Backscattering Differential Ghost Imaging in Turbid Media

In this Letter we present experimental results concerning the retrieval of images of absorbing objects immersed in turbid media via differential ghost imaging (DGI) in a backscattering configuration. The method has been applied, for the first time to our knowledge, to the imaging of small thin black objects located at different depths inside a turbid solution of polystyrene nanospheres and its performances assessed via comparison with standard imaging techniques. A simple theoretical model capable of describing the basic optics of DGI in turbid media is proposed.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figure

Trans-nasal endoscopic and intra-oral combined approach for odontogenic cysts

Maxillary cysts are a common finding in maxillofacial surgery, dentistry and otolaryngology. Treatment is surgical; a traditional approach includes Caldwell-Luc and other intra-oral approaches. In this article, we analyse the outcomes of 9 patients operated on using a combined intra-oral and trans-nasal approach to the aforementioned disease. Although the number of patients is small, the good results of this study suggest that the combined approach might be a reliable treatment option

Assessing the reliability and validity of Google Scholar indicators : The case of social sciences in Italy

Google Scholar is an appealing data source for the measurement of scientific production in the social sciences and humanities (SSH) fields. Its appeal derives from its extensive coverage of the literature. This contrasts with issues of data quality, which are still quite controversial. This chapter aims to evaluate the reliability and validity of bibliometric indicators taken from Scholar as well as their coverage of the scientific production in the social sciences. The analysis will be based on a comparison of Scholar with other bibliometric data sources (Web of Science and Scopus) plus an institutional dataset. The reliability of Scholar indicators will be investigated through correlational analysis, while their validity will be assessed using different external criteria (the results of national evaluation procedures based on a peer review approach). The analysis will be developed for the population of Italian university professors in a subset of SSH: political philosophy, history, political science and sociology. The final discussion of the results will take into account the various purposes that bibliometric exercises try to achieve

Indoors man-biting mosquitoes and their implication on malaria transmission in Mpwapwa and Iringa District, Tanzania

No Abstract

IN NEED OF RELIGION,INSECURITY AND RELIGIOSITY IN CONTEMPORARY EUROPE

Religious change in Europe continues to be a controversial topic. The main disputes regard if and how Europe is experiencing processes of secularization and how these processes can be explained. On the one hand, there are basically three different theories which strongly compete. Secularization theorists declare that religiosity in Europe is declining in all its dimensions. Individualization theorists declare that religion is changing instead from institutionalized forms to more individualized and intimate ones. Finally, adherents of the economic market approach prompt that religiosity is all about the ability of the churches to stimulate and attract believers. On the other hand, the link between modernization and secularization is often presented as the causal mechanism underneath religious change. Among this literature, Norris and Inglehart\u2019s insecurity theory poses that processes of modernization and human development have increased the human security thus reducing the need for religion. This theory is based on the idea that religion can work as reassurance for conditions of insecurity or for life-threatening events. The present work tests this claim. After giving a comprehensive overview of the three main theoretical approaches to religious change (chapter 2), of the use of religion as coping strategy (chapter 3) and of the main methodological issues that need to be faced (chapter 4), I describe European religiosity and analyze possible processes of religious change. To do so, I focus on different dimensions of religiosity and I consider cohort replacement as the main mechanism to assess this change (chapter 5). It emerges that Practice is declining in all European countries, but religious self-definition and especially belief show a U-shaped trend for Orthodox countries. Given this peculiarity, I devote an entire chapter (chapter 6) to its exploration. After doing that, I explicitly deal with insecurity theory. To do so, I propose a multiple response multilevel model (EVS data) on European Christian countries (chapter 7) which tackles the association between individual as well as contextual insecurity and individual religiosity. Results show that personal religiosity is weakly associated only with widowhood at the individual level but more strongly associated with economic inequalities and welfare spending at the country level. Chapter 8 goes deeper in the investigation of the relation between individual insecurity and religiosity. By mean of two fixed-effect panel models for Germany (SOEP data) and UK (BHPS + Understanding society data) I am able to explicitly test the hypothesis that a worsening of individual condition can foster an increase of religiosity. Results clearly show that such hypothesis applies only and little for widowhood. Hence, the case of Europe suggests that individual insecurity alone does not suit for a comprehensive sociological theory of religious change. It should be better integrated with other theories, e.g. the increase of education and the failure of religious transmission, to \u201cplace\u201d countries on a hypothetical path to modernization

Religious Change among Cohorts in Eastern Europe : A Longitudinal Analysis of Religious Practice and Belief in Formerly Communist Countries

The situation of the formerly communist countries represents an anomaly within the sociological debate about the various secularisation processes currently underway in Europe. The main issues relate to whether or not Eastern Europe has experienced a religious revival following the fall of communism and, if so, which dimensions of religiosity are most involved in that revival. Sociologists have yet to reach a clear consensus on country trends or on the impact of Christian doctrines on these processes. We will address these issues throughout this article. The results from different piecewise regression analyses of European Values Study (EVS) data show that regular religious practice in general is declining from cohort to cohort, whereas religious belief has shown a revival followed by a decrease from the oldest to the youngest cohorts. The impact of a country\u2019s main religious traditions is a relevant factor; predominantly Orthodox countries, for example, break with the overall results by showing a slight increase of religious practice as well as stable (and very high) belief among the youngest cohort. This situation is primarily driven by data from the Russian Federation and Bulgaria

