The development of EPSAS: contributions from the literature

EPSAS are being considered in the EU context where a need for harmonisation in Governmental Accounting (GA) has been recognised as important to increase the reliability of sources of information to the National Accounts (NA) figures. However, GA and NA are two different and parallel reporting systems at national level, even if, within the European context, EPSAS intend to contribute for their convergence. The relationship between GA and NA has been recurrently addressed in the literature over the last two decades, with professionals being more proactive while academics have been more reactive in the debate. Several issues have been raised. This paper recaptures and revises these issues, synthesising academic and practitioner literature, archival documents and reports of EU working groups, from 1996 to 2018. The analysis highlights the more controversial areas, and those that seemed already settled but yet are now, within the context of EPSAS development, being raised again. Specifically, the paper calls attention to (1) the need to manage between two different conceptual frameworks of GA and NA; (2) the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration between the professionals involved, namely accountants, public administrators and statisticians; (3) the role of budgetary accounting and the alignment required between reporting in GA and NA, reducing and harmonising adjustments to be made when translating data from one into the other; and (4) the need to address auditing issues, as EPSAS on their own may not be enough to ensure reliability of the information reported.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Comparison of plane mirror vs retroreflector performance for laser-self-mixing displacement sensors

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Versatile multimodality imaging system based on detectorless and scanless optical feedback interferometry—a retrospective overview for a prospective vision

In this retrospective compendium, we attempt to draw a “fil rouge” along fifteen years of our research in the field of optical feedback interferometry aimed at guiding the readers to the verge of new developments in the field. The general reader will be moved at appreciating the versatility and the still largely uncovered potential of the optical feedback interferometry, for both sensing and imaging applications. By discovering the broad range of available wavelengths (0.4–120 μm), the different types of suitable semiconductor lasers (Fabry–Perot, distributed feedback, vertical-cavity, quantum-cascade), and a number of unconventional tenders in multi-axis displacement, ablation front progression, self-referenced measurements, multispectral, structured light feedback imaging and compressive sensing, the specialist also could find inspirational suggestions to expand his field of research

Microenvironment expression in diffuse large B-cell lymphomas

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), the most common type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, is recognized as a heterogeneous disease with distinct molecular subtypes derived from different stages of B-cell differentiation. The contribution of the tumor microenvironment to the pathogenesis and tumor survival of DLBCL is poorly understood. However, several recent studies have yielded intriguing findings and shed some light on the possible roles of the microenvironment. In this retrospective study, data from 29 patients diagnosed with DLBCL between 2009 and 2013 were reviewed. All patients had pathologically confirmed DLBCL and had been treated with the R-CHOP regimen. In these patients, we correlated the expression of CD3 staining for T cells, tryptase staining for mast cells, CD68 for tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), and CD31 staining for blood vessels. CD68 and tryptase expression, as well as MVD, were increased in chemo-resistant patients compared to chemosensitive patients. Tryptase expression showed a positive correlation with MVD, supporting a role for mast cells in DLBCL tumor angiogenesis, while the CD68 correlation with MVD was not significant, indicating a different role for TAMs rather than angiogenesis in DLBCL. A statistically significant difference was observed in the expression of CD3 in patients with bulky disease. Specifically, a higher expression of CD3 was observed in nonbulky disease patients (mean expression 52.91%, n = 20) compared to bulky disease patients (mean expression 34.9%, n = 9), P value < .05. The reduction in T cells in bulky disease patients contributes to loosen the immune control over the tumor, resulting in an increased cell proliferation, leading to large tumor cell masses, which are predictive of poor prognostic and clinical outcomes. CD3 showed a positive correlation with tryptase and MVD, while multiple regression analysis efficaciously predicted MVD depending on CD3 and tryptase as predictors, supporting a complex interplay between these cells in sustaining tumor angiogenesis in DLBCL patients. The improved understanding of tumor biology and of the role of the tumor microenvironment has led to advances in the diagnosis, classification, prognostics, as well as novel treatments of patients with hematologic malignancies. In particular, translational research, leading to drugs that target the interaction between the tumor microenvironment and malignant cells, has provided many promising new approaches to cancer therapy. Ongoing dynamic and correlation studies of tumor biology and the contribution of the tumor microenvironment should be promoted in the context of novel drug development in order to identify optimal therapies for various lymphomas and improve the curability of these diseases

Self-mixing in multi-transverse mode semiconductor lasers: model and potential application to multi-parametric sensing

A general model is proposed for a Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) with medium aspect ratio whose field profile can be described by a limited set of Gauss-Laguerre modes. The model is adapted to self-mixing schemes by supposing that the output beam is reinjected into the laser cavity by an external target mirror. We show that the self-mixing interferometric signal exhibits features peculiar of the spatial distribution of the emitted field and the target-reflected field and we suggest an applicative scheme that could be exploited for experimental displacement measurements. In particular, regimes of transverse mode-locking are found, where we propose an operational scheme for a sensor that can be used to simultaneously measure independent components of the target displacement like target translations along the optical axis (longitudinal axis) and target rotations in a plane orthogonal to the optical axis (transverse plane). (C) 2012 Optical Society of Americ

Role of chi((3)) anisotropy in the generation of squeezed light in semiconductors

We have measured the real n2 and imaginary β parts of the χ(3) nonlinear susceptibility in polycrystalline ZnS and ZnSe and its anisotropy σ in cubic ZnSe near half-band-gap using femtosecond spectroscopy. We obtain values in good agreement with recent studies. The dispersion of n2 and β in polycrystalline ZnSe is compared with two- and four-band model calculations. The dispersion of n2 and βstrongly affects the pulse transmission through thick samples, and has been included in a model that describes the pulse spectrum after self-phase modulation. The χ(3) nonlinearity allows for both self-phase modulation and cross-phase modulation, and we demonstrate that both effects can efficiently generate squeezed light in semiconductors by four-wave mixing