Screening for pre-eclampsia by maternal factors and biomarkers at 11-13 weeks' gestation

Objective: To examine the performance of screening for early-, preterm- and term-preeclampsia (PE) at 11 13 weeks’ gestation by maternal factors and combinations of mean arterial pressure (MAP), uterine artery pulsatility index (UtA-PI), serum placental growth factor (PLGF) and serum pregnancy associated plasma protein A (PAPP A). Methods The data for this study were derived from three previously reported prospective non intervention screening studies at 11+0 – 13+6 weeks’ gestation in a combined total of 61,174 singleton pregnancies, including 1,770 (2.9%) that developed PE. Bayes theorem was used to combine the prior distribution of the gestational age at delivery with PE, obtained from maternal characteristics, with various combinations of biomarker multiple of the median (MoM) values to derive the p patient specific risks of delivery with PE at <37 weeks’ gestation. The performance of such screening was estimated. Results In pregnancies that develop ed PE , compared to those without PE, the MoM values of UtA-PI and MAP were increased and PAPP A and PLGF were decreased and the deviation from normal was greater for early than late PE for all four biomarkers. Combined screening by maternal factors, UtA-PI, MAP and PLGF predicted 90% of early PE, 75% of preterm PE and 4 1 % of term PE, at screen positive rate of 10%; inclusion of PAPP A did not improve the performance of screening The performance of screening depended on the racial origin of the women; in screening by a combination of maternal factors, MAP, UtA-PI and PLGF and use of the risk cut off of 1 in 10 0 for PE at <37 weeks in Caucasian women, the screen positive rate was 10% and detection rates for early --, preterm and term PE were 88%, 69% and 40%, respectively. With the same method of screening and risk cut off in women of Afro Caribbean racial origin, the screen positive rate was 34% and detection rates for early --, preterm and term PE were 100%, 92% and 75%, respectively. Conclusion Screening by maternal factors and biomarkers at 11-13 weeks’ gestation can identify a high proportion of pregnancies that develop early- and preterm-PE

From 'Blue Banana' to 'Red Octopus' and the development of Eastern and Southern European cities: Warsaw and Lisbon

The documentation of the enlargement and transition to the economic growth of European cities from the pole of Central Western Europe known as Blue Banana (London-Milan) to a new frame called Red Octopus which designates the European metropolis as important economic centers of Central East Europe, South Europe and mainly the Iberian Peninsula is the aim of this article. The case studies of Warsaw and Lisbon will be analyzed by focusing on their course to competitiveness during 1990-2010 which had as a result to be included in the list of the top 20 investment destination of Europe. The conclusion by the analysis of these case studies shows that the main factors that contributed to a successful course of the two cities were the strategic planning, the development of partnership between public and private sector and the adaptation and implementation of innovative development plans which had as target the international promotion of the image of the two cities

Corporate social responsibility in Europe: Denmark, Hungary and Greece

This paper aims to define the meaning of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the context of the European framework and examine three different European countries. The main elements which encompass the meaning of CSR focus on activities with social and environmental sensitiveness, on a voluntary basis. The paper analyses the dimensions of CSR and presents its benefits. Furthermore, the paper provides a brief description of the recent CSR activities in the European Union, and attempts a comparative analysis of CSR activities and their respective impacts on three European countries: Greece; Denmark; and Hungary. Finally, the paper concludes that the effective implementation of CSR strategy cannot follow strict rules and should be adjusted to the culture, needs and particularities of each country. © 2010 Taylor & Francis

Shaping the image of Bulgaria as FDI destination in southeastern Europe: The course after 1989

The purpose of this article is to investigate the case of Bulgaria as a destination for attracting Foreign Direct Investments (FDI). An in depth analysis provides the overall picture as far as the economic level and the development policies that the country followed after 1989, as well as the FDI and the level of the country's competitiveness level highlighting/pointing out advantages and disadvantages. A formulated model of Bulgaria as an attractive destination for FDI is developed through this analysis. The paper concludes that Bulgaria may offer a friendly environment for establishing FDI but there are important issues/problems that concern the ability of the political power and capacity to design and implement development policies and the lack of urban infrastructures and technology which are major factors for attracting FDI. Yet, the overall effort to promote the image of the country as an investment destination for the period of 2007-2012 includes actions that could solve the above issues/problems or could be part of the solution for these problems

