71 research outputs found
Measuring financial well-being in Europe using a fuzzy set approach
Purpose – This paper aims to apply a multidimensional approach to assessing the financial well-being of
European countries.
Design/methodology/approach – Financial well-being is a very complex phenomenon to measure because
it is composed of different dimensions. Therefore, this paper uses a multidimensional and fuzzy methodology to
assess financial well-being in Europe. The financial well-being fuzzy indicator was calculated using European
Quality of Life Survey data.
Findings – Financial well-being is heterogeneous across European countries. This evidence is confirmed
both at the level of overall financial well-being and at the level of sub-indices. The degree of financial wellbeing is not directly related to wealth as traditionally measured (i.e. GDP), but shows some correspondence
with socio-economic characteristics of the population and with governance and cultural elements of a
country.
Practical implications – Understanding financial well-being could help financial institutions to transition
from a one-size-fits-all approach to a more tailored approach when they provide financial services and could
help policy makers to consider financial well-being when they decide how and where to allocate public
spending.
Originality/value – To the best of authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to employ a fuzzy methodology
for the analysis of financial well-being in Europe.
Keywords Financial well-being, Dimensions of financial well-being, Multidimensional and fuzzy set
approach, Europe
Paper type Research pape
Post-transcriptional regulation of HTLV gene expression: Rex to the rescue
Human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) and other members of the Deltaretrovirus genus code for a regulatory protein named Rex that binds to the Rex-responsive element present on viral mRNAs. Rex rescues viral mRNAs from complete splicing or degradation and guides them to the cytoplasm for translation. The activity of Rex is essential for expression of viral transcripts coding for the virion components and thus represents a potential target for virus eradication. We present an overview of the functional properties of the HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 Rex proteins (Rex-1 and Rex-2), outline mechanisms controlling Rex function, and discuss similarities and differences in the sequences of Rex coded by HTLV-1, -2, -3, and -4 that may influence their molecular anatomy and functional properties
Volcano monitoring and early warning on Mt Etna, Italy, using volcanic tremor – Methods and technical aspects
Recent activity on Mt Etna was characterized by 25 lava fountains occurred on Mt Etna in 2011 and the first
semester of 2012. In summer 2012 volcanic activity in a milder form was noticed within the Bocca Nuova
crater, before it came to an essential halt in August 2012. Together with previous unrests (e. g., in 2007-08)
these events offer rich material for testing automatic data processing and alert issue in the context of volcano
monitoring. Our presentation focuses on the seismic background radiation – volcanic tremor – which has a key
role in the surveillance of Mt Etna. From 2006 on a multi-station alert system exploiting STA/LTA ratios, has
been established in the INGV operative centre of Catania. Besides, also the frequency content has been found to
change correspondingly to the type of volcanic activity, and can thus be exploited for warning purposes. We apply
Self Organizing Maps and Fuzzy Clustering which offer an efficient way to visualize signal characteristics and its
development with time. These techniques allow to identify early stages of eruptive events and automatically flag a
critical status before this becomes evident in conventional monitoring techniques.
Changes of tremor characteristics are related to the position of the source of the signal. Given the dense seismic
network we can base the location of the sources on distribution of the amplitudes across the network. The locations
proved to be extremely useful for warning throughout both a flank eruption in 2008 as well as the 2011 lava
fountains. During all these episodes a clear migration of tremor sources towards the eruptive centres was revealed
in advance. The location of the sources completes the picture of an imminent volcanic unrest and corroborates
early warnings flagged by the changes of signal characteristics.
Automatic real time data processing poses high demands on computational efficiency, robustness of the methods
and stability of data acquisition. The amplitude based multi-station approach is not sensitive to the failure of
single stations and therefore offers a good stability. On the other hand, the single station approach, exploiting
unsupervised classification techniques, limits logistic efforts, as only one or few key stations are necessary. A
common characteristics of both strategies is their robustness to disturbances (undesired transients like earthquakes,
noise, short gaps in the continuous data flow). False alarms were not encountered so far.
A critical issue it the reliability of data storage and access. Therefore, a specific hardware cluster architecture
has been proposed for failover protection, including a Storage Area Network system. We present concepts of
the software architectures which allow easy data access following predefined user policies. We also envisage the
integration of seismic data and those originating from other scientific fields (e. g., volcano imagery, geochemistry,
deformation, gravity, magneto-telluric). This will facilitate cross-checking of evidences encountered from the
single data streams, in particular allow their immediate verification with respect to ground truth
High intensity cyclotrons for neutrino physics
In recent years, the interest in high intensity proton beams in excess of
several milli-Amperes has risen. Potential applications are in neutrino
physics, materials and energy research, and isotope production. Continuous wave
proton beams of five to ten milli-Amperes are now in reach due to advances in
accelerator technology and through improved understanding of the beam dynamics.
