The EU strategy of policy convergence with its neighbours in the area of trade

The objective of this paper is to ascertain whether the EU is seeking policy convergence with its neighbours in the area of trade by means of EU regulations. For each trade- related topic, we carried out a content analysis of the available official documents to identify the model of relations that has been established between the EU and four neighbouring countries (Morocco, Algeria, Ukraine and Georgia). The findings indicate that Europeanization is the EU strategy in most cases. However, adaptation to European regulations is only a long-term aim. When international regulations exist in a specific area, the EU usually demands the internationalization of a country¿s regulations as a first step. When there are no international regulations, the convergence process is established on the basis of bilaterally developed norms. EU strategy also varies depending on the country. Its relations with Algeria are the most particular. We conclude that the EU is promoting policy convergence with its neighbours in the area of trade mainly on the basis of international and bilaterally-developed regulations.

Las relaciones comerciales de la Unión Europea con sus vecinos: ¿europeización, internacionalización o coordinación?

[spa] La política de Vecindad de la Unión Europea se acostumbra a interpretar como un instrumento de europeización forzada. Gracias a su fuerza de negociación, la Unión Europea impondría a sus vecinos su modelo económico y hasta político y social. Esta sin embargo no es la evidencia que se obtiene en el ámbito del comercio. En consonancia con el modelo teórico de relaciones exteriores desarrollado por varios investigadores bajo la dirección de Esther Barbé, observamos como, en el ámbito comercial, el modelo de relaciones entre la Unión Europea y cuatro países de la política de Vecindad puede ser tanto de europeización como también de internacionalización o de coordinación. El tipo de modelo aplicado viene condicionado, como asevera el marco teórico, por el cumplimiento de las condiciones necesarias que se requieren para que Europa imponga sus normas: legitimidad, incentivos y coherencia interna. Estas condiciones varían en función tanto del tema tratado como del país vecino.

Thérapie par cryoablation percutanée ciblée : comment dois-je faire?

Objectifs: Etudier et décrire étape par étape les aspects techniques de la thérapie par cryoablation percutanée ciblée (CPC). Matériels et méthodes: CPC est réalisée par un : adiologue interventionnel sous guidage échographique et/ou tomodensitométrique. Résultats: CPC est un traitement peu invasif qui utilise un froid extrême pour geler et détruire des tumeurs localisées dans le foie, les reins, la prostate, les poumons, les os, les seins et la peau. L'imagerie est utilisée pour guider le placement d'un ou plusieurs applicateurs à travers la peau jusqu'au site cible et surveiller le processus de congélation. De l'azote liquide ou du gaz d'argon circule au sein d'une aiguille-applicateur (CryoPhobe) créant froid intense au contact de la cible. Une sonde indépendante surveille la température du tissu environnant. Le froid est maintenu pendant au moins 20 minutes suivi d'un dégel actif de la "boule de glace". La procédure est ensuite répétée pour maximiser la destruction tumorale. La procédure dure environ 1 heure et se fait de manière ambulatoire. Conclusion: CPC est un traitement alternatif efficace du cancer chez des patients sélectionnés. Les propriétés destructrices des tissus tumoraux sont bien établies pour le cancer du rein, cependant des investigations supplémentaires sont nécessaires pour déterminer l'efficacité de CPC à long terme dans d'autres indications.

In vivo evaluation of the anti-tumoral effect of sunitinib eluting beads in the rabbit VX2 tumor model

