Publications

We report on the optical response of a nonreciprocal bianisotropic metamaterial, consisting of spherical, metal-coated magnetic nanoparticles embedded in an optically active medium, thus combining gyrotropy, plasmonic resonances, and chirality in a versatile design. The corresponding effective medium is deduced by an appropriate two-step generalized Maxwell-Garnett homogenization scheme. The associated photonic band structure and transmission spectra are obtained through a six-vector formulation of Maxwell equations, which provides an efficient framework for general bianisotropic structures going beyond existing approaches that involve cumbersome nonlinear eigenvalue problems. Our results, analyzed and discussed in the light of group theory, provide evidence that the proposed metamaterial exhibits some remarkable frequency-tunable properties, such as strong, plasmon-enhanced nonreciprocal polarization azimuth rotation and magnetochiral dichroism.

Right or subtotal colectomy either open or laparoscopic may be a challenging operation owing to technical difficulties. One of these, is to identify a safe and adequate dissection plane, ligating and dissecting lymph nodes around middle colic vessels. The purpose of this study was to depict a rare anatomic variation of middle colic vein (MCV) draining to splenic vein. We report the case of a 55-year-old male patient, who was subjected to a right hemicolectomy for an adenocarcinoma in the ascending colon. During dissecting the transverse mesocolon from the greater omentum, for complete mesocolic excision (CME), we encountered that the MCV drained in the splenic vein. With respect of this rare anatomic variability, CME was completed without hemorrhage. Our aim is to depict that deep knowledge of MCV anatomy and its variations is of paramount importance to achieve CME and to avoid dangerous or massive bleeding.

Clinical heterogeneity of bladder cancer prognosis requires the identification of bladder tumors' molecular profile to improve the prediction value of the established and clinically used markers. In this study, we have analyzed miR-221/222 cluster expression in bladder tumors and its clinical significance for patients' prognosis and disease outcome. The study included 387 tissue specimens. Following extraction, total RNA was polyadenylated at 3'-end and reversed transcribed. SYBR-Green based qPCR assays were performed for the quantification of miR-221/222 expression. Extensive statistical analysis was completed for the evaluation of miR-221/222 cluster's clinical significance. The expression of miR-221/222 is significantly downregulated in tumors compared to normal urothelium, while ROC curve and logistic regression analysis highlighted cluster's discriminatory ability. However, miR-222 levels were increased in muscle-invasive (T2-T4) compared to superficial tumors (TaT1), and in high compared to low-grade tumors. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox regression analysis revealed the stronger risk of TaT1 patients overexpressing miR-222 for disease short-term relapse and progression following treatment. Moreover, multivariate Cox models highlighted the independent prognostic value of miR-222 overexpression for TaT1 patients' poor prognosis. Finally, the analysis of miR-222 expression improved significantly the positive prediction strength of the clinically used prognostic markers of tumor stage, grade, EORTC risk-stratification and recurrence at the first follow-up cystoscopy for TaT1 patients' outcome, and resulted to higher clinical net benefit following decision curve analysis. In conclusion, the expression of miR-221/222 cluster is deregulated in bladder tumors and miR-222 overexpression results to a superior positive prediction of TaT1 patients' short-term relapse and progression.

INTRODUCTION: The elucidation of tumor molecular hallmarks and the identification of novel molecular markers are of first translational priority in breast and ovarian cancer research, aiming to support personalized disease treatment and monitoring decisions. Recent high-throughput studies have revealed that ~ 80% of the genome is transcribed into RNAs without protein-coding potential, namely non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), challenging the concept of 'junk DNA'. Undoubtedly, microRNAs (miRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) represent the best-studied family classes, emerging as the most powerful gene-expression regulators at epigenetic, transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. Areas covered: Cancer research has highlighted the active implication of ncRNAs, most notably of miRNAs and lncRNAs, in almost every aspect of the cancer cells' biology as well as their deregulated expression in both breast and ovarian tumors. In the present manuscript we discuss the existing knowledge regarding the involvement of miRNAs and lncRNAs in the molecular background of breast and ovarian malignancies, to highlight their clinical utility in improving disease management. Expert commentary: miRNAs and lncRNAs represent central mediators of cancer cells' phenotype, and promising molecular markers and therapeutic targets to support precision medicine in breast and ovarian cancers.

The mixed sandwich U(III) complex {U[η8-C8H6(1,4-Si(iPr)3)2](Cp*)(THF)} reacts with the organic azides RN3 (R = SiMe3, 1-Ad, BMes2) to afford the corresponding, structurally characterised U(V) imido complexes {U[η8-C8H6(1,4-Si(iPr)3)2](Cp*)(NR)}. In the case of R = SiMe3, the reducing power of the U(III) complex leads to reductive coupling as a parallel minor reaction pathway, forming R-R and the U(IV) azide-bridged complex{[U]}2(μ-N3)2, along with the expected [U] = NR complex. All three [U] = NR complexes show a quasi-reversible one electron reduction between −1.6 and −1.75 V, and for R = SiMe3, chemical reduction using K/Hg affords the anionic U(IV) complex K+{U[η8-C8H6(1,4-Si(iPr)3)2](Cp*) = NSiMe3}-. The molecular structure of the latter shows an extended structure in the solid state in which the K counter cations are successively sandwiched between the Cp* ligand of one [U] anion and the COTtips2 ligand of the next.

Disorders of neuronal mispositioning during brain development are phenotypically heterogeneous and their genetic causes remain largely unknown. Here, we report biallelic variants in a Hippo signaling factor-MOB2-in a patient with one such disorder, periventricular nodular heterotopia (PH). Genetic and cellular analysis of both variants confirmed them to be loss-of-function with enhanced sensitivity to transcript degradation via nonsense mediated decay (NMD) or increased protein turnover via the proteasome. Knockdown of Mob2 within the developing mouse cortex demonstrated its role in neuronal positioning. Cilia positioning and number within migrating neurons was also impaired with comparable defects detected following a reduction in levels of an upstream modulator of Mob2 function, Dchs1, a previously identified locus associated with PH. Moreover, reduced Mob2 expression increased phosphorylation of Filamin A, an actin cross-linking protein frequently mutated in cases of this disorder. These results reveal a key role for Mob2 in correct neuronal positioning within the developing cortex and outline a new candidate locus for PH development.

This research deals with the flood risk in the island of Naxos (Cyclades, Greece). In the stream called Peritsi or Paratrexos, the geomorphology, geology, the land uses and the relief of its drainage basin were studied in detail. These results allowed the estimation of flood risk in the area of Naxos, as well as the security measures that need to be applied. The main aim is the investigation between the relation of rainfall and the outflow with the use of hydrographs. Thus an evaluation of the flood risk of this basin has been studied. In order to produce results of high accuracy the basin was divided into 13 smaller sub-basins which were interpreted separately. For the optimum application of method Clark, there were two tools used: a) water level recorder, b) Meteorological station. Based on the processes mentioned above, individual hydrographs were produced for each of the 13 sub-basins. Once again, the main goal of this project is to compare the rain and outflow parameters in order to identify the areas of the highest risk. Additionally, a flood map has been developed which visualizes the risk scale in a color coded image.

Background: The Transmission Reduction Intervention Project (TRIP) is a network-based intervention that aims at decreasing human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) spread. We herein explore associations between transmission links as estimated by phylogenetic analyses, and social network-based ties among persons who inject drugs (PWID) recruited in TRIP. Methods: Phylogenetic trees were inferred from HIV-1 sequences of TRIP participants. Highly supported phylogenetic clusters (transmission clusters) were those fulfilling 3 different phylogenetic confidence criteria. Social network-based ties (injecting or sexual partners, same venue engagement) were determined based on personal interviews, recruitment links, and field observation. Results: TRIP recruited 356 individuals (90.2% PWID) including HIV-negative controls; recently HIV-infected seeds; long-term HIV-infected seeds; and their social network members. Of the 150 HIV-infected participants, 118 (78.7%) were phylogenetically analyzed. Phylogenetic analyses suggested the existence of 13 transmission clusters with 32 sequences. Seven of these clusters included 14 individuals (14/32 [43.8%]) who also had social ties with at least 1 member of their cluster. This proportion was significantly higher than what was expected by chance. Conclusions: Molecular methods can identify HIV-infected people socially linked with another person in about half of the phylogenetic clusters. This could help public health efforts to locate individuals in networks with high transmission rates.

BACKGROUND: The Transmission Reduction Intervention Project (TRIP) is a network-based intervention that aims at decreasing human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) spread. We herein explore associations between transmission links as estimated by phylogenetic analyses, and social network-based ties among persons who inject drugs (PWID) recruited in TRIP. METHODS: Phylogenetic trees were inferred from HIV-1 sequences of TRIP participants. Highly supported phylogenetic clusters (transmission clusters) were those fulfilling 3 different phylogenetic confidence criteria. Social network-based ties (injecting or sexual partners, same venue engagement) were determined based on personal interviews, recruitment links, and field observation. RESULTS: TRIP recruited 356 individuals (90.2% PWID) including HIV-negative controls; recently HIV-infected seeds; long-term HIV-infected seeds; and their social network members. Of the 150 HIV-infected participants, 118 (78.7%) were phylogenetically analyzed. Phylogenetic analyses suggested the existence of 13 transmission clusters with 32 sequences. Seven of these clusters included 14 individuals (14/32 [43.8%]) who also had social ties with at least 1 member of their cluster. This proportion was significantly higher than what was expected by chance. CONCLUSIONS: Molecular methods can identify HIV-infected people socially linked with another person in about half of the phylogenetic clusters. This could help public health efforts to locate individuals in networks with high transmission rates.

BACKGROUND: Current chemotherapy regimens for the treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC) include oxaliplatin, irinotecan, and fluorouracil along with leucovorin. Cytotoxicity involves the induction of programmed cell death. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the molecular effects of doxorubicin (a 14-OH derivative of the natural product daunorubicin) and common chemotherapeutic drugs (used in the clinical practice to treat CRC) on the expression of the most prominent members of the BCL2 family, namely BCL2, BAX, BCLX, and MCL1. Moreover, we sought to define the role of BCL2L12, another member of the BCL2 family, the apoptotic role of which is ambiguous. METHODS: The MTT cell proliferation assay was used to determine the IC50 of each chemotherapeutic drug at 72 hours of treatment of Caco-2 and DLD-1 colorectal adenocarcinoma cell lines. Real-time PCR was used to quantify the antiapoptotic BCL2-alpha, BLCX-L, and MCL1-L transcripts, the proapoptotic BAX, BLCX-S, BLCX-ES, MCL1-S, and MCL1-ES transcripts, and BCL2L12 expression in relation to GAPDH mRNA levels. RESULTS: We constructed growth curves of Caco-2 and DLD-1 cells and determined the IC50 of each drug at 72 hours of treatment. Significant alterations in the expression levels of the studied BCL2 family genes and/or particular transcripts were observed. CONCLUSION: The intrinsic apoptotic pathway is activated during treatment of CRC cells with common chemotherapeutic drugs. Moreover, BCL2L12 mRNA expression increases progressively during treatment, similarly to the expression of other BCL2 family genes favoring apoptosis and/or particular proapoptotic transcripts, thus suggesting a proapoptotic role for BCL2L12 in chemotherapy-treated CRC cells.

Ukraine has one of the largest HIV epidemics in Europe, historically driven by people who inject drugs (PWID). The epidemic showed signs of stabilization in 2012, but the recent war in eastern Ukraine may be reigniting virus spread. We investigated the movement of HIV-infected people within Ukraine before and during the conflict. We analyzed HIV-1 subtype-Anucleotide sequences sampled during 2012-2015 from 427 patients of 24 regional AIDS centers and used phylogeographic analysis to reconstruct virus movement among different locations in Ukraine. We then tested for correlations between reported PWID behaviors and reconstructed patterns of virus spread. Our analyses suggest that Donetsk and Lugansk, two cities not controlled by the Ukrainian government in eastern Ukraine, were significant exporters of the virus to the rest of the country. Additional analyses showed that viral dissemination within the country changed after 2013. Spearman correlation analysis showed that incoming virus flow was correlated with the number of HIV-infected internally displaced people. Additionally, there was a correlation between more intensive virus movement and locations with a higher proportion of PWID practicing risky sexual behaviors. Our findings suggest that effective prevention responses should involve internally displaced people and people who frequently travel to war-affected regions. Scale-up of harm reduction services for PWID will be an important factor in preventing new local HIV outbreaks in Ukraine.

New diagnoses of HIV-1 infection among people who inject drugs (PWID) rocketed in Athens, Greece between 2011 and 2014 (HIV-1 outbreak). Our aim was to identify, during that period, potential cross-group transmissions between the within-Greece PWID and other risk or national groups using molecular methods. Sequences from 33 PWID were outside the PWID-outbreak networks in Greece (PWID-imported transmissions). Phylogenetic analyses on 28 of these sequences (subtypes A and B) showed that 11 subtype B infections originated from Greece, whereas 8 and 7 subtype A strains were from former Soviet Union countries (AFSU) and Greece, respectively. The putative source in half of the PWID-imported transmissions with Greek origin was an individual who acquired HIV via sexual contact. During four years of an HIV-1 outbreak among PWID in Athens, Greece, 33 individuals in this group (4.6% of all diagnoses with phylogenetic analyses) are likely to represent infections, sexually or injection-acquired, outside the within-Greece-PWID-outbreak networks. Combined molecular and traditional HIV surveillance to monitor introductions of new strains, and interventions that aim at reducing the rate of both injection and sexual risky practices are needed during drug injection-related HIV outbreaks.

New diagnoses of HIV-1 infection among people who inject drugs (PWID) rocketed in Athens, Greece between 2011 and 2014 (HIV-1 outbreak). Our aim was to identify, during that period, potential cross-group transmissions between the within-Greece PWID and other risk or national groups using molecular methods. Sequences from 33 PWID were outside the PWID-outbreak networks in Greece (PWID-imported transmissions). Phylogenetic analyses on 28 of these sequences (subtypes A and B) showed that 11 subtype B infections originated from Greece, whereas 8 and 7 subtype A strains were from former Soviet Union countries (A(FSU)) and Greece, respectively. The putative source in half of the PWID-imported transmissions with Greek origin was an individual who acquired HIV via sexual contact. During four years of an HIV-1 outbreak among PWID in Athens, Greece, 33 individuals in this group (4.6% of all diagnoses with phylogenetic analyses) are likely to represent infections, sexually or injection-acquired, outside the within-Greece-PWID-outbreak networks. Combined molecular and traditional HIV surveillance to monitor introductions of new strains, and interventions that aim at reducing the rate of both injection and sexual risky practices are needed during drug injection-related HIV outbreaks.

Proteasome is central to proteostasis network functionality and its overactivation represents a hallmark of advanced tumors; thus, its selective inhibition provides a strategy for the development of novel antitumor therapies. In support, proteasome inhibitors, e.g. Bortezomib or Carfilzomib have demonstrated clinical efficacy against hematological cancers. Herein, we studied proteasome regulation in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and erythrocytes isolated from healthy donors or from Multiple Myeloma patients treated with Bortezomib or Carfilzomib. In healthy donors we found that peripheral blood mononuclear cells express higher, as compared to erythrocytes, basal proteasome activities, as well as that proteasome activities decline during aging. Studies in cells isolated from Multiple Myeloma patients treated with proteasome inhibitors revealed that in most (but, interestingly enough, not all) patients, proteasome activities decline in both cell types during therapy. In peripheral blood mononuclear cells, most proteostatic genes expression patterns showed a positive correlation during therapy indicating that proteostasis network modules likely respond to proteasome inhibition as a functional unit. Finally, the expression levels of antioxidant, chaperone and aggresomes removal/autophagy genes were found to inversely associate with patients' survival. Our studies will support a more personalized therapeutic approach in hematological malignancies treated with proteasome inhibitors.

Monitoring the evolution and benefits of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) in Europe has been a three-and-a-half year-long endeavour in terms of conceptual thinking, data challenges, pragmatic solutions, critical reflections and last but not least substantial findings. The study programme started with an initial scoping of the RRI dimensions (Gender equality, Public engagement, Science literacy and science education, Open access, Ethics, and as overarching dimension Governance). A heavy data collection exercise - including the collection of existing data and the launch of different surveys - was complemented by 蠰ڌ糰ڈtoring the Evolution and Benefits of Responsible Research and Innovation (MoRRI) was a project tasked with implementing a monitoring system for responsible research and innovation (RRI) across its five dimensions (gender equality, science literacy and science education, public engagement, ethics, open access/open data), and governance. In addition to identifying indicators for the evolution of RRI, it identified social, democratic, economic and scientific benefits of RRI, and also conducted preliminary work to lay out routes towards implementing impact indicators. This is the final report of the MoRRI project. It provides details of all aspects of the work carried out, analysis of the data collected, and insights and reflections obtained during the course of the project.

A multidisciplinary analysis comprising neotectonic mapping, morphotectonic indices, applied geophysics and remote sensing techniques was applied in the area affected by the 2008 NW Peloponnese (Western Greece) in order to map the recently-recognized E-W striking Pineios River normal fault zone with a high degree of accuracy, and to better understand its contribution to the evolution of the ancient region of Elis during Holocene time.Quantitative constraints on deformation caused by the faulting were applied through the application of morphometric and morphotectonic indices including drainage network asymmetry, longitudinal river profiles and valley floor slope changes, the river sinuosity index (SI) of modern channels as well as mountain front indices including mountain front sinuosity (Smf) and percentage of faceting along mountain front (F%). All of the aforementioned indicated that the Pineios fault zone is a highly active structure.The study area consists mainly of a succession of Pliocene to Holocene sediments. Already published 230Th/238U dating of corals from the upper layers of the sequence indicates a Tyrrhenian age for samples spanning three complete sections from the footwall of the Pineios fault zone. The deposition ages were determined to be 103 ka for the Psari section (at an elevation of 40-45 m above a.s.l.), 118 ka for the Neapolis section (at an elevation of 60–65 m a.s.l.) and 209 ka for the Aletreika section (at an elevation of 140–145 m a.s.l.). The sampling sites that are located north of Pineios fault zone should be located on a single fault block because there is no sign of tectonic disruption between them. The ages of these dated samples correspond to oxygen isotope stages 5.3, 5.5 and 7.3. These stages represent high sea-level stands for the Mediterranean Sea and especially for the western coast of Peloponnese. In particular, at 103 ka sea-level was ~13 m below present sea-level, at 118 ka it was ~1 m below present sea-level and at 209 ka it was ~7 m below present sea-level. From the age of each sample and the sea-level change that has occurred since deposition, uplift rates for the footwall of the Pineios fault zone were calculated as ~0.26 mm/yr for the Psari area, ~0.50 mm/yr for the Neapoli area and ~0.64 mm/yr for the Aletreika area. The maximum uplift rate of 0.64 mm/yr occurs in close proximity to the fault zone. The areas with lower uplift rates are located much further to the north. Because all sample locations are inferred to be within the same fault block, this implies back tilting of the fault block toward north, in full agreement with the rotational block-faulting inferred from structural studies based on fieldwork in the surrounding area.

Detection of the IceCube-170922A neutrino coincident with the flaring blazar TXS 0506+056, the first and only ∼3σ high-energy neutrino source association to date, offers a potential breakthrough in our understanding of high-energy cosmic particles and blazar physics. We present a comprehensive analysis of TXS 0506+056 during its flaring state, using newly collected Swift, NuSTAR, and X-shooter data with Fermi observations and numerical models to constrain the blazar’s particle acceleration processes and multimessenger (electromagnetic (EM) and high-energy neutrino) emissions. Accounting properly for EM cascades in the emission region, we find a physically consistent picture only within a hybrid leptonic scenario, with γ-rays produced by external inverse-Compton processes and high-energy neutrinos via a radiatively subdominant hadronic component. We derive robust constraints on the blazar’s neutrino and cosmic-ray emissions and demonstrate that, because of cascade effects, the 0.1-100 keV emissions of TXS 0506+056 serve as a better probe of its hadronic acceleration and high-energy neutrino production processes than its GeV-TeV emissions. If the IceCube neutrino association holds, physical conditions in the TXS 0506+056 jet must be close to optimal for high-energy neutrino production, and are not favorable for ultrahigh-energy cosmic-ray acceleration. Alternatively, the challenges we identify in generating a significant rate of IceCube neutrino detections from TXS 0506+056 may disfavor single-zone models, in which γ-rays and high-energy neutrinos are produced in a single emission region. In concert with continued operations of the high-energy neutrino observatories, we advocate regular X-ray monitoring of TXS 0506+056 and other blazars in order to test single-zone blazar emission models, clarify the nature and extent of their hadronic acceleration processes, and carry out the most sensitive possible search for additional multimessenger sources.

