Representativeness of the European social partner organisations : live performance sector

Aquesta publicació s'elabora a partir de les contribucions de cadascú dels membres nacionals que integren la Network of Eufound Correspondent. Pel cas d'Espanya la contribució ha estat realitzada per l'Alejandro GodinoThis study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the live performance sector. Their relative representativeness legitimises their right to be consulted, their role and effective participation in the European sectoral social dialogue and their capacity to negotiate agreements. The aim of Eurofound's studies on representativeness is to identify the relevant national and European social partner organisations in the EU Member States. This study identified EURO-MEI, FIA and FIM - representing employees - and PEARLE* - representing employers - as the representative European-level social partner organisations in the live performance sector

Female entrepreneurship : Public and private funding

Aquesta publicació s'elabora a partir de les contribucions de cadascú dels membres nacionals que integren la Network of Eufound Correspondent. Pel cas d'Espanya la contribució ha estat realitzada per l'Oscar MolinaFemale entrepreneurs represent just a small proportion of the total number of entrepreneurs in the European Union today. Some of the hurdles facing female entrepreneurs - or would-be entrepreneurs - are related to getting adequate funding, access to the right networks, and finding the right information and advice. In the last few years, some private funds have realised that female founders are not always well served and there is a market gap when it comes to investing in women-led enterprises. This report examines the use of private funds to invest in female entrepreneurs in the European Union and Norway. In addition, it investigates the prevalence of public finance tools and public support schemes that effectively remove barriers and enable women to become competent entrepreneurs

New evidence of factor structure and measurement invariance of the SDQ across five European nations

The main purpose of the present study was to test the internal structure and to study the measurement invariance of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), self-reported version, in five European countries. The sample consisted of 3012 adolescents aged between 12 and 17 years (M = 14.20; SD = 0.83). The five-factor model (with correlated errors added), and the five-factor model (with correlated errors added) with the reverse-worded items allowed to cross-load on the Prosocial subscale, displayed adequate goodness of-fit indices. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis showed that the five-factor model had partial strong measurement invariance by countries. A total of 11 of the 25 items were non-invariant across samples. The level of internal consistency of the Total difficulties scores was .84, ranging between .69 and .78 for the SDQ subscales. The findings indicate that the SDQ's scales need to be modified in various ways for screening emotional and behavioural problems in the five European countries that were analyzed

Acute viral infection encephalopathy linked to organic personality disorder

Introduction: Encephalopathy is a structural and/or functional disorder of the brain with multiple causes, one of them being acute viral infection. It is clinically presented with a variety of neurologi­cal and psychiatric symptoms - muscle weakness, poor concentration, seizures, changes in personal­ity, as well as lethargy or psychosis.Materials and methods: A 12-year-old patient is being presented, hospitalized in the past due to viral encephalitis. Symptoms included fever, nausea, drowsiness, apathy and confusion. A lumbar punc­ture was performed at the time with no pathogens found in the cerebrospinal fluid. After a psychi­atric assessment through an interview the patient was diagnosed with organic personality disorder. Therapy was conducted and after the full resolution of the patient`s condition he was discharged. An year and a half later a relapse of previous symptomatology occurred. The boy was hospitalized again in a psychosis-like state after an interview with a psychiatrist.Results: Beginning with fever the second episode included visual hallucinations, photophobia and disorientation, psychosis-like beliefs - believing his mother is not real (Capgras syndrome). Although fully managing the first episode a therapy with Aripiprazole and Finlepsin only lead to a partial im­provement and fluctuation of the condition during the relapse. A follow up and additional examina­tions were commissioned.Conclusion: Even though long term complications are rare the condition should be treated with care. Neuropsychiatric symptoms are common in the acute phase of viral encephalitis. In rare cas­es they may also reappear after recovery, especially in children. Symptoms may present as psychosis (35%), catatonia (33%), psychotic depression (16%), and mania (11%). Post-infectious structural and functional changes in the brain may lead to personality shifts, e.g. detachment from reality and dis­inhibited behaviour resulting in long-term disability and social isolation of the patient. Psychiatric consultation and follow-up should be requested for patients at risk without hesitation

