Linear resolutions of powers and products

The goal of this paper is to present examples of families of homogeneous ideals in the polynomial ring over a field that satisfy the following condition: every product of ideals of the family has a linear free resolution. As we will see, this condition is strongly correlated to good primary decompositions of the products and good homological and arithmetical properties of the associated multi-Rees algebras. The following families will be discussed in detail: polymatroidal ideals, ideals generated by linear forms and Borel fixed ideals of maximal minors. The main tools are Gr\"obner bases and Sagbi deformation

Magnetic tunneling junctions with the Heusler compound Co_2Cr_{0.6}Fe_{0.4}Al

The Heusler alloy is used as an electrode of magnetic tunneling junctions. The junctions are deposited by magnetron dc sputtering using shadow mask techniques with AlO_{x} as a barrier and cobalt as counter electrode. Measurements of the magnetoresistive differential conductivity in a temperature range between 4K and 300K are shown. An analysis of the barrier properties applying the Simmons model to the bias dependent junction conductivity is performed. VSM measurements were carried out to examine the magnetic properties of the samples.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures submitted to JMMM (proceedings of JEMS04

Insights into the Structure of Dot@Rod and Dot@Octapod CdSe@CdS Heterostructures

CdSe@CdS dot@rods with diameter around 6 nm and length of either 20, 27, or 30 nm and dot@octapods with pod diameters of ?15 nm and lengths of ?50 nm were investigated by X-ray absorption spectroscopy. These heterostructures are prepared by seed-mediated routes, where the structure, composition, and morphology of the CdSe nanocrystals used as a seed play key roles in directing the growth of the second semiconducting domain. The local structural environment of all the elements in the CdSe@CdS heterostructures was investigated at the Cd, S, and Se K-edges by taking advantage of the selectivity of X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and was compared to pure reference compounds. We found that the structural features of dot@rods are independent of the size of the rods. These structures can be described as made of a CdSe dot and a CdS rod, both in the wurtzite phase with a high crystallinity of both the core and the rod. This result supports the effectiveness of high temperature colloidal synthesis in promoting the formation of core@shell nanocrystals with very low defectivity. On the other hand, data on the CdSe@CdS with octapod morphology suggest the occurrence of a core composed of a CdSe cubic sphalerite phase with eight pods made of CdS wurtzite phase. Our findings are compared to current models proposed for the design of functional heterostructures with controlled nanoarchitecture

The environmental security debate and its significance for climate change

Policymakers, military strategists and academics all increasingly hail climate change as a security issue. This article revisits the (comparatively) long-standing “environmental security debate” and asks what lessons that earlier debate holds for the push towards making climate change a security issue. Two important claims are made. First, the emerging climate security debate is in many ways a re-run of the earlier dispute. It features many of the same proponents and many of the same disagreements. These disagreements concern, amongst other things, the nature of the threat, the referent object of security and the appropriate policy responses. Second, given its many different interpretations, from an environmentalist perspective, securitisation of the climate is not necessarily a positive development

Preliminary efficacy and safety data of nivolumab in never smoker patients with advanced squamous NSCLC: Experience from Italian sites participating in the Expanded Access Programme (EAP)

n/

Enhanced serum concentrations of transforming growth factor-beta1 in simple fatty liver: is it really benign?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Inside the spectrum of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, simple fatty liver is generally thought of as being "non progressive", differently from non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, which increases in severity due to the presence of apoptosis/inflammation and fibrosis. The "benignity" of fatty liver is widely accepted but conceptually difficult to maintain because the mechanisms underlying this entity are the same ones that determine the more severe form.</p> <p>Findings provide evidence that iron overload is associated with increased liver damage and collagen deposition. Transforming growth factor-beta1 released by hepatic stellate cells during chronic liver injury plays a critical role in liver apoptosis and fibrogenesis.</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>To verify whether both the forms of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease were really dissimilar, evaluating the serum profile of two key parameters, indexes of severity.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 123 patients (57 females) participated, forming three groups: forty five patients with fatty liver, 42 patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and 36 with chronic hepatitis C. All had a biopsy-proven diagnosis.</p> <p>Measurements</p> <p>Serum concentrations of transforming growth factor-beta1 and ferritin.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>High concentrations of transforming growth factor-beta1 were noticed in patients suffering from both fatty liver and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, 129.1 (45.4) versus 116.8 (42.2) ng/mL, P = 0.2; they were significantly superior to those of chronic hepatitis C patients 87.5 (39.5) ng/mL, P < 0.001. Ferritin levels were on average above normal values and similar in the three groups (P = 0.9), also when adjusted for gender (P = 0.5) and age (P = 0.3).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>No difference between serum concentrations of transforming growth factor-beta1 and ferritin in fatty liver and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis suggests that these forms share more common aspects, regarding their progression, than previously thought.</p

