Παιδική εκμετάλλευση & εργασία: Το φαινόμενο των παιδιών στρατιωτών και η απάντηση της διεθνούς κοινωνίας

Η παρούσα εργασία εξετάζει τη διαπλοκή δύο φαινομένων, τα οποία υπονομεύουν την υγεία και ευημερία της ανθρωπότητας, αυτά της παιδικής εκμετάλλευσης στην εργασία και των παιδιών στρατιωτών. Η παιδική στράτευση αποτελεί υποκατηγορία του φαινομένου της εργασιακής εκμετάλλευσης στην παιδική ηλικία. Μολονότι όμως υπάρχουν σχετικές συναινέσεις που αφορούν στις δύο καταστάσεις, θα παρατηρήσουμε ότι τόσο θεωρητικά όσο και πρακτικά η διεθνής κοινότητα αποφεύγει τη διευθέτηση γκρίζων ζωνών τα οποία θα ωθήσουν στη μείωση του αριθμού των παιδιών που βρίσκονται σε ακραίες καταστάσεις. Εάν λοιπόν σκοπός είναι η ευημερία του πλανήτη και η ύπαρξη μιας κοινωνίας χωρίς ανισότητες, τότε χρειάζεται να κατανοήσουμε πως τα παιδιά είναι ένας από εκείνους τους προσδιοριστές που θα δημιουργήσουν την οδό για την επίτευξη αυτού του στόχου.This review examines the intertwining of two phenomena which undermine the health and well-being of humanity, those of child labour and child soldiers. Child conscription consists a subcategory of child labour. Notwithstanding that there are relevant consensuses regarding these two situations, we will note that international community –both in theory and in practice- avoids the settlement of crucial gray areas, which can lead to the reduction of the number of the exploited children in extreme situations. If our goal is the planet’s well-being and the existence of a society without inequalities, we have to understand that children are one of those determinants which will open the road to this particular achievement

E(ye)scape: Designing with memory/+fire, a Living Memorial

I have always been fascinated by fire. By no means does this mean that I am not afraid of it. As a child, growing up in the Athenian, suburban interface, but also in the Greek, Mediterranean, summery, rural landscape, fire was a familiar event to me. Even so, though, that doesn’t make it something less shocking, scary, and unwanted. Every time, every summer, the fear of a fire in the forests, in the mountains, in the pastures, a fire that spreads uncontrollably, and that can destroy landscapes, properties, lives, is deeply rooted in the Greek souls. However, it was, is, and will continue to be a natural part of the ecosystem. Yet, it is the human actions that are responsible for the most destructive, unnatural, fires and wildfires, intentionally or not, directly or not, in the current times. And along with the global problem of climate change, the consequences on all aspects of nature and non-nature are devastating. One of these most severe wildfires happened in Greece in 2018. The tragedy of Mati, in Eastern Attica, a once green, summery paradise, is recorded as the second-deadliest wildfire event of the 21st century, with 102 people confirmed dead. And it was this tragic event that changed everything. People were killed, thousands of homes were destroyed, and tens of thousands of acres of forest were burned. Mati will not be the same again. And three years now, the memories are still there, painful memories that are engraved on people’s souls, and recalled by the also battered landscape. This thesis project focuses on the two traumas that this fire caused, the Human Trauma, the human wound, caused by the fire experiencing, and the loss, and includes the Individual trauma, and the Collective-Community trauma, and the disrupted relationship of people and nature, and the Landscape Trauma, the trauma of the landscape that includes the direct and indirect tangible consequences of the fire, and the indirect tangible landscape degradation, when fires are repeated at relatively short intervals at the same place, and delay its regeneration.But what is the role of space and design in the healing processes of both traumas? How to imprint and express on-site the memories in a cathartic way, in a way that the design itself can contribute to the recovery of people and the landscape, and the restoration of their relationship, even in avoiding the same mistakes?The design intention is to create a public locus, a didactic, non-static, Living Memorial that will express and imprint these memories, contribute to the tangible and intangible healing processes, integrating fire-resilient, landscape design tools, in order to achieve atonement and a better relationship with nature and its phenomena, in order to show that fire is part of nature, destruction and loss is part of nature, we are part of nature, but the important is to bounce back every time, recover and heal, continue the cyclical journey of life, forgiving and learning from, but not forgetting, the past.<br/

Σύγκριση νεότερων μη επεμβατικών με επεμβατικές τεχνικές μέτρησης της καρδιακής παροχής σε νοσηλευόμενους ασθενείς στη μονάδα εντατικής θεραπείας

