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We report on an interferometry-based measurement of the phase and group velocities of optical Bessel beams, providing confirmation of their superluminal character in the non-diffractive region. The measurements were performed in free space with a continuous wave laser and femtosecond pulses for phase and group velocities respectively. The Bessel beams were produced using a conical mirror., Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures

Treatment resistant OCD subjects, defined as those patients who undergo an adequate trial of SRI (clomipramine or SSRI) and do not respond or show unsatisfactory results, account for 40-50% of all patients. Once the appropriateness of the trial has been assessed, several options exist for the clinicians. If clomipramine or citalopram have been used, an appropriate strategy consists in giving the same drug intravenously. Double-blind studies exist on the efficacy of clomipramine IV, while data are missing for citalopram. Another option that should be considered first, although data are scarce, is the addition of a cognitive behavioral therapy, when available, in the forms of exposure and response prevention. When such options are not suitable or available, augmentation of the ongoing SRI with another compound represents the preferable strategy. Double-blind, placebo-controlled studies have shown the efficacy of adding pindolol (7.5 mg/d), risperidone (2 mg/d) and olanzapine (5-10 mg/d). Other agents have been proposed, but data emerging from double-blind studies were negative or contradictory. Another option available is switching from CMI to SSRI, or vice versa, or from SSRI to SSRI. Data regarding such treatment strategy, however, are highly preliminary, based on a couple of open label reports and on studies performed in treatment resistant depression. An unresolved question is whether augmentation should be preferred to switching. No data exist in OCD; a practical approach would suggest augmentation first, considering that response should be obtained faster than by switching compound. When all the available and effective strategies prove uneffective, clinicians should consider switching the patient to other compounds in monotherapy, such as venlafaxine, sumatriptan, inositol, although research is strongly needed before conclusions on the efficacy of such compounds can be drawn.

Objectives: Relatively few systematic data exist on the clinical impact of bipolar comorbidity in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and no studies have investigated the influence of such a comorbidity on the prevalence and pattern of Axis II comorbidity. The aim of the present study was to explore the comorbidity of personality disorders in a group of patients with OCD and comorbid bipolar disorder (BD). Methods: The sample consisted of 204 subjects with a principal diagnosis of OCD (DSM-IV) and a Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) score ≥16 recruited from all patients consecutively referred to the Anxiety and Mood Disorders Unit, Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin over a period of 5 years (January 1998–December 2002). Diagnostic evaluation and Axis I comorbidities were collected by means of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I). Personality status was assessed by using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Disorders (SCID-II). Socio-demographic and clinical features (including Axis II comorbidities) were compared between OCD patients with and without a lifetime comorbidity of BD. Results: A total of 21 patients with OCD (10.3%) met DSM-IV criteria for a lifetime BD diagnosis: 4 (2.0%) with BD type I and 17 (8.3%) with BD type II. Those without a BD diagnosis showed significantly higher rates of male gender, sexual and hoarding obsessions, repeating compulsions and lifetime comorbid substance use disorders, when compared with patients with BD/OCD. With regard to personality disorders, those with BD/OCD showed higher prevalence rates of Cluster A (42.9% versus 21.3%; p = 0.027) and Cluster B (57.1% versus 29.0%; p = 0.009) personality disorders. Narcissistic and antisocial personality disorders were more frequent in BD/OCD. Conclusions: Our results point towards clinically relevant effects of comorbid BD on the personality profiles of OCD patients, with higher rates of narcissistic and antisocial personality disorders in BD/OCD patients.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how the convergence of private and public sector accounting standards is affecting conceptual and practical issues relating to heritage. More specifically, the paper is intended to provide a better understanding of the state of the art in national and international accounting standards on heritage assets, and of the views influencing such standards. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative documentary analysis is carried out to explore the variety of existing positions and views on heritage, ranging from the scholarly literature, through potential stakeholders and users, to international and national standard setters. Findings The analysis shows that the path of convergence between public and private sector standards and practices is still problematic. After more than two decades of debate around the nature, definition, measurement, and reporting of heritage, these issues are far from settled. Research limitations/implications In the light of calls for increased measurement and reporting of public sector “assets”, and specifically for the definition of standards to recognise heritage, the paper suggests the need to strongly reconsider whether the convergence between public and private sector standards is desirable, feasible and effective. As such, the risks of embracing simplified or hybrid forms of accounting and reporting for heritage should be more seriously assessed. While reporting on heritage is important, it is fundamental to keep it distinct from reporting on government’s regular operations, in order to appreciate its specific value, nature and features. Originality/value Looking at European national standards for heritage, the IPSASB’s proposals, and the reactions to the latter by relevant stakeholders, the paper provides a pluralistic view on the positions and experiences about heritage, contributing to the debate on the convergence between private and public sector accounting standards.

The reduction in Caesarean sections (CSs) is widely considered a priority in the public decision makers agenda. Though the World Health Organisation has strongly encouraged countries to implement policies to reduce CSs to 10–15%, after almost thirty years this goal appears still far from its achievement. The literature depicts CS as a multifaceted phenomenon whose causes involve different factors, ranging from the patient sphere to the health care level of services provided, and the societal preference of CS practice. Policy makers aiming to standardise cares and to reduce CSs often implement maternity pathways (MP). By investigating the MP introduced in the Sicilian region, the authors highlight the need to adopt an outcome-based performance management approach to assess the effectiveness of CS reduction policies. The suggested perspective also reveals the necessity to frame and coordinate the interdependencies between the different actors playing a crucial role in the MP.

The Italian public sector reforms in recent years have demonstrated an over-reliance on accounting-based financial measurements which has essentially created a sort of ‘hierarchization’ of performance. This chapter aims to demonstrate whether and how this predominance leads to negative consequences in the evaluation (and management) of public sector organizations: First, because in definitive governments, performance should be assessed coupling financial parameters with non-financial measures and qualitative judgements (Jones and Pendlebury in Public Sector Accounting, 6th ed., Pearson Prentice Hall, London, 2010); second, for the lack of a systemic approach, financial performance should not be the ultimate objective of public management but instead an instrument to evaluate the financial comparability of various priorities to purse (public value, social, environmental, etc.) (Esposito and Ricci in Public Money Manage 35(3):227–231, 2015).