Self-organization in Rome: a map

Durante gli ultimi anni, diverse ricerche sono state realizzate a Roma sul tema dello spazio e dell’autorganizzazione e molte di queste contengono importanti mappature. Tuttavia, questi processi sono molto dinamici e la situazione a Roma cambia ogni anno. Per questa ragione a novembre 2017 abbiamo deciso di realizzare, per della conferenza “City and Self-organization”, tenutasi a Roma a dicembre 2017, un aggiornamento della situazione dell’autorganizzazione romana, legata all’utilizzo dello spazio, attraverso una mappa, al fine di comprendere meglio la portata e i significati del fenomeno. Le principali domande alla base del contributo sono: perché, anche se questi spazi sono così numerosi, non riescono ad influenzare le politiche urbane? Perché sono concentrate prevalentemente in alcuni quartieri della città e cosa rappresenta questa concentrazione? Quali sono le loro caratteristiche rispetto ad altri contesi europei? In che misura riescono a cambiare le istituzioni pubbliche?During the last years many different researches regarding social spaces have been realized in Rome, sometimes containing different maps representing these experiences. Nevertheless, these processes are very dynamic and the situation of Rome changes every year. For this reason in November, 2017 we decided to realize, during the International Conference “Cities and Selforganization” held in Rome on December 2017, an updated map of all the selforganization experiences within the city of Rome in order to better understand the reach and the meanings of this phenomenon. The main questions at the base of the present research are: why, even though these spaces are so copious, are not they able in influencing urban policies? Why are they concentrated mainly in some specific quarters of the city? What are their features compared to others European cities? To what extent are they able to change the public institutions

Application of the inhomogeneous Lippmann-Schwinger equation to inverse scattering problems

In this paper we present a hybrid approach to numerically solve two-dimensional electromagnetic inverse scattering problems, whereby the unknown scatterer is hosted by a possibly inhomogeneous background. The approach is `hybrid' in that it merges a qualitative and a quantitative method to optimize the way of exploiting the a priori information on the background within the inversion procedure, thus improving the quality of the reconstruction and reducing the data amount necessary for a satisfactory result. In the qualitative step, this a priori knowledge is utilized to implement the linear sampling method in its near-field formulation for an inhomogeneous background, in order to identify the region where the scatterer is located. On the other hand, the same a priori information is also encoded in the quantitative step by extending and applying the contrast source inversion method to what we call the `inhomogeneous Lippmann-Schwinger equation': the latter is a generalization of the classical Lippmann-Schwinger equation to the case of an inhomogeneous background, and in our paper is deduced from the differential formulation of the direct scattering problem to provide the reconstruction algorithm with an appropriate theoretical basis. Then, the point values of the refractive index are computed only in the region identified by the linear sampling method at the previous step. The effectiveness of this hybrid approach is supported by numerical simulations presented at the end of the paper.Comment: accepted in SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematic

Misconduct-Related Discharge from Active Duty Military Service: An Examination of Precipitating Factors and Post-Deployment Health Outcomes

U.S. military service members who are discharged from service for misconduct are at high risk for mental health and substance use disorders, homelessness, mortality, and incarceration. The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the pre- and post-discharge experiences and characteristics of this highly vulnerable population in order to inform improved prevention and intervention strategies. Administrative data from the Department of Defense and Veterans Health Administration for veterans of recent conflicts were used to conduct 3 related retrospective cohort studies. These included (1) an evaluation of the demographic and military service characteristics and service-connected disabilities associated with discharge for misconduct; (2) an examination of post-discharge health status and healthcare utilization among misconduct-discharged veterans; and (3) the development of predictive models for homelessness and mortality among misconduct-discharged veterans. Several demographic and military service characteristics were associated with increased risk for misconduct discharge, as were exposure to sexual trauma, and post-discharge designation of service-connected disabilities related to mental illness. Misconduct-discharged veterans were found to have significant and complex healthcare needs, and used clinical services at approximately double the rate of routinely discharged veterans. Several risk factors for homelessness and mortality among this population were identified. Risk stratification models showed good predictive accuracy for homelessness, and fair predictive accuracy for mortality. Targeted counter-attrition strategies and an increased focus on health-related determinants of misconduct, including rehabilitative approaches to behavioral problems, may help to reduce misconduct-related attrition. Efforts to transition post-discharge care from specialty settings to integrated primary care settings may be successful in mitigating adverse outcomes. Risk stratification techniques can facilitate the efficient targeting of resources

Pathophysiological role of MLC1, a protein involved in megalencephalic leukoencephalopathy with subcortical cysts