Εισαγωγή: Η επεμβατική μέτρηση της καρδιακής παροχής (ΚΠ) και η συνεχής της παρακολούθηση είναι μια τεχνολογική και κλινική πρόκληση, ιδιαιτέρως για ασθενείς σε κρίσιμη κατάσταση ή ασθενείς σε Μονάδα Εντατικής Θεραπείας (ΜΕΘ). Σκοπός: Σκοπός της μελέτης ήταν η εφαρμογή και αξιολόγηση της χρήσης μια νέας αυτόματης ταλαντωσιμετρικής συσκευής μέτρησης της ΚΠ νοσηλευόμενων ασθενών σε μονάδα εντατικής θεραπείας και η σύγκριση των εκτιμώμενων τιμών ΚΠ με την αντίστοιχη κλασική επεμβατική μέτρηση καρδιακής παροχής μέσω θερμοαραίωσης κατά τη διάρκεια καθετηριασμού της πνευμονικής αρτηρίας. Υλικό και Μέθοδος: Το δείγμα αποτέλεσαν 24 ασθενείς νοσηλευόμενοι σε ΜΕΘ του Γ.Ν.Α. «ΛΑΪΚΟ» Τα στοιχεία συλλέχθηκαν με τη μέθοδο των επαναλαμβανόμενων, διαδοχικών μετρήσεων της καρδιακής παροχής, σε τυχαία σειρά, μέσω θερμοαραίωσης και της υπό μελέτη συσκευής (Mobil-O-Graph). Η επαναληψιμότητα και ακρίβεια της υπό εξέτασης συσκευής εκτιμήθηκε μέσω της ανάλυσης Bland-Altman, του συντελεστή ICC (intra-class correlation coefficient) και του ποσοστού λάθους (percentage of error PE). Αποτελέσματα: Το Mobil-O-Graph υποτίμησε σημαντικά την ΚΠ με συστηματικό σφάλμα -1,12±1,38 L/min (p&lt;0.01) συγκριτικά με την θερμοαραίωση. Ωστόσο, το ICC ήταν &gt;0.7 υποδεικνύοντας μια σχετική συμφωνία μεταξύ της συσκευής και της μεθόδου αναφοράς, ενώ το ποσοστό λάθους ήταν κατά προσέγγιση 39% το οποίο θεωρείται πως βρίσκεται μέσα στα αποδεκτά όρια. Και οι δύο μετρήσεις καρδιακής παροχής ήταν επαναλήψιμες και από την Mobil-O-Graph (ICC=0,73 και PE=27,9%) και από την θερμοαραίωση (ICC=0,91 και PE=26,7%). Συμπέρασμα: Αποδείχθηκε για πρώτη φορά πως η εκτίμηση καρδιακής παροχής σε ασθενείς σε ΜΕΘ από μια μη-επεμβατική, αυτόματη ταλαντωσιμετρική συσκευή είναι επαναλήψιμη, επιδεικνύοντας παρόμοια ακρίβεια με τη μέθοδο της θερμοαραίωσης – καθετήρας πνευμονικής αρτηρίας. Η ακρίβεια αυτής της συσκευής μπορεί να θεωρηθεί αρκούντως αποδεκτή.INTRODUCTION: The invasive measurement of cardiac output (CO) and its continuous monitoring presents both a technological and a clinical challenge, especially for the critically ill or patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). AIM: The aim of this study was to apply and evaluate the use of a new automatic oscillatory cardiovascular device in patients in intensive care unit and to compare the estimated cardiac output values with the corresponding standard invasive cardiovascular function measurement. The study was performed with the method of repeated successive in random order measurements of cardiac output, by thermo-dilation and the study device (mobil -o - graph), in 24 patients admitted to the ICU. The reproducibility and accuracy of the device under investigation, was estimated by means of the Bland-Altman analysis, the ICC (intra class correlation coefficient) and the PE (percentage of error). RESULTS: Mobil -O -Graph significantly underestimated cardiac output with a systematic error of -1.12±1.38 L/min.(p &lt;0.01) compared to thermal dilution. However, the ICC was&gt; 07, indicating a relative agreement between the device and the reference method, while the error rate was approximately 39%, which is considered to be within acceptable limits. Both measurements of cardiac output were repeatable by both Mobil-O-Graph (ICC = 0.73 and PE = 27.9%) and by thermal dilution (ICC = 0.91 and PE = 26.7%). CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated for the first time that the assessment of cardiac output to patients in ICU by a non-invasive, automatic oscillometer could be reproducible, demonstrating similar accuracy to the method of thermodilution. The accuracy of this device can be considered sufficiently acceptable

