241 research outputs found
Europeizacija civilnog druĹĄtva u Poljskoj
The paper presents a preliminary diagnosis of the changes that have affected Polish civil society along the trajectory of Europeanization over the 1990s and early 2000s. First, the continuing structural transformation of the civil society organizations is described and analysed. The phenomena of uneven growth and multifaceted differentiation of the sector are emphasized. Legal and institutional arrangements aimed at the levelling of the formal position which civil society actors occupy in the public sphere of the country vis-Ă -vis the state and market actors are then discussed. Using the case of the involvement of Polish civil society actors in new institutionalized partnership settings related to the implementation of EU structural funds, the levelling arrangements, introduced under the banner of Europeanized modes of governance, are finally put to an empirical test to probe their effectiveness and adequacy in the post-Communist country.Ovaj rad daje preliminarni pregled promjena koje su utjecale na poljsko civilno druĹĄtvo tijekom procesa europeizacije u devedesetim godinama dvadesetog stoljeÄa i poÄetkom dvadeset prvog stoljeÄa. Prvo se opisuje i analizira trajna strukturalna transformacija organizacija civilnog druĹĄtva. NaglaĹĄavaju se fenomeni neravnomjernog razvoja i raznovrsne diferencijacije tog sektora. Zatim se raspravlja o zakonskim i institucionalnim rjeĹĄenjima usmjerenim prema izjednaÄavanju formalnog poloĹžaja koji akteri civilnog druĹĄtva zauzimaju u javnoj sferi zemlje nasuprot drĹžavi i trĹžiĹĄnim akterima. Na sluÄaju ukljuÄenosti poljskih aktera civilnoga druĹĄtva u nova institucionalizirana partnerstva povezana s koriĹĄtenjem strukturalnih fondova Europske Unije, novi sporazumi o izjednaÄavanju, uvedeni u skladu s europeiziranim naÄinima vladavine, podvrgavaju se empirijskom testiranju kako bi se ispitala njihova uÄinkovitost i primjerenost u postkomunistiÄkoj zemlji
The new onset of dysphagia four years after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion: Case report and literature review.
Background: Dysphagia is a common complication immediately following anterior cervical spine surgery. However, its onset more than 1-year postoperatively is rare.
Case Description: A 45-year-old male initially underwent a C3-4 and C5-6 anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). At age 49, 4 years later, he presented with worsening dysphagia accompanied by neck and right upper extremity pain. Radiographs demonstrated an extruded left C3 screw, which had migrated into the prevertebral soft tissues at the C4-C5 level; there was also loosening of the right C3 screw. The subsequent barium swallow study revealed that the screw was embedded in the pharyngeal wall. The patient required a two-stage operation; first, to remove the anterior instrumentation, and second, to perform a posterior instrumented C2-T2 fusion.
Conclusion: A barium swallow study and other dynamic imaging are a valuable component of the diagnostic workup and therapeutic intervention to evaluate the delayed onset dysphagia following an ACDF
Functional outcome of traumatic spinopelvic instabilities treated with lumbopelvic fixation.
