استكشف المجموعة الواسعة من العناوين المتاحة.

This paper analyzes the media's attitude toward terrorism. It shows how Internet and You Tube have multiplied opportunities for groups like Al Qaeda to spread their message. In Internet, censorhip does not work and media competition helps terrorist propaganda. That is a paradox of the information age. Al Qaeda is very skilled in communication but nobody knows who the strategists behind the curtain are. The author argues that Al Jazeera cannot be considered a sponsor of terrorism, but often unintentionally the Qatar network helps Islamic fundamentalists spread their views through satellite TV. After 9/11 western governments have been obliged to respond, implementing not only counter-terrorism measures but also communication tools. The author argues that some time western governments (e.g. US and UK) exceed the limits of correct information policy. For example: the London plot foiled in summer 2006 was largely overestimated by the British secret service. No serious attack was in sight, but the new rules in the airports (no liquids admitted on board) have never been retracted. Truth is one of the main victims of the war on terror.

This paper analyzes the media's attitude toward terrorism. It shows how Internet & You Tube have multiplied opportunities for groups like Al Qaeda to spread their message. In Internet, censorship does not work & media competition helps terrorist propaganda. That is a paradox of the information age. Al Qaeda is very skilled in communication but nobody knows who the strategists behind the curtain are. The author argues that Al Jazeera cannot be considered a sponsor of terrorism, but often unintentionally the Qatar network helps Islamic fundamentalists spread their views through satellite TV. After 9/11 western governments have been obliged to respond, implementing not only counter-terrorism measures but also communication tools. The author argues that some time western governments (e.g. US & UK) exceed the limits of correct information policy. For example: the London plot foiled in summer 2006 was largely overestimated by the British secret service. No serious attack was in sight, but the new rules in the airports (no liquids admitted on board) have never been retracted. Truth is one of the main victims of the war on terror. Adapted from the source document.

Background: the prognosis of patients with myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries (MINOCA) is not benign; thus, prompting the need to validate prognostic scoring systems for this population. Aim: to evaluate and compare the prognostic performance of GRACE, TIMI, HEART, and ACEF scores in MINOCA patients. Methods: A total of 250 MINOCA patients from January 2017 to September 2021 were included. For each patient, the four scores at admission were retrospectively calculated. The primary outcome was a composite of all-cause death and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) at 1-year follow-up. The ability to predict 1-year all-cause death was also tested. Results: Overall, the tested scores presented a sub-optimal performance in predicting the composite major adverse event in MINOCA patients, showing an AUC ranging between 0.7 and 0.8. Among them, the GRACE score appeared to be the best in predicting all-cause death, reaching high specificity with low sensitivity. The best cut-off identified for the GRACE score was 171, higher compared to the cut-off of 140 generally applied to identify high-risk patients with obstructive AMI. When the scores were tested for prediction of 1-year all-cause death, the GRACE and the ACEF score showed very good accuracy (AUC = 0.932 and 0.828, respectively). Conclusion: the prognostic scoring tools, validated in AMI cohorts, could be useful even in MINOCA patients, although their performance appeared sub-optimal, prompting the need for risk assessment tools specific to MINOCA patients.

Cardiac masses (CM) represent a heterogeneous clinical scenario, and sex-related differences of these patients remain to be established. To evaluate sex-related disparities in CMs regarding clinical presentation and outcomes. The study cohort included 321 consecutive patients with CM enrolled in our Centre between 2004 and 2022. A definitive diagnosis was achieved by histological examination or, in the case of cardiac thrombi, with radiological evidence of thrombus resolution after anticoagulant treatment. All-cause mortality at follow-up was evaluated. Multivariable regression analysis assessed the potential prognostic disparities between men and women. Out of 321 patients with CM, 172 (54%) were female. Women were more frequently younger ( = 0.02) than men. Regarding CM histotypes, females were affected by benign masses more frequently (with cardiac myxoma above all), while metastatic tumours were more common in men ( < 0.001). At presentation, peripheral embolism occurred predominantly in women ( = 0.03). Echocardiographic features such as greater dimension, irregular margin, infiltration, sessile mass and immobility were far more common in men. Despite a better overall survival in women, no sex-related differences were observed in the prognosis of benign or malignant masses. In fact, in multivariate analyses, sex was not independently associated with all-cause death. Conversely, age, smoking habit, malignant tumours and peripheral embolism were independent predictors of mortality. In a large cohort of cardiac masses, a significant sex-related difference in histotype prevalence was found: Benign CMs affected female patients more frequently, while malignant tumours affected predominantly men. Despite better overall survival in women, sex did not influence prognosis in benign and malignant masses.