Medical Treatment of Cystic Echinococcosis

Medical treatment in cystic echinococcosis is limited; albendazole remains the gold treatment for patients with low hydatid cysts or those with inoperable echinococcosis. Due to uncommon side effects, administration may be continuous (cycles of 28 days with a break of 14 days between courses) as well as discontinuous over long periods of time. In recent years, there have been many concerns for the testing of various substances and drugs against Echinococcus granulosus, both in vitro and in vivo, on the animal model, but the results have not been satisfactory. New clinical trials are required, as well as the development of an effective vaccine to limit the spread of echinococcosis in endemic areas

The Development Gap Between the CIS and EU

Current report aims to identify major existing gaps in the five socio-economic dimensions (economic, human, openness, environmental, and institutional) and to reveal those gaps which could potentially hinder social and economic integration of neighbor states with the EU. To achieve this, the authors aim to assess the existing trends in the size of the gaps across countries and problem areas, taking into consideration the specific origin of the gap between EU15/EU12, on the one hand, and FSU republics, EU candidates and West Balkan countries, on the other hand. The paper is structured as follows: 1. A review of literature on the determinants of growth and development and the analysis of the catching up process between countries or groups of countries. 2. An analysis of the historic roots and origins of the development gap, and its evolvement over time. 3. A review of literature sources, draft analysis of primary statistical data, and qualitative explanations of gaps and divergences in selected development issues across the following socio-economic dimensions: level of economic development and convergence rates based on Real GDP (application of methodology testing ß and ? convergence to the set of countries analyzed); • quality of life and its components (poverty, inequality, health status and health care, access to fresh water and sanitation facilities, subjective perceptions of well-being); • human capital and labor market development, including level of education and public spending on education, its accessibility and quality, main differences in labor market development (employment participation rates and levels of unemployment, new jobs creation and labor protection legislation); • innovation potential, including R&D, information and communication technologies, and institutional environment; • openness and trade potential, including trade in goods and services, FDI stocks, trade regime and performance in logistics and infrastructure; THE DEVELOPMENT GAP BETWEEN THE CIS AND EU 15 CASE Network Reports No. 81 • environmental performance in terms of environmental stresses, efforts aimed at their reduction, and institutional capacity; • business climate, political institutions, and other institutional indicators (econometric analysis). 4. A test econometric analysis of development gaps across selected dimensions by using a Principal Components Method (PCM). The results are further presented in the form of ranks of countries analyzed reflecting their distances from EU15 in respective aggregate averages. Special attention is paid to gender-related development issues. Respective issues in human capital and labor market study, as well as variables included into PCM analysis were supplemented with relative gender data. Several conclusions finalize the report.EU, CIS, development gap, GDP, convergence, quality of life, human capital, innovation, environment, institutions, Principal Components Method

Non-tariff barriers in Ukrainian export to the EU

The economic relations between the EU and Ukraine have intensified in recent years. Following the 2004 enlargement, Ukraine became the direct neighbour of the EU. At the same time, the country has been developing rapidly and both local production capacities and demand for foreign produce have been increasing. Ukraine also become more open to external partners. All this is reflected in the gradual effective trade integration with the EU; i.e. in growing bilateral trade flows. The overall EU tariffs for Ukrainian products are rather low and other tradition protection measures apply to selective sectors only. Moreover they are expected to disappear gradually within the next few years, following Ukraine WTO entry and expected establishment of the free trade area in manufacturing goods between the EU and Ukraine. However, there exist other so called 'non-tariff’ barriers to trade that protect and will protect the EU market. For a relatively poorer country these barriers may turn to be prohibitive. This is probably the cause that there is general perception about Ukrainian export to the EU still being below its potential. The goal of this report is to explore whether the non-tariff barriers impede Ukrainian export to the EU and to what extent. This report is published about the time when the free trade agreement between the EU and Ukraine is negotiated. The authors hope that the findings will turn useful for designing the extent of this agreement and contribute to the discussion about it by showing the extent of non-tariff barriers faced currently by Ukrainian exporters. The report starts from the overview of Ukraine trade policy (chapter 1), with the special emphasis put on economic relations between the EU and Ukraine. Evolution of bilateral trade flows is discussed next (chapter 2). This is supplemented with the brief discussion of recently conducted surveys on barriers hampering Ukrainian exports (chapter 3). The experience of some current EU members from Central and Eastern Europe, which together with gradual phasing out of tariff and traditional protection measures in the 1990s faced growing non-tariff barriers to trade with the EU, seems to be relevant for Ukraine. Chapter 4 reviews the exposure of CEECs exports to the EU’s non-tariff barriers, and describes how the countries were changing its trade-related legislation towards the EU laws in order to tackle these barriers. Chapter 4 also shows the extent of the EU’s technical barriers to trade in different sectors and how well CEE enterprises were prepared to meet them, once the EU commodity markets opened up completely for the new EU members in 2004. Results of the survey on non-tariff barriers to trade that are faced by Ukrainian exporters to the EU are presented in chapter 5. This is the main empirical contribution and the focus of this paper. The survey covered such areas as certification of origin, customs procedures and technical standards. Finally, chapter 6 concludes with policy recommendations. The authors are grateful for the assistance received from the State Committee of Ukraine for Technical Regulation and Consumer Policy and Association of Light Industry Producers of Ukraine. This publication was made possible due to the financial support provided by the 2006 Foreign Aid Programme of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland.Ukraine, EU neighbourhood, trade, non-tariff barriers to trade (NTBs), technical barriers to trade (TBTs)

