The Role of the Religion Vis-à-vis the 'Health Challenges' of Covid-19

Αim: In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, the aim of the present study was to investigate to what extent the undergraduate students of the Department of Dentistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki felt the need to come closer to their own religiosity, spirituality or faith. Materials and methods: Empirical research was conducted by means of an anonymous questionnaire, comprising demographics and items focusing on religiosity, spirituality and faith. The results of the survey were processed using MICROSOFT EXCEL IBM SPSS STATISTICS 24 statistical processing software. Results:  To overcome health dilemmas, the wide majority of  students did not focus on religious & spiritual practices (70% & 66.7%) while at the same time their religiosity & spirituality was not enhanced (74% & 78%). However, for the same period 53% of the students stated that their faith was enhanced. Conclusions-Discussion: While overall students’ religiosity & spirituality indicators were low, for the same period they stated that their faith in overcoming health distress was strengthened, which triggers new questions and prompts further research in the field of humanities.&nbsp

Exploring elements of an effective practitioner-patient relationship in dentistry

Purpose: The present study, having human-centered orientation (empathy) as an index of the doctor-patient relationship, aims to record the degree of user/patient satisfaction with the health services provided by the Department of Oral Medicine/ Pathology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.Materials and Methods: Quantitative analysis of the research was conducted using a four-item anonymous questionnaire on satisfaction: (a) communication (b) information/ awareness (c) respect/ acceptance and (d) interest/ understanding. The participants were 600 patients with oral diseases of various severity. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM Statistics SPSS 20 and 25.Results: The participants were 61.7% females (median age 58.5 years) and 38.3% males (median age 60 years). According to the scores the patients’ satisfaction was: a) communication (97.8%), (b) information/ awareness (85.8%), (c) respect/ acceptance (78.8%), and (d) interest/ understanding (67.7%).Conclusion: Quantitative analysis of the empirical study established that the patients of Department of Oral Medicine revealed a fairly high rate of satisfaction. However some service parameters (interest/ understanding) need further attention and for this reason improvement proposals have been tabled

The Impact of Religious Beliefs and Practices on Coping with Health Challenges Posed by Covid-19

In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, the aim of the present study was to investigate to what extent the undergraduate students of the Department of Dentistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, felt the need to come closer to their own religiosity, spirituality, or faith. Materials and methods: Empirical research was conducted by means of an anonymous questionnaire, comprising demographics and items focusing on religiosity, spirituality, and faith. The survey results were processed using “MICROSOFT EXCEL IBM SPSS STATISTICS 24” statistical processing software. Results:  To overcome health dilemmas, the wide majority of students did not focus on religious & spiritual practices (70% & 66.7%) while at the same time, their religiosity & spirituality was not enhanced (74% & 78%). However, for the same period, 53% of the students stated that their faith was enhanced. Conclusions: While overall students’ religiosity & spirituality indicators were low, for the same period they stated that their faith in overcoming health distress was strengthened, which triggers new questions and prompts further research in the field of humanities.&nbsp

The association of coffee intake with liver cancer risk is mediated by biomarkers of inflammation and hepatocellular injury: data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition.

BACKGROUND: Higher coffee intake has been purportedly related to a lower risk of liver cancer. However, it remains unclear whether this association may be accounted for by specific biological mechanisms. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate the potential mediating roles of inflammatory, metabolic, liver injury, and iron metabolism biomarkers on the association between coffee intake and the primary form of liver cancer-hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). DESIGN: We conducted a prospective nested case-control study within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition among 125 incident HCC cases matched to 250 controls using an incidence-density sampling procedure. The association of coffee intake with HCC risk was evaluated by using multivariable-adjusted conditional logistic regression that accounted for smoking, alcohol consumption, hepatitis infection, and other established liver cancer risk factors. The mediating effects of 21 biomarkers were evaluated on the basis of percentage changes and associated 95% CIs in the estimated regression coefficients of models with and without adjustment for biomarkers individually and in combination. RESULTS: The multivariable-adjusted RR of having ≥4 cups (600 mL) coffee/d compared with <2 cups (300 mL)/d was 0.25 (95% CI: 0.11, 0.62; P-trend = 0.006). A statistically significant attenuation of the association between coffee intake and HCC risk and thereby suspected mediation was confirmed for the inflammatory biomarker IL-6 and for the biomarkers of hepatocellular injury glutamate dehydrogenase, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT), and total bilirubin, which-in combination-attenuated the regression coefficients by 72% (95% CI: 7%, 239%). Of the investigated biomarkers, IL-6, AST, and GGT produced the highest change in the regression coefficients: 40%, 56%, and 60%, respectively. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that the inverse association of coffee intake with HCC risk was partly accounted for by biomarkers of inflammation and hepatocellular injury.This is the final version of the article. It was first available from American Society for Nutrition via http://dx.doi.org/10.3945/​ajcn.115.11609

