevant driver of the phenomenon is the attractiveness of areas with a higher supply of university courses and a better economic context.
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.
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.
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.
This article deals with gender differences in Italian universities in the last 20 years in terms of career advancements. Data are taken from the MUR (Ministry of University and Research) archive. In ...Italy, career advancements are still much easier for men, even if the gender gap has slowly narrowed in the last decades. The novelty of this paper is the analysis through event-history analysis models on the time elapsed to receive a promotion (from assistant to associate professor and from associate to full professor). The event-history analysis applied to career advancements has revealed that women take, on average, about one and a half more years than men to advance, with some differences among fields of study and macroregions. Furthermore, this gender gap is higher in the first years of the career. Two sociological metaphors used in the gender literature, the “leaky pipeline” and the “glass ceiling”, seem to intervene powerfully in the gender gap of Italian universities careers.
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