10 research outputs found
Axillary intranodal palisaded myofibroblastoma: Report of a case associated with chronic mastitis
No full textIntranodal palisaded myofibroblastoma is a rare tumour of the lymph node that may be derived from myofibroblasts. The most usual area of presentation is the inguinal lymph nodes, but occurrence within other areas has also been reported. It is characterised by spindle cells, amianthoid-like fibres, and by the proliferation of hemosiderin-containing histiocytes in the lymph node. Although intranodal palisaded myofibroblastoma is benign, it is frequently confused with metastatic lesions, especially when it occurs in atypical sites. We herein report the second case of axillary intranodal palisaded myofibroblastoma occurring in a woman with a granulomatous chronic mastitis. The salient clinicopathological features of this unusual tumour are presented with emphasis to the pathogenesis of the tumour as well as to its histological and immunohistochemical characteristics. Clinicians and pathologists must be aware of this rare tumour to avoid a misdiagnosis of malignancy and assure patient a correct therapeutic management
Identification in Structural Vector Autoregressions Through Graphical Modelling and Monetary Policy: A Cross-Country Analysis
No full textThere is an ongoing debate on how to identify monetary policy shocks in SVAR models. Graphical modelling exploits statistical properties of data for identification and offers a data based tool to shed light on the issue. We conduct a cross-country analysis, considering European Monetary Union (EMU), Japan and US. We obtain some important results. The information set of the monetary authorities, which is essential for the identification of the monetary shock seems to depend on availability of data in terms of higher frequency with respect to the policy instrument (US and Japan). Moreover, there is not yet a widespread consensus on whether or not the European Monetary Union should be considered as a closed economy. Our results indicate that EMU official interest rate depends on the US federal funds rate.monetary policy; SVAR; graphical modelling
The Effect of Parental Background on Youth Duration of Unemployment
No full textThis paper analyses the relationship between unemployment among young Italians and their parents’ economic and cultural background. A search theory model was used to identify the direct and indirect effects of household financial situation and parental cultural and educational status on their employment prospects. The empirical specification of the model featured Lancaster’s (1985a) simultaneous estimate of two variables: duration of unemployment and accepted starting wage in a new job. The data was sampled from the European Community Household Panel for an eight-year period (1994-2001) with a specific focus on unemployed Italians below the age of thirty-six years who were living with their parents while looking for work. The study revealed that young people from disadvantaged social backgrounds experienced greater difficulties in finding a job than their more privileged peers. This trend was particularly marked in southern regions of Italy where, paradoxically, the discrepancy was more pronounced at higher levels of educational qualifications. In Northern Italy, on the other hand, young male graduates who finished their degree courses without a delay were unemployed for shorter periods. Finally, work experience was an influential factor to finding employment for all young Italians, irrespective of their residential area and educational experience.Simultaneous equation models; unemployment duration; job search; intergenerational mobility
The impact of ECB. Unconventional monetary policies
No full text2018 - 2019Questo lavoro di tesi ha l’obiettivo di analizzare più a fondo la natura, le
motivazioni e gli effetti, per quanto misurabili, delle politiche monetarie non
convenzionali (UMP) ed è finalizzato ad affrontare alcune domande sulla loro
adozione nell'Eurozona. In particolare, gli effetti macroeconomici e finanziari
delle UMP. Le politiche monetarie non convenzionali hanno acquisito importanza
sulla scia della crisi finanziaria globale (GCF), poiché i tradizionali strumenti di
politica monetaria si sono dimostrati meno efficaci nell'affrontare la crisi
finanziaria e nel fornire la liquidità richiesta.