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

Design and synthesis of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs)

The object of this PhD study was the synthesis of complexes with appropriate structures to become useful for the construction of Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) and Organic Light-Emitting Diodes (OLEDs). MOFs and OLEDs earn the interest of scientists worldwide, because they have multiple technological and biological applications which are described extensively at the bibliographic review part of this PhD study. Most important technological applications of MOFs are for gas separation and storage, for separation of small organic molecules, their use at heterogeneous asymmetric catalysis, as chemical sensors, as photoactive materials and at biomedical Imaging. Most important technological applications of OLEDs are their use at flat display panels, at bulbs for area lighting, at fabrics with fluorescent characteristics and at smart lighting sources according to the habits of the user. Most important biological applications of MOFs are their uses as drug delivery compounds, as anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antibiotic and antifungal drugs. Most important biological applications of OLEDs are their uses as biosensors for the visual monitoring of biochemical activities that take place inside cells. Those biosensors are specifically known as solvatochromic probes. The synthesis of complexes involves the attachment of quinolines and coumarines to metal ions. Quinolines and coumarines that include a cyano group at their molecule (nitriles) were specifically selected. According to the bibliographic review, nitriles exhibit high biological activity and have many pharmaceutical applications. Also the possibility of nitrile hydrolysis inside the body is minimal when they are attached to metal ions to from complexes. Additionally, quinolines and coumarines exhibit biological activity and possibly fluorescence. Those properties are very useful for the synthesis of OLEDs and MOFs. The Laboratory of Organic Chemistry N.T.U.A. has developed a specialized synthetic method for those compounds. This method has been extensively described at the experimental part of this PhD study. Also a proposed theoretical mechanism for the reactions that take place has been included at the theoretical part of this PhD study. The synthetic method of the ligands (quinolines and coumarines) has been optimized and altered accordingly for the use of an alternative reactant material. This method includes 3 reaction stages. The first stage is the reaction of an active ester of the corresponding substituted anthranilic acid (for quinolines) or acetyl-salicylic acid (for coumarines), with the use of an appropriate esterification agent. Two different esterification agents were used to investigate the possibility of further expanding this method. Positives and negatives were observed in each case involving the quality of the final product and the reaction yield. The second stage of the synthesis of the ligands is a C-acylation reaction between the active ester and an appropriate active methylene compound. The final stage is a cyclisation reaction of the product of C-acylation reaction at acidic or alkalic environment and then the desirable ligand is created. Innovative methods involving the use of Microwave radiation (MW) for organic synthesis are also mentioned. Those methods achieve high reaction yields without the use of organic solvents and they are environmentally friendly (solvent-free conditions). The complex reaction is based on a bibliographic method with some changes. It involves the titration of the appropriate quantity of the ligand and the chosen metal ions into a polar solvent. Unfortunately crystals of the synthesized complexes were not formed. Target of this PhD study was to find whether this method can be used for attaching the ligands to a great variety of metal ions. Of course there were significant