Detection of the IceCube-170922A neutrino coincident with the flaring blazar TXS 0506+056, the first and only ∼3σ high-energy neutrino source association to date, offers a potential breakthrough in our understanding of high-energy cosmic particles and blazar physics. We present a comprehensive analysis of TXS 0506+056 during its flaring state, using newly collected Swift, NuSTAR, and X-shooter data with Fermi observations and numerical models to constrain the blazar’s particle acceleration processes and multimessenger (electromagnetic (EM) and high-energy neutrino) emissions. Accounting properly for EM cascades in the emission region, we find a physically consistent picture only within a hybrid leptonic scenario, with γ-rays produced by external inverse-Compton processes and high-energy neutrinos via a radiatively subdominant hadronic component. We derive robust constraints on the blazar’s neutrino and cosmic-ray emissions and demonstrate that, because of cascade effects, the 0.1-100 keV emissions of TXS 0506+056 serve as a better probe of its hadronic acceleration and high-energy neutrino production processes than its GeV-TeV emissions. If the IceCube neutrino association holds, physical conditions in the TXS 0506+056 jet must be close to optimal for high-energy neutrino production, and are not favorable for ultrahigh-energy cosmic-ray acceleration. Alternatively, the challenges we identify in generating a significant rate of IceCube neutrino detections from TXS 0506+056 may disfavor single-zone models, in which γ-rays and high-energy neutrinos are produced in a single emission region. In concert with continued operations of the high-energy neutrino observatories, we advocate regular X-ray monitoring of TXS 0506+056 and other blazars in order to test single-zone blazar emission models, clarify the nature and extent of their hadronic acceleration processes, and carry out the most sensitive possible search for additional multimessenger sources.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a short-term fast eccentric and ballistic complex training program on muscle power, rate of force development (RFD), muscle fiber composition, and cross-sectional area (CSA). METHODS: Sixteen male physical education students were randomly assigned to either a training group (TG, n = 8) or a control group (n = 8). The TG followed a 6-wk low volume training program, including fast eccentric squat training with an individually optimized load of 74% ± 7% of maximal half-squat strength (1RM) twice per week and a ballistic training session with loaded (30% 1RM) and unloaded jump squats, once per week, all combined with unloaded plyometric jumps. RESULTS: Half squat 1RM was increased in the TG from 1.87 ± 0.28 to 2.14 ± 0.31 kg per kilogram body mass (14.4% ± 9.3%, P = 0.01). The percentage of types I, IIA, and IIX fibers were similar in the two groups at pretesting and did not change after the intervention period (P = 0.53-0.89). Muscle fiber CSA increased in all fiber types by 8.3% to 11.6% (P = 0.02 to 0.001) in TG only. Countermovement jump height and peak power measured at five different external loads (0%-65% of 1RM) only increased in the TG by approximately 20% to 36% (P < 0.01) and approximately 16% to 22% (P < 0.01), respectively. Peak ground reaction force during jump squats remained unchanged in both groups, whereas RFD increased in the TG only (40%-107%, P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: A combination of low-volume fast eccentric and ballistic jump squat training with plyometric jumps in a strength-power potentiation complex format, induced substantial increases in peak leg muscle power, RFD, and maximal strength, accompanied by gains in CSA of all muscle fiber types, without a reduction in fast twitch fiber composition.

Ten years after the occurrence of the Andravida earthquake (2008) several aspects were investigated, including its connection to neighboring spatiotemporal clusters in the following years. On 8 June 2008 at 12:25 GMT a large earthquake (Mw=6.4) occurred NE of Andravida (Greece) in an area characterized by relatively low seismicity. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that this major event was successfully predicted by a previous study, taking into account decelerating accelerating seismicity. Data recorded by the Unified Hellenic Seismological Network (HUSN)were analyzed to study the aftershock sequence and local velocity structure. The modeling of teleseismic P, SV and SH waves provided well-constrained focal mechanism solutions of the mainshock and its major aftershocks with magnitude M > 3.4. The constrained fault plane solutions represent dextral strike slip type faulting. The spatial distribution of the aftershocks, as well as the calculation of the slip distribution and Local Earthquake Tomography (LET), provided evidence that the rupture plane is the one with NE-SW direction. Surface breaks were observed inseveral sites but in most cases their direction was perpendicular to the rupture plane and can be characterized as secondary effects. The source process was characterized by unilateral rupture propagation towards the city of Patras, to the NE, where a seismic sequence was initiated after the Mw=3.9 event of the 27th December 2012 along the ENE-WSW Agia Triada normal fault.

Chirality plays an essential role in life, providing unique functionalities to a wide range of biomolecules, chemicals, and drugs, which makes chiral sensing and analysis critically important. The wider application of chiral sensing continues to be constrained by the involved chiral signals being inherently weak. To remedy this, plasmonic and dielectric nanostructures have recently been shown to offer a viable route for enhancing weak circular dichroism (CD) effects, but most relevant studies have thus far been ad hoc, not guided by a rigorous analytical methodology. Here, we report the first analytical treatment of CD enhancement and extraction from a chiral biolayer placed on top of a nanostructured substrate. We derive closed-form expressions of the CD and its functional dependence on the background-chiroptical response, substrate thickness and chirality, as well as on the optical chirality and intensity enhancement provided by the structure. Our results provide key insights into the trade-offs that are to be accommodated in the design and conception of optimal nanophotonic structures for enhancing CD effects for chiral molecule detection. Based on our analysis, we also introduce a practical, dielectric platform for chiral sensing featuring large CD enhancements while exhibiting vanishing chiroptical background noise. © 2018 American Chemical Society.

Recently, four different operative techniques, referring to the primary anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) repair, were described. These are the dynamic intraligamentary stabilization (DIS) with Ligamys™, the Bridge-enhanced repair (BEAR), the use of internal brace, and the refixation with suture anchors. The purpose of this study was to assess the already-published, clinical, and pre-clinical results of those techniques. A literature review was conducted and implemented by three independent researchers. Inclusion criteria were clinical or cadaveric or animal studies about patients suffering from ACL rupture, who were treated with one of those four different arthroscopic techniques of primary ACL repair. There were 10 clinical trials dealing with the different techniques of primary ACL repair and 12 cadaveric or animal studies. The majority of the published clinical trials investigated the dynamic intraligamentary stabilization (DIS), while only four studies referred to the three other surgical techniques. Most of the clinical trials suggested that primary ACL repair should be done during the first 14-21 days after a proximal ACL rupture and not later. Further clinical evidence is needed for the techniques of bridge-enhanced ACL repair, internal brace, and suture anchors ACL refixation in order to support the animal and cadaveric biomechanical studies. Till now, the existing clinical trials were not enough to establish the use of those techniques in the ACL-ruptured patients. On the contrary, the Dynamic intraligamentary stabilization with Ligamys™ device demonstrated very promising results in different types of clinical studies.

BACKGROUND: TRIP (Transmission Reduction Intervention Project) was a network-based, contact tracing approach to locate and link to care, mostly people who inject drugs (PWID) with recent HIV infection. OBJECTIVE: We investigated whether sequences from HIV-infected participants with high viral load cluster together more frequently than what is expected by chance. METHODS: Paired end reads were generated for 104 samples using Illumina MiSeq next-generation sequencing. RESULTS: 63 sequences belonged to previously identified local transmission networks of PWID (LTNs) of an HIV outbreak in Athens, Greece. For two HIV-RNA cut-offs (105 and 106 IU/mL), HIV transmissions were more likely between PWID with similar levels of HIV-RNA (p<0.001). 10 of the 14 sequences (71.4%) from PWID with HIV-RNA >106 IU/mL were clustered in 5 pairs. For 4 of these clusters (80%), there was in each one of them at least one sequence from a recently HIVinfected PWID. CONCLUSION: We showed that transmissions are more likely among PWID with high viremia.

PURPOSE: This paper presents an overview of different kinds of risk and social network methods and the kinds of research questions each can address. RECENT FINDINGS: It also reviews what network research has discovered about how network characteristics are associated with HIV and other infections, risk behaviors, preventive behaviors, and care, and discusses some ways in which network-based public health interventions have been conducted. Based on this, risk and social network research and interventions seem both feasible and valuable for addressing the many public health and social problems raised by the widespread use of opioids in the US South.

Background: The thyroid gland has a special relationship with oxidative stress. While generation of oxidative substances is part of normal iodide metabolism during thyroid hormone synthesis, the gland must also defend itself against excessive oxidation in order to maintain normal function. Antioxidant and detoxification enzymes aid thyroid cells to maintain homeostasis by ameliorating oxidative insults, including during exposure to excess iodide, but the factors that coordinate their expression with the cellular redox status are not known. The antioxidant response system comprising the ubiquitously expressed NFE2-related transcription factor 2 (Nrf2) and its redox-sensitive cytoplasmic inhibitor Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1) defends tissues against oxidative stress, thereby protecting against pathologies that relate to DNA, protein, and/or lipid oxidative damage. Thus, it was hypothesized that Nrf2 should also have important roles in maintaining thyroid homeostasis. Methods: Ubiquitous and thyroid-specific male C57BL6J Nrf2 knockout (Nrf2-KO) mice were studied. Plasma and thyroids were harvested for evaluation of thyroid function tests by radioimmunoassays and of gene and protein expression by real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunoblotting, respectively. Nrf2-KO and Keap1-KO clones of the PCCL3 rat thyroid follicular cell line were generated using CRISPR/Cas9 technology and were used for gene and protein expression studies. Software-predicted Nrf2 binding sites on the thyroglobulin enhancer were validated by site-directed in vitro mutagenesis and chromatin immunoprecipitation. Results: The study shows that Nrf2 mediates antioxidant transcriptional responses in thyroid cells and protects the thyroid from oxidation induced by iodide overload. Surprisingly, it was also found that Nrf2 has a dramatic impact on both the basal abundance and the thyrotropin-inducible intrathyroidal abundance of thyroglobulin (Tg), the precursor protein of thyroid hormones. This effect is mediated by cell-autonomous regulation of Tg gene expression by Nrf2 via its direct binding to two evolutionarily conserved antioxidant response elements in an upstream enhancer. Yet, despite upregulating Tg levels, Nrf2 limits Tg iodination both under basal conditions and in response to excess iodide. Conclusions: Nrf2 exerts pleiotropic roles in the thyroid gland to couple cell stress defense mechanisms to iodide metabolism and the thyroid hormone synthesis machinery, both under basal conditions and in response to excess iodide.

NGC 300 ULX1 is a newly identified ultra-luminous X-ray pulsar. The system is associated with the supernova impostor SN 2010da that was later classified as a possible supergiant Be X-ray binary. In this work we report on the spin period evolution of the neutron star based on all the currently available X-ray observations of the system. We argue that the X-ray luminosity of the system has remained almost constant since 2010, at a level above ten times the Eddington limit. Moreover, we find evidence that the spin period of the neutron star evolved from ∼126 s down to ∼18 s within a period of about 4 years. We explain this unprecedented spin evolution in terms of the standard accretion torque theory. An intriguing consequence for NGC 300 ULX1 is that a neutron star spin reversal should have occurred a few years after the SN 2010da event.

NICER observed the new transient Swift J005139.2-721704 located in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), and discovered on 2018 Nov. 9 (ATel #12209). The source position identified using Swift XRT as RA=00:51:39.2 and DEC=-72:17:03.6 (with an uncertainty of 1.4 & Prime;, ATel #12209).

Context. High-resolution radio imaging of active galactic nuclei (AGN) has revealed that the jets of some sources present superluminal knots and transverse stratification. Recent observational projects, such as ALMA and γ-ray telescopes, such as HESS and HESS2 have provided new observational constraints on the central regions of rotating black holes in AGN, suggesting that there is an inner- or spine-jet surrounded by a disk wind. This relativistic spine-jet is likely to be composed of electron-positron pairs extracting energy from the black hole and will be explored by the future γ-ray telescope CTA. Aims: In this article we present an extension to and generalization of relativistic jets in Kerr metric of the Newtonian meridional self-similar mechanism. We aim at modeling the inner spine-jet of AGN as a relativistic light outflow emerging from a spherical corona surrounding a Kerr black hole and its inner accretion disk. Methods: The model is built by expanding the metric and the forces with colatitude to first order in the magnetic flux function. As a result of the expansion, all colatitudinal variations of the physical quantities are quantified by a unique parameter. Unlike previous models, effects of the light cylinder are not neglected. Results: Solutions with high Lorentz factors are obtained and provide spine-jet models up to the polar axis. As in previous publications, we calculate the magnetic collimation efficiency parameter, which measures the variation of the available energy across the field lines. This collimation efficiency is an integral part of the model, generalizing the classical magnetic rotator efficiency criterion to Kerr metric. We study the variation of the magnetic efficiency and acceleration with the spin of the black hole and show their high sensitivity to this integral. Conclusions: These new solutions model collimated or radial, relativistic or ultra-relativistic outflows in AGN or γ-ray bursts. In particular, we discuss the relevance of our solutions to modeling the M 87 spine-jet. We study the efficiency of the central black hole spin to collimate a spine-jet and show that the jet power is of the same order as that determined by numerical simulations.

In the 1973 November 17 the (Greek) Polytechnic University students did revolt. Comparing to other students’ revolts across Europe and elsewhere this rebellion was delayed due to the military junta outburst in Greece in 1967 (which, apparently, restricted and restrained any political movements). Apart from the literature that either emphasizes on the political and ideological meanings of this uprising or on the negation of it, it seems interesting to search for its imprint in social attitude, given the 2010-2018 Greek multi-crisis and the many riots outburst, whereas the 62% "NO" in the "2015 bailout referendum"can be considered as a milestone of this social attitudeand of the crisis as well. This presentation aims to search the connections between (a) the "myth" behind the youth (and people’s) resistance, which can be briefly mentioned as "resistance culture" along with the educational myths that cultivated this culture, and (b) the "anti-...(anything)" movement and the following riots which devastated institutions and cities across Greece, particularly during this period of multi-crisis.An historiographical and genealogical method will be used in order to reveal the roots of the societal attitude towards this "resistance culture". The Press and other Media as well as the school history curriculum could be considered as the historical data to proof these connections. The highly ideologized perception of the past (which includes the "1973 November 17 th " students’ uprising) on behalf of certain political parties (or groups) and the social legitimization of this perception through school is expected to be emerged as a conclusion.

Aging is a complex biological process affecting almost all living organisms. Although its detrimental effects on animals' physiology have been extensively documented, several aspects of the biology of aging are insufficiently understood. Mitochondria, the central energy producers of the cell, play vital roles in a wide range of cellular processes, including regulation of bioenergetics, calcium signaling, metabolic responses, and cell death, among others. Thus, proper mitochondrial function is a prerequisite for the maintenance of cellular and organismal homeostasis. Several mitochondrial quality control mechanisms have evolved to allow adaptation to different metabolic conditions, thereby preserving cellular homeostasis and survival. A tight coordination between mitochondrial biogenesis and mitochondrial selective autophagy, known as mitophagy, is a common characteristic of healthy biological systems. The balanced interplay between these two opposing cellular processes dictates stress resistance, healthspan, and lifespan extension. Mitochondrial biogenesis and mitophagy efficiency decline with age, leading to progressive accumulation of damaged and/or unwanted mitochondria, deterioration of cellular function, and ultimately death. Several regulatory factors that contribute to energy homeostasis have been implicated in the development and progression of many pathological conditions, such as neurodegenerative, metabolic, and cardiovascular disorders, among others. Therefore, mitophagy modulation may serve as a novel potential therapeutic approach to tackle age-associated pathologies. Here, we review the molecular signaling pathways that regulate and coordinate mitophagy with mitochondrial biogenesis, highlighting critical factors that hold promise for the development of pharmacological interventions toward enhancing human health and quality of life throughout aging.

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles with well-integrated multimodality imaging properties have generated increasing research interest in the past decade, especially when it comes to the targeted imaging of tumors. Bevacizumab (BCZM) on the other hand is a well-known and widely applied monoclonal antibody recognizing VEGF-A, which is overexpressed in angiogenesis. The aim of this proof-of-concept study was to develop a dual-modality nanoplatform for in vivo targeted single photon computed emission tomography (SPECT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of tumor vascularization. Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) have been coated with dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA), for consequent functionalization with the monoclonal antibody BCZM radiolabeled with Tc-99m, via well-developed surface engineering. The IONPs were characterized based on their size distribution, hydrodynamic diameter and magnetic properties. In vitro cytotoxicity studies showed that our nanoconstruct does not cause toxic effects in normal and cancer cells. Fe3O4-DMSA-SMCC-BCZM-Tc-99m were successfully prepared at high radiochemical purity (> 92%) and their stability in human serum and in PBS were demonstrated. In vitro cell binding studies showed the ability of the Fe3O4-DMSA-SMCC-BCZM-Tc-99m to bind to the VEGF-165 isoform overexpressed on M-165 tumor cells. The ex vivo biodistribution studies in M165 tumor-bearing SCID mice showed high uptake in liver, spleen, kidney and lungs. The Fe3O4-DMSA-SMCC-BCZM-Tc-99m demonstrated quick tumor accumulation starting at 8.9 +/- 1.88% ID/g at 2 h p.i., slightly increasing at 4 h p.i. (16.21 +/- 2.56% ID/g) and then decreasing at 24 h p.i. (6.01 +/- 1.69% ID/g). The tumor-to-blood ratio reached a maximum at 24 h p.i. (similar to 7), which is also the case for the tumor-to- muscle ratio (similar to 18). Initial pilot imaging studies on an experimental gamma-camera and a clinical MR camera prove our hypothesis and demonstrate the potential of Fe3O4-DMSA-SMCC-BCZM-Tc-99m for targeted dual-modality imaging. Our findings indicate that Fe3O4-DMSA-SMCC-BCZM-Tc-99m IONPs could serve as an important diagnostic tool for biomedical imaging as well as a promising candidate for future theranostic applications in cancer.

The hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (PFC) are connected in a reciprocal manner: whereas the hippocampus projects directly to the PFC, a polysynaptic pathway that passes through the nucleus reuniens (RE) of the thalamus relays inputs from the PFC to the hippocampus. The present study demonstrates that lesioning and/or inactivation of the RE reduces coherence in the PFC-hippocampal pathway, provokes an antidepressant-like behavioral response in the forced swim test and prevents, but does not ameliorate, anhedonia in the chronic mild stress (CMS) model of depression. Additionally, RE lesioning before CMS abrogates the well-known neuromorphological and endocrine correlates of CMS. In summary, this work highlights the importance of the reciprocal connectivity between the hippocampus and PFC in the establishment of stress-induced brain pathology and suggests a role for the RE in promoting resilience to depressive illness.

The hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (PFC) are connected in a reciprocal manner: whereas the hippocampus projects directly to the PFC, a polysynaptic pathway that passes through the nucleus reuniens (RE) of the thalamus relays inputs from the PFC to the hippocampus. The present study demonstrates that lesioning and/or inactivation of the RE reduces coherence in the PFC-hippocampal pathway, provokes an antidepressant-like behavioral response in the forced swim test and prevents, but does not ameliorate, anhedonia in the chronic mild stress (CMS) model of depression. Additionally, RE lesioning before CMS abrogates the well-known neuromorphological and endocrine correlates of CMS. In summary, this work highlights the importance of the reciprocal connectivity between the hippocampus and PFC in the establishment of stress-induced brain pathology and suggests a role for the RE in promoting resilience to depressive illness.

Continuously rising trends in obesity-related malignancies render this disease spectrum a public health priority. Worldwide, the burden of cancer attributable to obesity, expressed as population attributable fraction, is 11.9% in men and 13.1% in women. There is convincing evidence that excess body weight is associated with an increased risk for cancer of at least 13 anatomic sites, including endometrial, esophageal, renal and pancreatic adenocarcinomas; hepatocellular carcinoma; gastric cardia cancer; meningioma; multiple myeloma; colorectal, postmenopausal breast, ovarian, gallbladder and thyroid cancers. We first synopsize current epidemiologic evidence; the obesity paradox in cancer risk and mortality; the role of weight gain and weight loss in the modulation of cancer risk; reliable somatometric indicators for obesity and cancer research; and gender differences in obesity related cancers. We critically summarize emerging biological mechanisms linking obesity to cancer encompassing insulin resistance and abnormalities of the IGF-I system and signaling; sex hormones biosynthesis and pathway; subclinical chronic low-grade inflammation and oxidative stress; alterations in adipokine pathophysiology; factors deriving from ectopic fat deposition; microenvironment and cellular perturbations including vascular perturbations, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, endoplasmic reticulum stress and migrating adipose progenitor cells; disruption of circadian rhythms; dietary nutrients; factors with potential significance such as the altered intestinal microbiome; and mechanic factors in obesity and cancer. Future perspectives regarding prevention, diagnosis and therapeutics are discussed. The aim of this review is to investigate how the interplay of these main potential mechanisms and risk factors, exerts their effects on target tissues provoking them to acquire a cancerous phenotype.

The X-ray source 1RXS J051439.2-021615 (RA 05h14m39.20s, Dec -02d16m15.00, J2000.0) showed an optical V-band flare, during the night of 25/26 January 2018 (JD=2458114).

