Gaining company’s sustained competitive advantage, is really a necessary precondition for improved organizational performance? the case of TQM

During the last decades companies compete in a highly volatile globalized environment due to international competition and the development of new business approaches. Globalization has transformed the historic patterns of investment, production and distribution of firms and organizations. Enterprises, in order to facilitate their successful existence and improve the levels of their efficiency focus on maintaining and increasing market shares, as well as gaining and sustaining competitive advantage. Recent research reveals that over time competitive advantage has become significantly harder to achieve and moreover sustained. Under those circumstances, Total Quality Management can be considered as an organizational commitment and dedication to produce improved quality goods and services that meet or exceed customers’ expectations through continuously improved processes. The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between Total Quality Management and competitive advantage and discuss the possibility of a firm or organization not only to achieve such competitive advantage but also the dynamics to maintain it through the TQM approach. In addition, it will be clearly presented how Total Quality Management can be accepted as a necessary precondition for improved organizational performance.peer-reviewe

High dose rate brachytherapy as monotherapy for localised prostate cancer : a hypofractionated two-implant approach in 351 consecutive patients

BACKGROUND: To report the clinical outcome of high dose rate brachytherapy as sole treatment for clinically localised prostate cancer. METHODS: Between March 2004 and January 2008, a total of 351 consecutive patients with clinically localised prostate cancer were treated with transrectal ultrasound guided high dose rate brachytherapy. The prescribed dose was 38.0 Gy in four fractions (two implants of two fractions each of 9.5 Gy with an interval of 14 days between the implants) delivered to an intraoperative transrectal ultrasound real-time defined planning treatment volume. Biochemical failure was defined according to the Phoenix Consensus and toxicity evaluated using the Common Toxicity Criteria for Adverse Events version 3. RESULTS: The median follow-up time was 59.3 months. The 36 and 60 month biochemical control and metastasis-free survival rates were respectively 98%, 94% and 99%, 98%. Toxicity was scored per event with 4.8% acute Grade 3 genitourinary and no acute Grade 3 gastrointestinal toxicity. Late Grade 3 genitourinary and gastrointestinal toxicity were respectively 3.4% and 1.4%. No instances of Grade 4 or greater acute or late adverse events were reported. CONCLUSIONS: Our results confirm high dose rate brachytherapy as safe and effective monotherapy for clinically organ-confined prostate cancer

Evaluation of Cryptography Usage in Android Applications

Mobile application developers are using cryptography in their products to protect sensitive data like passwords, short messages, documents etc. In this paper, we study whether cryptography and related techniques are employed in a proper way, in order to protect these private data. To this end, we downloaded 49 Android applications from the Google Play marketplace and performed static and dynamic analysis in an attempt to detect possible cryptographic misuses. The results showed that 87.8 % of the applications present some kind of misuse, while for the rest of them no cryptography usage was detected during the analysis. Finally, we suggest countermeasures, mainly intended for developers, to alleviate the issues identified by the analysis

“European immigration policy. How it is formed and which are the latest developments: The case of Greece”

Σκοπός της παρούσας μελέτης είναι να εξετάσει τις εξελίξεις που σημειώθηκαν στη μεταναστευτική πολιτική της Ευρώπης, τις πρώτες συνθήκες και διακηρύξεις που υπογράφηκαν και πώς έχουν αλλάξει μέχρι σήμερα. Πιο συγκεκριμένα, παρουσιάζεται η περίπτωση της Ελλάδας ως το βασικότερο παράδειγμα χώρας που είχε να αντιμετωπίσει εντατικές μεταναστευτικές ροές και είχε υιοθετήσει και εφαρμόσει αρκετές δράσεις, νόμους και πολιτικές για την ένταξη και ενσωμάτωση των μεταναστών στην ελληνική κοινωνία. Έμφαση δίνεται στον τρόπο τρόπο με τον οποίο διαμορφώθηκε η μεταναστευτική πολιτική τα χρόνια μετά τη μεταναστευτική κρίση του 2015. Είναι γνωστό πως οι μετανάστες πολύ συχνά μετατρέπονται σε θύματα και τα ανθρώπινα δικαιώματά τους εξαφανίζονται και αυτό είναι κάτι που δείχνει ότι οι ευρωπαϊκές μεταναστευτικές πολιτικές δεν καταφέρνουν να αντιμετωπίσουν επαρκώς την προσφυγική/μεταναστευτική κρίση, ανεξάρτητα από τη δύναμη που έχει η Ευρώπη ως ένωση. Ως εκ τουτου, παρουσιάζεται το νομικό πλαίσιο για τα ανθρώπινα δικαιώματα και οι μεταναστευτικές πολιτικές που έχει υιοθετήσει η ΕΕ προς την κατεύθυνση των ανθρωπίνων δικαιωμάτων, καθώς και το νέο σύμφωνο για τη μετανάστευση που προτάθηκε το οποίο γέννησε ελπίδες για καλύτερη συνεργασία μεταξύ των ευρωπαϊκών χωρών και ως εκ τούτου για καλύτερη και πιο κατάλληλη απάντηση/αντιμετώπιση της μετανάστευσης.The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the developments that took place in the migration policy of Europe, the first treaties and declarations that were signed and how they have changed till now. The case of Greece is also presented as the latest example of a country that had to deal with intensive migration flows and had adopted and implemented several actions, regulations and policies regarding the integration and inclusion of migrants to the Greek society. It gives an emphasis on the way that migration policy was formed in the years after the migration crisis of 2015. Migrants very often are becoming victims and their human rights are disappearing and this is something that indicates that European migration policies do not succeed to address the refugee/migration crisis adequately regardless of the power that Europe has as a union. Moreover, the legal framework of human rights and the migration policies that EU has taken up in the direction of human rights are also presented, as well as the new pact on migration which has given birth to hope for better cooperation between European countries and therefore for a better and more adequate response to immigration

