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L’autore esamina il tema del ne bis in idem nei suoi termini essenziali, e ne analizza l’interpretazione fornita sia dalle fonti sovranazionali, che da quelle nazionali. In seguito lo scritto si occupa di individuare quelle che sono le ricadute pratiche del concetto, infatti sono analizzate le diverse pronunce della Corte EDU e della Corte di Giust. UE, che hanno trattato il tema negli ultimi anni. L’elaborato si conclude tratteggiando i casi nazionali che hanno recepito il grave problema circa l’esatta interpretazione del principio del ne bis in idem, finendo cosi per individuare la necessita di un intervento legislativo atto a rispondere all’esigenza pratica emersa.

Objectives: Comparisons of subjective and objective sleep measures have shown discrepancies between reported sleep and polysomnography (PSG) in non-drug dependent individuals with and without insomnia. Sleep may affect behavioral and physiologic aspects of drug abuse and dependence; patients in methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) for opioid dependence frequently report sleep problems. Whether subjective sleep reflects objective sleep in MMT patients is unknown. We undertook these analyses to establish the correlations among subjective and objective sleep measures in MMT patients. Methods: We compared one week of daily sleep diaries, one night of home PSG, a questionnaire completed the morning after PSG, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Inventory (PSQI) as well as demographics and drug use measures in 62 MMT patients with disturbed sleep (PSQI score > 5). Results: Subjective and objective sleep durations were similar in this sample; average sleep times for the diary, morning questionnaire, and PSG were 340, 323, and 332 min, respectively. Average diary sleep time, subjective ratings of feeling rested, and PSG sleep efficiency were correlated significantly with PSQI score. Age was inversely correlated with PSG sleep time. Participants whose urine toxicology showed benzodiazapine use reported significantly longer sleep times on the morning questionnaire. Conclusions: Objective sleep measures confirm subjective measures in MMT patients with disturbed sleep. The high prevalence of sleep complaints in this population likely reflects pathology rather than sleep misperception. Both objective and subjective measures are useful in research and clinical settings for assessing sleep in opioid-dependent patients.

Opioid-dependent patients treated with methadone have subjective sleep complaints and disrupted sleep on polysomnography (PSG). Previous studies of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) in this population have focused on central sleep apnea (CSA). Our objectives were to: (1) characterize obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and CSA in patients in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) for opioid dependence; (2) examine factors associated with SDB in this population; and (3) investigate whether SDB was related to severity of subjective sleep complaints in MMT patients with subjective sleep disturbances.We analyzed OSA and CSA from one night of home PSG in 71 patients who were in MMT for at least 3 months and had a Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Inventory (PSQI) score5.OSA (defined as obstructive apnea-hypopnea index (OAHI)or = 5) was observed in 35.2% of our sample. OSA was associated with higher body mass index, longer duration in MMT, and non-Caucasian race. CSA (defined as central apnea index (CAI)or = 5) was observed in 14.1% of the sample. CSA was not associated with methadone dose or concomitant drug use. Subjective sleep disturbance measured with the PSQI was not related to OSA or CSA.SDB was common in this sample of MMT patients and OSA was more common than CSA. Given the lack of association between presence of SDB and severity of subjective sleep difficulties, factors other than sleep apnea must account for complaints of disturbed sleep in this population.

Most patients in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) complain of poor sleep. Few studies have examined MMT patients' sleep using polysomnography (PSG), and none to our knowledge have employed home PSG. Standard sleep laboratory research protocols often require two consecutive PSG nights because of inter-night variability in sleep attributed to first-night adaptation to a novel sleep environment and recording procedures. The purpose of this study was to assess the stability of sleep measures across two consecutive nights of home PSG in opioid-dependent MMT patients.Home PSG was performed in 50 MMT patients with subjective sleep complaints. Participants were 54% female and 82% white with mean age = 36.8 years, median methadone dose = 100 mg/day, and median MMT duration = 286 days.Thirty-six participants completed two consecutive nights of at-home PSG and 14 completed one. For the former group, no differences in sleep measures were found across recordings. The one-night group had significantly less total sleep time, Stage 2 sleep, REM sleep, and shorter REM latency than the two-night group.Home PSG is a viable method for recording sleep in opioid-dependent MMT patients, and was stable across consecutive nights of study. Two nights of home PSG for MMT patients, therefore, are not necessarily required and confidence in the reliability of data from one night of recording can be assumed. Excluding MMT research participants with one PSG may exclude patients with the worst sleep--precisely the group that most warrants investigation.

