BRICs in the global economy under the prism of economic nationalism of IPE

The international economic crisis which began in 2007 has limited developed countries’ growth rates and manifested debt crises in certain economies in the Eurozone. It is the aim of this article to analyze the role that the BRIC group of nations has played in international financial institutions under the prism of economic nationalism of International Political Economy. Firstly, it aims to deepen our understanding of the emergence of the BRICs in the world economy. To this end, a macroeconomic analysis is carried out with the aim of making clear the changes the BRICs have brought to the world economy. Secondly, an analysis is made of the extent to which the global economic crisis has enhanced the role of the BRICs in the world economy, for instance in the decisions taken by powerful institutions such as World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund and its sister organization the World Bank. An analysis of the findings of the study is also provided

Knot invariants in lens spaces

In this survey we summarize results regarding the Kauffman bracket, HOMFLYPT, Kauffman 2-variable and Dubrovnik skein modules, and the Alexander polynomial of links in lens spaces, which we represent as mixed link diagrams. These invariants generalize the corresponding knot polynomials in the classical case. We compare the invariants by means of the ability to distinguish between some difficult cases of knots with certain symmetries

Tourism stakeholder exclusion and conflict in a small island

Research in the Isle of Man, British Isles, reveals limited and dysfunctional collaboration between stakeholders, and in particular between public and private sector actors. Power and influence over tourism decision making is generally felt to be restricted to a small and opaque network. Moreover, different levels of interest in and support for tourism further divide stakeholders. Various negative consequences are shown to arise from this absence of collaboration, including a lack of shared vision or future strategy for local tourism, and high levels of mutual mistrust between stakeholders. Resulting conflict, wasted resources, lost enthusiasm and lack of strategic direction appear to undermine the current and future management of island tourism. Emphasised by research is the importance of stakeholder collaboration to sustainable tourism management and underlying factors which may enhance or undermine. Focus on dysfunctional collaboration and the small island setting makes a unique contribution to the existing literature

Hydatid disease of the liver: thirty years of surgical experience.

Hydatid disease of the liver is a relatively frequent disease. Although the natural history is almost completely known, several complications may occur. The aim of this study was to show that radical surgical resection of the hepatic hydatid cyst is a safe and very effective technique, based on our results after 30-year experience. A review of most significant studies was carried out. We retrospectively evaluated our surgical cases. From January 1973 to December 2003 we treated 216 patients, 98 males and 118 females. Survival was compared with the Kaplan-Meier test, using log-rank analysis to compare data. Differences with a p value less than 0.05 were considered significant. A total of 279 cysts were excised. We performed pericystectomy in 122 cases, 73 of which closed. We also performed 19 atypical resections, 10 segmentectomies, 20 lobectomies and 2 percutaneous treatments. In more than 90% of cases, preoperative data collection was completed by preoperative ultrasound. The cumulative morbidity was 13%. The recurrence rate amounted to 4.3% at 5 years and 7% at 10 years: of these, 6 occurred after non-radical surgery and 2 after total pericystectomy or liver resection (p < 0.001). Technical advances and accumulated experience permit safe treatment of hepatic hydatid cysts by radical resection, with an almost zero recurrence rate, making it the treatment of choice over partial resection. The utility of percutaneous treatment remains confined to limited indications, such as laparoscopy

HOX D13 expression across 79 tumor tissue types.

HOX genes control normal development, primary cellular processes and are characterized by a unique genomic network organization. Locus D HOX genes play an important role in limb generation and mesenchymal condensation. Dysregulated HOXD13 expression has been detected in breast cancer, melanoma, cervical cancer and astrocytomas. We have investigated the epidemiology of HOXD13 expression in human tissues and its potential deregulation in the carcinogenesis of specific tumors. HOXD13 homeoprotein expression has been detected using microarray technology comprising more than 4,000 normal and neoplastic tissue samples including 79 different tumor categories. Validation of HOXD13 expression has been performed, at mRNA level, for selected tumor types. Significant differences are detectable between specific normal tissues and corresponding tumor types with the majority of cancers showing an increase in HOXD13 expression (16.1% normal vs. 57.7% cancers). In contrast, pancreas and stomach tumor subtypes display the opposite trend. Interestingly, detection of the HOXD13 homeoprotein in pancreas-tissue microarrays shows that its negative expression has a significant and adverse effect on the prognosis of patients with pancreatic cancer independent of the T or N stage at the time of diagnosis. Our study provides, for the first time, an overview of a HOX protein expression in a large series of normal and neoplastic tissue types, identifies pancreatic cancer as one of the most affected by the HOXD13 hoemoprotein and underlines the way homeoproteins can be associated to human cancerogenesis

HYDROGEOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE SALINIZATION PROBLEM OF XILAGANI - IMEROS AQUIFER SYSTEM IN SW PLAIN AREA OF RHODOPE PREFECTURE, GREECE