Per introdurre lo studio, la prima parte del lavoro descrive le misure di
politica monetaria. In primo luogo, quali politiche sono state proposte e la loro
efficacia. Il focus sarà posto sulle politiche monetarie "non convenzionali" (UMP)
annunciate dopo il crollo di Lehman Brothers dalla Banca Centrale Europea,
adottate o meno, finalizzate all'acquisto del debito sovrano dell'Area Euro, entro
i limiti fissati dal Trattato di Lisbona, e destinato a fermare la crisi finanziaria del
2007-2008. Le UMP sono il principale strumento a disposizione della BCE per
gestire la stabilità nell'Eurozona. La BCE inizialmente si riferiva a queste
politiche come politiche "non standard" (Coeuré, 2013) sebbene, nel 2014,
l'espressione "non convenzionale" è stata più ampiamente utilizzata. L'obiettivo
principale della politica monetaria dell'Eurosistema è mantenere la stabilità dei
prezzi, ovvero un tasso di inflazione inferiore ma prossimo al due per cento su un
orizzonte di medio periodo. Tuttavia, lo zero-lower bound (ZLB) riduce l'efficacia
delle politiche monetarie convenzionali delle banche centrali, pertanto occorre
ricorrere alle UMP. Le origini delle UMP, tuttavia, possono essere ricondotte alle
misure adottate dalla Banca del Giappone nel marzo 2001, che ha utilizzato una
qualche forma di allentamento quantitativo (QE) per affrontare la stagnazione
economica e combattere la deflazione. Dopo questi passaggi iniziali, le UMP sono
state perseguite da diverse altre banche centrali, tali politiche si sono evolute e
hanno assunto varie forme. Tra queste: OMT, OMRLT, politiche di bilancio
(comunemente chiamate “quantitative easing”), tassi negativi e forward guidance. .. [a cura dell'Autore]This dissertation work deals with analysing more deeply the nature,
motivations and effects, however measurable, of the unconventional monetary
policies and it is aimed at addressing some questions about their adoption in the
Eurozone. Particularly, UMP’s macroeconomic and financial market effects.
Unconventional monetary policies gained prominence in the wake of the global
financial crisis (GFC), as traditional monetary policy tools proved less effective
in tackling the financial crisis and providing the required liquidity.
In order to introduce the study, the first part of the work describes
monetary policy measures. First, what policies are tried and their effectiveness.
The focus will be placed on "unconventional" monetary policies (UMP)
announced since the collapse of Lehman Brothers from the European Central
Bank, whether or not adopted, aimed at buying the debt sovereign of the Euro
Area, within the limits set by the Lisbon Treaty, and destined to stop the financial
crisis of 2007-2008. UMPs are the ECB’s main tool to manage the stability in the
Eurozone. The ECB initially referred to these undertakings as ‘non-standard’
policies (Coeuré, 2013) although, by 2014, the expression ‘unconventional’ was
more widely used. The primary objective of the Eurosystem’s monetary policy is
to maintain price stability, defined as the inflation rate below but close to two per
cent on a medium period horizon. However, the zero-lower bound (ZLB)
decreases the effectiveness of central banks’ conventional monetary policies thus
they must resort to UMP. The origins of UMPs, though, can be traced to measures
taken by the Bank of Japan in March 2001, which deployed some form of
quantitative easing (QE) to tackle economic stagnation and combat deflation.
