The financial instruments used by international financial institutions (IFIs) regarding the Southeast European countries: a critical assessment of their underlying philosophy and orientation

After the fall of the communist regimes in the Southeast European countries, what was attempted was a systemic transformation which was called transition. The economic transition aimed at transforming the nature of economic relations, since their coordination would be passed from the state to market mechanisms. In order to enable this transformation, what was necessary was to finance the attempted changes. However, since the countries in the region lacked sufficient equity capital, they resorted to foreign borrowing and, thus, international finance has to date been the main source of capital. The involvement of International Financial Institutions (IFIs) in the transition process was almost direct but after the cessation of hostilities in Kosovo in 1999 there has been a dramatic increase in financing throughout the area. The level of financing in conjunction with the immediate and increasing needs of countries was the main factors that configured the balance of powers among recipient countries and international financial institutions. The implementation of financial policies by Institutions is being conducted by means of specific financial instruments. he present article aims at examining and evaluating the instruments used by institutions to finance the transition of Southeast European countries, as their suitability, orientation and philosophy have been repeatedly questioned. In order to make this assessment feasible, an examination will take place with regard to the financial instruments of the major creditors of the region, namely the IMF (International Monetary Fund) the World Bank Group and the European Union, who are also managers of the vast majority of financings.transition, international financial institutions (IFIs), Southeast Europe, financial instruments

Benzotriazoles, Alkylphenols and Bisphenol A in Municipal Wastewaters and in the Glatt River, Switzerland

-: DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1065/espr2006.01.295 Background: Many organic micropollutants occur at trace concentrations in municipal wastewater effluents and in the aquatic environment. Some of these xenobiotic chemicals can be considered as 'emerging' contaminants and some are suspect to have endocrine disrupting effects. Among the latter are nonylphenol (NP), octylphenol (OP) and bisphenol A (BPA), which deserve special attention due to their ubiquitous occurrence in the aquatic environment. The complexing agents benzotriazole (BT) and tolyltriazole (TT) are applied as anticorrosive agents (e.g. in cooling and hydraulic fluids, in antifreezing fluids, in aircraft deicing fluids, in dish washing liquids for silver protection), as antifogging agents and as intermediates for the synthesis of various chemicals. The environmental occurrence of NP and OP is caused by the fact that they are intermediate products (metabolites) in the biodegradation of alkylphenol polyethoxylate surfactants. BPA is globally used for the production of polycarbonate and epoxy resins. Methods: BT, TT, NP, OP and BPA were quantitatively determined in municipal wastewater effluents in Switzerland and in the Glatt River. The analytes were enriched by solid-phase enrichment. BT and TT were determined underivatized by electrospray LC/tandem MS. Reversed-phase LC was performed on octylsilica columns with isocratic water/methanol elution. Multiple reaction monitoring of the positive ions provided selective and sensitive detection for reliable quantifications. NP, OP and BPA were determined by GC/MS after derivatization with N-methyl-N-(trimethylsilyl)-trifluoroacetamide. Results and Discussion: BT and TT concentrations in primary and secondary effluents of municipal wastewater treatment plants varied from below 10 to 100 µg/L. The ranges of the concentrations in the Glatt River in ng/L were 636-3,690 for BT, 122-628 for TT, 68-326 for NP, 6-22 for OP and 9-76 for BPA. The corresponding mass flows in g/d were 93-1,870 for BT, 18-360 for TT, 24-183 for NP, 1-16 for OP and 2-72 for BPA. The concentrations and mass flows of NP in the River Glatt were drastically lower than the analogous values found 15 years ago. Thus, a substantially decreased environmental exposure can be observed due to the reduction of the use of alkyphenol polyethoxylate surfactants in Switzerland. The current concentrations of NP, OP and BPA are within the ranges reported for weakly impacted surface waters. Conclusion: The investigated contaminants occur at quantitatively measurable but varying concentrations in municipal wastewaters and in the Glatt River reflecting their ubiquitous input into wastewaters and their different behaviour during biological wastewater treatmen

Salamanca and Hellenism. Greek intellectuals who have visited the city of Salamanca over the centuries

La ciudad de Salamanca y su histórica Universidad con la tradición en estudios clásicos ha atraído siempre la presencia de profesores e intelectuales griegos y chipriotas. El estudio se centra en cuatro hombres de letras que estuvieron en Salamanca a lo largo de los siglos como profesores universitarios o como admiradores de su Universidad y de sus figuras máximas: Diógenes Paramonaris, Neófitos Rodinós, Kostas Tsirópoulos y Nikos Kazantzakis. La conclusión a la que se llega es que desde el siglo XVI hasta el siglo XX no se ha perdido el vínculo entre Salamanca y Helenismo, sino que ha estado presente de varias maneras.The city of Salamanca and its historical University with tradition in classical studies has always attracted the presence of Greek and Cypriot teachers and intellectuals. This study focuses on four of them who have been in Salamanca over the centuries as academic teachers or as admirers of the famous University and its great figures: Diogenes Paraponaris, Neofitos Rodinos, Nikos Kazantzakis and Kostas Tsiropoulos. The reached conclusion that from 16th century until 20th century the bond between Salamanca and Hellenism has been very strong and present in various ways

Kostas Kariotakis, Mario Benedetti y el "realismo burocrático"

