Suchergebnisse

This analysis draws on the recent experience of the United States to address perceived immigration risks since 9/11, and weighs the prospect of adopting similar approaches in Spain and the European Union following the 11 March terrorist attacks in Madrid. Immigration can be a source of unease in the developed world today due, in part, to the supposed linkage between international migration and global terrorism. Recent trends point to an accelerated growth of migration worldwide, whose networks terrorists are known to exploit. Migration, however, has only in the last decade risen to be a high security issue as state struggles against terrorists and other criminals have been extended to new targets, most notably immigrants. This analysis appraises the 'problem' of immigration in the US shortly before and after 9/11, and assesses a range of possible responses to the Madrid attacks on 11 March that could affect how Spain and other EU states deal with immigration and associated risks. In the final analysis, immigration and border authorities are well positioned to contribute to risk prevention with measures that improve the ability to gather and share intelligence needed to detect and detain terrorists and obstruct their plans, but restrictive 'fortress' responses and sweeping immigrant surveillance appear to hinder rather facilitate cooperation with key immigrant, especially Muslim, communities.

Podría decirse que los sistemas de identificación biométrica proporcionan a EEUU y a la Unión Europea la fórmula mágica para solucionar algunos problemas de seguridad clave (como el terrorismo internacional, la delincuencia organizada y la migración ilegal) asociados con la usurpación de la identidad y la falsificación de documentos. Al ir pasando la utilización de la tecnología biométrica de ser algo marginal a ser usual, han surgido importantes cuestiones de fondo en torno a la protección de datos, la privacidad de las personas y las libertades civiles. En respuesta a los ataques terroristas del 11 de septiembre de 2001, EEUU y la Unión Europea han adoptado soluciones de identificación biométrica destinadas a mejorar la seguridad de los documentos y ampliar las capacidades de control sobre ciudadanos extranjeros. Los sistemas biométricos se emplean para identificar, verificar y clasificar la identidad de una persona basándose en características físicas o del comportamiento almacenadas en redes informáticas. Las razones que suelen aducirse a favor de la adopción de sistemas biométricos son el control de fronteras, la protección contra la falsificación de documentos y la usurpación de la identidad, el rastreo de inmigrantes ilegales y delincuentes sospechosos y la prevención del terrorismo. Dejando de lado cuestiones técnicas sobre la fiabilidad de su funcionamiento en la práctica, las tecnologías biométricas ponen de manifiesto algunas cuestiones de fondo en torno a la protección de datos, la privacidad de las personas y las libertades civiles, que no han recibido el suficiente debate público en España y otros países de la Unión Europea. La finalidad de este análisis es servir de introducción al origen y la función de los sistemas de vigilancia y autenticación biométrica, comparar los usos actuales y propuestos de la biometría en EEUU y la UE derivadas, respectivamente, de la Patriot Act y del Sistema de Información de Schengen, y comentar las cuestiones de fondo que surgen de la adopción y la "armonización" generalizadas de los sistemas biométricos. Se concluye aportando algunas recomendaciones políticas de carácter general.

BACKGROUND: Chronic tobacco smoke exposure results in a broad range of lung pathologies including emphysema, airway disease and parenchymal fibrosis as well as a multitude of extra-pulmonary comorbidities. Prior work using CT imaging has identified several clinically relevant subgroups of smoking related lung disease, but these investigations have generally lacked organ specific molecular correlates. RESEARCH QUESTION: Can CT imaging be used to identify clinical phenotypes of smoking related lung disease that have specific bronchial epithelial gene expression patterns to better understand disease pathogenesis? STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Using K-means clustering, we clustered participants from the COPDGene study (n = 5,273) based on CT imaging characteristics and then evaluated their clinical phenotypes. These clusters were replicated in the Detection of Early Lung Cancer Among Military Personnel (DECAMP) cohort (n = 360), and were further characterized using bronchial epithelial gene expression. RESULTS: Three clusters (preserved, interstitial predominant and emphysema predominant) were identified. Compared to the preserved cluster, the interstitial and emphysema clusters had worse lung function, exercise capacity and quality of life. In longitudinal follow-up, individuals from the emphysema group had greater declines in exercise capacity and lung function, more emphysema, more exacerbations, and higher mortality. Similarly, genes involved in inflammatory pathways (tumor necrosis factor-α, interferon-β) are more highly expressed in bronchial epithelial cells from individuals in the emphysema cluster, while genes associated with T-cell related biology are decreased in these samples. Samples from individuals in the interstitial cluster generally had intermediate levels of expression of these genes. INTERPRETATION: Using quantitative CT imaging, we identified three groups of individuals in older ever-smokers that replicate in two cohorts. Airway gene expression differences between the three groups suggests increased ...