Multidisciplinary Collaboration in the Treatment of Patients With Type 2 Diabetes in Primary Care: Analysis Using Process Mining

[EN] Background: Public health in several countries is characterized by a shortage of professionals and a lack of economic resources. Monitoring and redesigning processes can foster the success of health care institutions, enabling them to provide a quality service while simultaneously reducing costs. Process mining, a discipline that extracts knowledge from information system data to analyze operational processes, affords an opportunity to understand health care processes. Objective: Health care processes are highly flexible and multidisciplinary, and health care professionals are able to coordinate in a variety of different ways to treat a diagnosis. The aim of this work was to understand whether the ways in which professionals coordinate their work affect the clinical outcome of patients. Methods: This paper proposes a method based on the use of process mining to identify patterns of collaboration between physician, nurse, and dietitian in the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and to compare these patterns with the clinical evolution of the patients within the context of primary care. Clustering is used as part of the preprocessing of data to manage the variability, and then process mining is used to identify patterns that may arise. Results: The method is applied in three primary health care centers in Santiago, Chile. A total of seven collaboration patterns were identified, which differed primarily in terms of the number of disciplines present, the participation intensity of each discipline, and the referrals between disciplines. The pattern in which the three disciplines participated in the most equitable and comprehensive manner had a lower proportion of highly decompensated patients compared with those patterns in which the three disciplines participated in an unbalanced manner. Conclusions: By discovering which collaboration patterns lead to improved outcomes, health care centers can promote the most successful patterns among their professionals so as to improve the treatment of patients. Process mining techniques are useful for discovering those collaborations patterns in flexible and unstructured health care processes.This paper was partially funded by the National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research, the Formation of Advanced Human Capital Program and the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development (CONICYT-PCHA/Doctorado Nacional/2016-21161705 and CONICYT-FONDECYT/1150365; Chile). The authors would like to thank Ancora UC primary health care centers for their help with this research. The founding sponsors had no role in the design of the study in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.Conca, T.; Saint Pierre, C.; Herskovic, V.; Sepulveda, M.; Capurro, D.; Prieto, F.; Fernández Llatas, C. (2018). Multidisciplinary Collaboration in the Treatment of Patients With Type 2 Diabetes in Primary Care: Analysis Using Process Mining. JOURNAL OF MEDICAL INTERNET RESEARCH. 20(4). https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.8884S204Chen, C.-C., Tseng, C.-H., & Cheng, S.-H. (2013). Continuity of Care, Medication Adherence, and Health Care Outcomes Among Patients With Newly Diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes. 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Italian adaptation of the Uniform Data Set Neuropsychological Test Battery (I-UDSNB 1.0): development and normative data

Background: Neuropsychological testing plays a cardinal role in the diagnosis and monitoring of Alzheimer’s disease. A major concern is represented by the heterogeneity of the neuropsychological batteries currently adopted in memory clinics and healthcare centers. The current study aimed to solve this issue. Methods: Following the initiative of the University of Washington’s National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center (NACC), we presented the Italian adaptation of the Neuropsychological Test Battery of the Uniform Data Set (I-UDSNB). We collected data from 433 healthy Italian individuals and employed regression models to evaluate the impact of demographic variables on the performance, deriving the reference norms. Results: Higher education and lower age were associated with a better performance in the majority of tests, while sex affected only fluency tests and Digit Span Forward. Conclusions: The I-UDSNB offers a valuable and harmonized tool for neuropsychological testing in Italy, to be used in clinical and research settings

The political nexus between water and economics in Brazil:A critique of recent policy reforms

The reform of water policies in Brazil has involved a combination of regulatory norms and economic-incentive instruments. Nonetheless, contrary to its formal objectives, the process has largely failed to prevent widespread environmental impacts and growing spatial and sectoral conflicts. The main reason for such failures is the perverse influence of market rationality, which is particularly evident in the reorganization of the public sector, the quantification of the monetary value of water, and the payment for environmental services