Cerebral Venous Thrombosis in the Mediterranean Area in Adults. Role of Behçet’s Disease as an Underlying Cause

Cerebral venous and dural sinus thrombosis (CVT) is a rare condition with a wide spectrum of clinical presentations. The epidemiology of the disease has evolved considerably during the recent decades with increasing oral contraceptive use in young and middle-aged women. CVT has various causes including genetic and acquired prothrombotic disorders and it usually has a favorable outcome with a low rate of thrombotic recurrence and mortality. Geographical and ethnic variations between populations may result in different distribution of CVT etiologies leading to different pathophysiological mechanisms and clinical presentations. In CVT series reported mostly from the Americas and the western European countries Behçet’s disease (BD) is not reported as a common cause of CVT. However it can be discerned as a frequent cause of CVT in BD series. Due to the high prevalence of BD in the southeast Mediterranean region BD is a frequent cause of CVT in the area. Discerning characteristics of patients with BD and CVT have been reported previously and these might be helpful in guiding diagnosis and treatment of CVT especially in this part of the world

The Offshoring of Production Activities in European Manufacturing

We investigate production offshoring – the relocation of production activities to locations abroad – of European firms. The analysis employs data from the European Manufacturing Survey (EMS). Offshoring activity is declining across most countries, sectors, and firm sizes between the periods 2004/06 and 2007/09. Regression analysis reveals that this decline is also significant after controlling for firm characteristics. Long-term data for Germany indicate that this decrease is part of a longer trend which already started in 2003. Despite the general decrease in offshoring, far-shoring to Asia in general and to China in particular has increased. In contrast, near-shoring to EU member states in Middle and Eastern Europe (EU-12) became less attractive. The EU-12, however, is still the most important target region for offshoring activities of European firms. The dominant motive for offshoring is the wish to reduce labour costs. Expected labour cost reductions explain offshoring to the EU-12, Asia and China in particular. Vicinity to customers and market expansion follow as a motive with a wide margin. However, in contrast to the EU-12, where the offshoring decision is solely dominated by potential labour cost savings, offshoring activities to Asia and China are also significantly related to market expansion motives

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

The toxic effect of solvent on the biological degradation of pentachlorophenol and pentachloronitrobenzene by white rot fungus

The chemically rather inert and potential pollutants, PCP (pentachlorophenol) and PCNB (pentachloronitrobenzene), are used in large quantities as fungicides. The chlorinated ring structure tends to increase their stability. In order to minimize their long-term residual effectiveness, a study was made on determination of their biological degradation rates and respective conditions thereof. White rot fungi (Phanerochaete chrysosporium) was used in a culture medium adjusted to pH 5 and containing basic nutrients and tracing items. PCP and PCNB dissolved in acetone and the fungus were added in desired amounts to 50 ml of culture medium in Erlenmeyer flasks and incubated at 35 degreesC. In order to investigate and compare the biodegradation effects of the solvent utilized, up to a 10-fold volume was used

Degradation of some chlorinated organic materials by white rot fungus (Phanerochaete chrysosporium) in waters

Aromatic chlorinated fungicides are potentially hazardous to environment and ecological equilibrium. This study investigates the biological breakdown properties of PCP (Pentachlorophenol) and PCNB (Pentachloronitrobenzene) aromatic chlorinated fungicides, using white rot fungi (Phanerochaete chrysosporium) to determine the degree of biological breakdown. The fungus was incubated at culture mediums of pH 5 and at the temperature 35 degrees C with basic nutrients and trace metals. The biological breakdown and rates of respective formation of corresponding materials were determined. At the end of 21 days incubation, degradation rate was found 40 to 100 percent for PCP, depending on concentration. On the other hand, at concentrations of 25 to 200 mu M, the PCNB was totally demolished at the end of 21 days incubation

Cerebral Venous Thrombosis in the Mediterranean Area in Adults. Role of Behcet's Disease as an Underlying Cause

Cerebral venous and dural sinus thrombosis (CVT) is a rare condition with a wide spectrum of clinical presentations. The epidemiology of the disease has evolved considerably during the recent decades with increasing oral contraceptive use in young and middle-aged women. CVT has various causes including genetic and acquired prothrombotic disorders and it usually has a favorable outcome with a low rate of thrombotic recurrence and mortality. Geographical and ethnic variations between populations may result in different distribution of CVT etiologies leading to different pathophysiological mechanisms and clinical presentations. In CVT series reported mostly from the Americas and the western European countries Behcet's disease (BD) is not reported as a common cause of CVT. However it can be discerned as a frequent cause of CVT in BD series. Due to the high prevalence of BD in the southeast Mediterranean region BD is a frequent cause of CVT in the area. Discerning characteristics of patients with BD and CVT have been reported previously and these might be helpful in guiding diagnosis and treatment of CVT especially in this part of the world

Removal of color from textile wastewater containing azodyes by Fenton's reagent

Wastewater from dyeing is a dangerous source of environmental contamination. Dyeing which is used in textile industry, is adding extreme color character to wastewater. Lots of textile industry use pigments and dyes in their products. In this study, the oxidation processes were carried out using Fenton reagent (Fe (2+)/ H2O2). During the study different pH range (3-6-9) and different Fe2+/ H2O2 molar ratios were used. The aim of this study is to present results concerning the optimization of azodyes removal to achieve decolourization by Fenton's reagent. Color measurements have been made using values of indexes of transparency parameter. Values of indexes of transparency = DFZ (DurchsichtsFarbZahl) in accordance with the EN ISO 7887 standards were obtained by taking absorbance in 436, 525 and 620 run. DFZ values were calculated from these measurements. Best experimental results were obtained at the pH value of 3 with the Fe2+/ H2O2 ratio of 1/5 (225 mg/L FeSO4/137 mg/L H2O2) by means of Fenton Process

Theranostic niosomes as a promising tool for combined therapy and diagnosis: "all-in-one" approach

2-s2.0-85055930824Because of the great achievement and progress made for the generation of novel nanostructures, theranostic nanoplatforms have been the trending topic because of their intensive capability of therapy and diagnosis. Hence, theranostics have also recently been a generic strategy for personalized medicine. Moreover, traditional therapy modalities limit the use of chemotherapeutic agents for every patient, and this requires more effective drug-carrier systems by designing the formulation of drug in a specified way. Herein, we performed a generic theranostic platform in an "all-in-one" concept by the combination of two therapy modalities with an active targeting approach. To achieve this, 10 nm gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) were encapsulated into folic acid (FA-)tagged niosome vesicles. The resulting AuNP-PpIX-FA niosomes were characterized, and their particle size was93 ± 17 nm with a high surface charge and encapsulation efficiency (around 85%). In the case of bioapplications for AuNP-PpIX-FA niosomes, folate-receptor-positive [FR(+)] human cervical cancer (HeLa) and FR-negative [FR(-)] human alveolar type II (A549)-like cell lines were examined with the relative control groups of theranostic vesicles. By testing the toxicity of vesicles, nontoxic concentrations were successfully introduced to the cell with the combined treatment of radiotherapy and photodynamic therapy. On the other hand, the cellular uptake of niosomes also showed great potential for FR(+) HeLa cells as the theranostic platform with an all-in-one approach. Copyright © 2018 American Chemical Society