Since those initial steps, UMPs have pursued by several other central banks, they
have evolved and have taken various forms. Among these: the OMT, TLTRO,
balance sheet policies (commonly termed “quantitative easing”), negative rates
and forward guidance. .. [edited by Author]XXXII cicl
Essays on Foreign Aid & Government Spending in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)
No full text2021 - 2022Does foreign aid work or not? This question is as old as aid itself. Since the aftermath
of the Marshall Plan of 1948, the world has seen a huge surge in the amount of foreign aid
given to developing countries. Although foreign aid is one of the key policy tools at the
disposal of high-income countries to assist low- and middle-income countries, geared
toward the alleviation of poverty. However, there is much controversy surrounding the
allocation and effectiveness of foreign aid. This thesis revisits the debate on the effectiveness
of foreign aid in enhancing economic growth in the recipient country, and it also estimates
the size of both the aid and fiscal multipliers in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Recently, the SSA
has received more foreign aid than any other region worldwide, which indicates the need to
understand the macroeconomic and institutional factors that influence the effectiveness of
foreign aid and the size of both the aid and fiscal multipliers in this region. Chapter 1 of this
thesis focuses on the impact of aid on growth in developing countries. Chapters 2 and 3
estimate the size of both aid and government spending multipliers in the SSA, using a linear
and nonlinear model, respectively. .. [edited by Author]Gli aiuti esteri funzionano oppure no? Questa domanda è vecchia quanto gli aiuti stessi. Fin
dal dopo del Piano Marshall del 1948, il mondo ha assistito a un’enorme impennata nella
quantità di aiuti esteri dato ai paesi in via di sviluppo. Sebbene gli aiuti esteri siano uno
degli strumenti politici chiave al momento disposizione dei paesi ad alto reddito per
assistere i paesi a basso e medio reddito, orientata alla riduzione della povertà. Tuttavia, c’è
molta controversia riguardo all’allocazione e all’efficacia degli aiuti esteri. Questa tesi
rivisita il dibattito sull’efficacia degli aiuti esteri nel promuovere la crescita economica nel
paese ricevente e stima anche la dimensione sia degli aiuti che dei moltiplicatori fiscali
nell’Africa sub-sahariana (SSA). Recentemente, la SSA ha ricevuto più aiuti esteri di
qualsiasi altra regione al mondo, il che indica la necessità di comprendere i fattori
macroeconomici e istituzionali che influenzano l’efficacia degli aiuti esteri e la dimensione
sia degli aiuti che dei moltiplicatori fiscali in questa regione. Il capitolo 1 di questa tesi si
concentra sull’impatto degli aiuti sulla crescita nei paesi in via di sviluppo. I capitoli 2 e 3
stimano l’entità dei moltiplicatori sia degli aiuti che della spesa pubblica nell’SSA,
utilizzando rispettivamente un modello lineare e non lineare. .. [a cura dell'Autore]XXXV cicl
Empirical Applications of the Interacted Panel VAR Model
No full text2016 - 2017I modelli vettoriali autoregressivi (VAR) possono essere considerati un’estensione multivariata dinamica dei modelli autoregressivi univariati. Questa
famiglia di modelli è diventata molto popolare nell’analisi macroeconomica
dopo il lavoro di Sims (1980) ed essi sono ampiamente utilizzati nella letteratura delle serie storiche grazie alla loro flessibilità. Di fatto, impostando
opportunamente un modello VAR, possiamo descrivere in modo efficiente le
dinamiche dell’economia e fornire previsioni abbastanza accurate.
Negli ultimi anni, i ricercatori hanno sviluppato diversi modelli VAR con lo
scopo di rappresentare meglio il data generating process. Tra questi, i modelli
VAR non lineari hanno acquisito un ruolo centrale nell’analisi macroeconometrica, grazie alla loro capacità di catturare un insieme più ricco di dinamiche
relative agli attuali fenomeni macroeconomici. A seconda del modello non
lineare utilizzato, ad esempio, possono essere analizzati diversi stati (regimi)
dell’economia o stimati coefficienti variabili nel tempo. .. [a cura dell'Autore]The Vector Autoregressive (VAR) Models can be considered as a dynamic
multivariate extension of the univariate autoregressive models. This family of
models has become very popular in macroeconomics analysis after the work of
Sims(1980) and they are widely used in time series literature thanks to their
flexibility. As a matter of fact, by setting appropriately a VAR model, we can
describe efficiently the dynamics of the economy and provide quite accurate
forecasts.
During recent years, researchers developed different VAR models with the
purpose to represent better the data generating process. Among these, the
nonlinear VAR models have gained a central role in macroeconometric analysis
in testing the theory, due to their capacity to capture a richer set of dynamics
regarding current macroeconomic phenomenons. Depending on the specific
model, they can allow, for example, different states (regimes) of the world, to
allow the coefficients of the model to vary over time in each time unit, allowing
for interactions between variables potentially revealing important information. .. [edited by Author]XVI n.s
The biomarkers ATLAS: An audit on 1100 non-small cell lung cancer from an Italian knowledge-based database
No full textTo date, precision medicine has revolutionized the clinical management of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). International societies approved a rapidly improved mandatory testing biomarkers panel for the clinical stratification of NSCLC patients, but harmonized procedures are required to optimize the diagnostic workflow. In this context a knowledge-based database (Biomarkers ATLAS, https://biomarkersatlas.com/) was developed by a supervising group of expert pathologists and thoracic oncologists collecting updated clinical and molecular records from about 80 referral Italian institutions.