Structure and catalytic properties of human glutathione transferase p1-1

Glutathione transferases (EC 2.5.1.18, GSTs) catalyze the nucleophilic attack of glutathione (GSH) on the electrophilic centre of a number of electrophilic compounds helping to detoxify a diverse array of toxic xenobiotics including carcinogenic, and pharmacologically active compounds. In this review, detailed descriptions are given on the structure and catalytic properties of human glutathione transferase P1-1 (hGSTP1-1) an enzyme that ubiquitously expressed in human tissues and exhibits many biological functions and multiple roles. The detoxification properties of hGSTP1-1 have been a primary research focus for the last years. However, now it has become apparent that the noncatalytic functions of GSTP1-1 have expanded the biological roles of this enzyme in cell survival, cell death and stress signalling mechanism

Other malignancies in the history of CLL: an international multicenter study conducted by ERIC, the European Research Initiative on CLL, in HARMONY

Chronic lymphocytic leukemiaLeucèmia limfocítica crònicaLeucemia linfocítica crónicaBackground Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) have a higher risk of developing other malignancies (OMs) compared to the general population. However, the impact of CLL-related risk factors and CLL-directed treatment is still unclear and represents the focus of this work. Methods We conducted a retrospective international multicenter study to assess the incidence of OMs and detect potential risk factors in 19,705 patients with CLL, small lymphocytic lymphoma, or high-count CLL-like monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis, diagnosed between 2000 and 2016. Data collection took place between October 2020 and March 2022. Findings In 129,254 years of follow-up after CLL diagnosis, 3513 OMs were diagnosed (27.2 OMs/1000 person-years). The most common hematological OMs were Richter transformation, myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Non-melanoma skin (NMSC) and prostate cancers were the most common solid tumors (STs). The only predictor for MDS and AML development was treatment with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide with/without rituximab (FC ± R) (OR = 3.7; 95% CI = 2.79–4.91; p < 0.001). STs were more frequent in males and patients with unmutated immunoglobulin heavy variable genes (OR = 1.77; 95% CI = 1.49–2.11; p < 0.001/OR = 1.89; 95% CI = 1.6–2.24; p < 0.001). CLL-directed treatment was associated with non-melanoma skin and prostate cancers (OR = 1.8; 95% CI = 1.36–2.41; p < 0.001/OR = 2.11; 95% CI = 1.12–3.97; p = 0.021). In contrast, breast cancers were more frequent in untreated patients (OR = 0.17; 95% CI = 0.08–0.33; p < 0.001). Patients with CLL and an OM had inferior overall survival (OS) than those without. AML and MDS conferred the worst OS (p < 0.001). Interpretation OMs in CLL impact on OS. Treatment for CLL increased the risk for AML/MDS, prostate cancer, and NMSC. FCR was associated with increased risk for AML/MDS.This project was supported in part by AbbVie; EU/EFPIA Innovative Medicines Initiative [2] Joint Undertaking HARMONY grant n° 116026; the Hellenic Precision Medicine Network in Oncology; MH-CZ_AZV_NU23-03-00401; MH CZ DRO (FNBr, 65269705); MH CZ DRO (FNOl, 00098892), program COOPERATIO (research area ONCO), and NPO-NUVR LX22NPO5102. Munci Yagci was provided with study materials