Βιβλίο Περιλήψεων του 6ου Συνεδρίου της ΕΚΕ- Δημοσίευση περίληψης: http://www.hellenicsociology.gr/el/content/175, σελ. 36. Ο ψηφιακός εγγραμματισμός λειτουργεί ως εξαιρετικό μέσον για την ισόνομη μεταχείριση και πλήρη ενσωμάτωση κοινωνικά αποκλεισμένων ομάδων στην κοινωνία της πληροφορίας. Προβαίνοντας σε μια ανάλυση των πρόσφατων ερευνών και συζητήσεων για το ψηφιακό χάσμα, τις απαιτούμενες σήμερα ψηφιακές δεξιότητες και τη μελλοντική ζήτηση, αυτή η μελέτη επικεντρώνεται στην έμφυλη διάσταση. Ερευνητικά δεδομένα επιβεβαιώνουν ότι δεκαετίες προτάσεων και παρεμβάσεων—ερευνητικών, πολιτικών, κοινωνικών, νομοθετικών—δεν αύξησαν τη γυναικεία συμμετοχή σε κλάδους STEM (Φυσικές Επιστήμες, Τεχνολογία, Επιστήμη των Μηχανικών, Μαθηματικά) και ΤΠΕ (Τεχνολογίες της Πληροφορίας και Επικοινωνίας). Οι γυναίκες αποτελούν αόρατη μειονότητα σε αυτούς τους τομείς, παρά τις ενέργειες του κινήματος για την κοινωνική ενσωμάτωση/ένταξη των γυναικών και κοριτσιών στις ΤΠΕ και την ευρεία αναγνώριση της σημαντικότητας των ψηφιακών δεξιοτήτων που απαιτούνται σήμερα στους χώρους εργασίας της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης. Τα αποτελέσματα εμπειρικών ερευνών αναδεικνύουν τη ζωτική σημασία αναμόρφωσης της εκπαίδευσης STEM ώστε να συμπεριλάβει την έμφυλη διάσταση, δεδομένου ότι οι κοινωνικές προκαταλήψεις ξεκινούν από μικρή ηλικία. Επισημαίνεται, επίσης και η αναγκαιότητα να καθορισθούν και να καταγραφούν από τους βιομηχανικούς θεσμούς οι πραγματικές ανάγκες, οι συγκεκριμένες απαιτήσεις και ψηφιακές δεξιότητες που απαιτούνται σήμερα. Η μελέτη αυτή ολοκληρώνεται με τις αφηγήσεις ζωής και πολύτιμες συμβουλές διακεκριμένων γυναικών στην κοινωνία της πληροφορίας και των ΤΠΕ.      -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. 1.      Καμπερίδου, Ειρήνη. (2018). Ψηφιακές δεξιότητες και ψηφιακό χάσμα: Εισάγοντας τη διάσταση του φύλου. Εισήγηση στο 6ο ΣΥΝΕΔΡΙΟ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗΣ ΚΟΙΝΩΝΙΟΛΟΓΙΚΗΣ ΕΤΑΙΡΕΙΑΣ «Η κοινωνιολογία και ο δημόσιος ρόλος της στην εποχή της μεταμόρφωσης του κόσμου», εισήγηση 30 Μαρτίου στο Χαροκόπειο Πανεπιστήμιο, Σχολή Περιβάλλοντος, Γεωγραφίας & Εφαρμοσμένων Οικονομικών, Αθήνα: Ελληνική Κοινωνιολογική Εταιρείας (ΕΚΕ)- Hellenic Sociological Society (HSS). Publisher's VersionAbstract sociology_in_times_of_crisis_certificate.pdf digitalskillsanddigitalexclusionarticle.pp_.202-210.pdf Βιβλίο Περιλήψεων 6ου Συνεδρίου της ΕΚΕ http://www.hellenicsociology.gr/el/content/175, σελ. 36.

PROMOTING A GENDER NEUTRAL-INCLUSIVE MILITARY SOCIETY THROUGH COED SPORTS...... Abstract This study examines women’s inclusion in the Armed Forces in Greece, a traditionally male-dominated social space. It discusses women’s participation in all three sectors of the Armed Forces— administrative and institutional posts—as opposed to their past engagement in secondary, subordinate or unofficial roles, i.e. war nurses and volunteers. Despite women’s entry—in the last three decades—research indicates they experience gender discrimination in many areas of the male-centric and hierarchal structures of the Armed Forces. This pilot study shows that participation in sport activities with men reduces social discrimination related to gender. It explores how coed sports (joint sport participation) in the education programs of the Hellenic Armed Forces contributes to changing gender stereotypes and promoting "gender neutrality" (Kamberidou 2012), namely "a gender-neutral inclusive" military society (Kamberidou & Patsantaras 2005), consequently reducing gender discrimination and encouraging respect for diversity. The findings also show that the coed sport programs and activities promote women’s acceptance by their male colleagues, including trust, team effectiveness, team spirit, collaboration, empathy, problem-solving skills, and self-esteem.  Key words: Gender Neutrality, Women, Sport, Armed Forces ΠΡΟΩΘΩΝΤΑΣ ΤΗΝ ΕΜΦΥΛΗ ΟΥΔΕΤΕΡΟΤΗΤΑ ΣΤΙΣ ΕΝΟΠΛΕΣ ΔΥΝΑΜΕΙΣ ΔΙΑ ΤΗΣ ΚΟΙΝΗΣ ΣΥΜΜΕΤΟΧΗΣ ΑΝΔΡΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΓΥΝΑΙΚΩΝ ΣΕ ΑΘΛΗΤΙΚΕΣ ΔΡΑΣΤΗΡΙΟΤΗΤΕΣ ......ΠΕΡΙΛΗΨΗΟι δυνατότητες πρόσβασης των γυναικών στις Ένοπλες Δυνάμεις στην ελληνική επικράτεια, υπό την έννοια ανάληψης διοικητικής ή άλλης μορφής θεσμικής ευθύνης,  είναι ένα φαινόμενο των τριών τελευταίων δεκαετιών. Ο χώρος των Ενόπλων Δυνάμεων παραδοσιακά χαρακτηρίζονταν ως ένας ανδροκεντρικός χώρος, με τον οποίο οι γυναίκες σχετίζονταν μόνο επικουρικά, αναλαμβάνοντας βοηθητικούς ρόλους, κυρίως σε περιόδους πολεμικών συρράξεων. Σήμερα όμως  πολλές γυναίκες στελεχώνουν και τους τρεις κλάδους των Ενόπλων Δυνάμεων: Στρατό Ξηράς, Πολεμική Αεροπορία και Πολεμικό ναυτικό. Ωστόσο σε έρευνες επισημαίνεται ότι πολλές φορές οι γυναίκες δεν απολαμβάνουν ισόνομη μεταχείριση και  υφίστανται ποικίλες διακρίσεις  σε αυτές τις κοινωνικές περιοχές. Ερευνητικά δεδομένα επίσης υποστηρίζουν, ότι η συμμετοχή ανδρών και γυναικών σε κοινές αθλητικές δραστηριότητες, λειτουργεί καταλυτικά στην άμβλυνση αρνητικών παραδοσιακών στερεοτύπων που συνδέονται γενικά με την δραστηριοποίηση της γυναίκας σε χώρους που παραδοσιακά θεωρούνταν ανδροκεντρικοί. Η μελέτη αυτή είναι μια πιλοτική μελέτη περίπτωσης,  η οποία λαμβάνοντας υπ’ όψιν τη σχετική με τα ζητήματα αυτά βιβλιογραφία, διερευνά κατά πόσον η κοινή συμμετοχή σε αθλητικές δραστηριότητες που συντελούνται στα προγράμματα εκπαίδευσης των Ενόπλων Δυνάμεων, μπορεί να συντελέσει στην προώθηση αντιλήψεων και στάσεων οι οποίες μπορούν να προάγουν και να ενεργοποιήσουν μια έμφυλη ουδετερότητα (Kamberidou, 2011, Καμπερίδου 2012). Τα αποτελέσματα δείχνουν ότι η συμμετοχή των γυναικών σε κοινά αθλητικά προγράμματα των Ενόπλων Δυνάμεων, προάγει την αυτό-εκτίμηση τους, την αποδοχή τους από τους άνδρες συναδέλφους, αλλά και την ομαδική αποτελεσματικότητα και την παγίωση κλίματος εμπιστοσύνης μεταξύ των φύλων.         

Ο ψηφιακός εγγραμματισμός λειτουργεί ως εξαιρετικό μέσον για την ισόνομη μεταχείριση και πλήρη ενσωμάτωση κοινωνικά αποκλεισμένων ομάδων στην κοινωνία της πληροφορίας. Προβαίνοντας σε μια ανάλυση των πρόσφατων ερευνών και συζητήσεων για το ψηφιακό χάσμα, τις απαιτούμενες σήμερα ψηφιακές δεξιότητες και τη μελλοντική ζήτηση, αυτή η μελέτη επικεντρώνεται στην έμφυλη διάσταση. Ερευνητικά δεδομένα επιβεβαιώνουν ότι δεκαετίες προτάσεων και παρεμβάσεων—ερευνητικών, πολιτικών, κοινωνικών, νομοθετικών—δεν αύξησαν τη γυναικεία συμμετοχή στους κλάδους των STEM (επιστήμη, τεχνολογία,  μηχανική, μαθηματικά) και τις Τεχνολογίες της Πληροφορίας και Επικοινωνίας (ΤΠΕ). Οι γυναίκες αποτελούν αόρατη μειονότητα σε αυτούς τους τομείς, παρά τις ενέργειες του κινήματος για την κοινωνική ενσωμάτωση/ένταξη των γυναικών και κοριτσιών στις ΤΠΕ και την ευρεία αναγνώριση της σημαντικότητας των ψηφιακών δεξιοτήτων που απαιτούνται σήμερα στους χώρους εργασίας της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης. Τα αποτελέσματα εμπειρικών ερευνών αναδεικνύουν τη ζωτική σημασία αναμόρφωσης της εκπαίδευσης STEM ώστε να συμπεριλάβει την έμφυλη διάσταση, δεδομένου ότι οι κοινωνικές προκαταλήψεις ξεκινούν από μικρή ηλικία. Επισημαίνεται, επίσης και η  αναγκαιότητα να καθορισθούν και να καταγραφούν από τους βιομηχανικούς θεσμούς οι πραγματικές ανάγκες, οι συγκεκριμένες απαιτήσεις και οι ψηφιακές δεξιότητες που απαιτούνται σήμερα. Η μελέτη αυτή ολοκληρώνεται με μια συνοπτική αναφορά στις  πολύτιμες συμβουλές διακεκριμένων γυναικών στην κοινωνία της πληροφορίας και των ΤΠΕ: Nancy Pascall, Όλγα Σταυροπούλου, Rosalie Zobel, και Elizabeth Pollitzer.   Λέξεις κλειδιά: ψηφιακό χάσμα, φύλο, έμφυλη υποτίμηση (gender devaluation), ψηφιακές δεξιότητες, ψηφιακός εγγραμματισμός μαθητών/τριών, πληροφορικός γραμματισμός (information literacy)----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------cite as:Καμπερίδου, Ειρήνη (2018). Ψηφιακές δεξιότητες και ψηφιακός αποκλεισμός: Γεφυρώνοντας το έμφυλο ψηφιακό χάσμα (Digital skills and digital exclusion: Bridging the gender digital divide), σελ. 202-210 Βιβλίο Πρακτικών του 6ου Συνεδρίου της ΕΚΕ | ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΚΟΙΝΩΝΙΟΛΟΓΙΚΗ ΕΤΑΙΡΕΙΑ, Επιμέλεια: Απόστολος Γ. Παπαδόπουλος, Αθήνα (Συνέδριο “H Κοινωνιολογία και ο Δημόσιος Ρόλος της στην Εποχή της Μεταμόρφωσης του Κόσμου”, 29-31.3.2018), Χαροκόπειο Πανεπιστήμιο, Σχολή Περιβάλλοντος, Γεωγραφίας & Εφαρμοσμένων Οικονομικών. © Ελληνική Κοινωνιολογική Εταιρεία, 2018 ISBN: 9789609596046:

Remote sensing techniques offer the opportunity to study fire effects and vegetation recovery dynamics across large areas, providing essential information for effective management strategies development over fire-prone landscapes. Chios, the fifth largest of the Greek islands, has experienced recurring forest fires during the recent years, resulting to significant risk of environmental degradation. During the summer of 2016, the island experienced two severe wildfires, with the biggest one recorded in the southern part of the island. The affected area was mostly covered by maquis and phrygana (formations of low shrubs) (40.9%), while pine forests (Pinus brutia) represented 15.5% of the burned area. The aim of this study was to estimate and analyze the state of post-fire vegetation recovery in the island of Chios following major fire events occurred during the summer of 2016. A post-fire 8-band WorldView-2 image was used for burned area mapping by employing a geographic object-based classification approach, followed by field campaign for assessing post fire vegetation recovery, which was conducted during summer 2017 by establishing reference plots in the main pre-fire vegetation types (maquis, shrublands and pine forest areas) within the fire-affected area. A series of single and multi-temporal spectral indices including Normalized Burn Ratio, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, Enhanced Vegetation Index and Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index, were derived from multi-temporal Sentinel-2 images. A random forest modelling procedure was performed for estimating post fire vegetation recovery within the burned area, as well as the areas of high risk erosion. We identified dNDVI, EVI and the second red edge band of Sentinel-2 as the most important spectral variables for predicting vegetation recovery within pre-fire areas. In the case of pre-fire areas with maquis, post-fire NBR, EVI and NDVI were selected as best predictors. Finally, the results revealed that vegetation recovery is more pronounced within the pre-fire pine forest areas, while topographic and geological sub-strata factors were also found significant in defining post-fire vegetation recovery.

Cultural Organization Branding Heritage (BH)-Προσκεκλημένη (ως Branding Heritage Expert) στο Διήμερο Συμπόσιο Πολιτισμού Contemporary Minoans “Μινωικός Πολιτισμός Εμπνέει Σύγχρονες Δημιουργίες", 12-13 Μαίου 2018, Κρήτη (υπό την Αιγίδα του Υπουργείου Πολιτισμού και Αθλητισμού, του Υπουργείο Πολιτισμού, την Περιφέρεια Κρήτης, British School at Athens,  κ.ά.):

• Επισυνάπτεται  (1) Πρόγραμμα,  
• (2) επισυνάπτεται επίσης αρθρογραφία της Ειρήνης Καμπερίδου (Irene Kamberidou) για τον ΠΟΛΙΤΙΣΜΟ ΤΟΥ ΣΩΜΑΤΟΣ ΚΑΙ Ο ΠΟΛΙΤΙΣΜΟΣ ΤΟΥ ΦΑΓΗΤΟΥ-Η ΜΑΓΕΙΡΙΚΗ ΤΕΧΝΗ ΣΤΗΝ ΑΡΧΑΙΑ ΕΛΛΑΔΑ (ΜΟΔΑ, ΕΝΔΥΣΗ, ΥΠΟΔΗΜΑΤΑ, ΑΡΩΜΑΤΑ ΤΩΝ ΑΡΧΑΙΩΝ ΕΛΛΗΝΩΝ [Fashions (what they wore and how), footwear (sandals, boots),  Cosmetics, aromas/Perfumes/scents, Hairstyles and in Ancient Greece].

Dissemination report - Over 3, 450 reached to date that can be counted, in addition to those we have not counted or estimated, such as the uploads in over 10 websites, social media, networks, databases and homepages accessed, reached or visited by thousands, e.g. https://en.uoa.gr, as well as faculty emails and discussion folders/conversation pages (DEP and SOC), open access e-classes and project partners Facebook shares, to name a few. This report also includes a sample photo of our students linking into GeoLudens (See: Creating a tech tool to promote European Traditional Sports and Games from an intergenerational and inclusive perspective, ERASMUS PLUS Small Collaborative Partnership-GEO-LUDENS) © Kamberidou, I; Karteroliotis, K.; Venetsanou, F. (8/6/2018). Dissemination by Greek Team - Thousands Reached. School of Physical Education and Sport Science, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA). Dissemination report following GEO-LUDENS (579689-EPP-1-2016-1-ES-SPO-SSCP) five working sessions in Athens, Greece, May 30/31-June 1, 2018.

The perennial geophyte sea daffodil, sea lily or sand lily (Pancratium maritimum L.) is a flowering species during the dry summer, widely distributed along Mediterranean seashores and grown in a wild stage. Populations of sea daffodil are exposed to sea breeze, salt spray, water shortage, strong solar radiation, elevated temperatures, substrate instability and moving sand. Also, it is expected that excessive tourism and human-induced activities will constrain the development of populations of P. maritimum, which have resulted from a long-term evolutionary process. P. maritimum exhibits large white flowers of a great aesthetic value during dry and hot summer weather conditions, when simultaneously flowering plant taxa are scarce. The buds remain protected below the soil surface on the underground perennial organ and the growth period alternates with a period of dormancy. The above-ground organs and tissues are exposed to harsh, ambient conditions and the large inflorescences of remarkable beauty and fragrance carry particular ornamental worth and thus economic value.

In Volleyball, complex 1 consists of pass-set-attack skills in this specified order. This sequence is a stable pattern to win a point. Furthermore, it is important for teams' success. Taking into account that this pattern is a first-order Markov chain, the creation of a probability transition matrix is feasible. Assuming multinomial likelihood with a Dirichlet prior on the transition probabilities a Markovian transition matrix can be constructed, and the calculation of conditional success probabilities is, thus, achievable. Data from the performance analysis of the winning team from recent world championships in three age categories (U19, U21, Men) of male Volleyball is used. Evaluation of the pass through a six-level ordinal scale is possible after the validation of the entire scale. The findings lead to redefining target pass area and to shrinking the evaluation scale at least for the teams under study. Moreover, pass accuracy is necessary because it must give at least two options for attack, but not sufficient condition for the success of attack in all age categories for male Volleyball. In U19 age category, there is a lack of stabilization in the complex 1 sequence after pass against jump spin serve.

A unique and often overlooked property of a source loaded with relativistic protons is that it can become supercritical, i.e. it can undergo an abrupt transition from a radiatively inefficient to a radiatively efficient state once its proton energy density exceeds a certain threshold. In this paper, we investigate the temporal variability of hadronic systems in this hardly explored regime. We show that there exists a range of proton densities that prevent the system from reaching a steady state, but drive it instead in a quasi-periodic mode. The escaping radiation then exhibits limit cycles, even if all physical parameters are held constant in time. We extend our analysis to cases where the proton injection rate varies with time and explore the variability patterns of escaping radiation as the system moves in and out from the supercritical regime. We examine the relevance of our results to the variability of the prompt gamma-ray burst emission and show that, at least on a phenomenological level, some interesting analogies exist.

A unique and often overlooked property of a source loaded with relativistic protons is that it can become supercritical, i.e. it can undergo an abrupt transition from a radiatively inefficient to a radiatively efficient state once its proton energy density exceeds a certain threshold. In this paper, we investigate the temporal variability of hadronic systems in this hardly explored regime. We show that there exists a range of proton densities that prevent the system from reaching a steady state, but drive it instead in a quasi-periodic mode. The escaping radiation then exhibits limit cycles, even if all physical parameters are held constant in time. We extend our analysis to cases where the proton injection rate varies with time and explore the variability patterns of escaping radiation as the system moves in and out from the supercritical regime. We examine the relevance of our results to the variability of the prompt gamma-ray burst emission and show that, at least on a phenomenological level, some interesting analogies exist.

Christopher Marlowe's The Massacre at Paris, a play which probably dates from 1592 but has reached posterity in a mangled form, enacts the incorporation of religious and state politics in the theatre. Through a sequence of short scenes characterized by senseless brutality and black humor, Marlowe revisits one of the darkest episodes of French history, the Saint Bartholomew‘s Day Massacre, which took place on the 24th and 25thAugust 1572. Dramatizing the slaughter of thousands of Protestants by Catholics, the play not only reflects on the significance of massacre as a political term for an increasingly absolutist Renaissance Europe but also translates the violence of massacre into aesthetic form. Itself alien within the body of Marlowe’s dramatic works, The Massacre at Paris has rarely been performed after its Elizabethan successful performances at the Rose; this is not surprising given the state of the extant text and its dismissal by many critics as crude anti-Catholic propaganda. Yet, the Massacre's corrupt and incomplete form, political ambiguities and emphasis on theatrical violence have inspired two contemporary artists, the French director Guillaume Delaveau and the Austrian composer Wolfgang Mitterer, to rethink and revive it. Both Delaveau's Massacre à Paris, first performed at Toulouse in 2007 and Mitterer's experimental opera Massacre, composed in 2003 and performed in 2008 and 2010 in France, refer to recent wars and atrocities and rejoice in the irony of the play. This paper seeks to investigate the play's ability to convey political thought and provoke contemporary audiences by reading it together with Delaveau and Mitterer's adaptations. The challenge of reworking the Massacre for our age involves the question of the theatre's potential to expose the audience to the horror of history.

