Understanding Consumer’s Attitude on Fish Quality and Marketing Aspects in the Greek Market

During the last decade the Greek fish market experienced significant changes affecting both the supply and the demand of fish. Fisheries have faced significant problems, such as overfishing and low productivity. Similarly, the undoubtedly rapid development of the aquaculture sector was followed by an intense competition and low prices for fish. On the other hand, the traditional Greek consumer’s attitude on fish products is rapidly changing mainly due to socio-economic factors. Within this framework, the consumers play a critical role that of being the link between supply and demand. Thus, the analysis of the consumer’s attitude concerning basic quality and marketing aspects on marine captured and farmed fish market could be a useful tool towards a more rational organization of the distribution roots. For this purpose, research was carried out and a total of 395 consumers, randomly selected in terms of demographic and socio-economic dispersion criteria, were asked to fill in a questionnaire covering aspects of fish marketing and quality aspects, such as consumers’ “sensitivity on fish freshness issuesâ€, “sensitivity on marketing issues†and “reasons for choosing fish as food†in their family. regarding Data were statistically analyzed using categorical regression in an effort to identify the effect of basic classification variables of consumers’ origin and socioeconomic status into their sensitivity on fish quality and marketing aspectFish market, consumer survey, fish marketing issues, categorical regression, Consumer/Household Economics, Marketing,

Molecular basis of atheromatosis in children

Atheromatosis is a lifelong process that begins and develops silently even during fetal development and gen­erally shows clinical manifestations in adult life. The initiation and progressive formation of atheromatic lesions represents a complex interplay of both genetic and environmental factors. Over the last decades there have been numerous studies detecting atherosclerotic lesions in the coronary arteries of children and adolescents and demonstrating the early onset of this disease. Although more research is required in order to unravel the full genetic repertoire of atherogenesis, scientists have already made real progress towards understanding the molecular basis of early atheromatosis and the aetiopathogenesis of this complex disease involves genes related to inflammation, lipid metabolism, MMPs, epigenetic alterations of DNA and gene-environment interactions. Atheromatosis in children and adolescents is really a reversible process and anatomic changes observed in early atheromatosis are modifiable. Thus, primary prevention strategies beginning in childhood have great potential and might result in prevention of adult cardiovascular diseas

Public Awareness Concerning the Multifunctionality of Cypriot Agriculture

AbstractAgriculture's multifunctionality constitutes a core dimension in the design of rural development policies of the European Union, recently reformed through the introduction of Reg. EC/1305/2013. Within a generalized rural development context, agriculture plays numerous roles; in Cyprus three sectors other than the production of food and fiber are particularly affected: the environment, including the management of water reserves as water is the scarcest resource on the island and irrigation accounts for more than 70% of the total water consumption, rural amenities, through the protection of the agricultural cultural heritage and the livelihood of rural areas, and the continuation of the farming profession, which is endowed with non-use values. This study presents the findings of a survey regarding the degree to which Cypriots are interested in the aspects of life on the island which are affected by the multifunctional character of agriculture. Using Likert-scale questions, 300 respondents were interviewed concerning their opinions and attitudes towards four of these aspects: environmental quality, management of water resources, rural amenities and the maintenance of the farming profession. The analysis indicates that Cypriots are aware of the roles that agriculture plays. Then, in order to examine the validity of this conceptual framework of multifunctionality, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was employed. The results of the CFA revealed that Cypriots incorporate these four aspects within the same framework, thus understanding the distinct effects of multifunctionality on their everyday life. The results of this study can be used in the implementation of Reg. EC/1305/2013, as they reflect public preferences concerning the orientation of agriculture

Holographic duals of the <i>N</i> = 1* gauge theory

We use the long-wavelength effective theory of black branes (blackfold approach) to perturbatively construct holographic duals of the vacua of the N = 1* supersymmetric gauge theory. Employing the mechanism of Polchinski and Strassler, we consider wrapped black five-brane probes with D3-brane charge moving in the perturbative supergravity back-grounds corresponding to the high- and low-temperature phases of the gauge theory. Our approach recovers the results for the brane potentials and equilibrium configurations known in the literature in the extremal limit, while away from extremality we find metastable black D3-NS5 configurations with horizon topology ℝ3 × S2 × S3 in certain regimes of parameter space, which cloak potential brane singularities. We uncover novel features of the phase diagram of the N = 1* gauge theory in different ensembles and provide further evidence for the appearance of metastable states in holographic backgrounds dual to confining gauge theories.</p