Purpose: To study the anti-tumoral effect of sunitinib eluting beads in the rabbit VX2 tumor modelMaterials: VX2 tumor were implanted in the left liver lobe of New-Zealand white rabbits. Seven animals received 0.2ml of DC Beads loaded with 6mg of sunitinb (group 1), 6 animals received 0.2ml of DC Beads (group 2) and 6 animals received NaCl 0.9% intra arterially in the left hepatic artery. One animal in each group was sacrificed at 24 hours and the others were left to survive. Liver enzyme were measured daily. In group 1 plasmatic sunitinib concentration were measured daily by LC MS/MS tandem mass spectroscopy. At day 15 all living animals were sacrficed. After sacrifice, or premature euthanasia the livers were harvested for determination of the VEGF receptor tyrosine kinase activity by western blot and histopathological examination.Results: In group 1, no animal died during follow-up. In group 2 and 3, respectively 2 and 3 animals died during follow-up. In group 1 plasmatic sunitinib level remained under therapeutic concentration during the whole experiment. There was an evident lack of phosphorylation of the RTK In group 1 and there was an augmentation of the RTK phosphorylation in group 2 at 24 hours. No difference in RTK activity was noticable at 15 days. From the histopathological point of view it was unpossible to differentiate treatment induced from spontaneous necrosis of tumors.Conclusions: Administration of sunitinib eluting Beads in VX2 carrying rabbits inhibits the activation of RTK's triggered by ischemia. It also seems to prolong survival of the treated animals.

Portal vein embolization: what do we know?

Portal vein embolization (PVE) has been developed to increase the size of the future remnant liver (FRL) left in place after major hepatectomy, thus reducing the risk of postoperative liver insufficiency. PVE consist in embolizing preoperatively portal branches of the segments that will be resected. Indication is based on preoperative measurements of the FRL by computed tomography and its ratio with either the theoretical liver volume or by direct measurement of the functional liver volume. After PVE, the volume and function of the FRL increases in 3 to 6 weeks, permitting extensive resections in patients otherwise contraindicated for liver resection. The PVE technique is variable from one center to another; however n-butyl-cyano-acrylate provides an interesting compromise between hypertrophy rate and procedure risk.

Els arrendaments dels drets de bolla: un indicador vàlid per mesurar la producció i el consum de teixits?

L'objectiu d'aquest treball és presentar la reconstrucció de la sèrie dels ingressos obtinguts per la Generalitat de Catalunya a través de la recaptació de l'impost de bolla durant l'edat moderna -és a dir, des de la primeria del segle XVI fins a la seva desaparició en el darrer terç del segle XVIII (1770)-, i valorar-ne la validesa com a indicador de la producció i/o el consum de teixits a Catalunya en tota aquesta etapa.

Avaliação na educação básica nos 90 segundo os periódicos acadêmicos

O texto sintetiza e discute as principais constatações de estado da arte realizado sobre o tema no Brasil, tendo utilizado como fontes artigos publicados em dez dos principais periódicos da área na década de 90. Examina pressupostos e modelos de avaliação, estudos empíricos e documentais que envolvem a avaliação na escola e da própria escola, detém-se na avaliação de sistema e, ainda, de políticas e programas educacionais.

Vinte anos da política do ciclo básico na rede estadual paulista

Este artigo aborda, numa perspectiva histórico-crítica, o percurso do ciclo básico na rede estadual paulista, desde sua criação até os anos iniciais da década de 90, discutindo ainda as ações e reações desencadeadas pela proposta e pela reorganização curricular do ensino fundamental decorrentes dessa iniciativa. A pesquisa documental realizada parte das motivações que direcionaram a política educacional no momento de abertura política, em que assumia o poder o primeiro governo eleito no Estado de São Paulo após longo período de regime militar, e passa pela análise dos diferentes tipos de reações da rede de ensino e da sociedade civil, a maior parte delas contrárias às medidas encaminhadas. Quais as razões que têm levado sistematicamente à desmobilização de propostas comprometidas com a garantia da escolaridade regular das camadas mais pobres da população? A análise realizada evidencia a forte presença do pensamento conservador impregnado na cultura pedagógica brasileira, que se manifesta diante de propostas, como a do ciclo básico, comprometidas com a democratização do ensino.

Hepatic hemangiomas: Factors associated with T2 shine-through effect on diffusion-weighted MR sequences.

