Welfare comparisons: sequential procedures for heterogenous populations

Some analysts use sequential dominance criteria, and others use equivalence scales in combination with non-sequential dominance tests, to make welfare comparisons of oint distributions of income and needs. In this paper we present a new sequential procedure hich copes with situations in which sequential dominance fails. We also demonstrate that there commendations deriving from the sequential approach are valid for distributions of equivalent income whatever equivalence scale the analyst might adopt. Thus the paper marries together the sequential and equivalizing approaches, seen as alternatives in much previous literature. All results are specified in forms which allow for demographic differences in the populations being compared.

Schistosoma mansoni antigenic extracts obtained by different extraction procedures

Solubilization of Schistosoma mansoni antigens was obtained by agitation of adult worms in a 3M KCl solution. The protein contents of the KCl extrats varied from 0.35 to 0.96 mg/ml. Sera from 97 patients with hepatointestinal shistosomiasis and viable eggs in stools from a Brazilian endemic area were studied by immunoelectroomophoresis and Ouchterlony immunodiffusion methods with the KCl extract and with another antigen, obtained by homogenization of adult schistosomes in saline. The rate of positiveness of immunoprecipitation deterctions by immunoelectroomophoresis with the KCl extract was 53.5%. A correlation was verified between methods of detection and extration procedures, resulting in a better association of the extract obtained by agitation in 3M KCl and immunoelectroomophoresis.

Assessment of current anglo-saxon proposals about criminal justice and the justification of legal punishment: Moore, Duff and Finnis on retribution, and the challenging compatibility with the up-and-coming Restorative Justice

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A Comparison Of Forecasting Procedures For Macroeconomic Series: The Contribution Of Structural Break Models

This paper compares the forecasting performance of different models which have been proposed for forecasting in the presence of structural breaks. These models differ in their treatment of the break process, the parameters defining the model which applies in each regime and the out-of-sample probability of a break occurring. In an extensive empirical evaluation involving many important macroeconomic time series, we demonstrate the presence of structural breaks and their importance for forecasting in the vast majority of cases. However, we find no single forecasting model consistently works best in the presence of structural breaks. In many cases, the formal modeling of the break process is important in achieving good forecast performance. However, there are also many cases where simple, rolling OLS forecasts perform well.

A Comparison Of Forecasting Procedures For Macroeconomic Series: The Contribution Of Structural Break Models

This paper compares the forecasting performance of different models which have been proposed for forecasting in the presence of structural breaks. These models differ in their treatment of the break process, the parameters defining the model which applies in each regime and the out-of-sample probability of a break occurring. In an extensive empirical evaluation involving many important macroeconomic time series, we demonstrate the presence of structural breaks and their importance for forecasting in the vast majority of cases. However, we find no single forecasting model consistently works best in the presence of structural breaks. In many cases, the formal modeling of the break process is important in achieving good forecast performance. However, there are also many cases where simple, rolling OLS forecasts perform well.

Legal Uncertainty, Competition Law Enforcement Procedures and Optimal Penalties

In this paper we make three contributions to the literature on optimal Competition Law enforcement procedures. The first (which is of general interest beyond competition policy) is to clarify the concept of ���legal uncertainty���, relating it to ideas in the literature on Law and Economics, but formalising the concept through various information structures which specify the probability that each firm attaches ��� at the time it takes an action ��� to the possibility of its being deemed anti-competitive were it to be investigated by a Competition Authority. We show that the existence of Type I and Type II decision errors by competition authorities is neither necessary nor sufficient for the existence of legal uncertainty, and that information structures with legal uncertainty can generate higher welfare than information structures with legal certainty ��� a result echoing a similar finding obtained in a completely different context and under different assumptions in earlier Law and Economics literature (Kaplow and Shavell, 1992). Our second contribution is to revisit and significantly generalise the analysis in our previous paper, Katsoulacos and Ulph (2009), involving a welfare comparison of Per Se and Effects- Based legal standards. In that analysis we considered just a single information structure under an Effects-Based standard and also penalties were exogenously fixed. Here we allow for (a) different information structures under an Effects-Based standard and (b) endogenous penalties. We obtain two main results: (i) considering all information structures a Per Se standard is never better than an Effects-Based standard; (ii) optimal penalties may be higher when there is legal uncertainty than when there is no legal uncertainty.