As an example application, we present the proposed IsoDAR experiment, a search
for so-called sterile neutrinos and non-standard interaction using the KamLAND
detector located in Japan. We present updated sensitivities for this experiment
and describe in detail the design of the high intensity proton driver that uses
several novel ideas. These are: accelerating H2+ instead of protons, directly
injecting beam into the cyclotron via a Radio Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ), and
carefully matching the beam to achieve so-called vortex motion. The preliminary
design holds up well in PIC simulation studies and the injector system is now
being constructed, to be commissioned with a 1 MeV test cyclotron
Health benefits of olive oil and by-products and possible innovative applications for industrial processes
In the last few years, the production of olive oil has incredibly increased due to its beneficial properties on human health. On the other hand, the amount of waste and by-products derived from the olive oil industry has increased as well, prompting the development of new fields of research aiming to reduce disposal costs and valorize bioactive compounds from the viewpoint of the green economy. Interestingly, olive oil and by-products contain numerous molecules, including phenols, exhibiting pleiotropic effects in both in vitro and in vivo studies. This review aims to describe the more recent studies focusing to identify and describe the potential roles and the new applications of extracts isolated from wastes and by-products or specific compounds, such as hydroxytyrosol (HT) and oleuropein. Extracts or bioactive molecules from olive oil and by-products have been proposed as a food additive, to produce biofuel, for animal feeding, and to create new matrices in bioremediation protocols. Moreover, bio-compounds have been described to have numerous beneficial effects on human health as they reduce the risk of developing certain chronic diseases. Despite the already published studies, more research is necessary to valorize bioactive compounds in olive oil and by-products, as well as their potential use to improve human health and green applications in different industrial processes. Keywords: extra virgin olive oil, by-products, olive leaf extract, bioactive compounds, human health, and industrial applicatio
Multispacer sequence typing of Coxiella burnetii from milk and hard tick samples from ruminant farms in Lebanon
his study was carried out to detect and characterize Coxiella burnetii in ruminant milk samples and in different tick species from seropositive farms in four Lebanese regions. Milk and tick samples were screened for C. burnetii presence by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) targeting IS1111 region followed by multispacer sequence typing (MST). The overall positive percentages of 9.6% (27/282) and 95.45% (84/88) for C. burnetii were recorded in ruminant milk and tick samples, respectively. In detail, the C. burnetii DNA was recorded in 52/54 (96.3%) of Rhipicephalus annulatus, 20/21 (95.24%) of Rhipicephalus turanicus, 6/6 (100%) of Hyalomma anatolicum, 5/6 (83.3%) of Rhipicephalus sanguineus and 1/1 of Rhipicephalus bursa. After genotyping of some IS1111-positive samples (17/111), different MST genotypes were identified. Out of 15 positive ticks, 10 were infected with MST2 genotype, 4 were infected with MST7 genotype and 1 was infected with MST57. Moreover, genotypes MST20 and MST58 were found in one cow and one goat milk samples, respectively. The present study confirmed the high genetic diversity of C. burnetii in Lebanon
The Mt. Etna data mining software
Mt. Etna is permanently active requiring a continuous data acquisition a multidisciplinary monitoring system
where huge data masses accumulate and pose severe difficulties of interpretation. Therefore the INGV staff
has developed a number of software tools for data mining, aiming at identifying structures in the data which
can be related to the volcanic activity and furnish criteria for the definition of alert systems. We tackle the
problem by applying methods of clustering and classification. We identify data groups by defining a measure
of similarity or distance. Data groups may assume various shapes, once forming convex clouds once
complex concave bodies. The tool “KKAanalysis” is a basket of clustering methods and forms the backbone
of the tremor-based automatic alarm system of INGV-OE. It exploits both SOM and Fuzzy Clustering.
Besides seismic data the concept has been applied to petrochemic data as well as in a combined analysis of
gas-emission data and seismic data. The software “DBSCAN” focuses on density-based clustering that
allows discovering clusters with arbitrary shape. Here, clusters are defined as dense regions of objects in the
data space separated by regions of low density. In DBSCAN a cluster grows guaranteeing that the density
within a group of objects exceeds some threshold. In the context of volcano monitoring the method is
particularly promising in the recognition of ash particles as they have a rather irregular shape. The “MOTIF”
software allows identifying typical wave forms in time series. It overcomes shortages of methods like cross-
correlation, which entail a high computational effort. MOTIF on the other hand can recognize non-similarity
of two patterns on a small number of data points without going through the whole length of the data vectors.
