Counterterrorism Effectiveness: The Impact on Life and Property Losses

In this Policy Briefing we look at authorities' relative counterterrorism effectiveness focusing on its behavior over time, its impact on preventing casualties and property losses. The study underlying this Policy Briefing used data on transnational terrorism from the ITERATE database (1973-2003) and discrete choice models, to evaluate relative counterterrorism effectiveness while controlling for a variety of terrorists' and authorities' effort attributes. It was found out that the probability of a terrorist incident being stopped by the authorities has increased in the period examined. Furthermore, a negative relationship between authorities' ability to stop an incident and the probabilities of casualties and damages is identified. However, the "ability to stop" exerts higher impact on the probability of property losses compared to casualties

Climate change impacts and adaptation options in the Mediterranean basin

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Osteolytic bone destruction resulting from relapse of a testicular tumour 23 years after inguinal orchiectomy and adjuvant chemotherapy: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Late relapse of a testicular germ cell tumour is an uncommon occurrence. We report a case of osteolytic bone metastasis appearing 23 years after the initial treatment of a metastatic testicular mixed tumour (choriocarcinoma and embryonal carcinoma). This is one of the longest periods of recurrence reported for testicular germ cell tumours.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 52-year-old Caucasian man who underwent a right inguinal orchiectomy due to testicular tumour in 1984 presented to our outpatient clinic in a generally bad condition of health and with severe pain of his right hip joint and os ischii caused by osteolytic metastasis.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This case emphasizes the need for a life-long follow-up of patients with primary metastatic testicular cancer.</p

A Case Report of Urinary Bladder Carcinosarcoma and Review of the Literature

Carcinosarcoma of the bladder is an unusual tumour characterized by a combination of malignant epithelial and soft tissue elements. Most of the reported cases have been case reports or small series. Optimal treatment is uncertain. We herein report our experience in such a case treated with transurethral resection followed by radiotherapy with adverse final outcome. Treatment of bladder carcinosarcomas should be aggressive and multimodal but optional treatment is still unknown. Radiotherapy alone is insufficient as a treatment option of these aggressive tumors

A study on implementing a multithreaded version of the SIRENE detector simulation software for high energy neutrinos

The primary objective of SIRENE is to simulate the response to neutrino events of any type of high energy neutrino telescope. Additionally, it implements different geometries for a neutrino detector and different configurations and characteristics of photo-multiplier tubes (PMTs) inside the optical modules of the detector through a library of C+ + classes. This could be considered a massive statistical analysis of photo-electrons. Aim of this work is the development of a multithreaded version of the SIRENE detector simulation software for high energy neutrinos. This approach allows utilization of multiple CPU cores leading to a potentially significant decrease in the required execution time compared to the sequential code. We are making use of the OpenMP framework for the production of multithreaded code running on the CPU. Finally, we analyze the feasibility of a GPU-accelerated implementation

Clinical Study Ureteroscopic Laser Treatment of Upper Urinary Tract Urothelial Cell Carcinomas: Can a Tumour Free Status Be Achieved?

Introduction. In cases of anatomic or functional single kidney with urothelial tumours of the upper urinary tract, the endoscopic laser ablation has proven efficacious. Based on the knowledge that low-grade, low-stage upper tract transitional cell carcinomas rarely progress to invasive lesions, indications for endoscopic laser ablation have expanded to include patients with bilateral functioning kidneys and low-grade tumours. The question that remains to be answered is whether endoscopic laser ablation has the ability to completely eradicate upper urinary tract tumours. Methods. We performed in 25 patients in a period of 11 years 288 ureteroscopies and, if needed, laser ablation of upper urinary tract tumours in imperative indication. Results. In 32% of the patients the cancer remained even after several laser sessions. 64% of patients were tumour free after one or more laser sessions but remained clear only for the next 3 months. Only 1 patient was tumour free for a period of 68 months after 1 session of laser treatment. The procedure had low complication rates. Conclusion. The laser technology and the introduction of small diameter semirigid and flexible ureteroscopes made ablation of upper urinary tract tumours possible and safe. Nevertheless a complete resection of the carcinomas is rarely possible

Perforation of the Urinary Bladder Caused by Transurethral Insertion of a Pencil for the Purpose of Masturbation in a 29-Year-Old Female

The urethra is a usual site of introduction of foreign bodies for autoerotic stimulation. We present an unusual case of bladder perforation caused by foreign body that was self-inserted in the urethra and consequently slipped inside the bladder in a 29-year-old female patient with psychiatric disease. The patient was referred to our department for macroscopic hematuria and abdominal pain. Imaging studies revealed the presence of a foreign body in the pelvic area which had perforated the left lateral wall of the bladder. The foreign body was removed via open cystotomy. In psychiatric patients hematuria and pelvic pain may result from insertion of a foreign body in the bladder usually during masturbation

Near future climate change projections with implications for the agricultural sector of three major Mediterranean islands

AbstractThe paper presents the analysis of a sub-set of high-resolution bias-adjusted simulations from the EURO-CORDEX initiative, in order to examine the changes in the mean climate and the extremes in three Mediterranean islands, namely, Sicily, Crete and Cyprus, in the near future (2031–2060) compared to the present climate (1971–2000), under two future scenarios, i.e. RCP4.5 and RCP8.5. The analysis entails commonly used climatic indices of interest related to the islands' agricultural sector. The results indicate robust increases for both the mean maximum and minimum temperatures on a seasonal basis, as well as for the temperature related extremes under both climate scenarios. On the contrary, the changes in precipitation are less pronounced as the changes in the seasonal precipitation are not found statistically significant for the three islands under both scenarios. The projected warming combined with the projected unchanged precipitation pattern in the future, especially in spring and summer, might expose the crops to conditions with a negative impact on the plants' phenology, leading to implications on crop production and quality. The results presented here might be the basis for the development of an adaptation strategy specifically targeted on the three islands but also replicable to other Mediterranean islands

Pulsar scintillation through thick and thin: Bow shocks, bubbles, and the broader interstellar medium

Observations of pulsar scintillation are among the few astrophysical probes of very small-scale (≲ au) phenomena in the interstellar medium (ISM). In particular, characterization of scintillation arcs, including their curvature and intensity distributions, can be related to interstellar turbulence and potentially overpressurized plasma in local ISM inhomogeneities, such as supernova remnants, H II regions, and bow shocks. Here we present a survey of eight pulsars conducted at the Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST), revealing a diverse range of scintillation arc characteristics at high sensitivity. These observations reveal more arcs than measured previously for our sample. At least nine arcs are observed toward B1929+10 at screen distances spanning ~90 per cent of the pulsar’s 361 pc path length to the observer. Four arcs are observed toward B0355+54, with one arc yielding a screen distance as close as ∼105 au (<1 pc) from either the pulsar or the observer. Several pulsars show highly truncated, low-curvature arcs that may be attributable to scattering near the pulsar. The scattering screen constraints are synthesized with continuum maps of the local ISM and other well-characterized pulsar scintillation arcs, yielding a three-dimensional view of the scattering media in context