Holographic duals of the N=1\mathcal{N}=1* gauge theory

We use the long-wavelength effective theory of black branes (blackfold approach) to perturbatively construct holographic duals of the vacua of the $\mathcal{N}=1$* supersymmetric gauge theory. Employing the mechanism of Polchinski and Strassler, we consider wrapped black five-brane probes with D3-brane charge moving in the perturbative supergravity backgrounds corresponding to the high and low temperature phases of the gauge theory. Our approach recovers the results for the brane potentials and equilibrium configurations known in the literature in the extremal limit, while away from extremality we find metastable black D3-NS5 configurations with horizon topology $\mathbb{R}^3\times \mathbb{S}^2\times\mathbb{S}^3$ in certain regimes of parameter space, which cloak potential brane singularities. We uncover novel features of the phase diagram of the $\mathcal{N}=1$* gauge theory in different ensembles and provide further evidence for the appearance of metastable states in holographic backgrounds dual to confining gauge theories.Comment: v1: 38 pages, 4 figures containing 9 plot

Dairy Farmers’ Strategies against the Crisis and the Economic Performance of Farms

AbstractDairy farming in Greece constitutes a particular case of livestock farming, because of its highly entrepreneurial nature. The modern Greek dairy cattle farming is predominantly based in Northern Greece, where more than 80% of Greek cow milk is produced. Since the 2000's the dairy cattle sector is characterized by a rapid increase in the mean size of farms, which permits them to undertake investments in machinery and buildings and to have access to improved genetic material for the achievement of higher productivity. Nevertheless, this development renders dairy farms vulnerable to volatile economic conditions, as they are heavily dependent on capital endowments. The main purpose of this study is to examine the consequences of the economic crisis on the dairy cattle sector and the strategies undertaken by farmers to cope with it. The analysis is based on data from a questionnaire survey of farmers in Northern Greece. Strategies undertaken by dairy farmers in order to face the crisis and to ensure the survival of their businesses are recorded through a set of Likert-scale questions. Technical and economic data are also analyzed in order to examine the economic performance of farms, revealing that the sampled dairy farms are viable, with satisfactory economic results, with capital returns of 6.2% annually. Based on the Likert-scale data, dairy farmers adopt active strategies to face the crisis, by undertaking investments and augmenting their farm sizes, while they deem that the crisis does not have catastrophic results on the profitability of their farms. On the other hand, strategies which entail less expenses and/or diminished productivity are unpopular among dairy farmers. Finally, the vast majority of respondents claim to have seen negative consequences on their farms from the recent measures concerning the prolongation of the duration of fresh milk in retail markets: lower quality, increased vulnerability to international competition, shrinking dairy sector

Healthcare resources consumed by foreign patients in the public hospitals of East Macedonia and Thrace

The rising healthcare expenditures as percentage of GDP is a reality that all developed countries have to deal with. Epidemiologic standards have changed dramatically since the past. The rapid development of knowledge in the scientific field of medicine and the new state of the art medical technology has led to new treatments for various health problems. Prior fatal diseases have become chronic, and life expectancy has risen significantly, leading healthcare costs to explosion. Healthcare spending in Greece has been increased between 2000 and 2009 at a rapid rate of 6.1% per year, but it has dropped the following years, driven by a sharp reduction in public spending on health care as part of government-wide efforts to reduce the large budgetary deficit. This situation has caused an increasing offence sense in population. On the other hand, the last years, Greece has become an immigrant (legal and illegal) reception centre. This study presents comparative data about the consumed resources by Greek and foreign patients in the public hospitals of east Macedonia and Thrace for the years 2006-2010.peer-reviewe

