University of Ljubljana

About: University of Ljubljana is a education organization based out in Ljubljana, Slovenia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Liquid crystal. The organization has 17210 authors who have published 47013 publications receiving 1082684 citations. The organization is also known as: Univerza v Ljubljani.

Evaluating the progress of e-government development: A critical analysis

Abstract: The development of e-government in most countries is still primarily aimed at developing electronic services that customers can access via the internet. This has been matched by the methods for monitoring e-government development, which fall far short of providing a true overall assessment. Such a narrow focus on e-government has led to a significant slowdown of development in most countries. Countries have used "quick fix, quick win" solutions, while continued development require above all the development of an integrated government portal and reengineering of back-office processes. The more developed countries are therefore increasingly tailoring their e-government strategies in the direction of customer-orientation and instead of persisting with rigid organisational structures are working on integrating services and processes across individual administrative bodies and institutions and even include private businesses. The development of e-government therefore demands a holistic strategic approach that encompasses the entire public administration and is not limited to individual bodies and institutions, or individual sectors and levels of administration. The methods of monitoring, evaluating and benchmarking e-government development will have to follow the same principles. Based on critical analyses of existing approaches, this paper attempts to define the areas and aspects that must be included within the integrated approach in order to facilitate the progress of e-government towards its strategic objectives, that is the development of services based on user's needs and problems, i.e. integrated services or life-events.

Highest clinical effectiveness of rituximab in autoantibody-positive patients with rheumatoid arthritis and in those for whom no more than one previous TNF antagonist has failed: pooled data from 10 European registries

Abstract: Objective To assess the 6-month effectiveness of the first rituximab (RTX) course in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to identify possible predictors of response. Method 10 European registries submitted anonymised datasets (baseline, 3- and 6-month follow-up) from patients with RA who had started RTX, and datasets were pooled and analysed. Heterogeneity between countries was analysed by analysis of variance. Predictors of response were identified by logistic regression. Results 2019 patients were included (mean age/disease duration 53.8/12.1 years, 80.3% female, 85.6% rheumatoid factor (RF) positive and 76.8% (456/594 patients) anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies (anti-CCP) positive). For these patients an average of 2.7 disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) (range 0–10) had failed, and RTX was given as the first biological agent in 36.6% of patients. There was significant heterogeneity between countries for several baseline characteristics, including the number of previous biological agents. Disease Activity Score based on 28 joint counts (DAS28) decreased from 5.8±1.4 at baseline to 4.2±1.4 at 6 months (p Conclusion In this large observational cohort of patients with RA treated with RTX, seropositive patients achieved significantly greater reductions in DAS28 at 6 months than seronegative patients. Effectiveness was best when RTX was used as the first biological agent or after failure of no more than one anti-tumour necrosis factor agent.

Age at any birth and breast cancer risk

Abstract: In an effort to assess the relative importance of age at first birth, age at subsequent births, and total parity to the occurrence of breast cancer, reproductive data from 4,225 women with breast cancer and 12,307 hospitalized women without breast cancer were analyzed by a multiple logistic regression model. Age at first birth was confirmed to be the most important reproductive risk indicator; it was associated with a 3.5 % increase of relative risk for every year of increase in age at first birth (the 95 % confidence interval of this estimate was 2.3 to 4.7 % increase per year). However, age at any birth after the first was also an independent and statistically significant risk indicator; it was associated with a 0.9% increase of relative risk for every year of increase in age at any (and every) birth (the 95 % confidence interval of this estimate was 0.4 to 1.5 % increase per year). There is evidence that the age of approximately 35 years represents for every birth a critical point; before this age any full-term pregnancy confers some degree of protection; after this age any full-term pregnancy appears to be associated with increase in breast cancer risk. The effect of parity is determined by the age of occurrence of the component pregnancies. While most pregnancies occur under the age of 35, the distribution varies from population to population, and this may account for the differences between populations in whether or not a protective effect is seen for births after the first, and if it is seen, its extent.

Finite-temperature transport in one-dimensional quantum lattice models

Abstract: Over the last decade impressive progress has been made in the theoretical understanding of transport properties of clean, one-dimensional quantum lattice systems. Many physically relevant models in one dimension are Bethe-ansatz integrable, including the anisotropic spin-1/2 Heisenberg (also called the spin-1/2 XXZ chain) and the Fermi-Hubbard model. Nevertheless, practical computations of correlation functions and transport coefficients pose hard problems from both the conceptual and technical points of view. Only because of recent progress in the theory of integrable systems, on the one hand, and the development of numerical methods, on the other hand, has it become possible to compute their finite-temperature and nonequilibrium transport properties quantitatively. Owing to the discovery of a novel class of quasilocal conserved quantities, there is now a qualitative understanding of the origin of ballistic finite-temperature transport, and even diffusive or superdiffusive subleading corrections, in integrable lattice models. The current understanding of transport in one-dimensional lattice models, in particular, in the paradigmatic example of the spin-1/2 XXZ and Fermi-Hubbard models, is reviewed, as well as state-of-the-art theoretical methods, including both analytical and computational approaches. Among other novel techniques, matrix-product-state-based simulation methods, dynamical typicality, and, in particular, generalized hydrodynamics are covered. The close and fruitful connection between theoretical models and recent experiments is discussed, with examples given from the realms of both quantum magnets and ultracold quantum gases in optical lattices.

Is there a common water-activity limit for the three domains of life?

Abstract: Archaea and Bacteria constitute a majority of life systems on Earth but have long been considered inferior to Eukarya in terms of solute tolerance. Whereas the most halophilic prokaryotes are known for an ability to multiply at saturated NaCl (water activity (aw) 0.755) some xerophilic fungi can germinate, usually at high-sugar concentrations, at values as low as 0.650–0.605 aw. Here, we present evidence that halophilic prokayotes can grow down to water activities of <0.755 for Halanaerobium lacusrosei (0.748), Halobacterium strain 004.1 (0.728), Halobacterium sp. NRC-1 and Halococcus morrhuae (0.717), Haloquadratum walsbyi (0.709), Halococcus salifodinae (0.693), Halobacterium noricense (0.687), Natrinema pallidum (0.681) and haloarchaeal strains GN-2 and GN-5 (0.635 aw). Furthermore, extrapolation of growth curves (prone to giving conservative estimates) indicated theoretical minima down to 0.611 aw for extreme, obligately halophilic Archaea and Bacteria. These were compared with minima for the most solute-tolerant Bacteria in high-sugar (or other non-saline) media (Mycobacterium spp., Tetragenococcus halophilus, Saccharibacter floricola, Staphylococcus aureus and so on) and eukaryotic microbes in saline (Wallemia spp., Basipetospora halophila, Dunaliella spp. and so on) and high-sugar substrates (for example, Xeromyces bisporus, Zygosaccharomyces rouxii, Aspergillus and Eurotium spp.). We also manipulated the balance of chaotropic and kosmotropic stressors for the extreme, xerophilic fungi Aspergillus penicilloides and X. bisporus and, via this approach, their established water-activity limits for mycelial growth (∼0.65) were reduced to 0.640. Furthermore, extrapolations indicated theoretical limits of 0.632 and 0.636 aw for A. penicilloides and X. bisporus, respectively. Collectively, these findings suggest that there is a common water-activity limit that is determined by physicochemical constraints for the three domains of life.