Ornella Giambalvo

Human Papillomavirus DNA in Oral Mucosal Lesions

This study determined the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA in oral mucosa cells from 121 patients with different types of oral mucosal lesions (13 squamous cell carcinomas, 59 potentially malignant lesions, 49 benign erosive ulcerative lesions) and from 90 control subjects. HPV DNA was detected by nested polymerase chain reaction, and genotype was determined by DNA sequencing. HPV prevalence was 61.5% in carcinomas, 27.1% in potentially malignant lesions, 26.5% in erosive ulcerative lesions, and 5.5% in control subjects. The risk of malignant or potentially malignant lesions was associated with HPV and was statistically significant. HPV-18 was found in 86.5% of HPV-positive lesions but was not associated with a particular type of lesion and was found in 80% of the HPV-positive control subjects. HPV infection was related to older age but not to sex, smoking, or alcohol use; the presence of lesions in the oral cavity increased the risk of HPV infection.

Self-Reported Non-Celiac Wheat Sensitivity in High School Students: Demographic and Clinical Characteristics.

Background: Non-Celiac Wheat Sensitivity (NCWS) has recently been included among the gluten-related disorders. As no biomarkers of this disease exist, its frequency has been estimated based on self-reported symptoms, but to date no data are available about self-reported NCWS in teenagers. Aim: To explore the prevalence of self-reported NCWS in a group of high school students and to study their demographic and clinical characteristics. Methods: The study was performed between April 2015 and January 2016 in two high schools of a coastal town in the south of Sicily (Italy). A total of 555 students (mean age 17 years, 191 male, 364 female) completed a modified validated questionnaire for self-reported NCWS. The subjects who self-reported NCWS were then compared with all the others. Results: Seven individuals (1.26%) had an established diagnosis of CD. The prevalence of self-reported NCWS was 12.2%, and 2.9% were following a gluten-free diet (GFD). Only 15 out of 68 (23%) NCWS self-reporters had consulted a doctor for this problem and only nine (14%) had undergone serological tests for celiac disease. The NCWS self-reporters very often had IBS symptoms (44%). Conclusions: Self-reported NCWS was found to be common in teenagers, with a frequency of 12.2%; the frequency of GFD use was 2.9%, which was much higher than the percentage of known CD in the same population (1.26%). A greater awareness of the possible implications on the part of the subjects involved, and a more thorough medical approach to the study of self-reported wheat-induced symptoms are required.

Tourism statistics: methodological imperatives and difficulties: the case of residential tourism in island communities.

Tourism statistics are one of the key sources of information for economists, public officials and tourism decision-makers. The aim of the present paper is to describe and critique the methodological difficulties encountered when approaching statistical studies in tourism. The case of hidden tourism in island communities is used to illustrate that in tourism statistics there exists a lack of clarity and convention concerning definitions, procedures, measurement and analytic approaches. The conclusions and the study implications should help tourism authorities and tourism statisticians to better define and standardise methodological and measurement approaches and practices and to more effectively direct research activities towards new approaches to difficult research questions.

Flexible latent trait aggregation to analyze employability after the Ph.D. in Italy

The analysis of satisfaction, employability and economic perspectives after the Ph.D. in Italy has not received adequate attention in the past, especially in terms of comparison among universities. To analyze these aspects, in this paper we consider data from the survey ‘Statistica in TEma di Laureati e LAvoro’ on doctors who achieved the title on 2007, 2008 and 2009 [CILEA, Laureati STELLA, indagine occupazionale post-dottorato, dottori di ricerca 2007–2008, Tech. Rep., CILEA, Segrate, 2010; CILEA, Laureati STELLA, indagine occupazionale post-dottorato, dottori di ricerca 2008–2009, Tech. Rep., CILEA, Segrate, 2011]. To deal with the complex, multidimensional nature of the concept, we propose a flexible two-step procedure for the construction of a composite indicator, and make a first attempt to rank some Italian universities. In the first step, indicators for single dimensions are derived from cumulative link models with proportional odds. In the second step, aggregation through standard, ad hoc methods is proposed.

The multicriteria Electre III model applied to the evaluation of the placement of university graduates

During the last years the Italian university system has been undergoing a reform process regarding issues of governance such as the progressive financial autonomy of the University (art. 5, law 537/24 December 1993) and the reshape of the academic curricula (law 509/99 and 270/04). The most obvious result of this complex process has been the challenging attempt to manage a necessary change in a context of limited financial resources. In order to encompass the composite features of an efficient and effective management of resources, features of high relevance for the full accomplishment of the reform benchmarks, one has to take into account the academic organisation’s objectives, so that to use tools and methods able to support decisions and, thus, allowing a rationalization of the decision-making processes.