Here, we audit molecular and clinical data from n=1100 NSCLC patients collected from January 2019 to December 2020.
Methods: Clinical and molecular records from NSCLC patients were retrospectively collected from the two coordinating institutions (University of Turin and University of Naples). Molecular biomarkers (KRAS, EGFR, BRAF, ROS1, ALK, RET, NTRK, MET) and clinical data (sex, age, histological type, smoker status, PD-L1 expression, therapy) were collected and harmonized.
Results: Clinical and molecular data from 1100 (n=552 mutated and n=548 wild-type) NSCLC patients were systematized and annotated in the ATLAS knowledge-database. Molecular records from biomarkers testing were matched with main patients’ clinical variables.
Conclusions: Biomarkers ATLAS (https://biomarkersatlas.com/) represents a unique, easily managing, and reliable diagnostic tool aiming to integrate clinical records with molecular alterations of NSCLC patients in the real-word Italian scenario
Health, Lifestyle and Growth
No full textIn this paper I will try to explain why lifestyle may have a positive impact on economic growth. First of all, I consider health affecting consumer’s utility and then define a Health Production Function where health is the output and consumer good the input. In this approach a parameter named Lifestyle Return to Scale (LRS) is defined. The first result is that an increase of consumer’s personal income may have a positive or a negative effect on health. In other words health may be a normal or an inferior good. It depends on Lifestyle Return to Scale- According to this result, I compute a health multiplier and then modify the Solow Growth Model in which health is labour-augmenting. The result is a model in which the Lifestyle Return to Scale positively affects the income per capita and the income per capita growth.health; lifestyles; growth
A full pipeline to analyze lung histopathology images
No full textHistopathology images involve the analysis of tissue samples to diagnose several diseases, such as cancer. The analysis of tissue samples is a time-consuming procedure, manually made by medical experts, namely pathologists. Computational pathology aims to develop automatic methods to analyze Whole Slide Images (WSI), which are digitized histopathology images, showing accurate performance in terms of image analysis. Although the amount of available WSIs is increasing, the capacity of medical experts to manually analyze samples is not expanding proportionally. This paper presents a full automatic pipeline to classify lung cancer WSIs, considering four classes: Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC), non-small cell lung cancer divided into LUng ADenocarcinoma (LUAD) and LUng Squamous cell Carcinoma (LUSC), and normal tissue. The pipeline includes a self-supervised algorithm for pre-training the model and Multiple Instance Learning (MIL) for WSI classification. The model is trained with 2,226 WSIs and it obtains an AUC of 0.8558 ± 0.0051 and a weighted f1-score of 0.6537 ± 0.0237 for the 4-class classification on the test set. The capability of the model to generalize was evaluated by testing it on the public The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset on LUAD and LUSC classification. In this task, the model obtained an AUC of 0.9433 ± 0.0198 and a weighted f1-score of 0.7726 ± 0.0438
Bivariate Probit Models for Analysing how “Knowledge” Affects Innovation and Performance in Small and Medium Sized Firms
No full textThis paper examines the determinants of innovation and its effects on small- and medium-sized firms We use the data from the OPIS databank, which provides a survey on a representative sample of firms from a province of the Southern Italy. We want to study whether small and medium sized firms can have a competitive advantage using their innovative capabilities, regardless of their sectoral and size limits. The main factor influencing the likelihood of innovation is knowledge, which is acquired through different ways. The econometric methodology consists of two bivariate models in order to estimate the probability of increased sales conditioned to the probability of innovation. We found that knowledge positively influences the probability of innovation; at the same time, knowledge has also a positive indirect effect on the increase of sales through innovation.innovation; small and medium sized firms; human capital; networks; bivariate probit