Tanto el poeta griego Kostas Kariotakis (1896-1928) como el uruguayo Mario Benedetti (1920) tratan en su obra la figura del funcionario, con su vida gris y la alienación que supone el trabajo de la oficina, la rutina y el horario que cumplir. En el estudio que sigue se examinan las afinidades de ambos poetas tanto con respecto a la fuente de la que derivan sus temas (la realidad cotidiana) como en cuanto a su lenguaje (una variante del habla cotidiana con acentos coloquiales). De modo que se podría hablar de un realismo burocrático que caracteriza a ambos escritores. Tal realismo va acompañado a menudo por el humor y el sarcasmo (a veces incluso el autosarcasmo), elementos que funcionan como antídoto a la realidad frustrante y a los que echaron mano con mucho afán tanto el poeta griego como el uruguay

Heavy metal content of vegetables irrigated with mixtures of wastewater and sewage sludge in Zimbabwe: Implications for human health

There is growing public concern in Zimbabwe over the illegal cultivation of vegetables on soils amended with sewage sludge or irrigated with admixtures of sewage and sewage sludge. Excessive accumulation of heavy metals in agricultural soils may not only result in environmental contamination, but lead to elevated heavy metal uptake by crops, which may affect food quality and safety. The work reported here studied heavy metal concentrations in crops irrigated with sewage sludge and sewage/sewage sludge admixtures at Firle Municipal Farm in Harare. The crops analysed in this study are heavily contaminated with the four regulated elements Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn. This contamination is at its highest in two of the staple dietary crops maize and tsunga. Tsunga leaves contained 3.68 mg kg-1 Cd, over 18 times the permissible level by the EU standards (0.2 mg kg-1); Cu concentrations were 111 mg kg-1, 5 times the EU Standard (20 mg kg-1); concentrations of Pb were 6.77 mg kg-1, over 22 times the permissible levels allowed by both EU standards and UK guidelines (0.3 mg kg-1); Zn concentrations were 221 mg kg-1, over 4 times the guideline value (50 mg kg-1). The other plants (beans, maize, peppers and sugarcane) also contained concentrations of heavy metals above the permissible levels. Furthermore the concentrations observed in this study were higher than those reported by other workers who have examined vegetation from other contaminated sites. This study highlights the potential risks involved in the cultivation and consumption of vegetables on plots irrigated with sewage sludge, a practice which may place at risk the health of the urban population who consume these vegetables

Service quality, visitor satisfaction and future behavior in the museum sector

The present study investigates the factors that affect visitors’ satisfaction and their future behavior. A survey based on the dimensions of SERVPERF among 632 visitors in two distinct in terms of atmosphere, exhibits and activities museums, the Archaeological Museum and the Museum for Science and Technology in Thessaloniki (Greece) provides the empirical evidence. The results indicate that the five dimensions of SERVPERF can successfully determine the degree of visitors’ satisfaction and predict future behavior. Future behavior is often subject to visitors’ place of residence. The type of museum is also a significant factor affecting satisfaction and future behavior. on and loyalty

Bioavailability in soils

The consumption of locally-produced vegetables by humans may be an important exposure pathway for soil contaminants in many urban settings and for agricultural land use. Hence, prediction of metal and metalloid uptake by vegetables from contaminated soils is an important part of the Human Health Risk Assessment procedure. The behaviour of metals (cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, mercury, molybdenum, nickel, lead and zinc) and metalloids (arsenic, boron and selenium) in contaminated soils depends to a large extent on the intrinsic charge, valence and speciation of the contaminant ion, and soil properties such as pH, redox status and contents of clay and/or organic matter. However, chemistry and behaviour of the contaminant in soil alone cannot predict soil-to-plant transfer. Root uptake, root selectivity, ion interactions, rhizosphere processes, leaf uptake from the atmosphere, and plant partitioning are important processes that ultimately govern the accumulation ofmetals and metalloids in edible vegetable tissues. Mechanistic models to accurately describe all these processes have not yet been developed, let alone validated under field conditions. Hence, to estimate risks by vegetable consumption, empirical models have been used to correlate concentrations of metals and metalloids in contaminated soils, soil physico-chemical characteristics, and concentrations of elements in vegetable tissues. These models should only be used within the bounds of their calibration, and often need to be re-calibrated or validated using local soil and environmental conditions on a regional or site-specific basis.Mike J. McLaughlin, Erik Smolders, Fien Degryse, and Rene Rietr

Deposition and solubility of airborne metals to four plant species grown at varying distances from two heavily trafficked roads in London

In urban areas, a highly variable mixture of pollutants is deposited as particulate matter. The concentration and bioavailability of individual pollutants within particles need to be characterised to ascertain the risks to ecological receptors. This study, carried out at two urban parks, measured the deposition and water-solubility of metals to four species common to UK urban areas. Foliar Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn concentrations were elevated in at least one species compared with those from a rural control site. Concentrations were, however, only affected by distance to road in nettle and, to a lesser extent, birch leaves. Greater concentrations of metal were observed in these species compared to cypress and maple possibly due to differences in plant morphology and leaf surfaces. Solubility appeared to be linked to the size fraction and, therefore, origin of the metal with those present predominantly in the coarse fraction exhibiting low solubility. © 2009