Memorandum on the results of the sixth Workshop on the Implementation and Application of the Directive 2008/114/EC

The workshops on the Implementation and Application of the Directive 2008/114/EC have been an important activity for enhancing the communication of the Member States with the Commission Services with respect to the application of the Directive and also for exchange of relevant information. Six workshops have been organized since the adoption of the Directive in December 2008. This activity will continue to support the implementation and application of the Directive while it will also serve the review of the Directive that is due to kick off in January 2012JRC.G.6-Security technology assessmen

Interconnecting GRRASP with additional platforms and tools: A feasibility study

As it has already been documents in several reports, the Geospatial Risk and Resilience Assessment Platform (GRRASP) under development ad the JRC is a World Wide Web oriented architecture bringing together geospatial technologies and computational tools towards the objective of supporting the analysis of critical infrastructures (CIs) A key aspect of this platform is its capability to serve as the vehicle to interlink the analysis modules and tools that over the years have been developed by the scientific community towards a one-stop-shop for critical infrastructure risk and resilience analysis. The present report illustrates how the software architecture of GRRASP has been designed and is being exploited to support the integration of GRRASP with different projects related to the analysis of CIs.JRC.E.2-Technology Innovation in Securit

Risk assessment methodologies for critical infrastructure protection. Part II: A new approach

This report describes a risk assessment process for Critical Infrastructures (CI) based on the staff working document from DG ECHO namely “Risk Assessment and Mapping Guidelines for Disaster Management” and DG HOME “on a new approach to the European Programme for Critical Infrastructure Protection Making European Critical Infrastructures more secure”. As a result of the DG ECHO staff working document, several Member States (MS) have provided overview of risks where the risk of “loss of critical infrastructure” has been identified as a man made risk. However, we consider that there is a lot of room for improvement in this process mainly because Critical Infrastructures are not yet one more risk at MS level but CIs in their turn are subject to the risks that have been identified my MS. In the present report we identify this gap and we provide a methodology that is based on a different approach with respect to the CI risks.JRC.G.5-Security technology assessmen

Developing stress tests to improve the resilience of critical infrastructures: a feasibility analysis

In this report we aim to provide a feasibility study and describe the main elements for developing stress tests in the domain of critical infrastructures. Stress tests can be a very useful element for the assessment of the resilience of critical infrastructures against a number of hazards. Currently stress tests are developed in the domain of Nuclear and Financial sector in order to assess the safety, security and resilience of these systems. Taking stock of the activities in these sectors we aim to provide a feasibility analysis and sketch the main lines for the development of stress tests for other infrastructures, systems and sectors.JRC.G.5-Security technology assessmen

Risk assessment methodologies for Critical Infrastructure Protection. Part I: A state of the art

Effective risk assessment methodologies are the cornerstone of a successful Critical Infrastructure Protection program. The extensive number of risk assessment methodologies for critical infrastructures clearly supports this argument. Risk assessment is indispensable in order to identify threats, assess vulnerabilities and evaluate the impact on assets, infrastructures or systems taking into account the probability of the occurrence of these threats. This is a critical element that differentiates a risk assessment from a typical impact assessment methodologyJRC.G.6-Security technology assessmen

Risk Assessment Methodology for Critical Infrastructure Protection

The European Programme for Critical Infrastructure Protection is the main vehicle for the protection of critical infrastructures in Europe. The Directive 2008/114/EC is the legislative instrument of this programme. Risk assessment is an important element that is mentioned throughout the Directive text. However, there is no harmonized methodology in Europe for the assessment of interconnected infrastructures. The present work describes such a methodology and its implementation for the assessment of critical infrastructures of European dimension. The methodology accounts for impact at asset level, evaluates the propagation of a failure at network level due to interdependencies and assess the economic impact of critical infrastructure disruption at national level.JRC.G.6-Security technology assessmen

The long-run performance of U.S. bidding firms in the post M&A period : the impact of bid type, payment method and industry specialisation

This study investigates how mergers and acquisitions (M&A) affect the wealth of shareholders of public firms in the United States (U.S). More specifically, it investigates whether the nature of the bid, the payment method used, and the type of M&A have implications for shareholders of U.S bidding firms. The study analyses 352 mergers and acquisitions in the U.S during the period 1999-2008, and its results indicate that bidding firms suffer significant negative buy-and-hold abnormal returns in the three years period after a M&A announcement. The results also suggest that, in the long-run, hostile bids and cash-financed bidders outperform friendly bids and stock-funded bidders, respectively. Furthermore, the study also finds that in the long-run bidder firms that focus on industry specialisation within their M&A targets significantly outperform firms that adopt a more diversified strategy. The analysis also investigates the effects of M&A specialisation/diversification in six different sectors, and finds that specialised bidders outperform diversified bidders in four sectors: consumer & basic materials, energy & utilities, communications and technology. Furthermore, bidder firms in the financial services sector perform significantly better when diversifying into other sectors, while the performance of bidder firms in the industrial sector appears unaffected by the degree of M&A specialisation or diversification

Thyroid Hyalinizing Trabecular Tumor: A Case Series

Aim: Hyalinizing Trabecular Tumor (HTT) of the thyroid gland is an unusual and rare follicular derived neoplasm, which was first described from Carney and colleagues in 1987. We aim to present two cases of HTT diagnosed as papillary thyroid carcinomas in preoperative FNA cytological findings, although the postoperative histological examinations revealed the presence of Hyalinizing Trabecular tumors. Moreover, a short review regarding the diagnostic and clinical aspects of this rare thyroid tumor is also presented. Cases Presentation: A 30 year old and a 33 year old females were referred as having papillary thyroid carcinomas on preoperative FNA. Total thyroidectomy was offered in both. Histologic sections revealed the presence of HTT with the characteristic trabecular arrangement of polygonal/spindle cells and positive staining for MIB-1. Both patients remain disease free at a follow up of 5 years. Discussion: Although HTT diagnosis and differentiation from other thyroid tumors remains a topic of controversy, immunochemistry and molecular analysis may provide adequate information for HTT distinction from papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) and paragaglioma. Therefore, suspicious cases based on preoperative FNA, require careful evaluation and cooperation of pathologists, endocrinologists and endocrine surgeons for optimal diagnosis and treatment. Conclusions: HTT is a rare, mostly benign neoplasm with favorable prognosis Preoperative identification of HTT is significant since its extremely low malignant potential and its favorable prognosis may lead to less extended operations and avoidance of postoperative radioiodine administration

Hemodynamic causes of deterioration in acute ischemic stroke

SummaryNeurological deterioration can occur in 13–38% of patients with acute ischemic stroke due to hemodynamic and non-hemodynamic causes. Several non-hemodynamic mechanisms can lead to ischemic lesion extension and subsequent neurological worsening, including infections, cerebral edema, hemorrhagic conversion of infarction and metabolic disorders. The most common hemodynamic causes related to infarct expansion, leading to neurologic deterioration in the setting of acute cerebral ischemia are the following: (i) cardiac complications, (ii) arterial reocclusion, (iii) intracranial arterial steal phenomenon, and (iv) cerebral microembolization. The present review aims to address the underlying mechanisms and potential clinical implications of the hemodynamic causes of neurological deterioration in patients with acute cerebral ischemia. The contribution of neurosonology in detection of changes in cerebral hemodynamics in real-time are also going to be discussed. Finally, potential treatment strategies for specific causes of hemodynamic deterioration in acute ischemic stroke patients are reported