Megalencephalic leukoencephalopathy with subcortical cysts (MLC), is a rare congenital and incurable leukodystrophy characterized by macrocephaly, subcortical fluid cysts and myelin vacuolation. The majority of MLC patients carry mutations in the MLC1 gene encoding a membrane protein named MLC1 that is highly expressed in brain astrocytes contacting blood vessels, ependyma and meninges. Although the neuropathological features of MLC disease, the molecular structure and the cellular localization of MLC1 suggest a possible involvement of this protein in astrocyte-mediated osmoregulatory processes, the function of MLC1 is still unknown. Understanding the function of MLC1 protein whose mutations are the main cause of MLC is an essential step toward identification of disease mechanisms and development of effective therapies. During the course of this thesis project we generated new data on MLC1 expression, distribution and functional associated pathways in astrocytes that are deregulated by pathological mutations, paving the way for the identification of the specific MLC1 function. We found that: i) endogenous MLC1 protein is expressed in cultured astrocytes, particularly in the plasma membrane where it interacts with caveolin-1 and proteins of the dystrophin/dystroglycan complex (DCG), and also in intracellular organelles and endoplasmic reticulum (Lanciotti et al., 2010); ii) MLC1 undergoes endolysosomal trafficking and, most of the missense mutations found in patients hamper MLC1 intracellular trafficking and localization at the plasma membrane (Lanciotti et al., 2010, 2012); iii) MLC1 directly binds the beta-1 subunit of the Na, K-ATPase enzyme and is part of a multiprotein complex that includes the inward rectifying potassium channel 4.1 (Kir4.1), caveolin-1 and syntrophin, and is involved in astrocyte response to hyposmotic stress (Brignone et al., 2011). Moreover, we generated a human pathological model based on astrocytoma cell lines overexpressing wild-type (WT) MLC1 or MLC1 carrying pathological mutations. Using this new MLC disease model we found that WT, but not mutated MLC1, functionally interacts with the transient receptor potential cation channel-4 (TRPV4) to activate swelling-induced calcium influx in astrocytes during hyposmotic stress (Lanciotti et al, 2012). These findings, together with a recent study showing defects in a chloride current in patient-derived lymphoblast cell lines subjected to hyposmosis (Ridder et al, 2011), represent the first evidence that the MLC1 protein is involved in the molecular pathways regulating astrocyte response to osmotic changes

Advancement on the Susceptibility of Analog Front-Ends to EMI

L'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmen

Cost-effectiveness analysis of pharmaceutical treatment options in the first-line management of major depressive disorder in Belgium

The objective of this study was to assess the cost effectiveness of commonly used antidepressants as first-line treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) in Belgium. The model structure was based on a decision tree developed by the Swedish TLV (TandvAyenrds- och lakemedelsformAyennsverket) and adapted to the Belgium healthcare setting, using primary local data on the patterns of treatment and following KCE [Federal Knowledge Center (Federaal Kenniscentrum voor de Gezondheidszorg)] recommendations. Comparators were escitalopram, citalopram, fluoxetine, paroxetine, sertraline, duloxetine, venlafaxine, and mirtazapine. In the model, patients not achieving remission or relapsing after remission on the assessed treatment moved to a second therapeutic step (titration, switch, add-on, or transfer to a specialist). In case of failure in the second step or following a suicide attempt, patients were assumed to be referred to secondary care. The time horizon was 1 year and the analysis was conducted from the National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (NIHDI; national health insurance) and societal perspectives. Remission rates were obtained from the TLV network meta-analysis and risk of relapse, efficacy following therapeutic change, risk of suicide attempts and related death, utilities, costs (2012), and resources were derived from the published literature and expert opinion. The effect of uncertainty in model parameters was estimated through scenario analyses and a probabilistic sensitivity analysis (PSA). In the base-case analysis, escitalopram was identified as the optimal strategy: it dominated all other treatments except venlafaxine from the NIHDI perspective, against which it was cost effective with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of a,not sign6,352 per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY). Escitalopram also dominated all other treatments from the societal perspective. At a threshold of a,not sign30,000 per QALY and from the NIHDI perspective, the PSA showed that the probability of escitalopram being identified as the optimal strategy ranged from 61 % (vs. venlafaxine) to 100 % (vs. fluoxetine). Escitalopram was associated with the highest probability of being the optimal treatment from the NIHDI and societal perspectives. This analysis, based on new Belgian clinical practice data and following KCE requirements, provides additional information that may be used to guide the choice of treatments in the management of MDD in Belgium

Needles in a haystack: screening and healthcare system evidence for homelessness

Effectiveness of screening for homelessness in a large healthcare system was evaluated in terms of successfully referring and connecting patients with appropriate prevention or intervention services. Screening and healthcare services data from nearly 6 million U.S. military veterans were analyzed. Veterans either screened positive for current or risk of housing instability, or negative for both. Current living situation was used to validate results of screening. Administrative evidence for homelessness-related services was significantly higher among positive-screen veterans who accepted a referral for services compared to those who declined. Screening for current or risk of homelessness led to earlier identification, which led to earlier and more extensive service engagement