An approximation method, suitable for an analytical treatment of the Kramers-Henneberger potential in three dimensions, is presented. The method is applied to various potentials which are currently used in one and three dimensions with reference to the problem of an electron in a strong field. This approach is shown to lead to a better understanding of the approximations previously adopted to deal with Coulomb and with localized potentials. Moreover, in the case of polynomial potentials of the double-well form, the method predicts a striking change in the dynamics of the electron for suitable values of the physical parameters.

Sleep disturbance among methadone-maintained patients is highly prevalent. A full understanding of sleep disturbance requires polysomnographic measures along with subjective sleep quality measures. The goal of this study was to describe the authors' experiences in performing at-home unattended polysomnography in this population. Participants had a Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score of six or higher, which indicates clinically significant insomnia, and 65% of eligible individuals agreed to enroll. Among 88 participants (53% female, 82% white, and a mean methadone dose of 105 mg/day), each undergoing two nights of home polysomnography, we initiated 165 of a maximum of 176 recordings. Overall, 81.7% of participants provided at least one night of "acceptable" polysomnographic data of at least 4 hours duration. Urine toxicology on polysomnographic nights demonstrated that benzodiazepine use was common. The authors conclude that unattended polysomnography is feasible in a population of individuals receiving methadone maintenance treatment. Polysomnography signal quality and overall study success rates were similar to those in non-substance using populations.

A 44-year-old man underwent aortic valve replacement with a porcine bioprosthesis 21 years ago for infective endocarditis complicated by a cerebral mycotic aneurysm and intracranial bleeding. Nine years ago, he had a second aortic valve replacement with a mechanical bileaflet tilting-disk prosthesis because of porcine prosthesis degeneration. No pseudoaneurysm was noted on the operative report. Six months ago, he developed angina and had a positive stress test for ischemia. Angiography showed severe left main coronary artery (LM) stenosis, which was treated with intravascular ultrasound–guided percutaneous coronary intervention with a zotarolimus-eluting stent. Two months ago, he again developed angina. Follow-up angiography and intravascular ultrasound revealed severe in-stent restenosis in the proximal third of the LM and systolic narrowing of the distal third, suggestive of extrinsic compression (Figure 1 and online-only Data Supplement Movie 1). In-stent restenosis was treated at that time with a sirolimus-eluting stent. A transesophageal echocardiogram revealed a large pseudoaneurysm lateral to the aortic root; color …

In this paper we show how it is possible to investigate the nuclei dynamics of a D2+ molecular ion by using the high harmonic generation spectra emitted by the system when subjected to an intense laser field. In particular, the emitted spectra contains, in addition to the usual odd harmonic peaks, additional satellite peaks whose frequency spacing is equal to the vibrational frequency of the nuclei.

Calculations of the double ionization of a model 1D helium atom interacting with an intense short laser pulse are presented. A substantial signature of nonsequential double ionization is found for all the wavelengths that are considered, from 248 nm to 1064 nm, provided that sufficiently short pulses are employed. We show how one can modify the size of the “knee” structure of the double ionization yield curve by varying the laser pulse duration. The underlying mechanism of the correlated double electron ejection is investigated and discussed.

We report calculations of the ionization yields of a model one-dimensional He atom in strong and short laser pulses. We use both an exact fully correlated two-electron scheme and an approximate model known as “crapola”. For a wide range of frequencies, from 248 nm to 1064 nm, we find a significant signal for nonsequential double ionization. The duration of the laser pulse is shown to have an observable effect on the well known “knee” structure of the double ionization yields. Our model calculations allow us to probe the mechanism of the correlated two electron ejection. We find that the shake-off mechanism appears to be insignificant, at least in the wavelength regime that is considered in this work. Evidence for a periodic rescattering mechanism is presented.

Cost-of-illness (COI) analyses quantify the (direct) medical and non-medical expenditures associated with intimate partner violence (IPV) injuries and the (indirect) value of lost productivity. This study is the first COI for IPV in Ecuador. We used the only population-based survey of violence, public databases from the Ministries of Health, State and Finance, data from the National Institute of Statistics and Census and non-for profit databases to estimate medical and out-of-pocket health expenditures, legal and community responses and paid and unpaid work losses. The results suggest that for 255 267 IPV victims in 2004 the total costs were $181 990 852 (US$). Lost productivity accounted for $137 988 425 million; the marginal increase of cost to treat an IPV injury plus victims out-pocket health expenses was $42 554 768 million. Finally, legal services was an additional $1 447 659 million. Although substantial, these results significantly underestimate the real costs of IPV. Limitations to Ecuadors COI estimation are as follows: (1) Less than 3% of IPV victims seek any help after an episode of violence, (2) No data exist on the real costs of public health expenditures for IPV injuries, (3) Legal costs available represent staff salaries and (4) Prevalence data on IPV are only available for married women in their reproductive years. Despite these limitations, COI analyses are extremely useful as they highlight the economic impact of IPV on businesses, the government, and individuals.

