305 research outputs found
About twin primes and distribution of primes
Full text linkThis paper give us a demonstration of twin primes conjecture using approximation of function �(iupsilon) that we introduce in section 6. Section 1-5 give us introduction to terminology and a clarification on (iupsilon) terms. In particular section
5 is really important because of its Lemma. Section 7 reassume foregoing explanations and it give us two theorems and one corollary;the theorem 7.2 give us exact approximation of twin primes counting function
Device Orientation Independent Human Activity Recognition Model for Patient Monitoring Based on Triaxial Acceleration
Full text linkTracking a person’s activities is relevant in a variety of contexts, from health and group-specific assessments, such as elderly care, to fitness tracking and human–computer interaction. In a clinical context, sensor-based activity tracking could help monitor patients’ progress or deterioration during their hospitalization time. However, during routine hospital care, devices could face displacements in their position and orientation caused by incorrect device application, patients’ physical peculiarities, or patients’ day-to-day free movement. These aspects can significantly reduce algorithms’ performances. In this work, we investigated how shifts in orientation could impact Human Activity Recognition (HAR) classification. To reach this purpose, we propose an HAR model based on a single three-axis accelerometer that can be located anywhere on the participant’s trunk, capable of recognizing activities from multiple movement patterns, and, thanks to data augmentation, can deal with device displacement. Developed models were trained and validated using acceleration measurements acquired in fifteen participants, and tested on twenty-four participants, of which twenty were from a different study protocol for external validation. The obtained results highlight the impact of changes in device orientation on a HAR algorithm and the potential of simple wearable sensor data augmentation for tackling this challenge. When applying small rotations (0.85±0.11 against a baseline model f1-score equal to 0.49±0.12
Prophylactic central neck dissection in clinically node-negative papillary thyroid carcinoma: 10-year impact on surgical and oncologic outcomes
No full textBackground: The role of prophylactic central compartment lymph node dissection in clinically node-negative papillary thyroid carcinoma is debated. This study presents the findings from a 10-year follow-up of a single-institution randomized controlled trial assessing the role of prophylactic central compartment lymph node dissection in clinically node-negative papillary thyroid carcinoma. Methods: Between 2008 and 2010, a total of 196 patients with clinically node-negative papillary thyroid carcinoma were randomly assigned to 2 groups in a 1:1 ratio to undergo total thyroidectomy (group A) or total thyroidectomy with prophylactic central compartment lymph node dissection (group B). Patients received low-dose radioactive iodine treatment (30 mCi) postoperatively, with additional doses as needed. Monitoring included serum thyroglobulin, thyroglobulin antibodies, and neck ultrasound imaging. Results: At the end of the follow-up, 151 patients were analyzed, after 28 from group A and 17 from group B were excluded. The 2 groups were similar in age at diagnosis (P = .643), sex distribution (P = .735), body mass index (P = .134), ultrasound-estimated thyroid volume (P = .650), and histologic tumor features. After >10 years (12.9 ± 2 years), no significant differences were observed in surgical and oncologic outcomes. The mean thyroglobulin levels were 0.1 ± 0.1 ng/mL in group A and 0.3 ± 1.3 ng/mL in group B (P = .146). Both groups showed similar findings in the need for further surgery (P = .917), for additional radioactive iodine (P = .979), and mean radioactive iodine dosage (P = .822). No difference was documented in permanent recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy (P = .640), permanent hypocalcemia (P = .238), and serum calcium level (P = .181). The only observed distinction was more parathyroid removal in prophylactic central compartment lymph node dissection cases based on histologic examination (P = .005). Conclusion: Prophylactic central compartment lymph node dissection does not significantly affect surgical and oncologic outcomes in patients with clinically node-negative small papillary thyroid carcinoma after long-term follow-up
The uniform application of european competition law: a non-negotiable value
Full text linkCompetition enforcement is facing an increasing need for international cooperation.
Such phenomena would require that all the subjects involved in ensuring
the respect of the competition principle (either competition authorities, or courts
depending on the national peculiarities of each national/regional enforcement
system) communicate, co-operate, and interact one another constantly, on a daily
basis. This is the case both at global as much as at European level.
