Guest editorial: Memetic computing in the presence of uncertainties

Copyright @ Springer-Verlag 2010.The Guest Editors acknowledge the research support by the Academy of Finland, Akatemiatutkija 130600, Algorithmic Design Issues in Memetic Computing, and by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Project: Evolutionary Algorithms for Dynamic Optimisation Problems, under Grant EP/E060722/1

Quantum Bayesian methods and subsequent measurements

After a derivation of the quantum Bayes theorem, and a discussion of the reconstruction of the unknown state of identical spin systems by repeated measurements, the main part of this paper treats the problem of determining the unknown phase difference of two coherent sources by photon measurements. While the approach of this paper is based on computing correlations of actual measurements (photon detections), it is possible to derive indirectly a probability distribution for the phase difference. In this approach, the quantum phase is not an observable, but a parameter of an unknown quantum state. Photon measurements determine a probability distribution for the phase difference. The approach used in this paper takes into account both photon statistics and the finite efficiency of the detectors.Comment: Expanded and corrected version. 13 pages, 1 figur

The Italian National Health Service after the Economic Crisis: From Decentralization to Differentiated Federalism = O Serviço Nacional de Saúde italiano após a crise económica: da descentralização ao federalismo diferenciado

[portoghese] - SERVI\uc7O NACIONAL DE SA aDE ITALIANO AP 3S A CRISE ECON 3MICA: DA DESCENTRALIZA\uc7\uc3O AO FEDERALISMO DIFERENCIADO - Este artigo analisa a evolu\ue7\ue3o do Servi\ue7o Nacional de Sa\ufade (SNS) na It\ue1lia ap\uf3s o in\uedcio da crise econ\uf3mica de 2008, focando-se em algumas das trajet\uf3rias de mudan\ue7a ocorridas sob a governan\ue7a do SNS. Aborda, inicialmente, a reconstru\ue7\ue3o da estrutura econ\uf3mica e financeira do SNS nos \ufaltimos 10 anos, descrevendo brevemente as pol\uedticas de austeridade implementadas no setor da sa\ufade. De seguida, delineia a estrutura institucional do SNS a partir das reformas dos anos 1990, que se baseiam nas rela\ue7\uf5es intergovernamentais e na formula\ue7\ue3o conjunta de pol\uedticas entre o Estado e as regi\uf5es. Na terceira parte, mostra como a resposta \ue0 crise econ\uf3mica teve um efeito significativo nestas rela\ue7\uf5es, desencadeando uma transforma\ue7\ue3o na governan\ue7a do SNS. Esta mudan\ue7a, longe de estar conclu\uedda, pode comprometer seriamente a natureza universalista do SNS italiano e a sua capacidade para seguir os valores de equidade e solidariedade, especialmente a n\uedvel territorial.This essay analyses the evolution of the National Health Service (NHS) in Italy after the beginning of the financial crisis of 2008, focusing on some trajectories of change underway in the NHS governance. It starts with a reconstruction of the economic and financial framework of the NHS in the last 10 years, briefly describing the austerity policies implemented in the health sector. It then outlines the NHS institutional framework as it emerged from 1990s reforms, which is based on intergovernmental relations and joint policy-making between the State and the Regions. In the third part, it shows how the response to the economic crisis has had a significant effect on these relations, triggering a transformation in the NHS governance. This change, which is far from being concluded, could seriously undermine the universalistic nature of the Italian NHS and its ability to pursue the values of equity and solidarity, especially at a territorial level

The meaning of different forms of structural myocardial injury, immune response and timing of infarct necrosis and cardiac repair

Although a decline in the all-cause and cardiac mortality rates following myocardial infarction (MI) during the past 3 decades has been reported, MI is a major cause of death and disability worldwide. From a pathological point of view MI consists in a particular myocardial cell death due to prolonged ischemia. After the onset of myocardial ischemia, cell death is not immediate, but takes a finite period of time to develop. Once complete myocytes’ necrosis has occurred, a process leading to a healed infarction takes place. In fact, MI is a dynamic process that begins with the transition from reversible to irreversible ischemic injury and culminates in the replacement of dead myocardium by a fibrous scar. The pathobiological mechanisms underlying this process are very complex, involving an inflammatory response by several pathways, and pose a major challenge to ability to improve our knowledge. An improved understanding of the pathobiology of cardiac repair after MI and further studies of its underlying mechanisms provide avenues for the development of future strategies directed toward the identification of novel therapies. The chronologic dating of MI is of great importance both to clinical and forensic investigation, that is, the ability to create a theoretical timeline upon which either clinicians or forensic pathologists may increase their ability to estimate the time of MI. Aging of MI has very important practical implications in clinical practice since, based on the chronological dating of MI, attractive alternatives to solve therapeutic strategies in the various phases of MI are developing

Seismic footprints of shallow dyke propagation at Etna, Italy

One of the key issues in forecasting volcanic eruptions is to detect signals that can track the propagation of dykes towards the surface. Continuous monitoring of active volcanoes helps significantly in achieving this goal. The seismic data presented here are unique, as they document surface faulting processes close (tens to a few hundred meters) to their source, namely the dyke tip. They originated nearby - and under - a seismic station that was subsequently destroyed by lava flows during eruptive activity at Etna volcano, Italy, in 2013. On February 20, a ~600 m-long and ~120 m wide NW-SE fracture field opened at an altitude between 2750 and 2900 m. The consequent rock dislocation caused the station to tilt and offset the seismic signal temporarily. Data acquisition continued until the arrival of the lava flow that led to the breakdown of the transmission system. Shallow ground fracturing and repeated low-frequency oscillations occurred during two stages in which the seismic signal underwent a maximum offset ~2.57 E+04 nm/s. Bridging instrumental recordings, fieldwork and conceptual modelling, these data are interpreted as the seismic footprints of a magmatic dyke intrusion that moved at speed ~0.02 m/s (first stage) and 0.46 m/s (second stage)