Approches chirurgicales "palliatives" de l'��pilepsie ["Palliative" surgical procedures in refractory epilepsy]

In some patients with refractory epilepsy, no resective surgery of the epileptogenic zone can be offered. This is the case when for instance the epileptogenic zone is located in an eloquent region (motor, language or visual) or when there are several epileptogenic zones. When disabling seizures persist despite the medical treatment, several surgical procedures can be proposed with the aim of decreasing the seizure frequency. Among these procedures, we review briefly here vagus nerve stimulation, the various brain stimulations procedures, multiples subpial transsections, and the corpus callosotomy. For each procedure, we will discuss its indication and outcome.

A collaborative approach for incorporating forensic case data into crime investigation using criminal intelligence analysis and visualisation

There is an increasing awareness that the articulation of forensic science and criminal investigation is critical to the resolution of crimes. However, models and methods to support an effective collaboration between these partners are still poorly expressed or even lacking. Three propositions are borrowed from crime intelligence methods in order to bridge this gap: (a) the general intelligence process, (b) the analyses of investigative problems along principal perspectives: entities and their relationships, time and space, quantitative aspects and (c) visualisation methods as a mode of expression of a problem in these dimensions. Indeed, in a collaborative framework, different kinds of visualisations integrating forensic case data can play a central role for supporting decisions. Among them, link-charts are scrutinised for their abilities to structure and ease the analysis of a case by describing how relevant entities are connected. However, designing an informative chart that does not bias the reasoning process is not straightforward. Using visualisation as a catalyser for a collaborative approach integrating forensic data thus calls for better specifications.

Estimation of the radiation risks in diagnostic procedures to populations and patients