Advantages of laparoscopic surgery in inguinal hernia repair

Introduction: Inguinal hernia has been one of the most common surgical conditions for the last few decades. Risk factors for hernia are excessive physical activity in adults or athletes and birth defects in collagen production. Over the years hernia repair has evolved as a simple, rapid and safe operation with the lowest complication rate. In the last decades laparoscopic hernia repair has replaced the clas­sic open method. The two most popular laparoscopic approaches are totally extraperitoneal repair (TEP) and transabdominal preperitoneal repair (TAPP).Materials and methods: The goal is to do an analysis based on scientific studies. A literature review using PubMed, Google Scholar was conducted. Keywords like inguinal hernia, laparoscopic and open surgery were used. The aim was to compare the laparoscopic versus open hernia surgery for length of hospital stay, postoperative pain, complication rate and return to normal activity.Results: Based on the conducted literature review, laparoscopic surgery was observed to be less pain­ful and the complication rate is lower. Furthermore the length of hospital stay and time until the re­turn to normal activity are shorter. Laparoscopic operations provide the ability to view the abdomi­nal cavity for other pathologies. The efficacy of the repair depends on the experience of the surgeon.Conclusion: In the last decades laparoscopic hernia repair has evolved. It has imposed itself as a gold­en standard in most countries, except for the patients with severe comorbidities. In conclusion, TAPP and TEP are preferred from the patients and replace the different types of open hernia repair, due to their numerable advantages

Serum Calcification Propensity and Fetuin-A: Biomarkers of Cardiovascular Disease in Kidney Transplant Recipients.

BACKGROUND: T50, shortened transformation time from primary to secondary calciprotein particles may reflect deranged mineral metabolism predisposing to vascular calcification and cardiovascular disease (CVD). The glycoprotein fetuin-A is a major T50 determinant. METHODS: The Folic Acid For Vascular Outcome Prevention In Transplantation (FAVORIT) cohort is a completed, large, multiethnic controlled clinical trial cohort of chronic, stable kidney transplant recipients (KTRs). We conducted a longitudinal case-cohort analysis using a randomly selected subcohort of patients, and all individual cases who developed CVD. Serum T50 and fetuin-A were determined in this total of n = 685 FAVORIT trial participants at randomization. RESULTS: During a median surveillance of 2.18-years, 311 incident or recurrent CVD events occurred. Shorter T50 (minutes) or reduced fetuin-A concentrations (g/L) were associated with CVD after adjustment for treatment assignment, systolic blood pressure, age, sex, race, preexisting CVD and diabetes, smoking, body mass index, total cholesterol/HDL cholesterol, kidney allograft vintage and type, calcineurin inhibitor, or lipid-lowering drug use, estimated glomerular filtration rate, and urinary albumin/creatinine: tertile 1 (lowest) to tertile 3 (highest) comparisons, T50, (hazard ratio [HR] 1.86; 95% CI 1.20-2.89); fetuin-A, (HR 2.25; 95% CI 1.38-3.69). Elevated high sensitivity c-reactive protein (hsCRP) was an effect modifier of both these associations. CONCLUSIONS: Shortened T50, as well as reduced fetuin-A levels, ostensible promoters of vascular calcification, remained associated with greater risk for CVD outcomes, after adjustment for major CVD risk factors, measures of kidney function and damage, and KTR clinical characteristics and demographics, in a large, multiethnic cohort of long-term KTRs. Increased hsCRP was an effect modifier of these CVD risk associations

Serum Uromodulin: A Biomarker of Long-Term Kidney Allograft Failure.

BACKGROUND: Uromodulin is a kidney-derived glycoprotein and putative tubular function index. Lower serum uromodulin was recently associated with increased risk for kidney allograft failure in a preliminary, longitudinal single-center -European study involving 91 kidney transplant recipients (KTRs). METHODS: The Folic Acid for Vascular Outcome Reduction in Transplantation (FAVORIT) trial is a completed, large, multiethnic controlled clinical trial cohort, which studied chronic, stable KTRs. We conducted a case cohort analysis using a randomly selected subset of patients (random subcohort, n = 433), and all individuals who developed kidney allograft failure (cases, n = 226) during follow-up. Serum uromodulin was determined in this total of n = 613 FAVORIT trial participants at randomization. Death-censored kidney allograft failure was the study outcome. RESULTS: The 226 kidney allograft failures occurred during a median surveillance of 3.2 years. Unadjusted, weighted Cox proportional hazards modeling revealed that lower serum uromodulin, tertile 1 vs. tertile 3, was associated with a threefold greater risk for kidney allograft failure (hazards ratio [HR], 95% CI 3.20 [2.05-5.01]). This association was attenuated but persisted at twofold greater risk for allograft failure, after adjustment for age, sex, smoking, allograft type and vintage, prevalent diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease (CVD), total/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio, systolic blood pressure, estimated glomerular filtration rate, and natural log urinary albumin/creatinine: HR 2.00, 95% CI (1.06-3.77). CONCLUSIONS: Lower serum uromodulin, a possible indicator of less well-preserved renal tubular function, remained associated with greater risk for kidney allograft failure, after adjustment for major, established clinical kidney allograft failure and CVD risk factors, in a large, multiethnic cohort of long-term, stable KTRs

Abstracts Of The Proceedings And The Posters From The Third Scientific Session Of The Medical College Of Varna

October 2-3, 201