Knowledge Testing in Algorithms – an Experimental Study

With the appearance of INTERNET technologies the developers of algorithm animation systems have shifted to build on-line system with the advantages of platform-independence and open accessibility over earlier ones. As a result, there is ongoing research in the re-design and re-evaluation of AAS in order to transform them in task-oriented environments for design of algorithms in on-line mode. The experimental study reported in the present paper contributes in this research

Assessing the development gap

Current report aims to identify major existing gaps in the four socio-economic dimensions (economic, human, environmental, and institutional) and to reveal those gaps which could potentially hinder social and economic integration of neighbor states with the EU. To achieve this, the authors aim to assess the existing trends in the size of the gaps across countries and problem areas, taking into consideration the specific origin of the gap between EU15/EU12, on the one hand, and FSU republics, EU candidates and West Balkan countries, on the other hand. The paper is structured as follows: (1) An analysis of the historic roots and origins of the development gap, and its evolvement over time. (2) A review of literature sources, draft analysis of primary statistical data, and qualitative explanations of gaps and divergences in selected development issues across four socio-economic dimensions: * level of economic development and convergence rates based on real GDP (application of methodology testing β and σ convergence to the set of countries analyzed); * quality of life and its components (poverty, inequality, health status and Heath care, access to fresh water and sanitation facilities, subjective perceptions of well-being); * human capital and labor market development, including level of education and public spending on education, its accessibility and quality, main differences in labor market development (employment participation rates and levels of unemployment, new jobs creation and labor protection legislation); * innovation potential, including R&D, information and communication technologies, and institutional environment; * environmental performance in terms of environmental stresses, efforts aimed at their reduction, and institutional capacity; * business climate, political institutions, and other institutional indicators (econometric analysis). (3) A test econometric analysis of development gaps across selected dimensions by using a Principal Components Method (PCM). The results are further presented in the form of ranks of countries analyzed reflecting their distances from EU15 in respective aggregate averages. Special attention is paid to gender-related development issues. Respective issues in human capital and labor market study, as well as variables included into PCM analysis were supplemented with relative gender data. Several preliminary conclusions finalize the report

The development gap between the CIS and EU

Current report aims to identify major existing gaps in the five socio-economic dimensions (economic, human, openness, environmental, and institutional) and to reveal those gaps which could potentially hinder social and economic integration of neighbor states with the EU. To achieve this, the authors aim to assess the existing trends in the size of the gaps across countries and problem areas, taking into consideration the specific origin of the gap between EU15/EU12, on the one hand, and FSU republics, EU candidates and West Balkan countries, on the other hand. The paper is structured as follows: 1. A review of literature on the determinants of growth and development and the analysis of the catching up process between countries or groups of countries. 2. An analysis of the historic roots and origins of the development gap, and its evolvement over time. 3. A review of literature sources, draft analysis of primary statistical data, and qualitative explanations of gaps and divergences in selected development issues across the following socio-economic dimensions: level of economic development and convergence rates based on Real GDP (application of methodology testing β and σ convergence to the set of countries analyzed); * quality of life and its components (poverty, inequality, health status and health care, access to fresh water and sanitation facilities, subjective perceptions of well-being); * human capital and labor market development, including level of education and public spending on education, its accessibility and quality, main differences in labor market development (employment participation rates and levels of unemployment, new jobs creation and labor protection legislation); * innovation potential, including R&D, information and communication technologies, and institutional environment; * openness and trade potential, including trade in goods and services, FDI stocks, trade regime and performance in logistics and infrastructure; * environmental performance in terms of environmental stresses, efforts aimed at their reduction, and institutional capacity; * business climate, political institutions, and other institutional indicators (econometric analysis). 4. A test econometric analysis of development gaps across selected dimensions by using a Principal Components Method (PCM). The results are further presented in the form of ranks of countries analyzed reflecting their distances from EU15 in respective aggregate averages. Special attention is paid to gender-related development issues. Respective issues in human capital and labor market study, as well as variables included into PCM analysis were supplemented with relative gender data. Several conclusions finalize the report