Since 1895, when X-rays were discovered, ionizing radiation became part of our life. Its use in medicine has brought significant health benefits to the population globally. The benefit of any diagnostic procedure is to reduce the uncertainty about the patient's health. However, there are potential detrimental effects of radiation exposure. Therefore, radiation protection authorities have become strict regarding the control of radiation risks.��There are various situations where the radiation risk needs to be evaluated. International authority bodies point to the increasing number of radiologic procedures and recommend population surveys. These surveys provide valuable data to public health authorities which helps them to prioritize and focus on patient groups in the population that are most highly exposed. On the other hand, physicians need to be aware of radiation risks from diagnostic procedures in order to justify and optimize the procedure and inform the patient.��The aim of this work was to examine the different aspects of radiation protection and investigate a new method to estimate patient radiation risks.��The first part of this work concerned radiation risk assessment from the regulatory authority point of view. To do so, a population dose survey was performed to evaluate the annual population exposure. This survey determined the contribution of different imaging modalities to the total collective dose as well as the annual effective dose per caput. It was revealed that although interventional procedures are not so frequent, they significantly contribute to the collective dose. Among the main results of this work, it was shown that interventional cardiological procedures are dose-intensive and therefore more attention should be paid to optimize the exposure.��The second part of the project was related to the patient and physician oriented risk assessment. In this part, interventional cardiology procedures were studied by means of Monte Carlo simulations. The organ radiation doses as well as effective doses were estimated. Cancer incidence risks for different organs were calculated for different sex and age-at-exposure using the lifetime attributable risks provided by the Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiations Report VII. Advantages and disadvantages of the latter results were examined as an alternative method to estimate radiation risks. The results show that this method is the most accurate, currently available, to estimate radiation risks. The conclusions of this work may guide future studies in the field of radiation protection in medicine.��-��Depuis la d��couverte des rayons X en 1895, ce type de rayonnement a jou�� un r��le important dans de nombreux domaines. Son utilisation en m��decine a b��n��fici�� �� la population mondiale puisque l'avantage d'un examen diagnostique est de r��duire les incertitudes sur l'��tat de sant�� du patient. Cependant, leur utilisation peut conduire �� l'apparition de cancers radio-induits. Par cons��quent, les autorit��s sanitaires sont strictes quant au contr��le du risque radiologique.��Le risque li�� aux radiations doit ��tre estim�� dans diff��rentes situations pratiques, dont l'utilisation m��dicale des rayons X. Les autorit��s internationales de radioprotection indiquent que le nombre d'examens et de proc��dures radiologiques augmente et elles recommandent des enqu��tes visant �� d��terminer les doses de radiation d��livr��es �� la population. Ces enqu��tes assurent que les groupes de patients les plus �� risque soient prioritaires. D'un autre c��t��, les m��decins ont ��galement besoin de conna��tre le risque li�� aux radiations afin de justifier et optimiser les proc��dures et informer les patients.��Le pr��sent travail a pour objectif d'examiner les diff��rents aspects de la radioprotection et de proposer une mani��re efficace pour estimer le risque radiologique au patient.��Premi��rement, le risque a ��t�� ��valu�� du point de vue des autorit��s sanitaires. Une enqu��te nationale a ��t�� r��alis��e pour d��terminer la contribution des diff��rentes modalit��s radiologiques et des divers types d'examens �� la dose efficace collective due �� l'application m��dicale des rayons X. Bien que les proc��dures interventionnelles soient rares, elles contribuent de fa��on significative �� la dose d��livr��e �� la population. Parmi les principaux r��sultats de ce travail, il a ��t�� montr�� que les proc��dures de cardiologie interventionnelle d��livrent des doses ��lev��es et devraient donc ��tre optimis��es en priorit��.��La seconde approche concerne l'��valuation du risque du point de vue du patient et du m��decin. Dans cette partie, des proc��dures interventionnelles cardiaques ont ��t�� ��tudi��es au moyen de simulations Monte Carlo. La dose d��livr��e aux organes ainsi que la dose efficace ont ��t�� estim��es. Les risques de d��velopper des cancers dans plusieurs organes ont ��t�� calcul��s en fonction du sexe et de l'��ge en utilisant la m��thode ��tablie dans Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiations Report VII. Les avantages et inconv��nients de cette nouvelle technique ont ��t�� examin��s et compar��s �� ceux de la dose efficace. Les r��sultats ont montr�� que cette m��thode est la plus pr��cise actuellement disponible pour estimer le risque li�� aux radiations. Les conclusions de ce travail pourront guider de futures ��tudes dans le domaine de la radioprotection en m��dicine.

Objetivos y carencias de la pol��tica criminal contra la peque��a delincuencia

Trabajo realizado en el marco del Proyecto de investigaci��n, estudio y an��lisis sobre la seguridad en Catalu��a (ISPC 2009), gracias a la ayuda concedida por el Departament d���Interior en virtud de Resoluci��n del director del Instituto de Seguridad P��blica de Catalu��a de 22 de diciembre de 2009 (DOGC n��m. 5693 - 16/08/2010)

Extremity and eye lens doses in interventional radiology and cardiology procedures: first results of the ORAMED project.

The main objective of WP1 of the ORAMED (Optimization of RAdiation protection for MEDical staff) project is to obtain a set of standardised data on extremity and eye lens doses for staff in interventional radiology (IR) and cardiology (IC) and to optimise staff protection. A coordinated measurement program in different hospitals in Europe will help towards this direction. This study aims at analysing the first results of the measurement campaign performed in IR and IC procedures in 34 European hospitals. The highest doses were found for pacemakers, renal angioplasties and embolisations. Left finger and wrist seem to receive the highest extremity doses, while the highest eye lens doses are measured during embolisations. Finally, it was concluded that it is difficult to find a general correlation between kerma area product and extremity or eye lens doses.