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Purpose: Cloud computing has opened new opportunities in disastrous natural early warning. The scientific community has recognized the significance of the geo-analytic approach in complex decision-making processes for critical situations due to natural events such as coastal erosion and landslides. The paper describes the progress in the development of ITC dissemination systems for the population to promote the preparedness toward the coastal risk. Methodology: To achieve these goals an information system based on an Open Source Cloud Computing platform following a PaaS (Platform as a Service) and SaaS (Software as a Service) approaches has been used. Main Findings: The southern coast of Sicily (Italy) and the islands of the archipelagos of Malta are highly exposed to risks coming from the sea. Such coasts are subjected to fast erosion due to natural and anthropic causes which involve the failure of cliffs, the triggering of localized erosions, and the possibility of flooding. Implications/Applications: The research effort aims to build an interconnected framework through the implementation of smart technology, which involves surveillance, early warning, and reduction of coastal threats, with a specific goal to educate citizens regarding flood hazards, coastal waters, and degradation, cliff collapses and safety steps. Novelty/Originality of this study: The study expresses a different perspective on cloud computing to prevent the effects of disastrous natural events and to provide indications of areas susceptible to risk.

The interventions used to prevent or treat violence against children, particularly sexual abuse, tend to only consider the target audience as their main source of data. We tested the effect of an online training for school staff members in Europe through three studies. In Study I, we interviewed 5 adult women (Mage = 49.2, SD = 5.81) who were victims of sexual abuse during childhood to assess what school could have done during that time to protect them. Through Study II, we collected data on 66 school staff members to assess feasibility (based on quantitative indicators) and to explore the changes they would make to their everyday practice due to the training course (using qualitative analysis). In Study III, we used network analysis to assess to what extent the actions described by school staff in Study II met the needs expressed by the victims in Study I. Findings of Study I revealed new proposals from the victims’ perspective, such as working with the perpetrators. Study II showed the feasibility of training and identified five types of action that school staff members will include in their everyday working dynamics due to the training: detection (e.g., Greater attention to relationships with peers), reporting (e.g., Now I know that suspecting a case of child abuse is enough to report), everyday practices (e.g., Introducing a calming space), changes at school level (e.g., Propose the training course to the school management team) or practices that could belong to more than one category (e.g., Greater awareness of the activities undertaken by the school). Study III provided evidence that some of these changes (e.g., reporting without looking for proof) were in line with some of the victims’ expectations (e.g., listen to the children). We also identified gaps that need to be further developed.

Schools are in a position to connect children and adolescents suspected of being victims of violence with an external source of support by making referrals to external agencies. However, several studies have identified obstacles that hinder early reporting among school staff members. Very few studies have applied a mixed-method approach to try to understand this sensitive issue. The current study used this approach to analyze to what extent the students suspected of being victimized match the ones reported by active school staff members in Spain ( n = 453, 83.5% females, age: M = 42.23, SD = 9.46). We classified the reasons given for not reporting the potential victimization cases encountered and made comparisons to determine whether there were differences in the level of knowledge, or in the sociodemographic characteristics, of respondents who gave different reasons for not reporting. Although 73.5% of school staff members had detected at least one potential case, 40.8% of them referred it to an external agency. The most common reasons for lack of reporting included deciding not to do so once concerns had been shared within the school and believing that one must be certain or that only serious violence should be reported. The findings of this study may help to further understand the decisions not to report certain suspicions of potential victimization cases to external agencies by school staff. There is an urgent need to raise awareness about the duty to report these concerns to external agencies, even in the absence of agreement from the school management team. Members of school staff need to be strongly encouraged to become familiar with the existing protocols.

