Análisis de riesgo conjunto en la determinación de crecidas de proyecto de regímenes complejos

El riesgo hidrológico asociado a las crecidas de proyecto para el caso de cuencas pequeñas y medianas puede representarse a través de la probabilidad de excedencia del caudal pico, pero esto no ocurre en el caso de grandes cuencas con regímenes de crecidas complejos, dando lugar a que a una misma crecida real le corresponda un período de retorno diferente según se efectúe el análisis de frecuencia del caudal máxima, el volumen o la duración de la misma. Se estudian las relaciones que existen entre las variables mencionadas a partir de los caudales diarios disponibles en el tramo media del Río Paraná en la Argentina y se efectuan los análisis de frecuencia de extremos. En la zona de estudios las medidas estructurales y no estructurales de control y protección de crecidas se han proyectado en forma aislada, utilizando la característica de la crecida más apropiada para cada caso. Con el fin de verificar cual es el comportamiento de dichas obras existentes con crecidas de un mismo nivel de riesgo y adoptar la misma como crecida de proyecto de medidas complementarias, a partir de las relaciones estudiadas se definió un índice de crecida como el cociente entre el caudal máxima y el media de la crecida. Con este índice que integra las distintas variables en juego se efectuó el análisis de frecuencia y se estableció un procedimiento para adoptar valores de caudal máximo, volumen y duración que permiten la determinación de hidrogramas de diseño correspondientes a un determinado período de retorno

The perceived severity of a disease and the impact of the vocabulary used to convey information: using Rasch scaling in a simulated oncological scenario.

Background: Healthcare staff should be aware of the importance that patients may attach to the words that are used to convey information. This is relevant in terms of the patients\u2019 understanding. Modeling how people understand the information conveyed in a medical context may help health practitioners to better appreciate the patients\u2019 approach. Purpose: 1) Analyze the participants\u2019 self-reported perception of the type of information provided in an oncological scenario in terms of three dimensions: impairment to their health, risks associated with the disease itself and commitment required to undergo the treatment; and 2) show the benefits of using Rasch scaling for the analysis of the data. Starting from a survey, Rasch scaling produces a unidimensional logit-interval scale relating to the extent to which each item conveys a latent dimension. These were related to structure, in particular concerning communication by means of opposite vs. unipolar language. Subjects and methods: The participants rated 82 items of information in a questionnaire regarding their perception of impairment to their health (H) and the risks (R) and commitment relating to the treatment prescribed (T). Results: The scaling produced an item bank for healthcare staff to consult in order to estimate the importance the recipient would be likely to attach to the vocabulary used and the likely impact of the information in terms of the patient\u2019s condition. Furthermore, the use of opposites was generally associated with a clearer impression of whether the information given was generally only very negative or slightly negative, whereas \u2018neutral\u2019 information was often perceived as being very negative. Actual findings: Is possible to estimate people\u2019s understanding more precisely (in terms of H, R and T) which can help healthcare practitioners to modulate the way they convey information. Limitations: The participants in the study were healthy volunteers and the context was simulated

Análisis de riesgo conjunto en la determinación de crecidas de proyecto de regímenes complejos

