7,211 research outputs found

    Incumbents, opposition and international lenders: governing Portugal in times of crisis

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    The Portuguese case provides a unique opportunity to study the opposition's behaviour in a variety of political conditions. It offers an insight into the impact of the financial crisis on the opposition's behaviour in both majority and minority political settings. It allows the comparison of the opposition's relationship with a minority government, during which non-collaboration could have dramatic consequences, and also with a majority government, when such a choice does not have major political or policy implications. Moreover, it enables us to study the effect of an additional veto player (the so-called troika composed of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund), which not only constrains both majority and opposition parties, but also gives political entrepreneurs a unique opportunity to push ahead with liberal measures \u2013 in this case, clearly in disagreement with the moderate and radical left programmes. Relying on quantitative data on the legislative behaviour of the parliamentary party groups in the period 1995\u20132012, and on qualitative process-tracking of the opposition's positions on key economic issues \u2013 such as the decision to vote against Prime Minister S\uf3crates' last austerity package after a series of approvals \u2013 this article aims to determine whether, and if yes how, the financial crisis has affected the behaviour of the Portuguese opposition parties in parliament, by examining and comparing their behaviour in hard and in normal times

    Epidemiology of Visceral Leishmaniasis in Georgia

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    This study investigated the transmission and prevalence of Leishmania parasite infection of humans in two foci of Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) in Georgia, the well known focus in Tbilisi in the East, and in Kutaisi, a new focus in the West of the country. The seroprevalence of canine leishmaniasis was investigated in order to understand the zoonotic transmission. Blood samples of 1575 dogs (stray and pet) and 77 wild canids were tested for VL by Kalazar Detect rK39 rapid diagnostic tests. Three districts were investigated in Tbilisi and one in Kutaisi. The highest proportions of seropositive pet dogs were present in District #2 (28.1%, 82/292) and District #1 (26.9%, 24/89) in Tbilisi, compared to 17.3% (26/150) of pet dogs in Kutaisi. The percentage of seropositive stray dogs was also twice as high in Tbilisi (16.1%, n = 670) than in Kutaisi (8%, n = 50); only 2/58 wild animals screened were seropositive (2. 6%). A total of 873 Phlebotomine sand flies were collected, with 5 different species identified in Tbilisi and 3 species in Kutaisi; 2.3% of the females were positive for Leishmania parasites. The Leishmanin Skin Test (LST) was performed on 981 human subjects in VL foci in urban areas in Tbilisi and Kutaisi. A particularly high prevalence of LST positives was observed in Tbilisi District #1 (22.2%, 37.5% and 19.5% for ages 5–9, 15–24 and 25–59, respectively); lower prevalence was observed in Kutaisi (0%, 3.2% and 5.2%, respectively; P<0.05). This study shows that Tbilisi is an active focus for leishmaniasis and that the infection prevalence is very high in dogs and in humans. Although exposure is as yet not as high in Kutaisi, this is a new VL focus. The overall situation in the country is alarming and new control measures are urgently needed

    The Role of β-Blockers in Melanoma

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    Regularity of higher codimension area minimizing integral currents

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    This lecture notes are an expanded version of the course given at the ERC-School on Geometric Measure Theory and Real Analysis, held in Pisa, September 30th - October 30th 2013. The lectures aim to explain the main steps of a new proof of the partial regularity of area minimizing integer rectifiable currents in higher codimension, due originally to F. Almgren, which is contained in a series of papers in collaboration with C. De Lellis (University of Zurich).Comment: This text will appear in "Geometric Measure Theory and Real Analysis", pp. 131--192, Proceedings of the ERC school in Pisa (2013), L. Ambrosio Ed., Edizioni SNS (CRM Series

    Reliability and inter-observer agreement of dermoscopic diagnosis of melanoma and melanocytic naevi

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    The aim of this study was to analyse the reliability and the inter- observer agreement of dermoscopy in the diagnosis of melanocytic skin lesions. Nine dermatologists, with a different training experience and who routinely used dermoscopy in different hospitals in Italy, evaluated clinical and dermoscopy photographs of 15 melanocytic lesions (four invasive melanomas, four histologically common naevi, and seven naevi with histological atypia). A further series of dermoscopic photographs of 40 melanocytic lesions was evaluated to quantify inter-observer concordance in recognizing dermoscopic criteria. Compared to the true (histological) diagnosis, clinical diagnosis (categories: melanoma, common naevus, atypical naevus) was correct in 40% of cases (range, 27-53%). The percentage raised to 55% (40-73%) by the use of dermoscopy, with an average improvement of 15.6%. Concerning melanoma, clinical diagnosis resulted in a sensitivity of 41.9%, specificity of 77.8%, positive predictive value (PPV) of 36.1%, negative predictive value (NPV) of 81.8%. By using dermoscopy, an improvement of diagnostic performance was found (sensitivity 75%, specificity 88.8%, VPP 71.0%, VPN 90.7%). The inter-observer agreement in melanoma diagnosis, by using dermoscopy, was similar to that obtained by clinical examination (k statistics = 0.54 and 0.52, respectively). Concerning dermoscopic criteria, the best agreement among observers was found for pseudopods, a dermoscopic parameter related to the radial growth phase of melanoma. We conclude that dermoscopy is an useful tool for a non-invasive diagnosis of melanocytic skin lesions, improving the diagnostic performance compared to clinical examination

