The importance of conspiracy theory in extremist ideology and propaganda

Since at least the time of the French Revolution there has been an identifiable tradition of conspiracy theorizing that posits the existence of a powerful secret network that has either taken over the world or is about to take over the world through deception under the guise of championing enlightenment, freedom, self-government, and liberalism. This thesis charts the development of this idea - called the Grand Conspiracy Theory - and examines some of the impact of this idea and demonstrates that it is a cohesive tradition that has had a decisive impact on world affairs. This is especially evident in its role in inspiring violent subversive groups, including with Nazis and radical Islamists, to engage in “counter-conspiracies” against the evil imaginary enemy. This thesis also establishes the crucial importance of propaganda campaigns in shaping and spreading the idea of the Grand Conspiracy Theory.Effective Protection of Fundamental Rights in a pluralist worl

The influence of DACCIWA radiosonde data on the quality of ECMWF analyses and forecasts over southern West Africa

During the DACCIWA (Dynamics–Aerosol–Chemistry–Cloud Interactions in West Africa) field campaign ∼900 radiosondes were launched from 12 stations in southern West Africa from 15 June to 31 July 2016. Subsequently, data-denial experiments were conducted using the Integrated Forecasting System of the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) to assess the radiosondes\u27 impact on the quality of analyses and forecasts. As observational reference, satellite-based estimates of rainfall and outgoing long-wave radiation (OLR) as well as the radiosonde measurements themselves are used. With regard to the analyses, the additional observations show positive impacts onwinds throughout the troposphere and lower stratosphere, while large lower-tropospheric cold and dry biases are hardly reduced. Nonetheless, downstream, that is farther inland from the radiosonde stations,we find a significant increase (decrease) in low-level night-time temperatures (monsoon winds) when incorporating the DACCIWA observations, suggesting a possible linkage via weaker cold air advection fromthe Gulf of Guinea. The associated lower relative humidity leads to reduced cloud cover in the DACCIWA analysis. Closer to the coast and over Benin and Togo, DACCIWA observations increase low-level specific humidity and precipitable water, possibly due to changes in advection and vertical mixing. During daytime, differences between the two analyses are generally smaller at low levels. With regard to the forecasts, the impact of the additional observations is lost after a day or less. Moderate improvements occur in low-level wind and temperature but also in rainfall over the downstream Sahel, while impacts on OLR are ambiguous. The changes in precipitation appear to also affect high-level cloud cover and the tropical easterly jet. The overall rather small observation impact suggests that model and data assimilation deficits are the main limiting factors for better forecasts inWest Africa. The new observations and physical understanding from DACCIWA can hopefully contribute to reducing these issues

Evaluating satellite-based diurnal cycles of precipitation in the African tropics

Precipitation plays a major role in the energy and water cycles of the earth. Because of its variable nature, consistent observations of global precipitation are challenging. Satellite-based precipitation datasets present an alternative to in situ–based datasets in areas sparsely covered by ground stations. These datasets are a unique tool for model evaluations, but the value of satellite-based precipitation datasets depends on their application and scale. Numerous validation studies considered monthly or daily time scales, while less attention is given to subdaily scales. In this study subdaily satellite-based rainfall data are analyzed in West Africa, a region with strong diurnal variability. Several satellite-based precipitation datasets are validated, including Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA), TRMM 3G68 products, Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information Using Artificial Neural Networks (PERSIANN), and Climate Prediction Center (CPC) morphing technique (CMORPH) data. As a reference, highly resolved in situ data from the African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis–Couplage de l’Atmosphere Tropical et du Cycle Hydrologique (AMMA-CATCH) are used. As a result, overall the satellite products capture the diurnal cycles of precipitation and its variability as observed on the ground reasonably well. CMORPH and TMPA data show overall good results. For locally induced convective rainfall in the evening most satellite data show slight delays in peak precipitation of up to 2 h

Flux transitions in a superconducting ring

We perform a numeric study of the flux transitions in a superconducting ring at fixed temperature, while the applied field is swept at an ideally slow rate. The current around the ring and its free energy are evaluated. We partially explain some of the known experimental features, and predict a considerably large new feature: in the vicinity of a critical field, giant jumps are expected

Italian S3-Guideline on the treatment of Atopic Eczema - Part 2: non-systemic treatments and treatment recommendations for special AE patient populations, adapted from EuroGuiDerm by the Italian Society of Dermatology and STD (SIDEMAST), the Italian Association of Hospital Dermatologists (ADOI) and the Italian Society of Allergological and Occupational Dermatology (SIDAPA).