The development includes modules for feature extraction and post-processing verifying the validity of the
results obtained by the classifiers.PublishedNicolosi (Catania, Italy)2V. Dinamiche di unrest e scenari pre-eruttiviope
Ultrasound B-lines for detection of late lung fibrosis in breast cancer patients after radiation therapy
Background and purpose. Radiation therapy (RT) for breast cancer after conservative surgery can be life-saving but remains associated with significant late side effects, including lung fibrosis, detected by chest CT. Aim of this study was to assess whether lung ultrasound (LUS) may detect late lung fibrosis through the biomarker of B-lines. Materials and methods. We evaluated 30 women (median age 67 years, range 46-80 years) about 3-8 years after RT (follow up 38-101 months, median 58 months) for left (n = 12) or right (n = 18) breast cancer (stage 1, n = 24; stage 2, n = 6), treated with total dose 40.5 – 50.00 Gy with/without boost dose). In all, both treated and contralateral hemithorax were evaluated. LUS was performed and B-lines evaluated with a 28-region antero-lateral scan, from second to fifth intercostal spaces, along the mid-axillary, anterior axillary, mid-clavicular, and arasternal lines. In each space, the B-lines were counted from 0 = black lung to 10 = white lung. The sum of B-lines in all spaces generated the B-line score of each hemithorax. Results. Median B-line score was higher in the irradiated site than in the contralateral control hemithorax (9, 1st-3rd quartiles: 2-23 vs 3, 1st-3rd quartiles: 1-4; P median value of 2.7 Gy) were associated with more B-lines when compared to lower doses (< 2.7 Gy): 9 vs 5, p < 0.001. Conclusion. RT in female breast cancer survivors is associated with increase in B-lines in the targeted hemithorax, likely due to lung fibrosis, and related to the lung mean dose. LUS can provide a simple “echo-marker” of lung fibrosis.
Campagna oceanografica Anomcity_2016
Le attività scientifiche realizzate nell’ambito di questa campagna si inseriscono all’interno di programmi internazionali e nazionali condotti per il monitoraggio dei mari europei. Nello specifico si fa riferimento ai progetti Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD; Direttiva 2008/56 EC), Water Framework Directive (WFD; Direttiva 2000/60 EC) e al progetto bandiera RITMARE (SP4 - Pianificazione dello spazio marittimo: Ambiente di mare profondo). Parte delle direttive e il progetto succitati sono finalizzati allo studio di fenomeni di impatto antropico in ambiente marino superficiale e profondo e all'individuazione di azioni specifiche in grado di limitare e ridurre l’impatto antropogenico a livelli sostenibili per l’ecosistema marino. Oltre allo studio dei contaminanti prioritari, tra cui metalli pesanti e composti organici (IPA, PCB, pesticidi, etc.), le direttive MSFD e WFD prevedono lo studio di una nuova classe di contaminanti definiti “emergenti” perché risultanti principalmente dall'impiego di tecnologie e materiali innovativi, e dall'ampia diffusione di alcune sostanze nel campo della chimica, della farmacologia e della cosmoceutica.
Il progetto RITMARE dedica parte delle attività di ricerca allo studio degli effetti del marine litter, ovvero all’impatto di macro- e micro-plastiche di origine antropica in ambiente marino superficiale e profondo. Nello specifico, il progetto prevede: i) lo studio della distribuzione geografica delle micro-plastiche e le possibili zone di concentrazione in aree marine specifiche per effetto della circolazione oceanica; ii) l’impatto di tali detriti sull’ecosistema, in termini di interazione con le funzioni vitali degli organismi (soffocamenti per ingestione, riduzione di capacità funzionali specifiche, ecc.) e di rilascio di contaminanti con fenomeni di bioaccumulo/biomagnificazione nelle reti trofiche marine.
Negli ultimi anni, il gruppo di biogeochimica dell’IAMC-CNR ha realizzato una serie di campagne oceanografiche (Anomcity_2012, 2013, 2014, 2015) finalizzate allo studio dei processi di contaminazione da metalli pesanti e contaminanti organici a scala di bacino e sottobacino nel Mediterraneo occidentale. I risultati hanno permesso di individuare sorgenti di impatto, pathways di distribuzione e sorte dei diversi contaminanti nelle varie aree investigate (Bonsignore et al., 2013, 2015; Sprovieri et al., 2011, 2013; Salvagio Manta et al., 2016; Oliveri et al., 2016) nonché i cosiddetti “inventari” delle diverse tipologie di inquinati sulla base dello studio di carote di sedimento per cui è stata eseguita una datazione sulla base dei radionuclidi di Cs e Pb (dati non pubblicati).
La Campagna Anomcity_2016 è stata incentrata su due obiettivi:
1. ampliamento dello stato di conoscenze sulla distribuzione in acqua di mare (fase disciolta) di un numero selezionato di contaminanti emergenti in aree marino-costiere del Mediterraneo impattate dall’attività antropica;
2. stima di abbondanza e distribuzione delle microplastiche in aree geografiche selezionate dal progetto RITMARE, considerando i processi di trasporto nell’ambiente, e di specie target come potenziali bioindicatori di accumulo di marine litter e analisi dei potenziali effetti di trasferimento sulla rete trofica. Per quanto concerne lo studio dei contaminanti emergenti, questa campagna ha rappresentato una delle primissime esperienze a scala internazionale dedicata a tale tipologia di indagine nel Mar Mediterraneo
Rituximab retention rate in systemic sclerosis: a long term real-life multicenter study
eywords: B-cells; real-life data; retention rate; rituximab; systemic sclerosis
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