A chemiluminescent detector (CD) has been evaluated for the analysis of nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (nitro-PAH) via gas chromatography. The detector responded linearly to most nitro-PAH from 100 ng to 50 pg using the experimental conditions described in the text. The selective detection of nitro-PAH over other hydrocarbons was compared to the relative selectivities of flame ionization detection and detection with electron impact mass spectrometry and negative ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry. Models have been developed that predict the gas chromatographic behavior of nitro-PAH on SE-52. A gas chromatography/chemiluminescent detector (NO/sub 2/ specific) revealed that a number of nitro compounds were present in a diesel exhaust particulate sample. The models were used to tentatively identify nitro-PAH in the sample. Compound assignment was confirmed by as chromatography/negative ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry and standard addition experiments.

Con questo lavoro si è cercato di individuare i rapporti intercorrenti fra i principi a cui sono informate le norme che regolano la fase del giudizio nel processo penale, rilevando le modalità con cui essi interagiscono fra loro. Si è osservato, cioè, come talvolta risultino convergenti e reciprocamente funzionali, se non addirittura strumentali; tal altra, invece, si verifichi un affievolimento di uno di essi rispetto ad un altro, ove ciò si renda utile per il più efficace perseguimento dei fini propri del processo. Quest'ultima ipotesi si realizza soprattutto in quelle forme di giudizio nelle quali, in ragione dei presupposti previsti dalla legge, è possibile derogare alla rigorosa applicazione di tutti i principi, nella loro forma più completa (riti differenziati). Anche in questi casi, però, resta irrinunciabile il riconoscimento di quelle garanzie necessarie per assicurare che la decisione del giudice rappresenti comunque il risultato di un accertamento affidabile e “giusto”. Non si è inteso, quindi, certamente esaurire l’illustrazione e l’approfondimento delle tematiche inerenti ciascuno dei principi trattati, bensì segnalarne i caratteri più significativi onde ricostruire l’effettiva portata e natura delle interferenze previste dal legislatore e verificarne l’idoneità ad assicurare la realizzazione del “giusto processo”. In questa prospettiva, si è prestata particolare attenzione, oltre che al contenuto precettizio del novellato art. 111 Cost., anche alle disposizioni - di più ampia portata - dell’art. 6 della Convenzione europea per la salvaguardia dei diritti dell’Uomo e delle libertà fondamentali. Ciò in considerazione del pregnante riconoscimento di fonte vincolante conferito di recente dalla Corte costituzionale a quel corpo normativo, in attuazione del nuovo primo comma dell’art. 117 Cost. Così come si è fatto riferimento ad alcune pronunzie della Corte europea dei diritti dell’uomo che, interpretando le disposizioni poste a presidio della “equità” del processo dall’art. 6 della Convenzione, hanno fornito nuove e pregnanti indicazioni ermeneutiche alle quali il giudice italiano (anche di legittimità) deve attenersi.

Il commenta riguarda la disciplina della prova documentale. Si analizza il concetto di documento valido come prova nel processo e le peculiarità rispetto alla prova orale (art. 234), i documenti che costituiscono corpo di reato (art. 235), quelli relativi al giudizio sulla personalità (art. 236); l'acquisizione dei documenti provenienti dall'imputato. Specifica attenzione è rivolta ai controversi istituti dei verbali di prove di altri procedimenti (art. 238) e delle sentenze irrevocabili. Infine l'analisi concerne l'acquisizione e l'utilizzazione dei documenti anonimi e dei documenti falsi, con un taglio sia sistematico sia applicativo, alla luce delle evoluzioni della giurisprudenza.

Il commento riguarda l'articolo 610 del codice di procedura penale in tema di ricorso per cassazione. Vengono affrontate le questioni relative all'inammissibilità dei ricorsi per cassazione, l'assegnazione dei ricorsi alle sezioni, la fissazione dell'udienza, il divieto di presentare nuovi documenti e gli interventi di riforma legislativa.