Measuring the burden of herpes zoster and post herpetic neuralgia within primary care in rural Crete, Greece

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Research has indicated that general practitioners (GPs) have good clinical judgment in regards to diagnosing and managing herpes zoster (HZ) within clinical practice in a country with limited resources for primary care and general practice. The objective of the current study was to assess the burden of HZ and post herpetic neuralgia (PHN) within rural general practices in Crete, Greece.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The current study took place within a rural setting in Crete, Greece during the period of November 2007 to November 2009 within the catchment area in which the Cretan Rural Practice-based Research Network is operating. In total 19 GP's from 14 health care units in rural Crete were invited to participate, covering a total turnover patient population of approximately 25, 000 subjects. For the purpose of this study an electronic record database was constructed and used as the main tool for monitoring HZ and PHN incidence. Stress related data was also collected with the use of the Short Anxiety Screening Test (SAST).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The crude incidence rate of HZ was 1.4/1000 patients/year throughout the entire network of health centers and satellite practices, while among satellite practices alone it was calculated at 1.3/1000 patients/year. Additionally, the standardised incidence density within satellite practices was calculated at 1.6/1000 patients/year. In regards to the stress associated with HZ and PHN, the latter were found to have lower levels of anxiety, as assessed through the SAST score (17.4 ± 3.9 vs. 21.1 ± 5.7; <it>p </it>= 0.029).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The implementation of an electronic surveillance system was feasible so as to measure the burden of HZ and PHN within the rural general practice setting in Crete.</p

Δικαστικός έλεγχος των διαιτητικών αποφάσεων επί διαφορών ανταγωνισμού

H παρούσα εργασία αποτελεί αποτέλεσμα μελέτης των κανόνων ανταγωνισμού, και συγκεκριμένα των διαφορών που απορρέουν από τα άρθρα 101 και 102 ΣΛΕΕ. Παράλληλα, εξετάζεται η φύση των κανόνων ανταγωνισμού ως κανόνων δημοσίας τάξεως, του ιδιωτικοδιεθνολογικού χαρακτήρα τους ως διατάξεων αναγκαστικού δικαίου (κατά το άρθρο 9 του Κανονισμού 593/2008 για το εφαρμοστέο δίκαιο στις συμβατικές ενοχές (Ρώμη Ι)), αλλά και η δημόσια υφή τους καθώς τίθενται για την προστασία του δημοσίου συμφέροντος, προκειμένου να γίνει εκτενής ανάλυση, μέσα από τη μελέτη της θεωρίας και της νομολογίας, του δικαστικού ελέγχου τους και συγκεκριμένα των κριτηρίων με βάση τα οποία, τα δικαστήρια προχωρούν στον έλεγχο των διαιτητικών αποφάσεων που αντιμετώπισαν διαφορές ανταγωνισμού. Ο δικαστικός έλεγχος των διαιτητικών αποφάσεων διακρίνεται, όπως αναλύθηκε, με κριτήριο το αν πρόκειται για ημεδαπές ή αλλοδαπές διαιτητικές αποφάσεις. Επί ημεδαπών διαιτητικών αποφάσεων ο δικαστικός έλεγχος ασκείται μέσω της αγωγής ακύρωσης και της αγωγής (ή ένστασης) αναγνώρισης της ανυπαρξίας τους, ενώ επί αλλοδαπών διαιτητικών αποφάσεων, ο δικαστικός έλεγχος ασκείται μέσω του θεσμού της αναγνώρισης του δεδικασμένου και της διαδικασίας κήρυξης της εκτελεστότητας. Επιπλέον, εξετάζεται το μέτρο ελέγχου η περίπτωση δηλαδή απόρριψης της αναγνώρισης και εκτέλεσης διαιτητικής αποφάσεως όπου η αρμόδια αρχή της χώρας από την οποία ζητείται η αναγνώριση και εκτέλεση διαπιστώνει ότι η αναγνώριση και η εκτέλεση της αποφάσεως θα ήταν αντίθετη προς την δημοσία τάξη της εν λόγω χώρας (άρθρο 5 παρ. 2 περιπτ. β’ Σύμβασης Νέας Υόρκης του 1958 περί αναγνωρίσεως και εκτελέσεως αλλοδαπών διαιτητικών αποφάσεων (Ν.Δ. 4220/1961).The present thesis is a result of a study of the competition rules, in particular of the disputes arising from Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. At the same time, the nature of the competition rules is examined as rules of public order, of their nature as mandatory provisions (Article 9 of Regulation 593/2008 on the law applicable to contractual obligations), regarding the aspect of international private law, but also their public nature through academic writing and case-law, their judicial review, and in particular the criteria according to which the courts proceed to control arbitration decisions that have faced conflicts of competition. Judicial review of arbitration awards is distinguished, depending on whether there is an international arbitration or not. Judicial review is, therefore exercised through an action seeking the annulment or an action seeking the recognition of non-existence. In addition, a study has been conducted in the cases where refusing to recognise and enforce an arbitral award by the competent authority of the country, occurs when recognition and enforcement would be contrary to the public policy of that country (Article 5 (2) (b) of the Convention dated 1958 regarding the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitration Awards

Preparation of Antimicrobial Coatings from Cross-Linked Copolymers Containing Quaternary Dodecyl-Ammonium Compounds

One of the concerns today&rsquo;s societies face is the development of resistant pathogenic microorganisms. The need to tackle this problem has driven the development of innovative antimicrobial materials capable of killing or inhibiting the growth of microorganisms. The present study investigates the dependence of the antimicrobial activity and solubility properties on the hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity ratio of antimicrobial coatings based on quaternary ammonium compounds. In this line, suitable hydrophilic and hydrophobic structural units were selected for synthesizing the antimicrobial copolymers poly(4-vinylbenzyl dimethyldodecylammonium chloride-co-acrylic acid), P(VBCDDA-co-AA20) and poly(dodecyltrimethylammonium 4-styrene sulfonate-co-glycidyl methacrylate), P(SSAmC12-co-GMA20), bearing an alkyl chain of 12 carbons either through covalent bonding or through electrostatic interaction. The cross-linking reaction of the carboxylic group of acrylic acid (AA) with the epoxide group of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) of these two series of reactive antimicrobial copolymers was explored in blends, obtained through solution casting after curing at various temperatures. The release of the final products in pure water and NaCl 1 M solutions (as analyzed by gravimetry and total organic carbon, TOC/total nitrogen, TN analyses), could be controlled by the coating composition. The cross-linked polymeric membranes of composition 60/40 w/w % ratios led to 97.8 and 99.7% mortality for Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), respectively, whereas the coating 20/80 w/w % resulted in 96.6 and 99.8% cell reduction. Despite the decrease in hydrophobicity (from a 16- to a 12-carbon alkyl chain), the new materials maintained the killing efficacy, while at the same time resulting in increased release to the aqueous solution