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND CSR IN PETROLEUM REFINING COMPANIES IN GREECE: CONTENT AND GLOBAL REPORTING INITIATIVE (GRI) ANALYSIS

The environmental policy and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) are two notions of high importance for enterprises and nations. Numerous pages have been written about the environmental policy of companies in their CSR reports. Whether it concerns to raise environmental awareness among their employees or local communities or to give in detail their environmental footprint at the end of the story it is about giving proofs of their environmental policy. Climate change is among the topics of CSR reports and is under examination in this paper. A case study analysis will be applied in order to present how climate change is interpreted in the CSR reports of Greek companies from the petroleum refining industry. © 2016 World Scientific Publishing Compan

Environmental policy and CSR in petroleum refining companies in Greece: Content and global reporting initiative (GRI) analysis

The environmental policy and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) are two notions of high importance for enterprises and nations. Numerous pages have been written about the environmental policy of companies in their CSR reports. Whether it concerns to raise environmental awareness among their employees or local communities or to give in detail their environmental footprint at the end of the story, it is about giving proofs of their environmental policy. Climate change is among the topics of CSR reports and is under examination in this paper. A case study analysis will be applied in order to present how climate change is interpreted in the CSR reports of Greek companies from the petroleum refining industry. © World Scientific Publishing Europe Ltd

CSR in metallurgy sector in Greece: A content analysis

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become one of the most widespread business topics among the academic community. Various issues like environmental pollution, economic crisis, corruption, poverty are of major importance these days and besides governments and policy makers responsibility it is obvious that corporations are also part of these problems. In Europe the last 15 years, governments, NGOs, small and large enterprises are making an effort to establish in their business CSR strategies so as to become more competitive and innovative in the global market. The research presents the way 8 Greek companies from the metallurgy sector publish CSR activities and which dimensions of CSR are more common among Greek companies. The companies were selected according to a study of ICAP Group about CSR and Leading Employers in Greece. The findings reveal how Greek companies during the economic crisis make their effort to be more active especially on environmental issues, human resources, health and safety and contribution to local communities. The results of their efforts are controversial as far as their CSR strategy concerns. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Green CSR practices: A European approach

In their business strategy, companies incorporate their concerns on global environmental problems by setting their principles on sustainability with CSR. An in depth analysis will provide a general view of how European companies express their environmental concerns through green management. A comparative content analysis of European companies is conducted in order to find the similarities or differences between the different European enterprises. Issues like recycling, environmental awareness, restoration of abandoned places like quarrying, energy conservation, environmental education, green buildings, appliance of environmental indexes are some of the CSR activities that companies adopt in order to disclose the company's environmental policy. The result of this research will reveal the key elements needed for a successful green CSR practice. Copyright © 2014 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd

Mediators of Inflammation in Children with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in children remains a challenging problem. Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis are characterized by an activation of intestinal mononuclear cells and T-cells within the inflammed lesions. In the present study, we determined whether circulating inflammatory mediators, such as interleukins and adhesion molecules, may represent useful markers of immune activation in vivo. Serum concentrations of IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, sIL-2R, sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 were measured by a quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 18 patients with IBD and 25 healthy subjects matched for age and sex (control group). According to our results, all the inflammatory mediators are significantly increased in patients with IBD as compared to the control group. Pro-inflammatory mediators (IL-6, IL-8, IL-10) are elevated in the serum of patients with active disease, suggesting that they act as naturally occuring initiators of the acute inflammatory process. Increased IL-2 and sIL-2R levels reflect T-cell activation. Increased circulating sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 levels may reflect increased adhesiveness and signal transmission across cells, probably as a result of shedding of the parent molecule during local cellular immunoresponses in vivo . The measurement of inflammatory mediators may be a useful adjunct to the clinical assessment and to the routine laboratory testing of IBD pediatric patients