Research interest in trauma as a possible cause of growth has increased in recent decades. The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) is widely used to measure growth after traumatic events. The present study aimed at validating the Spanish version of the PTGI in a sample of 243 young adults (age range from 18 to 35 years old, M = 21 years, SD = 2.5) who experienced interpersonal victimization during their childhood and/or adolescence. Preliminary analyses showed acceptable reliability for the PTGI subscales (Cronbach’s α ranging from .61 to .89). Exploratory factor analysis revealed a four-factor structure that included «new perception of life», «relating to others», «personal strength», and «spiritual change». All types of victimization correlated significantly with PTGI scores. These findings provide support for the factorial validity of the PTGI and the use of the PTGI in future research examining posttraumatic growth among Spanish victims of interpersonal violence in childhood. Keywords : Victimization; Posttraumatic Growth Inventory; trauma; growth. Estructura factorial del Inventario de Crecimiento Post-traumatico en una muestra espanola de victimas adultas de violencia interpersonal durante la infancia Resumen : El interes cientifico en el trauma como posible fuente de crecimiento ha aumentado en las ultimas decadas, siendo el Inventario de Crecimiento Post-traumatico (PTGI) uno de los instrumentos mas usados para medirlo. El estudio pretende validar la version en castellano del PTGI en una muestra de 243 adultos jovenes (entre 18 y 35 anos, M = 21 anos, DT = 2.5), victimas de violencia en la infancia y/o adolescencia. Los analisis mostraron una fiabilidad aceptable para todas las subescalas (α =.61- .89). El analisis factorial exploratorio revelo una estructura de cuatro factores: «nueva percepcion de la vida», «relacion con los demas», «fuerza personal» y «cambio espiritual». Todos los tipos de victimizacion correlacionaron significativamente con las puntuaciones del PTGI. Los resultados aportan evidencia sobre la validez de la estructura interna del PTGI y el uso del PTGI en futuras investigaciones que examinen el crecimiento post-traumatico en victimas espanolas de violencia interpersonal durante la infancia. Palabras clave : Victimizacion; inventario de crecimiento post-traumatico; trauma; crecimiento.

Victimization has been widely demonstrated to have negative consequences in minors. Most crimes against children go unreported and victims tend to reach adulthood without receiving any of the available specialized support. Studies have highlighted the unique role of school workers in early detection and reporting of possible cases of victimization, and have also found high rates of underreporting by school staff. The present study analyzes the underreporting of child and youth victimization suspicions among school staff and aims to identify variables related to its detection and reporting. One hundred and eighty-four school staff members (83.7% females, M = 42.6 years old, SD = 11.7) from 17 different schools completed a self-administered questionnaire designed to record their knowledge and experience regarding the detection and reporting of potential victimization cases. Over 74% of the school workers had suspected at least one situation of victimization during their careers, but only 27% had actually reported these concerns. Higher rates of reporting were significantly associated with male gender, more years of experience, and awareness of five common misconceptions. Reporting behavior could be predicted by gender, years of experience and two statements assessing respondents’ knowledge of victimization. In order to increase early reporting of possible cases of victimization, it is necessary to overcome certain misconceptions, raise awareness among school staff, design new training programs or interventions, and adapt the school dynamics in the light of these findings.

Highlights • We tested the effect of knowledge in detecting and reporting victimization cases from school. • School staff with more years of experience were more likely to detect potential victimization cases. • Knowing that a report can be made without the principal’s consent predicted reporting behavior. • Hours per day spent in contact with children increased the likelihood of reporting. • Training and interventions should focus on these aspects to increase early reporting., Knowledge of child victimization among school staff is believed to affect the detection and reporting of potential cases in the school environment, but the current evidence is scarce and contradictory. We assessed the link between knowledge of victimization and other relevant reporter characteristics in detecting and reporting children suspected to be victims of violence in a sample of 184 school staff members from Spain (84.02% females, M = 43.40, SD = 10.37). We compared participants who had never detected nor reported any cases (i.e., non-detectors) with participants who had detected but not reported outside school (i.e., inconsistent reporters) and participants who had detected and reported at least one potential case (i.e., consistent reporters). Knowledge about the reporting procedures varied significantly across groups. Years of experience was the only variable to significantly predict having detected at least one case across job experience. Knowing whether a report can be made anonymously or without the principal’s consent was significant to predict the likelihood of being a consistent reporter, along with hours spent daily in contact with students. Trainings for school staff should be aware of what specific aspects of knowledge tend to increase detection and reporting. Interventions should include more specific guidelines and ways of recreating experience (e.g., role-playing, virtual scenarios) as an effective strategy to respond to cases of potential victimization encountered at school.