Consumer Attitude Towards Shellfish In The Greek Market: A Pilot Study

During the last decade, the Greek shellfish industry has experienced significant changes affecting both the market demand and the availability of the end products. Although, shellfish and seafood in general have been promoted as healthy food by marketing boards and private seafood companies in many countries all over the world, no attention has been paid so far to analysing the Greek consumer’s purchasing behaviour and attitudes towards the shellfish market. This paper presents the results of the first survey in this field of research, which was carried out in northern Greece (area of Katerini and Greater Thessaloniki) from January to March 2002. A randomly selected sample of 400 consumers filled in a questionnaire, which covered basic marketing aspects of shellfish consumption such as choice, purchase, reasons for consuming shellfish, confidence in shellfish hygiene certification, media influence, etc. Data analysis includes descriptive statistics, as well as chi-square (― 2 ) tests (crosstabulation) to examine possible relations between consumers’ demographic and socio-economic characteristics and shellfish marketing aspects. Analyses of the results have shown that the majority of Greek consumers prefer the exploitable to cultured shellfish and in general do not eat shellfish often. They prefer the traditional fish shops for purchasing shellfish and consume them mainly in summer. The strongest reason to buy shellfish is their taste, while freshness is considered as the most important criterion when deciding to buy shellfish. Moreover, the vast majority of the consumers prefer a certification of quality, trust the confirmation provided by the veterinary authorities, but do not prefer ready-to-eat shellfish. Results revealed that consumers’ behaviour and attitudes vary considerably according to their demographic and socio-economic characteristics. The results of this study could prove to be helpful for decision makers towards a more rational planning of production and improvement of distributing roots, which in turn would improve product quality and promote shellfish consumption

Hyperphosphatasia with mental retardation syndrome 3: Cerebrospinal fluid abnormalities and correction with pyridoxine and Folinic acid

Glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchored proteins (GPI-APs) represent a class of molecules attached to the external leaflet of the plasma membrane by the GPI anchor where they play important roles in numerous cellular processes including neurogenesis, cell adhesion, immune response and signalling. Within the group of GPI anchor defects, six present with the clinical phenotype of Hyperphosphatasia with Mental Retardation Syndrome (HPMRS, Mabry Syndrome) characterized by moderate to severe intellectual disability, dysmorphic features, hypotonia, seizures and persistent hyperphosphatasia. We report the case of a 5-year-old female with global developmental delay associated with precocious puberty and persistently raised plasma alkaline phosphatase. Targeted next generation sequencing analysis of the HPMRS genes identified novel compound heterozygous variants in the PGAP2 gene (c.103del p.(Leu35Serfs*90)and c.134A > Gp.(His45Arg)) consistent with the diagnosis of HPMRS type 3. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) neurotransmitter analysis showed low levels of pyridoxal phosphate and 5-methyltetrahydrofolate and raised homovanillic acid. Supplementation with pyridoxine and folinic acid led to normalization of biochemical abnormalities. The patient continues to make developmental progress with significant improvement in speech and fine motor skills. Our reported case expands the clinical spectrum of HPMRS3 in which multisystem involvement is being increasingly recognized. Furthermore, it shows that miss-targeting GPI-APs and the effect on normal cellular function could provide a physiopathologic explanation for the CSF biochemical abnormalities with management implications for a group of disorders that currently has no treatment that can lead possibly to improved clinical outcomes

Internet functions in marketing: multicriteria ranking of agricultural SMEs websites in Greece

Δημοσιεύσεις μελών--ΣΔΟ--Τμήμα Λογιστικής, 2013The invasion of new technologies combined with the high cost for running shop force enterprises to search for new sales methods. Network applications and ICT (Information and Communication Technology) can help achieve e-commerce goals. In Greece, many enterprises in the agro-food and drink sectors are already present on the internet. This paper studies the adoption of e-commerce on websites that support e-commerce activities within the agro-food and drink sectors. Therefore, the paper aims to identify and evaluate their qualitative and quantitative content characteristics, rank them according to 6 content characteristics/criteria using the multicriteria method of PROMETHEE II and classify them in groups of similar adoption. The findings of this study reveal the rate of adoption of e-commerce in the sectors and can serve as a valuable model for the designers of websites that promote e-commerce activities within the wider areas of food and drinks