Towards sustainable economic development via social entrepreneurship

This paper argues that social enterprises (SE) in EU Member States share at least following common features: the dominance of a social or societal objective over market goal, an apparent social responsibility, particularly in the field of profit distribution. However, numeric limits for the criteria of SE identification remain 'unclear': in the majority of cases there are no comprehensible requirements regarding the employment of vulnerable groups and the reinvestment of profits into social projects. Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, Italy, Lithuania, and Slovakia advocate accuracy and precision in dealing with the terminology surrounding SE regulatory and legal acts to the greatest extent. Being a significant facilitator of sustainable development, SE growth has a close relationship with certain macroeconomic factors. Our correlation and regression analysis clearly proves that there are certain factors of financial and social environment which have the greatest impact on the increase of the number of SE per 10,000 population, namely: Monetary Freedom, Income Distribution and Helping a Stranger. The first two factors show the impact of government regulation quality in business relation, including the links between employers and employees. The latter factor demonstrates an average social perception of so-called 'inclusion ideas' in different societies

Postoperative peritonitis diagnosis features in abdominal sepsis

Introduction: Despite significant advances in modern medicine, postoperative peritonitis is the cause of death in 50-86 % of patients. Postoperative peritonitis remains one of the most common causes of relaparotomy, accounting for 35 %-56 % of all intraabdominal complications. The diagnosis of postoperative peritonitis is based on clinical and biochemical examinations, the informative value of which is insufficient. One of the most informative methods of diagnosis of postoperative peritonitis with abdominal sepsis is a study of indices of endogenous intoxication and immune response of the body, such as medium-mass molecules, IgA, IgM, IgG, and complement activity. Objective: The objective of the research is to study the changes in immune response in patients with postoperative peritonitis with abdominal sepsis

“Artificial Wood” Lignocellulosic Membranes: Influence of Kraft Lignin on the Properties and Gas Transport in Tunicate-Based Nanocellulose Composites

Nanocellulose membranes based on tunicate-derived cellulose nanofibers, starch, and ~5% wood-derived lignin were investigated using three different types of lignin. The addition of lignin into cellulose membranes increased the specific surface area (from 5 to ~50 m2/g), however the fine porous geometry of the nanocellulose with characteristic pores below 10 nm in diameter remained similar for all membranes. The permeation of H2, CO2, N2, and O2 through the membranes was investigated and a characteristic Knudsen diffusion through the membranes was observed at a rate proportional to the inverse of their molecular sizes. Permeability values, however, varied significantly between samples containing different lignins, ranging from several to thousands of barrers (10−10 cm3 (STP) cm cm−2 s−1 cmHg−1cm), and were related to the observed morphology and lignin distribution inside the membranes. Additionally, the addition of ~5% lignin resulted in a significant increase in tensile strength from 3 GPa to ~6–7 GPa, but did not change thermal properties (glass transition or thermal stability). Overall, the combination of plant-derived lignin as a filler or binder in cellulose–starch composites with a sea-animal derived nanocellulose presents an interesting new approach for the fabrication of membranes from abundant bio-derived materials. Future studies should focus on the optimization of these types of membranes for the selective and fast transport of gases needed for a variety of industrial separation processes

Sol-Gel Derived Adsorbents with Enzymatic and Complexonate Functions for Complex Water Remediation

Sol-gel technology is a versatile tool for preparation of complex silica-based materials with targeting functions for use as adsorbents in water purification. Most efficient removal of organic pollutants is achieved by using enzymatic reagents grafted on nano-carriers. However, enzymes are easily deactivated in the presence of heavy metal cations. In this work, we avoided inactivation of immobilized urease by Cu (II) and Cd (II) ions using magnetic nanoparticles provided with additional complexonate (diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid or DTPA) functions. Obtained nanomaterials were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). According to TGA, the obtained Fe3O4/SiO2-NH2-DTPA nanoadsorbents contained up to 0.401 mmol/g of DTPA groups. In the concentration range Ceq = 0–50 mmol/L, maximum adsorption capacities towards Cu (II) and Cd (II) ions were 1.1 mmol/g and 1.7 mmol/g, respectively. Langmuir adsorption model fits experimental data in concentration range Ceq = 0–10 mmol/L. The adsorption mechanisms have been evaluated for both of cations. Crosslinking of 5 wt % of immobilized urease with glutaraldehyde prevented the loss of the enzyme in repeated use of the adsorbent and improved the stability of the enzymatic function leading to unchanged activity in at least 18 cycles. Crosslinking of 10 wt % urease on the surface of the particles allowed a decrease in urea concentration in 20 mmol/L model solutions to 2 mmol/L in up to 10 consequent decomposition cycles. Due to the presence of DTPA groups, Cu2+ ions in concentration 1 µmol/L did not significantly affect the urease activity. Obtained magnetic Fe3O4/SiO2-NH2-DTPA-Urease nanocomposite sorbents revealed a high potential for urease decomposition, even in presence of heavy metal ions

Alcohol consumption and risk of lymphoid and myeloid neoplasms: Results of the Netherlands cohort study

Results from epidemiological studies suggest that alcohol drinkers have a decreased risk of lymphoid neoplasms, whereas results for myeloid neoplasms are inconsistent. However, most of these studies have used retrospective data. We examined prospectively whether alcohol consumption decreases the risk of both lymphoid and myeloid neoplasms, including most common subtypes. Moreover, we investigated whether this decreased risk is due to ethanol or other contents of specific alcoholic beverages (i.e., beer, wine and liquor). The Netherlands cohort study consisted of 120,852 individuals who completed a baseline questionnaire in 1986. After 17.3 years of follow-up, 1,375 cases of lymphoid and 245 cases of myeloid neoplasms with complete exposure information were available for analysis. Compared with abstinence, we observed for plasma cell neoplasms hazard rate ratios (HR) of 1.66 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.21-2.29), 1.63 (95% CI, 1.17-2.27), 1.11 (95% CI, 0.75-1.64) and 0.85 (95% CI, 0.51-1.42) with daily ethanol consumption of 0.1-<5, 5-<15, 15-<30 and ≥30 g, respectively. A similar pattern was observed for chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma. No associations were observed for other subtypes and for myeloid neoplasms. When results were analyzed by beverage type, no clear associations were observed. In conclusion, our study did not show an inverse association between alcohol consumption and lymphoid neoplasms. Also, no inverse association was observed with myeloid neoplasms. If any association between alcohol consumption and lymphoid neoplasms exists, our study suggests an increased risk rather than a decreased risk. What's new? Recent epidemiological studies suggest that alcohol consumption may protect from hematological malignancies, especially nonhodgkin lymphoma. In this large prospective study, the authors analyzed data from the Netherlands Cohort Study including more than 1, 600 cases of lymphoid and myeloid neoplasms. No inverse correlation with alcohol consumption was found; instead, the data suggest that alcohol consumption promotes hematological cancers. As this study includes a larger number of cases as compared to previous studies, it contributes substantially to the growing, yet inconclusive evidence of an association between alcohol consumption and lymphoid and myeloid neoplasms. © 2013 UICC