Sexual offences are committed by a very heterogeneous population, within which we can distinguish paraphilic and non-paraphilic sex offenders (SOs). In addition, paraphiliacs vary in multiple factors, such as the target, origin, recurrence and intensity of their sexual fantasies, arousal or behaviours. Compared to other types of offenders, convicted SOs usually stay longer in forensic care, have more severe legal sanctions (e.g. community registration, residential restriction, extended supervision) and are perceived by the community as more dangerous. As a result, this affects their length of stay in care facilities. That is why accurately predicting recidivism is extremely important when it comes to SO. Actuarial instruments and professional guidelines help assessing the likelihood of a SO to reoffend in order to carefully make decisions that might seriously affect them and/or the community, such as their length of stay. Treatments should be chosen based on multiple factors, including demographic variables, information about the type of paraphilia, comorbidity with mental disorders, medical examination, past experiences, recidivism risk and risk of violence, personal and interpersonal factors and many others (even more so in adolescents). Combinations of pharmacological (i.e. SSRIs, antiandrogen treatment) and psychological (i.e. BT, CBT) interventions have proven their efficacy in reducing recidivism risk among SOs. Despite the profound social cost of paraphilic behaviour, paraphilic disorder is still under-researched.

Unmet medical needs are a priority for organizations such as the WHO and major public-private initiatives, such as Innovative Medicines Initiative, were established to speed up the development of better and safer medicines for patients. To assist such projects, the EMA in its 'Road Map to 2015' considered the mapping of unmet medical needs as a priority. This study has identified medical conditions for which the EMA could not identify developments in the pharmaceutical pipelines, that is, 'white spots'. Our analysis was made using external data sources as well as mining data of the EMA. The main areas for white spots were oncology, infectious diseases and certain psychiatric conditions. According to our data and a review of literature, in a number of these white spots, diagnostic tools may even be missing. The identification of those conditions will benefit stakeholders, including regulators, research funding bodies and patients' organizations.

This paper proposes a numerical model that can be used for theoretical and experimental dynamic characterization of historical colonnade courtyards. Such an architectural element appears often in buildings of historical heritage and, especially under seismic excitation, it represents the most vulnerable structural part. Therefore, it is very important to have reliable as well as simple models available for vulnerability analysis, to evaluate different reinforcing systems if needed, or to plan dynamic characterization tests or monitoring campaigns, as in the present case. Chiaramonte Palace, a wonderful example of the historical heritage of Palermo, is investigated as case study. Firstly, a review of the restoration and structural consolidation works made over the years is presented, as fundamental step towards the knowledge of any existing structural system. Then the acquired information are used to propose a simplified finite element model that properly accounts for the interaction with the surrounding part of the building, and that can be easily calibrated on the basis of estimated or measured vibration periods.

Background Since the first methodological publications on adaptive study design approaches in the 1990s, the application of these approaches in drug development has raised increasing interest among academia, industry and regulators. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) as well as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have published guidance documents addressing the potentials and limitations of adaptive designs in the regulatory context. Since there is limited experience in the implementation and interpretation of adaptive clinical trials, early interaction with regulators is recommended. The EMA offers such interactions through scientific advice and protocol assistance procedures. Methods We performed a text search of scientific advice letters issued between 1 January 2007 and 8 May 2012 that contained relevant key terms. Letters containing questions related to adaptive clinical trials in phases II or III were selected for further analysis. From the selected letters, important characteristics of the proposed design and its context in the drug development program, as well as the responses of the Committee for Human Medicinal Products (CHMP)/Scientific Advice Working Party (SAWP), were extracted and categorized. For 41 more recent procedures (1 January 2009 to 8 May 2012), additional details of the trial design and the CHMP/SAWP responses were assessed. In addition, case studies are presented as examples. Results Over a range of 5½ years, 59 scientific advices were identified that address adaptive study designs in phase II and phase III clinical trials. Almost all were proposed as confirmatory phase III or phase II/III studies. The most frequently proposed adaptation was sample size reassessment, followed by dropping of treatment arms and population enrichment. While 12 (20%) of the 59 proposals for an adaptive clinical trial were not accepted, the great majority of proposals were accepted (15, 25%) or conditionally accepted (32, 54%). In the more recent 41 procedures, the most frequent concerns raised by CHMP/SAWP were insufficient justifications of the adaptation strategy, type I error rate control and bias. Conclusions For the majority of proposed adaptive clinical trials, an overall positive opinion was given albeit with critical comments. Type I error rate control, bias and the justification of the design are common issues raised by the CHMP/SAWP.