[ES] El riesgo hidrológico asociado a las crecidas de proyecto para el caso de cuencas pequeñas y medianas puede representarse a través de la probabilidad de excedencia del caudal pico, pero esto no ocurre en el caso de grandes cuencas con regímenes de crecidas complejos, dando lugar a que a una misma crecida real le corresponda un período de retorno diferente según se efectúe el análisis de frecuencia del caudal máxima, el volumen o la duración de la misma. Se estudian las relaciones que existen entre las variables mencionadas a partir de los caudales diarios disponibles en el tramo media del Río Paraná en la Argentina y se efectuan los análisis de frecuencia de extremos. En la zona de estudios las medidas estructurales y no estructurales de control y protección de crecidas se han proyectado en forma aislada, utilizando la característica de la crecida más apropiada para cada caso. Con el fin de verificar cual es el comportamiento de dichas obras existentes con crecidas de un mismo nivel de riesgo y adoptar la misma como crecida de proyecto de medidas complementarias, a partir de las relaciones estudiadas se definió un índice de crecida como el cociente entre el caudal máxima y el media de la crecida. Con este índice que integra las distintas variables en juego se efectuó el análisis de frecuencia y se estableció un procedimiento para adoptar valores de caudal máximo, volumen y duración que permiten la determinación de hidrogramas de diseño correspondientes a un determinado período de retorno.Paoli, CU.; Cacik, PA.; Bolzicco, JE. (1998). Análisis de riesgo conjunto en la determinación de crecidas de proyecto de regímenes complejos. Ingeniería del Agua. 5(2):13-22. https://doi.org/10.4995/ia.1998.2746SWORD132252Bacchi, B., Brath, A., Kottegoda, N. (1992) Analysis of the Relatiomhips betweenfloodpeaks andflood volumes based on crossing properties of river flowprocesses. Water Resources Research, vol. 28, n. 10, págs. 2773-2782.Cacik, P; Paoli, C.; Bolzicco, J. (1993) Impacto de las últimas crecidas del río Paraná en la determinación de caudales de diseño. En: I Simposio de Recursos Hídricos do Cone Sul.Gramado, Brasil, págs. 371 - 380.Cunnane, C. (1989) Statistical Distributions for Flood Frequency Analysis. World Meteorological Organization. Operational Hydrology Report No 33.FICH- Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Hídricas UNL. (1991) Modelo de análisis de frecuencia de crecidas AFMULTI. Manual de usuario. Proy. Análisis de Frec. de Crecidas. 17 págs.Hosking J. (1989) The Theory of Probability Weigthed Moments. Research Report. IBM Research División. NY. USA.NERC. (1975) FloodStudies Report. Hydrological Studies. Natural Enviromnent Research Council. Vol I.Paoli, C., Cacik, P., Bolzicco, J. (1992) Aplicación de métodos robustos para la determinación de máximas crecidas del río Paraná. En: Memorias del XV Congreso Latinoamericano de Hidráulica. Cartagena. Colombia, págs. 411 - 421.Paoli, C.; Cacik, P.; Bolzicco, J. (1994) La incertidumbre en el análisis de frecuencia de picas de crecida. XVI Congreso Nacional del Agua. La Plata. Argentina.Sir Halcrow & Partners Ltd. (1994) Estudio de regulación del valle aluvial de los ríos Paraná. Paraguay y Uruguay para el control de las inundaciones. Informe Final. Anexo B: Hidrología.Vogel, R., Wilson, I. (1996) Probability Distribution of Annual Maximun, Mean and Minimum Streamflows in the United States. Journal of Hydrologic Engineering. Vol 1, Nro.2, pags. 69-7

Use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in cancer patients. An italian multicenter survey

INTRODUCTION: Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) include a wide range of products (herbs, vitamins, minerals, and probiotics) and medical practices, developed outside of the mainstream Western medicine. Patients with cancer are more likely to resort to CAM first or then in their disease history; the potential side effects as well as the costs of such practices are largely underestimated. PATIENTS AND METHOD: We conducted a descriptive survey in five Italian hospitals involving 468 patients with different malignancies. The survey consisted of a forty-two question questionnaire, patients were eligible if they were Italian-speaking and receiving an anticancer treatment at the time of the survey or had received an anticancer treatment no more than three years before participating in the survey. RESULTS: Of our patients, 48.9% said they use or have recently used CAM. The univariate analysis showed that female gender, high education, receiving treatment in a highly specialized institute and receiving chemotherapy are associated with CAM use; at the multivariate analysis high education (Odds Ratio, (OR): 1.96 95% Confidence Interval, CI, 1.27-3.05) and receiving treatment in a specialized cancer center (OR: 2.75 95% CI, 1.53-4.94) were confirmed as risk factors for CAM use. CONCLUSION: Roughly half of our patients receiving treatment for cancer use CAM. It is necessary that health professional explore the use of CAM with their cancer patients, educate them about potentially beneficial therapies in light of the limited available evidence of effectiveness, and work towards an integrated model of health-care provision

Renewing Criminalized and Hegemonic Cultural Landscapes

The Mafia's long historical pedigree in Mezzogiorno, Southern Italy, has empowered the Mafioso as a notorious, uncontested, and hegemonic figure. The counter-cultural resistance against the mafiosi culture began to be institutionalized in the early 1990s. Today, Libera Terra is the largest civil society organization in the country that uses the lands confiscated from the Mafia as a space of cultural repertoire to realize its ideals. Deploying labor force through volunteer participation, producing biological fruits and vegetables, and providing information to the students on the fields are the principal cultural practices of this struggle. The confiscated lands make the Italian experience of anti-Mafia resistance a unique example by connecting the land with the ideals of cultural change. The sociocultural resistance of Libera Terra conveys a political message through these practices and utters that the Mafia is not invincible. This study draws the complex panorama of the Mafia and anti-Mafia movement that uses the ‘confiscated lands’ as cultural and public spaces for resistance and socio-cultural change. In doing so, this article sheds new light on the relationship between rural criminology and crime prevention policies in Southern Italy by demonstrating how community development practice of Libera Terra changes the meaning of landscape through iconographic symbolism and ethnographic performance