Notwithstanding international co-operation has registered a positive trend during
the last decade, the outcomes achieved so far are not satisfying. The inability of
regional and national legal systems to provide effective answers to the need of
greater co-operation in competition law enforcement is undermining the
constitutional structure of the major western, capitalistic, liberal democracies. The
credibility and the utility of competition enforcement regimes are also under
attack. Individuals and companies have always less fate in the fairness and
effectiveness of competition enforcement proceedings. This has led to calls for a
fundamental rethink of the principles and purpose of competition law and policy. Due to the increased national markets’ integration and firms’ interaction on a global
scale, international co-operation has become one of the most crucial challenge to
be solved by competition enforcers. The incapability (and sometimes
unwillingness) of competition enforcers to effectively and fully co-operate has led
to conflicting (and embarrassing) results. The victim of competition enforcers’
international co-operation shortages has been the principle of uniform application
of competition law. A given conduct X has been deemed anticompetitive in Country
Y, and lawful in Country Z. While such situation might be tolerable at global level,
it is not within the European Union (‘EU’) due to the existence of the EU Single
Market, which does not offer room for the existence of different EU competition
rules across European Member States (‘MS’).
Within the EU infrastructure, indeed, the existence of inconsistencies in the
enforcement of EU competition law may (i) compromise the internal market, (ii)
increase the cost of international trade, (iii) raise the threat of externalities and races
to the bottom, (iv) set back the progress of a unified body of case law and, most
importantly, (v) weaken the legal certainty and predictability of EU competition
law, thus undermining the credibility of the all EU competition enforcement
regime.In other words, inconsistencies in the enforcement of EU competition law
may compromise the entire EU infrastructure.From this emerges that the uniform
application of EU Competition Law is an essential and non-negotiable value.
Preserving the uniform application of EU Competition Law, however, requires coordination
and collaboration among different sets of subjects. Due to the complexity of the EU competition enforcement system, the EU Commission (‘Commission’ or
‘EC’), the National Competition Authorities (NCAs), the National as well as the
EU Courts are all called to play a role in carrying out the heavy task of ensuring
and protecting the uniform application of EU Competition Law. At EU level,
therefore, the uniform application of EU Competition Law requires a co-ordination
between both Public and Private Enforcement.
Based on this premises, this thesis’s relevance lies in its questioning who should
produce EU competition law’s substantive policy, mainly focusing on digital
markets. It focuses on new policy-making methods; and renegotiating Member
States’ roles, vis-à-vis the Commission. In EU competition law, for example, there
is conflict regarding aims and methods. Should the Commission suppress this as
damaging fragmentation, imposing its regulatory vision; or, celebrate this debate in
areas of doubt? This thesis turns the spotlight on these crucial issues.
In order to achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the thesis will be structured as
follow:
(i) Chapter 1, as introductory chapter, will set the stage for the reforms to be
suggested in Chapters 2 and 3. Specifically, it will show the main factors driving
up the demand for international co-operation among competition enforcers. It will
also offer a picture of the status and forms of international co-operation in the
competition enforcement world as well as describing its current risk, and problems.
Such representation will be also done through a collection of multijurisdictional
cases. Finally, it will analyse how the demand for international co-operation has
been dealt with at regional level, with a particular focus on the EU;
(ii) Chapter 2 will analyse how the principle of uniform application of EU
Competition Law is protected within the EU Public enforcement framework as
represented by the European Competition Network (‘ECN’). Particularly, Chapter
2, will firstly retrace the ECN’s history, showing the reasons behind its current
configuration, and introduce the ECN’s operating mechanism. Secondly, it will
analyse which are the problematic aspects of the current EU Public enforcement
system in terms of ensuring the respect of the principle of uniform application of
EU competition law. Finally, it will present a reform of the EU Public enforcement
system that the author of this thesis believes needed both: (i) to ensure the uniform
application of EU Competition Law within the EU Single Market; (ii) to allow the
ECN to be able to cope with the challenges presented by the digitalisation of the
economy.
(iii) Chapter 3 will analyse how the principle of uniform application of EU
Competition Law is protected within the EU Private Enforcement framework. Since
such complex task within the EU system is left to Article 16(1), Regulation n.
1/2003 (‘Art. 16(1)’), Chapter 3, will firstly present the contents of Art. 16 (1) and
its predominantly accepted interpretation. Subsequently, Chapter 3 will analyse the
historical and legal reasons that led to the adoption of Art. 16 (1) and then it will
suggest a new interpretation of Art. 16(1) that is most consistent with its historical
purposes and background. According to the author of this thesis, while it is not
strictly necessary to modify the literal datum of Art. 16(1), a change in its
interpretation is needed to ensure the uniform application of EU competition law
within the EU Private Enforcement ecosystem. Finally, Chapter 3 will evaluate the
boundaries of the binding effects of Commission’s decisions ex Art. 16 (1), and it
will investigate the relationship existing between those effects and the principles of
‘res judicata’ and ‘nemo iudex in causa sua’.