Στην εργασία διερευνάται η εξέλιξη της υφαλμύρινσης των υπόγειων νερών του πεδι­νού τμήματος Ξυλαγανής-Ιμέρου στο ΝΑ τμήμα του Νομού Ροδόπης, καθώς και η κα­ ταλληλότητα τους για πόση και άρδευση, μετά από ποιοτική αξιολόγηση δειγμάτων νε­ ρού από επιλεγμένες γεωτρήσεις της περιοχής έρευνας βάσει σχετικών οδηγιών. Επί­ σης παρατίθενται κάποιες διαχειριστικές προτάσεις για την αντιμετώπιση της θαλάσ­ σιας διείσδυσης στην περιοχή έρευνας. Η εν λόγω έρευνα διεξήχθη κατά τις περιόδους 1994-1997 και 2002-2006 και περιέλαβε ανόρυξη ερευνητικών πιεζομετρικών γεω­τρήσεων, γεωφυσικές μετρήσεις, κοκκομετρικές αναλύσεις, επεξεργασία υδρολογικών στοιχείων, παρακολούθηση και σχετική ανάλυση της διακύμανσης της στάθμης των υπόγειων νερών σε επιλεγμένες γεωτρήσεις, μετρήσεις ηλεκτρικής αγωγιμότητας και διεξαγωγή και σχετική επεξεργασία χημικών αναλύσεων νερού δειγμάτων από επιλεγ­ μένες γεωτρήσεις.This paper investigates the progress of groundwater salinization within the plain area ofXilagani - Imeros, in SW part ofRhodope Prefecture, as well as the suitability of groundwater for drinking and irrigation use, after qualitative classification of groundwater samples from selective wells of the study area based on relevant guidelines. Some managerial suggestions for the confrontation of the seawater intrusion regime of the study area are also included. The investigation in question took place between 1994-1997 and 2002-2006, and involved drilling of test wells, geoelectric sounding measurements, grain size analyses, elaboration of hydro logical data, monitoring and relevant analysis of the groundwater level fluctuations in selective wells, electrical conductivity measurements as well as conducting chemical analyses of water samples from selective wells of the study area and relevant elaboration

HYDROGEOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF GROUNDWATER DEGRADATION AT THE EASTERN NESTOS RIVER DELTA, N.E. GREECE.

This paper deals with the hydrogeological study of the evolution of groundwater salinisation - degradation at the eastern Nestos River Delta. Relevant field works including in-situ measurements of groundwater level, pH, Specific Electrical Conductivity (SEC) and temperature took place in the years 2008 and 2009. Groundwater samples were also collected for chemical analysis at the Engineering Geology Laboratory of the Department of Civil Engineering of D.U.Th. (July of 2009). Important conclusions regarding the progress of the groundwater degradation at the study area were drawn based on the analysis of all the available data and the elaboration of the designed piezometric maps and the various maps showing the distribution of SEC, Chloride, SAR (Sodium Absorption Ratio) and Revelle coefficient values. Some managerial suggestions for the confrontation of the seawater intrusion regime of the study area are also included

Attributable deaths and disability-adjusted life-years caused by infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the EU and the European Economic Area in 2015: a population-level modelling analysis

Background: Infections due to antibiotic-resistant bacteria are threatening modern health care. However, estimating their incidence, complications, and attributable mortality is challenging. We aimed to estimate the burden of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria of public health concern in countries of the EU and European Economic Area (EEA) in 2015, measured in number of cases, attributable deaths, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs). Methods: We estimated the incidence of infections with 16 antibiotic resistance–bacterium combinations from European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network (EARS-Net) 2015 data that was country-corrected for population coverage. We multiplied the number of bloodstream infections (BSIs) by a conversion factor derived from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control point prevalence survey of health-care-associated infections in European acute care hospitals in 2011–12 to estimate the number of non-BSIs. We developed disease outcome models for five types of infection on the basis of systematic reviews of the literature. Findings: From EARS-Net data collected between Jan 1, 2015, and Dec 31, 2015, we estimated 671 689 (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 583 148–763 966) infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, of which 63·5% (426 277 of 671 689) were associated with health care. These infections accounted for an estimated 33 110 (28 480–38 430) attributable deaths and 874 541 (768 837–989 068) DALYs. The burden for the EU and EEA was highest in infants (aged <1 year) and people aged 65 years or older, had increased since 2007, and was highest in Italy and Greece. Interpretation: Our results present the health burden of five types of infection with antibiotic-resistant bacteria expressed, for the first time, in DALYs. The estimated burden of infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the EU and EEA is substantial compared with that of other infectious diseases, and has increased since 2007. Our burden estimates provide useful information for public health decision-makers prioritising interventions for infectious diseases