SIDeMaST (Società Italiana di Dermatologia Medica, Chirurgica, Estetica e delle Malattie Sessualmente Trasmesse) contributed to the development of the present guideline on the systemic treatment of chronic plaque psoriasis. With the permission of EuroGuiDerm, SIDeMaST adapted the guideline to the Italian healthcare context to supply a reliable and affordable tool to Italian physicians who take care of patients affected by atopic dermatitis. The evidence- and consensus-based guideline on atopic eczema was developed in accordance with the EuroGuiDerm Guideline and Consensus Statement Development Manual. Four consensus conferences were held between December 2020 and July 2021. Twenty-nine experts (including clinicians and patient representatives) from 12 European countries participated. This second part of the guideline includes recommendations and detailed information on basic therapy with emollients and moisturizers, topical anti-inflammatory treatment, antimicrobial and antipruritic treatment and UV phototherapy. Furthermore, this part of the guideline covers techniques for avoiding provocation factors, as well as dietary interventions, immunotherapy, complementary medicine and educational interventions for patients with atopic eczema and deals with occupational and psychodermatological aspects of the disease. It also contains guidance on treatment for pediatric and adolescent patients and pregnant or breastfeeding women, as well as considerations for patients who want to have a child. A chapter on the patient perspective is also provided. The first part of the guideline, published separately, contains recommendations and guidance on systemic treatment with conventional immunosuppressive drugs, biologics and janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors, as well as information on the scope and purpose of the guideline, and a section on guideline methodology

Models for Type Ia supernovae and related astrophysical transients

We give an overview of recent efforts to model Type Ia supernovae and related astrophysical transients resulting from thermonuclear explosions in white dwarfs. In particular we point out the challenges resulting from the multi-physics multi-scale nature of the problem and discuss possible numerical approaches to meet them in hydrodynamical explosion simulations and radiative transfer modeling. We give examples of how these methods are applied to several explosion scenarios that have been proposed to explain distinct subsets or, in some cases, the majority of the observed events. In case we comment on some of the successes and shortcoming of these scenarios and highlight important outstanding issues.Comment: 20 pages, 2 figures, review published in Space Science Reviews as part of the topical collection on supernovae, replacement corrects typos in the conclusions sectio

Italian S3-Guideline on the treatment of Atopic Eczema - Part 1: Systemic therapy, adapted from EuroGuiDerm by the Italian Society of Dermatology and STD (SIDEMAST), the Italian Association of Hospital Dermatologists (ADOI) and the Italian Society of Allergological and Environmental Dermatology (SIDAPA).

SIDeMaST (Società Italiana di Dermatologia Medica, Chirurgica, Estetica e delle Malattie Sessualmente Trasmesse) contributed to the development of the present guideline on the systemic treatment of chronic plaque psoriasis. With the permission of EuroGuiDerm, SIDeMaST adapted the guideline to the Italian healthcare context to supply a reliable and affordable tool to Italian physicians who take care of patients affected by atopic dermatitis. The evidence- and consensus-based guideline on atopic eczema was developed in accordance with the EuroGuiDerm Guideline and Consensus Statement Development Manual. Four consensus conferences were held between December 2020 and July 2021. Twenty-nine experts (including clinicians and patient representatives) from 12 European countries participated. This first part of the guideline includes general information on its scope and purpose, the health questions covered, target users and a methods section. It also provides guidance on which patients should be treated with systemic therapies, as well as recommendations and detailed information on each systemic drug. The systemic treatment options discussed in the guideline comprise conventional immunosuppressive drugs (azathioprine, ciclosporin, glucocorticosteroids, methotrexate and mycophenolate mofetil), biologics (dupilumab, lebrikizumab, nemolizumab, omalizumab and tralokinumab) and janus kinase inhibitors (abrocitinib, baricitinib and upadacitinib). Part two of the guideline will address avoidance of provocation factors, dietary interventions, immunotherapy, complementary medicine, educational interventions, occupational and psychodermatological aspects, patient perspective and considerations for pediatric, adolescent, pregnant and breastfeeding patients

Associations of common breast cancer susceptibility alleles with risk of breast cancer subtypes in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers

Introduction: More than 70 common alleles are known to be involved in breast cancer (BC) susceptibility, and several exhibit significant heterogeneity in their associations with different BC subtypes. Although there are differences in the association patterns between BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers and the general population for several loci, no study has comprehensively evaluated the associations of all known BC susceptibility alleles with risk of BC subtypes in BRCA1 and BRCA2 carriers. Methods: We used data from 15,252 BRCA1 and 8,211 BRCA2 carriers to analyze the associations between approximately 200,000 genetic variants on the iCOGS array and risk of BC subtypes defined by estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) and triple-negative- (TN) status; morphologic subtypes; histological grade; and nodal involvement. Results: The estimated BC hazard ratios (HRs) for the 74 known BC alleles in BRCA1 carriers exhibited moderate correlations with the corresponding odds ratios from the general population. However, their associations with ER-positive BC in BRCA1 carriers were more consistent with the ER-positive as