The aim of this study was to assess the functional outcome after lumbopelvic fixation (LPF) using the SMFA (short musculoskeletal functional assessment) score and discuss the results in the context of the existing literature. The last consecutive 50 patients who underwent a LPF from January 1st 2011 to December 31st 2014 were identified and administered the SMFA-questionnaire. Inclusion criteria were: (1) patient underwent LPF at our institution, (2) complete medical records, (3) minimum follow-up of 12 months. Out of the 50 recipients, 22 questionnaires were returned. Five questionnaires were incomplete and therefore seventeen were included for analysis. The mean age was 60.3 years (32-86 years; 9m/8f) and the follow-up averaged 26.9 months (14-48 months). Six patients (35.3%) suffered from a low-energy trauma and 11 patients (64.7%) suffered a high-energy trauma. Patients in the low-energy group were significantly older compared to patients in the high-energy group (72.2 vs. 53.8 years; pâ=â0.030). Five patients (29.4%) suffered from multiple injuries. Compared to patients with low-energy trauma, patients suffering from high-energy trauma showed significantly lower scores in daily activities (89.6 vs. 57.1; pâ=â0.031), mobility (84.7 vs. 45.5; pâ=â0.015) and function (74.9 vs. 43.4; pâ=â0.020). Our results suggest that patients with older age and those with concomitant injuries show a greater impairment according to the SMFA score. Even though mostly favorable functional outcomes were reported throughout the literature, patients still show some level of impairment and do not reach normative data at final follow-up
Russiaâs Legal Transitions: Marxist Theory, Neoclassical Economics and the Rule of Law
We review the role of economic theory in shaping the process of legal change in Russia during the two transitions it experienced during the course of the twentieth century: the transition to a socialist economy organised along the lines of state ownership of the means of production in the 1920s, and the transition to a market economy which occurred after the fall of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. Despite differences in methodology and in policy implications, Marxist theory, dominant in the 1920s, and neoclassical economics, dominant in the 1990s, offered a similarly reductive account of law as subservient to wider economic forces. In both cases, the subordinate place accorded to law undermined the transition process. Although path dependence and history are frequently invoked to explain the limited development of the rule of law in Russia during the 1990s, policy choices driven by a deterministic conception of law and economics also played a role.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40803-015-0012-
Wishing for deburdening through a sustainable control after bariatric surgery
The aim of this study was an in-depth investigation of the change process experienced by patients undergoing bariatric surgery. A prospective interview study was performed prior to as well as 1 and 2 years after surgery. Data analyses of the transcribed interviews were performed by means of the Grounded Theory method. A core category was identified: Wishing for deburdening through a sustainable control over eating and weight, comprising three related categories: hoping for deburdening and control through surgery, feeling deburdened and practising control through physical restriction, and feeling deburdened and trying to maintain control by own willpower. Before surgery, the participants experienced little or no control in relation to food and eating and hoped that the bariatric procedure would be the first brick in the building of a foundation that would lead to control in this area. The control thus achieved in turn affected the participants' relationship to themselves, their roles in society, and the family as well as to health care. One year after surgery they reported established routines regarding eating as well as higher self-esteem due to weight loss. In family and society they set limits and in relation to health care staff they felt their concern and reported satisfaction with the surgery. After 2 years, fear of weight gain resurfaced and their self-image was modified to be more realistic. They were no longer totally self-confident about their condition, but realised that maintaining control was a matter of struggle to obtaining a foundation of sustainable control. Between 1 and 2 years after surgery, the physical control mechanism over eating habits started to more or less fade for all participants. An implication is that when this occurs, health care professionals need to provide interventions that help to maintain the weight loss in order to achieve a good long-term outcome
Insights into the ceria-catalyzed ketonization reaction for biofuels applications