Stability of SUV liposomes in the presence of cholate salts and pancreatic lipases: effect of lipid composition

The effect of bile salts (sodium cholate and sodium taurocholate), and pancreatic lipases on the structural integrity of SW liposomes of different lipid compositions was studied. Liposomal membrane integrity was judged by bile salt or pancreatin-induced release of vesicle encapsulated 5,6-carboxyfluorescein, and vesicle size distribution before and after incubations. Bile salt concentration was 10 mM, while a saturated solution of pancreatin (mixed with equal volume of liposomes) was utilized. Results agree with earlier studies, demonstrating the instability of liposomes composed of lipids with low transition temperatures (PC and DMPC) in presence of cholates. Addition of cholesterol (1:1 lipid:chol molar ratio) does not substantially increase the encapsulated molecule retention. Nevertheless, liposomes composed of lipids with high transition temperatures (DPPC, DSPC and SM), retain significantly higher amounts of encapsulated material, under all conditions studied. Furthermore, the vesicles formed by mixing cholesterol with these lipids will possibly be sufficiently stable in the gastrointestinal tract for long periods of time. Sizing results reveal that in most cases release of encapsulated molecules is mainly caused by their leakage through holes formed on the Lipid bilayer. However, in stearylamine containing DPPC and DSPC vesicles, the cholate-induced drastic decrease in vesicle size suggests total liposome disruption as the possible mechanism of encapsulated material immediate release. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

Pluripotent stem cells isolated from umbilical cord form embryonic like bodies in a mesenchymal layer culture

Recently the matrix of umbilical cord began to use as an alternative source of stem cells additionally to the blood of umbilical cord. Umbilical cord has been used mainly for mesenchymal stem cell banking. The immunological characteristics of mesenchymal stem cells in combination with their ability to avoid rejection make them an attractive biological material for transplantations. In this study the isolation of small in size pluripotent stem cells from umbilical cord expressing early transcription factors with characteristics that resemble to embryonic stem cells is investigated. Pluripotent stem cells were isolated from human umbilical cords, by a new strategy method based on unique characteristics such as the small size and the positivity on early transcription factors OCT and Nanog. An enriched population of CXCR4+ OCT+ Nanog+ CD45- small stem cells from the cord was isolated. This fraction was able to create alkaline phosphatase positive like spheres forms in a mesenchymal layer with multilineage differentiation capacity. Our results were assessed by RT PCR and electophoresis for the pluripotent genes. These data suggest that umbilical cord provides an attractive source not only of mesenchymal stem cells but moreover of pluripotent stem cells. The method described herein should be applied in the field of stem cell banking in addition to the classical umbilical cord harvesting method. Isolation of a population of cells with pluripotent characteristics from umbilical cord. Adoption of a second centrifugation step for the pluripotent stem isolation. Increasing the value of the cord and explaining the pluripotency. This work will enhance the value of umbilical cord harvesting

Morbidity and mortality of hospitalized hip fractures in chronic hemodialysis

Abnormal bone architecture contributes to high incidence of hip fractures in chronichemodialysis (HD) patients. Their clinical epidemiology is incompletely described. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to assess the implications ofhospitalization with hip fracture in HD patients compared to the nonchronic kidney disease population. Thirty-three chronic HD patients admitted with hip fracture overfiveyears were age- and sex-matched on a 1:1 ratio with controls that had hip fracture and normal renal function. Demographic characteristics, deaths, and readmissions atsixmonths,hospitalization length, time to operation, and laboratory resultswere recorded from electronic health files. Datawere compared betweenthe two groups usingpairedt-test for continuous variables and McNemar's test for categoricalvariables. The compositeendpoint of deathand/or readmission at6 months was higher in HD patients (12.1% vs. 6.2%, P<0.001). Furthermore, mean time tooperationwas more delayed due to comorbidities (4.7 vs. 2.9 days, p = 0.04). HD patients had anemia more frequently at presentation (hemoglobin below 10 mg/dL, 32.1% vs. 12.5%, P = 0.003). Finally, they were more likely to be considered toofrail for surgery and not be operated (21.2% vs. 6.2%, P<0.001). Hip fractures are associated with increased morbidity and mortality and represent an important health-care burden for chronic HD patients. Future research is needed to identify definite predictors of adverse outcomes and to implement prevention strategies