differences in reaction yield depending on the used metal ion. The ligands and their produced complexes were studied spectroscopically. The results are presented to the spectroscopic part of this PhD study and the spectrum charts are included to the supplementary part. For those spectroscopic studies, HR-MS, FT-IR, UV-Vis και NMR were used. The NMR method was used only for active esters, ligands and the complexes with diamagnetic behavior. Unfortunately the NMR method can't be used for all the synthesized complexes, because most have paramagnetic behavior. The HR-MS spectrum charts contributed decisively to the clarification of the complexes' structures in combination with the other spectroscopic methods. In many occasions there were two structures present. The reason for this phenomenon is the reaction environment and the nature of the metal ion and nature of the ligand. Many of the complexes include attached solvent molecules at their structures. With the use of TGA/DTA analysis it was possible to study the detachment procedure of those attached solvent molecules and the degradation procedure of chosen complexes and their ligands. Both the synthetic method of the ligands and the synthetic method of the complexes can have a wider application for the synthesis of other similar compounds.Αντικείμενο της παρούσας Διδακτορικής Διατριβής ήταν η σύνθεση ενώσεων συναρμογής οι οποίες θα αποτελούν κατάλληλα δομικά τμήματα για την κατασκευή Μεταλλο-Οργανικών Σχηματισμών (MOFs) και Οπτικοηλεκτρονικών Υλικών (OLEDs). Τα MOFs και τα OLEDs κερδίζουν το ενδιαφέρον των επιστημόνων διεθνώς, διότι έχουν πάρα πολλές τεχνολογικές και βιολογικές εφαρμογές οι οποίες περιγράφονται λεπτομερώς στο τμήμα βιβλιογραφικής ανασκόπησης της Διδακτορικής Διατριβής. Σημαντικότερες τεχνολογικές εφαρμογές των MOFs είναι η χρήση τους για τον διαχωρισμό και την αποθήκευση αερίων, για τον διαχωρισμό μικρών οργανικών μορίων, στην ετερογενή ασυμμετρική κατάλυση, ως χημικών αισθητήρων, ως φωτοδραστικών υλικών και στη μέθοδο της βιοϊατρικής απεικόνισης. Σημαντικότερες τεχνολογικές εφαρμογές των OLEDs είναι η χρήση τους σε επίπεδες οθόνες προβολής, σε λαμπτήρες φωτισμού χώρων, σε υφάσματα με φθορίζοντα χαρακτηριστικά και σε έξυπνες πηγές φωτισμού αναλόγως των συνηθειών του χρήστη. Σημαντικότερες βιολογικές εφαρμογές των MOFs είναι η χρήση τους ως ενώσεις εγκλεισμού, ως αντικαρκινικά, αντιφλεγμονώδη, αντιβιοτικά και αντιμυκητιακά φάρμακα. Σημαντικότερες βιολογικές εφαρμογές των OLEDs είναι η χρήση τους ως βιοαισθητήρων για την οπτική απεικόνιση βιοχημικών διεργασιών που λαμβάνουν χώρα στο εσωτερικό των κυττάρων και ονομάζονται ειδικότερα διαλυτοχρωμικοί ανιχνευτές. Η σύνθεση των ενώσεων συναρμογής πραγματοποιήθηκε με πρόσδεση κινολινονών και κουμαρινών σε μεταλλικά ιόντα. Επιλέχθηκαν ειδικά κινολινόνες και κουμαρίνες που περιέχουν κυανομάδα στο μόριό τους (νιτρίλια). Σύμφωνα με τη βιβλιογραφική ανασκόπηση, τα νιτρίλια παρουσιάζουν πολύ μεγάλη βιολογική δραστικότητα και έχουν πάρα πολλές φαρμακευτικές εφαρμογές, ενώ το ενδεχόμενο υδρόλυσής τους μέσα στον οργανισμό ελαχιστοποιείται όταν έχουν προσδεθεί σε μεταλλικά ιόντα σχηματίζοντας ενώσεις συναρμογής. Επιπροσθέτως οι κινολινόνες και οι κουμαρίνες παρουσιάζουν βιολογική δραστικότητα και ενδεχομένως φθορισμό, ιδιότητες χρήσιμες για την σύνθεση OLEDs και MOFs. Το Εργαστήριο Οργανικής Χημείας Ε.Μ.Π. έχει αναπτύξει μια εξειδικευμένη μέθοδο σύνθεσης των ενώσεων αυτών. Πραγματοποιήθηκε εκτενής περιγραφή της μεθόδου συνθέσεως στο πειραματικό μέρος της Διδακτορικής Διατριβής. Επίσης προτάθηκε ένας θεωρητικός μηχανισμός επεξήγησης των αντιδράσεων που λαμβάνουν χώρα στο θεωρητικό μέρος της Διδακτορικής Διατριβής. Η μέθοδος σύνθεσης των υποκαταστατών (κινολινόνες και κουμαρίνες) βελτιστοποιήθηκε και τροποποιήθηκε κατάλληλα για την χρήση εναλλακτικού αντιδραστηρίου. Πρόκειται για μια μέθοδο τριών σταδίων, που στηρίζεται αρχικά στην δημιουργία ενεργού εστέρα του αντίστοιχου υποκατεστημένου ανθρανιλικού οξέος (για τις κινολινόνες) ή του ακέτυλο σαλικυλικού οξέος (για τις κουμαρίνες), με χρήση κατάλληλου μέσου εστεροποίησης. Χρησιμοποιήθηκαν δυο διαφορετικά μέσα εστεροποίησης για να εξεταστεί η δυνατότητα επέκτασης της μεθόδου. Παρατηρήθηκαν πλεονεκτήματα και μειονεκτήματα στην κάθε περίπτωση που αφορούν την καθαρότητα του τελικού προϊόντος και την απόδοση της αντίδρασης στη κάθε περίπτωση. Στο δεύτερο στάδιο της διαδικασίας συνθέσεως των υποκαταστατών, πραγματοποιήθηκε αντίδραση C-ακυλίωσης του ενεργού εστέρα με κατάλληλη ένωση ενεργού μεθυλενίου. Στο τελικό στάδιο πραγματοποιείται κυκλοποίηση του προϊόντος της αντίδρασης C-ακυλιώσεως σε όξινο ή αλκαλικό περιβάλλον ώστε να προκύψει ο υποκαταστάτης. Επίσης γίνεται ειδική αναφορά σε καινοτόμους μεθόδους χρήσης ακτινοβολίας μικροκυμάτων (MW) στην οργανική σύνθεση. Με τις μεθόδους αυτές, επιτυγχάνονται υψηλές αποδόσεις χωρίς τη χρήση οργανικών διαλυτών, ώστε να μην επιβαρύνεται το περιβάλλον (solvent-free conditions). Η αντίδραση σύνθεσης των ενώσεων συναρμογής αποτελεί μια παραλλαγή βιβλιογραφικής μεθόδου. Πραγματοποιείται ανάδευση κατάλληλης ποσότητας υποκαταστάτη και ιόντων του επιλεγμένου μετάλλου σε πολικό διαλύτη. Δυστυχώς δεν κατέστη δυνατό να παραληφθούν κρύσταλλοι των ενώσεων συναρμογής που παρασκευάστηκαν. Σκοπός της παρούσας Διδακτορικής Διατριβής ήταν να εξακριβώσει την δυνατότητα χρήσης της μεθόδου αυτής για την πρόσδεση των υποκαταστατών σε διαφορετικά μεταλλικά ιόντα. Φυσικά υπήρξαν σημαντικές διαφορές στην απόδοση της αντίδρασης ανάλογα με το χρησιμοποιούμενο μεταλλικό ιόν. Πραγματοποιήθηκε μια σειρά φασματοσκοπικών αναλύσεων στους υποκαταστάτες και στις ενώσεις συναρμογής τους. Τα αποτελέσματα τους περιλαμβάνονται στο Φασματοσκοπικό μέρος της εργασίας και τα ληφθέντα φάσματα στο Παράρτημα. Συγκεκριμένα ελήφθησαν φάσματα HR-MS, FT-IR, UV-Vis και NMR. Ειδικότερα λήψη φασμάτων NMR πραγματοποιήθηκε για τους ενεργούς εστέρες, τους υποκαταστάτες και για εκείνες τις ενώσεις συναρμογής που παρουσιάζουν διαμαγνητική συμπεριφορά. Δυστυχώς η μέθοδος φασματοσκοπίας NMR δεν μπορεί να χρησιμοποιηθεί για όλες τις ενώσεις συναρμογής που παρασκευάσθηκαν, διότι οι περισσότερες παρουσιάζουν παραμαγνητική συμπεριφορά. Τα φάσματα HR-MS συνέβαλαν αποφασιστικά στην αποσαφήνιση της δομής των ενώσεων συναρμογής σε συνδυασμό με τις υπόλοιπες φασματοσκοπικές μεθόδους. Σε πολλές περιπτώσεις αποδείχθηκε η παρουσία δύο δομών που οφείλεται στο περιβάλλον της αντίδρασης και στη φύση του μεταλλικού ιόντος και του υποκαταστάτη. Πολλές από τις ενώσεις συναρμογής περιλαμβάνουν προσδεμένα μόρια διαλύτη στη δομή τους. Με τη λήψη γραφημάτων TGA/DTA εξετάσθηκε η διαδικασία απόσπασης των προσδεμένων μορίων διαλύτη και η περαιτέρω διαδικασία αποικοδόμησης επιλεγμένων ενώσεων συναρμογής και των υποκαταστατών τους. Τόσο η μέθοδος σύνθεσης των υποκαταστατών, όσο και η μέθοδος σύνθεσης των ενώσεων συναρμογής μπορούν να έχουν ευρύτερη εφαρμογή στην σύνθεση άλλων παρόμοιων ενώσεων

Eco-Certification and Transparency in Global Food Supply Chains

This chapter portrays the information flow for sustainability issues along the globalized food supply chain and explores the eco-certification decisions of farm businesses, viewing them as the first upstream chain participant. This examination is based on the literature to connect eco-certification with transparency and to portray traceability schemes for sustainability issues in food supply chains, followed by information technology-based systems and applications supporting traceability. The third section presents the eco-certification decisions at the supply chain level in four subsections. It first builds a theoretical framework regarding the downstream firms' sustainability-related decisions by offering conceptual definitions. Next the farm business decision logic is given, followed by the discrete choice model. The specialization of the model is presented in the third subsection, followed by the results, discussions, and implications for practitioners. Some conclusions and implications for future research are offered in the last section. </jats:p