The ketonization of small organic acids is a valuable reaction for biorenewable applications. Ceria has long been used as a catalyst for this reaction; however, under both liquid and vapor phase conditions, it was found that given the right temperature regime of about 150-300 °C, cerium oxide, which was previously believed to be a stable catalyst for ketonization, can undergo bulk transformations. This result, along with other literature reports, suggest that the long held belief of two separate reaction pathways for either bulk or surface ketonization reactions are not required to explain the interaction of cerium oxide with organic acids. X-ray photon spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and temperature programmed decomposition results supported the formation of metal acetates and explained the occurrence of cerium reduction as well as the formation of cerium oxide/acetate whiskers. After thermogravimetry/mass spectrometry and FT-IR experiments, a single reaction sequence is proposed that can be applied to either surface or bulk reactions with ceria
Effect of Gas Atmosphere on Catalytic Behaviour of Zirconia, Ceria and Ceria Zirconia Catalysts in Valeric Acid Ketonization
[EN] Ketonization of valeric acid, which can be obtained by lignocellulosic biomass conversion, was carried out in a fixed bed flow reactor over ZrO2, 5-20 % CeO2/ZrO2 and CeO2 both under hydrogen and nitrogen stream at 628 K and atmospheric pressure. Regardless gas-carrier 10 wt% CeO2/ZrO2 was found to show higher catalytic activity compared to zirconia per se as well as other ceria modified zirconia while ceria per se exhibited very low catalytic activity. All catalysts provided higher acid conversion in H-2 than in N-2 whereas selectivity to 5-nonanone was insensitive to gas atmosphere. XRD, FTIR, UV-Vis DRS, XPS, HRTEM methods were applied to characterize catalysts in reduced and unreduced states simulating corresponding reaction conditions during acid ketonization. XRD did not reveal any changes in zirconia and ceria/zirconia lattice parameters as well as crystalline phase depending on gas atmosphere while insertion of ceria in zirconia caused notable increase in lattice parameter indicating some distortion of crystalline structure. According to XPS, FTIR and UV-Vis methods, the carrier gas was found to affect catalyst surface composition leading to alteration in Lewis acid sites ratio. Appearance of Zr3+ cations was observed on the ZrO2 surface after hydrogen pretreatment whereas only Zr4+ cations were determined using nitrogen as a gas-carrier. These changes of catalyst's surface cation composition affected corresponding activity in ketonization probably being crucial for reaction mechanism involving metal cations catalytic centers for acid adsorption and COO- stabilization at the initial step.Financial support from the Russian Foundation of Basic Research (RFBR Grant No 11-03-94001-CSIC) is gratefully acknowledged. This work was supported by the Federal Program "Scientific and Educational Cadres of Russia'' (Grant No 2012-1.5-12-000-1013-002). The authors also wish to thank Dr. Evgeniy Gerasimov, Dr. Igor Prosvirin, Dr. Demid Demidov from the Department of Physicochemical Methods at the Boreskov Institute of Catalysis for TEM and XPS measurements.Zaytseva, YA.; Panchenko, VN.; Simonov, MN.; Shutilov, AA.; Zenkovets, GA.; Renz, M.; Simakova, IL.... (2013). Effect of Gas Atmosphere on Catalytic Behaviour of Zirconia, Ceria and Ceria Zirconia Catalysts in Valeric Acid Ketonization. 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The Chlorophyll Catabolite, Pheophorbide a, Confers Predation Resistance in a Larval Tortoise Beetle Shield Defense
Larval insect herbivores feeding externally on leaves are vulnerable to numerous and varied enemies. Larvae of the Neotropical herbivore, Chelymorpha alternans (Chrysomelidae:Cassidinae), possess shields made of cast skins and feces, which can be aimed and waved at attacking enemies. Prior work with C. alternans feeding on Merremia umbellata (Convolvulaceae) showed that shields offered protection from generalist predators, and polar compounds were implicated. This study used a ubiquitous ant predator, Azteca lacrymosa, in field bioassays to determine the chemical constitution of the defense. We confirmed that intact shields do protect larvae and that methanol-water leaching significantly reduced shield effectiveness. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) of the methanolic shield extract revealed two peaks at 20.18Â min and 21.97Â min, both with a molecular ion at m/z 593.4, and a strong UV absorption around 409Â nm, suggesting a porphyrin-type compound. LC-MS analysis of a commercial standard confirmed pheophorbide a (Pha) identity. C. alternans shields contained more than 100Â Îźg Pha per shield. Shields leached with methanol-water did not deter ants. Methanol-water-leached shields enhanced with 3Â Îźg of Pha were more deterrent than larvae with solvent-leached shields, while those with 5Â Îźg additional Pha provided slightly less deterrence than larvae with intact shields. Solvent-leached shields with 10Â Îźg added Pha were comparable to intact shields, even though the Pha concentration was less than 10% of its natural concentration. Our findings are the first to assign an ecological role for a chlorophyll catabolite as a deterrent in an insect defense
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