(iv) Chapter 4 will offer some conclusions
The membrane bound sialidase NEU3 plays a direct role in determining the lipid rafts ganglioside pattern
No full textThe membrane bound sialidase NEU3 plays an active role in determining the ganglioside pattern of lipid rafts.
No full textA RE-EXAMINATION OF THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC SYSTEM IN A GLOBAL SETTING: ISSUES AND PROPOSALS
Full text linkThe globalization of the world economy poses major challenges to the prevailing international economic system. The recent trade-investment system raises the issues of the marginalization of countries, firms, and agents if they are not capable to compete with large successful entities. The system engenders conflicts of interest in its interfacing with sovereign domains. In numerous cases such as employment and mutual trade benefits, it can produce zero sum outcomes. Consequently, significant segments of public opinion in many countries have mobilized against it. In the monetary and financial area, the system has from 1945 evolved on a piecemeal and ad hoc basis. In recent years, it has not been able to predict, prevent or effectively deal with financial crisis. It demonstrates a lacuna in global financial governance especially with respect to enforcing its rules on the major countries and bringing the private sector therein. The central institution, the IMF, is shown to be in need of basic reforms involving forging a global vision, reconsidering and updating conditionality, further democratization of political governance, and revamping the exchange rates and surveillance functions.
Linfadenectomia profilattica del comparto centrale in pazienti con diagnosi di carcinoma papillare della tiroide: studio prospettico randomizzato con follow-up a dieci anni
No full textBackground: Il carcinoma papillare è l'istotipo più comune tra i tumori alla tiroide e spesso si presenta con metastasi nei linfonodi del collo. La prevalenza delle metastasi nel compartimento centrale è stata riportata essere fino al 65% nel carcinoma papillare della tiroide. La dissezione profilattica del compartimento centrale in pazienti senza evidenze di linfonodi sospetti in fase preoperatoria è ancora oggetto di dibattito, questo trattamento infatti sembra ridurre i tassi di recidiva e di mortalità del carcinoma papillare tiroideo, ma presenta un rischio maggiore di complicanze chirurgiche. Non sono ancora state definite delle raccomandazioni definitive.
Lo scopo di questo studio prospettico randomizzato è valutare i vantaggi e gli svantaggi clinici della dissezione dei linfonodi del compartimento centrale in modo profilattico (pCCND) dopo dieci anni di follow-up.
Materiali e metodi: Tra il 2008 e il 2010 un totale di 181 pazienti con carcinoma papillare della tiroide senza evidenza di metastasi linfonodali preoperatorie e/o intraoperatorie (cN0) sono stati assegnati in modo casuale al Gruppo A (n = 88), in cui sono stati trattaticon sola tiroidectomia totale (TTx), o al Gruppo B (n = 93), in cui sono stati trattati con la tiroidectomia totale associata alla dissezione linfonodale del comparto centrale (TTx + pCCND).
In questo studio prospettico randomizzato con follow-up a dieci anni sono stati analizzati i dati di un totale di 125 pazienti dei 196 trattati: 56 pazienti sono stati persi al follow-up.
Il Gruppo A includeva 56 pazienti (80,4% donne e 19,16% uomini) trattati TTx, mentre il Gruppo B includeva 69 pazienti (75,4% donne e 24,6% uomini) sottoposti a TTx + pCCND.
Risultati: i due gruppi erano comparabili per età (p: 0,644), BMI (p: 0,327) e volume della tiroide (p: 0,613). Dopo più di 10 anni (follow-up medio: 166 ± 10 mesi), non sono state osservate differenze nell'esito chirurgico e oncologico dei due gruppi. I livelli medi di tireoglobulina sierica (Tg) erano 0,43 ± 2,04 ng/ml nel Gruppo A e 0,24 ± 0,99 nel Gruppo B. Solo un paziente su 125 (0.8%), aveva livelli di anticorpi anti-Tg nel siero superiori a 15 IU/ml e non ha mostrato variazioni significative durante il follow-up.
Non sono state osservate differenze significative tra i due gruppi nemmeno per quanto riguarda il tasso di complicanze (ipoparatiroidismo permanente e paralisi permanente delle corde vocali) (p:0,967). Non sono state riscontrate differenze in termini di dose di radioiodio (p: 0,393) e numero di cicli (p: 0,530).
Conclusioni: i pazienti con carcinoma papillare della tiroide senza evidenze di linfonodi sospetti trattati con la sola tiroidectomia totale o con la tiroidectomia totale associata allo svuotamento profilattico dei linfonodi hanno mostrato risultati analoghi sia per quanto riguarda il tasso di recidiva e persistenza della malattia sia per quanto riguarda i tassi di complicanze
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