Functional Imaging Reveals Movement Preparatory Activity in the Vegetative State

The vegetative state (VS) is characterized by the absence of awareness of self or the environment and preserved autonomic functions. The diagnosis relies critically on the lack of consistent signs of purposeful behavior in response to external stimulation. Yet, given that patients with disorders of consciousness often exhibit fragmented movement patterns, voluntary actions may go unnoticed. Here we designed a simple motor paradigm that could potentially detect signs of purposeful behavior in VS patients with mild to severe brain damage by examining the neural correlates of motor preparation in response to verbal commands. Twenty-four patients who met the diagnostic criteria for VS were recruited for this study. Eleven of these patients showing preserved auditory evoked potentials underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to test for basic speech processing. Five of these patients, who showed word related activity, were included in a second fMRI study aimed at detecting functional changes in premotor cortex elicited by specific verbal instructions to move either their left or their right hand. Despite the lack of overt muscle activity, two patients out of five activated the dorsal premotor cortex contralateral to the instructed hand, consistent with movement preparation. Our results may reflect residual voluntary processing in these two patients. We believe that the identification of positive results with fMRI using this simple task, may complement the clinical assessment by helping attain a more precise diagnosis in patients with disorders of consciousness

Peculiar mean velocity profiles within a porous bed of an open channel

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Turbulence structure of open channel flows over permeable and impermeable beds : A comparative study

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Are SDGs being translated into accounting terms? Evidence from European cities

IMPACT: The challenge launched by the United Nations (UN) on the achievement of SDGs requires local governments to rethink how to devote their resources and report on their results regarding SDGs. The article analyses how existing frameworks communicate, through financial indicators, the efforts done towards sustainable development. The Voluntary Local Reviews (VLR) published by European cities and made available on the UN website can stimulate further reflection and actions toward making SDGs an accounting issue

Public sector accounting harmonization in the European Union through the lens of the garbage can model

The public sector accounting harmonization process that started in the European Union in the aftermath of the financial crisis led the European Commission to launch a project for the development of a set of European Public Sector Accounting Standards (EPSAS). This paper analyses the process and the decision-making around development of the EPSAS through the lens of the garbage can model (Cohen, M. D., March, J. G., & Olsen, J. P. (1972). A garbage can model of organizational choice. Administrative Science Quarterly, 17(1), 1–25). More specifically, by identifying problems, participants, solutions, and choice opportunities, it discusses why the development of the EPSAS is taking so long and why the process does not seem to be progressing as planned. To this end, documents related to the process of EPSAS development are analyzed. The results provide evidence of problematic preferences and fluid participation possibly coupled with flight decisions—three elements of the garbage can model. Postponing decisions can be an option to dampen reluctance. The more the public sector becomes accustomed to the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) by adopting IPSAS-like accrual accounting standards while waiting for the completion of the EPSAS, the less resistance there might be to moving to accrual accounting standards. However, at the same time, an imminent change to a new set of EPSAS standards might become less plausible if changes demand extra reform

Designing international public sector accounting standards: An analysis of constituents’ participation through comment letters

Harmonization of public sector accounting is attracting increasing attention from scholars and practitioners. A focal component of this phenomenon is the setting of accounting standards, whose legitimacy is paramount to their application. As participation by constituents is considered fundamental for ensuring this legitimacy, in this study, we focus on participation through comment letters in the due process. In particular, we explore the type of respondents, their geographical area, their agreement/disagreement with the documents prepared by the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) and the issues of importance to them, through an analysis of the comment letters submitted for six projects launched over the period 2017–2020 by the IPSASB. Furthermore, we analyze some factors that may affect countries’ participation in the due process. The analysis enriches our understanding of the IPSASB’s due process and provides relevant insights for the growing research into accounting standard-setting

Relation between the spectral properties of wall turbulence and the scaling of the Darcy-Weisbach friction factor

Empirical formulas describing the Darcy-Weisbach friction factor remain indispensable for applications in sciences and engineering dealing with turbulent flows. Despite their practical significance, these formulas have remained without theoretical interpretation for many decades. To close this knowledge gap, much research has been devoted to the development of the so-called "spectral link"introduced in the early 2000s. Such a theory is entirely based on elegant phenomenological arguments that make no contact with equations describing turbulent wall flows. The spectral link spawned alternative approaches, now labeled "cospectral budget"(or CSB) models, that describe how turbulent eddies contribute to wall stresses. The CSB overcomes some of the shortcomings of the phenomenological approach and is here employed to provide a thorough clarification of the link between spectral properties of velocity fluctuations and the scaling of friction factors in turbulent pipe flows in the hydraulically smooth and fully rough regimes

Half-String Approach to Closed String Field Theory

In this letter we present an operator formalism for Closed String Field Theory based on closed half-strings. Our results indicate that the restricted polyhedra of the classical non-polynomial string field theory, can be represented as traces of infinite matrices, with operator insertions that reparametrise the half-strings.Comment: 13 pages, Latex, OUTP 93-10-

Features and drivers of citizen participation: Insights from participatory budgeting in three European cities

Participatory budgeting (PB) is a relatively novel approach to the allocation of funds which allows ordinary citizens to become directly involved in how local government money is spent. This study identifies and examines the features and drivers of PB that incentivize citizen participation and the co-production of public services. Our analysis takes a fresh approach by setting PB initiatives in an innovative frame combining a paradigm of ‘ideal’ types of PB and their diachronic constituent phases. The results provide insights for both scholars and policy makers on the key features and drivers of citizen participation through PB. © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

Multiscale integration of satellite, airborne and field data for Mediterranean vegetation studies in the natural area of the Castelporziano Estate (Rome)

new experimental approach to land analysis has recently been developed, based on the integration of information acquired on different scales; it enables the structure and the functionality of the vegetation in natural ecosystems to be analysed. This research aims at assessing the potentiality of the experimental approach by the integration of airborne and satellite remotely sensed data with ground measurements of structural parameters. In July 1999 a joint campaign for the acquisition of airborne (MIVIS, spatial resolution 3 m) and satellite remotely sensed data (Landsat 5TM, spatial resolution 30 m) and measures taken at ground (PAI), was deployed in the Presidential Estate at Castelporziano (Rome, Italy). The spectral signatures of the main vegetational types of the Estate were examined and the PAI were related to NDVI values, calculated by means of satellite and airborne images. The adopted approach enabled PAI maps to be produced. The linear relation between measured PAI and estimated PAI showed a higher coefficient of determination when the MIVIS data were used. The sensor high spectral resolution has moreover allowed to better describe the structural characteristics of the main plant typologies at Castelporziano Estate