Maternal affective disorders are frequently treated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor medications (SSRIs); with up to 10% of women being prescribed these medications during pregnancy. Infant development depends on the early serotonergic environment, which is altered by perinatal SSRIs, raising concern about how these medications affect neural outcomes. While clinical and preclinical research suggests an impact of SSRIs on the developing brain, more research is needed to determine the effects on neuroplasticity, the serotonergic system, and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in neural regions mediating behavior. The current work investigated the effects of the SSRI, fluoxetine, on the serotonergic system in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) during pre-adolescence, and changes to synaptic markers and glucocorticoid receptor density in the cingulate cortex (medial PFC) of pre-adolescent and adult Sprague-Dawley male and female rats. To model aspects of Perinatal Depression and maternal anxiety, pre-gestational maternal stress was used resulting in male and female offspring from 4 groups: 1) control, 2) perinatal fluoxetine exposed, 3) pre-gestational maternal stress exposed, and 4) pre-gestational maternal stress + fluoxetine. Perinatal fluoxetine prevented the effects of maternal stress on 5-HT levels and 5-HT turnover ratio in the PFC of pre-adolescent offspring, particularly in females. However, pre-gestational stress reduced synaptophysin and PSD-95 densities in the cingulate cortex, effects that were more pronounced in males. Interestingly, perinatal fluoxetine exposure reduced GR density in adult males in this same brain area. Together, results show differential effects of perinatal SSRIs and pre-gestational maternal stress on neurodevelopment in the PFC of males and females.

Maternal affective disorders are frequently treated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor medications (SSRIs); with up to 10% of women being prescribed these medications during pregnancy. Infant development depends on the early serotonergic environment, which is altered by perinatal SSRIs, raising concern about how these medications affect neural outcomes. While clinical and preclinical research suggests an impact of SSRIs on the developing brain, more research is needed to determine the effects on neuroplasticity, the serotonergic system, and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in neural regions mediating behavior. The current work investigated the effects of the SSRI, fluoxetine, on the serotonergic system in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) during pre-adolescence, and changes to synaptic markers and glucocorticoid receptor density in the cingulate cortex (medial PFC) of pre-adolescent and adult Sprague-Dawley male and female rats. To model aspects of Perinatal Depression and maternal anxiety, pre-gestational maternal stress was used resulting in male and female offspring from 4 groups: 1) control, 2) perinatal fluoxetine exposed, 3) pre-gestational maternal stress exposed, and 4) pre-gestational maternal stress + fluoxetine. Perinatal fluoxetine prevented the effects of maternal stress on 5-HT levels and 5-HT turnover ratio in the PFC of pre-adolescent offspring, particularly in females. However, pre-gestational stress reduced synaptophysin and PSD-95 densities in the cingulate cortex, effects that were more pronounced in males. Interestingly, perinatal fluoxetine exposure reduced GR density in adult males in this same brain area. Together, results show differential effects of perinatal SSRIs and pre-gestational maternal stress on neurodevelopment in the PFC of males and females.

We study the energy structure and the transfer of an extra electron or hole along periodic polymers made of N monomers, with a repetition unit made of P monomers, using a tight-binding wire model, where a site is a monomer (e.g., in DNA, a base pair), for P even, and deal with two categories of such polymers: made of the same monomer (GC…, GGCC…, etc.) and made of different monomers (GA…, GGAA…, etc.). We calculate the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) eigenspectra, density of states, and HOMO-LUMO gap and find some limiting properties these categories possess, as P increases. We further examine the properties of the mean over time probability to find the carrier at each monomer. We introduce the weighted mean frequency of each monomer and the total weighted mean frequency of the whole polymer, as a measure of the overall transfer frequency content. We study the pure mean transfer rates. These rates can be increased by many orders of magnitude with appropriate sequence choice. Generally, homopolymers display the most efficient charge transfer. Finally, we compare the pure mean transfer rates with experimental transfer rates obtained by time-resolved spectroscopy.

BACKGROUND: Firefighters participate in activities with intense physical and psychological stress and are constantly at risk to develop various psychopathological reactions. AIMS: To investigate psychological reactions in firefighters one month after devastating wildfires in Greece, during August 2007, which lead to the devastation of large areas and the death of 43 people among whom three were firefighters. METHODS: One month after the wildfires, a joint task force of mental health clinicians was organized in order to provide psychological support and to investigate the psychological consequences of wildfires to firefighters. One hundred and two firefighters, living within the fire-devastated area, who were on duty for the whole period of wildfires were interviewed and assessed with the use of several questionnaires and inventories. RESULTS: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was detected in 18.6% of firefighters. Multiple logistic regression found that existence of fear of dying during firefighting, insomnia and increased scores in neuroticism, as well as in depression subscale of the SCL-90, were significantly associated with greater likelihood for having PTSD. Additionally those firefighters who worked permanently had 70% lower probability of having PTSD vs. those seasonally employed. CONCLUSIONS: Insomnia, depressive symptoms, as well as personality characteristics as neuroticism and the perception of fear of imminent death during firefighting operations may precipitate the development of PTSD in firefighters. Within this context, mental health clinicians should be aware that the early detection of these predisposing factors may facilitate the prevention and mitigation of PTSD in firefighters particularly those who are seasonally employed.

Dry powder inhalers containing the budesonide/formoterol combination have currently a well-established position among other inhaled products. Even though their efficacy mainly depends on the local concentrations of the drug they deliver within the lungs, their safety profile is directly related to their total systemic exposure. The aim of the present investigation was to explore the absorption and disposition kinetics of the budesonide/formoterol combination delivered via two different dry powder inhalers in asthma patients. Plasma concentration time data were obtained from a single-dose, crossover bioequivalence study in asthma patients. Non compartmental and population compartmental approaches were applied to the available datasets. The non compartmental analysis allowed for an initial characterization of the primary pharmacokinetic (PK) parameters of the two inhaled drugs and subsequently the bioequivalence assessment of the two different dry powder inhalers. The population pharmacokinetic analysis further explored the complex absorption and disposition characteristics of the two drugs. In case of inhaled FOR, a five-compartment PK model including an enterohepatic re-circulation process was developed. For inhaled BUD, the incorporation of two parallel first-order absorption rate constants (fast and slow) for lung absorption in a two-compartment PK model emphasized the importance of pulmonary anatomical features and underlying physiological processes during model development. The role of potential covariates on the variability of the PK parameters was also investigated.

During the 2014-2015 mutual events season, the Institut de Mécanique Céleste et de Calcul des Éphémérides (IMCCE), Paris, France, and the Sternberg Astronomical Institute (SAI), Moscow, Russia, led an international observation campaign to record ground-based photometric observations of Galilean moon mutual occultations and eclipses. We focused on processing the complete photometric observations data base to compute new accurate astrometric positions. We used our method to derive astrometric positions from the light curves of the events. We developed an accurate photometric model of mutual occultations and eclipses, while correcting for the satellite albedos, Hapke's light scattering law, the phase effect, and the limb darkening. We processed 609 light curves, and we compared the observed positions of the satellites with the theoretical positions from IMCCE NOE-5-2010-GAL satellite ephemerides and INPOP13c planetary ephemeris. The standard deviation after fitting the light curve in equatorial positions is ±24 mas, or 75 km at Jupiter. The rms (O-C) in equatorial positions is ±50 mas, or 150 km at Jupiter.

Photonic crystals have been established as unique periodic structures to promote photon capture and control over light-matter interactions. Their application in semiconductor, mainly TiO2, photocatalysis has emerged as a promising structural modification to boost light harvesting of photocatalytic materials by means of slow photons i.e. light propagation at reduced group velocity near the edges of the photonic band gap (PBG). In this review, the latest advances in the development of TiO2 photonic crystal photocatalysts are highlighted, targeting primarily on the design, fabrication, structure-activity and performance evaluation of visible light activated (VLA) TiO2 inverse opals in the degradation of water and air pollutants as well as water splitting. Up to date work demonstrating the amplification effect of PBG engineered photonic crystals on the photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical performance under UV excitation is accordingly presented. Recent developments on the combination of enhanced light trapping, mainly via slow photons, mass transport and adsorption of macro/mesoporous inverse opals with targeted compositional and electronic modifications currently pursued to promote charge separation and visible light activation, i.e. dye sensitization, non-metal and self-doping, coupling with metallic nanoparticles and plasmonic effects, heterostructuring with narrow band gap semiconductors, quantum dots and graphene as well as the use of alternative metal oxide photocatalysts beyond TiO2 are thoroughly reviewed with respect to their potential for key improvements of the photocatalytic efficiency under visible light. Pertinent challenges and future prospects in photonic crystal-assisted VLA photocatalysts are addressed aimed at advanced photon management routes that could step up photocatalytic applications. © 2018 Elsevier B.V.

The geological, geomorphic conditions of a mountainous environment along with precipitation and human activities influence landslide occurrences. In many cases, their relation to landslide events is not well defined. The scope of the present study is to identify the influence of physical and anthropogenic factors in landslide activity. The study area is a mountainous part of the northern Peloponnesus in southern Greece. The existing landslides, lithology, slope angle, rainfall, two types of road network (highway-provincial roads and rural roads) along with land use of the study area are taken into consideration. Each physical and anthropogenic factor is further divided into sub-categories. Statistical analysis of landslide frequency and density, as well as frequency and density ratios, are applied and combined with a geographic information system (GIS) to evaluate the collected data and determine the relationship between physical and anthropogenic factors and landslide activity. The results prove that Plio-Pleistocene fine-grained sediments and flysch, relatively steep slopes (15°-30°) and a rise in the amount of rainfall increase landslide frequency and density. Additionally, Plio-Pleistocene fine-grained sediments and flysch, as well as schist chert formations, moderate (5°-15°) and relatively steep slopes (15°-30°), along with the amount of rainfall of > 700 mm are strongly associated with landslide occurrences. The frequency and magnitude of landslides increase in close proximity to roads. Their maximum values are observed within the 50 m buffer zone. This corresponds to a 100 m wide zone along with any type of road corridors, increasing landslide occurrences. In addition, a buffer zone of 75 m or 150 m wide zone along highway and provincial roads, as well as a buffer zone of 100 m or 200 m wide zones along rural roads, are strongly correlated with landslide events. The extensive cultivated land of the study area is strongly related to landslide activity. By contrast, urban areas are poorly related to landslides, because most of them are located in the northern coastal part of the study area where landslides are limited. The results provide information on physical and anthropogenic factors characterizing landslide events in the study area. The applied methodology rapidly estimates areas prone to landslides and it may be utilized for landslide hazard assessment mapping as well as for new and existing land use planning projects.

 

Wild or semi-wild edible greens (chórta) are an integral part of the traditional Greek Mediterranean diet due to their nutritional value, containing various phytonutrients beneficial to human health. Water-based decoctions of chórta are widely consumed in Greek alternative medicine as health promoting agents. This study examined the chemical profile of the decoctions of eight edible plants, Cichorium intybus, C. endivia, C. spinosum, Crepis sancta, Sonchus asper, Carthamus lanatus, Centaurea raphanina, and Amaranthus blitum, by UPLC-ESI-HRMS and HRMS/MS analysis, to determine possibly bioactive constituents. The profiles of the plants from the Asteraceae family are dominated by the presence of phenolic acids and flavonoid derivatives, whereas the A. blitum decoction is rich in triterpene saponins. Interestingly, the Centaurea raphanina decoction was found to be extremely rich in flavanones, particularly in the aglycone pinocembrin. Further phytochemical investigation and fractionation of this extract resulted in the isolation and identification of five compounds: phlorin (1), syringin (2), pinocembrin (3), pinocembroside (4), and pinocembrin-7-O-neohesperidoside (5). The extracts were also tested for their antioxidant and differential cytotoxic activity against tumor cells. C. raphanina was found to be differentially toxic against metastatic tumor cells. In conclusion, we found that Greek edible greens are a rich source of bioactive secondary metabolites and their consumption could contribute to the maintenance of overall health.

Mankind has an inherent desire to explore the planets, which is closely connected with the nature and curios- ity of human beings. Unfortunately, the actual explo- ration is a privilege of only a few people, at least in the near future. The presented project, entitled "Planets In Your Hand" (PIYH) gives everyone the chance to see, touch and feel the differences of each planetary sur- face in our Solar System and learn about the world we all live in. The PIYH project consists of a portable ex- hibition of planetary surface models in square frames. It is carefully designed and addressed to both young and elder people, families, students, educational insti- tutions and especially to visually impaired individuals, giving them a unique opportunity to meet and get fa- miliar with planetary science.

Plasma treatment is an environmentally friendly solution for modifying or nanostructuring the surface of several materials including photoactive polymers. The detailed characterization of the effect of plasma treatment on chemical and optoelectronic properties of photoactive polymers is, therefore, of specific interest. Herein, the effect of the exposure of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) thin films to plasma created in three different gases (oxygen, argon and hydrogen) was studied. A range of spectroscopic techniques, such as x-ray (XPS) and ultraviolet (UPS) photoelectron spectroscopy in conjunction with UV–vis absorption, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopies, are employed to quantify the extent of chemical modification occurring in each particular case. It is shown that oxygen plasma treatment leads to the disruption of the π-conjugation via the direct oxidation of the sulfur atom of the thiophene ring while the aliphatic side chain remains nearly unaffected. An oxidation mechanism is proposed according to which the sulfur atom of the thiophene ring is oxidized into sulfoxides and sulfones, which subsequently degraded into sulfonates or sulfonic acids in a relatively small degree. For argon and hydrogen plasma treatments some oxidation products are detected only at the polymer surface. In all cases the polymer surface Fermi level is shifted closer to the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy after plasma treatment indicating p-type doping arising from surface oxidation. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd

Plasmoids, overdense blobs of plasma containing magnetic fields and high-energy particles, are a self-consistent outcome of the reconnection process in the relativistic regime. Recent two-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations have shown that plasmoids can undergo a variety of processes (e.g. mergers, bulk acceleration, growth, and advection) within the reconnection layer. We developed a Monte Carlo code, benchmarked with the recent PIC simulations, to examine the effects of these processes on the steady-state size and momentum distributions of the plasmoid chain. The differential plasmoid size distribution is shown to be a power law, ranging from a few plasma skin depths to ∼0.1 of the reconnection layer's length. The power-law slope is shown to be linearly dependent upon the ratio of the plasmoid acceleration and growth rates, which slightly decreases with increasing plasma magnetization. We perform a detailed comparison of our results with those of recent PIC simulations and briefly discuss the astrophysical implications of our findings through the representative case of flaring events from blazar jets.

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate whether and to what extent a single injection of platelet-rich plasma (PRP), under ultrasound guidance, can improve the clinical symptoms of patients with a mild to moderate carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). We conducted a prospective, randomized, clinical study including 50 patients suffering from mild to moderate CTS for a minimum duration of 3 months. Patients were randomly divided into 2 groups: Group A (26 patients) received an ultrasound-guided PRP injection into the carpal tunnel, whereas Group B (24 patients) was injected with placebo (0.9% normal saline). The short- and mid-term outcomes were determined with the use of the Q-DASH questionnaire and the pain scale VAS administered at 0, 4, and 12 weeks follow-up. The success ratio was determined by the difference in the Q-DASH obtained pre-injection minus the final Q-DASH obtained after 12 weeks follow-up. Success was defined as a difference more than 25%. Group A patients demonstrated a 76.9% success as determined by the difference Q-DASH, whereas Group B patients demonstrated 33.3% success, which was significantly less than Group A (Χ , p = .011). The findings of this study suggest that a single PRP ultrasound-guided injection has positive effects in patients with CTS.

Various systematic reviews have recently shown that intra-articular platelet-rich plasma (IA-PRP) can lead to symptomatic relief of knee osteoarthritis for up to 12 months. There exist limited data on its use in small joints, such as the trapeziometacarpal joint (TMJ) or carpometacarpal joint (CMCJ) of the thumb. A prospective, randomized, blind, controlled, clinical trial of 33 patients with clinical and radiographic osteoarthritis of the TMJ (grades: I-III according to the Eaton and Littler classification) was conducted. Group A patients (16 patients) received 2 ultrasound-guided IA-PRP injections, while group B patients (17 patients) received 2 ultrasound-guided intra-articular methylprednisolone and lidocaine injections at a 2-week interval. Patients were evaluated prior to and at 3 and 12 months after the second injection using the visual analogue scale (VAS) 100/100, shortened Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand Questionnaire (Q-DASH), and patient's subjective satisfaction. No significant differences between the baseline clinical and demographic characteristics of the 2 groups were identified. After 12 months' follow-up, the IA-PRP treatment has yielded significantly better results in comparison with the corticosteroids, in terms of VAS score ( P = 0.015), Q-DASH score ( P = 0.025), and patients' satisfaction ( P = 0.002). Corticosteroids offer short-term relief of symptoms, but IA-PRP might achieve a lasting effect of up to 12 months in the treatment of early to moderate symptomatic TMJ arthritis.

As part of a network study of HIV infection among people who inject drugs (PWID) and their contacts, we discovered a connected subcomponent of 29 uninfected PWID. In the context of a just-declining large epidemic outbreak, this raised a question: What explains the existence of large pockets of uninfected people? Possible explanations include "firewall effects" (Friedman et al., 2000; Dombrowski et al., 2017) wherein the only HIV+ people that the uninfected take risks with have low viral loads; "bottleneck effects" wherein few network paths into the pocket of non-infection exist; low levels of risk behavior; and an impending outbreak. We considered each of these. Participants provided information on their enhanced sexual and injection networks and assisted us in recruiting network members. The largest connected component had 241 members. Data on risk behaviors in the last 6 months were collected at the individual level. Recent infection was determined by LAg (Sedia(TM) Biosciences Corporation), data on recent seronegative tests, and viral load. HIV RNA was quantified using Artus HI Virus-1 RG RT-PCR (Qiagen). The 29 members of the connected subcomponent of uninfected participants were connected (network distance = 1) to 17 recently-infected and 24 long-term infected participants. Fourteen (48%) of these 29 uninfected were classified as "extremely high risk" because they self-reported syringe sharing and had at least one injection partner with viral load >100,000 copies/mL who also reported syringe sharing. Seventeen of the 29 uninfected were re-interviewed after 6 months, but none had seroconverted. These findings show the power of network research in discovering infection patterns that standard individual-level studies cannot. Theoretical development and exploratory network research studies may be needed to understand these findings and deepen our understanding of how HIV does and does not spread through communities. Finally, the methods developed here provide practical tools to study "bottleneck" and "firewall" network hypotheses in practice.

Aim: To evaluate the biomization technique for reconstructing past vegetation in the Eastern Mediterranean–Black Sea–Caspian-Corridor using an extensive modern pollen data set and comparing reconstructions to potential vegetation and observed land cover data. Location: The region between 28–48°N and 22–62°E. Methods: We apply the biomization technique to 1,387 modern pollen samples, representing 1,107 entities, to reconstruct the distribution of 13 broad vegetation categories (biomes). We assess the results using estimates of potential natural vegetation from the European Vegetation Map and the Physico-Geographic Atlas of the World. We test whether anthropogenic disturbance affects reconstruction quality using land use information from the Global Land Cover data set. Results: The biomization scheme successfully predicts the broadscale patterns of vegetation across the region, including changes with elevation. The technique discriminates deserts from shrublands, the prevalence of woodlands in moister lowland sites, and the presence of temperate and mixed forests at higher elevations. Quantitative assessment of the reconstructions is less satisfactory: the biome is predicted correctly at 44% of the sites in Europe and 33% of the sites overall. The low success rate is not a reflection of anthropogenic impacts: only 33% of the samples are correctly assigned after the removal of sites in anthropogenically altered environments. Open vegetation is less successfully predicted (33%) than forest types (73%), reflecting the under-representation of herbaceous taxa in pollen assemblages and the impact of long-distance pollen transport into open environments. Samples from small basins ( < 1 km 2 ) are more likely to be reconstructed accurately, with 58% of the sites in Europe and 66% of all sites correctly predicted, probably because they sample an appropriate pollen source area to reflect regional vegetation patterns in relatively heterogeneous landscapes. While methodological biases exist, the low confidence of the quantitative comparisons should not be over-emphasized because the target maps themselves are not accurate representations of vegetation patterns in this region. Main Conclusions: The biomization scheme yields reasonable reconstructions of the broadscale vegetation patterns in the Eastern Mediterranean–Black Sea–Caspian-Corridor, particularly if appropriate-sized sampling sites are used. Our results indicate biomization could be used to reconstruct changing patterns of vegetation in response to past climate changes in this region.

n July 25 and August 26 2016 wildfires broke out in the southwestern and central-western part of Chios Island(NE Aegean Sea, Greece), respectively. The first affected an area of approximately 47km2 and burned throughalmost 90% of olive groves and mastic trees, while the second broke out in a forested area and affected approximately6.6km2 of forest and farmland.A research aiming at the post-fire landslide susceptibility (LS) mapping of both areas was conducted. Morphologicaldata (slope, aspect, curvature, drainage network) derived from a 5m-DEM model of the areas was used.Lithological and geological data (lithology, tectonic structures) were digitized from previous field work maps.Land cover was derived from Worldview-2 satellite images before and after the fire events. Soil thickness was derivedfrom field survey observations within the fire-affected areas, road network from OpenStreetMap and rainfalldata resulted from related measurements derived from Chios meteorological station. Post-fire landslide inventorywas created after an extensive field survey of both areas before the beginning of the rainfall period (October 2016)and before the end of winter season (February 2017).Data classification of each factor according to their estimated LS followed, by using the reverse ranking method,where 1 is the least susceptible and 10 is the most one. Each category was normalized to 100% and the final rasterthematic maps of landslide controlling factors were produced. Finally, using numerical weight for each factor,which was assigned by the Analytic Hierarchy Process using Pairwise Comparison Method and according to theweighted linear combination, a map was generated where each cell has a certain post-fire LS index (LSI) value.The higher the LSI value, the higher the LS, whereas lower LSI value means lower LS.This procedure was repeated twice, first using pre-fire land cover and secondly using the severity of the fire events.The resulted maps, classified with natural breaks method, constitute the final pre- and post-fire LS maps of theaffected areas with five LS categories: very low, low, moderate, high and very high.Comparison of these two final maps showed, more or less, the same LS areas, but with LSI value enhanced. Thevalidated results showed good agreement between post-fire landslide occurrence and the produced post-fire LS maps.

