Concentrations of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), Polychlorinated Dibenzo-p-dioxins and Furans (PCDD/Fs), and Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) as Functions of Sample Depth in Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) Blubber

Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were examined as a function of depth in killer whale (Orcinus orca) blubber samples. Lipid-normalized concentrations of PCBs, PCDD/Fs, and PBDEs did not display significant variation with depth in three distinct blubber layers (outer, central, and inner). Significantly more variation in contaminant concentrations were observed with depth on a wet weight basis for the killer whale sample. The current study indicates that non-invasive microdart biopsy sampling methods commonly used for monitoring contaminants in marine mammals yield representative details on contaminant burdens for chlorinated and brominated aromatic compounds in marine mammal blubber, regardless of the quantity and type of blubber sampled, provided that lipid normalization is performed on resulting analytical determinations

Cell, tissue and gene products with marketing authorization in 2018 worldwide

Cell and gene therapies (CGTs) are progressively entering into clinical practice in different parts of the world. The International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy (ISCT), a global scientific society, has been committed since 1992 to supporting and developing knowledge on clinical applications of CGTs. Considering the number of products that have been progressively approved and, in some cases, withdrawn in recent years, the ISCT would like to present a brief annual report on CGTs with marketing authorization (MA) in different regions. This article reflects the dynamic momentum around authorized CGTs coinciding with the parallel increase of unproven approaches where cells are delivered without appropriate and rigorous scientific and regulatory assessment and authorization. This is intended to be a living document with a yearly update linked to a dedicated section of the ISCT website for faster adjustments. The aim is to ultimately inform, by periodic snapshots, the scientific community, healthcare stakeholders and patient associations on authorized CGT products as a way to increase communication around the approved therapeutic approaches charged with heightened expectations

An assessment of European integration for the EU-15 (1971-2015)

A long-term assessment of the EU integration process is attempted for the1971-2015 period, by comparing per capita Gross Domestic Product (in constant Purchasing Power Parities) and its change, for EU-15 and non-EU states that are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. A growing divergence is found between Greece but also Portugal and the EU southern periphery on the one hand, and Luxembourg, Ireland and Scandinavian states on the other that have benefi ted from EU integration, especially after the Eurozone was formed. Those EU-15 members that have joined the Eurozone have not benefi ted as much as non-members. It is suggested that two types of states can be trapped by the integration process: The relative or absolute losers of the currency zone, like Greece and states like the UK that have benefi ted less from integration, while choosing to remain at an earlier integration stage. Given the mix of monetary and fi scal policies pursued, resolving the former problem will require setting-up a common production union to advance competitiveness and co-operation, while solution to the latter should avoid the risk of disintegration and of the permanent loss of EU membership

Growth Factors of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises at State and Regional Level

Στην παρούσα έρευνα εξετάζεται η σημασία των ποικίλων μορφών κεφαλαίου για την ανάπτυξη των Ελληνικών μικρομεσαίων επιχειρήσεων (ΜΜΕ) την περίοδο προετοιμασίας ένταξης στην Ο.Ν.Ε. (1995-2002). Ένα μαθηματικό μοντέλο συσχετίζει την ανάπτυξη των ΜΜΕ με αλλαγές σε χαρακτηριστικά διάφορων μορφών εγχώριου, τοπικού ή περιφερειακού κεφαλαίου και με μεταβλητές σε επίπεδο επιχείρησης, συμπεριλαμβανομένου του μεγέθους των επιχειρήσεων. Το μοντέλο εκτιμάται με τη χρήση ενός αντιπροσωπευτικού δείγματος. Τα ευρήματα για την περιορισμένη σημαντικότητα του οικονομικού και βιομηχανικού κεφαλαίου σε κρατικό και περιφερειακό επίπεδο -ειδικά στην Αττική- αποδίδονται σε έμμεσες αιτίες, όπως το κράχ του Χ.Α.Α., η αυξανόμενη διεθνοποίηση των ΜΜΕ και το περιφερειακό κοινωνικό, πολιτικό και πολιτιστικό κεφάλαιο. Πρόσθετες ενδείξεις αναδεικνύουν την αποτυχία διαμόρφωσης αναπτυξιακών τοπικών και περιφερειακών πολιτικών που να εστιάζουν στις ΜΜΕ και τα προβλήματά τους. Τονίζεται η σημαντική σχέση της ανάπτυξης των ΜΜΕ με ορισμένες μορφές κεφαλαίου και συντελεστές σε εθνικό, περιφερειακό και κλαδικό επίπεδο και με το μέγεθος των επιχειρήσεων. Ερευνάται η λειτουργία μιας μακροπρόθεσμης διαδικασίας έντονης συσσώρευσης οικονομικού κεφαλαίου.The present research investigates the signifi cance of various forms of capital and factors of production for SME growth in Greece, in the period before joining the Eurozone (1995-2002). A mathematical model associates SME growth with changes of features from various forms of domestic, local and regional capital and fi rm-level dummies, including fi rm size. The model is estimated using a representative sample. The fi ndings on the limited signifi cance of economic and manufacturing capital at state and regional level -especially in Attiki- are attributed to indirect causes, such as the 1999-2000 Athens Stock Exchange crash, SME increasing internationalization and the regional social, political and cultural capital. Additional fi ndings indicate substantial failures in delivering growth-oriented local and regional policies focusing on SMEs and their problems. The signifi cant association of SME growth with few forms of capital at state, regional and industrial level and with fi rm size is highlighted. The operation of a long-run economic capital-intensive accumulation process is investigated

The Genevan Intervention and the Man in the Middle: Thanassis Aghnides, Greece and League of Nations Economic Assistance

This article unpacks the role of League of Nations official Thanassis Aghnides in facilitating economic assistance to Greece, from the Greco-Turkish population exchange (1923) until the so-called Geneva Protocol (1927), which constituted a second international loan. Taking as its vantage point Aghnides’ unique role as a “man in the middle”, between the league and Greek authorities, it narrates and contextualises the almost continuous strategic dialogue between him and the deputy governor (later director) of the National Bank of Greece Emmanouil Tsouderos. The article argues that Aghnides was an educator (even disciplinarian), a purveyor of rumours and plans, and a “translator”, who continuously embedded concrete economic reforms in the larger mission for a stable, liberal world order, with a peaceful, prosperous, democratic and, notably, Venizelist Greece as a part of it. This perspective, the article concludes, complicates astrictly “imperial” reading of economic, technical and humanitarian assistance to Greece in the interwar period