Venous thromboembolism - a never ending story

The marking richness of venous thromboembolism in the current medicine, within all the medical and surgical specialities, represents a first characteristic of this pathology, demonstrable through statistics, but unfortunately, discouraging regarding the survival of pulmonary embolism. The dimension of the theme incites to its research, through the amplitude of the issue, of the different pathology generically reunited under the recently adopted name of venous thromboembolism, both on the national and on the international plan, on the other part it discourages, because from many points of view there are no final solutions in the field of medical research regarding this disorder. At the world level, in each year this disease affects a number of over 5 million people. In Europe, the deaths caused by thromboembolic events are 10 times more than those through traffic accidents, and 100 time more than those through AIDS. According to the data, 30 % of the patients who had a thromboembolic accident will die in the first month after. In September 2008, European Heart Journal published Guidelines on the diagnosis and management of acute pulmonary embolism - The task Force for the Diagnosis and Management of Acute Pulmonary Embolism of the European Society of Cardiology, paper that demonstrates the researchers’ interest regarding the theme. Venous thromboembolism has been described as the most preventable disease in the hospital, in internal medice clinics, oncology clinics, also in general surgery, obstetrics and gynecology clinics and orthopaedic and traumatology clinics and also the most preventable disease. Thus, mortality could be reduced by prompt diagnosis, early prognostic and more intensive treatment in patients with adverse prognostic despite the currently available evidence. It is need a multidisciplinary diagnostic and treatment approach. We will present to you results of a multidisciplinary study focused on venous thromboembolism in patients admitted during 12 month, to the Emergency Room, to the 1st Medical Cardiology Clinic, to Oncology Clinic in “St Spiridon” Hospital Iasi, to the 1st Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic “Cuza Voda” Hospital, Orthopaedic and Traumatology Clinicin “St loan” Hospital Iasi. The most important application of our study is to save the patient life, with our hope to improve the knowledges in this scientific field

Kinesitherapy for Patients on Hemodialysis

Introduction: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a huge challenge for GPs and nephrologists. Physiotherapists are increasingly included in the multidisciplinary teams dealing with CKD around the world to improve the quality of life and prevent a number of complications of patients undergoing the most common treatment for CKD, namely hemodialysis.Aim: The aim of this article is to present the possibilities for optimizing and supporting the motor activity of hemodialysis patients.Materials and Methods: Review of medical literature from the last 10 years, published in the scientific databases: Pubmed, Google Scholar, PubMed Central, and ScienceDirect, has been conducted.Results: Numerous independent studies have shown that kinesitherapy is a reliable aid in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases and in improving the overall condition of patients with CKD on hemodialysis. The implementation of specialized devices for kinesitherapy during hemodialysis and the selection of appropriate exercises to practice at home also show a significant improvement in mental health (motivation for a better and more active life) of hemodialysis patients.Conclusion: The inclusion of kinesitherapy during hemodialysis and acquainting chronically ill patients with the opportunities for improving their physical activities would lead to improved health status and quality of life of these patients

Programa de educación y actividad física para la prevención de suicidios en personas mayores de 65 años con depresión mayor

INTRODUCCIÓN La depresión, que constituye el trastorno afectivo más frecuente a nivel Europeo, engloba una gran cantidad de problemas de salud mental que se caracterizan principalmente por sentimientos de tristeza y perdida de interés o de la capacidad de disfrutar de las actividades placenteras. Se trata de una síndrome con múltiples factores de riesgo que tiene una mayor incidencia en las personas mayores y que multiplica por cuatro el riesgo de suicidio. OBJETIVO Elaborar un programa de educación de educación y actividad física para la prevención de suicidios en personas mayores de 65 años con depresión mayor con el fin de facilitar la comprensión de la enfermedad y mejorar el estado de animo del individuo. METODOLOGIA Se ha realizado una búsqueda bibliográfica en múltiples bases de datos tanto nocionales como internacionales donde se recogen los principales artículos y programas sobre depresión mayor y prevención de suicidios. Este programa tendrá una duración aproximada de 6 meses y para poderlo llevar a cabo es necesario trabajar en Atención primaria (CS Jaca) así como la colaboración de la enfermera de salud mental y de un profesional de la actividad física, yoga y relajación. CONCLUSIÓN Múltiples estudios i muestran evidencias sobre los beneficios de la terapia cognitivo-conductual y que el ejercicio físico en personas con puede mejorar el estado anímico en individuos con depresión mayor diagnosticada pudiendo así disminuir el riesgo de suicidio