© 2018 Bentham Science Publishers. Background: Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) is a newly recognized diagnostic entity in the DSM-5, characterized by intense mood and cognitive fluctuations accompanied by distressing physical symptoms. PMDD symptoms typically arise after ovulation and gradually resolve after the onset of menstruation. With an estimated prevalence of 3-8% in the general female population, PMDD is a chronic and impairing disorder that affects significantly women's quality of life and everyday functioning. Objective: The aim of this article is to review the existing literature on biological, genetic and psychological etiological factors in PMDD and to discuss corresponding treatment considerations. Results: Fluctuations in the functions of sex hormones, serotonin and GABA neurotransmitters, as well as personality traits related to stress and vulnerability to negative effect are implicated in the development of PMDD. Available evidence-based treatments include a number of hormonal therapies and antidepressant medications, while there is accumulating evidence for the clinical utility of psychotherapeutic interventions. Controversies in the diagnostic validity of PMDD mainly concern the asserted social constructiveness of the disorder and the difficulty to validly distinguish PMDD from other mood disorders with similar symptomatology. Conclusion: Controversies pertaining to the clinical nature and taxonomy of PMDD are highlighted and recommendations are offered, focusing on the need to identify biomarkers for PMDD and to investigate possible efficacy of non-pharmacological, psychotherapeutic interventions to address PMDD.

The synthesis and characterisation of a new anionic flexible scorpionate ligand, methyl(bis-7-azaindolyl)borohydride [MeBai]- is reported herein. The ligand was coordinated to a series of group nine transition metal centres forming the complexes, [Ir(MeBai)(COD)] (1), [Rh(MeBai)(COD)] (2), [Rh(MeBai)(CODMe)] (2-Me) and [Rh(MeBai)(NBD)] (3), where COD = 1,5-cyclooctadiene, CODMe = 3-methyl-1,5-cyclooctadiene and NBD = 2,5-norbornadiene. In all cases, the boron based ligand was found to bind to the metal centres via a κ3-N,N,H coordination mode. The ligand and complexes were fully characterised by spectroscopic and analytical methods. The structures of the ligand and three of the complexes were confirmed by X-ray crystallography. The potential for migration of the "hydride" or "methyl" units from boron to the metal centre was also explored. During these studies an unusual transformation, involving the oxidation of the rhodium centre, was observed in complex 2. In this case, the η4-COD unit transformed into a η1,η3-C8H12 unit where the ring was bound via one sigma bond and one allyl unit. This is the first time such a transformation has been observed at a rhodium centre.

The mammalian neocortex has undergone remarkable changes through evolution. A consequence of such rapid evolutionary events could be a trade-off that has rendered the brain susceptible to certain neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric conditions. We analyzed the exomes of 65 patients with the structural brain malformation periventricular nodular heterotopia (PH). De novo coding variants were observed in excess in genes defining a transcriptomic signature of basal radial glia, a cell type linked to brain evolution. In addition, we located two variants in human isoforms of two genes that have no ortholog in mice. Modulating the levels of one of these isoforms for the gene PLEKHG6 demonstrated its role in regulating neuroprogenitor differentiation and neuronal migration via RhoA, with phenotypic recapitulation of PH in human cerebral organoids. This suggests that this PLEKHG6 isoform is an example of a primate-specific genomic element supporting brain development.

The liar and kindred paradoxes show that we can derive contradictions if our language possesses sentences lending themselves to paradox and we reason classically from schema (T) about truth: S is true iff p, where the letter p is to be replaced with a sentence and the letter S with a name of that sentence. This article presents a theory of truth that keeps (T) at the expense of classical logic. The theory is couched in a language that possesses paradoxical sentences. It incorporates all the instances of the analogue of (T) for that language and also includes other platitudes about truth. The theory avoids contradiction because its logical framework is an appropriately constructed nonclassical propositional logic. The logic and the theory are different from others that have been proposed for keeping (T), and the methods used in the main proofs are novel.

This paper aims to analyze the structure and quality of prospective mathematics teachers’ (PMTs)’ argumentation when identifying and interpreting critical incidents from their initial field experiences. We use Toulmin’s model and recent elaborations of it to analyze the discussions that took place at the university where PMTs reflected on their recent classroom experiences. Our aim is to identify the structure of the argumentation and characterize the emerging warrants, backings, and rebuttals. Results indicate different argumentation structures and types of warrants, backings, and rebuttals in the process of PMTs’ interpretations of students’ mathematical activity. We discuss these findings from the perspective of noticing to identify shifts at the level of PMTs’ interpretations.

Background: Senescence is a fundamental biological process implicated in various pathologies, including cancer. Regarding carcinogenesis, senescence signifies, at least in its initial phases, an anti-tumor response that needs to be circumvented for cancer to progress. Micro-RNAs, a subclass of regulatory, non-coding RNAs, participate in senescence regulation. At the subcellular level micro-RNAs, similar to proteins, have been shown to traffic between organelles influencing cellular behavior. The differential function of micro-RNAs relative to their subcellular localization and their role in senescence biology raises concurrent in situ analysis of coding and non-coding gene products in senescent cells as a necessity. However, technical challenges have rendered in situ co-detection unfeasible until now. Methods: In the present report we describe a methodology that bypasses these technical limitations achieving for the first time simultaneous detection of both a micro-RNA and a protein in the biological context of cellular senescence, utilizing the new commercially available SenTraGorTM compound. The method was applied in a prototypical human non-malignant epithelial model of oncogene-induced senescence that we generated for the purposes of the study. For the characterization of this novel system, we applied a wide range of cellular and molecular techniques, as well as high-throughput analysis of the transcriptome and micro-RNAs. Results: This experimental setting has three advantages that are presented and discussed: i) it covers a "gap" in the molecular carcinogenesis field, as almost all corresponding in vitro models are fibroblast-based, even though the majority of neoplasms have epithelial origin, ii) it recapitulates the precancerous and cancerous phases of epithelial tumorigenesis within a short time frame under the light of natural selection and iii) it uses as an oncogenic signal, the replication licensing factor CDC6, implicated in both DNA replication and transcription when over-expressed, a characteristic that can be exploited to monitor RNA dynamics. Conclusions: Consequently, we demonstrate that our model is optimal for studying the molecular basis of epithelial carcinogenesis shedding light on the tumor-initiating events. The latter may reveal novel molecular targets with clinical benefit. Besides, since this method can be incorporated in a wide range of low, medium or high-throughput image-based approaches, we expect it to be broadly applicable.

Το βιβλίο των Holton και Brush "Εισαγωγή στις έννοιες και τις θεωρίες της Φυσικής Επιστήμης" αποτέλεσε το βασικό εγχειρίδιο για τη διδασκαλία της Φυσικής του Harvard Project Physics Course. Από το 1952, που γράφτηκε για πρώτη φορά, γνώρισε αλλεπάλληλες εκδόσεις και αναθεωρήσεις μέχρι το 1985, οπότε και έλαβε την τελική μορφή του στην οποία βασίστηκε η ελληνική έκδοση. Η παρούσα έκδοση καινοτομεί ενσωματώνοντας τον Οδηγό Διδακτικής Αξιοποίησης, ο οποίος απευθύνεται ειδικά στους υποψήφιους και εν ενεργεία εκπαιδευτικούς των φυσικών επιστημών, προσφέροντας ένα διδακτικό παράδειγμα για τη Φυσική βασισμένο στην ιστορία της. Η διαχρονική του πρωτοτυπία οφείλεται στο ότι συνδυάζει τη διδασκαλία της Φυσικής με απαντήσεις στα ερωτήματα για το τι είναι η Φυσική, ποια η μέθοδός της και πώς συγκροτείται ιστορικά ως επιστήμη.

Self-organized criticality emerges in dynamical complex systems driven out of equilibrium and characterizes a wide range of classical phenomena in physics, geology, and biology. We report on a quantum coherence-controlled selforganized critical transition observed in the light localization behavior of a coherence-driven nanophotonic configuration. Our system is composed of a gain-enhanced plasmonic heterostructure controlled by a coherent drive, in which photons close to the stopped-light regime interact in the presence of the active nonlinearities, eventually synchronizing their dynamics. In this system, on the basis of analytical and corroborating full-wave Maxwell-Bloch computations, we observe quantum coherence-controlled self-organized criticality in the emergence of light localization arising from the synchronization of the photons. It is associated with two first-order phase transitions: one pertaining to the synchronization of the dynamics of the photons and the second pertaining to an inversionless lasing transition by the coherent drive. The so-Attained light localization, which is robust to dissipation, fluctuations, and many-body interactions, exhibits scale-invariant power laws and absence of finely tuned control parameters. We also found that, in this nonequilibrium dynamical system, the effective critical "temperature" of the system drops to zero, whereupon one enters the quantum self-organized critical regime. Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved.

The aim of this work is to develop a gastrointestinal (GI) drug absorption model based on a reaction limited model of dissolution and consider its impact on the biopharmaceutic classification of drugs. Estimates for the fraction of dose absorbed as a function of dose, solubility, reaction/dissolution rate constant and the stoichiometry of drug-GI fluids reaction/dissolution were derived by numerical solution of the model equations. The undissolved drug dose and the reaction/dissolution rate constant drive the dissolution rate and determine the extent of absorption when high-constant drug permeability throughout the gastrointestinal tract is assumed. Dose is an important element of drug-GI fluids reaction/dissolution while solubility exclusively acts as an upper limit for drug concentrations in the lumen. The 3D plots of fraction of dose absorbed as a function of dose and reaction/dissolution rate constant for highly soluble and low soluble drugs for different ``stoichiometries{''} (0.7, 1.0, 2.0) of the drug-reaction/dissolution with the GI fluids revealed that high extent of absorption was found assuming high drug-reaction/dissolution rate constant and high drug solubility. The model equations were used to simulate in vivo supersaturation and precipitation phenomena. The model developed provides the theoretical basis for the interpretation of the extent of drug's absorption on the basis of the parameters associated with the drug-GI fluids reaction/dissolution. A new paradigm emerges for the biopharmaceutic classification of drugs, namely, a model independent biopharmaceutic classification scheme of four drug categories based on either the fulfillment or not of the current dissolution criteria and the high or low % drug metabolism.

Advanced nanostructures of titanium dioxide are intensively investigated for environmental protection. The latest developments in the field pay special attention to innovative and highly performing titania materials (anatase/rutile mixed-phase nanocomposites, anion-doped core-shell nanostructures, self-organized nanotubes, photonic crystals and their modifications with graphene oxide and metal nanoparticles) with original functionalities and tailored properties (visible light activated photocatalysts-VLA), the elucidation of the corresponding mechanisms involving interaction of light with matter at the nanoscale and resulting photoinduced electron transfer reactions. These materials are also considered as key components for the design and fabrication of devices (photocatalytic reactors) for efficient degradation and/or transformation of emerging environmental contaminants. The presence of a TiO2 photocatalyst on the asymmetric membrane surface and pores insures simultaneous pollutant retention and photodegradation, permitting continuous long-term device operation without fouling, practical absence of concentrated retentate and cost effective production of clean water. Focusing on recent investigations of our group concerning the use of innovative titania nanostructured photocatalysts, the present work attempts to explore novel trends and present perspectives of TiO2 photocatalysis inside and outside the well-established frame of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), expanding the field borders by including advanced reduction processes (ARPs) and relating technological applications (ARTs). © 2018 Elsevier Ltd.

Objective: Previous findings indicate that patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) report significant day-to-day fluctuations in subjective energy and sleep. Herein, we examined whether daily variation in the satisfaction and frustration of the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness would contribute to daily variation in subjective energy and quality and quantity of sleep. In addition, we examined whether daily variation in sleep would contribute to daily need-based experiences through (i.e., mediated by) daily fluctuations in subjective energy. Method: CFS patients (N = 120; 92% female; Mage = 42.10 years, SD = 10.46) completed a diary for 14 days which assessed their need-based experiences and subjective energy every evening and sleep every morning. Results: Results indicated that subjective energy, sleep, and need experiences fluctuated significantly from day to day. Daily need satisfaction related to less daily fatigue and more daily vitality, while the opposite pattern was observed for daily need frustration. Daily need frustration was also uniquely related to poorer daily sleep quality. Lastly, better daily sleep quality was also uniquely related to more daily need satisfaction and less daily need frustration via (i.e., mediated by) daily variation in subjective energy. These reciprocal within-day associations remained significant after controlling for the previous day's level of each outcome, with the exception of the relation between need frustration and sleep quality. Conclusion: The present findings underscore the reciprocal day-to-day association between need-based experiences and subjective energy in CFS. © 2018 American Psychological Association.

There is a wide range of alternative approaches to study erosion processes. In this paper the construction of a model based in the interaction of Geographical Information System (GIS) and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) is described. Theneural model uses supervised competitive learning process. The whole procedure starts with the digitization of collected data and the definition of the input variables, such as slope form and gradient, susceptibility to erosion and protective cover. The input variables are transformed into the erosion risk output variable using the neural model. The last stage concerns the development of an erosion risk zones map.

Vegetation patterns during the 1st millennium AD in the central Mediterranean, exhibit a great variability, due to the richness of these habitats and the continuous shaping of the environment by human societies. Variations in land use, witnessed in the pollen record, reflect the role that local vegetation and environmental conditions played in the choices made by local societies. The interdisciplinary study of off-site cores remains the key evidence for palaeoenvironmental transformations mirroring the ‘semi-natural’ vegetation, and revealing temporal fluctuations and the amount of human impact on a regional scale.

HSPB6/Hsp20 (heat shock protein family B [small] member 6) has emerged as a novel cardioprotector against stress-induced injury. We identified a human mutant of HSPB6 (HSPB6(S10F)) exclusively present in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) patients. Cardiac expression of this mutant in mouse hearts resulted in remodeling and dysfunction, which progressed to heart failure and early death. These detrimental effects were associated with reduced interaction of mutant HSPB6(S10F) with BECN1/Beclin 1, leading to BECN1 ubiquitination and its proteosomal degradation. As a result, autophagy flux was substantially inhibited and apoptosis was increased in HSPB6(S10F)-mutant hearts. In contrast, overexpression of wild-type HSPB6 (HSPB6 WT) not only increased BECN1 levels, but also competitively suppressed binding of BECN1 to BCL2, resulting in stimulated autophagy. Indeed, preinhibition of autophagy attenuated the cardioprotective effects of HSPB6 WT. Taken together, these findings reveal a new regulatory mechanism of HSPB6 in cell survival through its interaction with BECN1. Furthermore, Ser10 appears to be crucial for the protective effects of HSPB6 and transversion of this amino acid to Phe contributes to cardiomyopathy.

Characterization of the least number of muscle fibers analyzed for a quick and reliable, evaluation of intramuscular fiber conduction velocity (MFCV) is of importance for sport scientists. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability of vastus lateralis' intramuscular MFCV measuring either 25 or 50 different muscle fibers per participant, as well as to compare intramuscular MFCV measured in 25 (C ), 50 (C ), or 140 (C ) muscle fibers. Resting vastus lateralis' MFCV was measured in 21 young healthy males (age 22.1±2.4 years) using intramuscular microelectrodes in different days. Test-retest reliability of MFCV's parameters was calculated for C and C , while MFCV was compared among C , C , and C . Significant differences of MFCV parameters were observed between C condition and those of C and C . The differences in MFCV values between conditions C and C were non-significant. A close correlation was found for MFCV between C and C (r=0.884-0.988, P=.000). All reliability measures of MFCV measured with 50 fibers were high (eg, ICC=0.813-0.980, P=.000), in contrast to C (eg, ICC=0.023-0.580 P>.05). In conclusion, an average of 50 different fibers per subject is sufficient to provide a quick and reliable intramuscular evaluation of vastus lateralis MFCV.

BACKGROUND: Radiographic fracture classification helps with research on prognosis and treatment. AO/OTA classification into fracture type has shown to be reliable, but further classification of fractures into subgroups reduces the interobserver agreement and takes a considerable amount of practice and experience in order to master. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: We assessed: (1) differences between more and less experienced trauma surgeons based on hip fractures treated per year, years of experience, and the percentage of their time dedicated to trauma, (2) differences in the interobserver agreement between classification into fracture type, group, and subgroup, and (3) differences in the interobserver agreement when assessing fracture stability compared to classifying fractures into type, group and subgroup. METHODS: This study used the Science of Variation Group to measure factors associated with variation in interobserver agreement on classification of proximal femur fractures according to the AO/OTA classification on radiographs. We selected 30 anteroposterior radiographs from 1061 patients aged 55 years or older with an isolated fracture of the proximal femur, with a spectrum of fracture types proportional to the full database. To measure the interobserver agreement the Fleiss' kappa was determined and bootstrapping (resamples = 1000) was used to calculate the standard error, z statistic, and 95% confidence intervals. We compared the Kappa values of surgeons with more experience to less experienced surgeons. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences in the Kappa values on each classification level (type, group, subgroup) between more and less experienced surgeons. When all surgeons were combined into one group, the interobserver reliability was the greatest for classifying the fractures into type (kappa, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.83 to 0.97; p < 0.001), reflecting almost perfect agreement. When comparing the kappa values between classes (type, group, subgroup), we found statistically significant differences between each class. Substantial agreement was found in the clinically relevant groups stable/unstable trochanteric, displaced/non-displaced femoral neck, and femoral head fractures (kappa, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.67, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study adds to a growing body of evidence that relatively simple distinctions are more reliable and that this is independent of surgeon experience.

© 2018 North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology Background: Bone marrow transplantation is a lifesaving procedure for a range of serious benign or malignant hematological conditions. A proportion of patients, however, will develop graft vs host disease (GVHD), acute or chronic, with serious long-term sequalae. Cases: We present 2 cases of hematocolpos that developed in adolescence because of vaginal synechiae due to GVHD. The condition was initially asymptomatic, resolved spontaneously at first and recurred. In 1 girl blunt lysis of the adhesions was performed with the patient under general anesthesia, followed thereafter by local hydrocortisone and estriol treatment. Summary and Conclusion: Genital symptoms might not be readily reported by adolescents after bone marrow transplantation. Physicians should be aware of possible late effects of GVHD on genitalia, inquire about symptoms, and be acquainted with addressing complications, such as vaginal obstruction.

B[e] supergiants are luminous evolved massive stars. The mass-loss during this phase creates a complex circumstellar environment with atomic, molecular, and dusty regions usually found in rings or disc-like structures. For a better comprehension of the mechanisms behind the formation of these rings, detailed knowledge about their structure and dynamics is essential. To address that, we obtained high-resolution optical and near-infrared (near-IR) spectra for eight selected Galactic B[e] supergiants, for which CO emission has been detected. Assuming Keplerian rotation for the disc, we combine the kinematics obtained from the CO bands in the near-IR with those obtained by fitting the forbidden emission [O I] λ5577, [O I] λλ6300,6363, and [Ca II] λλ7291,7323 lines in the optical to probe the disc structure. We find that the emission originates from multiple ring structures around all B[e] supergiants, with each one of them displaying a unique combination of rings regardless of whether the object is part of a binary system. The confirmed binaries display spectroscopic variations of their line intensities and profiles as well as photometric variability, whereas the ring structures around the single stars are stable.

This work describes the derivation of the tectonic stress from the inversion of focal mechanisms of double-couple earthquakes. The presented material is based, in large part, on several review papers, lecture notes and practices on the matter, developed by the authors during the last years.