Analytical modeling of HSUPA-enabled UMTS networks for capacity planning

In recent years, mobile communication networks have experienced significant evolution. The 3G mobile communication system, UMTS, employs WCDMA as the air interface standard, which leads to quite different mobile network planning and dimensioning processes compared with 2G systems. The UMTS system capacity is limited by the received interference at NodeBs due to the unique features of WCDMA, which is denoted as `soft capacity'. Consequently, the key challenge in UMTS radio network planning has been shifted from channel allocation in the channelized 2G systems to blocking and outage probabilities computation under the `cell breathing' effects which are due to the relationship between network coverage and capacity. The interference characterization, especially for the other-cell interference, is one of the most important components in 3G mobile networks planning. This monograph firstly investigates the system behavior in the operation of UMTS uplink, and develops the analytic techniques to model interference and system load as fully-characterized random variables, which can be directly applicable to the performance modeling of such networks. When the analysis progresses from single-cell scenario to multi-cell scenario, as the target SIR oriented power control mechanism is employed for maximum capacity, more sophisticated system operation, `feedback behavior', has emerged, as the interference levels at different cells depend on each other. Such behaviors are also captured into the constructed interference model by iterative and approximation approaches. The models are then extended to cater for the features of the newly introduced HSUPA, which provides enhanced dedicated channels for the packet switched data services such that much higher bandwidth can be achieved for best-effort elastic traffic, which allows network operators to cope with the coexistence of both circuit-switched and packet-switched traffic and guarantee the QoS requirements. During the derivation, we consider various propagation models, traffic models, resource allocation schemes for many possible scenarios, each of which may lead to different analytical models. All the suggested models are validated with either Monte-Carlo simulations or discrete event simulations, where excellent matches between results are always achieved. Furthermore, this monograph studies the optimization-based resource allocation strategies in the UMTS uplink with integrated QoS/best-effort traffic. Optimization techniques, both linear-programming based and non-linear-programming based, are used to determine how much resource should be assigned to each enhanced uplink user in the multi-cell environment where each NodeB possesses full knowledge of the whole network. The system performance under such resource allocation schemes are analyzed and compared via Monte-Carlo simulations, which verifies that the proposed framework may serve as a good estimation and optimal reference to study how systems perform for network operators

GSK2801 Reverses Paclitaxel Resistance in Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer Cell Lines through MYCN Downregulation

Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is a very rare, but extremely aggressive form of thyroid malignancy, responsible for the highest mortality rate registered for thyroid cancer. Treatment with taxanes (such as paclitaxel) is an important approach in counteracting ATC or slowing its progression in tumors without known genetic aberrations or those which are unresponsive to other treatments. Unfortunately, resistance often develops and, for this reason, new therapies that overcome taxane resistance are needed. In this study, effects of inhibition of several bromodomain proteins in paclitaxel-resistant ATC cell lines were investigated. GSK2801, a specific inhibitor of BAZ2A, BAZ2B and BRD9, was effective in resensitizing cells to paclitaxel. In fact, when used in combination with paclitaxel, it was able to reduce cell viability, block the ability to form colonies in an anchor-independent manner, and strongly decrease cell motility. After RNA-seq following treatment with GSK2801, we focused our attention on MYCN. Based on the hypothesis that MYCN was a major downstream player in the biological effects of GSK2801, we tested a specific inhibitor, VPC-70619, which showed effective biological effects when used in association with paclitaxel. This suggests that the functional deficiency of MYCN determines a partial resensitization of the cells examined and, ultimately, that a substantial part of the effect of GSK2801 results from inhibition of MYCN expression

SHORT COMMUNICATION: Urban malaria in Dodoma and Iringa, Tanzania

Cross sectional malaria parasitaemia and entomological surveys were carried out in urban Iringa and Dodoma in Tanzania. A total of 395 and 392 schoolchildren (age range= 6-15 years) were screened for malaria parasites in Iringa and Dodoma, respectively. Plasmodium falciparum was the predominant malaria parasite (Iringa= 100%, Dodoma= 97.8%). Malaria parasitaemia was observed in 14.9% and 12% of the schoolchildren in Iringa and Dodoma, respectively. The geometric mean parasite density for P. falciparum was higher (632 parasites/μl) in Iringa than in Dodoma (74.1 parasites/μl). The average spleen rates were 0.5% and 2% in Iringa and Dodoma, respectively. A slightly higher haemoglobin level was observed among schoolchildren in Dodoma (10.2g/dl) than in Iringa (9.5g/dl). Only a few Anopheles gambiae sensu lato were collected indoors in the two areas. On the average 47.3% and 80% of the children in Iringa and Dodoma, respectively were sleeping under mosquito nets. Although malaria endemicity in the two municipalities is low, unplanned rapid urbanisation is likely to change malaria epidemiology in Tanzania. Continuous malaria and mosquito density surveillance should therefore, form an in integral part of the malaria control strategies in urban areas. Communities should be continuously sensitised to use insecticide-treated mosquito nets and strengthen community-based environmental management to minimise malaria breeding sites. Keywords: urban, malaria, schoolchildren, Tanzania Tanzania Health Research Bulletin Vol. 8 (2) 2006: pp. 115-11