Moderate deviation estimates for nodal lengths of random spherical harmonics

We prove Moderate Deviation estimates for nodal lengths of random spherical harmonics both on the whole sphere and on shrinking spherical domains. Central Limit Theorems for the latter were recently established in Marinucci et al. (2020) and Todino (2020), respectively. Our proofs are based on the combination of a Moderate Deviation Principle by Schulte and Thäle (2016) for sequences of random variables living in a fixed Wiener chaos with a well-known result based on the concept of exponential equivalenc

Somatostatin receptor scintigraphy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and secondary Sjogren's syndrome treated with Infliximab:a pilot study

Background: Human T lymphocytes infiltrating tissues in autoimmune diseases are known to express somatostatin receptors amongst other activation markers. In this study, we evaluated whether somatostatin receptor scintigraphy (SRS) using a radiolabelled somatostatin analogue (Tc-99m-EDDA/tricine-HYNIC-tyr(3)-octreotide (Tc-99m-EDDA/HYNIC-TOC)) is able to detect the presence of immune-mediated processes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and secondary Sjogren's syndrome. We also aimed to evaluate whether positivity to SRS was predictive of therapeutic response and if SRS could be used for monitoring the efficacy of immunomodulatory treatment. Methods: Eighteen patients with rheumatoid arthritis and secondary Sjogren's syndrome not responding to conventional treatment were recruited for treatment with infliximab, a monoclonal antibody against TNF-alpha. All patients had complete blood cell count, renal and liver function tests, measurements of ESR, CRP, ANA, ENA, and anti-dsDNA antibodies, functional salivary gland scintigraphy, labial biopsy, and ophthalmologic assessment with Schirmer's test and tear film break-up time (BUT). Diagnosis was made according to the revised criteria of the American-European Consensus Group. All patients underwent SRS at baseline and after 3-6 months of therapy with infliximab. Eleven out of 18 had repeat SRS images. Images of the salivary glands and major joints were acquired 3 h after injection of 370 MBq of 99mTc-EDDA/HYNIC-TOC. Image analysis was performed semi-quantitatively. Results: All patients showed uptake of Tc-99m-EDDA/HYNIC-TOC in the joints. Salivary glands also showed variable radiopharmaceutical uptake in 12 out of 18 patients, but all patients showed presence of lymphocytic infiltration at labial salivary gland biopsy. All patients, who repeated the study after treatment, showed significant reduction of somatostatin uptake in the joints but not in the salivary glands. Conclusions: SRS using Tc-99m-EDDA/HYNIC-TOC may be a useful imaging tool to assess disease activity and extent in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and may help to detect secondary Sjogren's syndrome. It may also aid therapy decision-making with anti-TNF alpha antibodies in the joints but not in salivary glands

European Competition Policy in International Markets

International audienceChanges in the institutional, technological and economic environment raise new challenges to the European competition policy. In this context, it is timely for European authorities to appraise the external dimension of the European competition policy as well as its articulation with current internal reforms. Globalisation can increase the costs of monitoring and seriously reduce the ability of European authorities to tackle cross-border anti-competitive conducts. In addition, conflicts are exacerbated by industrial policy motivations. As it is unlikely that the sole application of the territoriality and extraterritoriality principles to competition rules could yield an optimal international competition system, globalisation calls for higher levels and types of cooperation. Given that bilateral cooperation and especially the implementation of comity principles could be of no value when laws or interests are sources of international conflicts, three main paths could be therefore encouraged: The continuous harmonization of rules through the joint action of OECD and ICN; the higher cooperation in the confidential information exchange; the establishment of global anti-trust institutions. Although WTO is legitimate in judging questions related market access and entry barriers, it is less equipped to assess international hard core cartels or M&A reviews. As a substitute for WTO, a multilevel system, like the EU system, could be promoted. For political and pragmatic reasons, it could be composed in a first step of a hard core of countries like the EU, Japan and the U.S. It could be associated with the creation of an international Court of Justice for competition. In addition to these external reforms, some internal reforms could be required. Competition authorities have to develop further competition advocacy to give a higher priority to competition issues in other EU policies and national regulation. A parallel and complementary reform could consist in making the European competition agency independent from State Members' interference

Flessibilità e adattamento al cambiamento nella trasposizione didattica a distanza

Il lavoro presenta una lettura in chiave semplessa del processo di insegnamento- apprendimento nell’ambito della didattica a distanza e una riflessione sulle di- namiche educative ridefinite dalle tecnologie digitali. I mutati scenari sociali, politici ed economici correlati al sopraggiungere dell’inaspettata emergenza sa- nitaria, hanno sollecitato, anche in ambito educativo, la ricerca di pratiche didat- tiche flessibili ed innovative, la rivisitazione dei tempi e dei luoghi della didat- tica e la rimodulazione del modus operandi del docente la cui professionalità si esplica nel suo ruolo proattivo, trasformativo e nella sua capacità, talvolta, in- consapevole, di destrutturare itinerari conoscitivi ed esperienziali generando nuove ed originali forme di agire didattico. L’esperienza svolta presso l’Univer- sità degli Studi del Sannio di Benevento nel percorso formativo dei 24 CFU attraverso la somministrazione di un questionario a centottantatré studenti, ed estesa anche a cinquantadue docenti campani, disciplinaristi e non di sostegno, propone una riflessione sul tema della trasposizione didattica in modalità e-lear- ning a partire da una progettualità educativo-didattica in linea con il bisogno del discente di autodeterminazione dei propri apprendimenti

Moderate deviation estimates for nodal lengths of random spherical harmonics

We prove Moderate Deviation estimates for nodal lengths of random spherical harmonics both on the whole sphere and on shrinking spherical domains. Central Limit Theorems for the latter were recently established in Marinucci, Rossi and Wigman (2020) and Todino (2020) respectively. Our proofs are based on the combination of a Moderate Deviation Principle by Schulte and Th\"ale (2016) for sequences of random variables living in a fixed Wiener chaos with a well-known result based on the concept of exponential equivalence.Comment: Revised according to referee's comments. To appear in ALE

SKILLS AND FORECAST FOR MEDIA EDUCATORS

Media educator is a new professional figure that performs an educational and pedagogical activity that aims people to understand mass media (their nature, their techniques and their languages). Nowadays In many Italian and foreign universities, new teachers’ training includes one or more exams related to media education. Some pertinent research questions are therefore: 1) what does a media educator need to know? 2) What are the differences between a media educator and a computer programmer? From the international literature emerges some differences from a media educator with a computer programmer include that It is not required to: know how to program devices (typical of expert programmers), know how to perform complex configuration (typical of network system administrators). In conclusion, media educators won’t be focused mainly on understanding devices and codes as computer programmers, but they will be focused on other peculiar elements of the media such as social, cultural, linguistic and semantic aspects (axes that generate the skills of a media educator). The Italian parliament, as well as other EU countries, promotes the development of digital culture, and it defines new policies (Italian law 107/2015 and further integrations) for improve digital services and favours computer literacy. Consequently, in the European Community it will be necessary to have digital-skills and media-education specialized teachers able to use these knowledge in every kind of school. Agreeing with these premises, Italian and European teachingtraining systems should include a course, and an exam, of media education to include these skills in future teacher curriculum