The firsthand accounts of 252 European and American women travelers of the 17th to early 20th centuries in Asia Minor, Cyprus, Syria, Egypt, Greece and other Ottoman occupied territories confirm that thousands of women travelled and witnessed historic events. Women from Great Britain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria and America explored, visited, resided as permanent residents, worked or served as volunteers, missionaries, educators, nurses, artists, governesses, ladies in waiting and servants of the western or eastern elite in different regions of the Ottoman Empire. This paper begins with a brief discussion on women travelers, subsequently focusing on 19th Century accounts regarding women’s contributions in times of conflict, exclusively from archival sources: the narratives of women volunteers, nurses, care givers and morale builders during the Crimean War (1853-1856), when the colonial experience encouraged female engagement. The accounts of English, French and German women who cared for the soldiers in the military hospitals of Constantinople and its environs reveal that women played key roles in social care, public health and hospital management, showing initiative and innovation in crisis management. The female accounts describe the British military and naval hospitals; the nurses duties and hardships (1,500 patients per 3 women: two lady volunteers and one nurse); the hundreds of women who followed their husbands to war; the demoralizing barrack system; the degrading social status and abuse of the English soldier’s wife and babies; the elevated status and protection enjoyed by the French soldier’s wife; the French military system. The female narratives argue that the French soldiers, as opposed to the English, are educated, industrious, productive and creative, adding to the general good. They spotlight the superiority of the French soldiers as regards their manners, morals, courtesy, organizational skills, patriotism and especially their respect and treatment of women.

Abstract Research increasingly demonstrates the detrimental effects of psychologically controlling parenting on children's adjustment. An important and practically relevant question is whether some children are more vulnerable for the effects of psychologically controlling parenting. In the current diary study, we investigated whether daily psychologically controlling parenting relates to children's daily externalizing and internalizing problems and whether these associations depend on child personality. A total of 206 children (M age = 9.93 years; 46.6% female) along with their mothers and fathers (M age = 40.30 and 42.40 years) participated in this multi-informant diary study. All three family members filled out a diary each day for seven days. Multilevel analyses indicated that daily maternal and paternal psychological control were positively related to daily externalizing and internalizing problems, a pattern that was fairly consistent across informants. Out of the 35 interactions tested, only three turned out to be significant. Overall, the limited number of interactions suggests that psychologically controlling parenting is generally detrimental to children's daily functioning. Still, children differ somewhat in their susceptibility to the effect of psychologically controlling parenting. © 2018 European Association of Personality Psychology

Nicotinamide phosphoribosyl-transferase (Nampt) or pre-B cell colony-enhancing factor or visfatin represents a pleiotropic molecule acting as an enzyme, a cytokine and a growth factor. Intracellular Nampt plays an important role in cellular bioenergetics and metabolism, particularly NAD biosynthesis. NAD biosynthesis is critical in DNA repair, oncogenic signal transduction, transcription, genomic integrity and apoptosis. Although its insulin-mimetic function remains a controversial issue, extracellular Nampt presents proliferative, anti-apoptotic, pro-inflammatory, pro-angiogenic and metastatic properties. Nampt is upregulated in many malignancies, including obesity-associated cancers, and is associated with worse prognosis. Serum Nampt may be a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in cancer. Pharmacologic agents that neutralize Nampt or medications that decrease Nampt levels or downregulate signaling pathways downstream of Nampt may prove to be useful anti-cancer treatments. In particular, Nampt inhibitors as monotherapy or in combination therapy have displayed anti-cancer activity in vivo and in vitro. The aim of this review is to explore the role of Nampt in cancer pathophysiology as well as to synopsize the mechanisms underlying the association between extracellular and intracellular Nampt, and malignancy. Exploring the interplay of cellular bioenergetics, inflammation and adiposopathy is expected to be of importance in the development of preventive and therapeutic strategies against cancer.

Mitochondria are cellular organelles essential for multiple biological processes, including energy production, metabolites biosynthesis, cell death, and immunological responses among others. Recent advances in the field of immunology research reveal the pivotal role of energy metabolism in innate immune cells fate and function. Therefore, the maintenance of mitochondrial network integrity and activity is a prerequisite for immune system homeostasis. Mitochondrial selective autophagy, known as mitophagy, surveils mitochondrial population eliminating superfluous and/or impaired organelles and mediating cellular survival and viability in response to injury/trauma and infection. Defective removal of damaged mitochondria leads to hyperactivation of inflammatory signaling pathways and subsequently to chronic systemic inflammation and development of inflammatory diseases. Here, we review the molecular mechanisms of mitophagy and highlight its critical role in the innate immune system homeostasis.

Although forest fires are an integral part of Mediterranean forest ecosystems, they constitute one of the most devastating natural hazards in the region. Apart from the direct consequences, fires induce well-documented longer term effects in the geomorphological and hydrological processes, influencing environmental factors that in turn can affect the occurrence of other natural hazards, such as floods and mass movement phenomena.This work focuses on the forest fire of 2007 in Peloponnese, Greece that burnt 1773 km2, causing 78 fatalities and very significant damages in property and infrastructure and went down as the largest fire in the country’s record. It examines the occurrence of flood and mass movement phenomena, before and after this mega-fire and studies different influencing factors to investigate the degree to which the 2007 fire and/or other parameters have affected their frequency.Observational evidence based on several data sources collected during the period 1989-2016 show that the 2007 fire has contributed to an increase of average flood and mass movement events frequency by approximately 3.3 and 5.6 times respectively.Fire affected areas record a substantial increase in the occurrence of both phenomena, presenting a noticeably stronger increase compared to neighbouring areas that have not been affected. Examination of the monthly occurrence of events showed an increase even in months of the year were rainfall intensity presented decreasing trends.Although no major land use changes has been identified and chlorophyll is shown to recover 2 years after the fire incident, differences on the type of vegetation as tall forest has been substituted with lower vegetation are considered significant drivers for the observed changes in hydrogeomorphic response of the fire affected basins.The findings of this work are strong indications that future climatic change, with more frequent and severe droughts and storms will be a disastrous combination for the Mediterranean region.

A seismic risk model on a building block scale is presented for the earthquake prone city of Aigion (W. Corinth Gulf) by combining deterministic seismic hazard with Risk-UE LM1 structural vulnerability, assessed per building, taking into account site conditions approximated by Horizontal-to-Vertical-Spectral-Ratios (HVSR) from ambient noise. The stochastic finite-fault method has been applied to simulate strong ground motion from two close earthquake scenarios, capable of occurring within the seismotectonic frame of the area: (a) a repetition of the 1995, June 15 (Mw=6.4) devastating earthquake and (b) a repetition of the 1861, December 26 earthquake of Mw=6.7 on the East Heliki Fault (EHF). The applied methodology provided comparable pattern with the real damage distribution of the 1995 earthquake, highlighting outlooks toward earthquake preparedness and riskmitigation purposes.

The AP-1 complex is essential for membrane protein traffic via its role in the pinching-off and sorting of secretory vesicles from the trans-Golgi and/or endosomes. While its essentiality is undisputed in metazoa, its role in simpler eukaryotes seems less clear. Here we dissect the role of AP-1 in the filamentous fungus and show that it is absolutely essential for growth due to its role in clathrin-dependent maintenance of polar traffic of specific membrane cargoes towards the apex of growing hyphae. We provide evidence that AP-1 is involved in both anterograde sorting of RabE-labeled secretory vesicles and RabA/B-dependent endosome recycling. Additionally, AP-1 is shown to be critical for microtubule and septin organization, further rationalizing its essentiality in cells that face the challenge of cytoskeleton-dependent polarized cargo traffic. This work also opens a novel issue on how non-polar cargoes, such as transporters, are sorted to the eukaryotic plasma membrane.

A large amount of new and existing data was applied, aiming at delineating structural seismic risk in the earthquake prone modern city of Kalamata (SW Peloponnese) that was largely reconstructed after the devastating Mw=5.8 earthquake of September 13, 1986. Synthetic site-specifc ground motion parameters derived from the nearest known shallow hazardous seismogenic sources were combined with EMS-98 structural vulnerability estimates of the city’s building stock and four structural and economic loss models have been developed on a building-block scale. Assuming absence of non-linear, nearsource effects, the building stock of Kalamata is anticipated to present sufficient seismic behaviour, due to the large number of new and innovative constructions replacing the demolished ones after the 1986 earthquake.

Natural products are characterized by extreme structural diversity and thus they offer a unique source for the identification of novel anti-tumor agents. Herein, we report that the herbal substance acteoside being isolated by advanced phytochemical methods from Lippia citriodora leaves showed enhanced cytotoxicity against metastatic tumor cells; acted in synergy with various cytotoxic agents and it sensitized chemoresistant cancer cells. Acteoside was not toxic in physiological cellular contexts, while it increased oxidative load, affected the activity of proteostatic modules and suppressed matrix metalloproteinases in tumor cell lines. Intraperitoneal or oral (via drinking water) administration of acteoside in a melanoma mouse model upregulated antioxidant responses in the tumors; yet, only intraperitoneal delivery suppressed tumor growth and induced anti-tumor-reactive immune responses. Mass-spectrometry identification/quantitation analyses revealed that intraperitoneal delivery of acteoside resulted in significantly higher, vs. oral administration, concentration of the compound in the plasma and tumors of treated mice, suggesting that its in vivo anti-tumor effect depends on the route of administration and the achieved concentration in the tumor. Finally, molecular modeling studies and enzymatic activity assays showed that acteoside inhibits protein kinase C. Conclusively, acteoside holds promise as a chemical scaffold for the development of novel anti-tumor agents.

Aromatase inhibitors, which are widely used for the treatment of estrogen-dependent cancers, have been associated with psychiatric side effects ranging from mania to depression. In the present study, we investigated sex differences in the behavioral and neurochemical effects of aromatase inhibition on male and female, sham-operated or gonadectomized adult rats. Three weeks after surgery, rats received chronic treatment with the aromatase inhibitor letrozole or vehicle and were then subjected to the open field test, which assesses general activity. Half of the subjects were subsequently exposed to the stressful procedure of the forced swim test (FST), which is also a test of antidepressant activity. Aromatase activity was analyzed in the hypothalamus and testosterone and corticosterone were assayed in the blood serum of all rats. The hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (PFC) were analyzed for monoamine (noradrenaline, dopamine and serotonin), as well as amino acid (GABA, glutamate, glycine, taurine, alanine and histidine) levels. The observed decrease in hypothalamic aromatase activity confirmed the efficacy of letrozole treatment in both sexes. Moreover, letrozole enhanced testosterone levels in sham-operated females. In the open field test, females were overall more active and explorative than males and gonadectomy eliminated this sex difference. In the FST, females exhibited overall higher immobility than males and gonadectomy further enhanced this passive behavior in both sexes. However, sustained aromatase inhibition had no effect on open field and FST behaviors. Head shakes during FST, which were fewer in females than in males, were reduced by castration in males and by letrozole treatment in ovariectomized females, suggesting a role of testosterone and extra-gonadal estrogens in the expression of this behavior. Sustained aromatase inhibition also decreased noradrenaline and the dopaminergic turnover rates [DOPAC/DA, HVA/DA] in the hippocampus and PFC of male and female rats, irrespectively of gonadectomy. Moreover, letrozole treatment enhanced the serotonergic turnover [5HIAA/5HT] rate in the hippocampus of males and females, irrespectively of gonadectomy. Amino acid levels were not influenced by letrozole, but sex differences were demonstrated with higher levels in the PFC of females vs. males. Present findings suggest that the neuropsychiatric effects of aromatase inhibition can be attributed to the inhibition of extragonadal estrogen synthesis, presumably in the brain, and could be further associated with serotonergic and catecholaminergic changes in brain regions involved in mood and cognition. Importantly, present data could be linked with the neurobiology of affective side-effects in post-menopausal women receiving aromatase inhibitors.

Aromatase inhibitors, which are widely used for the treatment of estrogen-dependent cancers, have been associated with psychiatric side effects ranging from mania to depression. In the present study, we investigated sex differences in the behavioral and neurochemical effects of aromatase inhibition on male and female, sham-operated or gonadectomized adult rats. Three weeks after surgery, rats received chronic treatment with the aromatase inhibitor letrozole or vehicle and were then subjected to the open field test, which assesses general activity. Half of the subjects were subsequently exposed to the stressful procedure of the forced swim test (FST), which is also a test of antidepressant activity. Aromatase activity was analyzed in the hypothalamus and testosterone and corticosterone were assayed in the blood serum of all rats. The hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (PFC) were analyzed for monoamine (noradrenaline, dopamine and serotonin), as well as amino acid (GABA, glutamate, glycine, taurine, alanine and histidine) levels. The observed decrease in hypothalamic aromatase activity confirmed the efficacy of letrozole treatment in both sexes. Moreover, letrozole enhanced testosterone levels in sham-operated females. In the open field test, females were overall more active and explorative than males and gonadectomy eliminated this sex difference. In the FST, females exhibited overall higher immobility than males and gonadectomy further enhanced this passive behavior in both sexes. However, sustained aromatase inhibition had no effect on open field and FST behaviors. Head shakes during FST, which were fewer in females than in males, were reduced by castration in males and by letrozole treatment in ovariectomized females, suggesting a role of testosterone and extra-gonadal estrogens in the expression of this behavior. Sustained aromatase inhibition also decreased noradrenaline and the dopaminergic turnover rates [DOPAC/DA, HVA/DA] in the hippocampus and PFC of male and female rats, irrespectively of gonadectomy. Moreover, letrozole treatment enhanced the serotonergic turnover [5HIAA/5HT] rate in the hippocampus of males and females, irrespectively of gonadectomy. Amino acid levels were not influenced by letrozole, but sex differences were demonstrated with higher levels in the PFC of females vs. males. Present findings suggest that the neuropsychiatric effects of aromatase inhibition can be attributed to the inhibition of extragonadal estrogen synthesis, presumably in the brain, and could be further associated with serotonergic and catecholaminergic changes in brain regions involved in mood and cognition. Importantly, present data could be linked with the neurobiology of affective side-effects in post-menopausal women receiving aromatase inhibitors.

Combining high efficiency and long lifetime under ambient conditions still poses a major challenge towards commercialization of polymer solar cells. Here we report a facile strategy that can simultaneously enhance the efficiency and temporal stability of inverted photovoltaic architectures. Inclusion of a silanol-functionalized organic-inorganic hybrid polyoxometalate derived from a PW9O34 lacunary phosphotungstate anion, namely (nBu4N)3[PW9O34(tBuSiOH)3], significantly increases the effectiveness of the electron collecting interface, which consists of a metal oxide such as titanium dioxide or zinc oxide, and leads to a high efficiency of 6.51% for single-junction structures based on poly(3-hexylthiophene):indene-C60 bisadduct (P3HT:IC60BA) blends. The above favourable outcome stems from a large decrease in the work function, an effective surface passivation and a decrease in the surface energy of metal oxides which synergistically result in the outstanding electron transfer mediating capability of the functionalized polyoxometalate. In addition, the insertion of a silanol-functionalized polyoxometalate layer significantly enhances the ambient stability of unencapsulated devices which retain nearly 90% of their original efficiencies (T90) after 1000 hours. © 2018 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

In this chapter, we will provide a review of the major aspects related to teacherawareness, with special reference to non- native teachers’ awareness of English as an International Lingua Franca (ELF), and will then provide an account of a hands on practical approach aimed at introducing teachers in Expanding Circle countries (Kachru, 1985 ) to the challenges and implications of teaching a global language, thus transforming them into ELF- aware teachers who will be ready to convey such awareness among their students. We will focus on non- native English- speaking teachers’ (NNESTs’) awareness of the global properties of ELF. In order to support our suggestions in the light of a new model of transformative teacher education (Sifakis, 2007, 2014), we provide evidence from an on- going project on ELF- aware language teaching, and we report NNESTs’ perspectives on what they consider to be an ELF- aware lesson, as well as teachers’ observations of how successful they were in raising their students’ awareness towards ELF (Bayyurt and Sifakis, 2015a , 2015b; Sifakis, 2014 ; Sifakis and Bayyurt, 2015).

The chapter focuses on the challenges and opportunities raised by the growing awareness of the role that English as a lingua franca (ELF) can play in Expanding Circle contexts, namely, contexts where English does not have a historical or statutory role of any kind. The context under review is Greece, where English is taught as a foreign language (EFL). I present an account of the English language teaching, learning and use situation in Greece and reflect on the impact ELF can have for domains like language instruction, materials design, selection and evaluation and teacher education. I argue that ELF research can inform EFL contexts in a number of ways: It can be used to empower non-native speakers of English by broadening their perspective of communicating on a global scale in the 21st century. It can also be used as a means of teacher development. The essential element that underpins this perspective is that, for Expanding Circle contexts like the Greek one, English is not a foreign language (in the way that other major languages like French and German are), but a language with which learners have some degree of familiarity.

This volume examines the role of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) in education in Europe. Following the implementation of the Bologna process, English has assumed a central role in European education offering institutions the opportunity to cater to the needs of an internationalized student body and increase their competitiveness. On the other hand, the increased use of ELF has become an issue of concern, often perceived as a threat to other languages, tilting the scale towards linguistic inequality and stressing the urgent need for the development of new language policies. Both aspects of ELF are at the center of discussion in the proposed volume, which consists of a variety of papers examining ELF in different parts of Europe (Eastern, Central and Western) and different levels of education. The volume makes a substantial contribution to the lively and controversial debate about what is recognized as a central topical concern of language education policy in Europe and beyond.

Η παρούσα ανακοίνωση αναδεικνύει τη ζωή και το έργο τριών Επτανήσιων μουσουργών, οι οποίοι έζησαν και έδρασαν στις Η.Π.Α. κατά το πρώτο μισό του 20ού αι. Α) Ο Κερκυραίος Λορέντζος Καμιλιέρης (1877-1956), συνθέτης, διευθυντής ορχήστρας και χορωδίας διακρίθηκε στη Νέα Υόρκη με την ίδρυση και λειτουργία της μακροβιότερης χορωδίας στις ΗΠΑ, της People’s Chorus. B) O επίσης Κερκυραίος Σπύρος Μπεκατώρος (1862-1938), συνθέτης, διευθυντής ορχήστρας και καθηγητής μουσικής, εγκαταστάθηκε στο Σικάγο και στη Νέα Υόρκη, όπου για τριάντα χρόνια υπηρέτησε τις ελληνοαμερικανικές ορχήστρες. Γ) Ο Κεφαλλονίτης Ιωάννης Βεργωτής (1875-;) συνθέτης, λιμπρετίστας και διευθυντής ορχήστρας ίδρυσε στη Νέα Υόρκη ελληνοαμερικανικό οπερετικό θίασο, όπου παρουσίαζε προσωπικά του έργα.

Στο απόηχο της Ρωσικής Επανάστασης, το 1918 ιδρύθηκε στις ΗΠΑ η ελληνική κομμουνιστική εφημερίδα «Η Φωνή του Εργάτου» με στόχο να συσπειρώσει τον ελληνικό εργατικό κόσμο. Στους κόλπους της εφημερίδας γεννήθηκε ο πρώτος γηγενής σοσιαλιστικός θίασος στη Νέα Υόρκη, ο «Θεατρικός Εργατικός Όμιλος». Ο «Θεατρικός Εργατικός Όμιλος», αυστηρά προσανατολισμένος στις κομμουνιστικές αρχές, συμμετείχε σε γιορτές συλλόγων, σε χοροεσπερίδες με αφορμή την επέτειο της Ρωσικής Επανάστασης ή υπέρ της εφημερίδας «Η Φωνή του Εργάτου», η οποία το 1923 μετονομάστηκε σε «Εμπρός». Απ’ τους κόλπους του «Θεατρικού Εργατικού Ομίλου» γεννήθηκαν πολυάριθμοι σοσιαλιστικοί ερασιτεχνικοί όμιλοι (π.χ. ο «Σπάρτακος» και ο «Λόκαλ 70» των Γουναροεργατών).Ταυτόχρονα προέκυψε ένας πυρήνας θεατρικών συγγραφέων, προερχόμενοι από τους σοσιαλιστικούς θιάσους, οι οποίοι συνέγραψαν έργα επαναστατικά νατουραλιστικά, τα οποία αναδεικνύουν τις κοινωνικές αδικίες, την εκμετάλλευση των εργατών, την ανισότητα, το ρατσισμό και γενικότερα όλη την κοινωνική παθογένεια της Αμερικής. Το παρόν επιστημονικό άρθρο αναδεικνύει το σοσιαλιστικό ρεπερτόριο, τη δραματουργία των στρατευμένων συγγραφέων και τις δράσεις των σοσιαλιστικών θιάσων στις ΗΠΑ από το 1918 έως τη δεκαετία του 1940.