PURPOSE: To determine the frequency and factors associated with the presence of T2 shine-through effect in hepatic hemangiomas on diffusion-weighted (DW) magnetic resonance (MR) sequences. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study was approved by institutional review board with waiver of informed consent. One hundred forty-nine consecutive patients with 388 hepatic hemangiomas who underwent a liver MR between January 2010 and November 2011 were included. MR analysis evaluated the lesion characteristics (signal intensities and enhancement patterns (classical, rapidly filling, delayed filling)), the presence of T2 shine-through effect on DW sequences (b values of 0, 150, and 600s/mm(2)), and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values. Multivariate analysis was performed to study the factors associated with the T2 shine-through effect. RESULTS: T2 shine-through effect was observed in 204/388 (52.6%) of hepatic hemangiomas and in 100 (67.1%) patients. Mean ADC value of hemangiomas with T2 shine-through effect was significantly lower than hemangiomas without (2.0±0.48 vs 2.38±0.45, P<.0001). On multivariate analysis, high signal intensity on fat-suppressed T2-weighted fast spin-echo images, hemangiomas with classical or delayed enhancement, and the ADC of the liver were the only significant factors associated with T2 shine-through effect. CONCLUSION: T2 shine-through effect is commonly observed in hepatic hemangiomas and is related to hemangiomas characteristics. Radiologists should be aware of this phenomenon which could lead to misdiagnosis. Its presence should not question the diagnosis of hemangiomas when typical MR findings are found.

CHE en dehors du CHC : rationnel, indications, résultats.

Objectifs pédagogiques: Connaître les indications actuelles de la chimio -embolisation en dehors du CHC.Savoir quelles sont les drogues utilisables et leur mécanisme d 'action pour ces indications.Savoir quand proposer la chimio-embolisation aux malades porteurs de métastases hépatiques de tumeurs neuro-endocrines ou d'adénocarcinome colique.Messages à retenir: Le chimio-embolisation est efficace pour le traitement des métastases de de tumeur neuro-endocrine et de métastases d'adénocarcinome colo-rectal.Les drogues le plus utiliées sont l'adriamycine, la strétozotocine pour les métastases de tumeur neuro-endocrine et le campto pour les métastasesd'adénocarcinome digestif.Les billes d'embolisation chargeables sont un bon moyen de traitement dans ces indications.La chimio-embolisation peut être discutée en première ligne pour les malades porteurs de métastases hépatiques isolées de tumeur neuro-endocrine.La chimio-embolisation donne des résultats prometteurs chez les patients porteurs de métastases hépatiques de cancer du côlon, mais la place de ce traitementen combinaison ou non à la chimiothérapie systemique n'est pas définie.Résumé: Les deux indications principales de la chimio-embolisation en dehors du CHC sont les métastases hépatiques de cancer colique et de tumeur neuro-endocrines.Les résultats cliniques de la chimio-embolisation pour les malades atteints de tumeur neuro-endocrines sont bien connus et rendent possible, en raison de sonefficacité, une discussion en première ligne si le patient a une tumeur primaire résequée et une atteinte hépatique prédominante. Pour les métastases hépatiquesde cancer colique, la chimioembolisation utilisant des billes chargées à l 'irinotecan permet de sicuter ce traitement dans le même contexte oncologique (maladietumorale limitée au foie) en cas de résistance aux chimiothérapies standard.

L'àlbum i l'edició catalana, ara com ara: panorama del bienni 2008-2009

En aquesta aproximació al desenvolupament i situació de l'àlbum il·lustrat a Catalunya durant el bienni 2008-2009, es constata un increment del seu prestigi entre les diferents modalitats del llibre infantil i juvenil, tot i que determinades inèrcies no acaben de permetre'n la seva total eclosió. Tanmateix, s'ha pogut observar un interès creixent per l'àlbum dins els grups de recerca acadèmics on s'hi han iniciat diferents vies d¿estudi que haurien d'anar consolidant tant el terme "àlbum" com el contingut d'aquests llibres. També des dels espais virtuals es manifesta un dinamisme al respecte que no es constata en els mitjans de comunicació de masses. Finalment, cal deixar constància d'alguns dels títols més representatius i interessants del bienni i d'alguna de les activitats públiques o privades que han contribuït a dinamitzar-ne i consolidar-ne la presència.