Antitrust and Copyright Collectives – an Economic Analysis

The activity of the copyright collecting societies had been scrutinized by many antitrust authorities. The paper presents the decision taken by the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK), which deals with abusing practices of Polish copyright collective society – ZAiKS. The paper concentrates on the economic aspects of the decision from the President of UOKiK.collecting societies, copyright, antitrust, transaction costs, welfare

Is it worth it? An exploration of clothing repair and value using wardrobe studies

This master’s thesis explores what garments are being repaired and why and how repair affects the value of the clothes. A literature review was performed in the early stages to establish a context for the project. Two expert interviews were conducted to supplement the limited literature on clothing repair. Wardrobe studies and interviews with 4 Norwegian couples between the ages of 20 and 34 became a source of qualitative data. The informants answered in-depth questions about garments shown during the wardrobe study. A total of 50 garments (including three pairs of shoes and a purse) were presented between the 8 informants, 22 of which have been repaired. One repair was performed by a professional service, with the remaining being done privately. The data was processed using reflexive thematic analysis, utilizing coding and thematic mapping. The diverse wearer-clothing relationships are discussed to explore how informants were motivated toward repair. The themes extracted from the data highlight low competences, the importance of favorites and aesthetics (visible vs invisible repair), and the individual nature of value. How repair affects value is determined by what the mender values in the garment. Economic, social, environmental, functional, emotional and epistemic values are observed in the data. Repair may increase some value types while simultaneously decreasing others. The most significant self-perceived barrier to repair for these informants is a lack of competence. This study contributes to the field by exploring repaired as well as damaged clothing and adding to the underexplored subject of male clothing consumption

Project Management In Universities: The Institutional Aspect

The complementary aims of this manuscript are to describe the issue of project management in universities and to present proposals that may improve that area within selected institutions. The improvements are meant to enable project management at the university level in a coherent and coordinated way. These proposals were derived from experiential research carried out by the authors at a Polish university

Når mennesker spiller guder

I denne oppgaven skal jeg se på representasjon av greske guder i nyere Hollywood-heltefilmer, med fokus på de tolv olympiske gudene. Jeg vil undersøke hvordan disse skikkelsene er annerledes på film sammenlignet med mytoset, og hvordan disse forskjellene påvirker vårt inntrykk av de. Jeg skal ta for meg tre filmer som jeg analyserer en og en ved hjelp av adaptasjonsteori og sympatistrukturen til Murry Smith.In my paper I want to look at the representation of Greek mythology, with the focus on the 12 Olympic gods, in newer Hollywood movies. I want to look at the differences between the representation in movies and the representation in the mythology and examine how these differences affect our impression of the gods. I will analyse three movies, one at a time, with the use of adaptation theory and the structure of sympathy by Murry Smith

Antitrust and Copyright Collectives – an Economic Analysis

The activity of the copyright collecting societies had been scrutinized by many antitrust authorities. The paper presents the decision taken by the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK), which deals with abusing practices of Polish copyright collective society – ZAiKS. The paper concentrates on the economic aspects of the decision from the President of UOKiK

Effects of BRAF V600E and NRAS mutational status on the progression-free survival and clinicopathological characteristics of patients with melanoma

Funding Information: The study was supported by the project ‘Strengthening of the capacity of doctoral studies at the University of Latvia within the framework of the new doctoral model’ (grant no. 8.2.2.0/20/I/006). Publisher Copyright: © 2023 Spandidos Publications. All rights reserved.Hotspot mutations of the BRAF and NRAS genes are the most common genetic alterations in invasive cutaneous melanoma; however, the prognostic significance of BRAF and NRAS co-mutations remains controversial. The present study aimed to determine the association between NRAS and BRAF mutation status and the clinicopathological characteristics of patients with stage IA-IIC melanoma. A total of 118 patients who underwent surgical treatment for stage IA-IIC melanoma at the Riga East University Hospital between 2012 and 2018 were retrospectively enrolled in the present study. BRAF and NRAS mutation status was assessed by digital droplet PCR using the BRAFV600, NRAS Q61 and NRAS G12/G13 Screening Assays. The association between mutation status and clinicopathological features and progression-free survival (PFS) was then analyzed. The BRAF V600 mutation was detected in 67 out of 118 patients (56.8%). The PFS did not differ between patients with BRAF wild-type and BRAF-mutant melanoma. NRAS mutations were detected in 35 out of 118 patients (29.6%). The NRAS mutational status was associated with Breslow thickness (P=0.035), tumor type (P=0.020; χ2=0.20), mitotic rate (P=0.025) and lymphovascular invasion (P=0.02; χ2=0.20). Patients with NRAS-mutant melanoma had significantly worse PFS compared with NRAS wild-type melanoma (HR=12.30; 95% CI=5.78-26.21, P<0.0001). Furthermore, BRAF and NRAS co-mutant melanoma was associated with a significantly worse PFS compared with BRAF-mutant melanoma (HR=6.30; 95% CI=3.10-12.70, P<0.0001). In conclusion, NRAS-mutant and NRAS/BRAF co-mutant stage IA-IIC melanoma was associated with worse PFS compared with NRAS wild-type and BRAF-mutant melanoma. The assessment of NRAS mutation status in melanoma in routine clinical practice may be beneficial for the risk stratification of disease progression for primary non-metastatic malignant melanoma.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Upregulation of FOXP3+Regulatory T Lymphocytes and CD8+Lymphocytes in Patients with High-Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions Correlated with HPV Infection