Νομοκανονικά Ἀνάλεκτα 11

BACKGROUND: Eastern European countries including Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet Union (FSU) countries have experienced an HIV epidemic spreading mostly among people who inject drugs (PWID). We aimed to investigate the origin and the dispersal patterns of HIV-1 CRF02_AG in Russia and other FSU countries. METHODS: We studied 136 CRF02_AG sequences originating from Russia, and FSU countries along with a globally sampled dataset of 3,580 CRF02_AG sequences. Maximum-likelihood phylogeny reconstruction with bootstrap evaluation was conducted in RAxML. Bayesian phylogeographic analysis was performed in BEAST v1.8 using the discrete trait model. RESULTS: We found that all CRF02_AG sequences from Russia and other FSU countries formed a single monophyletic cluster within CRF02_AG radiation. The Russian/FSU clade was classified as CRF63_02A1. Sequences from the FSU countries clustered further within distinct subclades (two from Russia, three from Uzbekistan and one Kazakhstan) according to the geographic origin of sampling. Molecular clock analysis revealed that the tMRCA of the CRF63_02A1 epidemic was in 1996 (95%HPD: 1992-1999), while for the two Russian subclades, tMRCA was estimated in 2003 (95%HPD: 2001-2004) and in 2007 (95%HPD: 2005-2008). Phylogeographic analysis suggested that the potential origin of the epidemic was in Uzbekistan. Early dispersal of CRF63_02A1 occurred in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and thereafter the epidemic spread to Russia. Notably, spillover transmissions to Russia kept occurring in both countries. DISCUSSION: Previous studies have shown that Russia and Ukraine have provided the source for the PWID-driven, HIV-1 subtype-A epidemic, spreading across the FSU countries (AFSU). In great contrast, CRF63_02A1 established an epidemic in central Asia (Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan), from where it subsequently disseminated to Russia. Our study suggests that cross-border transmissions among PWID occur bi-directionally between Russian and other FSU populations. These results are of public health importance and suggest that prevention actions have to be reinforced in this area to assist the management of high-risk practices.

We report on the electronic structure, density of states and transmission properties of the periodic one-dimensional tight-binding (TB) lattice with a single orbital per site and nearest-neighbor hoppings, with a generic unit cell of u sites. The determination of the eigenvalues is equivalent to the diagonalization of a real tridiagonal symmetric u-Toeplitz matrix with (cyclic boundaries) or without (fixed boundaries) perturbed upper right and lower left corners. We solve the TB equations via the Transfer Matrix Method, producing analytical solutions and recursive relations for its eigenvalues, closely related to the Chebyshev polynomials. We examine the density of states and provide relevant analytical relations. We attach semi-infinite leads, determine and discuss the transmission coefficient at zero bias and investigate the peaks number and position, and the effect of the coupling strength and asymmetry as well as of the lead properties on the transmission profiles. We introduce a generic optimal coupling condition and demonstrate its physical meaning.

Following the discovery of the newly discovered ULX pulsar in NGC 300 (ATel #11158) we searched the available X-ray data for the evolution of the spin period of the neutron star and the X-ray luminosity.

The semimetal MoTe2 is studied by spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy across the centrosymmetry-breaking structural transition temperature of the bulk. A three-dimensional spin- texture is observed in the bulk Fermi surface in the low temperature, noncentrosymmetric phase that is consistent with first-principles calculations. The spin texture and two types of surface Fermi arc are not completely suppressed above the bulk transition temperature. The lifetimes of quasiparticles forming the Fermi arcs depend on thermal history and lengthen considerably upon cooling toward the bulk structural transition. The results indicate that a new form of polar instability exists near the surface when the bulk is largely in a centrosymmetric phase.

We consider a state-dependent single-server queue with orbit. This is a versatile model for the study of service systems, where the server needs a non-negligible time to retrieve waiting customers every time he completes a service. This situation arises typically when the customers are not physically present at a system, but they have a remote access to it, as in a call center station, a communication node, etc. We introduce a probabilistic approach for the performance evaluation of this queueing system, that we refer to as the queueing and Markov chain decomposition approach. Moreover, we discuss the applicability of this approach for the performance evaluation of other non-Markovian service systems with state dependencies.

The Indian summer monsoon (ISM) is a prominent feature of the summer circulation in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) and has been found to modulate the weather and climate conditions in many remote regions. This study investigates the most recurrent patterns of summertime midlatitude circulation, over the eastern Mediterranean (EM) and also globally, that are most associated with the ISM. Monthly data of 44 summers from the ERA40 dataset are used and two multidimensional statistical methods, the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA), are implemented. The ISM is found to be related to subsidence anomalies in the middle and more extendedly in the upper troposphere over the central and eastern Mediterranean and with an Etesian-like pattern regarding the field of the lower troposphere winds. An equatorial Rossby wave pattern, extending westward from an ISM heat source up to EM and N. Africa, was identified to be associated with the variability of ISM. The observed relationship between the ISM and the EM circulation features can be attributed to this equatorial Rossby wave response to the monsoon forcing. CCA implementation revealed the interconnection of the aforementioned PCA results with an ISM action center over the northern Arabian Sea and the monsoon trough region.

Magnetic reconnection is invoked as an efficient particle accelerator in a variety of astrophysical sources of non-thermal high-energy radiation. With large-scale two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations of relativistic reconnection (i.e. with magnetization σ ≫ 1) in pair plasmas, we study the long-term evolution of the power-law slope and high-energy cut-off of the spectrum of accelerated particles. We find that the high-energy spectral cut-off does not saturate at γcut ∼ 4σ, as claimed by earlier studies, but it steadily grows with time as long as the reconnection process stays active. At late times, the cut-off scales approximately as γ _cut∝ √{t}, regardless of the flow magnetization and initial temperature. We show that the particles dominating the high-energy spectral cut-off reside in plasmoids, and in particular in a strongly magnetized ring around the plasmoid core. The growth of their energy is driven by the increase in the local field strength, coupled with the conservation of the first adiabatic invariant. We also find that the power-law slope of the spectrum (p = -d log N/d log γ) evolves with time. For σ ≳ 10, the spectrum is hard at early times (p ≲ 2), but it tends to asymptote to p ∼ 2; the steepening of the power-law slope allows the spectral cut-off to extend to higher and higher energies, without violating the fixed energy budget of the system. Our results demonstrate that relativistic reconnection is a viable candidate for accelerating the high-energy particles emitting in relativistic astrophysical sources.

A series of uranium(III) mixed sandwich complexes with sterically demanding CpR ligands, of the type [U(COTTIPS2)(CpR)] (CpR = CptBu (C5H4tBu), CptBu2 (C5H3tBu2-1,3), CptBu3 (C5H2tBu3-1,2,4), CpTIPS2 (C5H3(SiiPr3)2-1,3), CpMe4Bz (C5Me4CH2Ph), IndMe6 (C9HMe6) and IndMe7 (C9Me7), and COTTIPS2 = C8H6(SiiPr3)2-1,4), have been synthesised and their X-ray crystal structures determined. The reactivity of these complexes with CO and CO2 is reported, including the squarate complex [U(COTTIPS2)(IndMe6)]2(μ-C4O4), IR data on the long-lived carbonyl complex [U(COTTIPS2)(IndMe7)(CO)] and the carbonate complex [U(COTTIPS2)(CptBu)]2(μ-η1:η2-CO3). The Solid-G algorithm has been to assess the steric properties of these and previously reported mixed-sandwich complexes in the solid state and correlate these properties with the observed reactivity.

We present the results of our power spectral density analysis for the BL Lac object OJ 287, utilizing the Fermi-LAT survey at high-energy γ-rays, Swift-XRT in X-rays, several ground-based telescopes and the Kepler satellite in the optical, and radio telescopes at GHz frequencies. The light curves are modeled in terms of continuous-time autoregressive moving average (CARMA) processes. Owing to the inclusion of the Kepler data, we were able to construct for the first time the optical variability power spectrum of a blazar without any gaps across ∼6 dex in temporal frequencies. Our analysis reveals that the radio power spectra are of a colored-noise type on timescales ranging from tens of years down to months, with no evidence for breaks or other spectral features. The overall optical power spectrum is also consistent with a colored noise on the variability timescales ranging from 117 years down to hours, with no hints of any quasi-periodic oscillations. The X-ray power spectrum resembles the radio and optical power spectra on the analogous timescales ranging from tens of years down to months. Finally, the γ-ray power spectrum is noticeably different from the radio, optical, and X-ray power spectra of the source: we have detected a characteristic relaxation timescale in the Fermi-LAT data, corresponding to ∼150 days, such that on timescales longer than this, the power spectrum is consistent with uncorrelated (white) noise, while on shorter variability timescales there is correlated (colored) noise.

Montenegro plans to enhance its educational system in the area of health information management, in accordance with well-known EU best practices. Within the Erasmus+ project PH-ELIM, a Stratified Framework was developed to provide education of public health professionals making them highly skilled to support the nation in creating a sustainable and flexible health system, in providing good quality health, in protecting citizens against health threats, all by a cost-effective and straightforward approach. The objective of this presentation is to present the intermediate results of the Framework and lessons learned until now.

Schizotypal personality traits may increase proneness to psychosis and likely index familial vulnerability to schizophrenia (SZ), implying shared genetic determinants with SZ. Here, we sought to investigate the contribution of common genetic risk variation for SZ on self-reported schizotypy in 2 ethnically homogeneous cohorts of healthy young males during compulsory military service, enrolled in the Athens Study of Proneness and Incidence of Schizophrenia (ASPIS, N = 875) and the Learning on Genetics of Schizophrenia Spectrum study (LOGOS, N = 690). A follow-up psychometric assessment was performed in a sub-sample of the ASPIS (N = 121), 18 months later at military service completion. Polygenic risk scores (PRS) for SZ were derived based on genome-wide association meta-analysis results from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium. In the ASPIS, higher PRSSZ significantly associated with lower levels of positive (ie, perceptual distortions), disorganization and paranoid facets of schizotypy, whereas no association with negative (ie, interpersonal) facets was noted. Importantly, longitudinal data analysis in the ASPIS subsample revealed that PRSSZ was inversely associated with positive schizotypy at military induction (stressed condition) but not at follow-up (nonstressed condition), providing evidence for environmental rather than SZ-implicated genetic influences. Moreover, consistent with prior reports, PRSSZ was positively correlated with trait anxiety in the LOGOS and additionally the recruits with higher PRSSZ and trait anxiety exhibited attenuated paranoid ideation. Together, these findings do not support an etiological link between increased polygenic liability for SZ and schizotypy, suggesting that psychosocial stress or trait anxiety may impact schizotypal phenotypic expressions among healthy young adults not genetically predisposed to SZ.

The role of membrane lipids in modulating eukaryotic transporter assembly and function remains unclear. We investigated the effect of membrane lipids in the structure and transport activity of the purine transporter UapA from Aspergillus nidulans. We found that UapA exists mainly as a dimer and that two lipid molecules bind per UapA dimer. We identified three phospholipid classes that co-purified with UapA: phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), and phosphatidylinositol (PI). UapA delipidation caused dissociation of the dimer into monomers. Subsequent addition of PI or PE rescued the UapA dimer and allowed recovery of bound lipids, suggesting a central role of these lipids in stabilizing the dimer. Molecular dynamics simulations predicted a lipid binding site near the UapA dimer interface. Mutational analyses established that lipid binding at this site is essential for formation of functional UapA dimers. We propose that structural lipids have a central role in the formation of functional, dimeric UapA.

The purpose of the study is the determination of the morphodynamical processes and the changes of the shoreline of Marathon Bay, which is located at northeast Attica. The area was lagoon 3.500 years BP (Pavlopoulos et al.2006) and it is characterized by low elevations and smooth slopes. The survey of the coastal and marine geomorphology was carried out by acoustic scanning of the seafloor with an echo sounder and sonar side scan topographical sections perpendicular to the shoreline and collection and analysis of surface sediments. The quantification of long-term shoreline displacements (Thieler et al. 2009) was carried out by comparing historical and recent aerial photographs (1945, 1960, 1969, 1988, 1996, 2001, 2010,), satellite imagery (6/2015, World View 2) and the imprint of the coastline (3/2013) with real time kinematic digital global positioning system (RTK DGPS). The estimation of rate and volume of the sediments transportation was realized by a hydrodynamical model (MIKE 21 Flow Model FM). At the north section of the area, near the estuary of Kainourio stream, and the lagoon’s draining channel, the maximum rates of coastal retreat are noticed (̴0,35m/year). The exposition of the coast to the southern waves, the reduced sediment supply from local rivers, due to the Marathon’s Dam and secondly of the morphology of their riverbeds, they have been filled because of the sea level rise the last 50yrs (IPCC, 2007). The lack of sediment supply, the sediment's composition and the morphological appearance of the submarine basin at the northeast of the Bay are mainly responsible for the coastal retreat along with the sea level rise.

In this paper, we explore the process of becoming a teacher educator in the pedagogical use of digital tools in mathematics teaching. The study took place in the context of an in-service program during the trainees’ engagement in their practicum fieldwork activities including the process observation–reflection–design–implementation–reflection. We explored the features of this context that facilitated the trainees’ transition from the level of trainee educator to the level of teacher educator as well as the nature of the trainees’ documentation work for teachers. The results showed that observation of other teacher educators’ teaching in conjunction with reflection during the program’s respective sessions facilitated the trainees’ transition to the professional level. The identified operational invariants underlying the trainees’ designs concerned the focus of their observation in teacher education classrooms, the importance they attributed to the constraints and opportunities provided by the wider educational context and epistemological issues regarding the teaching and learning of mathematics with technology. The analysis of trainees’ designs revealed three kinds of documents (‘‘explanatory,’’ ‘‘instructive’’ and ‘‘facilitative’’) and corresponding roles of trainees during the implementation. These documents targeted different aspects of TPACK depending on the trainees’ conceptualizations of teachers’ roles either ‘‘as students’’ or ‘‘of students.’’

Electric-field-controlled piezoelectric strain has been used, recently, to modify the superconducting properties in a new class of piezoelectric/superconducting (PE/SC) hybrids. Here, we investigate the appearance of thermomagnetic instabilities (TMIs) and the respective modification of the critical current density (J(C)) through the application of electric field (E-ex) in PE/SC hybrids. Specifically, the SC nanolayers are Nb (thickness, d(SC) = 20 nm) deposited on both surfaces of PE macroscopic crystals of (1-x)Pb(Mg-1/3 Nb-2/3)O-3-xPbTiO(3) (PMN-PT) with optimum composition x = 0.31 (thickness, d(PE) = 0.5-0.8 mm). The appearance of TMIs and the modification of J(C) by E-ex is studied for two PMN-PT crystals of drastically different surface roughness (Sa). In the case of the PMN-PT crystal with low Sa (on the order of a few tenths of nm) TMIs are absent so that J(C) does not change under the variation of E-ex. On the contrary, in the case of the PMN-PT crystal with high Sa (on the order of a few hundreds of nm) E-ex induces TMIs in the Nb nanolayers. Specifically, the number of TMIs exhibits a non-monotonic increase on E-ex, thus causing a non-monotonic degradation of J(C). These experimental data are interpreted in terms of the variation of both volume strain and surface roughness on E-ex. This work highlights practical means to control the current-carrying capability of SC nanolayers through strain provided by PE substrates. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

River deltas sustain important ecosystems with rich biodiversity and large biomass, as well as human populations via the availability of water and food sources. Anthropogenic activities, such as urbanization, tourism and agriculture, may pose threats to river deltas. The knowledge of the factors controlling the regional water quality regime in these areas is important for planning sustainable use and management of the water resources. Here, hydrochemical methods and multivariate statistical techniques were combined to investigate the shallow aquifer of the Pinios River (Thessaly) deltaic plain with respect to water quality, hydrogeochemical evolution and interactions between groundwater and surface water bodies. Water quality assessment indicated that most of the river and groundwater samples fully comply with the criteria set by the Drinking Water Directive (98/83/EC). The river is recharged mainly from springs of the Tempi valley and the shallow aquifer, and to a lesser degree from precipitation, throughout the year. The hydrogeochemical characteristics indicated a cation (Ca, Mg, and Na) bicarbonate water type, which evolves to calcium-chloride, sodium-bicarbonate and sodium-chloride water type, in the northern part of the delta. Calcite and dolomite dissolution determined the major ion chemistry, but other processes, such as silicate weathering and cation exchange reactions, also contributed. In the northern part of the plain, the interaction with the deeper aquifer enriched the shallow aquifer with Na and Cl ions. Principal Component Analysis showed that five components (PCs) explain 77% of the total variance of water quality parameters; these are: (1) salinity; (2) water-silicate rocks interaction; (3) hardness due to calcite dissolution, and cation exchange processes; (4) nitrogen pollution; and (5) non-N-related artificial fertilizers. This study demonstrated that the variation of water hydrochemistry in the deltaic plain could be attributed to natural and anthropogenic processes. The interpretation of the PCA results dictated the parameters used for the development of a modified Water Quality Index (WQI), to provide a more comprehensive spatial representation of the water quality of the river delta.

Swift J1858.6-0814: Localization and variability of the optical counterpart G. Vasilopoulos (Yale), C. Bailyn (Yale), J. Milburn (Caltech) Following the detection of the new galactic transient source Swift J1858.6-0814 (Krimm et al. ATEL #12151) we performed photometric follow up observations of its optical counterpart using the WASP instrument on the Hale 200" Telescope at Palomar Observatory.

© 2018 by the authors. Organismal ageing is associated with increased chance of morbidity or mortality and it is driven by diverse molecular pathways that are affected by both environmental and genetic factors. The progression of ageing correlates with the gradual accumulation of stressors and damaged biomolecules due to the time-dependent decline of stress resistance and functional capacity, which eventually compromise cellular homeodynamics. As protein machines carry out the majority of cellular functions, proteome quality control is critical for cellular functionality and is carried out through the curating activity of the proteostasis network (PN). Key components of the PN are the two main degradation machineries, namely the ubiquitin-proteasome and autophagy-lysosome pathways along with several stress-responsive pathways, such as that of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), which mobilises cytoprotective genomic responses against oxidative and/or xenobiotic damage. Reportedly, genetic or dietary interventions that activate components of the PN delay ageing in evolutionarily diverse organisms. Natural products (extracts or pure compounds) represent an extraordinary inventory of highly diverse structural scaffolds that offer promising activities towards meeting the challenge of increasing healthspan and/or delaying ageing (e.g., spermidine, quercetin or sulforaphane). Herein, we review those natural compounds that have been found to activate proteostatic and/or anti-stress cellular responses and hence have the potential to delay cellular senescence and/or in vivo ageing.We apologise to those authors whose work was not cited due to space limitations. I.P.T. and P.J.-D. acknowledge funding from the EU grant MEDIHEALTH (H2020-MSCA-RISE-2015, GA 691158).

Historic data and old topographic maps include information on historical floods and paleo-floods. This paper aims at identifying the flood hazard by using historic data in the drainage basin of Pinios (Peneus) River, in Thessaly, central Greece. For this purpose, a catalogue of historical flood events that occurred between 1979 and 2010 and old topographic maps of 1881 were used. Moreover, geomorphic parameters such as elevation, slope, aspect and slope curvature were taken into account. The data were combined with the Geographical Information System to analyze the temporal and spatial distribution of flood events. The results show that a total number of 146 flood events were recorded in the study area. The number of flood events reaches its maximum value in the year 1994, while October contains the most flood events. The flood occurrences increased during the period 1990-2010. The flooded area reaches its maximum value in the year 1987, and November is the month with the most records. The type of damages with the most records is for rural land use. Regarding the class of damages, no human casualties were recorded during the studied period. The annual and monthly distribution of the very high category reaches the maximum values, respectively, in the year 2005 and in June. The analysis of the spatial distribution of the floods proves that most of the occurrences are recorded in the southern part of the study area. There is a certain amount of clustering of flood events in the areas of former marshes and lakes along with the lowest and flattest parts of the study area. These areas are located in the central, southern, south-eastern and coastal part of the study area and create favorable conditions for flooding. The proposed method estimates the localization of sites prone to flood, and it may be used for flood hazard assessment mapping and for flood risk management.

BACKGROUND: The rate of transmitted drug resistance (TDR) may increase with wider use of antiretroviral therapy and can contribute to therapeutic failure. We analysed time trends in TDR among HIV seroconverters. METHODS: Using CASCADE data of individuals with well estimated dates of HIV seroconversion, we examined HIV nucleotide sequences collected prior to antiretroviral therapy use from 1996-2012. All samples were taken within 12 months of testing HIV positive. Using logistic regression, we examined the association between TDR and year of seroconversion, adjusting for confounders. RESULTS: Of 4717 individuals seroconverting between 1996 and 2012, median (IQR) age at seroconversion was 33 (27, 39) years. The majority (3839; 92%) were male, mainly exposed through MSM (3767; 80%), and infected with subtype B (3464; 73%). Overall, 515 (11%) individuals had at least one drug resistance-related mutation; 280 individuals with nucleoside reverse transcriptase, 185 with nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase, and 144 with protease inhibitor mutations. Estimated TDR prevalence was 19.4% (8.2, 36.0) in 1996, significantly decreasing to 8.5% (5.9, 11.9) in 2012 [odds ratio (OR; 95% confidence interval (CI)) = 0.92 (0.90, 0.95) per year increase]. Individuals exposed through sex between men and women were significantly less likely to have been infected with a drug-resistant strain [OR (95% CI) = 0.59 (0.41, 0.87) compared with MSM], and there was marginal evidence that sampling during acute infection was associated with higher odds of resistance [OR (95% CI) = 1.20 (0.97, 1.7), P = 0.093] compared with later sampling. CONCLUSION: TDR has decreased over calendar time although a significant proportion of new infections still carry resistance-related mutations.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of terrorism on tourism demand in Greece using monthly data from 1977 to 2012. We investigate whether this relationship is bidirectional and whether it exhibits long run persistence. Thus, we employ a large dataset of terrorist incidents and perform cointegration and long-run causality tests, correcting our data for cyclical seasonality and applying PCA to construct a terrorism proxy according to the severity of the incident. Our findings concur that terrorism has a significant negative impact on tourist arrivals to Greece and that causality is noted from terrorism to tourism only. The results suggest that authorities should establish firm measures against terrorism and that further actions should be taken to promote tourism, safety and security, as a response to terrorist incidents. Our study is, to the best our knowledge, the first to approach terrorism using a three-factor proxy with qualitative features.