    SBV regularity for Hamilton-Jacobi equations in Rn\mathbb R^n

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    In this paper we study the regularity of viscosity solutions to the following Hamilton-Jacobi equations tu+H(Dxu)=0inΩR×Rn. \partial_t u + H(D_{x} u)=0 \qquad \textrm{in} \Omega\subset \mathbb R\times \mathbb R^{n} . In particular, under the assumption that the Hamiltonian HC2(Rn)H\in C^2(\mathbb R^n) is uniformly convex, we prove that DxuD_{x}u and tu\partial_t u belong to the class SBVloc(Ω)SBV_{loc}(\Omega).Comment: 15 page

    Seroepidemiology and molecular diversity of Leishmania donovani complex in Georgia

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    Background Leishmaniasis includes multiple clinical syndromes, most notably visceral, cutaneous, and mucosal forms. Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), also known as kala-azar, is a potentially fatal disease endemic to large parts of Africa and Asia, and in South-Eastern Europe (Greece, Turkey, Georgia). Visceral leishmaniasis is a parasitic zoonosis caused by species of the L. donovani complex. In the classical epidemiological model the main reservoir for VL are canines. Methods The study included a cohort of 513 individuals of both genders (190 males and 323 females) from the ages of 1 to 70 years that were screened in ten villages across two districts in Kakheti using the Kalazar Detect™ rK39 rapid diagnostic test. The phylogenetic diversity patterns of local strains, based on the rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences, were assessed for samples obtained from patients with suspected L. donovani infection, from canine reservoirs and from Phlebotomus sand flies obtained from different geographical areas of Georgia and from Azerbaijan. Results Out of a total of 600 domestic dog blood samples 95 (15.8 %) were positive by rK39 rapid diagnostic tests. For symptomatic domestic dogs, the testing of conjunctival swabs or bone marrow aspirates revealed a higher VL incidence in Kvareli District (Kvareli; 19.4 %, n = 329) compared with that observed for Sagarejo District (Sagarejo; 11.4 %, n = 271). A total of 231 sand flies of both genders were collected during the 2-month period; of the 114 females, 1.75 % were PCR positive for the presence of Leishmania spp. Conclusions VL infection rates remain high in both canines and humans in Georgia, with disease in several known natural foci. The genetic relationships derived from rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence comparisons identified genetic subgroups, revealing preliminary insights into the genetic structure of L. donovani complex members currently circulating in the South Caucasus and demonstrates the utility of ITS-based genotyping in the resource-limited country of Georgia

    Epiluminescence microscopy: Criteria of cutaneous melanoma progression

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    Background: Cutaneous melanoma develops through a series of evolutionary steps (intraepidermal, radial, and vertical growth phases) that are traceable in specific histologic features. Epiluminescence microscopy (ELM) is an in vivo technique that enables the visualization of morphologic structures in pigmented lesions correlated with specific histologic architectural characteristics. Many ELM criteria associated with cutaneous melanoma have been described, but their correlation with tumor progression has not yet been established. Objective: In this preliminary study our purpose was to explore the possibility of recognizing ELM criteria that allow the in vivo detection of the various phases of melanoma progression as well as tumor depth. Methods: Seventy-two cutaneous melanomas (41 'thin' melanomas [TnM], 0.75 mm thickness) were investigated with ELM for the presence of nine standard ELM criteria; their significance was determined by calculating the chi-square test of independence. Results: A significant association is found between the presence of pigment network and TaM and between the presence of gray-blue areas, vascular pattern, and TkM. Moreover, pigment network plus radial streaming is the most significant association of ELM criteria in TnM, whereas gray-blue areas plus vascular pattern is the greatest in TkM. Conclusion: This study shows a good correlation between certain ELM criteria and the histologic architecture of cutaneous melanoma for a preoperative evaluation of the tumor thickness. Further investigation is needed for verifying on a larger number of cases our pilot estimates of sensitivity and specificity of ELM criteria in thin and thick melanomas

    Clinical and dermatoscopic criteria for the preoperative evaluation of cutaneous melanoma thickness

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    Background: Melanoma thickness measured according to the Breslow method is used to determine surgical margin and in patient selection for sentinel node biopsy. Previous studies did not confirm the reliability of melanoma palpability for clinical prediction of tumor thickness. Recently we reported the usefulness of epiluminescence microscopy (dermatoscopy) for in vivo detection of the phases of melanoma progression, as well as tumor depth. Objective: Our purpose was to determine whether the combination of clinical and dermatoscopic criteria could increase the accuracy in preoperative evaluation of melanoma thickness with respect to the clinical elevation and dermatoscopic assessments considered separately. Methods: In a blind retrospective study, 122 cutaneous melanomas were studied to evaluate the presence of several clinical and dermatoscopic criteria and their relation with the histologic thickness. An algorithm of combined criteria was constructed and statistically assessed. Results: Combinations of palpability, diameter of more than 15 mm, pigment network, gray-blue areas, and atypical vascular pattern allowed correct prediction of thickness in 89% of melanomas when categorized in two groups of less than 0.76 mm and more than 0.75 mm thickness, compared with 75% using palpability, and 80% using dermatoscopic criteria. Lower values were obtained in the further subdivision of melanomas into groups of 0.76 to 1.5 mm and more than 1.5 mm thickness. Conclusion: The combination of clinical and dermatoscopic criteria is a more precise guide for the preoperative evaluation of melanoma thickness than either is alone. However, further studies are needed to verify its applicability in establishing the surgical approach to cutaneous melanoma

    Experimental Detection of Entanglement with Polarized Photons

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    We report on the first experimental realization of the entanglement witness for polarization entangled photons. It represents a recently discovered significant quantum information protocol which is based on few local measurements. The present demonstration has been applied to the so-called Werner states, a family of ''mixed'' quantum states that include both entangled and non entangled states. These states have been generated by a novel high brilliance source of entanglement which allows to continuously tune the degree of mixedness
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