Raksts ir publicēts 2022.gada aprīlī. Tas redzams žurnāla publikācijā, raksta PDF publikācijā un Web of Science publikācijā. Scopus datubāzē publicēšanas gads ir norādīts kļūdaini kā 2021.gads. Publisher Copyright: © Latvian Academy of Sciences.Modern therapeutic strategies for precancerous cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) focus on immune-modulatory and cancer vaccination. The local cervical immune status in cervical cancer and CIN could influence HPV infection persistence, progression and carcinogenesis. We analysed the role of FOXP3+ regulatory T lymphocytes, CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes in CIN I, CIN II and CIN III patients with and without HPV infection. Sixty-two patients were enrolled in the study. Each patient underwent a colposcopy-guided cervical biopsy. FOXP3+ lymphocytes and CD4+,CD8+ lymphocytes were detected by immunostaining in tissue samples obtained from a control group (n = 10), patients with CIN I (n = 20), CIN II (n = 14) and CIN III (n = 18) lesions. HPV was assayed by Aptima. The results showed that the numbers of CD4+ T lymphocytes did not differ between patients with CIN I, CIN II, and CIN III. However, patients with CIN II and CIN III had significantly upregulated CD8+T lymphocytes compared to patients with CIN I. In addition, patients with CIN II and CIN III had increased FOXP3 + T lymphocytes compared with patients with CIN I, which was associated with HPV status. Upregulation of FOXP3+ regulatory T lymphocytes and CD8-positive lymphocytes in patients with CIN II and CIN III suggested a pivotal role of T regulatory lymphocytes and CD8+ lymphocytes for counteracting the host immune response in the progression from CIN I to CIN II and CIN III.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Addressing the importance of melanoma tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in disease progression and clinicopathological characteristics

Funding Information: The present study was supported by a PhD student grant from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Latvia (grant no. 1.1.1.1/20/A/146) and a grant from the European Regional Development Fund (grant no. 1.1.1.1/18/A/099). Publisher Copyright: © 2021, Spandidos Publications. All rights reserved.Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in primary cutaneous melanoma are considered to represent the host's antitumor immunological response; however, whether there are associations between TIL grade and histopathological characteristics and disease survival remains controversial. BRAF mutational status has been established as a routine screening method in advanced malignant melanoma, and worse prognosis rates have been demonstrated in patients harboring BRAF mutations. However, the general impact of BRAF mutational status on survival and histopathological characteristics is still debated. The aim of the present study was to compare the value of the assessment of TIL grade in stages I-II nodular and superficial spreading melanoma and BRAF mutational status, and its influence on clinicopathological characteristics. Altogether, 85 patients at stage IA-IIC who underwent melanoma surgical treatment at the Riga East University Hospital between 2012 and 2017 were retrospectively enrolled in the study. The histopathological characteristics were assessed according to the current World Health Organization and The American Joint Committee on Cancer 8th edition guidelines. The current study showed that patients with melanoma with high TIL grade had significantly better progression-free survival than patients with low TIL grade (hazard ratio, 4.9; 95% CI, 2.3-11.2; P<0.0001). BRAF mutations were observed in 52 patients (61.2%). BRAF mutational status in melanoma was associated with Clark invasion level (P=0.045), patient age (P=0.02) and TIL (P=0.04). The assessment of TIL grade in stage I-II melanoma demonstrated prognostic significance value and may help improve risk assessment in the future.Peer reviewe

Cost-effective removal of COD in the pre-treatment of wastewater from the paper industry

The present paper reveals results of research for cost-effective removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) contained in industrial paper mill effluent. Not only process efficiency but also wastewater treatment costs are discussed. Different pre-treatment processes are applied aiming to investigate the COD removal before discharge to the municipal sewage network. The objective of this paper is to find the optimal operating conditions for the coagulation process. The effects of key operational parameters, including the type of coagulant, initial pH, temperature and coagulant dose, on COD percentage removal were investigated. The laboratory experiments confirmed the high efficiency of chemically enhanced mechanical treatment towards COD. The data obtained show that even low dose of chemicals provides sufficient COD reduction. The initial pH of the wastewater had a significant impact on the COD removal. Under the optimal operational conditions (pH = 7.5, T = 18 °C) the treatment of wastewater from paper industries by coagulation has led to a reduction of 70% COD for wastewater discharged. In terms of the investigated paper industry wastewater, polyaluminium chloride appears to be most suitable for treatment of high COD concentration. However, in an economic evaluation of requirements for wastewater treatment, operating costs and associated saving were such that PAX was more favourable.Fil: Boguniewicz Zablocka, Joanna. Opole University Of Technology; PoloniaFil: Klosok Bazan, Iwona. Opole University Of Technology; PoloniaFil: Naddeo, Vincenzo. Universita di Salerno; ItaliaFil: Mozejko, Clara Alexandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Estudios Avanzados en Ingeniería y Tecnología. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Estudios Avanzados en Ingeniería y Tecnología; Argentin