This study documented the change in study design and statistics employed in applied sports and exercise biomechanics research from 1985 to 2014. The sample comprised 676 data based original research reports published in the Journal of Applied Biomechanics (JAB) from 1985 to 2014. Eight design and 10 statistical criteria were extracted from each study. Descriptive statistics were calculated and change in study criteria over time were documented. Design criteria that did not change over time, remaining at relatively low levels of rigor, were widespread (71%) use of small (2-20) sample sizes and examination of numerous dependent variables (26.6% with >13). The number of experimental groups and independent variables also did not change with typically 1 to 2 reported. There was a significant 61% linear increase in randomization of participants into groups, however by 2014 still a minority (39%) of studies were not reporting randomized assignment. Types of statistical analysis showed positive changes over time with a 48% quadratic decrease in descriptive analyses, a 3% linear increase in nonparametric statistics, and a 45% linear increase in reporting parametric statistical analysis. Changes in specific statistical methods included a 9% linear decrease in bivariate correlation and a 73% linear increase in ANOVA. Reporting of assumptions had a 35% linear increase, yet in 2014 sixty-five percent still did not report on meeting statistical assumptions. Changes in test statistics included a linear 56% increase of reporting observed P values and a quadratic 29% increase in reporting effect sizes beginning in the late 1990s. It was concluded there was evidence of small improvements in research design and statistics in JAB over the last 30 years; however, there is still room for improvement to meet higher levels of research rigor and current recommendations on statistical analysis and reporting.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate size and shape variation of human premolars between Indigenous Australians and Australians of European ancestry, and to assess whether sex and ancestry could be differentiated between these groups using 3D geometric morphometrics. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventy dental casts from each group, equally subdivided by sex, were scanned using a structured-light scanner. The 3D meshes of upper and lower premolars were processed using geometric morphometric methods. Seventy-two landmarks were recorded for upper premolars and 50 landmarks for lower premolars. For each tooth type, two-way ANOVA was used to assess group differences in centroid size. Shape variations were explored using principal component analysis and visualized using 3D morphing. Two-way Procrustes ANOVA was applied to test group differences for ancestry and sex, and a "leave-one-out" discriminant function was applied to assess group assignment. RESULTS: Centroid size and shape did not display significant difference between the sexes. Centroid size was larger in Indigenous Australians for upper premolars and lower second premolars compared to the Australians of European ancestry. Significant shape variation was noted between the two ancestral groups for upper premolars and the lower first premolar. Correct group assignment of individual teeth to their ancestral groups ranged between 80.0 and 92.8% for upper premolars and 60.0 and 75.7% for lower premolars. DISCUSSION: Our findings provide evidence of significant size and shape variation in human premolars between the two ancestral groups. High classification rates based on shape analysis of upper premolars highlight potential application of geometric morphometrics in anthropological, bioarcheological and forensic contexts.

SXP 15.3 (RX J0052.1-7319) is a Be X-ray binary pulsar located in the Small Magellanic Cloud. The source was classified as a transient X-ray binary candidate based on ROSAT observations in the 1990's, and pulsations at 15.3 s were subsequently discovered from an outburst in 1996 from the ROSAT data. The source has never been studied in an outburst or a bright state ever since. Following reports of an outburst in November 2017, we triggered a Target of Opportunity observation of SXP 15.3 with AstroSat. We report here the first broadband spectral and timing studies of the source, when the source was accreting near the Eddington limit of 10^38 erg/s. We discuss the energy dependence of the pulse profiles and the broadband spectrum in context of accretion onto magnetized neutron stars accreting near its Eddington limit.

Magnetically doped topological insulators may produce novel states of electronic matter, where for instance the quantum anomalous Hall effect state can be realized. Pivotal to this goal is a microscopic control over the magnetic state, defined by the local electronic structure of the dopants and their interactions. We report on the magnetic coupling among Mn or Co atoms adsorbed on the surface of the topological insulator Bi2Te3. Our findings uncover the mechanisms of the exchange coupling between magnetic atoms coupled to the topological surface state in strong topological insulators. The combination of x-ray magnetic circular dichroism and ab initio calculations reveals that the sign of the magnetic coupling at short adatom-adatom distances is opposite for Mn with respect to Co. For both elements, the magnetic exchange reverses its sign at a critical distance between magnetic adatoms, as a result of the interplay between superexchange, double exchange and Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yoshida interactions.

A novel, fit-for-purpose, highly sensitive, analytical UPLC-PDA methodology was developed and fully validated, according to ICH, FDA and EMA guidelines, for the rapid and accurate quantification of trans-crocin 4 (TC4) and crocetin (CRC) in mice plasma and brain after i.p. administration. A PDA based methodology shows a wider applicability as it is cost effective and can be easily and seamlessly adopted by the pharma industry. The separation of the analytes was performed on a C18 Hypersil Gold column with 2.5 min run time, employing the internal standard (ISTD) methodology. The two methods were successfully applied for the determination of CRC and TC4 in mouse plasma and brain after i.p. administration of TC4 (50 mg/kg) in a time range of 0-240 min. Due to the selection of i.p. administration route, the first-pass metabolism and/or gastric hydrolysis were bypassed, a fact that enhanced the bioavailability of TC4. Furthermore, TC4 was found to be capable of crossing the Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) and build up levels in the mouse brain, regardless of its highly hydrophilic character. CRC was not detected in any plasma or brain sample, although it has been reported that TC4 quickly hydrolyzes to CRC after p.o. administration. Therefore i.p. administration could be used in the case of TC4 for the accurate determination of its biological role. Overall, the developed methodology offers important information about the bioavailability of TC4 in mouse plasma and for the first time, demonstrates the ability of TC4 to penetrate the BBB and localize inside the brain.

A novel, fit-for-purpose, highly sensitive, analytical UPLC-PDA methodology was developed and fully validated, according to ICH, FDA and EMA guidelines, for the rapid and accurate quantification of trans-crocin 4 (TC4) and crocetin (CRC) in mice plasma and brain after i.p. administration. A PDA based methodology shows a wider applicability as it is cost effective and can be easily and seamlessly adopted by the pharma industry. The separation of the analytes was performed on a C18 Hypersil Gold column with 2.5 min run time, employing the internal standard (ISTD) methodology. The two methods were successfully applied for the determination of CRC and TC4 in mouse plasma and brain after i.p. administration of TC4 (50 mg/kg) in a time range of 0-240 min. Due to the selection of i.p. administration route, the first-pass metabolism and/or gastric hydrolysis were bypassed, a fact that enhanced the bioavailability of TC4. Furthermore, TC4 was found to be capable of crossing the Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) and build up levels in the mouse brain, regardless of its highly hydrophilic character. CRC was not detected in any plasma or brain sample, although it has been reported that TC4 quickly hydrolyzes to CRC after p.o. administration. Therefore i.p. administration could be used in the case of TC4 for the accurate determination of its biological role. Overall, the developed methodology offers important information about the bioavailability of TC4 in mouse plasma and for the first time, demonstrates the ability of TC4 to penetrate the BBB and localize inside the brain.

Motivated by the excellent electron-transfer capability of porphyrin molecules in natural photosynthesis, we introduce here the first application of a porphyrin compound to improve the performance of planar perovskite solar cells. The insertion of a thin layer consisting of a triazine-substituted Zn porphyrin between the TiO2 electron transport layer and the CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite film significantly augmented electron transfer toward TiO2 while also sufficiently improved the morphology of the perovskite film. The devices employing porphyrin-modified TiO2 exhibited a significant increase in the short-circuit current densities and a small increase in the fill factor. As a result, they delivered a maximum power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 16.87% (average 14.33%), which represents a 12% enhancement compared to 15.01% (average 12.53%) of the reference cell. Moreover, the porphyrin-modified cells exhibited improved hysteretic behavior and a higher stabilized power output of 14.40% compared to 10.70% of the reference devices. Importantly, nonencapsulated perovskite solar cells embedding a thin porphyrin interlayer showed an elongated lifetime retaining 86% of the initial PCE after 200 h, while the reference devices exhibited higher efficiency loss due to faster decomposition of CH3NH3PbI3 to PbI2. © 2018 American Chemical Society.

The reaction of the syn-bimetallic bis(pentalene)dititanium complex Ti2(μ:η5,η5-Pn†)2 (Pn† = C8H4(1,4-SiiPr3)2) 1 with carbon suboxide (OCCCO, C3O2) results in trimerisation of the latter and formation of the structurally characterised complex [{Ti2(μ:η5,η5-Pn†)2}{μ-C9O6}]. The trimeric bridging C9O6 unit in the latter contains a 4-pyrone core, a key feature of both the hexamer and octamer of carbon suboxide which are formed in the body from trace amounts of C3O2 and are, for example, potent inhibitors of Na+/K+-ATP-ase. The mechanism of this reaction has been studied in detail by DFT computational studies, which also suggest that the reaction proceeds via the initial formation of a mono-adduct of 1 with C3O2. Indeed, the carefully controlled reaction of 1 with C3O2 affords [Ti2(μ:η5,η5-Pn†)2 (η2-C3O2)], as the first structurally authenticated complex of carbon suboxide.

In this paper, we suggest the design of wavelength tunable, polarization-sensitive optical nanoswitches based on plasmonic spheroidal core-shell nanoparticles. Using a quasi-static approximation, we derive closed-form expressions for short and open circuit conditions, which respectively provide extremely high and low permittivity values at optical frequencies. Owing to the anisotropic nature of spheroidal particles, the analysis are performed in longitudinal and transversal polarizations, where the electric field of the impinging wave is along the major and minor axes of the spheroid, respectively. The derived formulas analytically elucidate this anisotropy, which has been implied by different short and open circuit conditions for two states of polarization. Our results show that by exploiting eccentricity in the spheroidal core-shells (i.e. compared to the spherical core-shells), the switching conditions can be transferred to infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) frequencies, in longitudinal and transversal polarizations, respectively. Finally, the effective permittivity of the core-shell is extracted analytically using the concept of internal homogenization, which gains insight into the optical response of particle. Our analyses pave the way towards realizing tunable and polarization dependent components in UV, optical and IR frequencies for sensing and nanocircuitry applications. © 2018 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Lots have happened in the East-Mediterranean since the beginning of the third millennium. A list of the main events reveals a long series of issues that took place in the region and heavily affect it.  The impact of these issues and events will stay with us for the foreseeable future and is heavily discernible in the relations between the eastern- Mediterranean non- Arab littoral countries: Turkey, Israel, Greece and Cyprus. This list includes, for example, the 2000s deteriorating relations between Turkey and Israel (in 2016 the two resumed full diplomatic relations); the current crises in the relations between Turkey several Middle Eastern countries (Egypt, Syria, Iraq); the civil war that rages in Syria since 2011 and Turkey’s deep involvement in it; acts of Islamist led terrorism, attacks by ISIS1, and manifestations of religious extremism that heavily affect daily life, economies and tourism in Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, as well as in other places; illegal immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers that inundate Turkey, Greece (and via them) many EU countries; energy explorations in the Mediterranean Sea; issues related to civil rights, minorities, the growing tendencies towards strong executives and authoritarian regimes at the expense of democracy and pluralism; heavy internal changes like the decline of Turkish Kemalism, the growing impact of religion in Israel and Turkey, and the fi nancial crisis of Greece; In addition, the struggle for self-determination of various ethnic groups and peoples (the Kurds, the Palestinians, and others); the Russian reappearance, American disappearance and the EU weak impact on events in the Middle East and the Eastern – Mediterranean - - these and subjects have brought about dramatic changes in the Eastern Mediterranean sub-system. 1. See at the end of this text: ANNEX: Evidence on the Collaboration of Turkey with ISIS and other jihadist groups, as well as relevant testimonies from international sources. From the Turkish standpoint, the events in our region express what is happening in the global arena: Europe is aging, its economy and currency are limping and convulsing, and the EU radiates political disintegration (the Brexit) and economic weaknesses. The US is suffering from an economic crisis, it is globally and politically on the decline, internally it is also on the decline following the eight years’ presidency of Barak Obama, and the November 2016 election of President Donald Trump. Simultaneously, other powers (China, Russia) strive to replace American hegemony all around the globe. Also from the standpoint of Ankara, Turkey desires to be now a rising «uneasy» power, and is demarcating the limits of its infl uence: Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Balkans, on the one hand; black Africa, North Africa, and the Middle East, on the other. Following several setbacks, Turkish- Russian relations are developing and disagreements have been settled. And all these developments and events have greatly affected the three eastern - Mediterranean non - Muslim countries (Greece, Israel, Cyprus), and the region’s sole non- Arab but Muslim country- Turkey. In our paper we will make an attempt to describe and analyze the major impacts that these events and issues have had on the developments in the eastern- Mediterranean, with particular focus on Turkey and Israel, and the growing cooperation between Greece and Israel.

The discovery of Weyl semimetals represents a significant advance in topological band theory. They paradigmatically enlarged the classification of topological materials to gapless systems while simultaneously providing experimental evidence for the long-sought Weyl fermions. Beyond fundamental relevance, their high mobility, strong magnetoresistance, and the possible existence of even more exotic effects, such as the chiral anomaly, make Weyl semimetals a promising platform to develop radically new technology. Fully exploiting their potential requires going beyond the mere identification of materials and calls for a detailed characterization of their functional response, which is severely complicated by the coexistence of surface-and bulk-derived topologically protected quasiparticles, i.e., Fermi arcs and Weyl points, respectively. Here, we focus on the type-II Weyl semimetal class in which we find a stoichiometry-dependent phase transition from a trivial to a nontrivial regime. By exploring the two extreme cases of the phase diagram, we demonstrate the existence of a universal response of both surface and bulk states to perturbations. We show that quasiparticle interference patterns originate from scattering events among surface arcs. Analysis reveals that topologically nontrivial contributions are strongly suppressed by spin texture. We also show that scattering at localized impurities can generate defect-induced quasiparticles sitting close to the Weyl point energy. These give rise to strong peaks in the local density of states, which lift the Weyl node, significantly altering the pristine low-energy spectrum. Remarkably, by comparing the WTe2 and the MoTe2 cases we found that scattering response and topological transition are not directly linked. Visualizing the existence of a universal microscopic response to scattering has important consequences for understanding the unusual transport properties of this class of materials. Overall, our observations provide a unifying picture of the type-II Weyl phase diagram.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection constitutes a global public health problem. In order to establish how HBV was disseminated across different geographic regions, we estimated the levels of regional clustering for genotypes D and A. We used 916 HBV-D and 493 HBV-A full-length sequences to reconstruct their global phylogeny. Phylogeographic analysis was conducted by the reconstruction of ancestral states using the criterion of parsimony. The putative origin of genotype D was in North Africa/Middle East. HBV-D sequences form low levels of regional clustering for the Middle East and Southern Europe. In contrast, HBV-A sequences form two major clusters, the first including sequences mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, and the second including sequences mostly from Western and Central Europe. Conclusion: We observed considerable differences in the global dissemination patterns of HBV-D and HBV-A and different levels of monophyletic clustering in relation to the regions of prevalence of each genotype.

{The purpose of the present study was to determine whether a battery of anthropometric and lower and upper body strength, speed and power tests predicted selection of young volleyball players for a Junior National Team by expert coaches. Fifty-two male junior volleyball players (14.8±0.5 yrs, height: 1.84±0.05 m, body mass: 72.5±7.1 kg) took part in a training camp and underwent a selection procedure by expert coaches' of the junior national team. Anthropometric data and fitness tests results were obtained and players were graded on a scale from 0 to 100 on the basis of their performance in a volleyball tournament. Selected players were superior in the majority of measured variables (p≤0.017) and had higher grading scores compared with non-selected players (85.3±4.1 vs. 70.5±5.6, respectively, p<0.01). The combination of spike jump and reach test (SJR) and 3 kg medicine ball throw velocity (MB3) explained 63.5% of the variance in expert coaches' grading (p<0.001). A multivariate discriminant analysis yielded a significant discriminant function (Wilk's lambda= 0.55, χ= 29.324, p<0.001, η=0.82). SJR and MB3 were the only variables that contributed to the discriminant function (standardized function coefficients: SJR = 0.68

Principal component analysis (PCA) is being extensively used in Astronomy but not yet exhaustively exploited for variability search. The aim of this work is to investigate the effectiveness of using the PCA as a method to search for variable stars in large photometric data sets. We apply PCA to variability indices computed for light curves of 18 152 stars in three fields in M 31 extracted from the Hubble Source Catalogue. The projection of the data into the principal components is used as a stellar variability detection and classification tool, capable of distinguishing between RR Lyrae stars, long-period variables (LPVs) and non-variables. This projection recovered more than 90 per cent of the known variables and revealed 38 previously unknown variable stars (about 30 per cent more), all LPVs except for one object of uncertain variability type. We conclude that this methodology can indeed successfully identify candidate variable stars.

We have determined the membership of 46 open clusters. For the nine clusters within 250pc we determined optimised parallaxes based on the combined information extracted from the measured parallax and proper motion values. These clusters are : in Tables A1a & A3: alphaPer, Blanco1, ComaBer, Hyades, IC2391, IC2602, NGC2451A, Pleiades, Praesepe. The remaining 37 clusters are in Table A1b & A4: Coll140, IC4651, IC4665, IC4725, IC4756, NGC0188, NGC0752, NGC0869, NGC0884, NGC1039, NGC1901, NGC2158, NGC2168, NGC2232, NGC2323, NGC2360, NGC2422, NGC2423, NGC2437, NGC2447, NGC2516, NGC2547, NGC2548, NGC2682, NGC3228, NGC3532, NGC6025, NGC6281, NGC6405, NGC6475, NGC6633, NGC6774, NGC6793, NGC7092, Stock2, Trump02, Trump10. (4 data files).

Our analysis was performed on the iDR4 consisting of ~260000 single exposures (corresponding to ~100 000 stacked spectra) of about 51000 distinct stars observed with the FLAMES instrument feeding the optical spectrographs GIRAFFE (with setups HR3, HR5A, HR6, HR9B, HR10, HR14A, HR15N, HR15, HR21) and UVES (with setups U520 and U580) covering the optical and near-IR wavelength ranges. (5 data files).

We used archival observations of NGC 4535 taken with the HST WFPC2 as part of the HST Key Project. We used 13 epochs of F555W (equivalent to Johnson V) and 9 epochs of F814W (equivalent to Kron-Cousins I). The F555W data consisted in total of eight 3x1200 sec exposures and five 4x1300s exposures, while the F814W of nine 3x1300s exposures. (1 data file).

We have observed two fields in the northern disc of M31 in a large programme (LP) of XMM-Newton (PI: M. Sasaki). The data were taken with the European Photon Imaging Cameras (EPICs) in full-frame mode using the thin filter for the pn camera (EPIC-pn) and the medium filter for the two MOS cameras (EPIC-MOS1/2), in order to minimise the contamination by background but to maximise the sensitivity for soft diffuse emission. Each of the two fields was observed twice. (6 data files).

Plant species grown in the Mediterranean region have been selected for an experimental study regarding plant ability to endure harsh, abiotic conditions such as water deficiency. Young plants of Ceratonia siliqua L., Myrtus communis L., Nerium oleander L., Rosmarinus officinalis L. and Pittosporum tobira (Thunb.) were placed in elongated plastic tubes and rhizotrons, which allow non-destructive observations of plant material, and were grown under controlled light and temperature conditions, with varying irrigation patterns in a growth chamber, for a 30-day period. Sugar, proline and chlorophyll content were measured in above and below ground tissues of the considered species, during the 30-day experimental period. The results show that Ceratonia siliqua, Myrtus communis and Nerium oleander are more capable of enduring drought conditions, in comparison to Rosmarinus officinalis L. and Pittosporum tobira (Thunb.). The results can be used for planning green urban landscapes with introduction of naturalistic planting, using plant species adapted to the scarcity of water during prolonged, ambient drought conditions.

This paper examines Greek invitations as first pair parts of an adjacency pair within the framework of Conversation Analysis. The focus of our research is on impromptu invitations issued via polar negative-interrogative constructions and the effects this type of con- struction has on the interactional organization of the whole invitation-response sequence. It is suggested that the issuing of the invitation by means of this particular syntactic choice has ramifications for the unfolding of the interaction with respect to sequencing and preference organization. Specifically, it is maintained that impromptu invitations issued by means of polar negative-interrogatives in Greek tend to trigger markedly delayed accep- tances. It is suggested that the explanation for this phenomenon lies in the “cross-cutting” preferences built in the construction when used to make impromptu invitations.