OC-0145: Preoperative radiotherapy with an integrated boost compared to chemoradiotherapy for rectal cancer

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Association of LOXL1 common sequence variants in German and Italian patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome and pseudoexfoliation glaucoma

purpose. Three common sequence variants in the lysyl oxidase-like 1 (LOXL1) gene were recently associated with both pseudoexfoliation (PEX) and pseudoexfoliation glaucoma (PEXG) in populations from Iceland and Sweden. In this study, the genetic association of these variants was investigated in patients with PEX or PEXG of German and Italian descent. methods. The three LOXL1 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), one intronic (rs2165241) and two nonsynonymous coding SNPs (rs1048661: R141L and rs3825942: G153D) were genotyped in a total of 726 unrelated patients with PEX or PEXG (517 Germans and 209 Italians) and 418 healthy subjects who had normal findings in repeated ophthalmic examinations, and a genetic association study was performed. results. Strong association with the three LOXL1 common sequence variants was seen in both the PEX and PEXG patient groups independent of their geographic origin (rs2165241, combined OR = 3.42, P = 1.28 × 10−40; rs1048661, OR = 2.43, P = 2.90 × 10−19; and rs3825942, OR = 4.87, P = 8.22 × 10−23). Similarly, the common frequent haplotype (G-G) composed of the two coding SNPs (rs1048661 and rs3825942) was strongly associated in PEX and PEXG cohorts of both populations with the disease (combined OR = 3.58, P = 5.21× 10−43). conclusions. Genetic variants in LOXL1 confer risk to PEX in German and Italian populations, independent of the presence of secondary glaucoma, confirming findings in patients from Northern Europe

Exploring functional candidate genes for genetic association in German patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome and pseudoexfoliation glaucoma

purpose. Pseudoexfoliation (PEX) syndrome is a generalized elastic microfibrillopathy characterized by fibrillar deposits in intra- and extraocular tissues. Genetic and nongenetic factors are known to be involved in its etiopathogenesis. This study was focused on six functional candidate genes involved in PEX material deposition and the analysis of their potential association with PEX syndrome and PEX glaucoma (PEXG). methods. Fifty single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) capturing >95% of overall genetic variance observed in Europeans at loci for FBN1, LTBP2, MFAP2, TGM2, TGF-b1, and CLU were genotyped in 333 unrelated PEX-affected and 342 healthy individuals of German origin, and a genetic association study was performed. To replicate the findings, two SNPs of the CLU gene were genotyped in a further 328 unrelated German patients with PEX as well as in 209 Italian patients with PEX and 190 Italian control subjects. results. Association with PEX was observed only for the SNP rs2279590 in intron 8 of the CLU gene coding for clusterin (corrected P = 0.0347, OR = 1.34) in our first German cohort. Likewise, a frequent haplotype encompassing the associated risk allele showed nominally significant association. None of remaining SNPs or SNP haplotypes were associated with PEX. The association found was confirmed in a second German cohort (P = 0.0244) but not in the Italian cohort (P = 0.7173). In addition, the association with CLU SNP rs2279590 was more significant in German patients with PEX syndrome than in those with PEXG. conclusions. Genetic variants in the gene encoding clusterin may represent a risk factor for PEX in German patients but not in Italian patients. Variants in FBN1, LTBP2, MFAP2, TGF-b1, and TGM2 do not play a major role in the etiology of PEX syndrome, at least in German patients

Chinese organized crime and situational context: comparing human smuggling and synthetic drugs trafficking

This article criticizes the 'ethnic' conception of organized crime and puts forward an alternative view that does not put ethnicity first, but rather social networks and situational context. It focuses upon Chinese organized crime, a phenomenon where the preoccupation with ethnicity is paramount, and compares findings from extensive research into two different transnational criminal activities that are carried out by Chinese offenders in the Netherlands. The first topic, human smuggling, is well researched, whereas research into the second topic, trafficking in precursors (the basic ingredients for the production of synthetic drugs), is largely lacking. The article highlights the major theoretical and empirical similarities and differences between these two criminal activities and discusses the relevance of the main findings for theory and research